#a lot of things were just...simpler or slower back in the day and I think we're becoming overwhelmed now

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

Modern life just has...too much stuff to keep track of. Too many deadlines and logins and accounts and emails and messages on multiple different platforms and constant bombardment of information and I can tell my brain is really struggling to manage it all.

#while smartphones and the expansion of the Internet have been helpful in many ways #a lot of things were just...simpler or slower back in the day and I think we're becoming overwhelmed now #i do sometimes miss the days when someone would just have to leave a message on your answering machine if you weren't home #and you'd listen to it when you got back #and we didn't have a constant bombardment of news #if you wanted to see it you had to buy a newspaper or turn on the TV

[sunflowervoltwentyeight]

Happy 28th! Here is my November 2023 fic rec, organized by word count, from longest to shortest. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Baked Just Right by 28goldensfics / @28goldens (92k)

“You’re sweet, thank you.” Harry was speaking so quiet it was almost eerie, but his fingers squeezed against Louis’ hand again. “I already feel like I can pretty much be myself with you. I’m glad you moved here, I’ve needed a friend. I hope you keep getting that breath of fresh air you need here.”

 Louis’ heart felt like it could pound out of his chest and onto the floor in front of them.

 “I’m starting to think I will.”

Louis has to get away. The news of his father’s terminal diagnosis, the loss of his job, and the breakup with his girlfriend leads Louis to leave for a life of slower things in the small town of Cedar Hills.

His new neighbor is the Cox Family Apple Farm. Harry Styles, the oldest child of the Cox Family, might just teach him how to live life a little simpler, bake an apple pie, and breathe.

Album Series by suspendrs / @suspendrs (72k)

The Pink Album (31k) They don’t really discuss how hard it is to be in this situation, or to be doing the things they have to do to continue being together. It’s just something they don’t talk about, and that’s alright. Or maybe it isn’t, but they’ll cross that bridge when they get to it. Or, a love seven years in the making, inspired by Harry's debut album. Part 1 of albums Fine Line (21k) There’s still a lot of things they don’t talk about, a lot of things they don’t bring home with them at the end of the day, and a lot of things that don’t even need to be said. The world is the world and it sucks sometimes, but it’s far away when Harry’s at home and Louis’s here with him and none of it needs to matter when it could just as easily be ignored. Harry tries to open up sometimes, tries to bring Louis into his world, but Louis’s got a world of his own to tend to, and it feels like more often than not they are on two separate planets and the universe just keeps expanding. Or, a love three more years in the making, inspired by Harry’s sophomore album. Part 2 of albums Walls (20k) The thing about having been on the move so much for the past five years is that now, once they’re finally able to sit down and rest for a bit, they don’t really know what to do with themselves. Louis loved the pace of the band, for all he and the others complained about it; he isn’t very fond of sitting still, and he absolutely boredom, and there was very little space in their lives for either of those things while they were so busy putting out an album every year and touring more often than not. Being in the same room as Harry while neither of them are under the pressure of keeping up appearances feels like being in a room with a total stranger, and the amount of trouble they’re having trying to get to know each other again is really rather alarming. Or, a love one whole decade in the making, inspired by Louis's debut album. Part 3 of albums

I Was Yours (I Wish You Were Mine) by staybeautiful / @harruandlou (56k)

“Harry Styles!”

His name rang out clear through the city streets. He turned quickly back to the bar, startled by his own name and startled by the voice that called him.

Standing in the doorway to the bar, back lit and glowing slightly was Louis.

Not an eighteen year old apparition dressed in the same low slung blue jeans and t-shirt with swooping bangs that was always the image in his mind. No, he was Louis now.

or Ten years ago Harry dropped his best friend and high school boyfriend off at the train station and never saw him again. Now, he's twenty seven, living in NYC, and dreadfully unlucky in love. He can't stop wistfully thinking of Louis promising that they'd see each other again in ten years time. A chance meeting outside a bar has them tumbling head first into a summer of music, milkshakes, and maybe each other.

On the Edge by zanni_scaramouche / @zanniscaramouche (47k)

Figure skating is as vital to Louis’ identity as his DNA, so when his skates go missing right before the last Olympics of his career there may be a meltdown only vanilla bath salts can fix. Well, that and the stupidly charming hockey player he met on the plane.

Harry’s too old to be the wonder kid and too young to be taken seriously in the NHL. As an alternate thrown in at the last second, he fights to prove himself on the national team at the largest sporting event known to man. Or he will, once he gets off this flight and can focus on something other than the fussy figure skater and his stunningly blue eyes.

A baggage mix-up skews both of their perfectly laid plans for gold, forcing the two to work together as the clock clicks towards the minute they’re expected to shine on centre ice.

From Dust to Lust by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom (45k)

From the moment Louis set eyes on the gorgeous stranger across the airport terminal, he knew the guy was trouble, which was the last thing he wanted. He wouldn’t have thought spending two days cooped up in a car travelling from the Australian Outback to the East Coast would change his mind.

It’s funny how things work out.

OR the one where Louis and Harry are fly-in-fly-out mine workers, coincidences are totally a thing, karaoke is an underrated form of foreplay, and the universe most definitely works in mysterious ways.

Play Pretend, Find a Friend? by angelichl / @angelichl (40k)

They had to pull back for air. Louis surveyed the guy’s face, in awe of his blown pupils and sharp jawline, the way their shared spit glistened on his lips.

"Hi,” he breathed. He blinked, and came back to himself a little bit, blushing at his own boldness. “Sorry. Is this okay?”

The stranger removed his right hand from the curve of Louis’ waist in order to cup his jaw, tilting it up to the angle he desired. He pressed their lips together, murmuring, “Definitely.” And then he kissed harder.

When Louis sees his ex-boyfriend kissing a random girl at a party, he acts out of blind jealousy. He kisses the first guy he can find. It turns into a thing.

INSPIRED BY CLOUDS.

Bloodsport by tofiveohfive / @tofiveohfive (40k)

“You know how our next game is against the Cardinals, right? You remember how vicious those guys can get. I wanted us to come up with some plays, maybe work on a block from the left—”

Louis stops when he hears a chuckle.

He doesn’t think he’s said anything particularly funny, so he turns to Harry, waiting for an explanation.

“‘S funny, ‘s all.” Harry throws his finished bottle somewhere near the other discarded ones. “This is the first time you’re talking to me in eight months, and it’s still about football.”

Illusions of Someday by softgoldenglow / @usignedupforthis (26k)

The one where law student Louis and aspiring musician/full-time barista Harry are both a bit of a mess. There's dance parties and rainy beaches, vodka shots and mugs of tea. The world is hard but they're figuring it out together.

Not a Lot, Just Forever by givesuethemoon / @givesuethemoon (4k)

“I think,” Harry says, voice quiet, “that no matter where I go, who I meet, how old I get… I’m always going to come back here. I’m always going to come back to you.”

Part 3 of 22-23 canon

#28th appreciation #read #larry fic rec #monthly fic rec #2023 fic rec #trackinghappily #trackinghome #hlcreators #1dficvillage

[dreamwritesimagines]

Burn The Witch 9 - Eye to Eye [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns, knives.

Summary: Late night visits can be unpleasant.

Series Masterlist

Here’s something they didn’t tell you during your spy training;

The world’s deadliest assassin made a cute boyfriend.

For the last couple of days, he had been the perfect gentleman but aside from him dropping by the milkshake shop once, you could barely see him. The spy in you kept urging you to ask him where he was just in case it was an important information you could put on your latest report, but somehow you thought it would maybe be pushing him too much.

You looked over your shoulder to take a look at your surroundings and make sure you weren’t being followed by anyone, still holding the phone to your ear.

“You have nothing to worry about,” you assured Bucky, “I don’t mind, we can meet another time.”

“I’m really sorry darling.”

You tried to ignore the smile pulling at your lips at the term of endearment. “Bucky, I told you. I’m not going anywhere, we have all the time in the world. Well, all the time except for tonight.”

“It came up at the last minute.”

“Mm hm, you mentioned that,” you sat down on the bench, looking up at the tall building, “But I don’t know, it sounds a little like you have another date. A hot date.”

“I mean, if you’d call Sam a hot date—“

“Oh I’d definitely call Sam a hot date,” you taunted him, making him chuckle “Have you met him? He’s dreamy and I bet he wouldn’t change date plans at the last minute, just saying.”

“Hey, come on now.”

“But as it happens, I’m sort of already seeing this brooding guy who likes to be secretive, a lot.”

“I’m not brooding.”

“You frowned at a milkshake once, Bucky.”

“The milkshake had it coming,” he pointed out, “So, seeing huh? That’s what people call it nowadays?”

“What did you guys call it back in your day?”

“Going steady.”

“I like that term better I think,” you said, drumming your fingers on your knee before fixing your skirt, “All jokes aside I get it, really. Just promise me you’ll be safe.”  

“I’ll try.” You could almost see his tentative smile and you narrowed your eyes.

“That doesn’t sound like a promise.”

“How about I visit you at the shop today?” he changed the topic, “Before we leave?”

You checked your wristwatch, “When?”

“In two hours?”

“Oh that works!” you said, “My shift starts in the afternoon, I’ll be there. And I will bug you until you promise me you’ll be safe, just warning you beforehand.”

“Can’t wait,” he said, “See you in two hours.”

“See you,” you hung up, then fixed your expression and raised your chin as you walked through the security. After swiping your card to get in the elevator, you swiped it once more to be able to push the button down to the headquarters.

After you walked out of the elevator, you had to go through the retinal scan to open the last door and stepped into the headquarters, the usual rush greeting you. People were either focused on their computers, or walking around with files or talking to one another. You looked around and slowly descended the stairs to hop on Chloe’s desk, taking her by surprise. She gasped, taking off her headphones.

“Hey, when did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“You look pretty formal.”

You looked down at your pencil skirt and white blouse, then your high heels. “Yeah I mean, I have to report to the General, I can’t just show up in that weird pin up uniform. I wouldn’t hear the end of it from others.”

“Right. Because every single agent here needs to be intimidated by you.”

“Not a necessity, but surely doesn’t hurt.” You wiggled your brows, “Is Keith around?”

“He’s on his way, asked me if I wanted coffee.”

You tilted your head, “Huh. He’s bringing you coffee?”

“Oh he’s just being nice,” she said, smiling at you brightly “Anyways, tell me everything. I haven’t seen you in days, how’s it going with Barnes?”

“Why, what have you heard?”

She scoffed, “Nothing you paranoid. Why, should I have heard something?”

“No,” you said in a haste, “Not at all, just curious.”

“So how’s it going with him?”

“It’s going fine,” you muttered, “We’re going steady.”

“What does that mean?”

You shifted your weight and crossed your legs, “We’re da—ehm,” you cleared your throat, the word feeling way too strange to even you, “Dating?”

She let out a squeal and you shushed her, looking around. “Chloe—“

“You’re actually dating! Like romantically. Dating dating.”

“As a cover, yes.”

“How was the kiss? Tell me everything about the kiss!”

“Chloe, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me you remember that this is a fake relationship.”

She rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t make it less romantic.”

“Yes it does. It definitely does.”

“The kiss?” she insisted, “Did he do something….old timey?”

“During the kiss?” you felt the need to ask, “Chloe, people have been kissing each other for centuries, what exactly do you think was different in the 1940s?”

She opened her mouth to retort but then her eyes found something over your shoulder and someone placed a coffee cup in front of her. You turned your head to see Keith sipping his own coffee.

“Hey.”

“Hey back,” you greeted him, “Where’s my coffee?”

“There’s a coffee machine in the hallway.”

“But that’s not artisanal.”

“Sucks to be you.”

You let out a small laugh, shaking your head, “You’re such a—”

“Y/N, he’s ready to see you.” General’s assistant approached you and you pushed yourself off the table.

“Wish me luck,” you said and followed her to General’s office. She motioned at you to go in and closed the door behind her when you did, leaving you alone with him.

General was looking out of the window with his hands in his pockets but turned around when you walked in.

“Shrike.”

“Hello General.”

“I went over your report last night,” he said, not beating around the bush, “Can we say that your relationship actually started then?”

“I think so, yes.”

“You think so,” he repeated and you pushed your hair behind your ear.

“I’m sure, sir.”

“Your report did not exactly provide us with any information on him,” he stated, “Or his actions lately. What is he doing, where is he going….with Captain America?”

“General, we have to keep in mind that this is Bucky Barnes,” you said, “Me actually getting close to him will be much slower than any other target. He doesn’t trust anyone—“

“You got information from drug lords and mob bosses, Y/N. They’re not exactly the trusting type.”

“That’s right, but none of those had over 80 years of spy experience.”

“He wasn’t a spy, he was an assassin.”

“An alone assassin,” you insisted, “I don’t put this lightly, he trusts maybe….I don’t know, three people in the entire world. You trusted me with this mission, just let me do it my way. By the time—“ you tried to swallow the bitter taste in your mouth, “By the time we’re ready to bring him in, I will have earned his trust and bring you the information in the meantime.”

He clicked his tongue,

“He didn’t come upstairs with you?”

“I’m sorry?”

“When your date was over, this…second date. He didn’t come upstairs with you?”

Translation: Why didn’t you sleep with him?

“He’s old-fashioned,” you managed to say, “I decided any further step would affect the mission badly.”

He nodded slowly and took his seat while you shifted your weight from one foot to another.

“Some of your superiors and I decided it’d be better to have some changes in your team,” he said and you looked up.

“Keith and Chloe—“

“They will not be replaced, don’t worry,” he said, “We’re just making some additions, that’s all. You will be informed about them soon, you can leave.”

You tried to smile and walked out of the office to close the door behind you. Gritting your teeth, you made your way to Chloe and Keith who were joking around.

“Hey, how did it go?”

“About as expected.”

“He’s in a bad mood, he and my mother had this fight last night,” Chloe said, “Don’t take it personally.”

“Do you know who they’re adding into my team?” you asked and Keith raised his brows.

“They’re adding someone?”

“Yeah.”

“I haven’t heard,” Chloe said, “I’ll snoop around his files when I can. Let’s hope whoever they are, they’re nice.”

You scoffed as you grabbed Keith’s coffee to take a sip.

“You’re talking about a spy, Chloe,” you said, “None of us is ever nice.”

                                      ***

Needless to say, your bad mood was there to stay for the whole day. Even after getting to the milkshake shop, you still couldn’t shake off that discomfort.

You were doing the right thing. It was just a mission, you had done it numerous times and listening to your intuition had never failed you.

No matter what your superiors thought.

You were so lost in your own head that you didn’t even notice the wind bells by the door chiming. You were doodling on a napkin while chewing on the straw of your milkshake, ignoring the clutter of mason jars Tara was currently putting on the shelves.  

“Hi beautiful.”

Your head shot up and your eyes caught the sight of Bucky standing across from you on the other side of the counter. A smile you couldn’t stop pulled at your lips without you having to force it and you let out a breath.

“Bucky!” you exclaimed and went under the counter to throw yourself into his arms. He wrapped his arm around your waist to lift you up, then brushed his lips against yours.

“It slipped my mind—“ you stopped yourself and shook your head as he put you down, “Hi.”

“Hi back.”

You stood on your tiptoes and pecked him on the lips again. Somehow, having him there made your day feel not as terrible as it had been so far, probably because your cover had a much simpler life.

That was it. No other reason.

“I’m pretty sure health regulations do not approve of this,” Tara’s voice pulled you apart and you let out a giggle.

“Sorry about that ma’am,” Bucky said and Tara grinned.

“Ma’am, huh?” she asked, “You, I like you. You have any friends who are as nice as you, lover boy?”

“I think they’d be too old for you,” he stated, making you raise your brows. Tara looked between you two.

“Is he a vampire?” she asked you and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Still trying to figure that one out myself,” you said “Is it okay if I step outside for a moment?”

“You mean in this crowd?” Tara asked, motioning at the completely empty shop, “Knock yourself out.”

You tugged at Bucky’s hand to lead him out of the shop and he followed you without any protests.

“Sorry, I was going to lose my mind if I stayed there any longer.”

“Slow day?”

I wish.

“Just a bad day,” you murmured, leaning your back to the wall, “How about you? When are you leaving for this… highly dangerous mission of yours?”

“I never said it was highly dangerous,” he taunted you and you arched a brow.

“Right,” you said, “Then it’s just a little dangerous?”

“Just a little,” he nodded, “Yeah. A little maiming here and there—“

“Bucky!”

“I’m joking,” he said with a chuckle, “I promise you I’ll be safe and try to keep Sam safe. Happy?”

“Extremely, can’t you tell?” you deadpanned and scrunched up your nose, “Gosh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be all pushy, I just—”

“No no, you’re not,” he assured you, that familiar soft light appearing in his blue eyes again, “It’s the opposite actually.”

“The opposite?”

“It’s nice to…” He thought for a moment, “It’s nice to have someone who cares.”

The unsaid about me  hung in the air and you felt it tugging at your heartstrings before you took a deep breath.

Focus on the mission.

“When are you leaving?”

“In a couple of minutes, I told Sam I’d meet him here.”

“Shoot, that soon huh?” you murmured, “Okay, can you maybe just… Um- I don’t—I don’t need to know where you’re going, but can you please text me something when you get there? Even if it’s just a letter or something. So that I can know you’re there.”

“We’ll probably get there in the middle of the night, is that okay?”

Middle of the night.

They were leaving the city.

You made a mental note to include it in your report and nodded fervently, “Yeah, totally!”

“So what will you be doing tonight?”

“Me?” you asked, “Oh nothing much, I was actually thinking I could meet some friends from soup kitchen. We were talking about it the other day, and it’s been almost two months since I moved here. I need to start making friends.”

“And will you be safe?”

You tilted your head, looking up at him mischievously, “If I say no, will you still go?” you taunted him, “I mean I might get mugged again. It’s a dangerous city.”

“Not funny, and I thought you said no more dark alleys.”

“But Bucky, that’s how we met!” you insisted, making him furrow his brows, “It was fate!”

“It was a prick with a gun.”

“You should really put more faith in the universe,” you said “It might surprise you one of these days. Who knows? You might even be happy.”

