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mischiefmanaged71 · 3 years

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Bad Romance - Joaquin Torres X Reader

Song: Bad Romance - (961) lady gaga - bad romance ( s l o w e d ) - YouTube

Summary: The reader is an enhanced individual with the ability to replicate other people’s abilities. A member of the Avengers, she has been working alongside Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes to investigate the Flag Smashers but the man calling himself the next Captain America poses an obstacle when he takes interest in her abilities.

Author’s Note: Hello! So this is my first time posting a fic I've written. I’ve been writing since 2018 but never had the courage to post anything so I hope you all enjoy my story. Torres has only been in ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ for like five minutes but I’m in love with him. There obviously isn’t enough fiction out there about him so I took it upon myself to write one. This is an idea I came up with in my head, aside from the plot of the show. Listen to the song for added effect. I’ve inserted timings as well :)

Pairing: Joaquin Torres X Fem!Reader

Warnings: TFATWS SPOILERS, Canon-level Violence, blood, romance

Word count: 2.5K

Darkness is all you’ve known these past hours.

It’s been almost twenty-four hours since you’ve last had contact with anyone. Sam would usually check in with you about now, but that didn’t seem a likely possibility.

Your right eye is almost swollen shut and you’re pretty confident that you have a few broken ribs from how difficult breathing is. The sound of metal creaking echoes in the empty room as you rattle your restraints.

You’ve been quite literally chained to the wall.

They weren’t taking any precautions.

Especially after witnessing the dozen agents you could take down all by yourself.

Leaning against the wall, you try to reach some semblance of comfort, laying some of your weight against the hard-rock. Your neck burns from the collar they attached when you caught you off-guard.

It was during a recon mission, you were chasing a lead about the Flag Smashers’ next meet up when they showed. Half a dozen armed men in tactical gear.

They snagged a collar on you, disabling your powers.

You didn’t anticipate this.

All you heard was a piercing noise and then you blacked out.

You couldn’t access your powers as soon as that light buzzed. Trying to summon fire warranted a little electric shock to your system. Little, meaning severe enough to take down an elephant.

Yeah, so getting out of here would be tricky.

Isn’t it always?

Five guards have remained in the room for the past two days, monitoring, watching.

For what?

You have only the slightest idea why.

The double doors which have remained close for the past two days creak open. The blue uniform is familiar to you but the face donning the outfit is not. He’s an imposter wearing a costume, a mock of the real thing. John Walker, along with his so-called ‘American squadron’, had grabbed you as a statement. Sam and Bucky certainly weren’t going to stay out of it because someone told them to. You all followed a code, to protect those who couldn’t fight for themselves.

“Hello, Y/N, it's been a while since we met last...I’m sorry for the way you were handled on the way here but it was the only way I could get to talk to you.”, he said, looking at the bruises beginning to form.

He talked nonchalantly as if this were a normal conversation. Your wrists were raw from pulling away from the cuffs, clothes covered in dirt and dried blood. He strode up to you, pulling his helmet off and placing it carefully on a metal crate.

“Now, I know Bucky and Sam had a lot to say about me, but you, you were always silent. I thought we had an understanding.”

‘An understanding?’

You refuse to look at him.

“You talk big words for someone who couldn’t begin to understand the legacy of that uniform.”

“I earned this! I put in the work. All they want is someone to look up to. To show them that justice still exists.”, he paces in front of you.

“Justice. Is it?”, your eyes narrow.

He pauses in thought, seething with internalised spite. Pacing the floor, he turns his back to you.

“Have you had time to think about my question?”

You remain silent, glaring at his mockery of Steve’s uniform.

“No? Okay. That’s fine,”, he whispered.

Walker signalled for a guard to open the doors once more and two more men entered, dragging someone along. You squint your eyes to identify the person as they dump them in front of you.

“No”, you whispered desperately, your breath caught in your throat.

You spot Joaquin’s dark hair and tan complexion, more so, the blood staining his clothes. The men dragged Joaquin next to Walker, letting him slump to the floor. From what you could see, he had been beaten pretty badly, the bruises already beginning to form on his face. His hands are cuffed behind him and he’s unable to hold his own weight.

Panic fills Torres as he notices the chains securing you to the wall. The last he heard over the coms was a struggle. He and Sam had been surveilling to get anything they could on your kidnappers.

You could only hear the rapid beating of your heart in your throat as blood rushed to your face. Your breathing quickens as you don’t quite know what will happen next.

John broke the silence,

“I’m going to ask you again.”

“Then, I'm going to count from three.”, he said, pulling a silencer out from his waistband and cocking it at Joaquin who rested on his knees.

“What are you?”

You stare at him incredulously, unresponsive.

You look down at Joaquin as he gazes up at you, helpless to move with guns trained on you. He’s telling you to stop, to lie, to do anything but give yourself up.

“What answer do you want?”, you asked, using all your strength to lift your head up.

“You want me to say I’m a freak? A mutant? An experiment? What good does that do you? Everyone knows it.”, you huff, sharpening your glare.

He stares down at Joaquin and kicks his foot out against the ground, clicking his tongue. Walker threw his foot into Joaquin’s back, pushing him into the floor.

“Not that.”

You watch as he points the gun harder.

“Tell me. What. You. Are.”, he grits out.

You clench your jaw hard, shutting your eyes tightly. A burning sensation fights in your chest, spreading to your arms. You suck in a breath desperately, a whimper tearing from your throat as your head drops.

The click of the safety echoes loudly.

(1:26s of the song)

Your eyes shoot open, blazing red and as the chains snap free from the wall. The metal clangs loudly against the floor, triggering the five weapons now pointed at your chest. A surge of fire ignites as you swipe your leg, knocking the agents back. The two standing closest raise their guns as you tilt your head and launch a blast of fire from your hand. The next agent replaces him, firing his gun consecutively, but you strut towards him, swiping them away with blasts omitting from your hands. You send a roundhouse kick with a wall of fire, propelling him through the exit. The remaining three encircle you with their weapons, clicking the safety off.

Your hands burn, glowing red with the heightening energy,

“Okay, you got me.”

You raise your hands in surrender as one of them steps towards. Faltering a step, you inhale deeply as he grabs your arm. Once he sets a hand on you, you exhale, breathing out a stream of fire. You twirl in a circle, the fire pushing them back and blocking their sight of you as they flinch from the heat. Dropping to the floor, you strike the cement and crack the surface. The building’s structure shakes as a cloud of energy dissipates from the contact, incapacitating the last of the soldiers.

Walker fixes his gun on Joaquin but you focus your glare on him. You wait as he stares at you, knowing he has the advantage.

"I'd stop right now, if I were you."

You silently stare at him with blazing fire burning in your orbs. The clicking of the safety reverberates in your mind as all movement stops. The muzzle of the gun is inches away from Joaquin's head.

“Alright, you’ve had your show now.”

You've got mere seconds to make a decision here.

He remains still, as Joaquin’s eyes meet yours and you nod your head slightly.

It’ll be okay because you’d never let anything happen to each other.

"Walker, you've made your point. Look, it's me you really want, not Torres.", You snipped, grabbing his attention.

Joaquin’s heart raced faster,

What were you doing?

You could see the gears turning in Walker’s head, his eyebrows perk up.

"C'mon, this whole thing was to get to me, right? To weaponize me. It's my power. So take it. Just let him go."

Walker pauses in thought,

"I don't think I will."

You knew that'd be his answer but he was too busy looking at you to notice anything else. Joaquin threw his leg out, kicking Walker’s shin to knock him off his centre.

Moving quickly, you roundhouse, knocking the gun from his hand and driving your foot into his knee. He lets out a pained yell, ducking your elbow jab and rolling behind you. You roll forwards, swooping your flames across the floor to knock Walker on his back. He rolls to the side, standing again to flick open a compact switch from his pocket. He struggles for a moment as you strut over, but he presses the button down with conviction.

You falter in your steps as a loud piercing sound breaches your cranium and hearing. It’s overwhelming, threatening to shatter your skull. A whimper falls from your mouth as both hands grasp your head. You can faintly hear Joaquin yelling your name from behind. The pain is unbearable. Joaquin bangs the cuffs on a metal crate behind him, forcing them to break.

Your vision blurs as you clumsily move towards Walker. Once you’re close enough to him, you throw an uncoordinated right hook but he catches it and returns with a kick to your chest, knocking you to the floor. The pain continues, eliciting a moan from you as it grows worse with each second. Joaquin watches as you scream in agony, sprinting towards Walker and tackling him to the floor. Walker loses the switch from his hand, punching Joaquin in the jaw to get him off. Joaquin hisses as his head hits the floor, but he’s quickly grappling for the switch before Walker can get his hands on it. Scanning the floor, he sights it inches away from where you’re curled up in a ball. He’s crawling over to make it but a grip on his shoulder halts him, flipping him over and punching him repeatedly.

Over the intense clanging, you see black dots form in your sight as you want to pass out. You hear grunts nearby and the sound of a fist making contact with skin. You flicker your eyes upward to see Walker’s figure looming over someone.

‘Joaquin...where’s Joaquin?’

You close your eyes and force yourself up, struggling to gain your bearings. Upon opening your eyes, you notice something within your reach. Crawling forward, your fingers barely touch it. You try again and again before you feel the metal beneath your fingertips. Finally, you have it in your hands and crush it. The metal crunches and the ringing ceases. A sigh of relief leaves your mouth as you push yourself off the floor.

More coherent now, you angrily send a blast of energy to knock Walker off of Joaquin. Scrambling off the floor, he brings his fists in front of him, but you've already there, standing in front of him.

"I’m going to count from three.”, you said.

Striking a wave in his direction, you blast fire into his chest, your eyes imbuing fluttering embers.

‘Three’

You continue your onslaught, attacking him with multiple blows of rage.

Your figure looms over Walker, blocking Joaquin from his sight.

‘Two’

Your hands emit a fiery glow as you project flames, igniting a huge blast which sends Walker crashing through the window and down below.

‘One’

Gazing down the terrace, you saw Walker’s unconscious body laying on the crushed roof of a car. The authorities would show up eventually.

Looking back inside, you finally start to feel the adrenaline rush declining. You move away from the window to find Torres leaning against a crate. Joaquin's face is bruised and cut-up as he holds his side with a grimace.

"Joaquin, are you okay?!",

You rush over to hold his other arm, scanning him for serious injuries.

He stops your moving hands to grip them,

"(Y/N), I'm okay, I'm okay. It's you I'm worried about. You almost died. How did you do that?", Joaquin asked, concern lingering in his eyes at the magnitude of your powers.

"I-I don't know. I guess my powers have always been linked to my emotions and then you were in danger. It was kind of instinctive, you know?"

"I could never let anything happen to you. Never.", She whispered silently, not noticing if he had caught it.

Joaquin moved to grasp her chin in his hand, pulling her head up so he could look into her eyes.

"You saved me."

You glanced over his face and the clear pain he was hiding from his injuries.

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're okay. I-I was afraid...It shouldn't have been you.", You said to Joaquin, tears glinting in your sight.

"I'm not going anywhere. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.", he said, moving closer as your eyes meet his deep and endearing gaze.

"We should call Sam.", You suggested.

"I'll call him later."

Yours eyes met as he leaned his forehead on yours. You inhaled deeply as he gripped your hands tightly as if you would fall out of his grasp. Joaquin's arms encircle your waist and pull you in his embrace. Your arms rest around his neck, nestling your head against his shoulder.

You hold each other tightly in a moment of calm, seeking comfort from that person. The one person you would always seek out.

You pull away, but his arms remain around your waist.

"You're so beautiful.", He whispers.

Your breathing shudders for a second before you decide to go for it,

"I-I love you, Joaquin."

You gauge his reaction as his eyes widen slightly. He leans in and guides his lips to yours. He kissed you slowly and passionately, his hands still gripping your waist. You sigh and stand on your tip-toes, tugging the hairs on the back of Joaquin's neck to bring him closer. You both pause, gasping for air for a moment. Kisses linger in between breaths as you both wind down from the intense 24 hours you've had, emotionally and physically.

"For the record, I love you too.", He grins, laughing at your eye roll.

"I didn't quite catch that, why don't you show me again?", You winked, biting your lip as his arms swooped around you again and tugged you closer.

Barely brushing your lips, he looks between your eyes and then your lips.

"I think we can arrange that."

Your breath catches as your lips brush his. You smiled, closing your eyes, as does Joaquin. You swayed in his arms as his lips encased yours once more.

Suddenly, red and blue flashing lights breach your vision from below. Sirens surrounded you both. You separated, glancing outside the broken window.

Police cars surrounded the building. Reinforcements had arrived. His hand still grips yours and you motion to help him take some of his weight, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"We should get of here.", You pushed open the door to exit down a flight of stairs.

"Yeah.", Joaquin replied, grinning down at you as you walked out together.

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it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream · 3 years

Text

Silva Lining (Saul Silva x Reader) Chapter 10

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 3.3k

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You were on cloud nine. Waking up in Sauls arms the next morning was the highlight of your life. Granted, you were sore! The discomfort was something you were willing to put up with however because last night was mind blowing.

The morning after was filled with gentle playing and heated make out sessions. It was Sunday so luckily neither of you were expected to be anywhere. You showered together, learning each others bodies further. Saul made you breakfast and after that you lay and watched a movie together. Normal, mundane, relationship stuff. It was all you could dream of.

Unfortunately the time came where you had to go back to your dorm. Instead of doing the walk of shame you opted for your new favourite method of transportation. Portal. Saul kissed you deeply before the black whole appeared and you disappeared through it. At least now you could teleport back and forward into his room having seen the inside more clearly.

The girls jumped when your portal appeared in the middle of the room. They’re were on your instantly, eager for the juicy details. You sat down and gave them the PG version, not delving into too much detail. What you both did last night was personal and not for the faint hearted. You also showed off the presents Saul had gotten you and the Winx club squealed in delight when they saw the ring. After your lowdown of the events last night, the girls let you know that the party was a massive hit and if it wasn’t for Terras hangover potion they’d all still be in bed.

Presents adorned the floor of the main room you notice, someone must have brought them up for you. There were so many you didn’t know if you’d manage to open them all on your own. So one by one the girls helped you unwrap the gracious gifts. That took up a chunk of time. Still chatting and opening, Terra blushed and rattled off about how Helia had kissed her goodnight at the end of the party, then you noticed Aisha blushing too, the same thing had happened with her. The specialists were making moves and you couldn’t help but swell with excitement for your friends. Everything was perfect, maybe too perfect.

——————————————————————————————————

-The Next day-

“What do you think the assembly is about?” Your arm was linked with Stella’s as you walked through the grand halls of the castle you called your school. You’d never get used to your real life Hogwarts.

“It’s a burned one assembly apparently and even worse, my mother is leading it. Yippee. She’s really just here to check on my progress and remind me how much of a disappointment I am.” Your best friend rolled her eyes. You were slightly nervous about meeting the Queen of Solaria, I mean, who wouldn’t be. Stella had insisted you’d stay with her. Emotional support. You took her hand in yours and gave it a squeeze.

The cars pulled up and the chauffeur opened the door for the Queen. Regal and gorgeous, the spitting image of Stella apart from she had brown hair instead of blonde. She came over and greeted Stella with a hug and then stopped. Her eyes widened as she looked at you. She was starring and you didn’t know why….

“Pleasure to meet you your highness.” You curtsied, Stella had shown you how. It seemed to snap the Queen from her daze and she smiled at you.

“How lovely, you must be Y/N, Stella’s told me a lot about you.”

——————————————————————————————————

You’d left Stella to catch up with her mum. Aimlessly wondering the halls looking at features you’d never stopped to appreciate before. Then you saw one flustered looking man.

“Sa- Mr Silva!.” You jogged to catch up to him. He stopped turning. He didn’t smile. Woooah. He looked stressed.

“Now isn’t a great time Y/N.” You wanted to reach out and touch him but there were students all around. Did he really just brush you off though? Must be something serious going on for his shitty attitude.

“Okay.” You whispered. “Well, maybe we can talk when you change your attitude anyway.” You were annoyed. You knew his job was stressful and you knew that you had to act like student and teacher during school hours, however, you’d like to think that he would be a bit more… kinder, even when he was pissed at something else. Before he spoke you’d turned on your heel, flicking your hair behind you and walked off. Suck on that.

——————————————————————————————————

The assembly had started. You weren’t there. You were too annoyed with Saul to sit there while he was up at the front acting as if he wasn’t rude to you two minutes ago. You skipped, wondering the school grounds when you bumped into Bloom.

“Whats your excuse for skipping?” You fell into step with the red head, who explained she was trying to find more about where she came from. Part of you realised that maybe you should have been making more effort in that department. You were still a mystery and going through the books you had stolen from the library in Magix hadn’t turned anything up yet.

You reached a storage cellar, old books, pictures and other junk filled the room to the brim, all covered in dust and cobwebs. Sky was there, he seemed surprised to see you, like wise.

“Maybe while were looking I might find something about me too.” You started searching through things. Not sure at all about what you were looking for when you were then joined by Beatrix and Riven. Not two of your favourite people to say the least.

You didn’t know them too well, but there was a reason for that. Trouble seemed to follow them everywhere and Beatrix gave you a weird vibe. Not good juju. Riven was just a punk. He thought he was the bad boy but it was all an act which you saw straight through. Example A. Beatrix just dropped the bomb that Riven was the one walking around school telling everyone Bloom was a changeling. You still didn’t see the big deal about changelings. You were one too after all. Sky and Riven left, leaving you alone with the two girls.

“So, that door is locked. Are we breaking in or not?” You didn’t wait for their answer. Curiosity getting the best of you. Walking over you put your hand on the lock and picture it heating up. Fire. Another one of the many abilities you possessed. Your magic was second nature to you now. Like you’d been practising for years. It was scary and cool at the same time just how intone with your abilities you were. The lock fell off and the door swung open.

——————————————————————————————————

What the hell had you been dragged into. Honestly this wasn’t really your style. But hey, you’d gotten this far. You were currently in a stolen car, driving to some place called Asterdale. Bloom had a theory that’s where her parents might be from and hey, what do you know, Beatrix knows where it is. So yup, you were in the front of a stolen.. ROYAL car.

Ohhh lord. This wasn’t going to end well.

- Sauls POV -

Where the hell was she. Why wasn’t she at the assembly?! Saul was ragging, scared, angry at himself for being so flippant with Y/N earlier. The visit from the Queen and with the death of a teacher, it was a lot to deal with. He hadn’t meant to take it out on his sweet girl. Now he was just worried. Leaving the assembly would look suspicious so he stayed, part of him hoping she was just running late.

His fears got worse when he went back to Farah’s office. Farah had noticed Y/N wasn’t there either. She was more worried than she’d ever been. Then Y/N’s suit mates burst through the door looking worried too.

“Y/N and Bloom were in the east wing its Beatrix during assembly.” Saul, Farah and Ben all looked at each other.

“Okay and why were they down there?” Farah was quick to get it in the neck from Musa. Who was visibly concerned about something. Saul couldn’t stand still, pacing back and forward.

“Omg we know, we know that someone killed Callum and you think it was a fairy and that’s what you were looking for in the assembly!” Saul’s head whipped round to Terra. “We haven’t heard from them in hours and no one as seen Beatrix either.” Saul’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice through the ear piece he was wearing.

“One of the Queens Guards are knocked out, his SUV is gone.” Sauls jaw clenched and made his way to the door. He was mad. If Beatrix had hurt his girl in any way, there would be hell to pay.

“We will find them, I promise.”

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-Your POV-

The place Beatrix took you to was bare. Was this some kind of sick joke? You drove two hours for this? Nothing but open fields and shrubs next to a steep looking cliff over looking choppy, cold water.

“And this is where you’ve taken us to kill us, right?” You joked but part of you was actually worried. You’d always thought Beatrix was a shady bitch. “Asterdale is a town right? So where is it?” You stopped, looking into the vastness. Bloom looked twitchy, annoyed almost because you guaranteed she was thinking the same thing as you.

You were alarmed all of a sudden when your ears pricked up at the sound of electricity, turning just in time to see Bloom shouting at Beatrix who’s hands were glowing with power.

“You’re not the only powerful fairies at Alfea you know.” Yup, you were right. You were so about to die. You raised your hands ready for a fight but the bolt of blue electricity burst past you hitting an invisible forcefield just like the one that surrounded the school and crashed with a loud bang, revealing chaos behind it.

Beatrix went on to tell you both about how Asterdale used to be a beautiful place, but one winter Burned Ones surrounded the settlement and a Military Unit from Alfea decided destroying the Burned Ones was more important than the lives of the people living there. How Queen Luna was the one who had put up the veil that stopped people from really seeing what had happened to the once thriving village. Then she went onto drop the bomb that Asterdale is where she was born and her family were killed there. The only people who survived were her… and you and Bloom. You were from Asterdale?

“I saw it, Dowling, Silva, Harvey.” Beatrix had tears rolling down her face. No, no…. Saul would never kill innocent people. Never. He couldn’t… that wasn’t your Saul. You whipped quickly at the stray tears that had fallen. He knew about this and he didn’t tell you? Did he know where you were from and he didn’t tell you because… he had a hand in killing a village full of innocents?

You’d heard enough and couldn’t bare to listen to anymore. You walked away, Beatrix and Bloom still talking about what had happened. You watched as the veil came down again slowly, covering up the evidence of a war crime. It was gone, just like that. As if nothing ever happened. As if the people that had once lived there never mattered. Forgotten in time.

Bloom still didn’t trust Beatrix, and neither did you. You opted for sitting in the back this time. Keeping an eye on the girl you hardly knew. What game was she playing? You felt like there had to be more to the story. Why would you and Bloom be hidden away in the first world? Why would Dowling, let you and Bloom into the school knowing that she killed your families?

“And we will get it because Rosalind is alive.” You caught the tail end of the convo, having been zoned out with your own thoughts. Hold the fuck up. The mysterious woman who had been leaving cryptic messages in Blooms head was.. Alive? After Miss Dowling told her that she had been dead for years. The plot thickens. You were about to make a comment but something on the road caught your eye.

“Oh fuck.” You braced yourself against the seat in the back as you watched Saul fire an arrow at the wheel of the car. It burst, sending the car skidding across the road. This was nottt going to be good.

You all jumped out of the car, Beatrix tried to run but Farah had used her magic and she was slowly sinking into the ground. Miss Dowling walked over, slapping on two bracelets on Beatrix’ wrists, it looked like coiled pieces of barbed wire. You didn’t care if B was shady, no one deserved that pain. Both you and Bloom bolted from the car with shouts of protest. You were lifted up into Sauls arms where you kicked and screamed to get free. Bloom was held back by Mr Harvey who was a lot stronger than he looked. You gave up, settling into Sauls arms, he was whispering in your ear trying to calm you, his hold on you tightening. Normally you’d feel comfort in his touch, but the story from Beatrix left you with some unanswered questions too big to go ignored.

——————————————————————————————————

The girls were waiting for you outside. Stella grabbed you in a hug, you could tell she was worried. Saul was carting Beatrix away to her magic prison cell, not before letting you know that he’d speak to you later. Duty called. Duty sucked.

“Y/N, after we deal with Beatrix see me in my office, there’s something important we must discuss.” You glared at Miss Dowling who gave you a sympathetic look. Stella squeezed your arm.

“Y/N, you need to hear what she has to say. It’s important.” How did Stella know what she wanted to talk about. This whole day was one big bowl of confusing and you just wanted it to be over with. “Just know, I’ll be here when you’re ready, I promise.” Okay, so that wasn’t worrying at all…..

“I’m afraid miss Y/L/N, Stella won’t be able to keep that promise any time soon. Were leaving, Stella get in the car.” Stella’s eyes widened as she watched her things from the dorm being packed into her mothers car. The Queen was waiting for Stella to do what she said and this was one battle you wouldn’t win. Could you catch a break?

“No, No, NO, Stella you can’t leave, please I need you, you’re my best friend.” You were crying, the frustrations of the day coming out all at once. Stella was crying too but the Queens guards took her by the arms despite her struggles and stuffed her in the car. It was too much, you were sobbing, your vision blurry from the tears. You felt someone come up behind you and noticed the familiar tingle, crying harder as the car sped off into the distance. You turned and screamed in Sauls chest, luckily his strong arms were around you otherwise you’d have fallen to the ground in despair. Could today get any worse?

