#yes i wrote two stories for day 7
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thatdeadaquarius · 1 year ago
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About your language brainrot. I see your "Reader's writing can't match tyvat's long and flowery writing" and bring you "Tyvat isn't used to books over 50 pages long so a short story to the Reader is a whole dictionary to tyvat readers".
Seriously, have you seen how thin the books are? They don't wrote novels, they write short chapters formatted in the way really old stories are. As in, summarizing all the events down into one smooth story then adding a few quotes. Fanfiction writers are insane. They will willingly sit down and write hundreds of words at a time. To them, a proper modern day story of maybe, oh 10k words or so, would probably be like the Oddessy itself.
If we were to combine the two headcanons. It would end up as many historians being intimidated by this insanely long written scripture in the language of the forgotten.
I'm going to take this a step further and say that if the creator asked some people to proofread their things, it would establish a hiarchy of who is able to actually finish the book the creator read and who isn't.
NOW THIS, THIS IS MY FUCKING JAMMMM
I'm so sorry this is so old!! u probably all know this by this point that I've really slowed down as the year has gone on, but I graduated university and then got my first job so its been pretty crazy!
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Sun: Reader (you/they/them)
Orbit: Headcanons-ish
Stars: dash of all the book/nerds of Genshin, heavy on Sumeru?
Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: Cussing, 16+ Mature Audiences, Spoliers for Sumeru Archon Quests/Scaramouche, & Trigger Warnings: mention of shipping/characters shipping themselves with you.
Comment if any missed, please.
FULL STOP.
THE AKADEMIYA, FONTAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, HAVE BEEN WAITTTINNGGGG ON YOUR ASS LMAO
You fall from the fucking sky like a 5 star, or pop out of the Irminsul or whatever
and immediately are mobbed by scholars. LMAO jkjk (not really, bc that's what it’d feel like)
can you even imagine the dread older stories(”the classics” to them), that was instilled in the poor students around Teyvat??
id like to think ur works are the most preserved over the thousands of years of Teyvat archeologists excavating them, in comparison to other authors (teyvat just likes you more, suck it William Shakespeare)
also, bc I cant resist language differences/world building I'm sorryyyy 😭 😭
the vocab of Genshin lang vs. ours, has significantly less vocabulary like their actual dictionary is 1/3 the size of ours type of energy
(Omfg all ur fanfics being considered like insanely long realistic romantic classics or tragedies like Jane Austen-level, and only the richest and biggest play companies put on plays about ur stories bc the script goes on for hours)
(ur plays only get put on for rlly big events bc of this, like Lantern Rite or like a Summer/Winter festival/your birthday, which is, yes, an international holiday)
dude the sheer power move of anything you’ve written being essentially “Journey of the West” to them, like Damnnn.
endless like adaptations, plays, Teyvat-short stories condensing it, (THEIR OWN FANFICTION ABOUT UR STORIES)
the power is, in fact, going to your head every time another scholar both deflates at how long ur stuff is, but also lights up bc they get to read it
speaking of scholars… you know who snatched you up first. you know. you don’t even need to read the next line.
Alhaitham.
sneaky bastard he is, absolutely manipulated, mansplained (and manwhored bc he knows he’s handsome, cheeky little shit) his way into getting you to sit down with him and interview you about both translating other classics, your own, giving your own analysis of others works and ur own, and picking ur brain apart of how/why you wrote urs, etc. its fucking endless,
Kaveh had to come rescue you bc u were starving to death after getting stuck with the Haravatat scholar in his office for nearly 7 hours of interrogation discussion about literature
and Alhaitham wasn't even nearly done, he’d informed you as you left that he already had another appointment for later conversation scheduled (how?? you don't even know ur own schedule??? you have a schedule???) and was looking forward to more of your “creative and enlightening input” :)))
(you’re never going to escape him, not even Nahida herself can save you from his stubborn ass)
On another note, Xingqiu is quaking when you agree to autograph his copy of your stories (of which he has all hard covers of the first edition translations)
Zhongli/Rex Lapis is known for having a near-lifelong passion for searching for your works specifically, and learning how to translate them better into Teyvatian vernacular
like the same way he can absolutely speak on Rex Lapis facts/rocks/adepti info, is the same confidence he speaks about knowing ur work lol
(yes he did also ask for several autographs and another sit-down talk about the works, tho a lot more sneaky then Alhaitham bc he just casually gets u guys into it during dinner)
Barbatos/Venti has written some of the most famous songs based on your stuff, he has his favorites too,
but he always claims the best songs are any that have been written in the story, like either when a character sings something, or there are like quotes from songs ur fanfics are based on lol
(he also demanded to hear what they actually sound like from you, yes, you have to sing them for him lol)
Venti also can surprisingly drunkenly ramble the entirety of at least one of ur stories, like, word for word lmao
(Diluc gave in and did give him a drink on the house for that one, just once, Venti doesn’t remember it lol)
(I forgot to mention, u guys still speak the same language, just like, different versions of it)
ur works being one of the few things all the Archons can freely talk about with each other, like it’s neutral ground bc they’re all fangirling about it lmao
Furina and Neuvillette have had like,, fierce debates over the decades about character dynamics and the general drama of ur stories, they’ve gotten into it enough they’ve stopped talking to each other for a couple days a few times lol
Albedo, Sucrose, Kokomi, Yae Miko, Ei, Raiden, have read every single work they’re gotten their hands on in Teyvat (it took them like a literal year or longer)
Albedo drew you fanart for every single story, bc he’s hyperfixated on everything related to you ngl,
Kokomi had commissioned smaller pocket versions of ur works (which later got popular thanks to Yae Miko) both the OG and the Teyvat shortened versions
THE HARBINGERS ARE THE MOST DOWN BAD LMAO
Childe has literally tried to recreate battle scenes from ur works lmao
and gets especially riled up about fighting someone who resembles any characters from them (esp villains, what a cutie)
You cannot fathom the amount of research throughout Teyvat that has been secretly or indirectly funded by Pantalone/Tsaritsa
from the experts to analyze them, to funding play companies to act them out, to actually excavating places to get more of ur stuff unearthed
(the Harbingers absolutely are the first group of people that got to read several of ur stories first bc of this, like the world’s most exclusive secret book club lol)
Scaramouche used to clown on Childe all the time about how he was too impatient to even “sit down and read the King’s classics”, and he was downright insufferable when he found out about Tartaglia’s habit of recreating battle scenes/that being what motivated him to fight sometimes lol
that being said, Wanderer surprisingly never forgot ur stories.
Even when his memories were wiped for a bit, he found comfort in these fantastical epics still sticking around, even when his old names did not
(he mayyyy or mayyy nottt have secretly namedhimselfafteroneofthetragicprotagonistsherelatesto- )
oh btw, Nahida also found joy and comfort in ur stories when she was trapped, they also helped her literally grow as a person bc she had ur stories to help her sort of process the world/what life was like outside of her dreaming prison 🥺💔❤️‍🩹
OMFG
ANYWAY FULL TONE SHIFT LMFAO-
the ABSOLUTE SPIRAL-RED-STRING-CONSPIRACY-THEORY-BOARD ENERGY IF THIS WAS A BLUNT LANGUAGE AU LMAOOOO
like specifically how Teyvatians like to give all the context ever thru their words, but older deities/beings like you just do simple phrases that can have deeper meanings (whereas teyvat just explains all the meanings behind their words)
STOP there’s like an official display at the Akademiya and Fontaine Institute of red string theory boards 😭😭 (look what you’ve done to themmm LMAO)
for like every story of urs, INCLUDING THE FANFICS STOP
IMAGINE THE SHIPPING WARS IF U EVER WROTE ONE THAT WASNT EXPLICIT OR LIKE ONE OF THE MAIN ROMANTIC INTERESTS HAD CHEMISTRY WITH OTHER CHARACTERS HAHAHAHAA
that's actually what Akademiya scholars argue about the most viciously, it’s like politics you can’t just bring up ships from ur stories casually in regular convos 💀
(poor Cyno has to deal with a shipping war once a year bc someone always makes the mistake of reading ur work for the first time (without being told to not talk to others abt ships lol) and it starts an all out brawl in the cafeteria every time LMAO)
Also yes.
Cyno is a fanboy.
(he has read Creator x Reader-insert fanfiction.)
(As have most of the characters mentioned, and those not lol)
(I'm gonna make a whole Creator x reader fanfic post one day i stg lmao)
an iced coffee? for me?? :0
ok but real talk…
wtf do you guys wanna see for new years!!
i didn't do a inktober/october days thingy bc i felt too unprepared (and bc id wanted to post that 1000+ followers eldritch au for Halloween)
but now i kinda wanna, at least for a few days :o
ill post a poll in a minute, so check it out!! but still, please feel free to comment some ideas here! :)
Safe Travels Deafening Dreamer,
💀♒
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(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")
♡the beloveds♡
@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily
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feral-ballad · 9 months ago
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“My name is Nour Saqer, for the name remains when all is lost. I turned 22 years old last November. Yes. My youthful time was wasted on horrible days. Yes. Those days still continue.
My name is Nour Saqer. And I am 22 years old. I am a fifth-year dental student at Al-Azhar University of Gaza. I am an aspiring student. I am eager and passionate about my studies. Until the last minute, I was allowed to stay at my house on Oct. 7th. 2023 I was still working on a scientific research proposal that was supposed to be published by me and my teammates of young researchers late in November, that year.
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This picture of me was taken late 2022 during an international dental conference held in campus.
During my college years alone. Me and my family have had to forcefully evacuate, and run out of our house four times. In 2019, 2021, 2022, and finally in 2023. Each time was in fear of the same threat; meeting our deaths under rubble. My name is Nour Saqer. And I have always been a Gazan. Each of those past times. If we were fortunate enough, we would discover that our home was in repairable damage. There would be a roof over our heads still. We were still fortunate. We still had luck.
But ever since October 7th. I haven't returned home. We were among the first families to evacuate Al-Rimal neighborhood from the very first day of this genocide, we had to turn our backs to it and expect no return. Two floors of my family house, along with my father's store, and only source of income, have been severely destructed due to neighboring missiles. And my university buildings were heavily exploded. All forms of life have been reaped from my city. My hometown.
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This is what's left of our campus. I was supposed to have my graduation ceremony here.
My name is Nour Saqer. And I had an enthusiastic heart. And an energetic body. I played sports and walked down every street until I couldn't. I loved my family and friends dearly. I wrote poems about them. I spent time loving them and cherishing their presence. I loved life with all its little things. With all its unattainable things. I loved the grass and the tall buildings. And I loved all people. I loved my people. All their faces. All their talents. All their hidden lives. All we shared. Until we didn't. Everything I have ever loved I lost.
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This picture of me was taken during a happy moment on the roof of our house.
This is all that is left of that picture now.
I am currently sheltered in Rafah with my family of 7. Sharing a place with 30 other homeless people. By the end of Ramadan, me and my family would have to evacuate and seek shelter for yet the 8th time due to housing problems. I am so tired of not having any sense of stability. Nothing to guarantee. Nothing to call my own. Every passing minute the situation in Rafah gets worse. Every passing minute I am losing loved ones and relatives. Every passing minute costs me my sanity. Costs me health. Costs me my basic rights to simply live.
I have nothing left to lose or pay the price with except for my life.
I don’t know how to retell my life story in limited words, how to make the most ordinary moments sound precious. How do I equate my value to someone deserving a life of safety? How do I shape myself as someone worth saving?
I have been interviewing myself for days. All my stories are choking me. All my grief is piling up and muting me. I keep trying to find a way to present the best of myself. To make myself someone you'd want to look at. Listen to. And even more,
Help.
I am finally placing both hope and faith in your helpful hands. I am asking you. Please put an end to this continuing tragedy. And help me get to safety. Before it's too late.
It should be in your knowledge that:
It costs $5,000 per person to get out of Rafah through the Boarder Crossing to Egypt. The rest of the donations will be to secure my tution money for the fifth and final year of dental school.
Thank you.”
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mikamii25 · 1 month ago
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”Sweet like bubblegum” (short fic)
Warnings: Fluff! <3
Mr crawling x Gn reader!
Summery: you finally come home after an exhausting day to make some cupcakes with your boyfriend! He doesn’t quite understand yet
Word count: 524!
Btw: this is my first time writing a fic! Instead of headcanons or short text stories so just know that I tried my best!!!
Fic inspired by the song “bubblegum” by NewJeans!
More under cut!!!
It's about 7:48 PM, dark and cold outside, you enter your apartment complex and walk up the stairs all the way to your apartment room. You dig through your purse and find your keys. You open your door just to be greeted by a crawling figure. “You arrive!” he says. “Oh hey mr crawling! I missed you!” You reply, while putting your bag away and putting your house slippers on. you walk over to the kitchen and pull out a piece of paper from your pocket. “Come here, I wanna show you something” you say, motioning with your hands to come over. He crawls towards you and looks up at you waiting for you to say something. “My friend gave me a recipe for some bubblegum cupcakes!” You respond, but he tilts his head slightly in confusion to your words. Oh… you forgot. That stupid language barrier! you forgot that you need to simplify your sentences so that he could understand better. “Ummm..” you mumble “friend gave me food recipe. you help me make?” you say. he excitedly nods his head before speaking. “Yes, me help!” you can't help but giggle a bit and his excitement  “all right then follow after me!”
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You spent the next hour and a half teaching him how to whisk the eggs and mix the batter. You pour the mix into the cupcake molds, and show him how to put them in the oven without burning himself. You praised him and pet him for doing so well then brought him over to the couch and watched TV to pass sometime then. After about 20 minutes, the oven started to beep. “Oh! That means the cupcakes are ready!” you exclaim while hoping off the couch, mr crawling following after you. You take the cupcakes out of the oven and place them on the table, then you grab a piping bag and fill it with icing. You give it to Mr. Crawling and begin to instruct him how to use it “here, squeeze your hands gently like this” you guide his hands with yours, squeezing it around the piping bag. “ok, good…. Now you put it on the cupcake” you help him squeeze the icing onto the cupcakes. Once he was done he praised him again and he seem to enjoy it a lot.
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You two finally begin to eat the cupcakes that you made. The flavor was perfect and the texture was as well. It seemed like Mr Crawling liked them too, even though he likes anything you make. You take another bite before speaking. “Mmmh… sweet like bubble gum!” Mr crawling also spoke. “Yes! Sweet!” he was just so cute. Your so glad that you decided to take him with you back to your world. You then brought him back to the couch, cuddling up next to him as you spoke. “I like this…. I like cuddling with you… No, i love it” and he responds with a little giggle, then says to you “me like cuddle also” snuggling closer to you. “Me love you” he says. You respond a bit tiredly. “Yeah…. I love you too…… always”
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AAAGGGHHJHKJHFRWKJRFHWK! HOPE YALL LIKE THIS!!!
(I may or may not have wrote this during school. In class. In know, I’m brave 😋)
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shiny-jr · 1 year ago
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Get you a guy with thighs bigger than yours.
- Warning: Gender-neutral reader. 
- Characters: König.
- Summary: Thick thighs do not save lives.
- Note: This came about because I was just talking crazy in the dms with a mutual. I originally wasn't going to ever let this see the light of day, but then I decided, why the hell not? If I get smacked with delayed embarrassment, I'll just delete. Yeah, I know this isn't what I usually write and post, but oh well. Anyways, after this, we will be back to our regular scheduled content shortly. Oh, and sorry for minor mistakes, I wrote this like at midnight.
. . .
You decided to put a movie on. Just for a distraction. After about an hour into the movie, the leather couch got a bit uncomfortable since it stuck to your skin. So you slunk down to the floor, bringing a pillow or two down with you to use in case extra comfort was needed. The movie was beginning to lose your attention, but you still watched the screen attentively as if you were still focused on the film's plot.
