#you cannot turn back into what you used to be transformation is about moving forward | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

iisasarcasticlittleshite · 2 years ago

Note

Honestly id love to see barb and dia react to dragon mc

"I see, so that's how this happened." Diavolo beamed joyously, even as Lucifer told the story with his usual enthusiasm. "What a remarkable transformation you've gone through, MC!"

"Indeed, quite the poised little creature." Barbatos' words carried an amused undertone at the dragon perched across Lucifer's shoulders, front legs folded in a manner one could only describe as refined.

It's not unlike the way MC will cross their legs when sitting in on these meetings as a human.

"I came to ask if you had any solutions in mind, not to watch you marvel in at this predicament." The first born scowled. Yes, MC paints rather the adorable figure as a dragon, but he wants his human back.

As if sensing his distress, the dragon on his shoulder let out a purr, gently moving their tail to wrap around his tie, a quiet reminder that it's still his human behind those eyes.

Diavolo's eyes tracked the movement, and his smile only grew. "I'll tell you what, we'll keep MC here for a day or two so you can hunt for a solution yourself, without concerning yourself with their safety with your brothers."

Lucifer sighed, a combination of MC's gentle touch and Diavolo's reassuring tone easing the tension in his shoulders. The dragon sank with them, and chirped happily.

"That's assuming they'd be any safer in a castle full of haunted objects and giant snakes."

"I assure you, MC will come to no harm here." Barbatos said sincerely. "If we cannot aid you in reversing the transformation, we can at least keep them safe for the time being."

Lucifer nodded to himself as MC slid from his shoulder to his lap, looking up at him questioningly. They have been impressively well behaved thus far, he doubts it would last. They have a gift for mischief, all the more reason to have them returned to normal as soon as possible.

"Very well, I entrust them to you, Lord Diavolo, Barbatos."

Lucifer curled a finger under their chin, bringing those big eyes up to his, rubbing their cheek with the pad of his thumb affectionately. "Behave, I'll pick you up tomorrow, understand?"

A playful chirp was the only response MC could give him, but it was enough before they leaped from his lap onto the table between he and Diavolo, careful not to disturb any of the dishes set out for breakfast with their wings.

Lucifer left then, on his way to RAD for the day, leaving Diavolo to marvel at the fully formed little dragon now blinking up at him curiously.

"Well, you seem to be quite comfortable. Would you like to sit on my shoulder? I noticed that's how you move around with the brothers."

He'd seen MC for the first time on Satan's shoulders, tail tucked loosely in his collar to keep them stable as the fourth born picked his way through the busy halls of RAD, and again now with Lucifer.

MC yipped and spread their wings, taking off smoothly, without disturbing a single dish, and landed firmly on his left shoulder, careful not to dig their claws in.

Diavolo let out a booming laugh. "Amazing! Learned to fly already!"

"MC has always been a quick study when motivated, Young Master." Barbatos added, watching fondly as Diavolo beamed with pride when MC settled across his shoulders, undisturbed even when they shook with laughter. "Do try not to get too distracted, young Master. You still have work to do."

Diavolo deflated almost immediately. "Yes, I know."

"Perhaps it would be best if MC accompanied me for the rest of the morning." He shot the dragon a look, and they immediately took off from Diavolo's shoulders, fearful of that look turning into a glare. Daring as they may be, even MC doesn't fuck around with Barbatos.

They took a sweeping ark about the gazebo, enjoying a slightly longer use of their wings. They'd barely flown further than across the main room in the House of Lamentation, and were looking forward to the space in the Demon Lord's Castle.

Barbatos allowed them to test their wings while they shadowed him through his regular duties. For a human turned dragon, MC is surprisingly graceful, skilfully avoiding any collateral damage.

"All of this flying around must have you hungry, MC. Shall we take the young Master his lunch? I'm sure he'd love it if you shared with him."

MC chirped, leaping from the kitchen cabinets to his shoulder, having been scolded for landing on the counter when the stove was on.

They rubbed their cheek affectionately against Barbatos, and that's when he noticed...

"Is that...dust?"

MC's eyes widened, eyes snapping to the particles forming the shape of their feet on Barbatos' immaculate shoulder.

Dread had the dragon arching their back and pouncing away, landing on the floor this time. Barbatos arched a brow "You aren't in trouble, but seeing as you've taken such a liking to flying, you might be of use to dust the heights if the castle..."

MC yapped with objection, they knew exactly how massive the demon lord's castle is, and they also know exactly how much of a perfectionist Barbatos is. If he gets them cleaning, he won't let them stop until all the places he can't reach are immaculate.

Their wings will drop off by the time he lets them stop.

"Now now, it wouldn't be that bad." Barbatos crooned wearing that terrifying smile of his. "We'll just get some brief dusting done before the Master's lunch."

MC shook their head, scooting backwards out of the kitchen, and quickly skittering to a run, claws squeaking over the marble floors.

They don't need to look back to know the butler has followed them, so they quickly leap from a staircase and take flight, winding in and out of narrow hallways until Barbatos' presence no longer looms at the back of their senses.

They ducked into the library, the door slightly cracked open, and find a gap between two heavy volumes at the very top shelf.

The books here smell old, older than the ones in Satan's room. Some have waves of magic rolling from them, others whisper of times long past.

MC's sensitive eyes and hearing pick up on all of these things, marvelling at the many wonders of the Devildom.

They listen for Barbatos' approaching footsteps, little heart hammering in their chest until the silence dragged on for just long enough that they dared creep out, balancing precariously on the edges of shelves to read the spines of several books.

Eventually, they settled on a book that seemed to call to them, and carefully nudged the heavy, leather bound book from its place, using their wings to soften its landing on the hardwood floor. Carefully, they propped up the book, nudged open the cover, and began to read.

Diavolo would find them there hours later, after he'd convinced Barbatos to let him stretch his legs and search for MC.

It was an adorable sight, the dragon's tail curled under the book to prop it up, turning the place very carefully so as not to damage the paper with their claws.

"Managed to escape, did you?"

MC startled, the book slid to the ground with a smack before they realised it was the prince, and not his butler armed with a dragon-sized feather duster.

Diavolo chuckled lightly, careful not to let his laugh ring out too much for fear of being caught. He was under instructions to send MC back to Barbatos, after all.

The prince slid to the floor beside them, back resting against the shelves as he stretched his long legs out in front of him. "What are you reading?"

MC churred in relief, stretching themselves onto their feet as their joints ached from lying on the floor all this time. They pushed the book toward the prince, who kept it open as he read the spine.

"A history of human magic? I can see why you would be interested." He smiled, opening his hand invitingly for MC to rub their head against him, careful not to poke him with their horns. "You're awfully affectionate in their form, aren't you?"

MC's responding look had the prince laughing again. "Well, the floor cannot have been comfortable, and I hear you gave Barbatos quite the run-around. Would you like to come into my office? I'm sure you'd be more comfortable there."

The dragon whined, eyes darting around as if Barbatos was about to pop out of any corner. Human MC already dislikes house chores, he can imagine their opinions on dusting all the nooks and crannies the castle has to offer, especially when they're barely the size of a housecat themselves.

"Don't worry," He set their book in his lap and opened one side of his coat, "I'll sneak you in, he'll be none the wiser."

MC highly doubted that, but...they were tired, and the invitation of snuggling up to Diavolo while he worked was far too tempting.

Diavolo's heart fluttered as the little dragon crawled into his coat, curling up against his breast, wings tucked close to their back.

"Comfortable?"

The responding purr sounded sleepy, and he thought that just this once, he'd be willing to oppose Barbatos if it meant this little creature could stay so comfortable.

By the time the prince sat down at his desk, MC was sound asleep, the warmth of them seeping through his shirt, along with soft purrs and sleepy churring.

The prince went about his work with a contented smile for the rest of the day.

Part 4

@darkflowerav (Tagged as requested :)

#obey me #oh my god this was getting so long #had to stop here #might do a part 2 #obey me barbatos #obey me lucifer #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos x mc #obey me diabolo x mc #an innocent mistake

441 notes · View notes

bumblebeeappletree · 1 year ago

Text

For those who enjoy cottagecore, please read what I have to say.

As you may or may not know, cottagecore has stemmed from colonist ideals, is racist, and has ties to tradwives. However I will not go in depth on it as it has already been talked about in a few articles and some posts on tumblr. The articles are here, here, here, and here. The tumblr posts can be found here, here, here, here, and here. However I say this person, Zoe Bee, has done a really good job on her video here as she summed up everything I already linked before.

I will say this article came out more recently if you wanted something newer about tradwives.

In this current day and age it’s understandable to want what cottagecore promotes with its aesthetic. Beautiful flowers as far as the eye can see, a garden you tailored yourself that you like specifically, billowing dresses, cute animals that provide you eggs and milk, and so on. Especially having your own house is very appealing at a time where it’s unattainable for many people. But going out where you’re isolated from everyone, with just yourself and your animals, is not the answer. Going out to land that once belonged to indigenous people who have not been able to go back home is not the answer. Continuing to think of ideals of the past is not the answer.

Instead what we can do is transform cities to be more green, safe for people, and work with the environment around it. This is the answer. To move forward. To think of the future and create it.

One of the first things we should do is improve accessibility. As you know not everyone can walk, see, or hear as a few examples. Having better public transportation is important to ensure everyone is able to get to where they need to. As it stands being in a city, not everyone has enough spoons, or ability, to walk where they can go. Trains are very popular, especially when it comes to going to other cities or towns. However when it comes to North America compared to Europe it’s not as widespread. Trams (or streetcars or trolleys if you’re from North America) are also a wonderful example. We must be able to ensure that entryways are large enough for even the biggest set of wheelchairs to go through. Ramps for easy access are important as well as wheelchairs cannot simply “step up” into vehicles. And this is not just for wheelchairs, it would be good for parents who are taking their baby or small child around in a stroller. There’s also those who use walkers, people with wheeled luggage, carts and so forth.

But most importantly, it is vital for people with disabilities to be part of the designing process of a city, to ensure that their voices are heard and to ensure they take part in that everyday easy access that most abled people already enjoy. Like Braille, audio description, large print, and subtitles as a ready option that’s there from the get go.

Another thing with more access to public transportation, people would need cars less and less. And should they need to go somewhere a train or tram cannot, buses are still options. However with fewer cars, the roads would be used less. Parking lots would be smaller. We could a: make roads and parking lots smaller; b: take out roads and parking lots completely; c: transform roads and parking lots into community spaces; or d: do a mixture of all of the above. Some roads could turn back into the wild environment that existed there before, while we could turn parking lots into more parks. Streets could be like they were before cars became mainstream, where street vendors would sell their wares, where children would play games, and anyone would hang out. Parking lots could become a space for events like farmer’s markets or a place to shoot off fireworks. Or even instead of parks in place of parking lots, it could be transformed into a community garden.

When it comes to housing, apartment complexes are where we should go in cities. To keep from city sprawl, we can go up. We can transform rooftops to community gardens, water harvesting spaces, solar panel spaces, or a community space.

However in some spaces, like in the suburbs, or even some spaces where there are houses in a neighborhood in a city, we can turn them into “pockethoods”. We can turn a neighborhood into a village. In the city we could have tiny houses on the same plot of land one house would typically be on. In a regular neighborhood, picture a series of houses without fencing and the series of backyards turn into a common area.

We can plant more trees alongside sidewalks, both fruit producing and pollen producing, more fruit bearing than pollen bearing, to help keep the allergies down and to keep a variety of plants. We can plant native species in cities, and we can have non-natives in our community gardens, or even inside city farms, for both practical use, such as eating or creating fibers, or enjoyment, like flowers to cut into bouquets. We can create rain gardens to help collect rainwater to put back into our water table.

I know that cottagecore lovers love the idea of going out into the country and perhaps finding a community there, but the cities are here, we’ve been here. It’s people’s homes, their lives. Cities have been around for such a long time, one of the most well known oldest city is Mesopotamia’s Babylon. (Very famous for their hanging gardens I might add.) Most importantly it can be done. Even now we can go talk to neighbors, go to events others are holding, or even create our own events, create a big pot of food to share with others, and have community. We can make a difference and we can have that sense of love. We just need to band together, demand change, and create our change. It can be hard, yes, but it will be so rewarding. This, you might find yourself doing, is something that aligns more with Solarpunk. Something that people look to strive for a brighter future for everyone.

Thank you.

(And thank you so much @cwicseolfor for helping me edit this TT^TT)

#Solarpunk #cottagecore #fun fact the suicide rate in Montana is higher than Wisconsin is because all those ranches are miles away from their neighbors #you are isolated #and we are social creatures #we do not do well with being alone for long periods of time #and cool I’m posting it just in time for Solarpunk Aesthetic Week

322 notes · View notes

cynicalstudy · 5 months ago

Text

I’ve translated some Precure interviews from the 20th Anniversary Character Chronicle! This post is dedicated to Hirogaru Sky Precure. Information under cut😊 (Note: I am not a professional translator! There will/may be some errors, but I tried my best!)

~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~🌌~

Plain Text:

💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙

Page 1:

1.“Sky Mirage! Tone Connect! Hirogaru Change! The sky that soars to infinity! Cure Sky!”

