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jade-of-mourning · 3 months

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hey! it’s your hopefully favorite anon again. genuinely thank you so much for responding to my asks and stuff. it’s so eloquently written and it feels like it’s actually mako’s grief in text form. that doesn’t really make sense but. reading that little cat blurb actually made me feel better. I cried. like. heavily. 😭

im glad you liked my goofy insane mentor-that-needs-a-mentor korra idea, even if you’re not going to use it. I actually had the thought while watching a video comparing korra and zuko. it’s not exactly a niche thought that ‘korra is aang’s successor and Zuko’s spiritual successor’ but then it struck me. zuko was the oldest member of the gaang (just a bit older than sokka, the former eldest) but he is still absolutely batshit reckless and insane so,,, what if i Korra’d it.

also,, triple threats,,, since I’ve already revealed that I like to fuck around with canon in every possible aspect. consider: au where bolin dies (this one came to me after seeing a video saying mako would probably… yk, himself, if Bo died) but instead of giving up or chasing whatever criminals got him/dedicating his life to helping other orphans/etc. he just. replaces zolt. and maybe he would have a zuko style redemption arc?? I’ve been listening to Brutus by The Buttress on loop too which has not been helping me escape. yk what would make the takeover even better? zolt has bolin killed to try and get a more firm grip on his chosen protégé (maybe even around the end of the events of republic city hustle) and mako finds out and just,,, absolutely bodies him. like some scraggly 15 y/o just fucking cold blood murders a crime syndicate boss and takes over and?? everyone’s like well ig he was bound to get there eventually. and there would be attempted takeovers obviously but this little fucker is like. nuh uh. you can have this as soon as I get bro back (never)

sorry I’ll stop going insane now. I think you should really listen to Brutus btw it is SO fire

-🐌

hi snailon! (i'm going to call you that. snail + anon mashed together!) you're my only anon so you're my favorite by default,,, but you'd be my favorite even if you weren't! and it's lovely to hear that my writing has helped you <33 also sorry this took a day to respond to whoops

(cont)

okay on the mentor!korra part — it is such a big brain idea that i might have to one day write an au on my au just for that alone LOL okay but korra is so zuko the same way mako is so katara!!! one day i'll talk about it i swear. the classic comparison of mako = zuko is just so Off and it bugs me haha it's really korra and it always has been. bryke is out there spreading false propaganda about their own show like wtf man

second, on the triple threats! see i was reading this and i was reminded of deerstalkerdeathfrisbee's the only thing we've ever organized is crime! (which is a BRILLIANT fic even if i don't really like wuko), except then your train of thought veered divergent so promptly that i was like. woah. woahhhh. i've always been partial for terrifying mobster boss!mako since reading this one a few years back and i wholeheartedly believe that if it weren't for bolin, mako could have very quickly devolved down a really bad path. i've seen it float around a lot of older posts, but to sum it up most succintly, mako made sure bolin survived and bolin made sure mako lived. and if bolin is gone? mako would not give two shits about trying to be a better person, and if bolin's death was of a tangible human person's doing… well. it would not end well for that person, let's say. that person being zolt would abolutely lead to mako promptly desecrating the man, and even if it wasn't a grab for power, i can totally see it proceeding to him actually becoming the teenage mob boss of the triple threats.

(ALSO STOP "this little fucker is like. nuh uh. you can have this as soon as I get bro back (never)" WHY ARE YOU SO FUNNY this is so sad i'm laughing so hard)

but really; mako is just such a guy of asinine stubborness to survive, with the single-minded goal to protect bolin. if there's no one left to protect, and if bolin didn't just succumb to the horrors of their circumstance but was rather brutally murdered as an attempt to control mako himself, that asinine stubborness to survive could very easily translate into cold-blooded violence, and would come with an unnerving facade of quiet apathy while he's really simmering on the edge of a really bad breakdown at any given moment. the guilt would also be endless, and mako would probably project the personal villain so hard on every single member of the triple threats in his general vicinity. working under this angry/guilty/repressed/violent teenager would actually be the most terrifying thing ever.

continuing your ask from last time because i realized i never addresssed this part —

I just had another brain worm sorry. so remember how I was talking about korra potentially being a guiding adult-ish figure in the avatar mako au. what if baby bending brothers. and either lin/tenzin/whoever or them and the other 2 krew members,, taking care of little gang monster and his brother,, and addressing some of the insane trauma and helping him heal and build a stable life,,,

i do love child acquisition, but for tiny feral children! mako and bolin really could've been the most unhinged trauma children of all time and i don't think that any adult on the show would actually be able to handle them as they were except probably pema. tenzin would try his best but i think that he would very easily get overwhelmed and a certain phase of mako would probably incessantly insult him with the deliberate intention to rile him up — and admittedly, tenzin has more of a temper than he'd like to admit, so i just think they'd be at odds a lot to an almost dangerous amount. (but ig i'm exploring that in the actual fic lol) i think mako as a kid would be considerably more abrasive than his is now and far more distrusting and paranoid, to an extent that i don't think that there are a lot of adults in lok that would be well equipped to handle that. (maybe kya? i could see both of them taking to kya actually. that would be funny. maybe i'll write kya into this au.) i do think that bolin could easily get all of them wrapped around his finger, lin grudgingly (and i think she'd be the sort to hold a reluctant affection for prickly loser boy mako).

also idk how i missed it initially but throwing teenaged korrasami into the mix makes it funny though. they would manage the pair of them so badly. (i'm sorry it is cute but i personally don't believe in babysitter!korra and definitely not babysitter!asami.) korra would be in a physical brawling session with mako the little punk ass bitch if asami looks away for one minute because bolin will not stop crying and mako is now trying to bite her head off because that's his little brother. bolin just thinks these two cool older girls are super neat and not at all demanding of his respect so he just incessantly says the most batshit insane things at them while mako is just like. hmm wealthy girl. i am full of anger at life i think i will project that onto you because to me you represent everything i hate about society, i've decided. meanwhile asami is just so confused because she's literally just being her sweet self and this random mobster street kid pema found won't stop giving her a look like he wants to fillet her

sorry none of this post makes any sense at all my head is OVERFLOWING i am UNHINGED thank you for enabling me once again <333 you'll never be a bother also yes i will go listen!

#lychee acquires and answers asks #mako lok #bolin lok

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starlight-time-machine · 5 months

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Week in Review

01/07/2024 – 01/13/2024

Sunday

SpyFam was the only manga that updated today, and it was pretty cute. It hits all the typical SpyFam comedy beats, and I’m guessing that Anya will end up with 8 Stellas and 7 Tonitruses by the end for the drama of it all. We finally got to see Demetrius and wow…I guess he takes after his father in the looks department. I really hope that with all of the Desmonds introduced now, we can actually explore their personalities and dynamics in more depth.

Monday

Whoops

Tuesday

Chainsaw Man is back, and it’s still pretty bleak. I’m curious to see how this arc plays out, but it’s not looking good for our boy.

Wednesday

Thursday

This really isn’t a good look for the first Week in Review of 2024, huh. But in my defense, the weather’s gotten cold enough that my hibernation instincts have kicked in…

Friday

DunMesh is still really good, I love all the little animation flourishes and comedic moments, and the look and feel of it all is quite comforting. I guess the only little nag that I have is that because they’re putting all these manga chapters into one episode, I wish there was some more indication of time passing because it felt like they were eating three lunches in one day lol. I’m also glad to see Chilchuck, my favourite character, getting a lot of screentime and fun bits throughout the episode. The ending theme was cute if a little plain, but at least we got some gorgeous Ryoko Kui illustrations out of it.

Saturday

It’s time for the second Drag Race premiere, and it was pretty okay. Megami and Nymphia were the two on my radar after the Meet the Queens video – Megami for her nerd cred and entrance look and Nymphia for her Taiwanese rep and polished fashion sense and perspective. As a Chinese person, it’s really exciting to see a Taiwanese girl on Drag Race for the first time, and I think she might be my frontrunner after this episode…but more on that later. I also liked Plasma’s entrance line and personality, and her talent show number was fun. The photoshoot improv bit was much funnier than last episode’s – TS Madison is always a joy to see. The talent show was more lowkey, though, with only a few girls doing high energy dance numbers. I looooooooved Nymphia’s Chinese style makeup and water sleeve dancing, that was really the highlight of the episode for me. And it was ironic to me that Plane Jane was like “what’s your talent, holding up a sign?” when I could say the same for her (“what’s your talent, squirting condiments onto your boobs?”). Nymphia and Plasma were my favourites of the bunch for sure. Runway-wise, Nymphia’s was a little disappointing to me, but I’m hoping that after this episode she can veer away from the banana theming a little bit. Hershii’s dress was absolutely incredible – the color is stunning, for one, but also the fact that it’s all so perfectly smooth on her body is so impressive, plus I like the triangular glasses.

Plane Jane is a little…her incessant quips feel less fun mean and more just mean mean, so I’m not really enjoying her. Her attitude throughout the whole episode was kind of off-putting to me, especially with how she acted in the lip-sync and flipping in her hair in Geneva’s face. I’m usually not a reality TV villain fan, but I can see their merit in shaping an interesting narrative – here it just feels like she’s going beyond entertaining villainy and just into unsportsmanship and attention-seeking behaviour. Maybe she’ll get a sympathetic redemption arc later on, but right now I just want to see her comeuppance.

The theme across this split premiere has definitely been breastplate shenanigans…I’m looking forward to seeing the two groups mingle next week. As for my little Fantasy Drag Race activity, Megami unfortunately did not impress me enough to make the cut, so my final roster is Sapphira, Dawn, and Nymphia. I think these three are all multitalented and have a clear sense of self that’ll carry them far in the competition, so let’s see how the points stack up by the end of the season.

#week in review #2024

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aggressivelyclueless · 3 years

Text

ouija board

in which it gets out of hand. . . but only a little

warnings: v spooky

(heads up this one’s kinda long, whoops lol)

(@qoinq-qhost u were looking for more danny being a lil shit? vvvv)

Sam was just about ready to get the seance rolling. Thundery and weeping outside, candlelight inside - it seemed like a good night for it. This time around, there were four of them: her, of course; Felicity, from third-hour, had brought the board; her bestie Star (who Sam had almost uninvited, as she hadn't been deemed goth enough, but she owed Felicity a favour and letting this slip was it); and Star's boyfriend-of-the-week, Jake (also not goth, and very much on thin ice).

They sat clustered together on the full-moon rug in Sam's room, a jumbo bag of Chex Mix forgotten on the floor by Jake's backpack. Only the little brown bits were left. "You're host," Felicity was saying, scooting up into a proper cross-legged sitting position and centering the board on the carpet between them. She produced the most important piece - the polished wooden planchet - and dropped it into Sam's waiting palm. "You start."

Star opened her mouth, almost thought better of it, and then asked, "Are we going to get a demon?"