What ended up catching your attention, was the slight shifting couch. Well, slight probably wasn't the correct word, as the movement was anything but light. It was safe to assume the shifting was from a guy who was well over 200 Ibs and a few inches short of 7 ft, although you didn't know the exact numbers because you never wanted to ask König outright.
It was easier to hear the movement, as the large figure scoot a few inches over. Instead of sitting beside you like he was a few seconds earlier, he had not so discreetly moved to take your vacant spot and sit directly behind you. He tried to stay quiet, he really did, but it wasn't so easy for him given his size. At the very least, he treaded carefully, not bumping your back once with his legs or accidentally knocking the back of your skull with his kneecaps.
You didn't move, but your eyes slowly glanced downward, where you could see the tip of his boots. Custom made, as most department stores didn't carry anything in his size. Most articles of clothing he had were custom-made or bought in special stores, save for that odd black diy mask he often wore over his head like a hood to hide himself from the world. Too afraid to lean back and accidentally make contact and disturb this fragile peace, you remain still despite the slight ache in your lower back that make you want to lean back and stretch. But you don't. All you could do was try to revert your attention back to the movie and not think any unholy thoughts, that is, until you heard more movement.
To not bump his knees against you, Konig spread his legs a bit and leaned down. The edges of his homemade cloth mask brushed against your back as you stiffened up, and you could make out the shape of his head beside yours as he whispered, "Do you, uh, want some...?"
Yes. "What???"
"Popcorn? Do you want some popcorn...??"
Oh.
After deciding whether or not you'd accept his offer, silence ensued, only fueled by the movie playing on the television. You weren't gonna lie, you have no idea what the hell was going on in the story anymore. A solid minute passed when he spoke again, sounding just as unsure as the first time. He spoke, as if whatever thoughts he had on his mind earlier where left to simmer for long enough.
"Scheiße. Sorry, should I have not moved here...? You can still lean back if you want?"
"Oh, okay... I, um, I'll do that."
Your back was starting to ache a little from sitting up without support, so, feeling just as awkward as he was feeling, you leaned your back against the couch. Instantly, as soon as you did that, your peripheral vision was covered by his knees and part of his legs. The movie was pretty much pointless now, as you were currently wondering whether you should thank whatever gods existed or curse them for the fact that König did not have shorts on. Even without shorts and with specially fitted cargo pants, they could not conceal the insane bulk of his legs. Especially his thighs. Good lord. The two pillows you brought down before from the couch were essentially useless now because on each side of your head were his limbs that rivaled the best of My Pillow.
Think of something else, anything else, is what you tried to tell yourself.
That idea would go out the window as soon as you felt something in your hair. Carefully twisting a few strands, you felt some thick and calloused fingers gently try and feel the texture of your hair. But it lasted only for a brief second, as he immediately pulled his hands away and murmured a tiny bit louder from his whisper earlier, "Ah, sorry, I should've asked first. I should not have done that. I am sorry––"
"It's okay, I... don't mind." You shrugged it off, and much to your surprise and contentment, he continued.
The first few seconds had a bit more hesitancy, but as time ticked by, seconds turned to minutes, his boldness increased. It started with his large hands carefully feeling the texture of your hair, then it became slow brush strokes as his thick fingers ever-so-carefully untangled knots in your stands of hair. Until eventually it escalated, and he gathered the courage to do something so bold as to scratch your skull. He could easily take your entire face in one hand and crush your skull, but he didn't. There was no sign of any such roughness. Instead, his fingers and nails continued to comb through your hair, lightly scratching your scalp. At first when he did this, he paused, and waited for any objections or signals of a negative reaction, but after no such thing, he continued and seemed pleased.
It was after about five-minutes and heavy mental debating in your mind that you decided to suck it up and go for it. What's the worst that could happen? Honestly, you didn't even expect to make it this far.
So, after taking in a breath, you let your head fall to the side. It wasn't like those romantic scenes where you watch the character lean their head against a love interest's shoulder. Oh no, you were skipping that part, your ear landed right on his thigh. Which was probably due to the cushion you placed underneath you on the floor that elevated you a few extra inches, or else you might've missed. In that moment, right as the side of your head landed on its intended target, you felt him freeze. His fingers stopping, nails still on your scalp. A second passed, then two, then three, like time froze.
You were almost tempted to pry yourself off and apologize, but you really didn't want to. But you had to ask. "Is this alright...?"
"J-Ja... I mean, yes..."
Your eyes widened, and you were sure you had on some goofy kinda grin but at least you weren't facing him so he couldn't tell. Once you heard his response, your shoulders slumped, relieved of tension you didn't even know you were carrying.
Even with your head against his thigh that wasn't plush but was still definitely comfortable, you realize you were no better than a man as you resisted the urge to just reach out and squeeze his other thigh that had gotten closer without you even realizing it. You had to dig your nails into your knee to prevent yourself from acting on impulse.
It was definitely almost pure muscle from what you could tell with your head on one of them. Firm but somehow still soft. Thick thighs, in fact, do not save lives, because these thighs have ended who knows how many between them in finishing moves on the battlefield. Lucky bastards. Trying your luck agian, you place a shaky hand on his other thigh, but he didn't react. A good sign? Possibly?
Forget goth gfs and thick plush thighs, apparently giant anxious austrian soldiers with thighs as thick as tree trunks and strong enough to obliterate skulls like melons were the new fad.
Movie totally forgotten, your vision was entirely covered when König leaned down a bit from his spot on the couch and you tilted your head to look up and meet his gaze. The masked man stared at you, his blue eyes peering down at you through the two small slits cut into his mask for his eyes to see. His mask partially dangled, but not fully, so not revealing himself to you. When your gaze traveled away, abruptly his thighs got closer, squishing your cheeks and the sides of your face but not enough to hurt. Just a bit of pressure to get you to look up again.
Oh god.
There was literally no space between your face and his legs anymore, and your arms instinctively went to the outer side of his thighs to try and pry them apart a bit. You didn't try much, maybe because you enjoyed it or because you didn't exactly have strength strong enough to rival his, so all you could do was clutch the pockets of his cargo pants that were just above his knees, your nails digging in softly just to get a quick feel.
Once he saw he had your attention again after he applied a bit of pressure, he cocked his head to the side and continued to look down at you through half-lidded eyes darkened by the shadow of his hood. Then he spoke, but this time with no apprehension in his quiet tone.
"You do know I've ruined others that were in a similar position to what you are in right now?"
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ficretus · 5 months ago
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Blake ships problematic things
*teams RWBY and JNRO in Vacuo cafeteria*
Jaune: So what are you up to these days?
*scroll rings*
Weiss: I have to excuse myself, SDC related business. *walks away from table*
Yang: Well I am mostly killing Grimm VB. Although I did pick up some sweet lasso skills.
Ren: That's bit odd.
Yang: I got inspired by that girl from that crossover I'm not allowed to talk about anymore due to copyright reasons. I asked Ilia for a help since she is a whip user. I guess you can say she... showed me the ropes.
*audible groaning*
Yang: As for the others. Weiss is trying to keep the company afloat, Roobs is probably doing weapon maintenance.
Ruby: My baby is not gonna clean itself.
Yang: Nora and Ren are helping refugees settle.
Nora: I also picked up an electric guitar... not as exciting as I thought.
Yang: Oscar is trying to stay alive and Blakey is back to writing.
Ren: Blake is a writer?
Blake: Not professional one, I mostly write fanfics.
Ren: What kind of fanfics do you write?
Blake: Mostly romantic ones. I usually delve in more sensual aspects of love.
Ruby: She is writing filth.
Yang: Don't be like that, lot of them are sweet. I almost cried when I read her fanfic about us.
Ren: You write fanfics about people around you?
Blake: Yeah, I wrote at least dozen fics about all of you.
Nora: *stands up* Who do you ship me with?
Ren: Nora, you can't just jump Blake like that...
Blake: Ren.
Nora: *giggles*
Ren: *groans*
Ruby: Blake, I hope you are not making me cheat on my beloved Crescent Rose.
Blake: I ship you with Oscar.
Ruby: That's... acceptable.
Oscar: YES! I mean... very interesting.
Yang: Let me guess, Weiss Cream with Vomit Boy.
Blake: No, that one makes no sense.
Jaune: Fair enough, I was obnoxious to Weiss back in Beacon.
Blake: Oh, that's not an issue. I usually ship things like that, but both of you have better partners.
Jaune: Wait, then who do you ship me with? Emerald? That girl from crossover we are legally not allowed to talk about? Cinder?!
Blake: Oh, that last one might work. Need to write few fics about it.
Yang: No offense VB, but I personally don't care who you are shipped with. But what about Weiss?
Blake: Weiss with Whitley.
Everyone: Wait, what?
Blake: There is nothing more beautiful than relationship between siblings. It's both pure and dirty at the same time.
Ruby: I might puke.
Jaune: Wait, you ship me with Saphron?!
Blake: I ship you with all of your sisters.
Jaune: What the hell Blake?! Is that why you kept asking me details about my sisters?! So you can turn it into smut fic?!
Blake: Ugh, it's not a smut fic, it's a beautiful story about people growing closer before crossing the taboo line.
Jaune: *looks at his scroll* Latest story is titled "7 inches, 7 sisters," how the hell is this respectable?!
Blake: It was a conservative estimate.
Yang: VB don't make this about accuracy of your dick size, there are more pressing matters. Do you ship me with Ruby?!
Nora: Wait, is that why you ship me with Ren? You said we were like siblings back in Beacon.
Blake: I don't ship you with Ruby anymore, I wouldn't want you to cheat on me.
Yang: Anymore?!
Ruby: Yup, here it comes. *pukes*
Ren: Look Blake, you can't ship people with their siblings, it's wrong on so many levels.
Oscar: Oz says it was normal back in the day.
Jaune: Not now Oz.
Ren: Imagine if someone wrote about you having an explicit relationship with your parents. How would you feel?
Blake: Ew, that would just be weird. Those two things are not comparable. Sexual relationship between parent and child would be gross violation of trust. Relationship between siblings is pure.
Yang: IT'S THE SAME! But because you are the single child you don't see anything wrong with it.
Weiss: *walks towards the table* What did I miss?
*five traumatic minutes later*
Ruby: *puking*
Weiss: *crying*
Ren: So Blake, what did we learn today?
Blake: Titling the story "Little brother, big problem" is highly offensive?
Ren: Go on.
Blake: Brothers don't jump their sisters whenever they have their back turned to them?
Jaune: Or in any other circumstance.
Blake: Inbreeding is not funny and "we must ensure our babies have Schnee Semblance and blue eyes" is not good reason to do it?
Yang: Or any reason for that matter.
Blake: You are right, this whole... bro x sis thing was mistake on my part. I'll no longer write stories like that. Sorry Weiss, sorry Jaune.
Ren: See, there is nothing constructive conversation can't fix.
Blake: From now on, I am shipping Jaune with Cinder...
Jaune: Sigh, tiny step forward...
Blake: And Weiss with Winter! I can already imagine it, forbidden love and neither can let it go.
Yang: AW COME ON!
Ren: This might take a while...
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tinfoil-jones · 2 months ago
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Gravity Falls: For Your Own Good, Ch. 7
Summary: A few years after moving to Gravity Falls and having his lab built, Stanford Pines happens upon his estranged twin brother, Stanley. He mentally prepared himself to be suffocated by his brothers neediness all over again - what he wasn't prepared for was Stanley walking right past him like he didn't even notice him.
Rating: M for language, violence, and adult implications
Preface: Dialogue only, but some actions will be annotated for clarity. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here
WARNING: TW/ the topic of suicide.
First - Prev - Next
CH.7
“You really need to tidy this place up, Stanford. I know you live by yourself, but that’s no excuse to have papers and books scattered around like a dust devil came through.”
“It’s organized chaos, Fiddleford. I know where everything is.”
“And this pile of unwashed laundry?”
“I’ll get to it. Washing clothes is a waste of time, and I’m a busy man.”
“Uh huh, and this pile of unopened letters on your counter? What are all of these, Stanford?”
“Several of our colleagues started sending me letters en masse.”
“And you didn’t open or read them?”
“I received so many at once, it must have been an invitation for a convention. I wasn't interested in attending one at the time. I’ll get to them eventually.”
“These are dated over a year-.”
“Eventually.”
“You’re stubborn as a mule. At least wash your dishes. You’ve been categorizing your notes for the past hour - what are you trying to do?”
“I’m trying to find the definitive event.”
“For Stan?”
“Yes. You said that something extremely traumatic caused the memory loss; if I can identify what event exactly caused this, maybe I can fix this. The problem is, however…”
“Is that you’ve handled the situation in the most extreme way you could think of?”
“No. That isn’t it- and that isn’t true.”
“Mhmmm.”
“The problem is there’s too much.”
“Too much?”
“Trauma. He’s offhandedly mentioned terrible things- even when I met him in town, he had three stab wounds and acted like it was no big deal. And the more we ask, the more we prod, there’s more. The ones we heard were just the ones he was comfortable enough to mention, there has to be worse things he will not or can not speak of. And that thought… scares me, Fiddleford. I knew he wasn’t doing fantastic, but it wasn’t… It wasn’t supposed to be this bad.”
“That’s not your fault Stanford - didn’t you say he left home? It is sad he was too stubborn to ask you or anyone else in your family for help, but I suppose you two have that in common yeah?”
“...”
“I’ll admit that might have been tactless of me- Stanford? What’s- Hey! Hey now, it’s okay! It’s okay- I’m here for you.”
“...Five.”
“What’re you whimpering into your hands, now?”
“Five times. He wrote me a list of people who have tried to kill him in the past. There were thirty names.”
“That’s terrible, but not entirely surprising from what he’s-.”
“He listed himself five times.”
(...)
“How could you be so selfish?”
“I’m a selfish guy, I dunno what you want me to say.”
“Why do you only ever think of yourself?”
“Can’t afford not to. It’s dog eat dog out there, you know.”
“Will you take this seriously?”
“Will you tell me what you’re upset about this time? I can’t read minds, and I’ve known you for four days! Throw me a bone here, PhD.”
“You tried to- to take your own life?”
“Yeah. A couple times. Never succeeded, but that’s the story of my life.”
“Why would you do that? Why would you try something like-”
“Okay I’ve had enough of your judgemental bullshit. I’ve been playing along with your ‘missing twin’ narrative, the least you could do is not fucking go there. I’m a homeless criminal on the run all the time. You tell me why you think I’d want to die sometimes.
Use that big fucking brain of yours for two seconds and think statistics - homeless people kill themselves more than ‘regular’ people, so do prisoners and convicts. You’re both? Oooh boy you’re in for a time. You have to fight to survive all of the time, and sometimes… sometimes you just get so tired, you want to stop fighting you… you just want a break from it all. You want it to just end.”
“Stanley…”
“...”
“...Talk to me. Please. I’m not trying to judge you, I just want to understand.”
"...Let's say I am this mystery twin-"
"You are."
"I'm being hypothetical here, listen. Let's say I am this mystery twin of yours. Specs was saying he didn't even know you had a twin."
"How did-."
"You pressed the mute button, not deafen; I could still hear you. Anyways, your best friend didn't know you had a twin. So to your own best friend you never mentioned 'me' over what, at least 4 years or however long it took you to get a degree? Or in the years that followed? Not even once?
If I'm your twin, I can't have been that important for you to do all of this. I screwed something up, and you don't want me in your life."
"..."
"I don’t know what you're trying to prove here- if you’re going through some guilt or pity or whatever. I'm just some drifter! I don’t have anything, and I don’t have anyone. You shouldn't be wasting your time like this. I'm not worth any of the time or effort you’ve put into this. Even if I was who you think I am. Because that guy? That guy fucked up so badly you didn't think about him for ten years. And I'm just as big of a fuck up."
"Is that... is that what you think about yourself?"
"Stanford, that's all that I know about myself."
*Ford abruptly opens the barred door and walks through the forcefield into the cell*
"Woah woah, I'm not looking for a fight-."