2.The Precure Sora transforms into. Sora, who has been training as a hero, chases the kidnapped princess Ellee-chan to Sorashido City. Princess Ellee’s mysterious power reacts to Sora’s heart and turns her into Cure Sky. “Hirogaru Sky Punch” is her finishing move.

3.A girl from Skyland who aspires to be a hero. She has excellent athletic prowess, with a serious and polite personality. She deepened her bond with Mashiro first. Her catchphrase is “It’s Hero time!”

💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙🗻💙

Page 2:

1.“Sora comes from another world; Skyland. She is the first main Precure to have blue as a color. We struggled coming up with a balance of coolness and cuteness.” (Next Quote) “There is frequent use of sky motifs, such as balloons, the moon, and stars. Her sleeves were made to represent these balloons, and her earring reflects the moon.”

2.“A major design point is her cape fluttering in the wind. Said cape is a defining characteristic of Cure Sky, and it only covers the left shoulder, so she won’t have to worry about it from behind. Her hair tips have a gradient of blue to pink. Cuteness and coolness is expressed in an asymmetrical design. The wavy lines create more movement than straight lines.”

3.”Cure Sky is a character reliant on fighting, so we designed her to have slightly larger (most likely muscular) arms and legs. This was inspired by fighting game characters, which enhances the battle scenes.”

4.“We asked Akira Sekine (Sky’s VA) for words of inspiration as Sky. She states, “Even if I feel I cannot move forward, there are people who always have my back! So don’t stop, Hero Girl! I have many people that support me, much like Sora-chan. Sora-chan is a hero to me too!” Sekine-san is motivated by Sky’s design, mostly her cape, as she thinks it is cool.”

Plain Text:

🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍

Page 1:

1.“Sky Mirage! Tone Connect! Hirogaru Change! Gentle light that softly soars! Cure Prism!”

2.The Precure Mashiro transforms into. Mashiro turns into Cure Prism when saving Sora in a pinch. She hesitates often due to a lack of confidence, but Ageha pushes her to be the best she can be. “Hirogaru Prism Shot” is her finishing attack.

3.A kind and knowledgeable second-year at Sorashido Middle. Her parents constantly work overseas, and her grandmother taught her about cooking and nature. Through interacting with Sora and her friends, she slowly gains confidence.

🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍🌈🤍

Page 2:

1.“Mashiro transforms into Cure Prism, a kind and gentle girl inspired by diamonds. Influenced by the prism-like shape, we have adopted the diamond style as a symbol.” (Next Quote) “The hairstyle resembles hearts, in the braids mainly. There is also a decorative ribbon on the back of her outfit.”

2.“She shares the same earring shape as Sky, which makes a pair together. Her full-body silhouette is reminiscent of a diamond shape. Children are more likely to recognize her with a fuller hairstyle. The frills are essential for the cute, soft feel we have gotten with Prism.”

3.”The cross pattern on her skirt represents a prism that changes color depending on light passing through it. This exemplifies Prism’s own unique experience of discovering her qualities through encounters with others.”

4.“We asked Ai Kakuma (Prism’s VA) for words of inspiration as Prism. She states, “It’s hero time! When you say this, you’re saying “Protect what is most important to you!” These words encourage me to be stronger.” Kakuma-san states her favorite part of Prism’s fashion is inside her skirt, where the cross is.”

Plain Text:

🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡

Page 1:

1.“Sky Mirage! Tone Connect! Hirogaru Change! Courage soaring high! Cure Wing!”

2.The Precure Tsubasa transforms into. The first recurring male member of a Precure team. He helps Sky and the others, and when Kabaton laughs at Princess Ellee, he shouts “Don’t laugh!” He then turns into Cure Wing and saves the princess. “Hirogaru Wing Attack” is his finishing attack.

3.He is a hard-working boy from the Puni Bird tribe, a bird fairy who cannot fly but can take the form of a human. His dream of flying came true when he turned into a Precure, and he serves Princess Ellee as her knight.

🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡🪶🧡

Page 2:

1.“The first male Precure to be a regular member. It took some time to solidify the character’s image, including the height and age. Since he is a member of the Puni Bird tribe, we had to be conscious of his bird-like qualities too.” (Next Quote) “The costume is based off butler’s style. To prevent it from becoming a stiff design, we gave him colorful buttons, reminiscent of a circus.”

2.“When he transforms, his bangs will be neat! Before he changes, he has a quiet hairstyle with one eye hidden. After, he becomes powerful, and the low ponytail resembles a tail feather. The blue to yellow gradient reminded us of dusk. To express his masculinity, we gave him shorts, while giving an air of femininity with little frills.”

3.“The accent on his thigh matches Butterfly. While the rest of his design is neat and symmetrical, we added this ribbon to express individuality.”

4.“We asked Ayumu Murase (Wing’s VA) for words of inspiration as Wing. He states, “Your knight shall go!” Murase-san says he likes the mini hat on his head, stating it is cute.”

Plain Text:

🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷

Page 1:

1.“Sky Mirage! Tone Connect! Hirogaru Change! Wonderful soaring excitement! Cure Butterfly!”

2.The Precure Ageha transforms into. Her dream is to become the best nursery schoolteacher, and to protect the people she cares about as a Precure. “Hirogaru Butterfly Press” is her finishing attack.

3.An 18-year-old studying at vocational school with the aim of becoming a childcare worker. A dependable older sister type with a stylish personality, she is the childhood friend of Mashiro. Her catchphrase is “Let’s get excited!”

🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷🎀🩷

Page 2:

1.“The first adult Cure to appear in the series. Since she is much older, we had many discussions about the design of her character. We were conscious to ensure she was mature and sister-like.” (Next Quote) “Her arms are covered in sheer body tights, much like a figure skater, which gives the impression of a sunrise.”

2.“The charm around her neck is common amongst Precure characters. The common motif gives off the sense of teamwork. The midriff and mini skirt are reminiscent of Korean fashion trends. She is inspired by K-pop idols, along with a sporty mix in its design.”

3.“A mini skirt would reveal too much, so we gave her one-sided tights to balance the weight. The bottom has a silhouette that resembles butterfly wings, and the sides give the impression of said butterfly’s wings at rest.”

4.“We asked Ayaka Nanase (Butterfly’s VA) for words of inspiration as Butterfly. She states, “Let’s get excited! When I say this, I get excited too~ So positive; my favorite word!” Nanase-san likes the gradient sleeves and asymmetrical tights.”

Plain Text:

💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜

Page 1:

1.“Sky Mirage! Tone Connect! Hirogaru Change! Descending mystical nobility! Cure Majesty!”

2.The Precure Ellee-chan transforms into. Wishing to help Sora and the others in a pinch, she temporarily grows older and turns into a Precure. This consumes a lot of energy, so she quickly returns to her baby form. “Hirogaru Magic Hour’s End” is her finishing attack (last sentence added by translator).

3.A baby who is the princess of Skyland. She has the mysterious power to create the Sky Tones. She learns to walk and talk on her own as she grows, and her catchphrase is “Eru~!”

💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜✨💜

Page 2:

1.“Cure Majesty, which is Ellee-chan transformed, is the princess of Skyland. Our challenge was to create a royal feel while keeping the vestiges of her baby form.” (Next Quote) “She has a luxurious motif but is still similar to Sky. Her sleeves link their designs together.”

2.”Majesty is an honorific title for the royal family. We left traces of her childhood in her hair. This invokes the idea that Ellee-chan has grown up. We kept a royal design befitting a princess, and a sash that creates a royal feel.”

3.“Her colors are inspired by the “Magic Hour”. This purple shade is bright, even without the sun present.”

4.“We asked Aoi Koga (Majesty’s VA) for words of inspiration as Ellee-chan. She states, “Thank you all for believing in me. These were her first ever words after transforming, and they are filled with a lot of love and time spent together.” Koga-san adores the skirt, as well as the tiara.”

#anime #precure #hirogaru sky precure #cure sky #cure prism #cure wing #cure butterfly #cure majesty #precure translations

47 notes · View notes

ficthots · 2 years ago

Text

A/N: Josh is an annoying neighbor. Come on, we all know it's true. This is what it would be like to be his neighbor. If you're lucky. As always let me know what you guys think and enjoy!

Warnings: SMUT. DNI if you are under 18. 18+ content only

Word Count: 8.2K+

Manors. You are taught them from an early age and if you are a gracious person, they stick with you throughout your adult life. Most people with common decency and respect for others can even mutter out a please and thank you on their worst days. These small things are ingrained in you from such earlier times that they truly become second nature at some point, simply transforming you into being a good person.

The bigger person. A phrase you had heard since your mother first said it to you when you got in an argument with a school friend about them taking your Lincoln Logs without asking. Your mom had sat you down once you had gotten home from school that day and said while she understood how upsetting it could be, that you needed to try and see it from their point of view. Perhaps they didn’t realize you were using them or they thought you were done. Go back to school tomorrow, be the bigger person, and forgive them.

That mentality had followed you through life thereafter. You reconciled with your friend and were now able to apply that mentality to many petty disputes from then on out. However, being the bigger person is not always the best option.

Take for example, your incredibly shitty neighbor that lives directly across the hall from you. That prick of a human being did not have a sensible or courteous bone in his body. It has been going on for months now. The incessant throb of a bass that jolts your walls and nearly knocks your favorite mugs from your shelves. A screeching of a voice that you cannot make out the words they are attempting to belt out, only offering a migraine. Starting near eight or nine every night and going well past midnight.

After bitching to your mom on the phone for the millionth time, she suggested approaching them as kindly as possible. Let them know they are kind of disturbing the peace and move forward. The thought of crossing the hall and actually speaking to them for the first time ever had you on edge.

You were going to try the friendly approach. Being a non confrontational person meant slipping an anonymous note under their door, a nice message and asking to keep it down attached to it. It did not work. A small bout of hopefulness spread through you as the music came to a halt that evening, letting the blood rushing in your ear to cease for only a blissful minute before starting right back up.

Being the bigger person. You had tried that. Attempting to see it from their point of view. There is a chance they did not realize how loud they were actually being. Offering a peaceful chance for them to quiet down, letting their neighbors think again. That was the entire purpose of the note. No embarrassing or awkward conversations between strangers. You truly thought it would work and they would realize their actions were actually quite rude and attempt to be a better neighbor.

Nope. Nada. Zilch.

Whoever they were picked it right back up. A small, frustrated yelp left your throat. You were shocked that they had so blatantly ignored the pleas from their desperate neighbors. Was it too much to ask that after a long day at work to come home, watch trashy television, or simply read a book in quiet solace? No, it was not.

And whoever was living across the hall was fucking that up. You didn’t even know their name. Only knowing them by the marking next to their door. 2F. You had never even seen them either, working opposite schedules obviously. Sometimes it seemed like they were gone sporadically for weeks at a time, signaling their arrival once again by the vibrating floors.

You had reached a breaking point one night. What had been occasional night time music thundering in the building had seemingly turned into a near twenty-four seven parade. You attempted to ignore it to the best of your ability, even making yourself a nice cocktail after a rough day at work.

It felt like you couldn’t escape it. Far too chilly to enjoy your patio, you wandered through the rooms of your apartment, trying to find any break you could from the incessant noise that seemed to follow you like a shadow of death.

They had been home for weeks now, more than likely unemployed you assumed by the constant, never ending noise streaming from their home to yours. At first it had been the same as it normally was, annoying, but at least you were used to it. Until you woke up one morning to it. After that, it seemed to never stop.

This particularly shitty day had you on edge, wanting to come home and soak in the tub, read a smutty novel about a mafia boss forcing an arranged marriage, and then fall asleep a tad bit tipsy. You were already working on the latter of your wants, second mixed drink in your hand and nearing its end.

It was a Friday afterall.

Your plans had come to a screeching halt when you arrived home and you could literally see their door slightly shaking. “Be the bigger person,” you whispered out, hand clutching your door knob and entering your own apartment. You tried. Truly you did.

As you had called it quits on the alcohol for the evening you knew you needed to get some food in your system or it was going to become a sloppy night. You made dinner, sat down to enjoy it, trying your hardest to tune out the high pitched wailing crossing the hall that was forcing its way into your space.

But when you missed what one housewife had said to another during a heated argument in Bali you had reached your limit. Feeling more confident with the liquor still in your system, you were nervous to approach them, but it needed to be done. It was time to teach the douchebag some manners.

Slamming your bowl down on your coffee table, standing from your sofa, and walking across the small hall to their front door, your fist connected with the wood, pounding on it repeatedly until the mystery person opened it.

A curly, almost mohawk of a style sat atop his head. Some sort of beads swayed with his movement, moving across his bare chest, sweats hung low on his hips, his bare feet crossed as he leaned on the door. A large smile greeting you displaying the complete opposite emotion you were currently feeling. “Hi there!” He spoke loudly, excited and eager to speak to you.

“Do you understand how loud you are? It has been months of listening to this every single-” you were nervous, trying to get your trembling hands to stop the shake, but he cut you off as you started your tirade. “You’re the note!” His smile somehow grew bigger, reaching behind him and grabbing the piece of paper from what you assumed was an entryway table behind the door.

