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behidethetrees · 4 months

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LOVE IS ONLY A FEELING.

IN WHICH… You have a bittersweet reunion.

Pairing: Coriolanus snow x Fem! reader

Content: Ooc! Coryo (he's not evil), Covey! reader, They're definitely a situationship, Possessive! Coriolanus, 1.3k words. Requests

You were greeted with Loud clapping and cheering once you finished your original song at the nightclub. It wasn't often that people would stop dancing to take in someone's beautiful words, But everyone did for you. You thanked everyone and stepped down from the stage to get some water when suddenly a brunette boy walked over to you and asked for a dance. Of course, you agreed.

It had been months since you’d seen Coriolanus snow. He had gotten in a fight with your ex, As he was swinging, he accidentally hit one of the covey members with his backhand. You yelled at Coriolanus so much you were surprised your vocal cords were still intact. He never apologized. He never came back after you kicked him out. He had left you for months with bitterness and anger, But you couldn't hold onto that forever. You were done with Coriolanus snow.

The brunette boy was slightly taller than you and he danced well enough. Though His hands were sweaty and he messed up his foot placement every now and then. As you danced with him, Your long white skirt swaying, A drop of temperature in the room occurred, You knew right away that only one man could make a room feel cold. Coriolanus snow. The man that you were so hopelessly in love with but hated every inch of, Stood in the back of the room with a clenched jaw and eyes that could pierce anyone. All you could do was roll your own pair and abandon the boy you didn't even know the name of.

The covey band was singing one of your songs And Coriolanus immediately recognized it. It was the one you sang to him the first time you showed him the big wildflower field one summer night. He had thought back to when you held each other under that green and yellow leaf tree. When he finally found you on the side of the stairs leading to the stage, Coriolanus swept you off your feet, Like he always did.

His strong arm gripped your waist tightly but he held your hand gently. You were close enough to smell him, he smelt just like roses. You had started to notice actually how nice he looked. He wore a black suit with a red shirt under and his curly outgrown hair was combed back. Was he dressed up for someone else, Or you?

You looked up at him Through your curled lashes, Your eyes were pure, as snow he thought. His upper lip slightly lifted into a small smirk. As the covey band continued, Coriolanus began to move your body with his slowly. Coriolanus liked you better like this. When you were hidden away in his hold, When you struggled to hate his touch, When he knows he's got you.

“Did you miss me sweetheart?” Coriolanus says with that sickly sweet smile. His tone was arrogant like he had no doubts.

“Not one bit.” You gripe back at him. You had missed him. Sitting by the lake only you two knew as you sang and he’d listen, Late night walks while his muscular arms kept you safe from any harm, The feeling of his hands. How rough and slim they were, You’d wonder who else's blood had fallen on them.

“Well, that's a shame because I missed you.” Coriolanus wasn't lying. He missed a certain girl waltzing around with long dresses and feathers in her hair, Those love songs she’d sing to him as she traced flowers in Coriolanus’s palm with her little finger, the security and comfort her aura provided him.

“Then why didn't you come back?” You ask him. You can tell that hit a nerve by the way he swung you to the right harshly, then returned to slowly swaying side by side. Coriolanus didn't have a reason nor an excuse. He, who was so defensive, never apologized for anything. He just sighed.

“I waited for you Coriolanus.” You couldn't help the tears starting to form in your eyes. Every night you left your window open and a key under the mat. Waiting, listening, Hoping he would come back. Something about you calling him ‘Coriolanus’ disappointed him to his core. He felt his girl slipping from his grasp. He felt the only thing that had ever belonged to him was disappearing.

It wasn't just your kindness and easily persuaded mind that Coriolanus liked. It was the way your big, curious eyes looked at his unforgiving blue ones like he was more than a poor capitol boy trying to carry on his family name. Like he had the chance to be someone to somebody.

He slowly stopped the movement of your bodies. “Look at me.” Coriolanus was now gently cupping the sides of your jaw with both hands, Forcing you to look at him. You searched for something in him. The guilt in his eyebrows, the reassurance in his eyes, and the slight resentment he had towards you in his lips.

“I'm here now. And I'm so, so sorry I hurt you. I will make this right, you just have to let me, please.” Coriolanus Begged. You had Coriolanus Snow, One of the most intimidating boys in the capitol, Begging for a way back into your life. His forehead touched yours while he delicately wiped away your tears with his thumb.

His big arms eventually hugged your waist. He buried his head into your shoulder, taking in the scent of you that he was addicted to. You felt so close to Coriolanus, so vulnerable. You placed your arms around his neck. The warmth of your bodies rose, That feeling you both had been chasing since that night.

A few minutes went by as the covey continued to play. You felt the rise and fall of Coriolanus’s chest, His steady heartbeat thumping against his insides. Coriolanus picked his head up to say something. Coriolanus thought for a minute, His lips drawing together. No, he couldn't say that. he couldn’t tell her why he didn’t want to love her. That she’d be the only thing above him, the only weakness people could dangle over his head. That she would have the power Coriolanus so desperately wanted. But if he told her, He’d have to live with that for the rest of his life. The guilt would hurt him no matter how hard he would try not to feel. The regret would build up in his stomach but Worst of all, his jealousy would seethe through his veins and kill him.

The cold sensation of his hands on your jaw and neck swirled into your skin and down to your heart. He took a moment to look across all your features before he put his lip onto yours. It was passionate and long. He never pulled away because he wanted this so bad. he wanted you so bad. to have all of you to himself. his hands gripped tighter on you. His lips pressed harder onto yours. He hated that others were around while you shared this intimate moment. He hated that others were around you.

Coriolanus’s thoughts started wandering into the darkest parts of his brain. He kept his composure. He didn't want to scare you away with his mind because he didn't think he'd survive if he lost you again.

After you pulled away, he gave you a quick smile and guided your head back to his chest as he wrapped himself around you again. His chin rested on top of your soft hair. The lights glistened as you closed your eyes, Listening to a mix of the covey and his heartbeat. Sweet moments of Coriolanus kissing your hair and whispering sweet words blurred together. Coriolanus’s presence sent you in a state of euphoria.

Coriolanus knew it wasn’t over. He knew you, better than you knew yourself. You’d always come back to him and he’d do the same. You were his. This was a never ending story of you two. Coriolanus smiled. He got his girl back.

A/N: srry ive been gone writers block sucks. Anyways hope u enjoyed :3

Requests

#coriolanus snow #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus x you #coryo snow #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow smut #tom blyth #tom blyth fanfiction #coriolanus snow imagine #coriolanus snow fanfiction #coriolanus snow x you #coryo x reader #coriolanus x y/n

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gatitties · 1 year

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Rejection

─ Tenjiku x fem!reader

─ Summary: Rejection was never good for anyone, except these guys who find it funny... right?

─ Warnings: none

Part one / Part two / Part four

You sat quietly waiting on a park bench near your institute, watching how some children played with the snow piled up on the ground, without a hint of emotion until you saw how one of those children slipped and fell face down on the ground, then yes you smiled, ah, childish suffering, did you feel sorry for it? yes, were you going to feel bad for laughing? definitely not.

You rubbed your hands so they wouldn't lose heat, looking both ways waiting for the person you were meeting to show up somewhere. Not that you really wanted to go for a walk, but it was what was recommended and your only normal friend asked you so… what else could you do?

