#because rusalkas are just water spirits

[missbunnybunny]

🫧『𝕺𝖍 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖎𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖊? 𝕬 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖞 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖞』🫧

Tw: dark kink, unprotected sex, non-con, dark content, rough sex, bondage, kinky, breeding, praise, degradation.

A/n: If something is incorrect, please let me know. using Google Translate for Russian words. I simply put down what came to me and spell-checked it. I'm not sure whether it even makes sense or not but enjoy!

Note: I'm interested in seeing how good my writing is, therefore I'm giving it my all. I have high hopes, for this one. This is a long boy. Your meal has been served, it was my pleasure serving you all 🍽️🤵🏽‍♀️.

🎐𝕻𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝟐🎐

Oh, Who is she...

-Russia, Kubinka.-

The sky was a never-ending sea of white and grey, with no sight of the sun to sprinkle a sliver of sunshine as the snow gently fell to the earth, painting everything white as far as the eyes could see. People were spotted marching up and down with their warm jackets and hats, guns in hand, flawlessly matching one stride at a time. Not one man, hair, or step out of line, just as they were trained.

An automobile stopped in front of a large structure, the driver's door opened, and a hefty man crouched down and carefully exited the vehicle. Soon after, three more doors opened, and three guys came out of the car, closely followed by a lady. Her e/c eyes surveyed her surroundings as she expelled a little puff of air and watched it develop and dissipate, demonstrating how chilly it was outdoors.

The group entered the building and proceeded to a table; the woman sat on a couch a few meters away from the table, setting her weapon down. Her colleagues each pulled out a chair and sat. You gazed at them silently as you picked up the riffle you had placed down as you walked in, taking it into your hands and starting to disassemble it. You were cleaning the scope aimlessly when you were dragged out of your thoughts by someone calling out to you.

" Rusalka." He exclaimed.  Rusalka a water spirit or a water fairy. She was frequently linked to the mythological concepts of a nymph or a mermaid. The term "Deadly but Beautiful" was given to you by your superiors. You liked the name Rusalki because she was a deadly dead creature and cursed ghost that resembled a young woman. Your countless enemies would hear your name before being struck down.

timid, helpless, and frail, some would say she was. But even the most beautiful flower may be toxic when needed. Judging a book by its cover would get you killed. You were nothing but skilled, powerful, and lethal.

"Yes, Captain Azhdaya." It signified dragon. He had a bulky physique. His face is studded with minor battle scars, except for the bigger ones. One on his left cheek a few meters from his lips and concluding just shy of his ear, a scar at the bridge of his nose, and a split on his lip. "Your location will be here," he says, pointing to a map as you stand to investigate.

"You will cover the team from this distance." He ended by tugging his finger in a direction. It was an excellent location with lots of trees and tall grass; blending in with an all-white outfit in an unending field of white snow would make it simple to conceal from the adversary and get a vantage point at the same time.

A misty memory

Leshy, the forest's guardian. His honey-brown eyes examined the chart, humming a tune under his breath as he took everything in. At 5"8, he was a few inches shorter than the captain.

Vodyanoy was discussing options that they might take advantage of. The hues of the woodland were reflected in the eyes. They were two colors, yet they were as enthralling as an unending expanse of trees and flowers. He was 3 inches shorter and had less muscular mass than Azhdaya, yet he was still a terrifying opponent to face in a fight.

Chuma and Leshy were the same height. He was a man with few words. But he was always in the mood for black humor jokes, making you both laugh and smile as the captain gazed on in fear. His eyes were clear and wonderfully polished blue proportions. He was a lovely soul, like your brother, even though you threatened to slam your foot up his ass for nearly getting killed.

You made your way to the table while reassembling your riffle. As you read the orders, your pupils narrowed. Objectives Destroy the English task force and safeguard the nuclear weapons in the ware home. Your hand reached for your hat, pulling it down slightly and readjusting it.

" Put on your armor and prepare your weapons. We depart at 0800 and expect to arrive by 1000." Azhdaya spoke up, dismissing you all from the briefing to prepare for the upcoming expedition.

You all walked out of the room and into your individual rooms. There would be no time to waste. Blood would be spilled tonight, and your squad would either win or die at the hands of the enemy.

A haunting face

The trip was uneventful. You all sat in the rear of the armored truck, silently double-checking your coms, gear, and weapons. Your seat was at the rear, and you were staring out the window idly. Watching as the colors of the night and the red glimmer of the tailgate blended together in one fast move before disappearing into the darkness. Only to pick up again.

You'd lost count of time, your attention only on the glittering lights in the night. It was lovely. Azhdaya was checking in with everyone to ensure that everything was in order. The squad represented family to him. The boys were like the sons had never had, and Rusalka, like the youngest, leave her alone, and she was going to destroy the world.

His gaze was drawn to the short figure in the rear, and he made a mental note to ensure she was mentally sound. She was threatening the guys, telling them she'd stick her pistol up their asses if they died on her.

The car came to a complete halt. "Rusalka, we're here." The person next to you spoke, Chuma patted your shoulder and stated. You blink and glance up at him, then nod your head, rise up, and grip the firearm close to your chest.

The expedition had begun; for better or worse, may you all return home.

Is she a lost embrace?

You and your riffle were hiding on a hill. A light coat of snow covered your body from head to toe. If someone looked in your direction, all they'd see is a mound of snow, plants, and trees.

They might see the glimmer of scope if they looked carefully enough.

Do you copy, Rusalka?- As a voice spoke up to you, you heard the communication link come alive.  That was your captain - Yes, over. -You talked quietly and quietly so as not to draw attention to yourself.

If you detect any activity, alert us - He said, staring out the window, his figure masked by the night's darkness. The others wait in their respective holdings for any others to either fire or rethink their future movements.

It was completely quiet. You had no idea how much time had passed. More snow blanketed your body like a giant chilly blanket, completely immersing you beneath it. Your hands were numb from the cold, and you had to push yourself to remain motionless as little shivers and trembles brushed your skin.

Am I in love with just a theme?

From the looks of things, tonight was going to be unremarkable. Until you heard it, that is. Your ears picked up on the faint crunching sound. It was too big for a cat, too quiet for a fox, and too tall for a dog. It was a person, but you had to make certain it wasn't a civilian.

You adjusted your riffle slightly and focused your attention on the shadows you saw slipping away in the darkness. When you saw it, they were holding firearms and wearing protective gear. -Humans- were the words that came out of your mouth as you turned on the coms connection.

You observed three towering people headed toward the structure. One taller than the other, he wore a hood, another wore what seemed to be a skull mask, and finally, a man with a Mohawk? You hesitated briefly, resisting the impulse to chuckle quietly. You had to admit it suited him. Oh well, He was still the enemy.

Static came from your coms, and it quickly came back to life to instruct you. -headcount?- he gruffly asked you. - 3, sir.- You hurriedly spoke. - Keep a lookout two missing people. He advised you that there should be 5. You dropped your sight and examined your scope.

You gazed about the area for a while before seeing it. A person towards the front of the building, next to a shrub. - 4 shrubs at the entrance - You spoke as you gazed at the man you would have missed if you hadn't seen his little movement.

Or is Ayesha just a dream?

You were told to shoot as soon as they broke through the door. The instruction was to shoot to injure and, if necessary, to kill.

Something caught your attention. You didn't know what it was, but something was awry on the opposite side of the field. Was it the stillness, the swearing misleading figures appearing in your vision?

You couldn't rely on your vision. The darkness and shadows might generate illusions that will stymie your enthusiasm and your team's life. The door to the building burst open while your attention was elsewhere. It caught you off guard. You looked up immediately to see that they were entering the building.

They entered the building, permission to shoot.- You talked softly but rapidly. As you waited, your finger slowly fell to the trigger. - Granted-, that was all you needed to shoot at the figure as it slowly made its way inside.

You kept an eye out for any opportunities. You pulled the trigger when you saw it. The bullet sliced through the air as it approach its victim. His leg was struck. His blood had stained the snow underneath him.

A mystery

From then on, all hell had broken loose. Ghost talked on the coms after Soap was shot. When he informed his crew that bullets had been fired, their senses went into overdrive. König was ahead of the group, gun lifted, trigger finger on the trigger, ready to fire on the suspicious enemy.

Ghost was on the right, Soap was on the left, and Price was just behind them. Soap was hobbling a little, but the gunshot had not killed him. Ghost unlocked the doors and searched the rooms for any indication or sight of someone. The weapons were reported to be at the far end of the facility, according to the information.

A gunshot struck the side of König's skull, missing him by an inch. As soon as the doors leading to the weapon room opened. He and his men retreated hastily behind the door and the walls, firing back at the culprits.

Both sides were heavily armed. It could be heard over the coms as the sound of gunfire broke out in the air. Making the night more silent, quiet, and foreboding. After a while, everything was silent; neither the wind nor the crickets wanted to make an appearance. Sometimes silence was never a good thing.

Oh, who is she?

You waited with bated breath - Leshy and Chuma were shot - a voice came through. Vodyanoy was there. You exhaled a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding. You stood there watching as the man who had entered the building burst out the door.

You watched as the man with the Mohawk was assisted by a man wearing a helmet. The tallest of them all had the arm of the man in a skull mask over his shoulder. Their blood stained the snow with a brilliant scarlet tint.

That's when something occurred to you. - Vodyanoy, tell me where Azhdaya is. Unlike your normal calm and collected manner, you raised your voice. -The captain was shot in the abdomen.- As you received the news, your heart fell, throbbing and hurting. - I've already made the decision. But I require your presence.- You entered the building without hesitation, without caring if it would get you killed or if it was irresponsible.

The mission was successful, but at a high cost: everyone was severely hurt. The cost was cleared when the medical team came. Unfortunately, someone had to remain behind. You offered to remain behind because there wasn't much room in the truck, don't know how but it happened. Your team was against it, but you shot them down. You were the least harmed and would be hiding in one of the nearby hideouts.

Oh, who is she?

You arrived at one of the hideouts, an abandoned structure by a river. Your firearm was never far from your side or in your hands. Even though it was familiar ground, you could never relax your guard.

As you got closer to the building, you noticed a towering person. You'd seen him before. If you recall, he was the colonel on the other side of this combat field. You knew you could play the helpless citizen if you were simply charming to him. You could at the very least eliminate him and his squad.

You took a gamble knowing you were about to collide in this combat field unknown to him but not to you. He was tall, far taller than you would have anticipated. He towered over your commander. You choose to have some fun. You taunted him by messing with his thoughts. You become the night's shadow, the illusion that swirled in his unfocused eyes.

You observed him as he twisted and turned. Look to the right and left, up ahead and below. You chuckled a little, watching him feverishly search for you like a lost puppy. But you were disappointed since your spot had been snatched from you; you heard shouts and froze. The man in the skull mask exited the building beside the colonel. You made the decision to walk away from him. You locked eyes with him as he lifted his firearm and spoke harshly. " Get her."

A misty memory

You rushed out of there on your heels, seeking for a new hiding spot. You rushed through the deep forest, crouching low to avoid hitting a tree. You made the mistake of looking back and confronting death.

He was swiftly catching up with you. You ran and ran, and you appeared to have lost track of time, but one thing bothered you: they were both following after you, but when you looked around, you noticed the one with the skull mask.

You inhaled the frigid air, allowing it to enter your aching, anxious lungs. You proceeded to the abandoned building, taking in as much air as you could and watching for a while to be sure it was clear. You seek refuge in a dark area with access to the entrance and window.

You closed your eyes and lay back against the corner, rifle in hand, succumbing to tiredness and allowing sleep to overtake you. You were too sleepy to notice that your safe way was going to be your undoing.

A haunting face

As Ghost and König stood in front of the building König had seen you walk onto, it was late. Ghost had lost track of you, and the snow had made everything appear so familiar that he couldn't tell right from left. He waited until König returned, informing Ghost that he had discovered where you were hiding.

Now when they were standing in front of the building, Ghost crept inside quietly, not wanting you to flee. You being valuable to them since you know the ins and outs of the building. He creeps closer to the room, discovering you in a corner with a riffle in hand. Your head hung down, hiding your features. He eased you out of the corner.

He straddled your lap and took a knife from his thigh strap, pressing it to your throat. " You know, that's not nice. Everyone told you, you have a sexy waist." You voiced to him, as you looked him up and down, making eye contact, a little grin tugged at your lips.

Ghost's eyes narrow as he looks at you, moving his knife closer to your throat, a line of scarlet slipping from your slashed flesh. "I'm the one who asks the questions here." His tone was harsh and low. Sending shivers down your spine as his icy, almost lifeless eyes glared down at you.

You can feel his breath fan your face as he leans forward. You feel your cheeks get hot and flushed. Were you indeed roused by a masked guy riding your lap? Perhaps nothing is impossible in love and war.

Is she a lost embrace?

You heard a stir from behind you and tilted your head to see a tall man towering over the two of you. The moonlight behind him accentuated his silhouette. Huh? The lost puppy returned in search of his owner, you guessed. König kept staring into you quietly, observing your very move.

"as much as I would enjoy having you in my lap," you said to the masked man, carefully moving your hand, not revealing your plans for the following few seconds. "You've never said your name." You sweetly spoke, but they couldn't see it anyhow. Finally, make contact with your riffle and grip it tightly.

You heard him say, "König." His voice is deep and low, and just hearing it makes your stomach twist and spin. "Ghost," remarked the man next to you. "Rusalka," you say, raising your arm and smacking the riffle's bud into the ghost's face. Making him lose his equilibrium somewhat, providing you exactly the right amount of change.

König charged at you as Ghost was cradling his bloody nose. You couldn't feel his body as much as you wanted to. You turned and hurried out of the room you were in and into another. Will the mouse escape or will the cat devour the mouse?

I call her name

As you approached the front of the building, you could see the light at the end of the corridor. It was probably time to look for a new home, but unfortunately, like the cat that ate the canary, you were apprehended before you could safely fly away. Something heavy smacked your back, forcing the breath from your lungs in a huge gasp.

You're not sure how long you were out, but when you awoke, your wrists were bound behind your back and you were tied to a chair, your legs connected to the leg chair. "Well, aren't Kinky?" you said, glancing up at the two guys looking down at you. They look at you. Ghost approached you, his hands resting on your thighs. You could feel the marks framing the outline of his hands as he squeezed so hard.

"Since you don't want to behave, I'll teach you manners." Ghost spoke, harshly grading your chin. You felt hands on your legs before Ghost shoved it away. König knelt down and unfastened your legs. As König rose up and came to Ghost's side, you maintained eye contact with him.

Know that your thoughts were not going in circles. You noticed that it was cooler than usual. Looking down, you noticed your gear and jacket had vanished. Ghost came up behind you, untying your hands from the chair just to re-tie them. So you're not going to attempt anything.

Across an endless plain

Your face was smashed against the dirt floor in the blink of an eye, and your pants and underwear ripped off your waist as though a wild beast desired something more. Your cunt has been exposed to the stranger, Ghost. "You may scream all you want. It's just three of us here." As you felt something hard push against you, he groaned. "You want me to behave," you exhale, shifting your face to face him. "Make me," you spat in his face, you weren't going down that easy.

His cock pounding pierces your pussy lips and presses deep inside of you. Your eyes roll into your skull, erupting in a whining moan. You wept and pleaded in a high you'd never known, with each thrust driving your face further and harder into the floor, yet he never yielded. Instead, his muscular arms just held you in place until release arrived in the form of his sperm blasting forcefully into your womb. " Should've behaved." He talked as he stood, leaving your ass up on the floor, his cum flowing out of your pussy onto the floor.

In your haze, you noticed boots in front of you and looked up to see König staring down at you; you blinked up at him, blinking away the tears that had gathered in your eyes. From the fuck Ghost had given you. He lowered himself, stroking your cheek and brushing away some stray tears with his thumb. "We might let you go if you give us what we want." You forced your lips together tightly, not making a single sound. Looking him straight in the eyes.

She'll answer me

"She's a lot more stubborn than we thought, König." Ghost declared as he picked you up by your tide hands and watched your legs try to remain erect. Ghost's knife ripped your shirt, tearing it apart in front of their greedy gaze. His left hand touched your face as he raised his mask, tilting it so he could passionately kiss you. You trembled as an enormous chilly hand clutched your chest, his right hand still firmly gripping your roped-tied hands.

Squeezing and licking your nipples like a ravenous starving man. König sucked and bit, leaving a trail of vibrant markings from your chest to your stomach and then to your core. While pounding two of his enormous thick fingers into you, he spreads your lips while kissing and relentlessly sucking your clit.

Your thoughts were racing with pleasure and overstimulation. Your lips were still being taken. You fell undone under them, Ghost's ravenous lips snatched the chances to breathe. König sipped your juices, humming to himself as if it were his sole source of relief for his parched throat. As he drank his fill, you felt the vibration against your pussy, and he drew away, licking his lips and letting his hood fall back down his face. His gaze fixed on your crumbling body.

Ghost, you let go, and you fall to the floor, your legs too weak to support you." It appears that we will have to break her." You didn't know who said it since you were too fucked up to notice or care, "Bite me." Your response was more of a drunken rambling than confidently articulated.

Wherever she may be

You became crushed between Ghost and König, and König pulled his hood up and pushed your chin up for him, tenderly kissing you and caressing your hair. While ghosts' hands raced across your body, searching every inch until nothing remained untouched by his fingers.

You could feel König's cock throbbing and dripping little pearls of cum against your tummy. Your body was drawn up until you were hovering above his quivering, gushing tip. As he split you in two, your arms swiftly curled around his neck, covering your face in his chest.