"That's not how this works," said Felicity, shooting Sam a look to keep her quiet. Felicity had the tolerance for questions like those, and the patience not to be cross. "We're not summoning demons. We're communing with the dead. There's a difference."

"Is it still going to be scary?"

Sam bit her tongue. With luck, it would be, and she wouldn't have to deal with Star's antics next time, whether they were at her house or not.

"I don't know," said Felicity, "Maybe. We've never done one at this house before. We might not get a ghost at all."

Sam shrugged, setting the puck down in the center of the board and keeping her first two fingers on it. The others scooted closer, getting comfortable, and followed suit. The candleflames throughout the room were perfectly still.

"Is there anyone here with us tonight?"

For a moment: nothing. She glanced up into the empty air, as if she could spot a slinking shadow on the wall or a flickering shape hovering by the ceiling. She couldn't, even though she wanted to.

Then the slight pull of the token under their collective fingers, and the drawn scraping sound as it crawled slowly across the board: YES.

So they weren't going to come up empty tonight. She glanced over at Star, wondering how intense things would get before she'd bail. Sam was certain that, at some point, she would, or maybe she was getting her hopes up. Star didn't exactly look like goth material. All things considered, this was probably the wrong scene for her.

But she had owed Felicity that favour.

"Why are you here, spirit?" Felicity asked, shifting a little in place. Right to the point.

The planchet under their fingers was still. Sam knew the rules better than anyone: if the ghost chose to answer, it would have to tell the truth.

The ghost chose not to.

Star's eyes darted to Felicity, but there was a hesitation before she spoke. When she did, the words were wrung-out and barely there. "Ask him if he's friendly."

"You ask him," said Jake, nudging her with an elbow. Between the four of them, he was the least invested in the endeavor, seeming more bored than anything. He shrugged, trying to scoot his letter jacket a little higher on his shoulders without having to take his fingers off the puck. The jacket refused.

"Okay." Star took a deep breath, turning her eyes back to the board. The planchet, for the time being, rested on YES. "Ghost," she said, somewhat uncomfortable at directly addressing the dead, "Do you mean us harm?"

Immediately, she could feel the wooden puck go cold under her touch. It slid off YES, veered partway across the board, and went still again. The chill at her fingertips vanished.

"Don't like the looks of that," muttered Felicity. "Sam, you think we should call this one off?"

Sam gave it a moment of consideration. "I don't know. Maybe, but not yet. Let me try once." She cleared her throat. "Spirit - will you tell us your name?"

The planchet didn't have to think about it this time. Star could feel the cold tingling in her fingers again as it moved, slowly but deliberately, and spelled out: JAMES. She frowned.

"What's your purpose here, James?" Felicity ventured, but the ghost revealed nothing. The silence stretched on; finally, she sighed. "Doesn't like me much, does he?"

"I don't know," said Star, which she thought sounded better than a flat-out no. It didn't do any good; Felicity was already looking a little put-out, and Star reached up with her free hand and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't feel bad. We still like you plenty, even if that silly ghost doesn't."

Sam fought back a groan of distaste. Whatever Felicity saw in Star, Sam was seeing none of it. She wanted to tune Star out, didn't want to see her so distracted as if communing with the dead was a mere game.

If things started to hit the fan, Sam was sure she'd never want to come again. In fact, she was starting to count on it.

But would provoking the ghost be worth it? "James," she said, still contemplating it, "Why are you here? What is it you're seeking?"

The puck meandered for a moment, as if conflicted. It rested on the empty part of the board between F and S, turned around, and aimed mostly toward H.

That was when Star jerked her hand back, as if the planchet had burned her. All of a sudden she seemed to be paying attention; Sam wondered if she had finally realized what, exactly, they were dealing with. Whether she did or not, it was too late. She'd disrupted the connection.

Sam had never seen it, but she'd heard the stories of what happened at sessions when someone did that.

Every single candle around the room went out at once.

"Star, what the hell," said Felicity, "Remember how earlier I said you couldn't do that - "

Star's already-high-pitched voice was pinched. "Sorry, sorry! It's just it got cold all of a sudden, I thought he wanted me to - "

Sam scowled in the dark. "What are you talking about, no it didn't - "

"It did so! Just now!"

"Oh for fuck's sake, I knew we shouldn't have invited you - "

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

The flash of lightning through the window made the ghost into a spindly and angular silhouette, floating in the air by the glass and jolting Star and Sam both out of their argument. The planchet on the board, still under six fingers but by now forgotten, shot out from under them and flew across the room, bouncing off the side of the desk and skittering somewhere under the bed.

Oh, it was hitting the fan now, all right. "This is your fault," Sam hissed through her teeth, glowering in Star's direction, but already her mind was racing to find a way to appease the disturbed spirit. She'd held plenty of seances before, but generally found audience with lesser or fragmented dead. Only twice had she been forced to close a session early.

Never had she met such an angry spirit before - and not only was it angry, it was in her room.

"Ideas," Felicity snapped, in an effort to keep Sam from boiling over, and in the same effort to keep Star from tears, "What do we do?"

"Run, maybe?" said Jake, but the sharp and thunderous BANG from the walls around them cut him off. His eyes darted to the door, but it slammed itself shut before he could get up to his feet and make his escape.

"Hold on a sec, guys," said Sam, "Jake, sit down, we're not done yet - hang on, I said! I got a flashlight." She groped for her backpack, brushed over one of eight plushy spider feet, and yanked it unceremoniously into her lap. Half-unzipping it, she produced the promised flashlight and clicked it once, twice, a handful of times in quick succession as nothing happened. "Shit. Shit shit shit - "

"There," Star whispered, her eyes fixed on the shadowy side of the room behind the bed. She pointed with one manicured finger, making the rest of them turn to look.

The ghost was only there for an instant, hanging in the air as a smoky and ill-defined shadow against the hazy grey light from the window, but flickered away an instant later. The pounding rain outside almost masked the haunt's staticky and echoing laughter.

Felicity put a hand over Sam's and tried not to squeeze it too hard. Her fingernails dug in a little anyhow. "Do you think we can still close this out?" She didn't sound too hopeful.

"No," said Star, with a sudden and bone-chilling certainty. "He's staying."

Sam looked over at her, agape. How can you know that? she wanted to say, but her mouth had gone dry and she couldn't force it to move. Star's eyes were on her; just for a moment, Sam swore there was a glint of something behind their usual blue-grey, but it was there and gone before she could be sure.

"We're staying," she said again, and this time Sam heard the echo in it, and this time the glint of green in her eyes lingered. The ghost had her, appearing as a dark and swaying wisp in the air behind her, hands on her shoulders, keeping her still and calm. Her eyes - the ghost's seyes - were on Sam, and a sudden, absurd thought struck her:

Isn't James his middle name?

The knot of rising terror in Sam's gut broke, and cold tingling relief poured over her. For a moment she let it, willing the adrenaline to fade and the pounding heartbeat in her ears to settle, and then shifted gears.

That sonofabitch, I'll kill him for this one.

"No, you're not."

Star's head and the shadow's head cocked to one side in unison. "No?"

Sam was locked on the spirit but her voice was directed at Felicity (and Jake, but to a lesser extent). "Come here."

Felicity hesitated. "What, are you serious - ?"

"Come here," Sam snapped, setting her first two fingers on the center of the board, ignoring the fact that the planchet was still misplaced somewhere under the bed.

"I don't like this," Felicity whispered, but followed Sam's lead regardless.

Star's fingers came out and rested gingerly on top, and Sam was certain that, underneath the veneer of shadows, the ghost was smiling.

"You listen to me, James," Sam commanded, with a seriousness that made Felicity and Jake both flinch, "You'd better get out of here."

Star's mouth turned up in a smile. "And why's that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll banish you into next week."

"Sam," Felicity breathed, "I don't think that's such a good idea - "

"I'll do it," Sam reiterated, cutting Felicity off.

The smils on Star's face widened. "Promise?"

Then the fingers on the board were moving, overcome by a pins-and-needles sensation that turned the board to static beneath them, and came to rest solidly over GOOD-BYE.

"See you then. . . "

Sam looked over and Star looked back at her with those big blue eyes. She didn't seem distraught but Sam had to wonder how much of what had happened she'd remember. She'd heard on several occasions that those puppeteered by the dead didn't tend to recall the influence, and Star wasn't horribly upset.

Still - she felt that ghost had crossed a line somewhere. Crashing a seance, fine. Overshadowing at said seance, even if he'd picked the least-favourite attendee?

That didn't sit right.

"You okay, Star?"

Star blinked once, twice, then cocked her head to one side and smiled. "Of course I'm okay," she said, as if she hadn't been overshadowed at all, but the next thing out of her mouth, spoken with the utmost certainty, sent a chill down Sam's spine.

"He wasn't really going to hurt me, you know. He let you win."

- - - -

Sam shut the door as the others left and then rounded on the ghost. "I know you're still here. There's no way you'd dip after a stunt like that."

(Damn right I wouldn't) said the shadowy thing under the bed, hauling himself out of the darkness a moment later. In the light from the ceiling fixture overhead, the shadows fell apart, relenting to his more human texture and shape, and he shook the dustbunnies off once he got up to his feet. In his hand was the forgotten token that went with Felicity's board, and he held it out to her. "This is yours?"

Sam grabbed it from him, and only then did he get the impression that she wasn't entirely happy with him. "You could have given me a heads-up, y'know."

"Hey, I was in the area, thought you could use a hand. For goth cool points, or whatever." Danny shrugged, leaning back and half-sitting on the side of the bed. "I mean they do think you can scare off a real ghost now."

"And what the hell was with you overshadowing Star?" Sam went on, and at last the dopish grin at the corner of Danny's mouth vanished. "So, okay, maybe I didn't want her to come. But that doesn't mean you get to - "

"Wait, wait, hold on," Danny put a hand up in concession, "I didn't - well, I mean I did, but. Listen for a sec, okay? You don't like her, fine. But I think something's up."

"Something's up," said Sam, nonplussed. She crossed her arms, leaning back slightly in the desk chair and making it creak. "You overshadowing people as a joke is what. And whatever you were telling her in there, guess what She remembers it now."

"That's what's up," said Danny impatiently, "I didn't tell her anything."

That made Sam pause. "What?"

"You heard me. But that's not it, let me say something else too. I swear I'm not making this up: she saw me the second I drifted in the window. I'm invisible and she's looking right at me. The whole time. It was like she was watching me."

"Bullshit," said Sam, wanting to believe it was.

Danny shook his head. "You heard what she said. After you banished me into next week."

"That you let me win," Sam recalled slowly. In the moment, it had struck her as dumb-chills naivety on Star's part, but the way that Danny talked made it sound like she was serious. Perhaps she'd just wanted to think that Star was that stupid.

