#they apply to both days so I did them both teehee

[necromii]

✧✦ Clear &&. Dottore Graphics.

For Day 01 &&. 02 of @firstgf's event. A Character Who Is an Inorganic Lifeform &&. A Character You Love.

[temiizpalace]

☆┆TEND TO MY WOUNDS !

SUMMARY: red alert! he’s injured! it’s alright, for the prefect of ramshackle is here to save the day.

CHARACTERS: leona, jade, jamil, rook, idia

(i spun a wheel to try and write other characters.. jamil and leona just love me teehee)

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: the boys get injured, but nothing is life threatening. — cursing — MENTIONS OF BLEEDING (not fatal)

ROMANTIC, ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP

reader is g/n, reader is yuu

🦁┆LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

“shit! ow—“

leona groans, feeling the stinging pain of alcohol rubbed onto his forehead. spelldrive didn’t go as it usually did.

everything was normal. practice was going well, and everybody was doing the proper training regiments. it was all fun watching leona and everybody practice by a nearby tree. except leona wasn’t practicing this afternoon.

today, he felt like napping right beside you. he laid his head in your lap, sound asleep. this all goes south when some freshmen decide to mess around, sending the disc flying in your direction.

typically leona would’ve been able to divert it with magic, but feeling a little hazy from barely awakening, it hit him straight on the forehead.

now here you both are, present in the infirmary, leona sitting on the cot, and you being his own personal doctor. “i can’t believe the great leona kingscholar got hit by a spelldrive disc. it is truly an honor to witness it first hand.” you joke, causing him to roll his eyes.

“tch.. whatever— FUCK.” it’s funny to see leona in such a state. one where his tough guy act isn’t all the way up. you thought he’d brush off the pain like a man, but surprise! we learn something new everyday.

“haha.. wait here. i need to find bandages.” you walk over to the cabinet, only to find all the boxes of bandages empty. except for one. a bandaid box. you snicker at the sight of them and take a couple out of the box. leona raises a brow as he heard your giggling in the back til you made your way back towards him.

you stood in front of him and placed the bandaids on his forehead. he liked the close proximity. he likes being by your side. you caring for him like this is actually one of his deepest desires. he won’t ever say it aloud of course, but he hopes you take the hints.

“you are now officially cured.” you grin, finally applying the last bandaid. he stood up, looking you in the eyes. he wanted to thank you. wanted to thank you for helping him. wanted to thank you for caring enough about him to do this. to help him.

but leona being leona cannot say thank you. “..I don’t wanna owe you any favors so,” he pulls out his wallet from his pocket and throws it to you. you catch it, nearly dropping all the thaumarks inside on the floor. “go buy somethin’ while you’re at it.”

he ruffles your hair, walking out of the infirmary. you flip through the wallet, it barely closing due to the amount of cards and thaumarks inside. rich boy privileges go crazy. ruggie wasn’t kidding when he said leona was stinkin rich. all you could do was stand there, shocked.

leona walks back out to the field, hearing the team laugh as he approaches. he looks at them with a puzzled look, the laughing becoming unbearable. “oi, what’s so funny? mind tellin’?”

“cute bandaids ya got there, boss. shishishishi..” ruggie chuckles, looking at leona’s super cute and silly unicorn bandaids on his forehead. at first, he’s confused. then he rips a bandaid off and looks at the patterns.

start running <3

🐬┆JADE LEECH

“jade, stop moving!”

you sigh, trying to place a bandaid on jade’s cut. you wanted to help him cook today since mostro lounge has been extremely busy lately. azul had been working him to the bone, so he used his time off as a way to spend time with you.

only to end up back in the kitchen, but whatever. since you’re there, it’s all good. while chopping a mysterious vegetable, (it’s a mushroom..) he accidentally cut his finger. he wasn’t paying attention to where he was cutting. cause he was looking at you.

normally somebody would wince in pain, but jade is jade. so. “oh my, this is unexpected.” he says, as his blood gets on his gloves and contaminates the mushrooms. “oh my what— OH MY GOSH, JADE.” you yell, as he’s abnormally calm about the fact blood was all over the mushrooms.

so now he’s sitting at one of the barstools in mostro lounge as you try to patch up his finger. anytime the bandaid gets remotely close to the cut, he squirms and jerks his hand away. you can’t tell if he’s messing with you or if he’s just sensitive to touch because he still has his dumb polite smile.

“jade. stop. moving.” you grunt, trying to grab his wrist to hold his hand still. “fufu..” his stupid chuckle is usually very nice but it’s just growing irritating.

for some reason he still has the impulse to tease you. even when injured. all you want to do is care for him, so why is he making this so difficult?! is he waiting for something?

oh. that’s an idea.

“jade, may i see your hand?” you ask, putting the bandaid on the counter. he raises a brow, but complies nonetheless. “of course. do be gentle though, im wounded.” well no shit.

you held his hand gently, raising a finger up to your lips. you place a gentle kiss on his finger. not on the wound exactly, but near it. his eyes slightly widened and his cheeks tinted slightly red. he loses his composure for just a moment, giving you time to apply the bandaid onto his cut.

you smile in victory, standing up from your seat. “there, all better!” you winked at him before making your way back to the kitchen. he sat there, dumbfounded. how curious.. if that’s a way to get free kisses..

“oh dear, it appears i had just cut my lower lip. what a shame. it appears i am in need of some assistance.” this wasn’t even five minutes later.

🐍┆JAMIL VIPER

“you scream like a girl.”

you laugh as jamil looks away from you. he couldn’t bear to look you in the eyes. a little earlier, the both of you were sitting in the lounge of ramshackle as comfortable silence filled the air.

he was flipping through pages of a book while you leaned onto his shoulder, playing a game of some sort on your phone.

“..AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

that silence was interrupted as you heard a high pitched scream next to you, turning your head to see jamil absolutely mortified and panicked.

“JAMIL?! WHAT IS—“ then you spotted it. the wretched cockroach crawling on the table. he shut his book and threw it at the table, missing. now he’s grabbing all nearby objects to kill the insect.

“JAMIL PLEASE CALM DOWN, PLEASE! FUCK, JAMIL—” he ended up using his magic, but used a lil too much. as you held him back, his leg bumped against the table, causing him to scurry back to the couch.

confirming that the roach had cleared the premises, you sat next to him and checked the bump on his leg. his breaths were heavy and a sweat was across his brow. you would’ve thought he looked insanely attractive if it weren’t for the incident just before.

now he’s embarrassed, his hood is pulled over, and he’s pouting as he looks away from you. “i think you got a small cut, but it should be fine. i’ll go get some bandaids!” you hum, getting up from the cushions to find the box of bandages.

he completely humiliated himself in front of you. he was weak in front of you. and he hates that. “im back and here to repair your boo-boo.” you came back with the box, sitting back down and opening it. you remove a bandaid and slowly apply it til you hear him mutter something.

“sorry.”

“hm? sorry, couldn’t hear ya. mind speaking up for me?” you heard him perfectly fine. he irks before speaking up, his tone hinted with annoyance. “sorry.”

“all is forgiven, my love.” you smile, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him into a hug. he sighs, reciprocating the hug and leaning onto you. “please forget you saw that..” he mumbles, his face practically burning.

you chuckle, playing with loose strands of his hair as the both of you now lied on the couch. “no promises..” he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, but placed a quick kiss on your cheek. he shuts his eyes, needing to recharge.

“mhm. love you too, jamil.” you whisper, allowing him to rest on your chest. he fell asleep in no time flat. let him rest. or even better yet, join him!

🏹┆ROOK HUNT

“how’d you fall?”

you ask, seeing as rook lied on the ground. i don’t know how to explain his pose, he’s just a theatre kid.

“never mind the details, ma chère. all that matters is that you had rushed to my rescue!” he smiles as you stood there. the most deadpan expression on your face. “i’ll just go get you bandages and not question it.” “merci!”

you rush to the infirmary, grabbing the bandages and rushing out. if nobody knew better, they’d all have assumed that rook was dead. he hasn’t moved an inch.

“where’d you injure yourself?” you ask, crouching down and inspecting his arms. “non, non. you must guess!” he laughs, sitting up right away. you groan as he initiated such an idea. “rook. im not going to guess—“

“if that is the case, ill be stuck in everlasting pain! it’d be unbearable.” he sighs dramatically, causing you to furrow your brow. “fine. did you injure your leg?” you grumble, checking each limb.

he shook his head, smiling like an absolute idiot. “here, allow me to give you a hint.” he grabs your hand guiding it to the place of the wound. of course he can’t do it without teasing you a little.

he places your hand on his shoulder, his hand, his neck, til eventually he stopped on his cheek. “my injury can be found around here.”

you look at his cheek, but there is no cut, scratch, or bruise to be seen. you raise a brow at him, but he has no shift in reaction. “rook, are you lying to me?” rook shook his head, looking you in the eyes. “I wouldn’t lie to you, mon amour. perhaps you need a closer look.”

before he could even explain what that meant, he pulled you towards him. causing you to fall onto him. “can you see it now?” he asks, staring at you lovingly.

you sigh, pulling a bandage out and placing it onto his lips. his eyes widened, but he wasn’t mad. not in the slightest! he wrapped his arms around you. taking this opportunity for a cuddle session.

despite your “annoyance,” you smiled and laughed slightly. “you’re impossible, rook.”

he nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck, humming happily as you spoke. his fingers intertwined with yours as the sun hit both of your figures. creating a scene resembling one of a fairytale.

💀┆IDIA SHROUD

“you can’t lock yourself into your room because of this.”

you slightly chuckle as you patch up idia’s knee. moments before, his PE class had to do the sprints. looks like he went to class on the wrong day.

while he was running, he tripped on a conveniently placed rock and fell on his knee. ortho quickly went to find you and bring you to idia so that you can comfort him.

he had tears coming from his eyes, which caused ortho to panic. you both carried him to the infirmary since he had an inability to walk. you situated him onto the cot and grabbed some bandages from the cabinets. “don’t worry niisan! the prefect will take good care of you!”

ortho chimed, trying his best to comfort his brother. idia felt his stress lessen, but that doesn’t change the immense pain he was in. “thank you, ortho. but i don’t im ever gonna to go outside again.”

he mumbles, causing ortho to pout. you come back with the bandages, smiling as you sat to the side of the cot. “im gonna have to go explain to coach vargas why you’re not here! hang tight, niisan!”

you waved to ortho, leaving just you and idia in the infirmary. “idia, you’re not going to die because of this.” you smile, placing the bandage onto his knee. idia groans, picking at his fingers. “i looked so cringe just now. definitely not my moment.”

“you didn’t look cringe, idia. you got hurt.” you grabbed his hand and held it in yours. he smiles slightly as you tried to reassure him. it was endearing to him. “thanks.. but i want to lock myself in my room for like ever after this..” he quickly mutters, hoping you wouldn’t hear that. surprise! you heard him.

“no idia, you can’t lock yourself in your room forever after this.” you sigh, realizing this was the man you fell in love with. “what? you can come too. you’d be free from all the normies surrounding you.” he stated bluntly.

“..no.” you hesitantly said, squeezing his hand slightly. you both sat in the infirmary for a few more moments before you sat up and let go of his hand. “can you stand?”

“no.” he quickly replies, not even bothering to try. you stare at him before exhaling deeply. “i’ll bring your switch then. wait here.” he smiled as he watched you exit the room. he appreciated how understanding you were. how you knew what he wanted before he even had to ask. ..well, most of the time anyway.

when you came back, you sat next to him on the cot. you both played smash bros together, playing until the console runs out of batteries. lucky for him, his console lasts for almost an entire week before it runs out of power.

let me just say, he beat your ass in smash bros.

A/N: this sat in my drafts for a very long time. i had to brainstorm A LOT to see how idia could get injured.

date published: 1/27/24

© temiizpalce — don’t steal or copy my work!

[pictureinme]

pls do switch!kitten x switch!reader fic with cunnilingus + body worship !!

thank u so much for ur request and patience !! i decided to have more emphasis on the reader's body getting worshiped teehee (also peep both me & jd doing shit like this tonite lol)

you've got a woman

patricia ‘kitten’ braden x f!reader word count: 1.8k tags: self-image issues, sad reader, established relationship, body worship, 69 (cunnilingus, anilingus), hand-job, vaginal fingering

(ao3)

“You ready, love?”

Kitten’s voice from behind you caused a tentative smile to grow upon your face, and make a noise that could be understood as either affirmation or otherwise.

Biting your lip, you looked at your state of readiness. Still in your pajamas with unbrushed locks, you sigh gently. She enters the bathroom where you’re currently debating, and huffs.

“Darling, you haven’t done a thing!” Her eyes squint at your appearance, not in disdain, but concern. “Did you still want to go dancing tonight?”

You shrug your shoulders, “I don’t… seem to feel like myself today, love.”

Kitten sits you down on the toilet seat, and kneels in front of you, worry muddying her features, “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

Feeling tears prick at your eyes, you shrug again. She holds your hand gently, tracing soothing motions into it with her thumb, and a tear falls.

“Honey, you can tell me anything,” she wipes the tear away with her other hand, “Come to bed with me.”

Leaning up together, Kitten guides you slowly to your shared bedroom. The two of you sit on your green duvet, and the tears don’t stop.

“I don’t feel like I deserve to be with someone like you.”

“Don’t say such things,” she looks to you rather sternly, “You deserve me just as much as I deserve you. Can’t you see that?”

“I worry whenever…” You pause, knowing how silly you sound, “Whenever we go out, you’ll find someone prettier or smarter or just plain better than I am.”

“You’re a fool, (Y/N),” Kitten's blue gaze bores holes into you, and it’s hard for you to meet it. "There's no one out there better for me than you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am," she places her hand on your thigh, and squeezes, "You're perfect in every single way. The way you always pick me up from work with a kiss and a bag of chips, the way you give me massages when the clients are just too demanding… the way you take care of me."

Leaning on her shoulder, you whisper, “Too good to me…”

Kitten kisses your forehead, her liberally applied perfume permeating your senses, “You deserve goodness. It isn't only the things you do for me, you know. That isn't all you are.”

With her hand still holding onto your thigh, and your lips so close to her neck, you couldn’t help but leave a delicate kiss. Humming in contentment, she cranes her neck so you can kiss her more.

“I adore how your eyes sparkle when you see a puppy on the street, and how your voice goes all cutesy when you talk to them. I especially love the days we skip on plans and just… love each other.”

Leaving little nips and bites in your wake, you couldn’t help but feel like a weight was being lifted off your shoulders by doing so. You feel her hand move up your thigh, almost petting it. 

“Let me take care of you, hm?” Kitten whispers, “Want to show you just how much you deserve… just how pretty you are.”

Hesitantly, you separate from her neck to nod. As much as you loved taking care of her, if she wanted to take care of you, who are you to argue? Your eyes were still wet with tears, and she knew just how much love you really needed.

Her soft smile eases your worries about her possibly pitying you, and she closes the gap between you two with her lips. It was slow and sweet, and you could practically taste every emotion she was experiencing– love, sadness, gratefulness… desire.

You stop to take a breath, and her eyes are gazing at your lips still, “I love you, Kitten baby.”

“I love you more than anything, sweet (Y/N). Lay down for me, hm?"

Obeying her gentle order, Kitten crawls on top of you, reaching to unbutton your pajama top. You swallow nervously, and she kisses your cheek, “Don’t fret, love. I’ll take care of you.”

Kitten opens your shirt, and kisses at your uncovered chest. Her touch was so gentle and soft, you felt as if you were going to cry again. She licked your nipples gently, lapping them until they were hard for her.

Her ministrations were met with little noises erupting from your throat without your realizing. Kissing down your body until she’s right above your elastic waistband, Kitten looks up at you with adoring eyes. You nod softly, letting her continue.

“Pretty, pretty,” she whispers, mostly to herself, as she pulls down both your sweatpants and panties. "Can't believe you're all mine."

You whine a bit as the cool air touches your bare self, fighting the urge to cover your most sensitive parts. Yet, Kitten’s fingers are always so warm, that they bring you some comfort. She brushes her hand over you, the other reaching to hold your breast. You feel Kitten’s touch everywhere, like an anchor to keep you in the moment. She whispers sweet nothings to your navel as she kisses down to your clit.

Her lips wrap around it, kissing and sucking with ease. As soon as you buck up, she smiles, not wanting to stop you from chasing whatever pleasure you desire. Her fingers tease at your entrance, circling. You felt content in just that until she began to knead your breast.

“Oh, Kitten…” Her finger slips in, curling as she enters. Your head rolls back onto the duvet, feeling every sensation she gives you. “Baby, hold on, one second.”

She immediately rescinds her finger, looking at you, worried, “What’s wrong, love?”

You shake your head, smiling, “Let me make you feel good too, okay? Makes me feel even better. Come on up here.”

Kitten’s concerned look turns to one of excitement as you pat your chest, alluding to what you meant exactly. She rises from her position, kissing your body all along the way. You watch as she begins to undress rather quickly, eager to answer your desires. Her dress falls away into a pile below her, and she steps from the swirls of fabric towards you.

Her lack of underwear has you raise an eyebrow, which goes unnoticed with her preoccupation with climbing on top of you. Kitten giggles as her warmth touches your cold skin as she positions herself reverse to you, hovering over your arousal.

You gaze lovingly at her own above you, biting your lip, “You ready, Kitten?”

“More than ever, baby. Let me taste you, pretty please?”

She wastes no time before diving in, and neither do you. You lick a stripe up her hole, and Kitten shudders against you. She laps at you and sneaks a hand to rub at your clit. Moaning against her, you continue to lick one of your favorite parts of her.

In any other situation, you would have taken your time opening her up and listening to her whines, but with the way she was sucking at your folds, you couldn't help but have your tongue enter her.

"Oh, (Y/N)!" Kitten's breath was heavy, but you didn't stop your actions. Instead, you smiled and sped up. God, you love making her feel the deepest of pleasures.

Kitten groans, beginning to ride your face as she goes to suck your clit. Her fingers move down to finger you yet again, and you pulse around her. You didn't realize how empty you felt until she filled you back up.

You whimper against her hole, the two of you unrelenting in your pleasuring of each other. The vibrations of her moaning had you shaking, you couldn't help but grind against her mouth as well.

Her length twitched, and it deserved your utmost attention. You reach a hand around to grab at her balls, and Kitten stutters against you.

"Fuck, fuck! You're so– ah!"

Tongue continuing to circle and dip into her fluttering hole, you start to pump, desperate for her to release all over your abdomen. Your undulating bodies, never once separating from each other, were hot and sticky. Neither of you would have it any other way.

Kitten scratches down your thighs as you grip her length, and she sucks your clit particularly harshly, and your eyes roll back.

"Don't stop, Kitten… fuck, I'm close."

She smirks, only moving away for a minute to speak sweet nothings, "Never gonna stop, pretty (Y/N)... you taste so good. Perfect for me, aren't you?"

You buck up into her lapping and sucking, feeling your release approaching, egged on by her words. Her hardness twitched, and the tip was leaking onto your fingers. Separating from her hole momentarily, you bite at her cheek, eliciting a muffled shriek from Kitten.

Her moans continue, and so do yours. She moved between thrusting into your hand and grinding on your face effortlessly, full of need. You loved the way she felt on top of you, shuddering and wanting, but still set on getting you off.

With Kitten’s fingers beginning to circle your entrance again, the feeling of relief washes over you like a tidal wave, almost quite literally. Your release wettens her face, but you’re too busy watching her cock release its own all over your stomach. The two of you orgasmed simultaneously, something you never even thought was possible, let alone with you squirting.

The pair of you stay in this moment for a little while, catching your collective breath and basking in the pleasure still coursing through your bodies.

“Darling, you’ve gotten me all wet, haven’t you?” Kitten murmurs against your thigh, kissing it gently. You feel the wetness she referred to now, and embarrassment floods you.

“Fuck, fuck, I’m sorry, I–”

Kitten bites your thigh suddenly, and you choke on your words, “I loved it, more than anything. You’re a treasure to behold, (Y/N). Now, what do we say?”

Your head thumps against the duvet again, face warm with your continued arousal and shame. “Thank you, Kitten. Thank you so much.”

“Not what I meant, but still appreciated, love,” she climbs off to lay down beside you, her fucked out gaze catching your attention. “Say that you deserve all the love I just gave you, otherwise I’ve half a mind to slap you on the behind, hm?”

You glow at her words, not disliking the implications, “I deserve the love you just gave me, Kitten, though I might have to take you up on that offer…”

She playfully slaps your arm, smiling, “Dirty girl.”

Kitten leans down to kiss you softly, tracing circles on your chest whilst doing so.

“Really, though, thank you. I hope you don’t mind staying in tonight.”

“I would never mind spending the evening in each other’s arms, especially when you’re not doing well, (Y/N) love.”

The two of you entangle with each other, a mess of limbs, giggling, and kisses. Maybe you could go dancing another night.

[fizzingwizard]

Watching a video about predatory tactics MLMs use to hook members, and one of them is like, "Just go onto their social media and like and comment on a bunch of their stuff. They'll feel loved and want to love you back!"

