#so the endings always seem to end up rushed or nonexistent

[rainydayathogwarts]

The rabbit hole - Remus Lupin

remus lupin has a way with all the ladies, even the popular girls wc: 1.3k

Despite not being the most sought after marauder, Remus Lupin got more than enough attention from the ladies. Every knew it, especially you, who lived around girls always gushing about their newest crush. You have to admit, his name did come up a few times. But did it even matter? The term 'popular' wasn't one you’d use to describe yourself because you didn’t believe in putting people up on pedestals, including yourself. However, you couldn’t help it if those words were thrown at you by other people. You weren’t mad at it; getting attention from boys and being admired by younger girls was fulfilling and validating, and meant you never had trouble finding dates when you got bored. 

Unfortunately, it seemed you had fallen into the same rabbit hole many other girls surrounding you fell into - the rabbit hole called 'wanting the one man who wasn't interested'. You don’t know when this fascination over him started, but you assumed it had to do with the fact that he didn’t pay any attention to you. It was refreshing, but frustrating. Guys always gave you what you wanted, or made the first move. Remus, on the other hand, had only ever spoken to you in class when you’d be paired up, and he’d never made a pass at you, unlike the two friends at his right and left side who had both previously flirted with you at parties in an attempt to getting on your roster. You had laughed and thrown a snarky comment at them before amusedly walking away. But Remus Lupin and his stupid chestnut hair had caught your eye, and when you wanted something, you didn’t stop until you got it.

Remus had noticed this new attention from you in potions class - a simple doe eyed look from you when you’d asked him to get pearl dust for your potion had him doing a double take, making sure he hadn’t imagined your signature move. He’d heard boys talking, and he had to admit, even he was intrigued by you. “Mate she just gave me those eyes...” was a popular start to a sentence when he heard boys exchange stories, but now that he’d laid his eyes on them himself, he knew he was in for it.

On the way back to his dorm, he wondered if that was you making a first move, or just a subtle ask for him to make a move. He decided that he'd wait and see, make sure he hadn't been mistaken and make a fool of himself by throwing himself into something nonexistent. The more he waited, the harder it was to hold himself back. Of course, Remus prided himself on being respectful to all women and being quiet, which is what drew many of the ladies in. This meant that he tried incredibly hard to hold back the flirtatious comments and sly responses during lessons. You knew the game he was playing, because you often took the route of playing hard to get.

"You're being delusional" Sirius finally told him, James nodding from his spot beside him on Peter's bed. "Like, good for you man if there is anything there, but there isn't." James said teasingly. "No- I swear! She's flirting with me! She's flirting and I'm enjoying it! She's flirting and now I like her, and now I'm like every other guy at Hogwarts." Sirius and James exchanged a look. "Well you're not like every other guy if you actually end up with her. How many guys have you heard of who actually became her boyfriend?" He thought long and hard, and when he looked back at the other two, knew they shared the same number. "None."

The map showed that you were alone by the black lake. If he wanted to catch you in time, he'd have to hurry along. He stole a book off his bed before rushing off, haphazardly throwing his jumper somewhere into the dorm. He slowed down his pace once he made it past the main entrance, catching his breath as he began walking in your general directly. Remus didn't want to seem to obvious, so he marked the page he had left his book from with his index finger dipping between the pages. His breath hitched when he got closer to you, realising you were just in shorts and a bikini top, enjoying the spring sun, a boombox next to you playing some music.

"Any chance I could sit in the shade under that tree without looking like a total creep?" He asks, gesturing to the tree merely a couple of meters from you. Your eyes flutter open, a hand coming to your face to protect your eyes from the sun. "Mhmm, I don't think there is. But that's okay, I'm used to being admired." Remus scoffs, sitting down with his back against the tree, and opens up his book. From the corner of his eyes, he sees your body turning in his general direction, as though surprised that he's not giving you any attention. If that was the case, his mission was already succeeding. He feels the hesitation from you, glancing up at you to see you open and close your mouth, speechless. You turn onto your back once more, closing your eyes with a sigh.

You both sit there in comfortable silence, but Remus hasn't turned a single page of his book and despite you having your eyes closed, the only thing you can think of is how close he is to you. Suddenly, you sit up, turning to take a long sip of the water bottle next to you. Remus has to pretend he wasn't looking at you, but when you address him by his first name, his head immediately snaps up to meet your gaze. "Yes?" "Want to go in for a swim?" Well he wasn't expecting that. You grin when he begins to stutter; you'd finally caught him off guard for the first time since you'd started flirting with him three weeks ago. "Well, I'm- I'm not in my swimmers." You cock your head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is that a problem?"

Yes, Remus wants to say. Yes, because I have scars and I'm insecure, and I don't want you to see me like that. But he doesn't say any of those things. Instead, he stands, and you follow his movements promptly. You wait for him to take at least his shirt off, but he only loosens his tie, pulling it over his head before stalking towards you predatorily. You try to take a step away from him when the proximity becomes too intimidating for you, but one of his hands snakes around your waist and your breath is hitching and he's leaning his head down close to your ear and you only hear "Hold your breath" before you're being whisked into his arms and your feet are leaving the ground.

You're suddenly gasping for air, breaking through the surface of the water, but you immediately spot Remus's grinning face, shaking his hair away from his eyes and you can't be mad. Like physically, it is impossible for you, even if your denim shorts are now all wet and you almost died. But you're swimming towards him and holding onto him with your legs wrapping around his waist and somehow you're leaning into him and pressing your lips against his. The position is weird: Remus can probably reach the ground, his hands supporting your denim-clad hips whilst your hands grip onto his wet uniform, but in some odd way, it's perfect.

The second you pull away, Remus's eyes are widening and he's muttering "Oh, no." Confused, you turn to see what he's looking at, only to spot a quickly approaching figure called the insolent Filch, already yelling about "Jumping in with Uniform!" and "Get them Mrs. Norris!"

#harry potter #hogwarts #rainydayathogwarts #gryffindor #remus imagine #remus x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus smut #remus lupin smut #remus lupin #remus lupin fluff #remus lupin x you #remus lupin x reader #remus x you #remus lupin fanfiction #remus lupin x y/n #hp marauders #marauders era #the maraunders map #marauders smut #the marauders #marauders #sirius being sirius #sirius #james potter

[alwritey-aphrodite]

An arranged marriage au sick fic inspired by the lovely and talented @beybaldes (as always)

After you didn’t show up at the academy for a whole day, Sejanus was a little worried. When you didn’t show up for the rest of the week, he was downright terrified. None of your other peers seemed to share the same anxiety, waving away your absence as if it was a regular occurrence, as if you haven’t had perfect attendance for your entire life up until this point.

At the end of the week, instead of walking straight back to his house after classes were finished, Sejanus turned in the opposite direction and headed towards your estate, far too restless to wait and see if anyone knew if you were ok. At any rate, he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep if he didn’t see you with his own eyes, having spent the last few nights tossing and turning and getting less and less sleep the longer you were gone.

Knocking on your front door, Sejanus was a ball of nerves, suddenly worried he’s overstepping or intruding, but before he can turn and run, your mother is opening the door. He doesn’t even need to ask before she’s settling her face into a gentle sort of smile, the way someone would look at an injured child or an orphaned puppy.

“She’s up in her room, if you’d like to see her,” your mother steps back to give him room to enter the house, “she’s been sicker than ever but seems to be on the mend, so I’d still recommend keeping a bit of distance.” She winks like she knows Sejanus will do the opposite of following her advice, and it takes all of his willpower not to sprint up the stairs to reach your room.

He knocks before he enters, more gentle than downstairs, but he doesn’t wait for your answer before creeping inside. It’s dark, the window shades cracked slightly to let in a little sunlight, and the air is heavy and a little stale. Still, Sejanus has never been happy to enter a room in his entire life.

“Come to visit me on my deathbed,” you croak out, doing your best to prop yourself up onto the mountain of pillows taking up a majority of your bed.

“I was worried,” he tells you, still feeling worried at the sickly sight of you. If this is you looking and feeling better, Sejanus’s heart aches to wonder how you were doing before. He hesitates only slightly before sitting on the edge of the bed next to you, waiting for a scolding from you that never comes.

Using the back of his hand, he presses against your forehead, feeling the tacky warmth and nodding to himself. Your fever is all but nonexistent at this point, but the stuffiness of your room definitely isn’t helping you recover.

“Do you mind if I crack the window?” He asks, poised to move but willing to stay if that’s what you want. When you nod, turning your head away from him as you clear your throat, he rushes over to open the windows as quickly as he can, making sure to open the curtains as well, knowing you’ve been laying in the dark for the past few days.

When he sits back down, he can’t help but trace the curve of your jaw with his fingertips, needing to touch you after so long apart, needing to remind himself that you’re alright after being consumed with worry all week long. He knows it’s really none of his business, but he wishes you would have told him, would have let him come over and take care of you. He wouldn’t mind getting sick, not if it meant spending time with you.

“Has everything fallen to shambles in my absence?” You ask, a teasing tilt to your voice that makes Sejanus’s heart flutter. Your skin is shiny with sweat and still a slightly sickly color, but he could still swear he’s never seen anyone as beautiful as you. He catches you up on everything that happened at the academy while you were gone, omitting the complete lack of concern from your peers at your week long absence.

“Your hair is getting longer,” you reach out to gently tug on one of the curls by his neck, completely unprompted, once he’s finished with his recap of the week, “it looks nice.” It makes him feel a little sick, the fact that you might look at him, admire him, the same way he does to you. You let your hand trail down his neck and the slope of his shoulder, tracing the length of his arm until you can intertwine your fingers together. He’s lucky that it’s still a little dark in your room, so you can’t see the fact that he’s starting to look a little feverish from all your attention.

“I’m sorry if I get you sick,” you tell him, making no move to drop his hand. The both of you know that your illness has run its course and that just holding his hand won’t transfer it to him, but it seems like the right thing to say, even though he went out of his way to see you, knowing that he very well could get sick.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he tells you as sincerely as possible, squeezing your hand like it’s your own secret language, a way to say things you can’t possibly put into words, “it would be worth it.”

#sejanus plinth #sejanus plinth x reader #sejanus plinth x you #sejanus plinth fanfiction #sejanus x reader #sejanus x you #the ballad of songbirds and snakes fanfiction #the ballad of songbirds and snakes

[aphrodisiac-siren]

Home~ Neteyam x Metkayina!reader

Summary: Leaving behind everything he knew was hard for Neteyam and then adapting to the ways of the new clan was even harder. He'd push himself, overwork and exhaust himself even, to live upto his family's expectations; never really giving his own wants a second thought. That's why Y/N was the prefect companion for him, someone who kept things in his life balanced, who made sure to let him know that what he wanted was just as important, perhaps even more so, than what everyone else wanted of him.

//slow burn, angst, Lo'ak growing a braincell? And did I mention angst??// tìyawn-Love

masterlist

Part 7

🫧

[Flashback]

Pacing.

That was one thing he could remember distinctly from that day.

Pacing.

That's all he did outside the tent in which Y/N was, still very much injured and on the cusp of life and death.

While Norm and a few others were doing whatever they could to keep her from dying, all Neteyam seemed capable of doing in that moment was worrying.

His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, his heart pounding louder than the sound of an ikran's screech. He knew he was absolutely of no help but he refused to leave, not wanting to be anywhere but near her.

He had yet to tell her about what he felt, even if he himself hadn’t fully understood it himself. His constant need to see her every day, his desperation for her attention, how he craved fleeting touches. How an endearment as simple as 'pretty boy' started this whole whirlwind of foreign emotions.

He couldn’t bare the possibility of all of that coming to an abrupt halt, all if it being ripped away from him.

Y/N being ripped away from him.

He'd grown so accustomed to living alongside her that he could barely imagine a future without her in it.

It wasn’t fair.

Someone who was nothing less than kind, a little feisty and a whole lot of emphatic being given death after everything she’d done for his family, was just cruel.

Neteyam always trusted Ewya's judgement but in that moment, for the very first time, he abhorred her.

For Y/N to be snatched away like this was just. not. fair.

Amidst his loathing, he even pleaded to take him instead of her. Because according to him, the world would still be the same regardless if he was in it or not but take Y/N away and everything loses its light.

And while he awaited impatiently and helplessly, all he could irritatingly,

Was more pacing.

[End of flashback]

This was probably the first time Lo'ak witnessed Y/N in a rush to just get her lesson over with. In all his time knowing her, not once did the star pupil, soon-to-be Metkayina warrior, Neteyam's-personality-clone ever seem to end her training as soon as possible. Maybe his influence was finally rubbing off on her.