You nodded, starting back up, irritated that he had interrupted you whilst speaking. How incredibly rude. This kid seriously had no idea what manners were.“Yes and I tried being nice about it, but you obviously don’t seem to comprehend that you live in an apartment meaning you share walls-,” his eyebrows furrowed at your wording, the tip of his tongue poking out from behind his teeth.

“We don’t share walls.” He had cut you off. Again. Your nostrils flared slightly at that, using that observation as your point of reference. “Exactly. We don’t share walls and yet mine are vibrating every day because of your music that you’re blasting. You can’t even pause it for a conversation!” A laugh escaped you at the end, arms crossing in disbelief at this guy.

He rolled his eyes, smile never leaving his features as he grabbed his phone and hit pause. You took in a deep breath, already feeling the tension releasing. “It’s late, I got home from a crappy day at work, all I want to do is get some sleep and I cannot do that with you blasting whatever it is you listen to. Honestly, it sounds like the same song over and over which I mean power to you if that’s what you like to do, but please, just turn it down.” He hummed at your response, opening his notes app as you spoke.

“Sounds the same,” he mumbled, typing that into the note. His eyes darted up to meet yours after he slipped his phone back in his pocket. “Did you say you were going to bed? It’s 9:30, grandma.” You gasped in surprise at his harsh judgment. “Listen,” he leaned to the side to see around you and squinted his eyes, “3F. You seem to be the only person that has a problem with this. I actually share walls with 1F there and they have never complained. Seems to be a you problem,” your jaw hung slack at his words.

You narrowed your eyes to slits as you stared at him. “Just keep it down, asshole.” His eyes went wider, a scoff of a laugh billowing from his lips. “Ouch, 3F. That wasn’t very nice.” You turned on your heels, entering your apartment and slamming the door behind you.

The music started right back up. The same song on repeat for the remainder of the night. You weren’t sure when it ended, deciding to sleep with your duvet entirely covering your head, but you knew it carried on late. You could tell by the endless tossing and turning all night. When you looked in the mirror the next morning, the deep bags that sat under your eyes confirmed it.

You hated him.

Sitting at a dimly lit table in a dimly lit restaurant with your best friend meant you were struggling to view the menu. She grabbed it from your hands, putting them on the table and smiled at you. “Don’t worry, I know what we’re ordering.” As she quickly spewed your order to the server, you sat enjoying the low chatter and jazz music that flowed through the room.

See, this was a respectable level of volume. 2F should take notes. Your eyes darted open as she slapped her hands on the table top. “What’s up with you? You look exhausted,” she sipped from her cocktail as she eyed you. “Wow, thank you, that’s exactly what I needed to hear today,” you rolled your eyes, grabbing a piece of bread and tearing it apart, stuffing it into your mouth.

Her laugh echoed in the space, kicking you lightly under the table. “You know what I mean! Seriously, what’s up?” You sighed, leaning back in your chair as you chewed. “My shitty neighbor won’t stop playing his shitty music through all hours of the night. Last night was the second week in a row of it.” She nodded in response, checking her phone as she intently listened to you.

Ha ha.

“Report him. It’s a lease violation. Email your property manager and it’ll stop literally that day. Look at Shelby, can you believe she’s pregnant?” She leaned across the table, shoving her phone in your face, but all you could think of was how great of an idea it was.

As she spent the rest of her evening gossiping with you hardly contributing to the conversation, you drafted out an incredibly detailed email to send to your property manager. 2F was going to shut the fuck up. He was going to be told to. By someone other than you.

You sent the email the next morning, listing all of the hours that the music had been playing and how incredibly disruptive it was even after you had asked him to keep it down. You received a response within an hour saying that they were going to handle it.

Entirely unsure how long you had been perched on a barstool next to your front door, offering a great view of your peephole, you felt giddy. Were you waiting to see if he was going to be getting the violation? Absolutely, and you were doing so with a drink in your hand, occasionally peeking into the hallway to see if it was happening yet.

When your property manager appeared, you scooted the chair away from the door, too excited to sit, instead standing with either hand on the door, eye glued to the small view of the scene playing out in front of you.

Watching through your peephole you sensed victory as a lease violation was, in fact, handed off to him. You cheered, a tad bit too loud, because once the noise escaped you, his eyes darted across the hall setting sights on your door.

Your hand clamped down on your mouth, cursing yourself for being so stupid. When he knocked, your eyes went wide. Pretend you’re not home, you thought to yourself. “3F, I know you’re home. I literally just heard you,” your eyes squeezed shut, muttering a silent fuck.

Opening the door, his fuming gaze met yours. “Hi, happy hump day to you. What can I do for you?” You gave a large smile, happy to finally feel in control of the situation as he held up the paper.

“A lease violation. Seriously? You know this is a $145 fine, right?” You shrugged, acting as uninterested as possible, motioning your head down the hall to the other lone door on this hallway. “Don’t know. Maybe 1F got tired of it. Anyways, not my problem, but you have a great night.” A look skirted across his face that said do you really think I’m buying that before he spoke up, again.

“You know if you had asked nicely I would have gladly been more accommodating-” you cut him off, holding a hand up as you did. “Oh, I did! You chose to ignore it!” He shook his head, a small chuckle falling from him. “No, you did not. Slipping an anonymous note under my door, demanding that I be more quiet is not a friendly way of handling the situation.”

You stood staring at him in astonishment. That’s not what you had done. The note was very well thought out and precise in how you worded your request. Did you include the specific rule from the lease? Sure, but how else was he supposed to know it was against the rules?

He started back up, a playful smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “So, now you’ve asked for it.” Your brows drew together, scoffing in response. “Look dude, all I want is to come home and relax after a day of work. You ruin that,” he shrugged at your words. “And that noise is my work.”

You couldn’t contain the gut punching laugh that fell from you at the absurd claim. “You’re telling me that being loud is your job?” He nodded his head, bottom lip lightly pushing out as he did. “You haven’t even asked my name 3F,” your arms crossed over your chest. “Because I’m not interested in knowing it. 2F suffices.”

His head slightly tilted at you, emotions displaying as he thought. It was like he was trying to figure you out. More than likely trying to figure out all the possible ways to piss you off. “Well, I would like to know yours.” You shake your head, deciding to end this conversation, stepping back into your home and closing the door with a no thanks being offered to him in return.

2F had said now you’ve asked for it. What the hell did he mean by that? That’s what all of your thoughts had been about since you had closed the door in his face. It had been a little over a week since that day and despite the normal abhorrent noise, nothing else had happened.

Until you received a knock on your door.

Confused because you weren’t expecting anyone, you opened the door, a large smile gracing your face as you saw your property manager there, he offered a sad smile as he took you in. “Hi, Mr. Jameson! How’re you?” He sighed, a folded paper in his hands as he looked at his shoes.

“Great and I’m sorry to be doing this, but I have to give you this and advise you to heed it well.” Your face must have displayed how muddled you were feeling because he sighed again, turning and walking down the hall.

You opened it right there, crumpling it in your hand and storming across the hall, banging on his door as you did. When he pulled it open, his head had a tilt and a smirk on his stupid smug face. “3F! What brings you to my neck of the woods this fine evening?” You shoved the paper in his face, knowing he couldn’t read it because of the state it was in and the close location to his face, but you didn’t care.

“Disorderly conduct of a neighbor! Are you joking? This is literally what you do every single day,” he tsked at you, pulling his phone from his pocket as he did. “No, that’s what you do. According to the lease you are not to pester and harass your neighbors which,” he looked back up at you from his screen, “is exactly what you’re doing right now.”

You huffed, feeling anger coursing through your veins as you stared at the devilish little man. “I am not harassing you!” He sighed, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossing over his chest as he did. “I mean, you are. The note, the first interaction, storming over here and pounding on my door, that’s harassment 3F.”

He couldn’t contain the laughter being held in his throat as he saw how irritated and befuddled you were. “You are such a dick.” You mumbled out, going back to your own apartment. Not only had he cost you your sanity, but actual money. Paper currency. He wasn’t going to get away with this.

Absolutely not. For the next two weeks the noise never ceased. You kept your distance though, not particularly fond of getting another lease violation charge added to your account. Instead, you took another route.

Being the bigger person, of course. You frosted the last cupcake, smiling at how uniform they all appeared. It was your olive branch. You were known for your baking, every holiday season you were asked to bring some form of baked goods. It was relaxing and a sort of therapy to you.

As you knocked on the door, it opened with a woosh of air and you offered a kind smile to him. The kindest one you had yet. The tray was balanced on both your hands, a dozen cupcakes sat on it, and you could see he was taken aback by the offering.

“Look, I apologize. I am the type of person who prefers ambiance and low volume noise compared to blasting whatever it is you play. Everyone has their preferences, I get it. Here is my peace offering.” You handed the tray over to him, pointing to one that sat in the middle.

“Eat that one first, it’s my special recipe that everyone raves about. I don’t make it for just anyone so enjoy it.” He was dumbfounded, standing there holding the tray, speechless for the first time since you had met him. “Thank you!” He called out as you shut the door behind you.

The son of a bitch didn’t even attempt to apologize. Instead, he just took the damn cupcakes without even so much as the beginning of an apology. That’s why you didn’t feel bad. Not in the slightest.

When he appeared at your door the next morning as you were leaving for work, you were surprised to see him up. Well, not that surprising. “You fucking poisoned me!” You rolled your eyes, locking your door and adjusting the bag on your shoulder.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It was a little miralax in the one singular cupcake,” you checked the watch on your wrist and began walking down the hallway, calling out to him as you did. “Oops, I’m going to be late and I wouldn’t want to harass you anymore. Have a good one, 2F!” A cackle bounced off the walls as he groaned, running back into his apartment as you sauntered off.

Okay, maybe you did feel bad. In your defense, the jackass deserved it. He couldn’t be nice to his neighbors despite their numerous attempts so you had to do what you had to do. Should you have put a laxative in the cupcake? Debatable.

But you couldn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it. You did what you did and screw being the bigger person. Not with him at least. You were a good person. A kind person. He just seemingly brought out the worst in you for some reason.

All you wanted to do was slap that stupid smug look off his face that always seemed to be there. Expressing your anger in the form of violence sounded especially intriguing on a Sunday evening as you heard the remnants of a party happening across the hall. You were snuggled into bed, ready to call it for the night when you realized that it wasn’t just the normal throbbing of music he offered, but a plethora of voices shouting as well.

You honestly could have burst into tears on the spot. You had work early in the morning, not wanting to deal with the shit storm that this work week was going to be offering you, and he was over there being the most assholey asshole that you had ever encountered.

Remembering your christmas gift from your best friend had been a state of the art pair of noise canceling headphones meant you were running to put them on and they had been your savor that night. Uncomfortable to sleep with, of course, but at least you could sleep.

The work day was exactly what you had been expecting. Wanting nothing more than to come home and spend the evening trying to destress was halted as you rounded the corner for your door.

Bile rose in your throat as you approached your front door. Your hand went over your mouth, the stench of garbage flowing from the hall. A tremor appeared in your hand as anger surged in you, never having felt such animosity before in your life. Both of your fists pounded on his doors until he appeared, extremely hungover, but munching on an apple like he didn’t have a care in the world at the moment.

You pointed to the piles of trash that sat blocking your door, a fire dancing in your eyes as you stared at him, speaking through clenched teeth. “Get your fucking garbage off of my door. Now,” he looked around you, seeing the piles of trash and shrugged.

“Not my trash, 3F.” You didn’t have the energy for these games tonight. “Move your fucking trash. I know it’s yours. I know you had a fucking party on a goddamn Sunday. It is yours. Move it.” He was entirely unfazed, shaking his head as he took the last bite of his apple.

“Like I said. Not my trash. Have a good night,” your mouth hung open as you watched him toss the apple core onto the bags of trash sitting at your doorstep. It took you almost an hour to get all of the tash bags moved to the trash shoot.

After that night, you didn’t retaliate. He carried on in his normal irritating ways, but you couldn’t bring it in yourself to care. The headphones constantly rested on your scalp now, never leaving anymore. You connected the television to them, played your own enjoyable music, or just sat in the quiet. They were an actual god send.

Work had been driving you up the wall, no problems could seemingly be handled without you and it was driving you mad. You enjoyed being good at your job, knowing you were succeeding and that people turned to you for answers to issues and questions was rewarding, but it seemed now that it was more about everyone turning to you for any little thing they could.

It’s why your best friend suggested going out one night to relieve the stress and tension from the work week. You jumped at the opportunity, going to your favorite bar and wanting to enjoy spending some time out and about, allowing yourself to think about anything other than the two most annoying things in your life right now.

Work and 2F.

You were standing at the bar, ready to order your first of what would be many drinks for the evening when you heard it. His voice. He had saddled up beside you, eliciting a groan to fall from your lips. “If it isn’t my favorite neighbor! What brings you out? I thought you hated enjoying things? It’s quite loud in here, are you going to report it?” You rolled your eyes, opting to ignore him and catch the attention of the bartender.

“Two Moscow Mules!” You shouted out, seeing him nod as you went to hand over your card, 2F spoke up. “Put all her and her friends drinks on my tab. Thanks, bud!” You shot daggers at him, shaking your head and going to hand the card over anyways.

