#so give them a round of applause for taking my characters and making them even better

[charmedimsure]

Your writing is just fucken scrumptious 🌟🌟 if you don't mind, Can you write about Thanos's reaction to a Nana osaki fem! Reader? (Like reader got her style, career, and personality) {plus points if reader is pierced, like Se-mi} You can make this into a one shot if you like ;))

i have beef with you, anon. i watched the first episode to try and get a better grasp on her personality and i got hooked. holy crap that anime is sad but so good. decided to add others cuz i fell in love with this character

SQUID GAME X NANA OSAKI! READER

including: thanos, nam-gyu, dae-ho, in-ho

warnings: squid game stuff, blood, violence

THANOS

Thanos is not completely sure how he got himself in this position.

He's laying on the floor, his throat being squeezed by player 001, who's fist is positioned to hit him again.

"I'm sorry," Thanos manages to get out with the bit of air he still has in his lungs. "Please. Please let me go."

Player 001 let's go and he rolls over, bringing his own hand to his throat as he tries to suck in deep breaths to get as much oxygen into his lungs as he can.

The players around them break out in applause, praising the man for beating up Thanos. As the man walks back into the crowd, the soft sound of laughter can be heard from behind Thanos.

The rapper turns, ready to tell off whoever it is that's laughing at him. His words die on his tongue when he sees the source of the laughter is you.

You're sitting on your bunk, head tilted back in laughter. Your hair falls to the side, exposing your piercings. And for the second time today, Thanos' breath is stolen from him.

The next day he approaches you right before the second game.

"Señorita, excuse me."

You turn, an amused smirk gracing your face as you recognize the boy speaking to you. "Oh, it's you. How's your throat?"

He knows you're making fun of him, but he can't help the small flutter in his heart because you remember him. "Let's play the game together."

You bring your hand up to support your chin, showing off your rings. "Yeah? Why should I?"

One of the players behind him gives you a dumbfounded look. "Don't you know who he is? He's Thanos the rapper."

You chuckle as he recites one of his lines. Truth is, you do know who this is. You and Thanos had played at a few of the same places. You doubted he could remember though. He was always high out of his mind.

The other player behind him puts a hand on his shoulder. You recognize him from one of the clubs you play at. Nam-gyu, if you're remembering correctly. "Hang on, a girl? We don't know what the game is."

Thanos pushes him away, his eyes still on you. "I'm gonna destroy anyone who gets in my way," he says, punching the air in front of him.

You let out a chuckle. "Whatever, man. Just don't get me killed."

NAM-GYU

"Two."

Nam-gyu turns to Thanos, ready to run into a room with him. It's the last round and they're definitely getting out of here alive.

Thanos shakes his head quickly, looking between the three of you before ultimately grabbing Min-su's hand, dragging the boy toward one of the rooms.

Nam-gyu just stands there, watching as the person he's looked up to since before they even ended up in this shithole chooses some kid over him.

"Come on!" you yell, grabbing Nam-gyu's wrist and pulling him along after you. He nearly falls over but stays on his feet, running after you to a pink door. Nam-gyu goes in first.

As you're entering the room, a man grabs you by the hair, yanking you backwards and out of the room. He takes a step forward before a foot makes contact with his crotch, causing the man to let out a yelp of pain. He falls to his knees, revealing you standing behind him.

You push him out of the doorway, coming in and closing the door just in time for it to lock.

Nam-gyu stands in the back of the room, massaging his wrist where you grabbed him.

You catch your breath, looking at the man in the room. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

Nam-gyu scowls at you. "You could've broken my wrist, you bitch."

You scoff, putting your hands on your hips. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

Nam-gyu just glares at you.

"You've been rude to me since you met me for no damn reason. And now when your 'friend' chooses someone over you and I step in to save your fucking life, you're still finding things to complain about!" You huff. "Get over yourself."

You turn your back to him. Nam-gyu thinks about your words. You're right, he has been rude to you since you joined their team. He was really just jealous because Thanos was paying more attention to you than to him. And now you're the whole reason he's alive and all he had to say was "you could've broke my wrist".

You pace back and forth, trying to get over you anger without physically attacking the boy standing by the other wall. You hear him mumble, which gets your attention.

"What was that?"

He sighs. "I said thank you."

You just look at each other. You study his face, seeing a hint of remorse in his eyes. You nod, a silent 'you're welcome'.

"Let's just hope those two idiots made it to a room on time."

DAE-HO

Dae-ho looks through the crowd of people. He'd jumped at the chance to prove himself a useful team member and find a fifth person for the game, but now he's struggling to choose. Everyone is either already in a group or isn't the kind of person the others are expecting him to bring back.

"Hey," a voice says behind him.

Dae-ho whips his head around and his jaw practically falls to the floor when he sees you looking up at him. Your hands are shoved into your pockets, the expression on your pierced face calm despite the situation you're in. Dae-ho is sure he's never seen a girl who looks more intimidating than you. Or more beautiful.

"Do you have a team yet?" you ask.

Dae-ho just stands there, staring at you with his mouth still open, brain trying to comprehend the words you just said to him.

You furrow your brows. "You okay, dude?"

He snaps himself out of it, nodding. "Y-yeah, I'm... uh... I'm f-fine."

You smirk as he tumbles over his words, finding the man endearing. "So, do you have a team yet?"

He nods. "Uh, yeah, yeah I do have a team."

The smirk on your face drops. "Bummer." You take one of your hands out of your pocket, giving him a small wave as you take a step back. "Well, good luck."

"Wait!" Dae-ho yells louder than he meant to, gaining the attention of a few people around him. You look back at him, an eyebrow cocked. "We, uh, actually need one m-more person, if you want to join." He knows you're not the person they wanted Dae-ho to find, but he has a good feeling about you.

You smile at him and he swears this is heaven. "Yeah, that'd be great."

He leads you through the crowd towards his own team. Jung-bae is the first to notice him. "Dae-ho, did you find someone?"

Dae-ho nods shyly, stepping to the side to reveal you behind him.

Jung-bae's smile falters. "This is who you got?"

You look between both players. "Is this a problem?"

He puts a polite smile back on his face. "No, miss, not at all. We were just expecting him to bring back someone more..."

"Male?" you finish for him. You look at the other men in the group. "It seems like you have enough testosterone in this group already."

Player 001 steps toward you. "Are you confident you can win this game?"

You nod. "I don't plan on dying in this place."

He turns to the others. "Let's let her join."

Player 456 steps forward. "I agree."

You turn to Dae-ho, smiling and giving him a small thank you nod.

He smiles back, a blush coloring his cheeks as he kicks at the sand on the ground.

IN-HO

"I saw what you did, you sick fuck!" a voice shouts.

In-ho looks up from his coversation with Gi-hun, eyes immediately finding the purple haired player in the middle of the floor. Another player is standing behind him, chest puffed out.

A plastic spoon is thrown at the purple player's chest. In-ho looks across the room to see a girl marching toward him. You. Your fists are clenched and the look on your face could send fear into the hearts of anyone.

Player 230 chuckles. "Saw what, Señorita?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," you growl. "You pushed those people! You killed them!"

"They would've died anyway!"

"They could have made it!"

He laughs again. "Who cares, it's more money for us." The player behind him, 124, snickers.

You scoff. "Well, why don't I do us all a favor then and add another 100 million won to the pot?"

Player 230 laughs out loud, raising an eyebrow at you and stepping closer, "Oh yeah? And what are you gonna be able to do?"

Gasps come from everyone in the room as you lunge at him, knocking the both of you to the ground. Player 124 watches with an open mouth, too shocked to do anything.

Player 230 looks up at his friend. "Help me, you fucker!"

Player 124 nods and kicks you off of 230. You manage to get to your feet, throwing a punch at 124.

He stumbles back, touching his fingers to his nose and pulling them away to find blood. He grits his teeth at you. "You bitch!"

He swings at you, which you manage to dodge until the other player kicks you in the back of the knee, sending you to the ground. You kick his legs out from under him, getting on him to hit him again.

In-ho stands up, pushing past Jung-bae and Dae-ho to the center of the room. He pulls you off of player 230. You try to attack him again but In-ho has a tight hold on you, putting his body between you and the rapper.

"They're not worth it," he says to you. "Don't get yourself hurt over this."

You look at the rappers face, smirking when you see the imprint of your ring on his cheek. You throw the man's arms off of you, wiping the blood from your face with your sleeve as you walk back to the bunks, a few players on the sidelines clapping for you.

In-ho turns to face the boys. Player 124 is helping 230 off the ground, both bleeding. Scratch marks can be seen on 230's face from your nails. He's lucky you didn't claw one of his eyes out. He looks back at you, watching you sit down on your bed, holding your sleeve up to your split lip.

You're someone he's gonna keep his eye out for.

Squid Game Tags: @thebiggestigurosimp @vvnbxz @lov3yy @miltzzy @l5byrinth @come-as-you-are-111 @starkeyszn @learninglinesintherainn @galactict3a @sawlover353 @jspidey5 @skywalker0809 @zannispppp @lianobody @ihrthoney @machii-d3arr

Dae-ho tags: @whatthefuckeryfuckityfuck @ally1uvsu @hiphip-horray @k1michii @tpwkcaryslizb @louissst28 @sshwaa @jennwonwoo @sunnysurvives @lalalaa2210 @tayshs @sunshinethatlooksalive @plntmxrss @lxnnrobin @mariaxman @alexx-iia @batty-barty-crouchjr @kxsm3t @takuma-talkz @peacemakersbeloved @skywalker0809 @soobinbunnie5 @dragons-h0ard @silas-222 @putrescentpoet @chrisgetsmewetter @sunhyeswife @smile1318 @casually-simping @slvtforfakemen @ang3licbabydolly

lmk if you want to be added to the taglist :)

[808airsoftbros]

Christmas Wish (Female Idols)

Author: Merry Christmas everyone, here is my special holidays oneshot. I may or may not write a New Year's special sequel as I did plan to write a smut into this but I didn't have the time and energy spent on the Holiday mayhem. Anyway, hope you enjoy and if you want to check out more stories go to Masterlist.

Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy Infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night Shepherds quake at the sight Glories stream from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia Christ the Savior is born Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus Lord, at Thy birth Jesus Lord, at Thy birth

Y/N's POV

It was another night of singing Christmas carols in my local church theatre, just like every year on the holidays. Despite the years that had passed, everyone showed up in droves, and family and friends came together.

Some are apart for most of the year for study or work, and seeing them come together again as a union once more makes me envy them.

My whole life I grew up as an orphan, I don't even know what my family looks like or what it's even like to have one. I was unwanted, cast aside, and not even worth a penny in this society.

Then why do I sing these stupid Christmas carols? I don't even know myself... Maybe because it's all I know because there's nowhere to go? Perhaps.

But the real reason doesn't matter much now, does it? No, not really. I don't even know the meaning of life, and I have no idea of my purpose.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for taking the time to come to this wonderful Christmas chorale this evening! It was such a pleasure to always host this yearly tradition in this glamorous town! And it's such a wonderful feeling seeing all of you reunited with family and friends you may not have seen in years, now, please give a warm applause to our singers!" The host spoke to the crowd and they all cheered as they clapped the sounds echoing in the church.

As we all dispersed from our group, I didn't even bother staying for the after-party as nobody cared about me and wouldn't notice I was gone. I knew I was simply a meaningless character in the background of everyone's story.

Once I walked inside the comfort of my apartment I sighed as I closed the door, I sat down on the couch cracking open a bottle of apple soju from the fridge just dazing in my thoughts.

"Silent night~. Holy night~. Yeah, shut the fuck up..." I said to myself as that stupid chorale was stuck playing in my head as if the Universe was mocking me.

Why does my life fucking suck? I don't know and I don't even care at this point... Because what's the point in life anymore?

Everyone has a purpose in life, whether to be working, being a celebrity for everyone to admire and fan over, or whatever that may be. But here I am slouching in my apartment like a waste of space in this world.

What is my damn purpose here? To be a pathetic joke and stain on society? Wow, what a way to start my life and this will likely stay that way forever.

Looking at the clock, I sighed deeply as it was nearly time for me to go to work, I slipped on my shopkeeper's uniform before heading into the store to relieve my co-worker who was wrapping up his shift for the day.

"Ah, Merry Christmas, Y/N, right on time as usual," He greeted and I nodded.

"Busy today?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yup, the store's been packed with tourists all day, but tonight should be slow since nobody is out at night so it should be a pretty slow and chill shift for you," He sighed as he grabbed his things.

I watched as my co-worker walked out of the store and into the winter snow as the sun was slowly starting to set down and darkness slowly began taking over the city.

Settling down on the stand, I placed in headphones listening to chill music to pass the time as I stared at the empty store, even though this was going to be boring as hell it was free money for me and I pretty much had the run of the store.

I did ring out a few late-night customers that I see every night buying beer and smokes along with snacks but other than that the streets are empty.

"That would be all tonight for you miss?" I asked politely and the customer nodded.

"Yes please," She replied as I rang up her items.

Just as I was about to finish up the transaction I heard the doorbell ringing, glancing to see who was entering, it was a woman wearing a black mask and a black winter coat wearing high heels with black stockings.

This made me raise an eyebrow as I had never seen the woman around here before, I thanked the lady for shopping there as I handed her the bag of her stuff, and I silently watched the strange woman as the lady walked out of the store.

I sighed leaning back on the chair as I quietly watched the woman browse the snack and beer section with a hint of curiosity but I kept it subtle so as not to create an awkward situation.

About maybe five minutes later, she grabbed some snacks along with the most expensive wine available which is a bit surprising as nobody has ever purchased it as long as I worked here.

"Hello, miss, will this be all tonight?" I asked in that same professional and polite tone.

The lady didn't reply but just nodded and I shrugged as I assumed she wasn't a talker, I ringed up her snacks but when I rang up the wine the POS locked me out requiring me to enter a date of birth.

"Can I see your ID real quick?" I asked politely and she seemed hesitant.

"Sorry miss, but if you don't show me your ID, I cannot sell you this," I informed her and she sighed as she pulled out her wallet before showing me her ID card.

Reading the date of birth the expiration date along with the authenticity, everything seemed to check out as she was above the age of 18 but the issue was her face as she was wearing the mask.

"Again, I'm sorry, but could pull down your mask? I need to see if the picture on your ID matches yours," I instructed and she seemed a bit irritated.

"Come on, I'm over 18, and I got places to be," She complained and I sighed as it seemed she was another difficult customer.

"I deeply apologize ma'am, but this is the law we're talking about here and I unfortunately don't make the rules here. Either show your face or you'll have to leave the wine behind," I explained to her and she huffed still refusing.

Just as I was about to take the wine off, I heard the doorbell ringing and another lavish woman walked in looking confused.

"Yah, Chewie, what's taking so long?" She asked her.

"Well, this idiot here thinks my ID isn't mine," The woman nicknamed Chewie answered and she sighed.

"Probably because we're wearing masks. Just do it, Chewie, before we're late, and besides, nobody else is here at this hour," the strange lady pointed out, and Chewie rolled her eyes.

Reluctantly, the woman pulled down her mask and picture on the ID, and her face checked out, allowing the transaction to finish up and me to not have to put up with her rich, snotty attitude.

"I'm sorry about that, sir. She doesn't get along with strangers well," the lady apologized on her behalf.

"No worries, it's part of the job," I assured and the lady sighed in relief seeing I wasn't too angry about the petty issue.

As they grabbed the bag of items, I watched them leave making me sigh in relief as I could get back to my other duties. I have dealt with many stupid customers in the past but this was a first, having some rich snot thinking they're above everyone else and the law.

I shrugged it off as I went to cook up some fresh hot dogs for the hot food stock along with pretzels stuffing the pre-made dough in the oven.

After I finished restocking the store, I wiped down the counter when I heard the doorbell ringing again and I looked up to see a couple of women wearing the same masks as the previous two did but their clothing was more casual this time instead of the lavish designer clothes.

Naturally, I kept my guard up and ready for their nonsensical rich crap as I wiped down the counter until the two women walked up to me holding a couple of cases of soju.

"Good evening, ladies, will this be all today?" I asked politely.

"Yup, that will be all, do you need to see our IDs?" One of them asked and I was a bit surprised.

"Uhm, yes, please," I answered they showed their IDs without a fuss and pulled down masks proving the pictures matched.

"Aight, your ladies check out," I informed them.

"By any chance, did our little friend Chewie give you any trouble tonight?" Haseul asked kindly and I raised an eyebrow.

"Who again?" I asked a bit confused.

"You know, the tall Taiwanese woman that just walked in here," Heejin chimed in and I chuckled.

"Eh, somewhat, nagging about pulling down her mask," I answered but also kept it professional and they giggled.

"Yeah, she's like that, that's why we don't often take her out much because she always causes trouble and we can't have news reporting scandals about her, can we?" Haseul mentioned as she inserted her credit card into the pin pad.

"What do you mean?" I asked and they seemed surprised by my question.

Haseul and Heejin looked at each other for a moment, somehow assuming that I might've heard about them like they were some sort of celebrities. Or perhaps they are and I live under a rock.

"N-Nevermind, how much do I owe?" Haseul asked giving a nervous smile and I told her the amount due.

Once the transaction was complete I handed over the receipt and they left without saying another word. I grabbed the cleaning cloth when I noticed Haseul had left her phone on my counter.

I grabbed the phone and rushed out of the store but by the time I got out, I watched them start their car and drive away and I sighed as I went back into the store seeing no point in chasing after them.

Getting back behind the counter trying to figure out what to do next, after thinking for some time I got an idea, I grabbed a paperclip in the drawer and bent it out to make a needle.

I take the phone out of its case carefully making sure I don't damage or scratch anything, I find the hole on the side and insert the needle popping out the SIM card slot.

"Bingo," I muttered holding the SIM card.

Seeing there were no customers around and the store was neat and tightly for now, I had plenty of spare time to kill as I took out my laptop plugged the SIM card into the slot, and used software to decode the information and find her phone number.

When I finished getting the necessary information, I managed to write down her number before sending her a text informing her that she had left her phone at my store.

I placed my phone down feeling rather odd at how she easily trusted me despite being a stranger to her, I guess she must be that busy and desperate to trust me that much.

Welp, there's nothing much more I can do about it unfortunately and I can only wait until my shift is over so I can turn her phone over.

Looking up the address on Google, it luckily wasn't too far away and within walking distance, but it's also impressive that they are located in the most expensive hotel in the city which shouldn't be all that surprising.

When I finally finished my shift, I made my way to the hotel but as I was walking I just wondered why Haseul didn't ask how I got her number in the first place. Strange now I think about it...

Whatever, the least I can do now is return her phone and get out of their hair for good, and it's not like they'll drag me into their hotel room and make me their pet, right? Some sort of delusional Christmas wish.

Anyway, I finally made my way through the hotel lobby after getting the number of their room, I hopped onto the elevator to the top floor, making my way through the corridor filled with pots of plants and statues.

Walking past the various rooms, I managed to find the right one, I took a breath before hitting the doorbell button.

"Who could that be?!" I heard a female voice ask loudly.

"I hope it's not a saesang! Let me check!"

Hearing footsteps coming upon the door, assuming the person was looking through the peephole, the door opened soon after.

"Can I help you?" A squirrel-looking Japanese woman asked and I held up Haseul's phone.

"I came to return Haseul's phone, I believe this belongs to her," I informed her handing over the phone to her.

"Oh, why thank you but how did you find it?" The woman asked cautiously.

"Haseul texted me to come here, I used the SIM card to track her number... I hope that doesn't sound too creepy, I didn't know what else to do," I explained nervously hoping that they don't call the cops on me.

The woman looked at me checking me out and making sure I wasn't some creepy stalker or hacker coming to steal her information or something.

Soon after, she called Haseul over and she came over soon after sighing in relief that I arrived before handing back her phone.

"Oh, thank you so much! You're a real lifesaver!" Haseul thanked me profusely.

"Yeah, it's no problem, Noona, Merry Christmas," I replied and was about to walk away.

"Hold it!"

I froze in place, slowly turning around to see what they wanted, my stomach hung in balance as I could only imagine the worst about to come.

"You really thought we'd let you leave without thanking you properly~?" Haseul asked with a warm smile and I raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh... What?" I asked.

"What she's saying is that we want you to stay for the party, if you're free of course," Nayeon chimed in and my eyes widened.

Well, I'll fucking be...

"Uh... yeah, I am," I confessed nervously and Nayeon came forward taking my arm and dragging me into their room almost seeming the ridiculous Christmas wish was coming true after all... At least most of it.