Unfortunately you were quite 'innocent' and you didn't notice the signs that your 'friend' was giving you, he didn't approach you for nothing to try to make friends, that guy had fallen in love with you in the most stupid way possible, you just you left him a pen, but hey, we are nobody to judge the reasons for an adolescent affair, the fact is that no, you were not 'innocent', you noticed each of the boy's gestures, the loving ones, you did not reciprocate them so that he didn't get his hopes up and you decided to ignore his advance attempts to maintain a platonic relationship.

Which brings you to today where he practically asked you on a date disguised as a normal friends outing, you accepted him hoping he wouldn't make one of those declarations of love… seriously, you thought people had too idealized the idea of asking someone out romantically, when in truth it was as simple as asking outright.

And this also led to a certain group of guys ─gossip─ being hidden a few meters from your position, mainly the Haitani brothers, Hanma and Shion because he was a drama-loving idiot, the others just decided to ignore the issue. They found out because you sometimes talked about your friend in the group chat of Tenjiku, they just did a little more digging and voilá. They wanted, mainly, to make fun of you, whether you get rejected or get a partner, they understood that you were the one in love and that's why you avoided the subject for the most part when the brothers tried to flirt, poor them and your friend.

Talking about the devil…

"I'm glad you didn't reject my offer like the other five times…!"

"It's not that I reject them out of choice, you always choose the worst days to go for a walk."

"Y-yes, well, shall we go?"

You nodded, ignoring the blush on his cheeks, the morning passed quite normally, you didn't do much more than go to the temple to make some offerings for Christmas, visit the markets and eat something in some food stalls. The only thing you noticed was your other friends, yes, they thought you wouldn't notice them dressed in a fake beard and a red pompom hat, you took advantage of your school friend having to escape to the bathroom for a few minutes to stare at them, you sighed, shaking you head.

"Creepy bitches…"

You vocalized for them to get the message that came out as a whisper while you showed them the middle finger, earning only laughs from them. The date continued for a while longer, now you were more aware of the presence of the other four, but you decided to ignore them, you could scold them at another time.

"Can we sit there for a moment?"

Your friend pointed to a bench a little further away than the rest, you frowned as you saw how one of these pretty pink-leafed trees was positioned next to it, like a small lake, what the hell was this now? A romance anime? You hoped that what you had in mind would not happen, you both sat in silence, you looking at the floor, losing the desire to continue communicating while the boy moved his hands nervously, until he steeled himself to speak again.

"So… do you know that you are very pretty? I'm sure you've been told this many times, but seriously, I- I think I like you a lot-, I don't know if you feel the same way, but I would like, I- could I have a chance with you? I really love you!"

Oh, nothing goes the way you want it, does it? You didn't know whether to give him a hug to comfort him or pay him to have his eyesight operated, but you didn't have time to react when his hands grabbed yours, unconsciously your gaze darkened and you looked directly into each other's eyes in a long and tense silence that you decided break with a sigh

"I'm not interested, sorry."

You tried not to use your flat and uninteresting voice, but it was impossible, you saw the change of expression in the foreground, how his heart broke, you swore you heard a distant laugh too familiar, but you took it to the back of your mind. This boy was still your friend and you had to console him for a few minutes until he accepted his rejection for now, he decided to leave completely defeated while you were left alone on the bench, looking at the cloudy sky.

“That was fucking painful! Did you see his expression!?"

You looked ahead to find a Hanma crying with laughter, Haitanis with a shit-eating smile, and Shion just as happy to see someone mentally destroyed.

“We thought you were the one with the crush, you know? But this was so much better, you're such a heartthrob like me, wouldn't that make us the perfect couple?"

Ran strutted to sit next to you free as the other was occupied by a still laughing hysterical Hanma who was being patted by Madarame to catch up on lost air.

"Yes, a perfectly toxic relationship."

It was Rin's turn to almost choke on his own saliva when laughing at the refusal you gave his brother, it was worth laughing even though he later received a punch from Ran to shut his mouth, even with that he didn't care insinuate too.

"I think we have a better connection and I wouldn't cheat on you like Ran does with his girlfriends."

"I would be much better than all of you, on my way to being the favorite."

You looked silently at Hanma who had gone ahead to answer before you complained about Rindou's words, you sighed heavily, exchanging glances with Shion, you smiled internally and he looked at you as if a question mark was flying over his head.

"If I want shitty boyfriends, yes, you are there, but I think that from here, the best boyfriend would be Shion."

You shrugged, turning on your phone to check the time and scan Twitter while the boys succumbed to your words, complaining and proclaiming themselves the best boyfriends while Madarame froze, a small blush on his cheeks because no one had ever noticed him like that ─and it's not like you two had the best relationship of the group─, although you certainly didn't, you just wanted to annoy the others by using him as a card.

What you didn't expect is that they started arguing enough to start making a list of pros and cons about dating, a discussion they got you into because they needed to know everything about your red flags and things related to having a good partner, to add fuel to the fire someone else showed up.

"What are you all doing here?"

Everyone was silent when they saw Izana accompanied by Kakucho, both of them had been shopping for Christmas and by chance they ran into you. The truth they weren't going to admit is that they were also curious about your supposed crush but didn't want to let others know, so these two had also been following your date from afar, only they clearly knew how to hide it much better.

"We discussed to know who would be a better boyfriend than Madarame for her."

"Why is Shion ranked as the best?"

Kakucho dared to ask, looking directly in your direction, all his curious eyes now looking at you, you weren't going to deny that you felt a bit self-conscious by their intense gazes, you frowned, kicking the snow lightly.

"Why does that matter anyway?"

"Is it because you like him?"

And with Izana's simple accusatory question, they started arguing again, you rubbed your temples, noticing how the blonde sat unusually calm and not overflowing energy of idiocy everywhere.

"Do you seriously think I'm the best among them?"

He murmured, you looked directly at him for a few long seconds without blinking, you shook your head slowly, noticing another stricken look just like your friend's half an hour ago when you rejected him, wow what's up with these guys all sensitive over a few simple words.

"I'm not saying that you're a worse boyfriend for that, anyway I only said it to annoy them, I'm sure that despite being a bully and a psychopath, you can become a good boyfriend."

You tried to make him feel no worse, although you didn't try to hide the fact that he was still insane from enjoying beating up other people, but he thanked you in silence anyway.

"Wait, how do you make your comparison? Are you comparing us to your ex-boyfriend or something to determine if we're good enough or something?"

Ran's question silenced everyone, looking in your direction again, your social battery was running low at this point from so much collective idiocy and so many personal questions, still, you answered honestly.

"I've never had a partner, I'm not based on anything in particular, only on how that person treats others or their attitude."

"You've never had a partner?!"

"No?"

"Is this a joke or something?"

You denied Izana's question, ignoring Hanma's outburst of surprise, the others remained silent trying to assimilate that you hadn't had a partner, Kakucho was the one who dared to delve into the subject, in a more respectful way.

"Is there a specific reason…? If you want to answer of course."

You remained silent for a couple of minutes, thinking about all your years of life and interactions with other people as well as thoughts about yourself. You looked up from your clasped hands, looking at each of them for a brief moment, ending in the boy's bi-colored gaze.

“Well…it's hard trying to love someone else when you don't even love yourself." you let one of your biggest insecurities escape to the small group, softening your words of self-hatred, you decided to ignore the silence you had created, coughing and getting up from the bench "See you guys another time, I still have to buy the gifts for my parents, have a nice day and Merry Christmas."

You didn't wait for them to answer or come to, you left them thinking about your words for a few minutes, realizing now all those little moments with you, your impassivity and indifference hiding the little glimpses of insecurities.

"I think I'm glad she decided to reject that guy."

"Yeah… wait, how do you know that?"