*Ford hugs him, Stan just stands there*
"I wish you called, reached out to me, I-. I wish I reached out."
“...He probably wishes he reached out, too.”
To be continued...
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chrystal-ink · 21 days ago
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Shadvent calendar Day 7
Shadow x GN Reader
Christmas cards
Content warning: this one is a little spicier than what I usually do
Merry Christmas from Shadow and Y/N
You wrote on the last card adding it to the now finished stack.
"Done!" You announced
"I still don't know why you insist on sending cards, it's not like we don't see these people on a daily basis." Shadow called from the couch, he had been entranced in a book but your announcement had distracted him, he turned to face you.
"because it's a nice gesture, and it gives us an excuse to take a cute picture, speaking of witch." You grinned pulling out two Santa hats with red and green scarfs.
"No"
"I didn't even ask anything yet!"
"Still no"
"Oh come on, it'll match your quills."
"No"
"I'm really cute."
"you think that'll make me say yes?"
"Maybe."
"Nice try, but no"
This was going to be a harder sell than you thought, it was time to take out the big guns. You took a deep breath preparing yourself for what you were about to do, it would take skill and precision to pull off but if you could do it then the rewards would be plentiful.
You sauntered over to shadow who had since continued his reading. Once behind him you loosely wrapped your arms around his chest pressing your cheek against his snuggling into it.
"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."
"I don't know what you're talking about"
You slowly moved your hands up to his shoulders making sure to leave a featherlight touch across him as you dragged your hands across his chest, blowing a soft breeze into his neck you could sense his growing pleasure at your actions.
"You're distracting me from my book."
"Am I now?"
"Yes, you are"
"Well that's too bad."
You make your way to the top of his head and whispered in his ear.
"it looked like a real page turner." you nibbled on his ear feeling the heat radiating off of his cheeks.
The pieces were in place you had to act quickly now.
Dropping the Santa hat on his head you leaned down took out your phone taking a quick selfie before running to the bedroom.
"Hey!" Shadow called out as you fled the scene.
You giggled like a maniac as you locked the door. You looked at your phone admiring the picture. It was a good thing Shadow was so photogenic, otherwise you're efforts would be wasted.
Reaching the door and finding it locked Shadow called from the outside.
"Delete it, now."
"Never! you look too cute!"
It's true his surprised expression carried more than just disappointment, he actually looked more impressed that you had managed to pull one over on him.
Without any warning Shadow kicked in the door breaking the cheap lock with one small motion. You probably would have been afraid yet slightly aroused were you not laughing your ass off.
Still wearing the hat and scarf you put on him with the addition of a devious smile he made his way over to you. Kneeling down and grabbing you by the chin he forced you to look at him. Stopping your laughter in the process.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed, Nice try Y/N. But you can't have your cake and eat it too so there's one thing I need you to do for me."
He brought his face to yours so your lips were nearly touching. You could feel the heat of his breath against your lips. He wrapped his other arm around your waist a shine sparkled in his eyes that you knew could only mean one thing.
A small gasp escaped your lips as a bright red blush spread across your face making you match your hat perfectly.
"Smile"
Shadow took your phone flashing one of his rare smiles and took another picture of the two of you. This time you were the one caught off guard.
"WOW! REALLY?" you laughed
"Hey, don't dish it if you can't take it" he said joining you in laughter.
The two of you kissed and looked at the pictures together enjoying the look of surprise on the others face.
That year your Christmas cards came with both pictures, however the two of you kept the story behind both of them a secret. Over time it became the tradition that the picture you used for the Christmas cards was always taken when the other least suspected it.
Each year you two would get more and more creative with how you did it, and each year you both fell for the trap laughing together afterwards and complimenting each other's whit.
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ywpd-translations · 3 months ago
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Ride 792: Witness
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Pag 1
1: I told you before, too
2: I believed I'd get to see Mountain King's race!!
You're kidding!
It's a cheering message written with chalk on the road!!
You wrote this in a hurry?
3: Anytime now, they'll come here soon!
We can see Manami-kun running from the first day!
Amazing, a serious battle between those two...
4: “History” needs “someone who sees it”
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Pag 2
1: “A witness of the history”!!
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Pag 3
1: They passed the 2km left point and it seems that now the mountain stage is narrowed down to them two
It narrowed down!
They're coming!
I'm so excited!
2: It's quite a long wait
3: I was looking forward to it during last year's second day's mountain stage
4: And before that, during winter, I purposely organized a race between you two, but in the end it didn't count because of the snow
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Pag 4
1: Right now Hakone Academy's Manami is ahead
Sohoku's Onoda is following
Manami
2: Four-eyes
3: You bet your whole soul for this climbing race
4: You finally did it
Congratulations
5: You really chose this mountain on the first day ad your fight's place, huh?
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Pag 5
1: And I, Toudou Jinpachi, Mountain's God, will make sure to see it with my own eyes!!
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Pag 6
1: After this curve, the wind's direction will change!!
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Pag 7
1: The trees are becoming lower!!
5: Ah-
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Pag 8
3: The wind's direction will chamge!?
After this!?
4: You noticed
But it's already
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Pag 9
1: too late!!
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Pag 10
1: Manami-kun did a full acceleration in curve!?
2: Sooooo
3: reeeee!!
4: Spread....
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Pag 11
1: your wings to the maximum!!
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Pag 12
1: Hakogaku's Manami did a super acceleration!!
The distance between him and Mountain King-
What a strange acceleration!!
What was that just now?
Did he ride the wind?
2: -is spreading!!
3: I saw a pair of huge wings on his back!
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Pag 13
2: Me too
3: 1700m left!!
Mountain King noticed the timing of Manami's acceleration, but was too late and is being left behind
Mountain King, do your best!!
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Pag 14
1: Amazing, Manami-kun
He read the right place to attack...!!
2: His back is becoming smaller
3: He got stronger since last year
4: And even since that time he came on the Minegayama!!
5: For an instant, when Manami-kun accelerated, I saw “wings”....
6: and they looked three times bigger!!
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Pag 15
4: You're amazing
5: Manami-kun!!
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Pag 16
2: Huh
Mountain King was.... smiling... !?
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Pag 17
1: Hum hum hum ♪
I've prepared too
Hum hum hum ♪
2: The anime I highly recommend, “Love Hime”... this year started its third season!!
Hum hum huum ♪
3: Yes ♪
“Love Him third season” opening song
4: Mitarashi in the afternoon ♪ It's a common story ♪ The princess has kinako* and brown sugar syrup ♪
“Morning princess scramble”
*(NdT.: roasted soybean flour)
5: What's going on with Mountain King...
He's saying something... he's speaking to himself!?
He's humming a song!?
6: Somehow his pressure suddenly grew!!
7: We met a long time ago ♪ you extended your knees and looked up ♪
I listened carefully to it and watched the PV
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Pag 18
1: Definitely rise!! Love Hime ♪
'Cause you're the princess ♪
And I memorized both the lyrics and the melody!!
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Pag 19
1: Look at Mountain King... what's with that cadence...
2: While singing...
3: he accelerated and went!!
4: I'm breathing hard... my legs hurt... but
5: Manami-kun...!!
6: During the training camp on our first year
I couldn't catch up to you
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Pag 20
1: I always feel like I'm chasing you like this
2: Your cool white bike
Your figure from behind, running so happy and confidently
3: I've always been fascinated by your attitude
4: So.... wa... it
I still want to catch up to you
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Pag 21
1: Wait, Manami-kun!!
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hooked-on-elvis · 1 month ago
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Those are absolutely two of my favorite pictures of Elvis. Of course I like the details and all the info I can get on the pictures. One thing I have to say is that in that moment Elvis was in his 7th season at the International Hotel in Las Vegas (August 4th - September 4th 1972), and it was the first time he brought Linda Thompson to accompany him during the concerts (prior to that she had only accompanied Elvis during rehearsals in July). You can imagine how jealous I am of her because, well, just look at Elvis! 🫠🥲 Anyway, here's a little story about the fans with Elvis in those pictures:
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Las Vegas, NV. Monday, August 28, 1972. Elvis with two Italian fans. The woman is Nicla Crippa and the man was the President of the Italian fan club, his name is Livio Monari. Livio Monari started the Italian FC in 1962. Together with Nicla Crippa, a personal friend and member of his Fan Club, they met Elvis just after the Midnight show on 26th August 1972. Photos taken that day didn't come out, so they asked to see Elvis again... to have new ones taken on the 28th August (2nd meeting) which are the ones shown above. They had just attended the Dinner & Midnight shows on the 28th Aug: when a waiter approached them - that Elvis was waiting for them.
Nicla said the following about the meeting:
1972 was a special year for me, I picked up all my saving of a year and together with Livio Monari at that time president of the E.P.F.C. of Italy, I flew to Las Vegas in August to see Elvis performing. When we arrived we were so excited that we started immediately to ask anybody of Elvis entourage if we could meet Elvis, crook Col. Parker was at a gambling table with his cigar and he said very rude "NO, you cannot met Elvis", then Joe Esposito who said No too, and when I told him "Hey Joe you are Italian like us" he answered "I'm not Italian, I was born in Chicago" very rude too... until I saw the name of Emilio Muscelli on an office door, I knocked and entered and I said with all my 18 years old enthusiasm (in fact I was not yet 18, I would have turned 18 on December 30) "Hi Emilio, we are Italians and we are here to see Elvis concerts and meet him"... well he took it good to his heart and from that point on he treated me like his daughter - he was 50 years old. We saw 14 concerts in 7 days and we met Elvis TWICE, the first time on August 26 but the pictures Joe Esposito took with Livio's camera did not come out as Livio due the emotion charged an already used film in the camera... the second time on August 28, this time we called a professional photographer to take the 2 pictures to be sure. When I saw Elvis the first time coming out of his dressing room I ran towards him and I almost jumped on him, I hugged and kissed him and he returned the hugs and kisses to me and he asked me "Hey baby how old are you" I answered "18" and he said "And you came all the way from Italy just to see me?" "Yes Elvis" and he "Oh baby..." and he hugged me again very tight. We stayed with him for 15 minutes, we gave him a trophy we brought from Italy unfortunately we have no picture of Elvis with our trophy but I saw it at Graceland Trophy Room in 1987. He wrote a dedication to me, and one to Livio, on 2 LPs we brought with us, he gave us a yellow scarf each, but especially I held his right hand in my hands for a long time, and he did not withdraw it, on the contrary he caressed my hands. He was such a gentle, sweet and tender person, he made us feel at ease and he slowed down speaking English as at that time I could not speak English well. We asked "when will you come to Europe?" he said looking at Joe "I definitely wanna go, after a project I have for January 1973 (Aloha from Hawaii) I'll ask Parker to organize a tour to Europe". The night after Emilio gave us seats in the first row, Elvis saw me from stage and he stooped down and he put a red scarf around my neck... and on August 28 we met him again same place backstage and he said "Hey you are still here, good", he had such a sense of humour. Those 2 meetings with Elvis still are the best moments of my life!
Credits: elvis-collectors.com
#first if all... elvis slowing down his talk so the italian fans could understand him better? that's so fucking thoughtful and adorable!#i wonder how many huge stars as himself - even common american citizens - would do something like that...#a very welcoming and warm way to treat foreigners#secondly... i have to say i do not like how colonel parker and even joe esposito were not that friendly towards those two elvis fans...#i know they couldn't possibly allow every and each fan to meet elvis but why be so cold - specially knowing how elvis wouldn't like that?#we all know how parker was not often friendly but joe is one of the memphis mafia guys i don't have much sympathy for#joe just gives me that 'i'm a big shot' energy... like 'i'm better than you' vibes just bc he was elvis' close friend and road manager#i may be wrong about him... didn't know the guy obviously... but little i've read of other MM guys talking about joe some said exactly that#on the other hand lisa marie said joe was always nice to her - a little strict and not afraid to say no to her as a child but a good person#but lisa was elvis' daughter so of course joe would be the nicest to her#don't know... it doesn't make joe a bad person at all... i just don't understand how someone close to elvis could be smug#does anyone else shares the same views on joe esposito or know something that shows i'm wrong?#i want to be wrong at this assumption but i do not like joe very much so far... i'm still trying to figure him out#elvis presley#elvis history#elvis fans#elvis fandom#elvis concerts#las vegas#nevada#august 1972#elvis#70s elvis#1972#elvis the king
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protagaster · 3 months ago
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Hello, all! My hyper-fixation and maladaptive daydreaming scenarios are currently centering around the fantastic EPIC! the Musical, created by the amazing Jorge Rivera-Herrans!
However, because I have a female main character bias, I tend to imagine the songs as if they were sung by my current best girl: Penelope.
Thankfully, two artists went ahead and drew this into reality: @vioofc and @too-much-flynnolium. Inspired by their works of perfection, I have gone and wrote the first of many vignettes based around this Warrior Penelope AU!
There is also a version on Ao3, if you prefer that platform over Tumblr!
EDIT (10/7):
Hello all! I'm in the process of heavily editing this AU in order to have it:
A) Make more sense
B) Fit the timeline better
You'll notice some changes here and there in the story! Some of the content was cut, but don't worry! I'm gonna add it into a fic of its own in the future, so look out for that! ;)
(Credit to @w3ndytheraccoon for an excellent idea of theirs I included in this AU! You'll see it towards the end!)
A King with no Queen (EPIC! Swap AU)
Odysseus is trying to cope with many things. 
His failure forced his beloved Penelope to fight the Trojan war in his stead, leaving behind all she ever knew and what she thought herself to be. In turn, the King was left to run his kingdom and raise their daughter all by himself. 
This is how things have been for the past 12 years. And now, to make things even harder, the first of his suitors have made themselves at home in his palace…
~
Odysseus is a rare kind of man. 
In fact, it was not uncommon for the King of Ithaca to be compared to a single drachma coin. There seemed to be two completely opposing sides driving him:
On one end, Odysseus was the alluring, cunning, quick-witted man that achieved many impressive feats throughout his life. 
He was deemed ready and crowned King of Ithaca at the young age of 13, despite his father being very much alive. He passed her challenge and was gifted the guidance of the Goddess of Wisdom herself, something he very much boasted to all who would listen.
He even fell in love with a Princess of Sparta!
And, despite the warnings of those closest to him, she too fell in love and accepted his hand, regardless of how small and lacking his humble Ithaca was compared to the grandiose and luxurious Spartan kingdom. 
Yes, despite being relatively smaller and having considerably less strength when compared to his fellow Greek man, Odysseus was a warrior with an arguably more valuable and sought after prowess: a warrior of the mind. 
So why, even with these innate talents and gifts of intellect, was it not enough to keep him from harm during that first year of war? 
Why was it not enough to keep her, the only person whose life he desired more than his own, to have to pay for his hubris? 
That was where the other side of Odysseus’ drachma came into view, a side of despair. A side of longing. A side that waited… 
~
“Your Majesty…”
Eurylochus waited for a moment, staring at the king from the double-doors of his bedchamber balcony. 
… 
Nothing. 
“Odysseus…” Eurylochus tried again, if not for a response then hoping for at least some form of acknowledgment.
… 
Still nothing. 
Eurylochus was unsure of what to do. 
It was far too early for his liking; the sun was still in the oceans’ embrace, the sky a dark indigo with only a few streams of orange light penetrating its serenity. 
The day was only just beginning. Any other morning Eurylochus would most likely still be asleep, albeit prepared to wake once the early light illuminated his dark and lonely bedroom. 
However, this day was not like any other. 
And so, with great reluctance for more than one reason, Eurylochus woke early to fetch his king. One of his best friends. His brother. 
And this made him nervous. 
Not to wake the other, mind, as Odysseus always woke within the first instances of Helios’ light. 
No, Eurylochus was nervous because of what the day represented. 
And so, in an act that could have been either futile avoidance, petty rebellion, or a sad mix of both, Eurylochus allowed his brother to have this one moment of disassociation. 
