#then I watch the source material and realize it happens there too so it bugs me double

[can-a-tuna-fish]

I can and will write a multi page essay about the way people write and portray Richard Goranski’s lisp in fan content and why I don’t like it. this is sort of just one aspect of it, guys please actually consider how a lisp works before writing/playing him with one I’m begging you.

Rich has a tongue between teeth lisp (as opposed to the type of lisp that happens when air escapes from the sides of your teeth), meaning he makes the “sss” and “zzz” sounds with his tongue “out” (touching the top row of his teeth instead of resting behind them).

The way the tongue between teeth sort of lisp works, you only make the “th” sound on certain words. sun, spoil, and toss all require you to use the “sss” sound to pronounce them, meaning they would come out with a th lisp. The same goes for “zzz” sounding words like zebra, puzzle, and lazy. Plus some words with C like icing, voice, and circle, since in this context the C actually makes the same sound as an S.

Not all words that have an S or C in them make the speaker lisp though, which is where I think people get confused about it and write/play him with a silly sounding or inaccurate lisp. Words like share, show, and sheet make a “shh” or a shush sound, which usually wouldn’t have a th lisp attached to it :))

Something I recommend if you’re ever playing him or just generally any character who lisps, be conscious not to speak with your tongue out the entire time. I see a lot of the people who play him just keeping their tongue between their teeth throughout entire sentences while trying to recreate a lisp, and it changes the pronunciation of ALL their words which a lisp wouldn’t do.

Also, when writing a lisp, it’s really repetitive to read anything that constantly emphasizes it. You don’t have to write “thally thellth thea thellth by the thea thore” it’s difficult to read and makes the content less accessible overall, it’s okay to write the words normally and THEN emphasize how they’re spoken, one or two mentions of a lisp is enough to get the point across without constant repetition. Plus then it’s not crowding up your writing and taking all that effort to figure out.

Honestly all I’m saying is to think about how speech impediments work before trying to write/mimic them, genuinely though at most it mildly annoys me so there’s no anger or anything behind this post. It’s something I like talking about + I like rich so he gets to be part of this too.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

There's something that's been bothering me for a while now, in terms of bnha's ending and it's final canon pair. I had a hard time understanding the way people seen to interpret their "superiority" over other pairs because they are "pure, healthy and wholesome", adding in how strange the author's intentions came across, and just feeling even more confused.

Until i came across a NileRed video of all things. (It feels so bizarre bringing such a random video to this discussion but bear with me lmao) Where he attempted to make "the world's purest cookie" by creating it in a lab, basically. Using the purest form of every ingredient he was able to find because "well it's pure, so it must be better, right?". And it was very amusing watching a guy who never baked before struggle to make even something so basic, with a decent, easy recipe. Everyone was excited until it came time to taste it, and it ended up being the blandest thing he's ever tasted.

And then another youtuber, Ann Reardon, who's a professional baker, not only explained the wrong in the use of the ingredients showed in the video, but also tested the recipe he used normally, and the result was just a nice choc chip cookie. There was nothing wrong with it.

Nile's entire problem was that he didn't know a thing about the nuances of baking as a science of it's own, and only went by what he, a chemist with no experience in baking, thought would work the best.

To me, that is literally that pair's entire existence in physical form. People in favor of it use the first basis of how "pure and predictable" is good regardless, because they deemed it inherently healthy but didn't bother with actually analysing it further. The story had the recipe for a regular, typical shonen romance, but both use of it and ingredients were all totally wrong.

And the author, not having any experience with writing romance, did what he thought was best, (maybe because he liked them together and was attached), but fumbled tremendously when he realized he wouldn't be able to make them happen organically, because it was too late, it didn't fit anywhere else in the story, and there were too many things in the way as well. So he did what he could to side step them into a believable conclusion, but in doing so, he sacrificed his story's flavor and complexity for something that fell flat and became unpopular among true fans of the series.

"I think that my interpretation of purity was naive... Purity didn't have anything to do with flavor or smell or texture. Purity is its own thing, and if you want to achieve true purity, you must sacrifice everything. Everything that makes it worth it."

(fantastic quote from the NileRed NileBlue video)

Anon, you've really charmed me with this metaphor, and I think it works. The details get a little fuzzy once you know that the "pure" ingredients he got are actually made so you know exactly what's in them, not necessarily so that they are impurity-free. But he still applied an extreme level of hubris in using chemistry lab materials to make a "perfect" or "better" cookie, without understanding anything about the very different science that is baking. Like, he didn't know what baker's chocolate even is. Besides, what he sought was impossible, because chocolate practically cannot be made 100% without "bug parts" etc. And in the end, he made a really fucking terrible cookie anyway. I'm fascinated by the fact that it didn't even have a smell...

I'm definitely not one to judge ships against each other to say that one is inherently better, but when the other side keeps pushing this idea of purity, it does make me pause. Do they like it because it's bland? Because it ticks off all their morality requirements? Because it affirms their idea of normal? Honestly I'd have a lot more respect for them if they openly rejected what the source material has given them in favor of what their own imaginations can come up with. Some do, to be sure, but most still try to defend canon. Come on. Give them something to struggle with each other over and grow from. Anything but this constant unspoken blushing awkwardness.

I do want to put a small wrinkle in what you've said, though. I don't want to assume Horikoshi was doing what he thought was best with 431. Think about it this way. If he, much like many shonen mangaka like Oda for example, set out to write a story where romance is not the focus because he wasn't interested in writing those kinds of plots, but instead more interested in developing plots that are based in politics, friendship, family, sacrifice, and examining the dichotomy of "good" and "evil," why not maintain that priority through the end? Why would he spend dozens of pages systematically dismantling everything he cared about in the first place for the sake of something he clearly viewed as secondary? Like yeah, maybe he did think they were cute and was still attached to the idea of them ending up together, but I can't believe he thought they were worth this much compared to everything else he actually put effort into.

However, this "pure cookie" metaphor you've made fits quite well with how publishing can operate, where the rules of marketing are often erroneously applied to art of storytelling, like lab chemistry to baking. The things that give the story its uniqueness and flavor are refined and boiled down for the sake of making it predictable, benign, safe, easy to digest. So it can sell. So it can avoid controversy with conservative society. I'm honestly really sick of debating all the points of this ending as if they are definitely 100% only Horikoshi's vision or personal mistakes. We really don't know that and maybe we never will. I for one at least hope that we keep in mind that censorship is still a very real and current issue, and I'm not going to speak ill of the dead, as it were.

btw, I was largely inspired by this thread about Steven Universe on twitter, and tbh I include this reasoning not just for 431, but other things along the way, especially the last 10-15 chapters or so.

[ilikekidsshows]

I've recently watched the ML London special and had to think about your words several times. Mostly about Maribug's pity party and coddling.

My negative coddling highlight (which also made me laugh in disbelief) was when Marinette questioned her decision to keep Adrien in the dark to "protect him" and she "had no choice" so Tikki tells her she isn't the Kwami of Truth (???) and Marinette should "stop thinking and take some rest". What the heck. That felt like they wanted to show a worried, sympathetic Marinette, but quickly brushed aside anything else. A simple "we don't know" of the Kwamis would have felt more natural, too, instead that cryptic Kwami of Truth nonsense. Plagg apparently doesn't care much about Adrien anymore now that he's under Marinette's wings, he has shown no emotions or opinion about Adrien's wellbeing. Sad, very sad.

Also, seeing the whole conversation in which Marinette decides that Nathalie has to be Adrien's surrogate mother, while Nathalie was not convinced of that but was ready to go to jail instead....wow. Forced motherhood onto a woman who clearly didn't feel called for that position and who rather atone for her very real crimes... feels kinda sexist to me. Why is Marinette the one to decide that for Nathalie and Adrien? And Marinette and Nathalie suddenly having a bond strong enough for hugging and that shit? Where did that come from? Everything for coddling Marinette, apparently, everyone but the new villain is on her side.

The only scene that felt worthwile to me was the very short moment in which Adrien lashes out at Bug Noire. He finally felt alive and as his own person for the first time in forever (S5 essentially), even going as far as - gasp - making Ladybug uncomfortable. Chat Noir also was completly forgotten the whole special, only to come back into existance for that empty Ladynoir scene at the end in which he has to spout his obligatory "you and me against the world" speech.

I did like the background music, though, and the fighting choreography, which actually made me realize that Ladybug never before has fought hand-on-hand that long on her own. Which, of course, she had to here, since there was no Chat Noir to do it for her this time. I couldn't not think about your "Chat Noir fighter" post then.

Sorry for the wall of text. I just wanted to let you know that I had to think several times about your posts and answers during the special.

---

Thanks for the peer review, Anon! In media analysis, someone watching or reading the work and finding the analysis a good match for the source material is a clear indicator that the analyst has hit a resonant reading.

I think what we have in the Nathalie example is a writers' crutch becoming obvious. I can point several instances where Marinette gets instant or near instant support as soon as she needs it, but the Nathalie situation is extra glaring in how little in-universe sense it makes. Cat Noir propping her up in ‘Origins’, ‘Miracle Queen’ and several other times makes sense; he’s her superhero partner. Alya makes sense, she's her best friend. In ‘Love Hunter’ Luka almost magically drove past and happened to notice she was upset and could drop whatever else he was doing to tend to her instead as soon as she needed someone to cry against. That one is a bit ridiculous, but it was used to set up them getting together later so it feels organic after the fact.

The notoriously stoic Nathalie, who has zero bond with Marinette up until now suddenly holding her more gently than she's ever held Adrien while she cries happens only because no one more appropriate was around to do it instead. It's an escalation. Luka’s super timing was stretching believability so much people started to joke he had actual empathy-based superpowers. With Nathalie, it's completely out of nowhere, but the stans ignore it because the show has made it a staple that someone will always prioritize Marinette, and because they're just so glad Marinette has someone to comfort her because she's such a miserable wretch who never gets enough support. Finally, there's an adult she can count on! Except, Nathalie also starts immediately taking marching orders from Marinette, so it's just even weirder.

It's not that Nathalie is actually being set up as a confidant to make up for her past misdeeds, she's just instantly a Marinette groupie because the writers needed someone to prioritize Marinette's feelings. It functions as a way to make it clear to the audience that this is what they should worry about: how Marinette is feeling. And it worked; just as Adrien started voicing his own emotions, he got shut down by our lead and a big part of the fandom was more concerned about Marinette being upsette than Adrien, who is infinitely worse off than Marinette.

[digitalgate02]

(Rough) Fact Checking on Rui & Ukkomon's statements in 02TB

Tbh I'm kinda concerned about people taking Rui's statements for granted and not realizing the movie is unclear what is legit and whatnot.

This is not Kizuna-like levels of screwed up, but this is still bugging me as i've been discussing about this movie with friends who managed to watch it before me, and once i watched it by myself i completely understood their thoughts and theories regarding the movie and the Rui & Ukkomon lore.

We still got no actual news of digital releases or EN subs (tho i believe fansubs might appear once the JP Blu-Ray/DVD is released in May) or any other country digital release (or Blu-Ray/DVD ones) so i can’t completely make a detailed lore busting post about Rui’s statements and what we know or were presented in the original Adventure’99, 02 and their extra materials like Drama CD and movies.

But i do remember tiny bits of the movie… And stuff said in the pre-release stream.

I’ll do my best here.

[WARNING FOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

The movie staff released a timeline for this movie, which indicates Rui met Ukkomon in February 29 1996 → I don’t think this is a contradiction, because if the Korean interview with SekiP is reliable (i mean, we can’t check what she said in JP, and the telephone game from JP to KR and to EN means something might have been lost in the process!), she said they changed a bit of the lore for this movie. Btw, the OG lore of Digimon Partnership count starts in 1995 and then it doubles year by year is still present in the movie, as there’s a scene where the current number of partnerships in the year of 2012, but the number stated is not exact since the movie takes place in February only. So of course the count wouldn’t be the full year number, which is 131,072 partnerships in total.

Rui and Ukkomon form a bond, and Ukkomon grants Rui the wish of having many friends, which he tells the 02 group that partnerships with digimon were the result of this wish → This is completely uncertain, and it is also doubted by the 02 kids in the movie. In Adv’99 and 02 we learn that there’s multiple sources for becoming a Chosen Child: Homeostasis (Adv Eight, possibly their predecessors); Holy Beasts (Daisuke, Miyako & Iori); unknown sources (Menoa, Meiko, Ken, Wallace, Worldwide Chosen, Dark Seed Children perhaps?)

Rui claims he’s the first person who was partnered with a digimon → Well, this is not wrong! Now, if he were claiming to be the first to have met or interacted with a digimon… He would’ve been wrong: The first human to get in touch with the Digital World and the digimon were actually two – Oikawa Yukio and Hida Hiroki (yes, Iori’s late dad), in the 1980s. Despite that, they never had digivices at all. Then in 1995 we possibly had a double digimon encounter happening: Wallace meeting Gummymon and Chocomon briefly ¹, and the Yagami siblings meeting a Koromon. This could mean Rui and Ukkomon were actually the fourth digimon encounter in the timeline. But what is correct is that he became Ukkomon’s partner first because he got the very first digivice in the world. Taichi and Hikari weren’t partnered with that same Koromon ², but they got their own partner digimon + digivices in 1999. And Wallace probably became Terriermon’s partner years after, possibly in 1996 and after Chocomon’s disappearance ³, or post-1996.

Rui claims Ukkomon is a special digimon because he can grant wishes → Okay, but i definitely remember the 02 Kids going like “sounds cool bro but we doubt it” when he said that. And the movie itself quite shows the opposite later: Ukkomon did not cure Rui’s father, and he was possibly manipulating everyone else like puppets (besides Rui’s parents i meant) – so what kind of digimon who can grant wishes is this?! He has no magical god-like powers at all! And his null lore (Bandai’s) profile points out that part of granting wishes are just rumors. But you know what said profile mentions too? That Ukkomon is able to hijack the opponents�� minds. It’s his species’ special move – Liar Dream – besides spinning like a beyblade to attack (Whirlpool Spin).

Rui claims he killed Ukkomon a long time ago → Also not totally true. Rui tried killing Ukkomon, but he couldn’t commit to it. He tried to destroy the digivice, which resulted in his injury in the right eye. Ukkomon did not… “die” apparently. Yes, he was melting, but one detail you might not know is that when a digimon dies, everything from their body, or their weapon is also erased too. Check Adv’99 death for Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. The eye Ukkomon slapped into Rui’s face was still there after his “death” so this was the biggest hint for the audience. It was also implied in the Audio Drama #3 (released in the Japanese theaters, and soon in the BD/DVD deluxe box as bonus with the other two theater ones) – But it’s okay, he possibly never had a contact with another digimon or even a Chosen Child before meeting Daisuke & co, so we can’t blame him for believing he had killed Ukkomon.

In a flashback, Ukkomon tells Rui that he’s connected to something bigger → This might be the only legitimate truth he had told Rui, besides that Rui was the first person partnered with a digimon. Somehow, Ukkomon is connected to some god-tier entity because once BigUkkomon is destroyed, the digivices are not needed anymore. This part might be completely confusing for everyone else, but it’s not confirming Rui’s claims that the digimon partnerships were caused by Ukkomon, and yes the part of Ukkomon’s claims to be related to some higher up god-like entity.

The notes within the text:

To my biggest surprise… Wallace never mentions when his mother found the egg. But he definitely mentions when Chocomon disappears – 7 years before, which means 1995. I’ve seen many people think this movie goes against the canon in different ways… But now i’ve reached the conclusion that what Wallace meant is that he met Gummymon and Chocomon in the same year Chocomon disappeared in the flower field. Plus, Wallace is shown in those flashbacks as a 4 years old kid (stated in the Memorial Chronicle) and we know via a CD bonus card that Wallace’s age is 11 years old in 2002 (same as Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari and Ken) – so i guess if he had gotten the egg before 1995 he would’ve been too young to remember it (unless you opt for 1994, but i think this wouldn’t be possible…)

The Koromon who met Taichi and Hikari is implied to not be the same who was partnered with Taichi 4 years later in Adventure'99: the TV series Agumon knew Taichi’s name because of the data inserted on his egg by the Agents, which were also manufacturing the Crests and Digivices, according to Homeostasis’ analysis on the children from the Greymon vs Parrotmon fight.

Since Chocomon went missing, i suppose Wallace became partnered with Gummymon only, but if we go with Adv’99 and 02, the Chosen Children can evolve non-partnered digimon as well: Leomon mentions he only managed to evolve into SaberLeomon because of the Chosen Children’s digivices being used on him previously in the series, and in 02 we witnessed the Digimon Kaiser using his digivice to dark evolve Agumon into both SkullGreymon and MetalGreymon virus (the latter only when he created the Evil Spiral, of course).

[imbonewary]

How My Multiverse is Set Up

This is spoilers for how my multiverse functions so it'll be under the cut but I really wanted to post it anyways cuz I'm kinda proud that it came together so well. This is also for more than just Undertale but my focus is currently on Undertale anyways so it may as well be. I might update this later, possibly with an actual picture.

It always kinda bugged me that everyone kept making "Sans clones", and while I do have my own Sans character (yes, I'm a hypocrite) I decided to use different characters for some of the more common "multiverse gods", namely Ink, Error, Dream, and Nightmare.

The Watchers are basically a stand-in for me, the Author. Just as I, as an Author, have ultimate control and power over the multiverse I have created in my head, the Watchers have unlimited power, constrained only by their own creativity and near single-minded desire to "watch a good story”. Other Authors exist, interacting with their unique multiverses (whether they realize that’s what they’re doing or not), which the Watchers can look at, and even gain inspiration from, but cannot touch or influence; if they want to interact with it, they have to generate their own version of the source material. This includes Authors of EVERYTHING, “fan” made or official content, meaning that the Watchers are responsible for creating AUs for everything as well, not just Undertale, though contact between AUs is kept to a minimum and Crossovers are very carefully curated.

The Watchers decided to delegate their responsibilities as Author into Four entities, known as The Watchers’ Hands; these are Kreo (Kris), Roots (Flowey), Remaster (Gaster) and Nightmaster (also Gaster). Remaster, or Rem Gaster, further split himself into two beings, Lucid (Papyrus) and Dream (Sans), who work together to accomplish Rem’s duties.

Together, they all look after a place they call Void Town, which is a hub for all of the AUs I, the Author, have created. Most are kept distinctly separate, even if they start from the same source material. Old or abandoned AUs are “pruned” from existence by Roots, the Custodian and Destroyer of Worlds. Kreo, the Steward of Creativity, will sometimes try to recycle AUs, or pieces of them, before Roots prunes them entirely; this could entail ideas and concepts for places, relationship, archetypes, and even full characters, if they were beloved enough. The Idea Garden was created to store these disconnected ideas, the fruits of which can be used for inspiration later, and one large building in particular, called the Void Hotel, houses displaced characters, hoping to someday receive a “glow up” or reimagining and find a new AU to call home. Some of the more permanent residents of Void Town have actual houses all to themselves.

Crossovers can happen in empty void spaces between full AUs, made from copies of existing AU material that can be manipulated before (usually) being pruned by Roots as well. Occasionally, a crossover will stick around to be used as a playground, which may eventually evolve into a full-blown AU if it receives enough attention.

In general, Kreos tries to keep as many ideas alive as they can while Roots tries to reduce as much “clutter” as possible. Thus, balance is maintained.

Nightmaster, or Nightmare Gaster, could be called the “Guardian of Negativity”, as hardship always follows in his wake. Nightmare himself is a very curious being, constantly seeing how far he can push a character or concept before it breaks. He is responsible for creating the kinds of environments that spawn darker stories, like Underfell, but sometimes he goes too far, creating places like Horrortale, and even set in motion the events that would lead to Serif’s creation. Nightmare took a near-canon Undertale AU and basically stripped Guile (Gaster) of every ounce of empathy he had, just to see what would happen, then moved on to JumbleTale to test his results on a larger scale, making [JT Gaster] live long enough to engulf most of the Underground in his experiments.

Lucid and Dream were unable to completely undo Nightmare’s work but they could help give these stories a happier ending by working through the hardships Nightmare had created. They interfered just enough to get [JT Flowey] and Lucky Papyrus to erase [JT Gaster] from existence, along with much of what he created, leaving the world to heal on its own for a while. Seeing it struggling to move past the collective trauma, they decided to save Serif from his repetitive fate and insert him into JumbleTale instead, hoping to solve both problems at once. They also connected the Reset Power to the Barrier’s existence so that it would be gone as soon as the Barrier was broken; they understood the usefulness of Resets but have seen it abused so often that even the ever optimistic Lucid is wary of it. This is also why they resurrected Buttercup Chara, attaching her soul to Hero Frisk, in order to temper his psychopathic ways. Lucid and Dream are now rather invested in making sure JumbleTale gets its happy ending and Serif has been brought to the Watcher’s attention.

In general, Lucid and Dream are in a tug-of-war battle with Nightmare over how much peace or chaos is introduced into the lives of AU inhabitants.

Nightmare also stirs up chaos in Void Town itself, causing strife between inhabitants just because he can. He has a small group of “followers” that stir up trouble as well, evading the “authorities” appointed by Lucid and Dream to help keep the peace in Void Town. A lot of what they do is fight, with an unspoken understanding that neither group actually wants to kill the others, hoping to just release their pent-up aggressive energy.

Roots and Nightmare don’t exactly get along, since Nightmare’s meddling tends to make more AUs, but Kreo doesn’t really like Nightmare either, since Kreo wants to focus on the AUs already there. Sometimes Kreo will actually ask Roots to destroy an AU if it’s just not working, after taking what can be salvaged, of course. Kreo is more neutral towards Lucid and Dream; peaceful AUs are nice but they aren’t very interesting. Lucid and Dream understand Roots’ job and purpose but still don’t necessarily like what he does. The Watchers are flighty and distractible, always looking for the next cool thing to grab their attention. They create the most AUs, asking both Nightmare and Lucid/Dream for inspiration. Lucid tends to come up with the fun stuff; setting, theories, positive character traits, etc. while Nightmare comes up with the drama; situations for the characters to navigate, tragic backstories, negative character traits, etc. Dream is the realist, acting as mediator between the extremes and finding a way to make it all fit.

In the future of Serif's story, Dream and Lucid intend for Serif to return to his original AU and help fix the damage done there as well, giving that AU a happy ending too. They also intend to have Serif travel to different AUs to fix other "damage" caused by Nightmare, as a sort of avatar or emissary of their will.

edit: i made a picture :p

As for personalities, Kreo is very much based on the quirky goblin-child that Kris seems to be in Deltarune. They also take inspiration from a headcanon I heard about Ink Sans being slightly feral, having “grown up” all alone, so he doesn’t really understand social situations and boundaries. Kreo has very little self-control or shame, doing what they feel like just because they can. This also bleeds into AU creation, specifically early creation being chaotic and uncontrolled until it stabilizes with a more solid trajectory; like a child playing with their toys, throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. They also get attached to their “toys” very quickly, even speaking in the character’s voices rather than their own when they’re “playing as” that character. They rarely use their own voice, but when they do it’s a quiet monotone. Only a few residents of Void Town know of Kreo’s role in creating AUs, which suits them just fine; they prefer to be the weird but harmless kid that watches a little too closely while others go about their day.

Roots takes his custodian job very seriously but that’s the only thing he takes seriously. He’s cruel and manipulative, a very good actor when he needs to be, and only out to serve himself. He is also very secretive and most of the residents of Void Town don’t know what his role is, assuming he’s just another displaced resident like them. Roots plays the part of an innocent little flower boy, even making up a fake backstory as an underswap Flowey (taking a Temmies’ place) but on the few occasions he craves sincere (but positive) interactions, he’ll seek out Lucid. Like most Flowey and Papyrus relationships, Roots tries his darndest to corrupt Lucid, knowing it won’t work, and Lucid believes there is good in Roots, as he understands the necessity of Roots’ job, even if he doesn’t like it. No one is quite sure what Roots’ real body looks like; the flowers he shows everyone are just extensions of the tangled mass of roots and vines under the entirety of Void Town. He can have several “flower bodies” up at once, though this split in attention means he might mix up what he’s saying to who, helping support his Underswap story. There is very little that goes on in Void Town that he doesn’t know about, and he absolutely uses this to his advantage.

As self-proclaimed “Guardians of Positivity”, Lucid and Dream try to help everyone by meddling in established AUs; tampering with codes and probabilities from outside the AU, but sometimes entering the AU physically, when necessary, to make sure the plot progresses how they want it to. They tend to stay hidden, manipulating events from the background, rarely showing themselves to AU residents but occasionally getting caught by those paying enough attention. They are also the driving force of order in Void Town, setting up a system of government and protection that functions separately from themselves, but even after delegating these tasks, the two are just as busy as ever. Lucid is as energetic and eternally optimistic (at least on the outside) as any Papyrus, always seeing the best in a given situation; he knows what results he wants but isn't so naïve as to disregard the reality of getting there. Dream is more realistic, bordering pessimistic if separated from Lucid for too long, but his knowledge of psychology and story beats lets him find a way to manipulate the AU and its inhabitants to get the best outcome available, doing his best to cover the logistics of making Lucid's visions of sunshine and rainbows into a reality.

They could fuse back into Rem Gaster is they wanted to but, after spending so much time apart, they aren't actually sure what Rem would be like. Besides, Lucid and Dream rather like being themselves.

As mentioned, Nightmare Gaster is a very curious monster. Responsible for the generation of a lot of darker AUs, as well as the darker side of lighter AUs, Nightmare creates interesting obstacles for characters to overcome. Which is a nice way of saying he makes life as difficult as he can for everyone he comes into contact with. He is highly manipulative and can be very charming when he wants to be, rarely outright lying in favor of half truths and misdirection. I know I want him to have a small group of "followers" that help him do his job but I haven't decided exactly who those will be just yet.

The Watchers use plural pronouns and speak as if they are a collective group, generally embodying the thoughts of myself as author and the people that look at my creations. As mentioned, the Watchers' only goal is to "watch a good story" with interesting characters, good development, and surprising twists. While technically omnipotent, they are able to narrow their perspective so as to enjoy their "good story" as it happens and not just all at once, like I do as the author.

[mypoisonedvine]

Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x reader (part 7)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself.  except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.  

word count: 2.5k

warnings: um just implied smut and fluff and a reference to bdsm I guess?? but it's pretty chill overall

Liked by starkcosmetics and others

y/n.y/l/n okay first of all, it takes an act of god to get a picture of this guy smiling, but it’s always worth it.  he really changed everything for me and I can’t thank him enough for that.  so happy ❤️ 

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caroldanvers 😍😍😍

flowercrowny/n oh my god this is so sweet i’m gonna cry

1 HOUR AGO

He smiled as he stared down at the post you’d made, remembering how much effort you’d put into finding the perfect picture (in your opinion; he thought he looked kinda dopey in it) as well as writing and re-writing your caption.

The speed at which your post gained likes and comments was inconceivable to him; even more impressive was the speed at which gossip rags were picking up the story.  Sure enough, his phone’s alerts to new headlines about you were not only going off like crazy, but had started to include news about himself as well.�� 

Y/N Y/L/N Shocks With Romantic Instagram Post, Confirms Dating Rumors

You’ll Never Guess Which Hollywood Starlet Is Dating Her Driver

Who is James Barnes?  Everything We Know About Y/N Y/L/N’s New Beau

Skimming one of the articles, he was impressed at how much information they’d managed to get without actually getting anything from you or him.  Born in Brooklyn, disabled Army veteran, worked a list of odd jobs before becoming your driver and bodyguard.  ‘No social media presence, prefers to keep a low profile’ one of them said; you can say that again, Bucky chuckled to himself when he read it.

He found another from People and didn’t particularly appreciate that it spent half the time going through all your past exes and rumored partners (turned out ‘rumored’ is a fancy word for ‘a bunch of fans deluded themselves so hard that it somehow turned into news without any proof necessary’).  But he still smiled when he got to the part that was actually about you and him.

