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otakubimbo · 1 month

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Checkmate

Yukuza Sukuna x F!Reader

Ch 2: Fool's Mate

You and the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna have come face to face with each other. What will you think of him? What does he think of you?

OB Note: Sorry, this has taken so long, I've been going through emotional turmoil while also getting settled into my new job but hopefully we will be on a better schedule. Ask if you would like to be tagged in the next one. Mwah!

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Sukuna realized that if he wanted something done right, he would have to do it himself. There was no way that getting information on or from you would be so difficult, you were just a civilian girl after all. That’s what led him to go to where you play chess with all those old men, he didn’t want to scare you off by approaching you in one of the more secluded spots that you inhabit occasionally.

Even if Toji failed, he knew that he wouldn’t. He was the King of Curses after all, the most feared man in the Japanese underground and incredibly handsome and charming on top of that. Assuming this would be easy when you spot your stall as you approach your usual group. That was until your eyes narrowed and a scowl appeared on your face as if you were disgusted with his appearance. Huh, so this is what Fushiguro meant when he said that you were immediately unimpressed. But he still assumed this would be easy, due to how the old men talked about you.

They spoke as if you were sunlight itself, a delicate flower in the cracks of a city sidewalk. The men referred to you as their ‘sunshine’.

“Hey there sunshine,” His voice smoothed, laced with confidence as you approached the group. He had a lazy smirk on his face as the old men started to goad you into playing a match with him.

This used to be a pastime of his before he became the head of the family, now he didn’t have time for such trivial things as playing a game of chess. It was a game of strategy that required foresight and the ability to make quick decisions. These were important skills to have when you were the head of a yakuza family. He had already beaten the old men at the table, which won them over quicker than he expected by the reports he got from his men with how standoffish they were with them.

This was going to be easy. He was going to make you comfortable enough with him to tell you everything about that compound you visit every day. He always got what he wanted, and what he wanted was whatever information you had that would stop the damn Zennins from continuing to push into his territory without having to go to an all-out war.

As you sat across from you, you looked irritated at his intrusion but put on a fake smile to appease the uncles you play with daily.

“Sure, I’ll play him” You respond directly to them not even acknowledging the pink-haired man's presence in front of you. This was your one time to just relax and not have any thoughts but now here comes a man trying to ruin it for you.

He was disgustingly handsome and the tattoos that adorned his face didn’t help with how attractive he already was. Although, he carried himself with a self-assurance that irritated you. Just like a man. But maybe he wasn’t that bad since the uncles let him sit and play, they usually scowl anyone away who tries to join them wanting to keep their ground small but someone he wormed his way into the group and quickly at that.

“I’ll go easy on you sunshine,” He says with that cocky smirk you can see on his face from your peripheral vision, making your eyes immediately roll as you turn to face him not even pretending to put on a fake smile. You scan his face and then the board, trying to decide how to play this would you play the fast and aggressive game to end this early or drag it out to undermine and humiliate him?

As you look up from the board, coming up with a few strategies on how to play this you saw the most annoying cocky smirk on his face as if he was looking down on you. That’s when you made your decision, it was going to be the latter. A small smile graces your face as you figure out your game plan in your head on how you are going to destroy this man.

There are many misconceptions with the game of chess. Most people think that the best way of attack is to capture as many pieces as one can to allow a checkmate but that’s not true at all because it only takes one piece to check or checkmate your opponent. It is not a numbers game, it’s a game of strategy, it’s a game of knowledge of yourself and the moves of your opponent. And that’s exactly how you crushed the man in front of you.

You allowed him to capture most of your pieces, putting yourself in what he thought was a dangerous position, but that wasn’t the closest thing to the truth. You had moved pieces around the board haphazardly, or so he thought, allowing your pieces to get captured which made him careless leaving several opportunities for you to check and checkmate him. But you didn’t want an easy win, you wanted him to believe he was capable of beating you and then show him how wrong he was and that his confidence was just a facade.

