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#If this comm taught me one thing then that I'm not made for planning out my backgrounds.
finzphoenix · 4 months
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"I would have you by my side in Menzoberranzan."
Minthara and Kalius sharing an intimate moment above the lights of Menzoberranzan city, commissioned by @ilikedetectives!🖤🤍 Their inwoven braids representing the bond of marriage; symbolising memories, fate, and someone's personality/essence.
Kalius, OC © ilikedetectives
Minthara © Larian Studios
Art © FinzPhoenix
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nataliasquote · 2 months
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I Will Rescue You | n romanoff
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Summary: An alert from the Red Room sends Natasha, Yelena and Bucky on a last minute mission. But what they find is far from expected…
Warnings: teen pregnancy, injury, blood, guns
Pairings: natasha x adopted!daughter!reader
wc: 3.7k
note: this is just precious mama nat who holds a special place in my heart
-⧗-
"Got your six, Natasha. Approach when ready." Nat heard the crackle over her intercom and readied her gun, her elbows locked as she pressed herself against the wall.
Never did she think she'd be back in this place. The one place she vowed never to come back to. But here she was. The coldness of the stone wall was seeping through her tactical suit, which wasn't adapted to support her through Russia's freezing temperatures.
But that was the last thing Natasha was thinking about. There were girls inside. Girls that needed help. Natasha knew all too well how they felt, and she wanted to put a stop to it.
Yelena was on the opposite side of the courtyard, double ponytails swishing back and forth as she kept checking her surroundings. The sisters made eye contact and nodded, Natasha taking that as her cue to move.
Silent as the dead of night, the redheaded assassin crept through the open door, sticking to the shadows like this very place had taught her. She didn't make a sound, taking down guards with a single slice to the throat, clean and precise. Fires shot in the distance and she knew she didn't have long.
But this place was once her home. She knew it like the back of her hand, as much as she hated to admit it. She knew who she wanted to meet for the final time, but a faint rumbling told her that that plan was gone.
"черт возьми." She muttered under her breath as her once careful footing now broke into a sprint. The team had estimated about 30 minutes for extraction, but that had been cut down to 10. There were more guards than the trio expected, but they powered through.
"I'm hitting the training rooms. Nat cover the wings and Yelena-"
"Doors, yes I know. Don't need to tell me солдат."
"Buck, you know she hates being bossed around." Natasha whispered as she climbed the stairs. She heard gunshots through Bucky's comm, but carried on. They could look after themselves.
The sight of the dorm corridor made Nat sick to her stomach. But she hauled herself together and ran along the hallway, checking the rooms. They were empty.
The sight of the tiny beds empty was a relief to her. Maybe they had stopped taking so many young children.
"I've got 15 in here Nat." Bucky called over the comm.
"Take them to the jet. I've got none so far." She checked all the dorm rooms, but there wasn't a trace of life. She thought the place was deserted until a faint whimper was heard, followed by desperate attempts to console.
It sounded like a baby's cry, so Nat placed her gun in her hostler. She didn't need to have her weapons out right now. The widow bites on her wrists would do enough for now to keep her protected.
There were 5 single cells along the back wall, and only one of them was dimly lit. Nat stepped into the light so she wouldn't shock anyone who was living in there. It seemed empty at first, but upon closer inspection Nat could see a young girl curled up in the corner.
Her blue eyes were locked on Nat, muscles tense as she pressed herself into the wall.
"Я ничего не делал, клянусь!" (i didn't do anything I swear). There were bruises on her temples and a hastily tied bandage on her arm and Nat just smiled softly.
"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." She crouched down outside the rails and offered her hand out slowly, like you would to a frightened puppy. But the girl just stared at Nat, her eyes narrowing.
"You are Black Widow." Her english was broken and laced with a heavy Russian accent. "You disgrace him."
Nat frowned at her words but shook her head. "No, I'm here to save you. I'm gonna get you out."
"Nobody take us anywhere." As she spoke, her arms loosened to show the tiny baby wrapped in a blanket in her arms. It couldn't have been more than 2 months old, but yet the girl only looked around 15. Natasha felt sick to her stomach. What kind of sick programme had they created?
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. How old are you?"
The girl stared at Nat for a few minutes before answering. "16."
"Блядь. (fuck)". Natasha sat back on her heels,
contemplating her next move. "And the baby? Ваш ребенок? (your baby?)". The girl nodded.
"Y/n." Nat raised an eyebrow. "меня зовут Y/n."
"That's a beautiful name. You want to get out of here?" The girl shook her head slowly, and Nat didn't blame here. This was all she knew. To her, it was home, as sick and twisted as it was. "You will be safe."
"Safe? You safe?"
Natasha nodded. "You're safe with me. You both are. But we need to go." As if on cue, the whole building began to shake and pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling. The girl screamed and buried her face in her daughter's blanket, holding her tightly. "Y/n, we need to go!" Nat blasted the padlock and the door swung open. "Now!"
"Can't!" The teenager gestured to her leg, which was openly bleeding. A gunshot wound was clean through her calf, and looked fairly fresh, meaning the girl struggled to walk. Nat registered it and brought her hand up to her comms, slowly to not startle the girl.
"Bucky I need backup. Quickly." After a grunt in reply, she quickly looked around the room to find something to help. But it was bare except for a bed and a sink.