‘The relationship is pretty new but they’re so happy together,’  a source close to the couple reported.  

Close indeed; that statement came from your publicist, who he’d never even meet.  

‘He’s a very private guy and she’s got this huge following, so they’re sort of an odd couple in that way, but she knows her fans are respectful and will let them have their own life outside of the spotlight.’ 

Bucky wasn’t sure that the respectfulness of fans was such a given here, but he hoped you were right.  To be fair, they’d been very sweet on your original post insofar. 

However, when he scrolled to the bottom of the celebrity magazine articles and realized they had their own comments section, he discovered that they were a little less forgiving than the ones on your Instagram.  

Is this the best she thinks she can do?  So sad tbh :(

a military guy…. yikes, she could get any guy she wants and she goes for a murderer. 

He looks like a hobo that found a coupon for a free haircut lol

I don’t buy it, I know she’ll always love Pietro!

Pietro being your former co-star that so many of your fans were convinced was actually your soulmate.  From what he’d heard from you, those speculations had made things so uncomfortable between the two of you that it killed your friendship.  Those were nothing, though, compared to the comments about someone you actually had dated.

she’s obviously not over sam… they were so good together

He’d better watch out for her ex, he still likes tweets about her and they have so much chemistry

Wait, she’s not still with Sam Wilson??  I could’ve sworn they’d been dating for, like, five years.

You were scrolling through your phone with a smile as you walked past where he was sitting on the couch, and he just couldn’t help himself from asking even though he knew it wasn’t the best idea.  “Do I need to worry about this Sam thing?” he blurted out, trying to play it cool and not sound too anxious.  “People are really obsessed with you two…”

“Sam and I…” you sighed, staring off into space for a second.  He made himself anxious imagining what you were thinking about in that moment.  “I haven’t talked to him in… years?  I think it’s just because our relationship was so public that people are still talking about it.  And it had a lot of gossip material— we did a movie together, people thought it was sweet that we got together during production, it was great promotion for the picture… and from the outside, we made a lot of sense for each other.  But he has his own problems.  I loved him, but… he wasn’t ever going to be a one-girl kinda guy.”

“But you’re not just any one girl.  You’re… you know, you,” he emphasized.

“You’ve been reading too many headlines,” you shook your head as you sat down beside him.  “Please don’t turn into one of those guys who thinks of me as a celebrity first.  Before that—” you pointed to your own name where it was bolded on his screen in the trending topics page of Twitter— “was popping up on movie posters and in gossip magazines, it was just my name.  And I’m not perfect.  Not even close.”

Bucky sighed and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him and holding you tightly.  “And before I knew you were famous, or rich, or incredibly talented, I was totally obsessed with you just for who you are.”

“You’re too fucking amazing,” you sighed as you held his face and gave him a gentle kiss— the kind of kiss that instantly melted his heart and banished his worries.  When you pulled back and looked up at him with a smile, it was like everything else just… faded away.  “Don’t read the comments, okay?  None of them matter.”

He smiled and brushed his thumb over your cheek, overwhelmed by not only the softness of your skin but of your spirit as well.  In all his life he’d never been handled so… gently, with so much care.  “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he mumbled, not even really realizing he’d said it aloud until you gave him a beaming smile.

“I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend,” you giggled pridefully.

“Seriously?  I can… very easily believe it,” he scoffed.

“I just mean… you’re so…” you searched for the words.  “You’re actually good to me, that’s the thing.  I’m not used to that.”

“You deserve the world,” he assured.  “I’m just gonna keep trying to give you as much of it as I can find.”

He watched his hand trail over your face, down your neck and to your chest where he played with the hem of your t-shirt.

"It's odd to know there are millions of people who are jealous of me,” he admitted quietly, remembering some aggressive comments from some very angry dudes who had apparently also watched your nude scene a few too many times.

"Do you like it?  Do you like how it feels to know you're making them angry every time you touch me?"

"Couldn't care less," he refuted.  "Nobody else matters when I'm touchin' you."

“Do you maybe wanna… touch me a little more about it?” you smirked, opening your legs slightly in invitation.

“Always.”

//

Bucky had, thankfully, not let the newfound fame get to his head.  In fact, he had demanded that the two of you hunker down in the house, since he feared that going out would lead to being recognized.  What he apparently hadn’t anticipated was that that might not be enough.

“Will you get that?” you requested when the gate buzzed, too wrapped up in the book you were reading to answer the intercom.

He hopped up and held down the button to communicate with the gate speaker.  “Who is it?” he asked.

“I’ve got a delivery from Anjappar Chettinad on 23rd?”

Bucky didn’t even reply before hitting the green button and granting access to the driveway.  BEEP BEEP BEEP! you heard the gate signal its opening, and the car pulling around up to the door.  Bucky didn’t open it until there was a knock, greeting the delivery guy with a smile and the necessary cash.

“I’ve got a lamb korma, hyderabadi mutton dum biryani and an order of— woah,” the man suddenly stopped, staring at Bucky’s face.  “Are you—?’

“Hungry?  Yes,” he frowned.

“You’re the guy dating— holy shit, congrats man,” he beamed, smacking Bucky on the shoulder pridefully before leaning in with a mischievous smirk.  “Say, is she a freak or what?”

“She is,” you piped up from the couch, making both men turn their heads; but one was chuckling while the other looked mortified.  “You better not have forgotten my paneer pakora or I’m gonna chain you up and whip you.”

“Uh, I— no, I got it right here,” he promised weakly, handing the bag over to Bucky and starting to dash away before Bucky grabbed his arm, making the smaller man whimper fearfully.

“You forgot the money,” Bucky reminded him gruffly, stuffing the bills into the driver’s front pocket.

Finally, he let go, and the delivery man instantly pulled away, rubbing his arm and looking a bit like a kicked puppy as he went back to his car and drove away.

“You didn’t need to scare him that bad,” Bucky chuckled.

“I could say the same to you!  Grabbing somebody with the metal arm like that will put the fear of God into them pretty fast.”

“I didn’t mean to grab him that hard,” he admitted, examining the prosthetic hand as he came back to the couch with the bag of food, handing it to you while he focused on watching his motorized fingers curl and uncurl.  “I think I need to get this thing recalibrated… it’s been bugging out lately.”

“I dunno, it was working just fine last night,” you smiled, remembering how delightfully cool those fingers felt inside you.

Bucky seemed to miss it entirely, though, as he stared off into space.  “I can’t believe I got… recognized.”

“You’re a star,” you winked.  “And not just with random delivery drivers.  I’ve had a lot of press requests, everybody wants to be the first one to get nice pictures of us together— we’ve had a dozen event invites as a couple.”

“Seriously?!” he scoffed, snapping back to reality slightly enough 

“Yeah, and look what came in same-day mail this morning!”  You leaned over to shuffle through the mail on the side table before finding and handing him a letter in a gold-embossed envelope, watching him read what you knew was inside.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association extends an invitation to Y/N Y/L/N and James Barnes to the annual Grant Banquet in support of the Young Artists Fund.

“It seems like a good first event for us,” you explained.  “Relatively small and low stakes, it’s for a good cause…”

“Are you sure I’m ready to be, you know… seen?  By people?” 

You scoffed, hardly believing how insecure he could be sometimes.  “You look great, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Will I have to talk to anybody other than you?” he asked, grimacing as if that were a form of brutal torture.

“Probably,” you admitted.

His frown deepened.  “What if I say the wrong thing?”

“I’m not that worried about you,” you smirked.  “You’re a lot better at this stuff than you think you are.”

“I don’t have anything to wear…”

You smirked, a little too proud of yourself, when you remembered the email your publicist had forwarded to you just this morning.  “Hugo Boss will pay you $1500 to wear one of their suits on the carpet.”

“They’ll pay me to wear free clothes?” he repeated with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s one of the cooler things about fame,” you laughed.  “I make a grand every time I wear this watch outside!”

“I guess I should send them my measurements then…” he trailed off.  “Any chance I can get in on that watch deal?”

“No, but you can make $50 by getting papped at Jamba Juice.”

He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck as he thought.  “Is the smoothie comped?”

“I don’t know.  Do you want me to ask?”

“...kinda…” he admitted with a shy smile.  

“Well, I will, and I’ll RSVP to this invite saying we’ll be there next week,” you decided as you started to open up the food, but Bucky stopped you by reaching for your hands.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked.

“If you want to,” you mitigated.

“Of course I do.  I guess I have to accept that you’re actually willing to be seen with me,” he chuckled.  “It’s just sort of hard to believe.”

You leaned in and kissed him; it was meant to be a casual, reassuring peck but he held you closer and you melted into him, moaning softly at his touch as you started to climb into his lap.

“The food’s gonna get cold,” he reminded you with a mumble against your lips.

Unfortunately, your literal hunger was a bit too strong to ignore, even with the growing intensity of a metaphorical hunger for Bucky.  “Alright,” you relented, getting off of him and returning your attention to the meal on the table.  “Just know that I really, really want to be seen together, in public, just in case anybody missed the news about us already.  I’m not embarrassed by you or afraid you’re going to do something dumb.  I…”

One of those words that can’t be unsaid started to bubble up in your throat and you coughed, banishing the thought.

“I really like you.  I think we have something special.”

He smiled gently, giving you one more kiss on the cheek.  “I think so, too.”

//

Since this was slightly less of a big deal than a premiere or press tour, you had managed to convince your styling team to let you dress yourself, which was why he was laying on the bed and talking to you through the bathroom door while you put on your gown.

“Do you want me to hire a new driver?” you prompted him, voice muffled slightly as he imagined your head covered in the fabric, trying to navigate through the dress.  “I don’t want you to feel… I don’t know, like a servant?”

“A servant?  You’re still paying me,” he reminded you.  “You are still paying me, right?”

“Yes,” you laughed, “but still, I would hate it if you felt like staff.  You’re my boyfriend!”

(His heart still fluttered every time you said it.)

“No new driver,” he decided.  “I can drive just fine, and considering how things went between us… let’s not open the door for anybody else,” he smirked, making you laugh in that way you did when he made a stupid joke but you still liked it somehow.

“Okay, sure, but what about being my bodyguard?  Is that too weird?” you continued.

“God no,” he scoffed, “if anything I’m gonna be better at my job than ever.  As your boyfriend, keeping you safe is my job, but since keeping you safe was already my job… it’s, like, doubled-up now.”

He lost his train of thought when you opened the door.

“How do I look?” you asked as you stepped in and gave him a spin in your new dress.  Your whole body was draped in red silk, with the exception of your back which was almost entirely exposed, as if it were begging him to run his fingers down your spine.

“Like everything I ever wanted,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

And it was so odd that you questioned his desire to drive you, because those moments where he could steer with one hand and rest the other on your thigh, when he could catch a glimpse of you looking out the window at the city rolling by, when he got to listen to you ramble about something to kill the time during a drive; those were his favorite moments, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything.

After a relatively brief trip, you arrived at the venue, and all of a sudden he was doing what he’d fantasized about more than he’d like to admit: escorting you down a red carpet.  It was almost overwhelming— yelling, chattering, reporters speaking into camera, flashes going off in every direction—

“Hey,” you whispered, bringing your hand up to his cheek and instantly taking all his attention.

“Hey,” he returned.

“Just follow my lead,” you instructed.

“That was the plan.”

[teeztheflag]

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S i e b e n  S i n n e (Seven Senses) II

⋆ pairing: catking!san x reader (x human!woo young)

⋆ genre: yandere au, fantasy au, suggestive

⋆ trigger warnings ⚠️ strong language, yanderish behaviour, possessiveness, violence

⋆ words: 6,800

a/n: second part! I hope you like it :) gimme feedback you lovely people <3

part I  part II  part III

⋆ „You’re a cat now. Did you already forget?“

─────────────────────

You were shaking heavily. Thoughts running a mile per hour you could just think of the boy that helped you earlier to find the way out of the kingdom.

He said he would torture him... It wasn’t his fault. You brought him into the situation.

You stand up and make your way to the door trying to open it without success. Your banging and yelling doesn’t seem to bug someone because no one comes and no one openes it or talks to you. You slide down the door your head between your palms feeling the soft fur of your ears.

This is a bad dream. A very bad dream.

You try to control your breathing but can’t stop the tears that roll down your reddened cheeks. Everything was too much for you. You were confused and feare the worst... What if San would hurt you, too? The look in his eyes was wild and feral when he left you about half an hour ago. Your fingers find their way to the cold material of your necklace. It suddenly feels much more heavy than yesterday.

You want to rip it off your hand already a strong grip on it but you understand that it would probably only anger him more if he saw it. After a few minutes you stand up and look around the chambers of San. Everything seemed very neat and the room also led to a huge bathroom and a dressing room that owned the probably most expensive fabrics you’ve ever seen.

There was a mirror inside the en-suite and you watch your appearance in awe. Your tail doesn’t move around much and your ears seem to hang down a little bit representing your sorrowful mood all along.

Suddenly you hear a thud and a light call for your voice indicating that San had to be back. You turn around and leave the dressing room to see him standing in the room with slight wet hair, ears and tail and new clothes.

His eyes immediately turn soft seeing you and with a shaky sigh he gets down on his knees in front of you dismissing your hurtful glare.

„I am sorry. I shouldn’t have left you in this state.“

You look down on him bewildered at his choice of words but are quick to do the only logical thing - play by his game.

„My king. I am the one to be sorry. I think it won’t bring us anywhere if I lie to you. I tried to leave you but ... I have a good reason to try so.“ 

San looks up an interested glint on his face and his lips parting a few times before he speaks up. „And what is your reason then, my love?“ With that he stands up and tilts his head a little bit ears twitching probably in annoyance.

You speak rather unsure. „My life. My human life outside this world. My family and friends. My school and my town and my goals for the future. I am not a cat, my king... I don’t want to be a cat...“

San‘s orbs turn into such a dark color you flinch naturally when he grimaces at your words and holds his hand up. You close your eyes anticipating the slap that might follow after your brave words but you feel goosebumps forming on your skin when instead your face is met with the tip of warm fingers.

You hear a little chuckle leaving him and open your eyes to see the king smirking at you heartily with his fangs showing which earns him a frown of you. „You will adjust. I and all people of this kingdom will help you to.“

With the feeling of failure evident on your face and how you move away from his touch the tears are immediately streaming again. „You don’t want to understand me, right?“

While San is busy holding himself back to do something he would regret you keep on stepping backwards until you meet the wall. He‘s so close now you can feel his breath on your lips and the temperature in the room seems to rise rapidly at his close proximity. Your gaze slides over the sharp features of his rather beautiful face when he presses his opened palm hard against the surface of the wall next to your head.

„My king...“ Your voice trembles so much you’re afraid you might faint any second.

„San. My name is San. Let me get something clear, (y/n). You are mine now - my soon to be wife and queen. I fell in love with you at first sight and as I said, a cat only falls in love one time in their lives. Do you think I would let you go? Never. Will I destroy everyone who tries to take you away from me? Yes.“

You’re stunned at his tone and gulp trying to process everything he just said. „He’s alive, right?“

San smiles at you. „He is. You don’t know that your little stunt literally helped me a lot to finally take this scum and give him what he deserves. But that shouldn’t interest you any further.“

Something in yourself suddenly lightens up understanding that he doesn’t only seem to be merciless but is much worse in reality. „You’re a monster, San - and I hate you.“

An impressive look adorns his features at your response and he scoffs. „Only to the ones who try to take you away from me.“

„Little possessive there, don’t you think?“ You counter.

„Oh, you don’t want to test me even more darling.“ 

You shake your head lost in your thoughts. „I won’t submit to you.“ 

He leans back and eyes you from the bottom to the top. „We will see.“ San responses and turns around and indicates for you to follow him which you do - promising yourself only because there’s probably going to be dinner and you are way to exhausted after this day to argue with him any longer.

You’re still thinking of the boy... god, how sorry you are for everything you caused. You should try to help him no matter what. Luckily San let you sleep in your own chambers this night - if it was an act of sympathy you didn’t even want to know. More intriguing was the fact that after the incident he acted like nothing happened at all and also the whole castle treated you like the queen you would soon be.

The next morning the maids enter your chambers again with the prettiest smiles on their faces preparing you for the day. You’re fitted into a loose but elegant old white dress after they got your hair and make up ready.

The look in the mirror is promising and you still have to get used to the ears on your head. Joy pleads with you to wait in the chambers until someone comes to pick you up but you’re quick to take your leave and run so fast they lose you because of the various turns and hallways the castle provides.

You’re laughing and breathing out when you check if you actually lost them and decide to roam around on your own. Some guards greet you don’t knowing about the fact you’re not supposed to walk around on your own right now. Only when you enter a big foyer and descend a huge staircase you hold in to listen to a voice you once heard before.

„Prince Jong Ho!“ You try to find the source of the voice quickly and shriek back when you open a slight closed door seeing the bare back of the prince.

„Woah!“ The prince shields himself with the fabric he just wanted to put on when he hears your scream. „(y/n)?“ A smile grows on his young features and he looks around the corner to find you holding your hands in front of your eyes.

„I am sorry.“

„Oh, don’t be! I will be with you in a minute!“ You wait in front of his chambers when he comes out dressed pretty a moment later and engulfs you into his arms. Surprisingly you hug him back equally feeling like the prince was much nicer and trustworthy than his older brother.

„Oh, but what brings you to me? I thought you would be eating breakfast with my brother. Or did you get lost again?“ He winks at you not meaning any harm but his statement just made you realize he might not be a big help...

You stand awkwardly in front of him and fidget with the hem of your dress before you decide to reach out. „Please, prince Jong Ho. You have to help me to get out of here! Your brother is - “

„Oh no, (y/n)... San already told me about yesterday and he said this might would happen because you’re still a little bit confused and nervous because of the wedding. I promise you I will be there for you and love you like a sister! You don’t have to be afraid of anything!“ He cheers up to lighten the mood but it only comes to your deaf ears understanding you won’t be able to convince the young but naive prince.

With careful steps you put some space between the two of you leading to a frown on Jong Ho‘s face. When he tries to reach out you put up your hands in defence perplexing the prince. 

„Please, talk to me (y/n). You don’t seem to feel really good right now maybe I should bring you to San and - “

„No!“ With a strong push Jong Ho trembles back and the moment you turn around to run you collide with a firm chest and immediately feel a tail engaging your waist to hold you firm.

„Jong Ho, I am sorry but (y/n) seems to be a bit disoriented this morning... I will take her with me.“ With a huge smile on his face he takes you with him away from his brother who waves at the two of you relieved.

You groan out annoyed which earns yourself a giggle from the cat king. „Your ears look pretty this morning.“ 

Scoffing you whistle out. „Is this how you are flirting in cat style?“

„Maybe.“ His tail strengthens it‘s hold on you and you can feel a slight tingling sensation in your stomach because of this.

San doesn’t bring the incident up again and prepared a breakfast in the big garden on the green grass for you. The sight is really pretty to take in and you wonder how bipolar his actions come off...

After finishing you’re closing your eyes enjoying the sun on your skin and freeze when the king leans into your comfort zone to place a chaste kiss on your exposed collarbone.

„You smell amazing... also take a last look on the garden and the town. You aren’t allowed to leave the castle until our wedding.“

A bubble of anger ignites inside you and you turn to him not stopping your hand that reaches out to place a firm slap on his cheek. San‘s face moved in the process and he huffs out tasting blood because of his fangs colliding with his bottom lip.

„You little mischievous kitten.“

Rage is written on your face but instead of getting the impact San faces straight ahead and sighs in content. „You won’t get anywhere with this. I like your feisty side.“ 

You slump back and groan out crossing your arms in the process. „You’re so annoying San!“

„And you’re finally calling me San. We’re getting here anywhere I see.“ He smiles triumphally at you from the side whereas you won’t worth a look at him.

The day went by pretty unspectacular with San leaving you after the breakfast tending to kingdom duties and you being captured in the castle followed by gazes of the guards - whose number increased noticeable after San‘s threat.

How should you get out of here? And how was the boy doing?

The next day - again without having to sleep with the king - you find yourself in the kitchen seeing servants pacing around like ants preparing many delicacies.

„What is going on her if I might ask?“ 

A young man greats you immediately with a bow coming to your side to guide you around. „This is all for your wedding, Miss.“

„But isn’t the wedding only in a few days?“

The man chuckles and leans down to whisper in your ear. „King San wants to test everything before to make sure what meals we‘re going to present on the actual event.“

You roll with your eyes and cross your arms. „Isn’t this a little bit too much.“ You mutter out and look at the servant questioningly.

„Oh, our king is a perfectionist!“

„Mh, if you say so... I am just sorry you have to work so hard... what is your name by the way?“

„It’s nothing! We love to put a smile on his and your face! My name is Jeong Yun Ho, Miss.“ His tail wiggles excitedly at your interest in his person and you can‘t suppress the smile at his behavior. „Nice to meet you, Yun Ho.“

You look around before you lean down into his side a little bit more making him confused. „If I might ask you, Yun Ho... Do you know how the captured boy in the dungeon is doing?“

Yun Ho looks frantically around being clearly irritated on how to answer. „Yes, but unfortunately I don’t think that I am allowed to tell you.“

Welp, was everyone in this godforsaken kingdom in love with San?

„Oh, I mean, I am going to be your future queen, right? I want nothing to stand between me and our diligent and hard working people...“

„Mh, okay... You’re right! I trust you, Miss. As our future queen I want to fulfill every wish of yours!“ You smile to yourself and listen intently. „So he’s doing alright I guess. He got what he deserved for what he did to you but... it’s still sad.“

„Why? Who is he?“

„Kang Yeo Sang once was a great advisor of King San and they were good friends, too. It ended bitterly when he betrayed the king and us by wanting to turn into a human to live in the human world.“

What the hell?

„How did he do that? What was his plan?“

Yun Ho looks around again and lowers his voice in advance. „I am afraid I am not really sure. Rumors say he fell in love with a human girl and went to seek help of someone called the ‚mask seller‘ but no ones even sure if someone like this exists and how he could help him with turning into a human...“

„Do you know someone who knows more about this?“

He thinks and shrugs. „I don’t know. I would probably ask the traitor himself if I wanted to know but, Miss, why do you want to know all of this?“ A huge smile adorns your face and you chuckle. „Just get other thoughts because I am so nervous because of the wedding.“

Yun Ho nods and excuses himself to continue with his work leaving you finally with a goal ahead.

You have to talk to Kang Yeo Sang.

Another day went by with you only seeing the king at meals. You wouldn’t bring up the subject of him wanting you to sleep in his chambers. Because - you were very thankful he seemed to forget about it.

You layed down in your bed between the silk cushions and played with your tail. You were able to control it better now after the first moments of it swinging around tickling others or stepping on it and falling down.

Oh gosh four guards saw this and you bet it took everything in them to not laugh...

How long have you been even here now? It wasn’t like you didn’t do anything intelligent all day, no. You visited the big library of the castle and read about the kingdom and the history of cats. You also tried to get to know the servants of the castle more and have some conversation. And of course you already found the location of the dungeon but much to your dismay it was guarded by two guards nonstop.

There had to be a way to lure them away but how...

When you try to yawn just a deep meow escapes which makes you laugh out afterwards but also remembers you that all of this isn’t funny at all... You might look like a cat but you’re still a human at heart. That’s why tomorrow you should find a way to get to Yeo Sang and talk with him about the mask seller.

If this mysterious person had something to do with turning people into humans maybe he could help you, too?

You fall asleep soon after and your thoughts vanish into an inappropriate dream.

„San I - I this feel so good!“ San‘s tail is tangled around your waist and you can feel his juices mixing with yours inside your throbbing walls. He feels huge and is filling you to a point where you see stars. His rhythm increases it‘s pace when you embrace his waist with your arms to push him further into your body.

A smirk plays on his lips and he decides to fully taste the moan that just wanted to escape you with a deep and longing kiss. He grunts and moans out at the feeling of your skin on his.

„You needy little - “

You wake up with sweat on your body and quick breaths.

„Did this just really happen... oh god no! I am not fantasizing about him. This is so wrong I don’t like him I like - “

There was a boy you liked. What was his name again?

You munched on your cereal for half an hour when San poked you with the tip of his tail to get your attention. He tilted his head and smiled. „What are you thinking about?“

The sex scene comes back into your mind but you quickly try to shove it away when you can feel your cheeks heating up at the thought. Getting back to your original concern... you forgot about someone. Someone who was really important to you.

„It’s nothing.“ You sadly look down again while San supports the weigh of his head with his hand and arm placed on the table. His gaze is still trained on you interested in what you are hiding from him.

He pokes you again making you groan out and you lean back into your chair to frown at him. He won’t let you out of this... „The longer I am here the more I feel like forgetting about my world... and the persons in it.“

„Mh, this is your world now. My concierge told me about the boy you met before they took you home.“

„The boy before you took me here.. Woo Young! That’s his name!“ Surprised at remembering him again you stand up and smile happily. Much to the dismay of the cat king. He rolls with his eyes and indicates for you to sit down again.

„You cannot see him again. He wouldn’t recognize you anyway.“

„Why are you saying this! Why wouldn’t he recognize me?“ San chuckles and pops a grape into his mouth one of his black cat ears twitching because of your high pitched voice.

„You’re a cat now. Did you already forget?“

Tears are threatening to form when you look away to keep out of San‘s eyesight.

„My beautiful (y/n), please don’t be sad. I didn’t want to make you unhappy this morning... but it cannot be helped. Most of the humans don’t like us. They treat us like we’re dumb and my fellow sorrowful friends being encaged in their small homes are... well, let’s not talk any further about it. Today is a good day! You’re having the fitting for your wedding dress.“

You shrug him off and stand up to leave the dining room for your chambers feeling like it doesn’t matter what you say San would always win an argument.

Indeed later on the maids found you in the play room to take you with them to a part of the castle you haven’t been before. Ye Ri was on your left sight and entangled your arms to whisper into your ear. „We’ve chosen a room with a huge distance to the king‘s working place. Knowing him he would try to take a look at his beautiful queen.“ She and the other maids giggle at this and you put on a fake smile not wanting to crash their spirit.

A man and a woman were already prepared to show you their dresses while a small siamese cat waited patiently on an armchair. One after one you’re getting into dresses being not happy with little details. The maids on the other hand are teary and complimenting you nonstop saying after every dress ‚this is the one!‘. Only after two hours you get into the 54th dress that knocks the breath out of your lungs.

„Beautiful...“

„Is this the one, Miss?“ You turn around to look at the maids that watch you knowingly and after a carful nod they scream and open a bottle of champagne.

The siamese cat is the designer of the dress and with a little puff it suddenly transforms into a person. A beautiful woman is standing in front of you bowing to you. „Thank you for taking one of my creations, Miss.“

„Oh, you’re welcome! I love it.“ You swing around a little bit giggling when your tail swings happily, too.

After a few hours you ask one of the guards where the king is and if he is busy. „I am sorry, Miss. King Choi is currently out of the castle in another town but he will be back in an hour. Should I tell him about your need to see him when he’s back?“

„Oh no, please! I will see him this evening at dinner anyways. Thank you for your help though.“

This was your chance. Making your way to the door that leads to the dungeon you hide behind a corner and see the two guards patrolling around. Your plan? Probably not the best but earlier you decided to sneak some matches out of the library where a fireplace is located.

You have to set up the fire somewhere they can see it quickly so maybe just the curtains of the one of the big windows in the hallway? Well, better than nothing. After a few attempts you manage to lighten the curtains taking a step back at how fast the fabric starts to burn.

Smoke is developing and you quickly hide back to wait for the guards to recognize the fire. Only a few minutes after nearly all the curtains are in flames and the guards run up to yell for help. They’re already shielding their eyes and are coughing out the smoke that enters their lungs.

As fast as you can you run and hope they didn’t see you while they try to bring down the curtains and put the fire out with their feet. You open the door and run down a dark corridor until you are met with a staircase that leads to nothing but blackness.