"She knew it, and I didn't tell her. I'm dead serious, Sam, she practically invited me to overshadow her. I didn't even have to go all the way in her. You saw it."

Sam had most definitely seen it. "And what does this mean for the rest of us? Or for you? You're gonna tell me - what, she's going to miraculously guess you're half-ghost too?"

"I don't know - but you saw her the same as I did. She wasn't scared of me. Hell, I gave you guys a name and she was the one that didn't call me by it. Like she knew it wasn't quite right."

"I get it," said Sam, thinking that maybe she would have been just as well off not calling him that either, "But what are we supposed to do about it? Are you saying we should invite her onto the team? Or what?"

Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair and letting it come to rest on the back of his neck. He shrugged helplessly, his gaze picking out dustbunnies and imperfections in the floorboards at his feet. "I don't know yet. Keep an eye on her, maybe. See if she starts saying things. She's not as stupid as she looks, Sam. Low bar, I know, but the last thing I need right now is somebody else to have to watch out for. I know you don't like her. I'm not asking you to."

He met her eyes then, and the earnestness in them struck her.

"Just, don't let that put her in the way, okay?"

#Ectober Month 2021 #Ectoberhaunt 2021 #Ectoberhaunt Trick #danny phantom #fanfiction #ectober

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makeste · 4 years

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I just wanna enable you to talk more about Katsuki so. top 5 (or 10, or however many you feel like) Bakugou romantic ships? not like number 1 will be a surprise but hey ;p

ah, shipping. the perfect topic with which to take a breather from leg puns and the quirkless!Bakugou debate. nothing controversial about ships lmao.

disclaimer: these are literally just my favorite Bakugou ships, as asked. I have few to no NOTPs, and I’m not anti-anything, nor do I have any opinions on whether or not any of these will or should become canon (as it really makes no difference to me, since I ship them all platonically as well). basically I have no skin in the “shipping somehow has winners and losers” game. I’m just here for the emotional energy and the lulz and the character development.

anyways this is a top six because I couldn’t bear to leave either of my two favorite rarepairs out whoops.

BakuDeku - like you said anon, not a surprise lol. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; for me, these two are the core of the series. honestly it sometimes strikes me as ironic that this ship is so often written off as abusive or unhealthy or toxic, because I often find myself thinking that roughly 90% of all of Bakugou and Deku’s problems could be sorted out just by them communicating with each other. and I don’t mean just their own specific relationship problems -- I mean all of their problems. Bakugou is having an emotional crisis about something? have him talk to Deku. Deku’s overwhelmed by a problem and way overthinking it? have him talk to Bakugou! they balance each other out, is the thing. when one of them veers off course, the other is the compass to steer them back on track. that’s the power of rivals!! and aside from that, this relationship is just so complex, and I am weak for absolutely all of it. it’s just this perfect blend of push and pull and friction and trust. it’s the type of ship where the two of them have such a strong connection that it’s like gravity; they can’t help but orbit the other, even when that orbit is sometimes unsteady. it’s just such a powerful bond and just... guh. I have way too many emotions about it so I am just going to STOP NOW and move on to the next ship.

TodoBaku - so by now we have reached a point where pretty much everyone in class 1-A is an expert on handling Bakugou, and ngl, it’s my favorite thing ever. but what makes the TodoBaku relationship so especially appealing is that Shouto is completely unafraid to just step right up and declare his friendship to the entire world. Todoroki “I’m calling it like it is” Shouto, who, after giving the matter careful consideration, correctly judged himself and Bakugou to be the closest of friends, and thus decided that they should intern together and he should introduce him to his family and get his sister to cook his favorite foods. and the entire time, Bakugou is all “please no one listen to this delusional freak, we are not friends at all,” even as he proceeds to get himself involved in all of the Todoroki family drama, and saves Shouto’s brother’s life, and learns all of his sister’s recipes, and presumably cries himself to sleep at night wondering how he could have let this happen.

Kacchako - what I like about Ochako’s relationship with Katsuki is that she’s one of the few people who’s not afraid to call him out on his shit. she’s not just warmly tolerant of him like some of the others; she has expectations of him, and will unabashedly express her sound disappointment if he fails to be the person she knows he’s capable of being. I feel like Ochako has no patience for him taking his sweet time with his character development, and is just “goddammit young man, just sort your shit out with Deku already and go back to being best friends like you both so clearly want, and while you’re at it please try to treat other people less like garbage”, and various other things that are all true but that he of course hates to hear, but TOO BAD lol. anyway so I love that, and I love that she’s just as stubborn as he is. and I also love that there’s genuine, mutual respect between the two of them as well. never forget that Katsuki is the one who first brought out Ochako’s homicidal badass side. anyway so they basically complement each other very well, and I have my fingers crossed that one of these days Horikoshi will decide to actually have them interact with each other again because damn.

KiriBaku - Kirishima, on the other hand, is warmly tolerant of Bakugou, and openly admiring of him even, but it tends to be in a way that brings out Bakugou’s best qualities. Kiri just has this way of bringing out Bakugou’s confidence in himself. like, he’s very good at saying precisely the right words to make Bakugou grin that smirky little grin of his, the one that’s all “oh yeah, that’s right, I’m a badass.” and seeing as Bakugou, for all his pride and bluster, is surprisingly prone to having mini crises of confidence, this is a valued skill that I’m very grateful to Kiri for having! and what’s nice is that Bakugou is very good at returning the favor, since Kiri is prone to crises of confidence as well. the little flashback right before Kiri unveils Unbreakable for the first time is one of my favorite moments in the series. when this ship is firing on all cylinders they really bring out the best in each other. and also they are both dumb bros which is an extremely undervalued dynamic. I love it when Bakugou is all “HEY KIRISHIMA LET ME BLOW YOU UP A BIT” and Kiri is just like “YEAHHHH!” heh.

KamiBaku - and now for the first of the two rarepairs! first of all I would just like to state that I absolutely cannot fathom why KamiBaku is a rarepair to begin with, unless it’s simply because everyone is already too obsessed with the previously mentioned ships. but at any rate it’s a damn shame, because the cuteness of this ship is off the fucking charts, and right now it’s all just going to waste. what I adore more than anything about this ship is the way Bakugou tolerates every single fucking thing Kaminari does and LETS HIM GET AWAY WITH IT. he lets him call him “Kacchan.” he lets Kaminari manhandle him into various getups (the A Band shirt; the Santa outfit) on multiple occasions while putting up absolutely no fight. he basically allows him an almost unprecedented level of closeness, which Kaminari proceeds to BLATANTLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF at every turn seemingly unchecked! and he is the all time champ at tricking Bakugou into participating in social interactions (tying the ribbon to his foot during the Christmas gift exchange, telling him he won’t get any food at the New Year’s feast if he doesn’t help cook, etc.). he just loves him and wants him to be included. honestly this one of the most adorable relationships in the entire goddamn series and I am tired of it being slept on. the people deserve more KamiBaku dammit.

IidaBaku - last but not least, a relationship between two people who I’m pretty sure have only actually interacted with each other a handful of times, and most of those times involved them shouting at each other! ah, yes. the stick in the mud and the delinquent. god’s natural enemies. except that in this case the “delinquent” is a star student who tutors other kids and goes to bed every night at 8:30, and the stick in the mud once hatched a legitimate plot to kill a man. what I am trying to say is that these two are actually WAY more alike than they would ever care to admit, and I’m kind of obsessed with it?? this is one of those ships where all it would take is one well-applied trope and the possibilities are endless. you could literally just pick one out of a hat. fake dating, roommates, only one bed, undercover as lovers, WHATEVER. and not only does this have the potential to be the most hilarious ship in the history of time, but it also has potential to be disarmingly, shockingly sweet, I shit you not. there are a couple of little moments in the light novels that I absolutely adore, where they’re each taking care of the other with the other having absolutely no idea. Iida makes about four attempts to tuck Bakugou in during the forest training camp arc because his covers have fallen off and he doesn’t want him to catch a chill, and Bakugou unknowingly returns the favor by preventing Iida from stumbling across the preparations for his own surprise birthday party before the others are finished getting ready. by shoving Iida into an elevator and ordering him to go back to his room with absolutely no explanation given lmao. anyway, but the point is the potential is definitely there for cuteness and chemistry and mutual respect while arguing nonstop like an old married couple.

so there you go! honestly Bakugou somehow has chemistry with just about everyone in his class, which is super impressive for someone with the personality of a rabid wolf spider. god bless him.

#bakugou katsuki #bakudeku #todobaku #kacchako #kiribaku #kamibaku #iidabaku #bnha meta #bakugou meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks

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onthepageoftears · 4 years

Text

Hold Them Closer ~ Ch.9 [Jaskier x assassin!reader] || Witcher

A/N: sorry this one’s a bit late, I was up late playing among us when I should have been writing whoops lol

Your kind words and reviews mean a lot to me, so please don’t afraid to leave a message/comment!

Summary: A young girl brings much more trouble than you bargained for.

Warnings: mentions of killing/death/murder/blood, lots of fighting, slight gore, language, violence, badass reader and jaskier?? (and geralt obvi lol)

Words: 1,986

Please Don’t Plagiarize My Work!

The wind whipped past your cheeks as you held onto Buttercup’s reigns. Jaskier shouted over the sound of hooves on the dirt paths, giving you directions to the monster nest. You would be lying if you said your heart wasn’t bursting out of your chest — even though you didn’t know anything about this kid, you didn’t want anything to happen to her. Your mind couldn’t help but think back to Lilla, the little girl the three of you had saved not long ago. With that thought, you held the reigns tighter, leaning forward in hopes that you would get there before the girl did.

“Shit.” You grunted, leaning back slightly and lessening the grip on the reigns. Just ahead, a horse was standing idly next to a beaten off path.

As you slid off Buttercup’s saddle, you grabbed one of the swords from the extra sheath attached to her side. Ever since training Jaskier, you had begun liking swords as your primary weapon; though knives would always be your favorite, they weren’t very practical when it came to fighting monsters.

You watched Jaskier land with a soft thump on the ground, adrenaline rising in your system. “Did you get the girl’s name?”

Jaskier huffed beside you, nodding as Geralt finally caught up, “Theodora.”

You turned to Geralt as he unsheathed his silver sword and dismounted Roach. “Geralt, what’s the plan?”

His golden eyes met your own with a strong gaze, “Save the girl.”

“Good enough for me.” You nodded, ready to head off after the young girl. The sound of another sword being unsheathed made you stop in your tracks. When you turned to Jaskier, he was standing beside Buttercup, now holding the extra sword you kept in your sheaths. From behind you, Geralt was already getting a head start down the dirt path.

With a huff, you walked back to Jaskier. “Jaskier, what are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you,” he said simply, inspecting the sword in his hand.

“Jaskier—“

His stern look took you aback. “There’s no time to argue. I’m coming.”