A soft light crossed his blue eyes and he reached out to push your hair behind your ear.

“Where on earth did you come from?” he breathed out as if he was hypnotized and you scrunched up your nose, trying to keep your head in the game.

“Oregon,” you grinned and closed your eyes as he leaned in to capture your lips in a kiss but as soon as he did, someone cleared their throat quite loudly. You pulled back and looked around his arm to see Sam who seemed like he would rather be anywhere but there.

“Barnes, release the poor girl.”  

“Hi Sam!” you waved at him and he smiled slightly.

“Hi Y/N.” he said, “Staying away from wasps?”

You covered your face with your hands, “Gosh, I never should’ve told you that.”

“What wasps?” Bucky looked between you too and you shook your head.

“Long story,” you said, “You two will be okay?”

Bucky took the duffel bag from Sam, “Yeah, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

Your jaw dropped, a gasp escaping from you and Sam pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Are you kidding me dude?”

“Why would you say something like that?!”

“What?”

“Haven’t you seen any movies?” you asked, “You never say that, ever!”

“What did I say?”

Sam threw his head back, “I’m two seconds away from going on this mission by myself.”

“What did I say?” Bucky asked again and you heaved a dramatic sigh.

“Stay here, both of you.” You pointed at them, then rushed into the shop to grab two plastic cups. You filled them with chocolate milkshake, then put the lids on, placed a straw in each and went outside again.

“Here, for the road.”

Sam grinned as he took his cup “I like her better than I like you, Buck.”

“Don’t call me—“ Bucky stopped himself and took his cup from you, “Thanks darling.”

“No problem,” you said, “Be careful, will you?”

“Sure thing,” he pressed a kiss on top of your head and shouldered the duffel bag, “Let’s go.”

“See you Y/N!”

“See you!” you said and leaned back to the wall as they walked away from you. You nibbled on your lip, crossing your arms.

Out of the city.

Well, at least you knew what to put on your report the next time General requested it.

                                      ***

All things considered, the mission was going well.

Just a little too well.

You flipped your phone in your hand, checking the screen for what felt like a hundredth time before turning your gaze to the TV screen. The character let out a scream and started rushing upstairs as the axe killer burst through the front door, making you shake your head.

“Sure, just go and lock yourself in the bathroom, that’s gotta help….” You mumbled, “Who the fuck is writing these?”

You grabbed your phone again to check the screen once more, then shook your head at yourself, tossing it on the couch.

“Don’t be Marco….” You muttered, “Don’t be fucking Marco, Marco ended up dead.”

“Who are you talking to?”

You jumped out of your skin and grabbed the fruit knife lying on the plate beside you to throw it at the figure but he was way too trained for it. He ducked as you jumped on your feet, then pressed a hand on your chest.

“Keith what the fuck?!”

“You got the phone number of that Chinese place around the corner?” he asked as he picked the knife off the floor to put it on the table “I can’t remember the name and I’m craving noodles.”

“How long have you been here—how the fuck did you get inside?”

“Window. Do you want noodles?”

“I could’ve killed you!”

“Oh get over yourself. Noodles?”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, “Yeah I could eat,” you said and found the number on your phone before tossing the phone to him, “There.”

“Thanks,” he said and took the phone to his ear, then ordered you noodles while you tried to calm down and sat down on the couch. He came to sit beside you.

“Your flowers look dead,” he pointed at the bouquet Bucky had given you and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Maybe I like them dead.”

“Okay, Morticia Addams,” he murmured, “What are we watching?”

“Scream.”

“Great, classic.” He put his feet up on the coffee table and you slipped a little on the couch.

“Keith?”

“Hm?”

“Do you ever wonder what got into Marco to put his life in danger?”

“Well poor bastard was in love,” he said, “Love makes you do stupid shit. Why?”

“But he was a trained agent, we’re not supposed to fall in love.”

“Maybe the target was too good in bed,” he wiggled his brows, “Don’t underestimate how good sex can make you feel like you’re in love.”

“That ever happened to you?”

“You know the true owner of my heart,” he joked and you narrowed your eyes.

“Funny you should mention that because—“ you started but then the doorbell rang. You frowned.

“Their service can’t be that fast, can it?”

“It’s literally right around the corner,” Keith said as you grabbed your gun to tuck it into the waist of your shorts and covered it with your shirt.

“Easy terminator, don’t forget to tip the delivery.”

“I’m an assassin, not a savage,” you said and walked to the door, snatching your wallet off the coffee table. You opened the door but as soon as you recognized the figure standing on your doorstep, you dropped the wallet and pulled your gun to point it at him.

“Hi Julian.”

He had the audacity to smile as he eyed the gun in your hand, then clicked his tongue.

“Hi Y/N,” he said, “Do you greet all your ex boyfriends like this, or am I just special?”

Chapter 10

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #tfatws!bucky #bucky barnes imagine #marvel #falcon and the winter soldier #bucky barnes x you

[dreamescapeswriting]

Write Up ~ KTH [Request]

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

GENRE: Fluffy, jealous, established-relationship

PAIRING: Taehyung x Fem!Reader x Seungmin (for like a couple of paragraphs)

A/N: As soon as I saw Puppy dog crush I had to make it Seungmin! Hope you enjoy!

Staring over at the clock on the wall you hoped it was just a little fast and that you weren't being stood up by your boyfriend Taehyung, time seemed to be moving slower now that you were staring at the clock on the wall. It was a Wednesday afternoon which meant it was his afternoon off and he could come and spend the afternoon with you in a small cafe in the middle of Seoul. It was the cutest cafe in the whole of the city, right down an alleyway which meant that hardly anybody knew that the place existed and that you were free to just let your hair down. The two of you had been together secretly for the last year and a half and this was one of the weekly routines that you would do together in this one spot. The owners knew you both well and would always make sure to have your orders waiting for you whenever you came in to work in the shop. You'd been working as a songwriter for years in the industry, working with people not just in the Kpop industry but with Western artists too. It was something you were very well known for since people liked to collaborate with you a lot, forming friendships and business relationships with different singers and groups was intimidating but something you'd always longed to do.

A couple of companies had gone to you with the task of creating some love songs for their performers, all you were told about them was that the people that would be singing the songs would be female. You weren't allowed to know anything else except for that which was why Taehyung had offered to come by and help you with writing. Writing songs alone wasn't normally an issue but you'd been struggling a lot with this one, Taehyung offered to help as a way of couple bonding with you. Spending time together while getting to write about your love life in a song that would be able to be heard by people all over the world. 

Tae: I got caught up, reschedule for next week? You smiled down at your phone, at least this time he text you telling you what had happened and you weren't left waiting. It wasn't like you were mad at him for being late or not showing up, you understood what it was like for him being so busy all of the time.

You: No problem baby, I'll head home after writing down some ideas x It wasn't as though it was a big deal having to write on your own but Taehyung felt bad for making you do it. He wanted to be the one there helping you out with the lyrics. In a way, it would be "your song" without everyone knowing that it was about your relationship. No matter how hard Taehyung had tried this week he couldn't seem to catch a break, no matter what he did everything seemed to pile on top of him more and more. Although he was supposed to have every Wednesday afternoon off he'd been so caught up and behind with recordings that he didn't have the chance to have the day off. It felt as though he was being rushed off his feet all of the time and had no chance for time to himself but he was going to make it up to you. 

"Y/n?" You looked up when you heard an unfamiliar voice call out your name and smiled when you saw who was standing there. You couldn't believe it when you saw who it was it was as if the universe was throwing you a bone since Taehyung wasn't coming to meet you. 

"Seungmin?" You questioned as you looked up at the boy you used to know really well. You and Seungmin had gone to the same school for years and got along well with one another but after graduating you grew apart and ended up losing touch with one another. He didn't look much different than before only a lot taller and his hair was dyed black rather than his natural brown colour but it felt so weird to see him after all this time.

"What brings you out here?" You laughed softly as you pushed the chair that was in front of you out from under the table so that he could sit down with you. It had been so long since you'd even seen him it felt odd to just bump into one another while you were out and around the city. You figured he would be too busy with his own group to come to smaller places like this. You'd watched him on his show and always sent moral support online whenever you could, not knowing if he'd see it but still wanting to be there for an old friend. 

"I come here a lot, I've never seen you before it's normally some couple sitting here," You felt the heat rise up over your body as you thought about someone see you and Taehyung here together and you nodded. Clearly, no one knew it was Taehyung since he was always in a disguise, the same hat, sunglasses and mask to keep himself hidden away. The booth was normally reserved for you and Taehyung to sit in by the couple that ran the cafe, they always made sure your spot was free.

"Guilty, it's normally me and my boyfriend," You smiled at Seungmin and he smiled back, the huge puppy dog smile you loved so much spreading across his face. 

"Do you want to join me?" You asked as you waved over the owner who had been staring at you wondering who it was that had decided to join you. 

"You look busy, I don't want to interrupt anything..." Seungmin said slowly as he looked at the papers that were covering the small table. Even though he really wanted to stay with you and do nothing but sit with you all day he didn't want to stop you from doing your work. The truth was that Seungmin had always had a crush on you even when you were in school together, he'd always had a puppy crush on you. Although everyone else knew that it was obvious you were oblivious to it all, just thinking he was a close friend. 

"I'm just working on a song but I'm struggling. Maybe you can help?" You suggested as you showed him everything you already had down which was half of a drawn spider-diagram with the words, "Lovesong," written in the middle. 

"Love songs? Not your field of expertise?" He asked as he sat down in the chair and looked over the notebook, small doodles of hearts and things were drawn around the edges but not much else. It was a lot like most of your work in school with the doodles around the outside edges.

"You would think I'd be great at them but I always seem to write the same thing over and over again." You admitted as you scratched the back of your neck, normally you would be able to write non-stop but when it came to love you only knew one kind and you didn't want it to be one-note for everything. 

"Can I get my usual please Zyliara?" You asked the owner who had already taken out her notebook and wrote it down before turning to look at Seungmin for his order.

"Oh, can I get a strawberry milkshake and taiyaki?" Seungmin thanked Zyliara and you laughed again at the thought of his order. Some things never changed after all the time in the world, 

"It's still your favourite? I remember you would only ever order that whenever we went out for lunch in our final year," You smiled as you remembered fond memories from your time in school. Seungmin made the process of something that was normally terrible that much more bearable. 

After catching up with one another the two of you finally got down to working on some love song lyrics. You had a small mp3 player with the track you'd made which made the process a lot simpler but what both of you had failed to notice was people seeing you both. Passing you in the nearby window and noticing that it was Y/n Y/l/n famous songwriter and Kim Seungmin from Stray kids. Once photos were taken of the both of you it spread like wildfire but neither of you had noticed since you were so lost in your own worlds. You'd gone home that night happy that the song was almost complete, you had some minor adjustments to make to the chorus and backing tracks but other than that the song was perfect. Seungmin had been a great help to you, you both exchanged numbers so you could catch up again and even work for him sometime in the future if his company allowed it. 

"Alright! I'm coming jeez!" You called out to whoever was frantically ringing your doorbell at 8 am on a Thursday morning. It was far too early to be woken up like this, you scrambled over to the door and angrily swung it open to see who was standing there, 

"Tae?" You questioned rubbing your eyes as he made his way into the apartment with an angry look across his face. He was red in the face as he burst through the door but you couldn't think why he would be so mad at this time in the morning. The last time you'd spoken to him was before you went to sleep after leaving him a voicemail telling him that you had finished the song you were working on and didn't need help anymore. 

"I thought we were going to work together...I thought it would be nice to write about our love life..." You frowned as he spoke so fast you could barely understand what he was trying to say to you. Shutting the door to your apartment you walked further into the house to ask him what was going on,

"Tae what are you talking about-" You stopped questioning him when he pulled out his phone to show you articles after articles about you and Seungmin sitting together. Photos were splashed everywhere with different titles, one of them being,

"The collaboration of a lifetime." And another of you and Seungmin rather close together edited with hearts around your heads and labelled, 

"Kim Seungmin and Y/n Y/ln spotted cosying up to one another...Another hot love life or another hot single coming to the charts?" You stared at the phone for a second before looking back at Taehyung. 

"Tae, he's an old friend..." You tried to tell him but nothing was going to stop Taehyung from being hurt by the way fact that you were writing a love song with somebody else. Somebody that wasn't him. 

"Does he even know you have a boyfriend?!" He snapped out jealously as he looked at you, throwing his phone down onto the sofa behind him as he waited for you to answer him. All he could think about when he saw the images was how everyone was going to assume you were a couple with him now. That his girlfriend was going to be seen with other male artists who were 

"Yes, he's seen us together before but he doesn't know who you are since you're always in disguise. Tae we're just friends," You told him again as you tried to make it seem as though it wasn't a big deal. Which it wasn't. Seungmin had always been someone you saw as a younger sibling, nothing more and nothing less. 

"But why did you finish the song with him...I thought we were going to do it together? We should have done it together, we're the couple here..." You knew why he was upset over it so you tried not to get angry at him for this. 

"Tae. You've been so busy I thought you would have been relieved not to have to stress out over another song with me." You admitted as you took his hand in yours, trying to calm him down as much as you could you gave it a small squeeze. You didn't want this to turn into a huge unneeded fight between the two of you. 

"It wouldn't have stressed me out...Writing with you is one of my dreams Y/n...We've spoken about it for months," He admitted as he looked at you you smiled weakly as you met his gaze, he looked tired. More so than usual now that you looked at him properly. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept much in weeks. 

"How about we write a different song together, our own song? One for you and me alone?" You suggested as you reached up to cup his face in your hand and run your thumb over his skin. His eyes slowly fluttered shut and a tired smile began to grow on his face at the contact of your hand and he leant against it, snuggling against your hand as he enjoyed the feeling of being there with you. 

"That sounds good." He moaned out tiredly, enjoying the feeling of your hand on his skin too much to fight back against it, not that he wanted to. The idea of you having your own song sounded better than someone else singing about your love together.  

"Do you know what will sound better?" You asked him as you moved your hand down to his shoulders and began to massage him through his clothes, 

"Hmm? What?" He hummed as he opened his eyes slowly to look at you,

"I run you a nice hot bubble bath, I give you a massage and then we order in? Let me make you feel good Tae," You suggested as you looked at him he nodded happily. Nothing sounded better to him right now than spending the entire day off. Since he'd already called in sick to the boys anyway, there was nothing back home that he had to get home to and he could spend all his time with you instead. 

Tagline: @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @rjsmochii​ @fan-ati--c​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @taestannie​ @bisexualmess007​ @innersooya​ @sw33tnight​ @sweeneyblue1​ @jin-from-the-block​

#bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts imagines #bts imagine #taehyung #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #taehyung imagine #taehyung imagines #kim taehyung #kim taehyung x reader #kim taehyung imagine #kim taehyung imagines #seokjin #kim seokjin #jin #min yoongi #yoongi #suga #jhope #jung hoseok #hoseok #namjoon #kim namjoon #park jimin #jimin #jeon jungkook #jungkook

[overwatch-does-stuff]

A Summary On Chronal Disassociation and Gravitic Fluxes

Password Accepted

WINSTON’S NOTES- DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE WINSTON!

Athena suggested that I try to write out my line of thinking in simpler language, as to get the basics down before I get into the “nitty-gritty” of the matter. It reminded me of something that Dr. Winston said to one of his co-workers back on Horizon, something along the lines of “if you can’t explain it to a five year-old, you don’t understand what you’re talking about”. Wise advice indeed! While I don’t have any five year-olds around, and anyone I would show this to certainly wouldn’t be five, haha, I figured it was worth a shot just to get my ideas straight.

So, where to start?

Let’s start with Lena. It’s always good to start with what one knows rather than what one doesn’t. Anyway.

Lena has acute chronal disassociation. Chronal disassociation is a condition where the particles that make up the body spontaneously detach themselves from their current time and place and reappear in a different time and place. To the extent of Lena and I’s observations, this does not include inter-dimensional or alter-dimensional travel. Even if there were such things as alternate timelines, her disassociation through space and time would not create them due to the transient nature of her travel, but that’s getting beside the point.

My chronal accelerator design (it’s not really an accelerator, per say, more of a harness, but the name seemed to stick) keeps Lena in this current timeline by. . . hmm, keeping it simple simple. . .  kind of in a way that a quantum computer works. (No, that’s not simple! Think, think. . .) Quantum computers work by having infinite states of existence, which the computer infrastructure is able to control what state is active at which time. The chronal accelerator uses very much the same principle- it essentially “tells” Lena’s particles where to exist and in what state.

Now, that status is programmable, allowing Lena to alter her state at will (within certain safety parameters, of course!). With the aid of the accelerator, she can manipulate when her particles exist (such as restoring herself to a younger and undamaged time) and where her particles exist (such as moving herself on the X and Y axes, although it must be someplace she could reasonably get to using her own two feet. She cannot fly, for example.)

Now. . . here’s where things get. . . interesting. Lena, I hope you’re not reading this without me.

Chronal Disassociation is transferable. Not contagious! Lena is not dangerous to herself or anyone around her, even without the accelerator! But it is transferable. She does have the ability, with familiarity and practice, to disassociate other particles and reassemble them in another location. This idea is obvious to anyone who thinks to ask the question of why her clothing and weapons travel with her whenever she blinks or recalls. In the early days, in fact, we ran several experiments with the accelerator to make sure that she wouldn’t teleport the oxygen molecules out of her lungs, since the air she breathed wasn’t the same air that was involved with the Slipstream incident. I was genuinely concerned that she might suffocate should she ever try to blink!

I digress. The fact of the matter is, Lena can control the timeline of particles around her. Not just her own bodily particles, but the particles around her. While she herself is hesitant to acknowledge it, her condition isn’t just a condition- it’s a power.

Which leads me to the next, far less pleasant topic, and the real reason why I’m typing all this out.

Dr. Siebren de Kuiper underwent an unknown procedure of events and has now arrived under my study with the power to control gravity. To make matters worse, in between that unknown event and now, Talon got to him first and already constructed a kind of “harness” for him. A “harness” that’s highly invasive and shoddily built compared to my inventions (and that’s saying something, my chronal accelerator notwithstanding!) I’ve been working night and day not only to understand the basics of how his power works, but also how that harness is supposed to function in relation to that.