Meanwhile, on the other end of the balcony, Odysseus continued to sit peacefully in his kline. He had chosen not to respond to the call of his name, despite knowing the urgency behind Eurylochus’ visit. 
Instead, Odysseus chose to stay true to his personal morning ritual: sitting in silence with morning’s first light.
He had honored this custom for more than a decade; he did not want today to be the one time he disturbed his routine, nor did he want to leave the comfort the balcony’s kline brought him. 
Every morning he sat in silence, waiting. Every morning he sat in his designated seat, the left side of the kline, soothed by what it represented. 
After all, it was Penelope’s very first contribution when brought to her new home. 
Odysseus remembered when the young couple had picked out the kline upon their first week of engagement, with Penelope first to declare that the right side belonged to her. Odysseus remembered laughing, saying that it made sense "considering she is always right". 
The kline was placed on the left side, on the farthest corner of their bedroom balcony. In this place the loveseat had a perfect view, with Ithaca’s beaches on one side and the villages of the common folk on the other. Penelope always loved this spot, for if she wanted she could see the sky kiss the ocean and embrace the beaches from above, or the hustle and bustle of her people, satisfied and content with their lives, down below. 
At first Odysseus did not understand why Penelope would subject herself to wake so early in the morning simply to gaze upon the rising sun. Now, only after she had been forcefully sent away, did he understand how something as simple as the day’s first light could bring an instance of happiness to an otherwise age of despair. 
And thus led to his daily ritual, one he has promised never interrupted no matter what.  
Every sunrise for the past 12 years, starting from the moment he woke, the King of Ithaca would spend a few minutes staring at the various views outside his bedroom balcony; it was never too long, but the minutes always lingered with a heavy sense of despair and longing.
...
How long has it been, Odysseus couldn’t help but wonder, since he last saw his wife lounging in their kline. When was the last time she beckoned him to join her with a wave of her delicate hand, appreciating the open air whilst the kingdom was in a state of silent calm and peace. 
Too long, Odysseus concluded to himself. 
“Ody…” 
Odysseus flinched, knowing the other only called him by that name when all other options failed. 
Finally turning to acknowledge his visitor, Odysseus saw Eurylochus leaning against the door frame. His best friend, his brother, was watching him with a sad look in his eyes. 
“It’s been 3 years,” Eurylochus' voice was sad, betraying the attempt of stoicism in his eyes. “They aren’t coming back-”
“You don’t know that.” Odysseus yelled out sternly. Unfortunately, he immediately regretted it when he saw Eurylochus let out a heavy sigh with his shoulders slumping in unison.  
“Eury… I-I’m sorry-” 
“It’s okay, Ody,” Eurylochus said with a smile that was not at all genuine. “I know.” 
Odysseus wanted to kick himself. After all, he and Eurylochus were stuck in the same horrible situation. 
Both men waited, longing for someone that was no longer by their side. Both men woke alone inside their isolated, dark, empty bedchambers, at one point naively unaware of how large a bed could be until that fateful day 12 years ago. 
Both men waited, longing for the return of their wives: Queen Penelope of Ithaca and her best friend and second in command, Princess Ctimene.  
It had been 13 years since the Trojan war officially began, a petty debate between the Gods leading to Helen’s abduction. Menelaus and Agamemnon drafted Helen’s suitors to help in her rescue, using Odysseus’ proposed oath to defend her husband against those who would dare to challenge him. 
Odysseus had tried to avoid this draft through various means, but each attempt ended unsuccessfully. He was required to fight in this war, forced to take with him only the best of his Ithacan warriors. He remembered his tearful goodbyes to Penelope and Telemachas, filled to the brim with sorrow at having to leave his beautiful wife and newly-born daughter. 
From then on, since he first set foot on Trojan soil and every subsequent battle thereafter, Odysseus would pray to the Gods to find a way to end his term in the war. Anything to return back to Ithaca as quickly as possible. 
The Gods were quick to grant his wish. 
That first year of war no one could have expected things to turn out as they did. 
The men had secretly infiltrated the Palace of Troy using various spies, successfully sneaking Helen out and tucking her aboard the first ship back to Greece. Unfortunately, the Trojans were quick to discover her disappearance. 
The Trojans took their revenge the next night. The Greek army, beyond ecstatic that their primary goal had been achieved, went to sleep that night with their bellies filled with meat and cups poured with more wine than water. 
None of them noticed the dead quiet of the nature surrounding them. 
The Trojans, with their own spies implanted in the Greek army, had found their hidden camps. Before the men of Greece realized it, they were too late. They were struck without mercy, the etiquettes of war no longer a priority.  
The Greeks, despite their night of festivities, put up one hell of a fight. The battle took hours, lasting from the darkness of night up until the early crack of dawn. 
The Trojans quickly retreated once early light hit. However, the damage was done.
In the struggle Menelaus and his closest brothers-in-arms were taken prisoner, held as a form of ransom. Odysseus was the only one in Menelaus' circle to avoid this capture, for Eurylochus and the rest of his Ithacan crew refused to allow the Trojans the glory of kidnapping their king whilst under their watch.
Though there were few deaths, the Greek men were maimed and damaged beyond repair. 
The lucky ones had escaped the confrontation with more scars and wounds littering their bodies, though they were the ones likely to return to combat after a short time of recovery. The unlucky ones, the majority of the men, had been struck deep in the flesh. Their injuries sustained left no meager scars or wounds, but permanent physical hindrances to their limbs and muscles. 
Odysseus was speared in his left shoulder. Though the gash had closed and relatively faded 12 years later, he could no longer maneuver his arm as easily as before. Without his weekly massages and leather brace, which he wore only when surrounded by those he trusted, he couldn’t even wield his bow as effortlessly as he once did. 
Eurylochus was sliced in his left eye, leaving him permanently blind from that view. He had also been struck in his leg, though it was not as severe as his previous injury and had already come to a full recovery.
Regardless, the state of the current Greek army was too grave to ignore. 
A few handfuls of the men, those deemed fit and well enough to continue combat, were left behind to hold down the front lines. The rest, consisting of practically their entire army, were sent back home to recover and sustain what little dignity they still had. 
Though he had been permanently damaged, Odysseus couldn’t help but see a small silver lining. Even if it wasn’t how he expected, the Gods had granted his wish. Now, he was able to stay by Penelope’s side and raise their daughter together. 
If only he had known then what he knew now. 
Even though the men could no longer partake in battle, Greece still needed an army. And of course, for the sake of their own petty interests, this is when the Gods intervened. 
Almost immediately after he had returned home, the God of War himself stood before them with his signature spear in hand. However, he was not there to speak with the King. 
He was there to make a demand of the Queen. 
Ares ordered his student, Penelope, and her unofficial sisters-in-arms, women trained in combat with the blessings of the God of War and Goddess of the Hunt, to fight in the war against Troy on his behalf. All of this was to “make up” with Hera, after first siding with the Trojans on Aphrodite’s request. 
Odysseus remembered how he pleaded, begging to return to the battlefield in his wife’s place. Pride and flesh be damned! 
Odysseus knew what Penelope’s life would look like in Troy, having experienced it himself for the past year. Even if she had sufficient knowledge in the art of combat, trained by her life as a Spartan and student of Ares, she was still a traditional woman who enjoyed traditional womanly activities. Fighting and killing in the name of the Gods as a woman had never been heard of before that point! 
And then there was Telemachas, their beautiful baby girl who was only a single year old. What would her life look like, growing up without her mother to guide her through the trials of womanhood? 
Unfortunately no amount of begging and pleading, nor the King’s friendship with Athena, could spare his wife of her mentor’s decree; neither could it spare the many other women trained in the art of defense. 
Within the next two month a portion of Ithaca’s women, those of age and combat experience, boarded the ships to war. 
The next 12 years consisted of a mixed flurry of emotions. 
Of those 12 years it took 9 before the war came to an end. Helen, once nothing more than a damsel in distress, proved her strength to everyone with her contribution to the war. After rescuing Menelaus and the other captive men, the royalty of Troy were killed off to the last drop of blood. Rumors circulated within the Greek world that Penelope had a great hand to play in their victory, but the specificities were never clarified. 
Eurylochus, along with the people of Ithaca, recalled the look of pure joy in their King’s eyes when the messenger gave them the news. Many thought their King’s happiness was due to his wife’s battle prowess being praised by all who could speak, but those closest to Odysseus knew the truth.
Odysseus was ecstatic that his wife was finally coming home. 
Penelope would once again be inside his arms! Her warmth, her voice, her scent, they all would no longer be reduced to a distant memory. The people of Ithaca would once again have their Queen, and Telemachas could finally meet and learn from the mother she had heard so many wonderful stories about. 
That’s how things should have been by now. And yet, 3 years after the war’s end, the wives and daughters of Ithaca had still not returned. 
Many held out hope in the beginning, thinking that the womens’ delay was only a momentary setback. They believed it would not be much longer, that the women would return any day now. 
However, days turned into months. And those months quickly became years. 
With their hope dying alongside their wives and now presumed to now be widowers, the husbands and fathers of Ithaca reacted in very different ways. Many remarried, desperate to once again have their homes filled with the comfort of a wife and care of a mother. The rest could not bear the thought of remarriage, taking up vows of celibacy in honor of their fallen wives and praying to the Gods that their love alone would be good enough for their children. 
The one thing they all had in common: they had lost hope of their wives ever returning to Ithaca. 
This was where Odysseus differed from them all. 
His people, Eurylochus, and now even Polites had tried telling him how likely it was that Penelope perished at sea. They reminded him that as the King of Ithaca it was his duty to find a new Queen. The kingdom needed a female role model alongside the male, to help him rule and lead their kingdom to prosperity. This was the standard procedure for royalty in Greece.
But Odysseus was never one to follow the standard procedure. 
“Some of our… visitors… are making themselves at home in the throne room.” Eurylochus finally broke the silence once again, reminding Odysseus of the very thing he was trying to disassociate from. “They’re asking when you’ll go to see them.” 
Odysseus couldn’t mask his frustration. 
3 years. That’s all those selfish dogs had given him to “mourn” for the love of his life, for the mother Telemachas never had the chance to know. 
And now that the 3 years were up, they expected him to move on just like that. 
“Already?” Odysseus commented as he rose from his left seat, almost feeling impressed with the desperation of his so-called guests. “Helios hasn’t even finished placing the sun in its morning spot.”
“C’mon, you and I know human nature better than anyone.” Eurylochus scoffed, having to turn his head to get a proper view of the palace yards beginning to pack with various women and their guards. “Who would ever resist the chance to obtain more power?” 
Odysseus let out a scoff of his own as he walked back inside his bedchamber, practically identical to Eurylochus’. Though his expression was quick to change into one of concern. 
“What of Telemachas!? Is she-” 
“She’s still sleeping. I went to check on her before coming to get you.” Eurylochus answered calmly to Odysseus’ growing anxiety. “I knew you’d ask, so I figured I’d get it out of the way.”
Odysseus let out a sigh of relief. Eurylochus was one of the very few people he trusted with the keys to his palace, which meant he was one of the only few with the ability to open the doors of the royal bedchambers. 
If Telemachas was still asleep, then that meant she would be spared of the wrath and judgments of the “guests” below. For now. 
He would have to check in on her later, for both their sakes. 
Meanwhile, for the sake of maintaining peace, Odysseus had a duty to greet his guests and show them hospitality. Even if he didn't want to. 
And he really, really didn't want to. 
~
Odysseus, now wearing his royal chiton and elegant gold crown, walked down the halls of his palace with his head held high. Eurylochus walked by his side, hand strategically placed near the handle of his broadsword, ready to protect his King from strangers with ill intent. 
It did not take long to make their way to the palace throne room. Given how small Ithaca was as a kingdom, it made sense for the royal palace to look smaller in comparison to neighboring palaces. 
However, even with the relatively small structure, both men shouldn’t have been able to hear commotion within the throne room from 4 halls ahead. This was an immediate indication to Odysseus of how many women were already vying for his kingdom. 
Once the two men stood close enough to the throne room’s closed doors they were able to hear the muffled voices from before much more clearly. 
“What’s the hold up!?”
“We’ve been waiting for hours!” 
“Why can’t we find the King ourselves?!” 
They all sounded feminine. And very annoyed. 
“Ladies, please!” A man's voice, Polites’, called out from the other side of the doors. “The King will arrive in just a moment! So, in the meantime, why don’t we all conduct ourselves in a polite, orderly fashion?” 
A chorus of exasperated groans; if there were any words spoken then they were undecipherable due to the sheer loudness of the crowd. 
Odysseus saw Eurylochus toss him a look, one that had “I told you so” written all over it. 
Nevertheless Odysseus let out a deep breath, praying to the Gods above that he looked much more confident than he felt. With a nod to the other, Eurylochus made his way to the double doors of the throne room. 
He threw the doors open, attracting the attention of every guest within the throne room. Welcome or otherwise.
Eurylochus’ booming voice could be heard from every corner of the large room:
“Presenting His Majesty, Odysseus, King of Ithaca!” 
Everyone within the throne room, friend, suitor, or guard, either kneeled or bowed at the sight of the luminous King of Ithaca. 
Odysseus paid them no mind. He opted to stare straight ahead, looking at nothing in particular. He sat on the left throne, despite royal customs declaring he sit on the right. The right seat belonged to Penelope and Penelope only. 
He would make sure every suitor in his palace remembered this. 
Meanwhile on the opposite side of the room, while Odysseus prepared to address the crowd, Polites was slowly inching his way to Eurylochus’ side. Eurylochus did not notice the younger approaching him, only realizing when Polites had placed a hand on his shoulder. 
Polites gestured to the third member of their friend group, mouthing a silent “Is he okay?”. 
Eurylochus blanked, unsure of how he should answer, before opting to shrug his shoulders; Not necessarily disagreeing but not entirely agreeing either. 
Polites understood. Odysseus was somehow both managing and not. 
Polites couldn’t help but grow somber. He could sympathize, but never fully understand. He will never fully understand the pain his best friends shared when it came to the misfortune caused to them by the Trojan war. 
Polites was one of the lucky few spared of permanent injury on that fateful battle 13 years ago. Any wounds and scars he attained had long since faded, their only proof of existence reduced to mere memory. Meanwhile, Odysseus and Eurylochus had sustained injuries that would affect them for the rest of their lives. 
Odysseus and Eurylochus were also victims to the whims of the Gods, for the divine ordered their wives to war in their stead. How must it feel, to know the love of your life was forced to act as your replacement simply because you allowed yourself to be moved by premature pride? 
Even though it was painful to Eurylochus, Polities knew it was pure agony to Odysseus. He had lost both his younger sister and wife due to a rash victory party… 
Odysseus suddenly shot his best friends a look, silently indicating to them that he was ready for his speech. 
Polites and Euylochus stood straight and gave him their undivided attention. They were ready to lend him their support, regardless of the difficult decision he made. 
“Greetings, my friends.”  
Odysseus took mental note of the amount of women littering his throne room. 32 in total, so far.
“I am delighted to see so many new, cordial faces in our humble kingdom on this day,” 
The suitors weren’t stupid. They all knew Odysseus did not mean a word of what he was saying. He was just spouting flowery nonsense for the sake of appearances. 
However, it mattered not what he felt. All that mattered was his submission to the expectations of Greek royalty.  
That included his remarriage. 
“Now, let’s not beat around the bush.” Odysseus gave everyone an easy, nonchalant smile. “You all want to know who I will take as my new Queen.” 
That threw everyone for a loop. 
Those who knew Odysseus, his guards, servants, and slaves, were surprised at how readily he addressed the issue he tried so desperately to avoid. 
The suitors, along with their guards, were also shocked that he was willing to address the issue without hesitation. Were the rumors about him and his loyalty to his wife all false? 
