#the sky oc i thought about didn't really become anything

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.47

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: A little blood

(Brandon)

(Callisto)

Brandon quickly leads us to the landing platforms behind the school. But the closer we get, the more a strange feeling spreads in my stomach, but I think nothing of it, at least not until it gets worse. To calm my anxiety, I dare to look over my rescuer's shoulder, even though I don't think anyone else would attack us. But with wide eyes, I witness exactly what I thought would never happen to us again. Once again, the universe must contradict me.

"Stop!" I shout, causing Brandon to stop immediately. My shocked eyes jump to him, only to see him looking at me in complete confusion. His gaze alone makes me realize that he thought I meant for him to stop. I blush at my stupidity. "Sorry, I didn't mean you," I mumble, a little ashamed.

“Who did you mean then?” He asks, still visibly confused, looking like a lost, perhaps even sad puppy.

Unable to speak in the face of such cuteness, I simply look over his shoulder again, but Brandon doesn't seem to understand. I feel his eyes still on me.

My previously yelled words were ignored by the person they were intended for because soon after, a second pair of hands wrapped around me, easily ripping me from the safe arms that had protected my life not so long ago. 

Before I know it, I'm squashed against another chest that I know all too well. Attempting to speak only gets me pressed even harder against those perfectly formed pecs. Sometimes I really despise Callisto for being so damn attractive because even if it were just for a moment, I wish I could just stay there, but if we don't get away quickly, I probably won't be among the living for long.

Seeing no other way out since he isn't even looking at me, I pull my arm back, and with all the strength I can muster, I let my fist fly. 

Although I don't hear an unpleasant crunching or feel any strange sensation under my fist, he still loosens his grip on me. I use this moment to jump out of his arms, only to almost fall to the ground as my knees give way from weakness. I realize that soon, I won't even have enough strength to stand on my own.

Before I can say anything, Daniel is already at my side, with his right arm around my waist and my left arm over his shoulder, where he holds it tightly. I couldn't be more grateful that he preserves my dignity, but there's time to thank him later when I'm not about to die anymore.

"Did you bring a pilot?" I feel dizzy just talking. The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous for my health. I can hear him answering me, but not the actual words. My head is too foggy, so I'm just assuming he gave me a positive answer. "Good, we need to get to Alfea immediately!"

I didn't give them a second thought before dragging Daniel to the Hawke. Daniel is the real hero here; he supports me almost entirely without compromising my dignity like the others did while carrying me. Even though Brandon's arms feel the most comfortable, this arrangement is better because it prevents Callisto from getting jealous. Maybe if he didn't skip gym class so often, his arms would feel as good as Brandon's. 

Even though I'm pretty sure I was only thinking about these things and not saying them out loud, I still feel like the boys are starting to stare at me. It's probably just because I hit Callisto, although it should be normal for them to see that by now since we hit each other quite often, mostly because we know how far we can go without really hurting each other. But sometimes, the boys just act crazy.

Luckily, it doesn't take long until we're finally inside this killing machine, and the uncomfortable atmosphere dissipates, but honestly, my body doesn't feel so good anymore. It feels like my body wishes to sleep for at least a thousand years, but I'm afraid that if I let myself fall, I won't wake up as quickly as before or at all.

As I sit, I lean my head against one of the walls of the machine; my eyelids feel heavy. As I replay the day in my head and think back to the early morning, I remember how refreshed I felt. Even though my eyes are heavy, I close them. It takes a lot of energy to move my head so I can look down at my left hand. Safely inside lies the small homemade stuffed animal. A gentle smile crosses my lips. I lift it to my head and lean against the jewel eyes. I press my mana into my head and let it flow out of it. The jewels absorb it immediately, but it does not stay in them; instead, what makes me so lethargic stays inside them and lets my clear mana flow out again, which I, in turn, quickly draw back into myself.

After a few moments, my head is clear again. I lower the little animal to my heart and do the same. Although I know it is irrelevant because everything will soon be the same as before, walking alone will be enough, at least for a while.

“We’re landing!” suddenly shouts the guy Callisto brought as a pilot with him.

A little stunned, I couldn't believe it had happened so quickly—after all, we had only just started, right? But as I stand up and walk to the front, I actually see Alfea sprawling before us.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” the guy asks me when he sees me coming.

I look at him for the first time. He's not the nerd type like most other pilots; he looks more like a laid-back guy with a light tan, medium-length brown wavy hair, a casual smile, and friendly green eyes.

"You're from Terrenia, right?" The guy stares at me, probably trying to figure out how I know. "It's because of your skin; that's how I know you're from the Reinios region, probably either Bartel or the region's capital, Bautel."

I see him swallow hard, either out of fear or just amazement that I can so easily tell where he's coming from. But for me, it's not even strange; I can do it with almost anyone.

"Yes," he finally replies, his knuckles turning white as he grips parts of the machinery tighter. "What can I do for you?"

I wave him off with an apologetic smile. "Nothing," I say quietly. "If you ever go back to your homeworld, give your guardian fairy and her father, the King, a message from me." I lean closer to him, but as inconspicuously as possible. "The stone never forgets."

Even though my words were vague and most people wouldn't have understood them, his skin turns deathly pale. He must be a nobleman or a member of the royal family. I'm sure they'll show up when I enter into my forced marriage—when I get closer to the throne of my homeland—to try to ease their worries and beg me to stay allied to them. Theoretically, I could be crowned the new King of Gyonos at any moment; as my powers grow, my grandfather's life will slowly end. However, I have always dreamed of wearing the lost stone crown from when my homeworld was considered one of the jewels of the magical dimension.

The death machine lands soon after, so hard that I have to grab the guy's shoulder pretty hard. I quietly apologize before leaving to get out of this disgusting thing. The rest of my group, except the pilot, quickly follows, but Daniel and Vinok overtake me and walk ahead as usual, almost as if they were my guards. They are way too sweet.

I am grateful, though, because this place still scares me, despite having to come here regularly to receive lessons for my awakening and development as a fairy. However, I always wear a hood to avoid looking at those despicable little princesses. I don't speak to any of them, and I stubbornly ignore them even when they try.

But when we get to the gate, it doesn't open. The boys start whispering, but before anyone can get the wrong idea, I quickly weave through the two before me and continue walking. I can hear them shouting at me, but the words get stuck in their throats as the doors open without me having to do anything. I immediately step through, only to remind the others to follow them before the doors quickly close again.

Even as I speak, the doors do just that. Daniel and Vinok jump through, but Brandon and Callisto look at each other. They're one of the few things I really like about the school: they look like the Empress's big fairy wings, rising from the floor to the upper center of the pink archway where they would meet. I gave up hope of seeing them when the doors were already half closed again. Disappointed, I turned towards the building and left without waiting for them any longer. If they don't want to come, I won't force them.

Suddenly, I hear a scream. Fear courses through me, causing my whole body to turn around on its own accord, only to see two idiots flying through the air. I wanted to ignore it and just go my way, but the proximity of the double doors to their legs made that impossible.

When I see the doors closing faster than usual, it doesn't look like they'll make it through. Rolling my eyes, I try to convince myself everything will be fine. But when I feel myself biting my upper lip, I know, even if it's just to calm my worries, that I have to do something to make sure these idiots don't die on my watch.

"Stone Fist!" My summoned stone of choice appears outside the school grounds. It could have been anything, but I really wanted to show them how stupid they were.

With a wave, I sent the stone straight at them. Somehow, I managed to get them at the same height, thus reducing the potential damage. Unfortunately, you can't have everything; perhaps a few broken bones would've given them a sense of self-preservation.

When the stone reaches the two idiots, it's not as close as I feared, but close enough that one or both might at least be injured. Their bodies fly past me quickly. I don't care how they land. I listen with a sickening glee as they slam into the ground with painful groans and wince. Despite everything, I still wander towards them, stopping right next to their heads and staring down at them in disappointment.

"I would ask what you two were thinking, but we don't have time. So why don't you get up and-"

Suddenly, my body aches, and despite my blurred vision, I see the ground much closer than before. It's truly pathetic that I collapsed because of something like this. Although the pressure of the hole in my mana core is severe, it's not the worst pain I've ever experienced. But even on all fours, the pain didn't get any better. Instead, it feels like something inside my body is tearing me apart.

Before I know it, my mouth fills with something disgusting: a metallic taste. It dawns on me. Unable to hold it back, I reflexively spit it out, covering the pink stones that make up most of the place with my deep red blood. The whole world starts to blur, spinning faster than it should. It's not the first time it's happened, but usually not in such a serious situation, but when I try to get up too quickly after waking up.

But before anything can happen, I see the sky again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Daniel and Vinok holding me upright. Although I want to thank them, I find it difficult to get the words out. But then I hear them talking about how they have to take me to the infirmary. Panic overcomes me.

"No!" I scream, finding the strength to protest again. I can barely move my head to see their stunned faces. Although I am grateful, I tear myself out of their grip. "We are going to see Professor Palladium," I tell them, wiping the blood off myself.

Thankfully, I'm trained for moments like this. The only issue is that my aura core no longer resides within me, making it less accessible than it was back on the battlefield. However, with some concentration and sheer panic, I managed to access it through my ring with sheer force. By empowering my body with aura, the side effects of what's happening to me are almost negated—at least for a while.

As my gaze becomes sharper, I perceive many indignant looks directed at us. With my patience already at an end, I pull myself together again.

"What?" I ask them in a tone reserved for people who deserve social death. "Do any of you gossipy little princesses want to comment on us?"

Almost immediately, all the girls cower, maybe out of fear or, hopefully, shame, but one thing is certain: they wouldn't do it again.

Although I sense the discomfort of the other boys, who may actually be interested in at least some of these girls, I order them to follow me, as I need to speak to the professor sooner rather than later.

Despite blood still partially covering my face, I walk with my head held high, with two of my friends in front of me and behind me as if they were my guards once more, but deep down, I know they just want to ensure I don't kill a fairy or two. I'd be lying if I said that hadn't crossed my mind, but right now, there are bigger problems than a few little fairies.

I walk purposefully through the school as if I know where we are going. And in reality, I do know, although I don't tell them, so they think I'm walking around like an idiot.

Despite all this, no one says anything. Maybe they know, which would be surprising because I often feel like they see me as a little boy who needs an adult to look after him.

But what no one sees is the compass in my front pocket. My hand rests on it. Whenever I feel its vibrations, I know we are getting closer. In the end, I didn't need it at all because the compass vibrates strongly just outside the alchemy lab.

Without knocking, I open the classroom door and get everyone's attention. As luck would have it, it's Stella's class, but I don't glance at her, even though it hurts deep inside me. I can only hope that one day, she will return to being the sweet, whiny child she was when we met.

Instead, I immediately go to Palladium's desk and put the little stuffed animal down.

"It's a... cute animal, but what can I really do for you?"

He knows me all too well. Smiling, I lift the animal. "I need to know what kind of crystals these are."

Palladium looks over my shoulder and gives the class something to do before taking the animal and leading us into another room next to the classroom. Inside, it's cozy, with many hanging, standing, and partially floating plants. The opposite wall is littered with hundreds of books, in front of which is a small table with a cup of steaming coffee and a comfortable-looking chair waiting for someone to sit on it.

At the left end of the room is a wooden desk, messy and different than I expected because Palladium looks well put together.

The professor goes straight to his desk, and as soon as he sits down, the door slams shut. This is followed by a shrill scream that catches my full attention. I look at Callisto with a questioning, raised eyebrow.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles quietly, “I’m a bit jumpy.”

Hearing those words, so different from his usual cool demeanor, brings a gentle smile to my lips. But then I feel something bubbling inside me. I know exactly what it is, so I take his hand, pull him closer, press my head against his chest, and giggle quietly, hidden by his hoodie.

“I’ll remember that for later,” I whisper in his ear as my laughter fades.

Even though I hear him gasp in what is likely feigned shock, I pull away from him, not only because I fear he might take revenge but, more importantly, because I hear Palladium whispering. Before Callisto can pull me back, I've already jumped around Daniel. Without a word, he steps between us, but not without warning me not to play too hard.

I sit down on the other side of the professor's desk. It's only a matter of time before I get dizzy again. Palladium isn't really paying attention to me; his eyes are focused on the jewels in the little animal Callisto made for me. Just thinking about it makes me smile. I mean, how often does it happen that a male noble can use his hands like that and then use them to help someone?

“Why did you come to me with this?”

Palladium's sudden question almost makes me jump out of my skin. Flustered, I put my fist over my mouth and cleared my throat. I'm so shocked that I almost can't answer him.

"It's the smell of stone around you," I tell him quietly, "like you've lived underground for a long time." 

It's strange that an elf only partially smells like one, and the other half smells like what I imagine a dwarf would smell like. I've only read about them in an old children's book: "The Children of the Stone.“

The older man looks up from the animal for the first time as if trying to understand my words. He smiles kindly and shakes his head in clear amusement.

"You have a good nose there." He lifts the animal up, turns it towards me, and shows me the jewels. "These are Rokonai Paganis Olorods, or the Darkness-Eating Crystals, or, if you want to put it even more simply, Jurikons, a rare jewel, but I think you already know that?"

I feel like a small child found with my hand in the cookie jar at night. I smile sheepishly but nod anyway. Palladium quickly jumps back into action, resting his elbows on the table and looking questioningly.

“That’s not the real reason you're here, is it?”

"No," I shake my head. "I suffered from a sleeping sickness, but I could never figure out why until those two crystals woke me up," I tell him, my smile from earlier gone. "I just wanted someone who knows what they're talking about to agree with me because now I can say with conviction that the Specialist's Academy is full of miasma."

Palladium laughs heartily; it almost seems as if he is about to fall off his chair. Perhaps he thinks it is a weird joke, not only that, but the funniest ever told.

"Professor, please take this seriously," I tell him sternly, but he still doesn't quite believe me. "It's not the first time I've come into contact with miasma, but it's the first time I've almost died because of it."

"Are you serious?" Palladium's horrified face would be priceless under any other circumstances. He must have seen the seriousness in my face because he quickly changed his demeanor. Sitting upright, he looks at me. "Miasma is a big umbrella term for many magical situations; we need to find out what kind of miasma it is first to—"

"Twisted chaos, Miasma," I quickly interrupt his rambling. The professor looks at me in shock and seems at a loss for words. "I'm sorry, Professor, my family is at war with a race of lizard people invading our planet through a twisted chaos portal."