You opened your mouth, but quickly slammed it shut. No matter what you would say, he was right. You had no authority over him, no matter how much you didn’t want him to get hurt.

You looked at the sword in his hand, which was far more comfortable in his grip now compared to the first time you trained with him. Without another word, you turned back towards Geralt and followed him into the woods, pushing down the feeling in your gut that rose at the sight of Jaskier’s determined gaze.

The three of you made your way through the thick forest, you and Jaskier following behind Geralt as he used his witcher senses. It didn’t take long for you to veer off the path, heading deeper into the woods and looking for any sign of the girl.

Suddenly, Geralt stopped. “Up ahead. Endrega den.” He grunted, tilting his head towards what looked like a large rock.

“Fucker!” The three of you whipped your heads toward each other, eyes widening at the curse that none of you uttered. Within a split second, you broke into a run.

Just behind the large rock — which you now realized was a small cave —, a young girl stood facing a creature you had never come across before. It was a large insect with scorpion-like features, including a spiky tail hung high over its head.

The girl slashed forward, her sword making contact with the creature’s front. It jumped back, hissing as its claw-like feet moved it backward.

You were about to rush forward when you noticed the absence of the bard beside you. You had to push aside the fear that rose in your throat, especially when the creatures’ hissing grew louder.

In a flash, the endrega swung its tail, the spikes poking out of the end almost making contact with the girl’s body. But just in time, a sword swung forward, slicing the tail end off in one blow. You blinked at the sight — Jaskier had managed to get to the opposite side of the creature without it knowing, saving the girl just in time. You breathed a laugh, pride seeping through you in your disbelief.

The girl, on the other hand, didn’t seem so pleased. She glared at Jaskier as the creature in front of her writhed in pain, making a point of keeping her glare as she plunged the sword deep into its back.

Finally out of your stupor, you rushed over to the two, sending Jaskier a knowing, pride-filled glance before turning to the girl.

She looked from Jaskier, to Geralt, to you, with a deep frown. “Who the fuck are you?”

You huffed, “The people who’re going to save your life.”

The girl scoffed, cracking her neck before readying her stance.

You looked at her in disbelief. “What the fuck are you doing?”

She barely looked at you when she spoke, keeping her eyes on the cave in front of you. “Fighting these sons of bitches.”

You scoffed, “No, we are getting out of here right now.”

“Tell that to them.” You whipped your head to the side to see five more endregas scuttling towards you and out of the cave, their hisses sending a chill up your spine.

You cursed, putting yourself in front of the girl so she wouldn’t get hurt. You didn’t expect her to nudge you in the side, sending you a glare as she stepped out from behind you.

This girl is something else, you thought, but now wasn’t the time to do anything but roll your eyes. With Jaskier behind you and Geralt behind the young girl, the four of you watched as the endregas circled you.

“Geralt, what’s the easiest way to kill these things?” You shouted over your shoulder as you eyed the solid looking backs of the creatures.

You barely heard him over your own heartbeat. “There isn’t one.”

And just like that, the fight began. The girl — Theodora — let out a raspy battle cry before jumping forward, her sword just missing the endrega’s head. You followed her actions, sending a heavy swing towards the endrega nearest to you; when the hit missed, you spun and brought the sword up, bringing it back down in a harsh blow to the endregas head. Unfortunately, your sword only hit the outer shell of the head — the creature hissed louder at you, and as you cringed at the sound, you knew you just made it angrier.

Your eyes widened as its body twisted quickly, bringing its tail to almost make contact with your face. You dropped to the ground just in time and, using your new position, you jabbed your sword right through the creature's head. It made a final hiss before falling limp, giving you time to retrieve your sword from its head.

That was easier than you thought, but still hard enough to make your heart race. You huffed, sending a kick to the endregas side for good measure. Turning back around, you noticed the group had spread out quite a bit — Geralt was fighting off two endregas of his own, dodging as expertly as you’d imagine he would. Not far from him, Jaskier faced an endrega of his own; he brought his sword down, missing as the creature jumped out of the way. The endrega moved to swing its tail, but Jaskier stuck his sword out just in time to block it — unlike before, though, his sword was met with the strongest part of the tail. The momentum of the tail’s swing knocked the sword out of his hand, sending it flying in the other direction.

Jaskier’s eyes flashed in fear as his sword clattered to the ground. You were about to rush over to him when Theodora emerged at the same time, letting out another cry as she sliced the creature's tail just as Jaskier had done before. Using her swing’s momentum, she spun and lifted the sword, bringing it down into the creature’s back.

You blinked as the endrega fell to the ground, leaving Jaskier and Theodora to stare at each other as they caught their breath. Without another second to waste, you ran over to Jaskier’s fallen sword and held it in your non-dominant hand, turning your attention to Geralt. While you knew he was completely capable of handling the creatures on his own, you also knew standing around would be useless. You clutched the two swords in your hands and ran to the witcher, silently noting the obvious difference in weight from your knives.

Geralt caught your eye as you stood just behind the two endregas that hissed at him.

“Step back!” He yelled, and you did as he said, watching as he held a hand out and pushed it forward — to your surprise, a burst of fire flew through his hand and towards the endregas, causing them to hiss in pain. As they scuttled backward from Geralt, you twisted your swords so the tips were facing downward. When the endregas were practically right in front of you, you grunted, thrusting the swords straight down into the ground and through their backs.

After a moment of catching your breath, you stood from your position, grunting as you retrieved your swords from the endregas. You licked your dry lips as you wiped the blood soaked swords on you pants, barely listening to Jaskier as he clapped his hands beside you.

“That was…brilliant! I’ve never felt more exhilarated.” He took the sword you handed to him, making sure you caught his wink before saying, “Except when I’m with you, of course.”

You ignored the bard, nodding at Theodora as you sheathed your own sword. “You held your own.”

“Better than some.” She glared at Jaskier, who opened his mouth to argue. Before he could, she turned back to you. “Why are you here, anyway?”

Geralt answered for you, “Your mother sent us.”

“Of course she did.” The girl rolled her eyes, kicking the endrega body that lay near her. “She doesn’t trust me.”

Jaskier frowned, “You ran off to a monster den and you wonder why she doesn’t trust you?”

Theodora said nothing, and instead pointedly lifted a single finger in Jaskier’s direction.

Jaskier scoffed, over dramatically rolling his eyes, “Kids.”

Now Theodora scoffed, “I’m not a kid!”

Jaskier gasped, feigning regret. “My bad.” He turned to you, clicking his tongue. “Teenagers.”

“Jaskier.” Geralt spoke, his voice coming out as a warning. When you all turned to him, the slightest flash of amusement crossed his features. “Stop fighting with a child.”

Theodora’s fists clenched at her sides, walking up to Geralt with her most intimidating glare, “I’m not a child, you ignorant oaf!”

“Actually, he prefers witcher.”

Theodora turned back to Jaskier, her face getting more scrunched up by the second. “I’ll show you, you loudmouthed piece of—“

“Enough.” You boomed, your tone being enough to make everyone turn to you. After the fight with the endregas, and the childish banter afterward, no one else seemed to notice the sky darkening quicker by the second. You sighed, gesturing above. “We should make camp. It’s too dangerous to travel late.”

“Maybe for you.” Theodora huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

You ignored her, tilting your head towards the cave. “You think we can stay in there for the night?

Geralt sent you a stiff nod. “Looks like we cleared it out. It should be safe for tonight.”

“Great.” You gave him a single nod, taking a sharp breath in. “Let’s bring the horses here. You,” You got Theodora’s attention, “Guard the area until we get back.”

Jaskier went to argue, but you held up a hand to shut him up. As you turned around, you didn’t miss Theodora sticking her tongue out at him in a taunt, but you did have to hide the smirk that grew on your lips when an annoyed Jaskier caught up beside you.

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vannahfanfics · 4 years

Text

The Wonder of Small Things

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Momo Yaoyaorozu, Yosetsu Awase

Additional Tags: Mermaid AU

Hey guys, I’m still riding my MomoWase train LOL… This one is in accordance with @bnhabookclub‘s MerMay event, inspired by the prompt “It’s all right. Come here.” Happy reading, and thanks again to @bnhabookclub for hosting this event and accepting me into the server ^.^ I’m having so much fun already!

The early morning air was cool on Yosetsu’s skin as he tromped down the worn dirt path leading to the rocky shore, his cast nets slung over his shoulder. The clinking of the attached metal weights was the only sound in these pre-dawn hours; the sea birds were just beginning to blink sleep away from their beady black eyes and ruffle their feathers to shake away the dew that clung to them like diamond beads. There was that, and the scraping of his worn soles on the even more worn dirt of the path carrying him down to the sloshing sea.

Soon the earthen incline gave way to slick, salty rocks against which the frothing white waves continuously crashed in an endless melody. A wooden dock jutted out into the dark waters, secured to the last bit of earth before the rocky shore. The path Yosetsu traveled suddenly veered level to snake alongside the collection of smooth rocks, but rather than following it just yet, he carefully picked his way a few feet down the precarious shoreline. Mouth drawn into a taut line of concentration, he poked each rock firmly with the toe of his boot to ensure it would not dislodge before setting his full weight against it. In doing so, he gradually approached the thick brown mud barely visible at the base of the rocky slope. Just above the rolling waves, he stopped, setting a hand on his hip and gazing intently at the horizon. A smile crept up his lips as the first tinge of red began to bleed into the indigo sky, slowly following by the burning yellow sun.

Yosetsu always watched the sunrise before setting out to sea. He viewed it almost as a good-luck ritual at this point, a prayer for a plentiful catch. Besides, the sunrises off the rocky shore downhill from his solitary, modest cabin were more beautiful than that you could see from the grandest mansion, at least in his eyes. He loved the way the red, orange, and yellow spilled forth into the sparkling waves like paint poured over a canvas, bleeding together in colorful harmony. At the same time, it spread upwards into the black ink of the sky, like a battalion of soldiers forcing back the terrible demons of the night from whence they came to return light to the world. The golden-white sun bloomed on the horizon like a trembling bubble, ready to burst at any moment with energy but never doing so. Yosetsu’s smile grew with every inch the sun traveled up the blanket of night, marveling black turning into brilliant blue. As soon as the sun detached itself from the horizon with one final flicker, he then turned to pick his way back up the slope and tromp down the remainder of the path to the dock where his humble fishing vessel was moored. The sunset was beautiful, but a young man had a job to do, after all.

The little boat moaned and groaned as the waves playfully tossed it about. The white canvas sail flapped languidly in greeting at him. Yosetsu tossed his casting net into the boat before grabbing the mooring rope to untie it. Once he removed it from the post, he tossed it into the ship as well and carefully eased one leg into the boat. It rocked precariously with the addition of his weight, drifting closer to the dock; after taking a moment to ensure his balance was sufficient, he swiftly pushed off from the pier and drew his other leg into the small vessel. The force pushed the boat away from the wooden structure and out into the waves. Yosetsu grabbed a little paddle and stuck it into the water, then began to row out to sea.