“Absolutely not! Here’s my card,” his hand came over yours, pushing your hand back, a large smile taking over his features. “I insist! Especially after that hefty lease violation fine. It’s on me!” He turned and walked away towards his own group as you were handed your two drinks, fuming as you walked back towards her.

She giggled, nudging her head in the direction he had gone in. “Who the hell was that? He’s fucking hot! I hope you keep tabs on him for the night,” you let a forced shiver roll down your spine, gagging as she spoke. “That’s my fucking neighbor from hell! The little goblin put our drinks on his tab. How stupid is that shit?”

She choked on her drink, coughing as she laughed. “No fucking shit! Oh my god I had no idea he looked like that. If he were my neighbor he would be making all the noise he wanted to. Particularly at my place. In my bed! And I think he has the same idea because he bought your drinks,” she batted her eyelashes at you as she sipped her drink again. You waved her off, downing your drink.

“You’re disgusting! We’re not like that. At all!” She shrugged pointing in his direction. “Oh really? Then why is he staring at you like he wants to take you into the dingiest bathroom he can find and rail you?” Your face burned at her words, letting your eyes glance in the direction he was in and noticing his eyes locked on you.

You set your drink down, moving back towards the bar once you noticed that his attention was back on his group, back turned towards you. Getting the bartender's attention you leaned over and handed him your card. “That guy over there? Put his drinks and his group drinks on this card, don’t charge his card,” he nodded his head, taking the card and taking another drink order for you.

Sporadically throughout the night, you could feel eyes on you. You knew exactly who it was. Why he couldn’t keep his own attention on his own group instead of eyeing you all night, you had no idea, but it was starting to get beyond annoying. He had, quite literally, the largest eyes you had ever seen so it wasn’t like he could hide where he was looking. Not like he was trying to either.

The night had been fun apart from your own personal stalker. Many laughs were shared between friends, one drink too many, but as the night wound down and you went to collect your card, the bartender assured you that 2F’s tab had been charged to your card. With your friend having slipped out a bit ago, you sat on a stool at one end of the bar, watching as 2F’s group left, having him head to the bar and collect his card.

You laughed seeing his face show one of confusion after being told his tab had been taken care of for the night. You watched as he mouthed who and as the bartender pointed at you, his head whipped towards your direction. You gave a wave, hopping from your stool and leaving the bar.

When you got home, you fumbled with your keys as you tried to unlock your door. “3F!” You sighed, turning in defeat as you heard his voice echo in the hallway. “Yes, 2F?” He walked towards you, hands in his jacket pockets as he stood in front of you. His hand came from the pocket and your eyes went wide as you saw the amount of money he placed in your hand.

You shook your head, trying to shove it back in his own hand. “That’s for picking up my tab at the bar, your tab at the bar, a cleaning service to come and clean your apartment for me placing the trash bags at your door, and for the lease violation.” Your jaw hung slack, not able to formulate any words, eyes looking up to meet his and see the soft gaze that sat on his face.

“Oh my god, no. I can’t accept this. Take it, 2F.” He shook his head, putting his hands back in his pockets. A small laugh fell from his lips as he eyed you. “Josh. My name is Josh,” shaking your head, your eyes shut, an exasperated breath leaving you.

“I don’t want your money, Josh. That is absolutely the last thing I want or need from you,” he took a step back as you tried to shove it at him. Your jaw set, irritation bubbling in your system at how stupid he was being. In what world would you just accept a huge chunk of cash like this? There wasn’t a world where it would happen. You wouldn’t.

Instead you stepped around him with a shrug, hearing his laugh as you crouched down. “What are you doing?” One by one you slipped the bills under his door. “I told you I’m not taking your money.” You could hear the frustrated intake of breath as you continued with your task, not noticing when he stood to the side of you, unlocking his door and opening it.

Your neck fell back to peer up at him with a scowl on your face. You weren’t even halfway through with the stack of money. Reaching your arm up and forward, you hand grabbed onto the cool metal of the door handle and yanked it towards you, shutting the door as you two stared at one another.

Letting your head fall back so your eyes could once again focus on the task you were trying to work on, you heard him let out a shaky laugh. “You are so fucking stubborn,” you only mumbled out a response, almost done with the cash when he crouched down to your level, locking your eyes to his.

When you turned your head to face him, your noses nearly brushed against one another with how close he was to you. The smell of tequila was on his breath, you were sure yours had faint notes of vodka and ginger beer, but you were rooted to your spot. Not necessarily making any move to lean away from him or go further towards the man.

His dark brown eyes had an almost ombre effect, you noted. Unlike most people who had the lighter hue near their iris, the eye growing darker the closer to the edge you got, his did the opposite. They were so dark near his iris that the chocolate practically melted into it. The outer color only got slightly warmer, only noticeable from this closeness. You could get lost in them for hours if you had the time to. Prick.

The cupid's bow of his lips were not sharp, rather they rounded off at the top peaks, only marginally dipping down to give the plush skin a break. One thing you had taken into account upon the many interactions you had with him was that they were never chapped. Quite the opposite. Always glistening like he had just swiped his pink tongue along them. The picturesque teeth that you could have sworn were veneers from farther away, but upon closer inspection were his actual chompers. Bastard.

A perfect nose. You were envious of it. What man needed a nose like that? Entirely unfair, you noted to yourself. He had some of the unruliest eyebrows you had ever laid your eyes on, but for some reason it worked. The unkempt hair paired well with the faux curls that were always a permed out mess. Why did you like it so much then? Asshole.

While you took stock of who was taking up your personal space, he was doing the same. Reveling in the closeness to you. How your kneecap would knock against his every few moments, the hollowed out divet in the base of your neck as you took in stabilizing breaths, the flutter of your eyelids as you were attempting to process the situation you two were in.

Josh took the opportunity that was being presented to him on a silver platter, knowing there was not going to be a better chance than now to act on this. The feeling of enamorment he had been reeling in since he had first set his eyes on you all those months ago. Trying to decide how to approach you, but when you approached him he was elated. Until the ridiculous feud began between you two.

He was going to bridge the gap. Leaning forward and capturing your lips with his, hand cradling the soft skin of your jaw, lightly pulling you closer to him. You didn’t fight it. Not in the slightest. Instead, savoring it. How the feeling of him moving against you seemed to set you alight. Tingling from either the amount of time you had been crouched down or the nerves erupting in you with joy. Excitement. Yearning.

You moved to deepen this. Letting your mouth fall open in greeting to him to explore you, learn you, relish you. When the tip of his tongue accosted yours, the noise that ruptured from within you was a mixture of a sigh and moan, feeling the heavenly encounter for the first time was unlike anything you had ever experienced before in your life. If you could have it bottled up to revisit whenever you wanted to or needed to, you would.

2F took it as a welcoming invitation to continue on. A sense of relief washed over him, knowing you were indulging in this, accepting this, trembling for this just as much as he was. He wanted to chase you back to him when you retreated, breath stuttering in your throat, almost pained to come to a stop, even if just for a second.

Your eyes opened, meeting his and you stood, taking his hand with yours and moving back towards your door, silently asking him to come with you. He followed instantaneously, swallowing thickly as you turned to open the door and lead him into your home. The sanctuary he had been destroying for months.

His hands found home on your waist, tilting your head to the side as he pressed himself against your back, the warmth of his breath fanned across the skin causing goosebumps to erupt all over your body. He wasn’t rushing, skilled hands knowing exactly what to do despite the slight tremor giving away the nerves that played at him despite his calm demeanor.

As his mouth worked your pulse point, your hands sat on his, lightly squeezing as your breathing grew deeper. Uneven. Josh turned you around in his grasp, you wasted no time, letting your fingers card through his hair as his arms encircled you.

His scent was intoxicating, something that made your head swim and cloud over with pure arousal. The feel of his facial hair running along your smooth skin had you pining. Your tongues danced in a rehearsed manner despite never having mingled before, but it felt known. Comfortable. Soothing.

Despite your pleas and desperate noises, Josh pulled away from you. His hands moved to cup your cheeks, forcing your eyes to meet. “I’m not going to fuck you without knowing your name.” You swallowed slowly, his thumb skirting across your lower lip as you whispered it out.

He repeated it, eyes shut as he let it settle. You had never felt more one way than the other about your name, but as soon as it was graced from leaving his lips, you never wanted to hear another person say it again unless it was coming from him.

Josh’s hands had lost their unsure hesitancy, moving to the underside of your shirt with poise and steadiness. His fingertips gripped and removed it, letting you two reconnect once more, not wanting to lose the contact again.

The pure temperature of his body was setting you on fire, your skins nearly sizzling as they pressed against each other. As Josh made his ascent from your mouth towards your chest, leaving peppered kisses along the way, your mind was reeling.

Unable to form coherent thoughts, any chance of intelligent sentences thrown out the window as he took a perched nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping at the perked bud.

Your breath caught in your throat, back arching into his chest. A smile played at his occupied lips, his free hand traveling from the curve of your waist to your abandoned breast. As his teeth held your nipple, his fingers twisted the other, eliciting strong moans to release from the confines of you.

When he switched, he didn’t give you even a nanosecond to catch your breath, continuing his motions. “Pl-please, Josh.” His doe eyes peered up at you, hooded with lust and a fire burning in them as he heard you moan his name for the first time.

“What, baby? What do you need me to do?” Instinctively, your legs widened further, the small cloth covering your core dampened beyond belief, signaling your need for him. Wanting nothing more than for him to touch you.

He shook his head, grabbing your chin in between his fingers, making you look at him. His voice was deeper, a gravelly tone accompanying it. “I need to hear your words, sweet girl.”

Your head fell back, arms crossing over your face as you decided how bluntly you wanted to put this. Deciding you simply did not care, you groaned out, “Touch me, use me, demolish me. I don’t care, just please, fuck me, Josh.”

Those seemed to be the magic words because in the blink of an eye your panties were gone, lost in the heap of discarded clothes, and your core felt his cold hands.

Gasping, eyes shooting open to watch this happen, his fingertips moved your lips. The sticky signs of your excitement stretched as he lightly traced his hands around you. “God, look at you. You’re a fucking mess,” his words came out under his breath and his thumb slipped in the slick, gathering it and bringing it to his lips.

As he sucked the digit into his mouth, your jaw slightly fell open. Watching Josh do this, act like this was mesmerizing. It was an entirely new side to him and it made you desperate for him.

Josh moved behind you, letting your confusion become evident as he smiled. He leaned back against your headboard, pulling you to lay in between his legs. As your back met his chest, your head against his shoulder and neck, his cheek against your forehead, you were alight in anticipation.

“Relax, sweet girl. I’m gonna take care of you,” his legs hooked around your own, forcing them to remain open. His fingers reached down, collecting your wetness once again, bringing it to his mouth. “I will never get tired of that taste.”

Too entranced in the display of him, you didn’t notice when his hand had disappeared down again, but when you felt his thumb press against your clit, a small, surprised yelp left you. A permanent smirk was on his lips, memorizing your reactions and movements for the first time.

Given how thoroughly soaked you were, when Josh’s middle finger slipped into your entrance it was met with no resistance. It offered a sense of relief, not near enough to satisfy the craving you were begging for.

Slowly moving his finger in and out, hearing the mess you were making on his finger, he quickly added another. As soon as the other entered you, he picked up his pace. Incoherent mumbling and moans tumbled from your lips as you felt yourself growing closer and closer to your release.

Josh offered words of praise as a silent scream escaped you, white light clogging your vision. You were contracting around his fingers, not wanting him to remove them, but it wasn’t enough.

You were incredibly needy for more. Turning around in his grasp, your hands landed on either of his thighs. Reaching your hand out, you cupped his stiff cock, gently squeezing, and pulling his head towards yours.

The sensation of his lips finding yours once again was palpable relief. You straddled him, having him remain where he originally was. The head of his cock rubbed against your slit, whimpers falling from both of your lips.

Letting yourself sink down onto him, your eyes remained shut, head falling back as you took him all. Josh’s arms closed around you, crushing you to his chest. Slowly starting to move, the stretched sensation began to subside, immense pleasure taking over.

His thrusts met your moves, both of you crying into the other's mouth, against their sweat covered skin, becoming one with each other. He alternated between leaving searing marks on your chest or neck, capturing your mouth, or uttering filthy words of encouragement.

The two of you were close to your finishes, chasing your highs, your hands tangled in his locks and pulling as you felt it crash into you at a blinding pace. Gasping for breath, his cum leaking out of you and back onto his still hard shaft, you two leisurely came down from your highs.

You didn’t make a move first, letting Josh kiss all over your skin, licking the sweat away that poured from you both. Your eyes didn’t want to open, too heavy with exhaustion to even try. He moved you off of his lap, wiping you clean with a towel, and kissing your forehead as you felt asleep.

When he left that night, you weren’t entirely sure what the next move was. Were things different? Absolutely. Was he still the prick that had been purposely fucking your life over for the last few months? Undoubtedly. Was he so attractive that your mouth went dry when you replayed certain aspects from the night before over in your mind? Unfortunately.

The actual peace offering. The real olive branch. The non-poisonous ones that is. They were sitting on a tray, perfectly frosted, sitting in the shape of a large smiley face. Now, there could be the possibility that just the sight of cupcakes could cause a visceral reaction, but you were going to take your bets.