Another vibration shook the building and Nat had no other option. She rushed over to the girl and helped her stand, taking the baby in her arm after reassuring the anxious teenager that she would be safe. The girl could hardly walk, but Nat couldn't carry her. Not with the baby too.
As a pair, they hobbled out onto what once was the hallway, now half broken in the middle and filled with rocks. Y/n was heavily leaning on Nat, pain shooting up her leg with every step.
A voice came yelling down the hallway, and through the dust broke Bucky, racing along trying to fit his gun back in it's holster. "What-"
"No questions. Move. Talk later. You need to carry her." Nat was clear and concise with her orders and she gestured to Y/n's leg, which was all Bucky needed.
But Y/n was wary of the new person and she grabbed Nat's arm in front of her. But the redhead turned to face her.
"Hey, it's okay. He is going to help you be safe." She looked into the girl's blue eyes, knowing they had very little time left to get out of here.
"Natasha, I don't know where you are but you better get out of here because this place is gonna blow!" Yelena yelled into her mic, cursing in Russian as she shot down guards.
"Y/n? Please?"
"если ты делаешь больно, детка, я делаю тебе больно! (If you hurt baby, I hurt you!)". Natasha nodded and carefully settled the baby in her arm. Y/n didn't take her eyes off the infant until Bucky picked her up and she felt the pain shoot through her leg. He mumbled an apology as they. began to run, dodging explosions and gunfires.
They broke through a gap in the wall and Y/n squeezed her eyes shut, not used to the blinding light of the sun on the snow.
Yelena was stood at the base of the Quinjet they had stolen from Stark, and as she saw her sister approaching she ran inside to start the engines. They lifted off the ground just as Nat managed to throw herself into a seat, the baby still safely in her arms.
They'd taken a bigger jet than the Avengers usually used, so the widow's Bucky had taken from the training room were in a separate area where they could sit comfortably together. But Nat had brought Y/n up to where she was sitting so she could look at her gunshot wound.
"мой ребенок! (my baby!)" Y/n cried out as soon as she was sitting, but Nat was already on it. She soothed the distressed girl and gently placed the baby in her outstretched arms.
The young girl may only have been 16, but she was a good mother. She calmed her child and an old Russian lullaby and gently stroked her head, kissing it softly. As she sat opposite, Nat couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when looking at the mother and daughter. As wrong as it was, she never had that opportunity, and she hated herself for it every day.
"Can I look at your leg?" The young girl nodded and stretched her leg out, wincing slightly. The bullet had gone straight through which made Nat's job easier. "Okay it just needs a few stitches. May I? This will hurt."
Y/n shrugged and pulled down the bandage on her arm. Bucky had to turn away at the sight of the DIY stitches that were 'holding' the wound closed. Nat took a sharp inhale of breath but kept her calm. That could be sorted out back at the compound.
Y/n didn't flinch once as the stitches were being put in. She kept her eyes glued to the baby, stroking her face softly as she hummed once more.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Nat passed the girl a blanket and stepped back to give her some space. "I'll go check on the others." She said to Bucky, who nodded and went to sit at the controls with Yelena.
Y/n was exhausted but tried to keep her guard up. Her eyes darted around the small room, but it wasn't long before she couldn't fight sleep and her eyes began to close.
~~~
"Hey hey woah! It's okay! She's here. She's right here." Natasha was trying to defend herself against Y/n fists as the panicked teenager attacked her. Nat knew the baby wasn't safe just laying on the bed as the teenager slept, so she moved her to a makeshift cot. But Y/n woke up and freaked out.
"You touched her without my permission!" She screamed, swinging a fist at Nat who caught it just in time.
"Y/n, I was looking after her. You needed the rest." Nat held the struggling girl's fists in her hands and stood still, watching as she breathed hard. "It's okay. She's okay."
With a huff, Y/n pulled her hands away and scooped up her baby, cradling her close to her chest. "She needs feeding," she said bluntly.
"Okay. We don't have anything here but why don't you and I go out today and we can buy some supplies, including a cot for our room?" Natasha asked this more as a peace offering and the girl eyed her suspiciously before nodding.
"The other girls. Where are they?"
"Fury- our director has got new homes for them. Don't worry."
"And me? New home for me?"
Nat paused, thinking about her answer. The truth was, she didn't want to see Y/n leave. Not just yet. Something about the girl had reached out to her, and the slight possibility of having a daughter raced through her mind. Maybe this girl was her second chance, a chance to do something good again. "Well, we wanted to keep an eye on you and the baby. Seeing as she's so young."
Y/n just hummed in response before disappearing towards her room with a slight limp.
"You've got a feisty one there." Came a voice from behind Nat. She turned around to find Wanda snacking on a bowl of cereal, spoon halfway to her mouth.
"Yeah." Her reply was half hearted as she stared at where Y/n was last seen.
"Nat?" She turned to face Wanda once more. "I can hear your thoughts; they're really loud. And I'm gonna say go for it, but be careful. You know what you were like when you first came out. She's not much different than you, you know. Give her time."
Natasha smiled at her friend before grabbing a banana. "Thanks Wands."
~~~
Nat really listened to Wanda's words, which is why she called up the store before they left and asked to hire it out for the day. Stark had more than enough money to make that happen, and Nat wanted Y/n to be as comfortable as possible.