You don’t know how much time you would have so you practically rush and hope there are no other guards down here. The dungeons are cold and wet and you can hear some whimpers and meows from cats that are here for who knows how long.

With a small voice you try to find the one you’re looking for. „Yeo Sang? Kang Yeo Sang?“ After a few more attempts there’s a jingle and a hiss and you decided to go into the direction it came from.

„Yeo Sang?“

„Could you please shut your mouth I am trying to sleep here.“

You rush to the grid and your fingers enclose around the cold material breathing hard in excitement.

Yeo Sang carefully stands up from his poorly made bed and nears the door to see you standing there. „You!“

„Yes, it’s me... and before you say anything I am so sorry you’re in here. It’s my fault but please believe me I will try everything to get you out of here!“ You speak in desperation and Yeo Sang‘s frown slowly vanishs of his face.

„It’s not your fault... sooner or later he would have found a reason to imprison me.“

„I already know about your story with the king... I am sorry this happened to you.“

„You know about it? Well, I mean I believe everyone knows about it by now.“ Hurt takes over his features and you give him an apologetic look.

„Listen Yeo Sang, you have to tell me everything about this mask seller so we can get out of the kingdom and - “

„No! Don’t even dare to get into contact with him!“

„But why? I mean he could help us to turn into humans and we could flee.“

„This cat is a bad person, believe me. He won’t help us without wanting something in return.“

„But why? What could he want?“

Yeo Sang sighs troubled at your interest but what else chance would he get? If you wanted to test your luck...

„For me it was a hard decision to make. I had to give him my cat life.“

„But you’re still a cat, right?“

„Yes. Because just like you I was stopped before leaving the kingdom which didn’t fulfill our contract so I stayed as a cat.“

„If we find him he could make another contract, right?“

„I guess. The problem is I didn’t see him for over three years. It’s just like he vanished out of this world to lure humans into his trap. You know why so many people are afraid of him? Because once you make a contact with him there’s no turning back. He will take your human or cat soul and eat it up to stay young.“

„That sounds terrible... but for me I want to have my human body back. I wouldn’t regret it all. I wasn’t born as a cat neither identify as one. I just want to go home and - “

„Be with the ones you love...“ Yeo Sang ends your sentence feeling the equal desperation.

„Yeo Sang, there has to be a reason the mask seller came to you. Do you remember something you did or anything else?“

„I was desperate and crying in the garden when no one was around... he just appeared in front of me.“

„I have to get out of the castle... I don’t know how to find him but I am sure he won’t come if am trappend inside.“

„I’ve heard that you’re not allowed to go out anymore.“

„You know the king, right? Maybe an idea how I could convince him?“ The young boy laughs out and thinks deeply before answering. „San is very intelligent and manipulative. He likes the things to go his way so you will probably have no chance in tricking him.���

„That doesn’t help me at all...“

„Listen, if I would know how to charm this fucker I wouldn’t be in the dungeons right now. But with you... he was my friend but you will be his future queen. Maybe use your female charm?“

You raise one of your eyebrows at his suggestion and groan. Suddenly there’s noise to which you and and the cat flinch.

„You have to go! Hide until the guard passed you and - “

„I will do everything to get you out of here as soon as possible!“ With a quick nod he ushers you away and indeed you manage to get out of the dungeon unrecognized.

Back in your chambers you close the door and shriek when you can see San leaning against the wall looking outside. „Where have you been my love?“

With a shaky voice and controlled steps you reach the king. „I have been in the library.“

His gaze drifts to your form and he sees your tail swaying uncontrolled back and forth. „Sure. I am just happy to see you’re unharmed. There has been a fire, y‘know.“ He folds his arms in front of his chest and squints his eyes at you.

„I - I didn’t know.“ 

San makes a move to rub some dust off your chin and you facepalm yourself in your thoughts. „Should we eat dinner?“ 

You’re more than convinced he knows everything so him pretending not to confuses you really. 

Remembering your goal you have to work on it immediately so after some seconds you decided to make the first move. You take a step forward until you’re directly standing in front of him. Catching his gaze with your own you place your palms flat against his chest to which the kings takes a sharp breath. „Can’t we go eat outside? Like in the town?“

„In the town? Did you forget about your house arrest?“

„No but... I feel like going crazy inside here. You said humans are bad for imprison their cats and technically you’re doing the same to me.“ At this San stars to smirk his fangs showing.

„You’re pretty intelligent. Always showing me I made the right decision. Well, then let’s go.“ He takes your hand with excitement but stops in his tracks immediately after.

„Oh, you should wash your face before we go my love. I will wait outside for you.“

Your heartbeat seems to stop when the words escape his mouth so casually. „I will. Thank you for reminding me.“

After eating in one of the probably much more expansive restaurants of the town you were able to recognize everything a little bit more and also discovered something that could be interesting. On the way home you play with your thoughts and come to the conclusion: the mask seller, that guy a sells things. Wouldn’t there be a possability to find him on the market? Probably not but the idea was so silly it was worth a try because like you and Yeo Sang already emphasized - your chances were low.

Back in the castle you do something that you would probably regret later on. In the dim light of one of the living rooms you decide to watch a movie with the cat king and cuddle yourself into his sight. You’re getting sleepy with any minute and freeze up when a purr leaves your body after San starts to stroke your hair and ears.

„Oh my god. That’s feels... unusual?“ San laughs out and pecks your cheek to which you purr again.

„Stop! I am already purring like a cat oh no!“

„Your purring is like music to my ears.“

With his tail he pushes you back into his arms and until midnight you turn into a purring mess. You don’t feel like stopping him at all because something inside of you yearns for touches and strokes.

„Should we go to bed, (y/n)?“

„Mhh...“ With half opened eyes San makes a move to lift you up and makes his way to his chambers to lay you softly into the cheets. You fall asleep immediately and don’t notice the king getting ready for bed, too, to join you.

How many days since you were brought here?

You slurp on the tea a maid prepared for you and watch the town in the distance. It was a nice day and the castle was in full action to prepare for the wedding. You push yourself from the ground and enter the big hall where your wedding seems to soon take place.

Many servants and people greet you and you stop in your tracks when you can see Hong Joong who is busying with telling others what to do.

„Miss? I didn’t see you for so long! Are you excited? Do you like the decorations?“ His face lights up immediately and you send him a reassuring smile to all his questions.

He‘s San‘s concierge so maybe he could help you to get out of the castle today? „Ehm, Mr. Kim. Do you know where I can find the king right now? I want to talk with him about something...“

„Mh, of course! Follow me.“ Turning hallways and passing by chambers the concierge doesn’t stop talking about many things.

„I mean he’s busy right now but he already told me that there’s always time for you! How a good husband and father he will make... always time for his family as well.“ You suppress the need to roll with your eyes when Hong Joong stops in front of a door and knocks two times.

San stands up instantly to reach you and hug you to him. „What brings you here? Do you need anything?“

„No, I mean. I wanted to ask you something.“ You smile up at him sickeningly sweet and start to caress his face with your fingers to which the king straightens up and tries to control himself.

„Anything for you.“

„I want to go to the market today.“ Immediately his face falls and you are quick to continue with your words. „I saw some shops when we were eating out and I... I wanted to prepare something.“

„Prepare what?“

„Something for you. It is a surprise don’t ask so much!“

„You don’t have to go to the market on your own just write down what you need and I will get someone to buy it for you.“ He challenges you with a tilt of his head and you could slap this fucking smile out of his face in this moment. He’s always so smart.

Come up with something.

You look sadly to the ground and your arms fall to your side. „I knew you wouldn’t say yes. I don’t think anyone should buy something like this for me. It is just too embarrassing.“

Hong Joong, who pretends to not listen to your conversation, awkwardly caughs and starts to whistle.

San frowns and suddenly opens his eyes wide at the thoughts that are running in his mind. „Oh, I mean, if you mean that... and you found something you really want... it will be an exception! And Hong Joong is coming with you!“

You fall into his arms and place a chaste kiss on his lips surprising the two of you. With a last glance San winks at you and let’s you go to get to the market - a bewildered Hong Joong quick in your steps.

Hong Joong really likes to make conversation so you don’t stop him when he gets into his own world talking about the things he likes and is interested in. Maybe like this it would be easier to find what you’re searching for.

„Oh, look! There’s a shop for artists! Oh and there!“

„You can go to the store if you want. Here’s the lingerie shop.“ You smile at him but the concierge frowns and debates with himself. He shouldn’t leave you alone any second but the shops were literally located across from eachother.

„Thirty minutes and we meet here again?“ You shake his hand and say ‚deal‘ watching the enthusiastic cat rushing over the street. You wait until he’s inside the shop to run down the street and get more to the place where merchants would be. It was a whole chaos and too many people to even get a good look on all the sales booths.

You wander around trying to take a glimpse on everything they sell on the street and after fifteen minutes you plump down on a bench sighing exaggerated.

„I guess this was a dumb idea.“

Air is whistling through the flowers and lamps when you feel a shudder down your spine looking down into your lap to examine your fingers.

„The cat life suits you very well...“ You look up immediately feeling like time stopped when you see a the fabric of a hanbok and round eyes examining your body.

„Who are you?“

The man takes a step to your form and takes something from behind his back to show you. Your eyes widen and your hand immediately shoots out to reach for what the man holds in front of you but he’s quick to make it disappear and smiles at you mischievously.

You’re upset and stand up to point at the man. „You’re the mask seller! Oh my god I found you!“

He raises one of his eyebrows and licks his lips in excitement. „I also know a lot about you, dear (y/n). Oh, I mean... in a few days I have to call you my queen.“

You grit your teeth at his words. „If you’re here you know that this is not gonna happen. You want a soul, right mask seller? You can have Kang Yeo Sang‘s and my cat soul!“

He laughs out loud and waves with his hands in front of him to stop your excitement. „Wait a second there. Yeo Sang is kept in the dungeons and the king won’t let you get near the portal again. What makes you think I would make a contract with you?“

„I - can’t you help us to flee? I promise our souls will be yours!“

He shrugs with his shoulders and stars to circle your form his tail caressing your body in the process. His actions make you shudder and you suddenly feel very small in front of the man.

„I mean I can help you but the king is also my king. Why do you want to be human again? Isn’t it much more fun to have a tail and ears like us?“

You have problems to find the right words but look up confidently to Seong Hwa. „I have people I love and I want to get back to them. This isn’t my home and I didn’t have a say in anything that happens to me here, so... yes. I definitely don’t want to stay here as a cat.“

He tilts his head in interest. „If you think so.“ Suddenly like magic a paper appears in his hand and he makes a move with his index so it is flying in the air next to him. While you watch in awe he pulls out something like an ink cushion and looks at you promising.

„You have to sign as a cat with your paw.“

„Oh, I didn’t turn into a fully cat yet... I mean I don’t know how to.“

He smiles at you and gives you a little push so that you make a little roll. The ground moves closer in an instant and suddenly you look up to a much larger Seong Hwa now. You feel the wind caressing your fur and you scrunch your nose in awe letting out a little meow.

„That was easier than I thought.“

„Well, it’s the easiest way. Here.“ You push your little paw into the ink he holds down for you and place your imprint on the contract.

„Well done, little (y/n).“

„Wait, what about Yeo Sang and when will you get us out of here?“

„Yeo Sang already made a contract and about your escape... we will have to wait until the marriage day when there’s a lot of hustle and bustle in the kingdom.“

„Can you be more accurate?“

„Meet me here after the marriage ceremony when the party is in full swing. I will get Yeo Sang and then you can get out of the kingdom of cats.“

„Alright. I hope your plan is going to work out!“

„I promise you I will get you to the portal without someone stopping you and Yeo Sang will be there with you. Oh, you should get going now... I think the concierge noticed your absence.“

„Oh shit. Then I will see you soon and - thank you for helping us.“ He grins at you and waves goodbye.

„I almost forgot! Once you signed the contract and get back to the human world there’s no turning back! Also vice versa when with a human soul...”

In the distance you don’t hear him shouting his last words anymore but if it was on purpose only the mask seller knows.

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[jiminniethemarshmallow]

Fairy Dust

Pairing: Jimin x reader

Genre: adventure, fantasy, fluff

Word Count: 22k

(A/N): This is my first time writing anything like this and boy was it tough! Also I really didn’t mean for it to be this long so oops 😬

For BCC One Summer Night Project

You follow Jimin away from your campsite off the beaten path on a journey guided by starlight, walking hand in hand and treading lightly so as not to disturb the wildlife around you. You weave through the wooded area of your night trail to a destination that your boyfriend has not yet disclosed to you. Shades of midnight blues and purples color what was once green and brown around you, blackening shapes at your feet that you step over with care.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” You fret with a chuckle, enjoying the warmth of his fingers when they squeeze yours.

“Of course, I used to come here all the time with my family. It’s right up ahead.” He points with a finger you can barely see in the dim lighting. You trust him, shrugging to yourself as you trek on. He stops you a few steps later, looking down at his feet until you do the same and come to the realization that there is a stream in your path. “I’ll go first.”

He demonstrates by stepping on a flat stone in the center of the water source, leaping to the other side gracefully before turning to offer you his hand and a smile. Your movements are a lot more unsteady than his. A hesitant step on the stone is all you can manage before you’re grasping for his hand, stumbling to his side and nearly pulling both of you down into the water, a few bugs flying up at your rough landing. It’s smooth sailing after that, avoiding a fallen log, regretfully stepping over the corpse of a poor decaying animal, and brushing past short shrubbery before you finally reach a clearing with a perfect view of the starry ceiling above you.

“Wow,” From this vantage point at your altitude in these mountains the beautiful glow of the galaxy is not clouded by pollution or artificial light. You’ve never seen so many stars in your life, all twinkling at you in clusters of white dots that form patterns and constellations above your head. Jimin pulls a purple blanket from the bag on his back, placing it in the uncut grass at the center of the meadow. You take a seat next to him, laying back to curl into his chest comfortably as his arms come to wrap around you.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He asks in a whisper, watching the environment around you come to life from your movement. Fireflies rise above the blades of green beneath you to put on a display of light for you, creating their own pictures that rival even the stars.

“It’s... perfect.” You are utterly speechless, simply thankful that he decided to share this with you. Looking up, you discover that he is no longer looking around but is focused solely on you now, and when you lock eyes, you lean in for a kiss. You could swear that the fireflies around you begin to circle around your bodies once your lips touch, your eyes now closed and a delicious scent engulfing you. It’s easy to get lost in Jimin’s kiss, so easy that you begin to lose track of time and space and lose consciousness.

“Why did you pick them?” A voice sounds distantly, distorted oddly in your ears.

“Uhm, well, I- uh,” The timid squeak comes from much closer, and you can almost hear the nervous way the mysterious person gnaws on their lip. A loud sigh. “We’re desperate.”

“...Fine. But you couldn’t have found someone more— I don’t know— muscular than them? I mean come on, they’re both practically splinters!”

“There was no one else around... maybe we could make this a stealth mission instead?”

Your eyes start to crack open once the grogginess fades, a soft and fuzzy fabric swallowing you in its folds. Jimin is not in your immediate line of sight and everything is brighter than you remember. Your head lifts before you’ve gotten both eyes fully open, alerting the two that now accompany you.

“Oh, one of them is awake!” The timid voice whispers, and the first thing to come into view is a flawless face, features too smooth and delicate to be real. The woman’s skin sparkles as if she had been bathed in glitter, but it seems that she’s producing her own light, an supernatural glow outlining her body and... wings? Maybe your eyes were still adjusting...

“Mm, what happened?” You mumble, your mind feeling hazy. Once your eyes fully focus, you jump at her proximity.

“W-wow, I didn’t know humans were this pretty.” She gushes, earning a slap on the shoulder from the other person she’s with. Looking to the left, you find a shorter woman whose features are just as undefined as her taller counterpart, the same glow haloed around her.

“Don’t say things like that.” She scolds.

“Jimin?!” Suddenly you think of your boyfriend, who you have yet to see, and begin to search around, finally taking in your surroundings and noticing that you appear to be lost in a sea of purple, blanket-like material, its folds blocking and trapping you as you move around to find your partner. You call out to him again, this time receiving a response.

“(Y/n)?” He sounds sleepy, probably just waking up from whatever slumber you had fallen into.

“We should help.” The taller woman says, appearing behind you to grab you under your arms and lift you. Lift you? Wait, were you flying?! Your legs dangle as you rise higher above your fabric prison, the new perspective allowing you to see that you were surrounded by giant blades of grass and that you had, in fact, been on your blanket. She lowers you next to Jimin, huffing from the exertion, and you scramble to his side. What the hell was going on?

“Did you just... Fly?” He looks at you funny, then turns his attention to the two mysterious figures who have yet to introduce themselves.

“Hello, humans.” The shorter one starts awkwardly, cringing at herself. “You’ve finally awoken! That’s good.” There’s quiet— well, not really, the atmosphere is no longer muffled sounds of the forest, but now resembles a bustling town in daylight. Everything is so much louder. “W-well, my name is Alva and that’s Laila,” She nods in the other’s direction.

“What happened to us? Why did we pass out?” You question immediately, not bothering with self-introduction.

“O-oh, well, y-you both, um,” Laila starts, unable to look either of you in the eye. “What I mean to say is... you- we kind of-“

“We sprinkled you with Fairy Dust.” Alva finishes bluntly. Your jaws drop. She can’t be serious, this must be a joke. Yet you can’t bring yourself to laugh. No, she looks too serious.

“Fairy dust?” Jimin barely cracks a smile, subconsciously touching your arm to make sure this isn’t a dream.

“Y-yeah, but it appears I was a bit heavy handed. My apologies.” Laila smiles wryly, wringing her hands together nervously. “We are the fairies that live in this forest, and we need your help to save a dear comrade.” It is only then that you actually process what you’re looking at. The two of them hover in front of you, their wings fluttering gracefully like those of a hummingbird, the movement too quick for your eyes to perceive.

“Are we fairies now too?” Jimin checks his own body, then yours, inspecting you for any differences. The only thing that has changed is your size, and he sighs in relief.

“For the most part you are just tiny humans now, but we can make you wings if you so desire.” Alva deadpans, impatiently waiting for you to come to terms with the situation. She continues before you have the chance to let things sink in. “Stink bugs have infested these lands and have made their home by the water source, blocking all creatures on this side of the meadow from reaching the water’s edge. We fairies have put up a resistance to this, and in retaliation, they have kidnapped our leader. Please, we kindly ask for your help in retrieving her.”

“Why can’t you save her yourselves? Don’t you have an army?” Jimin frowns, unsure of how he feels about being this little. You may still be in shock.

“They have fortified their home with troops that protect them from land and air. In order to enter their territory, we would need to get past them, but they attack everything that they identify as being from this side of the meadow.” A chill runs up your spine. Were you willing to embark on a dangerous mission like this?

“But t-their eyesight is pretty bad, so they might not recognize you as fairies, even with wings.” Laila speaks up when she sees you wavering. “You may be able to negotiate a way in.”

“I don’t know about this.” Your boyfriend murmurs to you as he weighs your safety versus adventure. He’s always so kindhearted, so you know he wants to help them, but how far was he willing to go if danger was involved? If it was you he was worried about, you wanted to quell his fears.

“It sounds scary, honestly. But when in our lives will we get another chance to do something like this? We get to be fairies! That’ll never happen to us again.” You smile. But suddenly your eyes shoot wide, turning to the women again. “Wait, this does wear off, right? We won’t be stuck like this forever?”

“Well, there is a spell to reverse this, but the fairy you must rescue is the only one who has mastered it.” Laila offers with another apologetic look.

“Then we have to! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, we have to take advantage. These people need our help! Plus, what else are we going to do while we’re this tiny? Might as well become hero’s while we’re at it.” You chuckle, pulling a smile from him. “If it gets dangerous we’ll protect each other, promise.”

“What if something goes wrong and one of us gets hurt?” He asks. It’s uncharacteristic of him to worry like this, but this is uncharted territory so you can understand his apprehension. But as a couple you are known for your adventurous nature— hell, he’s the one who suggested going camping in the Rocky Mountains by yourselves in the first place. You won’t let him back down from this.

“What if everything goes right?” Your hand finds its way into his, squeezing in reassurance as he looks over your face. With a second more of hesitation, Jimin finally nods in agreement and the two fairies sigh in relief.

The mission they explain to you seems very much like the objective of a video game: traverse through different landscapes and hone your skills until you reach the villain’s lair, where you will then attempt to rescue the princess (or in this case, fairy leader) and defeat the villain. Of course, you will be responsible for coming up with the plan once you reach the lair because the fairies know nothing about where their leader is kept or what the stink bug king will think of you. It is entirely possible that you’ll be able to negotiate with him to release their leader and stop blocking the waterway, but it’s more exciting to think you’ll do a bit of fighting.

“We have supplies and tools for you that will be helpful for you on your journey.” Alva is kinder to you now, advising you to come along to their home to prepare for your mission.

“We don’t have wings yet...” You point out, assuming that you would fly to their abode.

“Obviously.” She rolls her eyes at you, not bothering to explain. A high pitched whistle comes from her with little effort, followed by an intense buzzing noise approaching from behind. You and Jimin turn in horror as 3 giant fireflies appear from the sky, landing weightlessly on the surface before you with a blinding flash of light. It is then that you realize that the brightness in the sky above you isn’t from sunlight, but are actually the bulbs of the fireflies you had admired before. The three in front of you dim their lights to save your eyes, peering down at you with curiously large eyes.

Laila begins to speak with them in a language of chirps and clicks, and much to your surprise, they respond energetically to her. Although you now pale in comparison to these creatures, they are still awe-inspiring; with their red upper bodies that contrast so prettily with the luminescent glow of their yellow-green rears, the hard outer wings that protect the delicate transparent wings beneath that you’ve never noticed until now. Never in your life have you expected to see any bug from this close up.

Laila lets out a laugh that brings your attention back to her. “They agreed to give us a lift home.” She seems brighter after the interaction, though she still refuses to look you in the eye. “Ah! Let me introduce you— this is Magus,” She points to the one on the right, who tilts his head down at you in what you assume to be a bow. “This is Meri,” the one on the left nods at you two as well and you nudge Jimin in his side to offer a bow back. “And this is Garnet, named for her color.” The firefly in the center lifts her wings slightly in greeting and it takes immense self control not to step back in intimidation. She is the largest of the 3 and her color is distinctly different, her body appearing as a deep shade of red mimicking that of a garnet stone, as opposed to the pinkish shade that her counterparts take on.

“Since there are two of you, you will be traveling on Garnet because she is the biggest.” Alva explains, already in the air and mounted on Magus’ back.

“Wait, you want us to ride on its back?!” Jimin seems startled as you walk ahead of him and reach your hand out to Garnet, touching her head. Normally bugs were something you feared, but you have a newfound sense of bravery that is sparked by the novelty of this experience. “(Y/n), don’t touch it!” He shouts, eyebrows furrowing cutely when your hand makes contact with the insect.

“Babe, it’s fine, stop being so wimpy.” You snicker at his distress. “She won’t hurt us, I can tell. She’s nice.” The firefly chitters at you, causing Laila to giggle.

“She says to hop on, she doesn’t bite. But if you need a nip of encouragement she’s more than willing to give you one.” Jimin shutters and takes a hesitant step forward, following your lead with a soft pat to her head. She lowers to the ground as much as she can, and the two of you hop on with Jimin in front and your arms wrapped comfortably around his waist. He can feel your smile and it gives him a little peace of mind.

“No offense, but we don’t have time for cowardice. Anything could be happening to our leader right now and the more time we waste, the more danger we put her in.” Alva cuts in sharply with a twitch of her wings.

“Grab the ropes and hold on tight.” Directing your gaze to the thin ropes seamlessly attached to the smooth surface of Garnet’s shell— by magic, you assume— you take Laila’s advice and grab onto them from behind Jimin. “I already told her where we’re going, just tap her back twice to signal when you’re ready and she’ll take off.”

“Are you ready?” Your boyfriend asks, rolling his shoulders.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” At your confirmation, he taps his hand on the hard shell and her wings open up, fluttering loudly on either side of you before you begin to lift from the ground. You rise quickly yet carefully, and you can’t help but let out an elated squeal as the earth beneath you gets farther and farther away. The footprints you left in the grass when you arrived in the meadow have somewhat disappeared as the blades slowly return to their normal standing position, but you can still see the sheer size of them compared to how small you are now. Even from high up they look enormous, each one flattening an area that would probably take you several minutes to cross on foot. But the most amazing sight of all is something that Jimin points out with a dropped jaw.

The blanket that you had both been comfortably laying on not 10 minutes prior was now unreasonably large and you struggle to comprehend the scale. If being on the back of a bug wasn’t enough, seeing your own belongings look so disproportionate compared to you is what makes you realize just how tiny you really are. It’s almost frightening being so small and fragile, the human body does not have many natural adaptations to fend off the world making this situation that much more dangerous, but having Jimin with you eases your heart significantly. He isn’t the strongest or the bravest, or even the smartest for that matter, but you know that if you work together you’ll be alright. At least that’s what you tell yourself as you cling to him on your way up into the trees, not missing the opportunity to take in the view.

You’re taken to what looks to be a treehouse, perched on one of the thin branches at the top of a tree. It could be mistaken for a small bird’s nest from the outside, but the home is actually complexly made with a variety of materials and innovation you are unfamiliar with. Jimin grabs your hand immediately after you dismount from Garnet, glancing down from your height with a silent warning. Of course he’s weary, if either of you fell from this distance you would be dead before you were halfway down the trunk. Even a fall to the next branch down would be life threatening, but you try not to think about it as you walk carefully to the entrance of the home.

“Do not touch anything.” Alva hisses as she holds the door open for you. The inside of the abode is cozier than you expected, sheltered from the chill of the night and decorated with art and color.

“Alva, don’t be so crude to our guests.” Laila scolds, wringing her hands again. She seems to be nervous once more without the presence of her firefly companions.

“Do you live here together?” You ask, moving to inspect some items on a bookshelf. Jimin smacks your hand when you go to lift something up, reminding you of Alva’s warning.

“Y-yes.” Laila nods, turning away from you when you meet her eyes. They say no more on the matter so you don’t press it. “Anyway, you’ll need a few things for your journey. We’ll accompany you most of the way, but we won’t be able to enter once we reach the stink bug’s territory so you’ll need disguises.”

“I thought you said they won’t recognize us?” Jimin questions, walking over to where Alva is hard at work crafting something on a workbench.

“The stink bugs won’t, but they have spies everywhere. We’ll have to pass through some town centers on the way there and that’s where you’ll have the highest risk of being discovered. Also, they know that the two of us are part of the resistance so they will automatically be suspicious if we’re seen traveling together.” She murmurs. You watch as she sprinkles glowing dust onto the table, grabbing tools that glow similarly and manipulating the powder with skilled hands.

“That’s Fairy Dust.” Laila whispers to you when she sees the looks of confusion on your faces. It looks just how you imagined it would.

“So, are you saying that we’ll have to go through the town centers by ourselves?” Jimin’s question makes your heart jump with nerves.

“Yes and no. We’ll have to walk through the towns since their surveillance is stricter on air traffic, but all you have to do is follow behind us and everything will be fine. We’ll go first and lead the way while you trail a safe distance behind us. We can fly together between towns, when we’re not being watched.”

“Fly?” How would you fly if you didn’t have wings like them? You’ll probably use the fireflies again, so you don’t fret, but Alva shakes her head.

“What do you think I’m doing right now?” She asks rhetorically, rolling her eyes at your stupid question. “I’m making you wings so that you can fly with us.” Just as she says this, her workspace begins to glow red.

The Fairy Dust had somehow turned into thin sheets of glass-like material while you were looking away, inflexible and cloudy in quality but now burning a bright red color. Alva whispers something under her breath as she places her hands over the material, closing her eyes in focus. The glowing intensifies and Jimin pulls you back a few steps protectively to look on at a safer distance. Amazingly, the material transforms right before your eyes into transparent and featherlight wings that mimic those of the fairies beside you. They bend when she lifts them, they look extremely frail and delicate, so thin that you almost want to doubt their capabilities in holding you up in midair.