As Nayeon got me inside the room, the squirrel woman closed the door behind us, I was taken into the living room where I was astonished to see it was all girls.

"Oh, Haseul, is that Y/N? The one you kept talking about?" A Thomas-looking woman asked and Haseul nodded.

"Well, he is cute,"

"Is he staying for the party?"

"Ugh, why is he here?"

"Yah! Chewie, be nice to our guest for once!"

"Hmph!"

As the Japanese woman introduced herself, Sana seated me on the couch next to her, keeping her arm locked around mine. The girls just chuckled amusingly, seeing how clingy she was around me.

"Yah, miss flirt, you might give the guy a nosebleed if you keep holding him like that?" Jeongyeon pointed out at Sana pressing her boobs on my arm and she giggled only putting more pressure.

"So what if I do? I do enjoy pampering... Especially young men," She replied with a sultry tone as she caressed my chest making me gulp.

"Oh, God, Unnie, you always are a creep. You know that?" Tzuyu rolled her eyes, but Sana took no notice.

"Don't worry about them sweetheart, I have a surprise Christmas present waiting in the bedroom... If you know what I mean~," She giggled in a flirty way and I swore I felt my nose was about to bleed any second.

Soon after, the sassy idol Chaewon approached me, wrapping an arm around mine and forcing me away from her, but Sana brought me back.

"Yah! I saw him first!" Sana bickered.

"No! I won't let you corrupt him! Especially on the Holidays!" Chaewon replied as she continued tugging at me.

"Yah! Girls enough already!" JiU butted in breaking them and sighing in relief as I felt I was gonna get split into two.

"Look, girls, like Chaewon said, it's the Holiday season, and Christmas is around the corner. How about we all just enjoy each other's company while it lasts? We've all had a busy year, and we certainly don't need to add more problems right now, so how about we move on and enjoy ourselves?" Jihyo proposed, and the girls agreed.

"Does that mean I go home?" I asked raising my hand and the girls all shook their heads.

"No!" They all said in unison and I sighed.

When the party was done being set up for tonight, the girls went out shopping, of course, I was dragged along against my will with Gaeul, Handong, Sana, and Chaewon.

We all split into multiple groups, and I stayed with the four girls, who kept me in place and took me around the massive mall full of toy shops, gaming surplus, and much more as the girls shopped for clothes.

"First off, my dear, let's upgrade that Dinosaur of a phone," Handong pointed out.

"But it's the iPhone 4..." I mentioned and Gaeul facepalmed making me confused as this is the latest phone... At least that's what I thought.

"Pabo! Were you living under a rock? Come, let us show you the magic of modern technology," Chaewon said, taking my hand and leading me into the Apple store.

Looking around, I marveled at the accessories for Airpods, Beats, and iPads, and I was surprised to see the new iPhone lineup. I was living under a rock, being so busy with work and staying at my apartment most of the time.

One of the staff members approached, asking if they needed assistance. The girls asked the guy for the most expensive iPhone they had, and he took us over to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which made my jaw drop as it was a whopping $1,599, the initial price for 1 TB.

Of course, being idols this was nothing to them as they paid for the new phone and soon set me up with the new model.

"Jeez, I know I returned your phone but this is quite a bit much," I commented checking out my new phone.

"No worries, dear, this will not even be close to denting our bank accounts compared to the rest of the shopping trip," Sana giggled.

"So best prepare yourself to be spoiled all day," Chaewon said, and I sighed as I was dragged along with them.

The entire day was spent just the girls buying shit for me like luxury brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and even Lego sets that I've wanted. All of this would've made me broke but I guarantee none of these expenses wasn't even close to making dents to their accounts.

"Come on, Y/N, we still got more shops to look at! I gotta get Christmas gifts for my family!" Chaewon said in a demanding tone as she held my hand.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me I need to find something for my siblings," Sana remembered as she looked around the stores.

"Same, I gotta find gifts for my parents," Handong mentioned.

"I also have to find a gift for my Oppa and parents," Gaeul chimed as she looked around the stores to see if there were gifts they might like.

Following the girls around various stores, it felt like forever as the girls searched the clothing stores and jewelry shops until they finally settled on the perfect presents.

"Ah, this is perfect! My Eomma is gonna love this!" Sana said in a satisfied manner as she inspected the custom butterfly necklace that was laced with diamonds.

"Wow, that is so pretty, Unnie!" Gaeul agreed.

Wrapping up the Christmas mall shopping, we all reunited holding multiple shopping bags but I saw Jihyo holding the most compared to me.

"You gonna lend a girl a hand~?" Jihyo playfully asked and I looked down seeing my hands were full as it is.

"Kidding, Y/N, I see you're hands look like they're about to fall off and I've handled more bags than this, especially when the girls go out shopping in many places around the world," Jihyo chuckled.

We walked to the two vans we took to drive here placing all the bags into the trunks before I joined Gaeul and the three girls in one of the vans.

"You look tired, my dear, you can lay your head on my shoulder or lap if you want~," Sana offered wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Yah! No, listen to that old hag! My body is more comfy!" Gaeul rebutted and they bickered making me groan as I leaned against the headrest enduring the noisy girls the entire ride.

Once we finally made it back to the hotel, we carried the shopping bags inside the room making sigh in relief as the bags were heavy as hell.

The girls were starving, of course, JiU, Haseul, and Jihyo agreed to order room service making lots of orders as the girls wrote down what they wanted.

"So what do you want, my dear, Y/N~?" Heejin asked handing over the paper and pen.

"Uhm, not sure if I want... Hehe," I politely declined and she pouted.

"Oh, come on, Y/N, it's on us and we did promise to spoil you~," Heejin insisted and I sighed as I couldn't resist that adorable pout.

Writing down what I wanted the girls chimed in money to pay for the food before making the order on the phone, Choerry and Liz sat next to me hugging me from both sides.

"So how do you think of the party so far~?" Choerry playfully asked.

"It's something... Though I never expected to be here for simply returning a phone," I nervously answered and they giggled.

"I know, kinda reminds you of one of those Wattpad fanfictions, huh?" Liz asked and I found it funny now I think about it.

"And would you know that, Liz?" Leeseo asked raising an eyebrow and Liz blushed almost sheepishly admitting she had been reading fan fiction.

"Oh, no worries, Liz! I think we all have read some of them at one point, I do find them interesting and some are quite ho-" SuA was about to say but Yves quickly covered her mouth.

"Hey! We have babies here!" Yves shushed her as she pointed at Leeseo and Eunchae.

"But I'm an adult now, right~?" Eunchae teasingly mentioned.

"Doesn't matter! You are still a baby!" Yves refuted and Eunchae pouted.

Just as I thought Liz and Choerry were enough, I found Yeojin sitting on my lap and curling up to me. She hugged me and nuzzled her face into my neck, which I found oddly cute.

"Yah! Yeojin! I want a turn!" Eunchae demanded but Yeojin stuck out her tongue in a mockery manner making the girls roll their eyes playfully watching the Maknaes fighting over my attention.

Well, my friends, I guess the lesson here is that you should expect the unexpected, especially during the Holiday season. Here I am, a background character being the main protagonist in this new world.

What do I expect next? I don't know, but I do know that I am not going anywhere with them all over me. Merry Christmas.

[upat4amwiththemoon]

I’m not sure if you’re taking requests, but if you are…Reader is the child of Maya and Carina. R is feeling a bit neglected by their moms. Missing events, pulling crazy hours at work, not really being there for Reader. R tries to confront Maya and Carina, but they don’t know what to do about crazy schedules. They work really hard to make reader feel more secure and loved by them. If you’re not taking requests, then please ignore this.

Time management

Summary: Showing up matters.

Pairing: Marina x daughter!reader

Warnings: a pinch of angst

Word count: 2075

a/n: what do you mean some of these are based on my experiences?? You can’t prove that!

masterlists | guidelines

Y/N takes a few deep breaths as she waits for her turn in the backstage area. She’s going through her lines in her head, making sure she won’t forget anything once she steps on the small stage, even though this isn’t the opening night.

She has been part of a youth theatre group for over two years now, and this is the first time she has gotten the lead role. Her nerves are high, but so is her excitement. This is a big moment for her, she is proud of herself, and she really hopes her moms will be proud of her too.

As her costar finishes their line, Y/N rolls her shoulders back, straightens her posture, and walks out to the stage. She starts speaking her lines to the audience, not yet acknowledging the other actor on the stage, this is her character’s inner monologue.

Her eyes scan over the crowd of people as discreetly as possible. There isn’t one empty chair in the room. This play became fairly popular after getting a spot in the local newspaper. She showed the page to her moms, practically glowing with pride. Her face isn’t showing any changes, but her mind is turning blue. Her mothers aren’t here. It is the last show, and her mothers aren’t here.

Still, she continues on. And she does wonderfully. All the teens come up to the stage at the end and take a bow as they listen to the applause with wide smiles. Someone’s parent brought everyone flowers, and it makes Y/N bitter, but she smiles and thanks them, her grip tight on the bouquet.

After changing out of her costume and packing her things, Y/N walks back home. It’s only a fifteen minute walk, so she is unlocking the front door by no time.

“I’m home!” She yells out, shutting the door and throwing her keys on the table in the hallway. “Anybody here?” Kicking off her shoes, she walks deeper into the house, only to find it empty.

Y/N sighs and walks into her room. She should’ve expected this. Both of her moms have demanding jobs, they won’t be able to attend to all of her achievements..or any of them.

This is just how it is.

Y/N’s hand shakes as she holds onto a piece of paper. It’s already crumbled by her grip, but she makes sure the text in it is still readable. Her body continues moving slightly, either from nerves or the uncomfortable feeling of the hard plastic chair she is sitting on.

She lets out a quiet sigh. Her turn is coming up. Soon, she will have to get up in front of all her peers and their parents, and give a speech that she wrote. Of course, Y/N accepted this responsibility when her teacher came up to her and said they believe her to be the best person for the job. And who is Y/N to say no to that? An adult figure comes to her and gives her a compliment, basically telling her they’re proud of her. She craves that. She needs it.

A round of applause brings her back to the moment. The teacher in front of the microphone is looking at her with a smile on their face, they’re signaling it’s her turn next.

Taking a deep breath, she straightens her posture and listens to the teacher’s introduction of her. After it, she stands up and walks in front of the microphone, thanking them for this opportunity.

Her eyes glance over everyone in the room. She doesn’t see her moms, but Y/N doesn’t panic. They have to be in the back, maybe they got in late, she reminded them of this event too many times for them to not show up.

She unwraps her paper and places it on the stand. “Good morning, students and parents. I’m thankful to be up here today, especially when knowing my school days are minimal.” She smiles. “The last months of school are scary, I’m sure many of my peers agree, there’s so much uncertainty in change. What am I supposed to do after? Where do I go? Who am I?”

Y/N takes a deep breath, “I don’t know what I want to do with my future. The fear of not being or doing something great debilitates me, because wouldn’t it be a waste of a life if I never did something memorable.” Her eyes stay on the audience, only occasionally glancing down at her paper. She has memorized this speech. “My moms change lives everyday, one of them is a firefighter and the other is an OB-GYN, she literally brings new life into this world.” She giggles quietly, though her worries are growing by the minute. Her moms are nowhere to be seen.

“You’d think that with parents like that, my need to change the world would be bigger. But they’re actually the reason why they shrink every day. They tell me that life isn’t about doing something big and great that future generations will remember you for. It’s about love, friends, family, the goodness of your heart, it’s about making yourself proud.” Y/N turns the page around. “My mother Maya tells me to imagine being with little me and telling her about my life. Would she be happy? Would her eyes shine in wonder because she knows I haven’t forgotten her?”

Swallowing, her eyes cast down. She’s gripping the sides of the paper tighter now. Her moms aren’t here. “I would like to say yes. Because even though I haven’t always done the right thing, she would still hug me and tell me it’s okay, because I’m still me, no matter what. You know why?” She looks at the audience with a lopsided smile, “because even though I can’t always recognize my reflection in the mirror, my laugh is still the same horrible cackle I had as a kid.” There are some laughs in the audience, especially from her friends, who have heard her laugh before.

“So, change is scary and you’ll probably never figure out who you truly are. But that’s okay, the little kid you imagine sitting next to you knows, and they think you’re pretty great.” Y/N folds her paper and gives the audience a bright smile. “Thank you again for giving me this opportunity, I hope you all have a great day, and remember to stay true to yourself.” The audience starts clapping and Y/N walks back to her seat.

“That was awesome!” One of her friends whispers, holding her arm with so much excitement.

“My moms aren’t here.” Is the only thing Y/N whispers back.

“Oh shit,” her friend frowns, “I’m sorry.”

She shrugs and gives her a small smile. “It doesn’t matter.” With that, she turns back to the teacher who has gone back to the microphone.

It’s already two in the night and Y/N is still up. She is sitting on the couch, watching the television while she waits for her moms to come back home from work. They wouldn’t like her being awake this late, but she doesn’t care. She is angry, and sad, and she needs to yell to someone, preferably her moms.

The front door opens quietly after twenty minutes, it’s her moms trying to come in without waking up sleeping Y/N. Their steps sound slow and sluggish, but they’re still giggling together. Somehow it angers Y/N even more.

“What are you still doing up?” Maya is the first one to come to the living room, though Carina is right behind her. “Is everything okay?” She drops her bag down to the floor before sitting on the other couch.

“Where were you?”

Carina looks confused, “we were at work, mia cara.”

Y/N scoffs, “my school event was today.” She states, glaring at her mothers. “You know, the one where I held a speech that I wrote. I reminded you about it like a million times!”

“Oh, honey,” Maya sighs, “we told you we’d try to get out of work for it, but you know how our jobs are.” She looks genuinely remorseful, but none of that matters to Y/N at this moment.

“It doesn’t look like you tried hard enough. I first told you about it months ago! They couldn’t give you one day off with that much notice?”

“Do you think we wanted to miss it?”

“Well it sure looks like you didn’t care about it, or me for that matter.”

“Y/N-“

Carina tries to speak up, but Y/N doesn’t let her speak, “no! I do think you wanted to miss this, I think you’ve wanted to miss every single event I’m in. You know why?” Her brows are raised as she stands up. “I don’t remember what the last important event of mine was where you actually showed up. You’ve missed all of my plays, my school events, sports games, everything. You’re never there! Nor are you ever here. You guys never have time to talk to me, or, or help me with my homework.” Her speech is starting to get faster and tears are starting to gather in her eyes. “I doubt you even know what’s going on with my life anymore!”

Maya and Carina try to defend themselves, but nothing comes out of their mouths. Y/N is right. Even they can’t remember the last time they spent proper quality time with their daughter.

“So what’s your excuse, huh? You don’t care about me anymore? You don’t want me anymore?” She shrugs, sniffling quietly. “I’d rather know than wonder why my moms don’t make time for me anymore.”

The hurt and vulnerability in her voice breaks Maya and Carina’s heart. Their daughter should never have to doubt their love for her. “I’m so sorry, love.” Maya stands up, taking a few steps forward. “We’re both so sorry. We just- I guess we didn’t realize how much time we were spending at work.”

Carina stands up and pulls Y/N into an embrace, which she resist at first, but gives up and leans in right after. “I’m sorry, mia cara, I’m sorry. You’re my baby and I love you more than anything else in the world.” Carina whispers, tears falling down her cheeks. “You’re right, we haven’t been very good moms lately, but I promise you that will change, okay? We will do better.” She pulls away, setting her palms on both of Y/N’s cheeks to look at her face. She can’t stand seeing it with such a painful expression, especially one that she caused.

“You’re just saying that.” Y/N’s voice is more quiet now, her anger having turned to sadness.

“We’re not.” Maya states with a firm tone, setting her hand on Y/N’s shoulder. “We will start taking days off work, you’re more important. Do you think you could hold your speech for us now?”

Y/N shakes her head, looking down. “I don’t think I want to, not today at least.”

“Okay,” Maya frowns but she understands, “some other day then.”

“Yeah,” biting the inside of her cheek, Y/N wipes the wetness off of her cheeks, “do you think I could sleep in your bed this night?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Carina wraps one of her arms around Y/N as the three of them start walking towards the master bedroom.

They change into their pajamas and do the rest of their evening routine in silence. Y/N is the first one to climb onto the bed, already getting under the covers while her mothers whisper in the bathroom. She’s already half asleep when they turn off the lights and limb onto the bed, sandwiching her.

Carina starts playing with Y/N’s hair while Maya wraps her arms around her. “We love you so so much, you know that, right?” Her voice is quiet, not wanting to disturb her.

“Usually,” Y/N’s eyes are already closed, “but sometimes I doubt it. I really love you guys too.” She whispers.

Maya tightens her hold at the words. They pain her, but she doesn’t have anyone else to blame but herself. “We’ll make sure to remind you everyday.” The two women kiss Y/N’s forehead, saying their goodnights when they notice their daughter’s tiredness.

In their heads, they both vow to make Y/N feel more loved and cared for than she ever has.

[sweetkpopmusings]

seventeen as dreamwalkers <3

a/n: i started this after "last night" dropped because i was thoroughly obsessed with the concept. since i went to the last show of their tour, i needed to escape into thoughts of them, lest i wallow in my post-concert depression </3 please enjoy these sweet moments that i hope you share with them in your dreams tonight :,-) pics not mine~

content: dreamwalker!seventeen, supernatural au | wc: 2.3k | warnings: none really! | pairing: seventeen x gn!reader | requests: open

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

seungcheol♡‧₊˚

inside jokes with your best friend, a refreshing breeze on a hot day, pure relaxation

the first time you saw seungcheol, you were charmed by his boy-next-door looks and grounded energy. seungcheol didn’t start with a special plan for your dreams. he wanted, more than anything, to get to know you. in his mind, the better he knew you, the better he could comfort you, bring you joy, and make your dreams a safe space overall. it turned out, however, that the best way to spend your dreams was simply bonding with seungcheol. he was surprised at first when you wanted to know more about him. seunghceol often forgot that he could be the center of attention, but, after meeting you, he was reminded of his worth. it wasn’t long until he happily shared the parts of himself no one else had seen, cherishing every part of you he got to hold through each night. one night, after a particularly vulnerable conversation, he sighed contentedly and admitted, “i hope i get to spend every night like this, with you, for the rest of my life.”

jeonghan♡‧₊˚

someone tucking your hair behind your ear, freshly cut fruit, cherry blossoms 

jeonghan’s sweetness was the most refreshing thing you had ever dreamt of. after he grew more comfortable with you, his mischievous side crept out, but, in the beginning, he was the definition of charming. even after he started joking around and fondly teasing you, there was a tenderness underneath every word and action. jeonghan wanted to be gentle with you. he valued the trust you gave him, and he was well aware of the responsibility that came with visiting your dreams. therefore, regardless of the silly activities he conjured up for the night,  jeonghan always asked you how you were doing. he loved celebrating the highs with you and holding you through the lows. jeonghan, it seemed, thought nothing was sweeter than sharing time and space with you. once, he made you promise that you’d never dream about anyone else, smiling with his pinky outstretched to you and his heart on his sleeve.

joshua♡‧₊˚

a happy ending, finding the perfect song when you need it most, the smell of flowers blooming

from the moment you met joshua in your dreams, you knew he was a romantic. you didn’t have to assume; he told you immediately. joshua thought that, if you two were interacting in such a romantic space, then he, as the resident gentleman, should take the lead in curating your dreams. every night, you two recreated movie scenes. at first, it was classic romances. after a while, he asked you about your most beloved characters and ships, wanting you to experience the love you admired on the screen. it was funny, cheesy, heartwarming, and so very sweet to act like this with joshua. at the end of every performance, he would give you a huge round of applause and claim that you both were award-winning actors. though he was too shy to tell you this, joshua’s favorite scenes to recreate were the ones in which he got to say, “i love you.” 

junhui♡‧₊˚

your favorite plushie, fully belly laughs, hearing “i miss you” from someone you love

you were caught off guard when you encountered an unbelievably statuesque man in your dreams. you were even more surprised when the first thing he asked was, “do you want to play hide and seek?” junhui understood the importance of dreams being a reprieve from the stresses of the real world. that’s why he designed different playgrounds for you to enjoy. every night you met, you would laugh through the night, racing down slides, watching jun jump off the swings, or, of course, playing hide and seek. he always had the biggest smile when he played with you. while he knew he was there to make your dreams wonderful, he never shied away from saying that every moment he spent with you was a dream come true. usually, after saying that, he’d giggle relentlessly and dare you to chase him around the playground. you complied every time, still unable to believe how free and invincible jun made you feel.