——————————————————————————————————

Replaying the events from today to the other girls was hard. Luckily Bloom did most of the talking. Beatrix had apparently killed Callum and things were even more confusing now. You didn’t know who to trust, who to believe. Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Saul. Your tired looking soldier was standing at the door with heavy eyes. “Babe, can you come with me please, Farah wants to talk to you.” She’d already spoken to Bloom about the events earlier. Now it was your turn after having time to calm down about Stella.

Standing up silently, you made your way to the door, the girls hugging you on the way out. You had the urge to ask Saul everything there and then. Let the cat out of the bag. Say ‘I know what you did,’ but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You didn’t want to believe the reason you were an orphan was because of the man you loved. Instead you took his hand when the coast was clear and sighed, having needed his touch all day.

You found yourself at the Headmistresses office more often than not these days, but this time something felt different. You turned to Saul and look him in the eyes.

“Why do I feel like if I go in there life will never be the same again.” His hand came up to touch your cheek which you leant into, savouring his warm touch.

“Darling, everything is okay, everything will be okay I promise.” People had been making a lot of promises today, hopefully they would be able to keep them. You started for the door but then noticed Saul didn’t budge.

“Are you not coming in?” You tilted your head. He shook his and gave you a kiss before you went through the doors.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me though.” With that you left him, facing whatever punishment Headmistress Dowling had in store for you.

——————————————————————————————————

It hadn’t been as bad as you thought in the beginning. She sat you down, asked you if you wanted a drink or anything. Then she got into the nitty gritty stuff about what compelled you to go with Beatrix and Bloom. Answers. Answers you needed, that’s why you went with them.

“Bloom said something about her parents being from a place called Asterdale, Beatrix knew where it was. She took us there, we hoped we would find answers about why we were changelings. Turns out we learnt an ugly truth instead.” Farah looked shocked but you continued. “She said that Rosalind took her, me and Bloom, saved us from destruction cause by you, Silva and Harvey. Is that true?” Farah had her head in her hands. Guilt. You could practically smell it on her.

“It’s not what you think Y/N, please believe me, there’s more to the story.” She stood up, walking around to stand next to you. You stood up to, moving away from the woman who had set Saul up to spy on you. How could you believe her, all she’s done since you joined this world was lie.

“Why would I believe you! You killed my fucking parents!” You were angry. So angry, You could feel your eyes turning black. The shouting had alerted Saul who tried the door handles to get into the room but with a swish of your hand, the door was sealed shut, fire melting the hinges closed.

“Just calm down Y/N, please, lets talk about this.” In the background Saul was banging on the door and calling your name.

“Because of you, I don’t have a father, because of you I’ll never know my mother!” You advanced on the woman who had her hands up ready for a fight if that’s what it came to. You could feel the power coursing through your whole body. This is why you could control your magic so easily, you were so emotional.

“Y/N, I am your mother!” Farah screamed, Saul stopped banging on the door and your eyes faded back to their normal colour.

You knew before stepping into the room that something was going to happen and you were right, your world would be changed forever.

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CHAPTER 11 ------- CLICK HERE

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bloodys44 · 4 years

Text

Silence and Cigarette Smoke

Original story and bonus content found here! ↓↓↓↓

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13289933/1/Silence-and-Cigarette-Smoke

(Also I’m so sorry the last chapter posted all jumbled together like that. And also that I’m to garbage to fix it) The issue with chapter 7 not being viewable though ff.net also seems to be resolved so feel free to read some more if you enjoy. :)

Warning//Gore

Chapter 4: The Post Birthday Bloodbath

788

The dull thundering of a train traveling over laid track had always sounded soothing to Lucy. Whether it was a version of simple white noise or one of few comforting memories from her days of running, she could never tell. Something about the rhythmic sway of the train car, mixing with the light hum of the metal hovering. She would argue that she never slept better, besides maybe sleeping near Natsu during the cold winter months. A perk she had come to favor about him over the years. And yet, the rattling of their train compartment lacked its usual lulling charm, her mind wired yet not focused on anything in particular. The dark of the sky had crept up slowly, tearing apart the wicked blue that it had previously embodied. Stella wasn't overly far away, a neighbouring continent overthrown by the Fiore army. Majority of the land was underdeveloped, a cluttered mess of forest and mountains. A singular city near the center was all that resided on the vast land, thus keeping the name of the continent itself. Their train wasn't due to reach the platform until the early hours of the morning, and Lucy couldn't help but let an annoyed sigh escape at the thought. There were at least four more hours of traveling remaining, and time seemed to be passing at half it's regular speed. Not to mention the fact that her companions were sleeping soundly, letting the night slip away without a worry.

They had lucked out with a train equipped well for travel, small, but personal compartments lining down each side of the train's cars. The compartment's themselves were nothing extravagant, simple cloth-covered benches mirroring one another. The sliding door creaking obnoxiously when it was opened. If anything, it's most astounding feature was the lingering smell of old shoes and musty wood.

Lucy glanced over to her pink-haired partner, smirking with slight pity for the boy. Natsu had never served well with travel, a rather astonishing relationship with motion sickness. Even in his sleeping state, she could tell he was miserable, clutching the edges of his stomach with purpose. Porlyusica, the guilds head medical attendant had explained it stemmed from his dragon-slaying abilities. Supposedly his senses were so over heightened, the motion of vehicles rattled his own sense of balance. Still, it didn't make it any less enjoyable to tease said boy about it. Currently, he was seated with his shoulder blades pressed heavily into the cushioned backrest, leaning his head against the chilled window pane. A frame of light fog splaying from where his skin connected, the contrast in temperatures causing the reaction. Natsu was always warm, his average body temperature running much higher than that of a regular human. Though when he slept, it usually spiked much higher, his concentration lacking, barely keeping his own skin under control. He had never voiced it to Lucy, but she knew it was a draining task for him, his wild emotions always causing it to fluctuate. When he got overly flustered or rageful he became damn near scalding. Lucy never really minded it, especially in situations like this, his natural body heat making for a cozy effect. She was curled up on the opposite side of the bench, her back resting against the wall connected to the sliding door. With a muffled groan she moved to remove her freezing toes from the constraints of her boots, deciding to take advantage of the living heater across her. Tucking her feet under his left thigh carefully, she relished in the heat before his sudden jolt startled her. Almost instantly the warmth retracted, simmering under his pores. A slight pout overtaking her lips while she stared at his wide, yet sleep-filled eyes. Of course, he would wake up from the sudden change in atmosphere, the boy always on edge while away from the guild.

"Sorry," He mumbled sheepishly, "Did I get too hot again? I didn't mea-"

"No, it's alright, I was just warming my toes." She cooed, interrupting his typical nervous ramblings. "Sorry I woke you."

"S'all right, wasn't sleeping that good anyway." He shifted in his seat, stretching his strong arms wide with a rough yawn before facing her again. His eyes trailed over the compartment quickly, stopping briefly on all the exit points. The door, the window, and the emergency exit placed snuggly between the roofs panels. His shoulders taking on their practiced tense state as he strained his hearing. Lucy could barely hold back the amused smirk that danced over her face when she saw his nose twitch. Her lips only pulling back wider as he continued his practiced motions, checking the surrounding area for any danger. The nose on that boy could beat that of trained hound any day.

"What, afraid the black wizard might get ya?" She teased, wiggling her fingers at him for emphasis.

Natsu only sighed embarrassingly, scratching at the side oh his throat. Subconsciously acting on his traditional nervous habit."Sorry, Stella always-"

"-Makes you nervous," She finished easily. "I know." She slid her feet deeper under his leg, adjusting until she felt comfortable again. His on edge behavior wasn't unusual when they traveled through Stella, always becoming an anxious mess that intensified greatly the closer they got. He never delved into details about it, always stomping her curiosity with a simple defense. Just a bad feeling. She could practically feel her eyes rolling, hearing his voice clearly pronounce the words in her head.

"Honestly, it makes me nervous too," Lisanna added on a whisper, sluggishly pushing herself up from her resting position. Delicate fingers brushing the sleep from her electric eyes. "After all, its where Zeref was born."

Zeref. The great black wizard. A mage trailed only by the stench of death, or so the legends say. Though he hadn't been sighted in years, his very name still struck fear into the hearts of mages and non-magic users alike. A young boy with the tongue of the devil. His very words a magic vice on your mind. He controlled what he wanted, and that was that. "They say he's immortal." The white-haired woman started again. "A blade couldn't pierce his heart."

Now Lucy's eyes really did roll in their sockets. "Please, your only going to rile him up more." She gestured over to Natsu who served her a practiced annoyed frown. "He'll be on edge until we hit Magnolia again."

Lissana giggled slightly, turning her attention to him. "Don't worry, nobody's seen him in years, it's nothing to stress over."

"Doesn't mean he's gone." He bounced back. "Regardless, there's enough to worry about in Stella with or without him." Lissana's brow arched, curiosity plain as she questioned the statement. "Stella's crawling with royal knights, it's the second base from the border of Bosco."

"I thought there was a ceasefire?" She pressed, to which Natsu scoffed.

"They won't stop until they find Mavis's grave."

"What do they want with the holy goddess?"

"Mavis was the first grand witch," Lucy interjected. "It's rumored her grave carry's the secret to eradicating all enchantments."

Lissana hummed in understanding. "So basically mages should be avoiding this area?" She laughed weekly, crossing her arms with lazy movements. "What a perfect place for us."

"If we keep our hoods up we should be fine," Lucy stated pointedly. "Stella's train station is the major rest point between Seven, Bosco, Iceberg and Joya, there's lots of travelers with new faces. Makes it pretty easy to blend in. Besides, nothing remotely bad has ever happened to us while traveling there. It'll be good to keep our wits about us, but Natsu's major anxiety is a little overkill."

"I just have-"

"A bad feeling?" She finished for him again, rather cheekily. "I know." She nudged him with the top of her foot at his exaggerated eye-roll. "I have no doubts we'll make it back just fine. Lissana peeled her legs from the front of the bench, pulling them upwards to rest her chin on her knee.

"Aren't you from Stella, Natsu?" The man grunted slightly, stiffening and sending the woman a warning look before granting a structured nod.

"Did you ever see him as a child? The black wizard I mean. I think he would have been a few years older, but still a child back then."

"No." His response blunt and harsh, pushed over his teeth. Lucy quirked a brow, scanning over Natsu intently. He crossed his arms at her curiosity, a blank statement that he wasn't planning on explaining the situation further. Lissana sighed, placing a hand under her delicate chin.

"Stella is where Gildarts found Natsu as a child." She explained to the blonde. "He grew up there."

"Come on Lissana." He hissed back. His arms twitching as they stretched over his chest.

"How come you never told me that?" Lucy pressed, fixated on the man's jittery movements. "I thought you didn't remember your childhood?"

"I remember bits and pieces." He slumped backward obnoxiously, deciding that he was definitely stuck in this conversation now. "I just never thought it was important."

"You know where I grew up." She defended shortly.

"Geeze," he scoffed at the blonde playfully. "Like that was a hard one, Princess of Fiore."

The blonde found herself pulling a pout. She wasn't trying to be rude, only holding genuine curiosity about her best friend's life before her. "Well, maybe we could stop at your childhood home before we leave? It would be nice to see where you grew up." Her face warming as she beamed at the boy.

"It doesn't exist anymore." The words forced roughly from his tongue. "I burned it down." She didn't miss the slight twitch of his shoulders, or the way his voice threatened to crack. He puffed out a never mind before claiming he was getting some air, the trains rattling my stomach. A blunt end to their conversation. He was up in a single movement, pushing through the door and ignoring the wine of the sliding mechanics as it slammed back to its original closed resting state.

"Don't take it personally, Natsu's very protective of himself." Lissana tried, (as if Lucy didn't already know that) hopping over to sit next to the blonde. "I shouldn't have brought it up, I only know because I was there the day he arrived. I thought maybe he would have told you, finally opened up to somebody."

"Why would he open up to me? You've known him much longer."

Lissana huffed playfully, tossing her hair with a flick of her wrist. "Even I can see the way he looks at you, all doe-eyed and bashful. It's hard not to notice really."

"Natsu is anything but bashful." Lucy scoffed, giggling slightly. "Though I'm sure I could say the same for you."

"That's sweet of you to say," The fair-haired maiden flushed, "But I have my theories." Lucy stilled for a moment. Was she making a joke? Natsu had never pushed the boundaries that they had established over the years of their friendship, unlike he pushed for the fair-haired woman. Maybe it was because her feelings were so blatant, easy to play off of. Not to mention the comfort fo the family dynamic he shared with her siblings. It's not like she could find any reason she wouldn't want to notice casual pining in her direction, especially from somebody like him, any girl could dream of being so lucky. It was just that it didn't happen like that, and she didn't see any change for the future.

"You're ridiculous." She decided as a response, to which Lissana chuckled fondly. The rest of the trip remained rather silent, even after the dragon slayers return.

Meeting with the client went well, no arguments or concerns from the traveling wizard trio. The client himself was nothing out of the ordinary, a common man whose mother had been a successful wizard. Though he possessed no enchantment of his own, he held the secret of magic secure. The man owned a gracious amount of property in the city, majority of the population's homes falling on his land. Expressing his concerns for the people he bid the group luck as they headed to find the feverish bandit group that had been terrorizing them. Natsu didn't remove his face-concealing cloak, let alone speak during the whole exchange which only left the blonde wondering if he recognized the man from his childhood years. Unlikely as it was, she couldn't shake the suspicion; her friend's body language balancing on peculiar.

The bandit group, Twilight Oger (or so they called it.) had taken up residence in the city's abandoned mine. Converting the tunnels into a makeshift base. The group had established a rather daunting reputation with the city of Stella, the citizens growing too weary to attempt to run them out on their own. The royal guard batting an unusually blind eye. The rumor of their supposed sex trafficking didn't sit well with Lucy either. "We should set up a plan," Lissana suggested lightly. Her voice a much-needed contrast to the silence they had been walking in.

"Walk through the front doors and knock some heads."

Lucy shook her head playfully at the brash fire-breather, shoving his shoulder slightly. "I think we should split up," The peppy white-haired woman continued. "It would be easier to sneak around, a stealthy approach might be best considering we don't know how spread out in the tunnels they are."

"Also easier for one of us to get caught off guard. Aren't these thugs notorious for trapping woman?"

"You aren't traveling with common woman Natsu." The fair-haired woman retorted back. "Don't be so degrading, we can handle ourselves just fine." The peaceful smile she sported did little to sweeten her harsh words. Though Lucy found herself nodding slowly in agreement. "Plus it'll allow me to try out my new spell without you two getting in the way." She winked cheekily.

"I dunno," the dragon slayer mumbled, scratching at his throat in practiced fashion. "I really think we should stick together, I have a bad feeling about this place." Lucy could practically taste the anxiety of his words as they dripped over his chin. They should probably listen, Natsu's suspicions usually turned out to be right. But his overly annoying constant worrying from the city made it hard to distinguish his keen senses from his blind panic. Nothing ever happened to them in Stella. A nieve approach yes, but also a chance to prove herself to the man that always seems to protect her.

"I think it should be alright," the blonde finally interjected. "The tunnels should echo enough to hear one another if we call for help." Natsu simply shook his head muttering an annoyed Whatever under his breath. She felt kind of bad, gaining up on the man. This was supposed to be his birthday mission after all. But in all honestly, Lucy found herself surprisingly excited, an opportunity to show her teammate how far she'd advanced. A fully-fledged Fairy Tail member that could handle her own.

The group traveled to their destination at a quick pace. The air filled with Lissana's constant enamored pestering towards a certain Salamander. Lucy more distracted by the winding paths of the city's streets, decorated sporadically with aged trees and vegetation. She thought it was rather sweet, how well her two teammates were getting along. Even with Lissana's words on the way over. It was nice to see Natsu's pleased expression towards the woman. A long-time childhood friend and admirer. Though their newest member still bristled her, Lucy made a silent promise to invite her out with them more. It was nice to travel alongside another female, and if it made Natsu happy, then she was sure she could live with it.

The sun was beginning to set by the time they arrived, the night sky pouring out for its time to play. The stars blessing Lucy's soul, her magic vibrating deliciously under her skin. Her power almost doubling in the light of the night. The moon's shift was her favorite time to cast. As they stepped through the taped off mine entrance she could practically feel her excitement begin to bubble over. Traditionally she held a rather level head during missions, keeping her partner's explosive personality in check. Yet she found herself letting go, ready to show off her own power.

"I really think we should push through together," Natsu mumbled under his breath. The words so foreign on the rambunctious man's tongue; always ready to run ahead of the group in search of action, yet never far enough away that he couldn't protect those closest to him. It wasn't a secret that he was much stronger than his usual travel partner Lucy, but she didn't want him to feel obligated in protecting her when he already does so much.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Lissana bubbled, already skipping off towards one of the winding shafts. Lucy's lips pulling into a smile as she began following her lead towards another turn-off.

"Lucy." Her name pronounced like rocks on cement, jaded and sharp. She spun on her heel carefully, her smile falling at the dragon slayer's serious tone.

"I can take care of myself Natsu." She mused. "You don't need to hold my hand all the time."

A low grumble resounded in the boy's throat as he ran his rough fingers through spiked locks nervously. "Geeze Luce, I know I don't." She raised her eyebrow at his cautious tone. "It's just.. last time you were on your own I found you beaten half to death in the middle of the forest."

All mocking aside, Lucy felt her temper skyrocket. Of course, he didn't think she was capable. "I'm not a fragile little princess anymore. That was years ago." She spat, anger boiling over. "You don't need to save me all the time."

"I know, I know... I just want you to be careful. Sometimes you have trouble keeping your magic under control during the night."

"Like you're one to talk, you burn everything around you the second your emotions get out of wack." Internally she knew her anger was getting the better of her, words falling from her jaw faster then her mind could process. He was just worried about her, as a caring teammate should be. The pained expression he was now wearing only verified that fact. Mindlessly her fingers began fidgeting at her belt. Her lungs pushing her spitfire attitude out with a breathy exhale. "I'm sorry Natsu, that was uncalled for. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just excited is all. I'll be careful, I promise." Natsu's deep onyx gaze burned into her for a moment before he nodded, although reluctant, it was an agreement none the less. She reached out, squeezing his wrist confidently before turning back to face her chosen path. "You be careful too! Mira will surly cut off my head if I bring you home needing more stitches."

The forgotten shafts were confusing, to say the least. The floorplan coming across as sporadic and unplanned. There was little that argued what a great hideout it made, trapping its victims in a maze until they were prayed upon by vicious ogres. The lack of security flowing down the halls only proving that their targets felt the same way. Lucy had only run into two men along the way, their skills lacking, making it an easy victory for the blonde. The lack of scream's echoing offered that her teammates were fairing the same. Even with their earlier agreement that stealth was the best option, Natsu had never been the quiet/silent type. Especially when fired up in a battle. Either the mine shafts didn't share sound as good as Lucy had estimated, or he hadn't run into anyone just yet.

The must that surrounded her intensified greatly as she progressed, the smell practically suffocating her. Senses dampened by its nature. The only sound around her was the clack of boots connecting to the rocky earth, and the creaky hinge of the lantern strung to her hip. The ground becoming less and less traveled. It was peculiar really, with the placement of the mine so central to town. One would think at least a few curious teenagers would have come to poke around before rumors had sprouted about Twilight ogres appearance. And yet her footprint's were the only evidence of human life.

Groaning loudly, Lucy spun, heading back towards the entrance. Agitated that her luck pulled her towards one of the unused routes. Expectedly her group had already rounded up majority of their targets while she wandered around uselessly. Placing her palm to her forehead she let out an embarrassed huff. All her big talk was for nothing, the harsh tone she had used against her friend making her mood plummet even farther. All she could do now was pick up her pace and hope she could make herself helpful with tying up loose ends. Lucy always hated when jobs turned out this way, especially when Natsu insisted she collected her portion of the reward despite her actual effort. Not that it mattered today, this mission was supposed to be for Natsu after all. And truthfully after Lissana had decided to join them she had done nothing to make the trip enjoyable for her pink-haired friend. Silently she promised to the empty halls that she would apologize to him when they finished their job.

When Lucy rounded the corner back to the entrance she was debating which tunnel to follow. Pacing back and forth in front of Natsu's entrance before resolving that his nose probably led him exactly where he wanted to go. With quick steps she bounded down the winding hall's, trying her best to stay along the path of the firebreathers signature sandal footprints.

A scream that caused her blood to run cold echoed around her with striking prominence. Lissana's sweet tone coming across shrill and ragged. There wasn't a moment to process before Lucy's legs propelled her forward. The sound of angelic sobs guiding her path. Any and all excitement she had previously been consumed with smothered like a candle without oxygen. The shaft began to blossom with light as she rounded each corner, the weight barring planks becoming more and more re-enforced. If that wasn't already enough clues she was approaching the center of the base, the newly constructed grand entrance that appeared before her did.

Acting quickly, Lucy pressed herself against the corner of the doorframe, analyzing the situation before charging headstrong into the commotion. Obviously, the treacherous group had put some work in. The cavern dugout to be much larger than anything man-made underground should be. Large metal lanterns decorating the ceiling with patterned placement. Casting enough light to see, but not enough to dismiss the eerie atmosphere. Small beds, makeshift furniture and gang members coating the outer walls while the center remained bare. Except of course for the probable main event of their evening.

A rugged-looking man stood center a wooden stage-like platform. Greasy hair curling over knarled shoulders. Even in the dim light, Lucy couldn't miss the disgusting gleam of the man's golden teeth. Oh so typical of a rich bandit. But what really caught her off guard was the squirming woman entrapped by his rugged arms, top strewn aside leaving her covered only in lacy white undergarments. His chapped lips smirking into her cheek while he pinned her against his bare chest. His one hand prying dirty fingers into her supple mouth while the other pressed a rusty blade to her exposed stomach. Though not enough pressure to break skin, it was just enough to make Lucy's mouth run dry.

"Let her go." Natsu's enraged voice scrapped over every surface, demanding attention from all living things. Lucy cast her eyeline off to the side, finally noting her partner's presence. His clothes looked slightly battle-torn, but overall he looked un-worrisome. His expression was firm, lips drawn into a tight line while his eyes trained on the enemy standing before him. Even from her placement on the other side of the cavern, Lucy could feel the scorching waves roll off of him. A terrifying might in the face of adversity.

"What are you going to do about it fire boy?" The man's shrill voice causing Lucy to shiver. "Even if you get rid of us, more will come. Those royal soldiers are very eager customers. And there's plenty of women to go around here." Natsu lunged forward, feet indenting the ground with sheer pressure. The man howled playfully, cackling like a madman as he sidestepped out of harm's way. Lissana squeaking at the sudden movement." Natsu spun quickly, fang-like teeth bared while he coiled his muscles, ready for his next pounce. "Make a move like that again and I might have to carve up your little girlfriend early!' The blade against her stomach pressed deeper, causing Lissana to jolt, a high pitched screech crawling between the man's fingers. A sloppy line of red spilling from her torso down the hilt of the blade. Natsu looked frozen, his eyes never daring to stray from the glint of metal. Mind fighting with his anger to consider the safest course of action.

Shit shit shit. This was definitely not how Lucy had expected to reunite with her teammates. Instantly her fingers shot into the confines of her purse, searching desperately for the lone piece of white chalk she always carried. Mind racing dangerously through her memorized incantations. Though her magic wasn't necessarily designed for hand to hand combat like Natsu's, she held a natural talent for spellcasting. Confident that she was capable of at least making a big enough distraction for Natsu to proceed, she started scratching the lines of a practiced magic circle. The white of the chalk easily visible over the dark rock beneath her. Her frantic hand movements made the lines far less legible then she preferred, but it would do for now. The blonde dropped her weight to the floor, careful in her attempt to stay silent as she crossed her legs. Delicate palms slapping against the earth over her created circle. Her eyelids slamming shut in concentration while her lips parted for the whisper of incantation. Almost instantly the very ground beneath them shook with purpose, guiding cracks up the walls and spewing rocks from the ceiling. She didn't worry about frightening her teammates, she knew Natsu could smell her, even with his focus concentrated elsewhere. Hopefully, they could get this situated and escape to safety before she brought heaven's wrath down atop their heads. The spell itself was no easy feat, calling upon the gods light to alter the earth. Lucy only capable of casting it under the light of the moon. No doubt it would bring attention from the townsfolk their way, but at this moment the blonde thought it was the best course of action. She could feel the shudder under her legs as the shafts hidden deeper under the earth collapsed, the roaring sound of rockfall scattering through the cavern.