Polites and Eurylochus, who had known Odysseus for practically their entire lives, couldn’t help but feel a semblance of worry with his words. Odysseus was not one to just give up so easily, especially in matters concerning his heart. 
Just what was he planning? 
Odysseus, for his part, did not betray a single one of his thoughts with that easy smile of his. He stood still, waiting for the commotion to cease, before once again speaking to the crowd. 
Polites and Eurylochus, along with one mysterious suitor, were the only ones to notice the mischievous glint in the King’s eyes. 
“However, in respect of honoring the deceased, I regret to inform you all that I can no longer discuss the matter anytime soon.” 
“WHAT!?” 
A chorus of angry voices were quick to make themselves known at the end of his declaration. Two or four voices quickly became 31, each one demanding to know why he couldn’t choose a new wife right then and there. 
Again only one of them was silent, leaning against the side of the wall with her arms crossed. She watched the King with an intense stare. 
Odysseus raised a single hand, prompting the angry voices to silence themselves. 
“As I was saying…” The King’s smile dropped, replaced with an expression of stoicism. “I plan to honor and respect my wife in death as I did in life. And so, in her memory, I will carve a wooden statue in the form of the late Queen. This will be done carefully and with precision, achieved by my hands and my hands only.” 
Another chorus of annoyed and angered groans sounded from the women. They all knew it was bound to take a long time before the statue was even close to completed. 
Eurylochus and Polities were a mixed bag of reactions, one impressed with the cunning of his friend and the other filled to the brim with worry. They both knew Odysseus was talented in the art of carving; As a symbol of his long-standing love to Penelope, he had made her a bridal bed from the inside of a long-lasting tree. However, that was before his injury to his arm. How long would it take, to carve out a wooden statue that could rightfully honor the beauty and grace of Penelope of Ithaca, all with a bad shoulder, a kingdom to run, and a child to raise? 
It was the perfect plan. 
Odysseus had been scheming ever since he heard talk of his “inevitable” remarriage. The king knew he had to delay choosing a new wife, if not for his fidelity and loyalty to Penelope then for the sake of his daughter. 
Who knows what would happen to her if he remarries, for what Queen would allow the daughter of her predecessor to take the throne? 
No, he needed to be smart and tactical about this. He needed to use the gifts of quick-thinking and feeling calm under pressure bestowed to him by Athena. Telemachas was already 13, well on her way to 14. All he had to do was keep his suitors at bay for a few more years, until the Princess was deemed ready to be Queen. Then Telemachas would be allowed to ascend to the throne without any complaints from his adversaries. 
This statue was the perfect excuse. He will spend as much time as he needed carving it, forever if he had to. 
He could do this. He will find a way. For himself. For Telemachas. For Penelope. 
~
Odysseus was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t notice how one of his suitors was looking at him. She stared at him quietly, intensely, glaring at him from the moment he walked into the throne room. 
She couldn’t look away from his body. His tanned, toned, delicious body. She noticed the way Odysseus’ chiton stuck to his waist, showing off his firm, fit figure. 
When he lifted his hand to silence the crowd, the fabric of his clothing was forced to rise up; his naked body, only briefly displayed, was shown to anyone standing at a certain angle. She was the one lucky enough to stand at this angle. 
She could see his torso from where she stood. She saw his v-line fade into his abdomen, some single stray beads of sweat drip down in that path. She saw a set of prominent abs, mild but still very much there, that shuddered with each breath he took. And finally, before he lowered his arm and his torso was covered once more, she was able to see his pectorals in full view. They were flat, but still round; oh, what must it feel like to take a bite of that flesh, to watch as the man underneath was fully marked and claimed?
There was no doubt about it. He was beautiful. He was perfect. 
He was hers. 
Based on what he just declared, accompanied by rumors circulating the palace, it appeared that he planned to make his remarriage a difficult process for his suitors. 
That was fine.
She can be patient. 
No matter how long it took she’d find a way to force him to accept her, even if she had to hold him down and take him by force.
After all, she was blessed by Zeus himself. Though not his child, and by definition having no divine blood, one would be forgiven for assuming differently based on her ability to look forever young despite her age. The King of Gods gave her this gift, saying he knew her to be a kindred spirit. 
The point was anything and everything she ever wanted would belong to her.  
Ithaca. 
The Right Throne. 
Odysseus.
No matter what it took, no matter what she had to do, one day all of it will bear her name. 
Calypso.
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lizzieisright · 1 year ago
Text
At least I got you in my head (8) (end)
(7)
Summary: Abby is straight. And then you move in with her.
Tags: modern au, fem!reader, straight!abby (she is doing some comphet bullshit), pining, idiot in love and it's abby, reader is gay and tired.
Notes: finally, you both figure your shit out.
Taglist: @abbyily @lillysbigwilly @gravygranules @blairfox04 @frogtits1 @ccinnamongrl @ninazenuk @urmomsgirlfriend1 @sunkissedbibi @couchgarbage @nil-eena @inlovewithelliewilliams @st4rluvrr @mai5mai @machetegirl109 @azelmawrites @rhae-blackqueen @vea-vea-vea @mnim58e @chubeline @strgrlxox @chrry1ovr @littletinyladybugs @shaemonyou @luvrmunson @saffronssapphic @zootedhoe @2012wannabe @elcantsleep
Thank you guys for reading this story and enjoying it! I was very excited when I wrote this chapter and I hope you'd like it too. For some reason Electric love by Børns was playing in my head the whole time as I wrote the reunion part. And the last lines are reference to the Sleepover by Hayley Kiyoko.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Abby spent her Sunday thinking and thinking and thinking. Even if she wanted to stop she just couldn't, spiralling into the rabbit hole of "does she like me? Do I like her? No, she doesn't like me. I do like her." on repeat. It was still hard to wrap her head around it - in two days her whole perception of herself just turned upside down. And it was good - it always feels good to get rid of this amount of guilt and shame - but it also left Abby in front of metaphorical crossroads and the obvious “what’s next?”.
Abby jumped from being so sure in her feelings to backtracking into “I just figured out my sexuality I need more time”, which was well, true - she did need more time to just..let the knowledge settle.
But you still weren’t home, and her thoughts were too focused on you. Yes, Abby just figured everything out, but the dam that kept her feelings unnoticed broke and now Abby felt everything. The itch she had in her hands before because she wanted to touch you? It was constant now. The desire to call you and just talk? Relentless. She never felt this way about anyone - which was understandable, it’s hard to fall in love with people you’d better be friends with - and the intensity of her feelings was scaring her at times.
Abby spent the first half of Sunday moping around while Ellie provided her silent emotional support and just played games with Abby to keep her occupied. But now and then she’d drift back into her spiralling.
“Abs, until you talk to her all your thoughts have some probability of happening. And it means you’re wasting time, okay? You need to chill.”
“Ellie. Two days ago I learned I’m gay and yesterday I realised I like my roommate. What chill are you talking about?”
“Okay, yeah, my bad. But this spin cycle won’t give any kind of results. Reflect all you want or whatever, but until you talk to her you won’t have an answer.”
“I’m not even sure I want one.”
“You want one, dude. Believe me.” Ellie said somehow menacingly, and Abby didn’t argue.
After Ellie left Abby tried to pick her thoughts apart again, but there was nothing new in her poor brain. Abby felt tired and not lost, but definitely in a dead end. So she decided to use one of her favourite coping mechanisms and hit the gym. The gym always helped, especially with emotions - Abby could box if she was angry or do compounds to concentrate on her form instead of her thoughts, she could stretch just to torture herself and concentrate on physical pain.
Abby packed her bag and went to the gym, hoping for some kind of relief and honestly? A fucking break. She was extremely tired of constant anxiety that changed to sweet memories of you and then changed back to anxiety. Abby wasn’t used to this, so it was taking a huge toll on her - a toll big enough to gain courage to tell you everything. Ellie was right - she needed an answer if she preferred to stay fucking sane.  
And the gym helped. Abby did her safest routine, worried she’d get stuck in her head and hurt herself if she did something different, and while Abby was counting reps and measuring time for the rest period, she didn’t think of you. Her only concern was her form and the mental maths of how much weights she needed to place, how to breathe properly and how to place her feet correctly for the squats.
But the moment Abby left the gym, her thoughts were back. Maybe you already came back home? All your books for tomorrow were at home, you needed them, right? Did you have spare clothes at Cait’s? (where else you’d be? At Vi’s? Abby didn’t even want to entertain the idea, and really, it didn’t seem like you) Abby wasn’t sure if texting you would be a right move right now - she needed space and you probably needed it too. But fuck she missed you.
Abby checked her phone in case there are any messages from you, any messages, even if you'd call her a bitch or something. Just. Any indication you were still in her life.
But no. There was nothing, and the apartment was silent and empty when Abby came back.
Monday went over Abby's head, she couldn't concentrate on her classes which was very surprising: she could go with no sleep and still be present during lessons, but today all she could think about was you. The guilt and shame mixed with excitement and hope and it was driving her insane, being pulled apart by polar emotions like that. Now all these stupid stories from how painful it was to be in love finally made sense to Abby - before you she was never really in love with anybody, but now? Now all these tears and desperation and grand gestures made sense. Coming back to exes? Made sense, because she’d crawl back to you without a question. Forgiving anything? Made sense too.
Fuck, people were really right when they said how powerful love was and what things it made them do for it. And even if it was painful and confusing, Abby felt happy about it, as if her unbearable feelings were a proof of her own humanity. A lot of people before told her she was cold and heartless - Ellie joked about it a lot when Abby didn’t hesitate to tell someone who liked her to fuck off - and sometimes it got to her. Now though? Feeling the sharpest needle going through her heart when she thought of you telling her to fuck off? This pain made Abby feel alive.
Later at practice Abby saw Vi - they didn’t train with each other, different weights, but the days were the same - and Abby expected Vi to be angry at her, but not only Vi wasn’t angry, she actually looked at her sympathetically, as if she knew what was happening in Abby's soul. The guilt and shame were back - yes, Abby was still jealous and yes she still wanted to break every knuckle on Vi’s hands for touching you - but she was self-aware enough to understand that Vi wasn’t a part of this. It wasn’t Vi’s fault that Abby had issues.
And the thing was - Vi was actually fucking nice. Abby didn’t talk to her a lot, but she knew Vi’s story and she admired how hard-working she was and how she stayed herself after all the shit she’s been through. Ellie called her cool, and Ellie didn’t call anyone cool, so Abby felt like she fucked up here too.
But the stakes weren't that high - it wasn't like they were friends in the first place - so Abby decided to make amends. She braced herself for the uncomfortable conversation and went over to Vi's locker when they were changing.
"Hey." Vi looked at her, surprised, but she didn't seem hostile, so Abby continued. "I wanted to say sorry for the other day. I was an asshole for no reason."
"Don't stress." Vi smiled. "I wasn't offended."
"Yeah well. I still said some shit. Sorry again."
"It's okay." Vi seemed to hesitate before speaking next. "(Y/n) was really upset."
"Yeah. I know." Abby nodded, trying to conceal her hurt.
"Do you plan on talking to her?" Vi asked carefully again as she put her shirt on.
"Yes."
"Cool."
It seemed like the conversation was over and Abby went back to her locker, taking her bag out and putting her sweaty uniform inside. She felt relieved after that - if this went well, maybe it will go well with you too. Vi put her things in her bag and walked to the exit while Abby was still changing, deep in her thoughts.
"Have you figured it out yet? Why you got so angry?" Vi asked cautiously, stopping right before leaving.
Abby froze, surprised, as she stared at her t-shirt.
"Was it really that obvious?"
Vi shrugged.
"Kinda. You know, the spidey sense. It's not about your looks, it's just… you can tell."
"Gay aura." Abby smirked, remembering Ellie’s words.
"Gay aura." Vi chuckled. "Good luck, Abby."
"Thanks."
And her words were genuine.
You were still pretty shaken up after the fight - not because of the fight itself or Abby’s words, but because it felt like you were hit with reality in a way that broke your stupid rose coloured glasses. And for some reason it was hard to come to terms with the fact that you overestimated yourself: how you acted based on your emotions instead of using your fucking brain - which is understandable, people lose their brains when they’re in love - and the result was the same. You weren’t planning on confessing at all, instead trying to get over Abby, and it led to the same outcome - you two weren’t talking.
You kept thinking about if you made the right choice by never bringing up the “maybe you’re not so straight” topic with Abby - maybe you should have? Just very carefully? Just nudge her in the right direction? Was it too late to do that now?
Huh, what a fun conversation it could be “hey, maybe you were so angry at me not because I made you uncomfortable in your own home but because you’re gay and jealous?” (which was in fact Cait's entire point about this fight). Even if this would go well, Abby being gay didn’t equal Abby being gay for you.
God, what if Abby would start bringing girls over once she would be out? “Thanks (y/n) for helping me figure out my sexuality, now I’m going to fuck every gay girl on campus because I’m hot as fuck and they all drool over  me”. Fuck.
At this point it was hard to differentiate between your rational thoughts and irrational thoughts: where did your concerns end and overthinking started? You felt confused and all over the place, and even though you knew the only way to fix it was to come home and face Abby, you were too much of a coward to do it.
Obviously you'd say you were sorry. And you would stop bringing girls over because she was uncomfortable with it and you weren't an asshole. But you felt like this talk would be only the cover of the real problem - this situation happened not because you were selfish (not entirely), but because you wanted to get over Abby as fast as possible. For some reason you felt like you had to tell Abby you were in love with her - otherwise you had a feeling you were taking advantage of her with the amount of touch and care that was between you. For you these hugs and cuddles and small kisses on your cheeks weren't platonic or friendly, and now when you finally admitted your defeat, you couldn't pretend it was something else.
So you had two choices: tell Abby you were in love with her and let her decide how to change her boundaries or distance yourself from her as far as possible. And if you were younger you'd probably choose the second option - it was way easier than being honest and getting rejected. But this way you'd lose her as a friend and leave both of you with hurt and anger towards each other. And Abby would probably call you out on this and you'd have to tell her what was wrong with you anyway.
So your only option was to confess and face whatever would come out of it. And it was scary.
That was the reason why instead of going home on Monday you still came back to Cait - you couldn't lie to Abby but you couldn't tell her the truth either, so, as one of the cartoon characters said, there was a third option: doing nothing. And you chose it.
Caitlyn wasn't happy with your choice, staring you down as you took your shoes off.
"You're running away from your problems."
"I'm doing nothing about my problems. There's a difference." You sighed tiredly and put your coat on the clothing rack.
Cait stared you down, frowning, but you didn’t have energy to argue with her, so you went straight for the shower. It didn’t help much with your thoughts, but the weight of your anxiety got smaller.
from: Vi
Abby just apologised to me
You stared at your phone as your feelings flooded your chest - Abby was stubborn but she was good. She was doing what was right, she fucking apologised to Vi, and here you were, too scared to face her. If Abby said sorry she felt guilty, and it meant she was hurting while you were hiding from her. You could wallow in misery all you wanted, but the thought that you were dragging Abby down with you made you feel sick. You loved her too much to let your fears hurt her.
to: Vi
How is she?
from: Vi
She got hit in the face
Three times
so
shitty
The guilt washed over you. For Abby to be this unfocused? It meant she was really worried and upset, and you needed to stop it. Fuck it if you couldn’t confess yet, but you needed to resolve this situation and stop indirectly torturing Abby.
to: Vi
Can we reschedule our lesson tomorrow?
from: Vi
Yeah no problem
You locked your phone and went over to Caitlyn, who was reading.
“I’m going home tomorrow.”
“Thank god.” Caitlyn rolled her eyes.
“She apologised to Vi.”
“Amazing.”
“By the way, can I give Vi your number?”
Caitlyn stopped reading and you noticed her pink blush. It was faint, but after years of friendship you knew what it was - you weren’t surprised, Vi was hot and Caitlyn thought she was smart, so of course your question got a reaction out of her.
“Aren’t you two involved?”