Until the music started up.

Your head snapped up and in the direction of his apartment. Wide eyes, jaw set, and shoulders tensing at the unbelievably loud music. It didn’t even sound like the normal noise, instead like there was a concert happening a mere fifteen feet away from you.

Closing your eyes and forcing yourself to take a deep breath, you crossed the hall, tray in hand as you knocked on his door. There wasn’t an answer at first, so you knocked again, hearing a slew of voices on the other side of the wood. Maybe now wasn’t the time to do this if he had people over.

When he didn’t answer on the second knock you quickly turned, feeling your face warm in embarrassment. His door flew open, your name escaping his lips to get your attention. You cursed to yourself, turning back around and offering a sheepish smile. His grew exponentially when he saw what you had in hand.

You thrusted the tray towards him, trying not to peer behind him and see an audience watching this exchange. “For you. An actual I’m sorry for everything. Not spiked, promise,” you laughed at the end, doing the scouts honor salute. Before he could respond, someone who looked just like him appeared at the door.

The man’s eyes widened, a large beaming grin plastering on his features. “Oh my god, are you 3F?” A surprised expression took over your features, eyes darting between the two of them. Why did this stranger know who you were? Another figure appeared with the pair, startling you as he seemed to appear from thin air. He looked like the two, but stood a few inches taller than them.

“No way, 3F? We have heard so much about you!” The apples of Josh’s cheeks flushed red as he turned and handed the tray to the taller boy, speaking through clenched teeth as he did. “How about you shut the fuck up and go stuff these in your fat fucking hole, yeah?” You giggled at the exaggerated wink the boy offered him, taking the offering and looking back to you.

“Well, it was a real pleasure getting to meet you 3F. I do hope my brother has learned your actual name, but he has no game so,” Josh cut him off, shoving him inside and slamming the door behind the laughing pair.

His hands rubbed over his face, the tips of his ears burning like his face. “I am so sorry about them,” his thumb pointed over his shoulder in the direction where they had gone. You gently nudged him, wanting to egg him on. “Telling people about me, Josh?”

Watching his eyes go wide and hearing him stutter over his words was far too entertaining. “Oh, no, no. I mean I mentioned some of the stuff to them and look they’re my little brothers so it’s like their thing to make my life as awkward as possible, like you should see some of the band interviews with them doing this shit-” you cut him off, eyebrows furrowing at his words.

“You’re in a band?” He took in a short breath, head bobbing in response. “Greta Van Fleet. That’s what we’re called. That’s what the noise is that you’ve been subjected to for the last few months. It’s our new album and I get spurts of ideas at random times,” you nodded, finally beginning to understand his point of view.

You eyed him, arms crossing. “Should’ve told me that. Maybe this all could have been avoided.” It was time. Time to be the bigger person.

Josh stood next to the table, dressed in a suit that perfectly encapsulated the entire being and existence that he is. The microphone in his hand, a glass of champagne in the other, speaking out to the guests in attendance.

It was his incredibly long winded speech that everyone had been anticipating. The man did not know when to stop talking, but as his tale was about to wrap up, his eyes fell to you, sitting next to him. “Anyways, I’m not entirely sure what that story of Danny, Sam, and the giraffe have to do with this, but-” laughter flowed around the room at his tangent, your eyes filled with love and adoration as he held your gaze, “I am so glad my plan of being a complete neighbor from hell worked because I truly didn’t know how else to talk to you. I saw you when I was moving in and felt like the gods had sent you to change the entire directory of my life. You are my everything, my entire life, and I cannot wait to craft the rest of our story together.”

You weren’t sure if you should have been happy or down right pissed, but as his co-best men all stood, raising their glasses, you wanted to table it. “To Mr. and Mrs. Kiszka!” The cheers erupted around the room, sipping from your glass and letting your husband lightly peck your lips before taking his seat.

“So your entire plan was being the biggest pain in the ass you could and hoping you would land me that way?” You leaned into his side as he beamed at you, leaning further towards you, lips landing on your cheek. “Yes, and it worked, my darling girl,” you rolled your eyes, downing the rest of your glass as he snickered in your ear, your giggles mixing with his as you watched his twin begin prepping for his turn.

Jake stood dead center of the room, microphone in hand as he began his speech. “Hello all. I want to say a quick congratulations to my brother and his wife. If there’s anything anyones ever been told it’s about being the bigger person. That’s not the case tonight. Joshy boy, strap in. Now, everyone knows my brother peed the bed until he was eleven years old.”

#ficthots #josh kiszka #joshua kiszka #greta van fleet #greta van fleet smut #greta van fleet fan fiction #josh kiszka fanfiction #josh kiszka imagine #josh kiszka fanfic #greta van fleet imagine #josh kiszka smut #josh kiszka x reader #josh kiszka x you #josh kiszka x y/n #josh kiszka x reader smut #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner

418 notes · View notes

anonymousewrites · 1 year ago

Text

Portal to My Heart (Book 1.5) Chapter Ten

Loki x Reader

Chapter Ten: Upon Arrival

Summary: In Norway, Thor and Loki face their father, and then they and (Y/N) face their sister.

(Y/N) hung back as Loki and Thor stepped towards their father as he gazed out over the cliffs, sea, and sky stretching out into the horizon. This felt a significant moment, and (Y/N) wasn’t going to ruin the moment by intruding on the family.

“Father?” said Thor hesitantly, a bit confused at how Odin stared out at the world once more.

“Look at this place. It’s beautiful,” said Odin.

“Father, it’s us,” said Thor.

“My sons,” said Odin.

Loki’s eyes flicked up to Odin’s face. I…am your son? After everything?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” said Odin.

“I know. We’ve come to take you home,” said Thor.

“Home, yes,” said Odin, nodding vaguely. “Your mother, she calls me. Do you hear it?”

“Loki, lift your magic,” said Thor sternly. Loki shook his head, quietly showing this was nothing he’d done.

Odin chuckled. “It took me quite a while to break free from your spell. Frigga would have been proud.” He turned to the fallen log. “Come and sit with me. I don’t have much time.” The three sat down.

“I know that we failed you,” said Thor. “But we can make this right.”

“I failed you,” said Odin. “It is upon us. Ragnarok.”

“No, I’ve stopped Ragnarok. I put an end to Surtur,” said Thor.

Odin shook his head. “No. It has already begun. She’s coming. My life was all that held her back. But my time has come. I cannot keep her away any longer.

“Father, who are you talking about?” said Thor.

“Goddess of Death, Hela,” said Odin. “My firstborn. Your sister.”

“Your what?” breathed Thor.

“Her violent appetites grew beyond my control. I couldn’t stop her, so I imprisoned her,” said Odin. “Locked her away. She draws her strength from Asgard, and once she gets there, her powers will be limitless.”

“Whatever she is, we can stop her together. We can face her together,” said Thor.

Odin shook his head. “No, we won’t. I’m on a different path now. This you must face alone. I’m proud of you both.” He looked at Thor. “You have become a worthy god and a far better man than I could ever be.” He turned to Loki. “And you are finding peace with another.” He gazed out at the sky. “I love you, my sons.” Loki and Thor’s eyes softened. Odin pointed out. “Look at that. Remember this place. Home.”

And in the peaceful silence as the wind gathered, Odin’s body turned golden. He glowed, and bit by bit the light flew into the air as the god let go of his life and left to return to the stars and his wife. Thor and Loki stood and watched the light fade into the distance.

Thunder rumbled overhead as Thor’s anger and grief started.

“Brother,” said Loki as storm clouds rolled in, dark and billowing.

“This was your doing,” said Thor, glaring at Loki. Sparks flew around his fists.

(Y/N) saw the anger building from where she stood and ran forward. “Hey!”

Loki and Thor’s heads turned to her, bodies tensed and ready for a fight.

“He wouldn’t have wanted you to try to kill each other after whatever family moment he tried to have with you,” snapped (Y/N). “Do you want the first thing you guys do after he dies to be disappointing him?”

Thor and Loki paused as the words sunk in. Before they could come to an agreement, however, a green and black swirl appeared out of nowhere.

Thor and Loki stepped forward, Loki moving in front of (Y/N). Thor slammed Mjolnir on the ground, and it transformed back into a hammer and lightning struck the ground, giving Thor his armor and cape back. Green light flitted around Loki, giving him his green armor back. (Y/N) stood beside them in her jeans.

From the green and black light, a woman stepped out. She had a black suit on, ripped in places, with green lines running over it. Her hair was wild and fell in a black mess over her face. Smudged eyeshadow surrounded piercing green eyes. The portal disappeared behind her.

“So he’s gone,” she said, voice commanding. “That’s a shame. I would’ve liked to see that.”

“You must be Hela,” said Thor. “I’m Thor, son of Odin.”

“Really? You don’t look like him,” said Hela.

“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement,” said Loki cautiously.

Hela smirked. “You sound like him.” She cocked her head at (Y/N). “And you…a Midgardian.”

“I have no idea who you are, but I already don’t like you,” said (Y/N), straightforward as ever.

“I am Hela, Goddess of Death, Odin’s firstborn, and heir to throne of Asgard,” said Hela, holding her head high as she looked condescendingly at (Y/N). “So kneel. Before your queen.”

“Loki can already tell you that I don’t take orders very well. And I don’t kneel,” said (Y/N). She had a smile on her face, but the look in her eyes spelled a different story.

Hela’s gaze darkened. “Kneel.” A sword appeared in her hands.

“I don’t think so.” Thor threw Mjolnir at Hela.

She put out a hand and caught it.

(Y/N)’s eyes widened. No way!

“It’s not possible,” breathed Thor.

“Darling, you have no idea what’s possible,” said Hela with a smirk. She clenched her hand, cracks spread across the hammer, and it exploded into lightning and debris.

Thor braced against the power, and Loki covered (Y/N) from the explosion. As the smoke cleared, the remnants of Mjolnir fell into a heap on the ground. Hela pushed her hands over her hair, and it collected into a headdress of sharp horns. Both her hands held swords now. She stepped towards them.

“Bring us back!” shouted Loki to Skurge.

“No! She’ll bring Ragnarok!” shouted Thor. But it was too late, the Bifrost activated and drew them up into it.

“Loki!” warned Thor.

Loki looked down with (Y/N) and saw Hela coming after them as they were transported through the rainbow bridge. Loki’s eyes widened as Hela reached up for (Y/N) and she kicked her away. He grabbed (Y/N) and pulled her to him, throwing a dagger at Hela. She blocked it with her sword and threw her weapon up at them. Loki jerked back, but it clipped them, and they were knocked from the Bifrost.

(Y/N) screamed as she hit the side of the Bifrost and fell through it, and Loki’s grip tightened on her. She squeezed her eyes shut as they fell through space in a dizziness blur of teleportation.

“I’ve got you,” swore Loki. “I’ve got you.” It was nearly lost too the blur, but the words came to (Y/N), and her heart skipped a beat.

“(Y/N)?”

(Y/N) groaned and opened her eyes. She lay under a bright sun and blue sky. Piles of random items, junk and heaps of debris, lay around her. Loki leaned over her, gazing at her with worry(?).

“(Y/N)? Are you alright?” said Loki.

She sat up, and Loki guided her up. “I think so. My head isn’t spinning.” She rubbed her temple. “I mean, anything is better than being dead. And I thought we were goners when we fell out of the Bifrost.”

“We’re definitely alive,” said Loki.

(Y/N) looked around them. “Yeah, but where?” There was a city in the distance, tall and very futuristic, brightly colored with shiny skyscrapers. “This isn’t Earth or Asgard.”

“No,” agreed Loki. He stood and offered a hand to (Y/N).

She took it and got up. “What’s our plan?”

“I’ve seen ships with strange beings flying around, but they’ve been fighting with each other and…eating each other,” said Loki.

“Okay, so definitely avoid them no matter what we do,” said (Y/N). “Well, I’m not going to argue with not dying as a plan. Seems like a good start.”

“We should head for the city and learn how this place is run in order to avoid trouble,” said Loki.

(Y/N) shielded her eyes from the sun and peered at the city. “Tallest tower always has the ruler in my experience. I think I can get us to it.”

“You can?” said Loki in surprise.

“I don’t sit on my ass all day doing nothing unlike some people,” said (Y/N). She scowled. “And I found that training let me get out my annoyance at stupid politicians and nobles.”

“Well, focus on your annoyance at Hela and being stuck here all you’d like,” said Loki, encouraging whatever it took to have (Y/N) get them out of the junk heap and away from cannibals.

“Gladly.” (Y/N) raised a hand and flicked her wrist. It took a moment to spin into a human size, but a portal appeared in blue light.

“You’ve become quite skilled,” said Loki fondly.

“Thank you,” said (Y/N) with a smile, and she stepped through. Loki followed.

They stood at the city center before a tall skyscraper that scraped the clouds. People of all different races milled around them, not even humanoid at times. Whatever this place was, it was outside of any precise realm.

“…What now?” said (Y/N), looking at Loki.

“Uh…” Loki frowned as he considered. “I’m not sure. We need a reason to get inside.”

“Let’s not beat around the bush then,” said (Y/N), walking up to the guards at the door.