König drove himself more and deeper inside you, and with each inch, you gasped for breath. "That's a good girl…" He praised you, and you let out a tiny curse in your native tongue, feeling as though his words had kindled a fire within you. Soon after, his base kissed your cunt's lips. He let you relax for a few moments before grabbing your supple hips. It began slowly and steadily until you felt something hard press against your ass.

You totally filled König and Ghost in one fast motion. They began to thrust; being full of könig was one thing. But being filled by them both over and over again had you groaning and moaning like the slut you were for them. Every vein pressed against your walls as they gently stretched you out, shaping you to the shape of their dicks with each deep push. Bouncing you up and down, hitting every deep area that had you seeing stars. Fuck, the entire cosmos.

Oh, who is she?

König was concerned that he would inflict too much harm on you. After all, you were so little compared to him and Ghost. Nevertheless, he was losing control of himself, his eyesight obscured by the need to fill you with his seed. His head and judgment, his cock longing for release. König held you to his chest. Something about the whole event you excited in a deep primal lust, a never-ending hunger.

The only thing your lust-filled thoughts wanted right now was to be taken from behind and in front by two huge beasts like them. The lack of König's cock was already causing your insides to ache for him, and you whined for him. König whispered into your ear as he gripped a fistful of your hair, his hot breath thick on your neck. "mine! your fucking mine." He hissed low and commandingly. how you loved it, squeezing them tighter.

In one seamless stroke, könig sheathed himself into you up to the hilt, one hand on your neck and the other securely gripping your hip. The loud yell that the movement elicited from you was addictive in and of itself. They couldn't get enough of you, making an obscene squelching sound as König and Ghost brutally pounded their big cock as if you'd vanish if they didn't.

They grunted deep animalistic grunts as they pushed into your swelling pussy and ass, and you swallowed them in and contracted around them like there was no tomorrow. Not wanting to give up the mind-bending bliss.

A misty memory

"дa да да да" [yes⁴] You screamed in pleasure, feeling your body tense and quiver every time König's balls made contact with your clit and his head pressed against your womb. " я кончу! чувствую себя так хорошо. заполните меня, пожалуйста." [am gonna cum! feel so good. fill me up, please.] You mumbled in your native tongue, head clouded with pure raw lust.

Their ears were filled with your moans. They totally engulfed themselves in you, with König pushing all of himself past your lips and his head pressing against your cervix. They didn't care about the lew sounds, popping in and out of you. Not with them making you feel so amazing. " I'm-A-AHHHHH!" You could feel his cock's head pushing in and out faster and harder, a couple of thrusts of their hips. With a loud cry that tore itself straight out of your lungs, you spammed and squeezed around them.

You'd never experienced anything like this in your life, and it rocked you to your core. Underneath them, you were a trembling mess. Squeezing around them, feeling you tighten and flutter, was enough to induce them to cum inside you.

His hips were forced against you, and his cock was shoved in as far as it could go. As he poured hot ropes of sperm into your womb, his veins surged and his skull flashed. They were coming inside of you in ropes and ropes, and you were breathing heavily. Their cocks beat rhythmically with your constrictions, their testicles contracting with each spurt of come blasted into your small pussy and tight ass. There was so much of it that it started to pour out of you and onto the floor.

A haunting face

You were in ecstasy. You were warm, full, secure, and safe. You'd just had the most exquisite fuck of your life by the same enemy you were supposed to kill, and they were remaining inside of you as if they'd die pulled out of you.  You've never felt more at home than right now, beneath both of them. You turned your head and kissed his cheek, despite his hood covering it.

You awoke in the middle of them, it was still dark, König's hand was wrapped around your waist, while Ghost's hand was wrapped around your thigh. You gradually broke free from their grip. You discovered your gun and jacket. You hand no pants or underwear, much to your dismay. Just a jacket, some equipment, boots, a hat, and socks. You gazed at the two men, your hat partially covering your face, but it wasn't gonna work. Ghost wouldn't mind if you searched through his belongings; after some searching, you discovered what you were seeking.

You discovered his balaclava. It was just like his. Everything was painted on the skull. His eyelashes were virtually white, and it was rather sad that your enjoyment had come to an end while admiring their loveliness. Because of obvious reasons,-Rusalka, why is your line off?- The person on the other end of the telephone chastises you. - ну да xpн, Vodyanoy.- [oh fuck off].

Vodyanoy placed his palm over his heart and added, -The love, am touched.  I got you what you asked for.- He chuckled, knowing you had a scowl on your face. He was the one person you could contact and ask him to deliver your clothing with no questions asked.

Is she a lost embrace?

You did take some Vodyanoy and Leshy, as well as Chuma on occasion. They accompanied you when you went shopping for new clothing and even underwear; someone had to carry your luggage, and it wasn't going to be you. Vodyanoy was the only one who knew your exact measurements; it was actually rather amusing. He looked like a lost child the first time he went to the store to assist you pick out new clothes.

You could hear tires crunching on the snow as you walked away from the building. " I finally tracked you down. Get your ass in the car before you freeze. Short bitch." He chastised you like a child caught sneaking a cookie when they weren't meant to. As you move to the rear, you give him the middle finger.

You were finally warmed up again after changing your clothing. "Sooo… What fucked you over?" said Vodyanoy as he drove in silence. He wonders if the cold has finally caused you to lose it and go around nude. "As if you'd know." If only he knew, you retorted cynically. You snicker that he could be having a heart attack.

Somewhere across the sea of time

It was approximately 0700 when you arrived at the base. You could still feel hot ropes trickling down your leg. You were sore. Your entire body felt like it was made of cement, weighing you down. You were about to walk into your room, but life doesn't work that way.

The captain wanted to visit you in order to obtain an incident report. "Rusalka, what has happened to your face?" He inquired. Remembering the vivid moment when Ghost slutted you out on his dick and banged your face into the floor."Nothing, sir," you say as you avoid eye contact, "are your injuries better?" You shifted the topic on which he indulged.

You were surprised to learn that the higher-ups were relocating the nuclear weapons and reassigning the personnel in charge of them. You were disappointed, which meant you wouldn't be seeing them again.

"Rusalka, I was wondering where you found that?" Azhdaya inquired, pointing to his face to indicate what he meant. Oh, you reasoned. Ghost's balaclava, which you stole. "In an abandoned building. I like it," you stated casually while caressing it. It was silky and smelled like tea and dark wood. You were reminded of him, but you wouldn't tell them the truth. A tiny white lie will not harm.

You were curious whether Ghost had worn it before you stole it from him. You miss his touch, and you consider yourself addicted to them.

A love immortal such as mine

Ghost and König awoke at 0800 in the morning. He gazed about, feeling the lack of warm skin underneath him. König sprung to his feet, having awoken from an abrupt shift next to his body. He two saw someone was missing, and you were no longer there.

Everything about you had vanished, even your weapon and ripped clothes. It was almost as if you were a ghost that appeared for one night of pleasure just to vanish into the darkness. They went around the building but couldn't find anything, which is when he discovered it.

There was something in his thigh pocket, where his regular skull balaclava would be. It was a white hat. The hat that you wore when they discovered you sleeping in the corner. He investigated for any other missing items and discovered that his knife had also vanished.

As König and Ghost stood there grabbing and repairing their equipment, Ghost stated, " Clever girl." His dark eyes narrowed as he glanced at the hat he clutched in his fingers. If he gets his hands on you again, he'll tie you up and imprison you in his house like an animal.

Will come to me

Soon after, König and Ghost were picked up and joined the others. Price enquired as to why they had split up, but Ghost disregarded the question by adding, "We were surveying that area when a storm caught us." He side-eyed könig who nodded in agreement.

When they landed in England, the Price informed them that their plans had been altered by higher-ups. Laswell informed them that the weapons had been relocated to an unidentified location. And that, for the time being, they would do other things until they figured out where.

König's shoulders fell, and Ghost remained cool on the outside, but he was in turmoil on the inside. It suggested that there was a little chance they'd stumble across you on the battlefield. König hoped to see you again, to feel your delicate skin, and to hear your whimper as you unraveled. He urgently needed you, your cunt, all of you.

Ghost was disappointed because he hadn't completed educating you who was in control. And that you were nothing more than his to break and train as he saw fit.

Eternally

You'd met the two men a month ago. To say you missed them would be an understatement; you were ravenous for them to break you, make you their slave for their cock, to give you pleasure. But you'd never say it to their faces. You enjoyed the sight in their eyes when they believed they could control you, and you liked being controlled by them. win-win.

You submitted to training, gaining new skills and experiences. You even earned your nursing license. You had a good time mocking Chuma for getting into problems due to Leshy and Vodyanoy. He was like the group's older brother… getting hurt for the stupid things his younger siblings did.

Azhdaya summoned you to his office. You were aware of the situation. You submitted your application for a move in two years. You adored your team, but you felt it was time to go out to new waters.

"Are you sure?" Azhdaya asks, setting the papers down and staring at you. looking for any signs of unpleasant emotion on your face. "Yes, Sir." You formed a little smile on your face and nodded. " Alright. " He sighed and continued to talk to you.

Immortal she

It had taken two years, but the day had finally come. Tomorrow was your departure day from Russia for your new home base. The crew surprised you with a farewell party. Providing you with goodies that you may not find in your new home.

Leshy and Vodyanoy were sobbing uncontrollably. Leshy shakes you back and forth, imploring you, or rather pleading with you, to stay with him. Vodyanoy clutched your leg as if he were a kid, imploring you not to leave him alone with Leshy, and explaining that Leshy was this and that. You stroked his hair. You could have been the one who lost a screw, but Leshy was missing the box and the lock that held it in place.

You ate and drank as if there was no tomorrow. They dropped you off at the airport the following day.  giving you a hugs and best wishes. - The flight from Moscow, Russia, to London, England, is about to board.- The announcement was made over the speakers.

König tapped his foot nervously. Ghost stared at him as he waited in line with his other 141 task members, giving him a supportive nod. They didn't know anything about the newcomer. They were meeting them for the first time today.

A vehicle was spotted approaching the base and slowing down before completely halting. The door opens, and a figure walks out, their h/c hair gently swinging in the breeze that blows past the base. They exchanged handshakes with Price.

When könig and Ghost turned around, they could only gaze as your s/c skin sparkled in the sunshine. The way your h/c hair complemented and framed your face, making you appear ethereal. Most importantly, the sunbeams in your eyes, causing them to glitter like a Dimond on exhibit for its beauty.

Return to me

"прывітaнне, я Русалка. It's a pleasure to meet you, " [Hello, my name is Rusalka.] You spoke quietly, offering your hand, never breaking eye contact with Ghost and König as you smiled at them. They knew, and you knew it wasn’t your first encounter with them.

To be continued......Maybe, if people like it.

#könig x reader #könig cod #cod modern warfare #gaz cod #ghost x reader #ghost mw2 #smut #smutty #female reader #praise and degredation #hard k1nk #non con #tw.dubcon #tw.breeding #tw.breeding kink #tw.dark content #tw.impregnation #tw.unprotected sex #overstim kink #knife tw #könig fanfiction #kate laswell #soap call of duty #cod price #p in v #k1nky #degrading k1nk #modern warfare fanfiction #konig smut #ghost smut

[slaviclore]

cheatsheet to your slav folkloric downfall

Since several people had questions about the lore that inspired this poll, I'll jot some notes down about what I was thinking. All of these have long and complex tradition that can't possibly fit in a tumblr post, but there's tons of great content on tumblr alone, so pls feel free to scroll through my tags for more info (you may like "demons", "witches", or "original art" for contemporary interpretations of the lore...) or use this post as a springboard for more research.

Because much of Slavic folklore was passed down orally and not written down, and because it covers a wide geographical range and is told in different languages, there are many versions of common stories, tropes, characters, etc.

***

Baba Yaga is a witch, super popular, tons of great lore about her, historical and contemporary. She was never just one single entity, but rather a version of herself in many different stories (more like fanfiction than like canon). Her character is inherently unpredictable, existing outside our societal rules and moral compass, and the variability in lore makes her even more impossible to predict. A young woman named Vasilisa did manage to perform all of Baba Yaga's tasks to her instruction, but not without her own magical help. Sometimes Baba Yaga is helpful and reasonable, and sometimes she will just casually eat you like a handful of berries. You never know what you're going to get.

The fern flower is a beautiful mythical flower that offers its holder immense knowledge and magic. It blooms very briefly only once a year during Noc Kupały (in Polish, the EN is Kupala Night). If you want to find it, you'll probably grab your boyfriend (gender neutral) around dusk and poke around your local woods for a while before giving up and just making out and then meeting up with your friends afterwards like "did you find it?" "no we didn't find it :( did you find it?" "nooo :(". Really, this is about seducing the boy you like, since you probably need magic just to see the flower anyway. If you do manage to find it and pick it, tons of greedy demons will appear and chase you to attempt to take it from you (and your life). You have to outrun or outsmart the demons. The demons may be metaphors for the corrupting forces of great power.

There are tons of ways to get lost in the woods. Some people help themselves by tying ribbons to trees as they go, but anything can spook you -- you can run into a demon, a werewolf, a ghost, a witch, a cat, anything -- and if you have to run away, you will most likely lose your way in the process. More specifically, if you have annoyed a leshy (a forest spirit/god-type thing who protects nature), he will use magic to confuse you, and even if you're very good at Not Getting Lost In The Woods, you're kind of screwed. You think YOU won't piss off the Leshy? Oops you just stepped on his favorite beetle -- screwed. Leshy can be placated with offerings of food and drink, but sometimes he needs something bigger...

There are actually lots of hot girls who live in lakes, much to the delight of about 20% of you, but probably the most common are the rusalki -- dead girls who experienced some tragedy in life, probably ending in drowning, and are now exacting revenge on the living, especially men. They will seduce you, take you into the water, and drown you with their hair, or possibly tickle you to death. Baby marry me, amirite? The original rusalka lore was probably nicer to them, treating them more like water spirits than vengeful ghosts. Rusalki are not mermaids and appear as women with legs. We do have mermaids, but usually these are river or sea beings -- the most famous is probably Syrenka Warszawska (the Warsaw Mermaid) who lives in the river Wisła and will not attempt to kill you unless you're trying to invade Warsaw, but also she's a warrior queen and you have no shot.

Slavic mythological entities love riddles, and if you're good at riddles you are really going to help yourself, but you don't want to get into that situation unless you have no other choice. A common demon you meet on the side of the road will probably not give you a hard one, but Poludnica (the Slovak name) will find you at high noon while you're working hard in the fields and the sun's been beating down on your head since dawn and you're feeling woozy and dehydrated, and she'll give you the hardest riddle you've ever heard, and you're going to blow it, and she's going to cut off your head with her scythe or give you heat stroke. If it's any consolation, she may be hot (pun intended). Pro tip: you may also wield riddles to your advantage. Demons are as egoistic as you are and can be enticed into solving your riddle. If you stump them, you may assure your safe getaway.

Human characters in Slavic lore tend to be young and naive, representing the listener of the tale, since they can't use magic or navigate the world they are entering. Knowledge and magic are two sides of the same coin, so if you want to survive, you will need to gain some wisdom (learning some riddles will help). Being nice is not good enough, but! If by being nice you manage to seduce someone who has access to knowledge and magic, or get adopted by a bored witch with an axe to grind, you'll really help yourself out.

The path to the endless dead wood is guarded by a giant magical cat, whose name I never knew but have recently learned that the Russians call him Baiyun (latinized name, obvi). If you ask Vasilisa, she'll tell you that sometimes he lives with Baba Yaga, but generally he hangs out on the boundary to some other dimension. Probably, if you go to meet the cat, it's because somebody sent you there to get rid of you, so if you survive the cat, whoever is trying to kill you will probably keep trying so fyi. Baiyun will purr or tell a tale in such a soothing way that you fall asleep, and then he'll eat you. If you manage not to fall asleep, you may attempt to catch him and earn magic. But probably you're cat food.

***

There you have it. If you learned your story differently, let me know! And if you're ever lost in a Slavic forest, you can put your clothes on inside out and maybe that'll break the magic. Good luck.

#slavic folklore #your slav folkloric downfall #demons #witches #deities #baba yaga #leshy #original art #original writing #rusalka #poludnica #poludnitsa #cat baiyun

[pretty-little-howtown]

Han Jisung x Idol!Reader

Genre: Suggestive, Fluff, Angust

Warnings: None (I know of, if there are any please let me know)

Word Count: 9569

Masterlist

You are a part of a 6 member girl group (CELESTE) under JYP 

The group has a sort of ethereal almost mythological vibe 

Each member represents, a mythical creature

The group had two previous comebacks before this theme

Mihi (lead dancer and sun vocals): fairy 

The closest to the two previous comebacks

glitter purples pinks 

art deco inspired, ordinary objects are pretty and ornate 

Flowers, petals, some wind motifs as well

Hee-young(main vocalist, visual, makne):angel 

sky heaven themes 

Has a massive pair of wings in the MV 

Gold, light blue

Wind motifs feathers 

Yuri (main dancer, main vocals and sub rapper): elf 

Also, elegant but there are glimpses of something darker 

tree themes (think Galadriel LOTR)

Foresty, vines, some crystals mostly opal diamond selenite moonstone and white howlite 

honestly, Lord of the Rings stylez

Aera (lead vocalist, visual): nymph 

floral themes, water lilies, some more water themes 

Perhaps suggest a sort of rusalka vibes (not explicit, just some sort of implication the nymph may be a vengeful spirit???)