“We’re friends. If it’s a no it’s okay. I can totally see why it’d bother you.”
“It doesn’t bother me. I’m not an idiot, I’ve noticed how she looked at me.” Caitlyn was creepily observant and awfully honest. Thank god she didn’t embarrass Vi right then and there, because Cait was unhinged like that. “Give me her number, I’ll text her myself.”
“Cait, you’re terrifying.” You said honestly. “She is sweet, don’t hurt her.”
Caitlyn stared at you like you were an idiot and you just silently showed her Vi’s number so she could copy it.
Three days. It’s been three days since the fight and Abby was exhausted. She couldn’t even sleep, creeped out by the silence in your apartment, twisting and turning the whole night, and if she fell asleep she dreamt of you - either the fight played out differently (you didn’t leave and Abby confessed) or it was 100 and 1 scenario of your reunion.
But then Abby woke up and you weren’t there. She hated how quiet the place was.
At least Abby could concentrate during her classes, even though she opened her dms every 10 minutes trying to gain courage to text you. Why was it this hard? By the end of the day she chickened out and decided to text you if you wouldn’t be home today too. And for some reason Abby was sure you wouldn’t be home when she’d come from classes today. It seemed like you were still pretty mad at her - oh, that was why she was too afraid to text you. Abby - now calmed down, guilty Abby - was not prepared for your wrath if it was still there. And she’d prefer to have it fall on her in person than over a stupid text.
Abby opened the door to your apartment and froze right in the doorway. She could hear the TV from the living room, she saw the lights faintly lightning the hallway and fuck, there were your shoes.
You were home.
Abby took her shoes and her coat off in record time and stormed to the living room. You were sitting on the couch, your legs under you, and you smiled at her sheepishly, as if you weren’t sure that Abby’d be happy to see you. Abby took a deep breath as her heartbeat went absolutely crazy.
“You’re home.” Abby sighed, still so shocked she thought she was dreaming again, her bag falling from her shoulder to the floor with a thud.
“Hi.” You said in a small voice and Abby couldn’t take anymore - you were there and you were smiling at her and she missed you so fucking much.
Abby almost ran to you, scooping you in her arms as you yelped in surprise - fucking hell Abby was strong to pull you up like that.
“You’re home.” Abby murmured into your neck, breathing you in, the same spice and mint as always. You hugged her shoulders and breathed her in too - you missed her crazy. Abby was solid against you and her hand on the small of your back kept you pressed into her as if she was afraid you’d disappear. You clung to her, as you became aware how much you missed her warmth - how did you survive these three days without Abby?
“I’m sorry, I was so selfish.” You told Abby while she pressed you flush against her.
“God, I’m so sorry too, I didn’t mean a word of what I’ve said to you.” Abby said into your hair, her voice soft and quiet and full of remorse. You hummed, comforted by her arms around you, her blonde hair tickling your nose. Abby smelt like home, like someone who would protect you from anything and whatever she said to you on Saturday didn’t matter anymore.
Abby inhaled your scent and closed her eyes, basking in you. She physically couldn't let you go now when she's got you, knowing now why it felt so good to hold you and not being ashamed or anxious about it. Fuck. To hell with it, Abby's never been a coward.
"I figured my shit out." Abby's voice was steady, but her heart sounded like drums in her ears.
"What do you mean?" And your heart was not any better.
"You told me to figure my shit out. I did. I wasn't angry because you were disturbing me or something." Abby pressed you even closer, grounding herself in your presence. "I was jealous."
It was suddenly hard to breathe and you froze in Abby's arms. Did she mean what you thought she meant? God, please, let it be what you so desperately wanted it to be.
Abby moved away a little so she could look at you, because if Abby would get her heart broken now she at least could get it broken looking into your eyes.
"I like you." Abby breathed out and the wave of painful relief hit her. It was good to let it out, as if someone cut open an aching injury and yeah, she was bleeding, but it felt better.
Your brain fully shut down as your ears rang from her words - was it even real? Was it your Abby or another dream? But it was real, and Abby was looking at you, she was waiting for an answer and your own confession ripped out from your chest before you could stop yourself.
"I like you too." You felt your face heat up for some reason, but the way Abby’s eyes lit up made it all worth it.
Abby's eyes grew wide with surprise just before all her restraints crumbled. She took your face in her hands and did what she was literally dreaming about the past few nights - she kissed you. And everything exploded.
Your hands flew to Abby's face and you kissed her back desperately, pressing into her with all you had. Abby locked her arms around your waist so hard your back arched, she needed you close as badly as you needed her.
Abby never felt like this, like every move of your lips on hers set her alight and the hunger she never had before was suddenly making her greedy and desperate to touch you. As if under a spell, Abby pushed you to the couch until you hit it with the back of your knees and sat down so Abby could press you into the seat as you opened your mouth and let her tongue slip inside, making you both groan. Abby felt high from kissing you, the way you were all soft and gentle under her, but not delicate at all, she wasn’t afraid to hurt you because you were real and solid and your fingers on her neck were warm.
And it wasn't enough for Abby, she needed more, she needed to touch your bare skin - so she pushed her hand under your hoodie, kneading your side. You were warm and soft and your scent was all around her, and it was still not enough. She wanted to hear you make the same noise that you made that night for someone else - she wanted you to sigh and whimper and moan for her, she wanted to-
You pressed on her shoulders and Abby backed off, confused.
"We need to slow down." You panted, looking into Abby’s shiny eyes. She was blushing and panting as well, her hand was still on your naked waist, riding up your hoodie enough for her to see your lower stomach. Abby’s eyes went dark as she flicked her eyes from your face to your stomach and back.
"Yeah."
You both didn't move, staring at each other. Abby didn’t want to stop, she wanted to kiss you and touch you and if someone would move away first it would definitely not be her. And then you kissed Abby again, bringing her as close as possible, giving up on any rational thought in your head. You were weak, so when Abby pushed you down on the couch you happily spread your legs for her, getting wet in your pants from how delicious it felt to be opened like that. Abby’s hands roamed across your sides and your hips, groping and kneading your body as if she couldn’t get enough - and she truly couldn’t, appreciating every soft fold she made, every hard ridge digging into her palm. You sighed into her mouth and Abby just needed to press you down into this couch, moving one of her hands to caress your thigh and pull you closer. You felt dizzy, high on Abby's confident, hungry touch, the perfect balance of gentle and rough, so deliciously Abby. No one could touch you like that, like you were hers, your body and your soul, without a hesitation. Abby took what she wanted and you drank it all up.
Abby kissed your jaw and moved down to your neck, leaving an open mouthed kiss just below your ear and you let out a surprised sigh - and Abby’s brain fucking melted. She left more kisses, all shamelessly open, her hot tongue brushing over your skin just to hear you sigh like that. Abby pushed your thighs up so you could close them around her waist and slipped her hand back under your hoodie, getting dangerously close to your tits. That broke the spell on you, bringing you back to reality.
“Abby, wait.” You asked, not comfortable with how fast it was going. Abby looked up to you, waiting for what you wanted to tell her. “We really need to chill.” You caressed her cheek, taking a deep breath to calm yourself down.
Abby wanted to protest, but the horny fog started leaving her head and she understood how overboard she went just now, jumping you like this the moment you reciprocated her feelings. It was too fast.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Abby chuckled and tried to move away, but you didn’t let her, pressing her back to you.
“Just.. lie down.”
Abby listened to you, her hands still under your hoodie, but now she was just caressing your sides gently with her thumbs, sending goosebumps.
“I’ve missed you so much.” You told her as you stroke her hair.
“I’ve missed you too. The worst three days of my life.”
You laughed quietly.
“How did you figure it out?” You asked, curious. Abby sighed, but you waited.
“Oh man, this is embarrassing. I thought I was homophobic, because I hated that you were bringing girls over. Talked to Ellie, figured out I was homophobic to myself.” Abby laughed, and even though you could see the comedy in her words, you couldn't imagine what she had to go through.
“This is such a mind-fuckery.” You said sympathetically. “It must’ve felt so good to realise that.”
“It was. And then I saw you with Vi and what happened happened.”
“Oh god this is fast. Like, did you even have the time to properly process that?”
“Three days with myself would do.” Abby chuckled and you felt the guilt poking your heart.
“Sorry. I felt like I couldn’t just say sorry and move on without telling you about my feelings. But I was scared.” You admitted and Abby hummed, seeing your point. It must've been more scary for you as you knew what was happening in your head and the time turned your fear into full blown terror.  
"How long have you known?"
"That I like you? Pretty much from the beginning, but I tried really hard to stop it."
Abby laughed and you tilted your head to look at her, not understanding what was so funny.
"Remember when we hung out for the first time? When we watched that horror movie that offended you so much?"
"Yeah?"
"I was very confused why you were so far away from me. I was already into you by that point."
"I can't imagine what kind of mental somersaults you had to do to keep it hidden from yourself." You sighed and hugged her harder. “I’m very happy you’re free of the straight curse.”
Abby snorted and looked up to you, just staring, unashamed - everything about you was perfect.
“You’re so pretty.” God it felt good to say it freely, say it without shame, without broken syllables and mumbling.
You smiled and looked away, flustered, and Abby watched you with fascination - she’s never seen you like this.
“Thanks.” You tried to stop smiling but you couldn’t, and Abby’s curious and teasing gaze just made you smile more. “No, stop it.” You said, playfully stern.
“Nah, I’ll do it even more now. Seeing you crumble like this is even better than kicking your ass in Mortal Kombat.”
“Oh yeah? I still cook your food.” You threatened.
Before Abby could answer her stomach rumbled and you laughed.
“Let’s go eat.”
And everything was back to normal, but it also wasn’t. You chatted, catching up on these days you spent apart, telling each other the last gossip and complaining about classes - that was normal. But now Abby could hug you from behind and steal a kiss, her high making her bold, and you could abandon whatever you had on the stove and wrap your arms around her neck, kissing her back. Because now you didn’t have to hide from each other, second-guessing motives and actions. Now when you ate and talked you could hold hands and smile bashfully at each other, and the teasing could end in millions of short kisses. You finally let yourself hug Abby from behind while she washed the dishes and tell her what was happening with Caitlyn and Vi.  
Later you did your usual cuddle time, and Abby held you in her arms exactly like she wanted to. A few months ago you both sat on that couch - awkward and distant, too afraid of each other - to watch a movie, and now you were lying on it, kissing and cuddling, basking in each other as you gently and innocently explored what was an unattainable dream before, caressing sides and hips and ribs without heat but with a desire to get to know.
Abby swore she started to believe in magic when you touched her.
to: els
(the photo of you and Abby, Abby kissing the top of your head while you lie on top of her with the dopiest, lovesick grin on your face)
from: els
FUCK YEAH
you lucky bitch
You laughed when Abby showed you Ellie's texts and nuzzled into Abby's chest.
"Let's do a sleepover today." Abby said as she kissed your temple.
"Where?"
"In my bed."
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dangerousduckcloud · 6 months ago
Text
Flowerbeds make up for a nice eternal rest
Read it also on AO3
Maybe you’d waited for too long, maybe the book you chose had bored you until you fell asleep. Whatever it was, you didn’t know you were in danger until the last second, a knife pressing against your throat and a croaky voice that wouldn’t normally belong to a kid reached your ears.
Chapter 7 < > Chapter 9
taglist: @kurai-hono-blog, @katrina0-0
Gotham wasn’t known for its beautiful weather; the blue, clear skies the granted wish given to a shooting star. Rather, her citizens were creatures of water and fumes, so accustomed to the rain soaking up their clothes and fog clogging their lungs.
It was only fitting the sporadic sunny days had ended that moment, the light drizzling had turned into a downpour, caging you in the gazebo, the vines coiled around the posts and the roof frame welcoming the rain.
Sitting down on one of the patio chairs, with your legs leaning against the railing, you watched the water fall, your breathing in sync with the droplets falling from the ceiling onto the tip of your shoe.
One hour had turned into two, the rain long gone but the clouds still as ominous as ever. You debated between heading back inside the manor, your thin shirt ill-suited for the cold that the rain had left. However, you couldn’t do it.
And how could you? What had you given them besides problems and pain? Making it known their lives were not real, their whole existence did not hold a single drop of significance, with people having no issue with killing them, even if they were just children.
A hand spurred you out of your thoughts, hoping to see two gems looking back at you, however, even though you held a special place for her in your heart, you couldn’t mask the disappointment in your face at seeing Cass standing next to you, a first aid kit on her hands.
“May I?” She gestured to your bandaged wrists. With your reply a simple nod, she sat down next to you, leaving the box on a wooden table, and taking out whatever she needed to clean you, internally hissing at seeing the bottle of alcohol. You had never been able to handle pain. Even less to the degree they all had become accustomed to due to their night life.
Your reddened skin was exposed to the world, the cuts healing well, a part of you hoping for Cass to decide they were good enough to not need cleaning, nonetheless your hopes didn’t last long, as the cotton balls and alcohol was the first thing she grabbed.
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?” She asked right before pressing the cotton to your right arm, a groan coming out of you.
“’Bout everything my world did to yours. Dick’s parents, Bruce’s parents, Tim’s negligence, your abuse… Jason’s death.”
Cass was silent for a second, calmy changing your bandages, not a single emotion on her face. There was rarely one if she didn’t want it to be seen.
“You wrote the stories?”
“No.”
“Is our world shaped by yours?”
“… I don’t know”
“Why are you apologizing, then?” You opened your mouth to explain once more why— but it came out empty. “Even if we only exist because of you, you did not choose to hurt us. You chose to love us. Despite our flaws and… Traumas, yes, our traumas.”
“But you suffered so much—”
“By people who have no relation to you. Yes, we have suffered, but… I like my life; I have a family who loves me. Despite my up… Upbringing. I cannot imagine living without them.”
It was the most you’d heard her talk in once sentence. Silence befell the two of you while she finished changing your bandages, asking if she could also look at the cuts you’d gotten on your back when you were dragged across the floor.
By the lack of use of alcohol, you assumed nothing major had happened, feeling the fabric fall down your skin once again.
Did it matter if you knew if it was your fault or not, when the person you cared about thought it was?
-
With having been on the manor for only a week, the safest choice for you was to stick to the areas you knew how to get back to your room, being mainly the kitchen, the drawing room, and the library, the latter being the place to find you at the moment, looking for a new book to chase away your boredom.
As well as hoping to run into Jason.
---
Maybe you’d waited for too long, maybe the book you chose had bored you until you fell asleep. Whatever it was, you didn’t know you were in danger until the last second, a knife pressing against your throat and a croaky voice that wouldn’t normally belong to a kid reached your ears.
“You have ten seconds to tell me what you are doing in my home before I end you.”
“I’m from another universe.” You blurted out, chiding yourself for saying the least favorable response to your case.
“Tt.”
This was it. You survived an encounter with the Scarecrow only to die at the hands of a ten-year-old.
“Damian!” The hand faltered, the tip of the knife grazing your skin. “Leave her alone.”
“I have never seen her, Grayson.” From how distant the voice sounded a second ago, he must’ve turned his head to face Dick. “She could be a danger.”
“You’d never seen her because you were in San Francisco.” Dick calmly explained, taking the very sharp knife from his hand as if it was a daily recurrence, not a single show of worry on his body. “She just got here couple days ago.”
With no blade to threaten you, Damian walked around the couch, standing next to you, a scowl on his face that seemed more than a natural expression than one directed at you.
“Nice to meet you, Damian.” Your hand thoughtlessly moved upwards your neck, a drop of blood staining your finger, but he heeded no attention to you.
“I see. And may I enquire what is she still doing here? Why has father allowed her to stay? What is this about ‘another universe’?”
“Ah, shit… I knew I forgot something…” Dick rubbed his neck, sitting down on the settee in front of you, eyes glued to the floor.
Damian finished rounding the couch, standing in front of Dick, his stance was rigid, and his face devoid of any emotion, but the subtle way he was rubbing his thumb and pointer fingered showed he was nervous.