“Wait, (Y/N)!” said Loki, running after her.

“Hey, hi,” said (Y/N) to the guards. “I want to meet whoever’s in charge of business here.”

Loki slapped a hand over his face. For all the good that (Y/N) had done diplomatically on Asgard, she lost every one of her manners and tact as soon as she was given a chance.

“…What?” said the guard in confusion.

The other shoved him. “They want to see the Grandmaster.”

Anyone calling themselves that has to be crazy. Fantastic. “Yeah,” said (Y/N).

Loki quickly interjected. “If it’s no problem, of course.”

The guards exchanged a look. “They’re new.” Apparently that was a big deal.

“He’ll want to see them,” confirmed the other. “See if they’re…worth something.”

Uh-oh. (Y/N) exchanged a glance with Loki.

“Come with me,” said one.

Loki and (Y/N) didn’t break away, and they followed him in, taking an elevator to the top floor of the building. A party was raging within. People, clearly higher-ups favored by the Grandmaster, milled about, smiling and laughing as techno played in the background.

The guard guided them through, standing out in their Asgardian and Earth outfits. He brought them to a small clearing where the band was playing. An older man in a gold robe was playing a keyboard-like instrument. He paused when a snake-like humanoid was wheeled up in a chair.

“Ah, Adderson!” said who (Y/N) figured was the Grandmaster.

“Sssir,” said the snake person.

“It took us a bit of time to find you! You rascal,” said Grandmaster with a grin. “What were you up to, trying to free my…uh…” He looked at the burly woman next to him. “My…?”

“Slaves?” said the woman.

“I don’t like that word!” whined Grandmaster.

“…Captives who work for you?” said the woman.

Grandmaster contemplated. “We’ll workshop it.”

Alright, he has a slaves, don’t like him, no way, thought (Y/N), already plotting his downfall.

Grandmaster turned back to Adderson. “Anyways, you tried to free my captives who work for me!”

“I’m sssso ssssorry,” said Adderson. “It wasss a missstake.”

“I know. And I know exactly how you can make it up to me,” said Grandmaster.

“Really?” said Adderson hopefully.

“Yes! I’m going to free you.” Grandmaster picked up a strange staff with an orange sphere at the top. “From life!” He pressed the staff to the snake person, and Adderson melted into goo as they cried out.

(Y/N) and Loki’s eyes widened. They officially knew they had landed in a really not great land.

“Ewwww,” said Grandmaster, hoping out of the way of the sludge. “Can we get someone here to clean this?” He threw the staff to a worker and turned away.

“Grandmaster,” said the guard stiffly. “We have new arrivals.”

“Huh? Don’t they usually come in a chair or something?” said Grandmaster in confusion.

“Uh…they came in through the city,” said the guard.

Grandmaster sighed. “My scrappers are slacking…” He turned to face Loki and (Y/N) and paused as he looked at them. “Huh.”

“Should I send for shock disks?” said the burly woman eagerly.

“…Are you two fighters?” said Grandmaster.

“No,” said (Y/N), lying.

“We’re better with words,” said Loki with a polite smile.

“Well, that’s good, I’d hate for those pretty faces to get messed up in a fight,” said Grandmaster brightly, grinning at them.

Oh boy/dear… thought (Y/N) and Loki.

“So, who are you two?” said Grandmaster, leaning forward over his keyboard.

“I am Loki,” said the god of lies.

“I’m (Y/N),” said the woman.

“Hmm,” said Grandmaster, peering at them as if deciding what to do. “How did you come to be here?”

“Rainbow portal,” said (Y/N) matter-of-factly. “And a history of bad luck.”

“Family disagreement,” said Loki.

Grandmaster grinned at their answers and chuckled. He gestured to them while looking at the burly woman. “Funny and good-looking! I like them already. You’re definitely staying with me. Wouldn’t want to miss this entertainment by sending you guys to fight.” He eyed them. “I would hate to lose such attractive faces from my parties.”

Loki decided he didn��t like Grandmaster’s look at (Y/N) and put a hand around her waist. “We are honored to be your guests, Grandmaster. Aren’t we, my dear?” He looked at (Y/N).

She stared at him in surprise as she felt the chill of his skin against her hip where her shirt and jeans left her skin exposed. “Uh, yeah.”

Grandmaster grinned. “Ooh, I love young love.” He winked. “And I love to get involved in it.” He snapped and pointed at the guard. “You there, get them to a nice room, like a honeymoon suite~”

Oh, no.

“And you.” He looked at a servant. “Get them some proper clothes. You know the type I like.” Grandmaster looked back at Loki and (Y/N). “You two enjoy yourselves. I have a party tonight, and I expect everyone to have a great time.”

“I’m sure we will,” said Loki, smiling and holding (Y/N) closer.

“Welcome to Sakaar, then!” said Grandmaster.

Welcome indeed…

Taglist:

@alexpangender

@technikerin23

@kikster606

@neenieweenie

#portal to my heart #x reader #loki fanfic #loki marvel #marvel loki #loki odinson #loki #loki odison x reader #loki of asgard #loki x reader #loki laufesyon x reader #loki laufeyson #marvel x reader #marvel cinematic universe #marvel #mcu x reader #loki mcu #mcu

41 notes · View notes

tabitha42 · 6 months ago

Text

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 14

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Saff wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of crawling through a tiny crevasse to escape, but she certainly agreed it was better than facing more goblins.

Gale stood up and offered her a hand. She gladly took it, making sure to put her weight on her good leg as she stood up. As much as she wanted him to carry her, he wouldn’t be able to do that through this tunnel, and she could tell he was still feeling weak himself.

“I think I can walk, with a bit of help,” she said. Gale nodded and let her put her arm round his shoulders while he held her waist, keeping her steady and letting her lean her weight on him when she needed to.

Slowly they followed the others out. Gale held her carefully as she limped her way through the temple, but it was very clear this wasn’t a set up they’d be able to do forever. Moving her leg, even if the weight wasn’t on it, was painful. He had half a mind to actually try to pick her up and carry her to this tunnel, but before it went far enough for him to resort to that, they reached it.

“You’re… sure we can all fit through that?” Gale asked sceptically as he looked at the narrow passageway through a crack in the rocks.

“I’ll go first,” Karlach offered. “If I can fit through, you all can.”

“I certainly cannot, but I will take the form of a rat again. I will also scout it out before you all enter, ensure there’s still no danger on the other side,” Halsin said, then turned to Saff. “Do you think you’ll be able to get through with your leg?” he asked her.

Saff looked into the crevice. A deep, dark passageway that led down into blackness… it was like staring into the abyss. Even if her leg was fine she wouldn’t want to do it, but she knew if there were any other options they’d have suggested them.

“I’ll manage,” she said quietly. She could hold onto the walls to keep the pressure off her leg. It would be fine… right…?

The group could hear her uncertainty. Gale in particular wanted to object, but like the others, he knew they had little choice. It was better than fighting another horde of goblins - a fight they would surely lose.

“Then I shall head in. I will be back soon,” Halsin said, then transformed once more and disappeared into the crevice.

“Where does it come out?” Gale asked, peering into the darkness.

“Halsin said it came out in the forest,” Wyll answered, “far away from any goblins.”

“Perfect if we can fit through then,” he said, still sounding a bit sceptical about if that was possible. He could feel how tightly Saff was holding onto him, but knew she didn’t want to voice her fear. He was determined to help her through this.

Soon a rat came back out from the crack and waved for them to come through.

“It’s safe then?” Wyll asked, and the rat nodded and ran back in.

“Let’s dive on in then!” Karlach said, entering the crevice. Wyll waited a moment, then headed in after her.

“You go next. I’ll bring up the rear, in case any goblins come chasing after us,” Gale said to Saff. Numbly she nodded, staring as the others started to disappear into the darkness ahead of them. She really, really didn’t want to lose sight of the others, so forced herself to swallow her fear and follow them in.

Shifting her weight from Gale to the rocks, she clung onto them, using them for support. He watched as she unsteadily made her way in, then glanced around one more time to check they definitely weren’t being watched, before following her in.

The crevice was dark and claustrophobic. It wasn’t long before the already dim light from the temple disappeared behind them and they were left in darkness, with only the steady glow of Karlach’s chest for guidance. Unfortunately the pulsing red light on the rocks, while better than complete darkness, still created a rather unnerving atmosphere. Gale considered casting Light, but even though it was a simple cantrip, wasn’t sure how the orb would respond. He’d do it if needed, but didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Plus, in some ways, the darkness was better - it might almost be scarier to see just how small and cramped the space was.

The further they descended, the tighter the tunnel became. Soon they were really struggling, feeling the rocks scraping against their skin as they forced their way through. Gale could hear Saff’s laboured breathing - fear, or pain? Most likely both. He considered trying to talk to take her mind off things, but he knew that ultimately they all needed to be concentrating right now. The rocks underfoot were treacherous, the slightest misstep and you could lose your footing - particularly easy to do with an injured leg.

“Arg… fuck…”

The group stopped as they heard Karlach swear in front.

“Karlach? What’s wrong?” Wyll asked quickly.

“This damn rock… I can’t get past!” she grunted, trying to get herself through a particularly small gap. Wyll got a bit closer to try to help.

“Gods dammit… I can’t see anything…” he moaned as he tried to see where she was getting caught, which was made even more difficult as he couldn’t try to touch her to feel where she was stuck.

Gale sighed slightly, hoping the orb wouldn’t leave him incapacitated again after this.

“Fiat lux,” he incanted, reaching up to touch as high a rock as he could. He felt a jolt of pain from the orb, but luckily it was low enough level magic that the pain died down again quickly. The rocks above them lit up, causing them all to wince for a moment as their eyes adjusted to the new light.

As they opened their eyes again, his fears earlier were proven true. Now able to fully see around them, the true claustrophobic nature of their surroundings was revealed. They could barely even see each other through the tiny gap in the rocks, but it did allow Wyll and Karlach to see what they were doing.

“It’s a bit wider ahead, if I can just get through this bit we’ll be ok!” Karlach called back to them. Wyll could see her trying to push through, but she couldn’t get enough grip on the wet rocks beneath to get the force she needed.

“Alright - I’m going to try to push you through on 3, ok?”

“Wait, no! You can’t touch me, you’ll burn yourself!”

“I’d rather take that than being stuck in here! Now on 3!” Karlach knew he wasn’t going to back down on this, so prepared herself to try to push through. “1… 2… 3!”

He pushed his hand against her shoulder as hard as he could, and they heard the hiss of burning flesh as he cried out in pain, but he didn’t stop - feeling her slowly able to push through now with his added strength, he kept pushing til finally she slid through.

“Wyll! Are you ok??” she gasped once she was through, looking back to him.

“Ahhh… yes… heh, just a burn!” he assured her, clearly trying to hide the pain in his voice.

“Gods, Wyll…” she murmured, both somewhat angry at him for doing that, but also impressed and grateful.

“Keep going, let’s get the hell outta here,” he said. She nodded and continued on, glad for the slightly wider area. Wyll squeezed through the gap, quite frankly amazed Karlach was able to get through it given how difficult he found it.

Behind them, Saff had her eyes squeezed shut. She’d barely heard the conversation - all her mind could focus on was the walls as they felt like they were closing in on her. She’d never thought of herself as being claustrophobic, but she’d never been in a place like this. Her whole body ached, her leg was screaming in pain, and knowing Karlach got stuck was sending her mind into a spiral, imagining being stuck down here, slowly starving to death with no way out…

“Saff!”

She opened her eyes and tried to turn her head to see Gale, but the spot she was currently in was too thin even for that, her head sandwiched between the two walls of rock.

“G-Gale…” she whispered, his voice shaking. “I… I can’t…”

She felt him take her hand in his.

“You can do this. I know you can. Keep going.”

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of his hand, the way he gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. His words, his voice… eventually she managed to move on, forcing herself through.

The light faded behind them as they continued into the darkness. Saff pushed herself on, one foot after the other, forcing the thoughts of dread out of her mind…

“There! That’s it!!” Karlach called back to them. Finally, they could see a pinprick of light in the distance. Buoyed by the promise of escape being so close, the group pushed through the last bits, the light growing brighter and brighter. Saff watched as ahead of her Karlach’s figure disappeared into the bright light as she finally escaped, followed by Wyll’s. Once he was out the light felt almost blinding now, with no one in front of her to block it. It was welcome though, as she knew the nightmare was almost over.

Finally she took her first step out into the light. She stumbled forward, the light disorientating her, and now with nothing to hold onto to keep her balance. As she fell forward she felt strong arms suddenly catch her and gently lower her to the ground. Her eyes focused to see Halsin knelt in front of her.

“You did it!” he said happily. A smile spread across her face, realising she had indeed managed it and they were finally out. Quickly she looked back towards the crevice.

“Gale…” she whispered, til she saw his hand suddenly appear from the wall, giving her a slightly odd sense of déjà vu. This time though he followed after it, pulling himself out of the passage. He looked round for a moment before spotting her. When he did his face broke out into a smile and he ran over to her, dropping to his knees next to her. She immediately threw her arms round him and he threw his round her. Halsin smiled as he watched them for a moment, before standing up to go and help Wyll with his burns.