Ran narrowed his eyes, looking at his leader, only receiving a menacing smile in response, silencing not only his doubts but also those of the other three who carelessly followed you.

Before they had a silly interest in you, just for teasing you by playing silly flirt, but now they started looking at you slightly differently, what was a little friendly interest was turning into a love interest, would a rejection be as fun if was this time one of them?

#tenjiku #tenjiku x reader #x reader #reader insert #fem reader #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers #izana #kakucho #ran #rindou #haitani #shion #madarame #hanma

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mousetoe-wc · 7 months

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I Got bored one time awhile ago and made a list of every prefix plus some into organised sections so I thought I might as well share.

All the ones that aren’t cannon to warriors, yet at lest are bold

Describing names

Colours: red, russet, copper, golden, amber, yellow, green, blue, violet, pink, white, gray, black, ebony, dark, pale, silver, brown, tawny, fallow

Pattern, Texture + Size: spot/ted, dapple, speckle, freckle, brindle, patch, mottle, ragged, tangle, kink, bristle, fuzzy, curl/y, wooly, soft, sleek, little, tiny, small, slight, short, tall, long, big, heavy, crooked, broken, half, stumpy, shred, torn, jagged

Actions + Character: flip, pounce, bounce, jump, hop, crouch, down, low, drift, flail, strike, running, fidget, mumble, whistle, snap, sneeze, shiver/ing, shining, flutter, fallen, lost, rush, fleet, quick, shy, sweet, brave, loud, quiet, wild, hope, wish,

Other: claw, whisker, dead, odd, one, spike, fringe, echo, song, hallow, haven

Elements

Time + Weather: day, night, dusk, dawn, morning, sky, sun/ny, moon, storm, lightning, thunder, cloud/y, mist/y, fog, snow, blizzard, ice, frost, dew, drizzle, rain, clear, wind, breeze, gale, shadow, shade, bright, light,

Earth/Water/Fire names: stone, rock, boulder, slate, flint, pebble, gravel, sand/y, dust, mud/dy, meadow, hill, rubble, river, ripple, whorl, float, rapid, shimmer, lake, swamp, marsh, wave, wet, bubbling, splash, puddle, pool, creek, fire, flame, flicker, flash, blaze, scorch, ember, spark, ash, soot, cinder, smoke

Plants

Trees: alder, aspen, birch, beech, cedar, cypress, pine, elm, willow, oak, larch, maple, bay, rowan, timber, bark, log, wood, twig, acorn, cone, seed, spire

Berry/Nut/Fruit/Herb: juniper, elder, sloe, holly, yew, mistle, bramble, hickory, hazel, chestnut, nut, apple, cherry, cranberry, olive, pear, plum, peach, chive, mint, fennel, sage, basil, mallow, parsley

Flowers: aster, poppy, primrose, rose, bluebell, marigold, tansy, pansy, briar, cherry, daisy, dandelion, daffodil, tulip, violet, lily, myrtle, thrift, yarrow, heather, lavender, blossom, bloom, flower, petal

Other: leaf, frond, fern, bracken, sorrel, hay, rye, oat, wheat, cotton, reed, pod, cinnamon, milkweed, grass, clover, weed, stem, sedge, gorse, furze, flax, nettle, thistle, ivy, moss, lichen, bush, vine, root, thorn, prickle, nectar

Animals

Mammals: mouse, rat, mole, vole, shrew, squirrel, hedgehog, bat, rabbit, hare, ferret, weasel, stoat, mink, marten, otter, hog, wolf, hound, fox, vixen, badger, deer, doe, stag, fawn, sheep, cow, pig, lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, milk

Birds: robin, jay, cardinal, thrush, sparrow, swallow, shrike, starling, rook, swift, dove, pigeon, crow, raven, duck, goose, heron, wren, finch, swan, stork, quail, gull, lark, owl, eagle, hawk, kestrel, buzzard, kite, hoot, feather, bird, egg, talon

Fish, Reptiles + Amphibians: pike, perch, pollack, trout, tench, cod, carp, bass, bream, eel, minnow, fin, snake, adder, lizard, turtle, frog, toad, newt

Bug type Names: bug, lady or ladybug, moth, spider, ant, snail, slug, beetle, bee, wasp, dragon or dragonfly, bumble, worm, maggot, cricket, fly, midge, web, honey

Skyclan + Warriorclan: Bella, Billy, Big, Harry, Harvey, Snook, Ebony, Monkey

#warrior cats #wc

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katnissdoesnotfollowback · 6 months

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hello! can I ask if you have any head canons for Peeta getting to do normal, typical teenage boy things once he returns to 12 after the war? things he didn’t really get to do while he was fearing and fighting for his life? Like annoying and irritating Haymitch, finding cool looking rocks and junk to excitedly bring home to show Katniss, and other similar dumb but adorably endearing things? Also maybe some HSc of Everlark just generally getting to be free and fun teenagers together post-war? 🥹❤️

Oh ho ho, Anon. You have come to the right place. *cracks knuckles* Currently raising two teenage boys, so I am ready for this ask like you would not believe. Some of these are pure fluff and some of them have a little more spice to them (which are NOT inspired by my boys lmao).

Corny jokes. Like all the damn time. His goal becomes to make Katniss roll her eyes or groan. He comes up with an elaborate point system. A "Joke Score" as a play on a training score. Getting a soft, inanimate object such as a napkin or a pillow thrown at him in combination with a verbal response earns him a perfect 12 for that joke. Examples! When they are going through everything in their Victor's Village house(s), deciding what goes and what stays, Katniss starts labeling everything with pinned/taped on notes. They say things like Donate or Give to Delly or BURN/TAKE AN AXE TO in the case of the giant desk that Snow once sat behind. And one day, Katniss goes to ask Peeta a question, and when he turns around, he's got one of the notes, in her handwriting, that says Keep taped to his forehead.

He gets perverse joy out of tickling Katniss until she can't breathe and/or is about to pee her pants.

He helps Haymitch give the geese absolutely ridiculous names

Katniss is the one who brings him pretty things from the woods. A blossom, a freshly fallen autumn leaf (look at the colors! this one's almost your favorite color), a neat looking rock. He keeps them on the kitchen table for a day or two before returning them to nature.

The cloud game, where they lay in the meadow and give names to the shapes of clouds, the more ridiculous the better, which Peeta usually wins (an alligator swallowing a garbage truck... no it is, look!)

"IT WAS A FISH I SWEAR!" in the lake... It was not a fish swimming up her shirt Peeta, you naughty boy. That was your hand.

Sitting upside down on the sofa to watch Plutarch's ridiculous new show that he won't shut up about so they watch it once. "Why are you sitting like that?" "Just getting the proper perspective."

Everything is a competition. Like... everything. Who can hold their breath longer (Katniss), who can toss their clothes across the room into the laundry hamper during sexy times and actually make it into the hamper (Peeta, which Katniss is MAD about btw and totally starts cheating by um... kissing or grabbing sensitive areas), who can kiss better (a tie but we need to try again to be sure), who can toast their bread faster in the fire (Katniss, but now it's burned, can I have yours, Peeta? *pouty face* only if you marry me, Katniss. Psssh we're literally already married, you goob), who can shovel snow off the walkway faster (Peeta but he does a sloppy job of it and Katniss makes him do his half of the walkway again and no it is totally not so she can check out his ass (narrator voice: it was totally so she could check out his ass)), who can eat the most *insert food item here* (Katniss, every time), who can make the most ridiculous silly faces (tie again unless there's alcohol involved and then it's Katniss), who can wash the dishes faster (...undecided, Katniss thinks Peeta is cheating by putting extra dishes in the sink or moving ones she's already washed back into the dirty pile. Once, when she accused him of cheating, he grabbed a dirty plate and licked it like he did in the cave scene. "All clean! See! I helped!")