This is the perpetual problem with social media and the human desire for validation. It even existed in the days of livejournal, where comments weren't as In Your Face All The Time, but you still felt bad when you didn't get comments on a post and others did. Enter Facebook, Youtube Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Flickr, Reddit, Tiktok, and all their associated forms of users paying tribute to each other. It's so fascinating that even though the "dislike" button disappeared, or was never a thing, it is still easy to make people feel negative emotions around their social media experience simply by not interacting with their posts.

Enter "follow for follow!" "like for like!" "this blog follows back!" and every other variation. The thought process makes sense. "I want attention. You want attention. By giving each other attention, we both benefit!"

"... And if others see us giving attention to each other, they'll think we must have something exciting going on, and admire us and want to be part of us as well!"

You could argue it's no big deal when this happens on blogs. People's livelihoods aren't compromised like they are with MLMs. But I think I would probably argue back that it's this sort of pandering that creates the MLM mindset - specifically, the framing of "We might not actually like each other, but we're going to pretend like we do so others will think we're cool" as a "loving" thing to do. You're giving people what they want, you're validating them! It's love! You don't mean it... but what does it matter if they think you do?

(And when they find out you're fake, you can argue you're just playing the game like every other blog out there. You thought they were in on it. Aren't they wise to how the internet works yet? People don't like stuff they like, they Like them so their stuff will get Likes too, you silly goose! Anyway, would you prefer to be a nobody whose posts get zero interaction at all??)

Leaving MLMs aside, this applies to fan works as well and that's where it hits the most for me personally, as a fan writer. You see posts all the time with some message like: "Likes don't do anything, please reblog," "if you don't leave a comment writers/artists don't feel motivated to work," etc. Even things like "comment month! Go leave lots of comments on fan works this month!" play into it, although I'm not trying to say that sort of thing is bad - it's well-intentioned and maybe does some good, assuming people use it properly as an opportunity to leave comments that they want to say, rather than random "obligatory" comments because they've been made to feel bad for not commenting in the past.

Fan works take lots of time: weeks, months, years if you're me (teehee). It is disheartening to work hard, finally post your project, see it get a few notes and then vanish into the internet ether. Of course we want validation. The trouble is we have been groomed to believe "doing numbers" is proof that we've made it. You like me you really like me!

I do understand that there's a lot of competition in fandom, and we all have to self-promote to some degree. But in my eyes self-promotion that involves faking connection with others is harmful. What, this is fandom and it has little bearing on the real world! But it creates harmful mindsets about how relationships should be judged and weighed. It reroutes the fun of fandom into a weird market dynamic where friends become business partners. (You know what they say about doing business with friends...) And the worst part is how we can so easily rationalize it. "Everyone uses social media this way, it's expected, so it's fine." "I'm being part of the group by liking things I don't like! If I didn't do that I would be unfair."

It's not loving to say things you don't mean. It's not kind to fake emotion. And it's not this amazing thing to become the Biggest Fan On Turf. Yeah I'm speaking as someone who never was that cool, but think about it - Get 100,000 notes, enjoy the dopamine hit. Then tomorrow you've got to get them again. Get 10 comments when you're used to maaaybe 1. It feels amazing! Then tomorrow you've got to get them again. Or you won't be happy.

Someone will leave you a beautiful, thoughtful comment, showing that they really paid attention to the details in what you made and it made them feel a real connection. You'll read it, smile to yourself, and then the smile will fall as you scroll down and realize no one else commented.

That one comment was worth 100,000 obligatory notes all by itself.

It is very very hard to fight the social media pressure to Have the Most and Be Liked the Most. It gets easier when you realize how little that actually means. The social marketplace is predatory. It imitates the worst aspect of the business world, that which takes advantage of the enthusiasm and creativity of others. Your genuine feelings, what made you want to create art and enjoy others' in the first place, don't have any value in it. But your attention does.

It has become rather unpopular to say "make art for yourself" on tumblr and I get it. Notes and comments are more than just nice - it's that pesky human need for connection again. Still I think it's important to point out that there are those of us who have worked to extricate ourselves from the "feed me interaction" programming and made nests in our own corner of the web that we are perfectly content with. If you want to keep your fandom experience genuine, keep it small and appreciate every validating interaction with another fan that comes your way. You're very lucky, because you know they meant every word.

[isopodonanescalator]

okay so ignore this if you want to /gen

infodumping about my first day because i know some of you guys were worried because i was anxious and also just because i want to <3

my english teacher is very frazzled and has very lovely vibes i’m super excited to work with her because she seems like she will appreciate the books i read and she (hopefully) will like me enough to write college recommendation letters in the future 🤞 (plus she reminds me of my favorite teacher who retired last year so it brought me a little comfort) and i sat next to someone named emily (teehee)

ummm i ended up not throwing up, but i did cry a little bit (i tried so hard to keep it on the down low but i think maybe someone noticed)

my geometry teacher scares me but she has pictures of snoopy all over her room so like…???

my health teacher was kind of nice, she mentioned topics that could trigger people and said that when we talk about them we’re allowed to step out, she also didn’t make us do icebreakers because she knows a lot of people are introverted or have anxiety (both of which apply to me!)

my history teacher said that the state thinks we neee THIRTY PLUS HOURS of study time before our finals in order to pass?? when i tell you i had a heart attack i mean i genuinely couldn’t breathe for a few minutes. and then he said we don’t have to do cornell notes so that made me feel a little better??

MY SCIENCE TEACHER MADE US DO A FORM TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES TO HER AND SHE TOLD ME SHE HASNT SEEN SUPERNATURAL BUT HAS BEEN TOLD ITS GOOD AND THAT SHE MIGHT WATCH IT NOW!!!! ALSO WHEN I ASKED ABOUT LISTENJNG TO MUSIC SHE SAID NOT USUALLY BUT I READ YOUR FORM SO IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT WOULD HELP YOU PLEASE ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF AND I JUST. i am very excited for this class ive always hated science but to be in a small class where things are explained simply and the teachers genuinely care for the students is SUCH a different vibe for me and i was just. shocked. like i might end up LIKING science this year! wild concept to me

i am happy with my science teacher and at first i felt dumb about being the only one of my friends in the stupid people science class but now i don’t care because i know it will help me!

i was scared but i did it and i made it through the whole day so. we stay silly <3 anyway yeah that’s it (:

[theflopwonder]

I THINK ABOUT THIS ALLL OF THE TIMEEEEEEEE.

(also teehee i will be using this as an excuse to discuss what realistic racial dynamics in Gotham would look like bc I am a black new jersyian, which isn’t the point of this post but it activated my ranting chip, and is going to mirror a lot of what op says)

The thing that a lot of comic writers like to skimp over, unless it's to perpetuate harmful stereotypes, is that disenfranchised neighborhoods, particularly in the inner city, where Batman's work is initially concentrated, especially in the early years, are usually overwhelmingly populated by black and brown people. Historically, for black people specifically, this is because of a Great Migration period during Jim Crow where black folks would come up to the more industrialized north for increased job opportunities and less racism. This is why Newark, NJ has such a high African-American population to this day, it was one of the hotspots.

As a black person who has lived in both NJ suburbs and its inner cities, inner city gothamites would not like Batman for a long ass time, if at all. Why? A lot of comics will focus on Batman stopping a drug deal or a gang member, but do nothing to address the socioeconomic conditions, or demonstrate cultural competency in portraying these neighborhoods' relationship to drug dealing, drug addicts, gang affiliation, and organization, which is often very morally complex, and SURE AS HELL doesn't consider their relationships to police forces or assumes that the power dynamic is shifted in favor of the black and brown inner-city neighborhoods, rendering the cops useless and letting crime prevail which is even WORSE and just blatantly untrue.

OR They just take on a paternalistic view of "these neighborhoods and the people in them need to be saved from themselves". So they have this white man swoop in and save the day and everybody in the neighborhood is just supposed to love him, while the uptight politicians are the ones who have the criticism so you, as the viewer, will already have the seeds of hate planted so you feel vindicated when they are revealed as corrupt and THAT'S the real reason they hate Batman.

In the beginning, Batman will be seen as someone who contributes to the prison industrial complex. He is not helping the citizens of Gotham, he is just a cop. He is a symbol of another white man wreaking havoc on a predominately black neighborhood, and the police won't do anything to stop him. This will even be exacerbated by him beginning to work with the police. If Batman wants to be looked upon fondly by the people he is supposedly helping, he's going to have to acknowledge the racial divide between uptown and downtown Gothamites. He is going to have to WORK for his respect and understand the reasons why he, as Batman, may never get it

(my headcannon is that No Man's Land is when the perspectives of BOTH Bruce Wayne and Batman's reputations turned into net positives. For Bruce it was going to Congress and being the only one to fight directly for them, [as one of the major points of NML was how unfair it was to poor people]. For Batman, it's that when he couldn't get the kids left in NML out of the city, he stayed and protected them anyway. He didn't just go running off like everybody else [even tho he technically did, but y'know, they don't know that), and leave them stranded and alone? That's worthy of respect to them.)

Now if I was too apply ALL OF THIS to Red Hood ... the one shred of hope of black and brown citizens of Gotham would have is that Batman does not use lethal force. He will ruff up our people, break an arm or a leg or a nose, but he will not gun them down. He will not use lethal force. They will not lose their lives. He will let them see another day. And if they see another day, then they have the possibility to do better, and THAT is where Batman and the people of Gotham's hood will be able to find common ground and coexist with each other.

That is completely gone when Red Hood enters the scene.

No, people in the Gotham's hood would not like Red Hood, he would just make things worse. Way worse. He would be the actuality of what everyone feared about Batman. He would ruin a decade's worth of work that Batman put in trying to fix his reputation within these neighborhoods.

You only understand that when you understand black and brown people's relationship with law enforcement.

They will mistake black and brown mothers telling their children to be inside before the streetlights come on as "lower crime rates" and would they be correct? On the surface, sure. But it wouldn't be because of anything productive, it would be because you have successfully scared an entire neighborhood into complacency. You've essentially put them under unofficial marital law dictated by a myth and justified it by saying "Well Batman only scares people who need to be scared,"

(They do this in Batman v Superman, very blatantly, and with a Black woman saying it verbatim, and it's ... it's an interesting choice, I go back and forth on how I feel about it considering the timeline conditions but for now I digress).

I'd even go as far as to argue that the ONLY people who would like Batman as a concept from jump are non-black people in the suburbs. Batman is the type of idea that allows white people to have a conscious spa day, to offer up a simple solution to a complex problem so they don't have to do any deeper thinking about it. He is the whitest of the white savior concepts. Oh he's getting those drug dealers off the street? Thank god, they'll keep that fentanyl away from our promising young and precious suburban kids.

However, once Bruce Wayne began announcing all of these initiatives to help poor people, despite this being the thing that would be what make the crime rates go down and stay down, it also resulted in black and brown people ascending in socioeconomic status oh..... now those kids from the hood are going to be moving into our good schools.... they're going to corrupt our children and expose them to guns and drugs and gangs OH NO! NOT MY GOTHAM!

Semi-Anecdotally and Semi-Historically: This happens a lot in NJ & NY. Speaking for NJ, this happens a lot with kids in inner cities like Newark, who will move downwards to places like Plainfield, and then Plainfield becomes essentially segregated in everything but schools, and people will worry that those "Newark Gangsters" will corrupt their kids, so they move them down further into suburbia to like ... Edison, or Piscataway, where high housing is enough to keep people out. Then they begin defunding Plainfield schools, and stationing Plainfield cops in black parts of town until they decide to gentrify the neighborhood again.

(This is also why you shouldn't listen to people who question why people still live in Gotham. At one point, Camden was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It is also a college town. Newark is still not a very safe place to live. It is ALSO technically a college town)

Canon-Wise, let's look at Robin issues 25 & 26 (my detested) where a storyline about bringing guns to school has one of Tim's classmates say this verbatim.

He ends up losing his life to a black student via gunshot. It’s framed as ambiguous but to me there’s an obvious reason why this escalated LMFAO don't put your hands on people in a school hallway.

Despite the fact that both kids pull out a gun at the exact same time, and shoot the exact same amount of bullets, who do you think gets more sympathy from both Tim and from the narrative altogether?

Whose motives are positioned as higher in moral value?

Who’s motives are ever even considered?

Who is Tim allowed to lecture gently, vs who is he and Bruce allowed to hunt down, scare, and capture?

This story is allowed to have emotional weight for Tim because he knows Karl. It deliberately attempts to make the reader lose sympathy for Young El because they attach him to a gang.

Batman does make a point to mention that it just easily could’ve been Young-El that died, but it only positions Karl as the only who “doesn’t understand his choice”. They’re the same age. Both high school students. Could it not also be argued that Young El’s situation is worse because he is being exploited by a gang, that is also taking advantage of the fact that he does not fully comprehend the choices that he makes? Or does that only apply to poor former bully jock Karl Ranck.

Let’s also unpack that subtle but glaring racism.

1. The immediate assumption that Young-El will re-offend is racist. Although Tim says it directly, Bruce also indirectly agrees, (conditionally to prop up the "usefulness" of Batman). Was Young El the first person to say it? Sure, but that's just more racism being perpetuated by the narrative because it's not being done to try to make the reader understand black and brown people's relationship to the incarceration system and why recidivism commonly happens, it's meant to portray Young El as a mouthy kid resisting arrest for a crime he committed.

It offers no sympathy towards him even though he is just as much a pawn in the city’s corruption as any other child that falls into a gang. If anything this should be more incentive to y’know … make sure he has help upon release but hey what do I know?

2. This moment, specifically:

If we are analyzing this keeping in mind that Young El does not know who Robin is, but can fully hear this statement being made towards him, ABOUT HIM, in this context that means this can now be considered a VERY racist micro-aggression being aimed towards him. To even hit on the point of each citizen preferring a different vigilante, this is now a reason that Robin's reputation is in the negatives. If I can't count on you to arrest me without being subjected to what can easily be taken as a racial microaggression (because again, he doesn't know who Tim is, or his relationship to this crime and it is unrealistic to expect him to, all he knows is that this white kid is arresting him and telling him that he's essentially too stupid to understand him, which is reinforcing a racial power dynamic) there is now nothing separating you from a regular degular cop.

3. The idea that the fear of seeing Batman will be enough for Young El to not re-offend is racism. That’s not hope for someone's future, that's a form of oppression and is AGAIN fueled by the narrative’s refusal to extend any sympathy to Young El. Telling black and brown citizens that "beyond the law and the courts" (that have historically tried to eradicate us btw) there is …. More fear? More reason to be afraid of the world? And then you wanna end the comic talking about some damn PEACE?????? PEACE FOR WHO???????

Also Bruce’s smile in that panel about scaring Young El … that’s amusing to you? Scaring high school kids that you’re supposed to help? That’s how you want Batman to be “useful”? High school children being exploited by gangs are the people that are supposed to be afraid of the Batman? Oh that’s not… anyway.

In the panel before that one, THEY'RE STILL pointing guns at Young El and the gang, despite the fact that if they are being detained they have already been frisked and had their weapons taken away already.

Sure you can argue that this is less a Batman problem and more reflection of how this actually happens in real life, but idk if I’m writing a story where a deliberate point is made that my protagonists don’t use lethal force … but then they disappear on top of a building and watch as these children and adult gang members are submitting under the threat of lethal force, despite having no weapons no drugs and no way of escape …. you see the problem here?

Hate this mini-arc sooooooo bad. even tho I do think about it a lot when thinking about Tim's relationship with school violence. it's a watershed moment for him and so important to his development, but it's also racist as fuck.

I SAY ALL OF THIS TO SAY. There's a lot of this bullshit that basked into comics, hell, into Batman's very conception that makes it easy to fly over people's heads. I'm sympathetic to it, I first read Robin when I was 15. A LOT of shit was flying over my head. But I do encourage you all to approach these stories with a more critical eye, as they can and do help deepen your understanding of these characters.

And let’s be honest— modern ideas of crime are intrinsically tied to American racial ideologies (the modern American inception of cops is deliberately based on slave catchers). Without considering that nuance, Batman (and definitely Red Hood) can very quickly become another layer of fear and control rather than people who are truly trying to help these neighborhoods thrive.

I know we tend to roll our eyes at "Batman beats up poor people and mentally ill!!!" takes cuz most of the time they're ridiculous and said by people who do not interact with canon but like ... the idea that one person's savior is another person's boogieman is very true, and NOT ALWAYS GOOD, especially if we are considering the usefulness of an american Batman, who is not exempt from american racial dynamics, which very obviously exist in his fictional Gotham, even if subtextually through speech, through drawing, through panel sequencing, etc. Batman is a fantasy, but his lasting power as a character is fundamentally dependent on how well of a reflection he is of real life, and THIS would be the real-life makeup of a real-life Gotham City. I spend a lot of this post critiquing, but I still love these characters, and it's because I love them, that these dynamics are so interesting to explore.

Anyway rant over, I probably did a shit job at convincing y'all but if you made it to the end of this long-ass post, YES PLEASE. EVERYBODY, PLEASE READ CANON.

You know what I've realized these past several months on Tumblr and just...years of consuming content?

It's pretty rare for the fandom to acknowledge Gotham as a city. A real, living city with people in it. Like, sure we always get cutesy posts about Batman or the others from outside perspectives or fics that include interesting ocs (I love u if you do that btw).

But what I mean isn't that. What I mean is: does anyone think of Gotham and its citizens as actual people? Because I've sure seen kind of the opposite.

I see constant arguments or heavily biased (mostly misinformed) posts regarding what Bruce does and how the Batman helps the city. That his riches would get lost in corruption and no one can save the city unless there's violence. You could try and make the argument, sure. But we've seen time and time again in comics that Bruce uses his money to the benefit of the city. We've seen in comics that he employs people who are disadvantaged and gives them opportunities. People know Bruce Wayne gives jobs and treats his employees well. He donates heavily to charities, creates his own organizations, funds Leslie Thompkin's clinic, and consistently updates the safety of his own buildings. People (at least post-Crisis) would know that Bruce Wayne did everything he could to save Gotham after the Cataclysm earthquake/No Man's Land - that he went up against Congress. Of course, not everyone would like Batman. Not everyone would trust the Wayne name. They'd see a stranger who prowls nightly and may or may not rescue you. They'd see the privilege of an old rich name who gets to exert his influence over the city. If you go to him for help, you go to him with the fear, and anticipation of rejection or with the knowledge that he will be safe.

I've also seen the (imo) ridiculous notion that Crime Alley citizens would trust the Red Hood. Maybe some would now, after the reboots and actual comic book evidence that he's doing something. But I cannot fathom living in a city with such heavy crimes occurring and then trusting what is essentially a cop. People don't know the Red Hood. They don't know Jason Todd. They would only know: 1. he has tried and succeeded various times to take over organized crime and drug routes 2. he can and will kill if he sees it fit. In some people's eyes, he would be a cop with even less judicial oversight. In some families, he would be the killer of their breadwinner, of their fathers or family members or lovers. A man with a gun. Eyes without a face. If you go to him for help, you go to him for blood.

This doesn't even begin to lay out the insane amount of vigilantes who live/operate in Gotham. The Batman is not the only figure. The Red Hood is not the only figure. If you boil down Gotham to only the conflict between these two characters, you miss the nuances and varied opinions of the city by miles. If you boil down Gotham to just Batman-affiliates, you miss even more.

For every person who doesn't trust Batman, there's someone who'd prefer Huntress. For every child who lives in fear but can't trust an adult, there's Robin or Batgirl. For an abused woman, there's other women out there who help: Catwoman or Black Canary or Holly Robinson. There's people who'd never trust a vigilante but want safety, they'd have Leslie Thompkins (who operates in Crime Alley) or Lucius Fox who could give them a job.

Not to mention, Batman is very obviously white. There would be some people who would rightfully mistrust white men, and would prefer figures like Orpheus or Onyx or Batwing or the Signal or Huntress (post-N52). There's the Creeper, who would be terrifying but some might prefer the monster over the man. There's Ragman, an explicitly Jewish vigilante who was literally called the Tatterdemalion of the Oppressed and trusted by the poor and homeless. There's Batwoman, Mother Panic, Spoiler, Nightwing, Red Robin, Azrael, Bluebird, the enigmatic idea of the Oracle, Anarky, Ghostmaker, Gotham Girl/Boy, Catman, Alan Scott-Green Lantern, Wildcat.

Hell, maybe someone who lives in Gotham would just straight up trust Superman or the Flash or Wonder Woman more than anyone else. Maybe they'd never once trust someone acting for a perceived view of justice and would just trust an employer like Two-Face or the Riddler or any mobster.

I'm stressing my point here: when you write anyone who lives in Gotham City, keep in mind that they don't know they live in a comic book world. Secret identities are foreign to them, they only know the base actions of each vigilante. Each person's opinion will heavily vary. Every experience colors their view of the city and vigilantes as a whole. Just, idk, widen your horizons and consider about what someone living in a place like Gotham would really think.

To that end, read the comics!!! Research actual cities!!! Take in experiences and history!!! It's all interesting and just adds so much more.

You want one comic that shows Bruce helping Gotham and the various views of Gothamites, read Gotham Knights #32, published in 2002 and titled "24/7." Read it online illegally if you have to!!