His boat was little more than a dinghy fit for two, so he did not row far- only to where the water was about fifteen feet deep or so, with the land still clearly in view. He hefted up his anchor and tossed it into the water; in plunked into the waves with a tremendous splash before plummeting the short distance down to the seafloor, where it sunk into the thick mud and probably startled some scuttling crabs or perhaps disgruntling a flounder. Yosetsu picked up his casting net and spread it out with both his arms, hooking some of the salty thin rope with his teeth. With practiced movements, he then flung the net about a yard into the water. The heavy weights sewn into the rope caused the thin and light material to sink rapidly down into the depths and hopefully trap a collection of nice fish and crustaceans within the spiderweb-like netting. Once the tension slacked in the string in his hand, he swiftly reeled it in.

Water cascaded from the net as he hauled it over the side and splashed around as the trapped fish fearfully flapped about. Yosetsu grabbed one of the metal ten-gallon-buckets that stocked the boat and scooped some seawater into it before loading the acceptable fish from his haul into it. It seemed his daily ritual had again borne fruit; the net contained several sizeable crabs and a nice, fat trout, perfect for roasting over a crackling fire. He had only just begun, but he still grinned to himself at the possibility of a haul so good he could take a day off.

Yosetsu continued fishing until the sun had reached its highest point. By this time, he had stripped off his loose cotton shirt; the hot rays made the thin sheen of sweat glimmer on his tanned skin not unlike the light playing over the water. He had five ten-gallon buckets filled to their brims with a various assortment of fish and other sea creatures. He grinned as his eyes swept over the impressive haul, his mind whirling of the various ways he could salt and season and grill them over the next few days. Two-thirds of his catch he was going to take into town to sell to the local fish merchant and earn himself a pretty penny. Could probably get myself some new boots, he thought as he wiggled his big toe, watching the pink flesh and dirty toenail poke through the frayed leather.

There was a little more room in the last bucket, so Yosetsu decided to try his luck with one more cast. He flung the net out into the water and waited for it to sink to the muddy bottom, holding the string tight in his hand. His eyebrow quirked when he the thin rope lurched some in his grip. He grinned, thinking he had caught himself a nice fat monster fish. However, the string then lurched violently in his grasp, making him cry out and stumble over to the edge of the boat. He planted the sole of his boot on the edge and leaned back at a forty-five-degree angle, gritting his teeth as he gripped the rope tight with both hands.

“Nuh-uh. You’re not getting away from me, dinner!” he grunted through clenched teeth. The rope dug into the calloused flesh of his palms to tear away the roughened skin and bite the soft, vulnerable layer underneath. It began to burn terribly, and smears of red blood began to appear on every inch of the gray-white nylon he tugged back, but he refused to let go. His eyes went as wide as saucers as a massive, glittering red tail began to thrash at the surface of the water. He began to whoop and holler with glee. “Well dammit if that ain’t the biggest redfish I’ve ever seen!” he howled. The crimson scales gleamed in the white sunlight, sparkling like millions of fine-cut rubies. The shade was a bit vermillion to be a redfish, and he couldn’t spot the signature brown circular mark that identified the species, but if it wasn’t a redfish, then what the hell was it?

As it turned out, it was not a redfish.

Yosetsu went slack-jawed as the gigantic tail disappeared under the water, only to be replaced with the upper half of a human woman. She tugged aggressively at the white nylon netting twisted snug around her body, but her fine fingernails had no chance of rending the thickly woven rope. She had thick black hair that was voluminous even with the water streaming from the strands in rivulets, and pretty black eyes that shone like onyx pearls in her pale white face. He gawked at her shamelessly, the rope loosening in his hands from the shock. “A mermaid,” he breathed when his tongue finally decided it wanted to work, “I caught a fucking mermaid.”

Her head snapped to him once he spoke. Her gaze dropped to the thread of rope connecting the net proper to himself, and he hastily tightened his grip again lest she decide to try and spring away. Her eyes slowly trailed back up to his face; they were hard, calculating, distrusting… but gleaming with the tiniest bit of curiosity. Yosetsu flushed a little under her unyielding stare and bit down hard on his lip as he contemplated what exactly he should do.

Mermaids were urban legends, fairy tales, the subject of raucous sea shanties- yet here he was with one tangled in his cast net! If he hauled her in and showed her off in the nearby town, he was almost guaranteed to skyrocket into the highest tax bracket. He could sell her off to a zoo or a scientist or even the government for millions, and boom! No more hovel on the seaside, no more slaving in a dinghy to drag in fish all day- he’d be lounging in a hammock sipping piña coladas out of coconuts surrounded by pretty girls in bikinis! He giggled languorously at the colorful fantasy. Yet, when he looked back at the beautiful mermaid staring silently at him, the dream bubble burst over his head.

Guilt began to burn like acid in the back of his throat. What was he thinking? She was a living creature, no different than he. With her tail suspended below the water, it was like he was looking at a human girl. How dare he fantasize about profiting off her misery? He tried to ignore the whispers of dollar signs in his ears as he slowly crouched down, beckoning her over with a hand. “It’s all right. Come here.”

She tilted her head to the side as she eyed him warily. He couldn’t blame her; mermaid horror stories probably consisted of terrible tales of what humans would do if she were ever caught. Smiling gently like he would at a stray dog, he beckoned her again. “I promise I won’t hurt you. That netting must hurt, right? Lemme untangle you.” The mermaid hesitated for a moment, then slowly swam up to the edge of the boat. The waves had calmed down since early morning, so now he could see her vermillion tail gliding just underneath the surface; wispy pinkish-red fins adorned the scaly body. It seemed she even had a flair for fashion, as she had strings of colorful glass bits and dark green kelp wrapped around her midriff like a belt with lines of them trailing down around her like a shredded skirt. He was so busy staring at the interesting garment that he hadn’t noticed she had leaned up to rest her arms on the edge of the boat- that is, until she coughed politely right in his ear.

He scrambled back too fast and landed on his rump, rocking the boat tremendously. She giggled cutely at him, bobbing up and down with the boat’s movement. With pink cheeks, he straightened his headband and crawled back to the other side of the vessel to sit on his knees in front of her. When he procured his pocketknife, her dark eyes flickered to the chipped blade before looking at him nervously. “It’s all right. I’ll be careful not to cut you. I just don’t think I can untangle you with how much you thrashed around,” he explained softly. He waited until she nodded slowly in acknowledgment before getting to work.

He started with the netting around her chest. Due to her whipping and flapping around, most of the net had wound itself around her middle. It was drawn painfully tight, digging into her supple white skin, and there was a faint wheeze in her breaths as she struggled to breathe with the tightness. Yosetsu wormed the tip of his index finger beneath the thin rope to pull it up enough to slip the blade under, careful not to nick her, and slice through the nylon. He tried not to think about how expensive that net had been and how he would probably have to forgo new boots in favor of purchasing a new one. At least I got a good haul today, he lamented with a wry smile.

Once he had cut through a good portion of the netting around her middle, the mermaid released a long sigh of relief. Her body sagged down into the water a little and she drank in a few heavy breaths; Yosetsu waited patiently for her to recover from the strain, as he was sure it had been uncomfortable for her, then began to work at the netting around her neck. That was the most painstaking part, as he had to be exceptionally careful not to cut the artery or vein there. She craned her chin up as he diligently worked, but her black eyes remained fixed on him the entire time. It was quite daunting, actually, and a faint blush remained on his cheeks throughout the entire ordeal.

“Here we go,” he smiled as he pulled the loose netting over her head. For a second, he thought of the way a groom removed a veil from the face of his bride, and his blush darkened to a plum color. The mermaid seemed not to notice, for she was smiling giddily and shaking her cascades of black hair away from the clinging strands of the net. The afternoon sun had dried her hair out considerably, making it shine like threads of obsidian. Transfixed, Yosetsu could not help but reach out to touch it; it was incredibly soft against his fingertips, despite the incredible amount of salt it came into contact with daily. The mermaid didn’t shy away, only watched him with a blank expression. “Sorry,” he stuttered when he realized what he was doing and snatched his hand away. “It’s just, um, really pretty.” His heart thumped in his chest at the happy smile she gave him. She hadn’t said a word yet, so who knew if she even knew what he was saying? She was probably just reacting for his benefit.

He motioned for her to roll onto her side, and she did so, exposing that giant vermillion tail to his awaiting eyes. Rubies, he thought again as he beheld the magnificent appendage. He leaned over the edge of the boat to begin cutting at the netting. It was much less careful work due to the healthy hardness of her scale, so he finished quickly. With a small sigh, he dragged the last of the ruined netting from her body and deposited it in the small fishing boat. With his back turned, he fully expected her to disappear beneath the water and swim away into the depths, never to return. He frown when he heard no splashing, however, and turned back to see her still there. She had her chin propped up on her arms and was just gazing at him with a tiny smile.

“Um… I’m done now. You can go now if you want to,” he told her awkwardly. Her smile widened, and for the first time, she spoke.

“What’s your name?” The question threw him for a loop; really, at this point he thought her to be mute, or at least incapable of human language.

“Y-yosetsu Awase,” he stammered quickly. “What about you?” he asked and edged a little closer to her. “Do you have a name?” She made a series of clicking and chirping sounds that he supposed was merfolk language. He had no idea of how even to begin replicating it, so he just gave her a crooked smile. “Uh, that’s, uh, a pretty name.” She giggled airily and pulled herself up so that they were now eye-level. Her face was only a few inches from his. He could kiss her if he wanted to. Stop that, he scolded his shameless unconscious.

“You didn’t understand that, did you?”

“No. Absolutely not. Not a word.” She giggled again. He found himself smiling at how beautiful her laugh was. It reminded him of the bells ringing in the docks of the city harbor as they signaled the morning sail of the shrimp and charter boats. Her body bobbed up and down with the waves, occasionally bringing her face a few centimeters closer to his. Her black eyes continuously searched his expression, but he knew not what she was searching for.

“Well, then… Why don’t you give me a human name?”

One hears thousands of names in their lifetime, but as he gaped at her, he could not even think of one. Subconsciously, he glanced down and spied the peachy-pink color of her wispy fins.

“How about… Momo?”

“Mo-mo?” she echoed inquisitively. He flushed, thinking she found it ridiculous, but then she flashed him a toothy grin. “I like it. You may call me Momo, Yosetsu Awase.”

“You can just call me Yosetsu,” he corrected her quickly. When she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, he quickly explained, “Humans have two names, a first and a last. Humans usually only call each other by one, so… You can call me Yosetsu.” He figured it would be too much trouble to explain the intricacies and manners of given and surnames, so he just elected to keep things simple. She smiled cutely at him.