What I’ve got so far is pretty crude. I think Dr. de Kuiper has some kind of control over quantum gravitons, aka the particles that transmit the force we all know as gravity. The more gravitons he creates or gathers on an object, the more gravity exerted. Similarly, he has the ability to destroy or scatter Earth’s normal gravitons, which reduces the amount of gravity exerted on an object. On the large scale, it functions almost as a kind of basic telekinesis from a superhero movie.

If that theory is correct, de Kuiper must have an astounding amount of control. We’re talking septillions, octillions, maybe even nonillions or decillions (stupid huge numbers, forgot to keep it simple) of individual graviton particles that he’s manipulating here. The crude “harness” that Talon strapped into him (I mean literally INTO him, into his brain) must help him with that in some regard. Whether the technology controls the particles for him or if it simply helps him “feel” or “visualize” them better, I have no idea.

According to de Kuiper himself, aboard the ISS, he experienced what he called a “singularity”. Now, his language was very. . . flowery and unscientific, but given the subject matter he’s trying to describe I don’t blame him. Most disturbingly, however, it matches Lena’s description of the Slipstream incident almost perfectly. Lena (the much more reliable narrator of the two,) described the sensation as being “everywhere at once, “not knowing which way was up or down”, and “feeling incredibly old yet only lasting a few seconds”.

Lena doesn’t talk about the Slipstream accident. I highly, highly doubt she said anything about it to de Kuiper before he recounted his story for me. While his testimony is dubious, the events he described were too close to hers for me to dismiss them as coincidental storytelling.

As a result of this seemingly identical incident, he now has control over his own particles and the particles around him.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though! Lena’s powers and de Kuiper’s powers are two fundamentally different things. De Kuiper exhibits no control over any other subatomic particle, only the gravitons, which is an important distinction. Lena’s power is indiscriminate- the reason she can’t “fly” like he can is that she takes the gravitons in her body with her when she teleports and can’t separate them out. She certainly doesn’t have individual molecular control, whereas de Kuiper might, but only for gravitons as I mentioned. And then there’s his “melody”, which he claims is related to the fluctuations of his power, but that’s likely just to be how his psyche deals with the associated trauma. I mean, Lena isn’t crazy enough to report hearing music.

But. . . it is important to remember that time and gravity are related quantities. I haven’t been able to tell de Kuiper’s physical age in the very same way that it’s impossible to tell Lena’s based on DNA testing. It’s common knowledge that the greater the gravitational field, the slower time passes within that field. I suspect that de Kuiper is physically younger than the amount of time that has passed since his supposed death.

Does this mean that de Kuiper could have control over time? Does this mean that Lena could be unwittingly manipulating gravity? I have my doubts. There’s a lot of caveats with this “theory” that are only visible when talking about the more complex science. 

Regardless, I’ve cautioned Lena over and over again not to let de Kuiper use his powers on her, just in case. Even if their powers aren’t connected, I don’t want to discover any sort of strange reaction that could cause Lena to disassociate for good. I just hope she listens. 

Alright. Let’s get back to work now on the real science of it. I’m not sure how useful this exercise really was, but I suppose I can use it as a quick reference or something.

User Logged Off

#overwatch #overwatch fanfiction #pretty off-the-wall fanfiction but fanfiction nevertheless #overwatch winston #tracer #lena oxten #overwatch sigma #siebren de kuiper #just me dumping my psuedo-scientific fantasy nonsense on how I think Sigma and Tracer's powers work #from the in-universe perspective of Winston of course #Winston is bad at explaining things to five year-olds #this was a hella fun writing exercise #technically rehabilitiation!sigma #but not really

[jimmygibbsjrrr]

I have a lot of thoughts about the Slaters

namely, I've been wonderin why the Fairfield Survivors got thrown off the boat in Death Toll

in this panel of The Sacrifice comic, Francis confirms the fates of three of the rescue vehicles:

Image ID:

A panel from The Sacrifice: Part 1. Francis is sat in the rescue vehicle from Blood Harvest, speaking to Louis. His dialogue is as follows:

"Louis, I hate to be the one to break this to ya, but we been heading to the safe zone four times now. Helicopter: crashed. Plane: crashed. Boat: kicked us out and left us to die."

/end ID

the chopper from No Mercy was confirmed crashed in Crash Course, and as for the plane from Dead Air, it was pretty easy to guess (and would have been confirmed in the cut campaign Dam It).

but the part about the boat? that's the Slaters' boat from Death Toll. this is the first time we learn this information.

so...why? what happened?

(more under the cut, ended up writing wayyyy more than I expected over these past few days and don't wanna clog people's dashes lol)

so. let's take a quick dive into the last chapter of Death Toll, to see what we can discern about the Slaters from their dialogue.

the rescue vehicle in Death Toll is a civilian boat, Saint Lidia II, owned by John and Amanda Slater, a married couple. Amanda is never heard in-game, but John's reactions to her can be heard over the radio.

the Slaters are explicitly looking for "anyone out there with firearms". John later adds that "once you get on this boat? Your job is keeping our asses alive". it appears that their motivation for saving the Survivors is selfish from the get-go.

this is undoubtedly true in Amanda's case, however, some of John's lines betray a more selfless attitude. he will berate Amanda for not "think[ing] about the little guy". he will ask, "So what, then? We leave 'em to die? I can't do that, Amanda." whilst Amanda is thinking purely of their own survival, John still feels compassionate towards his fellow survivors. despite this, he says that "I don't want our first act of kindness to be our last", acknowledging the conflict between his compassion and his self-preservation.

so. these are the Survivor's saviours in Death Toll. a conflicted married couple looking for bodyguards, offering to take the Survivors upriver to a military safe zone in exchange for protection.

as for why they get thrown off the boat...well, the easiest explanation would be Amanda.

but, stay with me here, because I think it's a little more complicated than that.

this boat? fulla tension. there's the obvious tension between the Slaters, who we've established seem to fight and disagree regularly. then there's the inevitable tension between them and the Survivors. I reckon Louis, with his generally positive and friendly attitude, wouldn't have much of a problem with them, might even attempt some friendly conversation or something. however, he's about the only one.

the comic fully establishes Bill as caring about nobody except the Fairfield Survivors - the most obvious evidence of this being the words he lives and dies by, "we look after our own". he isn't particularly interested in other people, unless they can help the group out. and he'd likely recognise the unstable and conditional nature of their rescue. while I'm sure he'd try and keep the peace, in any reasonable disagreement or fight Bill's likely to take his friends' side, and if anyone's getting thrown off the boat Bill is going with them. this goes for the whole group, to be honest; I don't think they'd want to split up at this point.

Francis hates boats, hates water, and can't swim, so (and I'm getting a little speculate-y here) would probably be in an even sourer mood than usual on the journey. being as abrasive as he is, plus this additional stress, it's fully possible he could piss off the Slaters enough to get himself (or all of them) thrown off the boat.

as for Zoey? well, I don't imagine a married couple who constantly argues is gonna sit well with her, considering her backstory. similarly to Francis, the situation they're in would make her far more stressed, making it more likely for her to lash out.

Amanda didn't want to save the Survivors in the first place, so while I think that John wouldn't throw them off the boat without reason, I reckon she could persuade him to throw them off if they 'caused trouble' - and they would get into an argument with her far easier than they would with John.

in short: yeah, I can see them getting thrown off the boat by the Slaters after some huge fight or disagreement. I think that's a reasonable interpretation of canon, and definitely an interesting concept.

...however, I do wonder if this tension would really be enough to destabilise their mutual need, after everything they went through to come together.

which is why I'm going to bring up The Last Stand!

I gotta quickly address something before this segment: yeah, I'm totally aware this campaign isn't canon. this evidence works with the fact that it exists in an 'alternate timeline'. also, I am missing a few citations for this section - if anyone can provide them I'd really appreciate it, but just a disclaimer that I currently can't prove some of the things the wiki claims members of the Last Stand Community Update Team have said. here and here are the wiki pages where I got this information. in short - the above explanation is simpler and more canon compliant, the conclusion I draw at the end of this post is backed by shakier evidence but I believe is more interesting, and you can make of all that what you will.

allegedly, members of the Last Stand Community Update Team confirmed a strongly-suspected fan theory about The Last Stand: that it branches off from Death Toll in some way, in a non-canon alternative timeline. as well as this, they allegedly confirmed that in this alternative timeline, the Survivors still end up in Newburg for Dead Air. even without the confirmation, this remains a solid fan theory, due to the constant references to Riverside and re-use of many of Death Toll's assets.

who rescues the Survivors in The Last Stand? John Slater. no Amanda - just John. despite her lack of voice actress, if she was still present John would give some indication of this at some point. it can be speculated that whatever happened to her contributed to the lack of rescue at the boathouse that forced the Survivors to take an alternative route. either way, he ends up at the lighthouse when the Survivors call for rescue, alone, and picks them up.

and then later...throws them off the boat. into Newburg.

what reason would John have to do that? without Amanda, surely he wouldn't have that push, as he wanted to rescue the Survivors for multiple reasons in the first place. without his constant arguments with Amanda, Zoey wouldn't be nearly as stressed. and between the three of them I'm sure the other Fairfield Survivors would stop Francis from pissing John off enough to get them thrown off the boat. in short, less Amanda = less tension, and no reason for the Survivors getting chucked off the boat.

...right?

I'd like to remind you that a symptom of the Infection is paranoia.

what if, in both The Last Stand and Death Toll, John and Amanda are infected by the Survivors on the way to the military safe zone? after all, the virus is confirmed to occasionally be airborne, and I doubt two civilians have completely effective, sustained protection against that. likely the only reason they hadn't already been Infected is because they got out on the water early on in the pandemic, and hadn't come into contact with anyone else since. it's unlikely that one of them is immune, and even more unlikely that they're both immune (especially considering those with XX chromosomes may be genetically less likely to be carriers). wouldn't Francis have mentioned it if their rescuers turned or were obviously Infected? yes, but it's possible that the airborne strain works slower as well, meaning that the Survivors are thrown off of the boat after the symptoms kick in but before the Slaters fully turn. even Church Guy had at least an hour from being Infected to turning, and he was bitten. Newburg isn't too far from where the Survivors are rescued in Death Toll anyway (the burning city in the background of the finale is Newburg), so the Survivors clearly didn't last long on the boat anyway. as a result, the Survivors wouldn't realise it was the Infection intensifying the Slaters' paranoia - they'd just think the Slaters were being dicks. Francis also explicitly mentions that they were "left to die", implying negativity or even hostility from the Slaters as the Survivors were being thrown off.

so yeah. that's why I think they got thrown off of the boat in Death Toll - a combination of the intense tension between the two parties, and the Slaters falling victim to Infection-induced paranoia. but an explanation minus the Infection is equally as plausible. it all depends on what you find most interesting, I suppose, and both feel like they fit pretty well into the world.

lord this is a long chunk o text. I know most fandoms prefer art and fanfic over this sorta thing, so please let me know in replies or something if you're interested in more stuff like this. also if any of this makes sense because I like to ramble.

oh and if you'd like to use any of my interpretations in fanworks like art or fic, I'd love to see it :)

#l4d #l4d2 #left 4 dead #left 4 dead 2 #jrrrambles #not gonna tag any characters #because I mention a ton #and I don't think the Slaters have tags #i spent way too much time on this </3

[janekfan]

I'm a little hesitant about this prompt, because it might need a longer story to fill it, but based on reading your fics it may be to your taste for h/c? I've seen a few Geraskier stories where Geralt is cursed to lose his sight and hearing, but I'd be interested to read one where it's Jaskier who's cursed instead. You seem to like exploring growth in stories, and I could see Geralt having to step outside his comfort zone, learning to help and support Jask while they try to break the curse.

I was inspired by this prompt because in my youth, when families go to water parks and things, my mother insisted on holding my glasses so I wouldn't lose them, not realizing I cannot see hardly ANYTHING without them, just colors. She left me like half a dozen times in a throng of people and it was scary. And even though I kept telling her I couldn't SEE HER, she wouldn't listen. I felt scared and stupid because I couldn't keep track of my family.

So I hope you enjoy :D

Thank you for the prompt! @obscurebookwyrm

Sankofa

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25965268/chapters/63119659

“Geralt.”

“Hm.”

“I. What do you want me to say?” Jaskier’s grip on his lute tightened and he had to forcibly relax himself so as not to snap it in twain. “That you should have gotten hit with it instead? That you should be the one waiting for the effects of a curse to take hold so that I? The mighty bard can be the one to protect us both?”

“Hm.”

“Need I remind you that had you not pissed her off, we wouldn’t even be here?”

“Hm.”

“Fine. Leave me at the next village and I’ll just succumb to whatever this ends up being while you continue witchering or whatever.”

“Hm.” Roach picked up her pace and he could hear Jaskier curse Geralt’s stubbornness as he loped after them.

Geralt was angry. Angrier than usual with the musician and definitely not impressed with his self sacrifice because now, if anything, he would be an even bigger liability. It was bad enough he fumbled along behind him, constantly jabbering, writing the most ridiculous songs. But now, Geralt had to wait and see what would become of him now that he’d been hit with some unnamed affliction. Geralt refused to admit that Jaskier was right. That it was better that the stronger of them was curse free and able to continue on unimpaired.

But he was now an even larger inconvenience and Geralt hadn’t thought that was possible.

And yet.

As brave a face as he was putting on, he could smell the sour scent of anxiousness as Jaskier filled up the silence with more talk about inane things, stray lyrics, random observations, all because he was nervous.

Nothing happened yet. Maybe nothing would happen at all.

“Geralt.” Even and steady, Jaskier’s voice hovered somewhere to the left of him. There was something strange about the quality of it and it immediately set Geralt on edge.

“What?” He couldn’t help the exasperation, it had been a long few days, and he felt Jaskier tense beside him on his bed roll.

“There.” He paused and Geralt knew if he turned to look at him he’d be worrying his lip between his teeth.

“What?” They were late as it is, the sun three fingers above the horizon already.

“There are no stars.” His whispering was shaky and trembling. Fear. It was flooding Geralt’s sensitive nose. What was this lunatic on about? Of course there weren’t any stars.

“It’s late morning. Of course there aren’t.” He rolled his eyes and began packing up camp. They’d eat on the move to make up for lost time. He nudged Jaskier with the toe of his boot. “Get up. You’re wasting daylight.”

“Daylight.” His hand was hovering over his face and he kicked him a little harder.

“Yes. Daylight. Move or stay here, but I’m leaving.” Instead of following his directions, Jaskier swallowed a few times, blinking hard and staring at his palm in between. “Jaskier.” Growling, grabbing the collar of his chemise and slinging him to his feet himself, confused when his arms shot out for balance and he nearly fell. “What are you--are you drunk?” No. He’d smell it. But it was all becoming a little too clear and Geralt didn’t want to be the one to say it aloud.

“No.” A weak exhale, a disbelieving laugh. “I’m. I’m blind.”

Blind.

The curse.

“Are you sure?” Geralt was a hair's breadth away from his face, examining his eyes, blank and vacant and staring off into the distance despite their proximity. There was nothing wrong that he could tell. Still the same cornflower blue he was so familiar with.

“I think I’d know.” He scoffed.

“Then we’d better get moving.” Geralt couldn’t help it, the thread of anger twisting around his words just happened. All Jaskier seemed to do was slow him down and get in the way. “Find a way to break this thing.” It took the bard three times longer to pack his belongings and Geralt became more impatient every time he dropped something or stubbed his toe or lost his balance. He knew it wasn’t fair. But this was all the bard’s fault in the first place and he’d have to deal with the consequences.

Jaskier played his lute even more and was even slower, not yet sure on his feet without the advantage of sight. Geralt saw that he kept his ear canted towards Roach’s hooves crunching on the stones, using her as a guide and he wondered if maybe Jaskier should be riding her instead. The music he was picking out on his strings was simpler and felt more like practice than anything new and he realized that he was comforting himself with easy exercises and wondered how long he’d insist on doing it.

All day, it turned out, and Geralt was just about on his last nerve, turning his irritability into action by setting up camp and batting Jaskier out of his way, finally just sitting him in the dirt. He stoked up the fire, tossed down Jaskier’s bedroll and stalked off to find dinner and clear his head before he started yelling.

When he returned with a brace of rabbits, Jaskier was gone and Geralt swallowed down the spike of panic in his throat, dropping his catch and looking for signs of a struggle and instead finding odd marks that looked like Jaskier had crawled across the ground. And he found him, cowering amid Roach’s legs, a dangerous spot for probably anyone else, but she was as calm as ever, letting him stroke the length of her forelimb. There were drying tear tracks on his face.

“G’Geralt?” His voice was small and wavering, barely above his shaking breath.

“Who else would it be?”

“I didn’t know where you’d gone.” He didn’t leave the horse. “I, I called out. But. And then. There’s a lot of noises in the woods at night.” This laugh was self deprecating, as though he knew how ridiculous he was being, like a child hiding from shadows.

But his whole world was in shadow.

“You’ve camped before. It’s foolish to be afraid.”

“Y’yeah. Of course it is.” He extricated himself from his position beneath Roach, petting her neck, and Geralt let it be. “Thank you for your protection, good lady.” She lipped the collar of his doublet and he rested his cheek on her velvet nose for just a moment before stumbling back to his bedroll.

“Here.” Jaskier looked confused. “The rabbit. Dinner?”

“Oh, uh.” He reached out, drawing his hand quickly back when he burned the tips of his fingers and slipping them into his mouth for a second. “Ha, it’s hot.” Geralt yanked his wrist and pressed the stick he’d roasted the meat on against his palm and watched Jaskier’s fingers wrap around it reflexively.

“Just eat. We’ll figure this out tomorrow.”

They didn’t. Not the next day, nor the day after that, but Jaskier was trying to adjust more and more each day despite how he seemed to be withdrawing. It was easy to forget he was blind and Geralt was easily frustrated by his sense of direction, or rather the awful lack of it. More than once, he’d misjudged the path and toppled into the bushes. Twice, Geralt had come back from a hunt to find him trapped in the corner of their rented room. He’d gotten turned around and hadn’t been able to figure out how he was boxed in by the bed, the small table, a chair. Jaskier laughed it off.