soonyoung♡‧₊˚

sunlight reflecting off clear water, freshly picked berries, a voice sweetly calling your name

soonyoung found you during one of your lowest nights. or, rather, he looked for you, sensing your pain and wanting nothing more than to ease your burden. with every smile, with every gesture, with every word spoken, he made you feel light as a feather, regardless of how heavy the world was. soonyoung buzzed with excitement as soon as you met, and it was contagious during each visit. soonyoung told you stories. he asked you a million questions, wanting to know your habits, likes, dreams–really everything about you–but he always reminded you that you could tell him “no.” you rarely felt the need to, though. soonyoung was the softest person you ever knew, and the comfort corner he created in your dreams was where you found complete authenticity and peace. the second you confessed this to him, he practically squealed from the elation of it all. soonyoung thanked you over and over, admitting that bonding with you is one of the greatest gifts he has ever received.

wonwoo♡‧₊˚

sunlight breaking through the curtains, a compliment you’ve always wanted to hear, a dash of cinnamon

wonwoo believed that dreams were a source of relief, a reprieve from whatever turbulence waking life may offer. when he met you, he saw the tension in your shoulders and that broke his heart–how could someone like you be carrying so much weight even while you slept? at that first encounter, wonwoo led you to a bench swing beneath a beautiful tree, sitting beside you and breathing peacefully. he let you know that, no matter what, he would offer you quiet time to be yourself. when you suggested you two have a picnic, he happily agreed, ensuring your favorite items were available and that the weather was just right. his most cherished time with you was when you rested your bodies on a soft sofa, and you watched him as he read you his favorite stories. he wasn’t sure what the look in your eye meant. before he asked, you answered, “everywhere with you feels like home. when i look at you, i see my home.” the blush that covered his skin let you know that wonwoo saw his home when he looked at you too.

jihoon♡‧₊˚

the echo of piano keys, familiar footsteps, a promise to return that’s fulfilled

the first time you saw jihoon in a dream, you awoke with only the feeling of serenity and a brief but vivid memory of his angelic face. even as his visits became more frequent, you were always left with little more than a glimpse of him. jihoon felt just out of reach and entirely a part of you at the same time. one morning, by some stroke of luck, you remembered asking him in the dream, “why can’t i ever remember you properly?” he smiled sweetly, amused by your desire to engrave him in your mind. he admitted, “all i wanted to be was a safe place for you to rest. i never thought you’d want anything more than that.” when you told him you wished to carry memories of him in your waking life, he promised that you’d remember him each morning when you opened your eyes, just as you had recognized him every night when you closed them. jihoon kept his promise, leaving you with such clear memories that the feeling of safety he created for you every night enveloped you throughout your days too.

seokmin♡‧₊˚

the first day of spring, secrets shared in a pillow fort, laughing until you can’t breathe

you were the first person seokmin ever visited in their dreams, so he had no idea what he should do. in a panic, he told you he could sing before he even told you his name. as soon as you heard his angelic voice, you knew there was no going back. seokmin was thrilled. he kept a running list of your favorite songs, learning them as quickly as he could. seokmin also sang songs that reminded him of you, filling your nights with the sweetest serenades. nothing made seokmin feel more special than the sparkle in your eyes and the look on your face when you listened to him sing. he truly felt that he would be content if you were the only person he ever sang for. you were his perfect audience, which he told you many, many times. once, when you asked how he sang so well, he casually replied, “i’ve been practicing all my life because music is one of the most important things to me.” as he watched you applaud for him, he wanted to add, i never knew that singing would lead me to the most important person in my life, but i’m glad i worked so hard for you.

mingyu♡‧₊˚

the glow of a fireplace in a dark room, bedsheets hung in the yard to dry, a smile meant for only you

mingyu made your dreams a home. he knew that he could take you anywhere, explore the whole world with you if he wanted, but truly he just wanted to spend time with you. mingyu loved seeing you comfortable. he was enraptured by you, and he loved nothing more than creating a life with you. together you two spent time making meals, rearranging furniture, playing games, having deep conversations, or sipping tea and enjoying each other’s company. to some, it may have sounded strange, but mingyu insisted that you two plan a future together. you resisted at first, unsure how planning a future with the man who was only in your dreams would be helpful. then, because mingyu is adorably persistent, you played along, not really believing it was more than fantasy. after some time, however, you got the same feeling in your heart that mingyu had all along: we were meant to meet each other. it started here, but it’s only a matter of time before we find each other after the sunrise. 

minghao♡‧₊˚

whispered confessions, your beloved’s fingers brushing against yours, the pink clouds at dawn

dreams of minghao should be considered the eighth wonder of the world. every time he appears, he recreates beautiful places he has traveled to before, so you can experience them too. he cherishes nothing more than walking beside you, either in silent contemplation or excited conversation, through all the locales that left a lasting impression on his mind. minghao cannot fathom spending his time in any other way. you, after all, have left quite the impression on his heart. he will do anything to find you again and again, just to witness the glimmer in your eyes when he shares something beautiful with you. what’s most engraved in his brain is the moment you stood beside him and admitted, “every special place i’ve been to, i have been there with you.” minghao spends every night trying to find the right way to express how your dreams have become the most special place he’s ever experienced.

seungkwan♡‧₊˚

the moon’s reflection in still water, kind conversations on city streets, the smile of someone who knows you well

seungkwan thought it was magical, how he could find you every night. to him, you were the dream. he never wanted to show off or to make anything so spectacular that you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the shared energy between you two. as such, he loved nothing more than to create a star-filled night sky for you. you’d tell him your favorite things, and he’d rearrange the stars to your liking. as clichéd as it was, seungkwan adored watching you stargaze. he marveled at your beauty every time your dreams brought you together. one night, when your eyes sparkled while observing a constellation of your favorite flower, seungkwan murmured, “ah, you are so beautiful, my sky.” his ears turned bright red, but the sweet smile on your face meant he had no regrets about his confession. 

hansol♡‧₊˚

finding the perfect idea, someone who understands you completely, the warmth of your favorite place

you laughed the first time you met hansol because, rather than a grand entrance, he casually walked up to you and asked, “so…what do you want to do?” this relaxed energy permeated every night you spent with hansol. eventually, you two developed a habit of trying out different crafts together, mostly because you could laugh when you failed and fawn over each other’s successes. hansol created a place for you to experiment and express yourself, and he did it so naturally you felt he had been by your side your entire life. when you confessed this to him, he confessed that he felt the same way. hansol even had a theory that you two had been meeting in dreams your whole lives, despite only remembering the times you met as adults. at first, you thought it was just another of his silly conspiracies. you changed your mind, though, when you woke up to see the origami he made the previous night next to your bed. your connection with hansol transcended dreams, and this paper figure of your favorite animal proved that.

chan♡‧₊˚

childhood belief, a long-awaited victory, hearing “i’m proud of you” from someone you admire

you’ll never forget the first time you saw chan in a dream. he was bright, bubbly, and all around ready for a good time. he wanted to show you how far you could push the limits of reality in your subconscious, and he did so by trying out different superpowers with you. there were no villains to fight–unless you wanted them–but there were plenty of ways to transform with superhuman abilities. chan ran through all the classics with you: invisibility, teleporation, flying, etc. then, he would laugh hysterically while you two tried to invent new superpowers. anything from changing coffee flavors by snapping your fingers or being able to breathe underwater, chan wanted to try it with you. he convinced you that all it took to save the world was a smile, which is something he gave you every time you looked at him.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Off the Page 2

Warnings: non/dubcon and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: skinny!Steve

Part of the Bookstore AU

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

You take a page out of Maria’s book and sleep on the train. The night at the hotel wasn’t long enough. By the time you ate, you were too tired to enjoy the fancy tub and your alarm woke you well before you were ready. As your stop comes, you’re still groggy and barely ready for your evening meet and greet. 

Isn’t this the dream? Running yourself ragged as a bestselling author? Seeing all the fans who love the words that you wrote? Who see themselves in the characters you created? So much a dream that you feel as if you’re falling asleep again. 

Wake up! You splash water over your face in the bookstore bathroom. It’s not glamourous. You have the small space to refresh before you face the masses. You hoped for a smaller crowd given the time of day and the lesser known location. How wrong you are; you can hear the buzz of fans through the walls. 

“Hey,” Maria enters without knocking. She’s like that. You and your agent have gotten rather cozy in those last weeks. A bit too much at times. “Almost ready?” 

“Yeah, sorry, I... is this blouse okay?” You ask as you touch the satin, patterned with violets, “I don’t even know why I bought this?” 

“It looks fine,” she assures, “you’re not a writer if you’re not at least a little eccentric, right?” 

“Oh, and what about book agents?” You challenge, “are they all so stylish?’ 

“Of course. We’re the face that sells the tour. All you have to do is smile and sacrifice your hand to carpal tunnel syndrome,” she teases, “just you wait until the interview. That's the heavy lifting.” 

“Interview?” You check yourself one last time in the mirror. 

“Didn’t I mention? The local station wants a sit down before we’re off tomorrow,” she explains, “I said yes. It’s a decent check and good business. Any publicity is good publicity. Publisher signed off on it too so... can’t back out.” 

“Oh, and you were going to tell me when?” 

“Right now,” she shrugs, “come on, your adoring fans are waiting for their elf queen.” 

“Oof, don’t,” you cringe, “you make it sound so lame.” 

“If it was lame, you wouldn’t be here,” she asserts. 

“Suppose you’re right,” you pack your things up into your bag and shove it in the corner. “Alright, I’m ready.” 

You follow her into the hall and through to the main area of the bookstore. It’s been closed early for the event, a meet and greet exclusive to those who claimed the limited one hundred tickets for sale. Each ticket includes the cost of a free signed edition and bookmark. Funny to think you’d once been on the other side of one of these things. The eager beaver reader aspiring to be the star author. 

As you come into sigh of the audience, they cheer. You’re still not used to that either. You wave and smile out at them. The moderator, an employee of the bookshop chain, calls for their attention over the microphone and introduces you. There’s another softer round of applause. 

You take your seat on the stool and let out a breath. You start with the reading. You try not to do the same chapter, instead cycling through your favourites. Some you even know by rote now. 

Then comes the Q and A session. You know all the answers. You find it’s always the same questions. Besides, you created this world, these characters, if there isn’t anything written, then you get to decide. 

A group a giggly women finish asking their questions about the ‘rumoured’ sequel to which you give your PR friendly deflection. After them, you wait for the next person to appear. There’s some scuffling at the microphone as they lower it. You wait patiently and smile at the slender blond man. He’s vaguely familiar. 

“Hi, um, my question is, whether Emeris is truly the promised knight or if he was just in the right place at the right time?” 

You nod as you listen, your thoughts whirring. It’s not an entirely out-there question. It isn’t what he’s asking that gives you pause. You swear you’ve seen him before. 

“Well, we can’t know for sure. I like to think of the promised knight as not a specific person fated from birth but rather a possibility for all. The promised knight is the one who can step up in that time of need and do what it is needed,” you explain. “I hope that makes sense.” 

The man doesn’t speak right away, himself stalling before he can respond, “yes, I guess it does. Thank you.” 

He lingers at the microphone for a moment as he watches you. He clutches a worn copy to his chest tightly. That’s familiar too. 

Strange. You're sure there’s lots of people who double dip. You have to admit you did it once yourself. Sometimes you just need that thrill.  

The blond man steps back and lets the next person ahead of him but he doesn’t go far. He stays close to the queue of people and you feel him staring you down. Everyone is watching you but his gaze just feels so much more intense. You do your best to focus on the person at the microphone. 

Several others ask their questions or just give their praise. The man remains. You can’t shake the sense of him. He’s like a shadow. You don’t know why you’re so aware of him. 

Finally, you finish up and it’s time to announce the special prize. It’s a raffle set up by ticket number. The package isn’t anything special; a collector’s edition, a mug, and some pens that look like quills. The moderator brings up a box filled with slips and you reach inside. You read out the number and the crowd mutters. 

“Me,” a deep voice rings out, a hand popping up from lower down. The blond man steps forward and waves his ticket, “it’s mine.” 

Strange coincidence. You keep your smile plastered on. You don’t need another Maria lecture about your tired moping. You’re handed the prize basket and you carry it down to meet the man. 

“Congratulations,” you say as he meets you at the lip of the low platform. 

“Thank you,” he beams up brightly, “it’s nice to see you again.” 

You try not to show your surprise, “yeah, uh... you too.” You don’t know what else to say. You don’t remember exactly where you saw him and definitely not a name; you hear too many of those to keep track. 

“Really?” He breathes. 

“Er, enjoy your prize. Thank you so much for coming.” 

“Of course. Always. Anytime,” he avows shakily. “’To you, my queen, I bid my blood and breath.’” 

You hesitate. That’s from the book. Emeris proclaims it to the elvish protagonist on her quest to reclaim her stolen homeland. It’s flattering yet slightly unsettling to have it recited to you. 

“Have a good night,” you say gently and turn to walk back across the platform. You’re tired, you need to get out of here. 

[infoglitch]

My very bad takes on rwby ships (the well known ones atleast. And yes most are jaune)

(i do not represent anyone except myself so do not judge others based on me because if you do. That's YOUR problem. Not the peoples you think I represent)

Hoi! I think its time I get crucified. Kidding obviously. This community isn't completely toxic, that much is obvious. Now let's get the obvious ones out the way

Bmblb.

Ok... time for the one I don't wanna touch because I don't have nice things to say.

Ok first. I don't mind this ship. Wanna get that out of the way because unlike most would assume. I don't hate or love this ship.

BUT. I got problems with how it was made fucking cannon. First off, fuck you rt and your "from the beeginning". I don't fuckin care how much you try to cover your incompetent asses. If the pants don't fuckin fit. Don't fuckin wear them!

Second. There was no real build up (you can argue there was. But it wasn't good. Anyone could have done a better job than rt). The only real thing that could "prove" this was planned was that yang "flirted" with Blake. Now you might be saying-

"oh but she explained her trauma to Blake that clearly means shes interested in her" in which. NO. Yes this moment is VERY good basis to build off these twos dynamic. And if rt kept building onto this by having yang slowly break down Blake's wall before eventually getting her to open up, I would be applauding rt for it, hell I would be a fan of it probably because for these two, it fuckin works! Blake clearly is alot more reserved and is rather prickly meanwhile yang is the rambunctious, ass-whooping, badass, and overall awesome ball of joy (sounds weird saying especially since yang is my favorite character). yet rt dropped the fuckin ball the moment sun showed up. Now I love sun and i enjoy black sun. But for the love of GOD if this shit is from the beginning than this clearly proves it was fucking not!

After volume three who did blake spend most of the time with in menagerie and rt was clearly trying to push? Not bmblb! BLACK-FUCKING-SUN. Let's give a round of applause to RT for making the dumbest decision of saying bmblb was planned from the start because bitch it was not.

And what did we get for yang. Oh only her trauma from one losing an arm and the fact she has PTSD from it. Oh yeah let's not forget the fact yang had ABANDONMENT ISSUES. Yet the moment her and Blake meet back up suddenly it doesn't fuckin matter because Weiss managed to somehow fix it by telling yang that Blake had suffered as well (i know that's not exactly what happened but point is I fuckin HATE the scene where Blake rejoins the team and yang is just "OK! I totally still don't have problems with the fact you left me and the team at both my and our teams lowest moment." Personally fuck you rt)

.....where was I again? Oh yeah rwby ships. So before I fuckin lose it at rt's incompetence at story telling, developing a romance and character building- let's move on to..... whiterose.... SON OF A BIT-

Whiterose

Look does the fact I don't care for BB and the fact I hate white rose with such a burning passion make me look like a misogynistic homophobic asshole a bad thing? Yes. But I just can't enjoy this damn ship because I just find it so FUCKING BORING!

I get it, it's "opposites attract". But I just don't care because this is so boring and basic that I can't even be glad a gay ship is actually popular instead of the same boring straight pairings.

I don't care if ruby could help Weiss be less of a bitch. Because that troop has been done to fucking DEATH.

There's not even the fact that it be a middle finger to Weisses dad because guess what he's already got his comupance and is also you know, FUCKIN DEAD. There's no satisfaction from any of this ship for me. Is it a bad ship? Fuck no we aren't even going to cover THAT!

But do I like this ship and hope it'll be cannon? No. And if it is? I won't care and I'm not even gonna celebrate it. You can take a fat piss on my grave before I say whiterose becoming cannon is the only option.

Now what ship is next- oh. Oh no. It's the ship everyone enjoys.

Arkos

Look I'm already gonna get fuckin crucified for my opinion of WR and BB. I don't feel like pissing off even MORE people!

... ok fine I'm saying my opinion.

I don't care for this ship. I don't care for pyrrha and I'm actively glad she is dead.

I won't even elaborate because this ship is dead and will gladly piss on its grave.

Rest in piss arkos. Overrated as fuck!

Next up is... rose garden. Finally a ship I dont mind supporting... but also... one thats gonna be hard to say

Rose garden

Look... their just fuckin cinnamon rolls and I love it!

"but you hated arkos yet both jaune and pyrrha were cinna-"

Uhp! No! None of your bullshit. But I will explain.

I don't care for arkos because I don't care for the fact pyrrha has no development. Not even a personality. She was always "the one girl that has feelings for jaune" which don't get me wrong, jaunes one of my favorite characters but I prefer the character he would be shipped with are actually characters and not... cardboard.

Now thankfully Oscar does not suffer the same fate. He's not infatuated with ruby, he is just a "kid" who just found a wizard stuck in his head and now he's off into a war he never knew about. He was timid (batshit terrified even) and yet when he sees the courage shown by the cast he slowly tries to be like them. with the moment between ruby and Oscar being a moment I fuckin love. Oscar is being honest and asking ruby why, why does she keep fighting? Keep marching into a unknown war that could very well kill her. And ruby simply answers by admitting she Is aware she might die, she even lost good people during the fall of beacon but she kept going because she wanted to be a huntress, she wanted to HELP people.

One of the many reasons I love rose garden is because these two fuckin dorks grow WITH each other instead of the simple "oh I'm the love interest of the main character I'm gonna be a cardboard cutout of the character I should be!".

I can't put it into proper words but I just love rose garden.

Whiteknight

Wait... are we actually talking about white knight and not another ship that I probably don't care about and get crucified because of them?

FUCK YEAH!

Gentlemen and ladies. I am proud to say I am whiteknight trash because damnit I love this ship.

I will say it now this ship is the shit that gives my Tumblr account LIFE. And like rose garden I can't even find words to describe how this ship makes me my brain go up with dopamine. This ship is just my favorite ship. Weiss and jaune have had so much buildup. Starting with jaune being a idiot and trying to flirt with a very much more cold Weiss (HA) To Weiss laughing at jaunes reaction to his voice after the high of depression that was V9! The little smile jaune had as he heard Weiss giggle. To the mother fuckin mature scene that has skyrocketed to memehood! I just love this ship because it is just everything I want out of a romance subplot!

Knightshade

Oh... oh we already at some.... unpopular ships.

Now this isn't exactly ship related as pyrrha was to arkos but I just don't like Blake, so you might be thinking "oh then you must hate knightshade". Well..

You.

Are.

WRONG!

I don't know why I like it I just like knightshade. It's cute, it's got enough crack to make it a crack ship, and the memes! The. Fuckin. MEMES.

God I love knightshade.

Knightfall

So... how do I say this?

I love this ship. Not joking I love this. I'd be peeved if this became cannon but as syndrome once said

"OH COME ON! YOU GOTTA ADMIT THIS IS COOL!" (Man was a salty man and died like a BITCH)

As to why?

The

Fuckin

ANGST!

I could write an entire fanfic of jaune and cinder fighting each other for days on end until jaune fucking loses but instead of killing him cinder just lets him live. To continue to fight as she gets some sick enjoyment from the attention.

That's all. (Also cinder please choke me with your thighs-)

[GLITCH HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY BANNED.]

Alright I'll behave. No thirsting, now onto.... Lancaster.... you know I can't tell if I want to be killed or be celebrated as a fuckin gift because this list is bizarre as fu-

Lancaster

.... where do I begin?

Ok I should probably state this now. I love this fuckin ship despite how... cliche it really is. I want these two dorks to be fuckin happy but I just can't say whole hearted this is my otp. It's just not for me, I'm sorry. But as you all know I have written.. some.. Lancaster fanfics (I am absolute jaune shipper trash, you can Bury me before I say any jaune ship is terrible except THAT! Even arkos ain't bad just overrated!)

But... yes I like this ship that why I'm writing fanfics in the first place I like alot of jaune ships (despite how much I hate THAT!) Because we'll most female characters that I pair with jaune have atleast some form of interaction. (Except silent knight. I just like that one because I like the "small murderous and tall gentle" dynamic. But we aren't covering silent knight.)