"Okay," Palladium trails off. 

I can see how much he is struggling with this information. I know it's hard to believe. It's supposed to be impossible to enter this dimension, even through portals like these, since we are under the protection of the Fairy Empress and Emperor, beings more powerful than even the Leviathans. But somehow, these lizards could break through.

"The war has been happening intermittently for longer than I have been alive, but the mana on my homeworld is so pure and protected by a guardian fairy that the chaos miasma doesn't have much effect there. But here?"

“Since Magix no longer has a magical protector, it is easier to be influenced by this miasma,” Palladium finally finishes my conclusion.

"Correct, and whoever started this did it in the place with the least magical protection on this entire planet, the Red Fountain Academy, once known as the Wyvern Riding School, but now nothing more than a training facility for specialists," I explain further so even my friends can understand. "And while Saladin seems to be a powerful mage, he is too old."

The professor looks me up and down; I can clearly see distrust reflecting in his eyes, but not towards me.

“Who is planning all this, you know that, don’t you?” he asks sternly.

I look around to ensure no one is around except those I trust the most. I beckon Brandon closer, take his hand, and gently stroke the back of his palm.

"The Black Hand," I finally admit; it hurt to pass it over my tongue. Once a day should be enough, but twice? It feels like blades are cutting deep into me. I sense Brandon's discomfort, his hand stiffening and his breathing erratic. Most shockingly, however, when I maintain eye contact with Professor Palladium, I see nothing but confusion on his face: he seems to have no idea who they are. He's old, probably older than this entire dimension, but somehow, he's never met or heard of them.

"They are an assassination group from ancient times that should have been eradicated long ago, but their existence was reconfirmed when they tried to kill me when I was a child." Even after this explanation, he doesn't seem convinced. I take a deep breath and prepare to reveal a well-kept secret. "They were involved in the extinguishing of Domino's eternal flame."

It became eerily quiet. I'm afraid I didn't say a word, and it was all just in my head until a chair scrapes hard across the floor, followed by a loud sound of wood crashing to the floor. Palladium's eyes are crazy. Very few people remember Domino these days, and even fewer know what happened to it. Although the "Black Hand" was involved, they were not the main culprits, just the ones who weakened the defenses so the real culprits could overwhelm the planet's protectors.

"How do you know that name?"

Daniel has come between Palladium and me because he seems completely out of control.

"It's a state secret," I tell him with conviction. But his crazy look doesn't disappear. Instead, a hint of understanding appears in them.

"Can you use his powers?"

Professor Palladium has a knack for asking questions that baffle me. Of course, he knows about it. He was probably there when the Leviathan War took place. He may even be older, making him almost as old as our Empress and Emperor.

Clearing my throat, I try to ignore it, but I sigh when I feel Palladium's magic acting out.

"Yes," I murmur quietly. "Partly, anyway. It's a long story, but I'm sure you've noticed. I do everything I can to never touch a book." As I let my words sink in, Palladium strangely calms down again. "Because magic is everywhere, every time I touch a book, I wander through the story it tells, from spells, who and how they were created, to when, who, and where potion ingredients were found, which is how I know there were dwarves at one point in time."

Palladium walks over to his chair, picks it up again, and sits back down. Smoothing his hair, he ties it into a ponytail. He folds his hands and keeps his eyes down for longer than necessary. When he looks up again, he seems different, almost as if he is ready to be himself and not the silly Potions professor I always thought he was.

"Chaos Miasma can only be cleared by one's body's mana production," Palladium explains calmly. "Usually, if it was this bad already, it would be a death sentence. But since you're a guardian fairy with an aura, magic, and a fairy magic core, you should be able to clear it rather easily in a few days, maybe weeks, but you'll need to be in a place where there's either no or very little natural mana production."

"But how?" I ask him desperately. "Everything, even stone, produces natural mana! Where could I go to do that?"

Palladium clears his throat as he looks deep into my eyes. He shows genuine desperation, almost as deep as my own. It's evident he cares about me even though he doesn't know me. This could be because of the unusual beginning of our acquaintance.

"The deep sea caves of Andros could be a good place," he suggests. "There are corals that absorb all the mana around them."

While I'm not a huge fan of that much water, it may be the only place I can recover and heal from it. But Palladium has opened a box he shouldn't have.

"Kerrass has a Molcussel tree that also has no mana in its root caves because it rises all up to its evergreen leaves," Daniel suddenly jumps in.

Not to be outdone, Vinok steps forward. "Felrenios has a jewel grove surrounded by countless eucalyptus trees, where the jewels absorb all the mana."

I feel a deep warmth, watching their clumsy attempts to get me to choose their home worlds to rest. But one is particularly quiet. When I turn to Callisto, he seems rather reluctant to interfere. So, with amusement, I ask him if there isn't such a place on his planet. But his cheeks suddenly turn deep red. He closes his eyes and exhales rather hesitantly.

"If you want, you can stay in my bedroom," he says quietly, cringing at his own words. "The walls are set with columns of pure white marble, held together with blankier diamond mortar, which, when combined, also absorbs all mana in the area."

Did I understand him correctly? He's joking, right?

Suddenly, Callisto sighs in exasperation. "My grandfather rebuilt our estate after his throne was stolen and made sure that not even our guardian fairy could harm him in his bedroom, and since I am now the Duke, I live in the same bedroom."

“You would do anything to get me into your bed, wouldn't you?” I ask him boastfully.

"You truly have no idea what I would do," Callisto murmurs, staring straight into my eyes, his cheeks still burning. "But in that case... I would gladly sleep in a different room if it would make you more comfortable."

I stand there, stunned, my mouth slightly open. I couldn't believe that he would not only offer himself and his home to me like that but also express his affection right in front of Professor Palladium. I want to agree and see where this takes us, but suddenly, someone else catches my attention. I've seen Brandon try to offer something earlier, but he's been interrupted several times. I turn to him and give him a hand signal to continue.

Brandon nods shyly. "My family lives in Star Valley on Eraklyon," he tells us, visibly embarrassed. But I have no idea what that means. He clears his throat when he sees my obvious confusion, seemingly trying to hide his uncertainty. "There is absolutely no mana."

His words sound so strange that I can't believe him. But Palladium suddenly chimes in and agrees with Brandon, explaining it as one of the "Zero Zones," extremely rare pheromones of magicless centers in the middle of natural, beautiful places.

"A long time ago, a star fell on Eraklyon, leading the population to believe that it was the reason for the magic-free zone, but that is not the case; there was no magic in the area to begin with."

Brandon quickly agrees. "I have to visit my family anyway; I have a few weeks' vacation to help them."

I turn to the others, and although they are clearly disappointed, they agree that it is for the best. Callisto, in particular, seems almost relieved. A strange feeling runs through my body, an uncomfortable mix of emotions. I wonder if he didn't want me to visit his house. Is he afraid that I won't want him around after this?

Unable to keep to myself, I dive into him and clasp our hands in front of everyone. His blush returns, but his gaze has softened. Without hesitation or breaking eye contact, he raises our hands. With a certain provocation in his shining eyes, he gives me an intimate kiss on the back of my hand.

I start to blush and try to look away, but I can't. Luckily, Palladium breaks the tension, telling us to get going. Otherwise, I wouldn't have much time left.

I silently thank him, but he just shakes his head, hands me my little plushie animal friend, and leads us out. No one seems to have gotten up in the classroom, but somehow I feel uncomfortable there. But I shake it off, believing I just imagined it.

[Masterlist]

[hishoi]

Hmm midnight thinking

I should make a skykid sona, or just a regular sona so people can recognise me

[formylovetodaryldixon]

"Like gravity." Daryl Dixon Imagine.

@fluffy-dixon: Okay, so this is my request. Maybe prison era? Daryl and OC became quite close during their time at the Quary as she was one of the only people (obvs minus Carol) that checked in on him, spoke to him, spent time with him etc and actually cared about him. She was a bit of an outcast as well. But when they get to the prison they have a little bit more time to settle down and actually become a thing, daryl is utterly in love with her but is too afraid to say but he takes her out hunting and while they're hunting he comes accross some rabbits that he wants to kill for food but she won't let him because she used to keep rabbits herself and the thought of it broke her heart but he let's it slip that he loves her because he says something along the lines of, 'god damnit woman, if I didn't love you so much they'd be cooking in a stew' or something like that. Take of it as you will but yeah ❤️

Hi, love! You are my first request and it was soooo sweet I loved writing it! I really, really hope this comes a little closer to what you had in mind. If not, I'm sorry :c But thank you so much♥

A/N: I laughed a little writing Merle even though he's also an idiot haha ​​but spoiler alert: Merle telling Daryl that he should marry you or fuck you or both made me laugh. I borrowed a scene from Carol and Daryl too hehe. Hope you like this!

When a woman is in love, you can see it in her smile. When a man is in love, you can see in his eyes.

Daryl’s eyes, they spoke so loudly the words he was so afraid to say. But now, they couldn't hide that sparkle of hope every time he saw you. If you could ask him when he started looking at you differently, he would tell you it was the first time you sat down next to the bonfire he and his brother made, too overwhelmed to be around so many people in the camp outside the city.

It happened the moment it started raining pretty heavily, when Merle began to curse the sky before locking himself in his tent. That was the first time Daryl heard your laugh since he met you: a sweet, innocent sound full of colors in that grey world. For a minute, you were too immersed in your own happiness, looking up at the night sky, a hand outstretched to feel the raindrops. But the moment you looked back at him, he shifted his gaze to the arrow he was carving with his knife, because the way you looked at him was almost overwhelming for Daryl, so deep as that color of your gaze.

You were a sweet thing to look at, but the more you talked with each other, the more he saw different facets of you.

The first time you actually talked, you told him to fuck off, and Daryl could say that was one of his favorite moments with you. It happened when he went back from hunting, with some squirrels in his bag, and he saw you a little bit far from the main group, pulling a pack of cigarettes from your black jeans.

You didn’t notice that he was looking at you, with a confused expression but with a deep gaze, as if you were the most difficult puzzle to put together. Daryl never liked riddles, those mind games, and you looked exactly like them, too difficult to understand at first glance.

“Care to share?” Daryl asked you when he stopped next to you, so you gave the package to him. “I’m Daryl, by the way.”

“(Y/N).” You said, simply.

Daryl couldn’t help but snort as he lit a cigarette, because it was his nature to repel anything that seemed soft, tender, weak in his eyes, almost like your name.

“That’s a princess name, y'know?”

However, to his own surprise, you chuckled.

“Fuck you, Daryl. I didn’t ask for your opinion on my name.”

But your voice full of boldness telling him fuck you made him chuckle too: a low, masculine sound, but transparent as Daryl pushed the smoke away before looking at you.

“What's on the menu tonight?” He asked, nodding towards the group.

You took the cigarette from your lips, pushing the smoke out before talking.

“Canned beans, just like yesterday and probably tomorrow and for the rest of our lives.”

For a moment, as you looked straight ahead, analyzing always the situation you were in, Daryl watched you sideways, taking in everything: at first sight, there was this fierceness in your gaze but that seemed to be compassionate too, with a free attitude but that seemed to analyze everything. You seemed to be a rebellious soul, almost as lost as he was.

“Have ya ever tried squirrels?” Daryl asked softly, kind of awkward. You looked at him, shaking your head. “I'm cookin’ ‘em if ya want to join us.”

He started walking towards his own camp when you talked again.

“You don’t hunt rabbits, do you?”

Daryl turned around, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Why?”

It was stupid, you knew, so you just shook your head.

“It's nothing. I think I'll accept your invitation, so thank you.”

Too confused, Daryl nodded before walking again, so he missed the way you looked at him this time. You could notice the beautiful color of his eyes behind that mocking, condescending expression on his almost stupid but very attractive face. A few strands of his hair, dark blonde or almost brown, fell over his forehead, framing that deep but accusatory look he had for everybody. His shoulders were broad, and although he didn’t look like a person who flaunted himself, his sleeveless shirt didn’t leave much to the imagination when you could see the muscles in his arms.

It was the end of the world, the beginning of a new one, but that didn't mean you had gone blind.

However, the next thing that happened with Merle, must have given Daryl some clue as to the feelings he would develop for you in the future, because the moment you reached his camp that night, Merle was alone.

“Well, well, ain’t ya a beauty?” Merle smiled and looked at you up and down, practically eating you up with his eyes. “Ma baby brother said he invited ya, but I didn’t think ya would come to him, not when I am the good-lookin’ one.” He came closer, slowly and dangerously. “Ya got a name, darlin’?”

“(Y/N).” The women and men in the camp warned you about Merle Dixon, but you managed to smile at him, playing with fire even when you knew you could get hurt. “Don’t tell this to Daryl but you are the good-looking one.”

He smiled, he couldn’t just help it, wildly like a predator when the animal knew in its gills that it was about to capture the prey.

“Ya really look like a refined woman, darlin’, If I feed you squirrels too, would ya moan ma name at the end of the night? I promise I will make you beg for more.”

You raised an eyebrow, looking at him, but before you could answer back, Daryl walked back from the woods.

“Merle, for once in yer life, shut the fuck up.”

However, Merle found that even extra funny, and he kept walking towards you. But you knew well that the first to look away in the staring game loses, so you, without any fear in your eyes, waited until Merle was close enough, and at that moment, you caught the handle of the gun that was hidden at the back of your waist, under your black cardigan, and then, your pressed it to Daryl’s asshole brother’s chin.

Merle held his breath, unlike his baby brother who found the situation strangely attractive, and kind of hot too.

“I’m begging you now, Merle, please repeat everything you just said. I promise you that before you finish saying the last word, you will run out of a mouth and jaw to say it.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat, because he was an idiot, yes, but even Merle Dixon knew when to back off at the threat of a bullet, which came from a person who really seemed determined to do it.

“I was just kiddin’ with ya, sweetheart.” He tried to laugh, but his smile trembled at the cold of the gun. “Ya wouldn’t do that to your new friend Merle.”

You chuckled, pulling away the gun.

“I am normally a sweetheart, Merle, but I am also the person capable of sinking the fucking ship with myself inside just so that no one is saved. You know what I mean by that?”

He nodded, clearing his throat so his words wouldn’t break off mid-sentence.

“Guess ya are ma brother’s new friend?”

You looked back at Daryl, who was looking at you with a frown (something normal now for you), but also with an amused expression.

Then, you looked back at Merle.