He was so focused on moving his pieces toward your end of the board and capturing yours that he didn’t notice your corning his king. You had him in a position that wouldn’t allow his king to escape you had him in check and in one move in a checkmate but you waited, you would wait until y ou could really crush him. And just as he spoke those words you were waiting to hear faking a dejected look as you were cackling inside.

“Check”

The words slip form his mouth so effortlessly as he sits back, smug in the way he thinks he has you defeated. You take a deep breath in as you look up at him with a sad expression that just increases his smugness.

“So, what’s your next move sunshine?” confidence was oozing from every single one of his pores as he looks across to you. As you exhale the breath you were holding, a devilish grin spreads on your face and you tongue slides across the bottom of your teeth. Your hand reaches across the board as you put your queen in the checkmate position towards his king.

“Checkmate. Sunshine” You say as you get up, proud of yourself as you see the confused look on his face as he looks at the board. If he wasn’t such an arrogant jerk this whole game, it would have been slightly attractive how his jaw tightens at the realization that he lost and from his own arrogance.

“Oh and by the way, two things.” You comment as you gather your things to leave. His eyes lock onto you as you look down at him, holding the same breath of confidence and arrogance he held earlier.

“First, I could have checked you after your first two moves, you made the most rookie mistakes in chess. The fool’s mate. Second, don’t call me sunshine.” You huff with a smirk getting ready to walk away before he calls after you. You turn your head over your shoulder, not fully facing him.

“Then what should I call you,” He asks more intrigued with you than he should be.

“Ha,” You chuckle, adjusting your tote on your shoulder, “Nothing, don’t even address me.”

That was the last thing you said to him before you walked off to where he assumed was either that café or the library. Oh you intrigued him, you really did. He never thought that someone like you would be associated with the zennins, they didn’t value women or their opinions.

Especially one not as headstrong as you seemed to be, but maybe they were making expectations, maybe they were changing. You had a brilliant mind for strategy it seemed and a dangerous mouth on you. He needed to know more about you, he needed to understand how your mind worked, he needed you. For the purpose of undermining the zennins of course, that was the only reason he was so interested in you. The only reason.

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ghostofskywalker · 1 year

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Friends Don't Kiss Like That

Jesse/Fem!Reader

Words: 1,791

Summary: You never wanted to force him to put a label on the relationship you shared, because even if it was purely physical, you didn't want to give it up. But maybe you should have just talked to Jesse about your feelings, because it turns out that the two of you had slightly different views on the way things were.

Warnings: implied sexual content

Note: i absolutely love this fic and i've been hanging onto it for months because i didn't want to lose my joy over it, but i think it's finally time to share it with the world.

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He never stayed too long, even though you wanted him to. Unfortunately when you worked on a Jedi Cruiser, there were only so many ways that you could disappear at the same time without it being too suspicious. It was already one of your saving graces that Jesse already had a reputation for taking long showers, and that his brothers never suspected that this is where he went when he disappeared.

The other saving grace was the fact that you had private quarters, and you didn’t have to worry about anyone barging in while you participated in some much needed stress relief with one of the battalion’s ARC troopers. There were always a few times that you managed to convince him to stay a little longer and lay with you, but those moments were few and far between. Usually it ended with labored grunts, slightly sweaty kisses, and whispered promises to do this again soon before he had suited up once more and looked both ways down the hall before returning to the barracks for the rest of the night.

You never knew exactly how he felt about you, because no label was ever put on your relationship. It was both polite smiles in the mess hall and secret love bites left in places only you and him would ever see, professional and intimate all at once. You didn’t even know how to approach the topic with him, because what were the options? Clones could get in big trouble if they were caught in relationships, and you didn’t want to lose your job at the GAR. It was almost easier if neither of you said anything, because then you didn’t have anything to deny should something happen and the secret came out. You weren’t together, even though you desperately wanted it to be the opposite. Wartime meant that people would have to make sacrifices, and this simply had to be one of them.