“Turn around.” She instructs quickly to you, using two fingers to rub more Fairy Dust on the edges of each wing. You spin for her and feel her move closer before pausing. The perplexed and irritated look on her face can be felt through the thick air and you don’t even have to see her to sense it.

“What’s wrong?” Jimin dares, eyes flicking back and forth between you.

“What covers your skin?” She asks, much to your confusion. You want to answer but you honestly have no idea what she’s referring to. Neither does Jimin.

“I believe they call them ‘clothes’”. Laila responds quietly.

“Ew, remove them.” The disgust in Alva’s voice is clear, startling you. Somehow, one small detail had escaped both you and your boyfriend this entire time: the fact that the two fairies are completely naked. Their bodies are just as undefined and nondescript as their faces and the odd light they seemed to give off acted as some sort of censor, making it difficult to tell whether or not they were wearing anything. But their reactions confirm that they, indeed, are in the nude. It makes sense, humans are the only creatures to cover themselves like this. But you’re still human and the thought of roaming naked and free in this unfamiliar landscape is uncomfortable.

“Is there a way that you could put the wings on over the clothes?” You turn to allow her to see the cringe on your cheeks. “Logically, it would make sense to keep our clothes on so that when we save your leader and return to normal size, we won’t be naked and exposed in the wilderness?” It’s phrased like a question because of the intimidating glare Alva is giving you, sucking the confidence right out of your words.

Thankfully, Laila is there to back you up. “It’s true, if they aren’t wearing their coverings when they turn back, i-it will remain our size.” Alva gives her the death glare too, but surprisingly, Laila doesn’t back down.

“Fine, but if this doesn’t work, you’re making the next pair of wings.” She points to her roommate, smoothing down your shirt to get a feel for the structure of your back before gently attaching the wings. Their attachment is joined by a ticklish sensation that makes you squirm and giggle, pulling against the small hands that attempt to hold you in place. You expected it to be painful, but the ticklish feeling fades quickly followed by nothing, your extensions successfully attached. She moves onto Jimin swiftly and you grin as the cutest giggle bubbles from his throat at the feeling. The wings really suit him, he looks like a fairy prince that has come to sweep you off your feet and fly off into the distance.

“Excellent.” Laila sighs in relief when your wings move with the motion of your shoulders, steadfast and not likely to come off. “I have prepared these for you as well.” She thrusts a bag into your hands, as well as a shiny whistle. “This Fairy Dust is essential to our mission. Fairies use it to craft things and manipulate items around them, so it is imperative that you get this to our leader to aid in her rescue and escape. This whistle is to only be used in emergencies,” Placing one in Jimin’s hands, she glares when he immediately puts it to his lips. “It will call Garnet to you in case you need a ride, but she is very busy at this time of night, so try not to use it.”

“Okay! Now we’re all set to go!” Alva rushes, practically pushing you out of her house.

Laila is the only one who has patience enough to teach you to fly, speeding through a lesson and demonstration with pressure from the other woman who looks on with annoyance. To Jimin, who is always quite graceful, flying is easy. The wings on his back move to his will and it’s as if he’s dancing in the air, lifting above you and quickly using his skills to twirl and flip. You, on the other hand, struggle immensely. As soon as your feet leave the ground, balance loses all meaning to you and you toddle unsteadily, smacking into things left and right because of the uneven flutter of your propellers. You bet you look silly right now— no, you know you do because Jimin makes sure to laugh loudly every time you struggle— but this is no time for shame. Alva concludes your lesson once it’s apparent that you won’t fall out of the sky and suggests that you’ll get the hang of it as you go, barely waiting for you before taking off from the tip of the branch.

“Now, I must warn you,” She says as you rush to keep up. “These wings do have a time limit, so it’s important that we make it to the water as fast as possible before time runs out or you’ll have to walk.”

“G-got it.” You’re still uneasy, veering off to the side occasionally and nearly smacking into Laila when the wind catches you. Just when you’re starting to get dizzy from your wacky steering, a warm hand closes around your arm. Jimin smiles at you, this time not with humor but with care, and you feel yourself relax. Pulling you closer to his body, he helps you balance in order to fly straight, offering tips and holding on tight for support. Even after you’ve gotten the hang of it, he holds your hand and stays close to you.

Traveling across the meadow takes far longer than you expected and by the time you reach the first town, you’re already tired. Alva lands several meters away from the tree line, turning abruptly to face you. “We’re about to enter the shrubs. This town is full of friendly faces so it shouldn’t be too hard to spot spies, but stay on the lookout. Laila and I have to meet up with an ally in one of the shops; once we get there, stay outside in the area and try not to look suspicious.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Folding your arms, you wait for a response, but Alva simply shrugs and continues ahead.

“Just try not to bother anyone.” Laila says softly, avoiding your eyes as she speeds up to walk in front of you.

As soon as you enter the shrubs, hundreds of eyes zero in on the unfamiliar faces of you and Jimin. Some greet the fairies as they pass farther in front of you, but seem to burn holes in your back when you walk by, squeezing the hand of your boyfriend at the horrifying bugs that are now very close to your size. Ants and worms, caterpillars and centipedes all roam freely on the dense floor, chewing on fertile dirt and decaying leaves, carrying on with their lives all around you. None seem particularly threatening, but that doesn’t stop your hands from becoming incredibly sweaty in Jimin’s palm.

“I’ll protect you.” He whispers, though his voice shakes in uncertainty.

“How? There’s no way you can fight any of these things!” You whisper back through gritted teeth. Your eyes are so focused on trying not to lose sight of the women in front of you that you don’t notice the roots sticking up from the ground and trip noisily over one of them. Jimin reaches out with lightning fast reflexes and catches you before you come crashing to the ground, offering you a cheesy smile when your wide eyes lock on his before pulling you back up to your feet.

“I don’t need to fight them, I just need to save you from yourself.” You pout at his words, feeling your cheeks get hot at how embarrassing that fall must have looked. Even though you’re surrounded by bugs, you still have your pride.

Finally, Alva and Laila enter a shop, giving you a meaningful glance before disappearing inside. Jimin leads you just a little bit past the store before finding a spot to stand just opposite of its entrance so you can watch for their exit, pulling you against him as he leans against a mushroom. You take this time to take in your surroundings: the ceiling of this area is made of the dense leaves and vines of shrubs, yet it isn’t dark. Instead, everything is lit by glow-in-the-dark fungi that is speckled above and below you. Large mushrooms, like the one you sit beneath, grow in bundles in the darker places, their smell humid and pungent like a room full of mold. It tickles your nostrils and you sneeze, causing a movement from behind you.

“Oh!” Calls a voice that appears out of seemingly nowhere. Jimin moves you defensively away from the person, turning to confront them as they step from behind the fungus’ stem. “I wouldn’t sit under this if I were you. It’s smell can be quite intoxicating after a while and may cause hallucinations to those who aren’t used to it.” A male fairy steps forward, coated in Fairy Dust and naked just like your guides had been. The only difference is that he is covered in spores. This doesn’t seem to bother him, though. He eyes both you and Jimin up and down, smiling oddly at your appearance. “New around here?”

“Yes.” You answer hesitantly, but he seems nice enough.

“I can sense that you’re not fairies... Hmm, where are you from?” Just as you open your mouth to speak, Jimin cuts in.

“We’re just visiting. Who are you?”

“Ah, yes! I’m a mushroom fairy, the name’s Bayard.” He extends a hand and you shake it despite Jimin’s weary expression. “I work here and tend to the mushrooms that light this place. We don’t get visitors often, welcome!”

“Thank you! We’re actually heading to the water, do you have any helpful advice for us?” Alva and Laila said that this place was full of friends, so you want to take a chance. He seems kind and helpful and the two of you are absolutely clueless in your environment, so you figure it would be beneficial to get all the help you can get. The hand holding yours tightens, but you ignore it to listen to the fairy’s advice.

“Oh, I’ve never been to the water before, but I heard it’s pretty dangerous over there now. I say it’d be smart to invest in a weapon if you’re heading over that way.” He nods solemnly. “You can probably get one at the shop over there,” He points to a small stall next to the store your comrades entered and you sag.

“We don’t have any money, though.” You pout, using your charms on him.

“Money? Nah, you just need something to trade for it, that’s all. Here, since you seem so sweet I’ll give you something, wait here.” Bayard flies up to the head of the mushroom and you watch in awe as he collects something from its surface before coming back down to hand you 2 bags. “These are the hallucinogenic spores I was talking about. They’re worth a lot, so you should be able to trade it easily, but you could use it for your own benefit.”

“What do you mean?” You ask innocently, making him chuckle.

“Well, a good whiff of it might lead to a wild night, if you catch my drift.” He winks at Jimin and your face bursts into flames at the implications, and you can see that Jimin has a similar reaction. Bayard laughs heartily, clapping his hand together in a plume of spores that you wave away from your face. “I’m only pulling your leg. But seriously,” His expression drops so fast that a chill runs up your spine, all humor wiped from his eyes. “This is some powerful stuff. One bag of this is enough to knock out something 10x our size, so be careful. I gave you 2 bags in case you need to buy more stuff, but please, handle with care.”

“We will.” You nod, giving your bag for Jimin to hold. “Thank you so much, Bayard, this is very generous of you.”

He grins shyly. “Don’t mention it. If you ever need a friend, you know where to find me. Good luck on your travels, I gotta get back to work.” He waves you off as he disappears back behind the bundle of mushrooms, hidden in the deep shadows they cast.

“I think we should be more careful with who we talk to, (Y/n).” Jimin whispers, following you as you walk toward the shop. “We can’t tell everyone our business, they could be spies!”

“I know, but I could tell he wasn’t. Plus, he turned out to be really helpful, so everything worked out.”

“Yeah, but we could have just gotten lucky this time. This is real life, babe, you need to be more careful. You shouldn’t talk to everyone like that.” He argues back, tugging on your arm to stop you before you reach the stall. You turn to look him in the eyes.

“But if we didn’t talk to him, it would have been suspicious. We can’t go around looking nervous and jumpy because then people will start thinking we’re up to something (which we kinda are). I was just blending in.” The determined look in your eye makes him pause and he can no longer argue. Dammit, he’s always so weak when you look at him like that. And you’re so beautiful in this lighting, your eyes shining back at him and the structure of your face contoured perfectly with the subtle shadows. You’re right and he has no choice but to accept it, even if he does have more to say. You can see the moment he drops it, his face softening with the slight nod he gives you as if admitting defeat. But you’re also weak to him when he looks down at you like that, like he wants to kiss you senseless and make you forget about whatever you disagreed about. You decide to compromise. “But I’ll be more careful from now on to make your job a little easier.”

He cocks an eyebrow and tilts his head cutely in confusion.

“You said you would protect me, right? It would be rude of me to jump headfirst into danger when I know you’ll jump right in after me.” You try to shrug indifferently but it comes off as flirty, pulling a smug smirk from him as you continue your way to the shop.

It costs a whole bag of the spores Bayard gave you to acquire a weapon. Jimin chooses a small blade that the shopkeeper explains is made with Fairy Dust and can cut through even the toughest bindings. He advises that you should only use it for self defense in extreme situations and gives him a sheath to saddle on the belt loops of his pants. The sight perplexes the shopkeeper, but he sends you on your way without question.

“I know you said you’d be more careful, but you have a penchant for trouble so we’ll probably find ourselves in some bad situations. But at least I can protect you properly now.” You wrinkle your nose at his accusation, but end up chuckling at the way he brandishes the blade as though in a heated battle.

Alva clears her throat as she glides past the two of you with a twitch of her wings, announcing her presence subtly as Laila follows swiftly after, pointedly trying not to look at you and accidentally being the most obvious one in the group. You linger for a few more moments with an embarrassed Jimin, asking the shopkeeper one more question about your purchase before making a smooth exit in the footsteps of your comrades. You’re a good distance away from the shrubs before you begin flying again, catching up with the two who wait for you at a nearby tree.

“Oh my goodness, that was so nerve wracking.” Laila sighs, biting her lip.

“Sorry that took so long, but we got some great intel on the enemy.” Jimin reaches for your hand again when you take off even though you’re infinitely better at flying now. You act like you aren’t affected as you try to listen to Alva’s words. “We’re about to pass a carcass so we’ll need to go around, but it has a spy checkpoint on each side so we’ll have to split up when we cross them to avoid suspicion. Be on the lookout for a shady looking ant and a really chunky maggot. Laila and I will do the talking, but don’t answer any of their questions in too much detail if they ask you directly.”

The way she lists off the warnings makes you sweat. What would happen if you got caught? Yes, this was a once in a lifetime adventure, but the danger is not lost on you. Jimin is right, this is real life and you could get seriously hurt or worse if things go south. You had to rescue their leader, this had to work because she is the only one that can return you to human size, and that realization settles uncomfortably in your stomach. Separating from Jimin only makes the feeling worse.

“We’ll be traveling together,” Alva informs you once you land, instructing Laila and Jimin where to meet. Your eyebrows crease with worry and you quickly grab his arm before he leaves.

When you don’t say anything, he gives you a soft smile, reading your eyes. “What happened to all that bravery you had back there?” He teases.

“I was confident because we were together. How can we look out for each other if we’re not together?” The only thing you can think of that’s worse than you getting captured, is if he got captured without you. It’s not just about him protecting you, you want to watch over him too.

“We’ll be fine. Alva and Laila will keep us safe.” They both nod at you.

“Yes, we’ll do everything in our power to keep you two safe.” Laila adds in her timid voice, glancing up at your eyes.

“Okay...” You reluctantly let go of him and watch them start to walk away. “Please be careful!” He sends you a thumbs up as he gets farther away. The starlight above you is partially covered by the trees, making this area much darker than the meadow had been. Fireflies flicker in the distance but it still isn’t bright enough to see him clearly as he continues on.

“Come on. The faster we go through this, the sooner you’ll be reunited.” For the first time, Alva offers words of consolation, and you’re almost shocked that she has sympathy for you. She mumbles in a quieter voice than usual. “I’m not thrilled about splitting from them either, but this is the safest way. If we all went through together, that would definitely raise some red flags.”

“Why couldn’t we just follow you like we did back there?” She scoffs.

“Not many newcomers cross these parts alone. You two would never make it past the spies without being noticed. Even with us, it’s a risk. I just hope Laila’s okay.” This is the first time you’ve actually seen her worried and for the second time in a row, you’re baffled. This entire time Alva has been hardened and crude, but now she seems almost as worried as you. You can’t help but ask.

“You seem to have a soft spot for her. Do you have feelings for her?” She knows you’re teasing by the lilt in your voice, and you see her wings twitch, something you’re beginning to notice that signifies her annoyance. Her eyes roll so hard you think they’ll get stuck in her head.

“Of course I have feelings for her. In human terms, we’re dating, why do you think we live together?”

“Oh!” You chuckle nervously, feeling a bit dumb. You saw only one bed in their home but thought little of it, and now much of their decor makes sense. There’s an awkward silence for a while and you can’t for the life of you think of anything else to talk about. You wish the ground beneath you would just open up and swallow you whole. Thankfully, she breaks the silence for you.

“We learned another important detail that I didn’t mention,” She waits until you glance over at her. “We found out that the stink bug king plans to marry our leader, so it would probably be smart for you to come up with a plan to intercept this.” You sigh in thought, turning your gears to come up with a plan.

The smell of the carcass is much worse than Jimin imagined, it hits them long before they reach the body. Laila leads him to the right side of the unidentifiable animal, a heap of fur, bones, and flesh in the middle stages of decomposition thanks to the abundance of bugs and fungi working diligently to break it down. They stop before the animal as Laila crafts 2 masks from her own bag of Fairy Dust, handing one to him to reduce the horrific smell as they trek on. He tries to ignore the sounds of the ecosystem feasting on its prey, and thankfully his partner offers a distraction.

“I know you’re worried about your girlfriend, but Alva will protect her. And I will protect you.” He notices that she easily makes eye contact with him, unlike before. “Stink bugs aren’t vicious, they’re just resilient and armored, making them tough to beat. But hopefully we won’t have to fight.”

“I know she’ll be alright, I have faith in her. She probably won’t get caught by the spy, she’s too smart for that.” His words are genuine, yet his heart still races at the possibilities. A darkness eclipses his face that she catches onto immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice is so gentle that he has no problem opening up to her.

“If she gets captured or hurt it’ll be my fault. I brought her out to the meadow to have a romantic date, but instead it ended up putting her in danger. We should have stayed at the campsite.”

“No.” Laila says firmly, causing him to yank his head up in surprise. “If anything, this is my fault. I chose you because you were the only ones around that could help us, but I could have left you alone. If anything happens, I am to blame.” He says nothing to this, not quite accepting it, but she seems steadfast so he won’t argue. “I apologize for not asking sooner, but what is your name?”

“Jimin.”

“And what is hers?”

“(Y/n)~” He says your name almost dreamily compared to his own, a smile subconsciously finding its way to his lips. She grins.

“Do you love her?” Laila doesn’t seem to be the blunt type, but this is obviously amusing. Especially with the way his ears color red at that one question.

“I- I don’t know if I know what love is,” is his response.

“I think you do. I see how you look at her, how you smile when you think of her, the way that you say her name with such delicacy; I bet you don’t even realize how lovestruck you look when she’s around.” Jimin turns away from her to avoid her eyes, bringing a hand to his warming cheeks. He mumbles something under his breath. “I know because that’s how I am with Alva and I love her very much.”

“Alva? Wait, are you-?”

“Yes, she is my girlfriend.” The confirmation makes his jaw drop, some pieces falling together just as they had for you. “Never be embarrassed by your feelings, they can be a source of power at times like these. It is because you love her so much that I know you’d do anything to keep her safe, and I have no doubt that she is exactly the same way. This mission will be a success, I can feel it. You should tell her how you really feel when this is all over.”

“Oh... I don’t know about that. What if she doesn’t feel the same way...”

“She’s intelligent, compassionate, outgoing, brave, charming, and above that, so beautiful that everyone around takes notice— a woman like that can be pretty intimidating. But trust me, she loves you too. Though I haven’t known you two for long, I can see how her body language changes with you, that sparkle in her eyes whenever you interact. She’s just as lovesick for you as you are for her. But I won’t pressure you.”

Laila is a lot wiser and more perceptive than he originally expected. She hadn’t looked you in the eye much— which he now knows is because you intimidate her more than her own intense girlfriend does— but it seems she’s picked up on a lot about both of you in this short time. Maybe her observations are right and you do love him back. But this feels like an inappropriate time to confess to you, so he decides he’ll keep it in for now.

As he’s ruminating on that idea, a huge tan bug crawls in front of them, blocking their path with its large body. Upon closer inspection, Jimin comes to the conclusion that it is a maggot, and it is indeed very “chunky”. It’s at least 3x his size, towering over them and angling it’s head in their direction. He can’t see its eyes, but it apparently can see them, turning its attention to Laila.

“It’s been a while, Laila. Haven’t seen you around these parts lately.” The breath that billows out from its mouth is even more rancid than the corpse it was feasting on, the stench so pointed that it slices through the barrier of their masks. It almost brings tears to Jimin’s eyes as he tries to refrain from gagging.

“Yes, well, I’ve been busy in the meadow, so I haven’t had the time to come out this far.” She replies easily, not the slightest quiver in her voice present. The maggot hums.

“And who is this?” Turning to face Jimin, it gives an interested tilt of the head and leans in closer, its pincers coming just inches away from his face. The smell is vile, beyond sickening, and if it were to have a color, he’s sure it’s breath would be the most impure black sludge— yes, sludge, because it is too thick to be a gas— imaginable. As black as death itself. The most he can do is hold his breath.

“He is simply visiting the area. We’re just passing through.” Laila answers, but it hisses at her to hush.

“Visiting? What business do you have visiting here?” The hairs on the back of Jimin’s neck stand straight, every cell in his body telling him to run, yet he stands frozen. The pincers in front of his face are large enough to bite his head off and he gets the sense that if he doesn’t say something convincing, that’s exactly what his fate will be.

“I’m visiting my cousin.” He rasps out, his head feeling light from running out of air.

“What cousin?”

“Um, h-his name is Bayard. He’s a mushroom fairy that lives in the shrubs.” At this the maggot leans away, finally allowing Jimin to take a breath of the slightly less offensive air.

“Bayard, huh?” He nods quickly, watching nervously as the insect snaps its jaws in thought. Does it know him? If it does, there’s a chance that Jimin will be caught in his lie, that somehow it will know that Bayard does not have any visiting relatives and that he’s not who he says he is. He and Laila share a tense stare as the bug takes a few seconds to process before it bursts into laughter. “He’s a crazy bastard, isn’t he?” They sigh in relief and Jimin nods along, forcing out a laugh. “Why isn’t he showing you around? I would’ve loved if he came to visit, I don’t get to see him often.”

“Oh you know, he’s busy working. You know how he is about his mushrooms.” They laugh again and the air seems to get a bit thinner.

“Ah, well, we’ll tell him you said hello. For now, though, we must get going.” Laila interrupts, much to his relief. The hefty maggot walks forward, opening the path for them once again and nods its head at them.

“Safe travels!” It wishes them well as they pass, watching as they continue around the side of the carcass, no longer conversing with each other but making headway straight out of the area. It isn’t until they reach the rendezvous point that Laila finds the courage to speak again, holding both hands over her chest as if she were in pain.

“That was close. If it wasn’t for your quick thinking, I don’t know what would’ve happened.” Then she tilts her head and looks up at him quizzically. “How do you know of Bayard, anyway?”

“(Y/n) befriended him in the last town.” Jimin rubs the back of his neck, thinking back to how upset he was about you speaking to strangers like that and how silly he looks now. Without you, he wouldn’t have made it out of that situation. Maybe he should have more faith in your instincts— they may just be your way of protecting him.

It takes several minutes before you and Alva emerge from your side of the animal. Alva is nodding at you, looking apprehensive, but you seem determined and sure.

“Let’s not tell Jimin, though. He probably won’t approve.” You whisper to her just out of earshot before you reach them, smiling in relief when you see that they made it here safely. You didn’t encounter your spy, though you did see him interrogating someone else who was passing through, and when you tell him this he shakes his head at the rare good luck you’ve just experienced. He tells you about the Bayard lie as you wrap your arms around him briefly and you laugh in a way that says “I told you so”— and it is then that he notices the look that Laila was talking about. The one you give him when you’re hanging onto every word he says like it’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever heard. His heart flutters at the thought. Laila and Alva share a meaningful look but say nothing, coaxing you onward with your journey.

This place has a worse atmosphere than the carcass you just passed, you can feel it. Supposedly, this is the last obstacle in your path before you reach the water, and even Alva seems on edge about what lies ahead. A fallen log stands before you, decaying and riddled with plant-life, fungus, and insects. Hostility leaks from every crevice of the black wood, the breeze itself seeming to carry a sneer as it blows past it.

“Okay, a word of advice before we continue,” Alva begins, slowing her pace in order to turn and face you as you fly. “Unlike the shrubs, this place is full of shady characters, so do not stop to talk to anyone or anything. That being said, keep your eyes peeled as we pass through, the creatures here will feast on anything that moves— and that includes you.”

“Also,” Laila casts her eyes down away from you. “Your wings will likely start to disintegrate soon. We’ll have to fly through this area because we’ll be too slow on foot, therefore putting us in more danger. The wings should last long enough to make it out of here if we fly, but it will be close, so we can’t have any interruptions or stops.” You both nod grimly, biting on your lip as a dark feeling swells within you.

It’s a gut feeling that alerts you to the danger up ahead, and you mindlessly reach for Jimin’s hand for comfort. He doesn’t seem to be as nervous aside from the warnings the two of them explain, and you wonder if you’re being paranoid.

“Why can’t we just fly over or around it?” You ask, trying to hide the tremor in your voice. Alva gives you a frustrated sigh before explaining once again how closely the skies are monitored, going against your plan to slip through undetected. But you can hardly say that this route is any safer.

It’ll be easy to stay out of trouble if you just stay off the ground though, right? Fly over the heads of everyone and make it out of this area before any real damage can be done. You cling onto that ideal as you watch Laila and Alva enter the center of the log, moving slowly until you and Jimin follow behind them.

“Please stay close to me.” You whisper to him— more like a plea because of the growing anxiety building in the pit of your stomach, your gut feeling worsening as you near the entrance.

“I will. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you.” Softly, he presses a kiss to your forehead, but even that doesn’t help you shake this feeling.

It’s dark and muggy within the rotting wood, the lack of light contrasting even with the dimness of the night sky. Glowing fungi are speckled against the walls of the log, but it is nowhere near as bright as it had been in the shrubs, leaving many areas cloaked in shadows. Jimin holds onto you tightly, his other hand feeling for the blade equipped to his pants. Your nervousness is unsettling; he can feel how cold and clammy your hands have become, the slight tremor of your body as your heart races within. He wishes he could reassure you, but you have amazing instincts and he doubts anything he says could contest against the physical reaction you’re exhibiting at this moment. All he can do is prepare himself.

The fairies in front of you seem to shine against the blackness, making them easy to follow. You execute your plan for flying as high as possible in the somewhat cramped tunnel, almost scraping your head against the ceiling in your effort to avoid the crude faces that crawl underneath. Insects hide in the crevices of the jagged walls, disturbed and squirming as you whoosh past their lairs. Something about them makes you think they’re blind, but you wouldn’t know for sure since you won’t give yourself enough time to inspect them.

Something brushes your arm when the tunnel narrows, causing you to gasp and jerk embarrassingly only to realize that it was just soft moss. You give a sheepish look to Jimin when he turns to you. “Sorry, I’m a little jumpy.” So far, you haven’t encountered anything of noteworthy danger and you’re almost halfway through the log, and you start to think that maybe you were just being paranoid.

As you move along, the wood gets denser and the pathways become smaller, only allowing one person at a time. Laila’s wings are still visible due to the waning light, but you’ll have to fly faster if you want to keep an eye on them, so Jimin flies ahead of you since he’s generally faster and better at flying than you. Reluctantly, you release his hand and follow close behind, blind to what lies in front of you and solely relying on him to guide you forward.

“You okay?” He asks quietly, unable to turn and look at you.

“Yeah, keep going.” Is your quiet response, trailing right on his heels. “Can you still see them?”

“Just barely. Let’s try to go a little faster, I don’t think our wings will last too much longer.” Jimin can sense how his body seems to feel heavier on his wings. The transparent material of them is getting thinner and he isn’t sure how much longer they’ll be able to hold him up before they become unusable.

“Okay, I can keep up.” Picking up the pace, you start to feel less weary of the life around you. Nothing seems interested in your presence as you float by and that’s exactly how you like it.

The path opens up into a hollow section, allowing you more space, and you shift to the left of Jimin in order to see around him briefly. You intended to catch a glimpse of your guides, laser focusing your eyes in front of you so intensely that your surroundings are forgotten. Jimin remains in your peripheral as you squint through the darkness, but in an instant, he zips by and leaves you behind. Confused, you turn around to see if you got snagged on something and find yourself losing your balance and landing on something sticky. Long threads form a net around you and it dawns on you that they are the cause of your immobility— so naturally, you try to shake free from them, only to find that the more you struggle, the more parts of you become stuck. You barely have any time to process what this could possibly mean before several long legs emerge from the corner of your eye.

“It looks like there’s light up ahead. We’re almost out, (Y/n)!” Jimin smiles in relief, eyes still watching for the pair of wings that flutter several centimeters ahead. But when you don’t respond, his eyebrows crease. “(Y/n)?” Before he can even turn around, a blood curdling scream rips through his ears, the voice sounding alarmingly similar to yours. He spins around and immediately notices that you are no longer right behind him. How long have you been gone?! He races backwards toward the source of the scream, fear and worry bubbling in his chest with every second it takes to reach you as you let out another deafening scream.