“Something like that.”

“Well… welcome to our lovely home, darlin’!” Merle smiled, after taking a silent deep breath of relief, and then, he looked at his brother. “You got to fuck or marry this woman, baby brother, or both. Condoms are on my tent!”

He laughed walking to the woods, and that was disgusting and it made you wonder, where the hell did you got yourself into?

But things from there, were like a roller-coaster going only up. You and Daryl were like an unlikely duo, but maybe that was why you both looked good together. Despite the danger, you two found a new world in which you wanted to continue living, delving into the unknown that was falling in love.

The moment the family you made reached the prison, that gave you two a safe place to, start a thing, you could say.

During one of the first months and when your sleeping world turned red like bright blood, you came out to see the stars from the front of the prison. So you sat there, in an old desk, with your legs falling from the edge and a dead feeling in the depths of your soul.

From afar, Daryl watched you with a cigarette in between his lips. By that moment, Daryl already knew what name to give to his feelings for you, but although he was an excellent hunter, he was also too shy to accept that revelation. However, it was the way your eyes used to look at everything that caught him from the beginning: always with attention, always thinking what was best for your safety and what would keep you alive. But also the way your gaze seemed to rest from that life, from pain and fear, and then all that force disappeared when you used to look for something better, something meaningful.

Like gravity, you became the person who kept him standing on the ground.

Daryl blew out the smoke from his cigarette, watching you as he walked towards you. What you were caught him in a way that should never have happened. But your strongest side and your weakest one, the good and the bad that could be in you: he found himself looking in your direction all the time since he met you, always aware of where you were inside and outside the prison, always stuck to you like a lost puppy as Carol used to say.

“Hey…” He said softly, in a deep, hoarse voice as he sat next to you. “Shouldn’t ya be sleepin’?”

You smiled gently at him, enough to brighten your eyes.

“Shouldn’t you?”

And there it was, the way you sounded like a worried girlfriend. Fuck, Daryl loved that, Daryl loved you. But there he was: feeling too much for you, or maybe feeling too little for a life that deserved to be lived to the end.

“I don’t sleep.”

You looked at him with a curiosity expression.

“You dream too much?” You asked. Daryl frowned at you, not because he was upset, but confused that you knew exactly the reason behind his sleepless nights. “When I was a baby and I couldn’t sleep, my mom used to caress my hair so softly that I felt sleepy quickly. Do you want me to do that to you?”

You were joking, kind of, but you knew your words would only make him shy as he snorted.

“I ain’t a fuckin’ baby.”

You chuckled.

“Fuck you, Dixon. I was just trying to be nice.”

However, Daryl looked at you with a frown, and an almost exasperated expression.

“Woman, almost every day ya curse at me. I don’t know how I let ya kiss me with that mouth.”

His words made you laugh, and Daryl would be lying if he said that wasn't his favorite sound in the whole world.

“I do that because you deserve it.” You chuckled, taking the cigarette from his fingers to take a blow, looking at the stars as an idea came to your mind. “Now that we are awake, you wanna screw around while everyone is asleep?”

You tried to hold back your laughter as he looked back at you, thanking the night that you didn't see his ears starting to turn red at your bluntness. 

“Ya could ask me nicely. Y’know?” 

You rolled your eyes as you jumped out of the desk, walking back to the door.

“Fine. If you are not in the mood, I will go back to sleep. Goodnight.”

The painful truth revealed in front of Daryl’s eyes, and it was more frightening than being near death, but more exciting than… Daryl couldn’t compare that feeling with anything else, because he never loved anyone until you came along.

But as Daryl walked towards you, he couldn’t say it, not yet.

“Fuck, wait. I didn’t say I don’t want to do it.”

But what a great feeling that pressure on his chest was. It was sweet and kind of terrifying at the same time, so real and unreal at the same time. It was like a dream where he could feel everything, but wanting to stay in that place if it meant living there with you.

The next day, after everyone received their assignments, Daryl took you hunting with him: that was his silent way of saying he wanted to be alone with you. He was always a quiet person, but while been there with you, Daryl asked you question after question because he wanted to hear long answers, to know more and more about you.

“Ya got a favorite color?” He asked, walking side to side with you, attentive to your words but also to everything around, crossbow in hand to catch the day's food.

“Well…” You bit your lips as you chuckled. You never had a favorite color before, but the night he invited you to eat with him, it seemed like that blank space was always reserved for the color of his eyes. “Blue, I guess. You?”

Strangely, Daryl wanted to say the same thing about your eyes, but when a sound in the bushes caught his attention, he asked you to be quiet as he walked in front of you. His steps were light, but you stayed close to him the moment Daryl pushed the branches aside.

Two little white rabbits froze there, too terrified to move.

“I got us the food.” He said, raising his crossbow.

It took you a single second, and you knew it was wrong, but sometimes feelings were stronger than good judgment.

“No, wait!” You stopped him before he shot them, making him turn to you. “Please, don’t. Just, fuck…” You cursed under your breath, feeling like a little girl again. “The night you invited me to eat those squirrels, I asked you if you hunted rabbits, remember?” He nodded. “I didn’t say this before but before my mom died, she gave me a rabbit that I raised as my son for many years.” You shook your head, feeling a little silly. “Please, don’t kill them. I’m begging you.”

Daryl could see the prayer in your gaze, in those shy eyes that most of the time used to be full of life, always glowing when you used to say things just to make him nervous. So finally, Daryl lowered his crossbow, looking at the rabbits before looking back at you.

“God dammit, woman, if I didn't love ya so much they'd be cookin' in a stew.” He froze for a second, listening clearly to his heartbeat as he walked away, but Daryl had to clear his throat so his next words wouldn’t break off mid-sentence. “Let's go over there and see if we can get some squirrels instead.”

You smiled to yourself as you started following him.

You knew well you could die tomorrow, or the day after that, and although you were afraid your dead could be painful, it could be quick too and then you would die in the middle of a breath, with an incomplete phrase that you will never be able to finish. And you didn’t want that, you wanted to be honest with yourself, you wanted to say what was in my mind and not let your thoughts die If something happened to you at any time.

You wanted to say I love you too aloud. And that night, as you stroked his hair, again, (because he secretly loved it just like he loved you) you said those words to him.

[epickiya722]

Hi Kiya, hope you are doing well.

What inspired you to come up with the concept and ideas for the Star's Rebirth AU?

I'm doing fine, thank you! I low-key having been neglecting my sleep but I'm now back on track!ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )

Oooh, I was asked a similar question before! But I'd like to talk about it again.

The first story, His Role, was just a story I wrote on a whim. I was going though an emotional period and needed to get my feelings together and distract myself. I started writing that story and somehow it became a 17K+ fic that begun a series of the idea of "what if Yuji was Tengen's vessel".

I also wanted to write more interactions between Kenjaku and Yuji and also try out the "Sukuna and Yuji are twins" concept.

Which before I really got into writing the AU was already a post I was working on, you can read that here.

After His Role, I actually didn't think I would turn it into a series. But I was a lot more invested than I thought!

While that fic was Yuji becoming Tengen's vessel, the following stories were exploring him and the others adjusting to the new changes.

His Mercy and Her Tears are both birthday fics! His Mercy is for Yuji's birthday. In that fic, I touch on some ideas I had in mind. The fic is like a story made up of smaller ones. The characters celebrate Yuji's 16th birthday and then other things happen, most of which are discussions between characters.

I knew I wanted to write a fic for Yuji's birthday, but I didn't have a clue as to what should happen in the fic.

Unlike the former, Her Tears is of an idea I had in mind for a long time and it wasn't until Nobara's birthday came around that I wrote it. It also doesn't take place on Nobara's birthday. Instead, it's more of Nobara reconnecting with some important people in her life while out one day.

His Mother, that takes place after His Mercy, and Her Weightlessness are both fics where I explore Kaori's character, the latter being a fic that explores Kaori's made-up backstory before the narrative of JJK took place.

In canon, the most we know very little of her and I decided to take a stab at conjuring an image of what she could have been like. I headcanon that Yuji would have gotten his personality from her.

If you asked me, I can see Yuji being a mama's boy. Like, he and Kaori have a good relationship and are like two peas in a pod. So similar in behavior that even though he looks like the men in his family, Yuji is like Kaori's mini-me.

Then there's His Following! That fic actually was going to a long one shot with His Mercy, however, I had a feeling I wasn't going to finish that version in time for Yuji's birthday. So I scrapped the idea and used it for what is His Following, a fic that should be multi-chaptered.

I had a thought one day about the possibility of Sukuna having a "fan club", like the Star Religious Group, in modern time and used that to develop the plot.

I also wanted to have my own JJK OC to write for. Asahi, I didn't have a last name for her until I thought "it would be funny if she was a Gojo". I had everything else in mind for her but that until then. (Feel free to ask more about her if you want, folks.)

While I love her, I'm not actually sure how everyone else feels about her. I don't think anyone has really said anything, but it's whatever.

Once I decided to make her a Gojo, I immediately opted to make her a sibling to Gojo. I often see sibling OCs for him. Instead, I made her a cousin of sorts to him and older. She's like that cool older cousin/aunt.

There's also The Pink Sky and Cherry Blossoms.

That fic actually wasn't a part of the AU until I decided to add Uro to the AU. The fic explores her, how she feels. I really enjoys Uro in the manga and just felt it was only right to write a fic for her and where she interacts with my other pink haired fave, Yuji.

It was definitely a challenge to write that fic, it was. But sometimes I like to challenge myself.

And that's all I have to say for the AU!!

Overall, the AU was just another one of my "what crazy idea Kiya will cook up this time" moments.

I'm surprised people have read the fics, too. I thought people wouldn't have taken to them, but I had a pleasant surprise there!

Fic Backstory Ask

[cureskies]

MOOT TELL ME ABOUT PRECURE it looks so swagulous … i need2know your opinions !!!!!

HI HAI I HAVE LOTS OF THOUGHTS ABOUT PRECURE I LOVE PRECURE

i first got into it when my partner introduced me to tropical rouge (VERY silly season, similar to alola pokemon vibes if you know that) and then we blasted through hirogaru sky in like 3 weeks and it's one of my favorite things i've ever watched!! i was never into magical girls/girly stuff when i was little and i feel like precure is healing the part of me that wishes i had embraced my feminine side more as a teenager. i was extremely boyish and hated anything "girly" for a majority of my life and it's been a joy slowly discovering that side of myself

ive been really attached to two characters in particular from hirogaru sky: sora and ageha!

sora is very kind, determined, hard-working and excitable; her main goal is to become a hero and her progression throughout the series is amazing because despite wanting to always save the day, she falls multiple times. she gets scared and runs away, in one episode abandoning her dream almost entirely until the people she loves pull her back. she always does what's right even if it's terrifying, and i really admire her for that. she's quickly become one of my favorite characters of all time and a huge inspiration to me

ageha was a surprise to me because i knew almost nothing about hirogaru sky when i first started watching. i usually tend to fixate on the protagonist and deuteragonist (mashiro isn't technically a deuteragonist, but they have the closest relationship in the group) so when i first saw ageha i didn't really think much of her. but throughout the series it's shown that she's VERY passionate and dedicated to her dream of becoming a nursery school teacher and that honestly hit me like a sack of bricks because i had just started my major in elementary education. i was excited, but also very uncertain, because for the first two years of uni i majored in psych but didn't really have much direction. seeing her and how dedicated she was, and the episode where she's offered a job with more prestige and declines politely, citing her dream and how much she loved her job, really helped turn some gears in my head. in fact on tuesday i did an interview with one of the teachers at the school i'm planning to work at next semester!

(for your second ask, i don't really know yet BUT i did plan to make a precure oc at some point after seeing my partner's. i would probably make them teal and use a sword!)

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

I think my most controversial Warrior Cats opinion is that I actually really like the Cinderpelt-heart reincarnation plot. Or at least I would really love a version of it without all teh ableist implications. StarClan realizing that teh “no kits for medicine cats” rule is hurtful, and also that disabled cats are often pushed into roles they don’t want and aren’t suited for, and they reincarnate Cinderpelt for those reasons, not because a disabled life isn’t a full one. Cinderheart feeling pressure from teh clan, maybe even her family or even Lionblaze, to be a medicine cat when she finds out. It has potential idk.

I liked it at first, because... Admittedly, I read Po3 before I read TNP and before I finished TPB.

So Cinderpelt was this mysterious, not quite known character to me. I went and read TNP and thought "hmm. I wish it had been more 'this is happening because your life is going to be cut short now due to the move to the lake and that isn't fair because you were supposed to live a long time so go become your niece, really sorry about the badgers, xoxo PS sorry about your mom slowly starving to death in the forest'"

Instead it hinges on her having had "not a full life", which.... When I went EVEN FURTHER back and finished TPB.... She did. She loved Medicine. It was HER choice. The Erin's forgot, made a weird retcon that has become her entire character: "I loved my teacher and didn't tell him", and had Lionblaze be the... Reward for that?

I liked it, it was just done for a stupid reason. Another one of those "we wrote this plot point to make sure a character does xyz" instead of just... Writing it. Snowkit's death is the most egregious example of these writers pretending they have no control over these fictional cats.

I have some controversial opinions of my own.

The Lake territory is cool but also sucks. We need to either leave the Lake or start redoing things about it. It has no landmarks to hang out at or have what I call 'set pieces' whatsoever, and more importantly no threats (thunderpaths, snake rocks, gorge, the tree with a huge Owl, Carrionplace) and I'm pretty sure the writers feel this way too since we leave the Lake once an arc. I wouldn't mind moving territories again, to a more dangerous but still natural place.

Breezepelt should be a permanent Queen. I know it would mean seeing less of him (which I dislike) but him being a gentle parent and helping others raise their kits would be a PERFECT wrap up to his arc. As much as I desperately want Breezestar I think he would fit more as a perma-queen.

A trip to the distant future or past would be both good and bad. A whole new cast would be kinda cool but let's be honest, these writers suck. What is needed is a whole new writing team of people who actually LIKE the books.

I never really liked canon!Riverstar that much, we really didn't know anything about him because DOTC is less Dawn of The Clans and more "pwease like our power trip fantasy oc who knocks up a girl his son's age 🥺". I genuinely cannot remember anything River Ripple even does. He just... Isn't there. Maybe more prevalent in the last 2 books but I never got past the first 3 chapters of book 5 and never opened book 6 aside from looking at its last scene and rolling my eyes. Petal's death was where I drew the line, the narrative bending over backwards to make Clear Sky a poor sad baby crossed it.