He’d been upset each time.

At the market the next day, Geralt told him off handedly that he was heading to the blacksmith, and to catch up when he was ready, because usually he wanted to dither about at the stalls looking at some trinket or another. When he’d finally realized, tapping his foot and waiting for a blind man who didn’t know his way around this village to somehow find him, he followed his scent, laced with terror, to an alley where he’d pressed himself up tight to the wall, protecting his back. They didn’t speak, Geralt just grabbed his wrist and dragged him back to the room. Told him to stay there if he couldn’t figure out how to find his way around.

The hurt on his face cut like a blade.

“Get down and stay down.” Geralt shoved Jaskier’s face into the dirt, both of them narrowly avoiding decapitation when the beast attacked out of nowhere. Caught flat footed, Geralt found himself pinned to the ground, struggling under the weight of it and hooking his thumbs in the corners of its maw to keep the teeth from closing around his head. Fetid breath came closer and closer and he thought for a moment this might be it when the resounding crack of a tree limb colliding with the side of its skull stunned it enough for Geralt to kick it off him. He used the momentum to roll and draw his steel sword, cutting off its head with a wet and sickening squelch.

“Geralt?” Jaskier, covered in black ichor and mud, stood swaying in the road, clinging to a length of splintered wood, blind eyes wide with shock. And then, panting with horror, Jaskier fainted dead away.

He’d lost him again.

“Fuck.” Geralt didn’t know where or how long ago and began retracing his steps, scenting the air and picking up the faintest traces of the oils he’d used last night in the bath. It was tainted by the smell of fear, acrid and sharp, and he ran.

Saw Jaskier pinned up against a wall by a larger man than he, a broad, ugly hand clasped over his mouth and a knee between his thighs. He was struggling to breathe, high pitched whimpering slipped from behind his attacker’s palm and he grabbed a fistful of hair to slam the back of Jaskier’s head into the wall behind him.

The brute didn’t notice the knife slipped between his ribs until it was too late. He’d die in this place and Geralt wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it.

“Who--” He sobbed, choked. “Geralt?” Tears cascaded down his cheeks, slipped off his chin.

“Who was that?” Why couldn’t he be kind to Jaskier when he needed it most? Why did he let his own fear of the situation manifest as blame?

“He’d. Solicited me in the tavern and I told him no.” He shuddered. “I thought he might be following but.” He swallowed with a wet click. “You were walking so fast, I lost the sound of your steps.” Drawing a sharp intake of breath he swept a hand through his tousled hair, trying to calm himself down. Geralt could hear his heartbeat hammering madly away behind his breastbone.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jaskier flinched at his volume, hugging himself around his middle and casting his face to the ground, and if Geralt was a stronger man he would tell his bard that this was not his fault. That he was scared of what he almost let happen.

“I. You were angry.”

“What?” With the heel of his hand, Jaskier scrubbed at his face. His bruised face, the imprints from where he was held darkening around his mouth and neck.

“You said I needed to figure this out and. I.” Had been snatched off the street by a predator and very nearly badly hurt. “I forgot my dagger back at the inn.” He took a deep breath, and then another. “I’m sorry, that was. That was stupid.”

“Hm.” It wasn’t. He should have been safe with Geralt in broad daylight. This time he took his hand, laced their fingers together and squeezed. “Let’s go.”

Exhausted from his earlier panic, Jaskier could barely stand when they reached the room, and Geralt helped him the last few steps to the bed, divesting him of doublet and chemise to expose even more bruising. He should have killed the guy slower. Much slower.

“Sorry. I’m sorry you have to do this.” Barely above a whisper. “I shouldn’t have. This curse.”

“Hush.” Geralt wrung out a cloth in the wash basin, touched it to his face and caught him when he jerked away in fear and surprise. “It’s alright. Just me. I’m going to get you cleaned up, Jaskier.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Muttering, he reached for the flannel.

“I know. Just. Relax, alright?” He swept it up his arm, lingered at the space between his neck and shoulder. “I’ve got you. I’m. Going to do better, Jaskier.”

“What do you mean?” This time, he allowed the touch and Geralt dabbed at a cut on his lip before rinsing and wringing again.

“You’ll ride Roach. In towns, I won’t let you out of my sight.” Jaskier was relaxing, blinking sleepily.

“You can’t babysit me all the time, Geralt.” Though he detected the hope that he wouldn’t have to keep doing this alone beneath his voice.

“No. But I can take care of you until we find a way to break this. Like I should have been doing from the start.” Jaskier’s head was nodding as he fought to stay awake. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Geralt let Jaskier sleep in. The man was dead to the world, bruises stark on his pale skin, and no doubt exhausted from the day before and trying to manage as a newly blind being basically traveling alone. They had to get moving. Maybe Yennefer would understand how to break this curse or at least point them in a direction. But they had to find her first.

“Jaskier.” There was no response, not even a twitch, and Geralt spoke his name louder, and louder still before shaking him awake and dodging his flying fist. “Jaskier!” Nothing but panic in his face and Geralt was tired of seeing that there. He settled his hands over his shoulders, cupped his neck on either side. “Jaskier, what is it? A bad dream?” That wasn’t uncommon after an experience like he’d had.

“Geralt?” His breathing picked up, tears lined his dark lashes. “I.” The witcher snapped his fingers on either side of his head and watched his stricken face stay the same. “Geralt?” This time he drew Jaskier into an embrace, hugging him tightly and allowing him to do the same.

Because he couldn’t hear.

#prompt #the witcher #the witcher fanfiction #geraskier #Jaskier #Geralt #Blindness #Deaf #Curse #hurt comfort

[alittledaylight]

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Bas until he was standing near her. 

“Oh!” she exclaimed. 

“Sorry,” he said. “Mind if I join you?” 

“Geez Bas! Sneak up on a woman!” She motioned to the chair near her for him to sit, while Tequila sniffed at her heels. 

He only smiled a little, unfazed by her reaction. 

They sat in silence for a few moments. Yusun was more used to the silence now whenever Bas was around. It had taken months for her to feel comfortable sitting without talking where Bas was concerned. He just wasn’t a talker, and he was rarely flustered by long silences, she on the other hand had once found those long pauses unnecessary and wasteful. She was learning, however, in these places where the days were long and there were fewer things to do, life was a little less urgent. A little less busy and a lot more quiet. Oh, she could definitely busy herself, but it came easier not to around here. The pace was slower, time lazier and tasks simpler to put on hold for another day. It’s just the way it was. She didn’t exactly like it, but she was more used to it. Sometimes it was still a source of frustration. It all depended on how well she was able to push the frustration aside. Some days she did well and some days she…didn’t. 

“How did your friend enjoy her weekend?” 

“She liked it; I think. It was great to see her again.” 

He nodded in the encroaching darkness and fell into silence again. Tequila sat alert and watchful. 

The one thing Yusun did love about Bas was that he never asked her questions. If she wanted to talk, he listened but he was never nosy. He never asked her about her past or where she came from or much about who she was. She didn’t think he was uninterested, he just let her be what she was in that moment and didn’t demand she be anything else. She on the other hand was curious and always asked him questions. He never seemed to mind but he was not long winded with his answers. Straight forward and honest. Just the way she liked it. 

“Do you have plans for Christmas, Bas?” Christmas had been on her mind. 

“Going home this year. Haven’t seen the parents in a while and my brother had a baby couple months back. Might be time to meet the little tyke.” 

“Sounds wonderful,” Yusun’s voice took on a wistful tone. 

“What about you?” 

She looked out at the shifting shadows. The chill in the air was growing sharper. She would need to go in soon. It was too cold out here. 

“Not sure yet.” She wanted to say she would love to go home. She could imagine the Christmas they might have. Her parents doting on Kallum. Her sister’s inappropriate jokes. Sometimes she even thought of Jay being there, but she didn’t allow those thoughts to linger. Jay was gone now. He had been gone for a while. 

And Cohen…well, she definitely didn’t let those thoughts linger. Who knew what that situation would be like? Talk about awkward. 

“Got enough firewood?” It was like he read her mind. 

“Yes, thanks. All good.” 

“Well, good night.” Bas stood up, Tequila on his heels. 

“Night Bas. Night Tequila.”

#the story of us #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims stories #sims 4 story

[duman-anon]

Winx goes Digital

remember when I made an OC villain? Well, this is a small story of how it would probably would look like. Ogbe isn’t in it but mentioned.

yes, heavily inspired by Digimon

English isn’t first language

Words; 1 314

Ogbe goes by he/they

Summaries; The Winx has transported themselves to the internet, trying to figure out how they can stop their new enemy who is attacking all planets in Magix and Earth. After finding a strange tunnel with loads of digital codes, Tecna was able to figure out what the codes stood for and typed it out on her computer. Each planet in Magix and Earth shows up as holograms in front the girls and Tecna finally understands why Ogbe can attack all the planets at the same time.

“Don’t you understand?” Tecna looked at the rest of the girls.

The others looked at all the holograms’ planets that were above them but they shook their heads. Not getting what Tecna was saying.

“Ogbe can come to any planet by using the internet, do you see all the lines that are going around each world?”

“Yeah, so?” Stella asked when looking at the worlds.

“It may be hard to see it now but if I click here,” Tecna pressed a key on the board.

All the worlds slowly moved towards the middle, the worlds collided and became one planet. But the lines–

“Every line matches with each other!” Aisha said.

“None of the lines are standing out,” Bloom gasped.

“The reason Ogbe can move so fast is because of the internet,” Tecna continued. “our physical worlds may not look alike or have the same technology, but our digital network is the same to each planet. The lines represent our internet. Remember how they sent everyone an email saying they were hungry?”

“The reason Ogbre could send to everyone was that every planet shares the same internet,” Musa filled in.

“Yes,” Tecna nodded. “if I had been faster I would have figured it out. This guy used ’.com’ at the end of his email address. I didn’t think much of it at the start but it makes sense now. It truly proves that our planets are synced with each other and the digital network has become a part of our universe, almost like a shadow world that we don’t see.”

Stella sat down on the floor and held her head.

“So much info on one day, does that mean we have to learn digital languages?”

“If it is created by us,” Flora said and patted Stella on the shoulder. “then we don’t need to worry, the internet has then all of our languages.”

“Exactly,” Tecna said and turned around to look at the planets of a hologram. “it was created by us but the internet got its own life without us knowing it.”

“Great with internet lessons but how do we stop this guy?” Musa asks. “Ogbe has already shut down phones and computers.”

“More than half of the technology is already in his hands,” Tecna says and the girls look up at her. “do you know how many of our spices have digital advice? They could start a war with a simple press, they can send bombs soon to each planet or country.”

“Earth has a lot of nuclear bombs,” Bloom says worryingly. “he can cause the third war on Earth.”

“We don’t know if that is their goal yet,” Flora says, trying to make Bloom feel less worried. “they have said they want magic, not nuclear bombs.”

“Good thing we got all the magic in books,” Stella says and smiles. “he can’t hack a book right?”

It is silent after Stella says that and everyone looks at Tecna, waiting for her to say it is impossible to hack a book but she doesn’t say anything.

“Tecna,” Aisha steps over to Tecna. “is it a way to hack the books?”

Tecna is staring at the planets, not facing the girls. “Alfea uses a simulator for the classes, which has all the information about each planet and as well people. Even has information about dying species and planets, just like Domino once was. All of that information is connected to the books.”

All of the girls got big eyes.

“Wait–” Bloom says before anyone else has said a word. “so the simulator is connected to the books?”

“Yes,” Tecna says. “everything exists on the internet, remember? It is because we have put them there and let everyone be able to read. But with magic we literally transfer the information from the book to the technology, a simpler way than literally writing from word to word and the data can copy the magic, as a backup in case the book would get destroyed. The simulator may not be connected so everyone can use or read its data but if it is hacked from outside, they would soon be able to control Alfea and its magic.”

“Just like the Red Fountain,” Aisha says. “but how could they be so badly affected? They can’t even control their ships anymore.”

“They connect their phones to the ship,” Tecna turned around and looked at all the girls. “that is why they got affected so badly and Ogbe could steal the magic from them before they could protect themselves from the virus.”

“Um, wild question,” Stella said and everyone looked over at her. “but would it be possible, I mean considering we are here inside the internet, would it be possible for the viruses to come to our world?”

Their gazes turned back to Tecna. Tecna closed her eyes and gave a nod.

“Why hasn’t Ogbe already done it then?” Bloom asks. “And can we stop the viruses in our world?”

“Right now the viruses would be like a hologram in the real world and wouldn’t be able to do damage,” Tecna explains. “I suppose Ogbe needs more magic, or data for that matter, to make it possible for the viruses to survive outside of the internet. I’m not sure how we would be able to defeat them if they came to our world.”

While Tecna spoke, Musa went back to the start of the tunnel where they had come from. The walls were still covered in digital codes when she went over to the entrance. She had heard something.

Musa carefully poked her head out and she saw figures shaped like a ball with a long electrical tail. It was the viruses and they were now above them and searching for them. Musa hurried over to the others.

“The viruses are blocking our only way out,” Musa says quickly.

“Then we are totally screwed!” Stella squeaked and stood up. “We are still much slower than them!”

The girls made themselves ready, they know the viruses will look for them in these tunnels sooner or later. But Tecna still had her hand on her mini computer and tapped frequently fast as she looked at the walls that were covered in digital codes.

“Tecna we have to be ready to attack,” Aisha commented.

“Take a picture of this place, it lasts longer,” Stella agreed.

Tecna didn’t comment on that. “Give me a minute.”

“We may not have that much time,” Flora said and saw blue lights outside of the entrance.

“Flora,” Bloom said when she saw them as well. “use your ivy to cover the entrance!”

She didn’t need to say that twice before Flora had already covered the hole. They could hear now the snickers of the viruses that went towards the tunnel.

“Plasma shield!” Aisha shoots up a plasma along with the ivy to strengthen its ground.

“Tecna!” Stella shouted. “Tell me you are making a way out of here!”

“That’s what I’m doing!” Tecna now responded. “These codes are helping me to be able to get us out of here and back to where we can travel back to our world!”

Tecna pressed one more key, with that one press the holograms of all the worlds disappeared, at the end of the tunnel it shined a new way out.

“Great job Tecna,” Musa said and was ready to fly out.

All the girls followed along but Bloom, who was the last one in the lead, noticed Tecna wasn’t following along and turned herself around in mid-flight. Tecna was still pressing on her computer.

“Tecna!” Bloom shouted when she saw the viruses biting through the ivy and soon the plasma wall was all that would be up.

She saw Tecnas hand fly over the keyboard and pressed at an unusual speed but then Tecna pressed only one key and shut the computer.

“There!” Tecna shouted and flew after Bloom.

#winx club #fanfic: mine #oc: ogbe #I just copied the text from document to tumblr app so apologies if it looks weird on computer or in fact over all #I wrote this like…. last year?? but never posted it #I did almost have a plan to start to write a full fanfic with 26 chapters of this but LOL no #if I can’t finish a simple 5 chapters fanfic then I would never make it with 26 #hope you guys enjoy this simple one!

[samwritesforyou]

Booked (pt.2)

Summary: you decided to go grocery shopping since the amount of people in your house significantly grew and diego keeps you company. after that crazy hargreeves family prompts you for a beach trip?

Warnings: gender-neutral reader

Wordcount: 2.1k

A/N: this fic is making me feel things, i cant quite place it. like... whenever i write it i feel weirdly at home?? idk :D feel free to share your thoughts either in tags or comments! its Very appreciated and motivating, actually! have a lovely day! <3

part one can be found here!

“Okay but if we kill them, nobody will have any questions, will they? We just bought a house and they moved somewhere far away!” was the first thing you heard, as you have awakened from your “nap”, deciding to keep your eyes shut just for a moment longer, not to lose it again.

“Five!” seems like everyone else said that in unison, grunting and groaning.

Okay, they don’t want to kill you. That’s great. You think it’s safe to open your eyes now.

You were laying on the king-sized bed upstairs, all siblings huddled up around you, watching intensely.

All the chatter between them came to a stop when they noticed that you woke up.

“So.. you’re like all superheroes or something?” you said tiredly, despite feeling rested.

Your mind still felt fuzzy from that info, hearing about such thing only from the tv series or sci-fi genres.

“Guess so,” Luther piped up, shrugging his massive shoulders and offering you a small smile.

Your eyes slowly drifted towards the kid standing by the frame of the bed, wearing a serious expression.

He sighed and frowned at you.

“To be clear, I’m not a kid and I’m actually older than all of you here. I’m a time traveller and I witnessed more in my life than any of you,” his passive-aggressiveness was directed at you, but by the choice of words it felt like he was talking to everyone who was present in the room, “There’s going to be an apocalypse by the end of the summer and our job is to stop it. We failed once, but we won’t fail twice. We rented this house, thinking it would be a good place where we can practise our powers without anyone interfering with us, so please,” his face turned into an exaggerated, wide smile, “don’t get in our way nor mention it to anybody. Thank you,” and as he finished his angry monologue, the blue colour filled the space around him as he disappeared in the thin air, right in front of your eyes.

Hm. Okay?

Only two seconds passed after that, when another sibling started talking to you.

“And I can talk with the dead!” he said happily, spreading his hands in the air like so monk preaching.

“We have a dead brother who’s named Ben and one day I will definitely let you two meet once I learn how to properly conjure him,” he concluded, very pleased with himself.

“Hi, Ben,” you just said with a warm smile on your face, somewhere into the air next to Klaus.

He literally cooed at your action, coming over to you and giving you a quick hug with a pat on the back.

“Okay, maybe we can reveal all our powers later, but let’s leave (y/n) to rest a bit, alright?” Allison proposed, rushing everyone out of the room and then just sparing you a wave and an apologetic smile, closing the doors and leaving you alone.

Maybe you can get used to all this madness. To this family.

You really rested after that.