[scarsforsupper]

Hi lovely I saw you were looking for ideas! I was wondering if you could do some hcs of Viktor with a fem/gender neutral reader with adhd?

Thank you for your time hope you’re having a good day/night x

HC: Viktor with ADHD reader (!!read a/n!!)

Viktor x fem!reader

wc: 1.1k (unchecked and unedited)

another req done!! aaa so sorry for not posting, ive been a little caught up in art again, so pls take this for compensation T_T i decided to make it fem bc adhd symptoms r in females, n i had to be specific with them!! this by far is the hardest req i got since adhd representation is often warped, and i tried my best to not make it stereotypical !! i mostly based on posts of other people with adhd, but its different for everybody so pls watch out for that!! adhd is a very wide and deep matter, so please do NOT base your perception of adhd on this post, and do your research instead !! :) thank u @lil-teehee

- It was a rough start for the two of you.

- You met Viktor as an adolescent teen, back in the pungent yet probably most vibrant portion of Zaun, the lanes.

- Working as a watcher and a keeper for your aunt’s trading post, you sold mostly scholarly items: rolls of parchment papers, charcoal, graphite, lost and unwanted books, and encyclopedias.

- Growing up with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder—better known as ADHD, you haven’t been seen as the best at multitasking, however, you managed to convince your aunt to let you help at the shop because believe it or not, you really did think you were good at multitasking.

- ADHD wasn’t the only disorder you’ve been stuck with—neurodivergent disorders frequently coexist with ADHD and it did NOT make things any easier.

- Mathematics and numbers mercilessly tortured your senses whenever you needed to count or compute or read something that had symbols, at least five times a day you’d end up with an irritated merchant as you spent tens of minutes grasping how much change they had.

- Viktor came to your shop on a hazy morning, placing onto your table a blank-paged journal and three pieces of charcoal to come with.

- It was honestly a fight to stay focused because: it was very early, your mind had not adjusted yet to the energy you needed to function properly—which was very annoying, because ever since you’ve woken up you’ve been trying to do things to kickstart your day but your mind just won’t cooperate with you so you ended up doing absolutely nothing. And two, you wanted to do something else, be somewhere else.

- Being biologically female, ADHD often occurs undiagnosed, and your case wasn’t an exception. Maybe it’s because you were in the Undercity, with no access to any health specialists. Or maybe it was because you’ve never been to one. Not like there were any down there.

- As Viktor waited for you to give him his change and bag his purchase, he cracked open his old journal filled with theories and equations and sketches of all his ideas and thoughts.

- You caught a glimpse of one of his very detailed drawings, thus shifting your attention from your task to what he held in his hands.

- The two of you ended up in a very long discussion about his theory on applied mechanics and mechanical physics—both of which you did not understand, but for some reason amused you to no end.

- He ended up inviting you to the little makeshift lab he used to tinker and conduct experiments. For you it was a safe haven; you felt like it was a place where you could do anything and everything you could think of.

- Only if you had the energy to.

- You told him about your mental and learning struggle a few years after establishing a good and healthy bond with him, but he beat you to it—he’s had his suspicions all along—and you only confirmed it.

- Not that it was a bad thing, it actually helped him help you in certain areas where you needed a little help, like how he’d remind you that you went into the kitchenette to make a pot of coffee after he walks in on you enjoying a deep-sea creature photo book 30 minutes after you’d went inside. Or when he’d bring pieces of chocolate for you to receive after every page you successfully read.

- Basically, you were perfectly capable of living on your own with ADHD without anyone’s help or support. Viktor just made it a hundred times better.

- He never told you to “Stop fidgeting,” or “Stop procrastinating.” Or that you were better off taking medication (which you weren’t able to do as the Undercity greatly lacked in medical supplies, much less mental health-related ones) or that you just needed to calm down.

- Instead, he’d give positive reinforcement whenever you did something beneficial for yourself, and would remind you in an ever so gentle reminder when you start to get off-tracked.

- When he’d receive the letter from the dean of the academy that he was to be given a chance to enroll in the academy and live in the city, he brought you along with him—he wanted a better life for the two of you.

- There were a few more things he’d learned upon living with you. There were ‘some days,’ and ‘other days.’

- On some days, you’d get up early. Wake up with a light body, feeling capable of doing anything you wanted. You would exercise, do yoga. Walk all the way to the market, come home with groceries in hand. Hyperfocused. Productive.

- But on other days, you’d get up later than noon. Sometimes, not even get up at all. Everything would feel overwhelming to you, often resulting in your brain and body shutting down and closing off to the world. You’d have extreme trouble analyzing even the most basic of things, like how much time there is left until Viktor comes home. Insecurity would feed off of your self-deprecating thoughts, paralyzing your thought train and crushing the will to do anything at all.

- The first few days Viktor experienced these (separately) he was constantly in a state of mild panic. Mostly because he was afraid that he wouldn’t be of any help to you. But he had never despised you for your disorder—it was something neither you nor he could change—and none of it definitely wasn’t your fault.

- It took him a few tries to discover what options he had and what was necessary to do in order to keep you from acting recklessly, he didn’t want you to suffer any consequences. He was there to help for a reason.

- There are times when you’d explain things to him more times than needed, but all he’d do is chuckle to himself and sit down listening to you.

- Sometimes it would take hours.

- He knew it was something beyond your control; there was no way he could scold you for excessive chatter. He often restrained himself from finding it adorable—it was a byproduct of your mental illness—one thing people should not ‘adore’ or glorify.

- All in all, although Viktor’s not as familiar with the health aspect of science as he is with the mechanical and technical counterpart, he learned enough through you and for you, to help you.

- He sure enjoys doing things for you.

- And he loves it.

[leggomylino]

Roses Are Red | Bang Chan

Genre: fluff, a little (ridiculous) drama, and a whole lot of crack

Pairing: Bang Chan x princess!reader

Au: royal / fantasy au

Word Count: ~11.2k

Warning(s): some censored language…?, author rambling on and on, some underdeveloped plot what can I say this is mostly for laughs and giggles

Summary: Royal Gardener Christopher Bang only ever wanted to make music all his life, but being orphaned due to a senseless war against the Fire Nation left him at the hands of the kingdom to decide his fate. When tending to some of the many royal roses one day, he happened upon the kingdom’s princess, Y/n, and love at first sight was quite the understatement. However, what they are both unaware of is that she may already be betrothed to another…

A/n: Requested by @hanniiesuckle17​ | Masterlist linked down below and in bio!!!

Tag List: @hanniiesuckle17​ / @distrikt9​ / @hanstagrams​ / @hyunsunq​ / @smolboiseavey​ / @jisungsjheekies​ / @iluvlix​ / @straycozy​ / @stay-nctzen​ (Let me know if you’d like to be added! Comment, ask, or DM me! <3)

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

Howdy y’all

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything in this format…

I know many of you are still waiting for me to finish light switch and let me tell you it IS still...under construction ._.”

I can’t stay loyal to one story at a time and life gets hectic ya dig?

...But I promise that EVENTUALLY MAYBE SOMETIME SOON I’ll get around to carving the second half of it

N E way let’s get this ball rolling! ->

So once upon a time in a far away land…

...Did you just roll your eyes or yawn? >:(( Don’t do that this is totally exciting

Okay so once upon a time in a far away land

There was a princess named Y/n <3 yes, that would be you, sis

She was the cream of the crop, the bees knees, the peanut butter to everyone’s jelly

...Well maybe like 90% of the jelly

There’s always gonna be haters or skeptics nothing we can do about that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway you were basically loved by almost everyone in the kingdom, for your kindness, hospitality, forthcomingness, honesty, bravery, generosity, and sophistication

Also, you were quite beautiful <3 like now teehee

But there was only one problem

Besides the fact that 10% of the jelly jar had peanut butter lodged in their brain

And that was that your father, the king, refused to let you go outside. Like ever. The only time you saw the sun and felt the wind through your hair was from your highest-Rapunzel-tower window, during required festival appearances or during emergency evacuations because THE FIRE NATION WAS ATTACKING!!!! 🔥 (╯°□°)╯🔥🔥🔥

This, however, rarely happened...er, maybe just once, but it was a false alarm because your half-brother Felix had stayed up too late playing video games (YES there is technology in this medieval au sorry not sorry) and he was just...seeing things

He’d been really stressed because his mother, your actually kind and not at all wicked stepmother, had been lowkey pressuring him to find a lovely princess consort or young fletching maiden

He didn’t necessarily have a problem with that, except for the fact that the whole thing was a huge problem that was stressing him out...marriage??? What was that again??? He kinda just wanted to run around the forest practicing archery with his friends, Dark Knight Changbin and Court Jester Jisung (read: pizza and video games)

BUT THIS WASN’T ABOUT HIM, THIS STORY IS ABOUT YOU (ง'̀-'́)ง

...Which is what I was getting at

You see

Felix was a great brother regardless of his mistake of screaming about a false Fire Nation attack and throwing you out of bed at 4 am

Besides being fun and great support/company, he also had this...friend...

A boy named Christopher Bang (♥‿♥)

He often went by Bang Chan tho, and he was ALSO your kingdom’s royal gardener

You know this because you often enjoyed watching him tend to the roses outside your tower, and occasionally would hide in the closet when you were SUPPOSED to be at violin lessons but instead dressed Felix up as your stunt double to spy while Chan watered and changed out the soil of the daffodils in your room

Daffodils were your favorite flower next to tulips and cherry blossoms and sunflowers

And 

Almost every other flower in existence that Chan had anything to do with (♥‿♥)

...What could you say, you were hopelessly in love

But he didn’t know that

And the odd thing was

He felt the very same way about you

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

Can we finally get to some real-time story now?

Okay well

Channie’s pov now here y’all

Bang Chan had been the castle gardener for what felt like eons

His parents had disappeared to fight in the war with the Fire Nation and never came back…

:(((

So from a young age, before he was old enough to count, his mom and dad entrusted him to kingdom’s orphanage with care

The local nuns raised him well, and blessed him many times over

He grew up with two best friends there -> a shy boy named Han Jisung and a more confident one named Seo Changbin

The three of them were transferred to work under the kingdom after the local coming-of-age ceremony given to all children when they turn 15

And I totally didn’t steal half of that from an anime or anything...well, just a bit; 25%

So the three of them were whisked off to be given roles of their own to fulfill in order to contribute to society

Changbin was given the title of Dark Knight for his bravery and supreme combat skills

Jisung was awarded the title of Court Jester due to the fact he always made everyone laugh, despite his naturally shy and more introverted demeanor

And Bang Chan, as he preferred to be called, was granted the title of gardener...because...well, they actually denied his musician application, believe it or not

Now, before you get mad

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!

ARE THESE GUYS FOOLS OR SOMETHING???

WHO WOULD DENY SUCH A TALENTED--

...Well, they were ignorant buffoons, unfortunately (｡•́︿•̀｡)

So he was forever stuck as a royal gardener because, he worked hard, the court knew it, and their predecessor gardener at the time was kidnapped by the Fire Nation

No one knows why and it’s not important (sorry random garden dude)

He’s okay though...we think

Anyway

So Bang Chan fit the role

And now at 23, to this day he still fit the role

It was the same mundane routine every day

W a t e r  t h e  p l a n t s

C u t  t h e  v e g e t a b l e s

S n i p  t h e  t h o r n s

T r i m  t h e  v i n e s 

C h a n g e  t h e  s o i l

U G H ! ! !

It got to be downright tedious and vexing repeating the same routine like a Zombie by Day6

Which is the song he often hummed with a lull in his eyes as he w a t e r e d and c u t and s n i p p e d and t r i m m e d

And c h a n g e d eua;bhuisahfvirs WAIT A SECOND

(Oh, we’re backing up to age 16 for a sec)

He’s outside the tallest tower s n i p p i n g the thorns on another rose bush when

He looks up to see what time of day it is and stretch his aching back

And he sees

Up in the window

A g i r l ? ? ?

……

Who is she

She’s GORGEOUS

WOW

HE HAS TO SQUINT BUT HE’S STILL GOT 20/20 VISION AND HE KNOWS A CUTE GIRL WHEN HE SEES ONE

HE’S GOT TEENAGE BOY RADAR

Wowza

She’s h o t 🥵🥵

Like the sun beating down on his face right now

Hot hot

Bruuuuuuuuuuuh--

OUCH! The thorns…

He can’t be getting lost in the waking daydream glancing out her window above him, he’s got a job to do

Flashforward to a few days later, when he makes an excuse to go back to Tower C and tend to the roses that don’t need tending to

She’s not there :((

Darn

He looks left and right before burying himself into the bushes so he can wait and see if she shows up

But this poor boy is so overworked that he falls asleep

Poor guy needed a nap anyway 😔😔

He’s having a peaceful dreamless sleep when a song enters his mind

It’s actually a song he wrote, when he applied to be a castle musician

He wakes to hearing the song above him

The sweet, sweet melody just wafting daintily through the air

It’s coming from somewhere above him

...But he’s snagged in the thorn bush and can’t get out 🗿💧

O o p s 

Rip

Maybe the bushes did need some work after all--

By the time he rips himself out and basically lost half of his shirt in the process, the song is almost over, coming to a soft decrescendo into a gentle pianissimo

That’s fancy music talk for slowly growing softer and more quiet and ending with a soft, maybe slightly breathy tone

Thankfully it’s cloudy that day so he doesn’t have to squint this time

And BOY IS HE GLAD ABOUT THAT BECAUSE GOOD GRAVY

IT’S HER AGAIN

THE LOVELY MAIDEN HE SAW TWO DAYS AGO

WHO IS SHE?!?!

“Oh, that’s Princess Y/n.”

JISUNG?!?! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM

Boy deadass just pops out of a rose bush like a weasel 🗿💧 what the what

His court jester hat has a few loose thorns in it, and it’s fallen askew to cover half of his face

“...That’s Princess Y/n?” Chan askes, totally in awe

You have such a lovely voice

And he’s bewildered as to how you know his song, seeing as it was a confidential piece he only played for a private group of royals once when auditioning

Jisung just nods, fixing his hat only to have a few of the bells bounce around and whop him in the face

One jingled all the way right into his eye…

But he carries on unaffected; must be used to it <_<

“Yeah, her dad is a total overbearing crazy-protective psycho. ...Well, maybe not psycho, but...he’s crazy protective of his daughter. He’s scared if she takes one step outside, some Fire Nation goon is gonna come popping out of a bush like Team Rocket in almost every old school pokemon episode and kidnap her like Pikachu.”

“...I thought Pikachu always got away.”

“...Oh yeah. 🤔 Bad example then.”

“You are a bad example.”

“Oh yeah?! Well you’re...a good example!”

“...Jisung that was a compliment. And thank you.”

“.........”

...Moving on

“What can you tell me about her?”

“OOOOOOO...Why? You got a crush on her, bro?”

“...I’m just...curious why the king would wanna keep her locked away in a tower like a Christian Anderson tale.”

Jisung sighs and places his hands on his hips like a lecturing mother. “Are you serious? I just told you, His Majesty is crazy overprotective of his only daughter...also, wouldn’t you wanna keep a beauty like that locked away if she were your daughter???”

Chan gives him a disgusted look. “No? Because I’m not an insecure psychopath?? Everyone deserves to be happy and free…” He glances up to the tower. “That can’t be healthy being held prisoner in a giant dungeon like that.”

“True, true...I’d still keep her locked away, though.”

“Jisung!!! Seriously?!”

“WHAT?” (ง'̀-'́)ง “I KNOW HOW TEENAGE BOYS ARE!!! THEY’RE GONNA CATCH THESE HANDS BEFORE I LET ONE OF THEIR GRUBBY LITTLE--”

Chan clamps his hand over his friend’s mouth. “I’m gonna stop you right there. Goodbye, Jisung.”

He looks at you one last time, marveling at your beauty with a hint of pity in his eyes before walking away

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

You hadn’t noticed that day, seven years ago, being too lost in a daydream over whether you wanted tea or a nice iced latte with your lunch...despite how loud they were being

It was one of the few enjoyments of your day

One the few things you got to look forward to: choosing what to have for a meal

Choosing what to wear that was within your parent’s standards

Choosing whether you wanted to wile away the hours reading a book or watching Royal TV or scribbling some poorly drawn comics of what your life COULD be like were you NOT a princess with an overbearing father…

S i g h

You’re hanging upside down on your giant canopy bed in a very unladylike fashion when Felix enters the room. You must have not heard him knock, and he’s like

😳😳💧

To which you “oop-” and quickly throw yourself over in an upright position

“...Sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s fine.” He laughs a bit and closes the door behind him. “So, whatcha up to?”

“......”

Did he have to ask you that? The question sort of burned. What were you supposed to do??? “Just...chillin.”

“Like a villain?”

“In the...millen.”

He laughed at your attempt to carry out the rhyme. “What’s a millen?”

You shrugged. He sat down at the dining table you normally ate at, crossing his feet over the table. “Well, I’ll do you one better. I came to ask if you’d like to accompany me to--”

“WHERE?!?!?!”

\(ಠAಠ)/

You’re right there in his face, shaking his shoulders before he can get another word out.

Felix, wanting to take you OUT OF THE PALACE?!??!?!?!?

THAT WAS HUGE

THIS WAS HUGE

OMGRAVY WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?!

YOU DIDN’T EVEN CARE WHERE YOU WERE GOING, JUST THE FACT THAT YOU WERE GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE WAS ENOUGH

...You should still probably let him finish, though

Felix (@-@) <- was dizzy for a moment, but once he got his head back on straight, he explained that he’d ask your father if the two of you could go shopping together-- just for a few hours

Felix was the sweetest brother ;-; the sweetest BOY ಥ_ಥ

You were going to have so much fun browsing the shops that you’d only ever read about in novels and seen on TV

The two of you would get popcorn and ice cream and feed the pigeons and do rain dances around the park fountain

And you’d come back with so many souvenirs and nostalgic timepieces from your little journey (╥﹏╥)

It was going to be the BEST. DAY. EVER!

*insert that Spongebob episode here*

……

Or not

Because

Shortly after the two of you skipped hand-in-hand like Hansel and Gretel down to the Royal Throne room

Your father gave the two of you a big fat N O

Jerk…

His booming voice declared, “NO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER OF MINE WILL BE SEEN BILLOWING ABOUT THE CITY STREETS!!! That’s like asking to be kidnapped and used as a means of war!!!”

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUASDFGHJKL;;SVBU;IABV;SIFABVIFARHVS

HE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING BUT WAR AND TAXES!!! IT WAS SO ANNOYING!!!

So, the two of you are forced back to your room alone…

And Felix comforts you and apologizes a thousand times over, words that should coming out of your father’s mouth instead

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

~LATER THAT DAY~

Well, it’s more like evening now

The sun is setting comfortably over the horizon

And Felix has just returned from his shopping trip without you 😔😔

Now before you get angry and call him a traitor, he actually had a fit and refused to go

He even came close to knocking over a table

But that wouldn’t be very gentlemanly and his mother was present

It was his mother that insisted he had to go in order to make a required public appearance for the kingdom and “hopefully find a lady that spotted his fancy” or whatever

Yeah, Felix rolled his eyes too

But he had no choice ://

If it makes you feel any better, he didn’t enjoy himself at all

He spent the whole time thinking about you and looking wistfully at the palace in the distance, to the tower you were most likely glaring wistfully back from

He was now tromping tired princely feet up the winding steps to at least give you a nice gift he’d brought back for you, and some flowers he’d gotten from a recently opened flower shop called Christopher’s Garden

A very nice not-yet-elderly couple ran the shop in honor of their lost son, who they hadn’t heard from since they returned from war

The story was quite sad and bittersweet

……

Shhh we’ll get there later it’s called foreshadowing（∩‿∩）

He’s about three-quarters of the way there when he’s suddenly ambushed by-- you guessed it-- Team Rocket!1!1

Jk it’s Jisung and Changbin

They’re the new Jessie and James of this story except they’re actually good

“Felix!!!”

“SH*T!!!”

Oop

They nearly gave him a heart attack!!! >A<

He almost beats them with the flowers, too, until he remembers last minute they’re for you

“WHAT DO YOU WANT NEVER DO THAT AGAIN”

“I CAN’T MAKE ANY PROMISES BUT WE NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING”

“WHAT IS IT”

Changbin sighs in his heavy, overzealous knightly gear. “Maybe the two of you can keep it down before you wake the princess?”

Felix shrugs. “Eh, Y/n is always up at this hour. She’s actually a night owl, but don’t tell the king that. Or her teachers.”

Bin smirks. “Noted--”

<_<

Felix has to smack him, which is a hard two second decision but you’re his sister and family comes first 😔😔 But he makes it up by giving Bin a flower, which he awkwardly accepts

“So what was it you wanted to tell me?”

Jisung nods his jingle bell hat all over the place like a bobblehead. “Yeah, okay, so-- check this out!”

He jumps a few steps ahead so he can have room to put on a one-man show. Changbin groans and crosses his arms, while Felix eyes him curiously

“I have this friend, right? Well, we do, actually! Me and Changbin!”

The Dark Knight tilts his head. “You mean Chan?”