Saff melted into his arms as they hugged, holding him tightly. She buried her face into his neck and felt as he gently held the back of her head, softly stroking her hair. They stayed like that for a few long moments before he spoke.

“I knew you could do it,” he whispered proudly into her ear. She smiled to herself, finally sitting back and looked up at him, arms still round his shoulders.

“You were right,” she said breathlessly.

“I’m always right,” he joked. She laughed and shook her head, moving her hands to his chest to playfully push him away. He laughed as he leant back, moving his arms down from her back along her arms, til their hands met once more. She smiled as their fingers intertwined, and looked up to meet his eyes.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “For… everything.”

He smiled and lifted a hand to gently tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

“You’re more than welcome,” he said softly, his hand lingering at her cheek for a moment once more. His eyes flicked up behind her briefly where he saw the rest of the group getting ready to go after doing what they could for Wyll’s burn, then went back to her.

“I think we’d better be going,” he said, then stood up and offered her his hand. She took it again, leaning on him once more. She turned to the others, then looked into the forest ahead of them. They weren’t on any sort of path, and would have to rely on Halsin’s knowledge of these forests to get them out of here.

“I’m… not going to be able to walk very fast,” she warned them all. It had been difficult enough in the temple, but now they had to contend with the uneven forest floor. Gale was considering just how possible it would be for him to carry her, when Halsin stepped forward with another offer.

“I think I have one more wildshape left in me, if you’d like a ride?” Saff looked at him in surprise.

“A ride?” she asked, intrigued. He nodded, and with one last shimmer of magic, wildshaped into a horse. He walked in front of her and knelt down to make it easier for her to get on. Gale smiled, sure that this would be more comfortable for both of them than any attempt he could make to carry her, and helped her up onto Halsin’s back. She gasped and wobbled slightly as Halsin stood back up, and then they were off.

#gale #bg3 gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav

10 notes · View notes

lizzieraindrops · 8 months ago

Text

Ikora is terrified of losing Eris now that she has become the Hive god of vengeance. The long tension between them has finally been driven to breaking point. Can the two of them reconcile their conflicts and misunderstandings before it might be too late?

Some good old-fashioned monster-loving.

I simply cannot accept that so few Eris/Ikora monsterfucker fics have been written when Season of the Witch offered them up to us on a silver platter. I had to take matters into my own hands. So I offer you: some deeply fucked-up women who love each other so very much. Absolute shout-out to my mvp of a beta @jazzhandsmcleg.

Liminal - Chapter 1 (1728 words)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

All things considered, Ikora has done a remarkable job of keeping her apprehensions under control. However, after a violent week of tithes and transformations, Eris turns an assessing look upon her as they discuss strategy in the HELM.

"You are troubled by this," she says flatly. Ikora cannot deny it, so she doesn't. Although Eris' posture these days is already impeccable, she draws herself up even taller as if bracing for something where she stands, precisely in the center of the stern wing of the HELM. The shimmer of the Hive portal to the Athenaeum behind her frames an imposing portrait. "Is it the form my vengeance takes that upsets you, or the part of me that chooses to take it?"

The impact of those words in Ikora's chest makes her gape in dismay. "Eris, no, that's not..." The sheer harshness of perspective that only shows Eris possibilities of judgement leaves Ikora at a rare loss for words. She surges a step forward before halting her half-reaching hand, retreating like an uncertain eddy in the water.

"My concern is for your safety, Eris. I have others, but none so pressing as that."

After a moment's consideration, Eris turns away. "Of course it is." She sounds faintly abashed. “Nonetheless, I must press forward. Surely you can see that this is the best strategy available to us."

With another soft step that narrows the gap between them, Ikora dares to lay a hand on Eris' upper arm. Though she is often strict about intrusions into her personal space, Eris merely turns back to her in open surprise.

"As far as I can tell, it is the only option currently offered to us. I don't like it. But it is where we are."

Eris acknowledges her with a nod, but dissatisfaction still shutters her demeanor.

With a light squeeze on her arm, Ikora asks: "What is it, Eris?"

Eris does not meet her concerned gaze. "The shape of my vengeance has not changed, only altered its direction as I have walked its path. This spell unbinds the limits of my body, yes, but the shape I take within it is still mine. It has always been a part of me. Did you know that, before this?"

They do not move except to breathe, drawing neither further away nor closer together. Ikora thinks long and hard, reaching for both honesty and compassion.

"I'm not sure that I can ever know it with the same intimacy that you do. The Hive and their lore have been so intertwined into your life, but...you are the only one who can decide their role within it. They can't. You've clearly demonstrated that over the years. And neither can I. While I don't think I knew the depth of that connection, before, I understand that this is how you are choosing to define it."

Silence. "You didn't answer my question."

Ikora had, but only the surface inquiry, not the deeper meaning beneath it. Do you realize that this monstrosity is not only who I have become, but part of who I have always been? Has it changed how you see me? "You didn't actually ask it," she says quietly.

Eris gestures open-palmed acceptance. In her other hand, her lurid Ahamkara bone casts shadows and sickly green light that wreath about it in perpetual unrest.

Ikora would not make her ask.

"I didn't know, not quite. But all of...this, it makes sense for the Eris I do know. It's everything you've ever striven for since you escaped the Hellmouth. I don't fear that this spell is controlling you, because I know you are perfectly capable of choosing such a drastic course of action all on your own. And I will defend your actions to the others, despite my own fears for you."

Eris lays a gauntleted hand over hers in brief acknowledgement. "I believe you, I think. Time will tell."

Ikora nods. Her heart sinks, but the soft rebuff does not take her by surprise. She had not supported Eris through the relatively tame controversy of acquiring Stasis: why would Eris rely on her now? "Truth in action," she says like a promise. Their old refrain, from long before this; before many of the latest losses in their neverending list. Asher. Sagira. The Traveler itself. Everything they still have to lose looms over them like a promise of failure.

Yet Ikora is rewarded with a faint smile. It only soothes the very edges of her glass-sharp fears, and only for a little while. That is not the reason why she treasures it, why she tucks it away deep within herself where the shards will have to tear through her own flesh before they can take it from her.

___

As the weeks pass and Eris grows ever stronger by the tithes of the sword, Ikora keeps her promise despite her concerns growing in tandem.

She maintains her distance from the throne world. She has many other duties, after all, when she needs to keep her mind off this mission of utmost critical importance. But she remains within close call on comms as often as possible while Guardians cavort through the endless, treacherous floors of the Spire, sweeping across its buried Altars like a wavefront of death.

She has not seen Eris transform since that first time; never up close. But her voice changes as she drinks the lakes of lifeblood Guardians spill upon Savathûn's Altars for her. In its cadence and flourish, it's completely recognizable as hers; but the deepened tone and even fuller timbre buzzes in layered intervals, at turns grating against or harmonizing alongside each other. The sound of it makes Ikora shiver to hear, even over comms. The many voices of the many-mouthed hunger multiply and grow ever more potent. How much more Hive-sculpted power can she possibly contain without searing herself from the inside out?

Yet whenever they meet to discuss strategy, Eris is the same as ever. Perhaps she stands a little taller, now, a little prouder in the shoulder than before. She has every right to do so. She is a god now.

It makes Ikora's heart quail like nothing else has in her life. She is losing her. She cannot stop her. She can only aid her, so she does. She tries. Her chest won't stop hurting no matter how long she ignores it.

In a feeble attempt to wrest a nonexistent solution from an impossible situation, she meets Eris at the Lectern in the Athenaeum to assess her Deck of Whispers. Perhaps before the sheer force and breadth of Ikora's analytical skills, the strange cards' paracausal potential will yield something, anything—anything.

She is losing hope that she can make any difference to Eris' survival. Once more betrayed by her doubts, the shivering of Ikora's traitor heart makes her hands just a little unsteady as she draws a card from the gleaming deck.

Before she can turn the card over, Eris closes her fingers on the other end of it. Surely she feels the tremor through the heavy gilded paper. For a moment, thick silence holds them.

"Even you tremble in my presence now?" Eris asks softly.

"What?" Ikora whispers, crestfallen.

"It is all right," Eris says. Her voice hangs heavy with resignation. Her hand falls from the card as she retreats. "Others who did not shrink from me before do, now. I merely thought...you never recoiled from me even at my worst. But I know what I have embraced goes far beyond what most could condone. I could never expect of you—"

"Eris, do you think that I am—afraid of, or—repulsed," she lets the word fall off her tongue like vomit. "By—this? By you?"

"You have every right to be."

Whatever Ikora had been feeling before, this is far worse. "Eris, no. No..." Ikora puts her card down on the Lectern’s table without even looking at it and reaches for the hand Eris has withdrawn. So gently, she cups those slack fingers in her own palms, as if they were burned and in need of bandaging. "That's not it at all. Please don't think so little of me."

"I don't. I have always thought most highly of you. Therefore, I should expect you to eschew...this."

Ikora sighs. "I may have reservations about the high risks of your strategy, Eris, but that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon you. I won’t listen to you speak of yourself this way." Then again, can she truly blame Eris for expecting more of the same pattern? "I know that my actions in the past have given you reason to expect such disregard. And for that, Eris...I'm sorry."

Eris stands silent for a moment. "That is kind of you to say." Her tone is smooth with sincerity, yet relatively unaffected. What she leaves unspoken sours the air between them like the obscuring cloud of a Wizard's poison curse. Her hand twitches in Ikora's as if to draw away. Ikora wraps her fingers more firmly about hers, but not so tightly that Eris cannot escape.

Desperate not to let any more of her actions drive Eris further away, Ikora speaks before she even knows what she intends to say, only that she means it.

"Will you transform for me?"

Silence rings. Standing perfectly still, Eris stares at her. "Why?" Minimal emotion inflects her voice, neither reluctant nor eager, but more simply curious than anything else.

Ikora chooses her next words very carefully.

"I wish to bring my actions into harmony with what I speak." Her heart is pounding like a premonition of battle, except for the fact that Ikora is afraid.

For a long time, Eris merely watches her. Then, in a strange, delicate voice, she says: "Yes. Then I shall."

A chill like undiffused static runs down Ikora's back, and it is not unpleasant. A gleam of blue catches the corner of her eye among the green chiaroscuro of the Athenaeum. The card she had cast aside lies face-up on the red velvet tablecloth, showing jagged curves that branch off a whirl of crackling Arc energy. She had drawn Liminal.

The spiking electric potential between them reaches a height that makes her skin prickle. For the first time, Ikora thinks she may finally understand the beauty, the glorious inevitability, encapsulated in the prayer and invocation of Aiat.

#ikora rey #eris morn #hive eris #season of the witch #destiny 2 #destiny the game #destiny fanfiction #erikora #ikoris #eris/ikora #ikora/eris #lizzie's adventures in writing #lizzie taking up space #destinewt #fic #prepare yourselves. we're just getting started.#monsterfucker rights for ikora marina.jpeg

7 notes · View notes

ccaptain · 4 months ago

Text

As per my previous posts about the Fictionologists hierarchy, the re-education of ''beings'' is not only assigned to human Fictionologists- but, to avoid overworking them or having a ''being'' lost and confused was one of their mentors to die of old age in the middle of knowledge rehabilitation, they're also assigned to other ''beings'' who have showed to possess two qualities:

- Have proven themselves to be efficient in finding methods to absorb any sort of knowledge they can find, and successfully mimicking human mannerism to an acceptable degree - Have proven themselves to be apt in both the Riddle and Mirage aspects of a ''being''s path

Kaeya, and an handful of others past the Level 2 of development, have successfully qualified to be possible mentors to ''beings'' that have been brought down to Level 0.

A clarification: anyone can be turned into a ''being'' at any age and with any level of knowledge. From children to old folks. Kaeya himself was about 21yo when the transformation caught up to him. Most of them volunteer with their own will, from kids being explained from their parents what a great opportunity this can be for research and growth to elderly people who simply seek to be immortal and continue living life, while being useful and giving back as a thank you for this kind of opportunity by contributing to Mythus goal.

Kaeya, in particular, has been pestered quite a while by Hectorr Abermann, a Fictionologist of high grade, to take some pupils and begin morphing them into ''beings'' at Level 0. He has stopped going to the main hub where Fictionologists gather to share ideas because the man seems to be omnipresent whenever he drops by, and a bit too obsessed with trying to convince him to become a mentor. The insistence makes him uncomfortable- the unwanted physical contact as the man tries to affably charm and manipulate him with throws him off, and also doesn't work. He's met with an expressionless face no matter what he tries.

He could take some pupils. He'd be a good teacher, patient and kind. He'd accompany the ''beings'' under his wing through every stage with gentle words and encouragement. Who understands what a being is going through better than one?

But he just can't do it. He can never say yes to the request, no matter how much he's cornered for an answer, no matter how good of a mentor he'd be, and no matter how less disoriented and scared the ''beings'' under his guidance would feel.

Kaeya remembers the feel of his personality, senses and emotions being slowly burned away.

The confusion, the dulling of himself, of every day being emptier than the other. Of quietly trying to cling to something, anything that reminded one of themselves while everything else was fading- and, eventually, no matter how hard it's grasped, that one thing slips away too. The sensation is disorienting- Kaeya would describe it as if he was standing in the middle of a burning house, seeing everything of his consumed by the flames without being able to move before the fire reached for him.