• I've come around thanks to Bonefall but I genuinely hated Star Flower as a kid. The way she was described was uncomfortable, annoying and made it feel like the writers were trying to force you to think she's this gorgeous, perfect cat, it made her boring, bland, and anything with her in it a slog to get through because of the way Thunder spoke about her, going on and on about her beautiful she was, getting worse when Moth Flight's Vision described her with purple eyes to go with her star-shaped pupils... Also, I was really attached to Petal, who died suddenly when Star Flower entered the picture, and I was on the assumption Clear Sky and Petal were going to get together, while I didn't like Clear Sky, I just wanted my favorite to stay alive unlike every other female character. Starf also suddenly becoming a helples damsel in distress added to the annoyance so badly that I actually never finished DOTC, and it made me take a break from the series altogether. I really wanted her to be playing the long game. A sincere thank you to Bonefall for helping me reread who this character is, and while the way our 'Camera' describes hee is still annoying, I can at least look past that and see the roots of this character.

I love Leafpool, and Hollyleaf. Met a lot of Leafpool fans who seem to think Hollyleaf is this monster when she very much reads as someone who cannot handle their religious and emotional abuse based trauma and lashed out at the wrong person. What she did to Leafpool was awful but she was basically an irrational teenager. Just like apprentice does not always equal child, warrior does not always equal "grown ass adult who should get over it". Her own existence went against every single thing she believed in and was told by her own mentor to never ever question.

As sweet as the scene with Dandelionkit and Juniperkit in Starclan was... There was really 0 point in giving Squilf 2 dead kids, other than "the writers hate her". The only thing I can see a point for it is for a long-shot setup to Squirrelstar for some lives seeing as you just know they absolutely forgot about Squish's friends.

• I think Ivypool has somewhat of a right to be upset with Dovewing. HEAR ME OUT. She is allowed to be upset, NOT take it out on Dovewing. She also needs to learn that she helped drive her sister out, but the writers are allergic to that kind of thing in favour of "make character a background conservative. If female = mom. If mom = soft until politcal debate scenario." She is allowed to be sad and upset that her only sister is gone, she just needs to acknowledge she messed up, as well as lots of Thunderclan cats messed up.

It's time to kill Brightheart, Brackenfur, Thornclaw and Cloudtail. Enough is enough, start retiring cats who were full warriors when TNP started. Tawnypelt should be in the Elders den and Oakfur should be rotting in hell for what he let happen to Berrynose. On that same note, I hope Russetfur went on trial for that and her attempt on Firestar's life. I like her but good GOD, that was egregious, and looks even more pathetic when Yellowfang's Secret reveals she herself wasn't Clanborn.

Tigerheart's Shadow is a good book (aside from that one 'territory' bit, you know the one) and this series could go FAR if they embraced the mysterious mystical elements they set up, people are far too harsh on the experimental things.

Moonkitti makes good points sometimes but I need younger fans to stop taking everything she says as gospel and start thinking for themselves; case in point the recent Mapleshade drama that REEKS of "if I was Orpheus I wouldn't have turned around". The writers call the Moonstone the Moonpool every time we revisit the forest, do you really think they remembered The Bridge? Did YOU remember the bridge or did Moonkitti point it out? Also, with how cosmically doomed from the start the story was, the water probably would have overtaken the bridge and STILL swept them away. For every one good take Moonkitti has they seem to have more than a few bad ones.

My silly one. FERNSONG SHOULD HAVE BEEN NAMED AFTER HONEYFERN AND BEEN A HONEYFERN CLONE APPEARANCE WISE. No problem with him being named for Ferncloud but could they PLEASE acknowledge that Cinderheart is Honeyfern's sister too? Poppyfrost named her baby boy after Molekit and Lilyheart named her daughter Honeykit despite never having met Honeyfern, and those don't feel like coincidences.

I dislike the Tribe as its concept, but I like some of the characters that came from it, know what I mean? I like OG Stoneteller (though I always pictured him very differently. I saw him as gray tabby with white paws!) I think he is an interesting character, and Outcast was a huge letdown with having him be wrong. It would be a nice change in story if the Clan cats had tried to push their way, only for it to NOT work, for there to be a different way to do things, or a trick the Tribe used in the past that they "could give another crack at", and for the Clan cats to learn that their way of life is not a golden standard. Could you imagine Hollypaw learning this? I also really like Brook. I dismantled her and I know she is a play on the stupid "Indian princess" trope. I love how sweet she is, though I hate how it was painted against the Tribe. I plan to keep that wisdom and kindness, while also making The Tribes just as good a place to live.

I don't think Tawnystar would've been a good idea, as good as a name like that sounds. She, like Bramble, is too old, and the writers can't stand killing off Arc 2 characters in favour of killing off Arc 3 and 4, we would have been stuck with her and the writing for leaders atm SUCKS. Tawnypelt also just... Isn't that great. While I like her, I don't think she would be a good leader. Same goes for Mothstar, though I feel like they could have it done better if they do have it happen by making her not want the 9 lives. After the absolute Christian slog ASC has been about "non believers" it would be cool to see her prove that wrong and put this shitty arc's hinge point in the ground once and for all.

I'm tired of Med Cat protags. We've had one since TNP barring Dawn of The Clans when arguably it would have been the most beneficial from Pebble Heart or Dappled Pelt. Leafpool was cool because she was the first, Jayfeather was kinda cool still because of blindness and being part of the Prophecy, and while his POV in OOTS was a necessary evil, we did not need Alderheart. There is no reason to have Alderheart be the POV when Sparkpelt has the objectively more interesting setup and Alderheart's "anxiety" works better when we can't see through his eyes, as the authors don't know what actual anxiety is. Shadowsight and Frostpaw are alright, through Frostpaw's pov suffers around Nightheart and she does suffer from Camera POV Syndrome at times... Not helped by her being a Female Warriors Character with all the lovely things that come with it. Shadowsight was cool until the writers completely fumbled the bag and made him rude, argumentative, and dropped his epilepsy for no reason. All this is NOT helped by the new retcon that you're just "born different" with some kind of inherit special connection to Starclan, like it wasn't some kind of learned thing, hence Cinderpelt struggling with it as a lot of the time she was on her own!

Let Daisy retire and let Sorrelstripe take over the nursery. These new characters are in desperate need of personality, let Sorrelstripe be a feisty, confident midwife who won't let Queens be bullied into things.

[hanafubukki]

It's actually what is happening. I have the two Oc's but I have more Au's than the main story 😂 Actually my Yuu - Yuki - don't come from another world. She's from Twisted Wonderland, but the part of Twisted wonderland she came from is so isolated and she was so preserved from the "outside world" she herself thinks she's in some parallele world. The place was also covered for a long time by a powerful magic to seal the people inside -see it at the typical Island of the North. It's snowing everytime. Full of monster. And was used to lock the losers of a bloody succession war. The Dark Mirror speech about "Not belonging anywhere" didn't help.

There are twin but do not know there are until after the Malleus overblot events.

There had actually pretty fun genetics. Grandma was a dragon fae - beautiful pure white dragon - and grandpa was a human (loved by spirits- but a simple human). The parents were two half-fairies. So the twins had some funny genetics return. Astyanax - or Aster as a nickname- was born from a egg like Malleus. While Yuki (not her real name, the one Aster gave her) was born like any other human. Their family found it funny. Their birth happenned roughtly 500 years before NRC events.

The things is Yuki had a lot of magic power at birth -so much her human body could not handle it. So grandma took a decision: destroying the magic core of the baby. Like she is a full human, she can live without magic and it will not harm her health or lifespan like it would for a fae. Grandma is also at the end of her lifespan -with only some decades at best due to excessive use of magic during the war. Her unique magic is also special: she can see the future. Due to that Yuki was sent in the future to be able to grow there -and to love Aster who where going to be all alone due to his LONG lifespan and the short one of the rest of his family. Plus there is a way for Yuki to become immortal. But for that she needs to be in the future and go at NRC (Grandma best plotter of the millenium).

That how Aster found baby Yuki after feeling a powerful magic in the snow 500 years later -not knowing anything about his lineage or the origin of the baby because the others noble fae choose to hide the whole marrying a human (some were never 100% okay with the thing. Other thought it was a bit though to say "Everyone's dead and you are alone because they were all human. Suck to have a long lifespan"). Well he choose to raise the baby because he felt she was blessed by some magic similiar to his. He gave her the name Yuki because she was found in the snow. First time the guy speak since his parents death (he don't even remember them because he was so young). He was considered mute but started "speaking" with the baby. Sometime it feels like they are communicating by thoughts (Twin's telepathy-).

Yuki grew up mostly happy. Aster became fond of the child. They often go on a ride in the island sky. But when she was 16, she overheard a conversation between the noble fae (the soul sisters of the Senate: annoying, cause of most of the emotional damage, need to be thrown away). They talked about how Yuki isn't a good thing for Aster. Mostly because she will die in less than a 100 years and because Aster think more and more about contacting the "outside world" to discover more about her origin, to learn of the change there in 500 years -he knows some things, like Malleus birth because he received an invitation, but didn't go (The barrier was lifted, but nobody there really crave contact with the people who locked them for hundred of years. They are fine by themself. So it's still a no contact policy). So Yuki ended up wishing to be far away due to the emotional distress. And the carriage kidnap- took her.

And I will stop here because I let myself go free and this backstory is becoming really long TwT But yes, there is a lot of Au. One where "Yuki" was sent to the future to hatch Eggster because no one loving him dearly would live long enough to make it happen after Grandma death. Another where everyone is not dead but scealed and can be saved. Lot of Au's.

Also, Yuki's true name is Athanasia (yes, just like the Manhwa-). Found it fun to give a name related to immortality to the human of the family. Grandma was the one the name the twins.

I think I also talked in a ask long ago about a song I remembered from a precure movie because I needed a lullaby for my Oc to sing to Grim. And the 1st part of song ended up feeling like a prophetic one for book 7. Yuki is the Oc. And the song is in her head since day 1. It's actually prophet Grandma who used to sing it to her to help her during Malleus overblot.

- 🦋 Anon

Hello 🦋 Anonie

We love having a thousand AUs in this household 😂🥰💕

We love found family and time travel and family doing sacrifices in this household 😭😭😭

What I'm hearing is that the twins and Malleus need to just....destroy the nobility/senate.

I'm guessing Aster eventually came to NRC? because how else would they fall under Mal's spell and learn the truth?

Therapy! therapy for you all!

Yes! I still have that ask, its a precure song.

lullabies and prophetic songs my beloved. straight to the heart 😭💕

[alyssaforevermore]

Hounded ↦ Bellamy Blake 10. I Am Become Death

Synopsis: After being locked away for eight months, Athena Kane alongside 99 other criminals is sent to the ground to find out if it's survivable. The ground was the dream, but who knew it would turn out to be a nightmare?

Show: The 100

Pairings: Bellamy Blake x OC

Warnings: major series spoilers (full series will be covered), use of profanity, descriptions of violence, death, blood and gore, and mentions of drugs and alcohol.

Tags: @mellxander1993 @sweetz1919 @jordangdelacruz

Masterlist

An explosion in the middle of the night caught the attention of everyone in camp, including myself. We watched as the shrapnel of the Exodus ship flew through the night sky, the fire of the crash site burning below.

Clarke and I held each other, knowing both of our mothers had been on it. We didn’t cry, both of us trying our best to stay strong, in part for each other and in part for our own sanity.

It was now morning and Clarke had run off to search the crash site. I, however, couldn’t bring myself to go there just yet. Knowing my mother was dead, I couldn’t stop thinking about my father. At this moment I would give anything to talk to him, see his face again, no matter how angry at him I still was.

“Hey,” Bellamy spoke, placing a hand lightly on my shoulder. “I thought you could use some water.”

I gave him a half-smile, taking the canteen from his hands. “Thank you.”

He watched as I took a sip, his face scrunched together. Finally he sat down next to me. “I’m really sorry about your mom.”

I could feel my eyes begin to swell with tears, but I fought them back. “I’m just glad it was fast, you know? With losing contact with The Ark…” I stopped myself, swallowing hard. “I’m just glad she didn’t suffer.”

Bellamy nodded. “A group of us were planning to head out to the crash site; help Clarke look for anything we can use here. If you want to come, you’re welcome to. Or, if you’d rather stay here-“

I stood from my seat, my legs wobbling beneath me. “I’ll go with you.”

Bellamy stared at me for a moment. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“It almost feels unreal, you know? I have to face it. Besides, the more people searching, the more likely we’ll find something useful.”

Bellamy nodded, standing up as well. “Okay, let’s go.”

…

“Clarke shouldn’t be out here.” Finn whispered to Raven as he searched through some of the debris. “Neither should Athena.”

“You suck at whispering, you know that? Besides, I’m fine.” I turned to Finn.

He mouthed ‘sorry’ as Raven let out an exasperated sigh. “Her mom was on the ship. She's looking for answers. You want to help her, find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why this ship crashed.”

My eyes scanned the area, taking in the charred trees and bushes surrounding the crash site. There were few bodies left intact from the crash, but each one I saw made me think of my mother. Had it been a quick death? Was she among the bodies surrounding you right now? That thought was almost too much to bare.

“Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, just a matter of when.” Bellamy called out.

“Can you blame them?” Finn asked.

“No,” Bellamy responded. “I blame you.”

Late last night, Bellamy had told me all about the secret mission Clarke had pulled him in on. It turns out that Octavia had been seeing the grounder who stabbed Finn, and Finn went to him hoping for a meeting to discuss peace. Unsurprisingly, it hadn’t gone according to plan, with both sides firing at each other. 

“Maybe if you didn't bring guns-“

“If we didn't bring guns, we all would've been killed.” Raven cut Finn off.

Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore. It's our job to be ready when they do.” Bellamy said, before lowering his voice. “We're on our own now.”

Raven’s eyes lit up, her quickly jogging towards Clarke. “Clarke, stop!”

We all followed behind Raven.

“Rocket fuel?” Clarke asked.

“Hydrazine... Highly unstable in its non solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist.”

“Well, that’s great.” I quipped.

Raven picked up a rock, dipping it in a bit of the fuel and tossing it away from everyone. “Fire in the hole!”

The rock landed in some burning debris a few feet away from us and a small explosion went off, causing us all to share worried glances.