“What is it, Grayson?”
“Dad’s missing, Damian.” The rubbing stopped. “We believe he was sent to Jane’s world.”
Damian stood still for several seconds, so rigid he could be mistaken for a gargoyle.
“And what have you been doing to rescue him?”
“We’re working on it. Tim already—”
“Tt.” Damian interrupted him, crossing his arms. “You have that fool working on it? No wonder you have not made any advancements.”
“Actually…” You finally spoke, drawing the attention of both. “He’d already created a portal to my world, only… Well, I touched it and it closed. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me.”
Damian huffed, but the frown turned into a raised eyebrow, face turning once again to Dick. At least he wasn’t completely ignoring you.
“Is it safe to assume she…?”
“Yes, she knows about our identities.” Dick’s tone was the one of an older brother forced to watch over his siblings; tired and in need of a long nap.
“Hm… You better watch who you talk to. I will end you if you do anything to harm my family. That includes revealing our identities.”
With a fond exhale, you looked him straight in the eyes.
“Yeah, I know, you’ll kill me and make me suffer, yada yada. Why don’t you go out and play with Goliath or something?”
“How do you—?” He stuttered, for once his stoic nature crumbled for a second. You laid back, arms resting on the back of the couch and a smirk on your face. Oh, you so enjoyed looking like a badass, enigmatic villain right now.
Even if you were only doing so to bother the kid.
“I know some stuff, child.”
“Who’s Goliath?” Dick asked.
“No one.” He hastily replied. And so, Damian left, not before sending a heated glare to you, your fingers splayed open in a childish wave as he walked away.
---
You weren’t the world’s greatest detective, but it still didn’t take long for you to realize Damian was watching you closely. The first days you hadn’t noticed, but the unexplainable feeling you got ever since he came home made sense once you caught him hidden on the top of the bookshelves through the reflection on a mirror.
And of course, with him being the son and younger brother of the world’s greatest detectives, he was bound to be spectacular as well, knowing you’d caught him just seconds after you did it.
“How did you know?” He asked, jumping down from the bookshelf, landing neatly without making a sound.
“Bout what?” You asked, comfortably laying down on the window nook, a new book in hand, and Alfred’s signature Earl Gray tea in the other.
“About Goliath.” He calmy walked towards you, but you had the feeling he could pull out another knife anytime, the Batman-themed band aid on your neck proof of that.
“I told you. I’m from another universe. Hasn’t Dick explained it to you?”
“He did.” His gaze lowered to the book you were reading, one of Jason’s favorites which wasn’t Pride & Prejudice. No, he didn’t know you knew that about him. “But it still does not explain how you know something not even father knows.”
“I just come from a world where… Well…” You bit your lip, you had no idea how Damian would take this information, and what his reaction would be. “You are, well, comic book characters, you know? Just stories and all.” Should you be worried or glad he didn’t seem to react to that? “And there’s this one story of you sparing Goliath when he was a pup. Everyone knows how much you care about animals.”
“I do not—”
“Save it, kid. I know it, and it’s nothing you should feel compelled to lie about, it’s a truly noble cause to care so much for beings that sometimes can’t defend themselves against the cruelty that is humanity.”
A subtle pinkish hue tinted his cheeks, the smallest of smiles on his face, but his gaze unfocused at the same time his smile disappeared, lost in his own memories.
“Yes, people can be cruel sometimes.” He took a deep breath, turning his gaze towards the ceiling for a second before it landed back again on you. “Your world… We do not exist in it?”
“I don’t know.” You admitted. “That’s something I’m trying to figure out, but I’m not as smart as your siblings, I don’t know how this all works. I got a few theories, but I’ve no way to test them.”
“It is safe to assume you read quite a lot about us.” He spoke calmly, more a statement than a question, surprising you how better he was taking this than the rest of his family. “I have noticed specially, how… Interested you are in someone. I know the books you have been choosing” He gestured with his hand to the one currently resting on your raised legs, The Taming of the Shrew, your finger saving the page you were on. “, are those Todd enjoys the most, however you do not display signs of enjoying them, most of the times staying on the same page for longer than you should. Unless this is the result of an affliction? Dyslexia, perhaps? I am sure Grayson would be glad to help and find a professional.”
“I am— No, I’m not dyslexic.” You did not like where this was going, ashamed the rest of the family would discover your slight crush on Jason. Were you that easy to read? Did they already know?
“Hm. I know you choose to spend your time here when Cain or Drake do not drag you someplace else.”
“Why are you telling me this, Damian?” You blurted, it seemed he had inherited his father’s annoying habit of not speaking clearly whatever was on their minds.
“If you are infatuated with Todd, I will let you know he left the manor the day after I arrived. If you are hoping to run into him here, you are wasting your time.”
Huh, that explained why you hadn’t seen him at any meal.
“Why are you telling me this?” You asked again.
“I will not tell if you do not say anything else about my life to my family.”
“Are you— Are you blackmailing me?” Your scoff brought a smirk on the kid’s face, a huff leaving your body. “You little shit… Fine, I won’t tell anything about you. Not sure what else you could want to hide, anyway…”
“I shall be monitoring you closely, still.” He was just about to leave the library when he turned, sheepish and rubbing his thumb and pointer finger again. “What is your name?”
“You can call me Jane.”
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onlyjaeyun · 9 months ago
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i’ve been following ur writing for some time now and i do have to agree with that anon who said you did CH dirty. you are a very talented writer so it’s just hard to watch.
you started off CH so strong with the lore and little chapters here and there but as it progressed you kind of just got lazy and it shows. when important events happened in the story, they weren’t conveyed through writing but through the texts (ie the riki and yn fight, that was definitely worth a written chapter) and it was honestly disappointing.
the ending isn’t much to say about either. yn and hoon barely go through development after the letter incident and all of a sudden they’re dating and married with a kid like two chapters later?
idk, if it was a mental health issue then i get that but even then you should’ve just gave it a break and thought everything out more. you could do so much better.
thank you for the feedback!
i wanna put you through the progess of a piece of writing from the POV of a writer okay? now keep in mind: i work two jobs, am a fulltime uni student and the daughter of an immigrant household with two parents who still work most of the day just so you know what else i have to deal with, besides my mental health okay?
now, i started off CH strong right? yes. i uploaded on the daily, fine i chose that. a chapter usually takes me around one hour if i actually sit down and focus on nothing but the chapter itself, which includes IG stories, editing, formatting etc. alright
on top of the daily chapters, i constantly replied to 40+ asks a day, a blessing in disguise because no matter how much i enjoy talking to you guys, the pressure does get worse the bigger that number of my inbox becomes, i hope this makes sense
now, i started CH back in october, right when my semester started, thats why i started off strong but as time went on, my assignments and private life got too busy and i guess i felt entitled enough as a writer to skip a few certain chaps and make life a little easier for me by making them regular chapters instead of written ones.
and this is gonna be my main point: i'm not a machine. i wrote a minimum of 5 THOUSAND words per written chapter, MINIMUM. we're talking about a 5-9 THOUSANDED worded chapter EACH WEEK. which usually took me about 6-7 hours, even allnighters.
yes, i chose to do that and maybe my time management wasn't the best but i had to create a compromise where i wouldnt have let you guys wait for over two months which would have resulted in me losing my motivation completely, and yet still focusing on EXAMS. because you know, i'm a fulltime uni student with TWO jobs 😮‍💨
if YOU think i did CH dirty go write an alternative ending yourself but it should be a minimum of 15 chapters including 5 written ones, with at LEAST 9k words each yeah? i wanna see you manage it all, pls prove me wrong snd show me you're better than me i'm genuinely begging bc it might inspire me to do "better" next time.
as a writer/artist/creator, and i can tell you probably arent one yourself or havent been one for long, the longer smth takes to come to an end the worse the pressure becomes which results in a blockage i dont wish upon my worst enemy i'm being deadass. i dealt with some of the worst writer's block ive had since i started writing literally 12 years ago and you're telling me i should have just "taken a break" and do "better"
i never, ever expected anything from anyone but some of you are so entitled to a writer's time and skill it's giving me a headache. maybe you didn't like the timing and writing of the last few chapters of CH and i guess that's unfortunate but this was so unnecessary because you completely dismissed everything else that could have been going on in my life and even belittled my mental health issues like im some fucking AI writing machine
do better, be nicer, write it yourself if you don't like it i'm so fucking over this
if i had gotten out of my own comfort and wellbeing and have actually written another set of written chapters i would have burned myself completely out. ive been in this fandom for not even a year and have already finished FOUR smaus with 50 chapters each, you do NOT get to tell me what i should or could have done better because you dont even give a fuck about me as a person this is just about receiving what YOU think YOURE entitled to but this is MY art and I will do what I see fit even if it's not what was expected of it because i'm a fucking human being with a life before i'm a writer on tumblr
oh, also: i do this for free ㅤ:) just a reminder :) this is my HOBBY :)
and don't you EVER call me lazy again when it comes to writing because i'm not gonna pour my heart and soul into a fic just for you to call me lazy when i literally wrote 50 THOUSAND words for this fucking fic just for the written chapters
goodbye
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schizoidcel · 8 months ago
Note
Button said to shoot you , so i will do it *bang , bang , bang*
what do you think about headcanons with Lui association Ishmael x Sarcastic but smart Reader ?
## LIU!ISHMAEL x READER ★
🤍 ﹒ DUMBLINGS . .
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
- notes ̽ ۪⠀i think yes
︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶༉‧₊˚.
I imagine Ishmael having beef with any kind of snarky person
And if they're smart too? uff .
Needless to say she would definitely not be fond of you when you two first meet, or the days after that (maybe months) (maybe y
Anyway.
I feel like Liu Ishmael specifically does like/use sarcasm but not to the point that it's someones whole personality in a way
As in 24/7, because she thinks it's insufficient for work when sarcastic comments are used all the time
I could imagine teasing her because of her loner lifestyle in the story
Sarcastic smart reader would definitley be on Ishmaels ass all the time, relationship established or not
Pre-established relationship would be tons of back and forth.
Problem is reader sees it as teasing (atleast on their side) but Ishmael genuinely wants to punch their guts and turn it into tommorows beef noodles
Ishmael is a smart person herself, but everytime reader corrects her on something (especially because they're being so painfully irritable about it) she wants to punt them.
If they're on the same branch it's #over
Rodion would see your relationship as some kinda old marriage trope, make comments about it etc and Ishmael hates her for it
but what she hates more is how lowkey true it is
Rodion hops in on the teasing just for fun when reader and Ishmael have their 'lovers quarrel' and Ishmael ALWAYS goes "STAY OUT OF THIS?!"
One is enough. She dosen't want to deal with two idiots.
Reader would join her sometimes when she has lunch and she hates to admit it but she tolerates their company (the toleration starts on day 4)
To the point where she'd miss them at times when they're not together
She still prefers to be alone, as she dosen't make an effort to get on a table with others even after her and reader share some lunch periods together. But everytime reader is in the room, she'd prefer to be with them instead of being alone
She thought of them as just a familar first, and tried to not get too close (keyword tried) as that could backfire quickly, especially in the City
But she realized her feelings rather early .
And as embarassed as she was, she didn't want to deny them
I could imagine Ishmael confessing first and reader being caught off guard for the first time .
Ishmael didn't have any intention of making them flustered, but she definitely wouldn't let go of it after
Now she has something to be an asshole about to YOU
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i wrote this while i was having horrible cramps but they dissapeared after i finished thank you for afab power ishmael.
ૢ་༘࿐ thank you for reading ! Ⳋ᧙
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winchesterwild78 · 5 months ago
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Hunters and Secrets pt 3
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Master List
Characters: Dean Winchester x Reader (dating), Sam Winchester x Reader (friends), Eileen
Warnings: fluff, mentions of hunts, pregnancy
A/N: Last part of this short story. I hope you like it.  Things are just so crazy right now in my head, I needed to write. I truly appreciate all of your love and support with my writing. 
This is a short series I’m working on. Does not follow the Supernatural storyline. Inner dialogue in italics. This is a work of fiction, not a reflection of real life. No disrespect to anyone. 
This is my own work, please do not take it or copy it without my permission. I wrote it fast and edited it fast. Please overlook any errors. 
Minors DNI 18+
*Time Jump 9 months*
You stood at the mirror and cradled your pregnant belly. Your son was growing quickly and Dean couldn’t be more proud he was going to be a father. Dean came up behind you and snaked his arms around you, holding you and your belly. “Hey sweetheart, how are you two feeling today?” “We’re good, Dean. My back hurts, but that’s to be expected at 7 months pregnant.” You smiled. 
Dean kissed your cheek. “Come on baby, let’s get you sitting down and I’ll bring you something to eat. Sam and Eileen are coming later today for dinner.” “Oh, that’s great. I can’t wait to catch up with her and see how the wedding planning is going.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe my baby brother is getting married.” Dean smiled softly. “Well, you better believe it. It’s only fair he gets to live happily ever after, you’re married and we’re having a baby.” “Yeah, sweetheart. We are finally getting our apple pie life.” Dean hugged you and kissed your lips softly. 
“Well, with a monster on the side.” You chuckled. Dean laughed his deep, hearty laugh. The one where his smile went to his eyes, you saw his teeth, and his head tilted back. You always loved seeing him laugh. 
*about 8 months ago*
You got pregnant not long after you and Dean got married. It wasn’t planned, but you both got drunk off your ass after a hunt one night and one thing led to another and a few weeks later you found out you were pregnant. At first you were terrified to tell Dean. He thought you were sick with the flu. You called Eileen in a panic when Dean and Sam went on a hunt and you stayed home. She came over with 3 different brands of pregnancy tests and she held your hand while waiting for the results. 
Since she and Sam got together the two of you became close. When the lines, plus sign and word “pregnant” all popped up you gasped and she was quick to pull you into a hug. You both cried and then reality set in. You had to tell Dean you were pregnant. 
When the guys came back from the hunt Dean knew something was wrong by the look on your face. Sam and Eileen excused themselves to the kitchen and you and Dean went to your room. 
You and Dean sat on the bed. Dean took your hand, “What’s wrong sweetheart?” He looked worried. “Dean, I’m…um…pregnant” you said barely auditable. Dean’s eyes went wide, “You’re pregnant?!” You pulled your hands back and fidgeted nervously. Looking down, you bit your lip. Dean lifted your chin gently with his fingers. “Sweetheart, look at me, please.” You looked at Dean and you didn’t see anger or regret in his eyes, you saw love and excitement. “Yes, I’m pregnant.”
Dean smiled and pulled you into his arms. “We’re having a baby. Wow! I have a beautiful wife and now I’m going to be a dad.” “You’re not mad?” You bit your lip. “Mad?! Why would I be mad? I’m over the moon.” He pulled you in for a soft kiss. 
*current day*
Eileen and Sam had come over to the bunker for dinner. Sam decided to move in with Eileen to give you and Dean, and the baby space. He felt it was time for the two of you to finally be alone. They lived not far from the bunker and were there more than away, so having them over wasn’t anything new. Since you were pregnant you no longer went on hunts with them. Eileen would go in your place while you stayed at home and did the research from there. 
You were sitting at the table in the library with your hand resting on your growing belly. You could feel the baby kick and you smiled. Dean looked over and watched your shirt move as his son moved and wiggled inside your belly. Sam noticed Dean watching you and leaned over. “So, how are you liking the apple pie life?” Dean smiled at Sam “Not bad, Sammy. Not bad at all. I still can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.” 
Sam placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder, “you deserve this, you deserve to be happy.” Dean smiled and nodded. The conversations flowed effortlessly as the night wore on. It was getting late, so Dean insisted Sam and Eileen stay in Sam’s old room. 