You were currently laying on your bed with him, having put some of your clothes back on after you finished. He was in nothing but his black body glove, the different pieces of plastoid that made up his armor scattered all across your room. “What do you want to do when the war is over?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” was your response. “I think I’ve spent so much time in the GAR at this point that I can’t imagine my life without it.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, someone knocked on your door. His eyes widened at the sound, and you were sure that you had a similar expression on your face. It was the middle of the night, who could possibly be knocking on your door at this time of night? You stilled, hoping that if you didn’t move a muscle then whoever was at the door would simply try to reach you in the morning (at a more reasonable hour).

But the sound came through again, and you just quietly tiptoed out of bed, pulling on the tops and bottoms to your GAR-issued sleeping clothes before starting to approach the door. It was then that you realized something: Jesse’s helmet (which was pretty damn recognizable) was sitting on the table next to the door, and it would be instantly visible to whoever was on the other side when you opened it.

The knock sounded for a third time, and you quickly grabbed Jesse’s bucket, throwing it to him on the bed. You must have not done a good job in aiming though, because you heard a thunk (followed by a whispered swear), which you tried to cover up with a loud “one moment!” - hopefully to appease whoever had decided to bother you at this time of night.

Hoping that your appearance didn’t give away the activities you had been previously engaging in, you grabbed the handle of the door and cracked it just enough to get a peek at who was standing outside, and you were met the face of Captain Rex. “Captain!” you said, your voice jumping higher than it usually was. “What can I do for you?”

“When he got a look at your outfit, Rex frowned. “Did I wake you?” he asked worriedly, looking down at his wrist to check the chrono that rested there. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“It’s okay,” you said, feigning a yawn and hoping that Rex really did think you were asleep previously, and so he didn’t step inside and see one of his ARC troopers slightly sweaty and laying in your bed. You stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind you (you’d rather Rex see you in your pajamas than him realize Jesse wasn’t in the barracks like he was supposed to be). “Is there something important I need to know?”

“I just stopped by to give you some forms,” he said. “Most of the men on the ship right now have a mandatory training session tomorrow to brush up on hand-to-hand combat skills and I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to help with some of the more administrative things while I’m there.”

“Of course, that is my job after all,” you said. “If everything is digital, why don’t you send it to my datapad and I’ll take a look at it tomorrow.”

Rex nodded and held out a small stack of flimsi to you before responding. “I came to bring you these too, they’re the only ones that aren’t digital, and I’ll send you the rest when I get back to my office.”

You nodded in response, and the captain turned around to leave. “Rex?” you called out, causing him to stop and look at you. “Go back to your room and get some sleep.” He made a small noise of indignation, but did turn around and start to walk in the direction of his quarters, which you counted as a win (even if he was just doing this to make you think he was going to sleep and would actually make a detour at the last second).

When you stepped back into your room, Jesse was still laying on the bed. “That was close,” you said.

“Too close,” Jesse said. “I should probably head back now.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but any reasoning you had died in your throat. You weren’t together, who were you to keep him here? And what if your selfish desire to cuddle with him all night got your relationship found out? There had already been one close call tonight, you didn’t need any more. So instead of saying anything, you just nodded, watching him collect the pieces of his armor from around the room (where they had been hastily discarded when he arrived) and put them back on.

With a smile and kiss to your cheek, Jesse was gone, and you really wished it didn’t have to be this way.

***

Life on the Resolute went on, and soon you were once again laying in your bed with him, having just finished a particularly steamy rendezvous in your private ‘fresher. In nothing more than your underclothes at this point, you just stared at each other, and you dreaded the moment where he would tell you that he had to leave.

But instead, the conversation took a whole different turn. “I think the boys are starting to get suspicious.”

“About us?”