And while everything gets better for a while past the Level 0, he's sure that other ''beings'' have developed the same inner turmoils as him while taking up an identity that both belongs and doesn't belong to them. He can't be alone in this- there must be someone else like him. But, if there is, he hasn't found them yet.

Gallagher mentored him playfully, with kindness, no matter how much time he took to recover from the Morphing phase, but firmly. He didn't stopped, simply pushed Kaeya forward and taught him how to fend for himself while still being his dad and mentor. It seems to him that Gallagher knows how to handle the turmoil of becoming something else- he envies him for it, because Kaeya cannot.

He has accepted that being unable to detache makes him weak and a failure, in terms of productivity- but Mythus hasn't punished him for it, nor THEY seem to care at all what Kaeya does as long as he goes where he's directed once a new piece of history is found. He can only assume that his internal ordeal is insignificant, in the scope of the greater things. He hopes it is.

Kaeya is thinking about it- if it was older beings, adults fully responsible for their own choice and wanting to turn themselves into what he is, he'd consider it.

Hectorr, however, will take the freedom to punish Kaeya for not submitting immediately to his request- and follow the process of mentorship as whole. He's not a patient man, and thinks of himself as smarter and more cunning than he actually is.

It'll cost him, to think of Kaeya as lesser than him.

#from another realm ━ (ooc)#you no longer know me; shrouded in the fog of mystery ━ (H:SR V. Headcanons)#body horror ;;#unreality ;;#just in case #completely normal about this plotline. completely normal #the creepiest hsr kae.ya could ever be is here

4 notes · View notes

microfoxprime · 6 months ago

Text

Looking for Fairies

Everyone looks for fairies, but what happens when the fairies find them?

This turned out way darker than I was expecting as it sort of wrote itself. The few times I write, I never write like this! Please pay attention to the trigger warnings!

Content / trigger warnings: Body Horror / Forced Transformation / Death of Self

You went on one of your frequent trips to the forest looking for fairies. You'd always believed in fairies, having heard the stories from your father and grandmother, but everyone in town laughed at you and your childish ideas.

This trip, however, a group of young thugs decided to follow you out of town. While not exactly stealthy, they were quiet enough that you didn't notice the sounds they made in your focus on your search - at least, not until a few moments before they shouted and surrounded you. The verbal insults didn't bother you, as used to them as you were, but the beating left you on the forest floor, spectacles broken as well as likely a rib or two. They laughed, giving each other high fives as they left.

Groaning, you pulled yourself up to sit, then carefully stood in the small clearing, gazing about at the now-blurry world that refused to come into focus as you tried to figure out how you were going to get back to town. Then your eyes widened as a glowing spot of fuzziness floated nearer to you, gradually becoming clearer.

Looking somewhat like a dragonfly constructed from twigs and spiderweb wings, the glowing creature approached you calmly. Your eyes widened as you heard it speaking, apparently to itself. The trip wasn't wasted, at least -- you've found a fairy, at long last!

When it comes close enough, you realize you can understand its speech somehow, despite it not actually speaking in your language. "It is injured. No, broken," it says in clicks and whistles, its large-eyed triangular head tilting from side to side. "So large. Fixing it will drain me."

A glimmer of hope blossomed. "Please," you asked in a croak, "please, can you help me?"

"It wants to be fixed! Ah, I cannot leave it behind. Very well."

With that, the glowing creature flitted forward the last few feet, alighting with three pairs of clawed feet on your chest where your shirt was ripped from the beating. Almost immediately, its glow intensified, then seemed to flow from its wings and body, through its legs, and into your chest. You felt warmth spread from the point of contact, slowly filling you up, although the pain and discomfort didn't seem to fade.

Then, with a tsk sound, it said, "It is too broken to fix all at once. I shall plant the seed and let it grow."

The warm feeling inside you seemed to almost solidify somehow: all of a sudden, you felt like you're trapped in honey, nearly immobilized. At the point of contact once again, you felt a momentary numbness, but that quickly shrank and solidified into a nugget of fiery pain that immediately began tracing a burning path down the inside of your chest. At your belly, it split into a pair of smaller halves, somehow more agonizing than it was as a larger single intruder, causing your face -- about the only thing you can move -- to contort as a scream forced itself out of your lungs.

The two kernels of pain continued downwards, leaving rivulets of fire in the nerves down each leg. When they reached your heels, they finally stopped moving, giving a moment of relief: they still hurt, but without the motion, it was easier to ignore and try to catch your breath.

Then the pain exploded again as you felt the skin of both heels pierced from the inside by growths reaching down into the loamy soil. At the same time, you could feel tendrils exploring inside you from each heel, spreading new shards of pain through your feet, then agonizingly slowly starting their way up each leg.

The fairy's wings abruptly buzzed into motion and it lifted back off your chest, nodding to itself. "It's a start. It will take time, but its proper form will regrow within the season."

As it flew away, the feeling of being trapped lessened some. It didn't go away completely, but you could move a bit -- or at least try. You quickly realized, however, that you could not move your feet, as you discovered that they were literally rooted to the ground. You could not feel your heels or ankles anymore, and the visible skin beneath the cuffs of your pants had turned to a dark, rough bark. The numbness was spreading slowly through your feet, and you could feel it starting to extend up your legs. As if suddenly remembering your voice, you tried calling out, shouting hoarsely for help, for anyone to come. You could feel its progress up your legs, slow enough that your horrified mind realized just how long you would be feeling this before you were completely subsumed.

Your screams lasted until your throat was raw, then continued as croaks, then whimpers as days turned to weeks, until you could feel nothing more than the sun on your branches and the nutrient-rich earth surrounding your deep, stable roots.

#cw: body horror #horror #forced transformation #fae #fairy #dryad #forest dryad #g/t #sort of gt

5 notes · View notes

kirric-the-fan · 9 months ago

Text

Cure Steady (OC): The character and backstory

Cure Steady was a part of the Cure Royales, an older precure team originally from the Heart Kingdom, ruled by Queen Cure. Steady and the other precure were the knight protectors of the kingdom’s princess and heir, but forseeing great danger and a turbulent life for the princess, Queen Cure sent her and her knights far forward into the future to have the chance to live a more peaceful life with ability to choose who she wanted to be.

They immediately run into trouble, as the villainy they had hoped to escape followed them, but away from the obligations and a lot of the memories of her kingdom, the princess surprises everyone by becoming a precure too, wanting to protect this world. They are eventually able to foil the villains plans to steal the remaining power from the long abandoned Heart Kingdom, but in a fit of rage the villain lashes out at the citizens of Earth instead. In their efforts to stop him one last time, and protect the people, Steady uses up all her magic and turns to stone. The princess uses her power to try and protect Steady’s heart, then sets out to seek a way to bring her back.

When Suzuki (Cure Memory) comes into the picture, the town is under the thrall of a different enemy and cannot speak freely about the precure, so what they did has been largely forgotten. Suzuki spends a lot of time hanging out on and around Steady’s statue, and talks to her a lot. She even makes flower crowns for her. Suzuki has no idea what precure are, or that Steady might be a real person, but this is kinda her safe space, someone to talk to, open up to.

When Steady is eventually restored, she is now an adult, and has enough vague memories of all the times Suzuki talked to her to feel like she knows her, and feels like she wants to protect her. She ends up with a proper mother-daughter relationship with her, even adopting her. Turns out Steady has a strong motherly-type protective vein, especially around younger cures, and has to be dissuaded from spontaneously adopting all the other cures when there’s all stars stuff.

(on the flip aide of this, I think in my notes I made a joke of how Suzuki, who has 0 mothers/mother figures at the start of the series, ends up with at least eight.)

Even though the other Royale cures are still nowhere to be found, Steady can transform still, and readily helps the Memory cures in their fight.

By the time Steady reappears, the others are gone, and she becomes quite an independent cure, still dedicated to protecting the people of Earth.

Steady’s attacks are strength based. She is a stronk cure, hard to move when she’s holding the line.

A lot of her fighting is physical, and she can often be seen physically stopping monsters and debris, as well as saving people. Those heart pads in her hands get a lot of use.

She’s very good as carrying large numbers of people. She’ll just stack them up as well as she can. Is usually more careful with the non-cures.

She’s strong, but she hates heights. A lot. She often seems steady on her feet, and she is when she’s in action, but you get her in the air...

She can still trip over her feet in unguarded moments too. For a rock/earth themed cure, she sure spends a lot of time faceplanted in it.

She might be a fierce opponent in a fight, but she has a kind heart, wanting to help and protect others.

Magical Attacks:

Power up! A simple upgrade: Steady punches a fist in palm, and can grow to three or four times her former size. This is the form her statue was in, and is big enough to directly wrestle and restrain monsters, or hold shut big doors (like you might find in a castle). She struggles with vertigo on the height change, and that tires her out so she is quite careful when uses this. Will use for intimidation sometimes, much more so once she is working with her daughter. (Memory: “Oh, I didn’t say you were fighting me.” *confused villain noises* Memory: “MOOOMMMM!!!” and then pre powered up Steady comes charging in )

Precure Rock-et smash: Punching a chunk of rock or earth from the ground and punching the magical essence of that rock towards the enemy. This is different to her punching away, or throwing back rocks, which she also does. This is a way to hit people-coded villains with a rock without actually hitting people with a rock. Precure Rock-et barrage is an upgrade that allows her to hit multiple shots from the same rock by magically reinforcing the original rock and holding it in place. Then punching/kicking it a lot.

Steady heart: a connection purification attack. Attack probably isn’t the right word here, as while it looks like an attack at first, there is no violence. Steady has to make contact with the enemy, coming in to land her hand on their heart. This often looks like an attack to break through the enemy’s defences, but they tend to be surprised when they aren’t punted into orbit. Her hand heart pad lies on their heart, and a magical bubble appears around them both that seems to slow things down and create a safe space so they can talk. It also projects calming natural views, highlighting things the enemy might not actually want to destroy. They have a heart to heart, Steady getting through to the source of why they were fighting, and giving them the reasons and reassurance of why they don’t actually need to fight. With monsters it’s usually just an explanation that they’re not what they’re meant to be, and that’s causing them enough discomfort to want to revert. Once they see the reason, Steady calls out “Steady your heart!” and a pink heart of magic expands from Steady’s hand and purifies the enemy. This attack can also occur from a hug version, in which case the hand to heart location is round the back.

Sometimes after a battle, the battlefield doesn’t magically revert (thanks to the enemy’s interference, particularly in the Memory Cures case from Kao-san’s interference). Thanks to the princess, Steady has the capability to fix things like this, which also can be used as a secondary purification attack (although slightly more likely to fail due to the lack of personal connection with the enemy).

She starts by rubbing her hands together, the heart pads generating the first sparks of magic. She then uses her hands to draw out a big heart (two halves) and calls out “Love of the world,!” She takes a deep stance (or is already on one knee) and throws her arms back, the heart shape flying back through her with more sparks as it splashes her with magic. The large heart shape now sits behind her and folds slightly, as if it were her wings. Big dramatic moment. She then brings her hands forward, palms up towards her target (making contact with the ground if on the ground and aiming towards her target if not in range), throwing the magic to its target as she calls out “Embrace the Earth!” The heart shoots towards the target, hits, and spreads, shining bright across the surface and purifying/fixing it.

While Steady belonged to a previous group where she had a duty to protect the princess, the princess made a point of releasing them from that obligation so they could follow their hearts and not her. Steady loved Earth and the people deeply (she always loved deeply) and chose to continue to protect the earth, “the world you love so much as well.”

The princess also used her power to save Steady when she sacrificed herself to protect the people. Chiyoko used the power of her kingdom to protect Steady’s heart, allowing her to survive. Even now, the crown of the kingdom still sits round her heart, allowing her to live and transform like she always used to even though she doesn’t have her gem anymore. Steady has a memory of the princess asking her to look after them (the people) for her.

^^ Cure Steady by @ dryad_druid find their commissions here

Addition to say I have realised that Steady's fear of heights would lead her to be carried a lot by Special (the princess) as she can fly. Steady would have her eyes screwed shut pretty much any time she was off the ground, so it would be a matter of trust that she would be safe.

Steady has a reputation for being robust. While she is pretty much the opposite of active in the air, she's still solidly built enough that dropping a curled up ball of Steady from a height is a valid attack method (Steady has agreed to this, bc however much she hates heights, or even falling, she always wants to be on the ground again.) Steady just holds the curled up ball until she's on the ground again, usually after knocking the monster out. Cannonball! It does take her a moment to get back into the fight though.

#oc cure #fancure #cure steady #precure royales #memory cures #Favorite #convoluted backstory? check #but no I really love this girl #It's okay #she has adult knowledge from her past life #she's not just isekaied into adulthood or stuck every second of statue time #god if I could make just one of my cures part of the canon I would choose steady no questions #she's just so goood #her and Hana would bond over having kid cures #Oh! She knows Tsubomi's grandmother as well #Royales appeared a bit after cure flower's time but Coupe stopped her from going to their town after they went missing #me out here turning my blog into a backup respository for all my oc stuff #sorry not sorry

2 notes · View notes