They entered through the back door, and only 2 members of staff were on each level of the huge department store. The bright lights and colourful items were enough to overwhelm Y/n anyway, as she held her baby close to her chest, still wrapped in the filthy blanket.
"You can pick whatever you want, okay?" Nat informed the teenager as they entered, but she didn't respond.
She wandered around, face stoic and eyes wide. Natasha could see the outline of a glock tucked into her jeans, but she didn't comment. Where she got it from was unclear, but it brought the girl a sense of comfort and Nat trusted her not to use it inappropriately.
Nat pointed a couple of bottles and baby clothes out, to which Y/n either shrugged or nodded. She was uncomfortable, but this trip was necessary.
"Okay, how about we look at cribs?"
"Our room?"
"Yeah if you want. But there's a nursery we can set up?"
Y/n thought for a minute. "But- no. Close to me."
"She will be close to you." Y/n looked skeptical. "Okay, how about this. We can get one for our room and one for hers, yeah?"
"Okay. But you don't leave no? No moving rooms?"
Natasha couldn't help but smile. "Honey, I'm not leaving. We can get you your own room if you want? For space?"
"No."
"Okay then."
They walked over to the cribs section and looked at the options. Y/n had relaxed a bit more as she considered the options, reaching her hand out to feel the wood. She'd never had the opportunity to make her own decisions before, and it felt foreign.
But within her focussed task, Natasha failed to notice the shop assistant approaching them, until a bright and cheery "Hi there! Can i help you?" broke through their thoughts.
Y/n immediately jumped behind Nat. Her hand would have reached for her gun if it wasn't so busy holding her baby and newly found protector.
"отойди! (stay back!)" Y/n yelled from behind Natasha, who held an arm in front of her. The assistant looked startled and held her hands up in surrender, taking a few steps back.
"Sorry. Could you give us a minute?" Nat apologised quickly and then turned to Y/n. "Hey, stop struggling." The girl unclenched her fist and placed it on her child's back. "That woman is not going to hurt you. Or your baby. You're safe."
"She stay away!" Y/n grunted through gritted teeth, chest heaving. Nat knew there was no winning this, so she placed her arm around the girl, who didn't flinch like she usually did.
"We don't need any assistance right now, thank you." The now shaken woman nodded and scurried away, not wanting to spend another moment around the assassins.
"We go? Now." Y/n stood her ground, staring Natasha directly in the eye.
"30 minutes. Then we go."
"Fine."
Nat rushed around the rest of the store, grabbing baby formula, clothes, cribs, clothes and tethers. She found a bouncer and play mat, even though the infant wasn't even sitting up yet. She grabbed some clothes for Y/n, some of which the teenager picked out, others that Nat knew she needed. The small girl was currently wearing one of Wanda's sweatshirts and a pair of jeans, both of which were too big. All of the items were sent directly to the compound, so they didn't have to carry anything home. And Natasha made sure to heftily tip the woman who had approached them before, as an apology.
Stark had restricted everyone's access except Nat and Wanda to the areas where Y/n was residing. The girl didn't trust men at all, and even with Wanda she was slightly wary.
But after the intense shopping trip, Y/N was exhausted. And her baby was restless, crying even after being fed and changed. The teenager was frustrated and tired, but she refused to hand the baby over to Nat, who offered many times.
But Natasha had another plan. She turned on a movie on the TV and let Y/n sit on the bed, shushing her child desperately.
"Why don't we try her new crib? Maybe she'll settle in there?"
Y/n looked over with heavy eyelids and reluctantly stood up. Her legs buckled slightly but she continued walking to place the baby in the crib. Nat handed her a pacifier but the teenager stared at her blankly, confused at the item she was holding.
"May I?" Nat asked, gesturing to the child.
"Careful." Y/n hissed.
Nat approached the infant and slotted the pacifier into her mouth, smiling at how her cried were instantly silenced.
"ведьма (witch)." Y/n mumbled, watching as her daughter fell asleep within the minute.
"Спасибо, дорогая. (Thank you darling.)" Nat quipped with a smirk as she watched the teenager climb back onto her bed. "Why don't you come onto mine? We can watch a movie?"
Y/N's eyes filled with fear. "Not Snow White. Please no."
Natasha pushed painful memories down and she shook her head. "Definitely not. I still can't watch it."
Y/n shrugged and hesitantly climbed onto Natasha's bed, sticking close to the edge nearest the crib. But Nat didn't comment. She was too busy trying to suppress her excitement over the improvements Y/n had made in such a short amount of time.
She put an episode of Friends on, knowing it was lighthearted and not likely to trigger any fresh memories that Y/n still had.
But she didn't need to worry. Within 10 minutes the teenager was fast asleep, her head resting on Nat's shoulder ever so slightly. The redhead didn't move. She couldn't. This girl was trusting her more and more. The improvement that had been made in a week was beyond anything Nat had ever expected. She paused the movie and switched off the main light, wrapping her arm gently around Y/n's shoulders.
~~~
(5 months later)
Y/n shot up in bed, chest heaving as she broke out of her nightmare. Her eyes automatically darted to the crib beside her bed... but it was empty.
"Mama! Mama! где мой малыш! (Where is my baby!)" She leaped out of bed and raced out of the room, looking everywhere as she ran to the corridor.