“YEA-- I mean, yeah!” He starts bouncing around, mining walking around the garden surrounding the palace walls. “So...I never told you this, but a few years ago...more like seven, I was going for a walk when I spotted him outside the princess’ tower! And I stopped and went ten-thousand stealth mode!”

He mimes diving into the bushes. Changbin rolls his eyes.

“He’d totally fallen asleep in the rose bushes, so I--”

“Could you maybe not talk like you’re twelve?”

“......”

Before the two can start quarreling like a couple of twelve year olds, Felix takes on a responsible air, stepping between them

“Hang on...your friend? Was loitering outside my sister’s room?”

Jisung pops his head over Changbin, which really isn’t that hard. “Yeah, he’s the royal gardener! But like, I don’t think the roses needed tending to that day...and after I revealed myself, he was asking a LOT-- well a few...questions about her. Hint hint, my boy’s in love.”

“Love?”

“Love, bro. Like the real sappy stuff.”

“...Love.”

“...Yes.”

“Your friend. Is in love with my sister.”

“...That would be what I just told you, yes.”

“...Wait. Chan as in, Bang Chan? ...OUR friend Chan?!”

“That’s him!”

“Okay okay hold on,” Changbin waves his arms through the air. “Love is a strong word...and this is Chan we’re talking about. He loves just about everybody. He’s nice and empathetic to everyone. Just last week I had to turn away two maids and a palace chef who’d gotten the same mixed signals.”

Jisung shrugs. “Yeah, well…”

“Also this was seven years ago?!”

“...Yeah…”

Changbin deadpans. “So you got me all hyped about jumping Felix for some love story that probably isn’t even real. Seven years is a long time, Jisung. He may have forgotten about her already-- NOT THAT SHE’S SOMEONE TO BE FORGOTTEN.”

He had to finish that last sentence real quick from the look Felix was giving him. The boy sighs, shifting his gifts into one arm so he can run a small hand through his wind-blown hair. “...This is kind of crazy Jisung, even for you. Why are you bringing this up now of all times?”

“...Well…”

👉👈

“I overheard a royal meeting I shouldn’t have about an hour ago...and your dad was talking about having Y/n engaged.”

“What?!?”

“To the Fire Nation king.”

“WHAT?!?!”

“People often refer to him as Zuko, for reasons unknown, but his real name is Minho.”

“.........”

With fever and a newfound energy, Felix tries bursting up the steps to your room. But unfortunately, Team Rocket stops him.

“MOVE! I have to talk to Y/n about this!!!”

“Hang on! The whole reason I brought up my homeboy in the first place was to maybe stop this suspiciously dangerous and shady deal! If Y/n has already fallen in love with someone else, maybe the king will have a change of heart!!!”

Felix groans, glaring harshly in a manner that isn’t really like him. “Han, her father keeps her locked away in a plush-tailored dungeon and refuses to let her go outside, not even on a short shopping trip with her own brother. He doesn’t want her to be seen, and he certainly doesn’t want her falling in love.”

“Well--!” Han balls his hands into fists. “I WAS TRYING OKAY?! I LIKE Y/N TOO, SHE’S A TIMEPIECE GAL WHEN I’M ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO BE WITHIN TEN FEET OF HER!!!”

“Dang…” Changbin groans. “So you don’t think I’ll be able to ask her out this weekend?”

“......” “......”

The glare he gets from both men is a definite no

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

So what are we to do about a situation like this?

Well I’m glad you asked because we’re about to find out

IRONICALLY right at that moment, you were supposed to be in a late-running math session on how taxing the economy works but 

Instead you were blissfully hidden in the closet, watching Chan plant a newly discovered breed of roses on your balcony the author forgot to mention you even had

It was an indoor balcony of sorts; fenced in with mesh and curtains to keep the bugs and trespassers out

There was a cute little garden table with comfy chairs and a small bookshelf

As well as a mini bar and even a small stereo system B))

You’re the princess sis

This was your world since you weren’t allowed to experience the real one

To explain, you had a window right next to it that you often looked out, since your balcony was more or less closed off…

Hopefully that makes sense ._.”

Alright anyhoo

So Chan is planting some gorgeous purple roses that only ever existed in Animal Crossing until now

The most lusciously soft and purpley purple that ever was and ever would be

And here’s you, hunkered down in the closet like a stalker spying on him with one eye and a slit through the cracked door

 WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN

Bang!

The door flies open!

A wild Felix appears!1!1

Uh-oh

He’s probably looking for you, but given the equally wild look on his face

He’s probably not aware of Chan’s job, coming in to tend to your plants when you’re scheduled to be absent

Wait they’re friends right

So he isn’t gonna kill him...right?!

Or does this mean he was gonna kill him that much more?!

OH NO

FELIX NO PLS

You’re holding your breath and waiting for the right moment to pounce and topple your half-brother to the floor when apprehensively

He checks his surroundings quickly before shutting the door behind him

……

What the what is this about--

“We need to talk,” Felix starts, pacing to the dining table where he usually sits. Chan freezes, blinking a few times into the roses and the air above them before turning a blank stare the prince’s way.

“Okay,” he states back, “what’s on your mind?”

“About Y/n…”

About you?

“Princess Y/n? What about?”

Yes, what about you?

“...Jisung…” he sighs. “Look, I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked. Let me start by apologizing about that.”

“Oh, no need to apologize. You’re the prince, and I’m the gardener. We’re both quite busy with our—“

“Jisung told me you like Y/n.”

………

…………

……………

I’m s o r r y

WhAT WAS THAT

WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?!

Okay okay hold up

Han Jisung was the court clown and notorious for pranks and lying his ass off

Surely this was just a (albeit cruel) joke…

...Right?!

…

Bang Chan’s ears are turning red

Redder than the roses outside your window

He’s biting his lip, like he wants to say something, but is trying hard to suppress said something

His hands are clenched down into the dirt…

“...Well?” asks Felix. “Is it true?”

“...It’s…”

!!!

WHAT WHAT IT’S WHAT

TELL ME FLOWER BOY WHAT IS IT

SPILL THE BEANS ALREADY

Haha get it…

Beans……

Like seeds……..

...Anyway

“......”

He nods, softly, barely. Bang Chan nods his approval at Felix’s proposed statement.

Is this even real right now…?

Is this allowed?! 😩

Instead of jumping the guy like you thought he would, Felix instead smiles, so brightly it would be enough to scare off the Fire Nation and save thousands of lives

“Oh wow. Oh f*ck. You like my sister. This is...shouldn’t I be mad right now?”

He begins to pace

“...But I’m not. I’m genuinely okay with this. Better than okay. It’s...weird.”

“Probably because Y/n may be saved from marrying Prince Hellhole of the Underworld now.”

The two of them (and you still in the closet) jump at the sound of a new voice wafting in from the ceiling. Looking up, a set of bells can be seen hanging out if the air vent

...Has that always been there?!

Oh my gravy what if Han Jisung has spied on you before

What if someone else has?!

EW

Felix scowls angrily at the vent before lifting a pen off your desk and throwing it with surprisingly good accuracy

It must have hit something because next thing you know Jisung is saying “ow!” and climbing down at the Prince’s demand

“What the hell were you doing up there?!”

“Detective work.”

“You’re banned from doing detective work anywhere near this room.”

“What about Changbin?”

“What?!”

“Oh uhhh...nothing.”

The clanking of heavy armor trying to escape travels across the ceiling…

And Felix huffs.

“CHANGBIN I KNOW THAT’S YOU.”

~~~

So I’m gonna do a mini skip right here to get the ball rolling

After Bin is dragged down and everyone (minus you) is accounted for

The four guys are sitting around your dining table, a sinister(?) plot coming to notion

“Okay,” Felix begins, “So what we know is, according to what Jisung overheard, this arms race war of sorts against the Fire Nation is coming to a rock and a hard place for both sides. And to resolve this issue, it would appear that Y/n is being offered as a bargaining chip. A wedding to unite the two kingdoms.”

…… 

Everyone is pretty silent

You included, not that you can say anything at the moment…

But just because you’re silent on the outside doesn’t mean you don’t have a million thoughts racing through your head

Let’s get to the most pressing one that’d likely catch your attention first: MARRIAGE?!?!

With whom?!?!

How dare some old geezers try and pawn you off without your permission?! To the enemy?!? To a man you didn’t even know?!?!

WHAT IF HE WAS REALLY OLD

OR GROSS

OR BOTH

OR WHAT IF--

Han suddenly has something to say

Then again when does the boy not

He lunges across the table to grasp at Chan’s hands. “PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO MARRY THE PRINCESS SO SHE WON’T BE SENT AWAY AND I CAN STOP AWKWARDLY CATCHING YOU SPYING ON HER OUTSIDE!!!”

!!!

OH UH

WHA?!

Chan’s ears are turning red again. He’s got a brow quirked like he doesn’t know what Jisung is talking about, but averts his gaze all the same in a guilty manner

Felix is tapping his fingers against his forearm in an attempt to ignore that confession

And Changbin is just sitting next to Chan half confused and half annoyed

“I- I can’t just… Jisung what you’re asking is…”

“It’s too much,” Bin cuts in. “Jisung you can’t just ask someone, much less tell them, to marry a person they have a far-longing crush on, but really know nothing about. They’ve never even spoken to each other before, I can assume, and you’re telling them to spend the rest of their lives in a commitment? That’s intense.”

Jisung pouts. “Yeah, but…!”

“What if we just faked a marriage?”

Three stunned faces (four if we’re counting you) turn eyes upon the eldest and only prince. He smiles warmly, sending a warily comforting shiver down your spine that you have trouble placing as good or bad.

“What do you mean?” Changbin asks.

“I doubt the king is going to accept Y/n’s wishes in all of this, so we can’t just have her or Chan ask to be wed. But if they’re already married…”

Jisung’s face lights up. “Then there’s nothing the king or Fire Nation fools can do about it!!! That’s BRILLIA--”

“But it would just be a ruse. We’ll have a fake license made, and I can supply the rings. I’ve got plenty of underground connections~”

You’re looking at Chan’s face to see what he thinks of all this, but unfortunately his back is to you, and Changbin is blocking 90% of your view…

You can, however, see that his ears are still a flushed scarlet, as well as the base of his neck

“Would you be okay with that?”

He jumps. Felix and the others blink expectantly. 

“...Huh?”

“...Are you okay with being my sister’s fake husband for a few hours?”

It’s gotta be the awkwardest question you’ve ever heard coming out of your brother’s mouth, but then…

“Yeah. If it’ll protect Y/n...let’s do it.”

……

It’s the first time you’ve heard him not refer to you as the princess, but rather, just yourself

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

OKAY WE’RE GONNA TRY AND START CRAMMING THINGS WITHOUT CRAMMING TOO MUCH BECAUSE HNNNNN I DON’T WANT THIS TO BE TOO LONG AND DRAWN OUT ಥ_ಥ

SO ON THAT NOTE

Meanwhile in a diabolical castle not too far away but still kinda far 

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)⊃━━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

We’ve got an evil firelord named Zuko over here

But he’s not really evil :(( In fact he’s not evil at all!!!

His name isn’t even Zuko it’s Minho

And he’s just kinda mean is all…

Just a smidge | |

“My Lord Zuko!!!” An attendant bows, groveling at the steps to the throne

He’s some weird guy with an eyepatch

Not important but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Fire King growls, swirling a glass of something strong

“I told you that’s not my name,” he states, tossing the glass after a single gulp. Dang. Intense.

The attendant :((, covering his face like a scared manchild. “PLEASE FORGIVE ME YOUR GRACE!!!”

Minho rolls his eyes. “If I do, will you man up and give me the details on the Nation of (Your Kingdom Name Here)?”

“Oh, yes, yes! Thank you, sire!!!”

“...S u r e.” He blinks a few times, only sparing the slightest hint of a smile when one of the three cats wandering the kingdom jumps onto his lap. “Well? Get on with it.”

“Yes, sire, right away!” Patchy pulls out an enormously large scroll that should NOT have been able to fit in his pocket similar to the mechanics of Animal Crossing (seriously how is it you’re able to fit a giant whale into your pocket and like a freaking tarantula and a hive of wasps like idk about you sis but I would NOT be putting those things in my pocket-) “It would appear that the Princess of (Nation) has given her consent to marry His Royal Highness of the Tallest Order Fire Nation King Zu-- ...L-Lee Minho of the Tallest Order of the Nation of Fire and All Things Cat Related.”

Minho is nodding, a pleasant smirk on his face. Things were just going swimmingly for him. “Perfect. Just as I thought they would. Seungmin? Jeongin?”

From the shadows, two boys stepped forward. “Yes, Your Grace?”

“Please plan my arrival to the Nation of (Your Nation) at once. I’d like to arrive no later than the end of the week.”

“...Sire, with all due respect…” Seungmin swallows. “That’s in two days. Normally, I’d have to send a carrier pigeon to customs since you banned technology after that one disapproving cat commercial, and as you know, your cats are constantly eating both the birds and the notes…”

“......”

“......”

Minho shrugs. “And? So? Just write a new note and buy more birds. There’s no time to waste!”

Seungmin and Jeongin share a look. Arguing against the King would be suicide, so…

“...Yes, Your Unreasonable Grace.”

“Grea-- wait what?”

Comically, they both vanish before any more words can be said.

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

Moving right along here

That night, after the sun has fully set and you’re getting ready to tuck yourself into bed

There’s a strange sound coming from the window…

. . .

Creepy but probably nothing

It’s just the wind, right?

You choose to ignore it and continue organizing the pillows (and dolls?) on your bed in a fashion that suits your fancy when

Tap Tap Tap

. . .

It’s either an incredible coincidence that wind can tap in such a rhythmic fashion, and not so sporadically, or…

There’s someone at the window

...No, really

SOMEONE IS OUTSIDE SIS

THERE’S A FREAKY LOOKIN’ SHADOW RIGHT THERE

On the twelfth floor tho?!

…

Should you answer it

Survey says no

Are you going to?

The stars say yes

BUT FIRST WE MUST ARM OURSELVES BC WE AREN’T TOTAL DUMDUMS 😩

You grab an ornate candlestick from your nightstand and start heading that way

Slowly, carefully, one foot at a time

The closer you get, the more prominent the shadow outside the window becomes…

It almost looks kinda like…

...A tumbleweed? A scarecrow???

……… 

You’re scared

SOMEONE COMING THIS HIGH MUST BE SKILLED AND DETERMINED AND HAS TO KNOW IT’S YOU OR MAYBE IT’S A THIEF THAT--

“Princess? Princess Y/n?”

!!!

Gasp you know that voice

It’s… …

Without a moment to lose you ditch the candlestick and unlock the hinges, tossing the windows open to…

Watch your beloved…

...Almost fall and crack his head open ._.”

Chan is laughing nervously hanging onto the windowsill with a faint pink mark on his cheek from where the window popped him

You cry out nervously and with an effort on both parts, manage to hoist him inside

Where he clichely falls on top of you 🌚🌚 Teehee 🥴

You can feel the heat rising to your face and swirling around your head that’s already been spinning with thoughts for a while now

And Chan, catching his breath over you, practically mirrors that reaction

I Am You

I see me in you--

Okay sorry

Chan laughs the whole thing off and rolls himself off like Nishinoya performing his famous Rolling Thunder, and helps you up while profusely asking if you’re alright, if you need to sit down, you should probably sit down, oh I’m so sorry Felix told me you stayed up late so--

Ah wait

“He told you that? When?”

You’re now sitting on the side of your bed, and Chan is standing a few feet away with windblown hair that could easily be mistaken for a tumbleweed through the dead of night

The fact that you’re staring at it makes him a little self conscious, but really you were just thinking about how cute he looks

“Uh, he told me a few hours ago. We were just...chatting, and um…”

……

He cuts himself off and sighs into his hands

“I’m so sorry. You probably don’t even know who I am.”

“I do.”

“You do?”

“I do.” You smile. “You’re the gardener. Your name is…” You blush. “Christopher Bang. You take care of the roses at the base of the tower and you planted the purple ones on my balcony today. You’re also a friend of my brother’s.”

“Wow, okay yeah.” He smiles back. Seeing him smiling at you while acknowledging the other, the faint flicker of candlelight (Felix broke your lamp during a karate stunt to make you laugh)...it’s almost too much to handle. “That would sort of explain why you let an absolute stranger into your bedroom at night.”

………

Oop

He had a point there

Blame the author sis she’s got three other WIPs rn and wanted to get this done while doing a semi-decent job (｡•́︿•̀｡)💧

“I-I just...have a strong sense of adventure,” you lied. Kinda. Reality was, you really WERE longing for a chance to explore and have just a little excitement in your life instead of the same boring gray stone walls each and every day

Lucky for you, that’s exactly what Chan was here for

The next thing you see is his hand in your face (a still-respectable distance away), offering you quite the gentlemanly smile. He managed to fix that windblown hair of his in the seconds you spent spaced out over your longing to leave this place

“Come on. I actually came here to ask if you’d like to go somewhere with me.”

~~~

A little disclosure here

Normally, you should never, EVER let someone you don’t really know into your home (much less your bedroom) late at night, and you certainly should not agree to go somewhere with them