“We need to clear the area.” Raven added.

Bellamy nodded, looking around the crash site. "Okay, then. We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We need to get back before dark."

…

When we all got back to camp, word had quickly spread that Murphy had been found outside the walls, battered and bloody. Bellamy wasted no time running off towards the dropship.

"Where is he?” Bellamy snapped, pushing his way through the door. “Everyone but Connor and Derek get out now!"”

"He claims he was with the Grounders." Derek spoke.

"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor added.

"I wasn't sneaking.” Murphy retorted, his voice lower than usual. “I was running from the Grounders."

Bellamy looked between the two boys. “Did anyone see any Grounders?”

They shook their heads.

“Well, in that case-“ Bellamy stepped forward, aiming his gun at Murphy.

“Wait a second!” I shouted, stepping between them.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Finn asked, standing next to Clarke.

"We were clear what would happen if he came back."

"No.” Finn protested. “If he was with the Grounders, then he knows things that can help us."

"Help us? We hanged him. We banished him, and now we're gonna kill him.” Bellamy attempted to push past me, but Finn quickly came to my side. “Get the hell out of my way."

“No,” Clarke finally spoke up. “Finn is right.”

“Like hell he is.” Bellamy snapped. “Guys, think about Charlotte.”

“I think about her all the time.” I responded. “What happened to her was as much our fault as it was his.”

Clarke made her way over to Murphy, examining him as Bellamy folded his arms across his chest. “He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."

Finn scoffed, eying Bellamy. “You and the grounders should compare notes.”

Bellamy stepped closer to Murphy, slowly this time. "The Grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?"

We all looked to Murphy, who was silent for a moment. “Everything.” He finally responded.

Clarke pulled Bellamy aside, Finn and I quickly joined them. "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here, okay?"

"What if he refuses to leave? What do we do with him then?" Bellamy asked.

“Then we kill him.” Clarke responded before walking away.

Bellamy glanced at me, his eyebrow raised.

“What?” I asked.

Bellamy shrugged. “I thought you’d have something to say about it.”

“He can’t stay here,” I conceded. “I just don’t feel great about killing him.”

“Even after what he did?”

I took a deep breath. “Bellamy, nobody gave him a chance to plead his case. Don’t get me wrong, he gave us every reason to believe it was him, but this isn’t the Ark.”

“He made his choice, Athena.” Bellamy responded. “He can make his choice again; leave or die. I know what I’d choose.”

With that, Bellamy walked away, exiting the dropship.

I looked over at Murphy, who was still sat in the fetal position against the wall. He looked up at me for a moment, his eyes frail. 

I turned to Derek and Connor. “Keep an eye on him at all times and keep anyone besides myself, Clarke or Bellamy out of here.” 

They both nodded and I made my way out of the dropship.

…

The morning carried on, all of us around camp working on our daily tasks. I sat by the fire, taking a break from watch duty, my mind wandering to my mother once again. Then, I thought about my father and the possibility that The Ark had finally run out of air. As much as I was angry with him, the idea that I had lost both of my parents in a matter of a day felt heavier than I could’ve ever imagined.

I felt wetness roll down my cheek, a shock as I hadn’t even realized I was starting to cry. I wiped my cheek with my left hand, looking down at my hand to see nothing but red. 

Coughing erupted around the camp and I shot up from the log I was sitting on. A few feet away Clarke and Raven exited a tent, running into Connor who was half slumped over.

I did a mini jog towards them, my legs shaking beneath me. “Clarke-“ I started, stopping as she turned to face me, blood dripping down her cheeks as well.

“Raven, get away from us.” Clarke commanded.

“What?”

Clarke took a deep breath. “They’re the ones who brought Murphy in.”

I followed Clarke as she darted towards the dropship, heading straight for Murphy who was vomiting blood. Connor and Derek followed right behind us.

Clarke knelt down beside him. “Murphy, hey, look at me.” She started. “I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the Grounders. What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Murphy spoke, struggling for a breath. “I woke up and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there so I took off.”

“They let him go.” I spoke, Clarke looking back at me.

Footsteps raced into the dropship, Bellamy’s face coming into view.

“Bellamy, stay back.” Clarke spoke.

Bellamy looked at me, his eyes wide. “Did he do something to you?”

I shook my head.

“Then what the hell is going on?”

“Biological warfare.” I responded, my body falling back against the wall.

Clarke stood up. “You were waiting for the Grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon.”

Bellamy’s jaw tensed as he stepped slightly closer. “Is this your revenge, helping the Grounders kill us?”

“I didn’t know about this, okay?” Murphy shook his head. “I swear.”

“Stop lying!” Bellamy yelled. “When are they coming?”

Clarke focused on Murphy. “Think, okay? What can you tell us that’s useful? Did you hear anything?”

“They are vicious, cruel.”

“You want to see vicious?” Bellamy huffed.

“Don’t,” I pleaded. “Whatever this is, it spreads through contact.”

Clarke nodded. “She’s right, you can come anywhere near us or him.”

Finn entered the room, his eyes immediately locking on Clarke. “Clarke?”

“Finn, you shouldn’t be here. Nobody should.”

“I heard you were sick.” Finn responded. “What is this?”

“I don’t know,” Clarke shook her head. “some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-“

Derek began coughing, choking on the blood. Clarke and I rushed over, rolling him on his side, but it was too late. Derek’s body went still.

Bellamy froze. “Is he-“

Clarke nodded. “He’s dead.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do?” I asked. 

“Quarantine.” Clarke responded, looking to Finn. “Round up everyone who has had contact with Murphy and bring them here.”

Finn nodded, exiting the dropship.

“And everyone they’ve had contact with?” Bellamy asked.

“We have to start somewhere.” Clarke responded. “Connor, who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in?”

“The first one out there was Octavia.”

Bellamy’s face went pale, his eyes landed on me. In a matter of seconds, he was running out the dropship door.

…

I stood across from Bellamy as Clarke finished examining Octavia. I knew he was scared and part of me just wanted to comfort him, but I knew I couldn’t.

“We’re done.” Clarke spoke. “No visible signs of swelling or bleeding.”

“So you’re saying she doesn’t have it?” Bellamy asked.

“I’m saying she doesn’t have symptoms, but that could change. We need to keep her here just in case.” 

“No way.” Bellamy shook his head. “Look at this place. She’ll get sick just being here.”

Looking around the room, I couldn’t help but agree. There was blood covering at least ⅓ of the floor and sick people scattered everywhere.

“Do you want to stop the spread or not?” Clarke asked. “Look, I’ll keep her on the third level with the people who aren’t symptomatic yet. Think of it as a way to stop her from sneaking out again.”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Screw you, Clarke.”

Clarke sighed, turning her attention back to Bellamy. “I’ll let you know if her condition changes.”

Bellamy nodded as Octavia and Clarke walked away. His eyes then fell on me, an unusual softness to them.

“Hey, if anything changes I’ll take care of her, okay?” I spoke, smiling softly. “I promise.”

Bellamy took a deep breath, nodding. “I know you will. Thank you, Athena.”

My eyes lingered on Bellamy as he left the dropship. When I turned back around, I noticed Octavia hadn’t yet gone up to level three.

I headed over to Clarke. “Why isn’t she up there yet?”

Clarke was hesitant to respond, but finally he did. “Look, the less you know the better. Just trust me, okay?”

“I just promised Bellamy I’d take care of her. What is she still doing down here?” I pushed.

“I’m sending her to find Lincoln-“

“Are you out of your mind?” I snapped. “For all we know, the Grounders are just outside our walls waiting for the right opportunity to strike. We can’t just send her out there, especially when we don’t know if she’s sick yet.”

“Athena, Lincoln might have some sort of cure for this.” Clarke explained. “If she doesn’t at least try to get it, more of us will die before the Grounders even get here.”

I was silent for a moment, fighting the part of me that knew Clarke was right. If it was almost anyone else, I’d be supporting this. I knew Octavia could handle herself, but the thought of losing her too?

“Alright,” I finally spoke.

… 

After helping Clarke take care of the others for a while, she had ordered me to take some time to rest. I must have passed right out, because I awoke to the sound of gunshots.

I pulled myself off of the floor, staggering outside where Clarke was standing in front of the entire camp with a gun in her hand.

“This is exactly what the Grounders want. Don’t you see that?” Clarke asked. “They don’t have to kill us if we kill each other first.”

“They won’t have to kill us if we all catch the virus.” One of the delinquents stepped forward, his gun pointed at Clarke. “Get back in the dropship now!”

Bellamy grabbed the boy’s gun, hitting him in the face with it. He then looked at Clarke. “Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn’t exactly working.”

Clarke’s legs gave out as she began to fall to the ground. Finn lunged forward, catching her.

“Finn, don’t touch her!” Raven called out.

Clarke shook her head. “Hey, let me go. I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.” Finn protested. 

“Octavia will come back with a cure.”

“There is no cure!” Octavia’s voice rang out through the camp. She stepped forward, just a few paces behind Bellamy. “The Grounders don’t use the sickness to kill, though.”

“Really?” Bellamy challenged, pointing to a line of bodies. “Tell that to them.”

“Bellamy, she was trying-“

He ignored me, continuing on. “I warned you about seeing that Grounder again.”

“Yeah? Well, I have a warning for you, too.” Octavia spoke through gritted teeth. “The Grounders are coming and they’re attacking at first light.”

She pushed past her brother and towards Clarke and Finn, placing a hand on Clarke’s forehead.

“Come on,” she spoke. “I’ll help you get her into the dropship.”

The three of them headed inside, everyone finally heading back to work. 

Bellamy turned to Raven. “How many bullets can you make by first light?”

Raven thought for a moment. “Time to find out.” She replied before heading towards her tent.

Bellamy’s eyes landed on me again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Octavia.”

He sighed and shook his head. “I’m guessing it wasn’t your idea.”

Bellamy didn’t wait for an answer before he headed off towards Raven’s tent.

…

While Clarke was resting, Octavia, Finn, Murphy and I were taking care of the other sick delinquents. As much as I felt uneasy in Murphy’s presence, I knew how badly we needed any help we could get right now. Bellamy and Raven were working on a bomb, while everyone else still unaffected by the sickness was either on watch duty or taking care of other camp responsibilities.

“How are you feeling?” Octavia asked, placing her hand lightly on my shoulder.

I tried to muster a smile. “I’m feeling okay, considering. I’ll feel a lot better when we know that the bomb worked.”

Octavia tensed up. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry,” I frowned. “I know how much you care about Lincoln.”

“He asked me to stay with him.” Octavia confessed, her voice in a whisper.

“Why didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t just hide away knowing what was coming. I couldn’t do that to you, and even though I’m mad at him, I couldn’t do that to Bellamy.”

I nodded. “Bellamy will come around eventually. He’ll see that Lincoln isn’t a bad guy.”

Octavia shook her head. “I don’t know, Athena. I’ve never seen him so sure of anything before.”

Before I could respond, I saw Bellamy entering the dropship, propped up by two other boys. I barely had time to register his presence when he began coughing up blood.

Octavia spun around. “Bell?” He continued to cough as Octavia and I sprung into action.

“Clear some space and lay him down, now!” I demanded, rushing over to him.

Octavia knelt down, grabbing his hand. “Hey, big brother.”

“I’m scared.” Bellamy confessed through shallow breaths.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

“That’s what I said to you the day you were born.”

“I know,” Octavia smiled. “You’ve told me that like a thousand times.”

I stepped away, letting the two have the first positive moment they’d had in days. A part of me was jealous; I would never feel that kind of love again. My family was gone, and I somehow was the only one left. It felt like some sort of sick joke; I was the expendable one, after all.

It felt wrong to hold onto that now, but there was still a part of me that wished things could be different. I wanted so badly to see my parents again and just let it all go, but that would never happen now.

…

I continued to help out in the dropship, mostly cleaning up blood and vomit in hopes of possibly minimizing the continuing spread of this sickness. I would tend to people here and there, and this time I was checking on Bellamy.

He had finally sat up, leaning over the side of the cott he had been given earlier.

“How are you holding up?”

His eyes met mine, a small smiling falling across his face. “Better. You?”

I sat down beside him, leaning back into the wall of the dropship. “I can’t wait for this day to be over.”

“When the day is over, we might all be dead.”

I let out a groan. “Right, I’d almost completely forgotten about that.”

“Jasper will come through with the shot.” Bellamy assured me.

“If he doesn’t, it’s all over.” I whispered. “Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. We should’ve died on The Ark with everyone else.”

Bellamy looked back at me, confusion written all over his face. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“I don’t know what I believe anymore.” I confessed. “We’ve fought so hard to still be here-“

“And this isn’t the end.” Bellamy stopped me. “This is not how our stories end, okay? You were sent down here to die, and you didn’t. The ground wasn’t meant to be survivable for another hundred years, but here we are. There has to be a reason for that.”

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment.

Bellamy leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. Without thinking, I laid my head on his shoulder. He let it happen, even adjusting his body so I would be more comfortable.

On day one, I never would’ve expected to find comfort in Bellamy Blake. Now, it felt like he was always there when I needed someone. I felt safe with him, something I hadn’t felt with anybody in a really long time.

After a few moments, the sound of footsteps caught my attention. I opened my eyes, sitting up straight to find Clarke standing in front of us, a puzzled look across her face for just a second.

“We should start bringing everyone inside.” She spoke, looking between the two of us. “There hasn’t been an explosion yet and I think it’s better if we play it safe.”

I nodded, standing up. “Let’s do it.”

The three of us began rounding up the entire camp, each of them filing into the dropship one by one. Suddenly, there was a ground shaking bang and the sky through the trees lit up a bright orange before fading into a cloud of smoke.

“Holy shit.” I muttered.

Bellamy’s face lit up. “They did it.” 

Clarke stood next to us, her face never changing. “I am become death,” she began.

I let out a deep breath before continuing, “Destroyer of worlds.”

--------

AN: We have reached chapter ten, which means we have finally gotten to the point I had previously paused on! I really hope you enjoyed this one and I'm so excited to share chapter eleven and soon finish this first season. Please remember to like/reblog and share your thoughts <3 The tag list is also still open; let me know if you'd like to be added!