She kept yelling for Natasha, calls becoming more and more frantic the longer it went on. But Nat heard her and called back, summoning her into the kitchen.
"I can't find Talia! Someone must have taken h-" The teenager stopped in her tracks, not expecting what she saw infront of her.
Her 7 month old daughter, Talia, was sat in her high chair, eating yoghurt from the spoon that Nat was feeding her. There were berries scattered across the countertop and with every spoonful of yoghurt came a wipe to the mouth from Nat.
"Little miss over her was extra fussy this morning so I made breakfast. Thought you might want to sleep in a bit more."
Y/n breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned against the doorway for a second to catch her breath. "I thought she'd been taken!"
"Well, she just gets more Natty time, don't you little one?" Talia cooed in response, her tiny fists smushing a blackberry on her tray. "Oh you're a messy girl."
"Here Mama, I can clean her."
"Ah ah! I know what I'm doing." Wanda was sat on the other side of the counter eating a plate of pancakes, but she burst out laughing as Talia squished another berry and it squirted onto Nat's white shirt.
"Talia! No baby. Don't play with food." Y/n said, grabbing another wipe for Nat, who accepted it gracefully.
"Good morning Maximoff, Romanoff, Mini-Romanoff and.... Mini-Mini Romanoff." Tony made himself known as he entered the kitchen, Pepper not far behind him.
Over the last 5 months, Y/n had become more comfortable with the rest of the team, especially Tony who spoilt her rotten. He was forever ordering random items or adding updates to her room with Natasha, even without being asked.
"Good morning Stark." Y/n acknowledged him with a smile.
"Nice moves Grandma!" Tony teased as Nat danced around, wiggling her hips, causing her to pause. She grabbed Talia's soggy rabbit plushie that she had been chewing and hurled it at his head, which he only just managed to duck to avoid.
Talia giggled at the sight of her bunny flying through the air and everyone froze.
"Was that her first laugh?" Wanda asked, and Y/n grinned.
"My clever girl! Mama loves her clever girl!"Y/n picked her up from her high chair and held her up, peppering her face in kisses. Talia giggled even more, kicking her legs at the funny feeling.
Nat sank down onto a chair next to Wanda and watched her new daughter and granddaughter laughing together. Tony had given the child her bunny back, and was having fun playing peek-a-boo with her as Y/n held her.
"They've both done so well." Wanda commented as she watched the scene unfold.
"I'm so proud of her. I'm going to ask Fury for adoption papers today." Nat smiled as she felt Wanda's eyes on the side of her face.
"Really?" Wanda's voice was laced with excitement. "You're going to make it official?"
Nat nodded. "She will officially be Y/n Romanoff. My Y/n Romanoff."
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toruro · 10 months
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now that i'm finally done with isohel i need to dissect all the ways the song isohel basically is the reason behind every decision i made abt this story
eden, the artist behind isohel actually said: "'isohel' is about wishing the best for the people you’ve left behind but knowing that you’re probably better off where you are now" so the way eden talks about it in his song is w the context of people ("if invisible lines (aka isohels) lead your way back to me, still i got nothing")
in the context of reader and joshua, the idea of leaving things behind didn't mean the reader would leave joshua behind, but that she was leaving her past behind her. she was letting go of the isolation and resentment she felt and instead moved onto a better place which was her letting go of her qualms and living w out worries with joshua (does this make sense?!)
another thing that rly drew me to this song was outro which is in french: comme les nuits quand je ne savais pas encore, comme les nuits qui m'ont appris à aimer les adieux, comme les nuits quand on croyait que tout irait bien, mais cela n'a pas d'importance car les nuits, bruyantes/brillantes (x3), sont toutes pareilles à la fin
this roughly translates to: like the nights when i didn’t know yet, like the nights that taught me to love goodbyes, like the nights when we thought everything would be fine, but it doesn’t matter because the nights, noisy/bright (x3), are all the same in the end (translations from genius)
my interpretation of this was basically "even if we are not together, we are under the same sky and will always be connected," which ties back to the idea of an isohel (see below). these lines of the song were what actually pushed me to have reader and joshua separated for a couple months (rather than my initially planned 2-3 ish weeks) so i could emphasize how, even if they were apart for long periods of time, they would be able to appreciate the symbols of each other in their daily life and appreciate their existence even if they weren't side by side ... in other words reader and joshua's love transcends the area and distance between them!
plus the whole concept of an isohel is just incredibly interesting to me djfksdkd i'm not sure how well i described in the story itself, but for reference, here's a picture of an isohel map
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it's really interesting because you notice that none of these lines actually intersect. the isohel either goes full circle (in the context of the story: the story starts at the castle and her mother gets found out, and then later she returns to the castle and she herself gets found out so it's sort fo a full circle moment) or the isohel is a singular line from one end to the other (in the context of the story: joshua and reader's lives were bound to be intertwined because it's like one isohel that is binding them together + even if they were not always 'together,' they were connected through this line of sunshine)
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fightabear · 1 month
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anyway, re: convention. here's my debrief and i have three weeks until the next one. the grand total earned was about $1,300. which isn't terrible for a two day event! but i won't lie, it is less than i was hoping for. i didn't get as many commissions this year and that's a bummer because doing those is my favorite part. i would legit do them for free if i could but THAT'S NOT GOOD BUSINESS SENSE
my setup still needs tweaking - i think i need to learn harder into the commission portion of it. someone was suggesting maybe i do need two tables and i'm going to look into that next year.