This is just common knowledge, I know

But, for crack, time, and in the spirit of classic fairytales, I’m going to allow it to happen :)))

~~~

AND SO, Y/n chooses to defy common sense, and takes the hand of the boy she really likes (▰˘◡˘▰)

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

To make things slightly less weird and insanely unnatural, Chan gives you a note from Felix. It’s got his secret seal of approval that he only uses when addressing letters to you, one that only the two of you know about, so it’s gotta be legit and valid

🙄🙄

Just pretend it makes things A LITTLE bit better for me, okay?

“Author do you know how illogical this all is and that, like, ANYONE could figure out--”

YEAH OKAY JUST GO WITH IT PLS 😩😩

The note says:

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒴/𝓃, 𝒴𝑒𝑒𝓉! 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓃, 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 ;) 𝐼 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝓉𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇...𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓉, 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃...𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝓅𝒶𝒸𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝑒. 𝐼𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝒾𝓂, 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉? 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝑜𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒. 𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝐼'𝓂 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒢𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝓃𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓃𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓊𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓋𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒫.𝒮. - 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓃, 𝓈𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒, 𝒴/𝓃!

𝒜𝓁𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓃, 𝓃𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝒶 𝒹𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝒾𝓉. 𝒴/𝓃 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑒𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒷𝓎 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝓂𝒾𝒹𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝒻𝓊𝓃𝓃𝓎 𝒷𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎, 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝓃𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒. :)

-- 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓀𝒶𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝐹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓍 (ℱ )

...Well, there you had it

Now, onto the date! …

WAIT DID THIS COUNT AS A DATE?!

uHHHHHH

ಥ_ಥ 💧

IDK SIS JUST GO WITH IT FOR NOW, GO GO GO!

Chan is about to take your hand and wisk you out the window like Rapunzel or some Romeo and Juliet au (hey btw??? That ain’t a bad idea someone request this from me)

He nearly forgets about the height difference and the fact that he don’t have any rope or long flowing locks to grab onto to :D so instead the two of you opt for an idea that comes to you after nearly tearing your room apart to look for rope:

THE AIR VENT!!!

You have to move some furniture around but it’s not like anyone is gonna come into your room or find out about you missing anyway

Reader: “Chan came into my room tho--”

SHHHHH THAT’S DIFFERENT IT’S CALLED PLOT CONTINUATION

Now

After getting lost for approximately ten minutes in the winding air ducts, Chan manages to get his poor sleep deprived brain together and leads you down the right path, coming to a purifying viel(?) he knocks out of the way to kick the door open to outside

AND THEN

IT’S THE MOST GLORIOUS AND MAGICAL THING

IT’S

（ つ﹏╰）

SIS IT’S OUTSIDE

IT’S THE OUTSIDE WORLD

YOU DID IT--

……

You can’t do it

Chan jumps out easily onto the grass to some East side of the palace, but you just sit there, hunkered down in the opening space of the vent

Just staring at it

The grass

The trees

The tumbleweed that is Chan’s hair blow by

It’s almost too much…

Your body won’t move. You’ve been locked away in the palace for so long now...something inside of you is telling you it’s morally wrong to change that now.

“Hey wait author I have a question”

I’m kinda in the middle of telling a semi-deep part of the story but okay sure

“If Chan and I were on the twelfth floor how is it that we made it to the--”

SHHHHH AGAIN JUST HUMOR ME AND DON’T OVERTHINK THINGS

Chan is watching you with some sort of softness in his eyes illuminated by starlight. He holds his hands out to you.

“It’s okay. If you need me to, I can carry you for as long as I’m able.”

…

But you refuse

You need to cross this bridge

And then you need to burn it 🔥

NO GOING BACK SIS

NO GOING BACK 😤😤

...Except you’re always open for an excuse to be close to Chan so 🤪💓

You jump in his arms without much of a second thought, and without thinking he spins you around, and a moment later

Both of your slippered feet hit the ground below

Soft earth enveloping your heels

Blades of grass tickling your skin

It’s so WEIRD BUT

It’s a good kind of weird

A kind of weird you’d love to get used to

Hand in hand the two of you slip off after that, out into that starry starry night that looks like a Van Gogh painting

It’s beautiful and blurred yet sharp and soft yet bright and you feel like queen of the world as you’re running through Central Park, riding on Chan’s shoulders

Dancing around the center fountain

Nearly blowing your cover when a racoon runs by

It’d be kinda bad if someone saw you, much less recognized who you were 😅

The two of you lay on the hillside, where Chan makes up stories about the stars and you smile at the sound of his voice, and the feeling of wildflowers against your cheek

You’re so enthralled that you scarcely notice when his voice trails off as he’s watching you, admiring your beauty as he often has in days gone by, only this time it’s up close and nearly surreal

The girl of his dreams lying in a bed of flowers

Not palace-tainted ones either -> wildflowers, flowers that are free to billow any way the wind takes them

And the moonlight casting perfectly angular shadows over your body

He has to get a hold of himself and tear himself away with a sharp breath

……

But he’s adding the image to a memory in his heart, that’s for sure

He takes a moment to mull over it a few more times before dusting himself off, standing, and reaching out to you. Something you also want to get used to other than being in the Great Outdoors. “Come on,” he says, “We’ve almost used up all our time, and I haven’t even been able to show you the town yet.”

SHOPPING~! (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥

...Ah wait it was night time 😔 You’d have to settle for just seeing the sights and playing pretend

“We’re gonna do something called window shopping.”

“Window shopping?” You ask, taking your first steps down main street. “What’s that?”

Surprisingly, there were a few stragglers still out and about at this hour, so you had to keep your head down and wander as seamlessly as possible off to the side of the road.

“Window shopping is when you wander around a shopping district just to look at the stuff on display. You shop with your eyes and pick out things you like.”

That sounded kinda fun

Of course anything with Chan sounded like a good time to you (♥‿♥)

And so, still hand in hand, the two of you quietly walked the cobblestone streets, examining clothes and trinkets in the large glass windows of stores and commenting lightly on things you liked/disliked

And, over a short span of time, you felt a gentle shift as Chan entwined his fingers with yours

ƪ(˘⌣˘)┐ ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ ┌(˘⌣˘)ʃ

You wander the streets for a while longer, taking a left here, a right there, when after pacing a little ways down a side street connecting to a sleepy neighborhood, Chan stops quite abruptly

His arms and posture is rigid af, so it almost yanks you back a bit, and a little startled you look up to see what it is he’s gawking at

…

It’s a flower shop

And the big sign across the roof’s edge says, “Christopher’s Garden”

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

Christopher’s Garden was the name Chan’s parents had wanted to name the flower shop the two of them had dreamed of opening together

Chan knows this because of the letters he’d receive at the orphanage during the war

The last letter he received was when he was eleven years old; a simple “hello we miss you” update with a miniature bouquet of pressed wildflowers

Flowers he still kept in his small room at the palace, tapped to the inside of the box where all his letters are stored

Faintly, he reaches out towards the sign, like it’s the only thing around him; suddenly there is no village, no night time, and there almost isn’t a Y/n either

Not that you aren’t important…

He just simply can’t believe that…

…

This couldn’t be real, it had to be a coincidence

A cruel one, but still

A coincidence nonetheless

And he’d continue to think that had he not lowered his hand, and found the face of an older man staring back at him

A man with burn marks on his cheeks and the scars of war apparent in both his features and his eyes

He has to grip the doorway to keep himself from falling backward

For it may have been many years, but he could never forget the face of his own son; not even after time had aged him

The parental spark was just there, a father’s intuition

…… 

As if seeming to understand, Y/n lets him go

She retreats stage left, one, two paces

And watches with heartfelt joy as the two men embrace somberly beneath the moonlight.

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

You wanted to stay and watch

You really really did

You wanted to be that support beam for Chan, but

In a way, you also didn’t want to intrude on such an important family moment

...And you were more or less due back at midnight 🙄 Cinderella much?

You’re racing along the alleyways right now

Slippers puffing a muffled breath with each step along the pavement

Buildings casting shadows and jagged shapes of light along the way

A random cloth you borrowed from behind a grocery masking your head

You found it lying over some crates of produce; and you may or may not have borrowed a few plums for the road, too…

...You’d have someone pay them back with interest 🤷

You probably should have told Chan you were heading back, but

He needed his family, right?

This was really important to him, you could tell he obviously hadn’t seen his dad, uncle, or whoever that man was back there in a while

You could catch him up later, right?

He’d probably spend the night there and be back by morning or mid-afternoon

You’re just now reaching a fork in the road

You could keep going straight or make a slanted right venturing toward the front gate, which connects the pastures of hills (making up Central Park) to the palace

……

It would probably be better to stick the backways, but you didn’t know the area that well…

If you went back into civilization, although it was after curfew and despite your disguise, someone may still spot you

What to do what to do what to--

“So you’re the Princess of (Kingdom Name).”

!!!

Did

Did someone just--

ARE THEY TALKING TO YOU?!?

RUN?!

DO WE RUN ...

“You don’t have to be frightened.” the voice says, stepping closer. “I’m here to take you home.”

……...

🚩🚩🚩

:)))))))) 

Yes okay now we RUN 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️💨

You make a break for it down the straight path, letting your veil fly away from your body and temporarily blind whoever’s following you

You also make good use of those plums you stole, tossing them like bombs over your shoulder

“Argh--! Dang it, sh*t, I can’t sEE--” Your pursuers flail about before shredding the cloth to bits, whipping the fruit off their faces. “AFTER HER!!!”

!!!!!!

DID HE JUST SAY--?!

HHHHHHHHHHHH

The sound of heavy metal clanging against cobblestone bounces off the space behind you as you’re pounding, scrambling, flinging yourself in a zigzag pattern in case someone is trying to snipe you

IT’S WHAT ALL THE RIDICULOUS HEROES IN MOVIES DO, OKAY?!

IT’S MORE OR LESS EFFECTIVE

But alas there are so many boxes and wheelbarrows and junk in the way...

MOVE FASTER YOU CAN HEAR THEM GAINING ON YOU

But wait who even is “them” anyway???

Do you even need to know?! It was probably some councilman your stepmother or  father pissed off

You’d seen it all on TV and read plenty of horror stories in books to know there were endless reasons why someone would be targeting you for vengeance

...And, also…

……

Blast it all

You could hear your father’s voice echoing:

“NO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER OF MINE WILL BE SEEN BILLOWING ABOUT THE CITY STREETS!!! That’s like asking to be kidnapped and used as a means of war!!!”

“A means of war!!!”

“A means of war!!!”

…………………………………...g u l p 

ಥ_ಥ

YOU JUST WANTED TO HAVE A GOOD TIME OKAY

THAT’S ALL

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN 😩😩

HE SHOULD TRY SITTING ON HIS ASS DAY IN AND DAY OUT IT’S MIND-NUMBINGLY BORING 🔥🔥🔥

But boy were you getting your fill of excitement now

If you could just make it back to the palace, maybe you could use this as an excuse

Say you were kidnapped and made a grand escape

...It wasn’t a TOTAL lie…

“Oh Princess~ Princess Y/n, slow down, won’t you please?!”

LIBSDIBVISAFBILSFIL

NOT ON YOUR LIFE BUDDY 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️💨

WE AIN’T ABOUT TO DIE

GOTTA

HURRYYYYYYY

~ t r i p ! ~

Oh-- ...

THUD

Owowowowow… (｡>︿<｡)💧

………………

……………………………

ಠ_ಠ

You slowly look up to the enemy

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ❤️ “Guess who? ...Oh, wait, we’ve never met before.”

………………..

Crap.

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

The plan was going to be very simple: swoop in, rescue the princess, and take her back home to appease to the King and speed up the royal wedding of the century

Unfortunately, nothing was ever simple in the Fire Nation

That and, well, Minho had spies everywhere

He’d seen your photograph

He knew what you looked like

And when one of his minion’s squeaked saying they spotted a certain soon-to-be-and-technically-already-so engaged princess and coming-soon queen of the Fire Nation running around after hours with another man, well

He just couldn’t have that

It simply wasn’t allowed

The king had promised him your hand

And that’s exactly what he was going to get

“Tie her wrists tighter. Yes. Now a little closer to the left…”

He smiles at you from inside the back of the carriage. He was about to make this go his way faster than he could have hoped for.

He leans forward, now dressed in some ridiculous royal garb festive with plated armor and flapping ribbons, patting your knee with smooth-lined fingers that shouldn’t belong to someone ruling the Fire Nation. And he knows this, too. He was and still is the youngest king to ever hold the throne. “Don’t worry, Princess, I simply wish to escort you home. This is, however, a pleasant time for us to get acquainted. Since I will become your husband in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”

To this, the Princess of (Your Castle) makes some sort of a scoffing remark beneath her cloth-covered mouth and fidgets herself away, as far back against the plush carriage interior as she can. Even beneath the pale moonlight and faint swaying torchlight outside, bobbing in the hands of soldiers, he can see the scowl of disapproval and hatred on her face.

That would have to change real’ fast. No way he was tolerating a disobedient bride for long.

A rapping comes from outside the window. Carefully, Minho opens the small glass door, pulling the curtain aside along with it. “What is it?”

Seungmin’s face appears in the open space. “We may have a problem. Two, actually.”

“Yes, yes, what are they?”

His first attendant licks his lips nervously. “Well for starters, Jeongin is going to have a mental breakdown if Doongi scratches his face one more time. Your pets--”

“My family.”

“...Your family is getting antsy being cooped up in the carriage for so long.”

A hissing can be heard in the distance, followed by Jeongin’s muffled scream. Minho sighs.

“Fine, Fine…” He glances tentatively at his soon-to-be bride. “We’ll stop at the next fork in the road and switch passengers. I will ride with the children and Jeongin can accompany Princess Y/n until we arrive.” 

“Very good, Your Majesty.”

Minho makes a face, suddenly. “...It shouldn’t be long now, yes?” ((After all, you and Chan did WALK into town.)) “What’s taking so long? How much farther?”

Seungmin looks a bit grave. “...That’s...the other thing I wished to speak to you about.”

“???”

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

You can hear the shouting from your new location inside a smaller (yet still quite plush and fancy) carriage that’s covered in cat fur...and a pitiful attendant with a bloodied face

“So we’ve been traveling in circles this whole TIME?!?!”

Oof

That kind of anger didn’t bode well for whoever’s plan this was

“Ahh…we’re so sorry, Your Majesty! But the guard won’t let us through! They refused to take us seriously when we proclaimed to be the Fire Nation escorting the Princess home…”

The Fire King let out a groan.

You zoom your attention on the boy before you, holding a dampened cloth of alcohol to his face and hissing as it makes contact with several wounds. Poor guy is young, and he couldn’t be too much younger than you. Give or take three to four years.

“M-mm-m, mm mm-mm mm m.”

He looks at you like you’re speaking in tongues. Which, quite frankly, you may as well be. “...What?”

“Mm mmm, m-mm-m, mm mm-mm mm m!”

“.........”

Peering left and then right, he makes sure both curtains are closed before leaning forward and pulling down the cloth over your face. You cough a bit, spitting out pieces of string and fabric and the dry taste in your mouth. “...”

“......” Jeongin seems to be admiring you in a new sort of light. It’s a bit weird, but flattering. “Um, what was it that you tried to say?”

You look him dead in the eye, which is somewhat hard to do, but your anger helps you manage. Jeongin winces backward, something twitching in his mind. “I said, if I were you, I would blow this joint.”

“.........” Jeongin glances down at his shoes, staring hard at the laces. He seems to be taking your words quite seriously, though you’d half meant them as a joke. “...I’m in no position to do such a thing. Just thinking about it is treason.”

“Treason? For having thoughts? You don’t have any mind readers in your country, do you?”

Slowly, he shakes his head no. It was kinda cute how seriously he was taking your words...and a bit sad, too. “No, we don’t dwell in psychics or anything supernatural. But the author of this story has been kinda thinking about making a supernatural au for some time now--”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“.........”

A rapping comes at the carriage door. Jeongin acknowledges it with a nod. “...Never mind.” He opens the window. There, again, was Seungmin’s floating head alongside a ball of fire.

“His Majesty Pain-in-the-Ass is being difficult again. Imagine that. He wants us to make camp and then plans on playing the martyr card come tomorrow morning.”

“...He expects us to camp out in the woods?”

“That’s the order.”

Jeongin groans. He leans back in his seat, tossing the rag down in frustration. “...Maybe I really should consider running away…are you hiring, by chance?”

It was meant to be a joke. But you take it all too seriously.

“Why, yes, actually, I am.” :))))))))))

“....................”

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

And so that is how you have now ended up here

In front of a roaring fire

All comfy cozy in the new fleece pajamas Jeongin and Seungmin sewed for you out of one of Minho’s extra capes and some “spare” fabrics

Sipping some freshly pressed apple juice and flipping through King Minho’s edition of Royalty Daily

Seungmin, to your left, is fashioning you a new pair of slippers that you can wear both indoors and out and will feel as if you never stepped out of bed

And Jeongin, to your right, slowly moving an electric fan around your face, in a pleasant manner that wasn’t at all distracting

It was glorious, really ٩(˘◡˘)۶

You never imagined being so relaxed in an enemy camp held hostage, even if you were a Princess…

...The only thing sour was the sour look of King Minho brooding at the other side of the fire.

“What is the meaning of this?” he hisses, eyes flitting back and forth between his two former attendants and you in-between. “Why aren’t the two of you doing your normal duties?”

“We are doing our normal duties,” Seungmin explains, snipping the thread he was working with.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Are you defying me right now?!”

Minnie scoffs. “Defying? You? Wouldn’t dream of it, Sire.”

“......” Minho dramatically rose from his seat, snatching a slipper off the boy’s lap. “Then what is the meaning of this,” he demands, shaking it about. You notice from a new angle of lighting the cute white polka dots patterned along dark pink fabric. Adorable. “Why are you...restyling my slippers?!”

Seungmin gives a reputable glare, snatching the slipper right back in the sassiest way possible, and dusts it carefully, as if it were tainted by the mere touch of another. “These are not for you, dear King. They are for My Lady, Princess Y/n.”

O-O

Now surely you can imagine, the look on Minho’s face is not a good one. “They’re… They… Y-Your whAT?!?!”

“SHHHHHHH!!!” Jeongin chimes. “Lord Zuko, you must keep your voice down! The Princess is trying to read, and she has sensitive hearing!” >:((

“.........”

(✿︶‿︶)

*Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp*

You sip that apple juice like it’s the sweetest tonic out there

And Minho, stunned, can only watch...until he throws down his foot and starts having an unroyaly absurd hissy fit

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR PRINCESS?! SHE’S MY BRIDE, AND THE HOSTAGE!!! And what do you think the two of you are doing?! What are you saying?!? Have you...are you telling me you switched sides?!?!”

“Well…”

“We aren’t telling you, we were hoping you’d get the memo by watching.”

!? “ARRRGH!!!”

._____.

The three of you watch with second-hand embarrassment, along with a couple of nearby guards, until

The King has to pause mid-fit

For a rustling in the bushes pulls his attention aside-- along with the others.

Minho seems to gain his composure surprisingly quickly. With serious glint in his eyes, he pulls his sword, in unison with the surrounding army he’d brought.

Behind you, Jeongin respectfully pulls you close, Seungmin brandishing his own blade and standing protectively before you.

You’re confused, almost, at how high the tension had magically become

You can feel Jeongin’s heartbeat against you back, and the silence amid the rustle is deafening

A single bead of sweat rolls down your neck…

And then evaporates when a field mouse screeches at the glinting of sharp metal objects and flees. 🗿💧

“Oh...false alarm…” the Fire King sighs. His army groans, reupholstering their swords and spears

And then jump in surprise at the ambush that comes after

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

I know we’re 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ flying through this story kinda fast now but just hang tight

Cause a few familiar faces had come to save the day B))

Familiar faces known as Sir Changbin, Newly-awarded Knight Jisung, and brother who loved you a little too much, Felix

The way your brother’s sword clashed with Minho’s as your new attendants hurried you into the awaiting cart was a sight to behold

And you could still hear the screams of startled men even now :(((

Luckily Felix held a philosophy unlike your father to not cause any permanent damage at all costs, so no casualties occurred; just a lot of smoke-bombing and a few cuts and bruises

Then there was Jisung, who had to hang on to the roof bc he went flying during the ambush and landed in a tree and there just wasn’t enough time to get him inside so Changbin had to snap a branch and let him fall on top...but

You know

No casualties :))))

“Are you okay?!?!” Felix is demanding, checking you face, your neck, your hands. You sigh and shake your head, which at first he takes as a no and has a small panic attack but you give him a little shove followed by a hug

“I’m fine. I’m sorry I was gone for so long...but thank you for saving me.” <3

Felix hugs you back, though a grim look resides on his face. “I’m gonna have a serious talk with Chan. I can’t believe he just left you out in the city-- or the forest-- to find your own way home in the dead of night when you’ve scarcely left the palace before!”

!!!

You jump back, startling him a bit. “Chan didn’t leave me! Please...don’t be mad at him.”

“Wha?” He lists his head. “Then what happened?”

“......” Oops. “I...I left him. I thought I could make it back on my own.”

His arms cross. “And what the heck made you think that?”

>:((((((((

At this, you almost felt a sense of defiance. Almost.

Felix didn’t think you could make it on your own?! You?!? A twenty-something year old young woman?!?!?

...Well he was right because you had absolutely no sense of direction except where the shampoo was in your royal bathroom 😔

BUT HE DIDN’T HAVE TO RUB IT IN Y’KNOW?!?!

“I--!”

“You? Yes?”

“......”

“......”

“......” Sigh. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you...but first you have to let my friends go.”