[alj4890]

The Apology

(Ethan Ramsey x OC*Sophie Triano) on a Choices Open Heart drabble

Thirty Kisses in Thirty Days Challenge with the prompt: kissing the tears that roll down your lover's cheeks

@hopelessromantic1352 @twinkleallnight @tessa-liam @choicesficwriterscreations @choices-readerandlover @annfg8 @jerzwriter @trappedinfanfiction @coffeeheartaddict2

Rating: G for angsty fluff

Thanks for the request @annfg8 😊 Here's some angst that turns sweet.

Masterlist

They weren't certain over what triggered it, but whatever it was shocked Ethan and Sophie. Perhaps it was their recent schedules. Maybe it was because Ethan had lost a patient before he could figure out what was wrong with her. It could have been the fact that Sophie had to work an extra sixteen hours on an eight tier wedding cake because one of her assistants dropped it.

Who knew why they ended up having a fight? It simply happened and there had been no stopping it.

The harsh words, the snide remarks, the yelling; it was colossal. Neither was known to go that far when angry, yet something about the moment made them each the perfect target to unload all their frustrations.

When Sophie slammed her door in Ethan's face, the seriousness of it all struck him. Unable to get her to open the door again, he stormed the few floors up to his own apartment.

Throwing his keys across the room, he poured himself a needed drink and settled in his recliner. He narrowed his eyes at the night sky, contemplating the fact that relationships could be a huge pain in his ass.

No wonder he remained single for so long. The drama was exhausting. It was a waste of energy that he could use towards something productive. Anything would be more productive than what he'd just gone through.

He took a big gulp of his scotch, dropping his head back against the leather cushion.

Perhaps it was all for the best that Sophie had kicked him out. They'd probably end up making the situation worse if they'd tried to talk it over.

His frown deepened as he thought of the possibility of ending things with her. In the heat of the moment, he thought it might be best. He almost suggested it. After all, they'd been so busy lately that they were often playing catch up rather than simply being together.

He then thought about how she normally made him feel. He actually liked the relaxed version of himself she seemed to bring out. Maybe that was why this fight hit harder than those in his past. Sophie made him pause to think about whether or not their relationship was what he originally thought it was.

Ethan knew it wasn't unusual for couples to fight. He'd even witnessed Tobias and Chris tie up a time or two. He'd gone through his own arguments when with Chris, Harper, and other women of his past. This wasn't really anything new.

He got up and poured himself another drink. Something though about this particular fight hit him where it hurt. That had to be why he struck back with his words so quickly. So easily. So hurtful.

Her face...

Ethan downed his second glass in three quick gulps as the image of Sophie's face came to mind. Though furious with him, there was no disguising the pain she felt with each lash of his tongue. The very mouth he used to bring Sophie pleasure, compliment her, softly soothe her was used as a weapon against her.

He was ashamed that a man his age had allowed things to go that far. He could blame it on being tired and upset over work, but he knew from the beginning of the fight what he was doing. Instead, he didn't bother to hold back.

And now look at me, he thought. I made the person I truly care about cry.

He knew it was more than simply caring for her. Sophie was becoming the most important person in his life. The thought of losing her was unacceptable.

He bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't know what to do. He knew he should apologize, but should he go now or let her sleep it off?

******************

Sophie was furious. The fact that Ethan had left without apologizing made her want to follow him upstairs to his apartment and scream at him some more. How dare he even think he could talk to her like that and simply leave as if he had the right?

She went about her kitchen, slamming drawers and cabinets to try to rid herself of this residual anger. She jerked her refrigerator open to search for a bottle of vodka she'd put in there and stilled at the sight of the containers of dinner he'd made her.

Her bottom lip began to tremble as tears filled her eyes. How could she have talked to him like that? He was a good man. She knew this about Ethan. Why had she insulted him? Called him names? Why had she purposely tried to make him even more angry?

She shut the fridge door and pressed her forehead against it. Her shoulders shook as she began to cry. The thought of losing him was breaking her heart.

She missed him. She hated that their schedules had been so difficult to work around. But even the rare few hours together was worth it. He made her happy, happier than she'd been in a long time.

Then why did she act like some crazy banshee, screeching at him over the stupidest things? She couldn't even remember what set her off or even what the fight was about. It wasn't his fault she was exhausted from work or completely frazzled with keeping up with all her new orders.

She missed having Veronica to depend on. Anytime Sophie needed a break, she knew she could take it without worry because her cousin would easily pick up the slack and keep their business booming. Now that she was on her own, she allowed the pressure to nearly consume her.

And what had she done next? Took it out on the one man she was falling so hard for.

She should have never invited him over tonight. She knew she wasn't in the best mood to begin with. And yet, she hoped that maybe she'd get in a better one simply by being near him.

That backfired horribly, she thought as she stumbled into her bedroom. She collapsed face down on her bed and continued to cry into her pillows.

Are we going to break up?

She'd been tempted to. In the heat of the moment she was ready to tell him to screw off and never darken her door again. But she held back. Even now, the thought of never seeing Ethan Ramsey again hurt worse than their fight did.

She knew she was falling in love with him. Everything about their relationship seemed so easy. This fight coming out of nowhere had actually made her doubt whether or not they should even try and work things out.

And honestly, that scared her and made her more determined than ever to make things right.

Should I call him or wait until he reaches out to me? Maybe I should let things cool off for a while before trying to talk to him.

Clutching one of her bed pillows to her chest, Sophie cried herself to sleep.

********************

Ethan called in and took a personal day off of work. After the restless night thinking about Sophie, he knew he wouldn't be of use to any patient that walked through Edenbrook's door.

He was determined, after much soul searching, to do all he could to keep her in his life.

He dressed with care, picking the color blue she usually complimented him wearing. He then called her bakery and asked to speak to her.

"She's not coming in today." Terry told him. "She called this morning and said she needed the day to herself."

Ethan knew their fight must be the cause of her not going into work. He wondered if she was at home.

Nervous about talking to her on the phone, he sent a quick text asking if he could come over later or if she would be willing to come to his apartment.

He watched the ellipsis bounce as he anxiously waited to read her response.

He realized he was holding his breath when her message appeared, agreeing to come over to his place around noon.

***************

Sophie went through numerous outfit changes. She didn't know what to wear, only that she wanted Ethan to think she looked pretty. She settled on a black outfit since it matched the current mood she was in, or at least the mood she knew she could wind up in if things did not work out.

She felt more nervous walking up to his apartment than she ever had before. Each step she took tempted her into turning around and going back to her apartment.

When she arrived at his door, she hesitated to knock. She could already feel her tears building. The last thing she needed right now was to fall apart before he'd even said a word.

Taking a deep breath, she softly knocked on his door.

It swung open quicker than she thought possible. Sophie kept her eyes averted from Ethan's.

"Hi." She said, clearing her throat. "You wanted to see me?"

Ethan stepped back to let her in.

"Yes, I did." He motioned for her to sit down.

She sat on the far end of his couch.

He grimaced slightly at that. From the moment they first got together, she'd always chosen to sit near him.

He sat on the opposite end and angled his body towards her. His eyes traced her profile. Gone was her warm smile she seemed to always have at the ready for him. She still had yet to look at him directly. Even now, she kept her eyes on his floor.

"Sophie?" He swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean anything I said. I don't know what happened. All I can do is apologize."

She glanced at him. Her throat convulsed some as she tried to keep from crying.

"Oh."

She blinked a few times to try to stop her tears, yet failed miserably.

"I'm..." Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry too."

Ethan moved across the couch until he had her in his arms. His lips crashed against hers.

She clutched him close, kissing him back in relief while tears trailed down her cheeks.

Ethan pressed his lips to her cheek, softly kissing the tears away. He whispered again how sorry he was as he moved to do the same to her other cheek.

Sophie bit down on her trembling bottom lip in an attempt to calm down. Her voice was hoarse as she tried to take the blame for the fight.

"It was my fault." He told her gently cupping her face.

"It was mine too." She argued, pressing another kiss against his lips. "I've been tired and cranky and--"

He silenced her with a deep kiss.

"Next time, we need to be honest with each other." His lips continued to caress hers as he spoke. "I'll warn you when I'm in a bad mood."

"I'll try and do the same." Her eyelashes fluttered closed when his tongue slipped between her lips.

She moaned as he pulled her into his lap, never breaking their heated kiss.

Ethan realized as he began to caress her that her tears had stopped falling.

[prowerprojects]

Hey, I hadn't seen your Oc Iggy (?) before today, can I ask 2 and 30 for the ask game (I think I've got those numbers right, about powers and motivation?)

Ooh thank you so much for asking!

I have to confess they aren't really my oc ^^' (though the design is all me since they don't have any official pictures)

They're a secondary character from the book "Sonic the Hedgehog and the Silicon Warriors". But I have changed them so much for my au so it's almost like having an oc (though I try to keep as many aspects of their characterization from the book as a can, the universe of the book is so different from the modern games so a lot of stuff gets changed)

Their full name is Ichneumon, but they go by Iggy. In the book they're a temporary sidekick to Sonic. (Tails gets trapped in cyberspace).

(I'll still answer because when else am I gonna get a chance to talk about them! I'm gonna answer based on my au rather than the book though. I'll specify what things are based on the book)

2. Powers/Abilities?

(In the book, they can run pretty fast. It impresses Sonic (!), but they still can't keep up with Sonic and Tails when they're going full speed. They're also a computer programmer (it took me forever to get the joke, they're a mouse that does computers – a computer mouse!). Since the book deals with cyberspace and stuff, they needed a character that would have some skills in that area)

I think most of Sonic's friends have some enhanced physical abilities, so they're probably slightly faster than an average person, but not a "speed" type, so to speak.

Programming... ok. They're basically your average hollywood-esque "*hacker voice*: I'm in" type of programmer. Anything you imagine a character of that archetype could do, they probably can. (I decided not to be shy and make them op in their main area of specialization)

(Also I guess they're a child genius too? If you count it as a "power". Though of course they're more specialized than Tails who while has specific interests dabbles a little bit in everything)

(Eventually they also become an expert on the Chaos Emeralds. It's mostly because of their cyberspace research and its connection to the Ancients and then the Ancients' connection to the Chaos Emeralds. Not really for the Emeralds' own sake. They also can't really use Chaos control or anything like that)

They're not a fighter by any means, but I didn't want them to be completely defenseless so eventually they become a pretty proficient user of a boomering (yeah, from Sky Patrol, I thought it would be a cute thing to bring back)

They're also really good at rollerblading.

30. What is their main goal/motive?

I don't really have anything deep, but I guess— Their whole life they felt kind of small and insignificant (They're literally a mouse but it's also kind of a metaphor). They're from some backwater island where nothing happens, they're a middle kid with a bunch of siblings, etc. So they want to become metaphorically "bigger", really put their talents to use and try to make a difference.

Their external goal is the cyberspace research, (re)creating a working cyberspace that could be used for the benefit of the public. (Even though the book they originate from is centered around cyberspace, they don't really have an interest in it, but I thought it would be a nice reference and a cool unique thing for a character to be into) This is basically their life project. (I don't think it's something you can ever be done with, there's always things to improve). (Frontiers is really playing into my hand here, it's giving me a good way to introduce them to the cast)

What I'm missing is some sort of "inciting incident" so to speak, something that would lead them to be dissatisfied with their "small" life and something that would get them interested in cyberspace. Preferably one incident for both of those things. But I'm working on it!

[gwynbleiddyn]

🍓 🍁🙊 🙉💧🌟🌏 for MiMi <3

MIMI...

🍓 STRAWBERRY - do they eat their fruit & veg? what is their favourite fruit or vegetable?

he is a fan of his fruit n veggies

favourite fruit is maybe pomegranate???? or watermelon??? like pomegranate is so tart but slightly sweet and Mio likes sharp, strong flavours but watermelon,,, juicy,,,

honestly Mio will eat any veggie so long as it's been obliterated with garlic and honey which were pretty much staples in any form of cooking back home and i think maybe by definition the fact garlic is a veggie might put that as his favourite bc it makes everything else nice

🍁 MAPLE LEAF - what is their favourite season? why?

very obviously summer because it has his favourite weather, his favourite occasions (his birthday) and his favourite associations (rebirth and association with his prime deity)

also everything is just so much more colourful. so vivid. the world feels like a more tangible place when you can see every detail that hasn't been washed out by autumnal fading or winter's stillness.

🙊 SPEAK-NO-EVIL - what is something your oc will refuse to stay quiet about?

hmmm i had to think about this one... he's very good at keeping secrets, even ones that are terrifyingly big and potentially life-altering. probably most especially those ones. so he doesn't have too much in the way of things he can't stay quiet about, however...

i think it would have to be something in the vein of defending things considered holy - like, if someone were to decry pelor or sehanine or insinuate that his belief in the gods is meaningless, he wouldn't take it lying down, yknow? he'd almost always retaliate, even to the defense of other gods that aren't his own. and when i say defense it isn't always in the sense of upholding their virtue, but maybe a reminder sometimes that the gods are far more powerful than anything on faelethris - e.g treating Talos like another enemy in their way is stupid, anyone reckoning to pick up a sword or sling a spell and fight a god is going to get reality checked by Mio pretty quickly.

answered 🙉!

💧 DROPLET - random angst headcanon

i think that, lately, Mio has taken to writing letters in his journal to various people. Mostly his family, Onu, Shadiya. Some to Talisman and its individuals.

he's not somebody that's scared of dying and what death means (at the moment, anyway) because he's dealt with so much of it under Sehanine's guidance, but he is deeply afraid of leaving unanswered questions behind - because of the way his dad left him. suddenly, violently, without conclusion.

mio writes as a way of apologising, but also as a way of reassuring himself and his loved ones. he writes what he wishes he could have heard from amun - he writes that he loves them, that he's proud of them, that he sees them for who they are and it doesn't matter, as long as they're happy with the choices they make.

there is a clarity to his life now that Mio didn't have before, which i think has come from a slowly growing acceptance that dying in pursuit of his goals is quite likely -- it feels inevitable, and inevitability invites a certain kind of simplistic resolution. there is only one road to follow, and so all the stress and worry of indecision and choices become irrelevant to mio, leaving behind what's really important to him which is all of the above.

🌟 GLOWING STAR - what do they think about when they look at the night sky? is there someone they want to star gaze with?

he feels watched over, i think. at peace. particularly on a night with a bright, full moon. i don't know that he thinks of much on nights like these, because it feels like one of the few times he can fully relax. no thoughts only vibes. he probably just says the first thing that comes to his mind with no filter.

he'll stargaze with anyone, but it's something he feels most comfortable doing with Shadiya. but certainly most of Talisman could convince him to join them, or Onu, or his brothers. the usual crew of people he holds dear.