Natsu's strong tone carried over easily as he sneered cheekily, "Now you really fucked up. Gone and made the angel mad." Even in deep concentration, Lucy felt a smile drum at her lips.

"I already knew there was three of you. We thieves hear of all magic activity in Stella. She's no threat, pesky fairies lack the resolve to drop the ground over the heads of their 'comrades'."

"Bet." The dragon slayer's singular cocky reply sang like a choir to Lucy, pushing her magic to expand outwards. A sickening crack bestowed over them, one of the main support beams snapping under pressure. The scared cries of ogres screaming far louder. The blond's brow furrowed slightly as she felt her very skin vibrate, her magic fluctuating drastically. "You're okay Lucy." Natsu's voice rang true, obviously taking notice in her power surge. Yes, she was O.K. She wouldn't falter so easily when her friend's lives were on the line. She just had to keep the main cavern intact a little longer, enough time for them to escape. She was strong, and she could do it.

The man continued to cackle hysterically, bouncing his weight between his feet. "Bad move fire boy." He taunted. All Lucy could hear was Lissana's blood curtailing wail and Natsu's panicked shouts when she realized they had lost. Her lashes fluttered open, eyes rolling uncomfortably as her vision was obstructed by blinding light. She couldn't stop. She was losing control, just as her partner had foreseen. Her own magic blinding her sight.

"Lucy!" Natsu's worried screech reached from the main cavern. "Cut the fuse!" A pit burned its way into the depths of her stomach, fear of how this situation was going to end if she couldn't regain control. All she had wanted to do was help, and now the situation was only going to get worse. Splinters of support beams rained furiously over her, enraged with being disturbed after so many silent years. She felt her body shake with the earth's pure ferocity. "Please, Lucy!" He tried again, his voice swirling with Lissana's wild screams. She still couldn't stop. She was going to kill them all.

Lucy wasn't sure how many agonizingly slow minutes had passed when her vision finally re-focused, disturbingly strong hands clamping around her delicate wrist's and pulling her back to earth. And god, what an unpleasant sight to be greeted with. Two men that reeked of whiskey and sex smirking greedily at her.

"You's a pretty scary witch when you're casting, eyes going all white and shit. Body twitching like an addict." Lucy scrambled back frantically, her spine slamming into the stone arch. The men leaping upon her with a timed pounce, pinning her tightly against the frame. The first man stretching his fingers around her chin. "But yet, your so pretty. I'd have fun breaking a little thing like you." His alcohol glazed tongue searing along her creamy cheek. Lucy screeched vividly in disgust, springing her knee upwards to the man's groin. He recoiled with blunt movements, swinging his arm around to backhand her. The ferocity splitting her skin. "You sly bitch!" He fired another shot to her jaw. "You's makin' enemies with the wrong person." She tried to pry her head away from the man's violent swings, eyes scrambling to take in her surroundings. Small pebbles and dust still gave way from the ceiling, but the ground seemed to have relaxed, her magic cut out at the roots. The tunnel she had originally traveled down lay in ruin, barley leaving enough space for a full-grown adult to crawl back to the light. Thankfully though, the traumatizing screams had stopped, Natsu's much calmer voice the only thing ringing out.

"You okay Lucy?!"

If the blonde hadn't received another painful blow to her lower lip she probably would have snickered. "A little preoccupied at the moment." She grunted, purposely spitting the blood that was pooling around her gums over her assailant's face. She bucked her legs intently, thrashing around like a child until she freed one of her arms. With a sinched brow she slammed her palm over the first man's chest, muttering a simple incantation that caused her hand to pulse. Holy light rained down again, this time pin-pointed above her enemy's lungs and flinging him backward through the semi-demolished doorway and into the main cavern. A short victory smile produced from her mouth before she felt her body tremor. A light, yet firm reminder of how much magic she had just finished exerting, and how fragile it made her body.

Sucking in a deep breath she tried to muster strength from tomorrow, using her free hand to claw into the dirt. Muscles protesting annoyingly while she pulled herself away from the remaining man. "Not so fast witch." His tone twisting the word to sound like a vulgar insult. The hilt of his own blade striking into the round bone of her ankle. A torn wail exhaled from her, reacting to the pain but thanking the heavens that she hadn't heard the crack of her bones splitting. It wasn't much, but it gave the man an opening, tucking his legs in only to spring them out into her back. Shoving her ungracefully through the frame to join the rest of the crowd. Lucy cradled her ribs carefully, attempting to regain the air that man had so rudely ripped away from her. She was only able to catch a glimpse of her dragon slayers unreadable expression before more greedy hands tore her from the ground, dragging her center-stage to join the 'show'.

"Well fire boy, I suppose thanks are in order." The leader mewled again tapping his now drenched blade against a whimpering Lissana's torso. "Bringing me two of the most beautiful woman in Fiore and barely puttin up a fight to keep them." He was taunting now, voice never losing his deranged laughter. "Don't know why to maidens of this caliber are slugging around with someone like you, but I guess I should give you a little credit," Natsu growled darkly, his body growing tenser (If that was even possible), muscles coiling dangerously. The leader followed Lucy with hungry eyes, watching as Lucy was strung up by another man in the same manner as Lissana. The only difference was the blade pushing fearfully hard against the pulse point of her throat, leaving her stomach out of harm's way. Honestly, she wasn't sure which she would prefer more. She watched Natsu's dark anguish filled orbs bounce back and forth between her and Lissana. She tried to capture his attention, pleading with him by expression that everything was going to be alright. That he should focus on the more injured of the two and leave her to her own devices, but his glance never lasted long enough. "I know!" The leader piped up again excitedly. "It seems a little unfair to steal away both your girls after that pathetic display," He toyed, "So, how about I suggest a little game?"

"I ain't playing shit." Natsu responded bluntly.

"Don't be such a downer fire boy, this will be fun."

"Every time I hear that, things don't usually end up being that 'fun'." He spat. relaxing his tight fist momentarily before clenching it again.

The leader only smiley devilishly, continuing his frantic knife tapping over Lissana's stained skin. "I'm going to let you pick one." He decided. "Pick a girl to take home while one rots away under some pompous sex-deprived guard." The look on Natsu's face practically shattered Lucy's heart. One of absolute horror that something like that had even been offered to him. His singular broken reply of sick bastard weighing heavily on the limited oxygen.

"It's okay Natsu," Lucy offered dumbly, wincing when the tip of the blade punctured her skin. Hot thick liquid oozing down her neck, threatening to break her resolve. "Take Lissana out of here, I'll be alright." She tried to produce a weak smile but Natsu's sad cold eyes froze her as he shook his head. She gulped loudly, feeling the blade press deeper with her every word. Her captor obviously not pleased with her speech. "Please." She tried again, but Natsu only shook his head faster.

"No way in hell."

"This is so not the time to be stubborn." She retched, cringing at the sticky feeling coating over her chest. She tried to ask him again but the blade slid uncomfortably under her skin and all she could summon was strangled yelp. Surprisingly, it did nothing to help the exchange.

The dragon slayer's eyes bulged, raising his arm's defensively, voice frantic and lost. "Stop!" He yelled, "Don't hurt them anymore, give me a second to think!" She had never seen the man look so uncomfortable.

Lucy slammed her eyes shut at her holders' increasingly wild movements, jerking the blade against her without a care. "This is ridiculous lover boy," The leader spat over his laughter. "I, out of the goodness of my own heart offer you back one of the women you practically dropped in my lap. And you cant even decide which pussy you'd rather ride? Pathetic!" He hollered, the rest of his goon's joining in. "I'm good and bored now, you sucked all the fun out of this. I don't even need these girls!" At this point, it was hard to distinguish words through his manic howls. "You have three seconds before I just kill them both." Natsu's attention snapped back to him like his mind was finally processing the events that were about to unfold.

The cold-hearted cheering of a slow count sprouted from the other members. Starting at Three and barley pronouncing the O in One before all hell broke loose. The roaring sound of metal clad boots slamming into the earth above, signaling the extremely overdue arrival of the royal army. Bandits screaming and crawling over one another like wild animals in search of escape from a rabid predator. And Natsu's scalding shoulder crashing into her sternum, throwing her away from the wicked man's grasp. She rolled roughly against the dirt, hand shooting to her throat to pressurize the bleeding. She was gulping greedily for air when she heard the stomach flipping joyful voice cry out above the commotion. "Good choice! I think I would have picked her too." Nothing but freezing, blood-curdling cries followed. Lucy felt her limbs stiffen at the sound, her chocolate irises the only responsive part of her body. Taking in her horrific environment with shocking detail. Natsu was only a few steps away from Lissana, His body recovering quickly from surging towards her, propelling him back to the remaining prisoner. But a few steps was a few too many, and Lucy and her partner could do nothing but watch as their friend was quite literally gutted before them.

Blood had always been red. But nothing compared to the deep scarlet pooled around the stark white of Lissana's being. An enraged bloody titan plucking the clouds goddess right from the sky and dragging her to the fiery pits of hell. That is, if hell consisted of somebody shredding your torso to smithereens and hysterically laughing as vital organs spewed through the skin. Lucy was sure that in this world, nothing would ever hold a candle to the vile scene displayed before her. The grotesque sound of a lifeless body crashing limply over its inner parts. The ferocious roar of a wounded dragon casting thieves to scaper away, a high pitched squeal on their lips. All the while a daunting march of hungry war men encroached on them.

Lucy's head snapped painfully back to reality. They couldn't stay here, the army would swallow them alive. The Ogres were sprinting out of a tunnel near the back of the cavern, no doubt another way out laid beyond it. They still had a chance. With a silent prayer to all that was holy, she pulled herself up from her shambled mess on the floor. Taking rushed staggered footsteps towards her partner and the offending carcass in front of him. "Natsu..." She croaked. "We need to get out of here." She rested her palm on his shoulder, placing most of her weight on him. Her ankle lacking in its career of helping her walk. He didn't seem to notice her. Lips quivering as he muttered under his breath, fingers twitching, coated in the blood he had tried to prevent. "Natsu, we need to go..." She tried again, giving the man a light shake.

"We can't just leave her here..." His broken cry pleaded, head-spinning to meet her gaze. Never, in all the years Lucy had known Natsu, had she seen him cry. His deep onyx eyes swimming with salty tears, his raging passion extinguished. Her strong motivator completely shattered before her, frantically attempting to scoop spilled organs back into a frayed body. The footsteps of soldiers drawing ever closer as her own tears spilled over.

"Please Natsu." She sobbed, gaging slightly as blood bubbled from the split in her throat. She thought his previous expression succeeded in breaking her heart, but the look he was giving her now practically split it in two. A mangled pain-ridden yell erupting from his chest while he grasped Lucy's wrist, dragging her away from their murdered friend and the on slot of guards that inadvertently let it happen.

Again, check out the full story here! ↓↓↓↓

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13289933/3/Silence-and-Cigarette-Smoke

#natsu #natsu dragneel #lucy #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #fan fiction #lisanna strauss #zeref #Nalu #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction

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writersrealmbts · 5 years

Text

Treasured Hoard: Part 2

Part 1

Description: Dragon Hoseok! You're spelunking when you come across a dragon, and suddenly your life is a lot more complicated as he adds you to his hoard.

Warnings: Not really

Posted: 01/07/2020

Tags: Dragon!Hoseok, Shapeshifter!Hosoek, Hoseok X Reader

Fluff?: 2,465 words

A/N: I know y’all still want a second part to Different Skins, we’re honestly lucky I’m getting any writing done so. Have this instead!

As if being trapped in a dragon’s den against your will wasn’t bad enough, this one also didn’t seem to know what humans needed to survive, or understand why you were upset that he wouldn’t at least get you your own belongings from the house you were renting.

“You don’t need those things anymore!” Hoseok frowned, huffing out another plume of smoke.

You choked before you could respond. You’d been arguing with him for over an hour, already. If you didn’t die from lung cancer, it would be a miracle. But you needed to make some sort of hyper-logical point or he would never listen to you.

“I can get you anything you need, and more. You’re part of my hoard now, after all.”

“Just…” You sighed, then let your gaze snap up as you thought of the appropriate words. “It’s a human’s own special sort of hoard. Yes, we can part with it, but those things hold importance to us! I have family photos and relics that I can’t bear the thought of losing, and clothes that would work much better for in here than what you’ve been getting me because they’ll actually fit me!”

He looked thoughtful now. “I suppose that does make sense. My mother usually had things that she guarded possessively, I suppose I always thought it came from when she would shift into a dragon.Will…will it make you happy—to have your hoard?”

“Yes,” You answered, shrugging a little. Not that you minded wearing clothes that were too big, but it got a little chilly at night, and you didn’t even have your pictures or anything that had sentiment to you.

He straightened and smiled. “Alright, I will retrieve your hoard, but you must stay here. I’ll not risk my treasure.”

You groaned. “Fine. Here’s the key to the house.”

He took it, examining it carefully, then nodded. He shifted as he walked away and some wind buffered your face as he took off.

You sighed and went back to the kitchen-like area, making a face at the food he’d brought you. Sure, you’d been there a few days now, so you were partially used to him bringing you very fresh meat, but you couldn’t help but wonder what that meat actually was before he’d skillfully butchered it and brought it to you.

But he’d also ‘collected’ a wood-burning stove for you to use after he noticed you struggling to cook over a tiny campfire you’d managed to make the day before, and the face you made when he cooked your meat to a char the first day. He’d been waiting outside the cave designated as yours (which he’d filled with lush cushions and blankets—something he appeared to have an abundance of) that morning, pulling you excitedly to where he kept his food to show you the stove. He’d even gotten a ton of firewood for you and piled it nearby, and made sure the chimney part of the stove was high enough to catch the smoke and be pulled out with the rest—a phenomenon you still couldn’t quite explain.

You had found a knife sometime during your first day, and you used it to cut the meat into smaller pieces. As you cooked (with one pan that you’d found laying in a corner collecting dust), you could hear him coming and going, and you barely held yourself back from going to make sure he got everything. Wondering if he’d clean out the house or leave things behind. You’d just gotten groceries…

“Okay, I have retrieved your hoard,” He said, sounding very proud of himself.

You glanced back and smiled, washing your hands and following him out.

Your eyes widened. “Oh…you brought the fridge?”

“Yes, and I realized it used that electricity so I also asked my mother for a power source and she has given it to me. Where should I put this…fridge?”

“Uh, same room as the stove. Do you…know what a refrigerator is?”

He shook his head, blinking at you.

“It keep food cold. This one also has a freezer, which—”

“Freezes things?” He guessed, looking pleased.

You nodded. “Yeah. Oh, good, you didn’t bring the cabinets.”

“Cabinets?”

“Wooden boxes attached to walls.”

“No, they were much attached to the den, so I removed their contents, but left the wood. You have a strange way of organizing your hoard, and your den did not seem very secure. I did not realize that humans used magic so much.”

You tilted your head, a little confused. “We…don’t…?”

“But your water goes up pipes?”

“Oh, just because we found a way to use pressure to push the water. But I suppose it would seem like magic. Um, thank you, for retrieving my, um, hoard.” You patted his arm, then noticed the pile of pots, pans, and food. You went over to it, grabbing some seasonings and oil, heading back to the kitchen to cook properly for the first time in a few days.

“You are pleased?” He asked, trailing after you.

“Uh, yeah. Pleased.” You frowned as you measured seasoning by sight, trying to decide if it was too much or too little. You’d organize your kitchen stuff later. Maybe see if he had a chest or something you could use. Or use one of the bookshelves.

“May I keep this?”

You looked back and saw him holding a photo album. “Um…why?”

“It has many likenesses of you, and you smile in them. You must have been more than pleased,” He said, opening it and looking down at the photos.

You stood there, blinking as you gazed at him, remembering his question about whether having your hoard would make you happy. Asking you if you were pleased.

Adorable.

You giggled before you could stop yourself, and his gaze snapped up to your face, eyes getting huge. “Come here and start the fire in the oven.”

He hurried over, opening the door you pointed to and blowing fire into the wood until it caught.

“Thank you, and no, you cannot have that, it is part of my super-special hoard.” You took the album and hugged it to yourself.

He looked disappointed, but nodded. “I see. Best not to fight my treasure over her hoard.”

“Now, about the pile of stuff out there,” You gestured toward the entrance while you waited for the stove to heat up more.

He blinked a few times. “You wish to organize your hoard?”

You nodded. “I don’t think it looks quite right piled in the middle of our living-area. If you can move the big pieces of furniture, I’ll organize the rest.”

He nodded in agreement, looking up to release a puff of smoke so that it wouldn’t go into your face. “Okay, shall I start with the fridge?”

You nodded. “That would be nice, yes.” You graced him with a smile and he suddenly smiled back and you just about died. That was a fantastic smile.

He jogged off and a while later the fridge (plus a couple dents) was pushed through the cave entrance, then he shifted again, coming in and moving it against the cave wall and then plugging it into the strange-looking power-source his mother had apparently given him. It looked like a strange blue box with smooth sides, but the plug seemed to fit right in.

You gave him another smile, nodding when he looked over at you for approval.

His grin came easily, and he almost skipped off.

You started laughing to yourself. You’d thought he was a little strange when you first met him, but this was just…adorable. He was so eager to please you, and you honestly weren’t sure why, but it was very endearing. It made you feel welcome in the cave, not that he hadn’t been welcoming before, he’d made sure you were comfortable and provided everything you needed, but it gave the stone walls in which you lived a certain sort of warmth that the magic lights didn’t provide.

You turned back to the stove and put the pan on the stove to heat the oil.

He grunted behind you and you jumped as a clatter followed, turning to see a bright red, antique baking cabinet.

You looked at Hoseok in surprise. “That’s not part of my hoard.”

He shook his head. “It’s part of mine. But it looked like the wooden boxes in your cooking area so I thought you might want it here. You have many food items. Do you hoard food for winter like squirrels?”

“Um, sort of? Did your mother not…nevermind, she probably summoned her food if she’s a witch.”

He nodded.

“Okay, well, normal humans can’t do that. So, as a collective we sort of gather food and make it last. Ship it all around the world. You don’t get out much, do you?”

“I go flying everyday.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that, you don’t interact with humans much, do you?”

“They hunted us. We don’t want that to start again,” He said, but there was a nervous quality to his tone.

You tilted your head, suppressing a smile. “You’re scared of them.”

“Am not.”

You nodded. “You are. Which story did it? Beowulf? Or St. George and the Dragon? Or was it an Arthurian tale?”

He kicked at the leg of the cabinet with a scowl. “St. George.”

You giggled outright, earning a hurt look from him. “You realize humans honestly think those are just folk tales, right? Legends? Told with awe and wonder but not believed? You could completely pass as human. I mean, you’d get yelled at for smoking in a public place, but most people wouldn’t even notice that you didn’t have a cigarette. They’re oblivious that way.”

“But you’re not?”

“I didn’t say that, I just meant humans as a whole are pretty stupid. Heck, I bet some people saw you flying today and those people are probably already getting called lunatics and drunks, or the kids’ parents are laughing and telling them that they have such vivid imaginations. And there are a lot of publications that write good things about dragons nowadays. Like Eragon, or Dragon Slippers, and so many others that I can’t even think of right now. I’ve got a few in my hoard. I’ll lend them to you.” You turned back to the pan and started carefully adding the meat to the pan. It was strange how easily you switched to referring to your belongings as your hoard.

“Oh…thank you…” He seemed a little flustered.

“Only if you want to, though, I mean, I understand if you don’t. Not everyone likes reading,” You quickly amended, wondering if you’d crossed some sort of line.

“No, no, I just…most dragons don’t share their treasures.”

“Ah, but I’m technically part of your hoard, so technically, my hoard belongs to your hoard, you just have to respect it and my decisions of how to use, share, or not-share my hoard.”

He looked at you blankly, then looked absolutely gobsmacked once it set it. “Wow, you’re really smart. You’re one of the best treasures I’ve ever collected for my hoard.” His gaze shifted to the stove, and you noticed him lick his lips.

“Would you…like to eat with me when I’m done?”

He nodded. “I would very much like that.”

You nodded. “Alright. I’ll call you when the food is ready.”

He nodded and slowly slunk away, as if reluctant but wanting to respect your space.

You loved the way he always referred to you as a treasure, but everything else just seemed to be part of his hoard. You were pretty, and you were his treasure.

You were also his prisoner, but something told you he was a sucker for your smiles and might be worked on. You just needed to get to know him better, and let him get to know you better. You honestly kind of liked it here. It was better than that creaky house you were renting that had been built and decorated in the seventies and never escaped it. He was good for conversation too. Not to mention you actually felt safe, despite being trapped with a dragon, because he had added you to his hoard.

“Y/n?”

“Yes, Hoseok?”

“Um, you can call me Hobi. My family does. And my friends. I just…wanted to tell you that you could as well.”

“Okay, Hobi,” You answered easily. Very cute.

“Okay.”

You smiled when you could tell he was hovering in the doorway. “Did you want to taste test this with me? See if I have the balance of spices right?” You pulled out a smaller piece of the meat and managed to separate it into two pieces.

He was by your side in a hurry, easily opening up like a little chick and taking the piece of meat from the chopsticks you held.

You watched his face for a reaction.

He grinned. “Oh! That’s good!”

You tasted it and nodded, adding a little more pepper. “Very. What kind of meat was that?”

“Cow. My father had some leftover and I’d already had a tasty deer, but I thought you’d like some since he was taking some home to my mother.” He shrugged, eyes on the pan. “How did you think to cook it like this?”

“Well, I only had one pan when I started cooking and I want to wash my pots and pans and stuff before I use those. This seemed like the best option.” You put more meat into the pan, then turned and went to the fridge, grabbing some veggies and such to cut up and have with your meat since you hadn’t had veggies since before you were trapped here. Hoseok didn’t seem to think of anything other than meat.

He was hovering over your shoulder, watching. “Smells…fiery.”

“Peppers. Bell peppers. I’m not really going to cook them, probably just eat them with the some veggie dip,” You shrugged and went back in the fridge to grab the previously chopped veggies and the veggie dip.

He was tasting the peppers already, looking pleased. “Mmm. Nice heat. We should have more of these.”

You nodded. “Well, this is all I have aside from my hot sauce and salsa. Actually, I probably have some habanero sauce. Somewhere.” You shrugged.

He hummed softly.

“Maybe I’ll make something spicy tomorrow.” You shrugged, not looking to him.

He nodded, then suddenly he was very close, his nose booping your cheek before he was gone. Slipping out of the room with a grace you didn’t know a dragon could possess.

You just hoped that one day the sunshine dragon would actually let you see the sun shining again soon.

Part 1 ~ Part 3

Masterlist ~ Hoseok Masterpost

#treasured hoard fic #Jung HoSeok #hoseok x reader #dragon!hoseok #reader x hoseok #reader x jhope #bts jhope #jhope #shapeshifter!hoseok #bts x reader #dragon!au

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agastyatreepetals · 4 years

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Personas’ Gifts, P4 Edition

As I stated in the P3 version of this post, I’ll be exploring what happened to persona users after their game ended. And I we will not be doing Yū/the protagonist, because of his status as a wild card.

And so now it’s time for the Investigation Team!

How about we start with Teddie on this post? Teddie, the bear, the home-grown human, the legend, and he would absolutely jump into a frozen lake. Especially if he’s tired. He absorbs ice with his final golden persona, and so when he needs a pick me up he seeks ice. Yōsuke has found Teddie folded inside of the freezer. Yōsuke’s parents have also found Teddie in the freezer.

Teddie has pretty good night vision too, and oddly enough he can be a sort of guide. It’s...brighter around him in the darkness. He’s not glowing or maybe light it’s just that the darkness doesn’t touch him the same way. And he’s unbothered by wind, like Yukari in the P3 post. He does use those wind abilities to just...fly sometimes. The wind once carried him a mile, then he got dropped when the wind suddenly stopped and he broke a leg, oops.