The darker parts are more obvious but with a brighter colour palette that acts as a kind of misdirect

(Sugar Rush TXT vibes)

Y/N (main rapper, main vocals and sub dancer): vampire 

The dark parts are now on full display, and fully embraced 

deep red blues greens

Lace, silver

gothic with a splash of grunge 

Title track has scream’s (dreamcatcher) styling with the lacy dress parts not the magic in the MV lol with a cross between Odd Eye and Nxde (with it’s sampling of classical music)

B side track is the one you got to go crazy on. It’s full rock/ metal think I Miss the Misery by Halestorm with Odd Eye’s styling) 

Nam-Gli (leader and lead rapper): witch 

The dark parts continue with as much elegance, but there’s a certain finality to it 

dark purples, black, gold, and silver 

Misty, foresty but a darker green to Yuri similar to Odd Eye MV

(As an aside: the birth order is Nam-Gli, Y/N, Aera, Mihi, Yuri, Hee-young)

Each comeback is based on one of the mythical creatures of one of the members

The group is very popular, but because comebacks are rarer than for most k-groups not massively successful 

A lot goes into giving the perfect vibe, a lot of you do brand deals and modeling on the side. Aera has two dramas under her belt

You, Yuri and Nam-Gli have your own lil side trio, with you and Yuri being a duo when Nam-Gli is busy. y’all cover your favorite songs usually by other trios

The three of you had covered 3RACHA songs several times and the fans loved it

The three of you settled on the members that complemented your rapping styles with Nam-gli usually covering Han’s lines Yuri Changbin’s and you Bang Chan’s

The fans absolutely adored your little trios 3RACHA covers so JYP had the grand idea of getting your groups together and you started doing more activities with them 

It started off slowly, with the label testing the waters

At first it was just your trio and 3RACHA doing a lyric challenge of sorts where they would have to rap the next line of yours and your group members verses while you would have to do the same with 3RACHA songs 

The atmosphere was really nice and to your surprise you seemed to bounce off Jisung the most 

You didn’t really think much of it at the time, the company probably wanted to strike while the iron was hot and get both groups some more promotion 

You didn’t really think you’d see any of Stray Kids again 

The company, however, had other ideas. After the fan response they knew they struck gold and quickly set up more activities for both groups

Despite initially being shocked to see Stray Kids again you found yourself natural drifting towards Jisung in the group interactions  

Really quickly it was easy to see you and Jisung had wonderful chemistry in the group shows and so you ended up doing separate vlives just the two of you  

The very first one started off a bit strange, the two of you had no idea what to say to each other when it was just the two of you. During group activities, the two of you would sit next to each other either piling on top of one another in fits of laughter when another member said something you found funny; defending something either of you said that you agreed on, or playfully arguing whenever you inevitably disagreed 

One time, both groups were asked if a sauna was burning, what would you rather cover your private parts or your face. You and Jisung collapsed in on each other when Seungmin said the question was probably which would you protect from burning

In short, you could always rely on other members to say something for the two of you to react to 

You both awkwardly asked how your morning was at the same time before bursting out with laughter, slightly diffusing the tension. While the rest of the live was slightly awkward, the initial icebreaker allowed you to joke with each other a little more

From then on, the lives usually consisted of you guys catching up with each other, Jisung excitedly telling you about his busy days while you filled him in on yours

The lives had different vibes depending on where they took place, if it was in the Stray Kids dorm the lives were far more chaotic; one day he threw a pillow at you. You glared at him, beckoning with your finger for him to come over. He looked terrified, and you struggled to keep your grin in. You subtly grasped the pillow he threw at you in your hand and hit him with all your strength, starting a pillow fight which, much to your chagrin, Jisung ended up winning

He would always do mildly annoying things to get a rise out of you, but you dealt with it with a Stoic patience, only occasionally giving in. Every live always ended in laughter 

You would often stay round afterward as both of you had a break, he was remarkably chill when the cameras weren’t on him, it was difficult to get used to but refreshing

After a few hours of being high energy, you were both tired, so you’d either put on a movie or scroll through your phones, showing each other memes and catching each other up on things you couldn’t say on camera 

You told him about all the comebacks for Celeste. He asked more about the groups' concept in general, and you happily explained how with each comeback a certain member is focused on as it’s their theme. Celeste's last comeback was fairy themed, so Mihi was featured the most, and she had more freedom to implement her vision. You joked that for this comeback, she became the group's pseudo leader

Jisung quickly asked when your theme would come up. 

You said not for a while, as the company wants the group to establish themselves with more feminine themes first. You said Yuri’s was next, and you were still super excited by it. The concept she talked you through sounded amazing

“What concept have you got?” Jisung quickly asked. He was leaning towards you on the couch, and he’d put his phone down, listening intently 

You were extremely taken aback, you’d talked at length about it with your group, seeing if they were okay with all your ideas, and they were annoyingly accommodating it made you want to cry a little. 

They’d suggest ways to make your vision come true without compromising it in any way. They said it was because you did the exact same thing with their ideas. It made them really happy, and they wanted to make you happy as well

You shyly started with the mythological creature your theme was about and Jisung’s eyes went wide, “Vampire?! That’s so cool!!”

This boosted your confidence a little and you told him everything. How you wanted it to be inspired by classic vampire literature with a modern rock twist. You listed your inspirations from Dracula and Carmila to Halestorm’s music. You said you wanted the music video set to be in a gothic revival house (you didn’t mind if it was a replica or green screen as long as it fit the vibe) like Strawberry Hill in London. You realized that the rock vibe probably won’t be accepted by the higher ups, but you were sure as hell gonna try 

Jisung looked at you in awe, you were amazing already, but even more so when you talked about your project. The determination in your eyes made him smile

Lives in your groups' dorm were a lot more chilled out, both of you having chill conversations perhaps scrolling through your phones if there was a lull in activity on the vlive but mostly responding to comments made by fans 

This is where the fans really got to see a different side to the both of you. Often you would be working on something while Jisung read out the comments. You stop what you were doing and join in the conversation. Then you would switch, Jisung would put in an ear bud and work on his music while you carried the conversation

Occasionally you would set out vlives where people could just work with the two of you, usually when you had deadlines coming up

In the vlives at your dorm you would always be draped over each other in some way, just general keeping physical contact

For some reason after these vlives Jisung was full of energy and would end up causing a raucous, the two of you had a makeshift lightsaber fight, and you enjoyed it so much the two of you impulsive brought lightsaber replicas after

When yours arrived, you raced over to the Stray Kids dorm ready to challenge Jisung, you burst through his door activating your white lightsaber, but your eyes went wide when you noticed he was in the middle of a live

You blinked a couple times trying to hold back a laugh, “I’m so sorry, I’ll wait” you left the room with your lightsaber making whooshing noises as you left the room and closed the door 

You could hear Jisung burst out laughing as Minho passed you, saying “told you so”

You quickly checked the vlive to make sure the fans weren’t mad that you interpreted, thankfully only a small handful said what you did was really disrespectful, while most were clearly enjoying themselves. There were lots of laughing emojis, with loads asking if it was a lightsaber

Jisung replied smiling saying how after your last vlive together you impulse brought yourselves lightsabers, “mine actually came today” he enthused and took out a purple lightsaber

You laughed as he swooshed it around, hearing the replica make the noise 

Your cheeks heated up when all the comments started saying “lmao y/n’s a massive nerd’ Jisung laughed on your phone screen nodding his head

His eyes seemed to light up as he talked about how much you loved Star Wars and how you knew so many historical facts and how much you knew about architecture

Your stomach pleasantly twisted, causing a shiver to run up your spine

You saw Jisung sign off and quickly pocketed your phone, but not before you saw a comment teasingly saying he ‘shouldn’t keep his girlfriend waiting’ 

You hopped Jisung didn't glimpse that one, you knew he’d overthink your friendship and might stop acting in the same way he did

Besides, you didn’t need him overthinking at the same time as you were

He swung the door open and stared at you, expression unreadable. He took his lightsaber from behind his back and activated it, the purple glow lightly illuminated his upper body 

You activated yours, and you dueled each other throughout the dorm before collapsing on the sofa and watching a movie like usual 

A couple of days later, your two groups had to complete a series of challenges pulled from a challenge pile, you read yours out loud “challenge someone on the opposite team to a lightsaber duel” 

You and Jisung burst out laughing, confusing both of your band members

You fell first. On a separate vlive someone asked how you’d managed to find such a good friend in Jisung, you look at the comment a little shocked, you didn’t know how to answer

Of course the content your groups make was thought of by the company for further promotion and without that you doubt you would have ever met Jisung 

You tell the truth: you’re not sure, “but he always takes care of me. He always checks if I’ve eaten and checks in to see how I’m feeling, and I return the gesture in kind.” He’s always drinking energy drinks, and you’ve been trying to get him to cut back at least a little. “You’ve all seen the vlives I’m sure, and it thinks it’s really easy to tell that we’ve got a good rapport with each other and I think we’re gonna be good friends for a really long time” 

Your heart clenches when you say friend, and you realise you want something more than just friendship 

Jisung takes longer to come to terms with his feelings but where you lacked in action on your end he did not hesitate to initiate 

Every time someone asks about you on one of his vlives his eyes light up as he compliments you to no end “she’s so nice, she always checks in on me, makes sure I’ve eaten. Oh! She’s trying to get me to cut back on energy drinks because the caffeine is bad for you and I drink way too much.” He’ll then go on to talk about your stage presence and how it absolutely mesmerises him and how you were the first member that caught his eye when your group debuted even though the fairy theme is the complete opposite of yours, you killed it 

It takes relentless teasing from his band mates before he realises his feelings for you 

He walks in after one of his vlives and his band mates are all talking about the will they won’t, they between the two do you 

When they mention it to Jisung he obviously denies it saying he’d know if he had feelings for you, and he doesn’t, you’re just friends

Minho looks at him incredulously and pulls out an edit he saw of the two of you made by, clearly a very dedicated fan, “you look at her like you’d look at a girlfriend, and you say you don’t have feelings for her” he scoffs. “I do not look at her like that, and I do not have feelings for her. Can we drop this?”

That same night, he can’t help but reach for his phone and search your names on TikTok 

The more edits he watches, the more he notices how he’s staring at you. His eyes really do betray him, and he remembered back to his vlive how his heart pounded when he talked about you and how he couldn’t stop smiling

He’d fallen hard 

And just in time for your theme to be the centre of your group’s comeback

You kept it from Jisung because you wanted it to be a surprise you knew how excited he was for your theme to come up and every time he said it you willed your heart not to explode 

Loads of your friends were excited, Jisung was no different, you told yourself

The comeback was steeped in deep blues, rich reds and engulfing greens, silver necklaces and black lace. The music’s tone was darker, like something watching from the shadows; it sent a chill down his spine as he watched the MV

You sampled a lot more classical music as well as used more classical instruments (violin especially) to give a more gothic feel to the comeback, all somehow perfectly intertwined with some fully rock songs. 

At the very end, you let out a splendidly sultry laugh, showing off the fangs made especially for the comeback. If you had to be honest you kinda liked them, probably too much

JYP decided it would be good publicity for both groups to have Stray Kids react to your group’s most recent comeback, especially as the two groups were still close despite your groups popularity rising and thus having less activities together 

There were lots of shocked expressions and ‘whoas’ coming from the group in general. They were used to the bright colour palettes and upbeat feelings of your group's songs 

Despite there being a lot of posing and standing, the boys found it endlessly compelling, there were bursts of quick movement where the screen would go blank, and you would end up in a different place on the screen

Similarly, there would be a blur of motion followed by one of the members changing their position in the room

Jisung watched intently whenever, you showed up on screen of the title track’s MV, by the end he was brimming with pride knowing you were the main driving force behind the comeback

He watched you fully sink into the role, more than he’d ever seen you do before, you embodied the vampires of legend, you were dangerous but endlessly enticing

While most of the scenes took place on a set that resembled and old mediaeval castle, the choreography scenes were set inside a hall clearly inspired by Strawberry Hill 

Chan, mostly impressed with the composition of the song, asked who’s theme the comeback was, before someone from behind the camera could answer Jisung beamed and yelled “Y/N’s it was Y/N’s.” 

When the group looked at him questioningly, he said you had told him everything about your vision, he just had no idea it was coming up next. You must have kept it from him as a surprise

The group talked more about what they thought was really good about the comeback’s title track, from the lyrics to the set design

Next, they showed the boys the album’s B-side track; even Jisung, knowing everything he did, was utterly shocked. Like you mentioned, he didn’t think the company would allow you to do a fully rock song 

The lyrics seemed to hit really close to home, the song expressed the frustration in knowing your feelings for someone but not being able to do anything about it, having to hold back every time they’re around you. Not allowing yourself to give in and the hurt that carried with that

Not to mention, the visuals were heartbreakingly beautiful, seeing you laying in a forest with a—very familiar to him—band hoodie and ripped bell bottom jeans just staring at the sky made him feel things!

All he could do was stare at the screen watching the credits roll by, and he kept noticing your name a lot more than in the title track  

Everyone was in awe and thought they’d seen it all

The video ended with the whole of Stray Kids wishing your group the best of luck throughout your promotion and that they’ll see your group at your comeback stage

Needless to say it was an absolute hit, within the first couple hours there were already thousands views on the title track’s MV with the number was steadily growing 

You and your group prepared frantically for the comeback backstage. Everyone was rushing about getting makeup and any clothing alterations done

Yuri rushed over to you to make sure you were okay, judging from your expression you were very anxious, “hey, what are you worried about?” she asked 

You were taken slightly aback that she was able to tell, but realistically, who wouldn’t. It was very clear you had been a ball of stress ever since before the comeback was even released. “I don’t know, just-what if it all goes horribly wrong? It’s on me, I suggested the concept. I picked all the outfits, set the staging, sure the video has enough views, but they’re a meaningless metric of popularity for the company. If they don’t receive a high profit from album sales and promotions, that’s it. It’s the end-” 

You continued rambling until Yuri interrupted you, “you were not the only one, if the company saw something they knew wouldn’t work they wouldn’t have let it happen. Besides, this comeback was awesome! I, for one, loved every second. I don’t think that’s the only reason you're nervous. I think it has something to do with a certain boy group member you often hang out with and his opinion”

You gave her a warning glance, taking a deep breath. Yuri just patted you on the back and let you finish getting ready

Jisung watched the entire comeback stage in awe, his expectations were utterly blown away, you looked stunning in your outfit and the looks you gave on stage were perfect

You brilliantly embodied the essence of enticing but deadly on screen and stage

The red skirt opened and closed around your thighs with every movement, contrasting with the tucked in baggy band T-shirt, that was also in the B-side music video. He smiled, you thought of every detail

God, he wanted to kiss you so bad 

With the very last beat of the stage, fake blood was poured all over you and staying in character you smirked at the camera running your tongue over your teeth as you grinned bringing attention to the fangs you’d worn for the performance 

You got a small break where you promote the album more, telling them there were more performances still to go

You did all that without paying any attention to the blood still dripping down your face, seeping into your clothes and Jisung couldn’t keep the image of you grinning as blood dripped down your face out of his head 

you took one last gulp of water and set yourself in position for the B-Side track performance 

It was just as high energy as the title track but with more intricate group movements usually surrounding you singing your lungs out in the middle 

At the end you all bowed and one of the staff came out in stage whispering in your ear and ushering you off stage 

Everyone was confused until Nam-Gli clarified the staff wanted you to get changed because the dripping blood was a bit of a safety hazard, all while avoiding several pools of fake blood on the floor 

The audience and group laughed at the side steps, but thankfully staff came out with mops cleaning the blood patches 

As they’d finished you ran back on stage and Jisung nearly choked, there was no way you could have looked more stunning on your big day yet here you were. Pulling out surprise after surprise 

The entire outfit was skin tight, a stark contrast from the previous look, under the black jacket's front buckles was a black bustier top that slotted inside the hem of the leather chained and pleated skirt 

Jisung was relieved to see you kept the thigh highs, he’d never admit it, but they were his favourite part of the ensemble 

The stage continued with renditions of previous songs as well as a rehash of the title and B-Side until, tired and ready for bed, your group bid everyone goodbye leaving the stage 

Turns out Stray Kids left early because they were all stood backstage waiting to congratulate you all

Jisung launched himself at you as soon as he saw you, enveloping you and in a tight hug. He breathed in your scent as he buried his face in your neck and refused to let go, until Chan cleared his throat at which point you separated 

After several congratulations and cheers, the conversations started separating off

You stood next to Jisung with Changbin and Yuri, all of you conversing about the coming days both for your group and Stray Kids 

You barely paid attention to their words, hyper focused on how close your hand was to the Jisung’s, you could feel the heat radiating off it

One tiny shift and your pinkies would be intertwined, another small shift, and you’d comfortably fold your hand into his 

Your hand twitched a little at the thought, so desperate to follow through on your desires but ultimately stopping short 

You couldn’t do it, you made up excuses for yourself, he hasn’t given any clear indication he likes you, the dreaded dating ban. Not that you followed all the rules, but this one was just too convenient 

When you left your daze Jisung was staring at you and once you made eye contact he reached for your hand folding it into his own

Your heart jumped, did this mean what you thought it meant ? 

“Can I speak to you?” you saw a small flash of pink dust his cheeks, “privately” 

Your heart lurched again as you nodded, not breaking eye contact 

He dragged you into a dressing room and stood in front of you, this time holding both your hands 

“I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you, personally. You were amazing. I mean, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You were mesmerising,” he grinned, and you smiled back, your heart swelling with each word. 