🌏 EARTH - will they give up the world for someone they love? is this decision easy for them?

there is nothing in this universe that he loves more than the gods, on paper. but he is not ruled by love alone -- in akhenian culture, his soul is an entity separate to his heart, and of these two things it's the heart you can live without.

he has a soulmate. and i think for her, he would.

[netedamn]

a continuation from atwow:

You Give Me Strength

the sullys attempt to woo a powerful clan against Quaritch and the unknown evil brewing beyond the war's danger- before it becomes too much to handle.

• Part 2: Knives of Ice •

• masterlist

• playlist

previous: Living to Fight

next: Underestimation Can Kill

/neteyam x female!oc/

warnings/notes:

enemies to friends to lovers, love triangle (sort of)

violence (descriptive fighting/bloodshed)

it's canon that ages 15-17 in Terran years marks adulthood physically, mentally & spiritually among the Na'vi (meaning a 15 y/o Na'vi is considered 18/19)

"this font" is them speaking the Na'vi language, this font corresponds to Neteyam's thoughts

->->->-><-<-<-<-

The waters were still aggressive by the time most of the travelling group got ready on the beach to depart; the pitch black of the sky starting to fade.

"I can't believe you actually managed to crack dad to bring you," Kiri laughed before handing him a cup and bag of grounded tea leaves, "Here, drink this before we leave."

"Thanks, Kiri," the older one smiled gratefully, knowing that he'd probably still be wearing that dreadful cast without her, "You're a lifesaver. Literally."

"Eh, just found it somewhere 'round here," Kiri shrugged, downplaying her wonderment in her capabilities with nature, "Pretty cool, right?"

Just before Neteyam was about to reply, the sound of crackling laughter captured their attention. They turned simultaneously to see Lo'ak introducing Tsireya to his usually tempermental ikran (who he still had trouble getting along with sometimes), already warmed up to the Metkayina girl.

"What is going on with them? As far as I've heard, Tsireya has already expressed her affection for him... but he didn't say anything yet," Kiri rested her chin on her palm, perched upon her own ikran.

"Really? When did this happen?" Neteyam turned to her sharply, having never heard of this. He didn't usually like to engage in village gossip, but he was all in if it was anything about his family. It was extremely obvious, anyways, how Lo'ak didn't bother trying to hide his heart eyes from anyone.

"I'm not so sure... but you would've thought that they were official or something, you know?"

"They certainly act like it," they chortled, both watching as Loak struggled to heave her up onto the ikran's back.

Neteyam has always wondered what it felt like. What that felt like.

Back in their clan, he was used to receiving pressure from the villagers and peers as the oldest brother, a mighty warrior, the future Olo'eyktan; multiple girls expressed their interest, only to be shot down with rejection.

Family and duty.

They came first. It was also the fact that he knew none of the girls he had encountered actually cared for him, they didn't... see him.

However the situationship Lo'ak and Tsireya might be in, he knew he was happy for them. Kiri would never admit that though, and settled for showing playful distaste on her face before she broke into a chuckle as Neteyam shoved her.

"Is everyone here?" Neytiri made her way to another banshee with Tuk following closely.

"Yes," Jake appeared from the tree-lined path leading to the Olo'eyktan's marui, "Now, listen up."

Jake was known to run the family like a tactical squad. And while they acted as such when it did matter, there was no room for mistakes or slip-ups. Jake had to make sure of that. So did Neteyam.

The group attentively gathered in front of the seasoned warrior, whose face remained in a grave expression.

"This," he started, voice low, "This is dangerous. If the Kandatushara's trial didn't require family, I wouldn't even think of bringing any of you along."

He looked at Neteyam pointedly as he said this.

"But it does, and it isn't going to be easy. None of us know what to expect, this clan we're dealing with is not known to play nice," Jake implored with venom dripping at his every word, "So don't. Do. Anything. Stupid."

He glanced at each and every one of them, including Tsireya.

Neteyam flexed his left arm, making sure the tea was doing its job well enough; he was not going to allow himself to be an inconvenience to any of them.

"Yes, sir." They chorused altogether.

Taking a deep breath, Jake grabbed onto Neytiri's free hand, "Let's go."

->->->-><-<-<-<

It was freezing.

No, that was an understatement.

All 7 of them had been flying since the sun rose, to the start of the eclipse- the weather change was drastic. Neteyam knew what to expect, having to leave the tropical shores to cross into a land of ice. He just didn't think past the idea, and certainly wasn't mentally prepared for how the cold bit at his skin at all.

As a long-standing flight formation, Neteyam flew steadily behind the group to observe their blind spot (after stubbornly arguing with his father once more) while Jake took the front. From his view, he could see that everyone flying in front of him was clearly feeling just the same. How were they supposed to battle the cold with barely any cloth covering them?

Neteyam could only imagine how much layers the Kandatushara would be wearing on them.

Tuk was shivering in their mother's arms, who tried her best not to, failing miserably either way; Tsireya, used to sweltering temperatures, was trying to seek warmth from Loak seated in front of her.

I should have prepared for this better.

Neteyam mentally reprimanded himself, lightly stroking his shivering ikran's neck.

Down below them, they had finally reached the shore of the Northwestern lands, the scenery breaking into a jaw-dropping land of white. A strong, stinging current of wind pushed against them, earning yelps from the group.

Neteyam steadied himself, urging the rest of them to stay closer together.

But he couldn't help but let himself go a little- he watched in awe as they flew over forest sprinkled with soft snow, the branches weighed down with deathly icicles; it was all there was as far as their eyes could see.

Beyond them, what looked so near yet so far, were the daring mountains that was the image of still calmness, when it was, in fact, turbulent and life-threatening. They were enormous, each individually coming together to create what seemed like a wall.

A wall that spoke of warnings- turn back now.

No sign of the clan.

Not a single soul, flora or faun was in sight.

It was more daunting than it was beautiful at some point.

It wasn't until he noticed Lo'ak calling his name when he realised that the rest of the group was descending towards a small clearing in the thick forest. The way the wind whipped against his face suddenly reminded him just how cold he was. He had never felt this way before.

His ikran growled as they almost crashed into the bed of snow; Neteyam felt as though his skin was being pulled from his body.

"Everyone good?" he asked, hands on hips like the optimist he always was. He wasn't expecting anything more than the glares the rest of them shot in his direction, anyways.

"Oh, just fine, thanks. Feeling so damn warm," Kiri rolled her eyes at him, looking away when Neytiri flicked her ear, who then berated Jake for his 'heavy Sky People influence' on them- the way her own children talked was too strong for her liking.

"What do we do with the ikran?" Neytiri asked, beginning to untie the bags of weapons and food with shaking hands.

They were but in the middle of nowhere, and Neteyam did agree that if they were to further explore the area, guiding 5 fully-grown ikran was not wise.

Jake looked at her with a hint of fear.

She was, after all, scarier than he had ever been.

"Well..." he started slowly, ears wincing when she turned to him, "We let them fly back."

Cries of protests and firm denial arose from them, Jake looking as though his eyes were about to bulge out.

"Quiet!" he demanded, scanning the area around them with alarm, "We have to do this very carefully-"

"Exactly," Neytiri whisper yelled at her husband, "And now you want to send away our only way of getting back?"

"Ronal said that this is necessary, Neytiri," he ignored her scoff when he mentioned the Tsahik, "To relent completely to the Kandatushara, to show that we trust them-"

"But we cannot!" Neytiri's mood was turning sour, and both parents started arguing loudly with one another. One could tell that the conversation originated from more than just the situation at hand, the past week's stress getting to them.

Tuk backed away from her mother's side and ran into Neteyam's arms, completely wrapping herself to him while he leaned against his iran's side. Ever since Neteyam had almost joined his ancestors, Tuk had become clingier than ever- she always wanted him to play with her, to carry her, to eat with her, to train with her; she didn't want to lose sight of her oldest brother, not that Neteyam minded.

"This is ridiculous," Kiri complained from Neteyam's side, vigorously trembling as she huddled under her ikran's wing with Tsireya, "We're all freezing and they start fighting now?"

"Yo guys," Lo'ak called towards the 5 of them, "I found a tunnel or some shit."

"Where?" Neteyam stood quickly, leaving Tuk to a more comfortable position in between the banshee's wing. Hearing footsteps behind him, he assertively pointed back at Kiri and Tsireya, "Stay here."

Lo'ak led him to a barely noticeable path between the forest's brutal trees, lined with overgrown icicles that linked together at points along the way. It was a winding trek, and it slowly disappeared into the darkness beyond their sight.

Neteyam squinted, checking for any other options around the clearing- the trees thickened everywhere else except the passage before them, heading for the direction of the mountains. The clan would supposedly be there, wouldn't they?

Day was turning into night sooner than he had expected, the eclipse surprisingly faster in this region. The dots on everyone's bodies started to glow faintly, providing them with dim light across the clearing.

"We should tell mom and d-"

A rustle. Above them.

Yet, there was no wind.

Both boys' ears tweaked upwards.

"You hear that?" Lo'ak was hushed in no time, rolling his eyes as Neteyam held his hand up just like Jake did.

Neteyam's eyes stayed fixed to a heavy spot between two trees, right hand unsheating his knife. In the background, he could just make out his parents still bickering.

"Back up."

"What?" Loak tilted his head at his brother.

"Back. Up. Slowly." His weak arm hovered above Lo'ak's chest, moving both of them backwards through the snow, away from the path.

"Bro, we gotta get mom and dad," Lo'ak whispered, eyes still trained on the same spot.

"Not until we know it's safe," he whispered back, knife gripped in his hand.

"Nothing's safe here, man," the other said sharply, "It was probably just a bird."

Neteyam allowed himself a quick glance of disbelief towards Lo'ak, "A bird? Seriously? Dude, look around again and tell me that there're birds around here."

"Neteyam!"

The boy turned at the sound of his name, heart stuck in his throat at what he saw.

He had never seen a knife as sharp as the one held against Kiri's throat, trembling from more than just the cold at that point. The ikran were weak from the cold, their protective roars coming out as soft growls instead.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath.

The Navi holding his sister's life in their hands glowed white in the dark, unlike the more colorful radiation from their own bodies. He could not see exactly what they looked like, but he was absolutely clueless as to how he should approach the situation.

"Mawey*.," Jake stepped closer, stopping when the Kandatushara tugged at Kiri's hair, the latter yelping, "Please."

"Knife. Bow." The Navi spoke up, a male, voice clear and strong, "Down."

The rest of them removed the weapons strapped across their bodies, placing them on the snow in front of them.

"Maybe there's only one of them?" Lo'ak said hopefully.

He spoke too soon- figures eerily appeared one by one from hiding spots among the trees. It was evident that they were skillfully stealthy, not a single noise made to let themselves be known until Neteyam took a good long look to see how they were cornered.

"Okay, okay. They're down," Jake said tentively, suddenly aware of their surroundings.

"My Jake, tell them," Neytiri insisted calmly, her gaze stuck on her eldest daughter at all times.

"Alright, yeah," Inwardly cursing for letting their differences distract them. He switched languages in hopes of letting them trust him more, "We are here on behalf of  the Metkayina clan."

Neteyam could distinctly hear a huff of hilarity from one of the surrounding Kandatushara at the statement.

"We do not mean any harm. None at all. All I ask is to talk to your Olo'eyktan."

A strong wave of deja vu washed over Neteyam; the same feeling of dread was the same when they arrived at a Metkayina's village seeking refuge. Only this time, they were seeking help for a brewing war.

"Bro," Lo'ak called in agitation, trying to get Neteyam's attention to the Kandatushara poking his tail with what looked like a long icicle carved into a spear.

Neteyam would have laughed if they were under different circumstances, but he spoke through clenched teeth instead, "Just- stay still."

From the corner of his eye, he could see his brother's look of vexation, muttering under his breath.

The absolute silence petrified them. Not even the Kandatushara holding Kiri acknowledged Jake's words.

Trying to stop his excessive shaking from the cold, Neteyam took a good, long look at their area- every slight crack of escape was completely blocked by the glowing Na'vi.

To his confusion, the bioluminescent glowing did not only stem from several dots, but rather patterned stripes from their neck to the feet. He couldn't understand how their glowing stopped at the neck, their faces excluded.

"Ahem. I-"

A loud slam startled all of them, cutting Jake off. Squinting, the brothers could see a Kandatushara's long spear against a large tree trunk.

Despite being made out of what he still assumed was ice, it was strong, intact, and loud.

"Uh," Jake gave Neytiri a look, unsure of how to continue, only to be disrupted again.

The Kandatushara slammed their spear against the trunk again, the deafening sound resonating throughout the clearing; this time, the clan stepped forward, their own spears crashing heavily into the snow. It happened, again and again and again, until the ikran were forced to fly away from the island, and the whole family forced to move into the tightening space, trying to avoid the sharp ends of their ice.

Neteyam was too distracted to realise until he was shoulder to shoulder with every member of the group, that the Kandatushara wore masks. Intricately carved with thick wood, their masks were a midnight-blue, made to cover everything except their eyes, even majestically curving upwards to wrap around their ears; they resembled Earth's snow foxes, as Neteyam recognised from a photograph Jake had shown them over the years.

"Eywa..." he heard Tsireya say, edging Tuk and herself away from a towering Na'vi next to her.

"We are here to propose a partnership with your clan," Neytiri said fearlessly, looking into the stoic faces staring at them, "We must talk to your Olo'eyktan. At least, let us talk to them."

"A partnership for what?" Kiri's captor finally replied.

"War."

The clan shuffled, all looking towards him.

Taking a hint from their collective reaction, and the leadership the male exuded, it would be worth the shot to try. Neteyam knew better than to do so, for the risk it posed if they were the type of Na'vi to take great offense from inter-generational rules.

"Are you the Kandatushara's Olo'eyktan?" Neteyam blurted out, unable to stop himself. He wanted to blame the climate for such carelessness. Piercing attention from all around him, he refused to address his parents questioning peers at him.

One should note, that it was considered, as a general rule passed down throughout multiple generations, that assuming a clan's Olo'eyktan before being introduced was more than just rude; insulting was an understatement as well.

Cocking his head to the side, the Na' vi Neteyam questioned asked him in return, "What do you think?"

It was a challenge. A test.