The first thing he sees is the underside of an enormous body with 8 hairy legs protruding menacingly from its center. They splay out methodically to walk the thin cords beneath it with the expertise of a tight rope walker, graceful, long, and elegant in the most wretched way. Next, he spots you, placed in the center of its legs, completely caged in and frozen by the sheer size of the arachnid above you and shaking in terror. Jimin’s eyes drag up to find 8 odd black orbs locked on yours, sitting just above open jaws aimed directly at you. Before he can even stop himself, he’s calling out your name.

“(Y/n)!” It’s more of a reaction of surprise, but it catches the attention of the spider, who looks up from its prey with glazed eyes. But he is not the one that’s caught in its web, so it quickly returns its interest to you.

“Jimin?!” You cry out with an unsteady voice.

“I’m here, baby! Just stay calm.”

“How?!” You can’t see him because of how your back is facing his direction, but you can hear how panicked he sounds. He knows that spiders are your weakness. You suffer from mild arachnophobia and he’s sure that encountering a spider that is many times larger than you and moments away from eating you is intensifying that fear unimaginably. He has to think fast.

The first thing he can think of is to distract it, so he breaks off a piece of wood and taps it to the web, sending vibrations that catch the attention of the previously uninterested insect. It glances over with curiosity before making its way to the other side of the web to inspect the swinging wood chip that is now attached to the threads on one end. Taking this opportunity, Jimin runs over to you and pulls out his knife, praying to everything that it is holy that it really can cut anything. If this fails, he doesn’t know what he’ll do. He tries to break one of the threads with a quick slice, but when he brings the knife down, it promptly bounces off as though he had hit a steel wire, instead sending more vibrations that bring the spider back over to you. It hisses loudly, likely upset that he’s trying to steal its dinner, and it lunges at him with its fangs, barely missing him through the web. He falls backwards, but catches himself with his wings unsteadily.

He tries the same method again and again, shaking the already stuck stick to lure the spider over, then swinging his blade at the thick bindings that refuse to release you, to no avail.

“It’s not working! And I don’t have enough time to break the web because of the spider!” He’s clearly distressed, using all his force to push down and break the web that has the integrity of metal. Spider webs break easily to a human, but it’s an entirely different monster when you’re this small. This knife, this stupid knife that cost him an entire bag of spores is doing absolutely nothing, and his frustration grows with each slice.

Wait, that’s it!

“Jimin, the spores! Do you still have them?” The words come out hurried and jumbled, but miraculously he understands.

“Yeah, why?” He looks up at you, but swiftly jumps out of the way when the spider returns. This time it won’t leave you, guarding your body from the intruder, repeatedly striking and hissing at him to leave. The wings that hold Jimin up are weakening, he has to hurry or he won’t be able to reach you from the ground.

“Throw them on the spider! Bayard said that one bag is enough to ‘knock out something 10x our size’, you can use it to buy time and cut me out!” As you’re explaining, Jimin reaches for the pouch in his pocket, opening it to look at the small particles piled up inside. He isn’t sure if it’ll work as well as you hope but he has to try, so with only a second of hesitation, he looks back up at the colossus on top of you.

“Hold your breath.” Once he hears you inhale, the bag of spores is flung straight into the face of the spider, some getting in its mouth, most of it landing on and around its head, caught in the hairs that line its body. Your eyes close as they float around you, but you can feel how the spider stumbles back in shock, trying to shake the particles from itself. Jimin immediately gets to work with the knife, trying a sawing approach this time with every bit of hope poured into his efforts. Thankfully, the string breaks with just 2 back and forth motions, loosening the integrity of the web just the slightest bit. He works fast, snapping each connection around you until you’re falling backwards into his arms and away from the staggering monster.

He grabs your arm and pulls you along as you attempt to gather yourself, flying as best you can with the few unbroken strands still stuck to your wings, but you won’t let that stop you now.

“We’re not gonna make it, our wings are-“ You try to say, but Jimin cuts you off.

“There’s light up ahead, we just have to make it there.” Fairy Dust has begun to fall from both of your wings, leaving a shimmering trail behind you as you push them to their limit. They can barely carry you an inch off the ground now, but that’s all you need as long as you make it to the light. But of course, it’s never that easy. As if on cue, the spider comes barreling through the log from behind, its eyes crossed and confused as it swerves up the sides of the tunnel in pursuit of you, its legs scraping the dead wood and causing crackling and falling pieces avalanching down.

You scream, pushing yourself even harder to escape your doom, ducking under protruding chunks and narrow openings desperately. You know the feeling when something’s chasing you and you feel like it’s just a step away at all times just teasing you, waiting to grab you, and you can swear you feel them breathing down your neck no matter how far back they are? Yeah, this is one of those situations. Except the spider actually is just a step away, and the only reason it hasn’t caught you yet is because of the spores in its lungs. It lunges forward aggressively, just barely missing you and grazing the side of your right arm— had its aim been any better, you surely would be dead. It hallucinates several versions of you flying before its eyes, your screams echoing off the walls and damaging its overwhelmed senses. It stumbles, using its front leg to reach for you and barely missing your side with the razor edge of its claws, a feature you hadn’t known existed until now. But the claws are very real and your torn shirt is proof.

The light that Jimin was talking about suddenly emerges, the dim starlight seeming as bright as the sun compared to the dark that engulfed you within this black wood, and for a moment, hope sparks in your chest. But your heart drops to your stomach when both of you suddenly fall to the floor, your wings finally giving out as they continue to disappear. You scramble to your feet and take the lead, glancing back at the spider that is squeezing his way through the tiny opening you and Jimin managed to slip through, spitting foul noises at you out of rage.

“Up here!” Shelf fungi line the walls, creating a convenient ladder up to the top of the log that you climb, finding strength you never knew you had to pull yourself up each one. Jimin is close behind, pushing at your feet when you struggle near the top, but his eyes widen at the sight of the spider with half of its body through the opening, its legs flailing and scratching to pull itself through. The mushrooms end just a body length from the ledge of the log, your freedom just fingertips away, but you can’t reach from your height and you don’t have the strength to pull yourself all the way up.

Jimin nudges you out of the way, the adrenaline pumping wildly through his veins allowing him to jump up and grab hold of the ledge and pull himself up, disappearing on the other side; and for a moment you fear that he’ll leave you here. You gasp when your eyes meet the dizzy ones of your pursuer, it’s body nearly free, and panic rises within you like never before.

“(Y/n)!” Jimin calls, and you look up to find his hands reaching down to grab you, his hair and the top of his forehead the only thing visible. Without wasting another second, you jump up and grab his hands, and with strained grunts, he helps pull you up to his level on the outside of that Hell. “Where do we go now?”

You’re high up, really high, and it’s a long way down without your wings. Honestly, you hadn’t thought this far, but now isn’t the time to stop and think, not when you hear the sound of splintering wood and hissing beneath you. Jimin follows as you run forward, looking to the end of the timber suspiciously.

“(Y/n), what’s your plan here?!” The edge is nearing alarmingly fast and it looks to him like you intend to run right off the side. He wishes he could say that he was thinking of a plan too, but his mind becomes blank with terror the moment the spider re-emerges from the opening. It takes a few seconds to find you before chasing, its speed significantly slower now thanks to the spores, but it is enough to drive you forward with no hope of turning back. Leaving the only option to jump off the side. But you couldn’t be thinking that, there’s no way, because from this height you’d both break your legs from the landing, at best.

“Do you trust me?” You ask, your eyes determined. You can’t be thinking what he thinks you are. But despite his worries, he answers without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” You pull out the whistle stored away in your pocket and blow, the noise barely audible over the bustle of the night. You blow into it again, this time longer, but nothing happens and the ledge is right in front of you. The skies are empty, few bugs crossing your paths as you come to a stop and look around, the creaking wood below your feet mocking you as you stand still. “Are you sure you trust me?” Jimin nods. “We need to jump.”

“Jump?!” He’s not sure he heard you right. But then again, what choice does he have? The spider seems drunk behind you, clumsily galloping toward you with eyes that look through you, and if it doesn’t eat you it’ll surely smack directly into you and push you off the cliff, spelling your doom either way. Jimin watches as you blow the whistle again and step closer to the edge, looking down at the drop with that determined look he’s seen so many times. You’re serious. But you haven’t been wrong yet, so with a deep breath, he steps up next to you. “I trust you.”

He doesn’t say this with a tone that holds doubt, it's a definitive statement. And that makes you smile. Even if you are leading him to your deaths, you know Jimin has his full faith in you, so you take his hand and pray that this works. On your count, you both jump, your lips on the whistle that you continue to blow. As air rushes past your face, you squeeze Jimin’s hand and search your surroundings during the slowest, most uncertain seconds of your life.

Suddenly, a flash of green and red appears with lightning speed and before you know it, you’re landing on the hard back of the creature with a force strong enough to drop her a couple of inches and rip your hand out of Jimin’s. He lands straight in the center of Garnet’s back, but you skid off the side, grabbing at the smooth surface of her body helplessly. But Jimin has quick reflexes and latches onto your arm, using his strength for the second time to pull you onto Garnet’s back. You secure your arms around him tightly as he holds the reins and tells her to take you to Alva and Laila, who are probably already out of the log and waiting for you. Hopefully she can understand what he’s asked. Looking up, you catch sight of the spider just as it careens off the edge of the wood, following you blindly with now uncontrolled limbs and foggy eyes, it’s body narrowly missing you as it falls all the way to the ground, crumpled into an unconscious heap. That uneasy feeling in your stomach almost immediately subsides, and you tighten your arms around your boyfriend with a sigh of relief, burying your face in his shoulder and breathing in his scent to calm your pounding heart.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?” His worry is heavy and it warms you.

“I’m fine, just a little shaken up.” It’s probably just the shock, but you feel oddly at ease. You know that later— maybe tomorrow— you’ll be freaking out about your worst nightmare nearly coming true if it weren’t for Jimin. “Thank you for saving me.”

Your surroundings are serene, the night air warm and soothing. The landscape is pretty from this perspective. Full of hidden terrors and thrills, everything looking so peaceful despite you nearly losing your life moments ago.

“I said I would protect you.” He smiles cockily, and you giggle into his shirt. “But seriously, you did most of the work. We make a great team; let’s keep working together.” If Jimin was being honest, he doesn’t think he’d be able to save you if it wasn’t for your quick wit. His brain is no good in times of trial, he freezes up mentally, and though he jumps into action without a second thought, he rarely has the capacity to come up with an effective plan. You are certainly the brains of the operation, and the more he thinks about it, the more attractive your intelligence becomes. He wouldn’t want to be in this situation with anyone else in the world, and he means that with his whole heart.

When Garnet lands, Laila runs over to you, helping you and Jimin off her back with care and concern. She looks you over, gasping at the tear in your shirt. “What happened?! You disappeared toward the end and we heard screams, but Alva said we couldn’t go back. I was so worried for you! Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

You explain what happened bashfully, feeling embarrassed that you were the one to screw up the plan, but neither of the fairies seem upset by it.

“We’re just glad you made it out alright.” Alva reassures in a rare moment of sentiment.  “Do you still have the Fairy Dust?”

Thankfully, the bag remains untouched and secure around your waist. You weren’t thinking about it during that near death experience, but you’re glad that it wasn’t lost in all the action. After Laila takes the time to physically examine you to make sure you actually weren’t hurt, they lead you ahead to the last leg of your journey.

Though they had talked at length about the stink bugs’ fortress, you were completely unprepared by the sheer number of bugs that were involved. You were forced to go the rest of the way on foot and had the chance to see the change in landscape that came as you neared the water. Where you would expect luscious plant growth you were instead met with hole riddled leaves and weeds, plants wilting with eaten roots, and scarred fruit littering the area, much different from the land closer to the meadow. Laila explains that these bugs are rapidly expanding their feeding grounds and will soon take over this side of the stream, and the thought sends a chill up your spine. But it isn’t until the water is in sight that you see the perpetrators of all this damage.

It’s almost like a swarm of bugs appears out of thin air once you cross a certain threshold, all of them crawling from under rocks and holes in the ground, flying up from plants where they were once hidden, and disgusted chills overcome you again at the sight of them. Jimin steps closer to you, putting an arm out in front of your body protectively when they form a wall in front of the 4 of you.

Laila steps forward, walking up to meet one bug that stands in the center of them all. She communicates with it for a few seconds, again amazing you with her lingual skills, and when she’s done, it turns away and flies in the opposite direction, leaving its army to stand guard. You don’t know what she said, or what is even happening right now as you seem to be standing in a stalemate, so you decide to ask.

“Was that the leader?” You whisper, as if speaking any louder would break the tension and prompt fighting with the soldiers ahead of you.

“No,” Alva answers, looking at her girlfriend’s back as she stands strong. “That’s only a messenger. I think she has asked to speak directly to the leader and the messenger agreed.”

“You think?” Jimin questions, tilting his head.

“Yeah, Alva, why don’t you know how to speak to bugs? Isn’t that a power you fairies have?” You join, blinking at her innocently.

“No it’s not some inherent power all fairies have, it’s a skill. A skill that I do not possess.”

“Well why not? I think it would be useful to learn.” You nod in agreement to Jimin’s words.

“Laila could probably teach you! Hey, babe, did you know they’re dating?” You ask excitedly, ignoring the winged woman to converse with your own significant other, but she cuts in quickly.

“This isn’t about me!” Her wings flick and you both stop talking, wordlessly returning your attention to the front where the bug returns with another creature in tow.

“Why the long look, Laila? Aren’t you glad to see me?” The voice of a man cuts through the air and you look up to find a thin fairy fluttering toward you, landing a few steps away from your comrade as she glares intensely at him. He’s colored brown similarly to the bugs he commands, but he is so twig-like that you could mistake him for a stick insect with wings. His features are as undefined as every other fairy you’ve encountered so far, but you can still tell he’s grinning by the way he opens his arms merrily.

“That’s their leader?” You whisper to your boyfriend, who looks on with the same shocked expression you wear.

“I have no desire to see your face.” Laila spits, shocking you even further. “You kidnapped Nissa, you do not deserve my kindness.”

“Is that so?” His arms drop to his sides. “Then, what brings you here, oh fair and beautiful warrior?” She visibly cringes at his words, Alva also wrinkling her face at his unwanted compliments.

“We’ve come to negotiate for our leader,” Alva speaks up, stepping closer to him to draw his attention. He scoffs, saying something about the two women not being allowed into his territory in order to negotiate, but she stands firm. “That is why we have brought ambassadors with us this time; surely, they are not banned as well?” His eyes then shift to yours, squinting at you and Jimin with a perplexed look. It’s probably the clothes that are throwing him off, you think.

“And what have they come to offer me? Will my sweet Laila finally trade herself in for her leader and become my bride?” A goofy smile crosses his lips, but it’s quickly wiped away with your next words.

“No, I will. I’ll become your bride in exchange for their leader.”

“What?” Jimin turns to you so fast that you think he’ll give himself whiplash, staring at you in disbelief. He must have heard you incorrectly, why would you say something like that? Placing his hands on your shoulders, he turns you to look at him, checking your face for any hints of a lie. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am serious, Jimin.” You say, looking back at his eyes. “If I offer myself to him, then Nissa will be free to go and there’s a chance for this place to be saved.”

“Yeah, but... we’re not even fairies. We don’t belong here. Why would you trade your own freedom for them?”

“Just because we aren’t one of them, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to help them. Their situation is hopeless without us, I can’t just sit here and let them suffer— not when I can do something about it.” It’s not that Jimin didn’t want to help them, it’s just that he’s not willing to give you up in exchange. And yes, all of your plans have worked so far, but this is going a little overboard.

“I want to help them too, but isn’t there another way?”

“This is the best way.” You say resolutely.

“But I can’t let you, (Y/n)! I can’t let you live with bugs for the rest of your life. Forget that, I can’t let you marry anyone else! I want to be the one you spend the rest of your life with— I love you! And I’m not willing to give you up for anything.” Your heart skips at his confession, your resolve wavering for a second. He’s never said anything like that to you before and it almost makes you dizzy with emotion. “I said I would keep you safe through all of this, and if we learned anything throughout this experience it’s that we need to work as a team, so it would be irresponsible of me to let you go through with this. Don’t forget, this is real life, no matter how surreal it seems, and you have a life to go back to after this.” His eyes are pleading, but you’ve already decided on this.

“You said you trusted me.” You say quietly, lip in a straight line.

“I do, but-“

“Do you trust me?” You ask again, his mouth left open with unspoken words. He takes a moment to answer, dropping his head.

“Yes.”

“Then trust that I know what I’m doing. We’re still a team, babe, I can’t do this without you. Go save their leader and trust that I’ll be okay. I have a feeling that everything will turn out well in the end.” Though his heart is hurting, Jimin let’s go of your shoulders, frowning deeply with conflicting emotions swimming in his eyes. For who?, he wants to ask, but he can’t say anything more.

“Now that I look at you, you are quite pretty.” The fairy walks up to you, bowing and kissing your hand. “Hello, I’m Hix. And you are?”

“(Y/n).” You reply simply, his lips feeling ticklish on your hand like when the wings were being attached to your back.

“And what are you, exactly?” He directs the question to both you and Jimin, but Laila answers.

“Humans. From a distant land.” Her arms are crossed and she’s still giving him the most disgusted look possible, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“I’ve never seen a human before... they must be rare. Esteemed much higher than a fairy leader.” Hix thinks aloud, a finger on his chin. After a few seconds of deliberation, he comes to the conclusion that this is a worthy trade. “Come with me. We can discuss this further once we’re inside.”

“What about him?” You point to Jimin and Hix pauses, raising an eyebrow.

“What about him?” He asks incredulously.

“He should come with us. He’s my... assistant.” You say slowly, hoping the excuse works. None of this matters if Jimin isn’t welcome in the fortress with you. Hix accepts with little thought, leading you away with a short farewell to your fairy accomplices, but Alva pulls Jimin aside as he passes her.

“Don’t worry, (Y/n)’s a smart girl and she can talk her way out of almost anything. She has a plan, just make sure you get Nissa out of there.” She leaves him with that as he follows you through the army of stink bugs, each of them dispersing once you reach the fortress.

His home is nothing to brag about, it doesn’t come close to the innovation and beauty of Laila and Alva’s place, but it is structurally sound and complex, so it has a few things going for it. It’s colors are of mud and dead plants, it’s foundations rooted in the bleak gray of smooth stones, and you find it to be quite depressing.

“Do you live here alone?” You ask. You can’t imagine staying in a place like this all by yourself. Maybe that’s why he’s so desperate to find a wife.

“Yes. I also built this place by myself, so it’s very personal.” The smile on his face is proud and your eyebrows scrunch in sympathy. He leads you two to a wide room before he remembers that Jimin is with you, turning abruptly to face him.

“You may leave us now, assistant.” He commands rudely, and you reach for Jimin’s hand just as he makes his exit.

“Here. Take this to her.” You whisper, slipping the bag of Fairy Dust to him discreetly. Of course, he’s reluctant to leave you alone with this strange fairy, but you seem confident so he’ll do his best for you. Since there is no one else around, not even guard bugs, he is free to roam the fortress, and he enters a hallway to begin the search for Nissa.

The building is much more complex than he expected. The hallways wind and most lead to dead ends, leaving him confused in a maze of empty, doorless rooms. Jimin finds that the fortress isn’t completely deserted, there were a few close calls with some bugs that were monitoring certain hallways, but after searching surrounding areas he comes to the conclusion that they must be guarding something important.

Maybe I can just walk past them? He thinks, biting his plush bottom lip as he spies on the occupied corridor from around the corner. He is a guest here after all. But what would he do if they questioned him, or worse, what if they attacked? Since he knows none of their language and he isn’t sure they can understand him, he goes with a stealth tactic.

Shimmying along the brown walls, Jimin moves as slowly as possible so as not to draw any attention to himself. There’s another turn up ahead, just before the entry way that the insects keep watch over, and the plan is to slip into it and cause a distraction in the opposite direction to get them to walk away. He thinks he’s seen that in a movie somewhere, but he’s praying it’ll work in real life. The halls are wide to accommodate the girth of the shelled backs of Hix’s soldiers and Jimin feels exposed, inching his way toward the opening and hoping they don’t spot him. Of course, the bugs are low to the ground, crawling around on all fours which would make his feet very easy to spot from their vantage point, but they appear to be talking with one another, their heads so small compared to their bodies that he can’t even see their mouths. They probably wouldn’t be able to do much if they did decide to attack, but he wouldn’t risk it to find out. He continues at his painstaking pace noiselessly, holding his breath to make 2 bold leaps into the opening, so close to them that the breeze from his motion causes them to look up.

They make a noise but make no attempts to investigate, and after a few silent seconds, Jimin throws out his distraction. The only thing he has on him is the whistle Laila gave him and the bag of Fairy Dust, so he fishes the small shiny tool out of his pocket and holds it in his palm, hoping dearly that he won’t need it in the future. He isn’t even sure Nissa is behind this door, so losing important items could be costly, but he has to trust himself. You’re counting on him after all. And you’d probably come up with a silly plan like this if you were in his situation too. He tries to have a little more faith. With 2 short deep breaths, Jimin gathers his courage and throws the whistle down the hall, snatching his head back behind the cover and closing his eyes when it clinks loudly against the dry walls. Now he’s caught—he’s sure— because they have to walk right past him to reach the noise and he tenses in preparation.

But miraculously, the plan works!

The pair of stink bugs crawl swiftly to the end of the corridor, giving him the perfect opportunity to slip into the now unguarded room. Upon entering, he sees what appears to be a normal bedroom, decorated nicely with windows that overlook the water and furniture that would make for comfortable living. But oddly, the room is unoccupied. Surely this would be where Hix would keep the fairy leader, unless this is his personal bedroom and he just has very feminine taste. But she’s nowhere to be found and disappointment curls around the pit of Jimin’s stomach. As a last effort, he calls out her name, wondering if she would be hiding somewhere.

“Nissa?” A few seconds go by and nothing happens, but just as he turns to leave, motion in the corner of the room startles him. Seeming to peel right from the wall itself is a figure, invisible at first glance, but slowly morphing into a distinguished body right before his eyes. Nissa changes color as she walks up to him, eying him suspiciously with every tentative step.

“Who are you?” Her voice is high but strong, her stance so intimidating that Jimin feels as though she were here to rescue him and not the other way around. She is most definitely a warrior.

“Uhm,” He clears his throat when his voice threatens to crack. “Alva and Laila sent me and my girlfriend here to help you escape. I-if you want to.”

She lets out a hearty laugh at that, her defensive posture slacking into something more relaxed and casual, and subconsciously Jimin’s body does the same. “I’ve been planning an escape for days, I can’t wait to get out of this place.” He wants to say something else, but instead he just stands awkwardly for a few seconds. Clearly, he isn’t as good with people as you are. “So, you’re human?”

“Yes.” He tilts his head at her and she grins.

“Laila must have done a pretty good job with the spell if you’re still in one piece.” His eyes widen as she walks past him, looking through the opening of the doorway.

“Why haven’t you escaped yet? The door’s wide open.” Actually there’s no door, but those are technicalities. He watches with interest as she presses her hand to the thin air, pulling it back sharply as though she had been shocked. But he’d just entered through there, there’s no way it could be sealed off.

“Hix sealed this room with magic. Don’t worry, though, it only works on fairies so you shouldn’t be affected by the barrier. My plan was to make the room look empty so he’d think I had already escaped, then to leave once he broke the barrier; but since you’re here I can use a different strategy.” Nissa turns to Jimin abruptly, her smooth features glowing brighter with an idea. “I need materials. Can you get them for me?”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Jimin gives her the bag of Fairy Dust that he had nearly forgotten about, and the relief on her face is clear once it’s in her possession. She thanks him, thinking quickly before nodding her head.

“Okay. I need a leaf and some wood. There should be a stash of leaves somewhere on the other side of this fortress and twigs scattered outside.” Just as Jimin goes to step out of the door, the guards return, stopping in front of the doorway without even glancing inside. He ducks behind the wall just to be sure, he and Nissa sharing a brief wide-eyed look. She grabs his wrist and wordlessly pulls him to the far side of the room, opening the bag of Fairy Dust he had just given her and pulling out a fist full. Jimin watches with fascination as she manipulates it between her hands, the consistency changing right before his eyes as she displays her mastery with the medium. Soon, it’s worked into a thin film and before he can react, she holds up her palms to him and blows into it like a bubble, the film stretching over his body from head to toe until he’s completely covered. Nissa pinches off the bubble, but it doesn’t pop. Instead, it tightens around him like a second skin, leaving him glistening and shiny with the odd texture of the material. “There.” She says proudly, grinning when he gives a ticklish shiver.

“What is this?” From what he can tell, nothing has changed except for the fact that he looks like he's wrapped in plastic.

“I just made you invisible. Now, you can leave without being noticed,” She explains, turning and pushing him toward the door. “They won’t be able to see what you’re holding when you’re like this, but they can still hear you, so be as quiet as possible. Now go, time is of the essence!”

Ever so carefully, Jimin steps out of the room and around the bugs. He presses himself to the wall, hoping that he doesn’t accidentally touch one of them or make a noise— he’s known to be pretty clumsy, so he needs to be extra careful. The hallways are fairly clear, he has an easy time making it to the other side of the fortress and gathering a leaf from what looks to be a break room of sorts. Next is the wood, and his plan is to slip outside, but just as he is passing by the large room that you’re in, he hears something curious.

“Ow!” You hiss, a scowl etched into your features as Hix prods you with a wooden staff. You appear to be frozen in place, your body unnaturally rigid, and telling by the shimmering quality of your clothes and skin, Hix probably cast some sort of spell on you.

“This is very interesting,” He hums, jabbing you in the back near your shoulder blades. “You look like you should have wings. They should be right here.” He drags the staff along your back, obviously perplexed. “Is this a genetic defect of some sort? You say you’re human?”

“Are you finished?” You ask impatiently, ignoring his questioning.

“I don’t entirely trust you yet. I need to make sure you aren’t just a fairy that’s trying to trick me to help Nissa escape. Even if you are who you say you are, there’s no guarantee that I’ll let her go. Surely I’ll gain some status if I have 2 wives. One who’s powerful and one that’s exotic.” He continues to circle you. Jimin fumes at that, ready to do something, but then you speak again.

“What’s your goal here?” You seem calm, and something tells him to wait.

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you doing this? Why did you suddenly decide to kidnap Nissa and invade this area?” Hix debates whether or not he should tell you this or not, but in the end, opens up. There’s just something about you that makes people do that.

“The fairies treated me so poorly here. I was an outcast and everyone always excluded me, barely even considering me a fairy just because I had a knack for destroying things. Do you know how it feels to be rejected by your own people? Well I’ll tell you: it sucks. Most bugs didn’t even want to socialize with me, having heard rumors from the fairies about me and not even giving me a chance. I was sad and lonely and spiteful, so I decided that I’ll become powerful and gain control over this side of the water and force everyone to pay attention to me!”

“Is that what you want? Attention?”

“Yes. I want everyone to acknowledge me and see that I’m not worthless. If I control the waterway, I control everything. And if I have the fairy leader at my side as my wife, there’s no way anyone can ignore me anymore. I won’t have to be lonely or outcast, pushed to the corner where I’m out of sight and out of mind. My friends on the other side of the stream helped me realize that if I want to be happy, I need to be at the top.” He says this thoughtfully, placing his poking stick to the side and coming to stand in front of you.

“But this won’t make you happy. Sure, you’ll be married and may be able to control this area, but really, all you’ll have is a wife that doesn’t love you and a land full of people that hate you. They all know you kidnapped Nissa so she isn’t really on your side, and that your minions are destroying this place. The type of attention you’re getting from this isn’t the kind you want, trust me. It’s only confirming their thoughts about you.” He narrows his eyes at you, clearly disliking your reasoning.