A downside to Teddie liking his freezer time is the fact that freezer, unless they’re ice filled basements like ye olde days, are powered by electricity. And electricity has it out for Teddie. Phones will just explode if he uses them while they’re on the charger. He once murdered Junes’ TV section by running through there in a panic. Luckily, or rather unluckily, it had been during a bad storm so the storm was blamed. And it was in fact the storms’ fault, but that was because storms seek out Teddie-the-lightning-rod-bear. Don’t let Teddie outside during a storm, even if it’s just raining and no chance of lightning, the lightning will find him.

(I am both trying to change it up, and have fun with the fact that the Investigation Team have third tier personas which makes them uh...a little OP in some regards lol)

And now to Naoto, some of this is inspired by my conversation with @themusiciansword652231 on the original post). So, Naoto reflects both light and dark if their third tier persona is achieved, and blocks fire. And has no weaknesses.

Therefore, Naoto glows in the dark, having absorbed the daylight, and in the day provides shade to anyone who stays close because they absorb the shadows of the night. And on top of that are heat and fireproof. Naoto doesn’t like to be set on fire, but Teddie did set Naoto’s jacket on fire to test the theory and then everyone found out that Naoto is fireproof.

Teddie isn’t allowed to play with lighters anymore

Yukiko’s cooking disasters are now worse. If someone’s helping her, then disaster can be averted. However, the reason it’s a disaster is because absorbs heat. Too close to a fire? Absorbed it. Hot food? It’s cold now. Also cold hurt really bad and gives her blisters, so retrieving cold food hurts and ends up all over the floor.

Teddie becomes clingier to Yukiko because her persona blocks electricity. So when the electricity comes for him there’s a chance it won’t because it just stops because Yukiko’s body just....isn’t affected. Being named after snowflakes is really ironic when winter becomes her most hated month because it hurts and she gets sick more often because her body is in Crisis Mode.

Chie, on the other hand, thrives in winter. Snow and cold fill her with energy, and she never feels cold. She’s even played in the snow in a swimsuit. Oh, and like Ken, sunlight doesn’t phase her. She would never go snow blind, and in fact loves things to be as bright as possible. Fire is unpleasant however, and heat. Summer months are when Chie’s body goes in Crisis Mode, so no more beach time. Also campfires suddenly become The Worst Invention Ever. And she gets lots of burns from simple things like toast all the time.

Kanji can take a punch. It takes a lot to bruise him (like a metal pipe to the face) or break a bone (falling from a great height). Electricity gives him life. This does mean his phone has a hard time keeping a charge, because he’ll (especially if he’s ill, tired, or just worn out) just zap the life out of it. Naoto gives him a rubber case to help protect his phone. Windy days suck. These, unlike Junpei, don’t tear him up. They feel like punches and pummeling, so people think he gets into way more fights than he actually does. It was just a breeze that smacked his face, yes it’s swollen real bad, no he didn’t fight a biker gang again, they probably wouldn’t hurt him all that anyway.

And finally, Yōsuke. He has the same issue with electricity as Teddie, except he doesn’t pursue him like poor Teddie. Accidentaly shocks hurt way more and he has to be careful about plugging in and unplugging stuff. His headphones have occasionally shocked him while he’s listened to music.

Wind gives him life. As soon as a storm rolls in, his eyes flash and he’s outside and people have sworn they’ve seen him fly. His closest friends won’t confirm it but “Yōsuke I swear to god, stop jumping into the wind like a kite.” It bolsters his mood, his energy, and he just has a great time. In fact, anyone who absorb elements get a boost to their mood along with their physical state. And Yōsuke is in the fireproof club with Naoto, so if any fires need to be tended to their the people to help.

#shin megami tensei franchise #persona series #persona 4 #yukiko amagi #chie satanoka #kanji tatsumi #yosuke hanamura #naoto shirogane #teddie #shirogane naoto #hanamura yōsuke #tatsumi kanji #satanoka chie #amagi yukiko #long post

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tbehartoo · 5 years

Text

Cocoa, Cuddles & Kisses

Word count: around 7400

Rating: General, though there’s lots of kisses and cuddling as per the title.

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Ladybug]/ Chat Noir [Adrien Agreste], Tikki, Plagg

On AO3

For @dappercookiexd for ML Secret Santa 2019 exchange. I hope you like some cuddly MariChat this Christmas time.

Thanks to @platypan for help with shaping and beta’ing this fic. Also thanks to the Bear for her beta help. NGL I lost my beatas on the last third. For some reason they didn’t want to stay up till 2 am with me. Who knew? I really hope you like this. Please, enjoy!

***

Summary:

Marinette and Ladybug have had a talk. Ladybug has agreed that if any of the squad need a place to rest, or to recharge their kwami, then Marinette’s new apartment with its screened-in porch, no one to see a hero come or go, and a mini-fridge stocked with anything that the kwamis may need to recharge is an acceptable safe haven. It’s only to be used in case of emergency, of course, but it is available to any Miraculous holder in need. Amazingly, Chat Noir has a sudden need to see his Princess.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Tikki have also had a talk about Chat. They’ve talked about secret identities, what a relationship needs to grow, and how Chat might fit into the picture of the future. His visit tonight might end up bringing him more than hot cocoa and sweet snuggles.

***

“What do you think, Tikki?” Marinette asked the little godling snuggled up in her fluffy scarf. “Do you think I have something for everybody?”

Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek before dashing through the cold winter air to check the contents of the mini-fridge. She hurried back and quickly dove between the scarf and Marinette’s neck causing the young woman to shudder.

“Looks like you have something for every kwami that’s been used in the last three months,” Tikki squeaked as she pulled the scarf tighter around her shivering form. “I see you added some water and a few sports drinks for the humans. You even got the Le 5 Frères Camembert that Plagg said he loved last time he visited.” Her tone clearly indicated that she thought Marinette was spoiling her counterpart. “You know you don’t have to win Plagg’s approval to date his chosen, right?”

“Tikki!” Marinette huffed as she closed the fridge. “That’s enough talk like that,” she felt her cheeks warm, so distracted herself by checking that the sun screens she’d hung yesterday were indeed sheltering her small patio from any prying eyes or camera lenses. “I’m not trying to get’s Plagg’s permission to date Chat,” she protested. The small scoff from her kwami was not missed by Marinette. “Plagg is as important to Chat’s ability to do his job as you are to Ladybug’s. I just want him to be as fully powered as he can be to protect Chat from the akumas.” She patted the lump snuggled between her shoulder and her jaw. “I don’t see you protesting the Valrhona chocolate I use in your cookies,” she teased.

“Hmph,” Tikki replied.

Marinette chuckled even as she looked around for anything else she could do to make the space inviting. Everything seemed in order. There was a comfortable lounge chair and a small side table with a basket holding tightly sealed snacks that were clearly labeled with an expiration date.

She shook her head as she remembered Chat and Carapace daring each other to eat the seemingly innocuous bag of Pasquier pancakes that had been left on a rooftop with a thank you note to the heroes. It wasn’t until each of the boys had already consumed a couple of the cold pancakes that Carapace brought out a moldy specimen that had both her and Queen Bee pulling faces and wanting to get as far away from the bag as possible. Close inspection of the package cleared up the non-mystery. It had expired over five months before they found it and a small tear in the bottom had let the microbes in to feast on their gift. Marinette vowed that all of the snacks left out on the table would never be there for longer than a week.

She checked off more items on her mental list of things Miraculous holders or their kwami might need. Inside the table’s one drawer was a well stocked first-aid kit along with instructions for some of the basic splinting and bandaging techniques she had found necessary to master during longer akuma battles. A thick wool blanket hung over the back of the chair along with a small cushion. She’d made sure the fairy lights hung around the ceiling of the space would automatically turn on as soon as it got dark enough to need a light to see. Of course, Chat wouldn’t need the light but some of the others didn’t have his night vision.

Was she still missing something? She sighed. Maybe a heater? She probably wouldn’t know until after the members of the Miraculous Squad actually used it. She slid the screen door open easily, but had a more difficult time getting the heavy glass door to move.

“I guess I’ll need to look and see what’s making that stick before we leave on patrol tonight,” she muttered as she pushed it closed behind her.

“Are you still planning on inviting them tonight then?” Tikki asked with a yawn. She didn’t immediately leave the warmth of Marinette’s scarf. On cold winter days she preferred to snuggle up with her chosen as much as possible instead of flying around.

“Yeah--it’ll be the best time since everyone will be at the meet up.” Marinette went to her kitchen and filled her electric kettle with water. “And I can always let the temporary holders know where to come when I give them their Miraculous,” she paused in taking down a mug. “Tik?” there was an edge to her voice now.

Tikki hummed to indicate she was listening.

“Do you think it’s time for me to reveal to Chat who I am?” She frowned. “After all, I’ve been the Guardian for seven years now. It’s ridiculous that I know who everyone that’s used a Miraculous is--except for Chat,” she grumbled. “He knows who everyone is, except for me!” She slammed a cupboard door. “Don’t you think it’s been long enough?” At Tikkis’s raised brows she continued, “There’s got to be some sort of statute of limitations on the ‘You can’t know the black cat’s true identity’ prohibition, right?” Tikki still didn’t say anything just looked steadily at her Chosen. “For kwami’s sake it’s not like I’m a kid any more. And I’ve known Every. Single. Holder. Everyone since Hawkmoth’s appearance,” she amended. Tikki’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Well,” she thought back, “there were the few times Chat has been the one passing out a kwami, but those were rare.”

Tikki’s giggle surprised her. “Even then you usually knew,” she pointed out, “since Chat came to Marinette for help most of those times.”

Marinette quickly hunched her shoulders as heat started to burn her neck and ears. “Yeah, Chat really trusts Marinette to have his back,” she said quietly.

“Of course he does,” Tikki said as she emerged to nuzzle Marinette’s cheek. “He’s been coming to you for a listening ear, a gaming partner, a creative sounding board, and more. He’s come to you as a friend quite a lot, especially lately.” She flew back to look Marinette in the eye. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that your “hanging with my friend who needs a friend” nights have practically turned into one long cuddle sessions as soon as he comes through the door and doesn’t stop until he has to leave. Or that there are more nights in a month when he visits than not.”

“Tikki,” Marinette groaned as her face flamed. “You know that boy is just touch starved. He needs all the--appropriate affection he can get.” She hoped her emphasis on the word would stop the direction of this discussion.

“Doesn’t mean he couldn’t use some inappropriate affection from you,” Tikki said with a grin before shooting off toward her nest on top of Marinette’s bookcase. “I’ve seen how you look at him when he’s not looking at you,” she called over her shoulder.

“Tikki,” Marinette called as she chased after the little godling. “That’s not--” She tried again. “I wasn’t talking about that,” she protested.

“But it’s what you meant to ask about,” Tikki replied from atop the bookcase. Leaning out of her warm tangle of fabrics and peeking over the shelf she continued, “You want to know if you can start a romantic relationship with Chat without telling him the one really big secret that he absolutely needs know if you are to be truly intimate with him.”

That startled Marinette. “You do think I should tell him,” she stated carefully.

“I didn’t say that,” Tikki’s eyes lost some of their twinkle. “I said that he should know your full identity if you are going to have a more personal relationship.” She rested her chin on her hands staring down at Marinette. “A romantic relationship brings added layers and complications to anyone involved,” she warned. “Not disclosing that you are Ladybug will only serve to muddy your communication, which is something that could drive a wedge between you two and is something our enemies will exploit.”

Marinette looked away from the kwami. She knew this of course, but it was so strange for Tikki to suddenly seem in favor of a reveal when she’d so often stressed the importance of keeping her superhero identity a secret.

“Chat and I communicate just fine,” she said, challenging Tikki’s last comment. “Just last week we were talking about the futures we want to build and we both agreed that a lone dwarf hamster is a sad dwarf hamster and that it would be totally irresponsible to not have two.” She looked back at Tikki. “I think Chat’s future and mine would mesh nicely.”

Tikki nodded before she spoke. “That’s true, but you haven’t been able to be totally honest about a lot of things you’ve discussed. With good reason,” she hurried to add. “I want to give you the benefit of my millennia of existence. Open and honest communication isn’t always easy, it can be painful at times even, but...Marinette. Communication is one of the most important factors in a relationship that grows and thrives, versus one based on lies and half truths that can only shrivel and die.” She gave Marinette a tiny smile. “And I only want the best for my bugs.”

Marinette stared at Tikki as the immortal embodiment of creation waggled her eyebrows and antennae.

“oh.” What else could she say? “Okay then.” She did an about face, and paced off toward the kitchen. “I guess that’s settled.”

“Is it?” Tikki asked as she snuggled back into her nest.

“Yeah,” Marinette said heading back to make her tea. “If Chat wants to change our relation-” her breath caught, but she pressed on, “--our relationship to something a little more- well more, then I’ll tell him about Ladybug.” She nodded even as she drew a shaky breath. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll stay just Marinette to him. Just his friend. Only a really good friend.” She frowned at the thought. “I don’t want to be just Marinette to him, but if he’s not ready or doesn’t want me I’ll have to be okay with it,” she told her box of tea as she took out the scoop to fill her infuser. Her mind raced along those lines as she waited for the leaves to steep.

“He might not want me, Tikki,” Marinette said as she walked past the book case to get to her workstation. “I mean he might not want me to be more than just a friend. After all,” she set the mug down, “--he’s not been as flirty with Ladybug lately. He’s still polite and charming, but he’s really backed off on the flirting.”

“Gee, Marinette, I wonder why that might be,” Tikki said dryly as she rushed to Marinette’s drink to snuggle up to the warmth. “He’s come a long way from when he was posing mid-fight and insisting you show up for roof top dinners you told him you couldn’t attend.”

Marinette smiled at her tiny friend. “You’re right about that, but that was way back at the beginning.”

“I think Marinette crying to Chat about the guy that wouldn’t take “no” for an answer might have helped,” Tikki drawled.

Marinette couldn’t stop the giggle. “Yeah, I only had to tell him about it once and that nonsense stopped right away.” She grew pensive.

“I don’t know Tikki,” she struggled to put her thoughts into any kind of logical order--the harassment and the playing stopped back then, but it still seemed like Chat and Ladybug were friends. They were really good friends, but very professional. Now she saw more of those sweet, real smiles when he visited Marinette than when he worked with Ladybug. True, his appreciation for Ladybug and trust in her had grown deeper. On the other hand, his smiles and hugs were only for Marinette these days. “What if he doen’t like Ladybug anymore? In a romantic way,” she added. “I know he loves Ladybug as his partner, but seven years is a long time to be holding on to a crush.”

Tikki just shook her head and nuzzled Marinette’s cheek. “Only one way to know for sure,” she said. “You’ll have to ask him.” Tikki did an aerial loop-the-loop that brought Marinette’s attention back from the middle distance of worry and over thinking. “Didn’t you want to work on that commission before we have to leave for patrol?” she asked sweetly.

“Oh, yeah, Tikki. Thanks.” She gave her kwami a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks for everything.”

***

Marinette awoke with a start. She looked around the small living room of her new apartment to figure out what had brought her out her cozy doze in front of the tv. Since she had just moved in her brain still had to recognize where she was before it could figure out what had been off enough to alert her. There! As expected, a soft knock of knuckles on glass. She let out a moan as she stretched.

“My, my, who ever could that be,” she yawned as sarcastically as possible.

She stood, draped the lap blanket around her shoulders to keep in the warmth, and walked to the balcony door. As she unlocked it she looked out to see nothing but glowing green eyes and a bright white smile in the dim glow of her fairy lights. She returned the smile, delighted that her precautions for creating a Rescue Room had made it so that the heroes would be able to safely visit.

“Good evening, Princess,” Chat said with a low bow as the door opened.

“Get in here, Chat." She grabbed his arm and dragged him inside. "It’s too cold for bows," she grumbled as she strained to close the door.

"Well aren't you eager to get one of Paris's premier heroes through the door tonight?" he asked as he righted himself from the pull. He saw her struggling to get the big glass door completely closed and gently nudged her aside. With ease he slid the door into the frame and locked it. Turning to her like a cat that got the cream he wiggled his eye brows at her. “No thanks for saving the day, Princess?”

“I’m more eager to keep the cold air out, than to get you in,” she grumbled.

The young man pouted for a brief moment, but couldn’t hold back his need to smile at the woman in front of him. Marinette instantly grinned back, then schooled her face as she listened to his words.

“Ladybug told the group at our weekly briefing that you’d opened your home to us, should we need a place to detransform and recharge our kwami while on patrol,” he said while grabbing the hand nearest to him. “I wanted to thank you, personally, for such a kind and needed offer.” He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed the back of her fingers.

Marinette began to blush, something she hadn’t done in Chat’s presence in years.

“I believe Ladybug only said that my very well hidden and screened in porch would be an excellent place to use in case of emergency,” she said as she squeezed the hand holding her own. “And that the minifridge and basket I have out there is available to any kwami or holder that actually needs it.” Her raised eyebrows clearly indicating that she knew he wasn’t speaking the whole truth.

He nodded while holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Marinette mourned the loss of contact, but tried to listen attentively to his words.

“Yes, those are the words that Ladybug passed on,” he agreed, “But what I heard was more along the lines of the spirit of your words.” He tilted his head and fluttered his eyelashes at her. “Are you saying that you didn’t invite us over? That we aren’t welcome to visit as long as the porch lights are on? That you’re going to throw this poor stray out into the cold, dark night?”

“Ugh,you can turn the kitty eyes off,” she said with a chuckle as she used her hands to obscure his face. He caught her hands at the wrists and lowered them to his chest. “You know you are always welcome here,” she said with a huff. She wiggled a hand free to point a finger in his grinning face, “But you heroes are really only supposed to use my balcony in case of emergency. Like running out of foods to recharge your kwami, or needing to bandage an arm.”

He looked guilty at that last remark. Their enemies now had weapons that could pierce the Miraculous armor. Which they’d found out only last month when Hawkmoth’s rapier had slashed his arm wide open.

“This is an emergency,” he said seriously.

Marinette hid her smile in her blanket as she asked, “Really? What emergency brings you to my humble abode?”

“It’s dark and cold outside?”

She shook her head no..

“It’s been more than half a month since I last saw you?”

Marinette didn’t bother to stop her eye-roll. He tried yet another angle.

“I’m seriously deficient in both hot cocoa and cuddles?” His grin was almost comical and he waggled his eyebrows at her after this announcement. “You know that we haven’t been able to do preventative emotional support-”

“Treats and a movie with platonic hugging,” she supplied.

“--in over two weeks,” he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “My badness and sadness readings are getting to dangerous levels and my kwami has threatened to put hairballs in all of my shoes if I don’t get some time in with my friends.”

Marinette’s face dropped at that last word, but she quickly rallied. She and Chat had often found rather overly dramatic ways to ask for physical affection. It might be tight hugs after a difficult battle, sitting close while playing video games, or playing silly hand clapping games they found on Youtube, but when there was a necessity for some friendly interaction they found safe and silly ways to ask for what they needed.

“What?!” She made sure to gasp dramatically while clutching at nonexistent pearls, and his face broke into a smile. “Oh no! How could we let this happen?” She grabbed Chat’s hand and pulled him toward her small kitchen area. “We must remedy this situation immediately.”

She threw the blanket around his shoulders and watched with some amusement as he snuggled his face into the velvety fabric. She was switching on her electric kettle and pulling out mugs as large as soup bowls before he had time to blink. She pointed to a drawer and Chat immediately opened it to find a tray of silverware. He pulled out two spoons and handed them over.

Marinette busied herself with opening up packets of cocoa and digging out the containers of toppings, especially the micro-marshmallows, she knew Chat preferred. Chat passed the time looking through her cabinets and shelves, with her nodded permission of course. He even took a moment to peek in the fridge, getting familiar with his friend’s new kitchen layout.

“This is almost ready,” Marinette said as she replaced the kettle on its base while stirring the contents of one cup. “How do you feel about cocoa, cuddles, and Project Runway DVR?”

“First of all, I love me some Dupain-Cheng hot cocoa! Nothing beats the way you doctor up those ready made packets of chocolate. And cuddles? Love ‘em! I just can’t get enough Princess cuddles, ever. But...,” he visibly cringed, “could we do a different show?” He watched her face cloud over. “You get a little too ... enthusiastic over some of the designs and color choices,” he explained sheepishly. “You almost never agree with who wins--and your reasons behind that are all too sound--but I would like to continue hearing from both ears, Marinette. Can’t we watch something a little more--,” he was gesturing with one hand to come up with the right word but found that hand suddenly full of chocolatey goodness topped with whipped cream. He took in the sight of the fluffy cream, tiny white marshmallows, the pink and green sprinkles, along with the drizzle of caramel and smiled. “Cute.”

“You want to watch something cute?” Marinette clarified as she fixed up her own cup. They watched many, different shows together but not a lot of them could be considered cute. When he didn’t respond she looked over at him.

Chat had his nose a handbreadth above his drink and was breathing in huge lungfuls of the sweet scent.

It reminded her of a scene out of a book she had read with her Papa when she was seven or eight. She remembered her Papa demonstrating poor, starving Charlie Bucket breathing in the chocolate scented air of the candy factory as if it alone could stave off his hunger. She’d felt so sorry for the little kid that wasn’t getting enough to eat! That book alone had been the spark for getting her parent’s bakery, and then others in their arrondissement, to donate their still good leftovers to the local food bank. And then upping their charitable giving during the colder months.

That scene with little Charlie, before he found the Golden Ticket, was probably what made her offer Chat food almost every time she saw him. She always felt a little sense of pride, and a win for Justice, when she could tempt him to a treat. Among the people she knew, only Adrien was possibly in starving Charlie’s hungry shoes as often as Chat.

Chuckling quietly she got behind the entranced hero and nudged him toward her tiny couch. She set her drink down on a side table and started rifling through the stack of movies Alya’s sisters had left on their last visit. They had done a movie marathon and she thought she remembered the book title among the DVDs they mentioned. She lifted it triumphantly from the stack and did her happy dance.

“What did you find?” Chat asked followed by a slurp then a quiet, “Oooh, ow.”

Marinette burst out laughing at the sight. His tongue was sticking out and he was using one hand to fan it.

“You know it’s piping hot when I hand it to you,” she said. “I even make sure to turn down the temperature so that it’s not going to scald you or permanently burn off your taste buds, but it is still hot.” She shook her head. “This happens every time!”

“I knoooooooow,” he wailed. “But it’s always so good and I know it’s going to be the best ever so I have to try it as soon as I think it’s cooled a little.”

She laughed, popping the DVD in the player, and made her way back to him. He’d made himself comfortable, draping the fuzzy pink blanket across his knees, one side pulled back for her. They usually shared a blanket these days. She hurried back and sat next to her cuddle buddy. He gently placed the blanket across her lap then draped his arm behind her shoulders to rest along the back of the cushions. He tentatively sipped at his drink and found the place where the cream had cooled it enough to drink. He took several sips before looking up at her with a mustache made of cream and sprinkles.

“So what are we watching?” he asked as he discreetly licked the mustache from his top lip.

“Something perfect for a hot chocolate loving feline like yourself,” she replied as she grabbed the remote for the DVD player. “You have a little dot of cream on the tip of your nose,” she informed him as she took a sip of her own cocoa before placing it on the coffee table

He put his cup down and made an attempt to wipe it off.

“Did I get it?” he asked as the screen darkened and Marinette rested her head against his shoulder. His free arm curled around her shoulders.

She turned to face him better while pointing at her own nose, “Right about here.”

Chat purposefully pointed to a place opposite to where she was pointing.

“No,” she rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hand, “it’s here.” She extended his index finger and very gently swiped it across the white fluff.

Chat looked at the sweet white mound then popped the finger into his mouth.

“Ew, Chaaaat,” Marinette groaned. “That’s so gross.”

“It’d be a sin to miss out on any of your special cocoa, Mari,” he said as he tried to boop her nose with the finger that had just been in his mouth. She fended it off, but wasn’t as successful in stopping the arm around her shoulders dropping down to tickle her side.

“Chat, stop!” she giggled. “I need to breathe!”

He stopped tickling her, taking the opportunity to finally boop her nose. She sat up from where she’d curled to protect herself.