"Are you sick?" he smirked at the girl, looking at her amusingly as she impatiently tapped her foot.

"I'm already great at archery" she groaned, ditching her bow as she sat down upon the warm sand "way better than you in fact, I think that’s reason enough to call it quits for today"

"Okay, first of all" Lo'ak joined her, ditching hiw own bow and arrow. He wasn’t going to complain about ending a lesson early, if anything he was tempted to give her a hug for it "ouch. Second, did I ever tell you you’re my favourite person in the whole world? We should partner up for lessons more"

"Yes, you absolutely adore me. What’s new?" Y/N replied promptly with a smirk earning an eye roll and a playful shove from the boy next to her.

She fiddled with her fingers a bit, chewing on her lip as she contemplated whether or not she should just ask him about something that was gnawing her mind for days now. Her attention span had become almost nonexistent with that one particular instance chewing away at her sanity.

"Can I ask you something?" She looked up at him and he immediately nodded a 'yes' before he lied down on his back, arms behind his head "Neteyam and I had another argume-"

"Jeez Y/N" Lo'ak let out an exaggerated groan, looking at her like he was about to drop dead from boredom "for a minute I expected you to tell me something interesting and, I dunno, new?"

"Don’t be an asshole" She shot him a glare, contemplating throwing sand at him but out of the good of her heart, refrained from doing so "we fought and he said something but I don’t know what it meant"

"Ah so you need me to be your trustee translator" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, an undertone of mischief lacing his words. He pretended to be in deep thought while tapping his finger against his lips "what am I getting for all of these years' worth of english dialect translation, hm?"

"I don’t throw a spear at your butt anytime you say something stupid"

"I am thy humble servant" Lo'ak blew a kiss at her that had her roll her eyes at his antics. She'd grown accustomed to it over time but still, it never failed to amuse her "ask away my princess"

"Drop the theatrics" she said in a monotonous voice that had him chuckling at her reaction "so like I said, Neteyam swore at me in your stupid sky people language and then refused to tell me what it meant. Something m..ma.. lovh? I guess. Now I know it’s gotta be real mean if he..."

Despite her heavy accent and poor pronunciation, Lo'ak understood what she meant to say perfectly. He shot up instantly with a crazed look, like a fish being yanked out of water.

"He- what" His eyes widened and a grin etched its way to his face.

"I knew that it!" Y/N immediately shot back, pointing toward him as if her doubts had been confirmed at last "it was a really bad word"

"That bitch" Lo'ak ignored her, too thrilled at this newfound piece of information that seemed to make him very happy for some reason "he's flirting now huh? I knew that the idiot had some stupid reason for avoiding you, that blue lizard can’t talk to girls! Ohh wait till I-"

"Whoa, okay let’s back up" Y/N snapped him out of his deluded trance and brought him back to pandora "can you elaborate how you connected him swearing at me to flirting?"

"He didn’t swear, ma Y/N" he changed his tone, now talking to her like how his dad spoke to him when he tried to sound intelligent "he called you 'love', his love, to be more precise. Which is something you say to a person you are absolutely fond of. Ya know, like his tìyawn"

"You are seeing things that aren’t there" Y/N was tempted to throw a fistful of sand at him. Maybe even a small rock, just a tiny one "that's just some cute shit friends say to each other"

The idea that Neteyam could be infatuated with her seemed absolutely absurd. She could imagine an ilu speaking fluent Na'vi but Neteyam having a crush on her? Impossible. Not after he distanced himself from her more and more after each year.

"Look, I know my brother. He has never been a guy to do anything remotely close to cute.. like, okay forget that stupid endearment, but the never ending bickering? The whole looking-away-after-eye-contact on loop? You both constantly rambling about how annoying the other one is?" Lo'ak was tired of it and he was going to let it out. He tried with Neteyam and now he was going to rant about it to her as well "you both want to be around each other but don’t know how to do it anymore so you settle for getting into senseless fights. And when you’re not around each other all you both can do is talk about the other person"

All Y/N did in response was scoff.

There was no way she was going to let Lo'ak convince her that her animosity toward his brother came from a place of love and longing. No, it came from pure hatred and annoyance.

She was his close friend all along and then after the battle, she was nothing more than a pest. It was almost as if her presence was repulsive to Neteyam.

It confused her. Why did he all of a sudden, not want her.

Perhaps the whole incident of her getting shot was what pushed him away. While the rest of his family showered her with attention whilst she was healing and pampered her until they were sure she was sick of it, Neteyam made it almost a rule to never come in contact with her. Did the idea of having to tend to and look after her drive him away? Was that sort of responsibility too much for him?

If he'd decided that she wasn’t worth going through the trouble of looking after her, after she quite literally took a bullet for him then there was no use in trying to be friends again.

While Y/N was in deep thought, thinking of all the ways she could lure Neteyam into the mouth of an akula, Lo'ak was busy mumbling to himself about how he was going to tease and harass Neteyam about his unofficial crush on Y/N.

Maybe I should feed them both to an akula, Y/N made a mental note, Yea, both sounds good.

~

"You’ve finally lost it"

Neteyam was convinced he'd died and reached one of those seven somethings of hell his father once told them about. An odd story, purely fictional he thought; up until now.

His younger brother had been dancing around him in their pod, going on and on about how he knew about his crush on Y/N. Lo'ak at one point began to enact a make-believe scenario for him, using his hands as puppets.

"yo bro, check it out" he said in between his boyish giggling, ignoring his brother groaning in annoyance. He deepened his voice, trying his best to mimic his older brother, putting on a horrible accent.

"Hey bebe~ I don’t know how to act around you Y/N because I'm so in love with you so now I'll just start irritating you just so you engage in conversation with me" he then looked at his other hand-puppet which was supposed to represent Y/N, making his voice high pitched to mimic her's "ugh, I'm in love with you too Neteyam and I will also irritate you for your attention because all my sensibility leaves when I'm around you"

Lo'ak then proceeded to make some weird smooching noises while making his hand puppets kiss.

"Ay, stop that" Neteyam whacked the back of his neck, his other hand slapping Lo'ak's wrists when he refused to cease his dramatics "were you dropped as a baby? I do not have a crush on her"

"Liar" Lo'ak grinned "you have never, in your entire life called a girl anything besides her name. It would take a miracle for you to even address her by her nickname, much less call her something like my love"

"It just slipped out, jeez let it go" he sighed, too tired to offer any more of an explanation.

"Why won’t you just admit it?" Lo'ak was stubborn and wouldn’t drop this topic until he got a satisfactory answer "Why are you acting like liking her is the worst thing in the world? Why are you trying so hard to cover it up? Why is-"

"For fucks sake Lo'ak-" Neteyam was losing both his patience and his temper. His brother had no right to prod and question him about any of this.

"No, tell me-"

"Because I hated the way she made me feel"

Lo'ak went silent. He did not expect for his older brother to yell at him, much less give him the most vague and unhelpful response to his question but he decided not to poke for answer in that moment; he did not want to trigger any more outbursts.

Still hot headed, Neteyam left their pod. He needed to get away from Lo'ak and his prying inquisition. He owed him no explanation whatsoever for how he handled his relation with Y/N. Lo'ak had no idea about how he felt and what drove him to push her away but Neteyam knew that he did it for everyone's good.

He needed to cool off, he needed air.

Lo'ak and his teasing made his house suffocating and all he wanted was to be alone for a while lest he explode and let his anger out on another family member.

Calm down Neteyam, he scolded himself, if you can’t keep yourself together, you cant keep this family together.

It was like he wasn’t allowed the basic right to feeling. Be it anger or sadness, he denied himself to feel anything. He needed to be calm, composed and always smiling. If he allowed himself to succumb to such emotions it only went to show that he was weak.

His heart was already hammering in his chest from all that frustration but when his eyes met her's, it felt as though his heart would jump right through his ribcage.

Y/N stood a few feet away from him, momentarily freezing in her tracks and Neteyam did what he always did when he ran into her by himself:

Turn and go the other way.

This time though, plagued with indignation, he proceeded to scoff before he turned his back on her, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Y/N.

Y/N's jaw was agape. He had some nerve to run into her, proceed to very obviously turn away from her and then scoff at her, unprovoked.

"Okay, I've had enough of you" she snapped, walking faster to catch up with the older boy who had no intention of stopping until he was far away from her "what exactly is your problem?"

Neteyam ignored her, picking up pace in a desperate attempt to be rid of her.

Y/N, as he knew, wasn’t one to back down and much to his dismay she followed him all the way to the beach. Despite his silence, she continued to babble, taunting him with ever passing second until he lost it with her too.

"Fuck! What is wrong with everyone today?" he snapped, finally turning to look at her. Just as he suspected, she was taken aback by his tone.

"You don’t get to act like an ass and then talk to me like that" her voice despite showing no lack of rage, failed to fully mask the pain she was feeling. Overcome with a wave of emotions that she'd suppressed for all these years, she allowed herself to just blurt all of it out "you one day wake up and decide you’re too good for me? Running away from me like some immature child.. why'd you initially act like you cared if you didn’t to begin with-"

"Oh great mother, I've had it! With Lo'ak and now you" Neteyam never allowed himself to act whilst hot-headed but he had reached his limit of tolerance for the day "how dare you say that I never cared about you. You have no idea-"

"Cut the bullshit Neteyam. If anything, I was the only one who cared between us" Y/N was merely annoyed at him but now she was outright furious. This boy really had the guts to argue that he cared about her despite his contradicting behaviour that he'd been exhibiting for the past six years "is this how you show people you care? By walking out of their lives?

"Do you know what I went through during those two days when you were recovering? When you were unconscious and Norm had the fucking balls to tell me to say my goodbyes because there was a high chance you wouldn’t make it, instead of going back in there and doing something to prevent that from happening?" Neteyam's chest rose and fell rapidly as he continued, his breaths slowly coming out in pants from all that yelling but he needed her to hear it once and for all. He could endure the name-calling and the verbal altercations but an accusation that stated he never cared about her? That was where he drew the line.

"For a moment I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and then I actually stopped for a few seconds, driving myself into a full blown panic attack. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, not then and not ever" He appreciated her silence as he continued, her expression slowly softening "I-I grew so attached to you that I needed you more than air. And as scary as that was, the heightened dependency on you and how strongly I felt for you, there was something else that was even scarier"

Neteyam dared to look into her eyes, something he avoided for years now. They glowed in the light of eclipse, those flecks of lilac even more prominent during this hour.

"I didn’t really know it at the time, how deep my feelings were but I knew that I had fallen for you. While I waited outside that tent in which you were, machines and wires all around you, I couldn’t eat or sleep or even think about anything that didn’t lead back to you and it terrified me, caring for something so much it..it.." He tore his gaze away from her, now feeling very small in her presence after being so vulnerable with her "but what terrified me even more was, you being in there because of me. You cared about me to a point where you took a bullet for me, to a point where you put your own life on the line. And so I..I.."

"What are you saying?" Y/N softly asked, eyes looking up at Neteyam who shied away under her gaze.

"I protect, that’s all I know and when I couldn’t protect you, someone I loved so so much it just felt like a stab to the heart" he could practically feel her gaze burning into him but he still couldn’t look at her, not just yet "you sacrificing yourself.. I didn’t know what I would do if lost you. When Tuk ran out, screaming that you'd woken up I felt like I could at last breath but then there was a thought looming over my head: What if something like this happened again? I didn’t want you putting yourself in harms way because of me. I needed you not to care about me, so that you wouldn’t put yourself in the same situation. That’s why I did what I did; I cut myself off, It’s my way of protecting you"

Y/N blinked, not a single word leaving her lips.

A few seconds of silence passed by but to Neteyam it felt like hours and the silence was getting unbearable.

"Say something" he pleaded, finally turning to look at he. He was half expecting her to be teary-eyed, maybe a smile or something on her face after he said all of that but to his surprise she stood there with her brows scrunched in confusion.

"You don’t get to decide that all of that shit you did was out of protectiveness" she snapped, finger jabbing at Neteyam's chest.

"Huh?" The boy shook his head and blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Was this really her reaction? "Did you hear anything of what I just said?"

"You don't get to decide what’s right for me and just shun me away." she continued to jab, her piercing gaze never wavering "You took everything we had and just threw it away because you thought that that would protect me? That your sudden closed off nature would keep me from ever running to your aid if you found yourself in trouble? Do you hear how stupid you sound?"

"I did it for you!" Neteyam grabbed her wrist, the jabbing getting a little too annoying for him to tolerate.