The screen pans over to Seungmin and Jeongin, tied back to back with apples shoved in their mouths. Seungmin stared a hole into Felix’s head while Jeongin was actually making some decent progress getting a bite out of the apple to free himself...until some juice went down the wrong pipe and he started choking.

“RhUK--!!!”

“Your friends?” The prince huffs. “These are the Fire Lord’s attendants. I’ve met them on two occasions in the past. Trust me, they aren’t your...friends.”

You stamp your foot, to which everyone comically flinched. Outside, Han howled at the branches slapping him in the face and the dust in his eyes. “They work for me now, and they’re my friends!!! 😤😤 So let them go right now or I’ll push them out and roll out of here right beside them!”

“!!!”

Felix couldn’t have this, so

He gets to untying, and once freed, the four of you sit on the empty cart floor: you and your attendants on one side, Felix on the other. He exchanges a few words with Changbin up front and Han still on the roof before settling down for your story

“We should be arriving to the west gates shortly. Also, Han is fine, so don’t worry about him. Tell me everything that happened.”

You do. You start from the beginning, with Chan, and the wonderful time the two of you shared. Then you tell him about the village, and how lovely window shopping was, and the moment that all came to a halt. You explain Christopher’s Garden, the aging man who sleepily walked out the front door, the exchange that occurred between him and Chan...the way they embraced. You’d felt so happy but out of place, you decided to venture off and give them the privacy they very much deserved.

Then you come around to Minho. How you’d tried to run, but only made it so far thanks to your new mortal enemy, rocks. You’d become a hostage, and you quickly rush through the rival king’s evil(?) plan to lie his way to victory.

And, of course, you mention the proud and wise decision of his most loyal and trusted adversaries switching sides and how good you are at making friends (ღ˘⌣˘)♥ so that happened

By the time you get through the whole (short? Not really) story, the six of you have arrived at (Castle’s) West Gate.

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

M E A N W H I L E

In the past tense bc the author’s random switching is a meme

A certain evil(?) king named Minho was angry

You can understand, right?

I mean, his future bride had escaped, his former friends(?) betrayed him, and he got his ass beat pretty flawlessly by some punk prince who didn’t even injure him that badly...ON PURPOSE

This was a DISASTER

A TOTAL NIGHTMARE

😭😭😭

SCREW THIS HE WAS GOING TO BE VICTORIOUS WITH CHAMPAGNE POURING OVER US AND ALL HIS FRIENDS AND HE WOULD BE GLORIOUS NO MATTER WHAT

In fact, he was following the trail with a few uninjured guards as he spoke

“Keep following the tracks,” he demanded from the window of his carriage. Doongi, Soongi, and Dori all meowed in agreement. “I want those fools hand-tied and the princess back in her station before the sun rises. Is that clear?”

“Crystal, Sir!!!” They all cried. Minho scoffed, closing the window and falling back exhaustively in his seat

He messaged his temples...since Jeongin wasn’t there to do it for him

How did this happen?

How could he lose?

How could he let you and the others just escape like that...and fall for such a subtle, dumb trick?

Also…...there was the matter of his childish behavior from before

In front of the princess, his future wife

His friends

His army

……

That really hadn’t been like him at all

He just...was so stressed lately

And exhausted

Did he mention exhausted?

What time was it, like, 1 am???

That might be fine for you, but normally this king had his ass under covers by 11 pm

He could scarcely keep his eyes open were it not for all the rocks and potholes and--

…

And the curious young man that just stumbled out into the road.

Minho leaned forward, staring through the open front window, squinting in the darkness to make out a face; was that one of the boys? Was that Seungmin, or Jeongin perhaps?

It certainly didn’t sound like it-- the sap was calling out a name, and seemed to be dressed in tattered old clothes. Probably a peasant looking for his lost sheep or dog.

But then his men pulled the carriage closer, since that previous battle had spooked all the horses away, and Minho was able to make out a name: “Y/n!!! Princess, say, “here I am!!!””

…………

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Gottem.

~ꕥꕥꕥ~

To be continued...maybe.

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

[nekowriteshaikyuu]

Temptation

it’s contagious to touch you, but it’s also tempting to do so.

pairing: Sakusa x reader

warnings: fluff (?)

summary: you love affection, but Sakusa doesn’t. For your sake, will he come out of his comfort zone?

a/n: so,,heard haikyuu is ending TT. i’m so sed i haven’t even finish reading the recent chapters so i’m slowly catching up. But anyways after like a 2 week hiatus, i’m back so weee. hope this one will make up for being gone for the past 2 weeks. enjoy !!

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ sakusa kiyoomi ♥

you and Sakusa have been dating for about 3 months now. Surprising, huh? considering he’s a clean freak. Despite that, you see through his habit as a really loving and understanding person. And you’ve always love him for that. But there is still one thing that has never change for these few months.

his fear of affection with you. You’re the captain of the soccer team, and every practice, there is never a time you’re covered in mud. You’re constantly running in the field, under the scotching hot sun or lightly drizzling rain. Both of your practices ends at the same time but Sakusa always finishes earlier to clean up and do his daily cleansing routine. By the time you’d change into some thin dri-fit shirt, he’s already squeaky clean from head to toe. Don’t get me wrong, Sakusa adore you, he loves you. He really do. But just by looking at you all sweaty, mud on your shirt and some on your legs, as well as your really chapped hands, he feels really uncomfortable. He basically gags and cringe over the sight of you all dirty and contaminated with germs.

This actually was an issue you both face. You’ve always love affection, and he knows that from the very start of your relationship . Forehead kisses, back hugs, cuddles when watching a movie, just thinking about it puts you on cloud nine. But Sakusa is never one to give you affection. Maybe some light hand caresses, but even that makes Sakusa pull out his hand sanitiser and spread it all over his hand. It does upset you on how cautious he is with his hygiene but it’s wrong for you to force him out of his comfort zone to satisfy your needs. So you just live with it. As time goes by, your constant yearning for affection slowly dies down. You just felt impatient waiting for the day to arrive. Sakusa noticed it as well. You began to be cautious with your hygiene around him. You’re at least arms length away from him everytime he waits for you during practice so he won’t feel grossed out, you’d scrub your body hard, making sure you felt like every bacteria just dies from the shampoo you applied, you’re always never touching shoulders when walking home together. 

Sakusa felt a slight guilt that you’d do all these small gestures so he’d feel comfortable around you. He felt like he’s not doing enough to make you happy. He did tried to hold your hand once, but soon pulled his back to his side after the thought that he’d be at risk if taking that step forward. 

As time flies, you’ve already picked up the habit. Arms length away, keep clean at all times, shoulder width apart. You don’t feel like the relationship is as lively as it used to be. It felt as if there’s a wall, blocking you away from Sakusa, forbidding you to touch him. 

~

You sighed silently as you stare at the black board, chalk scribbles of math formulas across the board. You turned to your left and looked out the window, admiring the green grass growing in the soccer field. It’s been a week since you’ve been in the field. Your team finally graduated and it wasn’t compulsory to attend daily practices. You took this opportunity to rest and work on your studies, and just have moments with yourself to recollect your thoughts. As for Sakusa, he still attends training so you’d often wait for him in your class until he’s done to go home together.

It was after school and Sakusa left for training. You sat in your seat, watching the trees swayed from the wind. You yawned after staring back at your paper filled with black ink. You’ve been rewriting your english essay for a while now and you felt your hand ache. You decided to take a small nap, which turned into sleeping for a whole hour. 

Sakusa ended his practice and was obnoxiously exhausted. He was constantly passing the ball without break. He slowly got up from the bench and went to wash up. As he continue to do his daily cleansing, he noticed how you’re not replying his messages. Normally it’d take only seconds before you’d see his messages and reply. He even gave you a call but it wasn’t answered. He knew where you were waiting and immediately went to your class after cleaning up.

As he open the door, he was welcomed with you resting on your hand on the table, pen in your other hand. He slowly walks up to you and sat on the corner of the table beside yours. He envyed how you were able to rest peacefully while he was having difficulty keeping the ball constantly off the ground. He slowly admire your features. Your hair falling on your face, your eyes twitching and your light snores, He couldn’t help but smile under his mask. Unconsciously, his arm stretched out to tuck your hair that was covering your face behind your ears. He basically lost his breathe just watching you sound asleep. That small moment, he realised, how much he yearned for your touch. your hands weren’t chapped, but instead it was so smooth. Your shirt wasn’t covered in mud, but scented with your strong floral perfume, For once, he just had the temptation to pull you closer to him, and rest at the crook of your neck and take the moment to ease down after a tiring practice

You slowly woke up when you felt someone beside you. You slowly got up before making eye contact with your boyfriend who was silent for a while. 

“how long have you been here?” you asked with a groggy voice. He took a deep breathe, exhaled hard, and looked back at you before speaking.

“shouldn’t you have gone home if you’re tired? it’s not necessary for you to wait.” you slowly stood up , your hands up your head as you stretch from your nap.

“it’s okay, i had some work to do anyways” you struggled to reply as you continue to stretch. To you, it was nothing. But to Sakusa, it was like an opening.

Your waist wasn’t blocked by your hands, and it was just nice for Sakusa to pull you in his arms. The thought of it made Sakusa at ease. But he wants to experience as well aside from just imagining it. As you mindlessly stretch, twisting and looking out the window, you flinched as you felt a bold, firmed hand grabbed your waist, pulling you closer. Before you knew it, your boyfriend was settling into the crook of your neck. Just like how he wanted to for the longest time.

“o-omi?!” you’re practically panicking. The action was so sudden for you to process properly. You thought he did it out of force so you won’t feel sorry for him not giving you enough love. You tried pushing him away, but his grip tightened around your waist, giving you no way of escape. Sakusa slowly sinks in your touch, sighing under his mask. He could practically hear your heart beating faster than usual. So this was how it feels like to be touched, to be loved, with affection. For a moment, the thought of being contaminated and germs was washed out of his mind. All he was thinking about was how amazing it felt to hug you after so long of distancing from each other. (social distancing kidz)

You watch him as he rests onto you. You couldn’t help but smile, before placing a peck on the top of his head. You began to slowly play with his curls, feeling how soft and silky it is for the first time. You stood there silently as Sakusa takes the moment to wine down and ease up after an exhausting day.

“omi, we have to go home.” You said but he pulled you closer, sighing once more.

“just,,a few more minutes” He didn’t want this to end. He wants to hug you for as long as he can take it. But at last he soon let go after you lightly tapped his back. On the way home, he took the courage to hold your hand. You’ve never felt this happy. For a while, you’ve always been waiting for this moment to come, and it finally did.

You could see the invisible wall fade. Your shoulders were finally touching, hands intertwined with one another. You were so close to Sakusa you could rest your head on his shoulder.

“you’re gonna have to get used to this new habit of mine” Sakusa broke the silence. You looked up at him and noticed a hint of redness on his cheek, even with the mask on.

“hmm? what habit?” He turned away from you as he mumbled under his breathe, but you could hear clearly.

“...hugging you..” you just smiled before wrapping your arm around his.

“of course, omi~”

Well, let’s say that Sakusa is no longer fearing your touch no more. In fact, he yearns for it everytime now.

------ 𝕤𝕒𝕜𝕦𝕤𝕒 𝕜𝕚𝕪𝕠𝕠𝕞𝕚 ------

a/n: yeaa i kinda changed my layout and style so i hope it’s slightly better !! i’ll try to improve it as time goes by but this is not bad for now teehee. also feel free to send in requests, i’ll try to write them :) but yeaa hope you enjoyed it <3

[jooniperhun]

The End of the Rainbow | ot7 (1)

pairing: tall!black!reader x bts, poc!reader x bts, woc!reader x bts, black!reader x bts

genre: fluff, strangers to friends to (maybe) lovers [later], romance [later], comedy, misunderstandings [later], (slight) angst [later], smut (maybe??) [later], idol!au

rating: PG-14

wc: 2.3k

warnings: swearing

notes: the boys won’t make an appearance until chapter 2 but there is some foreshadowing in there (hint hint); pretend that corona never happened; most of the geographical locations/distances will either be made up or not named because I’ve never been to Korea lol whoops; this reads more like a reader-insert sorry that’s my default writing setting; and the boys’ backstories and such won’t be all that accurate because I’m the author and I say so teehee :)

“Text like this is spoken in Korean.”

“Text like this is spoken in English.”

summary: Your current job as a travelling housesitter has taken you to many places, some strange and many wonderful. When the acquisition of a new client takes you to Korea for three months, you wonder if your self-esteem can survive being around so many other-worldly looking people. Also, not to be paranoid or anything, but maybeperhaps you’re being stalked by the same seven strangers? They’re pretty loud and always surrounded by a tonne of people, so you write it off the first few times.

But this shit is getting excessive, chile. And annoying…

Rhetorical question, but what lies at the end of a rainbow? You hope that it’s a pot of gold, but with the way that your luck has soured, it might just be seven short(er than you), rowdy leprechauns ready to flip your world sideways…

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Usually, when it came to social outings, ___ would go out of her way to make sure that she looked her best. Her wild mane would be tamed, her makeup would be carefully, painstakingly applied, and her clothes wouldn’t hold a single wrinkle. This, however, isn’t ‘usually’— this is an airport, and ___ currently couldn’t find it within herself to give a single, flying fuck about her appearance after the flight that she had just had. 

That isn’t to say that it was terrible— she was flying first class, for Christ’s sake! Not to mention that she didn’t have to spend a single dime on it (excluding the multiple new outfits and lashes that she purchased for herself because if she was anything, it was slightly vain). But a roughly 18 hour flight, combined with slight motion sickness? It doesn’t matter how comfortably she had dressed, or how attentive the flight attendants were, or how delicious the food was— ___ walked off of the landing strip probably looking exactly as she felt (read: terrible). 

Luckily, the good thing about airports was that she wasn’t the only one. No one paid her any mind, too worried about themselves and finding their respective luggages and families to be giving some rando more than a passing glance. 

She was officially in Seoul, South Korea, and she couldn’t read a damn thing.

Okay— slight exaggeration. Most of the signs had English (and Spanish, and Chinese, and Japanese) translations beneath the larger blocks of Korean, but her damn near-blind ass missed that the first time around. 

The airport looked as airports tended to look— large, modern, and clean. There was a beautiful netting of glass in the ceiling that let gentle rays of sunlight in. The walls were similarly comprised of the netting design and slanted outwards, away from all of the passengers. Statues and abstract constructions divided the masses. People from all walks of life milled around, looking for their luggage or anxiously waiting for their plane to arrive.

Incheon International Airport, Terminal One, Flight DL27. ___ reminded herself over and over of the number of where she would go for Baggage Claim, scanning the area and mumbling slightly to herself. She adjusted her dark shades and hefted her purse (her only carry-on) higher onto her shoulders, following the crush of fellow passengers into the depths of the fragile looking place. 

There were a lot of people walking around with black facemasks and shades on, so she was glad that she wasn’t the only shady-looking sista walking around. Inwardly snorting at her own pun, ___ nearly walked past her destination. 

It was honestly this part of each trip that gave her the most anxiety— that is, waiting for her suitcase to come around on the conveyor belt.

She had heard and read multiple horror stories about too many passengers never recovering their luggage. Either stolen, lost, or dropped from the airplane itself— if it could go wrong, it went wrong. But it’s not like hers’ is particularly interesting to look at. It was a simple, standard black. Only a red, knotted ribbon tied around the handle marked it as her own.

Ten minutes of fretful bag checking later, ___ finally found it. She gave a silent sigh of relief and turned towards the exit. Then, her anxiety flared right back up when she realized that she would have to hail a taxi to get to her destination. 

Honestly, her people-meter was getting a little bit too full for her to actually be initiating direct human interaction right now. 

But she would persevere! Even if her persistence could use a bit of work, she’s faked confidence enough times to make it. 

Getting a taxi to stop for her was like pulling teeth. By the time that she had stuffed her menial baggage into the trunk and clambered into the front seat, her temper had risen a few notches. She’s had a long two days. The flight wasn’t kind on her stomach or her sleep schedule— not to mention the fact that she felt disgusting. A shower sounded so nice right now… She didn’t want to be on the streets any longer than she had to be, dammit!

Donning her ‘Customer Service’ voice (as she liked to call it), she politely rattled off her destination to the driver in Korean. He was on the younger side for the profession (at least, from what she’s seen), with neatly laid dark hair and slightly tanned skin. His dark eyes constantly shifted from the road to her when they were stopped for traffic, but he luckily seemed to sense her mood as he did not say anything more than the polite initial greeting. 

All in all, it was a 30 minute drive filled with determinedly unawkward silence. ___ sent a quick text to her employer to inform them that she would be at the house in a bit, then sent another to her mother to let her know that she touched down safely. Almost immediately, her phone began to buzz.

Rolling her eyes, ___ answered. “Good morning to you too, Ma.” She said as her full lips tilted up in amusement. Upon hearing the English, the driver sent another glance in her direction.

“Hey, baby! It’s night time for us right now (we just got finished eating dinner). How was your flight?” Her mother’s voice gave a slightly tinny echo as she spoke, and the sound of shifting fabric clued ___ in to the fact that she, indeed, was probably on the toilet.

“Tiring. I forgot to buy Dramamine, so it was a fun time for me.” She switched hands with her phone so that she could look out of her window more comfortably. Little snatches of the city flashed by before they turned into a slightly more residential area. The houses here were large and gated, yet closely located. “How is everyone doing? No-one dead yet, right?”

Her mother snorted. “Yet is correct. Turns out, ya’ sister got herself a lil boyfriend—” ___ had to stifle her laugh before she gave herself away, “— and ya’ daddy wasn’t too happy when he found out. Her fast ass is sitting in her room right now, phone taken and everything. Woulda’ gotten an ass whoopin if we found anything triflin’ in it, but she’s clean.” Yeah, only because of her advice. No sending nudes back and forth, no secret folders dedicated to trifling shit, and no conversations going further than normal teen-girl gossip. Those were her three cardinal rules to sneaking around with a boy, and it seems that her little sister had done well to heed them.

“And the lil’ boy? Anyone we know?” ___ asked, playing along. If her parents found out she already knew about him, her ass would be grass, too. 

“Yes!” Ma exclaimed frustratedly. The driver jumped at the sudden loud sound in the otherwise silent car. “That nigga, Devin. Lives a block down from us? You know the one.” She gave the appropriate gasp at the news while rolling her eyes. Devin was a sweet boy who had a good future ahead of himself. There was no goddamn way she would waste her painstakingly gathered advice on someone who wasn’t good for her sister.

“Dam— I mean, wow. You think you know the people you live around...” She caught herself quickly before she cursed. Even halfway across the world, her fear of her ma’s wrath was still very, very healthy.

“I heard that, but I’ll let it slide this time.” Her mother’s tone was amused despite her previous outrage. 

“Anyways, as I was saying… I don’t see anything wrong with Devin. He was a nice boy, last time I talked to him.” From the cover of her shades, ___ watched the driver watch her from the corner of his eye. The car began to slow.

“Tell that to ya’ daddy. He—” Ma began to rant as ___ pulled the phone away from her ear. 

“How much do I owe you?” She asked quietly, hands dropping to rummage through her purse for her wallet as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder. “—Alright, Ma. Imma have to call you back. We just pulled up to the house and I gotta get situated.”

Handing the driver the appropriate amount of Won, they both left the car to remove her luggage from his trunk. “Okay, sweetie. Love you! Call me again when you get settled in.” Her mother echoed as she mouthed a quick ‘Thank you,’ with a shallow bow.

“Gotcha. Love you, too! Bye.” She hung up and grabbed the handle of her suitcase, making it extend before dragging it behind her towards the house that they had stopped in front of.

She couldn’t really see anything past the high, brick walls and iron gate. Spotting an intercom, she quickly checked her reflection in her phone’s camera before she could press the button to call her employer.

Removing her silk head-scarf, she found that her high puff had held up reliably under it. She quickly stuffed it into her purse and pulled out her glasses case to place her shades in. Shoving that back in, too, she smoothed out her black jeans and checked for stains on her yellow top. It was only after assuring that her face was, indeed, clean that she rang the buzzer.

A red light blinked on before a voice answered. So there was a security camera for surveillance? Good. “Good morning! You must be ___, right?” Her voice was smooth and low, like velvet. It hinted towards an older age, especially when compared to the commonly high pitched tones of the youth.

“Yes, good morning.” ____ stepped back slightly to bow. The gate unlocked with a soft click, and she made her way up the driveway. She could only see one car at the moment, but from the size of the house— no, mansion—, she was sure that a lot more were probably in the garages (yes, plural).

The mansion was a modern white with a lot of windows to let in natural light. The lawn was cleanly cut and the rich, emerald grass shined with small droplets of morning dew. There was actually a surprising amount of yard space, which was ideal for pets and children. The only thing that she would be needing to worry about this trip was a dog and some plants, though.

Little solar-powered lights lined the walkway that ___ walked down. They looked nothing like the one-dollar versions from the Dollar Store, and definitely cost a lot more, too. She climbed a few stone steps to reach the porch. On either side of a dark-wooded door, two gold vases stood guard. They were almost as tall as her and intricately carved with little, delicate flowers. The welcome mat that she stood upon was a sensible dark brown and had a looping Welcome swirled across the front in white. 

She rang the doorbell and patiently waited.