“Then what do you suggest I do?” As the two of you stand face to face, Jimin decides to take this chance to creep over and steal Hix’s wooden stick. That way he won’t be able to poke you anymore and will inadvertently be aiding in his captive’s escape. Jimin hadn’t planned on staying to listen to your conversation, but what you say next makes him pause.

“What you need is to find real love and passion. I have someone that I love with my whole heart and I’ve been so happy since I met him. He’s a person that makes me feel brave, that would protect me at all costs, that takes me on adventures outside of my comfort zone, and I’ve grown so much just from being around him. On top of that, he helped me find my passion for exploration and travel, and we’ve had so many new experiences together that I wouldn’t have even dreamed of with anyone else. That’s what you need. You need someone— a lover or a friend— that challenges you and makes you happy. All of this stuff is great, but it doesn’t mean anything to you. In fact, all it does is hurt the people involved, including yourself. You’re not a bad person, you just need to branch out and find yourself. Let all of this go and find what really brings you joy.”

Was what you said true? Did you really feel that way about him? Jimin feels like his heart is about to burst at your confession. Although it wasn’t meant for him to hear, that makes it that much more sincere. He told you he loved you a little while ago and you didn’t even react, but hearing you say this eases every worry he had. Now motivated more than ever to finish this ordeal and get back to normal life with you, he snatches up the stick and hurries back to Nissa as Hix thinks over your words, his resolve looking shaken.

“You’re back!” She says as he enters, looking at him as though she can see him. She removes the spell on him, the film around him disappearing with the flick of her hand. Swiftly, she takes the leaf and staff from Jimin, moving to a table to drop the contents onto a prepared pile of dust. “Hix’s staff? Nice choice.” She giggles inspecting the wood with satisfaction before coating the items in the powder. After less than a minute she produces her finished product, the new staff glowing brightly. “Hold this.”

She thrusts it into his hands, and to his surprise, it’s quite heavy compared to the almost weightless stick he brought to her. Nissa walks over to the barrier, hands covered in dust, and places them in the center. Her palms move over the barrier independently, as if searching for something, and after a few seconds, she returns to him to take the staff back with now clean hands. He watches in awe as spots of gold seemingly float in midair as if attached to glass and the fairy walks over wielding her tool, not hesitating for a second before thrusting the blunt edge into the gold spots. Sparkles radiate out along the doorway with every strike, her technique looking like a fencing player expertly brandishing her rapier, and as soon as the last spot is pierced, the barrier flashes once and dissipates into a plume of dust. The dust lands on the stink bugs underneath, both of them falling to the floor, and the woman simply steps over their sleeping bodies without batting an eyelash.

“Come on, let’s go!” She waves him over, snapping Jimin out of his stupor as he follows her into the hall. They make their way back to you cautiously, avoiding all enemies as they navigate through the fortress.

Meanwhile, you sit with Hix on one of the benches in the center of the large room, your backs facing the entrance. You didn’t mean for this to turn into a therapy session, but somehow you ended up listening to all of his problems and sympathizing with the struggles he’s faced leading up to this, trying to help resolve this conflict peacefully.

“If you have friends on the other side of the stream, why don’t you just move there and live with them?” You ask, eyebrows furrowed in pity. “You would have a better life where they already accept you, instead of trying to force others to see your worth here.”

After giving this some thought, Hix stares out of the window in front of you. The water passes lazily outside, the other side looking several times farther away than when you were normal sized. “Maybe you’re right... but I put so much time and effort into this plan, I can’t give it up so easily.”

“You can! I know it seems like a waste of time, but the damage hasn’t been done yet. Things aren’t set in stone, you can still change your path and redirect yourself in a better direction. You haven’t married Nissa yet and your stink bugs haven’t destroyed this area, but if you continue like this, you may end up doing something irreversible and regretting it. Walk away now and start over. People don’t get many chances to do that in life.”

“But-“ He shakes his head. “They’re never going to forgive me for what I’ve done. I kidnapped their leader and threatened our home!” His head drops to his hands, and you put a hand on his back.

“They might not ever be able to forgive you, and that’s okay. But what’s important is that you never forget and use this experience to better yourself as a fairy. Look back on who you are now and tell yourself that you’ll never make the same mistakes again. I believe in you, Hix. I know you aren’t bad, you’ve just had a hard life— and I know I can’t do anything to make up for that, but I truly wish you the best in the future.” Your smile brings him to lift his eyes to look at you.

He sighs, looking at your sparkling eyes. You seem passionate about this and he can’t understand why you care so much about this. About him. You aren’t even a fairy from here, yet you’ve shown him more compassion than anyone in his entire life. And for the first time, his heart thumps wildly in his chest with warmth.

Nissa and Jimin arrive at the doorway, both peeking their heads in to see what was happening. They see you talking with Hix, your backs facing them, but the fairy looks to be in some sort of turmoil next to you, his head in his hands, looking mildly distressed. Jimin moves to interrupt, but Nissa holds her hand out in front of him, whispering to keep watching before taking action.

“I’ve had a change of heart because of you. I think it would be best if I did move to the other side of the water, away from the creatures I hurt and oppressed here. You’ve opened my eyes, (Y/n). You truly are a beautiful soul inside and out.”

He looks up at you again before suddenly lunging at you and pulling you into a hug, but from another perspective it looks as though he’s grabbing you and pulling you to him against your will. Nissa and Jimin gasp as they see your eyes wet with tears, and as soon as one slips down your cheek, they jump into action.

“I’m sorry you were treated so badly here. I wish I was born a fairy so that I could be your friend and change how things were for you.” You mumble sadly into the embrace, to which he chuckles.

“Thank you for your empathy, but you do not mean that. You have another life to live. Go be happy with your lover and tell him that you love him everyda-“

THUNK!

Nissa storms over from her hiding place and swings her club down, landing squarely on the back of Hix’s head. A short scream falls from your lips when he goes limp, the noise echoing in the room as he falls out of your arms and off of the bench onto his face, laying flat on the floor. Jimin pulls you up and into his arms, replacing the space where your new friend had been without a second thought. Cradling you into his chest, he misses the horrified look you have on your face.

“Did he hurt you? Are you okay? Did he touch you or make you do anything against your will?” His eyes are worried and you almost don’t have it in your heart to be angry. Almost.

“What the hell are you doing?!” You shout, looking down at his body. “Oh my god, did you kill him?” Jimin holds you as you try to go over to Hix, but you rip out of his grasp to kneel down to your new friend.

“Of course I didn’t kill him, he still needs to face the consequences of his crimes. I just knocked him unconscious.” The fairy beside Jimin says nonchalantly, looking incredibly satisfied with the sight of him lying unconscious.

“Why? He just agreed to let us go and move to the other side of the water! We resolved this peacefully!” Your eyes are flames as you look at them, and Nissa’s mouth falls open.

“Wait, he what?!” Even Jimin looks surprised. Yes, you are the most charming and persuasive person he’s ever met, but did you really sweet talk a villain in such a short amount of time?

Before you can say anything, several stink bugs enter the room, the commotion causing them to check on their leader. Their tiny eyes land on you leaning over his limp body, Nissa with a club and Jimin standing suspiciously near the scene of the crime. You try to explain— as if they would even understand you— but the wings on their backs open up and they begin to charge toward you aggressively.

There’s little time to react as Jimin grabs hold of your wrist and pulls you up, dragging you along as he follows the fleeing fairy that dashes toward the exit. You have no choice but to run with them, looking behind you only to be met with the large armored bodies of your pursuers. They close in from the left, right, and from behind as you head toward the door, close to cutting off your exit. You and Jimin sprint past Nissa when she suddenly twists around to face them, and with one swing of her club, the bugs are pushed backwards, allowing the three of you to make your escape.

Fresh air slaps you in the face once you make it outside, the humidity and guilt feeling suffocating in your lungs. In your heart you know this isn’t right. You connected with Hix, you made so much progress with him, but in the end violence was still used to get your way despite that. Yes, you and Nissa escaped, but someone else was hurt in the process. If Hix decided to go back to his original plan, you wouldn’t blame him, but you still feel horrible about how things turned out. You suppose your gut feeling was wrong after all.

“Babe, we have to keep running or they’ll catch us!” Jimin breathes exasperatedly, your feet slowing down beneath you without you noticing. A swarm of guards are now flying in from all sides, there’s no way you’ll be able to get around them. But that doesn’t mean Nissa won’t try, the fairy flying up to smack down the insects in an attempt to clear a path. But she’s just one woman and it won’t be enough, and you can’t force yourself to keep going. Just then, Alva and Laila appear, joining their warrior leader in the battle, knocking down the bugs to help you advance forward, but by now, you’ve stopped running. “(Y/n)!” Jimin pleads, tugging on your arm, but you ignore him.

Looking around, all you can see is a mess of flailing bodies and Fairy Dust, warriors attacking each other for an irrelevant cause. The sounds of buzzing and grunts fills your ears at an unsettling volume. It’s pure chaos. You hoped to avoid this— a war where others get hurt instead of solving things diplomatically and sensibly. As the appointed “diplomat”, you supposed you failed if things had to come to this.

“Alva, Laila, Nissa! Please stop!” You shout at them when one falls to the ground roughly. “You don’t need to fight, Hix has changed! He was about to let us go, there’s no need to fight unnecessarily!” They barely spare you a glance, the three of them trying to push through the blockade.

“Then why are they attacking you?” Alva points out, ducking as one bug tries to tackle her.

“You really believe he’s changed?” The leader asks, strained.

“Yes, he has. I could tell just by looking at him, he was telling the truth.” Nissa looks unconvinced, scoffing at your response.

“Then you don’t know him like I do.” She clearly doesn’t trust what you say, so you turn to your boyfriend, hoping he’ll be more understanding. Jimin looks at you and into your eyes, reading your emotions as if they were written in ink. He knows from experience that you’re a great judge of character and that you’re seldom wrong about things like this, but at the same time, you’re talking about the person who has tormented this side of the stream so much that the fairies here needed to recruit the two of you for help. It’s hard to believe that you’d be able to change him so easily. Only a few seconds pass but he feels like he’s standing there for minutes debating on if he should take your side or not. But he trusts you— you need him to trust you— so he does.

“I believe you.” He says quietly, letting go of your arm, much to your relief. You’ve always been a pacifist, so he knows you’ll take this personally if anything bad happens to any of your comrades. He calls up to the others. “If she says he’s changed, then he has! Please, stop fighting.”

“How can you be so sure?” Laila questions, looking down at the two of you briefly.

“I know my girlfriend. (Y/n) wouldn’t lie about something like this.” As he speaks, nobody notices the male exiting the fortress with a throbbing head, looking out at all of the action in front of him. “Laila, Alva, you brought us here to help save your land, and it was (Y/n) who convinced me to help you do it. The least you could do is believe her and listen to what she has to say. She cares so deeply about this place after only being here for a short time, she would never do anything to hurt you. Just please stop attacking and listen. You don’t have to believe her right now but at least stop fighting.” Jimin isn’t nearly as eloquent with his words as you are, but you can’t help but smile at his short speech. It may not mean anything that he’s taking your side, but you appreciate the support nonetheless. And to your surprise, everyone does stop fighting soon after.

The stink bugs land in an orderly pattern, standing solidly like before as Hix approaches dizzily from behind. Your three friends land as well, glaring at the man who now holds his head with a sorrowful look on his face. Without seeing him, you step forward, prepared to explain all that you have learned. You tell them of how you listened to Hix (the first time anyone has ever done that) and found that he was just a misunderstood and lonely villain of their own creation. You spoke of how he simply wanted to be acknowledged, and how all of the creatures around did everything in their power to make sure he never received that acknowledgement by spreading untrue rumors about his character. Hix isn’t evil, you explained, he’s just desperate to be one of them, and if it took him going to such extreme measures for them to finally notice him and his struggles, then the problem lies with them and not him.

“So he won your pity? Good for him. But that still doesn’t excuse what he’s done.” Alva crosses her arms, followed by Nissa, Laila staying silent.

“Yes, I know.” He finally speaks up from behind you, looking dejected and apologetic when you snap your head around to look at him. Upon seeing him, Jimin steps in front of you out of instinct, not liking how physically close the two of you were before the escape. You trust Hix, but it is still his duty to make sure that you are safe. Your hand rests on his side, but you don’t push him out of the way, simply peeking out from behind his back to watch as the fairy speaks. “I know that what I have done is unforgivable, but this human has given me a lot of insight. Enough to change my heart.”

They scoff at him, but refrain from speaking at your sharp glare. Hix approaches you, but Jimin stands firm, holding his arms out to block him— something that surprises the mud colored fairy before you.

“It’s okay, Jimin.” You say, placing a gentle hand to his shoulder in reassurance. Hix looks on in awe as you stare into each other’s eyes, communicating in an unspoken language that makes your boyfriend slowly comply and allow you to step into the open. But he still makes sure you’re right at his side. He won’t let you out of his sight again.

“I see. So this “assistant” is your lover?” Hix grins in realization, donning sparkles in his eyes. You nod. “I’ve never... known love or kindness. But seeing you like this, and having experienced the kindness you showed to me— a complete stranger— makes me want to find it on my own. Away from here.” His fingers are soft when they touch your arm, color painting his cheeks. Nissa gapes at this, not having seen the man be so tender before. She’s only seen his bitterness or the mocking, teasing persona he used when addressing Laila, whom he’s long had a crush on. He turns to them, addressing the three that stare in shock. “No amount of apologies will undo the trouble I’ve caused, but I’m willing to take whatever punishment you all decide for me. I want you to know that I plan on moving to the other side of the water, where I was more welcome there than I ever was here, and I will never bother you again. Nissa, I’m sorry I kidnapped you.” He looks down sheepishly. “It was very childish of me to think that it would solve anything, and instead it just caused more conflict and fighting. You are completely justified in knocking me out. Let this lump on the back of my head be a reminder of my wrongdoings and keep me on the right path.”

You stifle a laugh at that, biting your lip to hide your smile.

Then, Hix turns to you once more, looking between you and Jimin’s faces. “You are very wise,” You blush at this, feeling the earnestness in his compliment. “You said earlier that this person is someone you love, correct?” He asks, pointing to Jimin, to which you nod shyly. “Well, he is very lucky to have someone like you: someone so sincere and caring. Never change.” His eyes find Jimin’s. “I don’t know much about love, but she thinks of you very fondly. Please treat her with all the delicacy in the world and never let her go.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that, blushing furiously at your confession coming from the wrong mouth. You try not to look mortified when he looks down at you, your cheeks shaded prettily as well and lifted into a soft smile. He doesn’t plan on letting you go any time soon, and this whole experience has made him want to hold on to you tighter than before.

“What should we do with him?” Nissa whispers to her companions, eyeing the remorseful male that comes to stand in front of her.

“You are our leader, I think you should decide.” Alva replies. An odd look crosses Nissa’s face then, one that almost mirrors her enemy’s as they look back at each other.

“I’m your leader...” She mutters thoughtfully before standing straight. “I’m no leader. I caused everything that’s happened, everything that Hix has done. The rumors that ruined his reputation: I started them. I... I didn’t realize that my words could have so much power— that as the leader of the meadow that I had the strength to destroy someone just by giving my misguided opinion of them. No, I never liked you Hix,” He rolls his eyes at that. “But I never meant to cause you such pain. You deserve to live a normal life, so as leader I will allow you to leave without punishment.” Shocked, he bows his head in thanks.

“How noble and humble of you to admit your faults.” Laila comments quietly, her cheery attitude returning.

“Furthermore,” Nissa continues. “I’m stepping down.”

“What?! You can’t do that!” Alva protests loudly, eyebrows shooting up as she leaves the ground just slightly in her surprise. Laila also seems shocked, but she grabs her lover’s arm and tells her to calm down and let her explain.

“A real leader doesn’t slander others mindlessly. They are diplomatic and generous with a perfect balance of modesty and fierceness. I believe Laila fits that description perfectly.” Everyone turns to her then, your eyes lighting up when they meet hers for the first time this entire night. “Laila, I name you the new leader of the meadow. We can officially title you in front of everyone in the morning.”

You all clap, Alva jumping on her in a tight hug, the taller fairy spinning her girlfriend around before setting her feet back to the ground. Jimin smiles at the adorable display, his arm thoughtlessly wrapping around your waist and pulling you into his side. Your eyes are glued to him as he watches the happy couple. You’re happy he’s here with you through all of this. It’ll all feel like a crazy dream in the morning, but at least he’ll be there to recount all of your experiences with you.

“Since you’re giving up your position, whatdoya say we both start over across the water?” Hix interjects, wiggling his eyebrows at Nissa. “We could build a new place, find ourselves-“

“NO.” She cuts him off sharply, her wings twitching similarly to Alva’s.

“Well, then... I guess it’s time for me to go.” He says, pout on his lips, but it disappears when he turns to face the stream. In his eyes, you can see him envisioning his new future, the possibilities of having a new life where he doesn’t have to feel lonely and rejected anymore. You wish him the best, you truly do. He walks up to the water’s edge, dipping himself in safely and re-emerging looking clean. His real complexion is actually a dark leafy green, and you assume he colored himself brown to fit in with the stink bugs. He calls the creatures and they come flying up to him, all of them floating over the water together and dispersing into the wildlife there.

“I guess my gut feeling was right after all.” You tell Jimin, giving him a toothy grin. “Everything turned out just fine.”

You ride Garnet back to the meadow, yawning and resting your cheek on Jimin’s back for the entirety of the trip. It’s mostly silent, the breeze whistling lullabies into your ears and combing through your hair sweetly as you fly over the terrain. The spies are gone, you notice, the highly policed skies looking empty and calm. Many creatures have already started migrating closer to the water and you presume that Hix’s fortress won’t be standing for much longer once the insects get ahold of it, tearing it down to get to the bank of the water and restore their supply. You feel proud of you and Jimin for accomplishing your outlandish mission, and you whisper as much to him in the quietness of the night.

With one stop to visit and say your goodbyes to the friendly mushroom fairy, Bayard, you’re off to Nissa’s home, which you find out is right next to Alva and Laila’s.

“Alright,” She says, guiding you and Jimin inside her abode. “Time to make that reversal spell. If I can remember it.” She mutters the last part, causing your eyebrows to scrunch, but she waves you off when you question it.

“Thank you for helping us.” Laila walks up to you, meeting your gaze for the second time. She doesn’t seem as intimidated by you anymore, which is a relief. But her cheeks still flame the longer you hold eye contact. “We couldn’t have done this without you. Both of you.” Then she turns to Jimin. “Remember what we talked about. Never be embarrassed.”

You look between the two of them as he nods, neither saying anything more than that, but you’ll let them keep their secrets. She hugs both of you and then it’s Alva’s turn to say her last few words to you.

“Thank you both. I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to pull it off, but things turned out better than I could have hoped. Really, you two are lovely, come visit us again sometime if you can. Then you’ll get to see how beautiful the meadow is in times of peace.” She pulls you both into an awkward side hug that makes you giggle, her own cheeks pink and wings flicking when you tease her about it.

“Mm, I think this is it!” Nissa chimes, scooping the now blue Fairy Dust into a bag. “Are you two ready?” At your okay, they fly you back to your purple blanket, placing you in the center where you find other bugs inspecting the odd surface. “I guess I should say thanks as well. You didn’t have to save me, but I really appreciate that you did.” She bows her head at you, taking both you and Jimin’s hands in hers to show her gratitude.

A ticklish feeling overtakes your whole body when she sprinkles the blue dust onto you, but this time you don’t faint. You watch as the waving fairies become smaller and smaller, their figures disappearing until they are nearly microscopic to you. The blades of grass around the perimeter of your blanket shrink too, as well as the trees and fireflies surrounding you, all returning to normal proportions that take a minute for your mind to process.

“We’re finally normal again.” Jimin sighs, looking at his body and the area around you. It does feel better to know that your chances of being smashed by something are significantly lower now.

“Was that... real?” It feels fake, like a pipe dream, and when you check your phone you find that only an hour has passed since you first got there. “That can’t be right.” You blink a few times, both you and him staring at the time in confusion.

“Time must move slower when you’re that tiny.” He reasons, running a hand through his hair. You take the time to reorient yourself, gazing back up at the stars above you. They twinkle invitingly, their light feeling so much brighter after experiencing the darkness of the forest floor. You look over at Jimin to find that he’s already staring at you, looking as though he’s nervous about something.

“What?” You ask, eyes wide at the expression on his face. He takes a deep breath, your heart beating a thousand times faster.

“I...” Taking his lip between his teeth, he pauses to choose his words. “(Y/n), I love you.” Your heart flutters, and this time you let it. “I meant it when I said it earlier, I really do love you. I wanted tonight to be special so I brought you out here to a place that was special to me as a kid, and I wanted to confess to you here, but I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way. But I’m not afraid to say it anymore.” His hand finds yours, fitting perfectly like it was made to be there. “This whole experience made me realize how much I need you, and how terrified I am of losing you. I was so terrified that something bad would happen to you the entire time that I have a headache right now from all the stress!” You laugh, placing your free hand on the side of his face, fingertips grazing his temple. “But even though I was scared, you taught me how to be brave and step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to protect you, but somehow you ended up protecting yourself and saving the entire meadow with your amazing instincts (which is incredibly sexy, by the way), but now I feel like a useless sidekick. So, I guess the only thing I can offer a girl that has everything, is my heart. I don’t mind being your sidekick as long as I know you love me too.”

Jimin tends to ramble when he’s nervous, word vomiting everything that’s on his mind, but it’s one of his charms that you find absolutely adorable. You can’t help but smile at his confession, the dampness of his palms melting you. “Of course I feel the same way, Jimin. Hix kinda confessed for me, but I still want to say it myself. Park Jimin, I love everything about you. You might feel like you’re my sidekick tonight, but we’ve been on so many adventures before this where you were the one who led me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to find my own courage. Do you remember our first date?” He giggles at the memory with you, looking away with fondness. “It was around Halloween and you convinced me to go to one of those haunted trails with you after I said I’d never been to one. And you pulled me along every step of the way and held me close so I wouldn’t get lost or hurt myself because I had my eyes closed the entire time.” You let out an embarrassed chuckle. You really have changed a lot since meeting him. “I think that was the day that I realized I was in love with you. Or at least that I would fall in love with you. I’ve never felt so safe and comforted in anyone’s arms before, but when you held me, it felt like home. Every time we went on an adventure, you were always the one to reassure me and make sure I was okay; that’s the reason why I slowly began to open up to the world and realize my passion for exploration. I don’t think you realize just how much of who I am today is because of you, Jimin.”

“You don’t mean that..” He says, though his love for praise starts showing in the pleased look he has in his eyes. You decide to indulge in it.

“I do! I’m only able to be brave because I know that you’re there to protect me. You saved my life twice tonight! And thank you for having my back and helping me stop the fighting. I couldn’t have saved the day without you.” His hand wraps around the wrist of your hand that still rests on his face, both of you looking into each other’s eyes lovingly.

“Of course, babe, we’re a team. Let’s always stay together.” He leans in to softly press his lips to yours, and you stay in that gentle kiss under the stars for an indeterminate amount of time, lost in each other’s embrace. When you pull away, you see shapes being drawn into the air, Fairy Dust in the shape of hearts traced above your heads, and you smile at the antics of your friends, wondering if they were listening the whole time. It’s a beautiful display that warms your heart. “I think it’s time to head back to camp.” Jimin says softly when you yawn, standing before extending a hand to you and pulling you up against his chest.

As you bend down to pick up your belongings, you feel something hard in your pocket and reach inside to pull it out. An unnaturally shimmery whistle rests between your fingers, now grown to a proportionate size as it must have been caught in the spell as well. You meet eyes with Jimin as he folds up the blanket, raising his eyebrows at you to blow it, and when you do fireflies come swirling up from the grass, synchronized and brilliant as they put on a spectacle for you. You can’t help the giggle that bubbles from your throat as you watch them perform, spelling their thanks to you and your boyfriend before one comes to land in the center of your hand.

“Thank you, Garnet. We’ll come back to visit someday.” She flutters her wings and flashes her colors at you before taking off again into the night, her light blending in against the starry sky as Jimin takes your hand to begin the trek back to your campgrounds.

[script-a-world]

Got a question. I’ve been working on a story for many years now. I’ve recently realized that my world shares some similar world elements to an already existing and popular franchise (unintentional, I only just started watching it). This is okay, right? I still want to write it because I know it is different, but I’m concerned with people saying I’m ripping them off, not to mention issues getting published.

Constablewrites: What about your story is different to the other one? Being similar to a popular property can actually be a vital selling point (what the publishing industry refers to as a comp title). “Hunger Games but it’s in space” is a perfectly valid elevator pitch, and when you have more room to expand you can get further into the details that make it different. “Hunger Games but… well, mine is a graphic novel?” is gonna be a harder sell. So if you don’t currently have that clear departure from that other story, work on developing it.

Tex: To borrow from Constable’s example, the Hunger Games weren’t made in a vacuum, either (Wikipedia):

Collins has said that the inspiration for The Hunger Games came from channel surfing on television. On one channel she observed people competing on a reality show and on another she saw footage of the invasion of Iraq. The two "began to blur in this very unsettling way" and the idea for the book was formed.[2] The Greek myth of Theseus served as a major basis for the story, with Collins describing Katniss as a futuristic Theseus, and Roman gladiatorial games provided the framework. The sense of loss that Collins developed through her father's service in the Vietnam War was also an influence on the story, with Katniss having lost her father at age 11, five years before the story begins.[3]

The only authors I’ve seen blatantly saying that their stories are completely original are oblivious to the point of pretentiousness - in a lot of cases, it’s better to source your inspirations, because it allows publishers clear guidelines on your story’s marketability and in which niche to direct their efforts.

Publishing houses, if they’ve got enough experience, can use that crossover of themes and inspirational source material to help you edit your novel and do things like produce summaries and source artists for covers and other marketing material. So long as you know it’s different, you can probably find a way to defend your manuscript as such, and the right ears will hear the tune you’re selling them.

Delta: To continue the above example, The Hunger Games also bears a resemblance to Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, which predates it. Though I’m sure the cultural divide helps explain the lack of overlap, it does demonstrate that it is totally possible to have similar ideas and still be separate. Take the movies White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen as another example. I once described them as the same pitch, developed by two different directors. They are completely different in tone, theme, and many pertinent details, though the premises are functionally identical. Yet both were independent blockbuster movies.

If you’re worried about being influenced by another work, perhaps to your work’s detriment, I would recommend simply not consuming the existing work, but at the same time it’s important to read and watch as a creator yourself, to fine-tune your skill. So don’t be too afraid of consuming similar content; as long as you don’t intentionally plagiarize, I doubt you’d have anything to worry about.

Constablewrites: The “unintentionally duplicated movie” is very much A Thing in Hollywood, where very very similar movies come out within a year or so of each other, meaning the chances of one taking its ideas from the other are pretty slim. Pixar was a bit plagued by it in the early days, with A Bug’s Life/Antz or Finding Nemo/Shark Tale. (Also Monsters Inc/Ice Age, but no one noticed that those are the same plot.) Occasionally I’ll hear from agent/slush reader friends something like “There hasn’t been a carnival movie in ages so why do I have six of them on my desk wtf”. Some synchronicity is just to be expected.

Mirintala: I was in a writing class recently where the instructor talked about reading submissions for an anthology that had been an open call and they had gotten four or five stories with the same premise (I don't remember exactly but it was similar enough, like cannibal werewolves on a train. It happens pretty often. Collective unconscious just gets caught up on something maybe?

[frostbite-711]

More Than Just a Dream

AN: Hey guys, thought I’d share this story I started writing on Ao3. I am having a lot of fun writing it and have developed the story far beyond the origins seen in this chapter. I hope you enjoy and feel free to reblog if you did!

Chapter 1

She dreamt of a man with green scales and emerald eyes hidden within black irises. His calmingly deep voice sent shivers down her spine when he whispered seductively in her ears. A man who was unlike anything she’d seen her entire 280 years of life.