“I’m so proud of all you’ve accomplished already, and it’s only the beginning”

Meanwhile, the group were placing bets as to why Jisung pulled you into another room, he wasn’t exactly subtle 

“They’re definitely gonna bone?” Minho deadpanned

“Ew gross, they’re not gonna do that”, exclaimed Mihi 

“No I agree, Jisung’s too much of a chicken, probably hasn’t even kissed her,” Changbin teased 

Felix then chimed in, “it’s weird he’d go for Y/N. I was always under the impression Nam-Gli would be more his type”

“Please,” she dismissed Felix’s claim, “I want someone who can take care of me, I’ve already got my hand full raising these four” 

“What about Y/N?” Chan frowned 

“She’s an equally stressed parent” Nam-Gil smiled and the group laughed 

Back in the dressing room, Jisung continued, “I can’t wait to see my best friend grow and become even more famous!” 

Wuhoh, ‘best friend’ your brain wouldn’t stop repeating the word, it packed onto it and refused to let go 

Jisung regretted it as soon as he said it, it felt so wrong, it made his stomach churn 

You managed a weak smile and replied, “thank you so much,” you slipped your hands from Jisung’s warm hold, “we should probably head back and all go home. It’s late, I don’t want the girls to think I’m doing anything weird” 

“Oh yes, totally, this was just a casual conversation between best friends,” Jisung really couldn’t stop himself. He had no idea what else to say, my crush? A conversation between two people who could possibly grow to have a long and beautiful relationship? Maybe start a family that spans a generation, with each child being more successful than the previous? 

At least ‘best friend’ wouldn’t freak her out as much he thought 

‘Best friend’ that infernal title was stuck with you all the way to your bed, nagging you and telling you we're stupidly misinterpreting the signals. He was just being friendly 

Soon you fell into a flat dreamless sleep

When Jisung got back instead of sleeping, he looked up his and your name again. On TikTok, YouTube, everything. He found several edits that made him smile a little  

Twitter, however, made him blush the most, it was filled with playful ‘wish he looked at me like that’ followed by screenshots of his staring at you in joint lives

Others were from the video filmed of his group's reactions to your comeback. The tweets talked about how absolutely whipped he looked for you, mostly with, ‘we all know who that look’s for ;)’ and ‘jiy/n dating when?’ comments 

Part of him hoped you’d see these and know, he didn’t mean that he only wanted to be best friends but the other hopped to god you didn’t see them to save him the embarrassment

He fell asleep to an edit of the two of you with the classic sickly love song played in the background

You weren’t able to see Jisung as often as you had previously, the comeback schedule was gruelling, but perhaps it was for the better

At least not seeing him meant you didn’t have to hear ‘best friend’ emerge from his lips and painfully lodge itself inside your heart 

Jisung, however, couldn’t help but feel upset. Every time he saw you his heart filled with a strange mix of pride and adoration with an insufferable anxiety because why were you only just texting him back it’s been an hour? 

Your comeback schedule kept you too busy for Jisung’s liking. He understood, he really did, but after the so dubbed ‘best friend’ incident he was constantly on edge seeing you 

Maybe ‘best friend’ did freak you out and your comeback was nothing but a perfectly convenient excuse to ignore him 

You sat on a raised bench behind three of your bandmates in between the other two, there was no missing you 

Each of one of you was given a pointer for your ‘most likely to’ game

You enjoyed some fun ones like, “who’s most likely to stack it on a night out?” “who would not realise they stayed up all night because they were too busy playing video games?” etc.

It was hilarious getting to know new things about your members you never would have before

When the next question got asked, you froze, ‘most likely to fall in love with someone from another group?’ 

Act natural you thought as everyone pointed at you 

You tried to diffuse some of your nerves by delaying your point for comedic effect, the MC laughed, so it must have worked a little 

“Me?” you mock gasped, “I would never!” all the members laughed, and you chuckled along with them

“Oh, are you sure?” Yuri teased, “it seems exactly like something you’d do”

“In all seriousness is it?” the MC asked 

“I mean, if it happens, it happens” your heart skipped a beat thinking of one person in particular. “I’d like to say, I’m aware our group's dating ban isn’t over yet, so I wouldn’t do anything I’m not supposed to. Besides, feelings aren’t always reciprocated” you ended with a bittersweet smile

Feeling the tension you left in the air, you spoke up again, “unless of course your Yuri, who responds to so much fan mail she can barely keep up,” you smiled brightly

Yuri blushed to the backdrop of all the members laughing, “aww don’t be embarrassed, it’s cute” you smiled again, and she shyly smiled back with the rest of the members giving small chuckles at the interaction 

Jisung had finally decided on something to occupy his time with. 

He had been working on lyrics to a new song

The frustration that came with the “best friend” incident gave him a sick sort of inspiration, making him want to write his feelings into song 

One song was about how one person can make you want to be the best version of yourself while the other, he imagined, as a sort of sister track to your comebacks b-side track

He quickly looked up from his notebook to his phone, still pinging with a notification 

He picked it up immediately, hoping it was a text from you

Sadly it was just a YouTube notification for your group’s newest video 

He was curious and couldn’t stop himself from clicking the notification and watching the video 

He laughed a couple of times thinking how he would have probably picked the same members having known them for so long 

All of a sudden, all the pointers are on you

The answer to the question sparked hope in Jisung, if you were most likely to get with someone from another group he could shoot his shot

Perhaps the “best friend” incident was long forgotten, but his heart wrenched when he heard your response 

To him, it was clearly aimed and didn’t miss 

As a result he decided to drop hints like Hansel and Gretel dropped crumbs in your next vlive hopping the trail would lead you to his true feelings

He started the live before you came in so the two of you could get right to it, and he could have your usual alone time with you quicker 

You walked into his dorm room with heavy steps 

You’d rushed over after recording the relay dance for the B-side track and were exhausted, but you really couldn’t miss this opportunity. You hadn’t properly interacted with fans in weeks 

Jisung noticed immediately and asked if you were okay. You just tiredly looked at him and sat down with a lopsided smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes 

You didn’t want to admit in front of fans that you were exhausted 

Jisung noticed and did the first thing he could think of to distract the fans 

“Where's my hug?” he pouted, and you looked at him confused 

Jisung continued his half serious pout, “I really wanted a hug but since you won’t give me one I’ll have to take it!” he grinned and quickly wrapped you up tightly in his arms 

“Jisung come on, let go,” you lightly chuckled 

“Nope, I’m not letting go until you hug me back,” Jisung proudly stated 

You rolled your eyes smiling and wrapped your arms around his neck burying your head in it, and he did the same 

You breathed in his scent and whispered in his ear, “I feel a lot less tired now, thank you” then pulled away and smiled

“You happy now?” You teased out loud 

Jisung’s heart beat so fast in his chest the rest of his body couldn’t seem to keep up, but he smiled nonetheless

He started at you and gave you a killer grin, “I’m always happy when you’re around” 

It was your heart's turn to explode. You bit your lip and turned round to the screen seeing the comments full off, ‘ew guys get a room’ with Jisung quickly replying that they’re already in one making your eyes go wide 

He then quickly and expertly changed the topic asking how everyone was and what they were up to, picking out and responding to the ones he managed to catch in the sea of comments 

The live went by smoothly, and you noticed Jisung would bump your hand with his every so often almost like he wanted to take your hand, god you wanted him to take your hand

He pulled away to switch the song that he’d put it on in the background and carried on talking to the fans 

You really tried to stay in the conversation, but you zoned out singing along to the music under your breath (imagining 2/14 by the band CAMINO) 

Jisung noticed and smiled before joining in 

You both fell into the rhythm of the music, vocals effortlessly moulding together into a beautiful concert 

The fans adored it, with comments of ‘you guys should perform together!’

You smiled at each other and said that maybe one day you’d be able to get it organised

When the live ended, he grasped your hand, fulfilling your deepest want of the moment before leading you away to the sofa when he draped himself over you as soon as you sat down 

“You sure you’re okay?” Jisung asked, “you looked absolutely exhausted.” He looked at you with care and sympathy. You replied that you were better now, just tired from filming 

He, still draped over you on the sofa, tangled your legs together and asked you to tell him what you’d been up to 

You indulged him relaying the events of the day

Jisung didn’t look away for a single moment, his eyes betrayed warmth as he inched closer to you

You drew out the last syllable of your sentence and went silent, looking into Jisung’s eyes 

Your breath hitched, and your eyes were half closed as his face closed in on yours. “Ji,” you breathed, “what are you going?” you whispered smiling and glancing at his lips

“Call me that more,” he sighed, looking up from your lips to meet your eyes; a fire just behind his pupils 

This was it, it was the moment you’d know Jisung didn’t mean the stupid friend comment, there’s no way you could be friends when all he wants to do is kiss you until you were out of breath

There’s no way he could only be friends with you when he wants to nip chains of bruises down your collarbone 

There’s no way he could only be friends when he wanted you to rake your hands through his hair 

Time slowed to a crawl, you were in a parallel universe where time didn’t move and the consequences of a kiss didn’t matter 

A parallel universe with just the two of you, no company, no toxic fans, nothing that would get in the way of your affection for one another; where your connection wouldn’t be denied but accepted and encouraged

You focused on his lips, and you felt his searing breath on your lips 

He was so close, you were impatient 

Before you could launch yourself at him, you heard a sharp knock on the door

The two of you threw yourselves at opposite ends of the sofa as the voice that belong to the knock said “I’m coming in”

The door opens, revealing a mildly annoyed Minho “are you coming or did you forget?”

Jisung stared at him blankly, you could see the cogs moving in his brain, and he yelled apologies

He shot up from the couch, and you knew this was your cue to leave 

You walked to the door but were stopped by Jisung who wrapped his arms around you and quickly whispered “I’ll see you soon” 

Your lips were still blazing on the way back to your dorm 

Your members were enjoying their free time by watching a new drama on Netflix as you walked through the door

You took off, your shoes and sat down next to Aera on the arm of the sofa 

Everyone turned to face you and Nam-Gli asked, “So how was it?” 

You gulped and yelled, “such a normal time!”

“Why are you being weird?” Yuri asked, eyeing you up suspiciously 

“I’m not being weird, you're being weird,” you rapidly released the words 

“Very chill response,” Yuri responded in a flat tone, “now tell us what happened”

“Me and Ji- we,” you took a deep breath, “we nearly kissed. Minho interrupted. Turns out he had to go to an event but forgot about it” 

You looked away as they yelled in surprise

“What are you gonna do when you see him next? You guys have another vlive in about two weeks, don't you?” Mihi asked 

“Honestly, I don’t think I can face him after this. What am I supposed to say? ‘Let's continue where we left off?’” you grimaced 

“YES,” Yuri yelled, “just get together already! Do not use the dating ban excuse, I know for a fact you couldn't care less”

The two of you argued about the importance of the dating ban, with you trying to defend yourself because ‘it’s not just an excuse’ 

“Okay, we get it you disagree,” Nam-Gli quelled the fire. “How about you give yourself until your next vlive together to see him? That way you can put it out of your mind?” 

You nodded, grateful for her intervention, you relaxed and continued watching the drama with the rest of the group

You woke up feeling refreshed until you remembered why you wanted sleep to refresh you 

Your heart started racing, remembering the events of the last day, and you couldn’t help but smile

There was hope after all

Be quickly the hope turned to anxiety, the dating ban was still in effect and would be for another few weeks, and you promised fans you and Jisung would perform together 

That meant weeks of working closely with him every day after the two of you nearly kissed 

You took out the switch you’d saved up for a booted up Legend of Zelda, hoping it would distract you, and it worked for a couple of hours 

You finally found one of Links missing memories and as the cut scene played it was strangely captivating

Usually you would have skipped over it, having played this game to completion several times already. But something about the way Zelda looked at Link was familiar

You couldn’t help it when you reached for the phone you had been religiously ignoring since waking up 

You clicked on his contact, seeing only one unread message when you expected more: ‘how do you want to pitch a song cover to the company?’ 

You couldn’t decide if you were relieved or angry that he said nothing about yesterday’s incident 

You ignored it for as long as your mind would allow you before you huffed and picked up your phone 

You replied with a mostly generic response about how the fans really wanted it and it would give both of your groups exposure 

The two of you texted back and forth until you had a plan of action and before long you decided to meet with the company in a couple days as Jisung already managed to set up a meeting with the execs somehow 

Overall the conversation was painfully professional. Neither of you cracked any jokes or referenced your favourite shows. It was so unlike you 

Despite all of this you still hoped, he set up the meeting way too quickly. 

Of course there was the possibility he wanted this partnership over with as quickly as possible but there was no way that could be true. Not with the fire behind his eyes when he looked at you 

Jisung waited impatiently in the building lobby for you to appear 

You hadn’t brought up the nearly kiss at all and he was worried. Did you think he was weird? Maybe he should have waited and dropped more hints. Was he moving too fast?

He nerves stilled when you walked through the door, despite your smile being slightly awkward it made Jisung feel light 

“So shall we?” you asked 

It was a simple phrase that meant nothing but what was on the tin but it made Jisung soar, he hadn’t heard your voice in longer than you would like 

The two of you talked to the executives who loved your idea

Jisung watched as you professionally presented all the benefits this collaboration would have and how this is something that the company would be able to carry on into the future 

He wasn’t expecting you to say anything about the future especially after the last incident 

As you wrapped up your pitch the execs asked what song the two of you wanted to cover, Jisung hadn’t even thought that far but it seems you had. Immediately with confidence you said ‘PING PONG’ by Hyuna and Dawn 

He could feel heat crawl up his face but despite this he still nodded his head and smiled after seeing your own impossibly infectious grin 

“Great the matter is settled, you guys can work on it in time for the next award show” one of the execs said with a grin 

The next few weeks you and Jisung saw each other every day for at least and hour if not more 

Both of you decided to work on learning the choreography first because at you listened to the song to learn the choreography you’d pick up the lyrics easily

As a result your joint lives were mostly updating fans on how the rehearsal process was going 

Despite your worst fears the vlives weren’t as awkward as you pictured, the energy flowed between the two of you effortlessly

However, you noticed how where previously he’s have a hand on some part of you body be it you are or your knee, he now refused to have any part of him closer than would be considered disrespectful 

You missed his warmth. You were upset because you could tell he was holding himself back 

You could imagine why, but it’s not like you pulled away during the incident. In Fact you distinctly remember yourself moving closer, until Miho barged in

Between the bittersweet lives and standing nearly every spare moment practising with Jisung the award show hd rolled around quicker that you expected 

For some reason you signed yourself and Jisung up to be the opening act for the award show and regretted it 

It hit you that you were supposed to perform a song made for a performed by a couple

Just you and Jisung. Just you and the one person you wished desperately to be in a relationship with but couldn’t  

It was all well and good casually running through all the moves in rehearsal but this was serious 

You felt nervous as you thought about what the fans would say

Most would not doubt enjoy it but you couldn't help but focus on the ones who believed they owned the idols they admire

All of a sudden you were hyper aware of the dating ban that had ended only a couple days prior 

If the two of you were too close it would not doubt cause a scandal 

Your mind spiralled as you imagined the headlines calling you undignified, loose, easy

“Hey, you’re gonna do amazing,” were the words that stopped your spiral, they were soft and reassuring. You knew painfully well who they belonged to 

You took a deep breath and looked Jisung in the eye and he smiled 

It made you insides melt and you were certain he could see it on you face because his eyes darted to you lips for a split second

You recalled how close he was to kissing you in his dorm room and once again thought back to the dating ban 

If it was finished surely there was no harm right?

“Yeah, we’re gonna smash this,” you smiled back. “We’ve rehearsed this song so much it might as well have been made for us to perform,” you joked begging no one noticed the implications of your statement 

Jisung only hummed and his eyes looked to your lips once again, this time they stayed there for longer than they should have 

You licked your lips gently, part of you wanting to make sure they were ready for Jisung to capture them after so long 

The other knew it wouldn’t happen as you saw the PA approach to tell you you were on in less than three minutes 

Just like in the original you started off the show, the train attached to the right side of your body suit swayed along with your body

You felt confident and full of energy until you felt Jisung’s hand trail all the way up your leg confidently brushing your ass

Thankfully you were facing away from the audience allowing you time to collect yourself 

You knew this would be more intense than rehearsals but you didn’t expect Jisung to go this hard 

It fired you up and you decided to give it your all as well 

Jiung could feel the heat crawl up his face as you shake your ass dangerously close to his crotch 

He couldn’t help but smirk as you bit your lip looking him directly in the eye as if to challenge him 

He eagerly accepted and the while performance had a push and pull effect to it 

The two of you goaded each other on stage testing the waters every time your faces got too close to be called innocent 

The built up tension culminated in Jisung dipping you and you holding his face in you hand ready for him to bend don and kiss you as the song ended 

The two of you stayed in that position with massive grins on your faces until you couldn’t hold it anymore and Jisung pulled you up and you buried you face i your neck as he laughed and waved at cheering crowd 

Once you recovered your turned around and waved at them as well smiling widely 

Jisungs hand never left your waist 

The two of you left the stage and you shot like a bullet towards Yuri who was silently screaming and telling you how good you were 

Chan came up to Jisung and clapped him on the back but Jsiung couldn’t keep his eyes off you

He knew this was the moment to tell you. He was sure you must have known but he still gave you your space

He couldn’t lie and say he was entirely confident, there was a part of him that was worried because you hadn’t made any moved 

But he had to tell you 

Jisung walked over to you still smiling and took you hand in his, “can I talk to you, privately?” you glanced at Yuri who nodded and gave you a knowing look 

“Sure,” you replied, content with your hand in his. You could get used to this you thought 

He lead you towards a dressing room and closed the door behind you 

You basked in each others presence just looking at each other 

“You really went for it didn’t you?” you questioned with a smile 

“Sorry, was it too much?” Jisung answered taking several steps closer to you 

“No,” you breathed out, “it was perfect.”