Pillow fights, food fights, water fights, snowball fights, paint slinging fights... pretty much ALL instigated by Peeta, many of them because...

Whenever Peeta tries to teach Katniss how to bake something new and she gets frustrated, his go to method of getting her out of her head and to relax is to smear frosting/batter/dough/flour/whatever is closest on her face.

Singing very loud and off key in the shower to get Katniss out of bed when it's not really a bad day, but not a great day either.

Dunking food in milk. Like all of it, to try it out. Dropping candy into different beverages to see how it changes the flavor. "I'm experimenting for the bakery, Katniss!"

Dramatically flopping on the bed when he's had a long day and whining that he's not moving until Katniss *insert whatever kind of affection and or bribe he wants to glean out of her such as kisses, cuddles, foot rub (ew Peeta, I've smelled your dirty socks and that's not happening -- what if I wash my foot first? or here *presents her with his prosthetic foot* rub this one! but you might have to put some oomph in it before I can feel it)*.

So many one leg/amputee jokes

Pretending to be asleep when he's definitely not and Katniss is clearly horny... just to see how far she'll go.

Both anti-depressants and depression call kill sex drive, but when they're in the mood... they're not seen for at least a day and a half so Peeta has to work up a discreet signal to let Haymitch know not to come a knockin' because the first time it he didn't know, Katniss screamed bloody murder and Haymitch dropped a bottle of "perfectly good wine what is wrong with you two? Is that the chair I sit in for dinner?!?!?" It was not, but Katniss was mortified. And other smutty shenanigans happen on occasion, despite how carefully both Katniss and Peeta guard their privacy and intimacy.

"Hey Katniss, remember when I called you 'pure?' ... I take it back." *pillow to the face*

"Hey, Katniss, watch this..." *does something ridiculous like getting a ball of dough to stick to the ceiling.*

"Hey Katniss, remember when you broke your butt and I had to carry you around?" "I bruised my tailbone, Peeta.. And you had to carry me because I twisted my ankle too." *said with great exasperation right before he hoists her off the ground and carries her somewhere because he can. The shorter and more ridiculous the distance, the better. "We have to move the laundry!" *carries her to the fancy new machines Effie sent them as a toasting gift.* She tries not to laugh or snuggle in close. She fails.

Tucking silly notes everywhere. In her game bag, under her pillow, on her plate at the table, on the window sill where she likes to sit and read/watch the rain, in her shirt when he's feeling extra naughty.

*with the most serious expression ever* "Real or not real, Katniss... this cheese is the stinkiest cheese that ever cheesed?" *shoves some seriously stinky cheese under her nose before she can react* "UGH! GROSS, PEETA!"

Over the top dramatics when he asks her to dance. Only every now and then, though because Katniss also loves to slow dance with him and act stupidly romantic with him, but you didn't hear that from me.

Ice cream for dinner

Blanket forts

Raspberries. You know, when you put your mouth on someone's bare skin and blow out air really hard and it makes a sound like someone is farting? Yeah, those.

"You sleep with the windows open! Of course I'm going to hog the blankets!" Katniss shouts. Peeta solves this by laying on top of her and saying "I'm a blanket!" until she's laughing and agrees to share the actual blankets.

Smearing literal cinnamon and dill all over his body after she confesses that she liked that smell on him.

Attempting to build a catapult to launch cheese buns from the kitchen to where Katniss is sitting on the couch when she's pregnant. Okay, let's be real. It happens BEFORE she gets pregnant with toastbaby the first, but he perfects it during that first pregnancy.

Peeta can't shoot an arrow, but they start making a list of everything he's hit that he WASN'T aiming for... the ground, that patch of violets, the tree next to the tree you were aiming for, the stream, that giant rock, that thankfully unoccupied bird's nest ("thankfully? I would've called it a good shot if you'd hit something we could eat," Katniss says).

"I'm a fluffy bunny." If you don't know what that means, I cannot help you.

"Real or not real, you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world." "No more cough syrup, Peeta--" *LOUD BUZZER NOISE* "WRONG! The correct answer is REAL, Katniss."

“Who ate the last *insert food item here*?!?!” Peeta from the other room around a full mouth “Not me!”

And if you think any of this stops when they have kids, oh boy are you wrong. The kids just get to get in on the fun (of the not spicy variety, of course.)

#thg thoughts #anonymous #look at that ask

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thetragicallynerdy · 6 months

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Got lost in the woods today <3

[ID copied from alt: seven photos, each showing pictures from a hike on a grey autumn day. 1) A boardwalk through the woods, with bare autumn trees on either side of it. The sky is grey, and the boardwalk stretches out ahead. 2) A leaf-strewn path winding through trees who's leaves are changing colours, and are shades of red, yellow, orange, and green. 3) A bog with grey glassy water and many dead trees standing in the water. 4) A small lake surrounded by trees who's leaves are changing colour. 5) A mushroom growing beside a log. 6) Turkey tail mushrooms growing out the side of a fallen log. 7) A small wooden birdhouse standing on a pole in a meadow, with autumn trees behind it. The photo is taken looking up at the birdhouse, with a moody grey sky with bits of light poking through clouds overhead. End ID.]

#went for a hike and it was so nice #ontario #autumn #fall vibes #photography

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bodhrancomedy · 4 hours

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The Heart of the Garden is a Single, Silver Rose by Bodhrán M.

We must start our story at the end because that is where we must start it.

We end in a garden.

It is a garden without a sky.

It is a perfect circle, the grass rippling out into edgeless mist, not unlike the halo of a candle in the centre of a dark room. The grass is blue, but it is the blue of pale water-silk rather than sapphires, and it is soft and short. There are hedges, immaculately trimmed and arranged into pieces of a jigsaw. They are the colour of clouds moments after the rain has fallen - a shade somewhere between grey and white - and they are tall enough to hide the heart of the garden from prying eyes.

We must walk towards the heart.

I take your hand in mine. You clutch me tightly enough that your knuckles fade into white. Your hand is so very warm.

A doorway of lavender and bluebells is directly in front of us. There is a path made of pale, pale bricks, inset with jet. It glows under our feet as we walk, just a little, and we leave brief shadows of our passage.

I lead you through. It smells of every kind of flower which you can imagine but is so faint that you cannot decide if it is real or merely a memory.

It is not your memory.

Beyond the door, there is a lake encircled by a gate formed from white thorns. A copper dais, large enough to stand on, is set in the very centre, seemingly untethered by any chain or rope or bridge and yet it does not move as we approach.

And, upon this dais, is a single, silver rose.

You look to me, mouth forming the beginnings of a question, and so you do not see the man who arrives. He does not appear in the pop of a soap bubble, nor does he form from the ceaseless mist which holds this garden like an oyster does a pearl. He simply arrives and from that, he has always been there.

As I coax you closer, he lifts the hood of his pristine white robe. I can feel your surprise. It is a kind enough face, moon-round and weather-beaten, but his eyes are closed. He does not open them. His hair is short, and grey save a circlet of silver about his temples, forehead, and nape of his neck.

Smiling, he beckons you onto the floating platform.

You do not loosen your grip immediately, gaze darting back for guidance. I extract my hand and point you on your way.

Your feet slide as you step onto the copper. You throw out your hands pre-emptively, believing that it will rock and throw you to the ground as ripples expand across the pond.

It does not. It is as steady as the ground which you left.