A room had a roof-window, so laying on that bed allowed you to look up at the sky and lazy, white clouds that every so often rolled along with the blue background.

Soon enough you heard muffled chatter downstairs, this old house being absolutely the worst in being soundproof.

It all reminded you of simpler times, actually, no matter the crazy circumstances.

But enough was enough, and closer to the middle of the day you managed to get out of the bed and descend to the first floor by the wooden stairs, looking around.

Suddenly it seemed quiet.

You shrugged at that and just made your way towards the door, energetically jumping down the few stairs from the veranda and felt your feet hit the hard tartan surface.

Since it was six (plus one spiritually) more people than you were used to having in your home, you decided it was only logical for you to go and buy more food into the local store.

You almost reached the gate to go outside of your property as you heard some fast steps behind you, catching up to you.

When you turned around, you saw a man with longer hair and almost expression on his face.

“Uh... hey, you’re going somewhere?” he asked, brushing the back of his neck.

“To the market, why?” you asked, tilting your head sideways at him.

“Well.. don’t laugh, but I wanted to jog a little, but got concerned that I might get lost..” the end of his sentence was almost inaudible already as he lowered his voice, “so.. mind keeping me company?”

That kind of surprised you and as you slowly realised the meaning of the said words that came out of his mouth you bit the inside of your right cheek *hard*, just not to laugh.

What a silly guy. Getting lost in this hole?

But sure, why not keep him company.

“Be sure to catch up with me though,” you teased as you basically broke into the run, opening the gate and hopping straight onto your bike and starting pedalling really hard to get as far away from him, finally bursting out laughing at the significant distance.

“What?!” was the only thing you heard from him and then you felt the breeze from the hot summer air caressing your cheeks as you were passing your neighbours in the well-known road.

“You seem happier than usual today, darling!” some granny said to you from her garden and you just waved in reply with a huge grin plastered on your face.

After spending last years of your youth more or less alone, you couldn’t even phantom the thought of people your age living with you for the eternity of one summer.

You could never complain about a life you had here, it was all you ever wanted, but the connection with the people of the similar age to you was really lacking sometimes.

And the absolute joy that was washing over you right now was the witness.

You slowed your pace after some time, pretty soon being followed by jogging Diego, beads of sweat rolling down his muscular hands.

Your gaze lingered for a second longer than necessary and you quickly tore it away from him, a slight blush creeping on your cheeks as you now looked straight ahead of you at the road.

“I’m not the best runner, but also not the worst, hun,” he said between the breaths as you continued your ride/walk and you just smiled.

“Pretty decent, I’d say,” you finally stopped at the market’s “parking lot” where there were two spaces for cars and at least a dozen of handles for bikes.

You put yours into one of them, not even bothering to lock it. Everyone knows each other here and everyone knows you.

A young person in the village mostly consisted of people in retirement.

“Alright, what do we have here,” said Diego as he followed you into the store that reminded him of something out of the 70s, really old school design and brands that he never heard of before.

“Everything is mostly homemade here,” you answered, making your way towards the fridge with cold drinks, opening it and throwing him a cola can, “except these bad boys.”

“Hell yeah,” he smirked and then looked around, but his gaze kind of kept wandering back at you, while you were too busy picking the right type and amount of groceries.

Why would you live here all by your lonesome?

“So..” you finally heard him say, as you checked out and we’re both putting the groceries into the deep basket on your bike, “you seem pretty chill with us being.. abnormal.”

You briefly looked up at him when your fingers accidentally touched between the cans of soda and glasses of milk and then your hand moved the other way, eyes too.

“Well.. who’s to say what’s normal and what’s not in this world, honestly?” you jumped on your seat when you were done with loading and started your ride back.

“I know,” he agreed, jogging way less intensely now as your pace appeared much slower, “but seven siblings all having some weird shit powers is... kind of crazy, don’t you think?”

That made you nod, “Yes, of course. But still, I’m not too baffled about this. What are the odds that a village person like me would even get into a situation like this?” you asked rhetorically, gaze fixed on the rocky-sandy road ahead, “You should accept life as it is! Confusion and denial are a waste of time,” you concluded and extended your left hand as you were driving past an apple tree and managed to rip two fruits at the same time, offering one to Diego - all while still riding a bike.

“I have my superpowers too,” you laughed a little and winked at him, making him flustered as he tried to hide it by biting into his apple.

.

.

“What do we have here?” Klaus welcomed both of you at the entrance to the summer house, topless and in a skirt.

“We just bought some groceries since we’re capable of eating the whole fridge out in a day,” Diego deadpanned as he - despite your protests - unloaded your bike storage and went into the house to put the bags there, his arms showing extra muscle that’s normally hidden when his body is relaxed.

Your stare lingered for longer than necessary and Klaus *definitely* picked upon that.

“Darling, if you want to get Diego, be a bit more straightforward with him. He’s a dum-dum,” with the last word he knocked on his own head with a finger and rolled his eyes, giggling playfully afterwards and smacking you on the shoulder.

You defensively did the same, blushing and looking anywhere but at Diego nor Klaus.

Hmmmm, such interesting trees you’re having at your own garden all of the sudden.

“But hey, we’ve all decided that before we start training for the inevitable doom of us all, we would take a break for at least a few days and just go to the beach. When we were coming up we noticed the sea behind all the forests, like.. four kilometres from here?” he looked at you with question, “Have you ever been to the beaches there? Could you guide us?”

You gave it thought only for a brief second and then nodded with a confident smile.

“Sure! I haven’t been there in a year or two but the beaches are still the same, I bet,” you answered and put your hands on hips in a cool posture.

“Thank god!” he impulsively hugged you and let go that instant, “otherwise Five said he wouldn’t let you go with us,” he pouted and then sighed, making his way towards their rusty turquoise-ish car.

You followed him, his words piquing your interest.

“Why does he hate me so much? And why is his name Five?” you narrowed your eyes, plopping yourself on the front seat and sat sideways so you could look at Klaus while talking to him.

“Well, darling...” he started, animatedly throwing his arms in the air, “Five was always a strict man, especially after he came from the future, where he spent like billion years and now he’s 50 year old and always shoves this fact into our young baby faces,” he clearly complained and with annoyed expression continued, “and he’s Five because my name is “officially” Four, but Five was the only one of us who disappeared from the house before our dad even bothered to give us names instead of numbers,” he finished but then remembered and continued, “Actually, it was our AI robotic mom Grace who gave us names,” now he was finished, from somewhere materialising a bottle in his hand and taking a sip from it.

“Anyways, beach trip, babeyyyy!”

“Huh..” you just blinked a few times at him as you heard a hoard of different voices going your way.

You wanted to get out of the car to let them sit however they wanted - you were the odd one out after all - but then they all hoarded in there so quickly that you couldn’t even react, being left in the front seat.

Driver’s seat next to you was empty for now.

As you looked back, Klaus was sitting right behind you, next to him Vanya and on the other side Diego, looking out the window.

Behind them was supposed to be a storage area but they apparently turned it into some diy seats as well, Luther and Allison sitting there, not minding the small space.

Soon the blue sort-of-teleport appeared next to you at the driver’s place and Five briefly threw his gaze at you, swiftly starting the car.

The whole inside of the vehicle roared and you were on your way towards the beach, with you as a main gps they had.

Lovely taglist: @radcloudenthusiast @spacenerdpascal @white-wolf-buckaroo @a-girl-who-loves-disney  @undead--ghost​

NEXT PART→

#diego x reader #diego hargreeves x reader #tua diego #diego reader insert #the umbrella academy #tua fanfic #umbrella academy x reader #diego hargreeves #number two #number two x reader

[senchoubutter]

Twisted Wonderland Guys As Kpop Songs I Listen To Too Much + Why

i’ma just say it now, i primarily listen to girl groups since I cover songs and they are in my range and i find them fun to cover most so expect a lot of those.

All songs are linked!!

Scarabia

Jamil

- Lucifer by SHINee || First and foremost I can see him performing this, easily. Aside from that, the song is tasty and classic. Jamil is a smart attractive man that is incredibly talented despite flying under the radar. People know of him but don’t take note until they know him, similarly to this song. It goes hard and you’ve probs heard it mentioned but you haven’t experienced until you played it at 3 am, screaming your heart out. Get to know Jamil and he ain’t just “some guy”

Kalim

- Um Oh Ah Yeh by MAMAMOO || This song reminds me of the 90s/2000s and there’s something about Kalim that also does that for me. Maybe it’s the not a care in the world disposition. I can see and feel in the second verse’s rap, Kalim’s warm smile. I can imagine him grabbing my hand, telling me to chin up. The choruses make me think of simpler times. Finally, Kalim seems like he’s always having a good time just like this song

Ignihyde

Ortho

- Candy Pop by TWICE (yes i know its jp) || This song always puts me in a good mood. It makes me feel warm inside and like everything will work out. When I see Ortho, I feel the need to protect him but also can’t help but feel like everything will be okay. Something about him brings a happy, warm peace to my heart that reminds me to just take a moment and find the good in life. The peppy beat of it just makes me think about how he almost always is smiling!

Idia

- Fairy of Shampoo by TOMORROW X TOGETHER || the song starts an I feel as if I’ve awoken floating in the deep sea, but i’m not scared. I feel at peace and as if I’ve been here before. The song tastes like iced tea and feels like nostalgia. When I look at Idia I see my past self and even present self. I’m afraid, I want to hide. The feelings the verses gives me reminds me of laying in bed, curled up in a jacket that hides my whole body, similarly to Idia’s. The song and Idia’s character call out to a nostalgic but soft side to a distant past I can’t recall. I want to stay with them until I can remember

Savanaclaw

Leona

- gogobebe by MAMAMOO || It’s got a lazy but sexy sound that Leona emboides. When the song picks up in the choruses it’s like it takes over your body, drowning the listener in an ocean of sensuality and playful teasing. It’s got a lil edge though too that caters to the gruff “fuck off” expression he has. I see the noise Hwasa makes at the end as the wanton but confused noise fans make as the man leaves, tail swinging after teasing them

Ruggie 

- BAAM by Momoland || BAAM has such a sassy hyped up beat that screams a bitch that gets shit done, owns who they are, and lives life having fun. And it embodies everything I feel upon seeing Ruggie's smug smile. Even the rap bit during the second chorus has the sass and done-ness of “Leona-san! Get up!!”

Jack

- Bomb by AleXa || This song kicks your ass and so does Jack. Don’t for four seconds think he won’t beat the shit outta ya for underestimating him, similarly to AleXa and her music. The energy and the “I’ll show you” vibes remind me of this big dweeb. I would fear this man but turn to love him much like how I felt about this song as it was this artist’s first song. How do I say they just embody each other in my opinion lol

Pomefiore

Vil

- DUN DUN by Everglow || The sass. This song screams THAT BITCH, just like Vil’s everything. The way he carries himself is personified in this song. The power the song holds reminds me of his unique magic and how intense it is. Finally, the slower bridge is mythical and light as if giving the listener a feeling like they are walking on air and plays to the softer and more feminine side of Vil

Rook

- FINGERTIP by GFriend || Everything about this song is exciting. It’s suspenseful and alluring. If this song was a person, I could clear as day see it winking, whispering “chase me.” And that is exactly Rook’s brand of teasing and games. He’s a hunter but he’s got a charming aura to him still. This song wraps both of those things into it. The dance break is Rook’s darker senses personified. Umji’s lil “OW!” is he’s cute lil remarks in french, throwing you off now and then. But by the end of the song, you’re used to them and adore them

Epel

- Crossroads by GFriend || This song feels like a long lost friend that visits you in dreams. You can practically reach out to them but just as you do, you wake up. But you’re determined. That alone reminds me of Epel’s character as a whole. He doesn’t let his cute appearance push aside his wants and needs to be this tough guy. He, like Yuju’s strong vocals at the last chorus, presses on, determined each time he gets knocked down

Diasomnia

Lilia

- Deja Vu by Dreamcatcher || Maybe I’m biased cause I’ve covered this but this song is breathtaking. The melody speaks of a long road and the fight to keep on which I feel rings true for Lilia. We don’t know his true age but it’s clear he’s been around for quite a wild and the pain he’s probably gone through is unspeakable. He has stories galore and so much experience in life. I feel this song encapsulates a lot of what can only be speculated about him

Silver

- Crème Brûlée by GFriend || the soft, sweet song is addictive and cutesy. I feel Silver gets written off or ignored often, similarly to this song on the album. Sure he may not be god or a bad bad bitch, but he has his own warmth to him. Like this song, Silver makes me wanna curl up under a tree on an August evening and just take in life, making sure to breathe for once, releasing unnecessary tension and stress.

Sebek

- Black Dress by CLC || Sebek is very interesting to me and when he blushes, my whole heart stops for a second. It’s similar to how when they build up to the chorus‘s first Black Dress and the music stops for like a split second. Sebek isn’t my favorite but isn’t my least favorite. I like him more than some though, I’d say. I’d say the same goes for this song. I love CLC, this isn’t my top song of theirs but I still like it a lot. There’s something uniform about the beat that resounds with Sebek as getting shit done in mind also. Sometimes a song just makes you think of a character and you can’t perfectly explain it

Malleus

- Pretty Savage by BLACKPINK || Yes i know t’s only recently come out as i post this, but this bad boy on replay. The beat isn’t crazy upbeat but it’s interesting. Malleus intidimates me in general cause of his aura, and while I love this song a lot rn, it was very intimidating at first. It still has some “don’t come near me” energy. The slower bridge bit calls to his stoic expression, melodic and pretty

Heartslabyul

Cater

- ICY by ITZY || I’ll be honest both Cater as well as this song were things I thought at first were just meh, okay. But as time went on both grew on me. Now that’s not the only reason though I associate this with him. The, no pun intended, ice shattering sound of the song gives me friendly popular girl that seems to be buds with 80% of the school. This is the very vibe Cater always gives me. He wants to just have a good, happy life. Also the song is a “so what? I’m hot. Get over it.” vibe like Cater

Ace

- Drama by TOMORROW X TOGETHER || Ace reminds me the guy you fall in love with in high school and you no it’s not going to last but you let yourself get taken away with. Drama feels like a soundtrack of every fun adventure Ace goes on, no matter the trouble that he may get on. It’s fun beat just brings me back to skipping school, running to my car and trying to sneak away without getting caught. The thought of Ace at my side, would shoot my adrenaline through the roof just like the high note of the song

Deuce

- God’s Menu by Stray Kids || Deuce is just ready to go swinging and that’s exactly what this song is. Elbows up and out, head down, swinging without a clue. The intensity and fire of it speaks to that fire in him. Meanwhile the prechoruses are soft and pleasant almost like it’s not the same song, alluding to that cute lil smile he has got

Trey

- REALLY REALLY by WINNER || Similarly to Ace, this song reminds me of a guy you fall for, but in college rather than high school. Everything about the song and Trey just feels right. The choruses hold your hand and fits perfectly in yours. They know what to say to make everything okay. It may not last, but you sure hope it does and will love them like it will. And while Trey isn’t my number one boy, those are the exact feelings I have about him too. Finally, the rap part reminds me of Trey’s more sadistic side, it bites and you may not think it fits entirely but the more familiar you get with them, the more both fit and you don’t mind it entirely

Riddle

- Wonderland by ATEEZ || The demanding nature of the song makes me think of Riddle immediately. It’s intense and doesn’t mess around; it wants what it wants. Riddle is a rule based person and this song is rather militaristic aesthetically. The bridge though, is so regal and breathtaking. It could stop time. Riddle, despite the kind of guy he is, is the same way. The power he holds is impressive and admirable. This description may seem kinda like I’m shitting on him and see him solely as a rule boy, but like this song, I have made respect for him and wouldn’t want to cross him

Octavinelle

Azul

- Love Battery by Hong Jin Young but performed by LOONA on Immortal Songs || This arrangement of the song has a certain magic to it that I melt in. At the very beginning as the build up singing ‘dangsineun’ i feel like I’m being submerged in a wave, reaching to shake Azul’s hand, signing a contract. The choruses remind me of his smile, how distant but inviting it is. Daring me to fall for him. The dance break bridge reminds me of the intense eyes behind those glasses

Jade

- Love Shot by EXO || This song and Jade are both things I am fearful of but greatly intrigued by. They share a scary beat and energy that says I fear you more when you’re smiling. Please stop slowly walking towards me, you’re scaring me. But at the very same time, the choruses keep me around like how pretty I find this twin. The combo of put together, intellectual friend but could kill easily and without remorse sends shivers down my spine if I think about it for too long. The chorus of this song make me shake my shoulders that suppress a shiver each time

Floyd

- WEE WOO by Pristin || I love both Floyd and WEE WOO. The song is the feeling you get going 85 down the highway. Both song and Floyd, get me excited. They feel like the weekend. That feeling of coming home Friday during high school, tossing your bookbag down, and getting ready to hang out with your best friend. It’s a relieving and exciting feeling. It’s a peppy beat that bites during the harmonies a bit. Just like Floyd. Peppy, fun, but ain’t afraid to take a lil nibble

#twisted wonderland #twst #aston villa #vil schoenheit #ruggie #ruggie bucchi #kpop #deuce spade #deuce #lilia #lilia vanrouge #jamil viper #jamil #cater diamon #cater #leona #leona kingscholar #twisted wonderland idia #idia shroud #ortho #ortho shroud #rook hunt #epel #epel felmier #ace #ace trappola #trey clover #riddle rosehearts #jack howl #azul ashengrotto

[yellowmagicalgirl]

(the garrote killing me is made of your) heartstrings

Wizards whose powers awaken at a young age stopped aging in their late teens until they meet their soulmate. That didn't mean that Douxie expected to meet his soulmate any time soon, however.

This was inspired by that one tumblr post where you start aging again when you meet your soulmate. Warning for discussions of death as well as mild body horror concerning Akiridion biology.

AO3

FFN

“So, how did you manage the whole living for 900 years thing?” Claire asked. The two of them were in Douxie’s old bedchambers; they spoke quietly to avoid waking Steve up.

“By taking it one day at a time,” Douxie said. Some of those days had been better than others. Some of those days the only thing that had kept Douxie alive was that one day, Merlin would come back and need Douxie.