You stayed still for a moment and Jisung admired the grin on your face 

The silence was comfortable and electric, calm and expectant 

“I really hope I haven’t misinterpreted things but I really like you-” 

You cut Jisung off before he could say more, “I know. I really like you too,” you trailed off 

“But?” Jisung asked with a mixture of hurt and frustration. If you liked each other what could possibly be stopping you?

“But, I’m not sure we should do anything right now. My dating ban’s only just been lifted and I don’t want to make things more difficult for either of us” you explained

Jisung was ready to argue, he was ready to present every piece of evidence that supported the two of you dating but this wasn't one he had prepared for

Much to his dismay he couldn’t argue with you on that point 

 Whatever happened he knew, that he would come out unscathed but you on the other hand. Well it would be a lot harder for you 

His mouth opened and closed as you apologised before leaving him in the room alone with his thoughts  

You gulped and went to perform your groups stage, you put on a show for the cameras and tried not to betray heartache in your eyes 

Jisung did the same he finished his group’s stage and after neither of your groups won this particular award he went home disappointed 

The rest of the members were getting slightly worried for him, exchanging glances 

Minho ended up sitting down next to him on the sofa of their dorm

“I’m guessing talking about your feelings didn’t go well?” he asked tentatively 

Jisung choked out a ‘no’ and repeated your exact reasoning 

“That’s bullshit,” Minho stated

Jisung stared at him shocked, waiting for him to explain 

“Sure dating is terrifying but hiding behind the dating ban is nothing but an excuse,” Minho expended

Jisung replied with his reasoning and Minho refused every claim 

Jisung bit his lip, “ok well it’s not like I can do anything now,” he explained how he’d agreed and you would have to be the one who comes to him and tell him you’re ready 

But Minho frustrated mumbled something under his breath and left 

Thanks to your stellar performance the company said you and Jisung can have a break from your activities, that included your collective vlives, much to your relief 

You couldn't imagine facing Jisung after what you told him. Not to mention you had already had an argument with Yuri about what you’d told Jisung 

It was much the same as always; Yuri telling you to stop hiding behind the dating ban and you trying to explain you weren’t hiding behind it and this is the ebay option for everyone 

You reached for yet another tib of ice cream hoping it would stop you from wanting to text Jisung 

Any thought of him was painful but what was more painful was being apart

You missed your vlives, you missed hanging out with him after them, you missed the way his body melted into yours when he was draped over you on the sofa 

Jisung tried taking his mind off the situation but nothing worked, not properly 

Instead he dived back into work and finished the song he started all those months ago 

At least this way he could work through his feelings

He frantically scribbled lyrics rewriting them to fit the beat of your bride track

He wanted the two songs to be connected even though the two of you couldn’t

“But?” Jisung asked with a mixture of hurt and frustration. If you liked each other what could possibly be stopping you?

“But, I’m not sure we should do anything right now. My dating ban’s only just been lifted and I don’t want to make things more difficult for either of us” you explained

Jisung was ready to argue, he was ready to present every piece of evidence that supported the two of you dating but this wasn't one he had prepared for

Much to his dismay he couldn’t argue with you on that point 

 Whatever happened he knew, that he would come out unscathed but you on the other hand. Well it would be a lot harder for you 

His mouth opened and closed as you apologised before leaving him in the room alone with his thoughts  

You gulped and went to perform your groups stage, you put on a show for the cameras and tried not to betray heartache in your eyes 

Jisung did the same he finished his group’s stage and after neither of your groups won this particular award he went home disappointed 

The rest of the members were getting slightly worried for him, exchanging glances 

Minho ended up sitting down next to him on the sofa of their dorm

“I’m guessing talking about your feelings didn’t go well?” he asked tentatively 

Jisung choked out a ‘no’ and repeated your exact reasoning 

“That’s bullshit,” Minho stated

Jisung stared at him shocked, waiting for him to explain 

“Sure dating is terrifying but hiding behind the dating ban is nothing but an excuse,” Minho expended

Jisung replied with his reasoning and Minho refused every claim 

Jisung bit his lip, “ok well it’s not like I can do anything now,” he explained how he’d agreed and you would have to be the one who comes to him and tell him you’re ready 

But Minho frustrated mumbled something under his breath and left 

Thanks to your stellar performance the company said you and Jisung can have a break from your activities, that included your collective vlives, much to your relief 

You couldn't imagine facing Jisung after what you told him. Not to mention you had already had an argument with Yuri about what you’d told Jisung 

It was much the same as always; Yuri telling you to stop hiding behind the dating ban and you trying to explain you weren’t hiding behind it and this is the ebay option for everyone 

You reached for yet another tib of ice cream hoping it would stop you from wanting to text Jisung 

Any thought of him was painful but what was more painful was being apart

You missed your vlives, you missed hanging out with him after them, you missed the way his body melted into yours when he was draped over you on the sofa 

Jisung tried taking his mind off the situation but nothing worked, not properly 

Instead he dived back into work and finished the song he started all those months ago 

At least this way he could work through his feelings

He frantically scribbled lyrics rewriting them to fit the beat of your bride track

He wanted the two songs to be connected even though the two of you couldn’t

You continued, “I heard your song, it was beautiful. It was emotional and heartbreaking and it made me feel a bit hopeless about love. I wanted to talk to my members about it but not matter what it didn’t seem right.” 

Jisung listened intently his heart beating out of his chest 

“That was until I realised there's no one I want to talk about these things with. I was being overly cautious not wanting to lose what we already have, but if we were meant to be then we’ll last.,” you explained, “Ji I really want to date you. I don’t care what  happens, I just know I want to experience it with you.” 

Jisung couldn’t help the grin on his face and he stepped closer. His eyes effortlessly travelled to you lips, down your collarbone and back up again 

He let out a small breath tickling you until you couldn't take it anymore 

He could feel you wanting to get closer, so he wrapped an arm around your waist, cupped your cheek with his hand and his lips finally landed on yours 

You groaned, this was all you wanted and more

No matter how many times you imagined this moment the real thing was better 

He pulled away and with half lidded eyes said “whatever happens we’ll weather the storm together. I promise.”

A/N: The ending is super rushed and I'm very sorry but I have been so close to finishing for so long and I needed this out of my drafts. Either way I hope you guys enjoy it :)

#han jisung x reader #han x reader #han jisung #han jisung imagines #han jisung scenarios #han jisung skz #han jisung stray kids #han jisung x y/n #han jisung angst #han jisung headcanons #han jisung headcanon #stray kids imagines #stray kids han #stray kids jisung

[campaignskyjacks]

May I ask, when did you decide to make the Rusalka so significant to the plot, being the first fallen angel and also Margaret's mother? I was just wondering the thought process behind Rusalka and how she became the river milf we meet in Deuxmignon

Okay! This is an interesting road based on player choices.

First Rusalka was always a fallen as soon as fallen were a thing in the setting essentially. This comes directly from my efforts to honor as much of the Decemberists discography as completely as possible. In Rusalka, Rusalka one of the lies is literally

And all that you are is a star on the water

So I knew because angels are fallen stars she had to be be one of them because of this line. This explained her personality and motivations, she is both a creature of wrath and mercy. She punishes the ill deeds of humans and loves the loneliest souls. That is angel shit.

She became the first fallen and former angel of judgement after Gable wanted to explore the story of the skin on the bell. I originally just wanted to show the church was using the fallen they rounded up in creepy magic rituals, but in the interest of supporting Liz as hard as possible I made connections to important stuff to make that moment a bigger deal.

Being Margaret's surrogate mother in rebirth was a thing I wavered on– to the detriment of the overall story I think. I was initially toying with the idea of The Forest Queen calling the Mariner up through the river to drown Margaret and Travis. Again this was all in the spirit of making connections between significant things to make the PC's stories as significant as possible. However it became clear after the Nordia arc that it should definitely have been Rusalka.

I was hesitant to make it her at first because the killing of Margaret and Travis would clearly be an unjust thing and therefore outside of her character. However, with the forest queen making deals and my very real belief that immortal beings would pass through different phases in their personalities I feel like it makes sense. And whether it was Rusalka doing the initial drowning or not her stepping in to save Margaret and give her a new body to be reborn into makes perfect sense to me.

This evolved further when JPC came back for Dref's seance scene. He called death "the river" which was terminology I was initially avoiding because the river already means shit in Skyjacks. It's also very Greek and Roman and I frankly have not been drawing too much from those mythologies. Finally I read The Locked Tomb series and I wanted a bit of distance between my stuff and that stuff. But JPC said it and Dref is the authority on Death so I am not going to argue. This made The River even more important to death and gave Rusalka new narrative weight at a monster who lives in The River and drowns people.

She has an interesting contrast to The Cutting Stone who I think of as misguided mercy that boarders on cruelty and her as an avatar of sad and dark but earnest mercy.

Anyway, whether she drowned Margaret or not she saved Margaret and allowed her to be reborn. It is that connection to Rusalka and the river that allows Margaret to control water with magic. It is also that connection that allows Margaret to communicate and interact with the dead so easily. This is why she could teach Sweet but it was so dangerous for him to approach the river himself.

I hope this gives you a little more insight into the creative process and my timeline for that creative process!

#skyjacks #campaign podcast #rusalka #margaret skyjacks #Margaret #the river #the forest queen

[dymko]

Here I present my very literate, very unprofessional 1 a. m. translation of "Rusalochki" by Go_A, because this song makes me feral for no apparent reason

Let's start with the title and a few notes

I could, without hesitation, translate "rusalochki" as mermaids, simply because women + water - it all makes sense in my head. But if I do a little thinking regarding world mythologies, I gonna find myself missing a fishtail at the very least. Not to mention undead, often suicidal origins. And tickles.

We sure love the mischievous and ambiguous spirits of dead people in our mythology. Anyway, instead of finding an English analogy let's just learn another mythical creature known as rusalka, k?

I also need to express that Ukrainian folk songs are full of diminutive forms. See these things at the end of a word?

Then we're dealing with "little and probably cute" silent descriptions

Ukrainian line, then immediately English one, погнали:

[Intro]

Та зельоная добровонька

Green oak forest

Холодна криниця

Cold well

Та скажи мені всю правдоньку

Tell me the whole truth

Ой чого мені сниться

Oh, why am I dreaming

Та куди гляну, подивлюся

Anywhere I gaze, anywhere I look

Не моя сторононька

This is not my side

Ой та хто тепер проводжає

Oh, who is accompanying me now

То мої русалоньки

It's my rusalochki

[Chorus]

Рано-рано засвітило сонечко

Early, early the sun shined

Рано-рано прилетіла пташечка

Early, early the bird flew in

Рано-рано заспівала голосно

Early, early [bird] sang loudly

Рано-рано

Early, early

Рано-рано я засію стежечку

Early, early I will sow a path

Рано-рано до твого віконечка

Early, early to your window

Рано-рано буде любо, зелено

Early, early it will be nice and green

Рано-рано

Early, early

[Verse]

Та візьміть собі, русалочки

Take for yourself, rusalochki

Та рути і мяти

Rue and mint

Та не приходьте темной ночки

And don't come during a dark night

До нової хати

to a new house

Та ходіть, мої русалочки

Walk, my rusalochki

До самого двору

to the yard

Та не топчіть мені рутоньку

But don't trample my rue

Біля мого двору

near my yard

[Verse]

Проведу я, русалочки, до бору, до бору

I will lead you, rusalochki, to the pine forest, to the pine forest

Сама вернусь молодая додому, додому

And I, the young one, will return home, home

Проведу я, русалочки, в темний бор, в темний бор

I will lead you, rusalochki, to the dark pine forest, to the dark pine forest

Сама вернусь молодая

And I, the young one, will return

Проведу я, русалочки, до бору, до бору

I will lead you, rusalochki, to the pine forest, to the pine forest

Сама вернусь молодая додому, додому

And I, the young one, will return home, home

Проведу я, русалочки, в темний бор, в темний бор

I will lead you, rusalochki, to the dark pine forest, to the dark pine forest

Сама вернусь молодая

And I, the young one, will return

[Same chorus]

We won't be talking about "та" translation, because I'm lacking a few degrees, thanks for understanding ❤

usually English translation just straight-up skips this word, which is fair, cause its absence won't affect any meaning, but, oh, what a word

So, it's seems like an evil spirit infestation, or a rather unlucky Rusalna Week experience

Go read Katrina's Instagram for more information, and don't forget about official music video

#go_a #rusalochki #can you tell i have no idea how song structure work #its 2 am dont judge me

[majonohouseki]

Bionicle Folktales I’ll Possibly Do

Hey, to any Bionicle fans out there, I’ve been having an odd idea lately. It’s not exactly a fanfiction, but I have thoughts about making six or so different little folk tales/fairy tales of the Bionicles, being a Matoran, Toa, or Turaga, encounters different types of fairies/ mythical creatures, depending on their respective element or region. I don’t mean the little people with wings, either; I mean the older kind, otherworldly, scary humanoid beings from old European folklore who you don’t want to upset or mess with.

It’s a blurry idea in my head, but an idea that’s stuck in my mind for some time.

My first idea that came to mind was the Onu-Matorans. Being that they live underground, under mountains, in caves, and their village is under a mountain, easily what came to mind are the underground folk of Scandendavia. This includes dwarves, dark elves, the huldra/skogsra, the nisse, trolls, and the tusser. But the one I think of most is the gnome. Not like the nisse or garden gnome, but an elemental, spirits of the earth, an ugly little humanoid creature who can walk through earth and rock as if they were air, is rarely seen by humans, and is said to be deceptive, cunning, and evil. It makes me wonder how long an Onu-Matoran like Onepu, Taipu, or Nepuru, or Onua or Whenua would encounter such a being. Maybe Onepu or Taipu could be digging in a particularly or unusually deep part of the mines of Onu-Koro or exploring a remoter part of the caves, when suddenly, out of the earth walks the ugliest little thing they’d ever seen, and certainly not a Rahi. And then the gnome may do something bad to the Matoran/Toa/Turaga.

My second idea involves the Ga-Matorans, which has some easiness since all the Ga-Matoran who ever were are all female, and there are so many water spirits and mermaids, most of whom are female. This includes mermaids, like the melusine and the merrow, but also mermaids that aren’t really mermaids like the rusalka and the siren, freshwater spirits like camenae, and water nymphs, such as the Naiad and Nereid, the elemantal and spirit of water like the undine, and a special group of seal mermaids called selkies. I’ve even thought of drawing Gali come across the Sea Mither. But then I thought about the Nixie, a type of freshwater mermaid who have fish tails, but can change into human legs at will, and in form with legs, they have slanted ears and their skirt or the hem or their clothes are wet. I think there’s a Ga-Matoran called Nixie. I haven’t seen her in the story yet, but maybe the folktale could be that she’s away from Ga-Koro, wondering the lakes and rivers, when she comes across the Nixie. Maybe the Nixie will me unfriendly malignant, maybe it’ll be unharmful and nice.

As for the others, all I can think of are what fairies they’ll encounter, but picking one out isn’t so easy, especially for the fire, ice, and stone Matorans. For the Le-Matoran, I’ve either thought of harpies, dryads, huldra/skogsra, or the elemental and spirit of air, being sylphs. Then there’s the Ta-Matoran, my top three pics being either the samodiva, a lampad, or the salamanders, the elemental and spirit of fire. As for the Ko-Matoran, I’ve thought a lot about the Yuki-onna, even if she’s from Japanese folklore rather than Europe. I’ve also thought about the jotuns and the barbegazi for the ice people. Po-Matoran are the hardest, because earth and stone are... pretty much the same, although one lives underground and digs while the other lives overground and carves. If I can’t do gnomes or trolls, then I guess the basilisk would be fine since it lives in the desert. Maybe I should try golems.

But it’s just a blurry, yet common thought. And hey, “Bionicle” is part fantasy.

Update, 6/23/2022:                                                                                                                My idea for the Ta-Matoran and the fire fairy may have expanded a bit. It’s with the samodiva. It’s a forest spirit/nymph, but it also has quite an affinity with fire. She can fly with her magic flowing gown of white feathers, has long loose (usually blond) hair, pale glowing skin, and fiery eyes. She’s often hostile and dangerous to humans, whether she seduces them and drains them of their life energy and then torture them by exhausting them to death for trespassing in her forest, or she turns to a fire throwing monstrous bird at her enemies, or the mere sound of her voice driving one crazy. As for her fire powers, she can burn crops, bring droughts, and make cattle die of high fever. Most of her power comes from her hair; if it’s damaged in any way, she’ll either disappear entirely, or lose her powers and beauty entirely.

This made me think of that forest right next to Ta-Koro. Perhaps Kapura could be... practicing in the charred forest when he comes across a samodiva, and something bad happens. Or maybe Matoran are mysteriously vanishing in the forest, or are instead found gone insane. Perhaps it was Jaller’s gaurds that were sent to that forest for patrol or something and never came back, or driven mad, and then he, Kapura, or Tahu fight the samodiva and wind up defeateing her by damaging her hair, or even kill her by having her land in a bush of thorns, making her evaporate. If only the forest wasn’t charred... Had it still been green, the samodiva would’ve been perfect.

Again, I may or may not do this Bionicle folk tale thing, but this was just another possible story idea if I indeed do.

#bionicle #bonkle #fairy #fairies #fair folk #faeries #faery #fae #mythical creatures

[monstrousfreedom]

OH. OKAY. I WAS HOPING SOMEONE WOULD ASK. Thank you @jlilycorbie 🖤

This sprang from my love of the rusalka from Slavic folklore and this submission asking for Shakespeare retellings which brought back my fascination with Ophelia so I just smashed them together at Mach speed.