"I didn’t ask for it.. I didn’t want it!" Y/N tried to shove him with her other hand but Neteyam easily caught it, now holding on to both her wrists to keep her from anymore attacks "If I run in between you and a gunman that is my choice, I did it then and I'd do it again if i have to. I didn’t need you to do any of this"

"But-"

"I liked what we had, I liked you but you ruined everything" Y/N's voice faltered for the first time in the presence of someone other than her own family. She knew she was about to cry, that was something she couldn’t hold back any more. She'd done so for six years but still, she didn’t want him seeing her crumble like this. She rested her forehead against his chest to keep her face out of his view, sniffling as she tried her best to keep her voice steady "for once Neteyam, stop thinking so much about what might be good for someone else and start doing what is good for you"

He placed her hands on his torso before he let go of her wrists. Suddenly he was a boy again, the same one who yearned for those innocent touches from Y/N. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, holding her awkwardly since he wasn’t sure how she'd react to being hugged.

"Did you want all of this?" She backed up slightly to look at him which caused his hands to drop around her waist. Her eyes were brimmed with tears that streamed down her cheeks when she blinked. Neteyam brought one hand up to wipe away the tears, heart shattering at the fact that he was the reason behind them. She didn’t resist his touch but she did repeat herself, emphasising on a particular word "did you want all of this?"

Of course he didn’t. Neteyam dreaded the idea of seeing her but not being able to touch her. Hearing her laugh and knowing he was no longer the cause of it. Accidentally looking into her eyes and then forcing himself to look away to avoid his feelings from growing. To then someday watch her slip away from completely, to watch her mate with someone who wasn’t him.

Did you want all of this?

"No"

#avatar #avatarimagine #avatar way of water #neteyam x reader #writing #fanfiction #neteyam imagine #avatar imagine #avatar fanfiction #lo'ak imagine #lo'ak x reader #lo'ak fanfiction #neteyam fanfiction #jamie flatters

[yujo-nishimura]

Impel Down Chaos - Head Canon - Part 4

@lostfirefly and anybody else who wants to be tagged for the next parts, just let me know.

Warning: Buggy x fem reader, SFW and a lot of goof, English is not my native language - This short story will end after part 5. :) Depending on what the readers want I could end it with a NSFW and a SFW version... Comments appreciated, all your approvals keep me motivated to write more. <3

"Your brother...?" you managed to utter, sitting up cautiously. Your nose still bled slightly, and your heart raced from the intensity of the interrupted moment. You had been so close to finally sharing a kiss with Captain Buggy, only for the intrusion of the straw hat-wearing troublemaker to spoil the romantic atmosphere.

"Yeah, his name is Ace. I'm here to rescue him," Luffy replied, his casual tone contrasting with the gravity of the situation. 

A groan reached your ears, and you turned to see Buggy slowly regaining consciousness, sitting up with a bewildered expression. 

"Oh, it's just Buggy. Sorry, I didn't see you there," Luffy repeated himself, but his words lacked genuine remorse. He smiled and waved at your captain. 

“Damned straw hat, did you take out the Blugoris and us at the same time?”, Buggy moaned and slowly stood up.

"Are you alright, Captain?" you asked, disregarding your own discomfort as you rushed to Buggy's side, hoping he would lean on you for support. However, to your disappointment, he seemed perfectly fine, standing without any visible injuries. In an attempt to gain his attention, you started moaning about your own wounds and pain, hoping he would show concern.

"Did they also imprison you here, Straw Hat?" Buggy asked, knocking off some dust from his shirt. 

"No, I broke in to find Ace!" Luffy responded enthusiastically, his determination evident in his voice.

"Ace, yes. He's in Level 5. A remarkable fellow, unlike you, Straw Hat. He possesses manners, and we even became drinking buddies!" Buggy remarked, reminiscing about his encounters with Ace.

Your attempts to gain Buggy's attention by hopping around and exaggerating your nonexistent pain went unnoticed. Frustrated, you eventually gave up, sitting down on a nearby stone and pouting like a disgruntled toddler.

"Will you show me the way to Level 5?" Luffy inquired, scratching his head in confusion. Your gaze shifted upwards, hoping that Captain Buggy would decline the request and prioritize your own escape from the predicament.

"No, I'm not your friend, you reckless youngster! You can go on your own, or perhaps Y/n here would be willing to assist you? She's skilled in combat if the need arises..." Buggy responded, his tone dismissive as he subtly shifted the responsibility onto you.

"No, Captain!" you protested, shocked by his offer to so easily let you go. "I am a loyal Buggy pirate, and I will always stay by your side!"

"Well, it seems we can't be of help to you, Straw Hat!" Buggy chuckled, his laughter filled with a touch of amusement. He turned around to assess the situation and search for an exit, leaving Luffy to navigate the challenges of Level 5 on his own.

“No problem, see you all later then!” Luffy laughed and waved at the both of you before he jumped off from a bridge in the hallway to a lower level. 

"Now, how do we get out?" Buggy muttered in frustration, his gaze shifting back and forth as he turned around for the third time. The leftovers of the explosion had created a blockade of stones and debris, sealing off any possibility of retracing your steps. It became evident that the only possible option was to forge ahead.

"Let's see if this path leads somewhere!" you declared, taking a confident step forward and gesturing towards the hallway. Surprisingly, you encountered no obstacles along the way, no more guards, no more gorilla-like beasts. 

Finally, you arrived at a massive gate, resembling an entrance to an elevator. Mixed emotions welled up within you. On one hand, you cursed the straw hat-wearing troublemaker for interrupting your long-awaited moment of connection with Captain Buggy. But on the other hand, you couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards him. His intervention had dispatched the guards and Blugoris, making your escape considerably easier.

"With this elevator, we can reach the first floor and make our escape!" Buggy exclaimed, his laughter filled with anticipation. To your surprise, the gate leading to the elevator was unlocked, and the iron bars in front of it stood open. It all seemed too easy, cautionary alarms ringing in your mind. However, Buggy, driven by his impulsive nature, had already rushed ahead, stepping onto the stone floor of the elevator in search of any controls to activate it.

Hesitant you followed him into the stone construction. As you entered, you noticed that the stone gate swiftly closed behind you, sealing you both inside the confines of the unmoving elevator. Panic started to creep in, but Buggy had already found a button and pressed it, hoping it would trigger some sort of response. Unfortunately, the only thing that happened was that the iron bars descended, trapping you both within the inoperable elevator.

Both of you stood in complete silence, the weight of the situation sinking in. "It's a trap, my captain..." you mumbled, feeling as though you were caught in a clichéd movie scene.

"I can see that now...!" Buggy responded, surprisingly calm given the dire circumstances you both found yourselves in. 

"They must have caught wind of our escape attempt and seized the opportunity to lock us in here. What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to wait and see what unfolds. Only then can we plan our next course of action," he replied, his voice tinged with a sense of resolve.

Sighing with uncertainty, you took a seat, resigned to the fact that the waiting game might be a long one. Buggy, in another futile attempt, pressed the same button again, hoping for a response. However, the only sounds that echoed through the enclosed space were silence and the imposing presence of the stone walls that trapped you both.

Your gaze involuntarily followed Buggy, observing his strong arms, flowing blue hair, and striking facial features. Locked inside this confined space, unsure of what the future held, you decided to make a decision. Rising to your feet, you approached Buggy, your heart brimming with resolve.

"Captain Buggy?" you called out, seeking his attention. He turned towards you absentmindedly, still grappling with escape plans. "May I speak candidly, Captain?"

"Permission granted. We need all the help we can get at this moment," Buggy responded.

"Given the uncertainty of our situation, and the possibility that we may not make it out of here or survive to see another day, I would like to request your permission to grant me a wish, Captain Buggy," you spoke earnestly, your voice filled with a mixture of vulnerability and determination.

"A wish?" Buggy turned towards you, genuinely intrigued by your words, his curiosity piqued.

With a surge of courage, you blurted out your request, your words tumbling out quickly before you could lose your nerve. "I would like to kiss you, Captain!"

As the words left your lips, a moment of tension filled the confined space. Time seemed to slow down, and you held your breath, awaiting Buggy's reaction. His eyes widened in surprise, mirroring the shock that resonated within you. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Buggy broke the stillness. His voice, tinged with a mixture of surprise and amusement, resonated through the confined space. "Well, well, well... Y/n, you certainly know how to make unexpected requests in the most precarious of moments."

He took a step closer, closing the distance between you, his presence enveloping you. A small smile played at the corner of his lips, his eyes twinkling with a newfound appreciation for your audacity. It was evident that he admired your courage and your boldness. You just realized that you had done the exact right thing - asked for his approval, but also showed him that you loved him. The air crackled with anticipation as he reached up to gently cup your cheek, his touch both tender and electric. With a mixture of courage and vulnerability, you leaned in, closing the remaining gap between your lips, and shared a passionate, fleeting kiss. For a brief moment, the world outside the confines of the locked elevator ceased to exist.

As your lips parted from the kiss, a surge of joy and exhilaration coursed through your veins. You couldn't help but smile, your heart brimming with happiness and a newfound sense of hope. Yeah - you could basically rot to death now in here, you really wouldn’t mind. 

However, as you glanced at Buggy, you couldn't ignore the flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

"I... I enjoyed that, Y/n," Buggy admitted "But I must say, I find myself grappling with my own emotions. This situation, our circumstances... on top of that I am your captain... What are we doing in here?”

His eyes searched for yours, a mix of longing and apprehension in their depths. You knew him well enough at this point that he enjoyed being loved and admired. However, struggling to express emotions himself, he probably didn't know how to deal with you and all your unconditional love. 

"Captain Buggy," you spoke softly, your voice filled with tenderness and unwavering conviction. "I understand that this is a challenging and uncertain time for both of us. But sometimes, it's in the midst of chaos that we discover the most profound connections. Also you tasted really great. Can I have another one?"

Buggy laughed, relieved that you relaxed the tension with humor. 

"I think I finally understand now why you were so eager to become a Buggy pirate, Y/n," Your captain chuckled. "Your loyalty and admiration mean a great deal to me. However, let's keep this between ourselves for now. I don't want anyone else to know...!"

In a gesture of reassurance, Buggy gently touched your cheek, sending a shiver of excitement through your body. You both laughed to shake off the embarrassment.

"You have my word, Captain," you promised, meeting his gaze with adoration. Little did either of you know that two surveillance transponder snails inside the elevator had live-streamed your intimate moment to all the wardens in Impel Down, leaving your secret exposed to the world…

#one piece #buggytheclown #one piece buggy #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #long fanfic #long reads #impel down #impel down buggy #impel down arc

[kken-kenn]

# ⎯ 〚 ❝ 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 ❞ 〛

𝐫𝐞𝐪. 𝗒𝖾𝗌

𝐭𝐰. 𝗇𝗈𝗇𝖾

𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜. 𝗀𝗇!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

𝐰𝐜. 𝟩𝟩𝟢

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦. 𝗍𝗈 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝖺 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗍, 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗒 𝖺𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗄.

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞. 𝗂𝗌 𝖣𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗈𝖼? 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾𝗅𝗒, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖽𝗈 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖾? 𝗇𝗈, 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗅.

❝𝐈'𝐌 serious Daring! You really gotta cut it down on the staring if you really wanna keep this relationship a secret!” You scolded the blonde, who then looked at you with wide eyes. “I do not have a staring problem!”

He yelled back, pouting like a little boy. “Oh really! Then how come for the last 48 hours I have been bombarded by not only Apple and Ashlynn but Briar too!” Daring looks at you, confused to the point where he squinted his eyes, “What?” He says lowly.

“For the past two days the only words to come of those gossipers mouthes have been teasing, it’s ‘Oh [Name] I think someone has a little crush on you!’ Or ‘Oh [Name] someone seems to like you!’” You groan, raking your nails across your face.

“It’s so annoying! I’m so tired of having to explain that you ‘don’t like me like that’ and we’re ‘just friends’ because we’re obviously not.” Now Daring is just looking at you with an angry expression eyes never leaving yours.

As much as he would want to argue with you, that it wasn’t his fault, or the situation wasn’t as bad as you thought, he knew deep down that he could never win an fight with because of how persistent you were, as well as how you always managed to make points he would never even think of.

“Okay, okay, fine you win!” Daring holds up his hands in mock defense, “I will try and cool it with the staring,” He smiles, to which you follow suit. “Good, now c’mon we still have classes to go to,” You turn to walk but stop when you notice the absence of Daring’s footsteps behind you.

“Well? Are you coming?” You ask, to which Daring just stands there expectedly. “If and when we go back there and I’m basically supposed to pretend your are nonexistent, then can I have just one more kiss?”