“So tell me,” he said as he grabbed his drink and took a much larger swallow of his sweet concoction. “What are we actually watching?”

“The ultimate in cute, candy, and chocolate,” she replied. “And a movie that actually isn’t too bad for an adaption of a book.” She looked up into his face and smiled. “Have you ever read or seen ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’?”

He shook his head as he tried to lick off his mustache, again.

“Then you are in for a treat,” she declared as she wrapped her arms around Chat’s waist nestling her head closer to the center of his chest.

“Is this a holiday movie?” Chat asked somewhat confused even as he shifted to make Marinette more comfortable.

Marinette paused before replying. “It’s got a mysterious and magic man that no one ever sees, lots of candy, naughty children who get what’s coming to them, lots of very little people, and plenty of OSHA violations,” Marinette said thoughtfully. “It could probably qualify.”

Chat laughed and hearing the sound from just under her ear made Marinette unreasonably happy.

“Now, shush,” she said reaching above her head putting a finger to his lips. “You’ll miss the very important introduction.”

“Yes, ma’am. Shushing right now-,” he whispered around the finger barring his speaking.

Unfortunately, the slick whipped cream along with the awkward angle made Marinette’s finger slip as he spoke. Her fingernail managed not to snag his lip but did jar against his teeth bouncing into his mouth.

Without thinking she put her finger into her mouth and bit down to ease the pain in the nail.

At that instant both froze with the realization that there was something of an indirect kiss that just happened. They stared at each other for a mere moment. Red was already staining Chat Noir’s cheeks while Marinette’s eyes widened.

Marinette yelped and struggled to sit up, arms flailing to get upright she accidentally hit Chat a couple of times. Not knowing where to look, and feeling the heat rising in her cheeks she reached for her drink on the table. At the same time Chat yelped and pulled his arm close to his side locking it in place with his other hand.

Neither one dared to look at the other even as the air between them warmed.

The movie started showing the intricate inner workings of a factory.

Chat cleared his throat and Marinette reluctantly looked in his direction.

“So uh, Princess,” he tried to paste on his best smoulder, “how did I taste?”

Marinette’s hands flew to hide her face as it went red. “Chat!” she screeched.

His face immediately rivaled Tikki’s for color and they both turned their bodies away from each other. Both took sips from their respective mugs while struggling to maintain their distance on the small loveseat. They stared at the screen in silence. Neither one moved except to sip at their drinks.

Chat’s head hung low as he cleared his throat again.

“I’m sorry Marinette,” he began as he set his mug down then folded his hands in his lap. “It’s just that I kind of panicked when you looked at me-- like that. And I didn’t--I didn’t know what to do,” he looked over at her. She barely caught his blush out of the corner of her eye, she was having trouble looking him in the face. “So I did what I always do,” he gave a nervous chuckle, “and tried to make it into a joke.” He chuckled again, but it petered out almost as soon as it began. “But I didn’t really mean it as a joke, joke. I mean-- I did mean it as a joke to break the tension, but I did not mean it as a way of laughing at you or mocking you. Because I love yo-” Her raised eyebrows somehow made him slap a hand across his mouth. There was a whining sound just before he cleared his throat again. “I did kind of wonder if you’d like to try another… I mean not an indirect kiss, but something more purpose--”

This time he stopped talking when the finger was pressed to his lips.

“Chat,” Marinette leaned in toward this man she’d trusted and loved for years.

He looked up. She bit one side of her bottom lip before removing her finger. She used that hand to cradle his cheek as she leaned in close to him.

“I think you missed a little spot right here,” she said as her lips brushed the corner of his mouth.

It was brief, but it took less than a moment for Chat to brighten up. He looked into Marinette’s uncertain face pulling back from him and cupped her face with both hands, pressing his lips to hers.

“Wow,” Chat sighed as he pulled back from the kiss to rest his forehead against Marinette’s. “That was even better than I thought it would be.”

Marinette looked up at him unable to stop smiling. “Yeah, it--you’ve thought about kissing me?” She quirked her head. “Before tonight?”

Chat ducked into a hunch even as his smile grew. He nodded and added, “Yeah, um, for--for a long time, now.

Marinette was so stunned she blurted, “What took you so long?”

“Wait,” Chat looked as if his world had suddenly tipped sideways even as he straightened up. “You wanted me to kiss you?” He grabbed her hands. “Before--before tonight?” It sounded like an accusation but was tinged with wonder.

It was Marinette’s turn to duck in embarrassment. She pulled a hand free and hid her eyes behind it. She was nodding while smiling enough to light all the streets of Paris even as she repeated his earlier words. “Yeah...for a long time now.”

Chat whooped in joy and swept Marinette into his arms. He peppered her cheeks and nose with kisses while she giggled, then stopped abruptly.

“Marinette,” he gave her lips a quick peck, “would you,” a brief kiss, “my light,” another kiss, “my heart,” a longer kiss, “my love,” the longest kiss so far, “Would you make me the happiest man in the world and be my girlfriend?” Instead of kissing her lips he gave her a tender kiss on her forehead before he gently touched his own forehead to the spot. “Please?’ he breathed the word more than spoke it.

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. Breaking a habit of seven years was harder than she thought it would be.

“Is that, is that what you want?” she whispered. “What you really want?” Her hands cradled his face.

He nodded against her, not breaking any contact.

“I guess that’s going to depend on how you feel after what I have to say next.”

Chat moved back to be able to look her in the eye.

“I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” he said seriously. “Unless you tell me that you are Hawkmoth or one of his minions, there is nothing I can imagine you could tell me to change that.”

Marinette smirked as she wrapped her arms loosely behind his neck. “Well then, if you’re sure?”

He nodded solemnly.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Marinette felt Tikkis’ magic cover her, but instead of the joy she usually felt during a transformation all she felt was dread. Nothing could take back her choice to reveal Ladybug. Marinette looked into Chat’s stunned face. His eyes roamed her face, but he didn’t move a muscle.

“Surprise?” Marinette said timidly. She waited another long moment while he stared. The silence was killing her. “Chat?”

He pulled her into a crushing hug. She heard a small sob.

“Chat!” she pushed back to look at him.

Tears flowed down his smiling face. “And to think,” he said as he ran his hand through her hair then cupped the side of her face, “I didn’t think I could love you any more than I did before you said that, but I was wrong.” He slowly caressed her cheek. “Oh My Lady, how is it possible to love you even more? So much more--more than just a few seconds ago!”

It took longer than she would have liked to admit, but suddenly the meaning of his words sank in. Her worst fears were put to rest. She had to pull him to her and kiss him soundly.

“I don’t know-- I can’t know what you’re feeling, Chaton,” she said as soon they broke their kiss. “But I want you to know that you’ve been in my thoughts constantly for a long time now.” She ran a hand through his hair, expertly maneuvering around the black cat ears. “You’ve fought by my side, seen me at my worst.” She took a deep breath, “You’ve been rejected by Ladybug many times.”

She couldn’t help the eye roll at his huff. When Chat looked like he’d interrupt she put her finger across his lips only to have him kiss the tip. She smiled, but continued. This was something she’d thought about a lot and wanted to get it all out, while she could.

“Still, you’ve supported me through everything.” She kissed him again. “Both sides of me,” another kiss. “All sides of me,” she kissed the parts of his face not covered by his mask. She nuzzled into his neck while whispering, “Thank you for loving me.”

Chat seemed to find that some kind of challenge.

“But My Lady,” he stopped and gave her a look full of tenderness. “Marinette-” he kissed the shell of her ear, “My sweet Bugaboo-” he placed a kiss at her temple, “My dearest Marinette-” he whispered into her mouth.

“I like the sound of my name on your lips,” she confessed as she gazed into his green eyes.

“I like the taste of you on my lips,” he said as he let his thumb lightly caress her mouth.

This time Marinette didn’t try to hide her blush at his whispered words. He blushed in return.

“Marinette-” he beamed at her. “My Marinette,” he grabbed her hands to press a kiss along the line of her knuckles. He brought her hands close to his heart. “You’ve loved and supported me even when I’ve been less than-” he took a shuddery breath, “-less than honorable and frankly it makes me feel awful to think about how horrible I’ve been to you.” He slipped from the couch so that he was kneeling in front of her, still holding her hands. “How can you, my Marinette, my kind and selfless Lady, thank me for loving you when I’m the one that’s truly, utterly, deeply in your debt?”

“None of that, Chat.”

She tried to raise him up from the floor, but he pulled back and hid his face against their clasped hands.

“I’m ashamed of my behavior toward you, dearest.” He turned his face away but still held her hands to his heart. “I’m so sorry, m’lady.”

“But-” Marinette wasn’t sure how to help him through the self-loathing that was clear in his voice, “That was so long ago?” She reached a hand to turn his face back toward her. “You corrected your behavior. You listened to me when I told you what I needed from my partner.” She gently stroked the side of his face. “You have become a better man, a man I can trust fully and love with all my heart.”

“Maybe you won’t be abel to fully trust me once you know who I am under this mask.” He caught her hand and kissed her palm.

“What do you mean?”

His eyes strayed to the floor, but he took a breath before looking back up at her and admitting, “You know me Marinette, and not just as Chat.”

She startled at his admission, but soon smiled down at him.

She ran both hands through his hair and ended holding his face toward her.“ Do you wanna tell me who you are?” She nuzzled his nose. “Show me which of the blond headed boys-” she kissed the tip of his nose, “--that I know--” she kissed his forehead, “-that could also be my knight-” she kissed one cheek, “-my prince-” she kissed the other cheek, “-my king?” She ended with a gentle brush of her lips to his.

Chat nodded, clearly under the spell of Marinette’s ministrations, but paused long enough to really think about his answer.

“I don’t think that you think very highly of the person under Plagg’s armor,” he said as he shook his head.

Marinette sat back a little, still holding Chat’s face between her palms.

“Trust me enough when I say this,” she implored, “I Love you- all of you.”

There was a twinkle in her eyes and a smirk on her lips when she added, “Unless you’re Hawkmoth.”

Laughter burst out of Chat and soon Marinette was joining in.

“Come on, Chaton--” she said as she pulled him up to the couch beside her, “-let me see the rest of your pretty face.”

Chat’s cheeks started to turn pink. He took a shaky breath in and out before he nodded in agreement.

“Okay--okay,” he gulped and braced himself. “Plagg, claws in.”

Marinette watched as the faint green glow of Chat’s magic peeled back to reveal the face that Marinette knew almost as well as her own. There was no way the this was real! Marinette reached her gloved hand out to trace the brows that she’d sketched ever since she was thirteen. She followed the brows down to the contour of his cheeks and gently brushed across his lips. Yes, there could be no doubt about it, she had been fighting along side of and totally making out with Adrien Agreste!

She covered her mouth with both hands to try to hold the laughter spilling out of her. It didn’t work. The laughter grew and her eyes closed as the ridiculousness of her situation fully dawned on her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as her laughter died away.

Adrien tried to get off the couch, but she pulled him tight as she giggled into his ear.

“Kitty we are-” she gasped for a breath, “we are the- the-- most oblivious humans to ever human!” She tucked her face into his shoulder even as she continued to chortle.

“You can say that again!” a sarcastic voice squeaked from somewhere above them.

“Plagg!” Adrien’s voice was scolding. “That’s not nice.”

“I never said it was nice, Brie Brain,” he replied. “But it’s true!”

Marinette looked up into Adrien’s confused face.

“What- what do you mean by oblivious?” he asked.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in close.

“Chaton!” she planted a kiss on his mouth. “Adrien-” this kiss was slower, more languid. “We are oblivious idiots because I went from being in love with Adrien Agreste-” she gave him a quick peck, “-to being in love with Chat Noir,” she smiled at him. “And you-” a buss to his cheek, “-silly kitty-” she stopped to look him in the eye before planting a sweet kiss on his forehead, “-you fell in love with Ladybug-” he met her halfway for this kiss.

“And fell in love with Marinette?” he finished. She nodded and he gave a brief chuckle before he captured her lips again. “I should have realized that earlier” he said as he traced the bottom of her mask with his thumbs. “Much earlier-” he cradled the back of her head as he nuzzled her nose. “Come out, My Marinette. I need to kiss all of your beautiful face, again,” he begged.

How could she deny such a sweet request? She released Tikki and watched as Adrien’s face reflected his awe at the sight.

“Gummy Bear!” Plagg rushed over to Tikki. “The dolts have finally figured things out!”

“Grumpy Cheese Head,” she hugged her counterpart. “I’m very happy for them.” He scoffed, but she just nuzzled the side of his head. “Let’s leave them alone,” she stage whispered. “This way to the cheese, Garbage Gremlin!”

“Right behind you, Honeycomb!” Plagg chased Tikki as she zipped away to the kitchen.

Adrien watched them go. He turned back toward Marinette a sly grin forming on his face. “What’s this I hear about you being in love with me, m’lady?”

Marinette groaned and face planted into Adrien’s chest. He put his arms around her and shifted her on to his lap. She snuggled there for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

“I loved Adrien ever since he gave me a chance to realize that I shouldn’t assume I knew him by the company he kept,” she said quietly.

“Huh? When did I do that?”

“At that time-” she paused then continued, “-he may, or may not, have loaned me an umbrella that I definitely-- definitely do not have safely stashed in my closet--in an acid free box-- with acid-free paper-- to preserve it.”

“You loved Adrien-- uh, you loved me since my first day at Dupont?” She nodded into his shoulder.

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Because you are the blindest fool to walk the earth,” was shouted from the kitchen followed by Tikki’s shushing.

Adrien put a finger under Marinette’s chin tilt her face up to his. “Why didn’t you tell me you felt that way?” he asked.

“I tried!” Marinette’s huff of annoyance was quickly followed by her looking away. “You were just too… too... This.” She waved a hand indicating all of Adrien. “You were too kind-- and too nice-” she cut off as familiar red flooded her face. “You were too beautiful body and soul for me to talk to.”

He frowned as he thought back through the years. “But later, you had no problem talking to me,” he pointed out.

She nodded. “By then I realized that I’d been treating you like a thing to be won, not a person to know--” she framed his face with her hands, “- and to cherish.” She smiled at him. “I decided that from that moment on I would be your friend instead of your fangirl.”

“Oh, my Marinette.” He put his hands over hers then turned to plant a kiss in each palm. He brought her hands down between them while smiling at her. His face suddenly clouded over and he face palmed, hard.

“What-? Why are you doing that, Chaton?’

“Because if I’d been a little smarter a lot sooner we could have been kissing as well as cuddling for all these years.

“Yeah,” Marinette said with a smirk.

“What do you say that we don’t waste any more time?” Adrien asked as he pulled her in for a quick hug. “Marinette Dupain-Ladybug-Cheng, will you be my girlfriend?”

Marinette’s smile could not have been bigger.

“Yes!” she shouted then quickly covered her mouth. She tried again a little quieter. “Yes, I want to be your girlfriend.” Adrien leaned down to kiss her, but she pushed him back by his nose. “But I’ll only do this if you will be my boyfriend, Adrien -Chat Noir- Agreste.”

Adrien’s Cheshire grin spoke volumes. He thought it best to reply, “I would love nothing more.”

They had barely touched lips when a ruckus broke them apart.

“Not now Marzipan, there’s something I’ve been dying to say to Cheddar Head.” The godling flew so Adrien could see him and shouted, “I TOLD YOU SHE WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND!”

The two looked at Plagg, then each other, and back to Plagg. Neither one knew who started the laughter, but both were laughing hard together in seconds. Once they calmed down, they rearranged themselves so that they could watch the movie, which they’d had to restart, and snuggle together. The cocoa cooled on the coffee table. The oompa-loompas sang their suspiciously specific songs about the naughty kids’ comeuppance. And Marinette cuddled with her Kitty on the couch.

#@dappercookiexd #mlsecretsanta2k19 #cocoa cuddling & kisses #marinette dupain-cheng x chat noir #marichat #really all sides of the love square are represented #it's sooooo long #sorry

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kyosohmastan · 5 years

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Hajime and the Curse (Part 2)

Thank you for your kind words on the first part! I was really nervous to share it because I didn’t have the biggest confidence in my writing, but I’m glad y’all liked it. Here’s the second part and I hope you enjoy it!

Here’s the link to part 1 in case this is your first time hearing of this: https://kyosohmastan.tumblr.com/post/186271984339/hajime-and-the-curse-part-1/embed

The rest of the day went by without any further issues. However, I was still shaken up from meeting my dad’s father. I’ve been anxious to get home to hear about this curse, as unbelievable as the concept seems.

“You still look nervous. Are you sure you’re okay?” My dad asks me and the guilt hits me for making him worry. He moves a tree branch out of the way for me and I trudge ahead to the house in the estate we were staying at.

“I’m still a little bothered over running into him, but I’ll be fine. It’s just...do you really regret having me?” The question slips out before I can think it through.

His lips turn down. “No. Absolutely not. Don’t let what he said get to you.”

I nod and let the subject go. Why would he be undeserving of having kids anyway? Unless he’s hiding the reason from me. It must have something to do with the curse.

I enter onto the glistening, frost covered grass leading up to the house.

“Kyo-Kun! Hajime! Welcome back!” My mom says, exiting the house and racing towards us. I stop in the middle of the lawn, arms spread in her direction to catch her in case she falls.

“Don’t run!” My dad and I shout at the same time. She comes into my arms and hugs me so hard, every last breath leaves me. She has to lean further than usual to hold me due to her round belly being wedged between us.

Dad catches up to us and knocks his knuckles against Mom’s head. “You idiot! You can’t run while you’re pregnant!”

She lets me go and hides her smile behind her hands. “I’m sorry. I was just so excited to come out here and tell you two that I successfully made hot dogs for the first time!”

The words needed to ask her what made her decide to cook western food are on the tip of my tongue, but my dad maneuvers around me and throws his arm around Mom’s shoulders. He pulls her against him and plants a lingering kiss on her lips. As always, I’m the third wheel. They act like such a teenage couple. It makes me have to force back a gag.

Hachiro clears his throat from the open doorway of the house. “The hot dogs are going to burn. I think they’re ready,” he says.

“Let’s go!” I say all too eagerly. Thank God for an excuse to get out of that uncomfortable situation. My parents follow behind us and Mom begins serving us our plates.

I turn on the electric heater on the kotatsu and settle down next to it, removing my heavy coat and handing it to Dad for him to hang up in the foyer closet beside his. The heated fabric feels amazing on my chilled skin. Coming back to a warm house is truly a blessing during this winter season.

Hachiro plops down next to me and examines my face with concern. “You look troubled.”

“Really?” I relax my features, or at least try to.

“He is troubled,” Dad says as he sits across from me. “And we’ll tell you guys the reason behind it.”

“The reason behind what?” Mom asks. She sets the plate of buns on the middle of the kotatsu before sitting down. I take a bun and put my hot dog together, awaiting for my dad to go on.

“The curse. I promised we’d tell him about it,” my dad says to Mom.

Her smile drops and her forehead creases. “But I don’t think-”

“Please, Mom,” I say, dropping the bun. “I can’t take not knowing anymore.”

“What’s this about?” Hachiro asks. As far as I know, the curse hasn’t affected him as much. Although during the nights we’ve been left alone in either one of our rooms, when the house is the most quiet, we bounce our speculations off of each other about what the family is hiding.

“He’s thirteen,” Dad says, pushing his plate an inch away and placing his chin on his knuckles. “We were going to tell him when he was at least twelve anyway.”

The corners of Mom’s lips dip further. I can’t fathom the harm it would be to tell me. Perhaps this secret is more serious than I thought.

“Yes, you’re right,” she mumbles. She releases a shakey sigh. “I know both of you have been curious. But what brought this up so suddenly?”

Dad has the same unnerving expression as I have. “He bumped into my dad. Not Kazuma. The other one.”

“Oh. Oh, no.” Mom slides closer to the edge of the kotatsu, her hand finding mine underneath it. “We didn’t think we’d find him here. From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t get out much. Are you okay?”

I nod a bit too vigorously. “I’m fine, honestly. It wasn’t a pleasant experience though.” She squeezes my hand harder and I move on from the topic so as not to make her worry any further. “He told me I could be cursed. I just want to know what that means.”

“I see,” Mom says, and a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes returns to her face. “Then let’s not keep you two in the dark anymore.”

Hachiro chomped down on his hot dog, but looked to Mom and Dad intently, waiting just as I had been for years.

“First of all, don’t freak out.” Dad chuckles. He spends a few moments in silence to gather his thoughts. “The Sohmas used to be cursed for generations. Thirteen of us would transform into one of the animals from the Chinese zodiac when hugged by someone of the opposite gender, or sick or under a lot of stress.”

One of us was cursed as the role as God, which was the head of the Sohma family.” Dad looks up from his gaze on the surface of the kotatsu to confirm that we are still listening. “The head put the majority of us through hell. Not only that, but our parents all but abandoned us. It wasn’t a good time, to put it lightly.”

So it truly was a curse. It sounds like it in every sense of the word. As unbelievable as it seems, the evidence backing it up was undeniable; the relentless ridicule my cousins, particularly Akito, Yuki, Rin, and even Dad received from their parents today, the uneasiness all of them appear to feel whenever the past was brought up, it all made sense.

“So then...were you apart of it? You changed into an animal?” I ask. There was no way he wasn’t involved. The look of pure agony he gives every time the word “curse” is mention is proof of the fact that he was. And there has to be a reason why his father hates him.

Dad nods, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows. Making him have to recount his past that he’s always tried to keep hidden away causes an ache in my chest. “Yes. I was the cat,” he says.

Hachiro finishes the remainder of his hot dog, then blurts, “But how?! From the story Mom tells us, the cat was never a part of the zodiac. He was shunned by the other animals.”

Dad laughs and the tension that leaves his body helps me relax again. “The cat isn’t a part of it. That’s why I was very ostracized from the family for years.”

Mom nods and speaks, most likely to give Dad a breather. He appears hesitant to go on. “The cat was the most cursed out of everyone. He was doomed to spend the rest of his days in isolation after getting out of High School. I believe you’ve passed by the small house he would have stayed in, Hajime.”

That’s what that was for. The reason it had made Dad and I feel so uneasy every time we went near it came to light completely.

“He also turned into a beast unless he was wearing special beads that prevented him from doing so,” Mom says.

It’s no wonder he never wants to talk about it. I can’t even imagine it. To have to go through something as incomprehensibly terrifying as that.

“He transformed into the cat’s true form in front of me one day,” she continued. “It wasn’t easy to see, but...”

“I ran away,” Dad adds. “I was prepared to never see her again. I thought she’d be so terrified that she would reject me. But she came after me.” A grin pops onto his face as he looks to Mom. “She told me that she wanted to stay with me even though she was afraid of me. That’s when I fell in love with her. No one had ever told me that before.”

Mom hangs her head and blushes. “Who knows what would have happened had I not brought him back home?” She cooes and lays her head on Dad’s shoulder.

“You wouldn’t have had us,” Hachiro says, making a valid point. That’s a scary thought.

“You’re right!” Mom gasps, lifting her head. “And we wouldn’t want that!”

Getting back to the matter at hand, I say, “You said the curse is broken. How did it break? Especially after being in the family for so many generations.”

Dad ate the last of his hot dog before speaking. I start on mine as well. I had gotten so wrapped up in the conversation that I neglected eating. “The curse gradually weakened over time. Some of our spirits left us before others, in fact. But the driving force that broke it in the end was actually your mother’s doing.” He placed his hand on top of hers. “She helped every one of us trust in her more than the head. Suddenly, she was the most important person in our lives and that lifted it. I really don’t know what we’d do without her.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Mom remarks. She rolls her eyes with her trademark goofy smile. It sounds like it was everything.

Taking it all in, I come to the realization that everything I heard isn’t as bad as it seems for the sole reason that the curse is broken. It wasn’t ongoing. The Sohmas, including my parents, Hachiro, and my new sister wouldn’t be plagued by it. I had nothing to worry over after all.

“Thank you for telling us,” I say. “I’m so happy to know. It’s been eating at me for so long. I’m...truly grateful.”

Mom side hugs me and I wrap my arms around her fragile waist. “We’ve been hesitant to tell you because we didn’t want it to dishearten you. It’s a serious thing. We don’t want you to think less of your father because of it.”