more details under the cut because this got long.
but man oh man has it ever improved. i made less money this year than i did last year, but that was my own fault. i didn't advertise myself as well. plus a snowstorm hit. and my table helper kept just getting up to leave or getting deep into conversation instead of helping me watch for folks and left me very ?_? please notify me so i know i need to watch for clients.
i'm also going to add some more discount options since word of mouth is how this works best. i had some plans to lean into that but they fell through because i went really hard on the charms this go around.
i still ended up being the one greeting people & engaging them and that might... just be how it is! i'm a huge extrovert offline (and a shy introvert online) so any time i saw a cosplayer i recognized the hype kicked in. and i think as soon as i added my dungeons & discounts option (if you get a tabletop commission and tell me the story from the campaign you get $5 - this helps prevent awkward silences! i don't mind drawing in front of people but i find it a lot easier if they're engaging with me, it's like - less pressure? because then i can talk to them while i draw and it ignores my adhd to hyperfocus and work harder at capturing the essence of their character) that helped a ton because people would see a whole party of people at the table recounting the tales of epic adventures end up wanting to get in on that.
i might just need the help friend to be there to process sales and maintain the waitlist.
some highlights: there was a group of cosplayers that kept walking by my table and i recognized 2/3 of them and was excited about it, and as they were walking away i realized the third was a bigtop burger cosplayer and i like had to call them back to ask if that's what they were cosplaying. i think i made that person's day because they were so so so excited someone recognized them. i handed them some of my prototype sailor moon design stickers bc i forgot i even had them with me and they were so excited. i ended up giving out a lot of those just for the hell of it because people got so excited and also commented that the design is incredibly cool which means i need to get off my ass and do more of them.
i kept trying to do a walk of the hall but i'd stop to just ooh and ahh over people's work. things got so busy during the day that i couldn't get up and go buy stuff so i'm hoping that they'll be at the next event too.
and man, i have like! regulars now! people who make a point to stop by my booth to get a comm. they were so excited when i remembered them and i was so giddy they remembered me. and man some folks just came by to chat! and i made friends? folks are local to me. being a WFH adult means that i don't get many opportunities to hang out with people and i feel like those skills atrophied over the last three years.
i got to catch up with my favorite professor from college who said she was genuinely impressed by the evolution of my art (its my 10 year graduation anniversary in may, christ) and was really really amazed by my setup. i told her i was promoting the hell out of the program all day. i got to see classmates i haven't seen in years and we're making plans to have a big week long anniversary party in the summer.
i also had another (former) professor (not mine - but he taught many many many of my friends who have all said he's notoriously difficult to please - great guy but holds things to a high standard) run behind my booth to check out how i had things set up. when he popped back out in front, he grinned and gave me a thumbs up and said it was "very impressive" and my friend turned to me like "are you on cloud nine or ten right now?" and i was like - wa - wait i know that who was that and he was like THAT WAS SANDY! HE NEVER COMPLIMENTS PEOPLE LIKE THAT.
i guess people were talking about my setup and how quickly i work. and the art guests for the convention - according to my friend at least - also think my work is impressive?
it's funny how much can change in the span of a year or two... i think i had quietly retired my dreams of ever doing something with my art because i knew what my strengths were but i had no idea how to correctly monetize them.
i do know this: i'm going to go ahead with the comic i've been planning. this is entirely original, not a fan comic. it's going to be a queer vampire x werewolf horror/slowburn romance set in atlantic canada. two main couples a wlw & a mlm ship with an extended cast of varying identities. there are themes i want to explore about the gentrification of the maritimes and greed leading to environmental destruction, with chapters from different character perspectives to show a different side of atlantic canadian life that are very much not mine to tell so i would want to get guest writers who have that lived experienced to tell it.
there's a few things that stuck with me, little lines i'm gonna remember forever. someone said they're surprised i don't have a comic - and then followed that up with saying my art is "a full meal" not just a "snack" even when it's just a sketch.
and my college friend's wife - who shares my first name - was like oh you're the one i've heard so many stories about! and i was like - stories??? what stories?? because in my head i'm the houseplant and the wallflower.
it is still very strange to feel seen and to realize you are perceived, especially when you tend to make yourself small because you feel awkward for how much space you tak eup. i think for years i've assumed i'm the person that's always just kind of... there in a situation, literally even if it's a party i'm throwing. or if i've found a cool thing to do and i'm inviting a friend, they're going along with it because they don't want to go alone and the experience of going there is the thing they want and not the experience of going together. the pandemic and the isolation definitely didn't do favors for me, and oh boy did it not when a lot of it was spent in a really toxic relationship.
this was a reminder that people are wonderful and want to be around me, and reaching out to engage with them is what i need to do. they want to hang out with me and get to know me, and if my 30s are going to be anything it's going to be letting them get the full me.
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Fucks not Found
Ghosts
Summary: You hack, that's what you do. Dying to do so freely, wasn't what you had expected. Meeting the weirdest fucking squad; losing the best part of you; falling for a thief : was not planned.
Pairing : Four/Billy (Ben Hardy) - You
A/N: The story goes through the all movie, so I suggest you watch it before reading.
I don't own any characters other than Eight.