His smile grows brighter, but he still does not look at you. As his sleeves slide back, I hear you gasp. The little finger on his right hand is missing, down to the last joint, and the skin is raw and angry like it happened mere hours ago.

You do not seem to see the dripping silver bracelets which wind down his arms and disappear inside his robe.

I watch as you breathe and then plant yourself before the rose and the man. You are the only spot of real colour in this world. You clasp your hands behind your back, like you are about to recite a poem in assembly, and then speak in a loud, clear voice.

"I have come to claim the reward."

Your words roll across the still garden, bouncing back from leaf, and flower, and stem.

"The reward?"

His voice is velvet laced with stars. As deep and slow as a wave before it crests.

You nod. "I have come for the reward."

He bows his head. The next words are quiet. "And how did you earn it?"

And now - we come to the beginning.

#writing #fantasy #horror #writeblr

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kiruamon · 2 months

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Spring through the Seasons AU

Okay. I know, I know, there are already god-AUs with the DCA. AUs where they are the god of the moon or the sun and so on. But do we also have one where they represent the seasons? Cause I was playing with this thought around in my head and this is what came out of it:

The gods or deities of the seasons live on a ring-shaped island that is evenly divided into four large areas. One for each season in which the associated god lives. The island itself is surrounded by the ocean, while it itself surrounds a large lake with a round, smaller island in the middle. So it's possible to see the neighboring areas from the lake side but not the one on the opposite of the lake, because of the island in the middle blocking the view to it. (As an example: You can see from the spring area parts of the winter and summer area but not the autumn one and so on.)

Things in these areas never change by much. Creating an everlasting spring, summer, autumn and winter in each part of the island. Also the deities haven't meet each other since they usually don't go too far to the borders of their area. Well you can probably guess that this fact will change very soon and creating a bunch of different events happening.

But for now, let's get back to the cast of characters. Who represents which season?

Summer:

It's Sun! Obvious choice here. He represents the warm season. The trees and plants on his side of the island are a rich, vibrant green. Many flowers are in bloom and luring in all kind of insects like butterflies and bees. The weather is clear most of the time and the bright blue sky is rarely overcast. Temperatures during the day can get quite warm or hot in the open air, while the nights are very mild. You can cool down best in the shade of the trees and near the lake.

Sun has his daily routine. Doing stretching exercises every morning and evening. Going jogging after his morning exercises and fishing at the lake during the afternoon and so on. He likes to keep himself busy even when doing more relaxing activities.

There are two smaller flames emitting from his back. And no he isn't a walking fire hazard, because of them. The temperatur of the flames isn't nearly as hot as one would think and they don't cause harm or burns. It's closer to the warmth of the summer sun so one might actually be able to touch them. So the flames kinda represent the warmth that life needs to grow and flourish. I just advise against touching the flames when Sun is angry, cause then the heat goes up by a lot.

Sun can be pretty competitive when challenged by a certain someone. He displays an almost childlike wonder when he discovers new things and is therefore less suspicious and more curious about them. Sun is generally cheerful and usually shows his feelings quite openly. When it comes to Y/N he can be a bit of a show off.

Autumn:

It's Eclipse! He represents the autumn.

His area comes with the colorful hues of autumn. There are colorful treetops with leaves carried by the autumn breezes. The fallen leaves gather on the ground, while some trees are already bare and mushrooms sprout from the soil. The weather in the area is changing often. On some days, the sun still shines warmly through the colorful autumn leafage, while on other days violent storms tear the leaves from the trees. It is definitely the area with the most rain and it is not uncommon for fog to gather over the land and rise above the part of the lake that lies close to Eclipse's territory.

Eclipse likes crafting a lot. Taking what his area provides him with. He will make little figures out of chestnuts, acorns and other things. Or crafting a tiny raft out of some sticks, vines and a red or yellow leaf as a sail and set it onto the lake to see it float into the distance.

I also imagine that his hands are wood like and have a wood grain on them. Fun fact: Out of him, Sun and Moon he is the only one that can swim. Fun fact two: Maybe swimming is said too much. It's more like he will just float on the water like a lump of wood if you would toss him in. If you wonder now what would happen to Sun. He would sink like a stone. So please, don't push him in deeper waters.

From all the deities he is the most chill and mature one when it comes to his personality and behaviour. He is pretty modest and willing to let others talk while being very grateful when being offered the opportunity to talk about himself or his thoughts. Sometimes he holds himself back a bit too much, overthinking the situation and needs a little nudge to understand that it's okay to say or show freely what he wants. All in all Eclipse is a very nice fellow to be around and a good partner for having long and deep conversations and will take the feelings of the ones around him into account.

Winter:

Of course it had to be Moon!

A landscape covered in snow and ice. The only green in this landscape is provided by conifers defying the cold, while snow piles up on the branches of the bare broadleaf trees. Glistening icicles hang from some of the trees and sparkle together with the untouched snow on the sunnier days. But more often the sky is overcast and gray clouds hang in front of the sun as snowflakes swirl around. On some days, the drifting snow is so heavy that you can't even see your own hand in front of your eyes. Moon's area is also bitterly cold and only a few animals are wandering around, retreating to neighboring areas when the weather gets worse.

Moon's fingertips are made out of ice and he has also two curved horns fully made out of ice on his head too. I'm honestly not sure why I gave him a scepter/staff, cause I never drew it again after this image but thought it would be a cool accessory for him to have?

He spends a lot of time walking around in the snow. Surveilling his territory. Watching some animals walking through the white landscape of his part of the island. He is much of an observer, thinking a lot. And while he has taken notice of the autumn and spring area of the island and wondered about them when being at the lake side he never has tried to come near them.

Moon looks often pretty grim or will have a scowl on his face while pondering over things. He won't always share his train of thought with others and comes off as a bit more cold. He can be very snarky. Especially with one of the other season deities. Having a little rivalry going on with a certain someone. He is more considerate as he sometimes let show. But when it comes to Y/N he can't help himself as to let his softer side out more and won't hide that he feels quite comfortable with having them around.

So we had Sun, Eclipse and Moon. Now you might ask who will be spring? Well...

Spring:

It's Y/N! The fourth member of the season deities!

A landscape in which life always seems to have just awakened. The first tender sprouts, buds and young leaves are growing on the trees and have not yet developed their vibrant green of summer. Some trees, however, are in full bloom, while some petals trickle to the ground in the mild spring breeze. Spring bloomers dot the meadows with their cheerful colors. The weather is mild and balanced. The sun's rays are not yet so strong, but already warm and pleasant. Many of the animals that live on the island come here when they are expecting their young and move on to other areas when they get older.

Some little vines and flowers are blooming on Y/N's stole. If feeling certain positive emotions it can happen that more flowers are blooming on the vines. The vines will also move according to the mood they are in.

Y/N as the deity of spring is a somewhat tender and caring person. Often cheerful and optimistic about things. Loving to interact with living beings and watching them grow. They are quite curious and usually just go with the flow. They don't always have a clear sense for dangerous situations, but honestly why should they when living on this island for so long with no real dangers at all around them? Y/N is very talkative and it's fairly easy to impress them or to make them laugh.

It was also Y/N who first set foot beyond the borders of their territory and with this would soonly change the lives of the other three deities.

There are still a few little fun facts left for this au but I think I might share these at another day.

Sooooo that's it for today and for the world building explanation so far. I will tag future stuff for this au as stts au. Hope whoever read to the end of this had a good time doing so.