Jesse shook his head. “I don’t think they realize you’re part of it, but they’ve started to realize that I sneak away from time to time.”

“Oh,” you said, heart sinking as you considered the options from here. “We can-”

“I think it’s time to tell them,” Jesse said, and you just looked at him with a confused expression. “They were bound to figure it out eventually.”

“Tell them what?”

He looked at you with an odd expression on his face. “That we’re together.”

It took a moment for you to register his words. “We’re together?” It definitely wasn’t your finest moment, but in your defense, there didn’t seem like a better way to say it. For so long you had pined for something more with him, for the kisses and soft glances you shared to allude to something other than a physical relationship, and now you were finding out that you had possibly mis-interpreted this entire thing?

“I thought we were,” he admitted quietly. “Unless there’s someone els-”

“No!” you responded, cutting him off. “I just- we never talked about what we were, so I assumed you only considered this a physical thing, and that we were friends in all other senses of the word. I always wanted more, but didn’t want to lose you.”

Jesse’s expression softened, and a quiet laugh escaped him. “Cyare,” he said, leaning in real close. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I certainly don’t kiss my friends like I kiss you.”

“Then why didn’t you ever say anything to me?”

“I thought you wanted to keep things under wraps.”

“I wanted to protect you!”

“If you’re referring to that rule against clones being in relationships, I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” he said, leaning to place a soft kiss on the corner of your mouth.

You were not as blasé about the whole thing. “And why is that?” you asked, eyebrows raised.

“Because the general is in a similar situation right now, so I think he’d understand. And I trust my vode with my life, they wouldn’t say anything. Besides, I think Rex already knows, he said something to me about you the day after he showed up here in the middle of the night.”

You sighed quietly. “I know, but I still worry.”

“How about this, we can wait a little more, but if someone asks, tell them the truth,” Jesse suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” you said with a nod. “Although…”

“Although what?”

“You haven’t actually asked me anything about progressing our relationship.”

His eyebrows raised at you in mock disbelief, but he played along. “Well then, I have to fix that.”

“I’m waiting.”

“Will you-” a kiss was placed on your forehead.

“Do me the absolute honor-” now his lips moved down to your cheek, kissing you once for each word.

“Of being-” a kiss on your nose this time.

“My girlfriend?” His lips ghosted over the corner of your mouth, and you knew that he was being a little infuriating on purpose.

“Yes, you idiot,” you said, wasting no time after that to pull him closer to you and kiss him soundly.

Jesse groaned into your lips, and you had a feeling you might need to shower again after all was said and done, but you didn’t care one bit.

- the end -

i no longer have a taglist! if you're interested in being notified when i post, you can follow my library blog @ghostofskywalker-library and turn on notifications!

#arc trooper jesse x reader #arc trooper jesse #arc trooper jesse x you #jesse x reader #clone trooper jesse #clone trooper x reader #clone wars fanfiction #star wars x reader