He asked, holding up a singular finger. You sigh dramatically, “Ugh, okay, c’mere you big baby,” You extended your arms out, prompting Daring to immediately rush and cup your fave with his hands, “You’re so needy.”

You giggled, while Daring just gazed at you lovingly, “Only for you,” He responded, coming in closer. Your arms are now securely wrapped around his torso while he leans in, slightly brushing his lips against yours.

“[Name]!”

A voice suddenly calls out, and in the shock you aggressively push Daring off of you. “Ah!” He yelps, falling back into the shrub behind him, his body now completely covered by leaves and other foliage. You winced when the sound of something hard thumped against the ground.

“There you are!” Turning you come face to face with a brightly smiling Apple. “Hi Apple, what…what are you, uh doing here?” You questioned nervously, hoping that she didn’t just hear your boyfriend slap into the ground.

“Looking for you!” She smiles, “I was wondering where you were, I wanted to ask if you felt like coming with me and some others to hang out in Book End,” Apple told you, as you silently kept praying in your head that Daring wouldn’t make a peep.

“Yeah! Sure, sure I’ll go, just give me a few to get ready and I’ll hext you okay?” The bubbly girl nodded, before saying goodbye with a quick wave of her hand.

When she’s out of sight you quickly make way to the bush Daring had fallen over in and move aside anything blocking your vision. “Daring! You alright?” Daring looks up at you, his eyes squinted once more but he now glares at you.

“Physically, or emotionally?” He states in a bored voice. You smile sheepishly, “I’m sorry I panicked, I didn’t know what to do!” You try to explain, Daring just stands while dusting his pants off. “You could’ve just told me to hide.”

“Daring either way you probably would’ve just jumped into the bushes anyway,” You know how Daring’s mind works and when he panics, it’s like his entire body goes into some kind of auto pilot, “No!” He tries to deny your claims.

You give him a ‘oh really’ look, “…Yes, yes I would have,” You cross your arms over your chest before walking away towards the building. “Wait where you going?!” You shout back, “To go get ready to hang out with friends!”

“[Name] you never gave me my kiss!” He yells, though it sounds incredibly whiney. “Well then you better wait, because your not getting any for a while!” You smirked, before picking up pace to jog to your dorm building.

“Oh, come on [Name]!”

⎯ 〚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝟤𝟨.𝟣.𝟤𝟥 〛

#ever after high #eah #ever after high x reader #eah x reader #ever after high imagine #eah imagine #ever after high fanfic #eah fanfic #ever after high fic #eah fic #ever after high daring #eah daring #ever after high daring charming #eah daring charming #daring #daring charming #daring x reader #daring charming x reader

[lets-try-some-writing]

hi hi i really enjoy your writings, and always look forward to what you post! i'd like to request a scenario where optimus crashes and is stranded on a random planet and has to revert back to his wild base coding to survive, the local creatures saw this feral cybertronian and decided yea this guy's one of us now.

What an excellent request! Time for some more feral Optimus! It has been far too long since I had the chance to write about him just being a wild little gremlin.

Not According to Plan

It wasn't exactly his plan to get sent spiraling off course on his way back to Cybertron, but then again, Optimus wasn't really expecting to be brought back to life and pitted against the Fallen either. There really wasn't much he could have done when his transport back to Cybertron got intercepted by rouge pirates, forcing him and all others on board to rush toward the escape pods as the ship's engine was damaged, threatening to explode. But considering his luck, he really should have known that something like a stray meteor hitting his pod was a viable possibility.

He was quickly sent hurtling away from Cybertron and toward a rather unassuming planet to the far end of Cybertronian space. All he could do was leave a signal trail and set up his beacon to give others a vague idea of where he had been sent careening off to. It only took him around a day and a half to crash land onto the surface of the planet. And another half a day to climb out of the wreckage, drag his beacon out into the open, and get a good look around.

It rapidly became obvious to Optimus that the world he had landed on was once a colony world from Cybertron's golden age. He could see the remnants of old Cybertronian inspired structures, abandoned mines, and of course after accidentally stepping on it... he could see the sad remains of a bot long dead, once infected by the rust plague. Upon learning this, it dawned on Optimus just how slagged his situation was. Even with a beacon and a signal trail leading directly to his location, next to no ship would dare come anywhere near. Planets like the one he had landed on had long since been written of as dead, quarantined, an unsuitable for habitation by most technologically advanced species. Unless a bot had a death wish, they wouldn't bother coming to his location, even if he was the Prime. At most they would sent a drone to pick up the Matrix from his corpse after his life signal puttered out.

While there was still a solid chance that one of his former team would take the risk anyway and come pick him up, Optimus could predict that even in that instance, help would still be a long way off. And so settling in for the long haul, Optimus got to work.

The first thing he did was shut off all nonessential systems. Everything from his high maintenance battle protocols to his extra sensors were shut off, leaving only his base systems in operation. His initial observations pointed to some energon being present, but with his huge frame, operating at optimal levels at all times was an excellent way to die of starvation. And so after shutting off his nonessential systems, Optimus went about tearing his pod apart, using what he could to construct a simple base. The end result was a small hovel, only just big enough for him to hide away from the elements in. It felt more like a cave than anything else, but Optimus made do, he had lived in worse conditions.

Once shelter was taken care of, Optimus spent the next several days running off his reserves, scouting for sources of energon and potential threats. He found a few energon deposits, but they were small, and likely would do nothing to keep Optimus alive with his bulky build. Thankfully threats for a mech of his size seemed to be near nonexistent, at least animal wise. But still he did not stray far from his shelter, worried that something would come and attack him, breaking the suffocating silence of the seemingly dead world. The territorial hazards were not nearly as bad as Cybertron, merely irritating. Huge dust storms and acid rain regularly scoured the landscape, often leading Optimus to sit it out wherever he could but ultimately being more of a pain than an actual threat to a warmachine like Optimus.

Time passed quickly on the near silent world filled with the corpses of the dead. The nearby energon deposits were exhausted within weeks, leading Optimus to abandon his shelter and instead take up a more nomadic lifestyle. His frame and his mentality also swiftly shifted to match his circumstances, the Matrix quieting its prodding as there was nothing for him to protect. And without the Matrix hounding him at all hours or a whole world to care for, Optimus was left with only his thoughts and instincts. By the time month four of his time on the dead world rolled around, Optimus had completely returned to his wild state. With no need for complex thought, morality, or anything else beyond the natural drive to survive, there was nothing stopping him from falling back into his previous state before his integration into society.

He looked completely wild. Without plentiful energon his frame slimmed down drastically, giving away most of his raw power for speed, endurance, stealth, and heightened sensory capabilities. His armor deteriorated with the constant abuse from the weather and lack of energon, becoming a dull gray largely matching the landscape. His traits normally kept dormant by the Matrix reemerged, fangs, claws, and more jagged armor growing in as time passed. Biolights also started to emerge on his frame, allowing him to have greater visibility on the dark world.

He travelled around the surface of the dead world, no thoughts beside his next meal and the desire for a pack occupying his processors... that was until around month six when he came across the first signs of intelligent life on the world. He found a small bot around double the size of a human with a nasty wound on its leg. To Optimus it looked like a sparkling, and with fatherly instincts and his desire for a pack being so strong he couldn't help but pick up the bot and take it with him on his travels. The bot was of course not pleased, flailing, screaming, and panicking in its native tongue for days as Optimus nursed it back to health and did his best to take care of it as he would a sparkling.

After around a week the bot calmed and seemed to sense that Optimus had no desire to hurt it, only to care for it. The bot and Optimus bonded over the course of a handful of weeks, the bot coming to see that despite Optimus's monstrous size, he was a gentle giant. And so with a great deal of effort on its part, the bot managed to convey to Optimus its desire to take him to another location. Optimus eventually understood, despite being feral, and was led deep into the cave systems beneath the world's surface. It was there that he was met with a whole tribe of bots much like the one he had taken in.

There were some difficulties after his initial arrival, but the bot managed to calm its fellow tribesman and prove that Optimus was no threat. And while the tribe had issues with the idea of feeding a mech of Optimus's size at first, after the bot proved that Optimus could hunt for himself, most other complained cleared up. As for the Prime, all he saw was even more parentless sparklings and so immediately came to see the tribe as part of his pack, and therefore under his protection. And soon enough a tender alliance was formed.

Optimus became a member of the tribe, serving as a powerful guardian and warding off the far larger animals living in the caves. He would hunt the huge worms that tunneled in the caves, bringing them back to the tribe who always celebrated and drained the energon from the creatures. He would travel across the surface with the bot he had originally rescued to collect old relics from the surface (Optimus would later come to learn that the bot he had rescued was a historian, hence its reason for being on the surface at all). Optimus would also help the tribe move things, like huge rocks and other obstructions from the tunnels to give the tribe access to places previously unavailable to them. And when not working, Optimus lay on the ground in the tribe's small village, playing with the sparklings who were barely the size of his digit. He loved to hum to the sparklings, allowing the rumble of his frame and the warmth of his spark to comfort them.

By the time Optimus had been stranded for a year on the deserted world, he had become a centerpiece in the tribe. He was their guardian, their protector, their gentle giant. And despite only operating on instinct, Optimus began to pick up the language of his adopted pack, learning that the name he had been given was [Star-sent-Savior}. He learned of the tribe's struggles with providing for themselves and collecting energon with so many creatures of the deep. He learned of the hardships they faced travelling across the surface to collect relics from their past, of which they knew little. And lastly he learned of how rare sparklings were due to how few managed to be collected from the hotspots on the surface before they died.

Despite not having the mental processing capability to understand the deeper meaning of anything said to him, Optimus could comprehend the basic idea. And as he went about making the lives of the tribesman easier, saving sparklings from the surface, retrieving relics, and hunting. He came to be heralded as a god-like entity, hence his name [Star-sent-Savior]. When all was said and done, the tribesman accepted him fully and carefully painted his armor in glittering shades of blue, weaving tales describing his heroics and making murals on his plating portraying his glory. The sparklings loved him and recharged against his side every night, leading Optimus to hum to them and curl around them as he would his own sparklings. The older tribesman made him a space in their village, carving out a den in one of the walls of the tunnels for him to rest in when the day was done. And the bot that Optimus rescued first came to him each day, reading to him and telling him of the history of its kind, leaning against him and speaking of all that came to mind. All the while Optimus listened quietly, only the low rumbling of his frame giving an indication of his state.

Two years after being stranded, a sign of help finally seemed to appear.

Bumblebee, his team, and Ratchet had arrived on the planet's surface in response to Optimus's total radio silence and beacon. They scoured the surface, following his life signal until they arrived at the entrance to the tunnels. They entered and followed the signal, expecting to find Optimus in stasis in some dark corner or hiding out near an energon deposit. They certainly didn't expect a very feral, very protective, and very angry Prime to be guarding a whole tribe numbering around a hundred small bots. And they most certainly were not prepared to be attacked on site, only for the Prime to stop after few attacks as he seemed to recognize them.

With Optimus refusing to separate from his tribe and the tribe refusing to let their guardian be taken from them, Bumblebee, his team, and Ratchet were left with quite a debacle. And so began to long process of returning Optimus to awareness in order to reason with him, all while attempting diplomacy with the tribe to figure out how they survived the rust plague.

#maccadam #transformers #transformers prime #optimus prime #feral optimus prime #optimus and his army of tiny tribesman #cue the shenanigans as optimus's tiny wards try their best to protect him for a change #imagine #a small army of bots just swarming around optimus with pointy spears

[ecogirl2759]

Welp-

I reblogged this post earlier, and I wanted to elaborate on my stance since I messed up my reblog and my message didn't show up :(

LONG ramble about Taka and Ishida under the cut :)

(Spoilers and death and all that good stuff, as well as a couple screen caps)

Heads up:

Just real quick, I'm gonna make a couple points based on this snapshot from an old interview. Here's the source. (I will translate some parts of this below, too.)

OKAY

SO

For starters, I don't think Taka was ever meant to survive.

I really think he should have, but I don't believe he was ever going to. Hot take, ik lol

As basically everyone knows by now, Taka was meant to kill himself in Distrust. That ended up being changed since the whole suicide plot would've been revealed too early for people's liking, so that point was given to Sakura. So even before the game was refined and shipped, Taka was going to die.

Taka's FTEs also stopped when he changed into Ishida, and while Ishida had one unused FTE, it was only one. I doubt there was ever much planned for Taka past Chapter 4 (maximum), so they decided to just kill him in Chapter 3.

Kodaka did speak a little bit about what he had wanted Taka's death to feel like, so I think that's pretty solid evidence that he was always going to die.

[ROUGH TRANSLATION:] [Kodaka: You could say that. However, even in a sad situation, I didn't want to make it [his death] cruel/brutal, so when it comes to it, it was on purpose.]