#fnaf #fnaf au #stts au #fnaf sun #fnaf moon #fnaf eclipse #fnaf y/n #dca #fnaf dca #daycare attendant #fnaf daycare attendant #traditional drawing #sketches #my art #do not reupload #Moon's design keeps changing a little bit in later sketches but it's more like splitting his coat in a darker and brighter side.#It's just a fun little au idea running through my head.

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sunsetstarrogue · 3 months

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“Elia traces the pattern of veins on a fallen leaf, feeling his gaze warm on her skin. She closes her eyes, feeling the sun-warmed grass beneath her skin.

He shifted, the sound like the crackle of fire embers. And then, his voice, low and rough as velvet, cut through the silence. "There's a legend in the North," he said suddenly, "of a hidden lake beyond the Wall, where the water shimmers with a thousand stars.”

Elia opened her eyes, a smile curving her lips. “And is that true, Ser?”

“The furthest I’ve been is the Wall. I would not know of such a lake.” He replied lightheartedly. ”

From chapter two of “we fall apart as it gets dark”

#a song of ice and fire #elia martell #asoiaf #asoiaf fanfic #elia x brandon #elia martell fanfic

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doublesuizai · 11 days

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when i was little after it rained id pick up fallen leaves and then put multiple worms and then there was a lake rlly close to where i lived so i put the leaf ontop of the lake and i thought the worms were "having fun on a boatride" @ooogai

#take thid as both ic and ooc #bsd #bsd dazai #bsd roleplay #bsd rp #bsd rp blog #bungou gay dogs #bungou stray dogs #15 dazai #osamu dazai 15 #15 dazai osamu

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shamanfox · 2 months

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Upon eastern winds

gliding upon

a western soul

of forgotten memories

{{when time was without

as skin upon bones}}

fallen leaves leafs

Into, until, as if. Within

raging snow storms…

As but a hand that led

across

That bridge of heartbreak

When tales are told

weeping upon orange candlelights

As roots cease from

sight

sharing memories

of flying upon

bluest sky (of?)

snow capped mountains

I do not remember

you. Or me

yet my own flesh has felt your pain

hours

upon days

upon months

when/as my soul flew

with the

Eagle Of The Lake

until p. articles

Questioned

into wind

change/time/now/illusion

Quantum-izing

now

In a grain of sand

in the equation of time

~Shamanfox

#shamanfox #poetry #esoteric

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bonefall · 11 months

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Do you have a list of bb!characters names in clanmew? Because I want to translate some of the names, but I don’t know which ones have been done yet.

I did not have a list! But, for you, I've gone ahead and compiled the ones I have thus far.

I definitely missed a couple of them, but here's 60 translations

Littlecloud = Eebhai ("Little Fat Cloud," a name that was a bit ironic because Littlecloud is a VERY skinny cat. It was given by Nightstar, in the hopes of receiving a blessing.)

Harespring = Yywayayiaoyr (Hare + Will jump up. Invokes a hare that thinks before it leaps)

Mistyfoot = Sooheffepab (Morning mist, refers to the dewey haze of morning, given by Oakheart because he collected her in the morning + Pad, as 'foot' often ends up absorbing a lot of unique suffixes for paw-related parts)

Tangleburr = Mwuprkido (Mwupr = Tangle, twist, knot, Kido = burrs, but also any plant debris that gets lodged in fur)

Patchpelt = Chafaborrl (Patch as in a grouping of similar vegetation. Patchkit and Leopardkit were twin names likely to invoke the image of a leopard hiding in grass as a reference to an old LeopardClan story)

Torear = Hssbupira (Hssbup, Small, rocky outcrop in moorlands that protects one from the wind + Ira, Ear )

Mudclaw = Mulpkach (Mud that is still wet, but not sticky or dangerous, rain mud. + Claw)

Whitewater = Osksrosha (Osk = Color white + Rosha = Sloshing water)

One-eye = Mwiskpi (Mwisk = Missing, Lost, + Pi. Lost-Seeing/Hearing)

Stemleaf = Prryemruss (Prryem refer to the beginning of any plant, where it springs from the ground. It was widely agreed this name is... A Choice, on Bramblestar's behalf)

Stumptail = Borgswash (Borg = Refers to ANY cut cylinder with a flattened top. Original translation, Stumpy, was an accidental translation of a pun as the translator did not know he was born this way, and ergo does not have a cut tail.)

Barkface = Karakbauss (Karak refers to thick, rough bark. Not the type that can be peeled off willows and made into string)

Breezepelt = Hrra'aborrl (A wind that pauses and then picks up pace + pelt)

Nightcloud = Oogarhai (All nighttime hours, from vesper to twilight + fat cloud)

Bayshine = Wawashem (RiverClan and WindClan think this is a weird name, because of an interesting dialect difference between Shadow/Thunder and River/Wind. They think it should be 'Sawawashem')

Thriftear = Paharlira (Paharl is an ancient Lake word, shared with Ivypool by Midnight. Thrift is a hardy species that grows by the ocean.)

Fernsong = Nanyananya (Fern + Yanana, Singing)

Jayfeather = Arkrbufr (Arkr = Screech Eurasian Jay + Bufr, a large feather from a tail or wing)

Downkit = Fuffrmew (Fuffr, soft, small feathers from the chest and body.)

Crowfoot = Rawkpwyyar (Rawk = Carrion Crow Corvus corone)

Redtail = Reyswash (Rey = Yew berry, blood red)

Graystripe = Urrnseek (Urrn = Stormy-gray. Seek = A long, thick stripe)

Brindlewing = Sipbeof (Sip = A short, thin stripe. Beof = A Feathered Wing; Beof is a Tribe word)

Needletail = Nyypswash (Nyyp = The leaf of a pine, but also means a 'harmless thorn.' Something that looks sharp but is actually quite soft.)

Thornclaw = Nakkach

Owlwhisker (Barn Owl) = Weearhussk (Barn Owl)

Owlclaw = Huokach (Eagle Owl)

Hootwhisker = Hrrua'uhussk (Tawny Owl)

Dovewing = Hrrubeof (Rock pigeon + wing)

Briarlight: Pik'kashayu (Shayu is any light source, from which light comes. A sun, stars, bioluminescent things)

Brightheart: Yaywibabun (Intense Heartbeating. Bright is a word about intensity, it means saturated colors, blinding lights, and overwhelming beauty)

Troutstream = Powshshush (Trout was probably named in reverence of the fact there were suddenly trout in the water again; Trout are an indicator species of river health and the River Chell was fucked for several years)

Birchfall = Pyachfew (Downy birch + Fallen)

Birchface = Byachbauss (Silver birch + Face)

Iceheart = Skyyfskababi (Frozen heart + will beat.)