I release her, baffled by the very thought. Nothing could convince me to be disillusioned because of Dad. My adoration for everyone in my life is unconditional. I turn my attention to my father. “How could I think that of you? If anything, I have a higher viewpoint on you. To have gone through that and in the end be the strong, optimistic person you are today is astonishing. You deserve it.” When am I ever one to get this sappy? But I think Dad needs to hear these words from his own child. Something tells me he wants just that. However, being this vulnerable moves me to turn my gaze down to my lap. “I’m glad you’re happy. I’m glad you didn’t lose hope that you would get to this point in your life. I’m relieved you never got locked away because the world really is a beautiful place with you in it.” I lift my head only to find droplets lining my dad’s eyes. He gazes at me with his lips parted in what has to be surprise.

I gather my courage to really look him in the eye. “I love you. I’m so happy that you don’t have to go through that pain anymore. Thank you for telling me.” I bow my head and Hachiro does the same after thanking them.

When I raise it again, Dad is shedding a river of tears while forming a shaky smile. “I will never forgive you for making me cry in front of you guys.” He laughs weakly, quickly wiping his cheeks and under his eyes.

Mom plants a big kiss on his lips and snuggles his arm. “We all love you.” She positions herself onto his lap while he kisses her back.

Oh, dear, God, I need to abort this place. “Okay! Well, again, thanks for dinner. I’ll be heading to-”

“Wait! Do you want to see the real beads? You actually see them every day. They’re on the bookshelf in the living room,” Mom tells me.

Realization dawns on me. “So that’s what those are. I can look at them with new eyes now.”

“True,” Dad says, standing up as I do. “Then I’ll show them to you with those new eyes.”

I hand my empty plate to Mom then follow him to the floor to ceiling bookshelf lining the wall. It’s filled with more photos and momentos than actual books. Right next to a picture of my mom as a baby with Grandpa Katsuya and Grandma Kyoko, sits a bowl that holds several red and white beads.

I pick one up, testing the texture between my thumb and fore finger. “They feel unusual.”

“That’s because they’re made from human bones. The red ones were dipped in blood.” His eyes narrow on the bead I hold. “Lots of lives were lost in order to make that bracelet.”

I meet his gaze for a moment then turn it back to the single red bead now in my palm. In all the years these have sat here on this shelf, I would have never guessed they have held this much history. Every single bead represents one life given in order to assure that the cat was protected from its true form.

I close my palm over the bead and close my eyes, saying a silent prayer to the sacrifices made to save my father from the wrath of the cat’s original form.

I’ll have the final part done really soon! Again, thanks for reading!

#FRUITS BASKET SPOILERS #fruits basket #fruits basket fanfic #fruits basket fanfiction #kyo sohma #tohru honda #hajime sohma #fruits basket another #furuba #furubana #fruba #fanfiction #fruits basket 2019

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whereisyourtruenorth-blog · 5 years

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True North Winter Tips

I’ve casually looked around the internet (namely pinterest and youtube) for winter wardrobe tips and have genuinely laughed and been disappointed at the content that was brought up. Not that these people uploading these things didn’t post quality things, they just live in an area where their idea of Winter isn’t....well....is it REALLY Winter? Peep toed any sort of shoe? Thin knee length skirts with sheer tights? It just wasn’t practical and where I live I’m surrounded by northern, older generation practicality. I have a deep appreciation for the logical, simple, practical views on things here so I thought I’d share some. Some of them you may already do...they aren’t all about clothes because in real Northern weather it’s just not something you entirely think about.

1.) Dress appropriately. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. When it’s -40 and the sides of your driveway are like The Wall in Game of Thrones (bust out your inner Ygritte) you must learn the appropriate way to layer your clothing. Learn about/wear base layers that trap in your body heat and wick moisture. Dampness can make the cold feel many times worse if you are wearing anything that soaks up moisture without expelling it. If you can, invest in a pair of good winter boots. and socks. Tuck your pant bottoms into your socks before putting your boots on so no air or moisture can get to the skin of your ankles. Mittens are a better option because they keep your fingers together to provide heat. I have found that locally made mittens that are a blend of wool/cashmere to be the best at half the cost of store bought mittens. Remember to protect your ears and head as well! If you’re going to be outside for more than 20 minutes a snood is perfect to tuck the bottom half of your face into to breathe into it to create moisture. If you’re prone to wind burn I suggest swiping a small amount of Vaseline or something similar onto those areas (usually cheeks) and on your lips for protection.

2.) Update your tires! Not all of us have trucks but 4 wheel drive is a great help. It can be expensive to be ready for Winter but if you live here long-term and have the means to slowly do things, tires are important. It’s a terrible idea to drive on bald tires in general but especially on snowy roads. If you have a smaller, compact vehicle it’s a great idea to add weight in your car to reduce sliding on slippery days on the road. Cat litter or 50lb bags of salt can help add a little traction.

3.) Have emergency items in your vehicle at the height of winter. An extra blanket or two, extra mittens, a small emergency kit, matches or a lighter, “Heet” for your gas tank, keep your gas tank ABOVE half consistently in case you get stuck somewhere. A lot of people keep a large empty tin can and candle in their vehicle in case they get stranded and for some reason you don’t have heat in your car. You can light the candle inside of the can and the can will act as a heat source. Do not keep items that can explode in the extreme cold. It’s not fun.

4.) Stay active! If you dress appropriately, go for walks! Around the block or more if you can. I swear it will reduce your seasonal moods. If you already enjoy partaking in winter sports that’s even better. If you’re living in a Northern state long-term you may as well bite the bullet and embrace it. Staying indoors constantly is what will deplete your happiness and Vitamin D levels. The sun is still out there! It’s even better if your family or friends are interested in doing something active with you. It can be as light or as strenuous as you want so long as you get outside for even 10 minutes.

5.) Eat seasonally. At least where I’m at it’s extremely easy and accessible to get local produce. Most people here have a garden but if not nearly half of the driveways have carts of produce at the entrance. We are also surrounded by Amish who do the same and have some of the best stuff there is. People here are decently sustainable and share produce or grow their own. I know that is not the same for everyone but find out what is local to you and utilize those resources. You will be supporting someone else local instead of a large corporation and getting great produce for a lower cost. Here I can get all root vegetables and squashes for the winter (or we can summer abundance), honey, maple syrup, oats, apples, pears, peaches, etc) Most of our homes have an area usually in the basement or pantry for root vegetables to store throughout the winter.I believe eating seasonally can give you nutrition that’s a little lost during the hardest months of the winter. The food is heartier and more dense than water summer foods for a reason. Incorporate these and some broth into your diet to help you re-load your energy.

6.) Site “How to Hygge” by Signe Johansen for a real play by play on the art of hygge. I bought this book about four years ago and I still go back to it every year. Coziness truly helps when it starts getting dark around 4pm. Light candles (evergreen scents are by far my favorite) and lots of them! Get small fairy lights. If you don’t have a real fireplace invest in a small electric one that will heat a room and create that ambience. Isn’t seeing people chop wood satisfying? I think it’s because it harkens back to when people did it purely out of survival. The scent of wood burning stoves are on my top favorite scents out there. I know it’s hard but try waking earlier in the day to get the most of the daylight that you can. People wake much later than in past generations and miss a decent chunk of their day. In the winter it’s important that your body gets the most daylight it can. Wake early, make your bed, go outside for a minimum of 10 minutes. It’s the easiest recipe for a little happiness.

7.) Crack your windows for 1/2 hour every week to bring in fresh air and the old can be drawn out. Sometimes our allergies worsen because our home is shut up with all of the dust and allergens. Crisp, fresh air for a small time every week can help clear it out.

8.) Speaking of windows...find which windows in your house let the most air seep through and get a plastic window kit to cover them. It can help for comfort ability and your heat bill. Obviously I suggest keeping one uncovered (whichever one doesn’t let air through) to be able to crack it once a week.

9.) Get a bird feeder or if you have one try to keep it stocked consistently! Sometimes seeing birds, especially cardinals and blue jays can improve your mood in the winter. When you unexpectedly catch a pop of red against the blanket of white is a real treat in February. Birds have more food options during the warm months but is harder to come by in the cold. I try to mix my bird seed with dried mealworms or make my own suet with lard and peanut butter because fats and heartier things like mealworms can really aid their lack of abundance in the cold. Plus I get excited when they seem to like my suet!

10.) Do not constantly engage in whining collectively about the weather. Spin the narrative. Whining about it helps no one and there’s a reason why Scandinavians are said to be rated some of the happiest people! They flow with nature including in the winter. You can be active as well as be a hermit. Get up, get dressed, go outside a little before or after work, come home and light your candles. Make a hot toddy with Tom and Jerry mix (nods at Wisconsinites) and get COZY. People are sometimes depressed, anxious and paranoid because there is a difference between earning coziness and just sheer laziness. Sometimes you get down on yourself because you wish you would be doing just the basic every day tasks but don’t. Even just trying to be positive about winter and saying something positive will help you and make others potentially have a different thought.

11.) Share with your neighbors! Winter is the seasons of the holidays and having people with you is a joy. Find a hobby that is something other than sitting on the couch all day on the computer, phone or TV watching. Your favorite TV show is not a personality trait. One of my favorite hobbies is baking. It gets my mind on the right track and I’m not spending hours scrolling through someone else's life. I’ve noticed that in Wisconsin we love fruit based desserts and pastries. It’s probably because at the end of fall we have a surplus of berries, tree fruits and rhubarb from the trees in our yard or garden or we foraged it ourselves in the woods. Apple or rhubarb crisp anyone? Make a crisp or whatever you want and give some to your neighbor or someone you know who may not have a lot of support or are going through a tough time. Instead of spending hours scrolling it can be such an easy way to bless someone else and you feel happy in turn.

12.) Do not over lotion your skin on cheap lotion! I really suggest oils or thick butters like pure shea butter in the winter months. Try not to constantly wash your hands in hot water as tempting as it is for hot water can dry your skin quicker. Bar soap (especially locally homemade) naturally has a higher fat content and can help keep your skin moist rather than liquid soap that has the tendency to strip moisture. Wilder Supply out of Alaska is a great company if you can’t find local.

13.) Buy YAKTRAX. These are seriously awesome for someone who enjoys being outdoors in the winter or if you have an outdoor job orrrrr if you’re just paranoid falling on ice ;) They are really affordable and offer a few different varieties depending on your activity and intent for them.

I could name so many more but for now that’s the top ones the came to mind to jot down!

#wisconsin #northern #midwest #winter #wilding #gameofthrones #snow #baking #winterstyle #cold #winterinspiration #winterinspo #christmas #newyears

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omg-foreverfilledwithweird-posts · 6 years

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A Silver Lining (Steve Rogers X WOC Reader) Mobster AU

Summary: A free-spirited, independent barista at New York’s Dream Bean Coffee Shop gets the surprise of her life when Steve Rogers, targeted by mobs across the country for knowing the whereabouts of the infamous Bucky Barnes, comes in during closing time, exhausted and in need of coffee and company. Sparks fly and glances are exchanged. But she’s a barista with more secrets than Steve ever bargained for.

Author’s Note: I’M SO EXCITED TO WRITE THISSSSSSSSS!!! Sorry, too excited, but this series is going to be great and very cute so I hope you enjoy it and like it. I did a WOC reader because there are not NEARLY enough of these stories so I wanted to break that and write this. And I love Tony Stark, but I needed a villain, I’m sorry! Steve Rogers is HOT, a universal fact I’m going to exploit in this story. Sorry it’s short, but it’s an intro and the other parts will be longer, tell me if you want more ;)

Please leave feedback! It means the world to me!

Warnings: Fluff, sexual tension and slight angst

Word Count: 2355

FC: Tristin Mays

Y/N’s pulls her hair up, pinning it to the back of her head, messy curls falling by her face that she has to blow out of her eyes as she grabs a wet rag and wipe down the cappuccino machine, her playlist softly humming in the background. She sings along quietly with a small smile, moving around the kitchen with a bit of unease, having been working here for only a few weeks, almost a month. She misses Europe already, especially Paris, the small towns around it, visiting and volunteering at the shelters. She misses the city life, the culture, tanning her brown skin on its beaches, meeting new people, making connections.

Now everything is just starting to get complicated.

Then the bell on the door rings.

A man walks in through the doors, looking around like an alien from another planet, visiting Earth for the first time, taking in everything.

“Sir, I’m sorry but we’re closing-” she says hanging the rag over her bare shoulder, adjusting the strap of her gray tank top idly, not yet looking up until the man’s rosy, bright cheeks catch her eye, tired from a hard day of work.

Then she stops herself and examines him for a moment, even from this far away seeing the ridges of his muscles through his deep blue top, sporting an equally flattering pair of black jeans and sneakers, hiding his features with a baseball cap and a pair of dark sunglasses. She pinches her brow in confusion but he’s spiked her interest. She is the only one working a shift tonight, so what’s the harm in letting him come in?

“Never mind, I can keep it open a little longer,” she turns around to get some mugs and turn on the cappuccino machine once again. Her voice with that signature French lilt she’s acquired over the years of growing up there, and going back for school, luring him in like a siren.

He walks himself over to sit on one of the stools, and she starts to fear that he’ll break the weak, wooden chair. He sits up in the seat, the rickety sound it makes when he leans back not willing to give Y/N’s anxiety riddled nerves a break. Then he looks at her, guilt filled eyes and a furrowed, serious brow, something clearly weighing on him, forehead wrinkled in unease and worry. She would wonder if the man has ever smiled if not for his laugh lines and crinkled eyes, reminders of happier times.

“I’m sorry to... inconvenience you, Miss, this place was the first I saw and I-” he starts, taking off his sunglasses and hat now that he’s inside, exhausted, until Y/N interrupts.

“You’re fine,” she looks up at him from across the counter, lifting an eyebrow when he continues to stare until his eyes are drawn to the ceiling, not wanting to scare her off while he admires her curls and warm, brown eyes.

“I could use the company anyway,” she half smiles, drawing a weak smile from him. Hm… so he does smile...

“Tell me your name,” her eyes flick to him and he meets her gaze timidly, shy despite his muscular frame and jock esque appearance, he’s not as cocky as she’d think him out to be. When someone looks this good, they usually know it, and perhaps he’s aware, but he doesn’t seem to make a show of it. And now that she’s up close and personal with the stranger, she realizes how attractive he is, strong jaw, bright eyes, blonde hair, the kind of handsome you see on television screens and magazine covers, the kind you associate with athletic models.

His smile is soft and calm, like his eyes, green with flecks of gold and sapphire. If his personality is as complex as those eyes, she’s sure to have an interesting time trying to unravel the mystery of him. If fate wills them in each other’s lives once again.

He speaks gently as if he’s afraid the glass bubble that’s formed around the two of them will shatter if he raises his voice above a whisper, saying quietly in slight disbelief, “Y-you don’t know who I am?”

She laughs, cleaning off cake crumbs from the counter, “Should I?”

He considers the question for a moment, maybe it’ll be nice not having someone know who he is, basing what they think they know about him from the media. He’s normal here, as normal as he can get, with a pretty girl in a quaint New York coffee shop at ten at night, wanted and being hunted down by almost every mob in the country.

Yes, normal.

“Not at all,” he finally says.

She smiles, “I’m Y/N,” she replies coolly.

“Nice to meet you, doll,” he says while her back is turned to him, her eyes widening slightly at the old-fashioned pet name. She smiles softly, glad he can’t feel the heat that’s blossomed in her face, hidden beneath her skin.

“Doll,” she repeats sweetly, absentmindedly cleaning a dish on the counter to pass the time. “Don’t hear that a lot now, do you?”

“Oh, I apologize, Miss, I didn’t-” his face blooms into every shade of scarlet, tinging even the tips of his ears pink.

She turns and grins warmly, holding back a laugh at his flustered state, sliding him a mug of black coffee, sugar packets and cream beside it, “No need to be sorry, Hercules, I’m not complaining,” they lock eyes for just a second, fingers brushing when she passes the mug to him, electricity sparking between her warm skin to his. He chuckles at the nickname she’s given him, equally as adorable, and from seeing the blush in his cheeks, she knows the name will stick.

“So what brings you here? This late?” she asks, leaning against the counter with her arms folded over the surface, holding her head up.

“Bad day,” he pinches his eyebrows together when he looks back at her. “Nothing you’d want to hear about.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing... but if you don’t want to talk about it, even though I am a great listener,” she teases with a small smile that brings one out in him as well, grateful for her kindness, even if he isn’t sure he really deserves it. Not that she thinks she does either.

“We can discuss... anything else,” she offers after a pause.

The corner of his lips turn up in amusement, hands warming up on the hot mug, he looks up, “Really? Anything?”

She brightens with a soft laugh, proud she’s gotten him in better spirits, lips quirking, “Within reason.”

“Where are you from?” he asks politely, curious because of her fluttery accent, slight but still detectable, velvet off her tongue.

“I lived in France until I was three then moved to New York until I went back to Europe for art school and stayed in Paris with family, coming back here only a couple weeks ago,” she scrubs down the counter before tossing the rag into the sink, untying the apron from around her curved waist, skinny jeans clinging to her skin. His eyes wander shamefully when her back is turned.

“And you haven’t been checking up on the media or network television since?” he asks, which explains why she doesn’t know of him, something that is honestly a relief for him.

“Not really, I went to a lot of places to volunteer and stay with no internet, but I didn’t mind. You could say I kind of live under a rock. But, what about you, Hercules? What’s your story?”

He shakes his head with a light smile, “Nothing interesting.”

She snorts, “I highly doubt that.”

“My life is chaotic... at times,” he says, running a hand through his blonde hair and ruffling it a bit, taking a drink of his coffee. “But it’s nothing out of the ordinary. I promise.”

She eyes him for a moment, not buying what he’s saying but deciding to let him off the hook with the promise of finding out later. She doesn’t want to scare him off so soon, not when she’s actually starting to like him. She turns around to grab the pot again to give him a refill before turning back around to pour it in the mug, finding him already looking at her. She catches this with an amused smile and he looks away sheepishly like a young man with a crush all over again.

“More?” she asks him and he nods hastily, caught off guard by her eye contact, she is quite assertive, he believes, he can tell already she’s a force to be reckon with.

“Yes, thank you,” he sips the coffee, warming himself up and enjoying the heat in contrast from the winter air outside these doors. Steve never wants to leave.

“Tell me about when you were a teen, were you the nerdy type, the jock, the scholar, the rebel... the goth?” she leans forward over the counter, looking at him excitedly, eyes lit up when she grins.

He turns away with a rosy smile and endearing laugh, before looking back at her, trying to keep his composure together now that she’s so close to him, exploring every inch of her face. Wondering what it would be like to kiss that smug smirk off her face.

How cliche.

“If you can believe it, I was a bit of a nerd,” he half smiles.

“The hot ones usually are,” she thinks out loud boldly, causing him to stumble over his words and his cheeks to burn. “It’s a classic John Hughes stereotype, the handsome, sweet jock who also happens to be wicked smart. I see it in all his films.”

“John Hughes?” he inquires and her jaw drops.

“Have you never heard of John Hughes?” she says in playful shock.

“The name sounds familiar and I know he’s a director, but I’ve never seen his movies,” he admits and he winces for impact at her frown.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” she rolls her eyes. “Maybe that’s why you were brought here today.”

“To bring me coffee?”

“No, for me to enlighten you.”

He grins, “I was pretty skinny, too. I didn’t have many friends growing up.”

She looks him over, “You’re kidding.”

He shakes his head slowly, “I’m not. I was never a ladies’ man, I’m still not, really, my pal Bucky is a lot better at that sort of thing than I am,” he says vulnerably, an air of uncertainty in the way he speaks, but all he finds on her face is disbelief, hesitant in believing the man before her is not good with women.

Bucky. She knows that name, but she decides against asking any further, looking up at him, “I don’t believe that.”

“Again, doll, it’s true,” he smiles slightly, casting his eyes downward before looking back up.

She purses her lips and shakes her head, locking eyes with him, but at the same time, her heart has dropped to the pit of her stomach, “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Hercules?”

“I’d like to think so,” he takes a sip of his coffee, lips curling over the edge of his mug, emerald eyes brightening with fervor. “It makes things more interesting.”

She smiles thoughtfully, hops up on the counter, and finishes off her coffee, “I suppose. But not all surprises are the wanted kind.”

“Then get them from someone you trust.”

She looks down at her legs dangling off the counter, crossing them over one another, “In this world, you can’t trust anyone.”

He chooses his next words wisely, knowing he might come to regret this, falling into her brown eyes and not resurfacing, fallen in her carefully set trap, “I trust you.”

She looks up, eyes slightly flaring, a warring conflict with her heart and her mind, “Don’t. You don’t even know me,” she laughs, but it’s humorless and dry, wiry.

“It doesn’t matter,” he meets her eyes. “You’ve shown more compassion to me in one night than anyone has in my entire life.”

She attempts to hold back a smile, a wry laugh escaping her lips, “You’re cute, Hercules, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told...” he shares her hesitant smile and looks up at the clock in the corner of the cafe, rising from his seat. “But I should be leaving, it’s late.”

“Yeah, it is,” she agrees and follows to where his eyes lay on the hands of the clock, grabbing her things while he walks to the door.

“I’ll see you around, doll,” he shoots her a sly wink, slipping his cap back on.

She rolls her eyes, “Not a ladies’ man, my ass,” she mumbles under her breath, watching him leave, the last sound she hears being his booming laughter echoing from outside.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket and her heart sinks knowing who’s on the other end, before reluctantly answering the call, “Yeah, Tony?”

He chuckles at her dull tone, “Nice to hear your lovely voice, too, Y/N. Did you learn anything about your target?”

“How did you know he’d be here?” she tucks hair behind her ear as she looks out the cafe window, watching him leave down the sidewalk, wearing a smile she can see from here, guilt gripping her chest.

“You know I have eyes everywhere, sweetheart, and you’re not answering the question.”

“He mentioned Bucky once, said they were friends, but that’s all I got right now, and I thought we agreed you don’t call me when I’m out in public anymore.”

He whistles, “Is that how you talk to your boss, huh, kid?” he says, the smirk evident in his tone before dulling into a frown. “Watch your tongue or I’ll get someone to cut it out. Do your job, Y/N, there’s no backing out now.”

Her eyes dart to the door, biting down on her lip while she tightens her grip on her burner phone, “Yes, sir,” pressing the end button, dropping the phone on the floor and smashing it under her boot.

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corlitoviscom-blog · 6 years

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TED Talk editorial design (pulling imagery from the transcript)

The transcript drew out a lot of imagery through key words and interesting technical language. I felt the transcript was the most inticing of all the TED Talks I had watched and read through.

I decided to go through the transcript and highlight the areas of interest. I then took these ideas through to the next stages of research and visual design.

Whilst reading through my transcript, I was analysing the text. I found the context to be close-to-home, almost relatable information about beings and places and things I could relate to and visualise with ease. As I read through, I would be able to create images in my head which would follow the transcript smoothly from idea to idea.

I found this to be quite interesting in itself, how I was visualising a thought process of Pawlyn within my own head.

I felt the talk more closely drew in the attention of adults, more appropriately 20-30 year olds with active awareness for the natural world. These are the type of people who would get behind this talk and help to promote the ideas Pawlyn has put across.

I'd like to start with a couple of quick examples. There are spinneret glands on the abdomen of a spider. They produce six different types of silk, which is spun together into a fibre, tougher than any fibre humans have ever made. The nearest we've come is with aramid fibre. And to make that, it involves extremes of temperature, extremes of pressure and loads of pollution. And yet the spider manages to do it at ambient temperature and pressure with raw materials of dead flies and water. It does suggest we've still got a bit to learn. This beetle can detect a forest fire at 80 kilometres away. That's roughly 10,000 times the range of man-made fire detectors. And what's more, this guy doesn't need a wire connected all the way back to a power station burning fossil fuels.

These two examples give a sense of what biomimicry can deliver. If we could learn to make things and do things the way nature does, we could achieve factor 10, factor 100, maybe even factor 1,000 savings in resource and energy use. And if we're to make progress with the sustainability revolution, I believe there are three really big changes we need to bring about. Firstly, radical increases in resource efficiency. Secondly, shifting from a linear, wasteful, polluting way of using resources to a closed-loop model. And thirdly, changing from a fossil fuel economy to a solar economy. And for all three of these, I believe, biomimicry has a lot of the solutions that we're going to need.