“Er, I actually meant the fact that you haven’t aged from now to when we left Arcadia... I hate time travel.”

“Oh. That’s actually simpler. Wizards whose powers awaken at a young age stop aging in their late teens until they meet their soulmate. Then, if they want to gain their immortality back they have to kill their soulmate. I mean, it’s still really hard to kill a wizard if they’ve met their soulmate, but I just haven’t aged in about nine centuries.”

“How do you know, that someone’s your soulmate?”

Douxie blinked. That wasn’t a question he expected Claire to ask. “Why, I thought you had more faith in me. I would never kill my soulmate.”

Claire raised her hands apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! I just... I guess you’ve never met yours, so it doesn’t matter, I’m sorry I asked.”

Douxie glanced toward the dungeon. She was probably asking about Jim. “There was this guy, back in the early nineteenth century, and at the time I thought he might’ve been my soulmate. Obviously, he wasn’t, but I loved him nonetheless. And like I said, if you have to struggle with immortality, then you have to take it one day at a time. Live in the moment. And yeah, outliving your loved ones is hard. But there’s upsides to immortality as well.”

Douxie walked into Hex Tech, thankful to see a short girl with pink hair pinned neatly into place. He didn’t trust any other hedge mage like he did Zoe. Douxie walked up to her. Her, and a boy at the front desk shoving something into a backpack.

And as he bore the wrath of the boy Douxie had technically cut in front of, Douxie felt something unlock deep within him.

Surely, it was just a feeling of familiarity, and safety, from being in a place where the Arcane Order wouldn’t find them.

Douxie came home to the shared studio apartment to find Archie and Nari talking in low voices. That... wasn’t exactly a good sign. It wasn’t automatically a bad sign, but it wasn’t exactly good.

“Douxie,” Archie said gravely as Douxie put away his keys. “Have you noticed anything different, in the past two months?”

“Uh, we’re in New York?” After a week of making their way around the continent and setting up false magical signatures for Nari, the three of them had buried themselves in a small, crowded part of New York City. The Arcane Order wouldn’t be able to find them here. Also, Merlin was dead as opposed to just asleep, but Douxie was trying not to think about that.

“Other than that,” Archie said. Douxie shook his head in response.

“You’re aging,” Nari said.

“What? No.” Douxie couldn’t be aging, he still had so much to do. He protected the Earth for about 900 years and he planned to keep doing so. He planned on protecting Nari for eternity if he needed to. If he was now mortal, then he wouldn’t be able to do so. “I don’t have time to be aging.”

“We all knew it would happen eventually,” Archie said. “Who do you think your soulmate is?”

“I...” The problem was, Douxie had only met one person whom Douxie had thought was his soulmate. That man died a little less than two centuries ago. It had been for the best, really. If Douxie’s lover had been his soulmate, he wouldn’t have been able to meet Merlin again in Arcadia Oaks. Who knew what he could accomplish if he lived long enough that he would still be around two centuries from now? “I don’t know.”

“Give me your hand,” Nari said, “and I can try to find them.”

Douxie obediantly stuck out his left hand, and Nari took it in her own. She closed her eyes. Her hands glowed with green light, and illusory vines wrapped around Douxie’s hand and floated in the air. The vines then disappeared, and her hands stopped glowing. Nari opened her eyes.

“That is strange,” Nari said. “I can sense the living soul of every being of this planet. But your soulmate is not one of them.”

“So... my soulmate is dead?” Despite Douxie’s frustration with aging, he still felt a shallow pang of grief. It wasn’t fair. If he had to once more age, then he’d want to meet and get to know the destined person that Douxie was intended to die for. And instead, he wouldn’t even get that.

“I do not know,” Nari said. “Your soulmate’s soul could be in the Shadow Realm, like Jim’s was.”

“We need to find a way to better hide you and the seals, or even find a way to defeat Bellroc and Skrael for good,” Douxie said. “The Arcane Order has forever. I’ve got, what? Eighty years?”

“Or longer, if we use the right spells, or...” Archie trailed off, looking away. Douxie frowned. It must be hard on Archie, to know that he would definitely outlive Douxie. Dragons could live for three or four millennia, after all.

“We can’t be sure, but we think that you might be aging slightly slower than the average human,” Nari said.

“Could it be because I died?” Nari and Archie flinched as the words left Douxie’s mouth.

“I don’t know,” Nari said. “You’ll have to give me time.”

That was something Douxie was running out of.

“So, I was thinking,” Claire said as she rummaged through Douxie’s pantry, looking for a snack. She was quite the prodigy, having progressed quite far in the year and seven months that Douxie had been training her. The two of them had come back to his apartment after setting up decoys for the Arcane Order in various locations across Central and South America. “Jim’s mentioned that he wants to find a way to return to his troll form, but not permanently. And my first thought was maybe making him a changeling, but then we’d have to kidnap someone.”

“Not a good idea,” Archie said. “Hand me that can of tuna?”

“Exactly,” Claire said as she passed along the can. “But, we might be able to adapt Akiridion transduction so Jim can choose if he wants to be a human or a troll. So, what do you say to bringing Krel into this project?”

“Sure,” Douxie said. A couple days after Douxie had left Arcadia Oaks, Steve had added Douxie to a group text with the other Guardians of Arcadia. Douxie and Krel had started talking on their own a couple months after that. It would be nice to see Krel in person again. “Do you or Jim want to ask him, or should I?”

Claire brought Krel with her through a shadow portal soon after noon the next Sunday. Krel looked around, fidgeting his fingers along the edge of his jaw. Douxie expected to be annoyed that in the time since Douxie and Krel had first met, Krel had grown taller in his Akiridion form. They were no longer the same height, which had been... oddly nice, for reasons Douxie couldn’t name. Krel was now tall enough that his hair brushed against the ceiling of the apartment. Douxie wondered if it naturally grew that way, or if Krel had to spend time using products to make it stand up. From all the time the two of them had texted each other, Krel didn’t seem like the type of guy to spend a lot of time and gel spiking his hair every day, and Douxie had once been the type of guy to spend a lot of time and gel each day, making sure his hair was nice and spiky.

A small pang of grief for his lost immortality came with the memory of the old, somewhat cringe-worthy hairstyle. Douxie had mostly adjusted to his newfound mortality, but it still hurt sometimes. He, Nari, and Archie still hadn’t made any progress on the topic of Douxie’s soulmate, either.

Douxie forced himself to stop staring at Krel. Yes, Krel was attractive in a way that caught him off guard. There was something about the way his face now looked that made him look regal, moreso than Arthur and Morgana had ever looked. Maybe it was the fact that his faceplate had finished detaching a week ago? Krel had complained over text a month or two ago that it was an uncomfortable process that signified the start of adulthood for a royal Akiridion.

“You’re...” Douxie trailed off. He wanted to say beautiful. “A little later than expected.”

“Yeah, sorry, Mass ran late,” Claire said. “So, how’d you want to get started, Teach?”

Six hours of three frustrated prodigies ignoring each other’s personal space as they debated schematics passed. While Akiridion technology and magic were surprisingly compatible, transduction wasn’t quite as compatible with human-and-troll biology as they had hoped. Still, they weren’t quite ready to give up. Well, not forever, anyways. Words were starting to stop making sense for Douxie, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the same was starting to more-or-less happen to the others as well. Douxie stifled a sigh. He didn’t want to be the one who bailed first, but he also got the feeling that if he didn’t say anything the three of them would continue attempting to work for another hour or two of increasingly angry conversation.

“Do you want to break for dinner any time soon?” Douxie asked.

“Please,” Claire said in a desperate, thankful tone, “I’m starved.”

“Wouldn’t it just be a late lunch?” Krel asked.

“Time zone difference,” Douxie said.

“Right, forgot, sorry,” Krel said. A year ago Krel had explained how time zones weren’t really a thing on Akiridion-V. Instead, all clocks were set to the same time as it was in the capitol, but depending on where on the planet you lived you might start your delson at a different time. That being said, the amount of artificial lighting on the planet meant that location didn’t quite matter for when people were supposed to be awake or asleep.

“Can we get pizza from that one place a block away?” Claire asked as she stretched. “You’ll love it, Krel.”

“Archie, Nari, we’re going out, you want to come?” Douxie called across the apartment.

“Bring me back something with anchovies!” Archie said. Claire wrinkled her nose.

“Give me a moment to put on my disguise!” Nari called. Krel activated his transduction. While Arcadians had gotten used to trolls and extraterrestrials, and New Yorkers were mostly unphased by Nari’s antlers, Krel’s four arms and glowing body might draw unwanted attention. Douxie swallowed in order to stifle a gasp.

If Krel had grown into a regal young man in his true form, as a human he had become a roguishly adorable sort of scruffy. Krel had grown his hair out into messy a chest length ponytail. He was an inch or two taller, too.

Nari walked over to them, disguised as an incredibly short human with a beanie that had antlers attached to it. There was probably something to be said about how a nature goddess was more focused on a game on her phone than her surroundings, but she was used to the layout of the apartment. Plus, she could sense the soul of every living being of the planet Earth. She wouldn’t bump into anything until they left the apartment. Then she’d have to be careful.

She bumped into Krel, and looked up, startled.

“Sorry, I didn’t...” Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t sense you. You’re not from Earth, are you?”

“No, is it still that obvious?” Krel fidgeted with the ends of his ponytail.

“Not if you can’t sense souls,” Nari said. She gave Douxie a pointed look. He had no idea why.

Nari and Archie spoke in hushed enough to be somewhat worrying tones as Douxie got ready for work the next day.

“Should we tell him?” Nari asked.

“He’ll figure it out,” Archie said. “Or well, he should. If he doesn’t figure it out within a year, I guess we should tell him, but until then if he’s that oblivious it won’t hurt him.”

Douxie decided to ignore them and whatever they were talking about. His phone buzzed with a text from Krel, and Douxie smiled.

A/N: I decided to leave it ambiguous as to whether or not Jim and Claire are soulmates in this.

#krexie #claire nuñez #hisirdoux casperan #krel tarron #nari #toa archie #toawizards #toawizards spoilers #tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia spoilers #archie #drel #krouxie #my writing

[thetomorrowshow]

Slower Than Words Ch. 5

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12

I legitimately feel sorry about this chapter! It wasn’t meant to be this intense, just lightly angsty. Virgil really threw himself under the angst bus for this one so buckle up y’all

cw: gagging, unethical eye operations (not in great detail), panic attack, kidnapping, by a cult specifically, character being restrained (both on a table and not), brief mention of blood, fever, intense pain, vomit, that’s a lot of warnings, passing mention of drugs, singular mention of an IV, surgical implications

~

Everything was decidedly not going to be okay, Virgil realized several days later when he was rudely awoken by rough hands pulling him out of bed and out the door before he could say a word. He opened his mouth to scream and had a rag stuffed in it, which was also rude.

While being dragged down a hallway, Virgil took the moment to reflect on his current mental state, which was scarily calm considering what was happening. Shock, probably. Even more likely was the overwhelming gratitude he was feeling that it was him leaving the safety of the room, not Patton. That gratitude gave way to fear (finally) as he was brought into another room, one with a distinctly medical smell.

The room. Not the room, please, not the place where his eyes burned and he could hear himself screaming but was fairly detached, watching from the side as the men and women in white coats leaned over him and measured his reaction. The place where he was left alone, for weeks, as his eyes slowly healed but never saw again. The place where they had strapped him down, hadn't drugged him even as he struggled and sobbed with pain—

They were doing that now, Virgil realized with a start, and he began to fight, trying to force them away and roll off the table, but they already had his ankles secured.

“Get that out of his mouth, we're not monsters.”

Virgil would have cried at hearing words that didn't come from his own mouth if he weren't already crying. The rag was pulled from between his teeth, and he gasped out incomplete sentences of pleas and desperation.

“Virgil, is it?” a woman said.

“My name, that's my name,” Virgil sobbed, almost incoherently. No one had said it in so long, he almost wanted them to say it again.

“Well Virgil, we're here to help. All we need you to do is lie still.”

Virgil would have promised anything, but he was suddenly aware of the fact that they had finished strapping him down. He didn't have a choice here. He tried to calm his hitching sobs, aware that he definitely looked not only like a fool, but weak.

“Wh-what are you going to do?” he asked pitifully. There were several long moments of silence. Then the same woman before spoke, saying eerily familiar words.

“We're going to fix you, in the name of the Prophets.”

Virgil screamed.

-

Virgil had been in the back of this van for far too long. His mind was still in overdrive with fear, but now he could wonder—why had he been kidnapped? There was nothing special about him. He was just like any other college kid, trying to make his way in life with money in the negative and relationships even lower. The only person who might care about him was his roommate Roman, but he also had no money and therefore would never be able to pay a ransom. Not to mention, Roman was promising. He was only failing geology, he'd just gotten a role in a production at the high end theater across town, and he had a boyfriend who definitely didn't care about Virgil.

There was nothing he could do to escape whatever awful fate these strangers had for him. They didn't look too dangerous, all four men wearing square-looking jeans and plain t-shirts, but none of them had very built figures. Only one looked like he worked out, which was a testament to the fact that Virgil was a pathetic weakling. He should've splurged and bought that gym membership.

The van stopped for hours at one point, Virgil assumed in a hotel parking lot or something. He would've liked to get out of the cramped space, but it was clear that wasn't happening any time soon. His hands were tied to his ankles (a fact that had sent him into more than one panic attack) and both were pulled behind his back in a hog tie, and a bandana was bundled up in his mouth and tied around the back of his head. He could tell it was night; some of the light from the part of the van with seats filtered in during the day. It was nice to have a little light. Darkness scared him—he always slept with the blinds on the window turned to let some moonlight in, now that he was far too old for a nightlight. Now, however, there was zero light and Virgil was barely keeping himself from freaking out. He just had to survive the night, then nothing would ever be dark again.

They were back on the road. The men chatted loudly, but so many of the words seemed to have a different context for them than they did for him. Haven? Blessings? Liberating? It sounded like a cult, and Virgil once again attempted to free himself of the ropes. The only thing he gained was rope burn.

When the door opened and Virgil blinked at the sudden light and wave of heat, he had to assume they'd arrived. Instead of moving (or shooting) him, two people stared. A man and a woman, the man in a simple suit, the woman in an even simpler dress. Sweat trickled down Virgil's temple as he stared back at them, his jaw aching and limbs strained.

“This one will do,” the woman said eventually. The man nodded agreement, and then the ones that had kidnapped him in the first place were dragging him out of the van. Virgil maintained eye contact with the two as he passed. What did that mean? What did they need him for?

The sun beat down on them as the four men carried Virgil across a dirt road. There were small, one-story houses lining the street, but nobody outside. Virgil only had a moment to wonder why before he was being ushered into a large building. It was cooler inside than out, but still stuffy, like the air conditioning was one of those old window units.

He was carried into a room that smelled like a hospital—and looked like one. The counters were laden with different tools that he had no idea what they were to be used for, but looked vaguely like they belonged in a horror movie. The four men rolled him onto the operating table in the center of the room, then set to work untying him. Virgil lay still, hoping to trick them into thinking he would be compliant. He'd wait until his legs were free, then start fighting back.

That was a no-go, as it turned out. The men easily grabbed his legs and pulled a strap over them, securing him into place. He managed to flail his fist into one person's nose, and felt a deep satisfaction when the man doubled over, bleeding. It was quickly snuffed out as the other three got a hold of his arms and strapped them down as well. Then they all left, even the man Virgil had hit, shutting the door and leaving him alone.

Virgil's eyes darted around the room, taking it all in. The only sound was his heavy breathing. He flexed his fingers and toes a few times, trying to get feeling back into them. He groaned deep in his throat as they began to tingle, then ache. He shifted a little, the sweat pooling under his shirt and hoodie making him supremely uncomfortable.

The door opened with a bang, startling Virgil enough that he jumped. Quite a few—seven, maybe—people in white lab coats entered, the last man wearing plain clothes and looking less like a nerd than the others and more like a bodyguard. Virgil swallowed. What were they going to do to him?

“Hello, Virgil,” an older man with a scar on his chin said, smiling too wide. He leaned over the table, and Virgil tried to lean away. The man tsked, his smile dimming slightly.

“Now, that won't do. Don't be scared, Virgil. We aren't going to hurt you.” The man frowned for a split second, then chuckled. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to lie. This will likely be very painful, Virgil.”

Virgil couldn't force his eyes away from the man's, cold brown eyes boring into his soul. He felt the fear rise, bubbling out of his throat in a muffled cry, even as a tear slipped out of his eye and rolled toward his temple.

“We're going to break you, in the name of the Prophets.”

Then they were holding his head still, and—no—no—not his eyes, please, anything else—

Virgil screamed.

-

Virgil didn't know how long he feverishly drifted, but it was certainly hours. His eyes—it was more than burning, somehow. It was the fire of a thousand suns, concentrated in his eye sockets and pounding through his head. All he could feel was the pain, not knowing where he was or aware of any outside stimulus.

The moment Virgil recognized that it was terrifying was the moment that he could feel his fingers. Suddenly, he was no longer a miasma of pain, but a human being (engulfed by pain) again. That was also when he realized there was something pressed up to his lips. He opened his mouth—water, warm and stale but still water—flooded his dry mouth and and he choked as it hit the back of his throat. The bottle was pulled away, and Virgil spluttered for a few moments before all the water was clear of his airway. Exhausted by the fight and debilitated from the pain, Virgil let his eyes slip closed and drifted again.

When he next woke, it was to incomprehensible pain and the sensation of moving, as if whatever he was laying on was being moved. Barely letting himself wonder where he was headed, Virgil drifted again.

The cycle repeated for a while before Virgil found himself fully conscious. It hurt to turn his head, so he laid still, despite all the noises around him. He was shaking constantly, and he was pretty certain he was strapped down. The room wasn't cold, exactly, but Virgil longed for a blanket, something to perhaps weigh down his legs and ease the quaking.

“Can you hear me?”

Virgil wasn't sure if the person was talking to him or not, so he didn't respond. The other noises around the room—a sink running? A quiet conversation?—continued as if nothing happened.