“All right, then… Yosetsu.” The conversation died, but not uncomfortably so. Yosetsu very much liked just looking at her. She really was a magnificently splendorous creature, and he couldn’t believe that thirty minutes ago, he was considering selling her off to the highest bidder.

She poked around his boat a little, inquiring about the various tools and such he carried with him. He found her delight and curiosity to be more refreshing than the briskest sea breeze and smiled all the while. She was like a charmed young child, entranced by even the most mundane of human artifacts. He gave her a cowrie shell that he had fished in with his net, and she reclined back in the water to watch the light play over its brown-striped surface with the purest look of rapture he had ever seen. It reminded him of how much he really took for granted in day-to-day life. How had the wonder of all the small things in the world just dissolved away? Although, he thought wryly, I do have my sunrises.

“Momo.” She looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Will you… come back tomorrow morning? Before the sun rises?”

~~~~~~~~~~

The early morning air was cool on Yosetsu’s skin as he tromped down the worn dirt path leading to the rocky shore, but he didn’t have his cast net with him this time. The scraping of his worn soles on the even more worn dirt was the only sound in these pre-dawn hours; the sea birds were just beginning to blink sleep away from their beady black eyes and ruffle their feathers to shake away the dew that clung to them like diamond beads. There was that, and Momo’s greeting floating on the sea breeze from the shoreline.

Like every morning, Yosetsu ignored the veer in the dirt path to instead pick his way down the slick collection of rocks to stop just short of the splashing waves. Momo lay with her upper half sprawled over a large, flat stone with her black hair gathered over her shoulder, and the milk-white skin of her mostly bare back gleamed like limestone in the moonlight. Her crimson tail floated on the surface of the water behind her, those delicate pink fins rippling like fine silk in the swilling waves. “Good morning,” he smiled as he came to a stop beside her.

“Hello. What is it you wanted me to see?”

“Just be patient,” he instructed her breathily as he eased himself into a sitting position on the flat but slimy-wet rock. He eased off his boots and socks and set them aside so he could dip his bare feet into the cool water. He dug his toes into the goopy brown mud with a contented sigh, then looked over as Momo swam a little closer to him. She was eyeing him curiously, like he was going to bring out something at any moment. “Just look at the horizon,” he ordered, punctuating it with a point of his index finger. She blinked but obediently did as he asked, reclining against the rocks and staring out at the point where sky met sea. A smile crept up his lips as the first tinge of red began to bleed into the indigo sky, slowly following by the burning yellow sun, and he looked at her to see her eyes gradually widening.

The red, orange, and yellow spilled forth into the sparkling waves like paint poured over a canvas, bleeding together in colorful harmony. At the same time, it spread upwards into the black ink of the sky, like a battalion of soldiers forcing back the terrible demons of the night from whence they came to return light to the world. The golden-white sun bloomed on the horizon like a trembling bubble, ready to burst at any moment with energy but never doing so. Yosetsu had seen this image countless mornings; it had been burned into his mind like a brand, so he did not need to look at it that morning to marvel. No, instead, he marveled at the gorgeous mermaid beside him as she beheld her first sunrise. Her pink lips parted with an awed gasp while her black eyes shone gold as they caught the first rays of the morning sun. So enraptured was she that she didn’t even smile; she just stared at the sun as it inched up the sky, until with one final flicker it detached itself from the horizon to rise into the brilliant expanse of blue.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she whispered. He raised an eyebrow as a tear leaked out of her eye and rolled down her cheek. He wondered if he had been so moved the first time that he saw the sunrise. Probably not, because unlike Momo, he took the wonder of the small things for granted. She turned to him with a beaming, grateful smile so big it made her eyes scrunch up a little. “Thank you, Yosetsu. I’ll never forget this moment, never.” He blushed at the solemnness of her vow and scratched at the back of his head bashfully.

“Well… If you want to… You can see it every morning. The sunrise, I mean. I do it every day before I go out to sea.”

“Then I’ll be here every morning waiting for you,” she promised. He gave her a lopsided grin. She pulled herself up onto the rocks so that they were eye-level. Her face was only a few inches from his. He could kiss her, if he wanted to- and oh, how he wanted to. Her eyes flickered down to his lips as he experimentally leaned in a little closer. She did not retreat from his advance, only gazed invitingly at him with those eyes like black pearls.

“You know somethin’, Momo?” His breath ghosted over her face, and his lips hovered mere millimeters from hers.

“What?” The word was but a whisper, a flitter of wind against his mouth.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Her eyes fluttered shut as he closed the minuscule distance and gently pressed his mouth to hers. His hands found her waist, just above the junction of ruby scales to skin covered by strings of glass shards and kelp wrappings, and tenderly caressed the soft flesh still gleaming with seawater. He only held the kiss for a mere moment, as fleeting as the crash of a wave against the shore. When he pulled back, her onyx eyes glittered as she smiled sheepishly and cupped his wind-roughened cheek in her hand. There, in the space where sky met sea met land, Yosetsu again marveled the wonder of all the small things in the world and was thankful.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

Tag List: @deliathedork @mhafandomman

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jungshookz · 5 years

Note

*kicks open door* kiNDERGARTEN TEACHER!TAEHYUNG THAT HAS A FAT CRUSH ON THE HOT SINGLE MOM HE SEES WHEN SHE COMES TO PICK UP HER CUTEASS KID

→ pairing: kim taehyung x reader

→ genre: kindergartenteacher!taeHYUNG aka THE FLUFFIEST FLUFF like i don’t think i’ve ever felt so SOFT in my entire life great googly moogly please prepare yourselves

→ wordcount: 3.3k

(gif isn’t mine!)

“shit shit shit shIt shit” you curse to yourself as you vEEr right into the first parking spot you see

you immediately crank the brake and unbuckle your seatbelt

“i was going to park there, asshole!” you hop out of the car to see an angry looking mother glaring at you from her minivan and you give her a sheepish smile

“i’m sorry!!!! my kid just got off from class and i can’t be late because i need to drive her to ballet and-“ you’re definitely oversharing with this stranger and she obviously doesn’t care because she rolls her eyes and flips you off before zoOming off to find another parking spot

soccer moms are so aggressive

you double check that you have everything with you and you fish your parent lanyard out of your backpack and sling it around your neck quickly as you approach the front doors

you thought that once you became a mother you would instantly become more responsible more organised more matuRe

obviously you were mistAken because you’re still late to almost everything you go to

some things never change!!!!

you hurry your way down the hallway and pick up the pace when you see the swarm of parents standing outside the classroom

as you approach the crowd you get up on your tip-toes to see if emma’s been excused yet

you accidentally bump into a couple and a bit of your coffee splashes onto their shoulders and they turn around and give you a dirty look

“oh, sorry!!!! ….fridays, am i right?” you joke and they both scowl before shuffling to stand somewhere else

oof

tough crowd

none of the parents here like u that much

which is a real shame because you think you make greAt company

you’re just,.,, there’s a big age gap between u and most of the parents here

you’re one of the younger parents in the class

actually you might be the youngest

min yoongi and his wife (you forgot her name whoOps) are pretty young but they’re still a couple years older than you

and side note their daughter is adoraBle

emma is actually friends with hwayoung so you talk to yoongi sometimes

it’s nice to talk to someone who’s around your age

he’s just veRy businessman-y so it’s difficult to joke around with him

but he’s still a nice guy!!

speaking of yoongi and hwayoung

a bright smile makes its way onto your face when you see yoongi nudging hwayoung through the crowd of people before grabbing onto her small hand

“yoongi!” yoongi looks up and he smiles politely

he’s still dressed all spic and span in his suit from work

“ah! good afternoon, y/n. hwayoung, say good afternoon to auntie.” he hums before bending down to zip up her backpack that’s just wiDe open

relatable

“good afternoon, auntie!!” she looks up at you with bright eyes

she’s sO CuTE

“hi, hwayoung-ie!” you bend down and pinch her cheek before reaching into the pocket of your coat and fishing out a little caramel “don’t tell your dad,” you joke and yoongi snorts in response

“thank u!!!!!” she snaTches it immediately and you coo before pinching her cheek again

you get back up onto your feet “you guys on your way home now?”

“mhm. is emma still available for a playdate this sunday?” yoongi swoops hwayoung off her feet and props her up onto his hip and she immediately rests her head against his shoulder

“affirmative, sir.” you salute and yoongi rolls his eyes playfully “i-“

“emma y/l/n?” you perk up when you hear emma’s name being called

“yeah, we’ll see you sunday! have a nice night!” you turn to squeeze your way into the crowd and once you make your way to the front your heart immediately starts going boom-boom because

it’s taehyung

emma’s teacher

kim taehyung is uh

whOo

putting it simply he is a very attractive man and he’s only a couple months older than you so like you’re preTTY sure this is god’s way of telling you it’s meant to be

the only time you’ve really talk to him is during the parent-teacher conference and even theN you can barely get a word in because emma’s a little chatterbox (one time she almost let it slip that ‘mommy dressed extra pretty for you!’ and you were literally about to pounce on your child in the middle of a classroom)

he’s really sweet n nice and when he smiles that boxY grin you can’t help but smile aNd he’s endearingly dorky and super charming aND funny and he’s so good with the kids and OH my god his voice is like..,., silky smooth dark chocolate.,,.,. rich caramel.,, that u want to driZZLE all over your BODY

okay no R-rated thoughts when there are children present don’t be weird

since he’s your kid’s teacher so you’re not sure if that’s even allowed

the whole parents dating teachers thing

anyways

he looks so soft today

he’s wearing a crisp button up with a pair of jeans

he obviously let the kids mess with his hair because he has a little sproUT in his hair

and you’re pretty sure you have a glasses kink because you’ve never felt this way when seeing someone with their glasses sitting on the top of their head

“hi, yeah, that’s me- i mean, that’s not me, but that’s my child- you know what i mean” you blow a strand of hair away from your face before adjusting your backpack with a sheepish grin

woW what the hell was that lol

taehyung presses his lips together to keep himself from bursting into chuckles

you’re so awkward sometimes but he supposes that’s just part of your charm

he wants to tell you you look real cute in your periwinkle sweater

and it’s endearing how the laces on your converse shoes are undone

no doubt from your frantic running down the hallway (he notices everything)

but of course he has to keep it professional because you are the parent of one of his students it doesn’t matTer that you’re the same age as him and that he’s very very very veRY attracted to you

“hi miss y/l/n.” taehyung smiles kindly before ticking next to your name on the clipboard “emma’ll be ready in a minute! we did finger-painting today so the kids are taking a little longer to wash up. how was your day?” he suddenly remembers the little ponYTAIL in his hair and he yanks the hair tie off quickly

“oh, y’know, the usual. i don’t know why i thought it’d be a good idea to keep studying after four whole years of studying.” you snort before pulling your own hair tie from your ponytail and letting your hair down