Ishida was also not a very well-received character lol.

Apparently, when the game first came out, Ishida was one of the least liked characters in the whole game. The staff also didn't care for him much, so they probably wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

[ROUGH TRANSLATION:] [Komatsuzaki: I felt like the characters were weaker when combined (laughter).] [Kodaka: That [Ishida's FTE] was also scrapped, and almost all of his appearances were lost. For that reason, Ishimaru himself was very popular although Ishida wasn't popular in the slightest. It's unfortunate... (laughter).]

The wordage here makes me think that there were originally going to be more chances for Ishida to appear, but that was thrown out in the earliest stages of planning. [ボツ roughly means "rejection (of a manuscript, etc.)]

Kodaka DID want to dive deeper into Ishida's character, though! He said so here:

[ROUGH TRANSLATION:] [Kodaka: I wanted to dig a little deeper regarding Ishimaru and Oowada's union, "Ishida," though...]

However, not even the interviewers really cared for Ishida lol.

Also, just to bring it up, here's where the claim for Taka's nonexistent backstory comes from, as far as I can tell:

[ROUGH TRANSLATION:] [Kodaka: I thought about depicting that [his experience in junior high] a little more in his Free Activity part, but that was becoming too dark/gloomy, so it was retired.]

So it's not that he had one that was scrapped after he died. He never had one to begin with.

MIGHT I REMIND PEOPLE OF ALL THE CRIMES IN THIS SERIES?? WHAT COULD BE DARKER THAN, LIKE, MUTILATION, SA, SH, SEWERSLIDE, ECT ECT????

The staff do agree that he was rushed, though. Kodaka admitted that he probably rushed his death a little at the end, but he was trying to achieve a certain feel with it.

[ROUGH TRANSLATION:] [Sugawara: Ishimaru's facial expressions were fairly abundant, but I felt like his time to die seemed too quick to carry out.] [Kodaka: Be that as it may, I feel I was too quick regarding Ishimaru. But, I really wanted the event when Ishimaru died to be like Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado".]

Now, I haven't seen Desperado, so I have no idea what this reference means lol. If anyone has seen it, lmk! (Defo going on my Must Watch list hehe)

SO IN CONCLUSION:

Taka was likely always meant to die, but his character was incredibly rushed and shallow that he ended up dying without much to his backstory or personality.

It's really unfortunate, though. I've always felt like Fuyuhiko was kinda like what could have been for Taka, even on my first playthrough of the second game. Taka's character did and still does have SO much potential, including the fact that his percent chance of surviving his death is MUCH higher than any other character that has died thus far.

If there's ever a new Dangan installment, I want a Taka cameo where he didn't actually die because the freezer room basically acted as a life support system for him and slowed his circulation of blood, letting his head injury heal just enough to escape Hope's Peak some time after all the survivors are already out but before anyone comes back, but because he has severe untreated head trauma he's kinda crazy.

BUT THOSE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS!

Sorry for the ramble hehe

#danganronpa #dr1 #trigger happy havoc #kiyotaka ishimaru #long post #ishimaru kiyotaka #kiyondo ishida #ishida kiyondo #danganronpa thh #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #dr1 thh #dr thh #drthh #thh #thh spoilers #spoilers #danganronpa spoilers #I NEED TO SCREAM INTO THE FUCKING VOID RN #TAKA HAS SO MUCH UNSEEN POTENTIAL THAT ISN'T EVEN UNSEEN BECAUSE THE CREATORS ACKNOWLEDGE IT #I just wanna talk #I'm so chill rn #Please take my chicken scratch #I doubt people are gonna read any of this lol but idrc #So long as I can share my opinion I'll be happy :)

[ibims1seb]

Merry Whumpmas

Welcome back to purgatory!

TW: Nightmare, none described past trauma, gun, mentioned torture, questioning reality/existence,

Once the black reaches you, death will take your hand and guide you back to fear!

And so, he ran! Ran, because, as far as he knew, his dear life depended on it. Ran, because it was the only thing he could truly do. If he even once stopped to take in his surroundings, he’d realise just how shaky, how tinted everything was. That even the brightest light looked like a shadow, wanting to consume him. But he didn’t stop. Not now, and probably never.

Familiar faces, too distorted to recognise, flashed in his peripheral vision like red sirens. Voices he should have known not to trust lured him deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of painful oblivion. There was no end in sight except for exhaustion, which he was sure would curse him soon enough. But until then, running seemed like his best and only option.

Unknown buildings from past memories soon turned into a wooden labyrinth of darkness. The trees around him seemed impossibly large, but his brain was to consumed with his mission, that he didn’t want to care.

Run! Run! Run!

Further and further into the forest that all of the sudden seemed too familiar. Every tree he came across, every bush he stumbled through, every stone, trying to make him trip looked like he’d seen them mere seconds ago. He continued running through the forest of his past trauma until he came across something else. He stopped. Everything. Even his breathing halted when the cottage first came into view.

Like seeing the house made him forget all his troubles. Well, no. It reminded him of all his troubles. Kicked the memory back into his brain, that he would never truly be able to escape. The impact that had, made it seem like he was physically kicked. Was he? He honestly couldn’t tell anymore.

Even though he was very aware of how the house looked. Where the windows were, where and how the doors and walls had been build, he couldn’t really see it. It felt like someone had placed a filter before his eyes turning everything into a black nothing, when he knew something should be there. Still, he stepped closer to the nonexistent silhouette of his past. He was now so close that, if he reached out, he could touch the wooden door. So close to a place he never wanted to return to.

He shuddered when a hand gripped his shoulder, right when he wanted to open the door. His body froze in place while fingernails dug into his skin, not making a sensation. It felt like the hand wasn’t there but it was. He knew it was. It always was.

“Welcome back to purgatory!”

Sebastian’s eyes snapped open like he was woken from a hypnotic trance. His right hand rushed towards the gun on his nightstand before his brain could comprehend even a fraction of what just happened. A nightmare. A bad dream without meaning.

His right hand still hugged the weapon with all its might. His left hand moved the blanket from his body, because it felt like he might suffocate if he stayed under those sweat drenched sheets any longer. And the moment he was free, his legs swung to his right, forcing him to sit up, gun still in hand. It was just a nightmare. An agonising trick of his traitorous mind.

The demigod just sat there, on the edge of his bed, waiting for something he knew wouldn’t come. Maybe this was his fate… endless torture from an entity outside of his knowledge. Maybe he was a plaything for a defined being, that unfortunately liked to cause him unimaginable pain.

———

Hey, I’m not dead! Surprising, I know… I am sorta in the mood to write but also very much in the mood to do anything else sooooo… yeah, I might not post for a while…

Anyways, have this absolute treat of word-vomit…

But have a wonderful whatever you do or don’t celebrate!

Masterlist

#whumpee #whumper #whump prompt #defiant whumpee #whump drabble #whumpblr #whump trope #whump community #whump #oc whump #my ocs #nightmare #nightmares #whump prompts #merry whumpmas #whumpmas2023

[luke-o-lophus]

Oof, I'm in some mood for good solid angst ( but with a happy ending, of course). Maybe for a change reader is the one in the wrong, like they did some stupid shit. Maybe there was a mission and reader effed up big time and gets berated by les bois.

Sry for such a vague request. I just want me some angst.

You had fucked up, and you know it. You should have informed them that you're heading after this dangerous guy. But of course you didn't want them to worry.

But truth is, you wanted to prove yourself. There wasn't any real reason to, it's not like your boys doubted you, or said anything to suggest so. It was just, they often did missions alone, but you never did. Yeah they had a supersuit and power of a God, but, still.

You expected to come back in a day, before they even realize something is up.

Imagine their shock when they get a call around dinnertime from you. You sound rushed, and they don't miss the undertone of terror in your voice.

They find you in one of your safe houses. It's Steven in his suit, mask drawn back, face near panicked. You've barely shut the door when he swoops you into a gentle hug.

Turns out, the man you'd been after had caught your scent. You got ambushed by a whole group of his men. You still managed to destroy the man's stash of cash and weapons, so your mission was technically a success

Issue was, it left you more than a little injured and about a dozen highly skilled assassins hot on your trail

It was Marc who got you out. You were out of the safe house in under three hours. So, just as long as it took for him to make sure your wounds weren't too dangerous, and plotting a safe route of escape. Neither of you wanted to kill unnecessarily.

They don't say anything this entire time. Marc's face is stormy the whole time, save the first few moments when he fronted and he cupped your face to make sure you're okay

Your safety is their priority now, rest can be worked out later

It's Steven who patches you up back home, but he is avoiding your gaze. His usual talkative nature was practically nonexistent. He gets the job done, and asks you to come to dinner table when you're ready to. That's when the lead weight sinks into your stomach

You have monumentally fucked up

You're teary eyed when you come to the table, rage undercutting the heavy embarrassment you felt. It appears that your partners don't want to talk about it yet, maybe they think you deserve a break. But you can't go to sleep without settling this conversation.

You're angry initially, their reaction seems to sink it in that they do believe you can't hold your own.

Steven is confused by that statement. It didn't even occur to him. To him, you're the embodiment of power and strength and energy.

But Marc, he's angry. He's been trying to stay quiet because he was afraid of what he may end up saying in a fit of rage. But there is a snapping point.

Marc doesn't yell. His voice is almost ridiculously soft when he says, You almost died. We'd not even have known. We'd come back to an empty home not doing what we did wrong that our GF couldn't tell us about a dangerous mission

All your rage melts into shame. You're blabbering apologies, promising over and over that you most certainly did not intend to hurt them, that you didn't think this would happen, that you love them, that you'd never do this again.

You're soon begging for forgiveness, promising to change, promising to get help about your insecurities, to work on them. You're hurt, exhausted, and now terrified for a whole different reason.

Did you push them too far? Are they going to...leave you?

You're soon swooped into another hug again, this time Marc. He's shushing gently in your ears, stroking your head, trying to calm you down enough to listen to him

We're not going anywhere, you always have us. He affirms. The words make you sob harder and clutch onto him.

The sobbing soon tires you out. You're a boneless heap curled into his hold, and he easily hoists you up to get you into bed. He even carefully wipes down your face with a warm towel.

He gets in bed with you, and you're clutching his shirt again, whispering a slurred and tired apology. It's raw, honest, desperate.

With a soft kiss on your forehead, Marc gives you his forgiveness. Tells you that Steven does too.

You fall asleep in his gentle embrace, in the safe cocoon of a pile of blankets in your shared home.

#marc spector x you #moon knight #luke shares #marc spector #steven grant #marvel #marc spector x reader #moon knight x reader #steven grant x reader #moon knight angst #gender neutral reader #raeder insert #marvel fanfiction #marvel moon knight

[horizon-verizon]

I know it's not something we could ever really know, but do you think it's possible Daemon and Rhaenyra got married so soon after Laena and Laenor's deaths not despite them, but because of them? Like, Laena's death especially. Both of them loved her and were always close to each other, they obviously could find solace in one another. It would obviously be somewhat disrespectful to her memory, to hook up so soon after her death, but human heart in conflict with itself and all that...

@minetteskvareninova

In a way, yes it's possible. It would be a reminder that death can happen at any moment AND that they must seize whatever chance they have either for "purely" personal desire to be together OR because it is just politically good for Rhaenyra to have such a staunch, fearsome supporter at her side (without being able to be pushed out by Viserys especially) asap against the greens (F&B/HotD would have the similar reasons for the "rush" wedding). And to bring the Velaryons closer to Rhaenyra. And in another way, "why not" and "what difference does it make whether they marry in three weeks versus 2 years" specifically when they would have considered the memory of their spouses.

*EDIT* Or Both. they do not have to be mutually exclusive, and with these two, it often isn't. *END OF EDIT*

They might have felt the need to consolidate power AND live life to the fullest--these seem to have just outweighed the fresh nonexistence of their spouses. They'd think, "Dead is dead, and we need to ___ now". Neither are patient people, so when they see an opp for what they desire, they take what they desire as soon as they know...and at that point, they knew for years, did whatever they did while Laena was still alive, etc. things change, Laena will not herself be hurt by them "sneaking" around or watching them long for each other or anything else (again, as I think they'd think), so why not?

#asoiaf asks to me #daemyra #rhaenyra targaryen #laena velaryon #daemon targaryen #asoiaf shipping #shipping #fire and blood characters #rhaenyra's characterization #daemon's characterization #laena and daemon #laena and rhaenyra

[octahedral-chaos]

Valorant loved a good fight. She loved how the rush of adrenaline made her feel more alive than anything ever since the end of Runeterra and even coming back to the past. How grounded she felt in the pain and ache of a good spar. How she felt so, so real. 