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queenhunter102 · 12 days

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part 10

part 9

You grunted as you picked the basket of dry clothes, bringing it over to the counter on the far right, before dumping it onto the counter and folding them, you grunt a little as you lift the tunics up, then sighing as you rest them down onto the counter. You hum a song your mother had sung to you, the words long forgotten but the rhythm that always stayed, you swayed a little as you finished folding Aegon’s clothes, before repeating with Aemond’s, “Wilding you will never believe, who came at our quarters” You smiled when you heard the voice, Aeric, you adored them, tall and skinny, with rough hands from years of labor, you turn your head to them, their hair pulled back wearing a simple black tunic and breeches, both of which they did not own. You smiled “Only if you speak on where the clothes are from” you say, laughing you had a feeling who they had come from, Aeric makes a big dramatic sigh making a big show of crossing their arms over their chest, “Fine if it appeases you wilding” they say as they step into the room, closing the door behind them. Aeric makes quick work of walking across the room and leaning on the counter, “Shall I go first?” Aeric asked as they took some of Aemond’s tunics and began folding them, you nod your head as you work on his breeches. “The tunic is from a certain Royal…” they say smiling, you smile back knowing it was Likely Prince Daemon, you nodded your head “…You spent the night” you say hopefully praying that Aeric had a few hours of happiness, Aeric paused long enough for you turn your head to them, they had pursed their lips in an attempt to hide their smile. You squealed wrapping your arms around them, Aeric doing the same in return laughing finally breaking into a smile, you knew it had been so long for Aeric, to finally trust someone with their body, let alone their mind, Aeric pulled away a little. “Now your turn” they say, you look up at them unsure what they wanted to know, “I do not know what you speak of” you say, genuinely but they playfully hit your upper arm, “Wrong” Aeric says, as they turn back to the tunics, “I do not know what you ask of me my dear Aeric” you say hoping to sweeten whatever gossip out of them. You watch as Aeric rolled their eyes, as they continue to fold “There was a certain two Princes at our quarters” Aeric said in a sing-song voice, that made you take pause, “Prince Aemond as well as Prince of Aegon, came to our quarters?” you ask, ‘not possible they would not come looking for you’ but then you pause a little longer and Aeric laughed.

“I did not know that you have bedded both of them” Aeric said, as they finished folding the clothes and jumped onto the counter, you roll your eyes, as you finished folding the breeches, “I did not bed them” you say, trying to defend yourself, it was true, Aegon was the one who pulled his cock and gave himself pleasure. “Oh? No?” Aeric said, as they walked their fingers on the counter, “You claim full innocence?” Aeric asked, you nod your head, as pull the folded tunics into the basket, before walking over to the other counter that held the dry clothes ready to be moved to the chambers. “How can I claim innocence when I do not know what to claim innocence of?” you say, but Aeric scoffed “Do not attempt to sound smart Wilding, Taryn does not like it” they say, crossing their arms over their chest, you lift your brow as you hobbled back over to Aeric. Aeric quickly jumped from their place on the counter making quick strides to you, and offering you their arm, “How many times must I tell you not to tire yourself” They said, as they helped you back to the counter, “I do not need help, nor do I pity, I just wish to return to normal” You say, as you begrudgingly allow Aeric to bring you back to the counter. “I do not care Carth said that you must rest” Aeric said, as they leaned against the counter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aemond was like an dragon that was enraged that his most prized treasure was stolen from under him, and Aegon was sulky and sullen he was more like a dragon when it’s mate had passed, saddened and temperamental, the court and the servants had found themselves walking on eggshells around the pair. Care not to enrage Aemond or push Aegon to spite fire, even Alicent was being bored of this dance this back and forth between the two, But she watched as the pair seemed to get along better, like they understood the other misery. And she sat above the crowd, watching Aegon drink more than she thought was possible, watching him drown in his wine, meats and women…if she could even say he was drowning in women, he would drag one into his lap, smiling and laughing, have kisses and licks to his jaw and throat before he threw her off his lap, a deep growl on his face. She sighed as she turned her head to Aemond who had barely touched his drink or his meat, she lightly pressed her head to the back of her seat when she saw that women and men of the like was giving him a larger birth than normal, shying away from his crude and snarl, she reached for her cup and took a deep drink. How was she supposed to find these two a fitting spouses.

Taglist: prettykinkysou Remember: leaving a like, re-blogging, and commenting helps in this world and encourages more. See you around, my little loves.

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sunnydayjackass · 2 years

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Hello!! If it isn’t too much to ask- may I request Jack x a coulrophobic s/o? One that couldn’t stand the thought of clowns at first- but has an exception solely for Jack the more their relationship progresses?

I feel this so much. Ordinarily clowns freak the hell out of me but I'm a whole fucking simp for Jack idgi.