Now thats all I could say for Lancaster but there's one more sister that I wanna talk about but first.

For runner up on this list. Drum roll please.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Thank you-

.....

Huh I guess that drummer wasn't as dumb-

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Ok fuck you, your fired!

Now for runner up on this list (mainly because I like it but I don't have much to say-)

Martial arcs

(ha bet y'all rat bastards weren't expecting me to list a gay ship that I liked.)

Now all I have to say is.

🎶let them be fucking gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!~

OH YEAH!🎶

Now onto... my favorite one thats not white knight. The one, the only, the truest form of "what the fuck is glitch snorting"-

Dragon slayer

This is the one ship that has continued to be a ship I love dearly.

To me yang and jaune feel like they would be each other's wing(wo)man and would just be an ride to watch.

There wasn't even any evidence in why this ship could happen. But I still love it. Y'all can call it "just a write inserting themselves as jaune" but let me say this.

Dragon slayer is the Pinnacle of the most wholesome moments! Not even Lancaster can compare to the intimacy of this ship and yes! I AM TALKING OUT OF MY ASS BECAUSE I LOVE THIS STUPID SHIP AND AINT NO ONE TELLING ME I SHOULD BE ASHAMED!

....

Ok I think that's enough talking about Rwby ships for one Day because I've caused three things.

1) probably pissed off arkos, BB, and WR shipers.

2) weirded out quite literally everyone with my batshit insanity.

3) probably started a debate on what I mean when I say "THAT!"

Anyway have a great day/night/or what other time it is bitches, bros, and non-binary rat bastards

I'm off to get crucified because OH BOY did I probably poke the bear.

[lukadrienmonth]

Hello Lukadrien lovers!

I’m @sasuhinasno1fan and if you’ve participated in Lukadrien June before, you might of seen my name pop up a few times in submissions. Lukadrien June had been run by @buggaberryy, who is amazing, but recently announced that they’ll no longer be running it.

First, please give a big round of applause to @buggaberry for the hard work they did each year drawing the calendar and leaving so many heart warming tags on the reblogs of submissions. While they’re not in the ML fandom anymore, I know the fandoms they are now apart of now have gained an amazing artist and an incredibly kind person.

As members of the discord connected @lukadrien-june, I really didn’t want to lose this event, even if I don’t watch the show anymore, so me, @andraedevanee and @youronlyhalloweenking have decided to take over the event. It is the first time we’re all doing this, so please bear with us as we figure this out. We have also decided to change the event slightly. In 2022, there were weekly theme prompts in addition to the daily. We thought to ease our way back in, we’d do 15 days instead of the normal 30. That means every other day, there will be a prompt.

As such, the rules for the event!

This is a salt free event. This includes harsh criticisms of the show, characters, ships or fandoms involved. Any kind of hate will not be tolerated and will not be reblogged. Please be respectful.

We ask that there be no poly ships that include Lukadrien. There are other events that would cover ships such as those and we want to focus on just these two. Feel totally free to have other couples in your posts, but we ask the main focus be on Lukadrien.

As such, alternate personas of the boys are allowed, so feel free to add them in.

The tags for this event are #lukadrienmonth, #lukadrienjune2024, #lukadrienjune. We also ask that you tag the blog @lukadrienmonth

We will allow NSFW, but please have it under ‘Keep Reading’ line and properly tag it with #lukadreinmonthNSFW

Fics, art, playlists, edits, cosplay and other creative mediums are all welcome. Please make sure to tag us properly so we can reblog your hard work.

And finally, have fun! You don’t have to post everyday or even use the prompts given for the day it’s assigned.

If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask! You might ask something we might not have thought of, so please. Also, prompts will go up on May 1st, so please keep an eye out. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

[im-s0rry]

WALL-BREAKER - GRIMM'S 200 POST EXTRAVAGANZA!

Hallow one and all! It seems like only yesterday I hit one hundred posts and made some art for the occasion of my golden girl, Sketchit. But now, a new milestone has been hit. I'd like to take this occasion to share with all of you the Tumbal Retake, news for the blog, special thanks, and of course. . .

WALL-BREAKER

Wall of Text Below:

Firstly, I'd like to take the time to detail Tumbal's backstory has I have not delved into it all that much on the Blog. The story starts with a pre-Secret Boss Tumbal as an optimistic actor ready to put their best foot, or root in this case, forward. He eventually got a role as an Outlaw in a western, which was the first project that good ol' Mr. Rook Action was directing. All went well until the day of shooting, where a freak accident occurred. Tumbal was shot with what the crew thought was a prop gun. As the shot rang out through the set, the cast and crew ran out, ignoring the body of Tumbal in the process. That is where he found himself, a bullet through his heart on his deathbed with no one to remember his legacy. . .Until a figure appeared to Tumbal. He told him that his time was not over just yet, as well as a new way of seeing the world, as a performance put on to entertain the higher beings. . .After that, Tumbal was left alone in that set for years, rotting into what he is today. He now uses any props he can scavenge as puppets to lure in Darkners to make friends with them, before brutally tearing them apart. This is the state The Fun Gang finds Tumbal in on their journey through Homewood. . .

Secondly, as I did with Sketchit, I'd like to explain how WALL-BREAKER would sound as a song. Of course, the song would use motifs from Battle Against a True Hero and Your Best Nightmare as well as using the Freedom Motif. The song would have a very frantic feel to it, shown through the pacing and use of the instruments. Throughout the song, some sort of banjo or guitar would be played over the track, being used for the beginning and even the Freedom Motif. The song would also reference the lietmotifs of Tenna and Rook's battle themes, in reference to his backstory. Near the end, the song would basically go insane and lose all rhyme or reason and eventually end with the sound of the banjo used in the song being smashed to pieces as an ominous voice laughs in the distance.

Next, I would like to discuss a few posts that will be made in the near future and changes to a few of my Secret Bosses. Firstly, Pocket Sand will be continuing containing the one and only Rouxls Kaard as well as Sketchit! This will be out around next week, or whenever I have time to write it. Secondly, I will be moving a few of my bosses to a group I like to call the Misfits. These bosses are ones that are basically the only part of their AUs, which will include people such as Funn N. Gaems, Fredde-E, Rustflare, Inkwel, and the other Chapter Three Secret Boss takes I made that one time. This will not mean that they will disappear, only that they have a new group name and could potentially be moved out of The Misfits if I find their stories interesting. . . Thirdly, as always, The Ask Box is wide open for anyone to throw questions, suggestions, or anything else at my characters and myself. You can literally ask any of my Deltarune based characters. The sky's the limit.

Finally, I want to give a huge round of applause to all of the people who have helped me along my journey as an artist and as a member of the Secret Boss Fandom. @mercair , you bring so many wonderful ideas and designs to the table and your characters are always a delight to draw and design for. Rest assured, you're not getting rid of my System or our nonsense at your expense any time soon. @creepa-b0t-inc , you have been an amazing part of this community, working on so many amazing projects yet still finding time to help smaller creators, such as myself. I am so glad that I know someone such as yourself and it's been amazing knowing you. @glitch-the-artist , you are an amazing traditional artist that I have adored for so long. Your work and dedication to your craft has inspired my own work and my own aspirations to get better at art. @almightyaxolotlz , I want to give you the most sincere "thank you" I could possibly muster up for being the voice of Sketchit. Thank you so much for caring about this character as much as you do and not letting Chapter X fall to the wayside. @mrchaosman , you have so much potential and so many great ideas. You're honestly an unsung hero of the community and you deserve a lot more respect for the dedication you bring to the Secret Boss Community. @petra-creat0r , you're one of the most talented artists I know and never fail to bring a sincere smile to my face. Your love for your characters and this community is inspiring and I can't wait to see what you do next. Any to everyone I did not mention, I just want to say, thank you. Thank you for inspiring me to continue being a member of this community and for allowing me to get where I am now. Thank you so much, all of you. Now, I should probably get to replying to some posts right about now. . .Goodfright to you all!

-Best Regards, Jackal.

Thanks for everything.

[simchanel]

“WILDER THOUGHTS” a late night talk show hosted by retired movie star and Del Sol Valley socialite James Wilder. Tonight special guest appearances and exclusive interviews with Jesse Foster and Sophia Blake, and special look at trailer for their new movie “Between Us”

[Opening Scene]

James Wilder: (smiling at the camera) “Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Wilder Thoughts. Tonight, we have a show that’s going to be absolutely wild! Our guest tonight is none other than the incredibly talented Jesse Foster, who is here to talk about his recent divorce and share his side of the story. Later, we’ll be joined by his co-star, the fabulous Sophia Blake, to discuss their new film Between Us. Please give a big round of applause for Jesse Foster!”

[The audience applauds and cheers as Jesse Foster walks onto the stage, looking composed. He shakes hands with James Wilder and takes a seat.]

Wilder: (grinning) “Jesse, my man! Great to have you here. How are you holding up? You look like a million simoleons!”

Jesse Foster: (chuckling) “Thanks, James. It’s been a rough patch, but I’m here, and I’m doing my best.”

Wilder: “We appreciate you being here. So, your recent divorce has been the talk of the town. How are things going for you on that front?”

Foster: (taking a deep breath) “It’s been tough, James. I made some mistakes, but all I can do is own up to them, apologize, and do better going forward. It’s all about healing now, especially for my kids. My children and co-parenting relationship with Lennon are my top priority’s right now.”

Wilder: “That’s great to hear, Jesse. Now, you’ve face a lot of backlash during this whole process, how are you dealing with it?”

Foster: “Being critiqued is a part of the job description, and I made some bad choices, but that doesn’t make me a bad guy.”

Wilder: “Well said, Jesse. We’re only human. Speaking of humans let bring out another one of my favorite humans, your co-star in upcoming film “Between Us”, everyone, please welcome the amazing Sophia Blake!”

[The audience applauds and cheers as Sophia Blake walks onto the stage, looking elegant and still sporting her blonde look. She shakes hands with James Wilder and sits next to Jesse Foster.]

Wilder: “Sophia, you look stunning! Great to have you here. And I see you’re still rocking the blonde look from the movie. How’s that working out for you?”

Sophia Blake: (smiling) “Thank you, James. It’s been fun to stay blonde for a bit longer. It’s a different vibe, but I’m enjoying it.”

Wilder: “Well, you pull it off! Now, tell us about “Between Us”. What’s the story, and what was it like working on this film with Jesse?”

Blake: “So, “Between Us” is a about an art collector who has just been left by his fiancée and an art intern who helps him rediscover his love for art. It’s about healing, passion, finding new beginnings, and the transformative power of love and art.”

Wilder: “That sounds incredible. And I have to ask, the two of you had some ‘interesting’ moments off-screen that made headlines. How did you manage to keep things professional after that?”

[The audience laughs and reacts.]

Blake: “It was definitely a unique challenge, but we stayed focused on our work. Our priority was always to deliver the best performances we could.”

Foster: “Exactly. Despite the personal drama, we knew we had to stay professional and make a great film. And I think we did just that.”

Wilder: “I have to commend you both on handling it with such grace. It can’t be easy to work together after all that, but it seems like you two have made it work.”

Blake: “Thank you, James. It wasn’t easy, but you know what they say, “the show must go on” (laughs). But really these characters had a wonderful story we had to tell, and I think the film speaks for itself.”

Wilder: “I’m sure the audience can’t wait to see it. Thank you both for being here and sharing your stories. Between Us hits theaters soon, and we wish you both the best moving forward.”

[The audience applauds as the camera zooms out, showing the set and the guests.]

Wilder: “Stay tuned for more fun and surprises on Wilder Thoughts after this commercial break!”

[The show fades to a commercial break.]

[bbybearcubbs]

A Budding Friendship [Pt.1]

〖Warnings〗➤ None

〖Pairing〗⥤ Jungwon x Fem!Reader

〖Genre〗⥤ Fluff

〖Word count〗⥤ 2.3K

〖Networks〗⥤ @kflixnet @k-films @k-labels

╭──────────────────── ༺♡༻ ────────────────────╮

Description: There's a new student transferring into your class today. Is there a future with him beyond merely classmates? What about Friends? Or Best friends? Maybe even lovers? Or will you become enemies? You're the one who decides :)

Italics + Bold when characters are speaking English

Italics only when they're speaking Korean

╰──────────────────── ༺♡༻ ────────────────────╯

I sat at my desk with my earbuds in while doodling in my notebook waiting for homeroom to start. A few taps on my right shoulder brought my attention to my classmate sitting next to me. I look over at her with a raised eyebrow and she points towards the front of the class. I look towards the front and see our homeroom teacher settling the class down.

Next to her stood a tall boy with short, straight black hair. He wore a dark blue sweater over a white button down shirt and black slacks. When Ms. Brisk clears her throat I take out my earbuds and put them in my pocket. "Good morning everyone!" Ms. Brisk greets us and we greet her in return. "Today I have Yang Jungwon here with me." she says gesturing towards the black haired boy we now know as Jungwon.

Ms. Brisk continued "He is one of the students that transferred here as part of the foreign exchange program. He will spend the next three years with us!" Ms. Brisk smiled gleefully. She loves that the school is doing this program. Her exact words were: 'It's things like this that make being a teacher so much more fulfilling!'

There were multiple 'Oh's' and curious whispers around the classroom but it fell silent again when Ms. Brisk cleared her throat. She turns toward Jungwon and speaks "Jungwon please introduce yourself to the class" Jungwon nodded at Miss before turning his attention to the class. "Hello...my name is Jungwon. I from Korea and it nice meet you all" Jungwon said with a nervous smile.

He spoke in broken English and his accent wasn't unnoticeable but you could clearly see he was trying his best. I couldn't help but smile. I could tell working with him wouldn't be a hassle. "Is that all Ms. Brisk?" one of the students at the back of the class asked. "No there's one more thing" Ms. Brisk began "As you all know, one student from every form was selected to be the exchange student's mentor" she explained.

"Miss Y/n L/n from our class was chosen to be Jungwon's mentor! Please give her a round of applause!" Ms. Brisk exclaimed and I couldn't help but blush when the class clapped. "Thank you Miss" I smiled sheepishly standing and walking to the front of the class. I turn towards Jungwon and bow and he does too.

"Annyeonghaseyo I'm Y/n L/n and I'm your mentor here at [Name of college]." I say holding out my hand to Jungwon. Jungwon visibly relaxes a bit before taking my hand and shaking it. "Thank you for agreeing to be my mentor. I'll try my best to not be a burden to you." He smiles "It's no trouble at all" I return his smile with my own.

"As you all can see Y/n speaks fluent Korean, which is why Jungwon was put into our class and why she was chosen as his mentor" Ms. Brisk explains and the class responds with a few enthusiastic 'Oh's' "Y/n none of us knew you spoke Korean" someone from the back said. "Well no one ever asked" I laughed "I lived in Korea for the first half of my life, I consider it my mother tongue"

"Y/n take Jungwon to his seat while I call the roll" Ms. Brisk instrucks and I nod. I beckon Jungwon to follow me and direct him to his seat, which was to the left of mine. We sit down and Ms. Brisk begins roll call. Everyone responds to their name being called including me. "...and lastly, Yang Jungwon" Miss says looking over at Jungwon.

"Present" Jungwon responds quietly and Ms. Brisk raises an eyebrow at him. "A little louder Jungwon" I say and Jungwon blushes from embarrassment. "Present!" He says, a bit too loud this time and I choked trying not to laugh. The rest of the class weren't as nice and they all erupted in laughter. Ms. Brisk chuckles and checks his name off the roll list.

Jungwon hung his head in embarrassment and I put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Jungwon. Your English will improve in no time!" I reassure him and Jungwon smiles. "Thanks Y/n" he says. "What major are you by the way?" he asks me. "I'm a music major" I reply. "Me too!" He says excitedly. "That's awesome! Most of our classes will be the same then" I say, equally as excited.

"What's your next class?" I ask him putting my earpods in their charging case. "One second" Jungwon says rummaging through his bookbag. "Ok got it!" he says pulling out a paper. "I have...Music Theory and Com...Combositon?" Jungwonattempted to read his class name in English. He looked at me with hopeful eyes and I chuckled.

"You absolutely butchered the word "Composition" but good work," I said, and Jungwon sighed. "How is it pronounced?" he asked. "You say it like..."Composition"..." I answered, stressing the 'po' and 'tion' so he'd understand better. "Combositon?" he tried again. "Composition" "Combosition?" "You're close, try again" "C-Combositon? Ugh this is difficult." Jungwon sighs, frustrated at his own mispronunciation.

"You'll get it with practice" I assure him in an attempt to ease his frustrations. "I hope so. What class do you have next?" He asks me putting the paper back into his bookbag. "I have Music Theory and Composition too." I reply. "How will I manage in the classes we don't have together?" He asks with a nervous laugh and I chuckle.

"I'm sure you'll manage. You can understand English well enough when someone speaks it right?" I asked. "I'd say I do." "Then you can just write down whatever the professor says in Korean and I'll help you translate it when it's time to practice your English." I explain to Jungwon. "That sounds like a smart plan" he replies. "We just need to figure out when that'll be."

"We can make a schedule" I suggest and Jungwon nods. Just then the bell rings indicating the end of homeroom. "Those of you who don't have class with me next can proceed to your respective classes." Ms. Brisk dimisses us and we all leave the classroom. I lead Jungwon to our next class and we take our seats and wait for the professor to arrive.

Throughout the day I showed Jungwon to his classes and helped introduce him to his classmates and professors. I explained his lack of English knowledge so the professors could be a little easier on him, especially in the classes we didn't have together. Jungwon and I agreed to meet in front of the music room after school, which is where his last class of the day is.

"I'll see you guys later okay?" I say to my friend as I put my books away. "Where are you heading? You normally hang out with us after classes" my friend Jay says. He was also a music major. We only know each other because I'm taking a class meant for juniors. "I have plans today" I say throwing my bookbag over my shoulder and exiting the classroom.

"Y/n L/n has plans? Since when did you have any other friends besides us?" My other friend Lee Heeseung joins the conversation between Jay and I. He normally meets us outside our last class of the day since he's a senior. "I was picked to be the exchange student's mentor remember? I'm meeting him outside the music room to plan a schedule" I explain to the two older males.

"Also that was rude. I have other friends besides the two of you, you know" I spin around and stick my tongue out at Heeseung before spinning back around to face forward again. "I know I know, I was just kidding Nin-nie" Heeseung says. "Your mentee is a guy? I wanna meet him" Jay chimes in and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever. Just don't scare him, he's shy" I tell them. Jay and Heeseung have a knack for scaring off any guy that approaches me, whether it's to be friends or because they're romantically interested in me. Only a few of my male friends have managed to 'Pass the test' as the two idiots like to say. "If he's a good person he won't be scared." Jay says making me roll my eyes again.

"I know you just rolled your eyes," Jay says, and I look back at him with a smirk. Before either of the two men had time to notice, I took off running. "HEY! Y/N L/N GET BACK HERE!" Heeseung yells, taking off after me. I laugh and run through the halls towards the music room. I turn the corner and the familiar wooden doors come into view.

I spot Jungwon standing near the door and call out to him. "Hey Jungwon!" I yell waving and he waves back but stops when he glances behind me. When I got to where Jungwon stood I bent over holding my knees to catch my breath. Heeseung and Jay made it soon after, huffing and sweating. "Yah! Why'd you run off?!" Heeseung asks between huffs making me burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Jay says making me laugh harder. "It's not my fault you two are out of shape." I say calming down my laughter. "I'm not! Maybe Jay is, but not me!" Heeseung reacts defensively. "Excuse me? You're the ancient one!" Jay retaliates. "I'm literally only 22!" Heeseung shoots back and the two start bickering.

I rolled my eyes and turned to face a very confused Jungwon. "Don't mind those two idiots." I say to him and Jungwon laughs. "I'm not an idiot" Heeseung and Jay say in unison, stopping bickering to defend themselves. "Heeseung, Jay, this is Jungwon, the exchange student I'm mentoring." I introduce Jungwon to the guys.

"Jungwon this is Heeseung and Jay, two of my friends. They're also music majors and certified idiots when they aren't being aces at music" I introduce the guys to Jungwon. "Jay is the idiot not me" Heeseung says. "You speak Korean?" Jungwon asks Heeseung and Heeseung nods. "Y/n and I met when she lived in Korea, and we've been friends ever since." Heeseung explains.

"He's originally from Korea but his family moved away a few years before mine moved back here and we met up again at college." I chime in and Jungwon nods his head in understanding. "Excuse me but I'm feeling ignored" Jay says and Heeseung nudges him in the ribs. "This guy is Jay. I met him when he first entered the college." Heeseung says.