CONTENT WARNING: mentions of intimate partner violence and suicide by drowning Some things to know just so I can sort of roughly map out how I got here:

Rusalka are vengeful water spirits almost exclusively portrayed as women

There are many versions of the tale, all with different ways on how rusalka come to be

One way is they’re souls of women that drowned themselves

Another is they’re the souls of pregnant women that were drowned by their lovers (because they were pregnant out of wedlock)

If you’re going with the women that were murdered, these souls cannot move on and find peace until their murder is avenged

Moving onto Shakespeare: Ophelia died by drowning

There’s a very solid argument to be made that Ophelia killed herself, she didn’t just fall, her drowning was on purpose

There’s also contextual evidence that she was pregnant with Hamlet’s child

Some say that if she killed herself, it may have been a form of revenge against Hamlet

DO YOU SEE WHERE IM GOING WITH THIS?

Basically. In a world where a pregnant Ophelia killed herself, hoping to find peace, instead she finds herself as a water spirit doomed to wander the world until she has her revenge. RUSALKA OPHELIA THAT MURDERS HAMLET.

#i have been obsessed with rusalka forever #and I’ve always been fascinated by Ophelia #and one day this just clicked into my head #shoutout to MC13 for being my hypesquad on this #wip ask game

[kira-the-whump-enthusiast]

!!

Tysm for the ask :D

From this ask game <2

Okay this one is gonna be like, a two for one cuz these guys have a very intertwined story!

Name: Amelot Yang Antonio

Pronouns: They/them 🏳️‍⚲

Name: Ciel Yang Antonio

Pronouns: He/him 🏳️‍⚲

A little worldbuilding context to get out of the way: In the fantasy universe Ciel and Amelot live in, there aren't just humans, one of the other beings in this world are the rusalki! Sooo yeah they're heavily inspired by the slavic water spirits, but I sorta changed the lore to put them into my fantasy setting. Though, what's important to know for this loredump is just like. Relations between rusalki and humans are very tense in some areas, and rusalki are able to extend their lifespan by reviving corpses into new rusalki. Some rusalki are willing to murder people in order to revive them afterwards.

Anyways, Amelot and Ciel!! They are funky siblings, and growing up they had a pretty sweet relationship >:) Ciel always protected their little sibling, and he also taught them how to play chess! And when Amelot started getting into chessboxing, Ciel did the same so they could practice against each other! So yeah, they are hanging out, having fun, generally have nice times together. They are each others' best friends.

And then one day, when Amelot was like 13 and Ciel was 18, they went on a hike through the woods, and got lost. So they tried to retrace their steps, but they mostly achieved getting more lost. Eventually, they kinda just ended up staying in place and hoping someone would find them (no tech- this is a fantasy setting.) But then, Ciel spotted something happening in the distance. A little girl in a river, and it seemed like she was drowning. So obviously, he ran over right away, cuz he had to help her! Amelot followed.

And well, this was actually super reckless, because Ciel and Amelot live in a region where rusalki and the people who live nearby have high amounts of tension, and lots of rusalki are very desperate, and willing to trick people in order to kill and then revive them.

Amelot was aware that it might be a trick, but Ciel didn't care, because he could never forgive himself if he let someone die! And so he went into the water to save the girl, and yeah. Amelot was right. The girl was a rusalka, and she tried to drown Ciel. At this point, Amelot panicked and also ran into the water. And while the rusalka was distracted, they took out a pocketknife and stabbed the rusalka in the shoulder. It distracted her long enough for Amelot and Ciel to get away!

So yeah! That was the first of many misfortunes :) Tho, they were found the next day by the townspeople, and they went home!!

But unfortunately for Amelot and Ciel, this whole thing happened right before Green Week. Green Week is the week the summer when the rusalki don't have to be in the water, they can walk on land like anyone else can. And the rusalki remembered Amelot and Ciel's slight! In revenge, some rusalki attacked some of the townspeople. A few of the victims died from their injuries.

And hearing these news just, devastated Amelot. They blamed themself for all the pain and deaths caused, they felt horrible and guilty and they didn't think they could face another person ever again. Their mental well being tanked to the point that they just, ran away.

Their family has a doomsday bunker, and Amelot pretty much stole the keys and locked themself inside. Sort of as self-punishment, and also cuz of fear. They knew the townspeople were looking for someone to blame for what happened during Green Week, and they feared what might happen to them, when it was inevitably revealed that because of their actions, the rusalki decided to enact revenge.

So they hid in the bunker. No one came in, no one came out. At first, their parents came to the bunker every day to try to convince them to leave, but Amelot just moved to a place where they couldn't hear them. Eventually, they tapered off and stopped coming altogether.

It would be an understatement to say this was completely terrible for their mental health! Locking themself in the bunker didn't help at all, it just made them more depressed, more self-loathing, and more lonely. And yet they wouldn't leave, because they were scared of what was outside the door, they were used to the bunker, and because they didn't think they deserved to leave. Long after they started forgetting why they locked themself inside in the first place.

Almost 3 years after they first went inside, their father started coming back to the door again. And he just, talked to them. Talked about how hard it's been without them, but mostly about the little joys in his life that he was trying to appreciate. And he went to the bunker almost every day to do this. Amelot didn't talk back, but they didn't ignore him, this time.

And they thought that life outside the bunker didn't really sound all that bad. And they wanted to talk to someone again. So one day, they opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight for the first time in 3 years. They walked back home with their dad :)

And things seemed to be pretty much the same at home, except their parents looked older. And also, Ciel wasn't there. When they asked where he was, their mother told them he was at a boarding school in another country.

Spoiler alert: that is absolutely not the case at all! Flashback to when Amelot first ran away and locked themself in the bunker. And Ciel was like "I have to protect them" and so, he took the blame for everything. He changed the story so it seemed like he was the one at fault for the increase in hostility from the rusalki. All to focus the townspeople's ire on him. So yeah, he ended up getting arrested, and sent to prison for some serious charges :)

(Amelot's parents never told them this. They didn't want to make Amelot feel any worse by telling them their brother got arrested.)

And the thing about prison in Ciel's country, is that it's absolutely horrible. The approach to criminal justice is pretty much "if we make the prisons bad enough, no one will commit crimes cuz they don't want to be sent here." And so the next three years and a half for Ciel were just. Hell, pretty much. His entire life was confined to a cramped, freezing, pitch black cell. His days altered between total isolation and brutal torture. Some days there was nothing but silence, and some days were filled with the sounds of his own screams.

Suffice to say, when Ciel had an opportunity to escape from that place, he took it immediately. And fate smiled on him this time, and he successfully escaped! So he decided to return home, tho he'd remain in hiding.

And that's how Amelot and Ciel reunited :) Both of them are so, so traumatized now. But hey! They resumed having friendship :D Amelot pretty much still trusts Ciel, they've told him everything about how they're doing and the bunker. (It makes Ciel feel a mixture of guilt and anger that he tries to not focus on- they didn't need to do that, they were safe with his arrest, why did they stay in the bunker? was everything fruitless if they still suffered despite his actions?) Ciel, on the other hand, is pretty much hiding his trauma from Amelot. He's also lying to them of where he's been for the past few years- also telling them that he just went to a boarding school, but he has admitted he's in hiding. He doesn't want to be found out again.

So yeah, they are two guys, and they are doing anything but coping with their trauma :) But hey!! I love them. My angsty children.

(Amelot on the left, Ciel on the right)

#kira talks #my ocs <2 #whump #oc amelot #oc ciel #the 🏳️‍⚲ is meant to like. be the nonbinary flag #unicode needs more pride flag emojis #anyways these guys are my beloveds #I am. slowly getting through all the !! asks

[royalwritings]

The Samojuda 

King Claudius VII of Milan Rosae sets off on a hunting party to avoid the annoyance that is his pregnant wife, only for a thunderstorm to change his life forever. (TW: misogyny, especially regarding pregnancy, and general sexist entitlement. discussions of death during childbirth and infant death and thoughts that imply a desire for infanticide. )

A note: This story takes place around 1000 in Eastern Europe in a fictional country between the present-day Czech Republic, German, Polnd, and Slovakia. There are references to events and countries that many may not know and will be described here, along with other terms from the time period, Czech words, and relevant Czech folk refrences:

Holy Roman Empire: an empire in western and central Europe that was a dominant political power for almost 10 centuries, established in 800 and lasting till 1806. It was the Middle Ages equivalent of a superpower.

Byzantine Empire: Formally the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in Constantinople during the Middle Ages. Also a 'superpower'.

Pomerania: a historical region split between Poland and Germany. Was once a part of the Holy Roman Empire, and in this story, specifically references the location of modern-day Poland

Duchy of Bohemia: a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 by Czechs.

The Schism of 1212: An extension of the East-West Schism, also known as the Great Schism, between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1054

Šumava: A large forest in the Czech Republic bordering what was the Holy Roman Empire that surrounds a mountain range of the same name that is often also referred to as the Murmurring Mountains.

Vydra: A large river in the Czech Republic near the Šumava nicknamed the Mighty Otter.

Ride of the King: A celebratory parade to honor the Christian holiday, Pentecost, occuring shortly after Easter.

Vassal: A person who holds land from a feudal lord (or, in this case, a king) and receives protection in return for homage and allegiance.

Matka: Mother in Czech.

Azhdaya: a three-headed dragon who dwells in mountainous regions.

Baždarica: Fae that lived in the mountains. They protect springs and rivers that run through mountains, and if a wandering person wanted to drink some water from a spring or cross a river, a certain price would have to be paid.

Rusalka: Deadly water and river spirits. Women who had committed suicide by drowning themselves or were killed near water came back as rusalka to avenge their deaths by luring young men to rivers and drowning them in the water.

Vodníci: mischievous water spirits who were fickle in their decision to drown or not drown swimmers. They would store the souls of the drowned in teapots. Fishermen ask the vodník for help by placing a pinch of tobacco in the water and saying.

Samojuda: the Czech version of the Slavik vila, a nymph-like fae found in forests and beside ponds and rivers. They have complex relationships with humans, sometimes violent and sometimes apathetic, but are known to thrust children upon disrespectful women and hold disdain for men.

Ece was pregnant. Her stomach was swollen, her belly button poking out as stretchmarks made vines across the taut, cellulite-puckered flesh, like lichen across stone or ivy creeping up brick. The baby--their baby-- kicked often, shifting beneath the skin of her belly, and Claudius took great pride in feeling the fluttering movement under the palm of his hand as he rested it on Ece’s stomach. Their boy (because it would be a boy, Claudius was sure of it) would be strong, with arms as mighty and unwavering as its kicks against the wall of its mother’s womb. Ece was due any day now, maybe even any hour, as a drowsy spring stretched on outside the castle windows, Claudius could hardly contain his excitement, just as he could barely hold back the growing annoyance he felt towards his wife. Her vomiting, her crying, her whines of pain and backache as she grew larger, her once beautiful body now ruined with child, all grated on him like porcupine quills against fresh mountain spruce. 

Ece and Claudius’ marriage hadn’t been born out of love, but instead a treaty between a rich walled kingdom that gnawed on the tail of the Roman Byzantine Empire, and Milan Rosae, the heart of the East. Nestled between Pomerania, the fiercely held vassal of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Duchy of Bohemia, back before the Schism of 1212 split the world apiece, Milan Rosae was a place of beauty that, in Claudius’ opinion, rivaled no other. Surrounded by the Šumava, a towering roof of green spruce that clung against the sides of the Murmuring Mountains, Milan Rosae was protected from the reaching claws of the Holy Roman Empire, entrance granted only to those who could brave her forests and the Vydra, the Mighty Otter, a river that cut through the green and brought with it icy lakes and peat bogs. Together, Lady Ece-- now queen, now the mother of his child-- and King Claudius the VII of Milan Rosae had made a loveless marriage and successful allegiance, one that would soon bear an heir.

Claudius shifted in his saddle. Technically, a royal hunt could have (and probably should have) been put off until little Alois was born, but Claudius couldn’t spend another damn day with Ece. If he had to listen to his wife vomit all over her swollen belly again he might might tear out what little hair he had left. He’d taken to having her sleep in a guest suite; Claudius couldn’t spend another night listening to her sniveling. No, what he needed was fresh air and the company of his men, not Ece’s displaced humors, and a hunt would provide just that. Ece had pitched a fit of course, as all women did, whimpering something about how she couldn’t be left alone when the birth was so close, and how frightened she was to pass the boy without a hand to hold, but frankly, Claudius had no intention of being there when she did pop his boy out. Too much blood and shit and organs. He’d much prefer his only memories of his wife naked be when he thrust himself in and filled her with his children, not when she was shitting and bleeding all over herself, thank you very much. As long as he could hold a baby boy soon, he was happy.

For all Ece knew, the royal hunt was to find a great Azhdaya out where the base of the mountains met the top of the towering spruces of the Šumava. Claudius and his men would take down the beast, a demonic wryn with three heads, a personal insult to the Trinity, and make a headboard for the newborn prince from its breastbone. In truth, Claudius was just ready to be alone in the wilderness and wild, with only his vassals and knights by his side, sword in one hand and bow in the other, his hounds gnashing their teeth and yanking on the lead as they smelled the air for the scent of dragon. Claudius was ready to let them loose, to swing his sword and spill blood; Ece, as beautiful as she was, was desperate to emasculate, constantly caring on about the importance of kisses and gentle touches. Claudius did not approve of striking women-- he was a Godly man, after all-- but sometimes Ece’s nauseating need to be held at night after fucking tested him. Hopefully, the baby would provide an outlet for her, but until the baby came, Claudius needed an outlet for the pent-up frustration his wife brought, and dragon hunting was just what he needed. Death called to him, singing a song of glory and freedom, and Claudius was more than happy to answer that call. 

Claudius clicked his tongue, and with a sharp flick of his reins, the horse moved forward. The spring had been mild, the Ride of the King untouched by rain or wind, a sign of good to come. The festival and parade had been grand, and Claudius had been proud to sit above it all and watch the Pentecostal presesion march by. May was nearly halfway through, and soon the breath of summer would blow across the treetops of the Šumava and turn the capital city sweltering, but until then, Claudius would enjoy the end of the peaceful showers that had fallen all week. They turned the greenery of the forest a bright emerald, the plants soaking up the moisture like a sponge did lye, and the ground was spongey with moss beneath his horse’s hooves. Mist and moisture hung in the air, the humidity almost uncomfortable as it sunk into his chest. Arnold rode in step with Claudius’ horse. The vassal was a good soldier, loyal and reverent with a touch of bloodlust that excited Claudius at every joust and hunt, and, had his family not been as brown-blooded as they came, Claudius would have called the man a friend.

“I smell a storm coming, my Liege,” Arnold said, his horse walking a respectable five feet behind and to the left of Claudius’ own. He craned his head back to look at the towering spruces around them, and Claudius took in a deep breath in. Yes, he could feel the humidity of a coming rain in his lungs. It was coming, and soon. Rainstorms meant the Vydra would swell, bringing with her all sorts of creatures, ones that Claudius would very much like to avoid. That was the downside of a forest as majestic as the Šumava, bordered on all sides by the Murmmuring Mountains. Poets had compared the spruces of Claudius’ forest to giants, great living creatures of wood reaching up with holy branches so high that they could shake hands with God. With her protection, Claudius need not fear the Holy Roman Empire, nor Pomerania or the Duchy of Bohemia. Should the massive trees fail to deter invaders, then her tenants certainly would; after all, it wasn’t just bark and roots and tree nettles that could be found there on the first floor. No, the Šumava carried with it secrets-- grand, dangerous secrets. 

Fae. Samojuda and Vila, Baždarica and Rusalka, even Vodník all made their homes amongst Claudius’ trees, on the banks of its river and lakes, up in the branches and down in unmarked graves. Father Michael would surely click his tongue and shake his head to hear Claudius speak of such things, but it was the simple truth. Strange creatures lived in the forest, with too-big eyes and too-long teeth, who spoke with gentle, booming voices of promises that could not be broken and threats that sounded as pretty as clinking pearls and breaking china. Claudius believed in the fae; it was foolish not to, and now, as they moved through the wet glittering spruce s, they felt close.

“Aye,” Gregory said in reply to Arnold’s repeated statement. Arnold had a nasty habit of jabbering, a little too fond of his own voice. In contrast, Gregory, the newest and youngest of his knights, was quiet and self-contained. He carried promise, if he’d simply harden his heart a tad. He was too kind, too mushy, and it would bite him in the ass sooner than later, and when it did, Claudius was not going to bail the man out of his troubles. “It reeks of lightning. Should we turn back, my Lord?” 

Claudius hummed, peering up at the sky. The sky couldn’t open up, not now while they were deep in the forest away from warmth and shelter. They hadn’t even heard a sniffle from the Azhdaya, let alone a roar, and Claudius had no desire to return empty-handed. That, and, should it rain, his new doublet, a fine green thing that perfectly complimented the foliage, would be ruined by the mud, which would be an absolute shame. 

“Give it an hour more,” He said, giving his horse and slight squeeze with his knees and sending it off from a slow, steady trot to a canter. “If the sky darkens anymore, we shall turn back.” The two men nodded, turning in their saddles to repeat the order to the other vassals and knights present. The party pressed closer together and spurred on their horses, moving through the spruce like snakes through tall grass. Claudius was beginning to debate picking up the pace even more when, as if the sky had been waiting for the decision, the clouds split. The grey clouds had been deceptively small, and now as the sky wept Claudius was sure this would be far from a simple spring shower. Damn it. 