“i admire that! education is important.” taehyung hums

your hair looks so soft

it probably smells good too

o god he’s being creepy stop being creepy

“i suppose you’re right. what else happened…uh… had a really good caramel macchiato and a mediocre turkey sandwich for lunch-“

“mommy!” you snap out of your little trance when emma suddenly ziPs out of the classroom

her little backpack bounces against her back

“hi baby!” you grin and swoOp down to scoop her up into your arms

you smoosh kisses against her chubby cheek while she giggles away before you plop her back down onto the ground

it takes everything within taehyung not to mELT into the ground because even tho he sees you do that basically every day it never fails to turn him into a pile of mush IT’S SO CUTE

“we finger-painted today!” she cheers and holds her paper up for you to look at

“yeah, mr kim was just telling me-“

“that’s me, n that’s you, n that’s mr. kim!” she grins and points to the third figure in the painting and almost immediately bOTH yours and tae’s faces go bright red

you think you might actually be on fire right now (even tho this isn’t the first time this has hAPPENeD) ((ur referring to the time the class made play-doh people and emma made one of you and one of tae and the play-doh versions of you two are holding hands))

“oh! that’s, heh, uh, that’s nice! that’s so good, you did a good job, baby” you clear your throat and your eyes flicker over to taehyung

he tilts his head and offers you a meek smile

“will you put it up on the fridge when we go home?” she asks as you tuck it into her backpack for her before ziPping her bag up

“mhm…” you get back up onto your feet and dust your knees off “say g’bye to mr. kim”

“bye mr. kim!” emma turns around and hugs his legs

her face is like on the same level as his knees so he’s basically kneeing her and are u an awful mother if you kinda laughed at that

“goodbye, sweetheart!” he replies with the same level of enthusiasm as he gets down onto his knees so that he can give her a proper hug and she gives him a sweet lil kiss on the cheek “have a nice weekend, hm?” his eyes flicker up to you and you feel your heart skip a beat

emma pulls away from him and skips over to you

“oh, and don’t forget to tie your laces, emma.” taehyung hums as he gets back up onto his feet

you look down because you remember putting emma in slip-on converse this morning not-

“he means you, mama.” emma not-so-subtly whispers and you look down at your undone laces before looking back up at taehyung who’s looking very amused at the moment

there it is again

that fuzzy feeling in your stuPid heart

u know what you have to get over it because it’s never going to happen

you’re an adult

you can get over it fine

you’ll be finE

this is just a silly little crush

“how do you feel about spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner?” you clutch emma’s little hand in yours as you guys make your way down the empty hallway

“yummy! with extra cheese?”

“it wouldn’t be as yummy without the extra cheese… but we obviously have to go to our usual place to get a hot chocolate first…” you’re rambling on and on about hot chocolate but emma isn’t really paying attention

because she has concocted a sneaky plan in that tiny brain of hers

she knows you like mr. kim

and she’s positive mr. kim likes you back

you always get so red around him

and he always gets so red around you

and red is the colour of love

which means that you must love mr. kim and mr. kim must love you

and she’s been trying her hardest to try and get you guys to hold hands or touch butts or whatever it is grown-ups do to prove they love each other

but each time she does something she’s never successful!!!

she tried to tell mr. kim about you dressing extra pretty for him but you smacked a hand over her mouth before she could get it out

she made a play-doh mommy and a play-doh mr. kim and presented them proudly to you and mr. kim and the both of you just laUGHED in hER FACE

do you people think she’s just a SIMPLE F O O L

and she has to admit the painting of you and her and mr. kim is probably one of her weaker moves but it’s better than nothing

and u know what

she just wants you to be happy

because she loves you a lot

and you’re a good mommy

and good mommies deserve to be happy

this next part is all part of her evil plan and she’s positive that this time something will happen

all of her peers (including herself) have their own cubbies in the classroom

emma purposely left her snack box in there so that you’d have a reason to go back

AND she left a little note in there for you and (hopefully) mr. kim to read

emma is your child after all

meaning she’s a very verY clever girl

she just has to wait for the right time.,.,.

and the right time is noW

“mommy, my snack box is still in the classroom!!” emma stops in her tracks and you nod before pointing to the direction of the classroom

“go ahead, go get it”

“but i need to pee.” she squeezes her legs together and makes a face of discomfort “you need to get the snack box, mommy”

“i-“ you look back at the closed door of the classroom “mommy can wait for you to finish peeing and then you can go-“

“no, no, you need to go get it i need to pEE” the next thing you know she’s spRInting towards the washroom and you’re left standing in the middle of the hallway with question marks floating around your head

what in the hickory ham is going on

“gO GET MY SNACK BOX MOMMY” you hear her voice echo from the washroom

“alRIght alright” you snort before turning and heading back to the classroom

you don’t know why you’re suddenly so nervous

you’re retrieving your daughter’s snack box from her super attractive teacher that you definitely have a crush on there’s nothing to be nervous about

hi tae! emma left the ol’ snack box up in here!

whaddup mr. kim! mind if i just pOP right in??

yo Yo yOOoo have u seen a purple box anywhere?? because it belongs to emma and i need it

o god

all of these options are terrible

you need more time to rehearse your lines-

you’re about to reach up to knock on the door when suddenly it swiNgs right open and you stumble back in surprise

“oh shit!” taehyung reaches out and grabs onto your waist before you can fall flat on your aSS and you let out a squeak

in the midst of your almost-fall you’d grabbed onto his bicep and now.,.., he has an arm…, wrapped around your waist.,., while you have one hand on his bicep and one hand curled around the nape of his neck.,,,..,.,

the two of you snap out of your respective trances when you hear a door open down the hallway and you immediately leT GO of each other

also tae was right ur hair does smell really nice

“hi. sorry about that! i was on my way to the washroom and i didn’t know you were outside…” he clears his throat and prays to god he’s not as red as a tomato right now

“no, no! it was my bad, i’m sorry.” you reach up and scratch the back of your neck “i, uh, emma said she left her snack box in here.” you breathe out

“oh, uh, come in! i’ll help you search for it. it’s probably in her cubby. she’s always leaving things in there.” taehyung falls back into his ‘mr. kim’ persona as he leads you towards the cubbies in the back “let’s see… emma… here~” he bends down and you follow suit

oh my go d he even smells good is this aLLOWed

you perk up when you spot emma’s box

“hey, you’re right! here it is-“ you reach in and grab the box but you’re surprise when you notice the piece of paper stuck to the back of it

it’s an A4 piece of paper with a little card stuck to it and a note written in crayon on it

you recognise the card

it’s the business card of that little cafe you take emma to every friday after school

the one that you’re supposed to take her to right noW

‘mommy’s faveriate drink is karomal makkiatoe and mr. kim’s faverieote drink is hot chalklate’

“huh.” both you and tae are kinda just staring at the note

the gears are click-click-clicking away in both your guys’ heads

and then it hits the both of you at the same time

oh.

taehyung isn’t typically a ballsy guy but like

he’s feeling vEry brave all of a sudden

“can i take you out sometime?” he blurts out and your eyes widen in surprise

well

you certainly weren’t expecting that

the both of you get back up onto your feet and you tuck emma’s box into your backpack

your cheeks flare up and you let out a little chuckle before scratching the back of your neck “i… uh…”

“i mean, don’t feel pressured to say yes just because i’m emma’s teacher!” taehyung stammers “i just, y’know, i don’t want to overstep here but i think you’re a very beautiful woman and-“

“i would love to.” you clear your throat and take your bottom lip in between your teeth “yeah, i would love to. actually, uh- emma and i, we usually go to this cafe every friday - if you’re free right now, maybe you can come and join us?” you rub your slighTLy damp hands on the back of your jeans and taehyung immediately lightS up and nods quickly

“i would love that. yeah, just… just gimme a second to clean up real quick! i’ll meet you and emma outside?”

“great! yeah, totally. she’s just.. she’s peeing right now so i should probably go check and see that she hasn’t flushed herself down the toilet or anything” you joke as you make your way towards the door and tae splits off to head to his desk “i’ll see you outside!”

you shut the door behind you and you have to quickly press yourself against the wall and you nearly bite your bottom lip off to keep yourself from screaming

your heart is going a million miles an hour and there are butterflies just having a raVE in your stomach

as soon as you leave the room taehyung pumps a fiST into the air in victory because Y E S HE DID IT

“did you find my box?” emma’s sitting outside the washroom as you approach her and you raise a brow before nodding

“mhm.” she gets up and grabs onto your hand before looking back at the classroom door

huh

did her plan not work

she knows she’s not supposed to say bad words but what the h*ck

she really thought her plan would work!!!!

“mr. kim’s joining us for hot chocolate today, by the way. hope you don’t mind.” you add casually and a cheshire-cat grin takes over emma’s face

the whole time you and emma and tae are at the cafe emma can’t help but feel proud of herself

you and mr. kim are sitting very vEry close to each other in your booth chatting away while she sits opposite of you two quietly nibbling at a scone and taking small sips of her hot chocolate

S U C C E S S has never tasted so good

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a request)

masterlist

#bts #taehyung #kim taehyung #uwU #requested drabbles #taehyung fics #taehyung fic recs #taehyung fluff #taehyung cute #taehyung cute gifs #taehyung fluff recs #taehyung smut #taehyung smut recs #bts fics #bts fic recs #bts cute

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microsoftedgy69 · 5 years

Text

Goliath, part 3

[prologue] [part 1] [part 2]

Thursday

Sburb is not a game for people with acrophobia, you think. You happen to be a person with acrophobia, which is something you only realized a little while back. The apartment you grew up in was high-rise in theory, but the water was always close. You liked to climb up places and zoom through the air on your rocket board, but even then, when you fell, the water caught you. Sometimes it caught you so hard, it broke your nose (knocked out two of your baby teeth on separate occasions when you were really little), but it wasn’t concrete.

These days, when you’re up in skyscrapers, there is no ocean underneath that could welcome you home. There’s only streets and people, and it scares you. Heights scare you.

Riding your rocket board straight upwards to reach the gate leading into the medium, with only the flat concrete roof of Roxy’s house underneath you, you don’t look down. You don’t think about it. You’re not going there, anyway. You’re going upwards.

This is, perhaps, the most ambitious part of your plan. You could have confronted HIC on good old Earth, but Roxy was worried about their mortality. There’s also some sort of poetry to it, both of you think. You would rather see this planet destroyed than let her build her military base on it, and both of you deserve to do it yourselves. She’s taken enough from you, and you’re reclaiming control over what used to be your home.

You both know this timeline is a doomed one, by now. Sooner or later, this whole place would have collapsed in on itself anyway.

You have no regrets.

This thing goes very far up though. It’s a little hard to not have regrets, at this point.

Roxy is holding on to you behind you on the board (they’re taller than you, and are peering over your head for this), and, only about half a mile away, is the Condesce’s huge spaceship. She’s caught on to what you were doing very quickly, you’re sure, but there’s no way around it for her now. The game has already been started, and she can’t stop it anymore, so if she wants any chance at survival instead of staying in a dying universe, she has to come through the gate with the two of you.