"Hey" Jay says to Jungwon who whispers a quiet 'Hello'. "Alright you two idiots can leave now. Jungwon and I have to get to the library." I say turning the two around and pushing them away. "Can't we come with you?" Jay asks. "No. You'll just distract us with your bickering" I answer "We don't bicker all the time" Jay tries to convince me. "We kind of do" Heeseung says.

"I didn't ask for your help." Jay says through gritted teeth. "Well my bad" Heeseung rolls his eyes. "I don't see your pea-sized brain thinking of a clever way to convince her though." Heeseung pokes Jay's forehead. "As if you could do any better!" Jay jabs back at Heeseung and I let out an exasperated grunt.

"See what I mean? You guys aren't coming. Now good. Bye. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Tell Sunoo I said hi" I say turning around and walking back to Jungwon before the two can try to convince me again. "They seem like good friends" Jungwon says when I get back to him. "Yeah. I'm glad I have them, even though they can be a handful sometimes" I laugh.

"I can see that" Jungwon laughs. "So where are we headed?" He asks me rocking back and forth in his heels. "The campus library." I say and walk past Jungwon, who follows behind me. Jungwon and I make it to the library and find an empty table to sit at. We ended up spending a few hours at the library, successfully making a schedule that worked around both of ours.

We stayed a little longer so I could help Jungwon translate his notes into English. I helped him with certain phrases and words he didn't understand and taught him the basics of grammar, which he sucked at. But with practice he's sure to get better. He picks up things quickly. A fast learner, which makes things easier for both of us.

"Thank you so much Y/n. I can't express how grateful I am for everything you're doing for me" Jungwon says. "I told you before it's no problem. I'm happy to help. It helps that you're such a fast learner." I say and Jungwon smiles sheepishly. "Here" I say handing Jungwon my phone. "Why're you giving me your phone?" He asks looking at me confused.

"Let's exchange numbers, that'll make things a lot easier" I say. Jungwon's eyes widen and his cheeks turn pink. "O-Oh- Yeah sure" he stutters and takes my phone. I giggle at his cute reaction. Jungwon wasn't a bad looking guy. In fact he was quite handsome. Without realizing it, I found myself staring at Jungwon.

"Okay here" Jungwon says snapping me out of my daze. He hands me my phone with his newly entered number. "Thanks. Now I gotta get going. I'll see you tomorrow okay?" I say and begin walking away. "I'll walk to the gates with you" Jungwon says and I nod.

We walk to the gates together and leave campus. The sun was just beginning to set which cast a soft orange glow over everything. "Thanks again for the help Y/n! See you tomorrow!" Jungwon waves. "See ya!" I wave back and turn around heading home.

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Taglist [Open]: @rikislady @stayconnecteed @starlostastronaut @dreamofbona @harufluff @nwjws @afelia-123 @rikilove4

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© bbybearcubbs 2022 | Do not copy, repost, or translate any of my works onto other platforms without my permission.

[datoneboardedguy]

Avatar: Legend of Korra Fanfiction - Korra x OC Male Reader.

(DISCLAIMER’S: I DON’T OWN THE LEGEND OF KORRA IP OR IT’S CHARACTERS! & THIS IS A NON CANON FANFICTION THAT ISN’T CONSTRAINED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL AVATAR LOK CANON & ANY ATTEMPT’S TO SILENCE THIS FANFIC IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF MY FREE SPEECH RIGHT’S!)

Book: 2 Chapter: 1 Meltingpoint Raid!

Three years later-

White Lotus Guard POV:

“Every action also has an equal & opposite reaction, Varrick’s Third Law.” My instructor says as he’s giving me tour of the prison & I replied with a simple “ uh hm.” answer as he continues as we’re on our way to check on the prisoner “if you want take a break i break your legs by Earthbending rock spikes through your knees! Action, Reaction.” I sigh “I get it, no breaks!” “THAT’S RIGHT, NO BREAKS! & you know why?!” “Because if you give breaks nobody will be here to listen to your long winded speeches?” “NO!.. It’s our job’s to keep our prisoner locked up at all times!” As we arrive at the giant prisoner cell door I curiously ask “What could this prisoner have possibly done to warrant us never taking any breaks?” “Well ’AS YOU KNOW!..”- “Actually I don’t know, that’s why you’re telling me.” -“DO NOT INTERRUPT YOUR SUPERIOR WHEN HE’S MONOLOGUING!” Sighs “Yes sir, sorry sir.” “AND DO YOU SIGH WHEN YOU RELUCTANTLY KISS MY A!”- “YES, SIR!” “THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO HEAR! Now, where was I? Ah yes, the prisoner’s committed horrific crimes. He’s murdered several World Leaders, assaulted & murdered dozens of innocent gua!-” As he finally finished his monologue he noticed that I dozed off to sleep & just sighed “Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. WAKE UP YA FLATWORM-MAGGOT!” “WHA-W-WHAT! So what were you saying? Sorry I must’ve of dozed off..” “Ugh I was saying..”- *DING!* “What the?”- *BOOOOOOM!* *BOOOOOOOOOM!* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!…*

Everything’s hazy & my ears are ringing. I start to regain my sight as see that everyone’s else is dead on the floor & I see a hooded slender looking phantom slicing up my new recruit.

(Author note: sorry for the bad quality drawing, it been drawn on a smartphone.. ☹️)

Third Person POV:

The phantom then walks over to & opens the giant prison cell door, the prisoner asks the intruder “You’re interrupting my meditation?..” then the mysterious phantom breaks the prisoner’s chained restraints & asks the prisoner “Early Parole.-“ The surviving White Lotus Guard interrupted the phantom by shouting “NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!” As he makes a move to try & earthbend the prisoner slices the guard’s head clean off with his chains, spraying out tons of blood all over the phantoms suit he quickly wipes the fresh blood off of his face as resumes to ask the prisoner “So.. you interested?..” then the prisoner steps out of dark cell to reveal it’s Zaheer & simply replies “I’m In.”

Korra’s POV:

“I can’t do this, it’s too much!” Ikki says “Don’t give up!” Then Jinora says “You can go on, I believe in you Korra!” I close my eyes & try to eat another final few mini cabbage balls in my bowl before my opponent finishes his, as I eat the first one Meelo quickly shouts “REMEMBER, BE THE CABBAGE BALL KORRA!” I nearly vomited all 19 of them straight back out after hearing that but I managed to swallow them all down & proceeded to eat the next one as my opponent just eats his second last cabbage ball, then I eat the final cabbage ball I struggled at first but barely managed to swallow it down then my opponent attempted to eat his while he had managed to eat his final cabbage ball at first he ultimately fails to actually swallow it & he vomits all 21 of his cabbage balls onto the floor. Then the announcer blows his whistle & says “& OUR VERY OWN AVATAR TAKES & CLAIMS THE TITLE CABBAGE BALL CHAMPION & IS THE WINNER OF THE CABBAGE CHARITY FESTIVAL THAT HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY SPONSORED BY BOTH CABBAGE CORP & SATO INDUSTRIES! NOW GIVE A ROUND OF A APPLAUSE FOR A NEW CHAMPION EVERYBODY!..” & everyone starts to clap & cheer.

I then wave to the crowd as I made my way through the upper level of the main foyer, then when once I was out of sight I covered my mouth & started running through several corridors accidentally bumping & pushing over several Cabbage Corp staff in a race against the clock until I reached the back entrance to the building & rushing through the back garden to a secluded cliff side balcony to finally vomit up all 21 cabbage balls over the ledge of the balcony, as I finished & started feeling better I hear a familiar voice “Great job holding your cabbage balls Korra, I couldn’t even make it past ten Cabbage Balls.” I turn around to see none other than Tenzin is the one who just said that, my widened as I say “Tenzin the Airbending master has got ..jokes?!” Tenzin chuckles as he remarks “Contrary to popular belief I do have my fun side, if you consider swallowing Cabbage Balls for charity fun?..” he said with a snickering smirk. I roll my eyes at his immaturity then say “Your kids have changed you, you never used to not be an uptight stick in the mud.” “WHAT’S THIS ABOUT ME BEING A STICK IN THE MUD?!” He fumingly shouted as his face turned dark red “..& THERE’S THE TENZIN THAT WE KNOW & LOVE!” Then we both laughed.

Then his family arrives & the all kids scream “KORRA!” Simultaneously as they tackled me into a huge group hug. Then Meelo soils the mood as he says “See, I TOLD YOU that you can be Cabbage Balls!” Then my stomach churns & I immediately rush over to ledge of the balcony to vomit again, once I was finished I turned around to see everyone else giving Meelo the look as Ikki punches his shoulder & just says “Really, ..soo not cool bro!” Meelo shrugged as he confusingly says “What?!..” Pema then says “Congratulations Korra, you actually beat Tenzin’s record.” “Thanks Pema, I really do appreciate your.”- I then see a certain familiar smirking brunette woman standing behind them & i excuse myself from the group to follow her as she approaches the nearest corridor corner she slides her hand along the corridor wall as looks back & winks at me with her devious smile she playfully rushes to the nearest secluded storage room as I followed her I mumbled under my breath “hm, She always did love a chase..” then playfully give chase follow her to the Storage Room & as we enter Asami locks the door behind us & we started deeply passionately kissing each other until she recoiled back sarcastically saying “Ugh Cabbage balls Breath!” I jokingly said “You want some more leftovers?!” & I put my cabbage coated tongue out show her as she predictably retorts in playful disgust “EEWWW YOU DISGUSTING MONSTER!” We both then just laughed then Asami asked seriously “Nah but seriously, are you feeling alright after swallowing all of those?”- “Don’t you dare finish that sentence & I’ll be just fine okay?” “Uh Sure Korra, I hope you’re still hungry enough for our weekly dinner date?” “Oh you bet babe, just as long as it’s a smaller meal this time for obvious reasons..” “Of course.” She said with a smile & a small giggle. “Have I ever told you how adorable your giggles are?” “Heh, Definitely not enough times. Let’s go..”

As we exited the storage room we a familiar voice remark “You know you guys are being way too literal with the whole Coming Out of the Closet thing when you both are literally exiting out of an actual closet together?” We both giggled as we hugged both Mako & Bolin & happily greeted them “Hey you two it’s been too long!” “Yeah we’ve been wondering what you guys have been up to the past few years..” “You know what we’ve been doing.” Mako said “I know but that’s just work, what have you guy’s been up to outside of work?” “Oh well I don’t have anything really going on, just work I guess.” “You know it’s unhealthy to spend all of your time working?..” “Yeah I know, but when there’s always someone in need I have to help..” “what about you Bolin? Have you & Opal been thinking about finally tying the knot yet?” “Oh, uhh..”- *BOOOM!…* everyone tumbles over “Is everyone okay?!” Mako asked then both Bolin & Asami nodded as I said while also nodding “Yes Mako, we’re fine.” I then quietly checked with Asami “Are you alright?” “I’m alright Korra.” “Good.” Then an Alarm goes off throughout the building, a intercom message starts playing which is oddly narrated by the Pro Bending narrator (“This is an Emergency Cabbage Corp announcement Cabbage Corp is 100% under the attack! I repeat Cabbage Corp is 100% under the attack! Could everyone please safely evacuate the building before I piss my pants again! This is NOT a drill! THIS is a drill!” *Jackhammer Noises**STATIC*) Bolin quickly remarks “Hey where’d he go? I was about to go get the popcorn!” Asami confusingly remarks “Not the time Bolin!” “Oh come on you can’t say that listening to that guy’s voice doesn’t want to make you sit back, kick your legs up & just eat some popcorn?!” “You can’t be seriously be?!- Yeah okay, me too.” then I tell them “Focus guys, we need to get the civilians out of here before someone gets hurt. I’ll go check on Tenzin & his family to see if they’re all okay, I’ll meet you all at the main hall!” I quickly pecks Asami on her lips as she tells me “Be carful Korra.” “No worries darling.” Then run off.

I then arrived back to where Tenzin’s family was before the explosion to check on them as I arrived I see chief Beifong is with them & I concerningly asked “Is everyone alright?!” “We’re all fine Korra, but we all have bigger problems.” “What’s happening?” Beifong explains “It’s Tokuga, he’s returned & is attacking the building.” “Okay, get get everyone out of here & we’ll handle it.” “Got it, you all heard the Avatar. Let’s go!”

Tokuga’s POV:

“How long do we have before we’re in the Vault?!” “Just a few minutes sir!” “Good, everyone else kill everyone who tries to reach us!” a Sarge looking fellow replied “YA GOT IT CHEIF! ALRIGHT YA NANCIES, YA HEARD THE MAN NOW LET’S HUSTLE ON THE DOUBLE!” Then everyone got into their positions ready for a fight.

Third POV:

The room was quiet, too quiet then the barricaded double doors burst open with a lot of smoke filled the area then as the dust clears there’s the Avatar standing in the middle of the doorway cracking her knuckles. As she says “Alright fellas, who’s first?” soldiers then shout “OPEN FIRE!” She then Earthbended up a rock barricaded in front of herself, then metalbends the bullets lodged into the barricade right back into their guns causing them to explode in the soldiers hands *BOOMS* “ARRGH!” She then airbends them all back away from the door causing them the runaway back into the foyer towards the Vault screaming “RUUUN!” “AH OH SPIRITS!” “I DON’T WANNA DIE!” Asami, Bolin & Mako all run in to meet Korra & tell her “Everyone’s out, it’s just us & them..” Korra simply said “Good.” Bolin shouts “THIS IS GONNA BE FUN! TEAM AVATAR BACK AT IT AGAIN!” Then Team Avatar heroically changes into the army of mercenaries & attacks in unison.

Then a wave of pure WATER, EARTH, FIRE, AIR all sweep through the foyer area. The soldiers started getting cat & mouse chased all throughout the room with a few soldiers hiding behind a wall puffed out as the sarge says “Come on guys let’s keep moving on double or in this case on the Quadruple!” “I think we should fight, otherwise they’ll just start picking us all off on by.-“ *CRASH* & a metal bended improvised glove tears through the wall & grabs the talking soldier by the neck plate as he shouts “ONE!..” then is pulled into the wall disorienting him before the whole wall is sent flying into him pushing him into the opposite wall then Avatar Korra water whips another soldiers left leg pulling him into the air sending him flying into the downed soldier knocking them both out, as the sarge cocks his soo called shotgun Bolin Earthbend his feet into tripping him over causing him to miss at point blank range then he Earthbended to coat the bottom of his boots & sidekicks Sarge square in the head, sending him into the wall a sniper rifle soldier tries and fails to shoot Bolin from a far not realising that Korra metalbended the bullets out of the way then argratingly shouted “Son of a rotten Spirit! Why can’t I even hit anything with this stupid faulty Sniper-rifle?!” The Sniper narrowly dodges a blast of fire to the face as Mako jumps & lands right in front of him & retorts “It’s not the tool, it’s the man!” Then shoots a fireball at him, he ducks out of the way then flicks a switch on his rifle then his Weapon starts charging up with electricity as he starts minalikly  laughing as he pulls the trigger Makos eyes widened then as the rifle fires a blast of pure electricity he manages lightning bend & redirect it at the soldier blasting him outside of the building then more guards started showing up shooting at him & on instinct he quickly moves arms in a figure eight motion & as the tips of his two index fingers on both of his hands connected he conquered up a translucent energy shield that inveterated every bullet that flew through his shield, he & all of the soldiers goes wide eyed at this spectacle they just witnessed then as he felt a charge buildup from each bullet that he incinerated he just reversed the figure eight & punches the shield forward into the soldiers stunning then all “Holy spirits, I WANNA DO THAT AGAIN!” Then more soldiers show up to get their asses handed to them, a guard is knocked off the catwalk & down to the ground landing on & knocking out a soldier who had Asmami at gunpoint & dead to rights then shocks a soldier’s rifle behind her causing the rifle to conduct electricity & blows up the gunpowder inside of it in the soldiers face uses the electrified rifle barrel as an improvised stun baton beating up every soldier she came across then sent a electrified stunned soldier towards Korra & she Airbended him in a concrete road block landing balls first into it cracking the area with his not so thick layered groin pad as he painfully stutters “W-wh-Why d-didn’t you just k-kill me?!..” as he falls to the ground unconscious.

Tenzin’s POV:

“Alright everyone is safely evacuated, we have to-“ *BOOM!* we see person shoots out the side of building into the side alleyway next to the building then Rohan just started charging off after them Pema Shouts in terror “NOO.. HUN, COME BACK!” “NO ROHAN, GET BACK HERE! I started chasing after him before he gets himself hurt..

Third POV:

Back inside the building the fighting intensifies & some of the soldiers started to panicking “Oh my Spirits, oh my spirits, oh my spirits! Oh sweet A RIFLE!”- “Hey uhh, I hate to say this but that’s my rifle.” “WHAT?! There’s literally hundreds of rifles on the floor, just pick up any rifle.” “But i bring that rifle with me everywhere I go, I sleep with that rifle in my arms every night!” “Dude, it doesn’t matter just pick up another rifle!”- *WHIP* “ARRGH!..” he shouted as he was water whipped into his friend who he was bickering with by Korra then she turned to the lonely soldier with only a small firearm & he drops it saying “Oh screw this I need to get a bigger weapon!” & turns to run while barely dodging the armada of waterbending attacks. As he turns the corner he runs into another soldier who just escaped from the rampaging Asami mowing down everyone else as he asks “What in spirits do we do?!” “I don’t know, I’ve never seen soo many powerful benders in one room before!-“ he looks at his comrades energy weapon & asks “Wait do you know how to use that thing?!” “My Energy Sword? F%CK yeah I know what it is, what’s wrong with just swish, swish, stab? It’s a energy sword dude it’s not a frickin SATO Fighter Plane!” “Just come on over & help me!”

Asami’s POV:

The soldiers were being completely beaten by all four of us a fireball nearly hit us to get our attention, we turned to the source & see a Fire bending soldier grab a small device from his belt then suddenly lightning bends to charg it up with electricity revealing it as an energy sword & shouted to us “HEY SWEET CHEEKS REMEMBER ME?! STEP AWAY FROM THE IDOT’S” As Korra goes to attack I stopped & sternly said “No Hun, he’s mine!” Which made Korra’s eyes widen as she cautiously stepped back to watch what’s about to unfold. Then the two of us circle each other then we started exchanging blows between his energy sword & my new stun baton then we started locking weapons then he tried taunting me “What’s this pussy baton sissy crap?! where’s your energy sword? Having trouble getting it up? Don’t worry it happens to everyone.” “Ugh, don’t you ever just SHUT UP!” I then frustratingly break the clash by kicking him straight up into his nuts “Ow! Son of a Bitch!..” then I headbut his face & spin kick him in the gut sending him back a few feet then he slips & falls backwards into pallet of barrels of black paint as he gets up he then realises he’s now covered in black paint “Ugh, what in spirits is this Black Stuff anyways?!” “Trust me, it’s an improvement.” I retorted he then gets real mad as he says “Alright that’s it, come here!” Then as they were about to charge at each other a massive metal crate container fell right between the two then they heard another not so bright soldier from the catwalk above shout “YES, I SAVED MY FRIEND! Oh wait, I saved my friend..” “Hey what gives you idiot?! I was meant to distract the SATO chick so Jeff Could kill the rest of the Benders take so we can take her hostage!” & we all turned around to see a soldier with some kind of shoulder mounted weapon frantically trying to load it up while shouting in a panic “YOU JUST RATTED ME OUT YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Then as he finally manages to fire it he shoots out a literal small Rocket Propelled Grenade at us! Which Mako then jumps in the air to quickly firebend the rocket flames to redirect & orbit the rock around him & right towards the soldier that just shot it in the span of a couple of seconds then as the rocket is about to hit the soldier he shouts “OH SPIRITS!”- then the rocket blows up the platform right below him, sending him flying into the air towards Team Avatar where Korra then metalbends her grapple around his legs he shouts “OH SPIRITS!” again & she swings him right towards Bolin who punches him towards the energy sword bending soldier with a Earthbending coated fist & as he smashes into the energy sword soldier couldn’t help himself from shouting “THAT WAS AWESOME!”- *SMASH!* “URGH!”