English is not my native language, I'm trying to get better at it, please be indulgent.
Tried my best to match Ryan Reynold's level of sass aha
Ch1 Ghosts | Ch2 Florence | Ch3 A Matter of Seconds | Ch4 I need a Backdoor | Ch5 Die Hard | Ch6 White Flag | Ch7 Haunt the Living | Ch8 One, but not done [end]
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This is how you die.
"So you're the one who hacked the wrong guy" You swiftly turn around gasping at the sudden voice in your apartment
"Depends, you’re his hitman?" You were ready to run even if it means jumping by the window.
"Nooo, I'm an angel.” You snort at his sarcasm, unknown to you at this moment that he was full of it.
"Wanna disappear?" he asked taking a seat at the kitchen table eyeing your bags at the door.
"In a body bag? Slowly you make your way to the knives, just in case.
"You are a funny one, aren't you? I know the man you stole from, you won't get far until he got you. But, he emphasized, if you’re willing to do what's right.."
"I've already done my part for the flag." Assuming he was American by the way he talked.
"I'm not talking about shitty drug dealers. But evil war-lovers, genocide perpetrators, that kind of shitty so-called human. Those ones that are above the laws with governments' balls in their hands, ready to squish them.”
"That's gross" your brother appeared from the adjacent room. You let your mind consider the stranger’s offer as soon as you look at your confused brother, knowing he was in danger because of you.
“You two look at lot alike.” The guy leaned in, screwing his eyes at you both.
“We’re twin dumbass” your brother answered glancing at you wondering.
“What’s the deal?” you asked considering the offer
The guy smirked, “Well, to be short you die, and then you take down evil motherfuckers without governments’ backlash on you.” He tapped his fingers against the Formica table.
It took 5 minutes.
"One condition, my brother comes to!"
"What's he good at?" he crossed his arms.
"I can drive…Hold on what? Die? Who the fuck are you!?”
"Already too many questions” he rolled his eyes
"He's a hell of a driver, it got him under surveillance when he got chased by 6 police cars after an illegal race back in the States."
"So they caught up Muttley” the guy clucked his tongue
“Hey!”  
"No, you interfered almost ashamed, I told him to stop the car...I got motion sickness."
The guy erupted in laughter, you two watching him unamused.
_
“I’m more like Peter Perfect.”  Your brother mumbled as the guy left.
You look by the window discreetly, catching a glimpse of the guy mingling in the crowd. “You’re Muttley bro.”
A week later you got a text. The guy who called himself One had planned your fake death. A random trek in Italy’s mountains, an assumed fatal fall, no bodies recovered.
It was never supposed to be your life. But we all know nothing happens as it should.
Papà went to fight a war and disappeared, you were forced to move in America when you were 6.
Mammà never cope the loss of her motherland and husband. She died of a belated broken heart syndrome when you were 16. 
Both you and your brother were placed in a host family. It wasn’t a crappy family like it’s always the case in some tv show, they were nice and wealthy. The father was a tech engineer, somehow you took interest in his work and start learning to code, soon reading about hackers: white hats; black hats; “We are Legion”, you were hooked and skilled in a matter of time.
When you turned major though, things turned difficult, the host family had to let you go and Internal Affairs of your state caught you looking in their network. Which led to you working as a C.I for them, it was that or prison. Not thrilled by the idea but obliged to cooperate was your new motto.
Your brother had some job here and there but nothing steady, so money from the IA was welcome.
After a year and a half, I.A ditched you, it was rather good news in a way, they’ve erased your past mistakes but said they’d keep a distant eye on you.
So you moved on from your shithole that was the 1 bedroom apartment you and your brother shared and went to your parents’ hometown in Italy. Your brother was reluctant at first as he couldn’t even say hello in Italian, you taught him as your mamma had done it with you but he wasn’t that interested.
Working with people was not your forte, you were too bossy, so you got fired ... plenty of times: from a coffee shop, a rental bike shop and a tourist city tour bus thingy. So you started doing what you were good at, hacking for money, it went well for a few years, never being too greedy - until you hacked the wrong person and got in trouble.
That's how you became a Ghost and ended up in the middle of the California Desert.
_
One had built a squad. No names, only numbers to identify each other. Not calling your brother by his name was a challenge, same for him.
There were 7 of you.
One, the “boss”, a mysterious sassy billionaire who decided to fund his own strike team.
Two, a French blonde woman, pretty cold, a spy apparently
Three, a crazy hitman who couldn’t shut up
Four, a young parkour master and reformed thief
Five, a Doctor, but you heard she was actually working at a Dentist
Six, your brother, the annoying driver.
And then Eight, you, the Black Hat somehow becoming a hacktivist.
Why not Seven? Long story short, it was one more condition you’d submitted to One.
_
_SICILY
"Your focus determines your reality.”
“Oh for fuck's sake One, quit your Jedi bullshit!” you loosed your temper typing on your keyboard angrily. An entire week, an ENTIRE WEEK quoting Star Wars!
Four and Five laughed in the comm. One braced himself on the other end of the line. Three cut the heavy silence.
“Eight, Chiquita please stop yelling”
“I’m not a Chiquita stop saying that!”
“Ok ok chi…Eight, damn you’re stressful” 
“God, why do I have to team you up!!” One facepalm
“Now what?” Five asked
Radio silence
“Oh so now no one’s talking! What are you, 4?” One angrily called out to you 2.