“Can you hear me?”

This time, the voice was louder, and distantly familiar. Virgil nodded slightly, cut short as he grimaced in pain. Moving his head made the pain spike, inducing nausea. Now he felt he was going to throw up, as well as shiver to death. Great.

“Tell me your name.”

“Virgil,” he rasped. He'd never given these people his last name—how they'd found out his first was a mystery to him—but it didn't quite count as an act of defiance when just saying his first name had sapped all of his energy. He tasted copper in the back of his mouth and wondered vaguely if he'd screamed so much that his throat had bled.

“He's conscious enough. Try to get him to stand up.”

Virgil was trying to figure out how to respond to this when he registered the sound of Velcro tearing, then hands grabbed his arms and pulled him off of the surface. Immediately his headache spiked, and he cried out, barely aware of his knees buckling and hitting the floor.

A sigh was heard. Virgil sniffed back tears, despite the little voice in the back of his head telling him he had literally zero dignity left. He didn't want to cry, especially not at just standing up.

Then suddenly, they were moving. Virgil struggled to get his feet underneath him, but failed and resigned himself to being dragged. He was certain he was about to pass out. His head grew fuzzy, limbs filled with pins and needles. The sound of himself being pulled on the concrete was even louder than anything that had just been going on in the room; it filled his ears and pounded along to his heartbeat.

He distantly heard a laugh, then gasped as someone let go and his head cracked against the floor. It wasn't too bad, he wasn't very far from the floor anyway, but the pain of the impact still caused him to lose the battle against his stomach, vomiting all over himself and the floor. Some commotion followed that; Virgil's head was spinning and splitting and his eyes burned and put simply, he couldn't keep track.

He drifted again, laying on the floor in his own sick, not sure what was real and what wasn't. Too soon, though, he was brought back to the waking world by a jet of water hitting him square in the stomach. He jerked, then spluttered as the water hit his face. Somehow, while shocking, it was more pleasant than the pain, a nice distraction. That didn't last, though. Soon enough, Virgil was shivering and numb as the water kept spraying, a sob tearing from his throat as more and more went up his nose.

Finally it stopped, the only sounds being the water dripping from his soaked clothing and his shuddering sobs. Virgil couldn't stop crying and shaking, and there was only one thought in his head, playing over and over: I want Patton. Please I want Patton. Please Patton please I want Patton please—

After what felt like hours of just laying there, hands grabbed his wrists again and began dragging. Virgil didn't even try to stand, or stop crying. He was so cold. So, so, cold, and he just wanted Patton, just wanted to be safe. . . .

More noise—so loud—and a little more strain on his arms before he was dropped, palms bouncing lightly off the floor. Virgil wanted to curl up on his side, hoard what little body heat he had, but he couldn't move. He couldn't move, and they were coming closer. His sobs ratcheted up as he just knew they were right above him, holding those tools and moving closer and—

Someone touched him, and Virgil whimpered loud. He couldn't—not again—please no, please please please no—

They took his hand and touched his wrist—an IV, they were just putting drugs in him—with warm fingers, tracing something—

Tracing . . . something. . . .

P-a-t-t-o-n.

“Patton,” Virgil croaked. Patton was here. Patton was safe, Patton would make everything all right. With that knowledge, Virgil finally fell into a comfortable sleep.

~

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @enragedbees @gotta-love-alejandra @bunny222 @basiic-emo @patt0n-sanders @rosiepupper @fangirlgeekandfreak @dn-fan21 @that2000skid @remy-the-lemon-berry @itsadastraperaspera @xionbean @sanderssides-angst @hell-yea-we-gay-tonight @maybedefinitely404

#slower than words #thomas sanders #sanders sides #ts #ts sides #fanfiction #sanders sides fic #sanders sides angst #angst #virgil sanders #ts virgil #patton sanders #ts patton #...wow #torture #panic attack #i'm so sorry virgil #this was a stressful chapter for him #the next chapter will be better for him right? #right??? #:) #ask to tag #y'all: please stop hurting our boy #me: strong argument but what if i didn't #reminder that none of the sides are unsymp in this! #all members of the cult (minus pat and his dad) #are ocs! #cults #sanders sides fanfiction #ts fanfic

[bellatrixobsessed1]

The Dragon Egg (Parts 4-6)

Long post because I neglected uploading for a few days. For @secrettunnelatla

It is all about fibs and careful twists. Change a few names and situations and suddenly Ozai is just a nameless man. A vague set of lyrics and verses on a page. A collection of words that shape the story of an abuser and his victim.

It is all the easier, picturing Zuko as the victim. Surely it can’t be her. Father treats her well; he has given her this recording studio. He has rewarded her for her three new singles with a newer car. He has given her nothing but praise for surprising him with so many new songs all at once.

Father buys her so many new stage outfits and lets her pierce her tongue and decorate it with genuine ruby. She has everything. He loves her. He is proud of her. It is only a hiccup, a lapse in judgment when he shows anything but affection. It is the alcohol that makes him smash the windows on her car. She doesn’t remember what he did it for but she knows that it was the alcohol because he has a brand new car waiting for her the next day.

And she drives it to Seicho’s house to deliver her birthday present. She will open the box and find a skateboard and tickets to see her show. Seicho is a delight and a somber presence all at once. In many ways, she reminds Azula of TyLee and that stings.

Sometimes she misses TyLee. Misses that sweet smile. Misses playing make believe in her backyard. Once upon a time, TyLee was going to be her drummer and they were going to tour from nation to nation in a bus with diamond studded tire caps. Once upon a time, she, Mai, and TyLee were going to be the rock trio that the world wouldn’t be able to forget.

And once upon a time, Mai decided that she liked Zuko more and TyLee decided that she liked Mai more. Zuko always had been the more lovable of the two. But Azula is the more successful. She has made a promise to herself that they would regret abandoning her for him when her faces is everywhere and Zuko is a sellout.

Seicho invites her inside, her friends are already there, a girl named Song, a girl named Jin, and a younger boy named Hide.

“Have a slice of cake or a whack at the pinata.” Seicho offers. She holds out a bat, wrapped with skull patterned duct tape and studded with nails. “You can have the first swing.”

Azula is sure that it would only take one good swing for the nails to shred the pinata. “I’ll have a slice of cake. I can’t stay for too long. I have a show.” There is a part of her, a very large part of her that wants more than a taste of this world. A simpler world where goals and aspirations aren’t make or break. “But I had to drop this off for you.”  The skateboard in the box is expensive, it is more than enough to make up for not being able to stick around for the party.

Seicho’s face falls and Azula tells herself that it is only because she hasn’t unwrapped the gift yet. She knows that the smile is forced when she replies, “thanks, Azula. Maybe you can join us next year.”

Regret doesn’t hit her in full until she has already stepped back into her car. By now it would only be rude to change her mind and ring the doorbell again. Maybe this is why it was so easy for TyLee to choose Mai and for Mai to choose Zuko; she tends to choose her career over companionship.

She promises herself that after Audio of Agni, she will make more time for social obligations.

.oOo.

The stage doesn’t quite have its thrill tonight. The energy itself is excitedly frantic, vibrant with enthusiasm but it doesn’t quite reach Azula. It doesn’t matter, she is good at pretending. She knows what she is supposed to feel like--she has felt it before when the band was brand new, when Mai and TyLee were her backup vocalists.

So she emulates the vibe she is supposed to give off. She pretends like the crowds cheers and shouts and claps mean everything. She pretends like their liveliness gives her life too. Pretends like she can feel the music in her body and soul the same way everyone else does. But she only feels empty.

Empty and alone. A disorienting feeling when she is looking upon more faces than she can count.

All the while she sings lyrics that make her stomach squirm and her heart ache. If her father knew that he is the inspiration behind them, she’d have another song to write.

She doesn’t understand why singing these songs hurts so much. She is singing about Zuko and her father, not about she and her father. Or maybe she isn’t singing about her father at all, but a nameless father and his nameless child. Hell, it can be a mother too. Just a vague musical rendition of a dreadful parent who is merely neglectful on a good day.

It dawns upon her that she is the victim that she sings of when she finds herself getting teary on that stage. They think that it is part of the act. They think that she is a stellar actress on top of a damn good lyricist.

She doesn’t correct them. The only thing that sells more than sex is sorrow.

Things change after that. There is more attention, more interviews, more magazine photoshoots, and more simmering resentment from From Ashes To Phoenix. She basks in the limelight and relishes in Zuko’s envy. And with the spotlight shining so brightly, she can no longer see the darkness that had helped put it on her.

****

Seeing her on TV is hell. Even when she isn’t right in front of him, flaunting her riches, talents, and everything he could have had, she is still able to mock him.

These days, he can’t escape her. She is everywhere; on the radio, on the magazines, on the TV, and on posters. He even sees her in the hallways of Caldera Capital High. He sees her there, though she has been pulled out months ago for a private education tailored to her personal schedule. It is just one more thing for him to envy. He has to manage his band and school, of course his progress is slower. Sometimes stunted altogether.

And for his troubles he averages C’s and D’s--B’s if he is lucky--and music that is half done and not nearly what he had imagined in his mind. He knows that he is going to have to make a choice and he thinks that he has begun to make that choice a few months back. He has lost track of how many times he has stayed after class to discuss his grades. He wonders how uncle will take to him dropping out. Should he turn in the forms that are tucked away in his backpack and seal the deal there won’t be any turning back. He will have to make it big. It will be his only chance.

A gaggle of fangirls fawning over the brooding lonewolf with the choker and black nailpolish can only take him so far. It doesn’t leave the hallways. But he does, he evades the teachers and hall monitors and climbs his way onto the roof. Mai is already there, he can see the smoke trail.

“Want one?” She offers.

“I’ll take a drag from yours.”

Mai passes the cigarette. “Have you told your uncle yet?”

He takes his drag and passes it back. “No.”

Mai gives a little hum. “Make a decision and commit, Zuko. Either you tell your uncle that you’re dropping out or start hustling to fix your grades. You have to succeed somewhere.”

He flinches. She sounds all too similar to Azula. She sighs. “Sorry. I just worry about you, Zuko. Indecisiveness is going to ruin you if you let it.”

There are a lot of things that are going to ruin him if he lets them. To some degree he thinks that he is already ruined. That he should just fester in the failure. “I could use another drag.”

“Sure.” Mai replies.

He takes his drag and watches the smoke curl up to the mid-afternoon sky. Mai leans back with her hands behind her head.

“What are you doing up here, Mai?” He asks. “You can actually pass your classes, why are you letting me drag you down?”

“Zuko, I’ve never felt more...up. Sometimes I just need to get out of there.” She spares a glance to the door. “It’s suffocating and smells like cheap perfume and testosterone. I smoke at least a cigarette a day, gym class is pointless anyways.”

He chuckles. He feels right when he is on the roof with her. When he is with her in general. Pessimistic as she nihilistic as she is, he feels the most hopeful when he is with her. Even if it is just for a moment, Azula’s shadow doesn’t envelop and shroud him. Even if it is just for a moment, he can forget about she and her antics and everything her overachieving has helped steal from him. Even if it is just for a moment he can see, truly envision and believe in a reality where he strums his guitar before an arena full of adoring, audio hungry fans.

He makes a decision, he is going tell uncle that high school isn’t for him. That he is meant for...that he deserves better things. As the sun reaches its zenith, he decides that he will truly work for his dream.

****

The darkness floods right back in when she is away from the stage. When the lyrics that echo through the venue become a reality. She doesn’t know exactly what she has done. Maybe she has done nothing at all. He very well may just be in a bad mood. She is texting Seicho when he enters. “Hello father.” She greets with a smile.

He returns it with a blank face and folded arms. “What is this?” He slaps a piece of paper onto the table. He nods for her to read it over.

“It’s a…” she knits her brows, “a printout of our ticket sales.” She looks up from the paper. “What’s wrong with it?”

“How many tickets were sold for the first show?”

“It was sold out.”

“What about all of last week’s shows and the week before that?”

“Sold out.” She says again.

He nods. “Yes, sold out. What about last night’s show?”

Azula swallows, “1,684.”

He drums his fingers on the table. “Would you like to tell me what happened?”

She thinks that it could be a lot of things; that night had also been the night of the high school homecoming baseball game, people might have been short on cash, the time slot had been a tad earlier than usual. All of these answers seem like excuses--she should have a performance more compelling than baseball, she should have had a performance with spending money on, she should have pushed for a more favorable time slot. “It was a smaller venue.” She says at last much.

Wrong answer.

“I was selling out all of my shows.” He slaps the page and she flinches. “These aren’t metal legend numbers, they aren’t even Audio of Agni numbers.”

She wants to point out that he probably hadn’t been selling out all of his shows when his band had been as young as hers is. Instead she very quietly promises, “I’ll do better, father.” She must and she will because he is right. Only 1,684 tickets sold in a venue that could hold 2,000 people? That is embarrassing.

“Maybe if you weren’t fooling around with that tattoo artist… you won’t be seeing her anymore”

“Wh-what?” She sputters. “No, that’s not it! Seicho isn’t a distraction!” She realizes too late that she has gotten too loud.

She closes her eyes and tenses for the strike that is sure to come. When it doesn’t she cracks an eyelid. He hasn’t even closed the distance between them. She allows herself to relax. It is only then that his hand snakes out and finds her cheek.

Reflexively her own hand comes to rub it. She bites the sides of her cheeks and swallows down the cry that is waiting to come up. More than anything she hates knowing that she has failed him. That she has disappointed him. These moments are few and far between, she makes sure of that. But they are still there and she has just given herself one more ill mark. Has put herself one step closer to ending up like Zuko. “I’ll do better.” She says again when she finds the words.

It was never like this before. She glares at the empty bottles. It was never like this--he used to love her. She used to be is gleaming little star. He would yell at her, sometimes until his face went red, but he has never hit her before. She looks at the bottles, but it might be that she has finally made enough mistakes for him to see her as a splendid failure instead of his rising rockstar.

She takes out her phone and taps the screen a few times before holding it up, “see no more distractions. I deleted her number.” She forces a smile. “I needed to focus on memorizing my new material anyways.”

At last he returns the smile. The tightness in her chest slackens, giving way to an optimistic and relieved fluttering in her tummy. He ruffles her hair, “that’s my girl.” He gives her a small hug. “I should know better than to doubt you.” He smells so strongly of booze.

But she has satisfied him. She is still is gleaming little star.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Zuko #Mai #TyLee #Azula/Background Character #Azula/Cupholder girl #Maiko #Fanfiction #2021atlasummerevent

[hockeytrashgoblin]

Ice Cold ~Part 6

A/N: The second part of the night! There’s probably going to be a lot of days/nights where I upload two parts at a time so I can get to the final part by halloween!

I was aware of voices but I couldn't open my eyes. They were hushed voices but I still heard them. I couldn't distinguish at all though who it was. I was vaguely aware that my ears were ringing and that it smelled like William a little bit. As I laid there I was becoming more aware and started shifting. All the voices stopped when I turned over and groaned.

"Where am I?" I mumbled.

"Hi (y/n), would you like some water?"

"No, where am I?"

"You're in my house, it's Morgan by the way."

"Why am I here? Where's William? Is he okay?" I asked panicking, trying to sit up. A cool hand pushed me back to lay down.

"William is perfectly fine, not a scratch on him."

"How is that even possible?"

"I can't tell you that right now."

"You guys really are pulling an Edward Cullen on me."

"Do you want me to get Will? You two should talk before the rest of us."

"Where is William?"

"He's in the other room talking to Auston."

"Oh God..I'm gonna ruin everything again." I said tears slipping out.

"You aren't ruining anything. I'll go get him for you."

"Thank you Morgan." I smiled at him through the tears and he smiled back, rubbing my shoulder before leaving the room. William came in almost immediately.

"Hi baby."

"You better start explaining."

"Can you at least tell me how you're feeling first?" He said sighing.

"I'm fine. Confused as fuck and mad that you weren't here when I woke up."

"I had to talk to Auston. I needed to calm him down. He doesn't want me to tell you any of what I now need to."

"Stop beating around the bush Will. Why am I not dead? Why are you not dead?"

"You already have a pretty good idea of how. You weren't that far off when you brought up Edward Cullen."

"William stop fucking around and just tell me! If you love me like you say you do please just tell me without the half truths."

"Fine. I'm a vampire. Is that better?" He growled making me flinch. His face softened immediately.

"I mean yeah. I'd rather have the truth." I tried to sit up and he pushed me back down. "For God sakes can you let me up so I can look at you? I promise I'm fine." 

"I'm sorry, I'm incredibly worried."

"I just want to look at you William. Please?" He let me sit up this time but just sat incredibly still and quietly. "I have some questions."

"I figured you would. I'm really nervous for this. I don't know why, Morgan has seen how this plays out."

"Then don't be nervous."

"What if you hate me?"

"What if that's never gonna happen?"

"What are your questions?"

"Well okay how come your eyes are normal?"

"They aren't. We all have contact lenses, I have red eyes when I'm thirsty but blue when I'm fed so to keep it consistent we wear them."

"Can I see what they look like without them?"

"Of course. I despise wearing these things anyways. It'll be nice to not have to wear them with you anymore." He took them out and blinked at me with red tinted eyes. "I don't know what they look like right now, I hope not too frightening."

"They're red around the edges that's all. They're kinda cool."

"Kinda cool? Never had that reaction before." He said with a laugh.

"Alright so are you indestructible? It seems like yes."

"Pretty much. Twilight got that part right. Rip apart and burn the pieces. Nothing else can really harm us at all physically and we can't get sick."

"That's good!" I said nodding. "How old are you?"

"I have a different story than most. I was born this way. I only age until mid twenties then I stop."

"How does that work?"

"My parents are ancient vampires. Old royalty can give birth to vampire children. We age a little slower than human children but then we stop forever."

"So your family is pretty powerful then?"

"Are you afraid?"

"No why?"

"Your heartbeat sped up."

"You can hear that?"

"I can hear everything your body does." I blushed making him speak up again. "I'm sorry was that too much? I just want to be completely transparent."

"No, no, you're fine. I want to know everything!"

"Okay I just wanted to make sure. I don't want to overwhelm you."