I'm going to talk about some projects that have explored these ideas. And let's start with radical increases in resource efficiency. When we were working on the Eden Project, we had to create a very large greenhouse in a site that was irregular and continually changing because it was still being quarried. Examples from biology provided a lot of the clues. For instance, it was soap bubbles that helped us generate a building form that would work regardless of the final ground levels. Studying pollen grains and Radiolaria and carbon molecules helped us devise the most efficient structural solution using hexagons and pentagons.

The next move was that we wanted to try and maximize the size of those hexagons and to do that we had to find an alternative to glass. In nature there are lots of examples of very efficient structures based on pressurized membranes, so we started exploring this material called ETFE. It's a high-strength polymer. And what you do is you put it together in three layers, you weld it around the edge, and then you inflate it. And the great thing about this stuff is you can make it in units of roughly seven times the size of glass, and it was only one percent of the weight of double-glazing. What we found is that with such large, lightweight pillows, we had much less steel. With less steel we were getting more sunlight in, which meant we didn't have to put as much extra heat in winter. And with less overall weight in the superstructure, there were big savings in the foundations. And at the end of the project we worked out that the weight of that superstructure was actually less than the weight of the air inside the building.

I think the Eden Project is a fairly good example of how ideas from biology can lead to radical increases in resource efficiency. And there are loads of examples in nature that you could turn to for similar solutions. For instance, you could develop super-efficient roof structures based on giant Amazon water lilies, whole buildings inspired by abalone shells, super-lightweight bridges inspired by plant cells.

So now I want to go onto talking about the linear-to-closed-loop idea. The way we tend to use resources is we extract them, we turn them into short-life products and then dispose of them. In ecosystems, the waste from one organism becomes the nutrient for something else in that system. One of my favourite examples is called the Cardboard to Caviar Project by Graham Wiles. And in their area, they had a lot of shops and restaurants that were producing lots of food, cardboard and plastic waste. It was ending up in landfills. Now the really clever bit is what they did with the cardboard waste.

They were paid to collect it from the restaurants. They then shredded the cardboard and sold it to equestrian centres as horse bedding. When that was soiled, they were paid again to collect it. They put it into worm re-composting systems, which produced a lot of worms, which they fed to Siberian sturgeon, which produced caviar, which they sold back to the restaurants. So, it transformed a linear process into a closed-loop model, and it created more value in the process. I know it's a quirky example, but I think the implications of this are quite radical, because it suggests that we could actually transform a big problem – waste – into a massive opportunity.

In the Mobius Project, we're trying to bring together a number of activities, all within one building, so that the waste from one can be the nutrient for another. We would have a restaurant inside a productive greenhouse. Then we would have an anaerobic digester, which could deal with all the biodegradable waste from the local area, turn that into heat for the greenhouse and electricity to feed back into the grid. We'd have a water treatment system treating wastewater, turning that into fresh water and generating energy from the solids using just plants and micro-organisms. We'd have a fish farm fed with vegetable waste from the kitchen and worms from the compost and supplying fish back to the restaurant. And we'd also have a coffee shop, and the waste grains from that could be used as a substrate for growing mushrooms. So, you can see that we're bringing together cycles of food, energy and water and waste all within one building.

The final project is the Sahara Forest Project. During the evolution of life on the Earth, it was the colonization of the land by plants that helped create the benign climate we currently enjoy. The converse is also true. The more vegetation we lose, the more that's likely to exacerbate climate change and lead to further desertification.

And if you look at some of the organisms that have evolved to live in deserts, there are some amazing examples of adaptations to water scarcity. The Namibian fog-basking beetle has evolved a way of harvesting its own fresh water in a desert. It comes out at night, crawls to the top of a sand dune, and because it's got a matte black shell, is able to radiate heat out to the night sky and become slightly cooler than its surroundings. So, when the moist breeze blows in off the sea, you get these droplets of water forming on the beetle's shell. Just before sunrise, he tips his shell up, the water runs down into his mouth, has a good drink, goes off and hides for the rest of the day.

If you look closely at the beetle's shell, there are lots of little bumps on that shell that are hydrophilic; they attract water. Between them there's a waxy finish which repels water. The effect of this is that as the droplets start to form on the bumps, they stay in tight, spherical beads, which means they're much more mobile than they would be if it was just a film of water over the whole beetle's shell. So even when there's only a small amount of moisture in the air, it's able to harvest that very effectively and channel it down to its mouth. An amazing example of an adaptation to a very resource-constrained environment – and in that sense, very relevant to the kind of challenges we're going to be facing over the next few years, next few decades.

We're working with the guy who invented the Seawater Greenhouse. This is a greenhouse designed for arid coastal regions, and the way it works is that you have this whole wall of evaporator grills, and you trickle seawater over that so that wind blows through, it picks up a lot of moisture and is cooled in the process. So inside it's cool and humid, which means the plants need less water to grow. And then at the back of the greenhouse, it condenses a lot of that humidity as freshwater in a process that is effectively identical to the beetle. And what they found with the first Seawater Greenhouse that was built was it was producing slightly more freshwater than it needed for the plants inside so they just started spreading this on the land around, and the combination of that and the elevated humidity had quite a dramatic effect on the local area. It was like a green inkblot spreading out from the building turning barren land back into biologically productive land – and in that sense, going beyond sustainable design to achieve restorative design.

We were keen to scale this up and apply biomimicry ideas to maximize the benefits. An important biomimicry principle is to find ways of bringing technologies together in symbiotic clusters. An ideal partner for the Seawater Greenhouse is concentrated solar power, which uses solar-tracking mirrors to focus the sun's heat to create electricity. And just to give you some sense of the potential of CSP, consider that we receive10,000 times as much energy from the sun every year as we use in energy from all forms – 10,000 times. The kind of synergies I'm talking about are, firstly, both these technologies work very well in hot, sunny deserts. CSP needs a supply of demineralized freshwater. That's exactly what the Seawater Greenhouse produces. CSP produces a lot of waste heat. We'll be able to make use of all that to evaporate more seawater and enhance the restorative benefits. And finally, in the shade under the mirrors, it's possible to grow all sorts of crops that would not grow in direct sunlight. The idea is we create this long hedge of greenhouses facing the wind. We'd have concentrated solar power plants at intervals along the way.

Some of you might be wondering what we would do with all the salts. When you evaporate seawater, the first thing to crystallize out is calcium carbonate. And that builds up on the evaporators – gradually getting encrusted with the calcium carbonate. We could take that out and use it as a lightweight building block. And if you think about the carbon in that, that would have come out of the atmosphere, into the sea and then locked away in a building product.

The next thing is sodium chloride. You can also compress that into a building block, as they did in a hotel in Bolivia. And then after that, there are all sorts of compounds and elements that we can extract, like phosphates, that we need to get back into the desert soils to fertilize them. And there's just about every element of the periodic table in seawater. So, it should be possible to extract valuable elements like lithium for high-performance batteries. And in parts of the Arabian Gulf, the salinity is increasing steadily due to the discharge of waste brine from desalination plants, pushing the ecosystem close to collapse. We could evaporate the waste brine to enhance the restorative benefits and capture the salts, transforming an urgent waste problem into a big opportunity. Really the Sahara Forest Project is a model for how we could create zero-carbon food, abundant renewable energy in some of the most water-stressed parts of the planet as well as reversing desertification in certain areas.

So, returning to those big challenges that I mentioned at the beginning: radical increases in resource efficiency, closing loops and a solar economy. They're not just possible; they're critical. I firmly believe that studying the way nature solves problems will provide a lot of the solutions. But perhaps more than anything, what this thinking provides is a really positive way of talking about sustainable design. Far too much of the talk about the environment uses very negative language. But

here it's about synergies and abundance and optimizing. Let's make progress with what could be the most exciting period of innovation we've ever seen.

Thank you.

(Applause)

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extreme-investor-network · 2 years

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Power Grid: In 100 Degree Heat "Transformers start popping like Rice Krispies"

(Reuters) - U.S. power companies are facing supply crunches that may hamper their ability to keep the lights on as the nation heads into the heat of summer and the peak hurricane season. Extreme weather events such as storms, wildfires, and drought are becoming more common in the United States. Consumer power use is expected to hit all-time highs this summer, which could strain electric grids at a time when federal agencies are warning the weather could pose reliability issues. Utilities are warning of supply constraints for equipment, which could hamper efforts to restore power during outages. They are also having a tougher time rebuilding natural gas stockpiles for next winter as power generators burn record amounts of gas following the shutdown of dozens of coal plants in recent years and extreme drought cuts hydropower supplies in many Western states. "Increasingly frequent cold snaps, heat waves, drought, and major storms continue to challenge the ability of our nation’s electric infrastructure to deliver reliable affordable energy to consumers," Richard Glick, chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), said earlier this month. Federal agencies responsible for power reliability like FERC have warned that grids in the western half of the country could face reliability issues this summer as consumers crank up air conditioners to escape the heat. Some utilities have already experienced problems due to the heat. Texas' grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), was forced to urge customers to conserve energy after several plants shut unexpectedly during an early heat wave in mid-May. In mid-June, Ohio-based American Electric Power Co imposed rolling outages during a heat wave after a storm damaged transmission lines and knocked out power to over 200,000 homes and businesses. The U.S. Midwest faces the most severe risk because demand is rising while nuclear and coal power supplies have declined. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which operates the grid from Minnesota to Louisiana, warned that parts of its coverage area are at increased risk of temporary outages to preserve the integrity of the grid. Supply-chain issues have already delayed the construction of renewable energy projects across the country. Those renewable delays coupled with tight power in the Midwest prompted Wisconsin's WEC Energy Group Inc and Indiana's NiSource Inc to delay planned coal plant shutdowns in recent months. BRACING FOR SUPPLY SHORTAGES Utility operators are conserving their inventory of parts and equipment as they plan for severe storms. Over the last several months, that means operators have been getting creative. "We’re doing a lot more splicing, putting cables together, instead of laying new cable because we're trying to maintain our new cable for inventory when we need it," Nick Akins, chief executive of AEP, said at the CERAWeek energy conference in March. Transformers, which often sit on top of electrical poles and convert high-voltage energy to the power used in homes, are in short supply. New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (PSEG) Chief Executive Ralph Izzo told Reuters the company has had to look at alternate supply options for low voltage transformers. "You don’t want to deplete your inventory because you don’t know when that storm is coming, but you know it’s coming," Izzo said. Some utilities are facing waiting times of more than a year for transformer parts, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the American Public Power Association told U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a May letter. Summer is just starting, but U.S. weather so far this year has already been about 21% warmer than the 30-year norm, according to data provider Refinitiv. "If we have successive days of 100-degree-heat, those pole-top transformers, they start popping like Rice Krispies, and we would not have the supply stack to replace them," Izzo said. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino and David Gaffen in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Original Reuters Story Original Article Here: Read the full article

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infraredforhealth1 · 3 years

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Differences: Carbon vs Ceramic Infrared Sauna

The Effect of Near Zero EMF and Infrared Sauna Therapy on Your Health – Read This!

The use of carbon nanotechnology and infrared saunas together have created Near Zero EMF.

The use of carbon nanotechnology and nanothermovoltaic based technologies has allowed the creation of near-perfect vacuum environments which are permeable to electrical frequencies.

These carbon nano-materials can trap the energy which is in motion, instead of being heated or cooled.

This means that this “bio-frequency” energy is not always turned into heat energy, as is the usual case.

It is said that we already produce this bio-frequency energy inside our bodies.

High End Ceramic Heaters

The good news about these types of heating appliances is that they do not take up much space, making them a favorite for many who are trying to live greener.

The bad news is that if you are considering buying one of these types of high-end ceramic heaters, you should be prepared for what you get out of it.

You have to really pay attention to the efficiency rating of the appliance, as you want an appliance that is going to be efficient and get the job done.

High end ceramic heaters combined with carbon fiber heaters is a method of heating which can be very effective, but it comes at a cost.

Ceramic high-end ceramic heaters are usually combined with high-end carbon fiber or steel heaters, giving you the most efficient of all two systems.

Carbon Fiber Heaters Tend to Be More Durable Than Traditional Ceramic Heaters

Do you know what makes Carbon fiber perfect for use as an infrared heater?

If not, rest assured that the answer won’t be short in coming.

The answer is fairly simple: pure line of infrared saunas with dual heat technology.

You get all the benefits of both Ceramic and Carbon fiber heaters rolled into one.

Carbon fiber heaters are the latest craze in portable infrared sauna therapy because they are very lightweight, very affordable, and very easy to use in every day situations, right from the comfort of your home or wherever you happen to be going.

Gone are the days when you need to worry about your investment because you have no place to store it. Now, wherever you go, there’s always a portable infrared sauna available.

Since they’re very light, they can be easily brought along without any hassles at all.

The best thing about these carbon fiber heaters is that they are so easy to use that even the most inexperienced users are able to get good results within the first couple of days of use.

So now you can say goodbye to constant trips to the sauna room and say hello to better health and a better you!

It doesn’t matter which brand you choose, carbon fiber heaters are here to stay.

They have been extremely popular in the Western world ever since they were first introduced and are set to continue doing so in the near future.

The Major Disadvantage to Ceramic Heaters

The Major Disadvantage to Ceramic Heaters is that they are more fragile than other types of heating systems such as gas, oil and electric.

Because of the nature of ceramics they tend to break easily when exposed to high temperatures and/or when they have been worked on unseasonably.

If the burner is not cleaned properly it can also cause problems as well.

If the burner is made of porous materials such as clay, asbestos or cardboard the heat emitted is highly volatile and has the potential to be harmful to humans or to animals if it seeps into the living space.

This is why most homes that are constructed in coastal areas have some type of protection such as fire escapes or closed in fireplaces installed.

The Major Disadvantage to Ceramic Heaters is that they tend to be more expensive to maintain than other types of heating systems.

Most models are sold with an installation kit that includes wiring, a pre-made cover and a ceramic heater base.

With this basic set up you should be able to successfully heat your car without any additional costs.

One of the major disadvantages of using a ceramic heater in an environmentally conscious manner is the possibility of low levels of efficiency.

Since they are made of a porous material, they emit infrared radiation and since infrared radiation is the dominant source of infrared heat in the environment (which converts into heat) it is possible that all thermal energy absorbed will be wasted.

Why Are Carbon Fiber Heaters So Popular?

Carbon fiber heaters are by far the most efficient way to warm up a home or business, and they are also much more energy efficient than other types of portable heaters.

If you have ever left a room on a cold winter day only to return to an uncomfortable room because you are using the space as though it were warmer than it is, you are familiar with the difference that using a carbon fiber heater makes.

A traditional heater uses a lot of non-renewable energy, and that in turn makes them a lot more expensive over time.

The same thing applies to ceramic heaters, which are also a bit more expensive than their carbon fiber counterparts.

It’s important to understand that these differences are what make both heaters so energy efficient.

When it comes to using the same amount of energy as traditional ceramic heaters, it takes about half the time to actually get your heating system heated using one of the carbon fiber heaters.

Also, when it comes to being able to be used outside, the differences between the two types of heating systems are even greater.

If you live in an area where the weather is either extremely cold or extremely hot for large parts of the year, using one of these energy efficient heaters will help you save hundreds of dollars on your heating costs during the winter and the summer months.

Ceramic heaters can also be used safely, providing a safe way to heat your home in the event of a power outage.

Because these heaters are safe, there is little chance that they could damage anything in your home.

There is also less chance of them leaking carbon fibers into your walls, and they are not flammable.

In addition, they are extremely easy to install and use.

With all of these benefits, it is easy to see why carbon fiber heaters are becoming so popular in homes all around the world.

As technology continues to improve, it will only become easier and safer to operate these types of heating systems.

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The Carbon Fiber Heaters Is Slim and Has a Large Surface Area So They Heat Larger

Carbon fiber heaters are extremely thin and have a large surface area therefore it heats relatively lower temperature than other types of heaters.

They also reflect more heat, which means you do not need to use as much fuel to run them.

They also use less energy than other types of heaters.

The other big advantage is that they do not get very hot so you can actually keep them out of the way in a pantry or basement where they don’t take up a lot of space.

The downside to this is that because they have a large surface area, they also consume a lot of electricity.

They also need to be positioned strategically to catch the best possible heat.

This is why you generally want to put them on the walls closest to the door or window.

If you do find one in an ideal position you should note that because they absorb so much heat, they also need to have a fan installed to circulate the warmed air and prevent it from going back out again into your space.

In order to prevent this, they often have to be positioned higher up.

They also come in a variety of colors so you can match them to whatever decor you have in your home.

Since they are so slim you can actually fit one in a corner if you have a smaller area.

Saunas With Ceramic Heaters Heat Up Quickly and Without Burning Your Lungs

Saunas with ceramic heaters are an excellent choice for heating your sauna.

They come in a wide range of sizes and will allow you to choose the perfect sauna for your space.

The larger the sauna the more surface area that is available to be heated by a ceramic heater.

The larger saunas can heat up to 1500 square feet of space, which is plenty of space to enjoy a soothing sauna experience.

These types of heaters are also much more efficient than other types of heaters because they not only heat up the entire sauna but also the entire surface area of the sauna, which allow for much more consistent heat intensity over a larger area.

Ceramic heaters also use a much lower amount of energy than other types of heaters. This means that you will be able to save money on your heating bills while enjoying even higher temperatures in your sauna.

The lower temperatures that are achieved through ceramic heaters are also much more comfortable than other types of high temperature heaters.

The reason that these types of heaters are so comfortable is because the smaller surface area is heated up by the ceramic plates.

Because the smaller surface area is heated up so uniformly, there is no uneven heating of the surface area which is common with many other types of heater types.

Also, this uniform heating makes it much easier to maintain the temperatures and the lower temperatures that are achieved through this type of sauna.

If you are looking for an effective way to enjoy the sauna, you should definitely consider using ceramic heaters.

Not only will you be enjoying much higher surface temperatures through these types of heaters, but you will also be able to enjoy them at lower temperatures as well.

Unlike other types of heaters, you will find that the ceramic plates heat up quickly and thoroughly so that you are able to get the maximum benefit from using them.

You will also find that the ceramic panels that are used in these types of heaters are made out of a very sturdy material that is durable and long lasting.

With these benefits, you will quickly find that using carbon fiber heaters for your sauna will be the best choice that you could make.

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What Is Carbon Fiber Heaters Which Has A Lower Surface Temperature?

The first question that one might want to ask when they are looking for a good brand of carbon fiber heaters that have a lower surface temperature is if the material which makes up the heater itself is capable of being damaged by the elements.

This is a very important factor to keep in mind because while the material which is used in the construction of the heater can be made to be sturdy and weatherproof, it still cannot be protected from outside elements and especially from extremely hot temperatures.

For this reason, it is extremely important that the user find out about the material which is used in the construction of the heater so that the user will be able to make an educated decision as to whether or not the material will be affected by the extreme temperatures that the heater is expected to produce.

Users who are looking for a good way to cut down on their utility bills should definitely consider purchasing these types of heaters that have a lower surface temperature so that they will be able to use them during the times when the utilities are not available.

These types of heaters are very convenient because they can be used in a wide variety of settings which will not affect the performance of the heater at all.

Some of the most common places where these types of carbon fiber heaters are used are homes, garages, sheds, and even office buildings. Since the carbon fiber is so lightweight, it is easy to move around these parts of the home or office without having to deal with extra electrical wiring.

One of the main reasons why these heaters which have a lower surface temperature are so popular amongst homeowners is because they are extremely safe to use.

Ceramic Heaters – A Good Choice For a Smaller Area

Ceramic surface area is much smaller than that of traditional metal or wood based heaters.

The fact that the surface area of ceramic heaters tends to be much smaller means that they need to be kept in an area where there is enough room to heat the surface and at the same time not cause any distortion to the surrounding area.

Ceramic heaters can be placed in most rooms where other conventional heaters can easily fit but this is not advisable if you have small children around or are living in an area which experiences high levels of humidity.

One of the other reasons why ceramic heaters tend to be smaller in size is because of the materials that are used to make them.

Despite the fact that ceramic heaters are generally smaller than traditional ceramic heaters, many people prefer ceramic heaters because they are easy to handle.

They are also able to cope better with some of the more unusual conditions which tend to affect ceramic heaters and also because they produce very little noise.

Infrared Heat From Carbon Fiber Heaters Penetrates Deep Into the Skin

A lot of people have asked me how infrared heat from carbon fiber can be used on sports injuries.

First let me tell you how the process works: The infrared heat from carbon fiber heaters penetrates deeper into the skin tissue than traditional infrared heat from other types of ceramic heaters or saunas.

Longer wavelengths and lower temperatures allow professional bathers to soak longer in the water, thus increasing the possibility of increased blood flow, meaning more nutrients to the skin and muscle tissues.

Carbon fiber infrared heaters also have a much more even spread of heat, which means that you get a more intense perspiration!

My personal experience with my infrared fiber heat bath system is that after only a short time in the shower I could feel the heat traveling through my body, down to my feet! It was warm and comforting, yet cool at the same time.

This effect is not common, but I can say that it is one of the better things about this type of ceramic heater.

Most people who use traditional ceramic heaters and saunas tend to perspire a lot while getting their tan. With a high-end carbon fiber heater you can still get your desired tan, but at a much slower rate.

There are a number of manufacturers that sell both traditional ceramic heaters, as well as carbon fiber heaters, so you will be able to find the best one for your needs.

INFRARED CARBON FIBER VS CERAMIC HEATERS

Infrared carbon fiber and stainless steel are the two main categories of insulating material used to block heat. With the advancement in technologies, different methods of producing these materials have been developed, but the most effective one remains that of in frayed fiber with stainless steel heating elements.

Carbon fiber, although less efficient in trapping heat, is much lighter, stronger and durable than carbon fiber with metal layers.

In order to understand how these materials work, it is important to understand how they change when heated with a direct current.

In Frayed Carbon Fiber, the carbon fiber strands are sheared off by a heating element placed between them.

The shearing action rapidly removes small fibers or threads which, when heat is applied, lose their molecular bonding and become separated from the rest of the strands.

This enables the heat to pass through the material easily, making the material a good choice for applications where a very tight or narrow flow rate is required.

In Ceramic Heaters, on the other hand, a ceramic coated heat generator, usually encased in a sleeve, produces infrared radiation due to the presence of metallic impurities.

These metallic impurities are captured by the infrared emitting fibers and change their molecular structure, resulting in an infrared pulse that travels through the fibers.

The emitted waves heat the fibers and change their electrical conductivity, making them conductive. The change in conductivity makes these materials an excellent choice for radiant barriers, space heaters and fiber optic wiring.

Carbon Fiber Heating Technology For Your Home

If you’re looking for an all in one, safe, and effective way to cool your home, then look no further than a carbon fiber air filter.

These filters are very effective at reducing the amount of steam and humidity that is in the air in your home, which will in turn reduce the amount of time that you need to go to the bathroom.

Carbon fiber also makes the air much cleaner and easier to breathe. The cool thing about these filters is that they are able to provide not only cooling but ionizing benefits as well.

Carbon fiber heaters also have a better even distribution of hot air throughout the room, which is a plus for people with allergies or asthma.

In addition to these great health benefits, carbon fiber heaters also make cleaning much easier and can actually be washed by hand!

Although ceramic heaters require that they be thoroughly cleaned and thoroughly dried before replacing them, this is not always the case.

This is one reason that many people choose to purchase their own portable, ready to take to the next camping trip or to a friend’s house.

It has been shown that carbon fiber heaters with ceramic heaters are more efficient in energy consumption than other types of heater.

Additionally, the clean up process for carbon fiber heating technology is much simpler and easier than with other types of heating systems.

For these reasons, it is easy to see why carbon fiber heating technology has become such a popular option for home owners across the country. With so many great benefits to offer, it is easy to see why they are quickly becoming the hottest new addition to the American home.

The Risks Are Reduced When You Use Carbon Fiber Infrared Sauna Heaters

If you are new to the world of infrared sauna therapy then you will be glad to hear that there are no known risks associated with the use of carbon fiber infrared sauna heaters.