And most of all, she loved how violent she can get away with in battle. 

She was born of blood. Blood that was spilled for war.

 There will always be a calling back to battle in her heart, no matter how content and peaceful she is.

But just as she was violent, people never really came to her for any purposes other than official or professional reasons.

So imagine her surprise when Garen Crownguard of all people approached during her time with a practice dummy.

The poor life sized doll was already missing multiple limbs from the sheer strength of Valorant’s blows. The left arm was torn off, both legs were broken, and the other arm was barely hanging on to the main body. The cloth and wooden body was in tatters, a very concerning hole was in the part where Valorant ripped it out with a brutality only seen in the thickest of battles. A very dented and caved in mageseeker mask was tied on to the head, the mage’s fist still in the crater it made.

“Lady Val.” He greeted her, though his voice was even, she can tell how much of his self control is being tested right now. She sensed the conflict under all the layers of metal and walls he built himself over the years.

Valorant slowly turned her head to the Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard. The glass beads that made up her ‘hair’ clinked softly. Under her dual masks, there was a type of feral madness in her nonexistent eyes of her paper and glass body. The glass hand unfurled from a fist and into a claw, digging into the wooden head, and tearing it off with a sickening crack of wood followed by a shower of splinters.

Underneath all of that armor, she saw him flinch. She also saw everyone that decided to watch flinch as well.

“Sir Crownguard.” She replied indifferently, tossing the head to his feet. Rolling pitifully before it stopped at his toes. The glass hand crushing the mask into useless scraps of silver and gold. “What message do you bring?” She asked, tilting her head. Is this about last night? How she managed to smuggle in a claymore into her own debutante ball? Or is it how she absolutely demolished the wall with her first break in? She fixed it!

“There is no message.”

What?

“I came to…” He seemed reluctant to be here. “Take the Crown Prince’s place as your sparring partner today, as he is busy with matters of the state today.” He finished. 

She sees Luxana in her peripherals. Hard not to. With all her light shining.

Ah. So Father is busy today? Well… let’s see how much she can get away with.

“Alright,” She chirped cheerfully, he recoiled, clearly not expecting her to sound so happy at this prospect. Then her voice gained an edge as she said: “I would like to challenge you in a phantom duel!”

Garen’s eyebrows furrowed. “Excuse me?” What in Runeterra did she mean?

Valorant kicked the dummy out of bounds, walking to the racks filled with the training swords. Taking a sword and a shield with her.

She started to etch runes into the sword, “A phantom duel is a duel where you aim to fatally harm or kill your opponent.”

Before anyone could protest, she continued. Finishing the runes of the first sword, the wood shifting into a thinner and lighter sword that looked more like an enlarged knife. No crossguard attached to it, only the handle connecting to the short end of a diamond shaped blade that was elongated on the other tip. “But the weapons are enchanted to leave no physical harm, only a lesser and phantom pain of the blows made.”

She moved on to her shield, “ Upon the fatal or killing blow, the weapon will shatter.”

She picked both of her chosen equipment up. She turned to Garen again. His hand is on his own sword. Unsurprising.

“Since you obviously don’t trust me in any capacity, I’ll allow you to use your own sword.” Turning her shield over to make sure the correct enchantments are on it. 

Valorant leisurely walked over to her side of the first field, twirling her sword as she turned back. “A bit of warning,” she added, “I will change between weapons and fighting styles, so if you wish to, you can cheat.” 

The Captain looked appalled at her, even suggesting he take an advantage in battle.

“This is a fight to kill, no rules of formal combat apply if you want to stay alive.” She reminds him. “So, if you want to avoid being clobbered, I suggest you take what you can.”

He looked reluctant to follow her into the field, but he did anyway. 

Valorant rolled her shoulders in preparation, twirling her sword on more as Garen drew his own sword from his back.

She teleported to him the moment his sword was in both of his hands. If this were a real battle, she would have teleported earlier.

The clang of wood on metal rang out as he managed to block her first attack. Valorant grinned, knowing the cards she hid up her sleeves.

Garen pushed her back, charging towards her with a strike of his own; she responded with her shield raised to block it, prepping a lighting strike that would have run true if he didn’t parry it with his sword. Taking the opening, she started to push him back with slash after slash. He had no choice but to keep his guard up. She took a gamble and charged up her heavy attack, sweeping her sword in two wide arcs upwards. It collided with his sword, but the blow forced it away, letting her second attack strike true. The pure force of it sent him upwards. She teleported up and continued to take the opening with three successive slashes before she shoved her sword into the grain of the shield, the wood shifting to make a battle ax. In a single devastating arc, she slammed it down on him. Sending the both of them back down. A crater had formed from where she slammed him down. In two more spins, her ax fell with two more blows of blunt force on the Captain. Knowing full well of the phantom pain he is feeling. She jumped away, waiting for him to recover. It took a moment, but soon he was stumbling back on to his feet.

“Your turn~” She trilled in a sing-song voice. A madness coating it.

He spat out a wad of blood, wiping away the residue before charging back at her.

She parried every blow he threw at her. She even stood against his spinning attack! Worlds, she was a bit rusty. She hasn’t executed any perfect parries in a while. But her shield held. And it started to glow. Good, her Guard Impact is charged enough, and she has two techniques stacked. She just needs to switch. 

Wood and metal clanged against each other once more, Val pushing Garen away by surrounding herself with an ice field. As the ground around her feet glowed slightly with frost blooming at each step, she proceeded to shift. Dark glass was revealed as her paper husk folded itself back, vanishing along with her wooden equipment as she ran towards the Crownguard once more. Now a black body of glass instead of pristine white paper.

This time, her dark claws and kicks struck steel. She followed up her attack with a barrage of seals made to sap away at strength. Then her glass whip, each painful strike added to the sapping effect. Soon after Garen struck back, this time, she didn’t even bother to whip out her shield. Opting to block every attack with her bare glass hands. Though, the cracks in her body would fracture even more with each clang. 

Soon her hands were glowing, one orange and bright, the other dim and blue. 

Almost. Just wait a little longer.

Just until…

She sees the magic gathering. She sees it growing.

Finally. 

Drawing her hand of blue back as she watched Garen raise his sword to the sky, calling down Justice.

She scoffed as she watched the magic fall above her in the form of a fiery sword made out of a piece of Kayle’s magic. 

How pathetic.

Time seemed to slow for her as she waited.

And waited.

There.

It started slow. Like how it always does. She just pushes the magic away, just a little. Then she lets her momentum from her body pass to the sword, letting it turn away from its course to the earth as she spun it around. Again and again.

Until the magic turned blue and healed her willingly, flooding her with so much magic. But she needs more. More and more. It’s never enough. Not like her Runes. She sighed as time seemed to catch up to what she had done. And changed up her counter strike.

As soon as her mind decided to break free of the timelessness, she immediately ricochet the blast of blue and black magic back at Garen…

Only to be blocked by Jarvan. Shattering the shield he picked up.

“Enough Val!”

She yelled at him with a hard edge to her voice, “This is between me and him! Stay out of it!” 

Lunging at Garen again, ignoring the cries for her to stop, Valorant shoved her sword into the grain of her shield again, swinging her axe down on him. Both Captain and Prince dived out of the way.

“Duel’s not done yet.” 

“I’m not done yet.”

OH MY STARS?!

I love this so much! Also noticed Val's fighting style seems pretty similar to the Duo! Love seeing the nod to them.

Also Val's absolutely brutal and I love her for that-

#OCTAfan says stuff #OCTAfan answers #Others' ocs: Valorant #Chaosandtoomuchideas #Tw blood #Tw all caps #Long post #Ask to tag

[pyxiecle]

Howl's Moving Castle

Book Review **spoilers**

I finally finished this book after receiving it late last year.

I can’t help but wish I could have experienced it before the movie, as there are many differences between the two - which always seems to be the case (doesn’t it?)

The romance plot isn’t as delved into in the book; the iconic “find me in the future”, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you” is nonexistent. The most you’ll receive is “I’ve been wondering all along if you would turn out to be that lovely girl I met on May Day.” But the honesty is still tender to read.

The falling into each other’s arms felt rushed (though i’m a sucker for detailed romance scenes), but ultimately it made sense in the scene. So much is happening at once, the back and forth of all the characters in the moment wanting both their attentions yet they only want to focus on the other.

I’m sure if one re-read, you’d pick up on the subtlety of Howl falling for Sophie earlier than when it’s blatantly said. I do think her doing so was more obvious as the hints of jealousy were present throughout, but the masquerade of sisterly protectiveness was a nice cover.

I think all character’s personalities translated well when compared to the film. Howl remains dramatic, Sophie is kind, Calcifer is humorous. Not to place them into strict categories of course, wouldn’t dare to do such a thing for such otherworldly beings.

I really liked the focus of Sophie's magic, and how this ties into her being the only one who could’ve broken Howl and Calcifer's contract. Who else could’ve spoken the fire demon and Howl's heart back to life?

I think this scene, the catching a falling star scene in the film, was so beautifully done. This gives you the context of Calcifer and Howls contract, but looking back I really do prefer how the book lays it out for you gradually until it’s revealed.

I really enjoyed the book’s version of the star scene; having a secondary character along with Sophie attempting to do this, the personalisation of the star not wanting to live (!) and overall the hint from Calcifer to Sophie that *cough* he was a star once too.

I found myself flipping back a few times, which i love to do when reading as it’s such a cohesive feat for authors, and big kudos to them for achieving this. The “wait! so this is what that was!” moment makes reading so much more fun.

The war elements in the movie, trademarks of Miyazaki's (film's director) style, is something not mentioned in the book. It doesn’t make much of a difference to me. As the book came first, so therefore it has seniority to me of what works best.

Overall, I could continue to ramble, but i’ve never really done a book review before. I really enjoyed this one, and was a bit !!!! when it seemed to end so abruptly! I feel i’m used to at least another chapter of what potentially would’ve just been filler. So maybe it’s best it ended how it did. It’s a nice change from what I would’ve expected normally, especially when you note this was released in 1986.

I think this is easily a recommended read for anyone if you enjoy fantasy world building fiction.

I struggle with rating things, but for this review purposes and with how much I’ve enjoyed it —

★★★★★

#howls moving castle #books #book review #quotes #writing #fiction #reading #culture #the folio society

[elliewillicms]

So I just read that according to the director Din isn't even the main character of the Mandalorian anymore so that fucking sucks

Anon, when I saw the news, I started typing up a whole rant and deleted it to choose peace, but since you mentioned it. I'm going to talk about how angry I am about this. Just from watching the new season and seeing Din's nonexistent character arc. I'm not surprised at all they officially have told us Din is not The Mandalorian. Which is. Wow. Like what. What a stupid fucking idea. I don't care what they say Din Djarin will always be THE Mandalorian to me.

Do they know they can focus on the Mandalorian as a people while not sidelining the main protagonist??? You would think Din, a Mandalorian who is open to all different creeds, grew up as a foundling, broke the creed, has a Jedi son, and won the darksaber could maybe represent him as being capable of reuniting all the Mandalorians. They could have explored The Mandalorians through Din's character it was right there with him breaking his creed and having the darksaber, but nope rewriting the basis of the show seemed like the best idea. Why are they obsessed with writing shows and sidelining their protagonists? People have loved this show because of Din and Grogu's relationship who was this change for??? To take away the heart of the show is what I think I'm the most hurt about. I wasn't the biggest fan of Grogu coming back, but I thought okay they're showing us how close they are that Grogu chose to be with his dad over Jedi training. And I was genuinely excited to see how their relationship has changed now that Din knows that he doesn't have to give away his son again. But now it's almost like Grogu never even left in the first place so what was even the point of him coming back?

I'm just angry that they weren't upfront about this season not being about the same Mandalorian we have watched for the past two seasons cause you would have never guessed that just by seeing the promo. I don't think my expectations of the main character staying as the main character isn't too high, especially when my expectations quite fairly came from the ideas that they set up in their own writing in s2. Anyways the version of s3 that lives in my head is so much better but fr depending on how this season ends I might not see myself rushing to watch s4 as I did with s1 and s2.

#ask #anon #mando critical

[paleneckauthorcowboy]

This fic is a direct follow up to the last fic I posted! This mainly Tim central fic! Please enjoy!

Tim came back to his house, it looked the same as usual; dull and lifeless. But he noticed something... new that had not been there before, it was a tape sitting on top of a folded up note. He decided to watch the tape before reading the note. The video shows a person running through a street at a fast pace, almost if they were in a panic. He sees that the person arrives at Kestins house, the camera pans down to show them trying to open the door but it won't open; it's locked.