Soldiers POV:

We’re now closing in on the Avatar’s location & meddlesome band of friends then the catwalk above us comes tumbling down into the area in front of us creating a huge dust cloud. The dust clouds created from the collapsed catwalk rubble blurred all of our visions as we arrived we see a blurry black figure sluggishly trying to stand up then the figure turns towards us & says “Oh, it’s you guys..” we can’t tell if they’re friendly or not & at point we don’t care then max says “There’s the Avatar, get ‘em!” “We then hear them shouting “WHAT?!” our of pure confusion, then me & max start beating them up & we’re winning?! As they’re cowering & not trying to fight back & this person is trying to tell us something but it’s while as me & max are also shouting random stuff at them like “take that!, this isn’t as hard as I thought, yeah suck it blue eyed bitch!” We also heard some one from our team snickering & laughing at the spectacle in front of them. Then Jeff gets up & tells us “Hey, hold on a minute guy’s!” I back off but Max then gets this supposed Avatar into a headlock then starts repeatedly punching them top of their head as Jeff shouts at us stop “Max! Stop!” “Why?!” “I think that’s Alex not the AVATAR!” Then Alex managed to mumble out “See.., eye tol’ you guy’s same team!” Max then punches him one last time while confusingly looking at Jeff try to process what just happened which knocks him out of the headlock “Ow what was that for you idiot?!” “Eh sorry, force of habit!” Then Alex frustratingly shouted “WHAT THE F#CK JEFF?! You sit there & watch me get pounded by these two idots?!” “What? no! I was knocked out until after they started double teaming you!” “Wait than who’s snickering & laughing at me?!” Then a shadow figure next to me eyes lit up & I said “Oh son of a bit!”- *KICK!* “OW MY NUTS!” & a few other silhouette’s attacked us revealing themselves to be Team Avatar, knocking us out of the smoke cloud & against the wall & while the dust cloud was finally starting to clear up we all started to stand up & get our footing then Max says “Ugh She’s kicking our asses fellas, & yet I’ve never hit a girl at all in my life!” & I said “Yeah we noticed, You should try harder!” Then the smoke finally cleared up revealing Team Avatar & they started walking towards us “Oh no, here she comes again!..” I said in a panic & I frantically grabbed whatever i could find as a weapon which unfortunately for me was a Traffic Cone. “Screw it, desperate times call for desperate measures!..” then we charged into battle..

Tokuga’s POV:

“What’s your status?!” I asked the vault driller “We’re in!” “Good! Extract the Artifacts & prototypes, I’ll keep them busy & take them down a peg or two..” a shadowy figure said hidden behind the both of them in the catwalks then he sees the fly off as he sinisterly smirks.

Bolin’s POV:

The last soldier was on the ground defenceless screaming “PROTECT ME CONE!” As Korra kicked him the nuts soo hard that he went flying back several feet away into the wall knocking him out *KICK!* *SMASH!* “Damn that poor souls doesn’t even have anything left!” Mako comments “Yeah even I felt that one from here..” As we finish off the last of guards a shadow started looming over the entire room then a shadow man lands in front of us with a black hooded shadow leather, red lined costume & I confusingly asked “..& who are you supposed to be?!” & he just says with distorted reverby voice “I am..-“

“PHANTOM BISON!”

& simply say “WHAT THE F%CK IS WITH THIS GUY?!” Then he suddenly shoots out two grapple ropes that seemingly created a whole bunch more of this mad man & as they started charging at us everything’s suddenly enveloped in endless darkness. We all cautiously stood up against each other back to back to avoid being separated then multiple Phantom Bison’s emerged from the darkness & swarmed us we tried fending them off as long as we could but soon enough they quickly started overwhelming us then as everything felt hopeless I get an idea & Lavabended a wave of lava then Earth bended myself a stone surfboard & rode the title wave of pure Magma Awesomeness & shouted “SURFS UP! Follow me everyone!” Then Mako shoot’s himself forward into the air using his firebending fists to basically fly while Korra air shooters herself along the wall with Asami holding onto her for dear life & suddenly the Phantom Bison’s glowing blue eyes widened as the tide was literally turning against him then he quickly grappled himself away & sharply turned around as his shadow duplicates were being engulfed by the lava tidal wave he then shouts “WHAT THE F%CKS WITH THIS GUY?!..” as he’s desbratly trying to escape the lava tidal wave. Then he suddenly gets a massive speed boost out of nowhere escaping the lava wave as wave finally dies down & losses it’s momentum which causes my stone surfboard to crumble apart I managed to leap off at the last possible second managed to stick the landing, everyone else quickly followed suit & all landed right next to me with their own badass posses. He retreats behind another wave soldiers who looked just as unprepared & incompetent as last group of soldiers, then he closes the blast doors behind them locking them out with us, one of them looks up & shouts up to the Catwalk while shouting “HEY ASSHOLE! REMEMBER WHEN WE SAID NOT TO HELP US?! FORGET THAT WE NEED HELP US! RIGHT NOW!” Then a metal shipping container drops from the crane above us then it seemingly squishes us since everything goes dark then we hear the soldiers prematurely celebrating shouting “MY SPIRITS, I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT WORKED!” Then a pair glowing eyes appear & suddenly everything lights up again revealing the Korra’s in the Avatar state to catch & lift the shipping container up revealing the massive crater that was caused by Korra’s sheer iron will to catch that container which caused the metal flooring to cave in under the pressure & when the soldiers saw that container moving up the soldier immediately says “OH CRAP, THAT DIDN’T WORK!” Then comment “I totally knew it wouldn’t work. I don’t know if you bad guys are aware but Avatar Korra’s a bit of a Badass!” Then once they see Korra climb up out of the Crater while still casually lifting a shipping container & stares down into the soldiers eyes staring into their souls the soldiers relent & say in a blind panic “ARE YOU F#CKING KIDDING ME?! RUUN!..” & as those poor soldiers desperately tried to escape their fates Korra throws the large shipping container directly at the soldiers & into the barricaded door completely destroying the blast door.

As the door blasts open Phantom Bison is waiting for us & immediately grapple whips at Korra which was a bad idea since in the Avatar State Korra instantly catches the grapple with her right hand & effortlessly yanks him towards herself to finish him off with her mean left hook to his face, as she’s moving her fist towards his face he does the same as he’s approaching Korra. Then as their fists make contact with each other’s faces there’s suddenly a blinding bright flash of light that comes out of nowhere.

Korra’s POV:

After a sudden blinding bright white light flashes in my face I’m suddenly seeing this horrible image of a seemingly war torn street completely completely engulfed in flames with an ember filled smog floating all around me obstructing my vision, I feel my body’s covered in dirt, soot which is burning into my open wounds, then as the ember smog finally clears I see the entire street floor covered in bodies, Men, Women, Children, Entire Families all dead. I then look down to my feet & see a dead Red Lotus Commander with his throat slit wide open gushing out blood down his lifeless body, I feel myself holding something in my left hand I looked at my hands & see their completely covered in blood with a bloodied Grapple blade resting in the palm of my hand. I then heard several Satomobile engines closing in the distance, I then started to panic, dropped the grapple blade onto the dead body below me & couldn’t think of anything else to do other than just make a run for it. Then as I started making a break for it my ankle gets snared by the same grapple blade I just dropped tripping me over to the ground with a loud earth shattering *THUD!* I rolled over onto my back & as I sit up I see Red Lotus Corpse rising up onto his feet then the grapple starts to pulling me towards the standing Red Lotus Corpse I started to frantically try to get the grapple rope off of my leg but all of my efforts were in vain as the grapple finished dragging me towards the corpse it turns towards me reveal a face I’ve never seen before but is still feels somewhat familiar with block void where his eyes should be. His soulless gaze sends waves of shivering dred as he says with the same demonic voice as Phantom Bison’s voice. “You did this to me!” He says as black smoke emanates from his bloodied clenched fists as he raises them up to show me then proceeded to say “YOU DID THIS TO ME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOOOU! ABANDONED!.. ME!…” The void that filled his eyes streaks down his cheeks & as they reached the bottom of his chin the void spreads across & covers his entire face & in a flash of inverted brightness he turned into Phantom Bison his illuminated eyes creates a blinding *FLASH!* & suddenly for a brief second I see my child self laughing & smiling from another child’s perspective smiling then in a another *FLASH!* I wake up in a cold sweat.

I’m trying & failing to get back up onto my feet as I see everyone else seemingly to be knocked out cold then I see the Phantom Bison barely standing while he’s walking over towards me with Grapple Blades in hand as he says “Alright- Avatar ..You & you’re ‘Team Avatar’ friends have all had your fun.”- I then see his metal cable launcher’s so I tried to metalbend them to stop him but ‘nothing happens’ this makes me realise that it’s pure platinum & thought ‘I-i can’t stop him! Who’s this guy?!” as my eyes widen at this horrifying revelation Phantom Bison takes a deep breath then proceeds to say *Deep breaths* “But this parties over.” He says as he winds his arm back for one final swing I then think quickly as he’s attempting to finish me off. I quickly Earthbended up a small stone wall between us to block it at the last possible second then push my arms forward & pushed him back a few feet with the said stone wall..

Then Bolin wakes up & & starts hurling Lava throwing stars at him he’s able to send him back a moment longer before Phantom Bison takes a deep breath, Bolin throws his next Lava Throwing Star, then he seemingly catches & redirects it directly back towards Bolin?! He thankfully is able to block it with some earthbending but the collision creates a small explosion sending Bolin back into the wall knocking him out on impact I attempted to push him back with airbending then I’m suddenly forced onto the ground with a sudden giant gust of wind without being able to move I looked up to see what’s causing this only to see someone from the roof catwalks seemingly flying down towards us then as they got closer I realised who’s approaching & I shouted in a raspy voice in terror“N-No!.. It can’t be?!” & see that it’s none other than ZAHEER himself slowly descending towards the ground.

I heard a familiar voice that isn’t Zaheer to my right say “Hello there Avatar Korra, how’s your wonderful family?!” I turn to see who said that & it’s the man who started this attack Tokuga himself staring at me with his ugly mutatedly grotesque sinister grin & he turns to look at Zaheer & says “Took you long enough, how hard is it to shave off both a whole head of hair & a full beard?” “I don’t need to explain how important recon work is.” “Well then don’t keep us suspense, we got what we came for now is it finally clear to evaluate?” “Of course, now what are we going to do about her? Being the major threat that she is we can’t just let her go..” “If we take her hostage we won’t be able to hold her for long & if we take her lover she’ll tear our whole empire down.” “Then we take her smart mouth friend.” Phantom Bison said which prompted Tokuga to say “The Cop Man will be a problematic hostage to keep in line.” “I’m not talking about him.” Phantom Bison says as he & new friends are all giving me a knowing sinister smirk that sends shivers down my spine.

As Tokuga snake arm grabs & picks up Unconscious Bolin I’m desperately trying to get up & trying to stop them while shouting “NO! S-STOP! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” only for Zaheer to increase his power keeping me stuck to the ground completely unable to move. Then Phantom Bison walks up to me hits me with the handle of his grapple blade while remarking “Lights Out Avatar.” *WHACK!*

Tenzin’s POV:

As I finally catch up to Rohan I say “There you are Rohan, we have to get outta here!”- then I hear grunting noise from the rubble just ahead of us then I see massive hole in the side wall of the now burning Cabbage Corp building, as I look back at pile of rubble I see a Red Lotus Soldier sluggishly emerging from said rubble. Then he sees us then for the next few seconds we’re staring at each other like a Cheeta-Stag caught in headlights, then he makes the first move & starts to firebends several fireballs towards Rohan, I block them just in time & counter airbended him with small spheres of concentrated air towards him. He blocks a few of them with fireballs but the spheres he didn’t manage to block I made them orbit & continuously spinning around him turning into a dust devil. He tries to firebend but can’t conquer up any flames or even a single spark, then I smirk & make a snarky remark “Having performance issues?!” & I speed up the Dust Devil’s rotation drastically causing him to lose his ability to breathe then he starts flying upwards until he’s a few stories high in the air then I airbend a strong down draft slamming him straight down into the ground in hopes of knocking him out. As I hesitantly approached he shoots out a small bolt of lightning at me I try & failed to block it & I was hit square in the chest sending me back into the factory wall. Then he gets up while sinisterly remarking “Did you forgot old timer that Lightning ..always cuts through air!..” Then as starts to lightning bend a glass bottle hits & shatters into pieces as it impacts him in the back of his head causing him to miss his shot of lightning he tried to finish me off with.

He turns around & looks towards the direction it came from only to see a rolled up poo filled diaper ball get thrown square in the face. He instantly started vomiting the poor guy *EXESSESIVE VOMITING!* “UGH.. CRAP!” then once he regains his barings he sees the person who did it is none other than my son Rohan who’s now in stitches very loudly laughing at him, not wearing any pants & has just thrown his diaper at this Firebending psycho making him look embarrassed for a moment making me laugh a little. He then yells in aggression “YOU’RE A DEAD LITTLE RUNT!”- I then tried to stop him but he kicks in the stomach sending me back into the wall & he just started punching me in the face & kicking my stomach while I’m down & as he’s about stomp onto my face to finish me off I heard a heard Rohan scream “NOOOOOAAAR!..” *WHOOSH!..* the Sh#t Faced Red Lotus Soldier is flying straight through the pile of rubble further down the alley & crashing into a Satomobile truck full of Cabbages.

I got up & looked towards my son not caring that he’s half naked while saying with pride & shock “Rohan, ..You just AIRBENDED!” Rohan then shouts in excitement “YEAH! I BLOW WIND JUST LIKE DADA!..” he then goes ahead to blast small bursts of wind in all directions in celebration. I quickly muttered to myself “My Spirits, I’ve just created a monster.. A monster of enthusiasm.” *BOOOM!* I turned around to see the source of the blast only to see Tokuga with some hooded guy & my least favourite person “Zaheer?! No! It’s impossible! You’re supposed to be locked up!” “You should know by now Tenzin that Chains can’t hold me!”

We then hear a strong gust of wind behind us, I turn & see it’s the Fleet of Airbenders wingsuiting towards us with Ryu, Kai & my brother Bumi being amongst them while Opal is leading the charge. As she & the rest of the Airbenders land Bumi quickly hands me a pair of pants for Rohan since it’s not his first flashy rodeo while remarking “I couldn’t find any diapers. So here’s the next best thing..” I sigh & swiftly put them on him as Opal giggles as she tustles his hair then the rest of the Airbenders surround this cursed Sinnister Trio while she sternly shouts “We’ve got you all surrounded, just give up!”- then her facial expression suddenly turns from stern to panick as this hooded man brings out a knocked out Bolin over his shoulder from the burning Cabbage Corp Building then Opal absolutely losses it & charges after them with godly speeds while furiously shouting “AAARRRGH!..” Then Tokuga smugly remarks “So long Team Avatar!.. HEHEH!” Then a massive hurricane emerges down from the clouds above & surrounds them then vanishes & Opal just screams “No! NO! NO!.. BOLIN!…” Opal then starts to break down crying while hugging her stomach, Bumi then comforts her & tries to reassure her “Don’t worry chief, we’ll get him back..” then Kai asks “Hey, where’s Korra & the others?!”

A couple of hours later-

Korra’s POV:

As I started regaining consciousness I jerked up, sat up in a cold sweat gasping as I shouted “NO!” Asami then immediately hugged & calmed me down reassuring me “It’s okay Korra we’re safe now!” “Not everyone, they took him. They took Bolin..” we then see the Cabbage Corp building completely engulfed in flames as the CEO arrives in his Satomobile & rushes over to the front of the burning building then drops to his knees while screaming “NOOOOHOOHOHOOHOOO!.. MY CABBAGE CORP WAREHOUSE!..” then Mako walkover to us as Opal follows “That Phantom Bison is a dead man, if those thugs lay one hand on him!” “We’re getting him back Mako I promise.” “& I’m coming with!” Opal bluntly chimes in “What?” Mako says “I’m not asking..” She says with a ‘Don’t eff with me!’ look in her eyes..

END OF CHAPTER!..

[threewaywithdelusion]

I Would've Liked to Know You (Mike)

Warning for Major Character Death (Steve) before the story starts. I've also written parts for Dustin and Max.

1996

Mike took a seat in his designated armchair on the stage and looked out at the crowd. 

It was a packed house tonight. A room full of fantasy nerds, all clutching his new book in their laps, roaring at the sight of him. 

He never could have imagined this kind of success so early in his career. Yes, the crowd only filled a small bookshop, but it more than he’d expected with only three published books. It wouldn’t please his father, who still insisted Mike should get a real job, but it was enough to make him feel confident that he was making the right decision by pursuing writing. 

In the front row, El and Will were smiling at him. Will would probably be approached by fans once they realized he was artist who had drawn the covers for the Shadow World trilogy. Or perhaps by the fans of his comic series, Zombie Boy, which told the story of a young boy shunned by his town after he died and came back to life with super powers. 

Mike and Will both had what was probably the oddest publication process in the country. After they wrote any book or comic and before they could send it to their editors, a special board created by the US government had to read and approve their story, ensuring it was different enough from their experience with the Upside Down so as not to raise any eyebrows (or violate any NDAs). 

Will’s comics leaned heavily into his other life experiences to ground the plot in real feelings while divorcing it from Will’s true story. Mike just periodically fought the US government when they declared his story too closely inspired by real-life events. He had never fought them as hard as he had for the final book in the trilogy, King of Nowhere, but he felt it was worth it in the end. 

As the interviewer took a seat in the armchair across from Mike, El gave him a thumbs up and a big smile from the front row. Mike felt a comforting squeeze around his shoulders, easing his stage fright, and El discreetly wiped at her nose with a tissue. 

“A round of applause for Mike Wheeler, author of the Shadow World trilogy!” the interviewer said. He was a man a decade older than Mike and he shot Mike a smile as the room burst into applause. 

When it finally died down, the interview said, “So, Mike, how does it feel to finally have finished your first series?”

“It’s bittersweet,” Mike said. “I love these characters, and I’m going to miss them, but I know their story ends here. I’m happy with where I’ve left them.”

“Did you always know this was where the story was going to end?” the interviewer asked. 

“No,” Mike said. He thought of how many days he’d spent sitting at the computer in his office, writing and rewriting the same paragraphs. Giving the lost princess powers and then — after a phone call from the US government — taking them away. Having the hero rescue the princess only to delete three entire chapters and have her rescue herself. Having Mavis, the fastest horse rider in the kingdom, use her magic to know where to steer her steed, only to get yelled at by Max for making it seem like blind people could only be capable in a universe with magic. 

“How do you do it?” Mike had asked Will once. Will didn’t get yelled at by their friends for his comic and Mike felt overwhelmed by everyone’s complaints. 

“You have to tell your story, Mike,” Will had said. “You’re trying to tell everyone else’s. Zombie Boy works because it’s not a story about the Upside Down. It’s not even a story about creatures from another world. It’s a story about how monsters can be human and what it’s like to be an outsider. It’s my story. What’s yours?”

Mike had had to take a one year writing break after that, pushing back the publication date of the final book, which his publisher hadn’t been happy about. 

But Mike was proud of King of Nowhere. It had been hell to write — way worse than the other books. There had been tears and screaming and it had felt, at times, like Mike was bleeding onto the page. He’d broken down countless times in El’s arms, crying over wounds he’d thought had healed a decade ago.

He knew it was his best book to date.

“Let’s talk about some of these characters. Now, this is going to contain spoilers, so,” he made a show of turning to the audience. “Have you guys had time to read the book?”

The audience cheered. 

“Alright,” the interviewer said. “I have to say, the character whose fate I was most surprised by was Stark.”

There were murmurs of agreement from the audience. 

“Yeah?” Mike asked. 

“Of course,” the interviewer said. “You must have seen the fan theories. All the foreshadowing from the first two books pointed to the fact that he was going to die. And his role in the story was clearly that of the mentor. Most mentors don’t make it through a fantasy series alive. How is the hero meant to take his rightful place if there is still someone older and wiser around?”

Mike looked out at El and Will again. El’s dark eyes were boring into Mike, proud and steady.

“I thought, when I first started writing the series, that I was going to kill Stark,” Mike said. “Like you said, he’s the mentor and the mentor doesn’t get to live. But Stark’s character was actually based off a friend of mine. He used to drive me and my friends around in middle school. He’d give us arcade money and bitch at us and protect us from bullies. He was brave and snarky and kind of annoying, just like Stark. And he died, ten years ago last month.”

The room was silent, everyone hanging on Mike’s words with bated breath. 

“That’s why I couldn’t kill Stark,” Mike said. “Because he thought he was meant to die, just like Steve did, and I didn’t want to keep perpetuating that story.”

“What story?”