“Yeah, uh high, literally.” Four answered One, you snorted.
“No ..  damn not you!”
“You called me Mate!” Four said offended
“No, shush – Eight are you done with the system?” he was about to lose it.
“I’ve been done with it the second Three called me Chiquita!” you crossed your arms in front of your laptop.
“Hey ..” “We’re not talking about that again!” One cut Three
“Can we get going now?” Two interfered, you heard her bike roaring.
“Finally, some sensed words.” One said wrapping it up.
Four entered the place you’d hacked the system of. Six and Two were not far in case of trouble.
“Four, the hard drive is in the main office. Second floor.” One enunciated, you followed Fours progression with the security cameras.
It was enlivening, stressful, but oh so exciting. When you worked with I.A you were never there when they’d go down in action, it was nothing but boring data researched and dealer’s MacBook.
“Freeze Four, guards coming east.” Switching cams you gave him a safe path.
“Ok, you’re clear. Now to your left, third door then turn right.”
Four got his hands on the hard drive containing all you needed to know about the next target.
“Well done.” One congratulated the team
“Thanks, thanks, It helps to have a sexy voice guiding you” Four chuckled, you blushed, sexy voice? is that even possible?
“Great, kid. Don’t get cocky.”
You rolled your eyes at the endless use of Star Wars' quotes.
“Hum that’s my sister, remember?” Six growled tightening the wheel
“Luke grab Solo, meet up in 15minutes at the hotel. Everyone move!” One instructed you smiled at the thought of being Leïa. Gosh, you were as much of a nerd as One.
Climbing down the jeep Three had rented, you laughed seeing your brother holding Four in an arm lock for a few seconds anyway, Four reversed the lock, pining your brother’s arms behind himself.
You passed by them “Easy with my twin please.” Four wasn’t releasing his hold so you stopped, turning back you lift an eyebrow at Four insisting he let him go.
“Oh!” he lifted his hands in defence taking a step back.
Grabbing your brother by the sleeves as he was about to jump on Four “Come on piccino” you made your way in the hotel laughing.
Your first big mission started a few weeks after, everyone gathered in The Haunted House as One called it, an old bunker, cheesy name for an HQ.
“You don’t get it, I need a CAR!”
“That’s a car, Six.” Three argued back.
“No that’s a heap, that thing won’t get us through the paved road of Italy, believe me.”
Four and Five were amused by the situation, Three had rent a truck and an old Volvo for this mission.
“Alright, shut up, we’ll get another car!” One declared, Six flicked to Three.
One resumed the mission’s details. Giving everyone their own missions. A simple mission, retrieve a lawyer’s smartphone.
In the midst of it, your hand flew to your brother’s head next to you. The smacked resonating between the walls of the unfinished bunker.
“Why ..why’d you hit him?” One asked confused, your brother was rubbing the back of his head frowning at you.
“Cain’s instinct.” You replied wriggling your fingers for him to continue. Four snorted, Six nudged him in the ribs.
In a few months, you had learned a lot from this weird squad. Learning to shoot was an obligation, Three was insane but a good teacher.
You’d asked Four to teach you some parkour in case of a chase. Six and Four became close friends in a matter of time. Five was nice, but you were never one to be good at making friends. Two was not a big talker and frankly, she scared you a little.
So you spend your free time hacking and reading, on the hammock installed between a dismantle plane and a dead tree. Not far from there you could hear Four skating in the empty pool and three at the makeshift shooting range.
Suddenly,
“EIGHT!”
Groaning you closed your book “WHAT!?
Your voice boomed against the caravan and lost itself in the desert, but you still hoped Four had heard. It was his thing, screaming your name instead of coming to you directly. At his silence, you wriggle out the hammock and strode to the pool.
“What’d you want skater boy?”
He was lying in the pool his board by his side. “Four?” you made your way to the ladder, “hey” you gently nudge him with your foot but he didn’t move.
“Four? you called out worried, “shit” knees hitting the vinyl liner checking if he was breathing, he wasn’t.
“Hey wake up, seriously dude don’t make me do CPR on you, I suck at it!” suddenly laughter erupted in your ears. Six appearing on the edge, Four chucked on the floor.
“Pranking you..he tried to breathe in, is always the best sis!” Six laughed even harder at your confused face. Still kneeling at Four’s side, he was looking at you laughing, until he wasn’t, catching a glimpse of worry melting with anger in your eyes.
Punching his left shoulder, you hurried out the pool. He stayed on the floor watching you go.
“Don’t make me do CPR I suck at it!” your brother was still laughing his brain's out.
_
“What was that?”
Four leaned on the dead tree near your head, his shadow offering some shade.
“A real bad joke?”
“No I mean, why’d you hit me?”
Sighing you clasped your book closed for the second time today “you really got me worried, happy?”
“No, you propped up on your elbow at his answer craning your head to him, I didn’t mean to scare you.” His warm hand slide in your hair at the base of your neck, he leaned in, letting you enough time to push him away if you wanted.
"Sorry" he whispered, his lips pressing in your temple gently, warmly for a few seconds. Catching yourself leaning in you almost fell off the swinging' hammock as he released his hold, he grinned and left not saying anything more.