Arnold swore, jerking his horse to a stop, Gregory not far behind, and then a flash of lightning lit up the sky with a crack. Deceptively small indeed, Claudius thought as he jerked his horse back. The lightning had been close, dangerously so-- they should turn around. Claudius turned to shout the order to Arnold when another pearl of lightning came down from the sky, striking a tree not even a hundred yards away in a spray of light and heat. The tree split with a scream, drowned out by the sound of thunder, swaying once before tilting back, then forwards, with such speed that it seemed to outrun the very raindrops. Arnold let out a shout, calling for Claudius, but the tree had already fallen, crashing to the ground between Claudius and his men. Claudius’ horse reared up in surprise, eyes wild and ears flattened, and Claudius struggled to grip its slick leather.

“Calm down, you beast!” Claudus yelled over the rain, jamming his heels into the horse’s sides; it ran. Clinging to it desperately, fear beginning to creep over his anger, Claudius pressed himself close over the horse’s mane. Still delirious, the stupid beast leaped over the tree that was already taking flame, and bolted, taking off into the trees. Behind him, Arnold shouted, the words lost to the wind, and Claudius could do nothing but grit his teeth and struggle to stay in his saddle as the horse wove through the trees. The forest had quickly become dark with rain, the sky now completely blanketed with violent clouds, the only light the blinding flash of lighting every few minutes. The horse squealed at a particularly large flash, rearing back and shaking its head, and the leather was too wet, the rain too thick, the spring air too electric—Claudius’ hands slipped from the reins and as the horse spun directions he was flung off, back into a tree, smacking his head against the bark, ripping hair and flesh as he tumbled to the ground. He didn’t have the time to think of his wife, of his unborn baby, even of Arnold or Gregory; he didn’t think at all, just fell to the wet, muddy ground, head spiraling and dim as a snuffed candle.

When he woke, the forest was dark. Claudius pulled himself from the ground with a sound of disgust. Mud crusted his new doublet, thoroughly ruining it, and he was soaked to the skin. Moss clung to his beard, vines wrapped ‘round his legs— it took maneuvering to free himself from them, from the mud that had sucked him down like a yearning lover. With a grunt he struggled to his feet; the forest was silent. The rain had stopped, but the ground was covered in rippling waters a good few inches deep. The sky was clear of clouds, but still dark, the stars dim and the moon gone. There was no light in this night, no north star, and Claudius frowned as he brushed off his trousers.

“Arnold!” He yelled, turning in a circle, taking in the soaked trees. “Gregory!”

Nothing.

Fuck.

His men wouldn’t abandon him, of that Claudius was sure, and his idiot of a steed—which was now, of course, nowhere to be found—couldn’t have dragged him far. But it had been light when the rain started, and now the sky was a black velvet blanket, and Claudius was clueless as to how much time had passed. He squinted through the holy spruce s—the stars were limp and dull, unusually so. He sighed.

“Arnold! Gregory! I’m here!” He shouted, knowing the words wouldn’t travel far in the soaked, mossy fingers of the forest, and refusing to let the concern growing in his heart enter his voice.

“Damn it all, you idiots, here I am!”

Nothing, not a sound, not even the chirp of summer insects or the sway of mice and such through the graces. Perfect silence. It made Claudius’ hair stand on end. He could sit and wait, but then his trousers would get wet, and he was growing anxious. How far had the horse dragged him?

How far from home was he?

Suddenly, a low, mournful sound cut through the silence of the night like a blade through butter, and Claudius’ heart skipped a beat. Wolves. He turned to the giant spruces around him and took a steadying breath. He had a sword and knew well how to use it, but one man against a pack of beasts was still unfortunate odds. He could climb a tree and wait up there, but the thought of being surrounded by a pack throughout the night, perched precariously and shivering on high branches as they slobbered and panted, waiting out their hunger was terrifying, and while Claudius knew he was a strong man in good health, he was unsure how long he could hold himself up. He could—

The mourning voices came again, louder, longer, closer, and Claudius’ well-thought planning left his mind entirely. He turned on heel and ran, breaking through the trees, water and mud sucking at his boots, spruce needles clawing at his face and ruined doublet, and Claudius knew that surly the wolves were just behind him, their foaming gums and teeth gnashing at his ankles.

(The wolves were, in truth, far from Claudius and cared nothing for his fear, instead letting forth cries of grief and sorrow. After all, the lumberer had died today, her sweet breath gone and her gentle heart stopped. No longer would she run with wolves, no longer would she feed them the finest parts of the deer from her hand. No longer would she scare away hunters and clap in delight at the wolves’ song. The lumberer was gone, dead and cooling, and the wolves cried for her The stars and moon dimmed their lights in mourning, and the sky opened its clouds in her memory—the very spruces themselves mourned, as did the fair folk that lived in them. The lumberer had died and the whole forest hung its head.)

Claudius ran until his genteel blood pounded in his ears. The trees clawed at him, furious that a mere mortal would disturb their mourning, and it seemed to Claudius that the whole forest seemed to wish to devour him. He pulled his riding cloak tighter around him as if that could somehow protect him from the fury of the creatures that stalked the trees at night, until he came stumbling into a clearing that, despite his many years living beside and hunting inside the spruces, he did not recognize. And there, in the center very, like the spruces had politely moved to make just enough room for it, was a house.

House was clearly an overstatement—the wood was warped and swollen, the nails rusted, the door uneven and crooked on its hinges—but it was a home, radiating warmth and care. The late lumberer’s home radiated warmth, the kind that could never be found in a court or a castle. Piles upon piles of wood, somehow untouched by the rain, sat proudly by the side of the wall, ready to be cultivated into fine lumber, a sprawling garden of all wonderous things took up the right wall of the home. Vines curled protectively around the pane-less windows. Claudius squeezed the rain and mud from his doublet, straightened the crown on his head, and knocked on the door, kicking the gunk from his boots on the edge of the welcome step.

Nothing.

He knocked again.

“I stand before you as King Claudius Rampars the VIII of Milan Rosae, King of this land and the Šumava forest, and demand you open your door.” He called. He could hear shuffling inside, and the sound of stifled cries, and huffed. How dare they not open when he called? Who did this idiot think they were anyway? He grabbed the doorknob and tested it—unlocked, and unlatched. Very well. If this was what he needed to do to make himself known, then he’d happily let himself in. After all, as king, every door belonged to him, every room and house and home. Claudius, with little care of the coming consequences, flung the door open, and stepped inside.

A woman sat by the fire. Claudius immediately turned his eyes—it seemed she’d mistaken living alone for living in heathenry, and sat in just her skirts, her bare flat chest open for all to see, exposing creamy flesh and plump curves of fat that rolled across her hips. She hissed something in some barbaric, unfamiliar language and drew herself up, impossibly tall with clear, too-wide dark eyes and hair the color of starlight tumbling in rich waves down her back. She turned her eyes upon him, and at that moment a word was whispered deep in the back of Claudius’ head: samojuda. But that couldn’t be so. The samojuda, those beautiful women of another world, lived along the Otter, not in shacks in clearings where the closest water was a hand-dug well. 

“What in the Great Hells do you think you are doing?” The forest woman spat, the power in her words raising the hair along Claudius’ spine, and for a moment the look in the strange woman’s dark eyes was enough to spur fear in Claudius, fear he didn’t quite understand. But then there came a soft sound and a wail that seemed to shake the very floorboards from a box nuzzled close to the fire. The woman let out a pained gasp and rushed to the box on the ground, softly shushing it, before gathering up a bundle of wool and skin—a baby. Small, painfully small, no more than a day old, with tan olive skin and bare swirls of auburn, brown-red hair, face scrunched up near in pain as it (he?) screamed.

“Shh, shh, hush little one, all is well, Matka is here,” the woman whispered, bouncing him desperately, and Claudius waited for someone with milk-filled breasts to come from deeper in the home to feed the clearly starving child, but instead the woman just held him close, face pale and shaky, eyes wild.

“Well?” Claudius said, watching the baby’s shriveled up face, “Aren’t you going to feed him?”

“I… I can’t,” the woman said, painfully soft. “I have no breasts, nor a way to make milk. I’m not his birth mother.”

Claudius scanned the small home for the mother—there was the fire, a loft, and little else, and no mother in sight.

“Then where is she?” He asked and the woman flinched, clinging tighter to the baby.

“She’s dead. I—she was sick, I tried to stop the bleeding, but it all happened so fast, and, and…”

The woman buried her face in the bare chest of the baby. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her,” she said with a soft sob, “I can’t feed him. I’ve tried with a rag and some goat milk, but he won’t latch. Every child I’ve created from the forest I haven’t thought of for a moment after I rid myself of them, but he… he has his mother’s eyes, I cannot… I cannot watch him die.” 

The woman took a shuddering breath. “I wish he had died with his mother. At least then it would have been quick. Now he will starve, long and slow, and I can do nothing to stop it.”

Slowly, the baby quieted, and the woman’s eyes, dull in her skull, softened. “My little boy…” she whispered, brushing a finger over his closed eyelid, “my precious little boy.”

Claudius shifted uncomfortably in the doorway.

“Does he have a name?”

The woman let out a bitter laugh. “Why bother? He’ll be dead in a few days.”

“Will he be baptized?”

The woman’s face twisted. “Absolutely not.”

“Why? You’re not some heathen in the woods, are you?” Claudius said with a scoff, and the woman turned her dark eyes to him, shining with something malicious.

“Watch your words, your Majesty.” She spat, and Claudius took a step back without thinking too.

“I—”

“You know nothing of how this forest works, its history, its people, its magic. Nothing!” She said, taking a strong step forward, soon nose to nose with Claudius, her baby nearly pinned between them.

“Leave.” She said, “Leave this place. Forget me, forget the babe, go back to where you came from, king. You are unwelcome here.”

And then the baby began to cry. Weaker this time, quieter, less a wail and more a wrecked sob, and the woman swore, rocking him gently.

“Look what you’ve done.” She hissed, “Won’t you let us die in peace?”

Claudius’ mouth stuttered. “I—”

“Is it too much to ask for a creature and her baby to die, together and warm and unbothered?”

“Ma’am—”

“Don’t ma’am me when you barged into my home!”

The baby’s cries had become screams, and tears had begun to drip down the woman’s face, and Claudius’ insides shriveled. Never in his life had he seen a baby cry up close, and the scrunched flesh and watery eyes gutted him in a way nothing had before. His baby would look like this. His Alois, his son, his heir. Would he die too if Ece were to pass before she could hold him to her breast?

No. No, Ece wouldn’t pass, and even if she did, God protect her, Alois would have a wet nurse and a million men and women and court folk who would happily hold him to their breast. Alois would have everything, and this woman (Woman? Creature? Samojuda?) would have nothing.

“I am a king,” he said softly, and the woman’s face twisted with a sneer.

“Oh, truly?” She said mockingly, and Claudius held up a hand.

“Please, listen. I am a king—I have access to many resources and many pregnant and nursing ladies and lords and nobles who would bend over backward to please me. If I asked, they would welcome your baby into their crest in an instant.”

The woman stopped, mouth hanging open. “I… are you…?”

“It is a generous offer, but one I am willing to hold myself to.”

The woman cradled her baby even closer to her chest. “You would?” She whispered, and Claudius felt himself nod, not even sure he was doing so.

The woman took a step back. Between them, the baby had quieted. She walked back to the fire and slowly sunk down to the box, sitting on its edge, and began to hum. Claudius found himself entranced by her song, her sound, like sweet dew and warm sunlight, and a deep breath after a dip in cold water. She waved him over and slowly, he moved to her side and sat beside her.

“What was the mother’s name?” He asked softly, and the woman took his hand, guiding it to the baby’s head. Claudius wondered at his wispy hair, at his wise, dark eyes and the baby smiled at him. Claudius smiled back.

“She was a lumberer,” The woman said, “my beloved, a great woodworker. She wooed me with little carvings and statuettes, carved them till her hands bled, and left them for me to find, until I fell in love with the little things and then, slowly, with her. She was beautiful, with skin like an oak leaf, hair like a river, and eyes like starlight. She loved the world unabashedly, loved the wolves and the buzzards and the worms as much as she did the flowers and the larks. She was my little lark. She… she always had a long on her lips,  and we joined in bed together, so ready to raise a little one… We were overjoyed when she became fat with child.” 

The reverent look on her face faded, replaced with a bitterness that made Claudius shiver. “She grew pregnant, that’s for sure. Then sick, and then bloody, and then dead.”

“My wife, she is with child, too,” Claudius said. “A boy, I’m sure of it, and I will name him Alois, after the mighty warriors, so he will grow to be strong and unbreakable.”

“Strong and unbreakable,” the woman said softly, “isn’t that a wonderful thought? Maybe my boy will be the same. Will you, beloved? Will you be strong and unbreakable?”

The baby gurgled up at him. Claudius was struck with a sudden warmth despite the chill of his wet clothes and couldn’t tear his eyes from the boy. He was perfect in every way, with his olive skin, dark eyes, and auburn red hair.

“He shall be,” Claudius said, and the softness in his chest scared him. Claudius was not a soft person, but beside this baby, his heart felt as mushy as a rotten apple, as sweet as sugar syrup. He felt… weak before this baby, and for a moment a stalk of fear struck him. How could something so small be so powerful? It was almost… otherworldly. Claudius glanced at the baby’s mother and her too-big eyes, her pale hair, her unashamed half-nakedness. What kind of woman was this, alone in the woods with a lumberer as her only company? Who was she, to be so content without civilization, so without civility that she’d sit without anything to cover her chest while before a man, a king? Was her lumberer just as uncivilized? 

The baby’s eyes had slipped shut, and the woman ran fingers across his tan cheeks.

“Sleep, worldly king,” She said. “Take the spot by the fire. My boy and I shall take the loft. Enjoy the warmth, and dry yourself. We shall leave early in the morning for your kingdom.”

Claudius perked at that. “You can take me home?”

“Aye. I know these woods better than any else. I can take you to the forest’s edge where the walls that surround your kingdom are. A walled kingdom with a walled capital. How strange—are the bricks to keep all out, or all in?”

Claudius pursed his lips. “The Holy Roman Empire--”

The woman waved a hand. “I have no care for petty human politics. You all die in the end.”

“And you do not?” 

The woman looked to Claudius with faraway eyes and gave no answer. Claudius shuddered. 

“Take the spot by the fire,” The woman said again, and Claudius nodded without even thinking too. The woman bundled the baby to her chest and moved deeper into the home to the loft, murmuring to the child and not giving Claudius a second glance. Claudius sat, bewildered, and finding he couldn’t speak as he watched the bare back of the woman (samojuda, samojuda, samojuda…). He found his thoughts somehow both tumultuous and tangled while also cold and frozen. The fire couldn’t seem to thaw them. 

He knew then he would never be able to sleep. 

Still, Claudius curled up on the fur on the floor, close to the hot coals, and closed his eyes. He’d take the boy in the morning, but until then… until then he would share a home with a fae and the spring storm howling just outside the paneless windows. 

---

Claudius woke slowly, his eyes heavy and his mouth foul tasting, and furrowed his brow. Something low and melodic drifted through the air, and he sat up. Someone was humming, breaking up the tune with a flurry of words, and Claudius slowly stood. It was likely the woman, spending as much time cradling her baby as she could before she lost him forever. Claudius approached the ladder to the loft, ears perked, as the woman stopped humming and began to speak in a low, husky voice, heavy and thick with magic. Claudius felt gooseflesh ripple across his skin at the sound of it. Power was heavy in it, and Claudius knew in that moment that this woman was far from mortal. The word ‘samojuda’, that beautiful forest spirit, echoed in his head. 

Samojuda, samojuda, samojuda… 

He stepped up on the first rung of the ladder and strained his ears as the samojuda continued to speak. 

“My sweet, brave little boy," the samogude sang to the baby, "Before you leave me forever, I call upon the Fates to bless you and keep you. I ask they give you the gift of dangerous trials. May they temper your heart into shining steel. I ask they give you the gift of compassion- may you be just and good to all men.”

The samojuda took a deep, shaky breath, and Claudius could hear love and despair in it.

“Little one… I ask they give you the gift of love, true, deep love, like that of your mothers. May you find love that never wavers or breaks. May you be loved by great things— may you live lavishly and be loved by someone greater than all else, who can spoil you as much as they adore you. May you… may you love and be loved by a child born to a king!”

Claudius dropped down the ladder and sunk to his knees. No. No, no! His insides shivered in his chest; the fae had great influence over the Fates, and a decision made by those women was impossible to avoid-- that damn samojuda, should the Fates follow her wishes, had just damned a king’s child to a wretched fate. To marry a lumberer’s child… the thought made him nauseous. Claudius' heart twisted with disgust at the thought of some half-blooded creature marrying into a court. Clausius suddenly chilled. If he took this child into his court, right after the birth of his own child the chances... the chances... His stomach rolled, and he pressed a hand to his mouth. He couldn't allow it. He wouldn't damn his unborn child to such a life. Fuck promises made, fuck agreements, that child could never step foot in a court. Never. 

Claudius would protect his child from such a monstrous fate; the only question was how.

#bovzek and the devil #my writing #dark fantasy #dark fairytale #fairytale retelling #folktale #folktale retelling #czech folklore

[dirt-central]

back when i first joined the curse of strahd group i made drosera for, i didn’t really know any of the players very well and was pretty nervous about it, so when i finally came up with a solid backstory for her, i decided to draft up a short fairytale-ish version of it to read aloud in character if given the opportunity. i’m really bad at coming up with dialogue that sounds like how i Want my characters to speak when i have to do it off the cuff, so writing it out helped with that. and i did end up sharing it with the group, but largely because my character insisted on learning everyone’s stories during a short rest (which was only somewhat an excuse to actually use my script lol). drosera was less purposely secretive than i usually play my dnd characters, so getting to act her as very curious and a little too carefree was very fun and let me interrogate the other characters more than i usually do.

anyway here’s that:

Once upon a time there was a child. When it was born, it did not cry or do much of anything else at all. Its parents did not rejoice, simply swaddled it in plain grey cloth and tucked it into a cradle. They cared not for it, nor should they have.