Meltpelt = Bmubborrl (Melting + Pelt. Could also be used to describe being uncomfortably hot, but cats only sweat on their feet)

Ratscar = Eepyach (Black Rat + Scar)

Frostfur = Chikifaf (Frost + Fur)

Snowbird = Sonchpigu (Sound of snow crunching + Generic Songbird)

Scorchfur = Fifkarfaf (Burned + fur)

Lionblaze = Raorgabrrl (Lion + Crackling, refers to fire "eating" tinder, causing it to crack)

Slatefur = Pyabfaf (Slab/Flat Stone + Fur)

Poolcloud = Slofhai (Pool + Cloud)

Toadskip = Amampipip (Common Toad + Bouncing)

Nettlespot = Pokalowo (Stinging Nettle + Circle )

Spotfur = Owofaf (Refers to a single big spot she has on one side)

Tawnyspots = Pyowaposnya (Light brown color + Spotting)

Oakstar = Byochshai (Oak + Star)

Frecklewish = Husswo'shaba (Spots where the whiskers connect + Prayer)

Houndleap = Bayaolu (VERY large dog that howls + will jump)

Stagleap = Aayoolu (Adult Male Red Deer/Cervus elaphus + will jump)

Doefeather = Maa'arfrif (Muntjac + Feather)

Deerfoot = Augpwyyarr (Antlerless red deer + foot)

Deerleap = Augluar (Antlerless red deer + Jumping)

Fawnstep = Myaapab (Baby deer + Will walk)

Spiketail = Kikswash (Spine + Tail)

Cypresspaw = Pfufohpwyr (Pussywillow + Toebean)

Fireheart = Kafyarbabun (Wildfire + Heartbeat)

Squirrelflight = Pishkafsheek (Red squirrel + Soaring like a bird of prey)

Hallowflight = Shahafniooaw (Holy/Healing/Redemption + Flew like a swift, a hard one to translate into English)

#Clanmew #Also I cannot promise to accept submitted translations of canon cats #Because it would defeat the purpose of me personally trying to add more purpose to their names #So please do not send me big lists of canon cat translations #I will accept interesting ideas for translations tho

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thornedrose44 · 2 years

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Broken Hearts Make Broken Worlds

Read on AO3

She stumbled upon the oasis after a month of walking.

The cracked earth giving way to softer soil, the brown monotone giving way to flickers of green; the only warning of the blinding vibrancy to come. The blades of grass turned from individuals into a lush fur that made Lena whimper, her callused and hardened soles lovingly stroked with each step. Colours came fast and quick, popping pinks, intimidating purples, royal blues and burnished golds patterned the landscape.

Lena knew after spending her entire life in the Shadowlands - where the only brightness came from the flash of white teeth set between snarling lips and the drips of crimson that followed from whoever had faced her brother’s twisted smile - that she would never get used to the vividness of this new world she had stepped into.

She came upon the lake after four days; pale, grubby fingers with chipped nails having tenderly touched each new plant and piece of life that wouldn’t recoil from her dark semblance. She’d gratefully licked the moisture from leaves and sucked the nectar from the fruit that had fallen. She tried not to take anything more than she needed; she knew the cost that would inevitably follow and she’d learnt from a young age to keep her debts low else face having to bargain with the little she had to her name.

It was hard though, the entire oasis was a symphony of sirens, offering her safe shelter under wide leafed trees, and unbroken earth to sleep on.

The lake was the most tempting thing of all. The water clear and cool, but not glacial. A place to truly quench her thirst and try to wash away the lifetime of stains that marked her. She slipped off the ragged cloak she’d been wearing eagerly, dark breeches and loose shirt following after until she was bare under the sun that previously was unforgiving but was now warm and invigorating. She slid into the water, feeling the marrow-deep ache lessen and the burdens that weighed her down float harmlessly alongside her.

The dirt in her hair and skin coalesced, leeching to freedom but marring the clarity of the water. She laid back, allowing buoyancy to raise her worn body to the surface, saturating in the sun. She stayed there, watching her once enemy move across the sky, until her skin shaded pink and the dangers of sleeping came close to being realised. She lowered her feet to the underbed, hair slicked back out of the way as she turned to the shore.

There was a figure standing by her discarded clothing, someone bright and shiny to match the world she’d fallen into.

Lena shoved down the fear that rose in her chest, clawing up her throat and trying to seize control of her tongue.

This was not a cracked and broken world.

This was not the Shadowlands where each crevasse you created by destroying the lives of others was an emblem of victory and distinction.

This was not her once-home where she slept between scars of the earth and was expected to add to her family’s trophies.

The fear retreated back and her screams went unvoiced. Her body moved on instinct, arms cutting through the undulating water, head dropping down between each stroke. Upon reaching the shore, she found herself alone.

Her clothes were untouched.

Instead, there were replacements. Brown trousers, loose and fitting, light and quick to dry. A shirt crisp white - an impossible achievement in the Shadowlands, scarlet seeping into and overwhelming any flash of purity. There was even a cloak, green and embroidered by a delicate hand.

She considered the offering, hesitant to use the term gift.

Gifts were a myth; a dream the Shadowland disabused you of quickly enough.

A gift requires no payment and no such thing existed in Lena’s once home.

The new clothes were high-quality, and her old ones would not last much longer.

She’d already indulged in the oasis and would be charged, adding the clothes seemed paltry in comparison to how it had saved her life and fed her spirit. She pulled them on, letting out a helpless sigh of appreciation as she wrapped the cloak around her shoulders.

Once dressed she used the rags that were her old clothes as kindling to make a fire by the lake-shore, aware that her visitor would likely return once she was settled.

She didn’t have to wait long.

A fish - still flopping and gasping for breath - in a well constructed basket was placed by her side.

“Hungry?” Asked the oasis keeper, voice melodious and cheerful with the barest hint of melancholy.

There is nothing more beautiful than something damaged, Lex’s voice whispered inside her head.

“Always.” Lena replied far too honestly - this place had bared itself to Lena, it only felt honourable to bare herself in return. Not that Lena knew much of honour, having to carve out her sense of morality by reaching into the unknown, taking roads no one in the Shadowlands would ever consider treading on.

“Well, that won’t do.” The oasis keeper hummed, stepping into the light cast by the fire, providing Lena her first true glimpse of the woman.

If the oasis could take human form, there is no doubt it would be this woman’s handsome appearance it would claim.

She was tall, with eyes like the brightest summer day and hair like the gleaming rocks her family would demand poor souls retrieve from the caverns of night. She stood at ease, safe in her surroundings and unafraid of what could be lurking in the darkness - a confidence that could only come from someone who had never seen monsters or had vanquished more than her fair share of them. She smiled quickly, there was an earnestness to her defined features that her brother would have paid an arm and a leg for - there is nothing more dangerous than a trustworthy face.

Lena pulled the cloak tighter around herself, wariness keeping her on edge - the woman was too beautiful to be real and too handsome to be kind.

The oasis keeper kept her distance as she gutted the fish with practised ease, pulling a sharp blade from beneath her blue cloak. She didn’t watch Lena, or even shoot her furtive glances, she turned her back without fear of reprisal whilst Lena’s hands clenched into fists at her sides awaiting a sudden strike.

The fish was cooked to perfection and Lena consumed it without care for formality, finally dropping her gaze away from the other woman to grant her unfettered attention to the fulfilling meal.

“Here.”

Lena glanced over, the oasis keeper was watching her with a curious expression, holding out the other half of the fish.

“Eat it.” The oasis keeper gently insisted when Lena hesitated.

Lena wasn’t strong enough to refuse, grabbing the offered flesh with both hands, consuming each edible flake. Her stomach felt distended and heavy afterwards and her eyes drooped without prompt.

“Thank you.” Lena mumbled quietly as the oasis keeper poked at the embers of the fire, stoking life back into it and encouraging it to catch on the newly added logs.

“You’re welcome.” The oasis keeper said simply.

Lena wanted to curl up, pull her new cloak around herself and drift off into what will inevitably be the best slumber of her life; but whilst her guard was down, it was not entirely absent. She eyed the oasis keeper, wanting them to either lay out the terms of her indenture or leave her in peace until the morrow.

She did neither. The oasis keeper merely continued to tend to the fire.

xxx

She woke the next morning to another refreshingly bright day, having unintentionally fallen asleep the previous night; the ashes of her fire were still glowing with residual heat indicating that it had only recently died. There was a parcel of food, fresh fruit and nuts to break her fast placed by her head.