"I can handle it."

"I know you can, I just worry."

"Are you guys all..you know?"

"You can say vampires (y/n). We don't mind. But yes the 5 of us all are."

"I thought so. You guys were really cliquey when I first met you."

"What do you mean?"

"You always just stuck together. When everyone broke away into smaller groups it was always you 5 and everyone else."

"Oh. Yeah I suppose we do, do that."

"Anyway you didn't answer me. How old are you guys?"

"I've been alive for 36 years but I'm only the equivalent of 24. Morgan is almost 100 years old."

"So Morgan's the leader?" I asked and he nodded before continuing.

"Kappy's almost 70, he joined Morgan about 20 years ago. He was a wild one, I'll let him tell you the story since I know he's been dying to."

"I'd like to hear about it!"

"Auston is around the same age as Kasperi. He was alone until he joined us when he got here. Mitchy is the baby, he was only turned 3 years ago."

"That must be so hard for him. Living with so many people around?"

"It was at first but he's better now."

"That's good. So did they get that part right? Newborn vampires are out of control?"

"Not as bad as twilight makes it sound." He said with a smirk. "But for the first couple months the thirst is intense."

"How did you find your way to Morgan?"

"I didn't like the way my parents worked, how they behaved. They were drunk on the fear people had for them. I don't want to scare people so I ran away when I was about 16 human years old. I started playing hockey and moved to Canada. I got picked up by the leafs and now here I am. I met up with Morgan when I got here in Toronto, I knew of him so I was looking for him."

"What happens to you guys if one gets traded?"

"We just go. We come back here for the off season. A couple years separated is nothing in the grand scheme of things."

"It sounds so simple." I teased.

"It's really not. I'm glad you know now though, that's going to make it much simpler."

"How come you told me?"

"Well I couldn't exactly leave it after my little display outside last night now could I?" He asked snorting.

"Well no but Mitch said you've been arguing with Auston because of a secret you wanted to tell but he didn't. So obviously you've been planning this."

"This is going to sound crazy."

"Crazier than all the rest of this? Try me."

"So you know how Morgan sees stuff?"

"Yeah. Hey do any others have gifts like that?"

"Mitchy can read minds when he stops his hyper shit and concentrates. Other than that none of us can. There are hundreds of powers out there though."

"That's cool!"

"Yes indeed." He murmured smiling warmly at me.

"Stop making my brain melt." I said giggling pushing his shoulder. 

"Anyway back to what I was saying. Morgan saw you coming."

"He saw me?"

"Well he saw you with me."

"What do you mean?"

"Vampires have soulmates. Which sounds nuts because we don't have souls but that's the only way to put it. We're kind of like penguins, stay mated for life. We only have one so if it doesn't work out, that's it and we're alone."

"Oh wow no fucking pressure then!" I said sarcastically.

"Anywaaay." He drawled rolling his eyes with a small smile. "After I joined his coven I guess you'd call it, he started seeing my future. You're in it every step of the way." He finally looked into my eyes at that last part and I melted completely.

"Oh wow."

"Your heart is beating fast again. You're anxious, why?"

"I'm um.. a little overwhelmed I guess?"

"Why?"

"Well I wanted to be around for a long time and I felt like that would happen but to know that you've seen me there.."

"Technically Morgan saw you there. I didn't see anything, I just feel it. I feel very strongly for you."

"I love you." I said moving up the bed to hug him. He was stiff for a minute but then relaxed and held me softly. I pulled back with a smile on my face. "I'm not gonna break if you hold me a little tighter than that."

"I just don't want to push you or anything. This is a lot to take in, I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"William I'm not. Can't you see that? I don't care what you are. I love you and I know you're not going to eat me so it's okay."

"I was wondering when what I eat would come up."

"I'm not worried about it. As long as I'm not in any danger I couldn't care less. You don't demand to know what I eat usually." I said eyeing him up.

"Well if you weren't so stubborn and would eat as much as I know you need to I wouldn't have to ask! You don't take care of your body the way I want you to."

"Whatever I'm trying."

"I know, love. You're doing good."

"Anyway since it's been brought up I am curious about what you eat."

"I eat mostly animals. We all do. Probably twice a month but we need human blood too once a month or so. We use blood bags instead of people. As I said I don't want people scared."

"Wouldn't it be better warm?" I slapped my hand over my mouth in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry ignore me."

"No, I want to know what you're thinking." He pulled my hands down and looked at me pouting with a big smile spreading across his face. "I love it when you blush. You look do cute with red cheeks."

"Stoooop!" I moaned blushing harder.

"Blood is better warm but that's what we get from animals. We don't want drinking human blood to be pleasant."

"That is fair enough."

We were quiet for a minute as I took in what he was saying. I couldn't say I was surprised at all. The way these boys acted and played the game was a little unbelievable. And the way they all looked. Barely human, more angelic looking than anything. I started thinking back at all the weird things like him hearing my phone vibrate in the bar, how fast he got to my house when I was scared, how he never really ate, how he was never cold. It all started making a lot of sense.

"Have I scared you?"

"Are you dumb? I'm not scared of you." I asked giving him a weird look.

"I just wanted to check. Do you think you'd be okay to go talk with the rest of the boys?"

"I'm fine babe. Are you ready for me to go talk with the boys?" I could tell by the way his eyes momentarily went wide that my question caught him off guard.

"Everything I just told you and you're concerning yourself with me?"

"Always." I said taking his hand in mine.

"I'd like you to know if I could blush I would be right now." He said quietly.

"Cute." I said pecking his lips.

"I am worried about you talking to them."

"Why?"

"I'm worried mostly about Auston. He's still mad that you know."

"Auston can fucking bite me." I said bitterly without thinking. "Shit wait no no i don't want that at all I take it back!"

"You're so funny. As if I'd ever let anyone else bite you." He said in a teasing tone.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait! You're planning on biting me?!"

"Not anytime soon. And I'm not planning it at all. Morgan said that he sees that it's your idea completely. You beg for me to do it."

"Not the only thing I'd beg for." I mumbled.

"What?"

"What?" I asked pretending I didn't say anything.

"I literally hear everything (y/n). I know exactly what you said. And you might not want to think stuff like that. I kinda asked Mitch to listen in to see how you would take everything."

"Are you kidding me?! Oh my God!" I smacked my forehead as if that would get the image of me on my knees begging William out of my head. It didn't. I was just more aware of those thoughts which made me think of them more. "I hate it here!" I yelled dramatically falling back on the bed.

"It's not a big deal, he's used to it."

"Yes it is!"

"He's not going to judge you."

"He will!"

"No I won't." Mitch said walking into the room and flopping down on the bed beside me.

"Uuugh." I groaned covering my face with a pillow.

"Nice to see you again too. Willy Morgan wants to talk to you. Something about Aus' bullshit probably."

"Alright. I'll be back soon, love." He got up and left leaving the room silent.

"So you know now huh?"

"Yup."

"You still want us around?"

"What the fuck do you mean?" I pulled the pillow away from my face. "Of course I still want you guys around."

"Sometimes it takes some time to come around that's all. Morgan's girlfriend took forever. She wouldn't see us for like 6 months because she was upset and felt betrayed. You just never know. Well unless you're Morgan."

"So she knows too?"

"Yup she knows everything."

"Does your girlfriend know?"

"No Steph has no idea. I don't think I'll ever tell her honestly."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you some other time."

"Do you think he was wrong to tell me?"

"Absolutely not. Seeing William happy is the best! He hasn't seen what Morgan has seen but I have. Sorry for snooping, it was just exciting! I couldn't help it."

"What does it look like..?" I asked quietly.

"It looks like complete happiness. Everything you've both ever wanted in life is going to come to you. It's kind of really fast moving from here though."

"Do I end up like you guys..?"

"I don't want to tell you the details of your future." He said carefully after considering for a second.

"I don't want to know everything I just want to know if I'm gonna get old and ugly while he stays gorgeous.. " I blushed and Mitch laughed.

"That's such a silly thing to worry about! Don't worry. You're not going to get old and gross. But that's all you're getting from me!"

"That's good enough for me." I said as William walked back in.

"Are you ready to see the guys? They want to talk to you, especially Morgan."

"Yeah sure." I said getting up walking over to him. I hugged him tight around his waist and leaned up to give him a kiss. "Let's go."

"Uh yeah sure." He took my hand and led me down the hallway of the spacious house. I took in my surroundings with awe. The house was beautiful. A perfect balance of dark and light. There was modern furniture but a lot of antiques surrounding it all. When he brought me around the corner I saw all the guys sitting there. Even Mitch which surprised me but then I realized that these guys were faster than anything. Auston looked salty, but he always did.

"(Y/n) please sit." Morgan said with a smile, gesturing to the love seat across from him. I did as I was told while William and Mitch sat on either side of me. "How are you feeling?"

"Um I'm okay. How are you guys?"

"We're well."

"Speak for yourself." Auston mumbled while Morgan sighed.

"For the most part we're well. You've learned a lot of new information today."

"Yeah I have."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Not bad. I have a lot of questions but I don't think I'm in danger so I'm feeling good I think."

"I'm surprised she didn't go into shock." Kasperi teased.

"Come on give her some credit!" Mitch defended. 

"Yeah Kas come on. I'm tougher than that."

"You realize that you knowing this is a big deal don't you?" Morgan asked.

"Of course I do!"

"You realize that means you can't tell anyone right? Not even your dumb photography friend? And especially not your reporter friend?" Auston spit out.

"Obviously I would never ever do that Auston."

"Girls tell secrets."

"Not one like this!"

"How can we know that?"

"Auston you're honestly being ridiculous right now. I would never do that to you guys." I looked at William who was avoiding my eyes. I grabbed his hand desperately trying to keep tears out of my eyes from the confrontation. "Will, baby, you know that don't you? That I would never hurt you and your family like that?"

"I'm a little worried."

"What?!"

"See if he's worried, I should be too." 

I just stayed quiet. Ripped my hand from William's, wiped a tear roughly from my cheek, and crossed my arms. William tried to hold my hand again but I pulled back.

"Don't."

"Guys she's not going to say anything." Mitch said, sounding bored with the whole thing.

"(Y/n) why don't we speak in private?" Morgan said carefully.

"Okay." I got up despite William's protest and went with Morgan to his office.

"I'm sorry about them. They're both idiots." 

"I feel like I'm in trouble in a principal's office." I said laughing with him.

"Well I promise you aren't in trouble at all. I don't know how much William has told you about me.."

"Um he just said you were the oldest, the leader, and that you can see the future but he never elaborated on anything."

"Everything I see is definite. There are no areas where it changes. What I see is what happens. I've never been wrong in my hundred years. This is why I'm so sure that you won't tell anyone anything."

"Even if you didn't see it I'd never tell. It's not my secret to tell."

"The boys are just worried. It's been a long time since we've told anybody. The last one was my girlfriend 2 years ago. The last before that was 65 years ago. Auston and Kasperi have had some bad experiences. Mitch isn't worried because he can see inside everyone's heads. He can see how your mind works, he knows like I do. In fact I can tell you the next time you willingly on your own tell someone about vampires and it's not for another 20 years."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"There will be a time in approximately 4 months that you will say something."

"I don't think I'd share that but I'm not willing to bet against you that I won't. I'm sorry that I do that."

"It's nothing to be sorry about. When you do it, it's out of necessity, survival."

"I'm still sorry."

"I'm sorry that William is being untrusting. It seems Auston has gotten into his head."

"Not a big deal." I shrugged.

"It is. Trust is the most important thing. To know you're not trusted is a punch in the stomach." I raised an eyebrow at him and he continued. "When I got with Tessa and told her everything she didn't trust me right away. She thought I was going to feed off her or change her without permission. It was incredibly difficult."

"It all worked out though right?"

"Yes of course! I promise things will smooth over between you and William."

"Thank you Morgan. I really appreciate it."

"I'm going to let you go since we all have places to get ready to be soon. Mitch will drop you off at your home."

"Thanks. Good luck at the game tonight."

"Thank you. See you later."

"Bye." I let myself out. I didn't like to be told what to do but something about the authority in his voice made me not question or talk back. Mitch was standing down the hall a bit.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

"Absolutely. No offense but I don't want to be here right now."

"That's totally fair. I'm sick of hearing Auston's thoughts right now."

He started towards the door and I followed as close behind as I could manage. Once we got outside I was in awe. I always loved the forest and this was taking forest living to another level.

"How come you're sick of hearing him?"

"I'm always pretty sick of hearing him these days."

"Is it my fault?"

"What no! That's actually a welcome distraction. He's hiding something from me." 

I was looking out the window as we drove but that shocked me enough to look at him. I was very confused and he could probably tell because he snickered at me.

"How the fuck could he do that?"

"He's had experience with people like me. He knows how to block thoughts from me. It's so annoying bro."

"I'd like to learn that." I said thinking back to what William said earlier.

"(Y/n) I couldn't care less what you want to do to William or have him do to you. Be as kinky as you want. I'll tell you what I'm into if that'll help?"

"Uh maybe next time." I said laughing with him.

"In all honesty I could probably help! If he's not doing it right I could tell him how to do it better."

"As sweet as that is Mitchy, I think I'd rather see how he fucks first before I call in mental backup."

"You guys haven't fucked yet?"

"No. He didn't want to while there was still secrets."

"That's nice of him I suppose. I could never do that."

"I like that he's patient. I've been through a lot of bad stuff with men.." before I could stop thinking Mitch interrupted me as we pulled into my driveway.

"I'm so fucking sorry that happened to you." He pulled me into a hug and I let a tear slip out.

"It's okay, it's done."

"It might be done but it haunts you. Have you told Willy?"

"Not yet. I will before I sleep with him though. I don't want secrets either. But now I don't know if I even should. If he can't trust me, can I trust him?"

"Auston is in his head. That's literally all it is. Wills deep thoughts know and trust you. His surface thoughts are frazzled."

"Well he's being shitty and can honestly just get fucked." I said making him laugh.

"That's fair."

"I'll see you guys tonight!"

"We'll be listening for you."

"Sorry what?" I asked half out of the car.

"William is going to want to know when you get there. So he's gonna listen for your voice and I'll be listening for your thoughts. Just to calm him down."

"Well in that case I'm gonna talk shit and think get fucked the whole time." I said laughing with him.

"I can't wait to play hockey with an angry William."

"See ya." I got out of the car and went to my house. I cried a little but then got ready to go.

#nhl imagine #nhl story #hockey #hockey story #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #maple leaf imagine #toronto maple leafs #leafs #maple leafs #william nylander #william nylander x reader #mitch marner #kasperi kapanen #morgan rielly #auston matthews #halloween #vampire

[sirfrogsworth]

Troubleshooting on Fumes

Had a huge computer scare tonight.

Really not what I needed after the long day of taking Otis back and forth to the vet.

My system kept freezing every 3 minutes or so. I’ve been doing a lot of video conversion which runs the CPU at 100% for hours at a time. I was worried I borked or overheated it despite my monster Noctua cooler. Hardware problems are much more serious than software and I was praying to every god I don't believe in for it to be software. Thankfully when I booted into safe mode it did not freeze and the temps were not even close to max. So I was pretty sure it wasn’t a hardware issue. Thank Spaghetti.

So I started hunting software issues. I went through my standard diagnostic process of eliminating variables one at a time. Checking applications, background processes, virus scans. I did a good crap cleaning with CCleaner. I still wasn’t finding the culprit and I was basically having a panic attack and crying--stage 2 of my diagnostic process.

I got so flustered I was considering just running my computer in safe mode for the rest of my life.

So what if the aspect ratio was squished and only basic web browsing worked? As long as I could look at kitten videos and boobies other wholesome content, I'd be able to live with it.

In one last-ditch effort I abandoned my one-at-a-time process and deleted a bunch of programs, disabled a bunch of services, and turned off every background process I could live without. (Stage 3: Panic Deleting)

And... it stopped freezing.

Hooray.

It’s been going for over two hours now. That is a huge relief and a good sign. Unfortunately, my Hail Mary panic-fueled blunderbuss approach means I don’t know which of the 12 things I did fixed the issue. So tomorrow I have to add it all back one by one.

I’ve actually been planning to finally move to Windows 10 for a while now. That would probably improve the reliability of my system tenfold. I’ve been backing things up and making sure I will not lose anything important. For my birthday a lovely follower got me a new SSD to load a fresh OS onto. But with a system as customized and complex as mine, migrating to a new OS is not a small task.  

Plus, I am planning a bit of computer surgery. I want to take my computer guts out and put them in a new case. Six months ago I bought something with better airflow and 5 Noctua case fans. I was hoping to have done this by now, but CFS makes projects take foreeevvvver. I think if I can lower my overall system temps it might also add a little stability to my computering tasks. My current case is just way too big and heavy and hard to work with. The hard drive caddies don’t work right and several of the case fans rattle. I think they tried to put too many features in one case and didn’t focus on making it reliable. They also prioritized aesthetics over airflow. So I got something much simpler and... breezier.

But more than anything I need to move to a new Windows install. I’ve been using this one for so long it’s almost embarrassing. I think my computer probably runs 30-40% slower than it's capable of. It’s just such a pain in the ass starting over and getting things back to how I like them. And again, CFS kills willpower like a mofo.

But I can’t put this off too much longer. Scares like this happen on the regular and my anxiety can't take patching things up like this anymore. They stopped supporting Windows 7 recently and there have already been some weird buggy consequences. Especially with Adobe stuff. There are also features that I would benefit from that aren’t available on Windows 7. After using my parent’s computer and our family laptop with Windows 10, I am confident 10 is a relatively stable OS now. I know some may disagree, but I’ve found if you extract some of the bloat and keep an eye on updates and other things, it is actually superior to Windows 7. Faster too. It can't be any buggier than the hot mess I'm using now.  

I just really wish I had more energy to do all this. This is such a massive project and my whole life is basically run on this computer. I can’t screw it up. It’s a lot of pressure to get it right and do it in a timely manner so I’m not without a computer for a week. I was going to ask a friend to assist me, but I can’t risk it with the pandemic and my dad.

Goddamn 2020 always gets ya.