The camera pans over to the window as the person filming approaches it. The camera points down as the sound of breaking glass follows. The person quickly crawls through the window and makes their way around the house, seemingly searching for someone or something. They find the bathroom door and unlock it. The camera slowly pans up to show Kestin slumped against the bathroom wall.

The person filming rushes over and drops the camera. It's revealed that Hoodie was the one filming, but due to the dropping of the camera, his head is cut out of the shot. Hoodie checks Kestins pulse. Nothing. He can see Hoodie reaching up to remove his mask but he can't see his face. Hoodie takes a note from Kestins pocket, reads it and puts it into his own. Hoodie puts his mask back on and picks the camera back up, pointing it at Kestin again. Then there's a knock on the door. Hoodie quickly makes an exit out the bathroom window and the tape ends there.

Tim was stunned, was Kestin really dead or was this just a trick to mess with him? He can't tell. He picks up the note that was left for him under the tape. Opening carefully, the letter reads as follows.

"This is your fault, you didn't get him out and for what? Because he tried to defend his boyfriend? You could have helped him, yet you didn't. He is gone because of you, you fail him as a friend. You promised to protect him you fucking liar. This is all your fault."

He wasn't lying, he had planned to get Kestin out. He just didn't know that he had so little time. He never intended to lie, he knows he failed to protect him. He almost forgot the promise that he made all those years ago when they were just teenagers in high school. Why don't we go back then?

It's the start of Tim's senior year, his parents moved him to Alabama due to an expulsion. He was happy that it was his last year of high school, he never really liked people. But, that all changed the day he met Brian. He had such a warm and inviting personality, Tim just could say no to hanging out. They bonded rather quickly, Brian was the first person to make Tim felt... normal, it felt nice. He just couldn't resist that feeling of normality, so he accepted to meet the rest of Brian's friends.

The first one he meets is Alex, a smart guy with a quiet but nice personality, then he met Kaylee, she's kind of a smart ass and a drama queen, then he met Kestin, a sweet boy that seems to always have something in his hands. He liked everyone, they all made him feel happy, he felt human and normal; not to mention his violent tendencies seemed almost nonexistent, they hadn't surfaced in months.

They all usually hung out in a group, aside from the times that just Tim, Brian, and Kaylee spent time together. But today was different, it was just going to be Tim and Kestin hanging out one on one. Everyone else was busy, Tim was going to just cancel but he knew that Kestin would be disappointed so he just remade the plans so that I'd fit better for both of them. The plan was to meet by the football stand and Walk to Tim's car, then he'd drive them both to his house and just chill out there. But, things don't always go as planned.

Tim was approaching the stands, he saw that Kestin was already there. A senior seems to be bothering him, trying to talk to him. Kestin looked very uncomfortable. "Come on pretty boy, I'm such a nice guy." Was the first thing that Tim heard, he saw Kestin cringe. "Am I interrupting something?" Tim asked, looking ready to put himself between the guy and Kestin. He looks relieved to Tim, "no, you're not! I'm glad you're here. Now, we can get going!" Kestin tried to squeeze past the guy but he grabbed him by the wrist.

"Wait, you didn't answer me! Can't you just come over to my place once?" He asked, trying to lean in and box Kestin in, Kestin backed up. "As I said before the answer is no!" He tried to get his arm out of the guy's grip but he only tightened it. "What? Why not?! I'm so nice!" He looked pissed, and like he isn't going to take no for an answer. Tim grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him backwards. "He said no, he doesn't have to explain why. Now, let him go." Tim was glaring at the guy, He let's go of Kestin and Tim let's go of him.

The guy started walking away, "stupid fucking trannie..." He mumbled just loud enough for them both Tim and Kestin to hear. Tim was not happy, he kind of just snapped; he grabbed the guy and decked him in the face, over and over again. It wasn't until Kestin was pulling him off of the guy did Tim come back to reality. His hands were bloodied and the creep was not looking good.

"Woah dude, let's just go!" Kestin looked very frightened by Tim's sudden attack on the guy, Tim didn't say anything and just nodded, not even bothering to wipe the blood off of his hands. They both walked to Tim's car in silence, when they got there Kestin got in and put his backpack on the floorboard. Tim gets into the driver's side and sits there for a moment. He didn't look at Kestin, "I'm so sorry-" Tim couldn't finish an apology because Kestin cut him off.

"Don't apologize, that was freaking sick! I mean it was scary, but like in a cool way?" Kestin rambled, Tim looked over at him. Kestin didn't look afraid anymore, if anything he looked amazed. "Wait, you're not mad or scared after what just happened?" He questioned, Kestin shrugged. "No, why would I be? Sure it freaked me out a little, but on a certain level that was so rad!" Kestin explained how he felt, Tim breathed a sigh of relief. Kestin took a few tissues out of his backpack and handed them to Tim.

"Not to mention, you were just protecting me, I seriously appreciate that." Kestin watched Tim clean the blood off of his hands. Kestin truly is appreciative of what Tim did, mainly because no one else in the group would do it. That's not to say that they wouldn't try to defend him, it's just that most of them are non-confrontational. So, the most that they would do is tell the person to shut up. Tim cherished that Kestin didn't judge him, instead finding him cool.

"I'll always protect you, that's a promise." Tim stated as he started the car, Kestin chuckled. "Thanks dude." Kestin spent the rest of the car ride rambling on about a new comic that he liked and that's all Tim remembers from that day. Which brings us back to the present. He'd failed to keep his promise, he really was just a LIAR.

#brian thomas #hoodie marble hornets #i am cringe but i am free #marble hornets #self insert #tim wright #slenderverse

[zevlors-tail]

Unexpected Kiss

Pairing: Claire x Muse, Muse x Solomon

CW: Unrequited love, surprise kiss, extreme jealousy, Claire cries, mentioned past shared trauma between Claire and Muse (no explicit details)

A/N: I was scrolling tiktok earlier and this prompt came up, sooo... I figured, why not!? Tagging @paper-trash-bag since this features two OC's! <3 HELP I GOT SO CARRIED AWAY AND THIS GOT SO LONG- Not beta read, I rushed the ending and don't like it, but I needed to finish this up and post SOMETHING. I'm getting real tired of talking about my writing and having nothing to show for it lol.

***

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

It wasn't meant to be passive aggressive. It really wasn't. But for a reason she'd honestly rather not admit to herself right now, Claire couldn't help the snide tone that seemed to just roll right off her tongue at the sight of her two friends cuddled up together on the couch. As familiar as the tender look Solomon was giving Muse was, and as normal as it seemed for Muse to melt into him whenever Claire turned her back for five seconds, she wasn't sure she would ever get used to the way it made her feel when she watched them like that.

"Nope," Muse was quick to answer from next to Solomon. "And even if you were, I think pizza is a valid reason for that."

Oh, right- pizza. The whole reason Claire had left the two of them alone in the apartment in the first place. She had offered to pick up dinner tonight, and after a brief discussion about how no one felt like doing any dishes, the three of them had decided pizza would be the easiest option with little to no clean up afterwards, so now here she was with a pizza in her hands and jealousy in her heart.

Of who? Well...

One might think she was interested in the sorcerer that she spent a good chunk of her time with day in and day out. Solomon had been nothing but kind to her even if he did have quite a cold demeanor at first, but she understood considering the circumstances. She would have acted the same way if someone had randomly moved in with both her and her partner only months ago just like she had done to Muse and Solomon. But even so, he was always civil and courteous, and he never made her feel like a burden. If anything, they shared a certain kinship after discovering her... predicament. But...

No. She wasn't after Solomon, despite how it might have seemed that way at first.

"And here I thought we were about to kiss. You would leave me for pizza?" Solomon whined with a pout.

Claire resisted the urge to smirk as she watched Muse pry themselves from Solomon's embrace and toss the blanket off their lap. They carefully scooted closer to where she was standing and patted the space beside them on the cushion, inviting her to sit down next to them. And as she sat, the thought crossed her mind that maybe she should have made Solomon pick up the pizza instead of her, and then she would have been the one who got some one on one time with Muse. Maybe then she would be the one sitting next to them while they watched their favorite show and shared a blanket with her. Maybe she would be the one about share a kiss with them. But it was much too late to be thinking of that now, wasn't it?

"If you give me five dollars, I'll let you kiss me..."

Obviously Muse meant it as a joke. Claire knew that. But even as she sat next to them, the five dollar bill in her right jacket pocket seemed to burn more intensely than the scalding hot pizza box still in her hands.

"Clearly you've been spending too much time with Mammon and not enough time with me," Solomon sighed.

Claire's grip on the box became a bit more forceful as her brows furrowed in agitation. Even if she knew deep down that Solomon hadn't meant it the way it came across to her, she still felt excluded. What, was she just nonexistent to them? Was she nobody to Muse in Solomon's eyes? Everyone in the entire Devildom and Celestial Realm knew what they'd been through together in the past, and Solomon was no exception to that knowledge. The least he could have done was be a bit more sensitive to the situation.

But then... the more she dwelled on that thought, the more she realized that it was entirely unreasonable of her to ask that, since she hadn't filled either of them in on any of her feelings towards Muse. Besides, her feelings weren't their problem to deal with. Still...

"Yeah, and? What about me? I'm here too." Overtaken by her emotions, Claire blurted out her words snobbishly before she could stop herself.

Immediately, she regretted it. Silence fell over the three of them for a moment before Muse, who always seemed to somehow know what to say in these sorts of situations, grabbed the pizza box from her hands and opened it without hesitation. As if nothing had been said, as if she hadn't just stuck her entire foot in her mouth and made a fool of herself in front of the two people who were letting her stay here out of the goodness of their hearts, Muse moved right on.

"Ah- they forgot the garlic..." they lamented.

Claire was eager to jump on board and change the topic. "I think there's some leftover cups in the fridge from last time."

"I'll go get it."

"I'll come with you!"

Solomon said nothing as the box was shoved into his hands, but Claire noticed the way he avoided looking at her and instead watched Muse with focused eyes as they shuffled to the kitchen, as if they would somehow fall apart if he took his eyes off of them for even just a second. If only she had the chance, she could be Muse's rock like that. She wished she was the one looking after her blue haired friend instead.

Yeah, friend, she thought. Because that's all I am to them.

While Muse was rummaging around in the fridge, Claire leaned back against the kitchen counter and anxiously shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. As she did, the five dollar bill she'd been thinking about earlier crinkled and brushed up against her hand, and she was reminded of what Muse had said earlier.

If you give me five dollars, I'll let you kiss me.

What if she...

No, she couldn't do that.

But she wanted to.

She replayed Muse's words in her head and wondered if it would be worth it. So many times she'd been so close to confessing, so close to just leaning in and closing the distance between their lips on a whim. Ever since the two of them met in Purgatory, she had been undeniably attracted to Muse. And now? After getting to know them and all the little habits they had, after seeing them just exist and occupy space? She liked them even more. So it came as no surprise to herself that she was holding out hope that Muse might like her too.

Of course, she could always be wrong. But there was only one way to find out... right?

Closing her fingers around the crisp paper, she debated with herself a minute more before deciding that enough was enough, and it was either now or never if she was going to act on her feelings.

"Hey, Muse?"

"Hm?"

Muse turned around with the garlic cups, an unsuspecting and nonchalant look on their face that Claire wished she could have taken a snapshot of to keep in her mind forever. The curious and attentive sparkle behind their grey-blue eyes only further stirred up feelings of jealousy over the knowledge that someone else got to look in those eyes every day the way she wanted to, and by then it was already too late to go back. She doubted she could have stopped herself even if she wanted to.

Claire shoved the five into Muse's hand, leaving them no time to realize what was about to happen before she brazenly pressed up against them and smashed her lips to theirs. It happened so fast that she had no time to taste anything, and the only thing lingering on her tongue when she pulled away was the hope that Muse could feel just how much care and love she put behind that kiss.

It lasted no longer than a fraction of a second. So many different feelings overwhelmed Claire that she was left speechless and out of breath as she leaned back against the kitchen counter once more, her eyes to the floor instead of Muse's face. Perhaps that was for the better though, as the next words out of Muse's mouth were not what Claire wanted to hear.

"Um... you know I made that offer to Solomon, right?"

She wasn't sure just what, exactly, she'd expected Muse to say, but that definitely hadn't been it, and to say she felt mortified would have been an understatement. Rejected, heartbroken, and embarrassed didn't even begin to scratch the surface of how she felt. She fought back a familiar burning sensation behind her eyes as she finally met Muse's gaze and drank in their expression- one filled with confusion, shock, and what she suspected was disbelief.