There was no sign of the oasis keeper, so Lena spent the morning getting to know the surrounding area. She ventured around the lake, but it was so wide she could not see the other side nor how far it extended. If the water hadn’t been fresh and free from salt, she would think she had discovered the ocean that her father once claimed to have raised a tsunami from by killing a woman who was so dearly loved by an entire clan that a canyon inadvertently cleaved the sea bed to contain the grief.

With survival no longer her only motivation, Lena could explore and study until her heart’s content. She made note of the trees, the conditions that they seemed to thrive in, which ones grew closer to the lake shore and which preferred more sheltered inland locations. She returned to her once-fire late in the afternoon, mind buzzing with new knowledge to find flames already rising and the oasis keeper standing up to the waist in water nearby, cloak abandoned, and shirt sodden - clinging to defined musculature as a curved, rigid arm held a spear aloft.

Lena felt a rush of heat that the fire could claim little responsibility for. Her cheeks pinkened with the realisation and she hurried to pile up a stack of kindling whilst the oasis keeper caught them another meal.

The oasis keeper returned, two large fish in hand, and a proud smile lighting up her face.

Lena took over cooking this time, keen to chip off a small part of her debt even if it barely impacted the total.

“Do you have a name?” The oasis keeper inquired, as Lena half watched the cooking fish and half watched the stranger.

“Names are dangerous where I come from.” Lena answered, pressing her lips into a flat-line.

A crease, far prettier than those that tore up the ground, appeared between eyebrows. “Why?”

“Names can be used to identify attachments. They show familiarity. Affection.”

Lena remembered a man with flaming hair, a traveller who sang pretty songs and told tall tales, he’d made a joke at her brother’s expense. One of many over a long evening, and the only one directed at Lex was so minor it would have barely prickled at anyone else’s pride. But it was a slight, and even a pinprick of a needle required extreme retribution by the King of Shadows. He’d tortured the traveller, his screams echoing into the litany of crevices. He held tight to his name for longer than most but gave it up like everyone else eventually. It was all Lex needed; seekers traced the name back to a village, back to a woman with two sons with flaming hair. The shadowlands grew in size that day and Lex added another piece of broken earth to his fearsome reputation.

“What if I gave mine in exchange?” The oasis keeper asked seriously.

“Why would you do that?” Lena paused, gaze narrowing as she tried to parse the hidden reasoning. “You could demand mine and I would still not have paid off half of the debt I have incurred.”

“What debt?” The oasis keeper murmured, the crease deepening to a crevasse which would have made Lena’s family consider her worthy enough to take her back.

“What debt?” Lena repeated, jaw clenching and attention fully removed from the food.

The oasis keeper nodded.

“Your land has provided me with nourishment and shelter when I was on the verge of extinction.” Lena explained, chin raised as she laid out the items she had bought without care for the price. “You have clothed me and allowed me to bathe. This oasis has expanded the horizons of my mind, where it once was pressed against tight walls. I owe you a life debt.”

“This land is as much yours as it is mine.” The oasis keeper said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “I do not own it, its gifts are available to any to claim.”

Lena breathed harshly through her nose. “That’s not how it works.”

“Maybe it is in the Shadowlands, but not here.”

Lena flinched; the oasis keeper raised an eyebrow at her.

“Did you think I do not know what exists beyond this place?” The oasis keeper asked. “That I have been eternally sheltered here?”

Lena pressed her lips tight together, keeping her expression blank.

“I know the horrors out there.” The oasis keeper whispered. “My grief has split the Earth asunder and left behind bottomless pits.”

Lena inhaled sharply as blue eyes shifted to reflective chasms.

“If anyone owes this place a debt it is I,” The oasis keeper confessed, “and yet… I find this place continues to give without a single request for something in return. You owe me nothing, I can assure you.”

“Not even for the clothes?”

The oasis keeper’s mouth ticked up at the side in amusement, “They were too small for me anyway.”

Lena bristled at that which merely made the oasis keeper release a chuckle - a sound that Lena could live off if allowed to.

“Clearly you have developed kinship with the plants and learnt to gain height with the aid of the sun.” Lena remarked.

“If you are to mock me, do me the kindness of using my name as you do so.” The oasis keeper requested, still smiling broadly. “My name is Kara.”

There is danger in a name, but that is only because you wish to grasp it despite the barbs that encompass it, and Lena wanted to hold on with both hands - one syllable in either fist.

“Kara.” Lena repeated, tasting it in her mouth, how her tongue formed it like it had been saying it for decades. “Lena.” She offered once the sweet taste of Kara’s name had started to fade.

“Lena.” Kara whispered, and Lena couldn’t help but hope she was savouring it too. “You are burning our dinner, Lena.”

Lena jolted, head snapping round to discover the truth of the declaration.

They ate their fish accompanied by a bitter, ashy aftertaste. Kara made no comment on the less than satisfactory cooking but Lena was acutely aware of her puckered lips which revealed her distaste.

“If I offered you a roof and a bed would you insist on unnecessarily paying me back?” Kara asked once dinner had been consumed.

“No, especially considering you could have offered it to me the previous night.” Lena shot back, earning her a bark of laughter as Kara stretched and got to her feet.

“You’re not the only one wary of strangers.” Kara explained simply.

“And we are no longer strangers now?” Lena questioned, accepting Kara’s hand - their rough palms brushing together with pleasant friction - as she was tugged to her feet.

“We have exchanged names.”

“And that makes me trustworthy?” Lena mused, raising an eyebrow as she found herself standing within Kara’s personal space, breaths almost mingling.

“Well, I can’t imagine you hurting me any worse than your cooking.” Kara smirked.

Lena frowned but held her tongue… for now anyway.

Kara’s home was a short walk from the lake, nestled on a hill. It was clean and well-built. There were two mattresses filled with straw and an array of blankets to stave the chill that would inevitably come with winter. A small chimney was nestled into the corner of the one-room abode and there were trinkets tucked here, there and everywhere, allowing the colours of the oasis to seep in the under dour construction materials.

“There’s a village nearly a day's walk away from here, I trade with them for the little I need.” Kara explained when Lena eyed the fabrics and tools.

“I’m surprised more people don’t live near the lake, taking advantage of the oasis’ bounty.” Lena remarked.

“It’s relatively new.” Kara replied, moving to straighten the blankets on the mattresses.

“The village?”

“The oasis.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “It… underwent rapid expansion?”

Kara hummed, “Rapid, indeed. I was stumbling through the desert and collapsed, when next I opened my eyes I found my feet dipped in the shallows of the lake, and a bed of green beneath my head.”

“That’s impossible.”

Kara turned to face her, “You live in a world where the Earth shatters itself in sympathy when a heart is broken. Is it so absurd to think that it can blossom to show its compassion?”

“Yes.” Lena said simply.

“Why?”

“Because…” Lena licked her lips, thinking about a traveller who begged for death if it meant saving his sons, about a mother who sent her children away before they could be used as weapons against her and about a brother that sneered at his sister who was yet to make a single chip in the ground. “Why would sympathy extend to everyone but compassion to only a few?”

Kara deflated at the question, shuffling towards the mattress that was clearly her own and sitting down, “I don’t know.”

Lena sighed, claiming the unoccupied bed, and slipping under the blankets - her entire body losing years worth of tension as she settled in.

“Kara?” Lena murmured, as Kara readied herself for bed.

“Hmm?”

“I’m glad it showed compassion to you.” Lena declared, causing Kara to go still.

“Goodnight, Lena.” Kara said eventually.

“Goodnight, Kara.”

Continue on AO3

#supercorp #supercorp fic #supercorp prompt

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