A few moments passed before the door sprung open. The lady that answered was small and adorable in her old age. Her dark hair was sprinkled with white streaks, and her large, dark eyes were creased with laugh lines. The same lines were also wrinkled around her mouth, but they did not take away from the traditional beauty that she still held. Her cheeks were rounded and scattered with pink, and her skin was the color of milk. She was dressed in a fashionable black pantsuit and wore black pumps that boosted her height. 

“Good morning!” ___ bowed lowly with a sweet smile. Her eyes, large and slightly too round to truly be almond shaped, disappeared into crescents. With her face transformed so cutely by just a single smile, one would find it hard to believe that ___ had a mean, mean resting bitch face that, when combined with her not inconsiderable height, gave her a naturally intimidating demeanor.

Endeared, the woman bowed back. “Please, come in.” She invited, stepping aside and letting ___ and her suitcase drag in. 

***

She was still getting situated in the guest room when the door slowly creaked open.

Though she couldn’t see anything from where she was seated on the bed, the tell-tale pattern of claws clicking against the hardwood floor cued her in to who was entering— Mickey, a cute, little Shih-Tzu breed with floppy ears and a brown and white coloring. Despite the fact that he was male, Mickey had two tiny, powder-blue bows woven around his ears. His matching sweater creased slightly as he padded towards her.

“Hi, sweetie!” ___ cooed, reaching down to give him a gentle pat on the head, “Are you looking for some company now that Grandma isn’t in?” 

Mickey had been (surprisingly) very calm upon his introduction towards ___. He barely reacted (outside of a few weak wags of his fluffy tail) to her squealings of how cute he was. Perhaps it was behavior that he was used to.

He settled down onto the carpet next to her bed, the ideal spot for her to reach down and pet him if she wanted to. It was a good move on his part, because that was exactly what she wanted to do. 

___ was a huge dog lover— in fact, she just loved cute, fluffy animals in general. Cats, llamas, sheep— you name it. She tolerated reptiles, and if she had to handle insects, it was usually with gloves and a healthy bit of distance. 

The moral of the story is that she adored fur-babies, and until Mickey’s owner came to pick him up or his Grandma came back home, Mickey was her dog.

a/n: Thank you all for reading the first chapter! I really hope you liked it. The fun stuff starts next chapter, so please stay tuned! I have so much planned *evil laughter*

[pjsk-tts-transcripts]

Chapter 4. Saki's room, daytime. Saki: Teehee♪ Hehe♪ Which one should I wear? Tsukasa knocks on the door. Tsukasa: Saki, can I come in? Saki: Sure♪ Tsukasa: I just wanted to ask… Whoa, why are your clothes all over the place? Are you going to start a fashion show? Saki: No, I'm just picking out what to wear for a date. Tsukasa: A…date?! D-D-Date?! I shouldn't be so shocked… You're not a little girl any more. Whatever you choose, you have my full support. Follow your heart! Saki: What? Tsukasa, why are you giving me a dad speech? Besides, it's just a date with my girlfriends! Tsukasa: Ah, you're just going out with your bandmates? Saki: So, you wanted to ask me something? Tsukasa: Yes, about your plans for the next weekend. Our parents are going to be away on a trip. I'm doing a show then, so I won't be home either. I was worried about leaving you home alone, in case something happened. Saki: Well, you don't have to worry, because I'm going out with my bandmates on Saturday. Tsukasa: Great, so you'll have company. Saki: And anyway, you worry too much! The doctor said I was fine. Tsukasa: Well, yes but… Saki: I am fine! You can go out and enjoy your weekend without being so concerned about me. Tsukasa: Okay, if you're sure. Just… Remember to look both ways before you cross the road! Saki: I will! The door creaks as Tsukasa leaves. Saki: Tsukasa is such a worrywart. Hmm… It would be terrible if I did end up feeling unwell on the day of our outing, though. As much as I enjoy the sports club and my job, I should take it easy. I'll go to bed early today.

Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy - the courtyard. The sun is setting, casting the pavilion and trees with warm light. Soft Tennis Captain: Okay, team. Time to go home! Saki: See you later! Honami: Hi, Saki. Did you have soft tennis? Saki: Yeah. And you had home ec club? Let's walk home together! Honami: Sure!

Miyamasuzaka. A wide brick sidewalk next to a street, lined with shops and trees. Saki: So in the end, I decided I'll wear the shorts I bought the other day, and I'll pair them with… Honami: Huh? Your face looks really flushed. Saki: What? Really? I don't feel like I'm running a fever. Maybe I applied too much blush? Honami: I don't think that's it... Just to be safe, maybe you should check your temperature when you get back home. Saki: Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks. I'm sure it's nothing, though! My base temperature's naturally a little higher than average. (What if I do have a fever? I've been feeling kind of spacey, now that I think about it. No matter. A good night's sleep will make it go away.)

Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy - Class 1-C. Saki: Oof... (Hona was right, I had a temperature. I better head back home early and make sure I get plenty of rest.) Saki gets a notification on her phone. Saki: Hmm? It's from my boss? Can anyone cover these shifts? I thought the next month's schedule wouldn't be up for a while. Why are they already looking to cover shifts? "Ms. Yamada's kid has caught the flu, and she had to urgently take a week off from work." Whaaat?! "Please let me know ASAP if you can take any of her shifts." It looks like they're struggling with finding someone to cover Saturday, but that's the day we're going to the observatory. Well, I'm busy on that day... Saki's phone buzzes. H-Hello, it's Saki speaking. Manager: I'm sorry about the sudden call. Have you seen my message? Ms. Yamada's not coming in this week. Could you cover her shift on Saturday? Saki: I'm sorry, but I can't do Saturday... Manager: What about today? I've got someone who can take the Saturday shift if you can swap with them today. Saki: Um... (I'll probably be okay if I make sure to pace myself. They really need my help.) Saki: Yes, I think I can make it today! Manager: Really?! Thank you! You're a life-saver! Saki: I'll head over now! Ichika: Hey, Saki. You don't have your sports club today, right? Are you going home now? Saki: Sorry, Ichi! I have to cover someone's shift at the cafe. I've got to run, or I won't make it. Bye! Ichika: Oh, okay... The door slides open as Saki walks out.

Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy - the hallway. Saki: I have to hurry! Saki's footsteps echo in the hallway. Shiho: Saki? Where was she running off to? I'll have to remind her again to take it easy.

Scramble Crossing. An intersection in an urban area. Saki: Sigh... I really have no luck today. Why did it have to be so busy at work? It feels like my temperature's gotten a little higher, too... Maybe I should cancel band practice tomorrow... Saki thinks back to her conversation with Shiho: There's one condition, though. Don't start slacking off with band practice because of this trip. If I see you start to get lazy, I'm out. Got it? Saki: If I don't go, our day trip to the observatory may be canceled, too... I have to buckle down and somehow make it to Saturday.

Stella After the Rain: Episode 1

Set in a hospital room. There are 2 beds, each with a curtain and a personal side-table with TV. One of the beds is next to a large window, and outside it is dark and raining.

Saki wakes up. "Ngh… Huh? I didn't realize I fell asleep. Ugh, my neck hurts. I must have slept in a weird position. It's raining again. I'm fed up with rain. I hope the weather's nice when my family comes to visit." Saki pauses. "If it doesn't clear up, I won't see the stars tonight, either."

Image description: The 4 star "Rainy Distance" Saki card. Saki sitting up in a hospital bed, staring at her reflection in the dark window.

Saki. "I wonder how everyone's doing. Are they having fun with their classmates? I…miss them so much."

Set in Saki's bedroom. She has orange and pink walls, with floor to ceiling windows next to her bed. She has an end table, a desk, bookshelf, and a vanity. She has photos above her desk and bed, and stars dotted along her ceiling. On the floor, she has a pink, purple, blue and yellow area rug made of circles.

Saki: "Ngh… Wait a second… This isn't a hospital bed…" "Oh, that's right. I'm not ill anymore. I can see everyone again."

There's a knock at her door, and Tsukasa calls in. "Saki! Are you not ready yet? It's good to take care getting ready for the day, but if you take too long, you'll be late!" Saki: What? It's morning? Wh-What time is it?! Oh no… I overslept!

Set in Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy - Class 1-C. The room is filled with wooden desks, and has white walls with large floor to ceiling windows on one side. There is a chalkboard and desk at the front of the room. Saki: Huff… Huff… I… I made it… That was close. If Tsukasa didn't wake me up, I'd definitely be late for classes.

Ichika: Morning, Saki. Glad you made it. You're not the type to oversleep in the mornings, so I was surprised when you messaged me. Did you stay up late?

Saki: No, but I guess I was so caught up in my dream I couldn't wake up. Ichika: What sort of dream? Saki: Well… It was, um… Classmate: Guys, the teacher's coming. Saki: Ah, thanks for the warning! Come on, Ichi! We should return to our seats! Ichika: Yeah, right. Saki: (She'd feel bad if I told her I was dreaming about when I was in the hospital. The hospital was too far for her to visit me often, and she seemed to feel guilty because of that. I don't want to cause my friends any more worries now that I've gotten better. Let's make the most of this day!)

Saki and Ichika start talking after the school bell rings, ending the day's classes.

Saki: Yay, time to close the textbooks and head off to practice! Ichika: Yeah. You're really hyped today, Saki. Saki: I guess so! I almost started the day on the wrong foot, but it's all good now! Besides, today we have a date you-know-where! Ichika: That's right. It's been a while since we last went. I'm looking forward to it too.

They move out to the hallway. The hall has wide windows on one side, with doors and windows into each classroom on the other. The floor is shiny, yellow tile.

Honami: Hi Saki. Hi Ichika. Saki: Honami! It's been a long day at school, huh? Lemme give you a hug! Saki tackles Honami. Honami: Aaah! Careful, Saki. You almost made me fall over! Shiho: Don't cause a scene in the corridor. Saki: Shiho! Don't you worry, I've got a hug for you too! Ugh! Shiho pinches Saki. Shiho: I asked you to cut it out. We've got important plans today, so let's find somewhere out of public sight. Shiho pinches Saki again. Honami: Shiho, maybe you shouldn't be pinching Saki's cheeks. Her face is looking hilarious though… Hehe. Ichika: Haha! Saki, you should see yourself! Saki: I pwomise I won't twy to hug you anymowe, fo let go of my sheeks!

The girls make their way out to the courtyard. It is bright, with manicured trees and flowers. There is a circular bench around a central tree. Ichika: Looks like no one's around. Are you all ready? Saki: Yeah! Ichika: Okay… Here we go!

Set in the School Sekai. The Sekai looks like a classroom, with a chalkboard at the front, and windows on the side. The windows are open, letting in bright light, and the desks and chairs are stacked and pushed to the corners and front, creating an open space. The chalkboard is covered with a handdrawn star chart.

Miku: Welcome back! Luka: Hehe. We've been waiting for you. Saki: Miku! Luka! Thanks for having us! Miku: Always happy to. I see you're full of pep as always, Saki. Ichika: And yet, this morning she almost turned up late for classes. I was surprised. Shiho: What, really? That's unusual for Saki. Honami: You're always at school so early. What happened this time? Saki: Heehee… I fell asleep again right after waking up. Shiho: Okay, that checks out. Saki: Enough about that. I can't wait to show the fruits of our hard work to Miku and Luka! Ichika: Okay, let's get ready to play. Honami and Shiho: Yeah! Saki: (That dream made me break a cold sweat, but I'm fine now. I'm no longer all alone. I'm with my friends. I have to make up for lost time!)

[thylalock]

Hello, would you mind sharing how did you make the text gradient in that gorgeous 1917 appreciation day gifset? Also which font it was? Thanks

HIYYA ANON! omg i'm so sorry it takes me eons to get back to this hjdkshfk i hope you're still there but anyway if anyone is still out there to read this i'd be very happy

FIRST OF ALL THANK YOU! 😭😭😭 i have to make a set for april 6th and fleurie? she writes perfect (and sad) songs that strangely always have a fandom vibe in it so of course i had to use her song ahahahahh

below the cut is how i make the text thing from this gifset

afjdksjs please bare with me, i’m not majoring in design or anything

the main thing that makes it work is the use of clipping masks, you can read the detailed explanation about what it does here!

now masks can also be clipped to layer groups (the group acts as a base layer) so everything in the group will define the visible boundaries of the mask. in my set, i clipped a gradient layer to a group of texts, that's why the fill of the texts appeared in gradient.

for the gradient, you can use the gradient tool or you can put on a new gradient fill. they both come with their own advantages and disadvantages. the gradient tool puts a gradient to a selected region (when you're not selecting anything, it will put the gradient on the whole canvas). it's quick, but it's canvas-bound, meaning if you move the layer, the gradient will stop at where the boundaries of your canvas used to be. on the other hand, the gradient fill takes a bit of an adjustment if you want one color to stretch a long way before it transitions to the other color, but it's not canvas-bound so you can move the gradient (the point where it starts to transition) anywhere and the colors on each end of the gradient will stretch on forever.

(i usually prefer to use gradient fill, but in my 1917 set i used the gradient tool because i wanted to be quick lol)

here's the font that i used, it's called salome, and here's the settings that i used in my set!

i'm not sure if you're also asking about how i elongate some of the letters in the set, but i'll just assume it's in the question just so you don't have to ask again teehee

basically i cheated a bit to achieve this: i put an l letter on top of the letter that i want to elongate and put them on mask AHAHAHAHAHH (you can read about layer masks here, essentially it's a non-destructive way to edit the visibility boundaries of your layers, just like clipping masks), here's how i did it:

i wrote "nowhere" and i masked it so it appeared like this

and i put additional tall letters (like l letters) and masked it like this to achieve the final look

together they look like this

and this is how it looks after clipping a gradient to it

note: you might be tempted to pump the vertical scale for certain letters to achieve this look but please note that the vertical scale will be applied evenly through all the parts of the letter so it’ll just appear stretched, even for a letter as uniform as an l (especially because we’re using a serif font here)

okay, i think that’s all AAAHH IM SO BAD AT EXPLAINING THINGS FDJKFDHGFDHFDJFK but that's how i did the set, THANK YOU FOR ASKING ANON!

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2010s: 50 - 46

50. Poli Genova - “Na inat” Bulgaria 2011

Oh I know, the strength will be within me So that I may reach my destinatiooooooon

So starts one of the most underated empowerment anthems in Eurovision. Honestly, Poli Genova brooks no introduction. The woman is an international treasure and one of Eurovision’s most recognisable dispensers of AGGRO LES ENERGY. 😍 Which is of course the main draw to “Na inat”. It is basically “Proud” but disguised as SCREAMY FEMALE-FRONTED ROCK <3 By a woman who styles herself as this:

And it’s loads of fun. 😍 That one shot of the drummer faking out the camera <3

True, “Na inat” isn’t as good as Poli’s return effort or her jesc hosting stint, but still, it contains all of Poli’s natural kick-ass sass in a smaller packages I could hope for. Merely seeing this motormouthed pixie go for it is a delight. 😍

We’ll see more her, much, much later. 

________________________________________________________________

49. Aarzemnieki - “Cake to bake” Latvia 2014

Ever since they beat Dons in Dziesma, Aarzemnieki have been called “UNBEARABLY ANNOYING”, “A DISGRACE TO MUSIC” and “DISRESPECTFUL FOR NOT TAKING THE CONTEST SERIOUSLY” by people who themselves have been called “severely misguided”, “malicious troglodytes” and “not my friends” ^__^

Surveys have indeed shown that cake makes life better about 107.2% of the time, so don’t feel angry towards the Aarzemnieki hater: they simply aren’t living life at the best. Therefore, Aarzemnieki love equals self love. Can’t argue with science, yo~ It is, as Raitis would interject,

A PIECE OF CAKE 

and I mean, other than just generally curing my depression and being a generous display of Raitisms and serving some really witty pop culture references and doubling as my go-to humming melody whenever I bake a cake (at least once a month since Eurovision 2014 <3), “Cake to bake” is such a dignified end to Old Incompetent Latvia, entering Eurovision being almost universally dismissed for its frivolity and leaving it being mourned by a sizeable chunk of the fanbase. 😍 So,

MIX SOME DOUGH, 

ADD SOME LOVE, 

LET IT BAKE, 

HAVE SOME CAKE 

________________________________________________________________

48. Kuunkuiskaajat - “Työlki ellää” Finland 2010

Did you know “Työlki Ellää” translates to: “Working is a way of making a living, too”. 😍 I’m not even sure how the linguistics function here, but FINNISH 😍

As a Finnophonic accordeon-heavy happiness anthem, “Työlki ellää” of course immediately blasted my soul with so much positive ki I now have to punctuate all of my sentences with heart emojis 😍 IT IS SO INFECTUOUSLY HAPPY, without actually being legit annoying, which is highly impressive feat, because, let’s be honest, people who are ‘Cheerful All The Time’ are usually either the most irritating humans to be around, or compulsive lying instawhores. 😍 

Of course, like many other robbed angels in this update, “Työlki ellää” was too merry for that part of the votebase who wish to deny your joy and happiness, which promptly punted Kuunkuiskaajat back to The Shire, but not before they stole the hearts of the eurovision fans that have hearts. 💗

________________________________________________________________

47. DoRoDoS - “My lucky day” Moldova 2018

[2018 Review here]

BANALITY ANTHEMS. 😍 DoReDoS are probably the single greatest example of the Moldovan Staging Wonder, taking a painfully antiquated nondescript schlager-folk drone and turning it into a Legitimately Funny farmer’s comedy <3

Take a tumble in a world of:

HILARIOUSLY EXAGGERATED FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

HOT DOPPLEGÄNGERS

SITUATIONAL COMEDY

LIVE GROPING

What a rags-to-riches story. 😍 Made even better by the fact that DoReDoS are in fact commited SovBots, and therefore are forced to mime humour, which they do very awkwardly 😍 enhancing the comedy even more. 😍

Is DoReDoS’s score inflated by the fact that they’re the only good OTT joke act (yes, i know “Toy” exists, but I’m also older than twelve) in a very humourless year of Eurovision? Hell yeah, absolutely. Is this a bad thing? Fuck no. Every year needs a moment of levity, a moment where you can just sit back and enjoy seeing the madness unravel before your eyes, without racking your brain at the underlying meaningitis. “My lucky day” is blissfully simple and efficient. It is one of the funniest Eurovision entries of all time and if you can’t appreciate it, well, your loss. 😊

________________________________________________________________

46. Sebalter - “Hunter of stars” Switzerland 2014

I’ll open by noting that Sebastiano is a lawyer. THIS MAN DEFENDS PEOPLE IN COURT:

As you might expect, I fell in love with this magnificently neurotic stonergod the instant he drunked his way towards winning the Swiss NF. 😍 Of course what I expected of Sebalter was that disarming neurosis wrapped in an NQ bow, but he gave us so so so much more. 

First of all, “Hunter of stars” is the rare bluegrass bop and like many in the elite tier, unabashedly cheerful, infinitely replayable and utterly impossible to sit through without singing or dancing to it’s whimsical whistling tones.

Second of all do my ears deceive me or is this song about JOB INTERVIEWS??? 😍 Well, it’s about applying for a job and the worries about not being good enough, which is both so Sebastiano AND so fucking relatable. Heavens knows how many time I wanted to storm in an row like a lion, but got rejected because of me and my imperfections.

Thirdly, Sebastiano actually overcame his nerves, so this high ranking is less of an “aw bless”, and more of a “wow you really did this 😭”. He performed with fiery confidence and wonderful esl diction (”row like a lion”, “i’m suet, i’m dirty”) and absolutely deserves to be put amongst the select group of singers who OUTSOLD their song.

(and yes he lost his voice in the funale, but that’s why I rate by best performance only :teehee: 🤭)

Fourthly, after spending months in palpable anxiety, worried for Sebalter and Tinkara, they were the first two names announced amongst the qualifiers and it was the best birthday gift ever. 😍 I promptly jumped from my counch, poured myself two glasses of red, immediately downed them, passed out and woke up cured from depression. What a wonderful time to be alive. 

[theatricks]

A Sincere White Day Recipe - Chapter 1

Video here, translation below!!

Fumi and Ichie's Dinner

Fumi: I think it should be about cooked by now. Fumi: Mmm, what a nice smell. There's nothing like cooking pork and vegetables mille-fuille style in a crock pot. *pinpon!* Fumi: ...? Yes? ????: "Yumeoji Fumi-san, there's a ponzu delivery for you. I need your seal and signature, please." Fumi: (A ponzu...delivery? Strange. I don't remember ordering any ponzu...) Fumi: (Could it be...! The year's worth of ponzu I applied for a while ago!?) Fumi: I-I'll be right there! Here, here's my seal-- Ichie: Ta-da-da-daaaah! Rinmeikan's idol, Ichie-san, has arrived with a ponzu delivery~☆ Fumi: ...It was a short-lived dream. Ichie: Eh, why're you all disappointed!? Ichie: Look, it's your beloved ponzu, y'know~? The genuine thing, without it's contents replaced by soy sauce! Fumi: Thanks. I just got myself worked up, don't worry about it. Fumi: Leaving that aside, it's rare for you to come here. Ichie: Ah, well, the truth is~... Hm? Sniff, sniff... Ichie: That smells so good! Were you just cooking dinner? *grumble* Ichie: Oooh... Fumi: Well, that was loud. Ichie: I'm still a growing girl, teehee☆ Fumi: It's nothing fancy, but want to eat over? Ichie: Eh, can I!? Fumi: I'm sure the dinner at the dorms is better, but if you're okay with it, sure. Ichie: I wanna eat the dinner you made~☆ Ah, I'll contact the dorms and tell them I'm eating out tonight! Fumi: Okay, I'm going to put on the finishing touches soon, so when you're done with that, can you help me lay out the rice and miso soup? Ichie: Roger!

Ichie: So yummy~! The ponzu's affinity with the tender meat and veggies is extraordinary! I can't let the meal end~ Seconds, please☆ Fumi: Alright, alright. Fumi: Wait, you didn't come all this way just to eat up my entire dinner, did you!? Ichie: I-I didn't~ I came because I have something to discuss with you! Ichie: Y'see, White Day is soon, right? Soo, I've been wondering what I should give Tamao in return for her chocolates. Fumi: You're troubled over that? I mean, there's a lot you can do, like cookies or candy or something. Ichie: Cookies or candy... Hmm, it's not like there's anything wrong with those, but... Ichie: Apparently, Rui and Yuyuko are also making sweets, so I was thinking I wanted to try making something else, y'know? Fumi: Well, it's not like I don't understand how you feel. I wasn't planning on giving Tamao sweets either. Ichie: Eh!? Then, what are you planning to give her? Fumi: I was thinking of treating her to a White Dinner, by cooking things associated with the color white. Ichie: A White Dinner! Aw man, I should have given you chocolates, too! Ichie: Like bonbons with ponzu in them! Fumi: I'm not sure you could pull off such a sophisticated set-up. Besides, I won't forgive you for wasting food, you know? Ichie: Uu, I take it back~...! Fumi: Anyway, I'm better at cooking than baking, so I just figured if I'm making it myself, it ought to be a dinner. Ichie: That White Dinner thing, do you think it'd be okay if I made it with you? Ichie: It has the element of surprise, so I think it'd be fun! Fumi: I don't mind, but I don't think I've seen you cooking even once? Ichie: Fumi-sensei, I look forward to your instruction☆ Fumi: I figured it would come to that... Ichie: In return, leave the recreational part of the dinner to me. I have an amazing idea! Fumi: The recreational part? I have a bad feeling about this, but...what's the plan? Ichie: This is also associated with the color white, so... whisper, whisper, whisper. Fumi: Huh!? N-No way, that's too embarrassing..! Ichie: Eeh, don't worry, it's fine! It'll suit you for sure! Fumi: The hell it will! And more than that, we'll need time to practice! Ichie: Please! I'll figure out the schedule! Rui and Yuyuko are okay with it, too, so please, I beg of you! Fumi-sama! Fumi: Saying something like that... Ichie: You want to see Tamao's happy face too, right!? It'll definitely be a success! I personally guarantee it☆ Fumi: Your guarantee is the one I have the least faith in but, you really think it'll make Tamao happy? Ichie: Don't worry! It'll be a success... No, I'll make it a success! Fumi: Haah... Then, there's no helping it. Ichie: You'll do it!? Fumi: If Rui and Yuyuko both agreed, then I can't very well be the only one not doing it. Fumi: However, I have a condition. Ichie: A-A condition? I have a bad feeling about this... Fumi: If you're going to be cooking with me, you'll need to learn the basics. Fumi: The way to handle a knife and how to cut ingredients, of course, but also preliminary preparations and how to pick out broth, as well as all five of the fundamental seasonings! Ichie: The what!? Fumi: I hate to ask but, it couldn't be...that you've never even cooked rice before? Ichie: Eeh!? Well, I mean, I-I'm a big fan of rice, y'see, so, ummm... Nope, never! Fumi: This is going to be difficult... You're staying over here tonight. If I don't start drilling you now, we won't be ready for White Day! Ichie: Eh, staying over... Drilling... Fumi: Here, put on this apron! Once we wash the dishes, the lesson begins!