"Oh-" Her voice sounded funny, as if she wasn't really the one talking. "I'm sorry." Her mouth felt dry and her voice cracked. "I thought-"

I thought you felt the same way.

I thought you liked me.

I thought I had a chance.

"I thought you were talking to me," came out instead.

Muse laughed, but it didn't sound right. To anyone who didn't know them, it might have appeared as if Muse was genuinely aloof. But Claire knew the tone in which they laughed like that very well, and she recognized it right away as the laughter Muse often gave when they felt uncomfortable.

"It's fine. Mistakes happen."

Was that what this was? A mistake?

"Hey, um-"

"Is everything okay in here? What's taking so long?"

The sudden voice startled Claire and caused her to flinch a little. Solomon. She had almost forgotten he was even here. Almost.

"Oh, yeah," Muse answered for her. "We were just..."

For once, Muse was at a loss for words. Claire watched them fumble to explain what the two of them had been up to and provided an out herself.

"I... dropped my five on the kitchen floor, and Muse was just handing it back to me," she lied.

As if to back it up, Muse stretched out their hand and offered the five back but avoided looking directly at her. "Here."

"Thanks..."

Her fingertips brushed up against theirs as she took it back gingerly, her hand shaking a bit out of nervousness. Having Solomon stand behind her like this made her feel as though she'd gotten caught doing something she shouldn't have- which honestly wasn't that far from the truth, considering she'd just kissed his partner.

"Hey," he asked suddenly, "are you okay, Claire?"

At first she thought he had asked Muse. In fact, it took her a moment to process that he'd specifically said her name. When she turned back around to face him, she found him staring at her with concern in his eyes and a crease in his brows as he fretted.

"Me?" Claire asked breathlessly.

"Yes, you," Solomon pressed. "You look a little pale. Maybe you should sit down and eat-"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She waved him off quickly, mind racing to come up with some sort of excuse to get her out of the situation she had created herself. Things were getting incredibly uncomfortable for her, but they didn't need to know that. For all she knew, Muse actually believed her half assed excuse for kissing them and was none the wiser to her true feelings, and she intended to keep it that way. "Actually, I just remembered I made dinner plans with a friend! I'd totally forgotten until now! That's what the five was for- I need it for the bus. To go see them, and all. So... I have to leave. Like, right now. Or... I'll be late!"

Muse gave her a skeptical look and set the garlic cups down on the counter while Solomon seemed intrigued at the new information he was getting.

"A friend? That's great, Claire!" The sorcerer beamed at her with a genuine smile, and Claire felt her stomach turn. "I'm happy to see you making progress! If you keep this up, I'm sure your memories will return soon."

As if. They're never going to come back at this rate, and you know it. I can't stand when you lie to me like that.

Muse shifted their weight from one foot to the other as they spoke. It felt like they were looking straight through her, scrutinizing her improvised story. "I thought you hadn't found anyone you recognized yet."

"I haven't. I mean-! I don't know them, they know me. They... messaged me a few days ago saying I looked familiar and that they wanted to meet up, and I agreed to see them!" She hoped the lie was believable enough. "But I have to leave now, so..."

Slowly, she started backing up past Solomon and towards the door.

"You're not gonna take anything with you?" Muse questioned. "It's getting kind of late..." And then, as an afterthought, "Are you sure it's safe to just meet up with someone like that?"

"Don't worry about me," Claire insisted as she slipped her shoes on. "I fought off bloodthirsty monsters for years, I think I can handle a human being."

Both Solomon and Muse went silent at that comment, and Claire knew she'd won her way out of both the conversation and the apartment after that. Bringing up her time spent in Purgatory was always a surefire way to shut down a conversation, because no one wanted to rehash bad memories for her and Muse or cause either of them any more distress than they'd already experienced. Even now, Claire watched as Solomon came to stand next to Muse and leaned into them protectively at the mere mention of it.

That should have been me.

"Please be careful."

If Claire didn't know any better, she would have thought Muse was pleading with her to stay with the way they were looking at her with such a forlorn look. But the damage had already been done by her own hand, and there was no way she could stay in that stuffy apartment any longer- at least for the night, maybe even the week. She'd figure it out once she was out of here.

"I will be."

She grabbed her purse from the coat rack by the front door and gripped the doorknob with a shaky hand. She fumbled a bit, finally got a good grip on it, and before either of her roommates could ask about her strange behavior or why she might have seemed so panicked, she slipped out, pulling the door shut tightly behind her. The silence of the empty hallway seemed to swallow her whole, and before she knew it, she was halfway down the dim-lit street with no sense of direction or purpose except to get as far away from Muse and Solomon's apartment as possible.

After some time, she came to a rough stop against something and realized she'd automatically taken herself to the bus stop. The object in front of her was in fact a very familiar wooden bench- the same one she'd used plenty of times before when she wanted to go out and explore the town, but didn't want to borrow Muse's car both out of guilt of using it and because... well, she'd forgotten how to drive.

She let herself fall into it, body curling in on itself as she numbly reached for her phone and shivered against the evening chill that fluttered under the back of her shirt and across her bare skin unexpectedly. Her minuscule contact list stared back at her menacingly when she opened the phone app. It felt like she lay there ages before she was able to move her thumb, but finally there was a dial tone ringing in her ear as she stared off into the empty nothingness in front of her.

"Claire?"

Her breath hitched as she tried to speak. "Cypress," she whispered meekly, "Can you come get me?"

Immediately Cypress's tone changed. Even though she couldn't physically see him, Claire swore she could feel the air of uneasiness drifting through the phone.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, I-" How was she going to explain this without admitting what happened? "I don't want to be in the Human Realm right now. Please can you come get me?"

"Claire..." Cypress let out a sigh, clearly debating on how to answer. After a moment of silence that left Claire spiraling in her own thoughts, he went on. "How am I supposed to come get you? You know what things are like for me right now... I can barely even walk to RAD without Lord Diavolo breathing down my neck. And you think he's going to just- what, let me go on a joyride to the Human Realm to take you where, exactly?"

"I don't care," she gritted out. "Anywhere but here. Please, Cypress- Please come get me..."

There was another moment of silence. Another sigh, this time softer and more reserved.

"What... happened?"

"...I don't want to talk about it. I can't... I can't talk about it-"

"Claire. Listen to me."

She said nothing, only sniffled into the phone.

"Are you injured?"

"No," she cried, tears finally spilling over.

"Are you safe?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know... the bus stop? The one by Muse's place-" Just the mention of Muse's name made the ache in her chest worsen.

"Give me thirty minutes."

A wave of relief washed over her finally, taking the little restraint she had left with it and turning her quiet sobs into something louder, something more raw and painful.

"Thank you," she breathed. "Please hurry?"

"I'll... I'll try. Lord Diavolo has the portals to the human realm locked up tight right now, though. There's no way I can slip through there undetected; I'll have to find some sort of back door..."

"O-Okay..."

"Hey..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna be alright until then?"

"Yeah... I'll be fine."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"Don't get caught," she warned. But the line dropped before she even finished speaking, and she was left alone once more with just her regrets and the dim screen of her phone to keep her company. A part of her wished the lie she'd told to Muse and Solomon was true. She wished she was sitting on a bus on her way to dinner, on her way to see someone who wanted to see her, who wanted to be around her, who wanted to spend time with her.

And it dawned on her then, that maybe that was all she had been craving in the first place- to be wanted. Had she mistaken that yearning for the feeling of love? Were her feelings for Muse real, or were they a product of her time spent in Purgatory without a single other soul for company until Muse came along and soothed the ache of loneliness she felt...?

What a mess she had made for herself.

#obey me oc #obey me mc #obey me solomon #oc: muse #oc: claire #oc: cypress #sweater writes #muse x solomon

[oceansgaywaves]

Casting Call (Team Guard Epilogue)

“Forgive… me… Keranes…”

The sun is rising. Light spills over the hills, trees, buildings, until it meets the dark in a crashing golden wave. The two, reunited at last, form an indescribable color that overwhelms the world in a flash of pure emotion.

As quickly as it blinded her, Azura soon rubs the blindness out of her eyes. The world had changed, revealing its true colors like a painting cleaned after a century of dust and dirt. Buildings lie in weathered ruins. What once was a field is now forest and brush. A long-abandoned metal contraption, warped and rusted beyond recognition, lies half submerged in dirt and grass.

Pain rushes to her temples and she falls to her knees, adding one more dirt stain to her student's uniform. Her head hangs forward. All of the energy drops out of her like water flowing through the bottom of a flask. My mouth tastes horrible. I love it. She smiles, and overwhelmed tears rain to the ground.

The singing, the birds, just a moment longer and I would have... She silently thanks every friend she had made in the last few days, and all of the gods she can think of, glad that her injuries were both not quite fatal, and in the end, nonexistent. Had she known she would have faced this kind of peril, she isn't entirely sure she would have agreed to this mission so many weeks ago. Or was it days? She can't remember and doesn't care. Now that it's over, she's glad.

Those birds... Corrin!

Bolting up, Azura whips her head around, matted blue hair flinging bits of grass into the still air. The images of Corrin's last moments flash through her mind. The viciousness, the fury, the wings and beaks beating down on her as she fell to the ground, let out a piercing cry, and fell silent. Where is she?!

Leaning against a wall, Corrin seems to be going through her own cycle of anguish, but that would have to wait. Before she can stop herself with thoughts of awkwardness, of uncomfortable discussions that led nowhere, she sprints and launches herself directly into the body of the now-startled girl, arms outstretched.

Despite Azura's paltry weight, the two of them topple to the ground in a dirty, stained heap. Her tears resume, and she can't help but leave little spotted tracks along Corrin's knight uniform, gasps and sobs traveling with them. She isn't Her Corrin. She never will be. She's faced her own challenges, lived her own life, met her own Azura. But, just for a moment, Azura holds her friend tight.

~🎵~

Eventually, each and every knight, student, professor, and otherwise ally woke up, each with a tale to tell about their wild dreams. Cheers were heard, tears were shed, and dramatic scenes of action and heroism were acted out to those who missed them. Once the fervor of reunion and triumph died down, those with the authority to organize the crowd ordered a triumphant, though tired, hungry, and distressed march back to Garreg Mach Monastery. The "incident" had been thoroughly investigated.

Now, Azura walks alongside the horse she had ridden into the village on. It only wandered a couple of miles along the road back home, and now bears as many bags, weapons, and other items as it can carry. Interestingly, her own bags remained attached, the only thing it appears she took into the village was her lance. And now that she thinks of it, she could have sworn said lance was a lot heftier in the dream...

What did we even eat, I wonder...? The exact memories of the adventure she went on with the rest of her team are beginning to fray around the edges, but Azura knows that she will always treasure the bonds that she made with each and every one of them.

Leif, the firm, gruff, and yet caring man that welcomed her into the group while providing for and protecting them all.

Roy, the kindred spirit whose heart burned bright with determination and hope, despite the daunting odds.

Andrei, the pained man who deserved a lot more kindness than he was given.

Ashe, the model of knightly duty, and always a trusty shot with a bow.

Byleth, the dependable professor whose solemn determination was as great a weapon as their sword and fists.

Eir, the melancholy princess who delivered both life and death to the battlefield, and gave her wisdom to the fiercest of discussions.

Python, the idle archer with a secret heart of fire and a quiver full of retribution.

Caeda, the bright face of confidence and courage who forged a path for the group with equal measures conviction and love.

Patty, the thief who stole luck to their side, and wore her heart on her sleeve.

Elice, the woman of endless kindness, who kept everyone smiling through the worst of it.

Artur, the respectful gentleman with a talent for both magic and conversation.

Est, the sweet girl with a bit of pain behind her smile who flew above the battlefield like an angel.

And finally, Corrin, walking alongside Leo, their hands intertwined. Azura smiles. She's safe and happy.

The road stretches on ahead. It will be a lengthy trip back, but at the end is a comfortable bed and warm food. In the meantime, there's not much to do besides remember and sing.

You of light, burning bright,

A dream lost within a dream,

Face the dark, burdened heart,

All fades in the morning's gleam.

Day by day,

You show your love,

In the fray,

Your strength is one.

I'll love you,

Till we are,

Undone.

A single bubble, like the relieved sigh at the end of a concert, forms on the edge of Azura's pendant, catches a gust of wind, and flies up into the bright sky.

~The End~

#🎵ic #🎵drabble #🎵corrin #KEguard2023 #This event was so fun you have no idea #I love creative writing and it was honestly really nice to get back into it #And also get to meet a lot of cool people along the way #I'm looking forward to all of the events and threads and everything in the future <3