She knew he was just a figment of her imagination. Something given to her by the parasite in her head meant to seduce her, brought on by the use of the Ilithid powers granted by said parasite. She knew she should stop using them, but she couldn’t make herself do so, if only just to see the strange alien man in her dreams.

So after exhausting herself every day by using her strange powers in order to see the strange man, she was always disappointed to wake up with no more answers then she had the day before. When she would pull from her meditations she would see the same familiar sights of her camp she shared with the others in the same predicament as her.

Until one day she didn’t. Instead of open skies and lush wilderness around her, she saw walls made from what appeared to be metal although it wasn’t shaped like anything she’d ever seen before. The area she stood was in darkness. Where the hell am I? She wondered.

She stood to her feet and began to wander toward the light she saw. Once she emerged from the alley she froze, looking at hundreds of creatures which she didn’t recognize. Then she spotted one that was familiar to her: humans

“Excuse me,” she said, walking up to the nearest human and speaking in Common.

The human glanced at her, and gave her a face of confusion before moving on, not seeming to care. She stared after them and tried to get another’s attention.

They paused for a moment as she said, “Can you tell me where I am?”

“The Citadel, duh,” the human replied before rolling their eyes and walking on.

She blinked and tried to think. Citadel? That was a church wasn’t it. But who are all these people? What are they?

One thing she knew for certain is that this was not anywhere in the material plane. These creatures were too...alien. She watched the crowd for a moment, trying to figure out what she could until she was bumped into and a tall thin creature with big bug eyes which snapped out a “watch where you’re going”. Except something was off.

She understood the words a few minutes after they were spoken, but before she understood them there was a very different noise. She began to hear all sorts of tongues she didn’t recognize, slowly beginning to converge into a language she did know. Her head throbbed and she clutched at it, grunting in pain as the headache started to surface. A headache she was familiar with.

But I’m not even trying to-

/You’re not doing it, I am/ a voice suddenly echoed in her head. /Sleep, Nyralyn, and all will be well./

She cried out in pain, her ears ringing and the lights becoming blindingly bright. Her vision blurred before she succumbed to the voice in her head, falling to her knees as her world went black.

When she came too, she was in a new place, her eyes being blasted once more by the light from above, causing her head to ache. She grunted and sluggishly lifted a hand to try to block out the light.“She’s awake!” came a voice to her side, causing her to turn to try to find the source, blinking away the light.

She spotted a human racing out of the room wearing some sort of white coat. As they left, her gaze began to focus and she noticed there were more things made of metal and shaped like boxes. She pushed herself up, feeling cloth beneath her and realizing she was on some sort of bed.

She realized she wasn’t wearing the clothes she’d been wearing earlier, instead wearing some sort of gown that was open at the back.

As she continued to gaze around the room, she noticed glowing images on what appeared to be glass nearby. She was about to go over and touch them before the human returned along with a strange blue human woman? No, they weren’t human. They definitely weren’t drow, despite the coloring. She had strange tentacle things swooping off her head, looking almost like hair. Nyralyn had never seen anything like her before.“Hello, Ms…”

“Kolith. Nyralyn Kolith.”

The woman smiled. “Kolith, we have some questions for you if you wouldn’t mind answering.”

Nyra gave the woman a cautious look. This didn’t sound good. Then again, neither did her predicament. She was in an unfamiliar environment with weird creatures she’d never seen before. She assumed she’d somehow been transported to another plane of existence, one known one had heard of before. “Depends on the questions,” she said.

The woman nodded. “First off, in order to help you, we had to take a blood sample, we’ve never seen anyone like you before so we didn’t know how to treat you. We noticed that you have similarities to humans, but enough differences that you aren’t of the same race. So, what exactly are you?”

“I’m a drow...a dark elf.”

“Alright. What is your home planet?”

She frowned, confused by the word. /Faerûn/ came the echoey voice in her head. She stiffened at the voice, trying to figure out where it was coming from, realizing the people before her were patiently waiting for her to speak. She decided to trust the voice for now. “Faerûn.”

“Interesting. I’ve never heard of that planet. Could you tell me where it is?” the woman asked, suddenly holding up a handheld thing of glass with glowing images. The image shown before her looked like a giant circle made of light. She stared at it, not sure what it was.

“Um...I’m not sure where Faerûn is. I don’t really remember how I got here.”

“I see. What is it you last remember?”

“I remember….bright lights. Something about a Citadel? Then I passed out,” she said.

The woman nodded. “While you were out we also did a scan. We noticed something strange in your brain. We’re not sure if it’s a racial trait for you, or if it was some sort of anomaly. But it could cause strange side effects or even be fatal.” She swiped on the glass and showed Nyra an image.

Nyra stared at it, noting the natural curls of her brain -- she’d seen brains before, despite being a bit shocked it was an image of one. Then she spotted something that didn’t seem to fit. It covered part of her brain, almost as if shielding it. Her blood went cold and she knew that without a doubt it was the parasite in her mind. It didn’t look exactly like the one that had been put in her eye, but she could recognize parts of it.

Her breathing began to get ragged and she curled up, pushing her hands into her eyes. “No, no, no…” she muttered.

“I’m going to guess by your reaction that it’s not normal.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not.”

“And you’ve known about this for a while?”

She looked up from her hands and nodded, laughing wryly. “Where I come from, the only cure is death, or making a deal with a devil.”

While she sat there, she suddenly started to feel emotions of pity from the woman before her. She knew she wasn’t attempting to read the woman’s mind, but before she could help it, she slipped in. Flashes of memories from the woman sliding into her. Her name was Kali H’ryn, an Asari of about 361 years. A doctor with two loving daughters who had a Salarian father.

Then she flashed back to her own body and she groaned, clutching at the new memories now swirling in her head. Kali likewise looked a little dazed, but once she regained her composure, she looked at Nyra with both caution and intrigue.

“What did you just do?” the Asari asked, a little breathless.

“I...I don’t know. I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened.”

“It was almost like mind melding, but not exactly like it. Incredible. Is that an ability of your people?”

Nyra looked away, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn’t answer.

“I see...well, thank you for answering my questions. I assume you know that whatever is affecting your brain is spreading.”

She nodded.

“If you need any further help, please feel free to return. I don’t think we have anything else for you. Since you’re new here, do you have a place to stay?”

“Um...not yet, but I’m sure I can find something. I’m resourceful.”

Kali smiled and stood, shooing the human out. “I can tell.” She then walked over to the counter and picked a pile of clothing. “Your old outfit wasn’t hygienic and contained some possibly dangerous chemicals to some of the inhabitants here so we had to dispose of them. I’m sorry. But your other personal effects are in this drawer,” she said, opening said drawer to reveal the weapons Nyra had been wearing.

“Thanks…”

“Put those on and I’ll have someone help escort you from the hospital.” The asari paused before leaving. “If you would like, you could stay with me until you’re able to stand on your own two feet.”

“Oh….thank you,” Nyra replied and then waited for the Asari to leave before she began to dress. The new outfit was white and simple with a top and pants. She frowned. She didn’t like white, it tended to stain too quickly -- especially for what she did.

As she was slipping her blades and their sheathes on the belt of her current garments, she thought about what she’d gone through in the last few hours? She hadn’t dared ask the time. But she missed home. Hells, she missed Gale and the others. She’d hated the predicament that had brought them all together, but she’d enjoyed her time getting to know them. And now she was stuck in some other plane of existence with no way to return home. Were they even still alive? She didn’t know.

She sighed and shook herself, knowing it would be useless to dwell on it. With that thought in her mind, she decided to take the Asari up on her offer -- at least for now. Perhaps she could convince her to help her find some income. She could tell from the memories she’d received that she would need to have some sort of background, but her true history couldn’t be revealed. No one would understand. This was not a world of magic but of technology and science -- a concept she didn’t yet grasp.

Squaring her jaw, she headed out of the hospital room to first speak with Kali, and then see where the “wind” took her.

[grimmradiance]

The dreamers? 👀

Okay so here’s hoping there isn’t a secret character limit on ask responses because Hoo Boy, I Have Lost Control Of This Ask.

Monomon

A. realistic

Monomon is super hyperempathetic--that’s part of the reason the Foggy Canyon is the way it is.  She’s surrounded by other creatures that prefer to simply exist, who are fine with being left alone, but also don’t mind if she or that odd heavy bug she adopted gives them a little pat on the way past.  That’s also the reason Quirrel is so good with a nail--Monomon could channel the powers of lightning and/or explosions that other jelly creatures seem to have, but emotionally? imagine the toll.

B. not realistic but hilarious

She has NO sense of scale whatsoever. None.  Most bugs in Hallownest measure things against their height, since a bug’s shell is rigid and generally about the same length all the time, but since Monomon is 70% jelly by volume, she tends to measure herself like a cat or a mouse would, by the amount of space she needs to fit into places.  This makes Quirrel’s life...unusual, to say the least.  She gets stuck places sometimes.

C. heart-wrenching

If she’s hyperempathetic, imagine how she fucking feels about Quirrel and the Hollow Knight. I can’t even go off on a three paragraph rant on this one it just makes me HURT.  Quirrel being sent to the Howling Cliffs for No Thoughts Crystalline Memories Empty treatment was probably her best attempt at mercy.  God. I’m never gonna be over these sad fucking bugs.

D. it’s my canon and I choose what parts of it matter

Monomon is a very, very clever conversationalist.  She knows how to talk in just such a way that you feel like you’re being heard and understood, until you suddenly realized you’ve said something aloud you really shouldn’t, and Monomon says “don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.”

And then, of course, she tells Quirrel, because what is knowledge for if not to be shared?  The two of them could totally take down the structure of the White Palace if they were on the same page about how to go about it.

Herrah

A. realistic

This is more about Deepnest in general, but the Weavers prefer to be left to their own devices, and leave other groups of insects to theirs. I mean, look at the Weaverlings from the Weaver’s Song charm.  They’re the only companion charm that doesn’t actively target enemy bugs, they just sort of...wibble around.  And they’re a relic of the Weavers as they moved towards the heart of Deepnest.  The dangerous, heavily-trapped and hypervigilant Deepnest we see is a product of outside interference, presumably the Pale King being salty that the Weavers didn’t accept his rule.

B. not realistic but hilarious

Herrah didn’t just teach Hornet to be a persnickety little anarchist terror in the White Palace, oh no.  She tried to teach Quirrel to be a feral little gremlin too.  I mean, most of it didn’t stick, but she tried.

C. heart-wrenching

You know that one Tumblr post that’s basically “sorry, all the nice queers are gone, you killed them, so now it’s just us pissed-off cockroach motherfuckers left���?  That’s what happened to Deepnest.  What kind of peaceful or uninvolved society would need anything fucking like the Midwife or the Devouts? Well, they’re perfectly good to have around if peace is no longer an option.  Every once in a while I just lose it thinking about all the culture the Weavers probably had preserved through their tapestries, and how much of it must have gotten destroyed along the way.

Also bonus round for Sad And/Or Horrifying Implications regarding Hornet: most spiders lay hundreds or thousands of eggs at a time.  I don’t have the time to even START unpacking Hornet’s distinct lack of siblings (as in specifically not half-siblings).

D. it’s my canon and I choose what parts of it matter

slaps my little hands on the table.  Even as everything was going to shit, Vespa and Herrah were still good friends, and sent letters to each other over the Stagways.  She got to know a number of Vespa’s subjects very well, including the Hive Knight. Silksong better give us more lore on them.

Lurien

A. realistic

The Pale King loved having Lurien around because Lurien was half of TPK’s charisma.  TPK very much seems the type to get wound up in his own thoughts and image, constantly micromanaging it to get the best response from specific people. (Unrelated, but I think only the Hollow Knight knows what TPK is really like, since if TPK really did believe Hollow had no mind and no voice, why would he bother? People make that exact assumption all the time with disabled people anyways, I am sick of my peers realizing I have a disability and changing the way they act around me send tweet  This is a whole other post, maybe I’ll write it another time.)  So who better is there to have around than someone whose hobby and greatest skill is watching a situation and analyzing it?  Once the Dreamers were sealed, TPK’s public image was fucked, no doubt about it.

B. not realistic but hilarious

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned Autistic Lurien before but he is in my head, so branching off of my own experiences: this guy is the KING of Relatable Lapses Of Insight.  This man has drunk paint water before on accident.  This man has tried to sit on a stack of tablets and knocked himself over.  This man will spend three minutes explaining how light reflection works to try and convey the word he’s forgetting. (The word he’s forgetting is “mirror.”)  I care him so much.

C. heart-wrenching

I cannot overexaggerate how fucking brilliant of a meta-narrative choice the existence of Lurien’s butler is. I *cannot.*  I am perpetually in awe of how good Hollow Knight is with environmental storytelling, and how much material it leaves for people who love to dig way too far into things. 

Why do I bring this up here?  Lurien’s butler is a parallel to Hornet and Quirrel, who are, to Herrah and Monomon, their only concrete link to the present that isn’t at least partially painted over in the Pale King’s propaganda.  And he’s been Light-ridden for gods only know how long.  The popular fanon about Lurien having it bad for the Pale King always gets me thinking about this, because we have Lurien’s journal as our only source on him. A scarce few lines: his sleep is in service to King and kingdom.

I can’t help but wonder if Lurien chose those words especially deliberately, knowing they would be his last. “Though my gaze falls no longer on this city, I will act forever in its protection,” in a journal carefully hidden in a private building of the City of Tears.  Why hide something like that with so much care, unless there was something to be gleaned from it?  Well, whatever information we need to know about Lurien to contextualize anything outside of context clues and the King’s image of him would have been with someone who was loyal and trustworthy enough to watch over him. Someone who was loyal and trustworthy enough that that would be all that remained in their mind, even under the Light’s influence.

Basically, what I’m getting at here: I know for a fact there is something we don’t know about Lurien, and whatever that secret is, it died with his butler.

D. it’s my canon and I choose what parts of it matter

Lurien travels!  He is very good at making up academic or political excuses for it, but we all know why he’s really leaving the city: to paint.  He isn’t quite as skilled with natural features as the regular shapes you see in a city, but he enjoys himself so that’s what matters.

[rebelskylar]

Namgi in Heat (Hybrid!Yoongi x Hybrid!Namjoon x Reader)

Type: Headcannon

Genre: Smut

Pairing: Namjoon x Reader, Yoongi x Reader, Namjoon x Yoongi

Word Count: 2k +

A/N: Who wants some Daddy Joon and Yoongi oppa?

To the anon who requested a Hobi oneshot ages ago: idk if you’re even here anymore, I’m sooooo sorry, I’m definitely going to write it, please accept this till I do? 

·        You were not the type of person that commanded a lot of attention when you walked into a room. With your small stature and unassuming look, you could blend in quite easily in a crowd. Your h/c coloured hair cascaded down your shoulders in soft waves, making you seem even smaller than you were and your large e/c coloured eyes, despite being one of your best features, were not domineering enough for people to notice you. Simply put, you were a meek girl who was quite often overlooked in the grand scheme of things

·        At least, that was what you were hoping for

·        All of this changed when your two bulky testosterone filled alpha male hybrid boyfriends walked in behind you. There was no way in hell that anybody could not notice them. Their very presence brought about a horde of awestruck gazes, accompanied by a certain amount of fear, truth be told. You suppose this was not completely unaccounted for. You felt the same way when you first met them, but that’s a story for another time.

·        Kim Namjoon was a Wolf hybrid. As a human, he was a calm and collected guy but since his personality traits were also ruled by his animal side, his cunningness and passive aggressiveness were also quite noticeable. He stood at a good height of 6 feet and 2 inches, and even his now freshly coloured blonde hair (which you had insisted on) did not do much in the way of making him appear a bit softer. His tall, structure usually scared off people from the get-go. His usual attire consisted of a black leather jacket with his hair swept off his forehead in a perfect curl, and thick rimmed glasses

·        Min Yoongi was a good few inches shorter than Namjoon, but could, in no way, be overlooked. He was a Siberian husky hybrid with small ears peeking out from his head of fluffy black hair, but that was just about the only thing anybody could label as cute about him. He was more muscular than Namjoon was, and still taller than you (and most other people). Tattoos adorned one entire arm of his and extended all the way down to his torso, and the one that he was most proud of was the bold lettering of your name scrawled across his chest. He had a silver nose ring, and one instance of eye contact with him was enough for people to run for cover. Might be a little insensitive of you to say, but he was the kind of guy that people would cross the road to avoid.

·        You have no idea how you ended up with them.

·        Despite their appearances, what people failed to realize was that in reality, these two were actually just pure balls of fluff. They were sweet, caring, and highly appreciative of you. They were never rude or violent to anyone unless absolutely necessary, even though both their breeds had these tendencies. Namjoon’s favourite food was spaghetti, for God’s sake. Yoongi loved babies. If that wasn’t enough to convince someone, you don’t what would be.

·        The only way they had ever displayed their anger was sulking around the house, or giving you large sad puppy eyes until you caved in and finally bought them whatever junk they were craving (or spaghetti, in Namjoon ‘s case). After that, they would huddle around you all night and nuzzle against your neck to show their appreciation. You couldn’t have wished for sweeter hybrids.

·        *coughs* Their heats, however, were a different story altogether.

·        It was a Friday evening. You had just returned home from a tiring day at work and wanted nothing more than a warm bath and a cup of tea to lull you to sleep. The constant stupidity of your employees was beginning to bug you, and you don’t think you could have taken any more of it.

·        On stepping into the house, you were pleasantly surprised to find Jungkook on your couch, squeezed between your boyfriends, engaged in a heated video game. You almost cooed at how adorable the baby bunny hybrid looked between them, undoubtedly trying his best to beat them.

·        You announced your presence and before Namjoon and Yoongi even got to acknowledge you, Jungkook jumped out of the sofa and leaped over to hug you. He may have been timid around you at first, but now had no inhibitions whatsoever about barrelling to you and asking for cuddles. You were pretty sure he considered you one of his most favourite human beings on the planet (aside from Jimin, of course). Your boyfriends didn’t mind him most of the time, usually not too swayed when he cuddled with you and practically had his chin on your head half the time when he was with you, so you didn’t hesitate to envelop him in a hug and fluff his hair affectionately. You didn’t even flinch when he nosed his way into your neck, used to the habits of hybrids by now.

·        That was, until a loud growl  ripped from Yoongi’s throat.

·        Jungkook and you froze, slowly turning your heads to look at the source of the sound. You were a bit confused, he had never done that before. “Do you smell her?”, he asked. You opened your mouth to ask him what he was talking about, but then realized that his question was directed to Namjoon.

·        “Yes”, Namjoon replied, his voice just as low and hoarse as Yoongi’s. “Do you think Jungkook’s doing it on purpose?”. His eyes were trained on the male in question, who by now had his ears flattened to the back of his head.

·        “No, of course not”, Yoongi replied. “I don’t think he can smell her. And even if could, it wouldn’t matter. He’s mated to Jimin.”

·        “Guys.” You had finally mustered up the courage to speak. Both Namjoon and Yoongi turned to look at you, their eyes dark. “What is going on? Why are you growling at Kookie?”

·        Your question was met with silence for a while, until finally, Namjoon decided to speak up. “Jungkook, you need to leave. Call up Jimin and tell him to pick you up, but for now, lock yourself in Yoongi’s room. Don’t come out. Y/N’s ovulating, and we have some…stuff to do.”

·        Jungkook’s cheeks turn pink at his words. “He doesn’t have to lock himself in the room”, you say. “This has happened before. I’m pretty sure you can control yourselves until Jimin comes over, right?”

·        “No, Y/N.”, Yoongi says. “What hasn’t happened before, is your ovulation period and both of our heats falling in the same period. We know Jungkook is mated with Jimin, but we can’t stand the presence of another male, and we’re barely controlling ourselves right now. I personally want nothing else but to rip his head off.”

·        Jungkook lets go of you at Yoongi’s statement and quickly situates himself next to  the front door. “Y/N”, he squeaks. “I’ll go wait outside for Jimin. He’ll hardly take any time to come here. Bye.” He’s gone before you can blink, and you slowly turn to face your boyfriends.

·        Yoongi is gripping the couch so hard you’re pretty sure he’s ripped it. “Namjoon”, he says. “Can I please go first?”

·        “Go ahead. You have really bad self control.”, Namjoon snickers.  

·        “I would have argued, but I’m way too gone right now.”,says Yoongi. “ Y/N, sweetheart, won’t you come here and sit on your oppa’s lap?”

·        You gulp at his sugary sweet tone, and slowly make your way over to them. They’re looking at you like you’re their prey, eyes following each small movement right up until you reach them. You quickly situate yourself on Yoongi’s lap, and let him sniff your neck and lap at it. It doesn’t take too much for you to start feeling aroused, and you start panting as his ministrations at your neck start getting heavier. His hands leave your back to roughly rip open the top few buttons of your blouse, taking your bra with them. He wastes no time in cupping both of your tits as he starts suckling on a particular spot on your neck, and you can literally feel the slick flowing out of you.

·        You gasp when you feel another set of cold hands brushing up your thighs. They slip your panties off your legs and you can’t help but moan at the sight of Namjoon holding them up to his nose and breathing in deeply. “Sorry baby”, Namjoon grins, “Daddy needed something to help him get by.”

·        Yoongi’s mouth has moved to your boobs, and his hands are now pulling up your skirt to claw at your ass. He grunts as he involuntarily ruts himself against you, and you whine as you feel the material of his jeans stimulating your clit. Your juices are soaking his pants, and he just loves how good you smell.  

·        You start humping him in earnest, and that’s when he knows he needs to be inside of you, now. He quickly picks you up, only to set you down on the floor on your back, and pauses momentarily to zip down his jeans and pull himself out. He’s so thick that you can already feel your mouth water. He glides his cock across your folds, gathering all your slick and spreading it across his head. A whimper leaves you.  You can’t wait for him to be inside you.

·        Just as he pops the head of his cock in, Namjoon pulls Yoongi back by his shoulder and stops him. You whine as you feel his girth leaving you, and Yoongi, just as confused as you, turns back to ask Namjoon what the hell he thinks he’s doing. “Don’t look at me like that”, Namjoon chuckles. “I have an idea. Why don’t you sit on the couch and fuck her, and I’ll sit on the floor and watch.”

·        Yoongi’s mouth curves into a smile. Without warning, he picks you up by your arms and takes you with him as he sits on the couch. Then he turns you around so that you are facing Namjoon. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as he pulls you onto his hips, pushing his cock into you without preparation.

·        “Fuck baby”, he groans. You swallow a moan. “I barely kissed you, and you’re so wet? So fucking wet for your oppa?”. His hands dig into your hips as he feels you trying to grind your pussy against him.” “Stop it, slut. Sit still and take it. “. It takes you everything not to pout at his sudden rough words. “Show Daddy your pussy.”

·        Namjoon looks in hunger as you spread your legs, exposing yourself to him. His tongue flicks out and licks his canines. He has already pulled his dick out of his pants and is stroking himself. “How does it look, Joon?”,asks Yoongi. “How does my cock look in her pussy?”. “It looks fucking delectable.”, Namjoon replies, leaning forward to lick a strip up from Yoongi”s dick to your folds. Your brain stops functioning as you feel his tongue on you. Yoongi jolts, loving the feeling against his balls.

·        Namjoon delves right back in, lapping at the place where you and Yoongi are joined. A blush creeps onto your cheeks as the squelching sound fills the room, but you can’t bring yourself to care. You keen as his nose brushes against your clit and start rutting yourself against Yoongi’s dick, unable to help it. Namjoon moves down to completely envelop Yoongi’s balls into his mouth, earning a grunt and a few curse words from the older man.

·        As soon as he starts bouncing you on his dick, Namjoon chooses to move upwards and start licking at your nipples. You bring your hands to his head, threading your fingers in his hair and pushing him closer to you, shuddering. When he has given your boobs equal attention, he goes  to kiss you. He shoves his tongue into your mouth, sucking hard on your tongue. Your hand wraps around his dick, pumping rapidly.

·        Yoongi grunts as his thrusts become more rapid. He pulls Namjoon’s mouth to his own, licking into it as his hand joins your own as he plays with the younger boy’s balls. Namjoon shivers and comes with a growl, covering your hands with his release. The image of both of your boyfriends kissing is enough for you too, and everything fades to white as you come.

·        Feeling you squeezing his cock, Yoongi groans, and he frantically thrusts into you, desperate for his own orgasm. You reach behind him with your hand to stroke his tail, and he makes an animalistic noise as his dick slips out of you and sprays cum over Namjoon’s chest.

·        All of you are panting by the time Yoongi’s done. Namjoon gently picks you up from the other male’s lap, and you slowly drift off to sleep in his arms as he carries you to the bedroom. You barely register Yoongi’s lips against your forehead as you fall into a deep slumber.

A/N: This is not edited. Lemme know if you’d like a part 2!

[orbitariums]

the best part | stark! reader

this was tricky for me to write but tbh i did my best :’) + this is like super melodramatic u are in for a WILD RIDE. i’m also still working on getting better at like, action scenes and stuff so be gentle!

TW; death and mentions of suicide, language, mentions of guns

requested by anon: hey! would you wanna write a tony stark x daughter reader where like tony didn't die and mysterio actually wants to get revenge on tony himself instead of poor spider boy :( and like beck ends up involving tony's daughter in it somehow?? just very angsty but fluff at the end,,,,i just love tony being a dad

     When you woke up, you were in a chair, tight coils that looked more like robotic spider legs than ropes tied around your body and hands. You jerked, not completely aware of your surroundings, and the fog in your brain not quite cleared yet. You had cloth over your mouth and your pointless screams were muffled. Looking around the deserted, dank room, you started to panic.

     Tears welled up in your eyes and you couldn't stop the whimpers from spilling out of your mouth while your mind started to race. Questions flashed by your mind: where were you? How did you get there? Who did this to you? But there was one thing that worried you the most — where was your dad?

     You knew in a situation like this, your father Tony Stark would tell you not to panic, tell you to stay calm and be aware of your surroundings despite how much you would want to freak out. So you tried to relax your muscles, but it was hard to seeing as your body was bound to the chair and you could barely move your limbs. You wanted to be strong for your dad, but the fact that you had no visible way of escape was stopping you from finding any source of strength in this situation.

     But suddenly someone appeared in front of you, a man who looked familiar. In fact, you realized, the same man who had taken you and brought you to this place, wherever it was. Your heartbeat was racing now and your breaths were deep heaves.

     "Relax," said the man, a sick smile spreading across his bearded face.

     He was approaching you, and once he was right in front of you, your feet thrashing to try and keep him away, he bent down, pulling down the fabric from your mouth. You looked at him, trying to take in all information you could about who he was, from his maroon cape to his tech-savvy armor suit. You were breathless and couldn't speak, and you weren't even sure of what to say in any case.

      "You seem distressed. Simmer down," the man continued to speak, but his words were anything but soothing. He pulled something out of his pocket - it was your phone. "Your password is your father's birthday, how adorable." He turned the phone screen over to you and dragged down the notification center where you read: (dad! (30 missed calls) and (dad! (21 text messages). "Tony's been very worried about you."

     You finally found the nerve to speak,

     "Leave my father out of this!"

     "It's a little too late for that, YN."

     You let out a bark-like sob,

    "Who are you? What the hell do you want?"

     "I'm Quentin Beck. You will call me Mysterio only. And what do I want? Easy. Your father made a mockery out of me. Only to claim my creation that he ridiculed as his own, while I became a laughingstock. Do you know what he put me through?"

You laughed bitterly,

     "My dad has nothing to do with your failure. People like you don't deserve half of the credit my father gets. My dad is a hero."

     "Or... was," Mysterio shrugged nonchalantly. Your mind failed to cognize his words fully, but the way your face paled was enough for him to know that you knew what he meant.

     "What?" you choked out, now genuinely fearing Mysterio had done something to your dad.