“That some people are just doomed by the narrative,” Mike said. “Because they aren’t. They always have a choice. A chance. And it’s stupid that the mentor always dies, as if the hero can’t become a fully realized person without losing someone he looks up to. I can tell you from experience, losing someone like that, it doesn’t make you feel ready to take on the world. It doesn’t teach you to stand on your own two feet. It just reminds you that the world is senselessly cruel and that no matter how brave or good you are or how much you fight, you can’t escape tragedy.”

“But we’re not fictional characters,” the interviewer said tentatively. 

“No,” Mike said. “But we still let ourselves get trapped by narratives. The ones other people tell about us and the ones we tell about ourselves. A good friend once told me that if I wanted to finish this series, I had to stop trying to tell everyone else’s story and I had to figure out my own. So I stopped listening to the publishers and the beta readers and even my friends. And I discovered that this was the story I wanted to tell. In my version of the story, Stark isn’t doomed and he doesn’t die. Him living doesn’t stop any of the people he mentors from becoming heroes. And the world is cruel in other ways, but it doesn’t tell a man that he never had any chance of making it out alive.”

“Do you think your friend would have liked the book?” the interviewer asked. 

Mike laughed. “He wouldn’t have read it. He called my fantasy books bricks and he probably would have waited for a movie adaptation. But I think- I think he would have liked the message. I think he would have liked to know that Stark didn’t need to die to be loved.”

Mike had jealously guarded the story of King of Nowhere until he’d finished it. Unlike with his first two books, his friends hadn’t read it until right before publication, when he’d sent them all ARCs. Dustin had called Mike in the middle of the night, sobbing over the phone line, saying that he loved the book. 

He’d thanked him for not killing Steve. For letting Stark have the happy ending Steve had never believed he would deserve. 

A week after that, the book had been published and dozens of newspapers had given Mike’s book five-star reviews. None of them meant more than that teary phone call from Dustin. 

“A good message indeed,” the interviewer said. “Now, Nico’s plot was unexpected as well. He’s been chasing power and leadership for three books, trying to unite the seven kingdoms against the Shadow World, and I think we all expected him to lead the final battle and become king. But instead, he makes a very different choice. Can you talk about that more?”

“It’s simple,” Mike said. “Sometimes, in order to be the hero, you have to realize that the story isn’t about you. You have to know when to step aside and let someone else take the reins.”

The rest of the interview didn’t get quite as heavy. Mike got to talk more about his characters, about the people he loved and the things he’d realized about himself while writing this final book. When the interview was over, Mike was given a ten minute break before he was expected to greet fans and sign books. 

He ducked into the bookstore’s back room, Will and El following after him. El gave him a kiss and he held her close, pressing his forehead against hers and breathing for a moment. 

“You did very good,” she told him. “I liked the part about Princess Elysande.”

“I loved what you said about the narrative,” Will said. He paused and then said, in a smaller voice, “Do you think Steve knew? Do you think he always expected to die?”

Mike thought of Steve’s bloody face, pressed against Mike’s side while Max drove her brother’s car. Thought of Steve stumbling, unsteady on his feet, in the tunnels and the way he insisted on going first anyway. Thought of Steve driving them all through a pack of demodogs sometime after the ground had cracked open and the monsters had begun flooding through. Thought of that final battle, standing back to back with Lucas and fighting off demodogs, so focused on keeping himself alive that he hadn’t noticed anything had gone wrong until Dustin had screamed like his soul had been torn from his body. 

He remembered being fourteen and feeling unworthy of Eleven’s love and how he had nearly torn them apart. He remembered watching Steve Harrington for years and seeing the way he had always treated love like something to be earned, something the Party would gift him if he was just good enough. 

Sometimes, he thought Steve Harrington had written his own tragedy, convinced it was the best possible outcome for everyone else. 

“I don’t know,” Mike said. “I hope not.”

“But you believe it?” Will asked. 

“I don’t know,” Mike repeated. 

It was too late; Mike couldn’t do anything to change Steve’s mind or his end. All he could do was write Steve a happier story and hope that it mattered, even if it was ten years too late and even if it was fiction. 

He’d been so dismissive of Steve back then. So annoyed by his very existence. He’d been a moody, traumatized teenager and he’d never told Steve that the rides and arcade money and unsolicited life advice had ever meant anything to him. He’d never given Steve anything but a shitty attitude in return for his patience and friendship. 

But now there was a book with Steve’s name printed in it, across from the copyright page. 