Fumi: No, no, no, no...!! That's completely unacceptable!! Fumi: How many times have I told you to keep your left hand in a fist like a cat's paw when cutting with a knife!? I won't accept a Stage Girl with missing fingers! Ichie: I-I'm sorryyyy!

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 1B - “I'm praying to Yoncé I survive and don't get first boot.”-Jess

no words.

LITERALLY

NO WORDS.

Two points. TWO FUCKING POINTS.

I'm praying to Yoncé I survive and don't get first foot. That ain't a cute look xoxox

i'm already forgetting to search for the idols, i'm already getting paranoid about if i need to start making alliances instead of just enjoying the really cute convos i'm having with ruthie lily and kevin (max is kinda dry and annoying but... we'll try to make it work ig).... and i'm already hating every challenge we do especially this one although i actually really liked the challenge it was so creative and fun, i just hated that i have bad luck and am stupid with the deduction things, HENCE why i havent looked for the idol yet. LOL. so.... tl;dr - things are going perfectly! this hufflepuffle is workin exactly as he should!

I just wanna say we really are the hufflepuffs. 114 moves in like 5 hours, but we did it.  Really proud of Ruthie, Landen, Kevin, Max, and I! Sending positive vibes to slytherin. Hope they are okay in this madness.

Yo my tribe? Kinda dope. I think that everyone worked really well together today! I think Joanna kinda took the lead and some of her ideas were... a choice. But! It got us first place! I think that this tribe has a good shot of getting to swap unscathed.

With Slytherin going to tribal, I really hope that someone I don’t know goes, but at the same time I’d be okay with Jess going? I feel like she’s such a sleeper threat in most games I’m in with her and I really just don’t want to compete with that this time around.

I kind of snapped and got myself an idol good until final 6 teehee.

I knew that the Snape's letter or writing or whatever that freak was up to was SOMETHING. Did I get lucky... hell fucking yeah.

A crackhead like me SHOULD NOT have all this POWER.

I also gave Jacob literally the worst clue ever because we are sharing clues ladies xoxoxo

The clue was:

"Snape is taken aback. “That wouldn’t be any business of yours now would it? I wouldn’t want to find out you are spreading false information. I trust you won’t have any issue with that”. Congrats! You’ve discovered Snape Storyline 2! That’s all for the moment, and will end your search for this round."

BOTH ARE HALF TRUE. Just in case he doesn't put 2 and 2 together and now I went from place to place on purpose. He's gonna think now I gave him something of value and I know he's gonna think "No way someone go an idol on day fucking 3".

CONFESSIONAL 1.1 — Walking into the Great Hall, I saw a few familiar faces... for not good reasons!

First Jacob, who I know from tengaged. He and I were in a similar friend group for a short period before he left it, but we had a rocky relationship. We flirted a bit (blame 16-year-old Nicholas), but that is in the past.

Secondly, Jess... who I just directly sent home in Eve’s The Challenge: Fresh Meat. She did not have great words to say to me (such as I’m condescending), so I was very wary and, honestly, unhappy with her being here.

But, as Kylie Minogue says, it’s better the devil you know.

Flash forward to the Sorting Ceremony, and I’m so happy to be.. Slytherin? I told Mister Vintage (Sammy) and Mister Heinen (Caeleb) that I’m either a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, but I suppose I’ve been lying to myself.

Then, I see my tribe: both Jess and Jacob are present. This is a curse wrapped in a blessing wrapped in an enigma. And, I love it.

I hate, hate, hate conflict and bad vibes, so I directly spoke to both. Jacob did not easily recognize me, but remembered me fondly; so, a successful reacquaintance. Jess, on the other hand, was definitely more apprehensive (as was I), but I made one thing clear: the past is the past, and I am declaring my loyalty.

I have been hurt in previous games by shoving the past aside while the other is still grudgingly aiming for revenge, but I feel Jess is different. She apologized to me about her words, which did hurt, and I apologized to her. What I said was honest, so I’m glad to see a fateful blossoming.

The first reward challenge is revealed, and honestly, I’m really bad at participating in pre-merge competitions, because I do not mind tribal. However, I do want to, since we are such a small tribe, focus on maintaining our numbers in case of a swap. We came in second this reward, and honestly, I’m glad to have eaten cupcakes (although I hate cherry). The fact we all chose a dessert and were privately messaged makes me assume someone received an advantage, but who knows...

What I DO know is that I had two separate relationships, so I wanted to lock a trio down (Me, Jess, Jacob), but I obviously did not want to gamebot this early and make the chat day one. So, naturally, i waited until after immunity.

Speaking of immunity... I took charge, because I like it, but also, I wanted to be able to take blame if we lost. I hate the whole “let’s vote someone out cuz they cost us a virtual challenge” this early in the game, it’s a cheap way to vote. I want to vote on loyalty and activity instead. That’s why I am probably going to target Jessie or Vi, but I‘m unsure as to which will be my vote. On one hand, Vi is much less social, but she also contributed a lot to the challenge. I do not want to judge a book by it’s cover, so I will reach out to her and assess her vibe.

I like going to tribal first, because my philosophy is that it’s better to test loyalties now, rather than guess loyalties later.

Regarding other players, Jules and Juls just played in a mini with me and sheeped the majority alliance to screw me over, so I’m not feeling them right now. Bitterness doesn’t exist in my mind: play well and I respect it; sheep and be stupid, and I will gladly dish out the karma. 

I’m satisfied with the happenings of this game so far, and I hope to make it further!! This is one of my first real orgs so, I’m em definitely excited. x. nick

Yay we won immunity. Raffy do be carrying our tribe though!

WELL WELL WELL!!!!!!! as far as my relationships go which is where i left off last round, really nothing much has changed about how i feel about or view my tribemates, but in exciting news... we won immunity!! i am not going to be first boot that is so nice, and im hoping that we can keep winning immunity until a swap so I can feel more secure. I think I could stand a shot if we lost on this tribe but i think if so the vote would split 3-2 i dont think i can get a unanimous vote on anyone unless its myself which is NOT WHAT WERE TRYNA DO HERE !! if anything i feel like i have the best chance to wiggle myself in with the girls (lily and ruthie) Max would probably be my ideal first vote if we ever lose an immunity because I know landen can be useful in challenges, but he YET AGAIN addressed me with a name that does not sit well with me he called me a "challengewhore" yet another reference to TS 2020, so this is not a good sign. Ideally I could get landen out and still be set but i know he has a relationship with juls who i also have a relationship with and wish to continue to have in this game, and us going against each other could make that more stressful than it needs to be because i know landen avenged beck for voting juls out maybe juls would do the same for him? Much to think about, but thankfully i dont have to think about it all that hard because yet again we ARE SAFE !!! woo, anyways thats pretty much it hopefully we can keep winning :D

Ahhhh safety feels so nice, I’m glad that I’m not in danger of being the first boot. Also I love the fact that ravenclaw won the first challenge with so little moves HAHA!

I want to go far in this thing with lily and with kevin, my goal right now is to get to merge and owen be alive so I can work with him!

I am very happy to have won this immunity challenge. We barely won, but I managed to pull my tribe to a victory. Emphasis on the "I" part. I am very frustrated with my tribe's lack of challenge activeness and ability. If the time did not work for them, then I do not know why they even suggested doing it at 2 PM. This challenge would have gone faster if I had done everything myself. In the end, though, I hope this helps in me staying in the game because I am a necessity if they want to ever win a challenge in first place. I highly doubt that they could do it without me.

So I’m currently writing this with one hand because my cat decided to lie on my other one  anyways Nobody is really talking about the vote which means it’s probably me going but I’ll see what I can do to change that

Here's a breakdown of my first few experiences since I am writing this a few hours before the first tribal council.

FIRST I was cast in this game along with a BUNCH of people that are icons across different formats of Tumblr Survivor - so that's intimidating. Mostly because my play style is kinda vanilla in comparison. I gotta find a way to stand out or I'm going to be thrown out fast.

SECOND There's a twist that will probably have some major effect at some later point in the game where everyone is added to the Great Hall. I think that it's for convenience of posting things like results and challenges so it only has to be sent to one chat... but also so that we can feel THEMATIC which is a lot of fun.

The game started in the Great Hall and we got sorted into our houses and the implication was that it's random but.. I don't think it's entirely true if I can read into what the hosts said to me once I was sorted into Gryffindor (something about running out of room in Hufflepuff) - because I definitely didn't say Gryffindor in my application.

THIRD My tribe has the following people: Joshua, Juls, Raffy, Autumn, and myself. 

I do not know how many of theme said Gryffindor when they applied but also did not want to bring it up to them as I am masquerading as a brave idiot. :D

Anyway, I started conversations with all of them and they all seem very sweet!!

I've played in a game before with Raffy where he was super snakey but also a great ally until he tried to snake me. So there's that... he's also an "over the top" type of person so he takes charge a lot of the time and voices his opinions about everything. I hope we can create some sort of working relationship in the game, but I think that he will tell me the truth if he does align against me.

Autumn is super chill and super strategic-minded. She puts lots of thought into all of her decisions and makes calls that benefit her getting to the end while trying to align with the right people. If I can't get to the FTC of this game... TBH I want to make sure she gets there. I played with her in one game and we both were tossed out one after another when the game turned on our "side". I don't think that relationship will factor into this game as it was forever ago and we both kinda play "new" every time we start a game but I'm hoping she will want to try and play with me just because I've seen how great she is at the game.

Juls is a very fun person who seems to always be having a great time! I found out she lives in Texas too and that she was excited to get to know me because we are from the same state. I was like.. do I know you? Because when she messaged me the way she did implied that she knew who I was and I was thinking OH NO what have people said.

Joshua seems really sweet. He hasn't added incredibly much to conversations so far with him but he has contributed some fun things. I love that he tries to be entertaining, but as I see it so far he's the first person I'd be willing to vote out if it came to our tribe going to council... though of course, having said that I bet they've all declared me their first choice.

FOURTH The reward challenge was the Letter plus Number challenge so as predicted...

I did terribly and earned 0 points for our tribe and was SO happy it was not for immunity.

The immunity challenge was a Choose Your Own Adventure Puzzle.

We got a slow start in that I feel like everyone was afraid to make a move because that would put a target on whoever "failed for the team". Then me and Raffy kind of got things rolling with him taking the main leader role and me taking on a secondary role either agreeing with his suggestions or contributing a suggestion for what we should do.

There was a misunderstanding with the competition and we ended up making a whole bunch of extra moves because it was unclear to us that the letters we found at a later part of the challenge were able to be changed into numbers at a lockbox so we did a bunch of extra stuff... and I was resigned to the fact we were going to the first tribal when we go surprised that Slytherin... DID WORSE!!! O_O

Anyway... I still have no alliances or confirmed "working game" relationships and I really don't feel like starting those conversations at the moment so if I am out of the ones established or on the bottom of one that will add me to "pick me up" for later votes then I blame myself for not trying hard enough in that category.

FIFTH I definitely didn't just now search for the idol and waste two days that I could have searched other times. Nope! Not me!! :)

Anyway I went on a trip to Hagrid's Hut because I love me some Hagrid and I figured he'd let me in since I"m a Gryffindor and he loves us the best (you know, like a reverse Snape)... I dug through all of his junk and found his umbrella. Apparently I liked that it was pink and then left his hut. 

To be honest, I probably should have taken his dragon's egg and turned him in... maybe could have gotten him fired.

Someone finally got me to come out of retirement- can you believe it

It's been cute so far and I have no complaints, probably cause the hosts wisely put me, Owen, and Dan in separate corners lmao. Yooo if we all make it to merge?? Hell hath no fury. But we will cross that bridge when we get there! And for now I enjoy the calm before the storm. I deadass forgot how to be an org so I need all the time I can get to socialize and reacclimate. Me checking Skype more than once a year? Don't remember ever doing that. I love Raffy, it's always good to see Chips, I think I like Juls, and I'm not sure how I feel about Joshua but it's fine. I like Gryffindor cause we have no beef and I hope it stays that way.

ok so my tribe lost :( big sad. but im def ok bc jess is soooo close to me and we made a threesome with nick so. i think jessie is an easy first boot bc shes not around as much as vi. but really its our decision at the end of the day!

here’s the hot goss.. i’m a little upset i didn’t get anyone i Know on my house/tribe but also grateful HSBSNSNN all i know is that so far i’ve been doing pretty solid in securing relationships with those on my team (at least.. i hope so :flushed:) and i’m hoping they all like me hehe. kinda praying to just mist my way to merge where i can be united with people who like me enough to keep me around still.. >:D 

[survivesalem]

Episode 1 - “Let’s hope I’m not getting voted out” - Czern

Honestly I’m just sitting here so hyped that Austin is on my tribe . I know I can actually trust this man which is good . I’m hoping I can vibe with people on my tribe so I don’t end up an early boot . For some reason I think I may actually have a shot this season we shall see ! I’m gonna start reaching out to people and hopefully I give off good vibes !

I guess I'll just give my first impressions of everyone on this tribe including those who I know from the other tribe. Jay - Long ago we played a game together, but I can't really remember his style. I don't think our "pre-existing relationship" will help in any way Czern - A king who I hosted. He's not much on the social side of things so I can see that as an easy boot, but he could be someone that I can make trust me very easily Alex - He's fine I guess Mac - He's a threat. He got POTs and 6th? He needs to go soon. I'll try to get on his good side so he won't see a blindside coming though. II'm keeping my eye on him Ben - Who? He seems like a dudebro and I don't get along with those people. We shall see Dylan - My hosting buddy!! We'll see if they are playing INV or a complete rat. I know they're a flipper so I can't put all of my faith in them Paolo - Someone I know in real life who I brought into the community? Wild. He's a chaotic player for sure. And I am a chaotic player. Maybe we'll vibe together. Maybe not. Hopefully our chaoses come together rather than oppose one another. Zach - Maybe so At the end of the day, without a challenge, I'm just trying to be social and make myself liked by the tribe. It seems to be working so far, but who knows when being liked will turn into being a threat. I think, right now, I don't see myself working with any of these people long term except for Mac. But, as I said, he's a threat, but I could use him as a shield. For now, just focus on being liked and do well in the challenges! (Also this all-male tribe is actually disgusting and I want off of it immediately)

Ok so not even 24 hours after the game starts and my ass is already in a three person alliance with keegan and gizmo and I feel kinda solid about it i don't think it's going to go south hopefully

Hello everyone, my name is Mac, and I’m here to outwit, outlast and outplay this cast. On the other tribe I have someone who is new to the ORG community that I know well. Like, REALLY WELL. The stunning Liam. Liam and I, if we both get to the merge undetected we could slay this entire game. Now. The Osbourne tribe. I am friends with Alex. Lovely person. Do I trust Alex? Not really. No. Alex made a F3 alliance with Alex, Ben and I and I don't wanna be  thrown into a F3 with two friends, and I only know one of them. I kinda know Jay, but not enough to consider him a friend. Czern and Raffy are super quiet. I’ve heard Raffy plays like a crackhead which is fun, I’d rather have Raffy as an ally, or drop him early, who knows we’ll see. Love this game and ily all xoxo <3

So the first challenge is counting. I’m aight at math and I think I can count to 10 so I got this in the bag. I can’t exactly strategise except for social game at this point SOOOO I’ve decided to work my social game ELSEWHERE. I’ve decided to advertise for my Tengaged Group Game (with my Tengaged soulmate Liam) by sending the VL messages to go apply! I’ve also made a forms “application” to apply to be in the HOST CHAT!! How exciting! I got 20+ apps within two days (one person was like 10 of them but shhh). I’m very pumped for this game, Lowkey my tribe I feel is easiest to...manoeuvre. I wouldn’t say manipulate. Manoeuvre. I wanna try get to know them on a more personal level before anything. But honestly I learned my lesson in my past Survivor org to never stay to one ship. If it looks like it’s sinking, JUMP YOU SILLY GOOSE!

Im very worried about something...there may be no Music Video challenge! Don’t get me wrong I’m a shy bitch, but like, it’s very fun to lipsync and perform 💅 but I won’t be able to play any *good* music like Ariana, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa or Britney with all these straights. Ugh. Bummed out buttttt I’m sure I’ll survive. *insert a spooky witch gif to keep to the theme teehee* *takes a sip of an energy drink in the confessional chair* Actually you know what? Here is the songs I’d wanna perform to if we did get a Music Video challenge that are witch themed or witch vibes: “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac “A Little Wicked” by Valerie Broussard “Seven Devils” by Florence & The Machine “House Of The Rising Sun” by Lauren O’Connell “Wicked Ones” by Dorothy That’s my rant. Love you all 🧙‍♀️

This tribe doesn't seem very social which works perfectly for me. This means that being the most social one will benefit me in the early game. For this challenge, I know not to fuck up and I know the strategy, but I fear that these newbies won't which will be a drag. Hopefully we can pull out an immunity win so that I can further situate myself as a pillar to this tribe

My tribe lost. I was mostly quiet in the challenge because I don’t wanna stick out like a sore thumb. I kinda know Jay, and I’m in a trio with Alex and Ben so we should be good. I wouldn’t mind if Czern or Raffy left ngl. If I leave first ill...riot.

So. I feel like I’m in a decent position. Talking to Alex he and Ben apparently wouldn’t mind Czern leaving. That’s great news as I’ve talked to him the least. Alex and Ben are a duo with me as their third. Taking to Jay, he wants me and Raffy around. Am I...going to potentially be in 2 trio alliances? That’s so GOOD! I wanna talk to Ben more and Raffy more. Make it look like I’m down with either trio. If Czern leaves and a F3 is made with myself, Jay and Raffy, then boom I’m the one in power!

I mean making sure your the vote is important. But to use connections to set you up well in the tribe, honey that’s a 4D chess move! It’s spooky szn and this first tribal may show a division if it’s not unanimous. If I make moves without people realising then that’s hot.

So we lost the challenge. Honestly, I feel fine because I have been social and it seems like people like me. I feel Ben should go because I've barely talked to him and he basically ruined the challenge by always wanting to do evens and didn't just quit it when it wasn't working. I personally blame him for the loss because he just didn't take a breath and leave things be. Plus, I don't think anyone has been talking as much with him or Alex. However, I'm just going to keep my opinions to myself and let the target fall on them as it will.

Last night was the immunity challenge and it went really well for us! We didnt even mess up and very quickly took to the tactic that is easiest to win. Everybody speaks in order! We were talking after and were actually worried that with the time being shorter, other teams would talk quicker than we did and beat us. However, when the scores came out it was 182, 46, and 15. I'm really proud of our tribe and us reaching near 200! Though I am sure this is one of the few challenges where us having fewer people is helpful. Hopefully our entire tribe can make it next challenge!

The names going around the tribe are Czern and Ben. I've talked only to Alex and Jay so far. Alex says that Ben said Czern's name. I don't want Czern to go because I feel like I can make him trust me very easily. Jay prefers Ben to go because he doesn't want to vote for Czern two times in a row. Also, Jay told me that he and Mac want to start a potential alliance with me. This means my social abilities are working!! This alliance will make me feel very secure for the rest of pre-merge as it's a strong three that easily claims the majority in this tribe. Hopefully, this is the first alliance in my tribe and I'm not playing into someone's hands, but I doubt that would happen. Score one for Raffy

Howdy y’all! Uhhh I don’t have much to say. Not much has happened yet and everyone’s pretty quiet. I stan the idol hunt? Simple and easy to navigate, but also very creative. We are immune after the first challenge! n e ways...uh...acab

I’m nervous that we lost the first challenge. I have yet to ever survive a tribal council, so I’m trying not to go. Let’s hope I’m not getting voted out

As tribal approaches, I am getting more nervous. There's barely been any chats, but that may be do to these people being slightly antisocial. Or it has something to do with this being an easy vote? I don't know. I am just getting a sinking feeling in my gut. But it also doesn't make any sense to get rid of me since all I've done is be social. Hopefully, everyone is telling the truth and I can just worry about the next immunity challenge.

Apparently Mac and Alex know Ben personally, so they want to get rid of Czern because they don't know him and that's a bunch of bullshit and is not fair to Czern. Ben has been so inactive and he didn't pull his weight in the challenge. We're going to lose again if he stays! But I'm not one to rock the boat. I feel bad for Czern, but I'm not risking my position in a cozy new alliance for him. Though I am more aware than ever of Mac and his threat status. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. He's going down and I'm going to be the one to do it eventually. In any case, I'm glad to finally be in an alliance that seems strong and trusting. It is with me, Jay, and Mac called Jam Rocks. We'll see how the chips fall.