     He had a faux frown on his face and in a theatrically apologetic tone he said,

     "It isn't my place to tell you this... it'd be better to just show you."

     And before you could even garner a response, your body was tilting forward out of the chair as the room began to morph around you. You fell forward out of the chair and were bound towards the floor, all restraints gone from your body.

     You panicked, thrashing around on the floor, which was pitch black and showed no boundaries. And you were wet - the floor was like one big puddle. Your body was limp from being tied up for so long, and all you could do was thrash around on the floor. You turned around, but the chair was no longer behind you. Wherever you were, there was nothing - just a black abyss, like walking around on a TV screen when it was shut off (picture the void from stranger things.)

     You tried to call out, but your voice didn't even seem to come from your own lips - it was just an echo that ricocheted around the room.

     "Dad?" you called out, first worried but curious, now panicked. "Dad?!"

     You lugged yourself off of the floor, wanting to get out of here. Tony was nowhere to be seen and this place was giving you the creeps - it felt like there were bugs crawling all over your skin and into the seams of your clothes. You ran, trying to escape the nothingness, but as you looked ahead, there seemed to be no end, and when you looked back, it was just blackness winding behind you.

     And then you heard his voice, and you weren't even sure it was him. You had never heard your father sound so meek, so not like his typical, strong, arrogant self. Nothing like the man who read you bedtime stories when you were too scared to go to sleep because he kept showing you horror movies that you shouldn't have been watching as a kid, nothing like the man who taught you everything he knew "just in case", nothing like the man you were proud to call your father, Ironman or not.

     "YN!" he called out, and you ran towards the source of the sound, the tiny speck that was your dad growing bigger as you got closer to him.

     Finally you stood in front of him, a battered and bruised, weak man on his knees on the wet floor. Tears welled up in your eyes when you saw him and you bent down to be at his level, reaching for his face and cupping his paled cheek in your hand,

     "Dad? Dad, what's going on? Are you okay? Mysterio said... he made me think you were dead."

Your voice was frantic, and no matter how much you were trying to tell yourself to stay strong for your father, you couldn't mask the worry that was penetrating your voice.

     Tony gave you a weak smile, one that didn't reach his eyes, which were filled to the brim with pain and tears. You could feel his hand overlapping yours, and the true regret in his eyes. But still, he was smiling, as always.

His breath was shallow and his voice was quiet, lacking the brassy, loud and matter-of-fact quality that made him Tony Stark,

     "I don't have much time left." Just those words alone made you whimper, but he just grasped your hand harder. "Just remember, I'll always love you."

     You couldn't stop the hot tears from streaming down your face, red and flushed, as you tried to hold on to him, wished that you had healing powers so you could help him. But you felt so defenseless in the moment, with nothing to do to save him.

     "Dad..." your words got lost in a choke that rose up your throat. It seemed there was nothing to say.

     "Bye," he said, and his eyes began to glaze over, his tan skin gradually turning pale and white.

     But more than that, he started to disintegrate right in front of you. You were confused at first, trying to catch him in your arms before he faded away, but you realized quickly that you could do nothing. He disappeared right in your arms. You wanted to scream, but your words came out in the form of hysterical gasps, calling for your father over and over because you didn't want to accept that this was real.

     You stood up, turning around in circles, trying to find him again, thinking maybe he had just teleported elsewhere- you didn't want to accept the truth. But it seemed there was no time to grieve, because before you knew it, you were catapulting to another destination.

     Now you were in a room, this time one with boundaries, four walls around you. The entire room was glowing red with the color of ambulance sirens or emergency exit signs. You felt a wave of paranoia over your entire body like no other, and your whole body was enveloped in chills that gave you goosebumps. Your sight was blurred from the tears and so was your mind - what was happening? Where was your father, and where was Mysterio?

     Your hands grasped at your face, your nails clawing into your skin as if you were trying to rip it off. You were in distress, confused and all out of sorts - you hadn't even been given time to grieve. But rather than sadness or paranoia, anger took over all your senses and you screamed out, your knees buckling as you dropped to the floor.

     "Fuck you!" you screamed out. "Fuck!"

     You heard a laugh that seemed to come from nowhere, the sound of it surrounding you. You perked up to listen, knowing it was Mysterio.

     "The way I see it, you have two options."

     "Get me out of here, I wanna go home," you sobbed out, and everything you said became an incoherent mush of words. "I want my dad, I just want my dad."

     "Listen carefully, YN," Mysterio's voice became dark and distorted as he disregarded your screams. A gun materialized in front of you as he continued to speak. "You have two options. You can either die trying to escape The Red Room and be trapped in a collage of illusions forever, or you can die here and now, and know that you will see your father again in the afterlife."

     You looked down at the gun that was at your knees and then looked up, your face contorted and your eyebrows furrowed, although you knew good and well what Mysterio meant.

     "You know what it's there for," Mysterio said, another chuckle building up like a growl. "Or, you can die in pain, and never see Tony Stark, Mr. Great Big Hero, again. What's it gonna be..."

     You closed your eyes tightly and opened them again, telling yourself to wake up from this nightmare, but when you opened your eyes the gun was still in front of you, the red lights were still glowing around you. You were crying, not because you were sad, but because it seemed to be the only way you knew how to react.

     Your mind, the logical, rational mind you had before you got dragged into this mess, was screaming at you to stop, telling you that this wasn't what Tony would want for you and that you were better than this, telling you that you were just being manipulated. But it was like some invisible force was shutting down your rational mind, and at the moment you knew one thing only - you had to die. Your shaky hands reached for the gun, the metal cold and hard beneath your fingers which were burning hot.

     "Good choice. You should really consider yourself lucky, YN, not everyone gets to choose how they die."

     "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" you yelled, your shouts so gravelly and guttural that you knew you had lost your voice.

     "Woah, YN, little hostile there."

     You bought the gun into one hand and slowly, hesitantly, pressed it to your temples. A quick and easy death would be better than the other death Mysterio had promised. You weren't thinking at the moment, that was clear. All you knew was anger, grief, and hopelessness- you'd die if it meant you got to see your dad again.

     You could feel the cold barrel of the gun against your skin which was smeared with tears and sweat. Your eyes closed, hoping it would relieve the short pain you'd feel, relieve the exhaust.

     "Dad..." you whispered to yourself. "I love you."

     Your fingers pressed against the trigger, but before you could pull it, you heard a thudding behind you, an all too familiar sound. When you looked up, your dad was behind you, in full gear, as if he hadn't died in front of you minutes before.

     "Show yourself," he said, and you knew it was him, really him. Your mind wasn't playing tricks on you - you hadn't died already, and it was really your father. Which meant that whoever you had been talking to earlier, whoever you thought was your dad, hadn't really been him. You jumped up, your eyes widened.

     "Dad?"

     "Get back, YN!" Tony shouted, and before you knew it, you were being propelled forward.

     Everything was a blur, you sat crumpled up in the back and watched as your father took on Mysterio, who had materialized from thin air. You wanted to get up, wanted to fight, but you were too weak. And you were exhausted — this whole time you had been being deceived, your energy had been depleted. You felt like you were under the influence of a very strong drug that made you drowsy, your eyes fluttering closed as you lost consciousness.

     When you woke up, you were in your bed. But you hadn't realized this at first — at first you thought you were in another simulation, all the events of yesterday rushing back into your mind. You jerked in your bed, sitting up in a panic, a string of gibberish leaving your lips as you jumped up.

     "Shh, shh," you heard a soft, calming voice shushing you, and felt warm, strong hands on your shoulders pushing you back down so your head was back on your pillow.

     You were panting heavily as you turned to face Tony, who was sitting next to you on your bed.

     "Dad?" you squinted at him, then started looking around the room, realizing finally that you were in your bedroom and not in some void or dark abyss anymore. Your breaths slowed to their normal pace and you sighed in relief. But you turned to face him again, that glimmer of doubt still shining in your heart. "Are you real?"

Tony's eyes seemed to shine as he answered,

     "Honey, I'm as real as they get." He reached down to hold your hand. "Want me to prove it?"

You smiled hesitantly,

     "Yeah."

     "Mkay," Tony squeezed your hand. "In third grade, you brought a robot that we made together to school for show and tell and they had to cancel show and tell because you were quote-unquote bragging. In seventh grade you punched a boy in the face for bullying your friends and I took you out for ice cream afterwards. Ninth grade, you had your first boyfriend and you tried to keep it from us and you cried when we found out-"

     "Okay, enough," you mustered a laugh, feeling confident in the fact that this was real, that everything was over.

     "Are you sure? I can go on," Tony said, and you giggled, but suddenly felt a wave of sadness rush over you.

     Your mind hadn't been in the right place last night - you had let your mind be taken over, you had let yourself be defeated. Obviously, if you were in your right mind, you would've fought back harder. You wouldn't have picked up the gun. You knew you had made the wrong decisions last night and now you felt full of the deepest regret. 

Your eyes got watery as you remembered what you had been so close to doing had your father not interrupted,

     "I'm so sorry, I really am."

     "Don't apologize," Tony said, his tone short and almost cold. He pushed strands of your hair behind your ear and his warm, comforting hand caressing your cheek. "Mysterio is a master of manipulation. None of this was any of your fault... he wanted to get revenge on me, and he knew the best way to do that would be to get you involved. If there's one thing that's one hundred percent true, it's that you are the most important person in my life."

He kissed your forehead and continued speaking. This was probably the most serious you'd ever heard your father,

     "I mean that. I love you more than anything in this world. And I'm sorry I let things get that far, I should've known sooner, should've gotten there sooner."

You decided not to cry, and laughed instead,

     "You left me so many missed calls. I think that's the most 'dad' thing Tony Stark has ever done. And I love you too, dad."

     Tony laughed too, but you could see tears building in his eyes too. He leaned forward and wrapped you in a hug, and you stayed there for god knows how long. When you pulled apart, you had shed a tear, but your dad remained resilient and strong for you and didn't let his fear show. He had never been so scared in his life, had never felt so guilty - because of him, his daughter, his treasure, had almost lost her life.

But when he looked at you, it was as if nothing had happened. He was smiling, and that made you smile,

     "I'm ordering your favorite."

     "Lin's Noodles?" you asked hopefully.

     "Yup," Tony replied. "And I promise nothing like this will happen to you ever again."

     "It's not your fault, dad," you said, feeling sorry for him. "And it's okay, I'm here. You're here, we're fine."

     "It is my fault. And it's not okay," he said, shutting those ideas down immediately. You bit down on your lip. "But, you're here, and you're okay. And that's the best part."

And he reminded you of that everyday from that day on- so many great things had happened to him in this life, but you were the best part.

all i can say is 🥺 ! also, jake gyllenhaal stans, did y’all peep that donnie darko reference i slid in there ;) ;) hope u guys liked this <33 keep requesting imagines guysss

[maonoka]

“Time Slip”, a ‘MAO’ au

Sooo.... I had this dream... well, a couple dreams, that basically revolved around Heian-era Mao being the soft young man he is, and feisty Nanoka coming along and turning his world upside down. Turned out that scenario became an angsty semi-au, and this fic was born. I don’t plan on leaving it a oneshot - I would love to write more for this. It pains me, cuz it’s gonna get complicated, but I wanna continue this.

Series: MAO

Ratings: T

Pairings: eventual Mao/Nanoka (slooow-buuuuurn)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nanoka shivered, rubbing her bare arms and wishing she’d brought a cardigan with her uniform. It hadn’t been too cold in the modern era, but the moment she’d passed through the gate… well, the sudden burst of panic she'd felt at seeing the other side had left all practical thoughts behind. It was only early October back home, but the air here in the Taisho era was bitter cold. At least… she assumed it was still the Taisho era. Where once had been the rubble of Gougyou town was now empty, desolate farmland. Simple shacks and huts stood next to the gate, which had become a looming red shrine.

Fear had seized her, and at once she took off with a yell. “MAO!” Her white sneakers threw clouds of dust into the dry air as she hurried down the village’s dirt road. “Mao! Otoya!” Nanoka’s blood burned, her skin prickling as she felt her adrenaline pick up. The change was coming, and she welcomed it. Rice paddies and rows of crops sped by as wind whistled in her ears; the cold air didn’t bother her anymore, instead pushing her to run faster and further in her search for her friends. They had to be here. She wouldn’t accept that they weren’t! Whatever had happened to the gate, wherever it had taken her, she wouldn’t let it take them away.

Suddenly the crisp air became tinged with smoke, and Nanoka stumbled to a halt as she caught the smell of incense: this was no peasants fire. Hope bubbled up inside her, hope that perhaps her Onmyouji friend was working some spell to get this place back to normal, to make the gate work like it was supposed to… maybe even to find her. She took off at a steady pace, following the scent with her curse-enhanced senses, veering off the dirt road into thick trees speckled orange and red.

The sun traveled behind clouds high above her, but even behind its harsh white cover, she could tell it would be setting soon. She wished she had her phone, or even the clock on Mao’s clinic wall to tell her the time – but her bag had been dropped at the gate entrance, and the clinic and everything in it vanished. Wherever she was, she didn’t like the idea of being here after dark. Nanoka pressed forward, until the trees began to thin, and new forms began to rise above them: buildings. There were rooftops beyond the farthest trees. Old-fashioned, slanted wooden rafters in a classical mansion style. The closer Nanoka got, the more awed she felt. It was like seeing a samurai castle in its glory days, or stepping into the Tale of Genji. The smell of incense became more powerful, almost overwhelming, and Nanoka slowed her approach.

If this really was a mansion, then whoever maintained it should be able to tell her more about where she was and what had happened to Gougyou town. And if Mao was really the source of the smoke as she hoped… she’d have a thing or two to say to him, and then she’d probably have an embarrassing break down.

Nanoka followed the tendrils of white smoke through the trees surrounding the mansion complex; it spread out in all directions so that she could never really see the edge. But here someone had found the edge after all, and Nanoka crept forward until she spotted a figure seated on the ground outside the building compound, surrounded by candles, ropes, paper, and symbols drawn in the dirt. It was a young man, his broad shoulders stiff and straight and soft voice murmuring over the thin candles in the ground. He wore blue robes in the old Heian style… Nanoka pondered that they looked like the ones Mao had worn when he’d fought the flea-demon-nuns. This man wore his hair similar to Mao’s as well: a long ponytail at his nape – only his hair was jet black and tidy in comparison to the ragged doctor.

She continued to watch in silent fascination as the mysterious man worked various incantations over the materials he’d brought, winding the rope and folding the paper, until Nanoka began to realize he was only making simple wards. From all the smoke and magic she’d thought this would be some grand, miraculous summoning – but this was nothing more than a priest making good luck charms to keep away evil spirits. Nanoka couldn’t help it: she laughed. And suddenly the young man turned around.

The gasp that tore from her throat was painful. All that running in the cold autumn air had been fine – refreshing even! Seeing Mao’s eyes, so bright and young and free of the pain almost a thousand years had inflicted, staring back at her from a face free of scars knocked the wind from her lungs. It was him: unmistakably, undeniably, and yet… it wasn’t. This wasn’t the Mao she had met in the Taisho era as she ran from a giant Mantis, this wasn’t the Mao who had patched up her arm and told her she was an ayakashi. This wasn’t the Mao who had put blood on her cheek and sent crazed demon nuns after her, who had transformed into a beast before her very eyes… who had tried to save her child self, had sent a shikigami to protect her in the future, had asked her to stay with him, even if it was just as an assistant….

Mao continued to watch her shadowed form warily through the trees, and Nanoka swallowed hard. If her guess was correct, this Mao wouldn’t do any of that for another 900 years.

“What are you doing here, Ayakashi?”

She startled. Somewhere in her musings, she’d forgotten that this Mao was still a living, breathing human and not some phantom of the past. “Uh…” she’d also forgotten about the transformation brought by Byouki’s blood… and about Mao’s exorcist duties as an Onmyouji. She was in trouble now. “Look, I’m… I’m not really an ayakashi, okay?” she began, stepping out from the shadowy trees and clutching a hand to her chest. “I’m just a human who got cursed, and… uh…. Excuse me?”

Her explanation ground to a halt as this Heian-era Mao did something Nanoka had never seen her Mao do: he looked her up and down… and blushed a bright pink. Mao turned away slightly, a voluminous sleeve coming up to block his view of her, and a somewhat rushed version of his usual calm voice rang out “Forgive me, miss. I did not realize your state of undress. If you will wait here, I can fetch you something from the mansion. I… apologize, you must be cold as well. You should have a hot drink, as well as a meal.”

Nanoka stood motionless, unable to believe either her ears at his flustered tone or her eyes at his flushed face. The Mao she knew would never have reacted to her uniform like this or shown such concern for her being in a short skirt out in the cold. ‘Of course’, she thought sullenly, ‘I don’t actually know this Mao, do I? I guess a person really changes over 900 years. He’s acting more like Shiraha-kun would than an experienced doctor.’

Mao lowered his arm but refused to look at her, bending instead to gather his materials in preparation to leave. She hoped it would be to find food and clothing for her, but she had to remind herself they’d only met moments ago – he didn’t know her, and she was starting to think she might know him even less. Her mind grappled for something to hold onto, something to tie them together in this foreign place, and she said suddenly “I’m not feeling well.”

He paused in the motion of dousing the incense in the dirt, and very cautiously rose to look back at her. Nanoka gripped the hem of her skirt, biting her lip to hide a smile. That was an expression she recognized: the concern of a doctor for an ailing patient. “It’s this curse I have. Is there anyone here who could help me?”

He stared at her, his brown eyes searching and intense, but after a moment his shoulders slumped and he admitted “This place is not very welcoming of outsiders. I’m afraid you wouldn’t find much help. You see, it’s training grounds for Onmyouji. Demons, ayakashi… they’re not exactly welcome here unless it’s for target practice.” Nanoka saw the slight turn of his lip, and smiled, glad to see his dry humor had always been part of him. “Of course, the way of onmyoudo does include healing arts… it’s not practiced nearly enough as curses. A shame if you ask me.” He turned his head as if this was nothing more than a mild annoyance to him, but Nanoka was starting to see beyond the innocence of this younger Mao. She was starting to recognize a familiar soul, and that soul was crying to help others, not to hurt.

“But then…” she began tentatively, drawing his attention back to her and noticing amusedly how his eyes wandered to her bare legs, “you’ve been trained in those healing… whatever arts, right? You could help me, couldn’t you?” She could tell he was struggling not to respond ‘yes’ all at once, still torn by some code or rule to leave her stranded. Nanoka knew what would happen though, now that she’d said she needed the help. She’d seen it with clients who came to ‘Doctor Mao’ with everything from stomach bugs to murderous masters; this was part of who he was.

It was no surprise to her when he said softly “Yes, of course, I’ll help you the best I can. I warn you, I’m still in training, but there’s always somewhere to start. At the very least, you can warm up from this weather, Miss…”

“Nanoka” she replied quickly, taken aback by the gentleness in his voice and the fall of black bangs over his eyes. Perhaps it was the cold finally affecting her, but her cheeks were starting to feel warm, and her heart was beating fast.

“Nanoka-san” he replied with a slight bow. “I am Mao. It might be… a little improper, but you’re welcome to stay with me for a while, until I’ve had a chance to study your curse and perhaps find a cure for you. It’s dangerous for a human to be mistaken for a demon in these days.”

She nodded, her heart pounding in her chest as he said her name in that familiar voice, those words ‘stay with me’ echoing as though from a past life. ‘This is the past life’ she told herself harshly. ‘You can’t get involved here! This could ruin everything!’ Her thoughts abruptly shut off as Mao put down his tools and undid his blue suikan, draping it around Nanoka’s shoulders and folding it about her with some explanation about warmth that was lost amidst the drumming blood in her ears.

The last coherent thought she had as she followed Mao through the dim twilight, watching the cream-colored robes on his back as the two of them wove carefully around buildings to his room, was a sharp and panicked ‘I’m screwed.’

[deepwoundsandfadedscars]

okay let's go-- 'Songbird+ the Old Guard' for the ask thingy cause I know you're into that and after I watched the movie yesterday I can't get enough of that shit 👌👌

1100 words of half fic/half summation of an au? Sure, here ya go Mati, just for you <3

(like I say further down, I don’t know anything about the source material outside the movie, so maybe this is more something that could’ve actually happened, but I kinda hope it didn’t so I’m calling it an AU)

The Old Guard - Congratulations - Blue October, Imogen Heap

I want to give you something // I've been wanting to give to you for years // My heart

So this song is all about this guy who visits an old best friend, someone he really loved, and he discovers she is with another man and she is the happiest she’s ever been in her life and he wants to congratulate her on her happiness, but he hates that he can’t actually be happy for her cause he has loved her all this time.

And I hate to break up Nicky and Joe, but I also hate having to fabricate some romance that isn’t there for anyone else, so let's imagine Joe and Nicky didn’t get together right away (Or however long later it was, I think this movie was based on a comic book? I don’t know anything about these characters outside of what is presented in the movie and they didn’t explicitly say how long between killing each other *many* times and them falling in love was)

(continued under the read more)

So this is what I imagine: They don’t immediately fall in love. Or Nicky doesn’t anyways, Joe is smitten the moment Nicky’s helm gets knocked off during their *second* fight, their first fight having resulted in both of their deaths, neither of them know how but they woke up and returned to their own armies. During the night they dream of each other and Andy, and drowning with Quynh, and they’re both just traumatized by these dreams, confused by what it all means. 

During their second fight though, they don’t immediately recognize each other in the heat of battle. Not until Nicky’s helm goes flying moments before he wipes Joe’s feet out from under him and he’s staring up the sharp edge of the Italian soldiers blade pointing at his throat, knowing that face so familiar from his dreams. Then the blade pierces his throat and he dies for a second time. Nicky is gone and the field is quiet when he awakens.

They meet three more times, Nicky getting more and more exasperated every time Joe appears in front of him. Joe thinks Nicky is cute when he’s frustrated and teases him constantly. He’s seen others get hits on Nicky that should’ve killed him, and maybe they do cause sometimes he drops for a moment or two but this persistent little asshole keeps getting right back up, just like he does. So he keeps bugging him, pressing buttons to see what really makes him fly off the rails and meets him in the middle when Nicky has had enough of his bullshit and wants to shut him up. If Nicky kills Joe, Joe always makes sure he gets a killing blow in before he dies. And then oh so cheerfully greets Nicky on the battlefield later, to the Italians dismay.

Eventually they realize this isn’t going to end for either of them and the fourth time Nicky wakes up after killing Joe, Joe is sitting next to him lost in thought as he chews on some of his rations. Joe’s face cracks into that stupid grin that makes Nicky want to commit homicide for the umpteenth time, why does he look at him like that.

They talk and agree that it is a moot point for either of them to return to their armies, it was getting harder and harder to explain to everyone how they could still be alive, witnesses having seen either of them skewered through with a blade or thrown from a cliff that most certainly would’ve killed them. Maybe they should just disappear. Together? Joe hopefully asks. Fine. Nicky reluctantly agrees.

Joe is terrible at flirting. But Nicky is equally terrible at realizing he is being flirted with.

They become friends through circumstance, always together as they are, but Joe is still too nervous to make any actual advances. And then suddenly he’s too late, it’s ten years later and they’ve been in the same area for the past three and Nicky introduces Joe to his boyfriend? Before now Joe wasn’t even totally sure if Nicky liked men or if he liked anyone at all cause that just wasn’t something they talked about, Nicky never brought it up first and Joe had been too scared to ask first.

And Joe is kicking himself for delaying so long, he sees Nicky being so happy with this man, the happiest he’s ever been but Joe’s blood boils with jealousy. He wants Nicky to be happy, he really does. 

He leaves.

He tries to find Andy, this woman he still dreams of. He knows she’s looking for them and she’s been getting closer. He meets her in the middle and convinces her to travel with him and just leave Nicky be for now. He thinks maybe if she doesn’t meet Nicky, she’ll keep dreaming of him and can give Joe glimpses into what Nicky is up to.

She humors him for a bit but doesn’t offer information, only sharing what she dreams of when Joe asks. He stops asking after hearing “he’s happy” too many times. 

Nearly twenty years later Andy finally says they’re going to find Nicky. Joe is conflicted, dying to know why they’re looking for him now. 

They find him a long ways away from where Joe last saw him, not having aged a day since then. His boyfriend had died and without him Nicky had no reason to stay in that town where people questioned how he hadn’t aged in over twenty years, no new creases in his face, no grey hairs on his head, no body aches that came with age. His boyfriend had been the same apparent age as him when they met. When he died, he looked like he could’ve been Nicky’s father. He had left that town a year before, starting out on his journey to find Andy, through whom he occasionally caught glimpses of Joe.

Andy’s heart breaks for him, knowing the misery of falling in love with a mortal that would grow old and die. She had similarly learned not to grow so attached, not to stay for so long to see them age or for them to notice her lack of aging. 

So Nicky learns his lesson. And he grieves. And Joe is there for him. 

And eventually Joe gets to say everything he has ever wanted to say, decades of longing dripping from his lips as sweet as honey, his words building castles and visions of the future, infinity together. He gives him his heart.

And Nicky melts in his arms and they’re inseparable for centuries to come.

[askagamedev]

Lightning Mailbag: In The Bag

Questions with short answers, go!

Regarding your post about people using ideas from their past jobs- can that get potentially get someone into legally fraught territory?

You can copyright code, characters, likenesses, etc. but you cannot copyright a game mechanic. If the idea is mechanical and doesn’t use any of the prior company’s code, characters, likenesses, logos, etc. then you’re in the clear. This is why Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained are fine where they are from a legal perspective - they get close to the source material, but do not use any of the source material.

Thanks for answering my question about publishers switching to the Netflix model. And I realized I forgot to add my key question: Do you think they will ever go *fully* to the subscription model? Stop selling individual titles? e.g. you can't just watch Stranger Things, you gotta subscribe to Netflix.

Not in the immediate future since we’re still so heavily leveraged on sales, but the possibility is there if the subscription service gains massive popularity.

What do the A's in "AAA" stand for? 

Amazing Action Amalgamation.

Just kidding, actually AAA is not an acronym. It’s just an indicator of high quality (i.e. budget/production value), probably cribbed from credit rating companies (where AAA is the best rating).

As someone who enjoys playing N64 and Gamecube games in 2019 when everyone's gushing about the newest battle royale or AAAA game, I'm curious if there's a large fanbase of nostalgia gamers? It must be big enough to warrant Nintendo's SNES mini, but is it just a niche following or do many gamers share the sentiment?

There are enough retro gamers willing to spend $20 on remasters and remakes that publishers are willing to spend a few million on remasters and such and be confident that they’ll recoup their investment, but those same retro gamers aren’t consistently willing to spend more than that so publishers aren’t willing to commit larger budgets or more marketing for them.

Should I put my game jam games/prototypes in my portfolio?

Unless you’re an old veteran like me where you have a lot of shipped games already, absolutely.

With crunch time being a talking point again due to recent events I was wondering, what do designers do during crunch?

We do the exact same thing we do when we’re not crunching - script encounters, place enemies/spawners/points of interest, write quests, balance character abilities, create cinematics, write dialogue, create items, fix bugs, etc. We just do it for more hours each day while we’re crunching.

Back in the early days of FPS, enemies would "gib", I.E. explode into pieces, when they take enough damage. However, in almost every game enemies and players tend to stay in tact when they die even if you drop a massive amount of explosives on their face. Why hs gibbing fallen out of favor? Is it due to the number of physics calculations needed to be run for each individual piece of a person?

I don’t have a 100% verified answer, but I think it is this - The “realistic” shooter gained a lot of popularity, starting with WW2 games in the 2000s and then exploding everywhere once the first Modern Warfare conquered the world. Blowing enemies up into bloody chunks is not something that happens very often in reality (and would likely break immersion if it did so), so I think most FPS game designers leaned away from that. 

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The FANTa Project is currently on hiatus while I am crunching at work too busy.

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