Were he to answer, Neteyam might fall into a trap; were he to remain silent, it would show his cowardice.

"...Yes."

He could practically feel the smirk radiating from behind the mask; the Na'vi was his height, build obviously honed for a warrior's job. The 7 Metkayinas held their breaths, wondering whether it might be the last they ever took. Moments passed by, and the supposed-Oloeyktan drilled his eyes into Neteyam's soul.

Then, he harshly pushed Kiri into Neytiri and Jake's ready arms before walking past the family, stopping to stand obediently among the Kandatushara behind Neteyam and Lo'ak.

Neteyam's brows furrowed at this, the small spark of success being stomped on, and turned to speak to the group of their current state of puzzlement.

"Eltu Si*!" The Kandatushara (Neteyam decided he disliked) ordered- the clan stepping away to provide more space.

They didn't know where to turn their attention to, each one of them almost stupidly glancing around to make sense of their predicament. And out of nowhere, a fast blur from the treetops landed in front of the family- Neteyam sensed trouble.

"Wrong answer."

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

*eltu si: attention

********

[house-of-mirrors]

18, 26, 28 👀

I'll be ambitious here and answer for everyone since you didn't specify hehe

18. a memory that still makes your OC angry?

Orsinio: Since he's gotten tenure at the university, whispers have died down, but he still knows how much people at Summerset resent him, and he doesn't forget what they said to him even if they're pretending to like him now. More than almost anything, he hates his competency being questioned because of disability and origin. If ur mean to him, prepare to get poisoned, have your scandals published in an exposé, or both

Lucretia: The murder of Orsinio's brother Horatio, whom she had unresolved feelings for. It was unfair and needless violence, she'll never quite be over it, and she's great at repressing feelings till they boil over. Orsinio was the one to do Nemesis, and she feels he deserved to because it was his brother, but sometimes she wishes she'd done it.

Samuel: In his days as a zee captain, anyone who insinuated he didn't actually care about his crew because he's aloof got promptly thrown into the water. Now anyone who hurts his loved ones becomes public enemy no. 1

Miles: Standing across from their father's desk while he told them that they would never amount to anything, which led to the decision to come to the Neath. The fact that no matter how hard they try, they still can't forget him or stop caring about his approval. This festering anger and loathing is what sent them on the path North

Skies Captain M.: uhhhhh whatever tf is going on at Brabazon

26. least favorite food and color?

Interesting! I never really thought too much about this, new OC lore being developed as we speak. Hmm (on a related note I would not survive the Neath because I hate mushrooms lol)

Orsinio: Color: the rotten orange of the Parabola sky. He really doesn't like being there, it holds mostly bad memories for him, and it's a pale imitation of what can never be returned to. Food: he doesn't like chocolate because I don't like chocolate.

Lucretia: Color: red, she's a doctor so sees lots of blood, the stains are impossible to get rid of, and it's a reminder of suffering and sickness. Also Nemesis related trauma. Food: She grew up with great food insecurity so tbh she'll eat anything. She doesn't strike me as a seafood person tho, so uh good luck being in the Neath

Samuel: Color: green and gold, haunted by the lure of the East. Food: hmm he's got the autism so there's probably lots, strikes me as the kind of guy to live off the same 8 things forever. He's a bartender, but I think for a specific example of something he doesn't like, it's fruity drinks. Fruit can be tasty but fruit flavoring... that is a minefield

Miles: Color: their family made its fortune in textiles, so everything was garish bright colors. Miles avoids that and tends to favor dark and neutral colors, earth tones. (Good thing a certain Professor uses that pallet) Food: They strike me as picky about vegetables. Autism also

Cap: Color: that horrible beige-grey-white that permeates the Blue Kingdom. Sapphir'd King can ssuck their ass. Food: you know what? congrats Cap, you're vegetarian now, they're not a meat person and completely lost their appetite for it with all the weird settlers in the Reach that eat people. No UP in this house! Not doing it!

28. is your OC a dog or cat person?

Orsinio: dogs

Lucretia: cats

Samuel: birds

Miles: crawlies (slugs, snakes, yeah)

Cap: inadvisably big dogs

[tacticalhimbo]

ok too fatigued to play stuff BUT.. playing outer worlds made me start thinking of my characters. and now i'm mapping out ships for them.

right now, the only canon ship i have is françoise/felix. this mostly stems from roleplaying in the tow universe with my partner years back BUT the idea of this stoic sublight mercenary falling in love with someone who is... let's be real, a puppy in human form? is just cute. their dynamic is really cute too. she helped ground him; he helped her come out of her shell

then from there, i still need to pair.. pretty much everybody. but i have ideas so i'm writing them out to eventually ponder on more and write.

starting with artemis. my captain. i genuinely don't think they'd become involved with a member of the crew; they've all gotten really close and they did help parvati with the whole date(s) with junlei (i think that was her name?)... but beyond that, artemis views them all more as family than anything. i also can't think of any npcs they'd bat for off the top of my head either... :pensive:

in the same kind of boat about ivett, too. granted there's the added layer that she's an oc centered around the peril on gorgon dlc! so it's even harder to think of anybody npc wise. double :pensive:

then we have my newest character, yu-phin. genuinely feel like she'd vibe with vicar max. he's the oldest of the unreliable crew, and yu-phin is close to him in age. plus i got to edgewater while playing as yu-phin, met him, and immediately exhausted his dialog options just to hear him talk. BUT. this also really cool because the dialog branch i followed with them was very... back and forth in a good way. they had a nice ideological discussion and i feel like that's very in character to how i envision her (not one for small talk, but sociable; loves engaging with people's ideals and hobbies and perceptions of the situation(s) around them, etc etc). they'd have the potential for the coolest fucking slowburn, especially where max's personal quest is involved.

which is funny because i initially thought of jamie and max... but the more i think about jamie's character, i think they'd be a good pair with ellie (and i did forget to write jamie's pronouns down so we're going to stay neutral for now). jamie left behind official clergy work because of frustration with the systems. it'd be a good push and pull, but jamie's become very much a mercenary "for the people" type. i feel like they'd really get along with ellie in terms of ideals. i'm blanking a little on ellie's personal quest, but i remember she comes from a well-off background and had a huge disagreement with family because of the fact she didn't find any purpose in adopting an elitist attitude, so. they have that in common.

that leaves... lucien. my stink ass corporate bureaucrat. born and raise in byzantium, developing a silver tongue throughout his prestigious education... is it terrible to say i've considered chairman rockwell for romancing him? i mean... come on now. y'all have heard me talk about this kind of dynamic already (lest we forget vinny and jenkins). let lucien get contracted by rockwell to do some dirty bureaucratic work. let them develop a steady working relationship where lucien becomes something of a left hand to him (because the iconic adjutant akande is his right hand). let there be this subtle tension that develops when they conclude their work together in the privacy of rockwell's office, sharing all sorts of alcohols and watching the starry night sky seep in through those giant windows... it's too perfect

[nella16]

His Partner In Eternity | Collector x OC

Ch29: That's nice

At the sandy sides of the isles, where the waves were flowing, there where Chalent was sitting, observing .. it became different

After Belos was ended for good, Collector returned everyone back to normal, each one reunited with their loved ones

The Titan's ... gone

And his magic with him, although for now, the witches still had their palismans, even the wood of it that will probably get used more than what was allowed in Belos's reign, plus, King surely will have his own powers

Her eyes kept looking at the sea, minutes later, she stood up, walked towards it-

" Heyheyheyhey! "

A loud calling cut her off, making her stop with a leg in the air, to just eventually fall on her back, cat faced while still at the sandy side

She got up, turned around, looking up from afar just to see Luz, " it's boiling! " she said loudly again, in case if she didn't hear her due the distance from up and down

Chalent giggled, raised her thumb to let her be sure, laying on the sand, while seeing Luz climbing down, reached the ground, the sound of her steps defeated by the waves, as she made her way to Chalent, sitting next to her, silent for awhile

" So .. wanted some fresh air? "

" Mhm " she simply nodded with a hum, not being cold, just simple, laying on her back

" Chalent "

" I didn't really see the need to talk with you more than that back then " she explained, looking down at her feet, " it was a win-win case whenever I thought of it, you go back, I become free "

" If so, why did it took months for you to appear? " Luz, in a serious manner, finally asked what was in her head for a considered amount of time

Chalent's gaze slightly closed, scratching her head " weird thing, but down there, I had the ability to hear what happens up here " her gaze now went to the sky, empty from any folding, as she met the sky, blankly silent for a moment, before giving a small smile, as if it was along time to meet the light directly

But even so, " oh shoots " she flinched, then chuckled " sorry, I lost my mind to the clouds "

" Literally " Luz slightly played with it, smiling as she rolled her eyes, joking intended

Slowly, Chalent's smile left, " you see, it just began with the spot I was stuck in ... other times forward, my head would take me to other places, voices ... leading me around ... " her eyes looked at the side, thinking about how to say it, " .. they were either whispers around me or directed speeches at me, moving back and forth, until I felt that energy, familiar and in the same time not ... warm like home, in short, I found you all ..... not that I can really get out of there, if I could, I would "

" Then, why me? " Luz asked, raising an eyebrow, aside from this, she was getting a little worried about what she was telling her

" It's ... not that deep " Chalent tensed " ... They told me that you can help me .. ", she moved up sitting, they became silent again, she looked at the sand, then let her hand go, drawing whatever in her head, or just simply moving the sand, then, she added, " I don't mean harm for no reason, just defense .. although, I can be too much in it, even if it was for necessaries .. too much " the last part was murmured to herself

" I can see this " Luz replied, then looked aside, thinking, after few minutes, spoke again, " when I was gone I .. saw the Titan "

Chalent's hand stopped, momentarily quite, well, from the symbols around her when she came back, it makes sense that way

" He knows that you two didn't deserve it "

" .... What did he say, excatly? "

" That he would've done anything for his kids " she said, looking down " but ended up capturing the wrong person, and harming his own " her voice was calm, slightly, her brows furrowed, feeling oddness in the air, in their silence

" ... Chalent? " she called out, " look if you're not comf- "

" It's fine " she answered, waving her hand up and down, smiling, looking away, " I don't owe him anything, the least he deserved was a goodbye " her hand went to the sand again, grabbing some in her hand, then letting go, " now, with him gone, I don't know if it's too late for him now, hoped he would've .. "

" Maybe he did, forgiveness isn't received right away, what you said might've helped your relationship, but it didn't fix it fully, it's normal to feel conflicted "

Then silence, for awhile, Chalent kept looking down at her toes, then said, " .. we'll be leaving for awhile "

" You and Collector? "

" Yep, making up for lost time, as well as figuring things out .. "

" Well, while you're at it " Luz stood up, putting a hand on waist, with the other one pointing on her right, giving her a smile, " Collector and King are messing around with the snacks, if you'd like to join them "

Looking down, her eyes widened, seeing that Chalent wasn't in there, just with a turn, she saw her crawling like a snake forward

Luz just chuckled at the scene, coming along

.

.

Suspicious or not, it's fine by her, they can even hate her for whatever reason ...

But, if she can get along with them, if they can be friends

That would be nice to have as well .. she might get comfortable

[thefinalwitness]

oc creation rambles sorry i love two (2) cat characters

when i got into ffxiv i thought l'aiha was Too Crazy as an oc, like, i loved her whole concept but i came from warcraft where if ur oc was anything more than a nobody npc u'd get harassed for being a mary-sue (if they were a woman) or edgy grimdark (if they were a man) or just a freak (lgbt/nonbinary/etc) so l'aiha was like, my decision with myself that i wanted a crazy powerful oc and i didn't care what anyone said about it :')

and then she was SO NORMAL IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF FFXIV LMFAO LIKE. the biggest thing i thought was "too much" was her being basically a hydaelyn-version of an ascian, but then shadowbringers happened and uhhhh yeah they just gave that to me LMAO.

atlas is, i think, more of a "true" "let's go crazy about it" oc—unsundered (can familiars even "be" sundered?), venat's personal therapy moth, fought meteion for 12k years to stop the song of oblivion from being Worse, can temporarily learn any job by being in proximity with someone (friendly) who knows the job, can shapeshift into whatever they want (i was too scared to do this with l'aiha but i wanted to with her too—i've seen enough full blown shapeshifters tho that i'm not scared anymore hehe)...

like, they're not All Powerful, of course, but it's fun to really let loose and just make something nuts. their weaknesses include that someone has to be friendly to them, has to be someone they can connect with, and they have no real combative skills on their own—and, well, they're a bit out of every loop imaginable since returning from ultima thule. you say something assuming they'll know what you're talking about and you're more likely to get ":D?" in response.

they're kind of like... they have the potential of those around them. if those they're with are strong and full of hope, they can be too. their power comes from actual, literal friendship. because that's fun actually don't @ me. and similarly, if someone weaker puts their faith in them, they can do more. they are the collective hope and ambition of those around them. when venat sent them after meteion, she sent them with all her hope and love and confidence, and that lasted for 12k years. but it wouldn't have lasted much longer. atlas is just a voice in the wind by the time the warriors of light arrive. all they can do is speak, and hope the scions listen.

it's their hope and their triumph and meteion's restored heart that brings power back to them—and it is fundamentally different now, because they are made up of those around them. u know. they were not a creation of dynamis, but when venat sent them, when she put all her hope into them, she gave them the dynamis to survive meteion's song of oblivion. unrealized to her, they were ever designed to flourish under the dynamis of others. when people hope, or put their hope in them, they are at their strongest. they're not nearly so formidable on their own; they cannot create that dynamis themself. they are what their friends make them.

their main friendships now are minfilia, who has ever believed in the greater good and in hope and in the ability to persevere, and meteion, who has learned this from the warriors of light. so atlas does really well. and even more of their strength comes from having met the warriors of light too—l'aiha, aeric, nanamei and aes'a all live within them. those four were what saved atlas in ultima thule. and they couldn't have if each of those characters hadn't become people that hoped against hope, that had ambitions reaching far beyond the limitations of mankind. had even one of them not become that person, atlas wouldn't have survived, and ultima thule would have unleashed its full power on etheirys and all the stars in the sky.

because ffxiv is a game where you're encouraged, by the game and the playerbase, to make batshit insane lore like that, and i LOVE IT.

im SOOOOOO glad i made a dedicated dancer oc, i love the job so much ;_; ranged but instant casts my beloved. so sparkly and bouncy. wah