The child grew, uselessly, and lived, pointlessly, barely able to comprehend or feel more than the weight of the ever dark skies pressing down on it, fencing it in, choking it with silvery mist. One day, when the child had existed long enough to no longer be a child at all, it saw a pretty green light in the forest. The light was hypnotizing, wavering in the corners of the child’s mind and whispering secrets only it could hear. It followed into the dismal woods, and then into the black abyss of the deep waters hidden there, where it drowned, cold and alone. Or it should have drowned. A useless end to a useless life. But it did not.

A witch pulled the child from the waters, calling it Rusalka, and spirited it away to her home. The witch taught the child many things: of fear and monsters, death and transformation, souls, ambition, magic.

So the child was changed, in time, to something other. She could feel and think, knowing now the crucial emptiness she bore within her, and viciously longing to see it filled. But in the end, the witch cared not for her creation, nor should she have, and left the child to wander the fog-blinded wastes of this world, forevermore in search of something just out of reach.

#i don’t like my own writing much but i do it anyway because i wanna #so if this seems amateurish and hokey that’s because it is #anyway!! #drosera #cos #dnd #my stuff

[marciaillust]

my tiny slav folkish sketches

twitter | instagram

#oc #STILL ON MY SLAV BS #its all because of garret tbh #like timelinewise his sketch was the first one #so in general this all started because i got curious about rusalka lore #and my brain was like uhhhh rusalka garret and i was like... ok i guess thats what we're doing #and then i just went down the trad polish road and here i am #tho rusalka lore and garret dont jive at all thematically ?? but im treating it almost like a mermaid au #because rusalkas are just water spirits #benevolent or nasty and wicked depending on the source #tho my fav part of the rusalka lore is that they. tickle men to death........ ok polish folklore.........whatever does it for you........... #illustration #digital art #original art #artists on tumblr #character art #marcia #the clockmaster #tcm #garret #orion lavont #heriot nysa #morgana jackson

[mlim8]

Drowned

[tw: implied drowning]

Happy Name Day, @hedgebelle !!!! I hope your day was wonderful and sweet (and not just because of all the things you baked lol)

If you recall (which I’m sure you do), you had this idea about a Rusalka!Dick and Topielec!Jason... It was such a beautiful idea but I know you got a bit discouraged about it when it came to inspiration and the exchange. I just want you to know how amazing the idea was and all the potential for it! 

LOL I had to do some research about Slavic mythology because I wasn’t familiar with it... I’m sorry that I took A LOT of creative liberties and freedom with your idea - I hope the overall idea and feelings you were going for are still there and I didn’t ruin anything 😂😅😅😭🙌 - Big thank you to @omg-someone-actually and @violentthunder​ who answered my questions and dove into this confusion with me 😂 I still laugh at the astonishment for the beauty differences between Czech!rusalka and Russian!rusalka

From what I understand about this mythology lmaooo Rusalka are guardians for the body of water they live in. Topielec are spirits of people who died drowning. The concept was Knight Jason was caught by the enemy and drowned in a nearby lake, he comes back as a topielec and meets the protector of that lake, Dick the Rusalka.

I originally had webbed fingers for Jason but got rid of those. Instead, he’s constantly dripping water and has a red ring in his eyes. Went back and forth about the flower crown for Dick - Decided to give him it in the end lol he has little fairy lights and a gentle glow around him.

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #rusalka!dick #topielec!jason #tw drowning #drowning #jaydick comic #hedgebelle #dc #dc comics #jaydick au #birthday gifts for friends

[pachelbelsheadcanon]

i have so many weird dreams that would make good story concepts except for the unfortunate fact that i’m their protagonist and i’m one of the most boring people alive

#dreams #dream #the one with the ancient alien ruins telling of a terrible society-destroying flood on their planet but then it turns out that the flood #happens every 37 years and the aliens life cycles are just so fast they keep rebuilding civilization from scratch every time - #and the next flood will happen in a few days #the one where satan walked the earth in the form of a beautiful girl and delivered ironic punishments to harassers and catcallers #the one where i had a rusalka as a roommate because she got tired of drowning men and wanted to go to college #(which she wouldn't have been allowed to when she was alive) and she was a good roommate except for the water damage #the one where rhino aliens abducted me to learn about humans to prepare for conquering earth and i kept tricking them #the one where i was a ghost and made a bet with the devil because i was bored #the one where i and a lizard person from the center of the earth went on a mission to help an immortal fire spirit regain their body #which had been stolen by a dudebroish necromancer who had also taken over their kingdom #the one where i was in a time loop trying to stop terrorists from blowing up a city and every time i died i started over #the one where a bunch of teenagers developed mutations and magic powers and the government put them in a '''school''' to get rid of them #and we were trying to escape before we were either brainwashed into compliance or mysteriously disappeared #the one where the last two dragon riders in the world were trying to find the third one who had vanished (along w/ his dragon) #because dragons were a hive mind and without enough of them in existence they stopped being intelligent/sapient #the one where the personification of Life and Death was one person and she lived in a martial arts studio that was also a crime front #she was fat and had a ton of tattoos that magically changed shape #the one where a kindergarten girl assassinated donald trump and then when the men in black came to take her away #she was rescued by a witch who then told me #'if you meet the devil learn what you can from him and get the hell out. if god shows up do exactly the same.' #which is the best fucking quote anyone has ever said in a dream i've had

[the-girl-with-the-glass-heart]

New oc 🇨🇿

This is Růžena (pronounces Ruhzeenah but you can just call her ru for short if that’s hard to remember) and she’s a rusalka from the Czech Republic and a devout pagan.

Rusalka are basically Slavic water spirits who drown men and often became rusalka due to dying in water after an extreme heart break.

Sometimes I see them depicted as just ladies in white dresses and long hair other times with nothing on at all and sometimes they are just full on mermaids so I tried to find a middle ground.

I based her personality off of the opera “rusalka” and the original little mermaid story because rusalka is based off of the original story, basically a water spirit living in a river desperately wants to marry a handsome prince she met and sells her voice to get it, he mistakes another girl for his true love and she dies instead of getting a happily ever after with the love of her life.

Deep down all ru wants is to find some one to love her romantically and get a fairytale happy ending but her tendency to fall head over heels for any guy often leaves her heart broken.

When she graduates she plans on becoming an opera singer due to her love of music and hopes that maybe someday some one will be able to love her in the same way she loves them.

Also FYI the vodyanoy is like a male water spirit who drowns people and it basically looks like a big frog, I honestly didn’t wanna try drawing frogs so sorry y’all don’t get Viktor because I wasted all my willingness to draw on coloring Ru’s hair.

I also had the sketch of her design saved on my phone but I accidentally deleted it cause I’m a dummy.

#monster high #mh #monster high ocs #monster high oc #oc #ocs

[nonwal]

Okay, for a while I thought I was kinda verging on tinfoil hat territory, but after hearing the story from Jane I think Margaret (and possibly other black lilies) has some link to (or works as a counterbalance to) the rusalka. Just hear me out.

so first off. Rusalka. the river spirit.

As a card, the rusalka is about temptation/desire/longing. And you know, things being more dangerous than they appear/trusting the advice of loved ones even if you don't want to hear it/delayed gratification

Based off of wikipedia and that one Decemberists song, it feels pretty safe to say that the rusalka is known to seduce people and then drown them

In Jane’s story, the rusalka tries to tempt the man away from his wife, presumably so she can pull him into the river and drown him. but after the third try fails, she instead lays bare his worse qualities, picks apart his relationship with his wife, and then convinces him to ruin what’s left of it and live in misery, tormented by the knowledge that it’s all his fault. wow.

Mkay. so what does this have to do with Margaret? well. let’s look at what we know about Margaret. (Both of them.)

We meet the Margaret we know in a shrine to the luminaries near a river

Margaret looks uncannily like Original Margaret, and even has the same name

She’s a black lily. There's multiple kinds of flower called a lily, including...water lilies

For a price, she heals not only Travis’ missing hand (and potentially his curse, though he doesn’t go through with that one) but also helps him work through a lot of trauma and maladaptive behaviors that are interfering with his interpersonal relationships. This is almost the perfect antithesis of what the rusalka in Jane’s story did

Margaret can use water magic, and that is notably unusual in this world

(Bonus sailor’s read time: Travis gets the rusalka for an internal truth, and the river again for the future. The cards know!)

(This is the part of the theory that goes deep into tinfoil hat territory again, but eh.)

One of Travis’ payments is three days and three nights where Margaret gets to wear Travis's face/form. This is pretty much confirmation that she's capable of magical identity theft.

Original Margaret got pulled into a river (by? do we have any confirmation this was related to the Mariner versus, say, a different malevolent water entity more closely associated with rivers?)

What if the reason our Margaret looks uncannily like Original Margaret is because she’s wearing a face that the rusalka stole?

(look. it doesn’t seem likely but it would be super cool)

#skyjacks #campaign skyjacks #has anyone else already thought of this? #it could just be coincidence but at this point I feel like there are a lot of coincidences here

[moominquartz]

rating: T fandom: Steven Universe prompt: Near-Death Experience warnings: CW: Drowning word count: 1.6k requester: @koffiepop​

Rusalka

Connie, Steven, and the others deal with a formidable foe: a wayward water spirit.

[Read on AO3]

~*~

Water.

Connie is no stranger to water, to holding her breath. She counts in her head as she thrashes in the freezing deep, determined to reach sixty, and then one-twenty, searching for a source of light despite the way the water burns her eyes. But there is some supernatural force pulling her down, and then it’s not supernatural at all, just the weight of gallons of water crushing her, and then—

Then, her body fights her. She needs to breathe but she can’t inhale water but her lungs beat against her ribcage, barreling for air, and she can’t find the way up and finally she gasps, the saltwater burning against her throat on its way into her lungs, and

PANIC

Something wraps around her waist and she kicks back on instinct; the grip tightens and her eyes squeeze shut and she’s going to die—

Then she hits air. She wheezes as her body hits the mud, coughing; she scrambles as she tries to get her feet under her, to right her sense of direction, to focus. There is a hand on her back and then a familiar body pushing in front of her, grunting from a hit, and then the situation hits her like a baseball bat.

“Steven! Connie!”

Right. The rusalka.

“I’m fine!” Steven calls, his eyes never leaving Connie. Worry creases his brow as Connie desperately tries to get her breathing under control, knowing that any delay could mean her death.

Rusalki are water spirits. Sometimes they bestow spring rain and fertile harvests upon farmland on or near their territory. Most often they operate in groups or ‘schools,’ sometimes playing pranks by tugging on children’s heels when they go too far, or bringing drowned or drowning humans to shore.

When left alone like this one, sometimes they turn vengeful and angry. And that is what they’re here for.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Connie murmurs with a rasping voice. “Guess my drowning charm broke.” She takes Steven’s hand as he helps her to her feet, and she glances over the field. 

“Mine hasn’t, so don’t worry about me.”

Ruby has her fire sparking at her fingertips, directly at Sapphire’s side, though the korrigan can clearly see that Ruby is in more danger here than she is. Garnet is in the thick of it with Pearl and Amethyst, and while Garnet’s onslaught of spells attempt to chain the rusalka, the spirit shrieks and sends a wall of marsh water at her, spiraling Garnet backward. Pearl swoops in with her sword and the rusalka ducks, spinning backwards into Amethyst’s clawed grip.

“Leave me alone!” the rusalka shrieks, so loud it almost makes Connie’s ears bleed. Her voice has a quality to it like it’s being shouted through water but is a piercing volume. Connie grimaces as she stands upright, and when she looks to the fight, the rusalka has slipped out of Amethyst’s grip. Steven hands Connie the sword that she’d dropped, though she hasn’t been using it.

“Still think we can talk to her?” Connie asks with a small, nervous laugh.

“We have to.” Steven’s response is fervent, without room for doubt. He looks at Connie and offers her a small smile. “I know the others don’t think we’ll be able to pacify her, but we have to try. I won’t let anyone else get hurt if they don’t have to.”

Connie smiles in a way she hopes is reassuring. “All right. Then let’s go.”

They nod and burst forward together. They run parallel, side by side, until they are close enough to the fight that Steven shouts:

“RUSALKA!”

And the spirit turns immediately, anger lighting her eyes. She is so incredibly blue, bluer than most rusalki Connie’s seen. Blue skin, navy hair and matching eyes, with a dress the consistency and color of the thick marsh water. 

“Do you have a name?” Steven calls.

That makes the others freeze. “What are you doing?” Pearl shouts to him, but Steven’s eyes aren’t on her.

Only the monster.

“What does it matter to you?” the rusalka spits. Her focus turns from the others and is solely on Steven. Out of protective instinct, Connie’s hand finds his and squeezes it, though she knows better than to intervene or draw her sword now. “You’re here to kill me!”

“No, I’m not.” Steven holds out his free hand in peaceful offering, and Connie would mirror him if she did not have the hilt of her weapon in her hand. “Why have you been killing everyone who passes through here?”

“They mock me,” the rusalka growls. Water swirls around Steven’s feet and up to his knees, trapping him. He glances down, nerves clearly spiking, and Connie wishes he had the proper sense of self-preservation, because right now she thinks he might let her kill him if she wanted to. “And you do too! Do you think you can trick me?!”

“N-no, that’s not what I’m—”

“Everyone here can come and go as they please! Yet I’m made to suffer for no fault of my own!”

She’s nearly at his side. Water swirls around Connie’s ankles and she sidesteps it, dropping Steven’s hand in order to do so. “Steven,” Connie whispers, urgently.

But Steven tries again, stubborn. “Why are you alone? Where’s your school?”

“They left me ages ago.” The rusalka’s laugh is hard, cold… Painful. “Trapped me here, in this land of purgatory. No way out.”

Oh. It clicks. Connie knows right away what she means. She looks to the surrounding environment; this is an estuary. The water flows toward the sea from the multitude of rivers pooling here, but the tides keep the rusalka from leaving. Or maybe not the rusalka herself, but the item to which she’s bound.

“What keeps you here?” Connie dares to ask. “What ties your spirit here? If we moved it, you could be free.”

The rusalka stops directly before them. Rage paints her face for another moment, and then it leaves as something pensive takes its place.

“You would do that? For what?”

Steven opens his mouth, “Noth—”

Connie steps on his foot as hard as she can to shut him up. He yelps.

“Stop this endless bloodshed.” Connie extends her empty hand. “The people who pass through here have nothing to do with you. If we free you, you have to promise. No more deaths.”

The rusalka stares at Connie’s hand with a frown on her unreadable face.

“Where will you take me?” she demands. “If I show you where I’m trapped, what will you do? Break me? Leave me somewhere desert-dry and ensure my demise?”

“No.” Connie smiles. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go. On my honor as a witch.”

“Warlocks don’t have honor.”

“This one does.”

“I can vouch for that.” Steven laughs, high and nervous, but Connie has seen him do this enough to know exactly what he’s trying. There’s a lilt to his voice, a velvet quality that isn’t always there. “She’s probably the most honorable person I’ve ever met.”

The rusalka seems to consider this. And then — after one long, painful moment, in which Connie can see others slowly creeping up behind her, preparing to strike if this negotiation goes south — she takes Connie’s hand.

Connie blinks. It isn’t wet or ethereal at all. Cold, maybe, but distinctly human. They shake, and the rusalka meets Connie’s eyes as the water around her ankles seems to vibrate. “It’s a deal. You can’t go back on that.”

“I won’t.” 

There’s a magical quality to this arrangement, but Connie is more than okay with that. She intends to follow through to the letter.

The rusalka’s smile is a genuine one. “It’s Lapis, by the way.”

“That’s a wonderful name. I’m Connie.” Steven looks at her, alarmed — giving your own name is often tantamount to suicide, but Lapis isn’t like traditional feyfolk. She’s a tormented soul, abandoned and isolated, with no home to return to when things go wrong.

Then Lapis turns, and she leads Connie and Steven through the marshland towards the sea. Steps behind her, Connie grabs at Steven’s arm and yanks him toward her, causing him to yelp again. “Steven,” she hisses. “What was that?”

“I-I was worried she’d refuse.” Steven hisses in return, under his breath. “I didn’t mean to, it just happened, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ve gotten hurt before!”

“I just rescued you from drowning, so I’m sorry for helping you!”

“I thought you made this big deal about how you wanted this to be her choice!”

“I just nudged her in the right direction, it’s not that big of a deal!”

“Steven.” Connie groans and massages her brow. It seems every day Steven discovers a new power, but this is one he’s had the hardest time controlling. Connie wishes she was half-fey.

Connie thinks about Steven’s relationship with his mom and decides no, actually, she doesn’t.

When they almost reach the coastline, where the mud turns to sand, Lapis stops, pausing. When Connie comes to her side, the water is at her waist.

“Here. I’m trapped.”

“I’ve got it,” Connie says before Steven can say anything. 

She takes an inhale and drops to her knees. The water still stings her eyes, but here, Connie sees what she was referring to without issue. The handle of something sticks up from the ground, and it takes nearly all of the real estate in Connie’s lungs to dig it out. 

She goes up for air with mud all over her fingers, and then she goes down again. She does this twice more, and when she breaches the surface this time, she holds the hand mirror high in the air. “I’ve got it!” she gasps, coughing only a little.

“Great job!” Steven congratulates her, wrapping his arms around her and planting a kiss against her cheek. Connie giggles.

When she turns to face the rusalka, she finds the spirit has vanished.

#su #su fic #steven universe #lapis lazuli #connie maheswaran #isaiah writes #drowning