Your eyes were getting heavy so Dean helped you up. You hugged Sam and Eileen, “Good night guys, I’ll see you all in the morning.” You looked at Dean with heavy eyes, “You coming to bed soon?” “Yeah, sweetheart, I’ll be there soon.” He kissed your lips softly. “Good night, Dean, I love you.” “Me too, sweetheart.”
“Me too” that was as close to "I love you as you were going to get from Dean. Still after all this time, marriage and now having a baby he couldn’t say it. You sighed and walked to your room. You got ready for bed, brushing your teeth, changing your clothes, and trying to make yourself comfortable. You felt off tonight, more tired than usual. Maybe it was staying up later or being on your feet more today. Whatever it was, you were exhausted. 
Your eyes slowly closed and you dreamed the most vivid dreams of past hunts with Sam and Dean. You dreamed about hunting vampires, werewolves, djinn, and putting angry spirits to rest. The dreams played more like memories. You’d hunted all these things before so it made sense to relive it through dreams. Something just felt off. 
When Dean came to bed he saw how restless you were. Moaning in your sleep, face contorted in almost pain or anguish. When he saw you breathing heavily and tears streaming from your closed eyes, he decided to wake you up. “Hey, sweetheart, wake up. You’re okay. It’s just a dream.” Your eyes flung open and at the sight of your husband you sobbed into his shirt. “Shhh, it’s okay, sweetheart. You’re safe, it was just a dream.” He held you and rubbed your back. “Oh Dean, it was awful. We were on hunt after hunt and I couldn’t keep up with you guys. Then I was attacked and you couldn’t save me.”
“You’re safe, baby. I’ll always save you and our son.” Dean placed his hand on your belly. Dean held you tight as you both fell asleep. You don’t remember dreaming the rest of the night, but you could feel his arms around you in a protective hug. 
The next morning the four of you were awake early. Sam and Eileen were on their way to help a friend of hers with a case. You could tell Dean really wanted to go. “Dean, why don’t you go. It sounds like it’s a quick case and it’s not that far away. We (you rubbed your belly) will be just fine.” You kissed his lips. “You sure, darlin?” You shook your head yes. 
Dean went to pack a bag and get his stuff. Sam put his hand on your shoulder, “You know, this means so much to him.” You looked puzzled, “What does?” “You two being married, you pregnant and he can still hunt. It’s in his blood to protect. You’ve given him a renewed sense of purpose.” “Thanks Sam. That means a lot.”
Dean came back to the war room and dropped his bags by the table. He helped you stand so he could hug you. Dean wrapped his arms around you and held you tight. He could feel his son kicking in your belly and he beamed with pride. You looked up at Dean 
“Please be careful and come home safe to us.” You pulled him into a kiss. Dean pulled back hesitantly, “I gotta go, baby. I’ll be home soon.” He grabbed his bags, Sam and Eileen hugged you and the three of them left. Leaving you standing in the bunker by yourself. 
You tried to busy yourself with any and everything you could think of. First you cleaned the kitchen, the bathrooms, your bedroom, and the library. Then you started organizing books in the library. When your back started to hurt you went to the “Dean Cave” and laid on the couch, watching tv. 
You quickly fell asleep and again had a restless sleep. Your dreams were plagued with visions of monsters, Sam and Dean being too late to save you, or you being too late to save them. The dream that woke you up with a scream was by far the worst. 
Sam, Dean and you were hunting a Djinn and Dean was taken. You were desperate to find him and save him, but Sam didn’t seem to listen or understand that Dean was in danger. Sam kept saying over and over that Dean was getting food and would be back soon, that you worried too much. “Dammit Sam! Something is wrong, Dean is missing.” You cried, begging him to help you. Over and over “Please Sam, help me….help me”. 
The sound of your scream woke you up and then your phone rang. You tried to steady your breath before you answered it. Looking at the caller ID you saw it was Dean. “Hello” your voice was shaky. “Hey, sweetheart, you okay?” “Um, yeah just another bad dream.” “Oh I’m sorry, well maybe it’s the pregnancy causing such vivid dreams.” “Yeah, maybe. I’ll ask the doctor when I see them next. When are you coming home?” “I’ll be there tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” “Yeah, just missing you. I love you, Dean. Hurry home.” “I will get some rest.”
You slowly got up and started to walk towards the kitchen. You were hungry. Walking in the kitchen you still felt like something was off. Something didn’t feel right. You weren’t sure if it was just you being alone or if it was something with the pregnancy. You made a quick sandwich, grabbed an apple and sat at the table. 
You ate your food and as you got up you felt really dizzy. Oooh I guess I got up too fast. Slowly walking over to the sink you placed your plate down. You called your doctor to talk to them about your feelings and dreams you’d been having over the past few days. She assured you it was perfectly normal and everything was going to be okay. “Just rest” she told you, “Your body is growing another human. It takes a lot out of you.” You thanked her and hung up. 
A few hours later you were feeling worse. More than exhaustion, it was like your whole body ached. Maybe you were coming down with something. You heard the bunker door open and Dean announce his presence. As you walked toward the war room you felt even worse. Dean saw you and ran over to you. “Hey, Y/N. Are you okay? You look like you’re feeling horrible.” “Yeah, I’m not feeling the best. My doctor said it’s normal, but it doesn’t feel normal. Something’s wrong Dean.” 
“Okay, I’ll call the doctor and let them know.” Dean said as he helped you towards the bedroom. “You lay down and I’ll call them.” “Dean, wait.” “Yeah, sweetheart, what is it?” “I love you, Dean, more than anything.” “I love you too, Y/N.”
Your eyes went wide. Something isn’t right, Dean doesn’t say that. You tried to get out of the bed and Dean stopped you. “What are you doing?” “You’re not my Dean, he doesn’t say that. Who the hell are you?!” You screamed with tears in your eyes. Dean crossed the room, “Sweetheart it is me. I thought it was time I said it to you.” You shook your head, “No! Something’s not right..something’s not right…” You collapsed in his arms.
The room went dark, but you could hear Dean and Sam. “Sammy! Get the hell over here. She’s hurt.” You heard Dean yell. You felt cold and your body ached so bad. “Come on, stay with me baby. Don’t leave me.” You felt his lips gently kiss your head. “Dean, I got it, we need to get her to the hospital.” 
Your eyes started to flutter open, looking around you realized you weren’t in the bunker. What?! This didn’t make sense, where were you? “Dean…where….am…I?” “Shh, I’ve got you sweetheart, just hold on. I love you so much, Y/N.” You smiled softly, “My Dean doesn’t say that, but I love you too.” “Dammit, Sammy. Help me! She’s lost too much blood. I can’t lose her!” “Dean..I’m so cold.” “I know, baby. We’re gonna get you out of here and to the hospital. Just hang on. We got him, we got the Djinn.”
Everything started to click into place. Sam, Dean and you were on a hunt. Hunting a Djinn. You had been captured, and nothing was real. You and Dean married, the baby, every deep desire was a sick twisted game the Djinn used to drain you dry. 
Your eyes filled with tears as you looked up at Dean. You slowly touched his face, “I love you Dean Winchester, now and forever.” Your eyes closed one last time and everything went dark.
Tags: @nescaveckdaily  @kr804573 @k-slla @jackles010378 @jawritter
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theheirofthesharingan · 11 months ago
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Okay, sorry if this was asked before but I'm curious and I'd really like to learn more. You've mentioned in a couple of posts now that Itachi wasn't retconned. Could you please elaborate further?
Hey! No, this wasn't asked before. I was thinking of making a separate post for this, but procrastination is evil. So, I am one of the 'Itachi was meant to be a good guy/was not evil/had more to him than he let on' people. Watching the anime, it was the feeling that there was more to him. His reveal was along the lines of devastation and shocking for me than surprise. Detailed post is below the cut.
First thing first.
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This was Itachi's first look that Kishimoto had planned.
Itachi was originally conceived as the leader of Konoha's Special Assassination and Tactical Squad called the "Anbu", dubbed the Itachi Squad (イタチ隊, Itachi-tai), which would have been a 70-man group divided into four teams, specializing in assassination and other illicit operations. However, this idea was scrapped in favour of the current Itachi working for the Akatsuki.
The above paragraph is from Itachi's wikipedia that cites a couple of interviews as sources. People can't be too blind in their delusion to think the author who wrote the story had no idea what he was writing.
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Next is the Naruto Databook that has some fishy things if we look closely. In the first glance it's not very obvious, but after learning the truth it seems very much obvious.
It says, "the ones who know the reason of its downfall are very small". Go back to Obito's words about only four people being aware of the reason of the clan's downfall.
Additionally, Itachi carried out 134 B-Rank missions. Zero A Rank. And one S-Rank. The S rank mission being the Uchiha massacre. It's very fishy that he was given one s rank mission without any A tank mission. Suspicious? We know later on why.
It's also interesting because the first databook was published in 2002 and Itachi first appeared in 2003. If his twist wasn't planned from the beginning this databook is very telling.
Since I mentioned how he looked, here's him in Sasuke's flashbacks for the first time.
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He looks far from evil or sadistic. You want to know who enjoys killing for fun? Hidan. Itachi, on the other hand, on the day of the massacre itself, looks miserable and lost.
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In chapter 7, he in a haze-like manner he talks about crying. In many English translations it's translated as 'he made me cry' and in many it's this. It's very, very vague, but his statement is complimented by Sakura's question, to which he still responds in the similar way 'My..' Maybe he was trying to say 'My brother', but he instead finishes his speech with 'my goal is to take revenge' etc., Since it's still very early so it might not be the strongest evidence, but a few chapters later in chapter 27, during their fight against Haku, when Sasuke awakens his Sharingan, he has two tomoe in his right eye.
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Yes, he might have awakened it this way, but it also suggests that maybe already had his Sharingan and that's why this is 'asymmetrical' awakening? In the later chapters we find out he actually did have his Sharingan he awakened after the massacre.
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This flashbacks in chapter 127 most firmly establishes Itachi's twist. The tilted head-protector. Sasuke remembers it vaguely, but he has no recollection of Itachi crying that night, because his mind is still hazy from the "truth" Itachi wanted him to believe. We know later on the significance of this scene.
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There are three moments before Itachi was even introduced that give away what we see right after his truth reveal and connect to the chapter 403.
The 'Itachi was retconned' camp also uses 'Itachi was meant to be older (than 13) but Kishi made him younger later on' as an excuse to justify their retcon bullshit.
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Kakashi, in chapter 142, states Itachi was 13 when he was made the Anbu captain.
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Itachi graduated when he was just seven. Sasuke is the same age as Itachi was when he graduated from the Academy. Itachi is 17 at the time of his first appearance and Sasuke is 12. It is enough to tell lies were spread about Itachi. We, obviously, learn later on why.
Some more obvious hints were his interaction with Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi.
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The criminal infamous for annihilating one of the strongest clans refuses to indulge in fight?
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He also asks Kisame to keep things low key and not get too much attention. That's an excuse. He's not here to wage war. Yes, later on he does ask Kisame to go ahead. But that's because he's a spy. He cannot let Danzo know he dropped his guard. One single mistake from his side that could unearth the truth of the massacre and Danzo would lay hands on Sasuke. Plus, while he's strong, his opponents aren't just fragile saplings who couldn't stand any blow he or Kisame cast. He knew reinforcements would be on the way.
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Kakashi also wonders why Itachi didn't just kill him. Again, yes, the torture was brutal, but they're ninja who are meant to do and endure cruel things. Itachi had to look like he was a menacing criminal reputed to have killed the Uchiha singlehandedly.
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So, he completely avoids fighting Asuma and Kuernai, takes on only Kakashi because he's strong and can take it, also has Sharingan. But he completely refuses to go against Jiraiya. Jiraiya may or may not be stronger than him. Maybe they were equal. However, recalling Obito's words again: Itachi devoted himself to fighting Sasuke to death.
Two conclusions come from this:
He didn't want to fight Jiraiya because it would result in a massive bloodbath and killing a leaf Shinobi is out of question for him. He's not a coward. He just doesn't want to fight him.
As we know from later on, he wanted to fight and die at Sasuke's hands only. Killing a Konoha Shinobi or dying at the hands of someone that isn't Sasuke isn't a part of his plan.
This can also be tracked further when Kisame captures the Four Tails.
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Kisame most likely knew about Itachi's illness, knew Itachi wanted to die at Sasuke's hands. The reason Itachi didn't fight Jiraiya and Rōshi was most likely the same.
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Kisame comments on Itachi's 'lingering affection' towards the village. The Akatsuki pairings' dynamics are quite opposite. Deidara and Sasori love art but have differing opinions on eternal vs explosive. Hidan and Kakuzu represent religion vs materialism (money). And Itachi and Kisame represent treachery vs loyalty. Itachi isn't loyal to Akatsuki, Kisame is.
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They also wonder why is Itachi taking the matter of kidnapping Naruto so lightly. He could have done it very easily. We know now that that wasn't his intent and his objective to visit the village was something else.
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As popular as 'Itachi knocked on the door before kidnapping Naruto' meme is, the truth is, he wasn't there to kidnap him at all. Replace Itachi with Kisame alone for a moment. Knock on the door? No, sir. Naruto would be half-dead. Or replace him with Hidan and Kakuzu. They're sadistic bastards and would have damaged Naruto in the worst possible way.
Furthermore, when you think of it, he revealed 'Akatsuki are after jinchuriki' years prior to the Akatsuki even began collecting the tailed beasts. It was a message he left because it was important. His job in the Akatsuki wasn't to "pass on the info to the village." It was to keep tabs on them so they don't attack Konoha.
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After the massacre, Sasuke's unwavering faith in Itachi despite being put in Tsukuyomi. At first it doesn't seem too much, but we later discover that Itachi used to be a kind and gentle boy. So this bit isn't just Sasuke is blind, but also that Itachi was a kind child before the tragedy happened.
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Sasuke's flashbacks in chapter 220 also hint towards Itachi being trapped in the politics of the village/clan. Fugaku is speaking to his own son but the discussion is so intense that he has to activate his Sharingan to convey the message to Itachi.
These are the flashbacks from the chapter #221 that further shed light on Itachi being a spy.
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He's the "pipeline between the clan and the village" - a spy. Later Obito says Itachi was callously used for his devotion towards the village, this is an example of his clan doing this to him.
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This is Itachi right after being accused of Shisui's murder. He looks in grief, while also processing the news. Once the narrative delves deep into Itachi's story (through Sasuke's eyes) in VOTE1, he continues to look miserable, lost, in pain, and in dire need of help. And once we begin to see more of him before his death, he is quite human. But again, Kishimoto had his whole story figured out by that time, knew what he was to do with Itachi's arc and Sasuke's future there.
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In the chapter 224 (during the battle between Sasuke and Naruto), the flashback goes to this moment: Itachi tells Sasuke that he'd be one of the three people to awaken Mangekyo.
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This connects to the chapter 385 when Sasuke vs Itachi happens. Sasuke asks him about the third person who had the MS.
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Kishimoto isn't a terrible writer because some people choose to ignore what's written right there or cannot accept happened. Usually the deniers of this are those who question his morality. His morality is never the subject of the debate because Itachi isn't exonerated for his crimes. He's a part of a world that's cruel and violent and his actions align with it very much. The ones who "praise" him have their own bias, and that gives him nothing in return. Characters in fiction always, I mean, always respond to the information based on their morality. When Hashirama praises Itachi, it's because he grew up in the warring era and lost all his family. He learns there's this kid who chose a path with the least damage but at the cost of his life, he's a good Shinobi. Hiruzen also has his bias as well as his guilt. Naruto's praise for Itachi is not only because of stopping a war, but also for loving Sasuke. No one other than Sasuke sees him as a person whether anyone likes him or hates him. He's praised by other Shinobi for doing things that are expected from a Shinobi.
Either way, at the end of the day, Itachi himself doesn't see himself who is worth forgiving, worth loving, worth being remembered. That's his whole arc.
Some things above in the post I took from this thread. Some information I ommited from it, so feel free to go through it, please.
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