To Steve — as long as we live, you live on through us. Thank you for giving us the chance

~~~

Mike's "chapter" fought me. If you don't you like it or don't think it fits with the other parts, feel free to give me feedback. I don't have a beta, so I'm kinda using Tumblr as one. Eventually, this will end up as a 5+1 (but really 7+1, nuggets + Robin) fic whenever I'm happy with everyone's parts.

[vettelsbitch]

14, 20, 21(about Seb), 22 for the smut ask meme! 👀

14. What are your favorite smut tropes?

Idk exactly what would count as smut tropes, but here we go

I loooove kink exploration, curiosity is natural and I think showing characters trying out something new, whether something deeply researched ahead of time or a spur of the moment thing, can bring out so much characterization and interesting feelings. It can be fun, it can go great or it can go a bit wrong, or even fully wrong.

Sex toys, just all of them. Smut is always great but if you add sex toys to it? Amazing. Showstopping. Give your character a dildo, give them a vibrator, add a blindfold, what about a cockring? It's like seasoning, you can always get away with a little bit more.

I don't know what to call this but when the character you wouldn't expect is actually the more kinky/experienced/debauched one. I think it's a near power exchange. It plays really well into other tropes.

Guided masturbation, that's just hot. Especially if it's like "we are not together I'm just helping a bro out" kind of way.

Sprinkling some jealousy is fun. Scotty/Daniel/Max scholars thank you so much

20. Share a summary of, or excerpt from, an unpublished smut fic.

Oh god I have so many

Daniel is a lifeguard and has a pussy, Max is obsessed (Pierre and Charles suffer in the background)

21. Share a smutty headcanon about Seb. 

He is a slut, and he's unashamedly one. He loves pleasing his partner but he also loves taking his own pleasure from them, he's a tease and he knows how to make sure his partners fuck him dry one way or another.

22. Share a DVD commentary on [one of your smut fic/smutty scene from a longer work]. 

I'm going to do a little bit of Coffee Break

Valtteri breathes in deeply, the full-bodied aroma of his favorite dark roast enveloping him. The cup of coffee is warm between his hands, the familiar weight and comfort of it calming him down. He moves to sit down on the couch, careful not to spill even a drop. The leather is cold against the back of his calves, but the first sip of coffee warms him up from the inside. He sits back, spreading his legs a little. His right foot bumps onto Daniel's knee.

(I've never been so proud of an opening paragraph as this one, can I ask for a round of applause because this is pure gold. Sliding onto the smut from such a mundane task, kudos to my braincells for working)

Daniel whines at the touch, a little, desperate sound that's barely audible. It's the first touch he's had since Valtteri finished tightening the leather restraints on his wrists before walking off to start making his coffee. Valtteri looks at him, face neutral (Val really works so well as a Dom imho), while taking another sip of his coffee. Daniel isn't looking up at him, his head hanging and his shoulders forced back by his tied arms. He's completely naked, his thighs spread apart, his golden skin and tattoos contrasting with the beige carpet. Valtteri moves his feet again; now his ankle is bumping against Daniel, the tiniest drag against the inside of his thigh. Daniel moans again, hardly more than a pant.

Valtteri shushes him, his lips mere centimeters away from the mug. He can hear the sharp breath from Daniel and the soft scratch of the carpet against his knees when he shifts his weight. He closes his eyes and savors the coffee, its flavor filling his mouth. He can feel Daniel's warmth on his leg; if he presses closer, he could even feel his pulse. So he does; his leg moves, and his ankle pushes against Daniel's thigh. He feels him tremble; another, louder whine follows.

(I love descriptions, if you read any of my works you'll see I like to get verbose with my descriptions, specially of sensations during smut, there's so much more that goes on than the physical pleasure. The sounds, the taste, the textures)

He opens his eyes and notices Daniel's thighs trembling and his angry red erection twitching hard in between his legs. A metal ring rests against the shiny glans, keeping the sounding rod in place (you'll never guess how much research went into this fic, no regrets though), and twinkles under the light coming from the window. He's wet from the lube and from the precum that manages to ooze past the steel. His balls are flushed too, darker than the rest of his skin, stretched by the dark rubber ring around them.

"Daniel, you should know better. I'm trying to enjoy my coffee." He says this while reaching for the coffee table and dropping his half-empty mug, his leg still pressing against Daniel. (I don't think he's only going to enjoy the coffee)

Daniel finally raises his head, slightly damp curls stuck to his forehead. His face is red, his mouth is open and wet, and he is panting. "I'm sorry," he mutters. He's trembling all over, his hips twitching, his abdominal muscles tensing. Valtteri moves again, forcing his face to remain calm and stopping his smile (it takes a lot when you have a desperate Daniel at your feet). He presses his leg harder against Daniel's.

Daniel advances clumsily on his knees, desperate to be touched. "Please," he says, hips moving, trying to reach Valtteri, trying to get some friction, to feel his warmth against where he needs it the most. Valtteri stops him, grabbing his curls and tugging—just a touch, just some tension. Daniel moans, his eyes dark with his pupils eating up the brown. "Please, Val."

(I always love making Daniel go from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds. He's chill, calm, smiley, but put him in the correct situation like on his knees and he will be on a hair trigger)

"I was trying to enjoy my coffee," he repeats, moving his feet closer to Daniel's crotch. "But you decided to be a desperate slut instead of letting me." (I surprise myself every time I sprinkle some degrading, since I always insist I'm not into it.. maybe I am) He slides his hand down, cradling Daniel's cheek, his thumb pressing down on his plump lip. "Maybe I should have gagged you." (Yes)

Daniel tries to get closer, moving his head just enough to try to get Valtteri's thumb to slide into his mouth (All these men have oral fixations, change my mind). Valtteri can feel his wet pants against his hand; he can feel himself getting hard in his shorts; his body is heating up with the visual in front of him. "Maybe I shouldn't have left you waiting for so long," he says, pressing his toes against Daniel's balls. "But a good cup of coffee takes time, and you know it. (I've seen how Val posts about coffee, he would take 30min for an espresso)" Daniel tries to nod, closing his eyes for a second, but Valtteri's hand doesn't let him much range of movement. "Perhaps punishing you should be better." He pushes his toes harder, pressing Daniel's balls against the carpet. He moves his hand down to his neck—no pressure, his fingers just resting across the thick muscles there.

Daniel shudders, his whole body tensing up, his jaw clenching. He's trying to keep his voice down; Valtteri can see him struggling. He releases the pressure a little, lifting his foot enough that Daniel manages to take a deep breath before he pushes down again. He can feel Daniel's balls squish under the ball of his foot, the skin soft and warm, the slight resistance of the flesh (Aren't ball physics just fascinating). He presses further, until Daniel can't keep his whimpers in and his dick twitches, almost bumping against Valtteri's leg.

He raises his foot completely, barely containing his smirk at Daniel's shoulders dropping from the tension leaving him. He moves his foot up, his toes barely brushing against Daniel's dick until he can poke at the sounding rod ring with his big toe. (I think I've never written so much about feet.. I don't know how I feel about it)

"Look at you, whimpering like a whore (yes) from getting your balls stepped on. You wouldn't even be able to cum." He nudges the ring, not pushing or pulling, just moving it, but Daniel is always so sensitive and responsive that he cries out, his bottom lip between his teeth doing nothing to muffle it.

(Daniel's bottom lip is so thick and juicy, for what? So I can obsess over him biting it?)

[sawdusst]

The Rainmaker Heist Chapter 9 (Coroika Pirate AU) ⚓

Hiii!!! Sorry this update took so long. I spent a while working on the ending but I hope y'all like it :D Wowie, we're on chapter 9-- the second to last chapter :"

Anyways, enjoy! :D

Previous Chapter

Main Thread of All the Characters & Such :D

Word Count: 1,776 (+ some edits done)

====== [ ⚓ ] ======

[Wait for an opportunity]

After Half Rim and Straps showed up, the four of them decided to go to a cafe since there was still plenty of time before the auction. They ordered a few pastries, sitting at a table near the window. 

“So, the auction starts at sundown,” Gloves began, “Which means, they’ll probably present the Rainmaker later on in the night. Hopefully it’ll be dark enough that we could escape without making too much of a disturbance.” 

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

“I’m thinking Half Rim could try to splat at least one of them with the splatterscope,” he continued, “Then, I’ll go in, grab the Rainmaker, and start heading back towards the ship.”

“That might be easier said than done,” Half Rim objected.

“I could just make up the rest as I go!” Gloves replied with nonchalance, then grinned.

“Wow, you've really got it planned out,” Half Rim mumbled.

“We should get something to replace the Rainmaker with, it’ll cause some trouble if they find out it’s gone,” Straps interjected, “That way, we won’t disturb the auction, we just need to take care of the X Bloods.”

“Oh, that’ll be easy,” Gloves shrugged, “I say we wait for sundown then and head over to the auction stage. You guys hide backstage, let me take care of the Rainmaker just in case it goes wrong— you guys will still have a way out.”

“Sounds good to me, but what about you?” Half Rim asked, “How are you going to escape if you're caught?”

“I have my ways,” Gloves replied with a scoff, “I could just escape with my dualies and forget about the Rainmaker. Depends on how bad the situation is.”

Gloves then set his hands on the table, “Are you guys ready?”

The four of them nodded in agreement.

====== [ ⚓ ] ======

Once the sun had begun to disappear along the horizon, the four made their way back to the stage. Gloves held a golden statue of a lucky cat, hidden in his coat. The four of them had their weapons prepared, strapped to their backs. 

“Looks like we made it just in time,” Half Rim commented. 

As the auction proceeded, the X-Blood Pirates were abruptly called to the stage. 

“Now’s our chance,” Gloves whispered to himself, then looked over at his crew, “Let’s take our positions. Be prepared to run once I grab the Rainmaker.”

Everyone nodded. The four of them hurried to the backstage area. Half Rim ducked behind a stack of crates with the splatterscope propped on his shoulder. Straps and Clips hid behind some boxes of sound equipment. Gloves took a deep breath and followed after them. 

He looked around, ducking under a roped off section. The sunset was masking his presence. Most of the other patrons were too occupied with watching what was on stage to pay attention to him. Gloves could hear the announcer up on the stage. 

“Good evening all! And welcome to Hagglefish Market’s monthly auction!” 

The glass case was seemingly left unlocked. Gloves carefully lifted it up, trying not to make a sound. He set the glass case aside, taking another deep breath. Gloves waited for a split second before taking the red tarp off.

“We have plenty of exciting prizes from all around the world to showcase tonight!” 

Sure enough, the golden Rainmaker stood on the stand. Gloves looked at it for a split second in awe. 

Gloves slowly reached for the golden statue. 

“We also have a few special guests here with us today,” the announcer continued, “Captain Vintage and his crew recently returned from a bounty-hunting job. It looks like they've brought something to sell!"

Gloves cringed inside after hearing those words. He hesitated for a second.

“Would you please give them a warm welcome?” 

There was a round of applause from the audience, plus a few murmurs from the crowd. Gloves could hear the X Bloods saying something while they were on stage.

Gloves then seized this opportunity. He quickly grabbed the Rainmaker and replaced it with the golden cat from his coat pocket. Gloves then took off his coat, wrapping the Rainmaker in it to hide the shimmering gold. 

Gloves quickly covered the golden cat statue with the red cloth, grabbing the glass case and placing it back over it. He sighed a breath of relief. Gloves quickly hauled the Rainmaker onto his shoulder. Immediately, he staggered forward from how heavy the Rainmaker was.

He could hear the announcement that the auction would start soon. Gloves could hear footsteps steadily approaching the backstage area.

The auction was starting as it was supposed to, the first item was being presented with the audience making their bids. Gloves winced, trudging forward with the Rainmaker propped on his shoulder.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you hands off?” 

Gloves stopped for a second. He slowly turned around. Standing before him were four cyan inklings with dark red eyes. 

“Ah— You must be Captain Vintage,” Gloves said, nervousness creeping into his voice, “It’s so nice to finally meet you—”

He took a hesitant step back.

“It’s you from earlier,” Vintage began, “Just what do you think you’re doing?” 

“What? Me?” Gloves laughed, “Nothing at all! I have no idea what you’re talking abou—”

“The Rainmaker,” Vintage interrupted, “I know you took it. If you hand it over now, I’ll leave you and your crew alone, you might be able to get out of here alive. Your choice.”

“Shoot,” Gloves whispered, then took a deep breath. He looked behind him, seeing his crew still hidden behind a few boxes. There was a small opening he could take if he made it quickly enough. None of the X Bloods had their weapons with them.

“Well…?”

Gloves swiftly turned around, “The jig is up! Let’s go!” 

Straps leapt out from the stack of boxes, raising the splat roller and slamming it into the ground. The X Bloods dashed out of the way, splashes of green ink staining their shirts.

Without hesitation, Gloves turned around and ran as fast as he could. He kept the Rainmaker under his arm as he ran through the crowd. He wove his way through the crowd, heading towards the back alley. The rest of his crew hurried after Gloves.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?!” Half Rim exclaimed as they ran.

“Trust me! I’ve got it all figured out!” Gloves responded with a wink, “I’m totally not making this up as I go! Don’t worry about it.” 

The four of them sprinted ahead, dashing past the shops from earlier. Gloves hauled the Rainmaker on his shoulder then glanced over his shoulder. 

“Straps! You go on ahead and get the ship’s anchor raised so we can get out of here!” Gloves ordered, “We’ll try to keep them away.”

Straps nodded. Gloves stepped off to the side so Straps could run ahead of him. The four of them turned the corner, running into the alleyway. Gloves nearly tripped as he turned the corner. He steadied himself, running next to Half Rim.

Gloves vaulted over a crate that was propped in the street. Suddenly, there was a volley of ink bubbles launched at the four of them. Gloves jumped up with surprise as the cyan ink splashed the road beneath them.

“We’re not letting you get away that easily!” One of the cyan inklings exclaimed, she had a bloblobber in her hands. Another series of bright cyan bubbles were launched that dribbled towards them.

Clips and Half Rim jumped out of the way. Half Rim raised his splatterscope, aiming it at the cyan inklings in the distance from him. They stood in the alleyway, holding their weapons.

Vintage held a ballpoint splatling. He scoffed, “Take his crew down. The captain’s mine.” 

Half Rim quickly fired a shot from the splatterscope. Vintage ducked as the green ink flew over his head. He raised the splatling, taking a step forward. He had a bright red glint in his eye.

“Scatter.”

In a flash, all three of the crewmates standing next to him seemed like they disappeared. Gloves’ eyes widened with shock. Without a second to waste, the four of them turned around and began to run away again.

“Keep an eye out!” Gloves exclaimed, “They could be anywhere!” 

The four of them sprinted ahead. Their boots steadily beat the mossy cobblestone ground as they ran ahead. As they ran towards the end of the alleyway, an inkling with a nautilus 47 jumped out from a corner. 

A volley of ink was launched at the crew. Gloves took a hesitant step back, dashing to the side as bright cyan ink splattered the ground. 

Straps quickly dashed forward, raising the splat roller. She slammed the roller into the ground, creating a shockwave of green ink which launched at the other inkling.

The latter dodged, using her arm to block some of the green ink. She raised the nautilus again and launched another barrage of ink. 

“Captain! Let’s split up and take them one-on-one,” Clips suggested, “We won’t make it to the ship in time if we stay clumped up like this!” 

Gloves nodded. “I’ll see you guys on the ship! Be careful out there!”

They all nodded in agreement. Clips dashed to the side, firing a few rounds of ink at the cyan inkling. She dodged another series of rounds from the nautilus as she ran in another direction. 

As Clips kept the inkling occupied, the three of them charged forward, sprinting past the cyan inkling towards an intersection in the road. Straps sprinted forward, while Half Rim ran off to the left. 

Gloves sprinted off to the left, giving one last glance to the rest of his crew. He turned around, running with the Rainmaker still propped on his shoulder. He could hear footsteps chasing after him. As he looked down, he could see bright cyan ink staining the soles of his boots.

“I just have to get to the shore,” Gloves told himself, “Head in the same direction as everyone else— Do everything you did to get here, but backwards.” 

Gloves jumped to the side as bright cyan ink blasted past him and splashed his shoulder. He sighed a breath of relief. He could hear heavy footsteps hastily approaching him from behind. 

“Shoot, I can’t use my dualies while I’m holding this thing,” Gloves though as he hurried ahead. He turned the corner, hearing the footsteps from before slowly fade as he sprinted onwards.

Gloves then skidded to a stop, seeing there was a solid wall in front of him. There was a fork in the road, splitting the alleyway into two separate streets. 

“That can’t be right,” Gloves uttered, “I could’ve sworn I was heading the same direction as—”

Gloves looked behind him, seeing Vintage was no longer chasing him. There were still a few splats of cyan ink on the ground, but it seems Gloves was alone. He sighed a breath of relief, setting the Rainmaker down and brushing off his hands.

“Okay, okay, I need to think,” Gloves said, steadying his breathing, “Which way am I supposed to go? Was it left or right…?” 

• • •

Yayyyy thank you for reading! If you've made it this far, I really appreciate the support :"D I'm having fun working on this and I can't wait to finish off strong!

Sorry again for taking so long, the chase scene was a bit tedious to write but I still had fun.

Have a great day/night! <3

[vixstarria]

Bloodbang Chronicles - Chapter 11 - On the road again

Chapter summary: The chapter title is a tad misleading - they are most certainly deliberately staying off the road as long as they can.

Psst, check out this map of the Sword Coast, if you want to have an idea of where they are.

Chapter word count: 3.5k

Previous chapter | Series masterlist | AO3 | Overall masterlist

Series summary:

Five years have passed since the confrontation with the Netherbrain. Astarion and his warlock lover, Asmodea, are living it up in Baldur’s Gate, running a cabaret. Their life of decadence and debauchery seems idyllic, until Asmodea’s patron disrupts it with a proposal. One that seems too good to be true. One they cannot refuse.

Pairing: Astarion x Original Female Character

Genre: Humor / adventure / smut

Rating: Explicit

“Do you require a piggyback ride? It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.”

Asmodea smiled smugly at Astarion from across a stream. Astarion ignored her and her shit-eating grin as he studied the brook with apprehension. Though it was shallow, it took her a running start to make the jump across without getting her boots wet.

“Or shall I throw my cloak in, so you can stomp across like a dame unwilling to get her slippers dirty?”

“I’m glad you find this so funny,” Astarion retorted, curtly. “I’ll be sure to remember it next time you need me to kill a spider for you.”

“So… Is it like an invisible wall, the way it is with dwellings..? Or is it painful to stand close to it..?” she asked, her tone softening.

“Oh, no, not at all. There is no invisible boundary, and I would have to come in contact with the running water for it to cause pain or harm,” Astarion said, extending and holding an arm out over the stream, as though to test whether what he just said was true. “It’s the knowledge that if I were to be submerged - I would turn into mist and be washed away into nothingness. Can’t help but find that notion a touch disconcerting,” he said with a weak laugh.

“Would that happen instantaneously? Like an explosion of mist and vapour?” Asmodea asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“No, no… It would take a few minutes of screaming and thrashing… And I would need to have most of my body submerged throughout, or it would regenerate faster than it evaporated.”

Asmodea sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Astarion, just jump across the damned stream.”

“It’s not that easy!”

“Yes, it is! Here, I’ll show you a trick.” Asmodea took a few steps back, and easily leapt across the water. “I’ll even do it again!” Another step back for some momentum, and she jumped back. “Did you see that?! Now you do it.”

Astarion stood back with an impassive look painted on his face, giving her a round of slow and exaggerated applause, before flipping her off with both hands.

“Just JUMP!”

“I CAN’T!” He sighed and looked away, scowling to hide what was likely embarrassment, before continuing. “Look, these things aren’t always logical and rational. Some people are scared of heights. Some panic at the sight of dogs. And others-”

“Are terrified of ankle-deep water, yes, I’ve gathered.”

Astarion scoffed, but, seeming to have gathered his resolve at last, tossed his bulkier belongings across onto the other bank.

“You can do it, sweetheart, I believe in you!”

“Fuck. Off.” He growled, readying himself. He measured his steps, then took a stance, rocking in place on bent legs, taking deep breaths. Finally, he squeezed his eyes shut and took a running leap.

Southeast, to the Wood of Sharp Teeth, on to Berdusk and up the Chionthar as far as it would take them, then on to Elversult via the Trader’s Road, through Easting and Priapurl.

That was the plan.

Why the dense and mostly uninhabited woods rather than the open plains? Well, Astarion would now need to hunt, for one. And frankly he would be more fearsome and dangerous than anything they might encounter there, anyway. The absence of company and the additional natural protection from the sun couldn’t hurt either.

Where to after Elversult? Time and, presumably, Asmodea’s patron would tell.

Astarion lay awake, studying the roof of their tent. Just a thin layer of canvas between him and a terrible, painful death. …Well, that, and some additional measures that may or may not make it possible for him to survive until nightfall. Cloaks and scrolls of darkness, not to mention the trees above them, could shield him to some extent as he crawled or dug himself into a hole, like some kind of vermin, if worst came to worst. He had no idea how long he might last out in the open sun, though he knew at his age he would not burn up instantaneously the way a newly turned spawn would. He was not willing to experiment to find out the limits of his tolerance, however.

He could feel the sun. Not on his skin, but he was aware of its presence anyway - he was always aware when it was out, even when he was underground. The very knowledge of it itched somewhere in the back of his mind. When its rays were near, it suffocated him, drained him and dampened his powers. No wonder vampire lords preferred to reside in stone castles with cavernous underground spaces. This journey was not pleasant.

He sighed and turned his mind to other matters, like Oddie, who was snoozing on his chest.

Immortality… He would believe it once he saw it. Until then, he would think of their excursion as nought but a change of scenery, something to humour her. Even if her patron could truly provide what it suggested, it would want something from her in return, and thus far it hadn’t yet disclosed the price she would have to pay. And there would be a price, he was sure. He didn’t trust it one bit, no matter the absurd way it allowed Oddie to communicate with and address it. ‘Fuckface’… Gods… His sweet, reckless fool, playing with forces that could ruin her without a second thought, should she ever step too far. Perhaps her master wasn’t a cruel one, but it was possessive and obstinate in its attachment, else it wouldn’t have remained with her through all these years. Would it ever willingly agree to sever the strings attaching them..? Even if it held true to their agreement, and provided the promised boon?

How would the boon work, anyway? Would she be frozen in time, like him?

Oddie’s body had changed somewhat since their journey five years ago, he realised now that he held her again in the same surroundings as back then. She had been gaunt then, from living on the road for years on end. Pleasant curves now softened her silhouette where bones once jutted. Her hair had grown longer, though still dyed a burgundy red and shaped into locs, adorned with beads and charms.

As for Astarion, short of mutilating his own body with silver, the permanence which had settled over him would not shift. Wounds closed in a matter of minutes, or even faster if he could take fresh blood. Broken bones set themselves. Cut or torn out hair would grow back within a day. The only part of him that he had any control over was his fingernails, which insisted on slowly shaping themselves into claws, unless he regularly filed them, though not so quickly that he couldn’t keep them short.

He felt the sun rising higher, a lethargy covering his consciousness like a cloak. He held Oddie tighter and drifted away, his mind wandering to other times passed together in a tent, years ago, so similar yet so different.

Five years ago, somewhere along the Risen Road

He awoke to find her missing. She must have gone back to her tent in the night. Of course she did. He had given her the only thing he could offer, and she took it and left - there would have been no point in staying. He couldn’t even provide her with warmth - his lukewarm flesh could only steal her own body heat.

She stayed, sometimes. If he exhausted her sufficiently, to the point she didn’t want to go through the effort of getting dressed and making her way back to her own tent. He supposed she had still snuck away at first opportunity, that night.

He tried to quell the mounting feeling of disappointment. He had wanted to hold her longer, in the early morning hours, while she slept. Bury his face in her neck or hair, under the guise of sleep.

No matter.

Astarion was about to get up - might as well start this wretched day - when the tent flap opened, dawn light illuminating her at the entrance. She was wearing nought but his shirt, which sat on her almost like a very short dress. The threadbare thing was nearly translucent, the light coming in from behind her outlining her body through it.

She crouched down to lift the edge of a blanket and crawl under it, and only then noticed that he was watching her.

“Oh… You’re awake,” she said, sounding almost embarrassed.

“I am…” On a sudden whim, he reached out to grab her and tugged her down onto the bedroll, wrapping her in a bear hug beneath the covers. She let out a little squeal, laughing, and allowed herself to be pulled against him. “And I caught a thief,” he added, making his voice sound more groggy that he was really feeling. He couldn’t be fully accountable for his actions if he was barely conscious, could he? “I do believe that’s my shirt you tried to make off with, darling. And you know what happens to thieves..?”

“No, what happens to them?” she asked, batting her lashes at him in faux-innocence.

“Oh, they get stripped and spanked,” he answered in a drowsy voice. Gods, but he didn’t actually want to do any of that right now, don’t make him do it... “But for now they just get held in custody,” he added, drawing her closer.

She hugged him back, never quite growing completely still - instead tangling her legs with his, nuzzling into his neck, her fingers drawing faint, light lines and circles on his skin where they could reach while her arms were wrapped around him, her hold tightening. A silence held, which seemed to be full of a meaning that he couldn’t quite bring himself to put words to. He mirrored her movements, slowly. It was a hair short of being sensual, her hips tight against his, but not grinding against him, at least not yet. He savoured the moment.

He decided he would fuck her then if she wanted him to, but he would insist she kept his shirt on - continue the little pretend game, tell her she couldn’t get rid of incriminating evidence so easily or some other bullshit - it didn’t matter, he just wanted her scent to linger on it after. To carry it with him, against his own skin, throughout the day. That thought kindled a low heat at the bottom of his stomach, making him stir ever so slightly. He tucked the thought away for later - to return to, to prod and stroke at another time, should the need arise. But not yet. He didn’t want to encourage her in the wrong direction by having an erection now.

She ceased her movements, hugging him tightly and growing still, and let out a breathy chuckle against his neck.

Was she laughing at him?

If she insinuated anything, ridiculed him for uncharacteristic sentimentality and tenderness, he would tell her he just enjoyed the feeling of her body against his, he decided. He couldn’t produce his own body heat, and she was a source of warmth. Just a warm, willing bloodbag. He grit his teeth. Yes, he would-

“I really like this,” she murmured.

…Oh.

He could still turn her earnestness against her, perhaps say something about her enjoying the smell of corpses, or make some quip about necrophilia. So many opportunities to jest at her expense for letting her guard down…

“So do I,” he whispered instead.

Present day

The sun was well on its descent towards the horizon when Astarion stirred awake.

“Still sleeping, not trancing?” asked Asmodea.

Astarion hummed in confirmation, still drowsy.

“I’ve only had five good years against 200 years of shit, darling, I wouldn’t risk a trance even after another 200.”

He rolled over to look at her. She was lying on her stomach and scribbling something in her journal. 

“Have you tried to reverie?” he asked, studying her.

“I don’t know how, and you haven’t been much help in explaining it,” she said without looking up.

“I don’t know how to describe it… How would you explain falling asleep to someone who doesn’t? You just close your eyes and wait for it to happen. An elven reverie works more or less the same way, only you intend for something else to happen instead.”

“We don’t even know that I can.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Are you still so certain that I’m an elf in disguise?”

“Absolutely positive,” he murmured, stretching out and resting his head on his hand to admire her.

“Would I even know for sure that it was a reverie, if I slipped into one?” she asked. “Don’t elves my age only see glimpses of their past lives? I dream plenty of nonsense, some of it could be from another life entirely.”

“I don’t know,” said Astarion. “It could be that having the body of a half-elf has had an impact… Or it may be that we need to wait until you’ve lived a century to find out.”

“Or, it could be that it’s all just wishful thinking,” she said softly, with a sad smile.

Their conversations had grown more personal again since they got back on the road. The last few years had been of flurry of rehearsals, stock orders, artist invitations, guest lists, gossip and schmoozing and all the bureaucratic minutiae that came with operating a venue and managing other people. Astarion had to admit that it was nice to be able to ignore all that for a time and concentrate on one another.

“About your reluctance to trance… This might be a very stupid question, but were there no good moments during your years as a spawn? No genuine laughter? Only straight up misery all day every day? Surely that would eventually grow blasé even for Cazador.”

“There were, every now and again,” Astarion mused. “Why, one time, a pigeon flew into Cazador’s ballroom, and couldn’t figure out how to get back out. Cazador told us that whoever caught the damn thing could eat it. And I’ll have you know, yours truly feasted on a living, flying rat that day.” Astarion said this with an odd mixture of scorn and amusement.

“Was that truly the best thing that ever happened?” she asked.

“No,” he sighed. “Some moments stand out, ones where we weren’t all at each other’s throats, but they never lasted.”

“Was it always a competition? Did you ever… work together? How did you do it anyway, did you split up, or go to the same haunts?”

Astarion let out a laugh.

“Oh no, gods no… Can you imagine? Petras would only have ruined my chances with any mark. Most of them would have.” He paused, ruminating. “Gods it’s been so long I’d nearly forgotten,” he added quietly.

“What?”

“You’re right… When Dalyria was turned, she was… Well, she was useless for what Cazador wanted her to do. She had been a doctor in her mortal life. Proper. Dignified. Convinced that she was higher, better than everyone else. I had probably been the same, at the start,” he added with a scornful chuckle. “And then, suddenly, she found herself in the dirt with the rest of us… Violet only tormented her. She deemed Petras and Yousen beneath her, even in her sorry state back then. And Aurelia… she was only a shell of a being even then. And so Dal turned to me.”

Astarion held a pause, rifling through his memories.

“She was the closest thing I had to a friend, until Cazador poisoned it. I… I took her under my wing, so to speak. We put on a little ‘swinging elven couple’ act, for a while. It worked like a charm. Cazador put an end to it the moment he got wind of it, though.” Astarion grimaced. “Because of course we were meant to be family and family don’t do that.” He snarled. “Never mind that it was more efficient and we could look out for one another that way. But it was never about safety or even efficiency. He wanted to savour playing us off one another even more than he wanted his seven thousand souls.”

A silence held between them, until Asmodea broke it.

“Wonder how Dalyria is doing now,” she said. “She seemed like one of the saner ones.”

Astarion let out another laugh and raised an eyebrow at her.

“She’s trying to get with child, apparently,” he said. “Ivar told me she’s been gorging on blood, bathing in it, if you would believe him. Her coven worships her, they think she will lead them to salvation or a cure. Take whatever he said with a grain of salt - he’s one of hers, so there’s plenty of resentment, but if even half of it is true, she’s gone stark raving mad.”

Asmodea turned to lie on her back, looking up at the roof of the tent.

“I suppose that leaves Leon, as far as sanity is concerned. And maybe Yousen. …Why has Leon always been so hell bent on allying with you, anyway?”

“It’s simple,” Astarion scoffed. “He’s the weakest.”

“Oh? How so?”

“He’s been a vampire for less than two decades. He’s just a fledgling. His only saving grace is that he’s a sorcerer. But for that, any one of us could tear him apart one on one.”

“What about the others?” Asmodea turned to look at him. “How long have they been around? You’ve never told me.”

“Aurelia was the first. I suspect she knew Cazador back when he was a spawn himself.”

“Really?” Asmodea widened her eyes. “Only suspect? How can you not know?”

“Quite simply, Cazador likely forbade her from talking about it. All she ever said was that she could neither confirm nor deny anything I asked or suggested. But it was always… different, between the two of them. She had other duties, different expectations, and anytime he deemed she had erred, his choice of punishment for her was making her watch someone else be tortured. And I think you can guess who was his favourite whipping boy.”

Asmodea winced at his words.

"Why you?" she whispered.

"Oh, that I do have a hunch about - there was one thing that Aurelia was able to tell me," Astarion said with a grimace. "Apparently I was blessed to be the spitting image of Vellioth, Cazador's own late master."

“Some blessing... So Aurelia’s the strongest then?”

Astarion lifted his hand in a small, wavering motion.

“In a sense, she is. Or rather, she is, yes, but she is so far gone after her time under Cazador that there is barely anything left of her to even think of grasping power. She just wants to be left alone.”

“And then? Who did Cazador turn after her?”

“Me.”

A silence hung in the air. Asmodea thought back to the fragments of conversations she had heard between Astarion and his siblings prior to Cazador’s defeat. How they called him weak. The runt of the litter. And how their tune changed immediately after Cazador’s death…

“I see…” was all she said.

Astarion sighed.

“I suppose you’re going to keep asking, so I’ll just tell you. Violet came after. For a long time, it was me, her and Aurelia.”

“Violet’s the only one who’s never written to you,” Asmodea noted.

“Why of course, she hates me with a passion,” Astarion said nonchalantly. “I’m the one who brought her to Cazador.”

“You?!”

“He wanted a bard of his own. I accompanied him to Reithwin for her. This was before the curse, naturally. A business trip, if you will,” he laughed bitterly. “You know how much my targets despise me. She’s their leader. Most of them have been flocking to her coven, or so Dal tells me. I wouldn’t want to cross her path.”

“You have the highest count of victims, don’t you?”

Astarion nodded.

“I had more than a century on most of the others. But no matter, many of my older and mustier catches have gone insane and killed themselves, or been killed. I imagine my remaining count has about evened out with that of Violet and Petras. He came after Violet, about a century after me. Then Yousen and Dalyria, more or less around the same time, give or take a few decades. And then finally Leon. He was Cazador’s spawn for merely a decade. That he’s even considered one of us is merely a technicality.”

It was just after sunset, and they were about to break camp. Asmodea was finishing a quick meal with a mug of coffee, with Astarion at her side by the fire, when Astarion stiffened.

“We have a visitor,” he murmured, just as a half-elven woman holding a drawn longbow that she had no business being able to use, given her diminutive build, appeared from beyond the trees around them. How in the hells had she gotten so close without Astarion sensing her sooner..?

She was covered in piercings and scars. Her hair, worn in an intricate mohawk, was the colour of a blazing sunset - a shade almost as ludicrous as Asmodea’s.

Asmodea gave pause, mug halfway to her mouth, as she gave the woman an incredulous stare.

“Cousin of yours?” Astarion asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Not another word out of you,” the woman said, drawing the bowstring tighter, aiming the arrow at Astarion’s chest. “And not a single move. The arrowheads are tipped in silver.”

Next chapter

~~~~~

Thank you for reading! Who is the mystery intruder? If you know you know. If you don't know, you will know in the next chapter.

Find the fic on AO3 as well.

Tags:

@littleenglishfangirl @something-pithy @darlingxdragon @tragedybunny @spunky-89

@lariatbunny@whiskeyskin @asterordinary @wingsy-keeper-of-songs @spacebarbarianweird

@brabblesblog @littlejuicebox @icybluepenguin @snowfolly @ayselluna

@mj-bites @bardic-inspo

[asoulofatlantis]

She loves to do that XD And with this... we are good to go. Aerith date it is!

This girl is never afraid of touch and she doesn't give a damn about if Cloud is XD

Aaaaaaand taking his hand again XD

We are watching an old recording of the loveless G-Version. That is why we actually can see Jessie in it. Nice idea.

Poor Tifa and Barett. That must have been as hard to watch as it was beautiful to see...

I thought something like the actors getting sick of something lead to our people playing characters in loveless... but apparently, this is all part of the Virtual show. Cool! But... does they all see our team or does everyone see someone else? O.o

If you think you can just sit back and enjoy the show without playing one of those stupid minigames, you are wrong! Thankfully, it is yet again one of those "dance" Mini-Games, or like it was with the Parade in Junon, so... its not like we don't have any practice here XD

Oooookay... it was not as easy as I thought, as it is REALLY fast.

The Shipping war makes be a a bit more of an asshole than usually so I have to throw it in peoples faces that Aerith is the default lead role if you have not a higher affinity for Tifa and Yuffi then for her, Barett or Red. Just saying...

Poor Red and Barett. Even if you go on a date with one of them, they will always be the bad guys...

Thankfully, the buttons are positioned on the screen in a way that it almost fits their position on the controller. Makes it a bit easier.

You could have chosen Barett or Red as your true love as well XD Nice. I guess that is the way out of this, if you do not love Aerith but got her by accident or default.

Our beloved Dream-Team ♥

She touching Clouds face is a thing for them, huh? XD

This play does have some similarities with their actual lovestory...

The Clock just fell and they said on social Media that it symbolizes their time running out.

In the promised land, I guess...

He actually drew her closer ♥

I loved that I could sing along to the song, knowing it by heart by now. I LOVE it! Sorry for not taking any screenshots, but I just wanted to enjoy the moment and sing along. I will provide screenshots and my thoughts about them in a moment, using a YouTube-Video for the pictures.

But first...

A big round of applause for our Aerith, who truly poured her heart and soul into that wonderful song and once more, provided a Final Fantasy game with a song that is special, because it has true meaning.

It was wonderful ♥