"What the hell Four!!" you yelled at him, an ounce of laughter in your voice, a blush creeping into your cheeks, his own laughter filling the desert's silence.
FLORENCE
A/N: don't forget to double tap if you liked it. 🙏
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chilling-seavey · 3 years
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AMOUREUX- Daniel doing something which makes Louisa angry (like playing a prank or smth? if that was a thing back then) and Louisa just going OFF AT HIM IN FRENCH and Daniel's absolutely TERRIFIED for his life like "oh no I'm scared, what have I done" and the children find this so amusing like, "this one's on you"
April 26, 1831
Louisa is certainly our bilingual queen (I mean technically a princess but…our queen) and as her six children grew up, they were taught and spoken to both in English and French (they also knew a bit of Latin but that’s irrelevant here). Daniel only knew English as he never paid much attention to Latin in his lessons as a boy and didn’t care for anything else until he met Louisa. Being around her so much, he certainly picked up on a few phrases – especially the few she used often – but it was never enough to where he could hold up much of a conversation yet alone understand her when she spoke quickly.
But we also know Daniel is a troublemaker at heart – a characteristic that is so strong in him that it was passed down to most of his children – and that didn’t really lessen even as he grew up into adulthood. Christian was once Daniel’s target for his pranks but once they moved out, Daniel had no one but Louisa to challenge. Now he couldn’t prank the children because that would just be cruel but they could certainly help him formulate a plan against their mother.
“Mama won’t like this.” would always be Philip’s first warning, watching as his father and his older brother stood across the room and quietly lifted the baby from her crib.
“We’re just going on a walk.” Daniel said, cooing down at the five-month-old in his arms, “Aren’t we, little one?”
“It is just fun.” Henry told his brother as they left the nursery.
The five children followed Daniel along the hallway and down the stairs like ducklings, little feet pattering after him through the palace and out into the gardens. He set baby Victoria among the flowers, shushing her softly as she let out a displeased cry.
“We’re going to play a little joke on Mummy so be a good girl and stay right there.” Daniel whispered. He asked the terribly surprised gardener to keep an eye on the baby as he ushered the rest of the children inside quickly.
He got them settled around the sitting room fireplace to look as casual as they could and he kept his eye on the clock on the wall. Louisa always woke Victoria from her afternoon nap at quarter-after-three. Any second now…
“Daniel!”
The children bit back their giggles as their mother’s heavy footsteps came rushing down the main staircase and echoed through the large hallways as she turned quickly into the sitting room, her dress billowing behind her and an unpleased expression on her face.
“Where is she?”
“Whatever do you mean, darling?” Daniel asked, faking concern like he was an expert at it.
“Bon dieu, Daniel! Our daughter!” (Good God, Daniel)
“Is she not upstairs?” Daniel set the book he was holding onto the mantle and took a step towards her. “She was sleeping there mere moments ago. Right?”
He turned to the other five children who stared at him and then their mother and then just quietly looked back to their books. Their silence was the obvious answer.
“Where is she, Daniel? Je suis serieux.” Louisa demanded. (I am serious.)
Daniel bit back a cheeky smile at his wife’s obvious distress but answered to not have her lose too much of her mind, “She’s with the gardener.”
“Merde!” Louisa huffed and turned quickly out of the room towards the gardens.
Daniel and the children rushed after her and back into the cool spring air. Louisa apologized to the gardener before bending down to gently scoop up the crying baby from the bed of flowers and she turned to Daniel with an angry glare.
“Tu me dégoûtes avec ton cinéma. C'est un bébé, et vous le savez! Elle aurait pu tomber malade ou être enlevée et c’est drôle pour toi? Quand vas-tu te décider à grandir?” (You disgust me with your scenes. She is only a baby and you know that. She could have fallen ill or been taken and that’s funny to you? When are you going to grow the fuck up?)
Louisa’s obvious angry distress had Daniel’s cheeky smile falling into shock in seconds, watching as she shouted at him in rushed French as she cradled her crying baby to her chest. The exhausted frustration in her face was obvious and the fact that he had no clue what she was yelling at him only kept him quiet longer.
“Vu ête un terrible exemple pour vos enfants et j’en ai marre de tes conneries.” (You are a terrible example to your children and I am sick of your shit.) Louisa went to walk past him back into the palace but she turned back to look at him again.
“Tu manges dans ta chambre ce soir. Si tu vas agir comme un enfant, je te traiterai comme un enfant.” (You’re eating in your room tonight. If you’re going to act like a child then I’m going to treat you like one.)
Daniel swallowed thickly, knowing by her tone that she was scolding him but being too frightened to ask for clarification of what she said in a language he could actually understand. He knew ‘you’re eating in your room tonight’ from her scolding’s to their children over the prior few years but the rest was just a jumble of fast talking loud French that made absolutely no sense in his brain.
“Louisa.” Daniel tried, reaching for her.
She stepped back from him, “Ne me touche pas, Daniel James. Fils de pute.” (Do not touch me. Son of a bitch.)
He dropped his hand and pouted like a scolded puppy as he watched her walk briskly back into the palace with their youngest. The rest of the children turned back to their father with mirrored shocked faces, the youngest two of the group cowardly slightly behind Henry’s legs.
“Daddy’s in trouble.” Margret giggled softly.
“You did that to yourself.” Philip mumbled before turning and heading back inside as well.
Daniel sighed.
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