What most people do not realize is that even though these infrared saunas have become very popular around the world they are still considered to be a traditional form of therapy in many parts of the world.

There are however some things that you should know before you start using an infrared sauna.

These include how the carbon fiber strands work, what the sauna looks like, and whether or not the infrared radiation from the sauna can be dangerous.

The main risks associated with the use of carbon fiber infrared saunas are related to the fact that they take time for your body to reach a comfortable temperature with the use of the sauna.

One of the major problems with the use of carbon fiber infrared sauna heaters is that the heat generated is in essence very high energy.

Another thing to consider when it comes to the use of carbon fiber infrared sauna heaters is how they look. The carbon fiber strands are typically clear and they come in various colors which can either be white, silver or gold.

Is Sitting in a Traditional Ceramic Sauna Safe?

You might be asking yourself if it is safe to be sitting in a traditional ceramic sauna at temperatures that are said to be comfortable.

Well, the short answer is no, you should never be exposed to these high temperatures.

This is because they produce extreme amounts of heat, and when combined with moisture, can cause severe damage to your body.

In fact, the American Society of Home Inspectors has stated that using a sauna on a hot plate for more than one hour can cause burns and even death. I’m sure that you already know this, but did you know that a ceramic stovetop is just as dangerous?

The traditional ceramic sauna design involves three pans of boiling water which is heated by wood or coal fired burner.

It is your job as the sauna user to provide the water with the necessary heat in order to activate the heating element.

It is believed that if you sat directly in front of a traditional ceramic sauna, that you would begin to feel the effects almost immediately.

The reason for this is due to the direct contact with the metal surfaces, and the moisture that was quickly absorbed by the ceramic. The more direct the contact with these surfaces, the faster the effects would occur.

In addition to causing you severe injury if you were to sit directly in front of a traditional ceramic sauna, it can also cause your skin to burn and/or blister from the metal surfaces touching your skin.

Your skin would also become very dry from the steam that was being generated by the stovetop.

To avoid all of these problems while sitting in a sauna, you should invest in a sauna room heater. The room heater will keep the temperatures at a much lower level and less likely to cause you injury.

Traditional Ceramic Heaters – The Newest Way to Heat Up Your Sauna

Traditional ceramic heaters are a great choice for your home, because they use less energy than their newer counterparts.

Older ceramic heaters used a metal plate on top of a heating element that was heated by a chimney.

As the ceramic plate heated up, it radiated heat throughout the room. This not only wasted energy, but also contributed to air pollution. Today’s more energy efficient ceramic heaters utilize electricity in the same way that an electric heater does, but without the overhead heat that comes from a chimney.

Since modern ceramic heaters heat up to over 150 degrees, they are not wasted heat and still provide you with the radiant heat you desire.

The way that this is achieved is quite simple but very different from how traditional ceramic heaters worked in the past.

Traditional ceramic heaters used glass plates on the heating element itself.

This allowed the heat to radiate out from the bottom of the plates and heat up the inside of the room.

However, it also allowed some of the heat to escape and lower the temperature of the entire room.

With the new ceramic heaters, the ceramic elements are constructed to heat up to and exceeding the temperature requirements for optimum temperature distribution.

Why Does Carbon Heaters Operate Lower Temperatures Due to Infrared Heating wavelength?

A lot of people believe that the reason why carbon based burners operate at lower temperatures because of using infrared heat, and while this is true, it is not the whole cause.

You see, carbon based burners are made of carbon compounds that react to a specific catalyst when it is burned, and in doing so, they create an infrared flame.

If you place a candle inside the room and turn on the flame, you will notice that it gets hotter very quickly, as infrared energy enters the room.

This is the carbon burning in the room reacting with the infrared flame; this energy is what makes the room warmer faster than the rest of the space.

The problem with carbon heaters is that they have a limited amount of usable infrared energy, as their molecules are too dense to absorb the infrared energy.

This energy has to be extracted somehow, which is why most heaters use electricity to burn the fuel into gas.

When this energy is extracted from the air around the burner, it is often vented outside, through a chimney or flue. After the heat is removed from the outside, it is often recycled back into the room through forced air vents.

What Is This Carbon Fiber Heating Technology?

Carbon fiber, which has been around for about 40 years but which came onto the scene in the sixties with the production of the Apollo moon landings, is one of the oldest forms of active heating technology that we have today.

But, although it’s been around a long time, it’s only recently that we’ve seen the applications of it in the home and in small industrial production situations.

We’re looking at carbon fiber glass blankets, induction heaters, portable space heaters, infrared heaters, convection ovens, and more, and learning more about how they work and what their special properties are.

Let’s start with heat transfer, because that’s the whole point of passive heat sources, and why heat pump technology is so often used in conjunction with them.

Heat transfer is important, because without it, we just wouldn’t be able to heat objects to the temperature we need or want.

For example, consider the problems you may run into if you use a traditional wood-burning fireplace in a cold basement.

When the fireplace is burning, the flue gases move up through the chimney and exude heat up and down the entire length of the chimney.

But, as the gases cool, they condense back into water, which means the inside of the fireplace is cold and you have to either go to the electrician to get an electrical heating element or buy a heating blanket, which isn’t always cost effective.

Carbon fiber is a great choice because the actual carbon fiber doesn’t conduct heat at all. In fact, it even reflects heat, meaning that if you place a pot of water on the top of the flue, the water will absorb some of the heat, but the rest of the flue will retain the heat it produces.

It’s this process that allows carbon fiber heating technology to use much less fuel than other types.

If you have a traditional wood-burning fireplace, you can think about upgrading – after all, there’s no point in having something that wastes half your house’s energy when it could be doing things better.

Ceramic Heaters Are Available in Many Sizes and Shape

There are certain factors that need to be considered when choosing a ceramic heater. Ceramic heaters are available in many different shapes and sizes depending on the size of your room.

When you are purchasing a ceramic heater, make sure that the size of your room is going to accommodate it.

Also the amount of electricity used by your system will determine the size of the ceramic heater you buy.

Other factors you need to consider include what function you want the ceramic heater to perform, the wattage, and the cost.

Ceramic heaters are safe and environmentally friendly. It is important that if you have children that they know not to play with hot ceramic items.

It is also important to use a ceramic heater only after thoroughly testing the item. If you use a ceramic heater and it is found to be safe then continue to use it.

The post Differences: Carbon vs Ceramic Infrared Sauna appeared first on Infrared for Health.

source https://infraredforhealth.com/differences-carbon-vs-ceramic-infrared-sauna/

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brokestminimalist · 7 years

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Saving Electricity

This is a project we've been working on for five years or so: reducing our electricity usage. This reduces our bill, first and foremost. It also reduces our carbon footprint, saving the earth a little bit. There is no downside to conserving electricity. There is literally no reason not to. It's a great minimalist activity. It's also kind of fun. We are always waiting with anticipation to see our newest bill, to see if we're winning or not. We judge winning based on our electric bill for the same month in the previous year. For example, if our electric usage for January 2018 is less than it was for January 2017, we're winning. You don't have to keep old bills to do this. Your electricity company probably has a website where you can log in and see your past usage for a certain number of years. Ours goes back to 2012, so we can see graphs of our usage over the 12 month period and compare it to what's current. Look yours up and see what it's like. Have you been using more energy recently, or less?

This is an ongoing project with a lot of little details. Looking over this long list won't seem very minimalist, but a lot of these are one-time tasks that you'll never have to do again unless you move to a new house. Once they're done, they're done. Others are once-a-year tasks, while a few are behavior modifications (like turning off light switches or taking shorter showers). You can't do them all at once unless you're not broke, so take a look over the list and see which ones you can mark off right now. Then, come back to this post in a few weeks and see what else you can accomplish. Keep an eye on your bill, so you'll see the immediate benefits.

Turn off the lights: This one is an easy behavior modification. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Turn off the lights when you leave the house. Yes, even the porch light. It might give you the illusion of security, but trust me: if a burglar wants to get into your house, a porch light won't stop them. Turn it off. If you really feel unsafe without it, get a solar motion-sensor light. Sleep your computer, too. If you aren't already in the habit, start today. Turn lights off.

Replace all your bulbs with LED bulbs: this is an investment up front, but with a potentially significant payoff. As your incandescent or CFL bulbs begin to die, go ahead and replace them one at a time with good quality LED light bulbs. They use a fraction of the electricity and will last for years and years. You'll save on bulb replacements and on electricity usage. Now, that doesn't mean you can leave them on all the time. Continue turning off lights when you leave the room, even if they are LED ones.

Take shorter showers: you are paying to heat that water. Don't empty the tank every time you shower. Five minutes is all you need. You'll save water, too.

Insulate everything: This is the one that will make the most difference, as climate control is the biggest energy drain in almost every house. Add weather stripping, caulk and insulation to every nook and cranny you can find. This will keep your house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, reducing A/C costs year round. Be creative with canned spray foam. Use paintable caulk to fill in cracks and then hide them. Buy some cheap light switch/outlet gaskets, they only cost a few cents each and pay for themselves. Get a fiberglass blanket for your water heater. Inspect your windows carefully and eliminate any gaps. If you have a nice financial windfall and you own your house, replacing windows can make a huge difference to your bills.

Cover your windows: Even if you have newish windows, and especially if you don't, invest in heavy thermal curtains or blackout curtains. These will block UV light in summer, keeping your house a few degrees cooler. You can still open them to let light in, but keep the ones on the side of the house the sun is shining on closed. In winter, they are heavy enough to block out some of the cold. Open them during the day to let sunlight warm your house, then shut them tight when the sun goes down. Get some window kits and cover your windows with the plastic. If you can't find any, get some cheap clear shower curtains from the dollar store and nail them up underneath your curtains. Tape the edges with masking tape. This will trap the cold air away, and you can take them down in the spring.

Maintain your appliances: Have your furnace and a/c inspected and tuned up annually. Clean your fridge coils. If you use your dryer, and you shouldn't if you can help it, make sure the lint trap and vent hose are clear. An appliance that isn't running efficiently uses more electricity than necessary and can even be a fire hazard. Invest in the most energy efficient ones you can afford. If you're broke like us, keep using the ones you have until they just won't go anymore.

Don't use your dryer: Clothes dryers, as we've said, are a frivolous waste of electricity. Air dries things for free. Hang your clothes out in the sun, or in your house if it's rainy or below freezing outside. This will be a not-insignificant savings. You'll probably see a drop of 20 bucks on your bill if you stop completely.

Use ceiling fans properly: In summer, ceiling fans should rotate counterclockwise on a high speed. Fans don't cool the air, but they make us feel cooler by the process of evaporation. In the summer, use them to full advantage. In the winter, they should run clockwise on the lowest setting. Hot air rises, so this will gently blow the warmer air down to your level. If you aren't in a room, turn the ceiling fan off just as you would a light.

Use electric blankets in winter: These only use a few watts and you’ll stay super cozy. Or at least, your dog will when he steals it.

Air dry your dishes: just like the clothes dryer, letting your dishwasher dry your dishes is wasteful. If you use the dishwasher, put it on air dry. If yours is a bajillion years old and doesn't have that setting, just stop it after the wash cycle and open the door so your dishes can dry.

Check your thermostat: In the summer, keep it as warm as you possibly can stand. For us this is about 78 degrees. Yes, really. You won't die. Wear some shorts, use your ceiling fans. Take a cool shower. You'll be fine. In winter avoid using your furnace unless it's very cold. We had planned to keep ours set to around 60 degrees, until we figured out that it was broken. Instead we are using electric space heaters to heat only the room we are in at the time. If you do use your furnace, keep it set as cool as you can stand and bundle up against the chill. Use electric blankets on your bed to stay toasty at night, they use only a few watts and will keep you warmer than if you try to heat the surrounding air anyway.

Find energy vampires: these are devices that use standby power when they are off. The clock on your microwave, for example. Unplug that shit. That's wasted money. Your cable box, tv and dvd player probably do too; put those on a power strip and turn it off when you're done watching. We actually unplug all our crap. Our washer and dryer are unplugged right now. So are the tv and Fire Stick, the microwave, the crock pot, and the lamp in the living room. You don't have to be crazy like us, but if you think a device is using power when it's off, even if it's just to keep a little blinking light on, unplug it.

Get rid of hair dryers and curling irons: your hair will dry. These things waste energy and are also fire and burn hazards. We remember having our grandma burn the crap out of our head with a big old 70's hair dryer when we were a kid (in the 90's, btw). We'd complain that it was too hot, she'd ignore us, and two days later our scalp would start peeling. These things are dangerous. If you want curly hair, get a set of sponge curlers. They were good enough for grandma and they're good enough for you.

Use the microwave: as much as possible, cook things in the microwave instead of on the stove or in the oven. The microwave uses the least electricity of these.

Get rid of scented plug ins: throw that crap away. Get some scented candles. Done.

Open your blinds and curtains during the day: the sun provides plenty of light, so you shouldn't need to turn on lights until after dark. Open up your blinds to let the sunlight in so you can see, and so it can warm your house in winter. In summer, close the blinds/curtains on the side of the house where the sun is, to block out the extra heat.

Open your windows in the evening in the summer: When it's hot during the day, keep the windows shut and the curtains pulled, at least on the side where the sun is shining in. After the sun goes down, if it's cooler outside than inside, open your windows and doors to let the cool night air in. Shut them before the sun comes up and trap the nice cool air inside. It'll stay cool for a few hours before you have to turn the A/C on. We do not recommend sleeping with your door open, ftr. If you've got mosquitoes, get screens.

Trap your desired temperature: If you've got open doorways between rooms where there aren't actual doors, hang curtains or blankets there to keep your climate controlled air from escaping into other parts of the house. We use clear shower curtains in winter to trap heat in our living room. We don't need to heat the kitchen if we aren't in the kitchen, right? You can do this with air conditioning too if you've got a window unit. If you aren't using central but you still have air registers in your house, cover them with plastic. Do not cover air registers in unused rooms if you are using the central, this is bad for your unit and duct work. Just let them blow.

Dress for the season: if it's 90 degrees outside, wear shorts and a tank top and put your thermostat on 78. If it's 10 degrees outside, bundle up in layers and wool socks and put your thermostat on 60. You will be fine. You will acclimate, even. We promise.

Wash your clothes in cold water: heating water uses electricity. Unless you're washing something that's very greasy, use cold water.

Use the eco settings on everything: Your computer probably has this, so does your tv. Use this setting on every device that offers it.

Shade your roof: with deciduous trees. That is, ones that lose their leaves in the winter. You gain a lot of heat from the sun shining directly on your roof in the summer, so you want it to be shaded by trees so your house stays a little cooler. In winter you want that extra warmth hitting your house, though. If you don't already have trees growing this can be a very long-term project. If you own the property, do some research on the subject and plant some good, hardy trees in strategic locations.

Shade your A/C: air conditioning is by far the biggest energy hog in your house. It'll run more efficiently if it's not in direct sunlight, so plant some shade trees.

Use space heaters: Leave your furnace off and use space heaters to heat only the room you are in, rather than the whole house. (Make sure your pipes are insulated first.) This will save lots of energy. If, however, you do need to heat the whole house, do not use space heaters to do so. Not only will you have a ridiculous bill, you'll likely burn your house down.

(Yeah that’s our furniture-free bedroom, but that’s another post!

Turn off the furnace/air conditioner when you are away: There's a myth that says it takes more energy to heat your house up if it's gotten cold than if you just leave the heat running constantly. This is 100% false. If you leave, turn everything off. Even if you're gone for eight hours for work, your house isn't likely to be freezing inside when you get back. It'll heat back up within twenty minutes or so, and it won't use more electricity that way. So turn it off when you leave.

Hibernate in winter: When the weather’s cold, pick one room to heat and stay in there rather than moving around. If you’ve got a family your body heat will keep the room even warmer. You can play board games or do puzzles. We hibernate in our bedroom during winter and mostly abandon the rest of the house. We venture out occasionally for food or to pee, but we come back quickly.

There are other things you can do, but these are the ones we've found that make the most difference. We'll post results as we try new things so everyone can see. Shaving money off our utility bill has made the most difference to our finances recently. When we first moved here we got a $500 electric bill for August, the hottest month here. We'd reduced that to $57 by November. Now that it's cold and we've been using space heaters instead of the fire, we're up to $85 or so. If we can stay under $100 for the rest of the winter that'll be significant.

You can make a difference right now. Go turn something off.

Links: Mr. Electricity, Reduce your carbon footprint

#savingenergy #electricity #minimalbills

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sussex-nature-lover · 3 years

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Tuesday 4th May 2021 Goodnight?

Throughout my blogs I often speak about my struggles with sleep. It weighs heavy on my mind as I used to be such a good sleeper. I’d drop off without any trouble and sleep very soundly unless there were babies or children needing attention - and it’s rather a lot of years since this was the case. Over time the ability to make myself comfortable and sleep right through has packed up and left me. I’ve never really accepted it, it’s always something of a shock.

When your sleep pattern becomes disturbed and you struggle both to get to sleep in the first place, and to maintain it for a good session, you feel cheated. As it happens, you probably do get sufficient hours in, but it’s unfulfilling when it comes in fits and starts and when you lie awake at 3am worrying about getting off again, it’s a vicious circle, a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more you think about it, the worse it seems to get. I know from conversations with friends and family that it’s a very common problem, intensified perhaps by the worries of the last 12 months or so,

I’d done the usual sleep hygiene things and we have no TV in the bedroom. Even the clock wears a shroud, the curtains are thick and double lined and I have a lavender pillow spray. All that must help? but not enough. Then I heard about how woollen top bed clothes can also help and started to do a bit of research. So in the interests of information sharing, the following is all taken from the website I purchased from (there are no stockists near us) but this is not an advert or sponsored in any way: it’s just my personal experience.

Feather, down and polyester are all fabulous insulators, but they make the body hot and then they hold onto that heat, which is fine when you first get into bed, however, during the night our body temperature needs to drop slightly in order to achieve deep sleep.

Insulators bring our body temperature up until we're at the point where we wake up, throw the covers off and try to cool down, then we go to sleep again and repeat the process. But this time it maybe our partner is too hot in the bed and so the great duvet war starts with us pulling and pushing off the duvet. This is not natural sleep and it prevents essential deep sleep.

That’s exactly what happens to me, but of course, Crow thinks he can never get warm enough, how he stands it is beyond me. We have a lightweight duvet and then a silk quilted bedspread dressing the bed, which he pulls up over him. I throw off everything and still lie there feeling like I’m in the tropics. What they say about insulators sounds common sense, so this required further reading...

Wool isn't just an insulator like polyester and feather. Wool is actually a regulator, it regulates your body temperature the same way as it does on the sheep. When it's hot the wool passes the heat mainly in the form of moisture from the sheep's body out and when it’s cold it keeps the heat in. Easy really and it will do the same for humans.

All wool products can do this but the more you process the wool, i.e. spin and weave it, then the less the wool can regulate heat. So we keep the wool in the same state as it is on the sheep. But the amazing thing about wool is that it will actually regulate the temperatures of two different people in the same bed.

This actually sounds like magic to my ears.

So What’s So Good About Wool and a Wool Duvet? (apart from what’s up above)

Wool is 100% sustainable. Every year a sheep naturally grows a fleece to keep it warm in the winter. There are over 4 million sheep in Wales alone. (So think of wool as a by-product of the sheep hairdressing industry, or should that be baarbers….?)

See, there really are people with jokes worse than mine!

♦ note that the background here is not a quilt, it’s the reverse of our bedspread

The products come in three weights. This is a sample of the lightweight duvet and a little gift of a lavender bag, which smells wonderful.

So can you use any old wool in a duvet? To be honest, yes you can, even polymered wool or chlorinated wool but there are certain wools which are much better than others. There are 2 reasons why we have different wool and different sheep breeds.

First we have different breeds of sheep which have, over hundreds of years, been bred specifically for different parts of the world and for different climates. So the very small,hardy Hebridean Sheep with its thick long coat thrives on seaweed on the extreme northern outer reaches of the UK. Then we have the Downs sheep of lowland Britain with a short tight fleece, and our own Welsh Mountain and Herdwicks of the Lake District and Cumbrian fells with their heavy thick coats to withstand harsh cold winters, and many more. It's quite an interesting subject if you care to check it out

The second reason we have different sheep breeds is because each breed has a very different wool with completely different qualities for different uses. The wool has different micron sizes,and staple lengths.

So the Wensleydales and Blue Leicesters produce a lustre wool, soft and silky, with a long staple length and fine micron size, which is great for spinning and weaving into clothing, while the tough Welsh Mountain is great for hard wearing carpets. It's also possible to cross breeds of sheep to get differing qualities of wool.

Isn't Merino wool the best wool? Some companies claim to have all or some Merino wool in their duvets this is just a marketing ploy aimed at creating a selling image recognisable by the general public. Most Merino wool is beautiful wool and excellent for fine clothing but it isn't really the best wool for duvets, it's too long and lies flat so it won't have loft to trap air. You need a shorter springy staple to have the same thermal qualities as our lofty springy wool. The market is also being flooded now with cheaper Merino wool duvets from Eastern Europe, these Merino sheep haven't been bred for their fleece but for their meat so the wool tends to be much coarser and much, much cheaper, so don't be conned, not everything labelled Merino is high quality.

So what wool is used in a Baavet? Well not any Merino for sure, and not the pure Welsh Mountain unfortunately, as we are surrounded by thousands of Welsh mountain sheep here in Snowdonia. We spent months researching and testing wools in association with the Wool Authority Testing Station (where wool for the whole Northern Hemisphere is tested, hence our knowledge of competitors duvets) which is only 20 miles from where we live. We found there are excellent British breeds and specifically Welsh Breeds, especially pedigree sheep breeds and cross breeds, which have good micron wool size and staple lengths which we can then blend into just the right optimum British wool, with excellent thermal properties yet with the lightness and loft (bounce) that we want in our Baavets. We need good quality wool that has no or little kemp, (that's spiky sheep hair in poor quality wool) We also use wool from specific traceable farms, again we are the only company able to do this.

The quality of the construction and stitching is very good

Sheep here are posed by local models and not necessarily representative of the wool in the duvets mentioned above 😉

I’ve learned about micron size, about kemp and about loft and being impressed with the science, I felt ready to wade in and find out for myself. We started by ordering some pillows - when I wake in the night I’m always turning my pillow over and over, to find the cool side. The pillows are sold by the amount of wool filling which comes in a zipped cover. You can also order more loose wool if you need to add some, or of course, you can also remove some if you find the pillow filling too dense or too high. I got spare covers at the same time too (above)

They seemed to work for us, and so I took the plunge and ordered a duvet. There was hardly anything to lose with a 30 day’ try it and if you don’t like it, we’ll have it back’ guarantee. We’ve had it a week now and gradually I’ve found I’m having a better and better night’s sleep.

I would say, it’s a good idea to air the products for a couple of days before use as they come with a slight sheepy smell (it wears off) and the style takes a little getting used to after having a much fuller and springier ‘pouffey’ duvet filling, but it does feel ‘just right’ - warm enough to be snug, but not too warm...which is exactly what it promised. Even better, I think Crow’s converted too, which frankly, seems like a minor miracle.

I can remember writing last year about how our wool market has absolutely crashed and farmers have sometimes resorted to burning because the cost of marketing the product outweighs the gain in sale. Why on earth the construction industry hasn’t hoovered up every possible amount to use in insulation materials is beyond me, it seems a perfect solution. The Government is pursuing some green credentials to cut emissions by promoting electric or hybrid vehicles and promised the scrapping of gas and oil central heating boilers in new build homes from 2025, but natural insulation, which surely would be an easy change, seems to lag (NPI!!!) behind as a rather niche product.

If you wanted to read up, I found an FAQ Here.

WHAT DID I LEARN?

Technical:

♦ Graphic taken from this link, where you can read more about sheep wool.

♦ A Micron is the measurement used to describe the diameter of a wool fibre. The smaller the Micron measurement, the finer and softer the wool. The finest gauge wool comes from Merino sheep, all Merino wool is considered Very Fine, meaning the fibres are smaller than 24 Microns in diameter.

♦ Loft = depth/bounce, or as I termed it ‘pouffeyness’

*NPI up above = NO PUN INTENDED, well, not really intended, more a happy accident.

Sweet Dreams.

Also posed by models 😊

#sheep sleep duvet #wool

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