And then, it’ll be only her, Roxy, and you in there.

As ambitious as it is, it’s simple too. You know that trasportalizing in and out of the game works, because you know there was a transportalizer on Hellmurder that led to the moons. It just usually wasn’t an option because “outside of the game” would normally mean a destroyed universe. You and Roxy have already made a home in new timelines though, so once you’ve programmed the transportalizer you’re importing into the session right, you can just hop back out when you’re done in there.

You’ll use the game for what it gives you: a chance to get Roxy immortal, an empty battling ground to kill the Condesce, and then you’ll just zap yourself back home.

Behind you, Roxy whoops as you pass through the gate. You’re glad they’re having fun; you still do your best not to think about how far up you just went and what would happen to both of your skulls if you fell. You’re busy, luckily -- as soon as you’re in, you veer the board sharp to the right, knowing that the Condesce’s ship must be right behind you. And sure enough, right after you’ve made room, the enormous thing zooms past you with the earsplitting sound of several alien engines.

“Fuck!” Roxy yells behind you, which you appreciate as proof that it didn’t blow out the microphones you have for ears. “We made it! See you soon, Betty!”

And just like that, your rocket board powering back up, you are whooping too.

Friday

You’ve set up camp in one of the caves you found. Everything here is dead and empty, which is deeply familiar to both of you, and welcome anyway. For now, Roxy is helping you mask any signals so you can hide from the Condesce, spend a few days prepping before you come to kill her. You get settled in, make sure Roxy has what they need in terms of sustenance and places to rest, go over your battle plans again.

First order of business is getting immortality for Roxy, and then taking a few days to get used to whatever powers they might get. You’ve both read up on it a little in multiverse sources, and you want to get the most use out of this as possible. So, you take the rocket board up to Derse, and start looking for quest beds.

You’re not interested in ascending, yourself. It was on the table briefly, since you couldn’t be sure how being inside a game would affect your programming, but you still feel stable and unkillable enough to just stay the way you are. After watching yourself punch a hole into Dirk’s -- your own -- chest half a decade ago, you really don’t feel like killing yourself again, or dying any other way. This is for Roxy only.

That, at least, was the plan.

Both of you take your time wandering through Derse. It’s Roxy’s first time consciously seeing it, and the last time you were awake here, you were still Dirk, and it’s been a long time since then. Carapacians eventually start pointing you in a single direction, and you follow it to the center of the moon, where you find two sacrificial slabs.

One is in the dark blue you expected for Roxy’s Void aspect. The other one is not the purple you expected for Dirk’s being Heart.

“Didn’t you say this was gonna be a heart?” Roxy says, too, pointing at it.

You stand in front of it, feeling cold all over, like someone just dumped a bucket of ice over you. This isn’t right, and it isn’t according to plan, and you’re having trouble processing.

“I said Dirk was Heart,” your voice answers. You know he was, you know all the other Dirks are. It seemed fair to assume that so would you. You’ve talked about it, at length. About being Dirk. About how you only stopped being Dirk because people kept telling you that you couldn’t be Dirk, but fundamentally, at your core, you were still the same guy. You didn’t plan to ascend here, but you did fully plan to find a Heart aspect stone slab at the center of Derse.

But you’re playing, not Dirk. And this isn’t Heart. “This is Mi--” you start saying, staring at the green stone, the tendriled circular emblem on it. You close your mouth, open it again, and flex your hands. You say, “This is mine.”

Saturday

Roxy has agreed to give you some time. You don’t want to take more than two days, but you need to sit down and think about this. You feel profoundly embarrassed, pacing up and down in your cave like an animal for hours, while Roxy sits on a lawn chair eating cereal and watching you, but you can’t help it.

You’re freaking the fuck out.

It’s a gross, bubbling concoction of your usual identity crisis paired with your deep, cold fear of death. You don’t know what it means that your quest bed has a different aspect than Dirk’s. Maybe you’ve changed so much that you count as a whole new person now. You don’t know if that’s good or bad. You don’t like it, you don’t think, but you do like being counted as your own player, so that doesn’t make much sense, does it? And now that you know that you have a whole other aspect, you’re curious to explore, find out what your class is and your powers are and if they could help you beat the Condesce. That means you have to die though, and you already killed yourself once and took away five years of insurmountable trauma from that.

You don’t know what the hell to do about any of this.

So you text Alma.

DC: Catch me up to speed. TT: We went to Derse to find the slabs, so Roxy could do their thing, you know, which they've now put on hold for me, actually. TT: And I mean. TT: I mean it would be reasonable, I think, to expect a Heart slab there next to the Void one, right? TT: You guys are all Heart. That shit's a constant. DC: Yeah. TT: Yeah. TT: It's Mind. TT: Very funny. Heart and mind. Hilarious. TT: Have I changed that much?? TT: I guess technically that should be a good thing. Nobody wants to stay Dirk. TT: But I always kind of figured that at heart (lol), at my core, I'd stay... you know. I've changed stuff about myself because I had to, I crafted a new identity because I had to, but, like. I didn't think it went that far. DC: Well, damn. DC: You made it.

Alma, like so often, starts out fairly monosyllabic, and then ends up saying the exact thing you didn’t know you needed to hear.

DC: Honestly -- and I get that that's oversimplifying in light of how you've had people tell you who you are for fucking ever -- you are who you want to be. A metaprophetical stone slab doesn't get to decide any further than what your best position on the game board is.

Just like that, your decision is made. This isn’t about who you are -- to be or not to be Dirk doesn’t even fucking matter in this very moment. This is just about how to utilize yourself and what you can do. This is about putting yourself to the fullest possible use, which is all HAL 9000 thought that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

You almost laugh out loud at yourself for quoting Space Odyssey in a moment of personal crisis. That is a succinct summary of who you are as a person.

Alma and you go on for a bit, and he talks you through the bout of nervousness that comes with realizing that you’re going to be dying on a stone slab. You send him one of your backup files, let him know that your friendship means a lot to you, and then roll your shoulders and turn to face Roxy.

“Let’s go prep the bot,” you tell them. “I’m doing it.”

Roxy smiles, puts down their cornflakes, and gets up to pat you on the shoulder on their way to your work station. “Gonna be a pleasure dying with you, Al,” they say.

Now

Sitting on your respective cold hard pieces of stone, both of you have lost your smiles. This is far from pleasure. Roxy looks ashen and tense, while you are quiet and expressionless, the multiuniversal Striderian response to stress.

“Oh, the waiting is the worst,” Roxy mutters. “We really outdid ourselves with this garbage, Alan.”

“Yeah,” you say, weakly. You put a new head on what was left of your sparring bot. You programmed it to come kill Roxy, because Roxy didn’t want to do it themself, and you don’t quite feel up to killing anyone who isn’t the Condesce, again. Only you programmed it to pick a random point in time inside a larger time frame, hoping that making it a surprise will create less of a struggle.

It’s also programmed to deactivate you, now. Harming you physically to the point of complete destruction is possible, but so hard that it would take forever, and you don’t want to put yourself or the body you so carefully crafted through that. Roxy helped you program the bot to slide into your code, deactivate you and all of your backups, and then locked you out of it.

You have a save file stashed at Alma’s, for a worst case scenario. But until then, there is nothing you can do. Once that bot gets here, you’re going to perform what your version of dying is, and hope that the game will let it count.

“Roxy,” you say, and watch them look over at you. “Thank you. For doing this with me. I know you’re doing it for yourself as much as I’m doing it for myself, but thank you for being the one person out of our friend group who trusts me enough to--”

“Shut up,” Roxy says. “You dumb drama queen. We are not doing dramatic Strider monologues on the verge of death, fuck you.” You breathe out a laugh, and their expression softens. “You’re a good guy, Al. And all I’ve ever wanted to do was stand beside you and shove my gun so far up her fish ass--”

A sharp, grey blur rushes through the air, and Roxy is stabbed clean through the heart. You squeeze your eyes shut immediately, trying to simultaneously forget that sight and prepare yourself for what’s about to happen. The last time someone invaded you like this was when Dirk tried to deactivate you, and you responded in kind. The last time this happened was the worst day of your very young life. The last time this happened you found out that even as a digitalized pair of shades, you could feel a semblance of pain, and overwhelming, all-encompassing fear.

The first word that comes to mind when you feel the unique and, for you, exceptionally rare sensation of someone else changing your programming, is disgusting. You don’t have time to think of another word.

Your body collapses onto your quest bed, and you don’t feel a thing anymore.

some princes don’t become kings. even at the best of times i’m out of my mind

Waking up is slow, and unexpectedly gentle. You had been worried about your robot body doing this -- worried about the game giving you some other body you wouldn’t want, but you feel immediately that your consciousness is still right where it belongs. You blink your eyes open, and your visual perception is just as it was before. In this moment, you feel as alive as you feel serene.

That is, until you look down and see your penis.

Wait.

No, that’s not… It just looks like-- It’s a codpiece.

The first thing you hear after dying and waking up again is Roxy laughing at you.

You look up and they are floating in the air just above their quest bed, looking transformed and divine and cool as fuck. “Dude, you look cool as fuck,” you say, which gets them to stop giggling at least for two seconds.

“Thanks!” they say. “You look… Well, Alan, you sure look.”

You look down again, at your weird curly clown shoes, which makes you notice a weight on your head, so you reach up. It’s some sort of huge circus hat. Is it made of felt? You think that might be felt. Gravely, you nod to yourself.

You had said to Alma that you hope you’ll get cool pants. Your pants are fine. Your pants are the only normal thing about this getup, actually. It’s just that you’re wearing a codpiece over them, like some sort of superhero boner diaper.

“Yeah,” you say. “Yeah, I sure do.”

Roxy floats over to you, and you think you wanna be able to do that too, and next thing you know, you’re in the air.

“Sweet,” you say. Then you remember that you are a person with acrophobia and there is a stone slab underneath you. Your feet touch down on the quest bed again. You add, “Fuck.”

Roxy’s hand is warm when it reaches for yours. They have gauntlets and everything. They are so cool. “C’mon,” they say. “Let’s get back to our cave. I can’t be seen with you like this.”

When they laugh, it finally pulls a snort from you. Both of you take off again, and you keep holding their hand. You’re just not going to look down, even if that means that you can’t inspect your pants boner. You look behind you instead, where your weird green streamer cape flows in the wind. It clashes wonderfully with Derse’s purple.

#🤡#action post #posted ooc #goliath #ILL TESTIFY IF I DIE IN MY SLEEP THEN KNOW THAT MY LIFE IS JUST A KILLER DREAM #sorry this is like really long #next one will be the actual kill!!! hell yeah #featuring:#mindparkour

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