Oh god, oh fuck, oh NO--look its one thing to pass out after putting in a VHS/DVD/movie, we've all done it right? But when you wake up and there's suddenly a grown ass man in YOUR apartment decked to the nines in primaries and clown makeup?

Fight or flight? This is YOUR apartment- you're scrambling up like you're absolutely feral. Groping for anything to use as a weapon of sorts. Brandishing your $5 Target throw pillow? Not super effective but pop off boo, you can smother anyone with enough gumption I guess

Jack is just as taken aback- your reactions are very much playing off each other. Anyone on the outside looking in might find it comical. There's you, on one end of the sofa with your weapon of choice barking questions while Jack is on the other side- hands raised non-threateningly, talking softly to try and calm you

Your first meeting us now something the pair of you look back with a laugh. Frankly it took time to get to this point, you'd been pretty up front from the jump with Jack. You didn't like clowns. Scared of them, untrusting, horror media certainly did nothing to help (or Shaun's movie nights). You'd told Jack it wasn't anything personal he seemed like a perfectly nice guy or entity or whatever the hell he was.

Of course Jack has a few prodding questions regarding this. Clowns and characters like himself are supposed to be the good guys, the heroes, the ones who make you smile and laugh by jokes or magic. How open you are to the discussion is entirely up to you: if you're pretty open about it- the situation is smoothed over pretty easily. If you don't want to talk about it- Jack doesn't press further out of respect.

Regardless, Jack gives you plenty of space. Well...as wide a berth as he can sharing this space with you. In attempts to appease you, Jack will either try to remove the pigmented makeup from his face or ask you to get him makeup to conceal them. Maybe some spare clothes to change into.

It's very obvious that these are difficult things for him to ask of you. Jack isn't accustomed to having someone wary of him or feeling subconscious, these things definitely shine through in his actions- going further out of his way to help you in any way he can. Dinner? Done and your meals for work prepped in the fridge. Have to run the snake down the shower drain? Nah, go finish that chapter or episode you were just enjoying- he's got this. Just anything and everything not only to show his affections and worth to you but to hopefully find his appearance and demeanor less offputting or tolerable.

Also, with this information- Jack will not share your bed with you until a proper relationship or agreement of sorts is come to. He'll offer to sleep in the living room- he'd never forgive himself if you woke up frightened. It's all for your comfort and your boundaries, that's without a doubt the top priority

His efforts don't go unnoticed by you, especially when he attempts to tone down his clothing or asking you for others and covering the shapes over his facial features. At first you acquiesce, letting him loan clothes that maybe are too big for you or shopping online and letting him choose thing. Taking him makeup shopping though: Jack cant help but think it'd be more fun given better circumstances seeing that cosmetics come in such a variety of shades and colors now.

Jack grows on you, genuinely. You know he's pulling double duty to try and ease you into accepting and going so far as trying to make his appearance easier on you. Sure, he came into your life like a color wheel of a hurricane but nothing bad had come of it. Jack made you feel safe, made you felt cared for, he was supportive and kind- never asking anything of you save for assistance on the supplies of normalcy. Guilt gnaws at you a little. Jack wasn't so much a clown. Not in your opinion or anything. He wasn't one of those creepy 2016 killer clowns or a cartoony chucklefuck.

One morning while Jack is leaning over the sink to carefully dab concealer and foundation over the red shapes decorating his face clad in a well worn maroon shirt and plain gray sweatpants that you pause in the doorway just watching him. Jack eventually catches you, greeting you warmly as ever. "I'm almost done, Sunshine. Just a sec."

You didn't want him to have to change for you, he was a handsome guy regardless and a golden one on the inside. "Nah." You state simply, with a click of your tongue before reaching for your makeup removal balm. Unscrewing the lid, Jack watches you, clearly confused- moreso when you start smearing makeup remover on his face. With a warm wash cloth you gently wipe away the cosmetics from his face with the red circles and shapes on full proud display.

"You be you. I don't want you to change if you don't want to." You can see Jack's mouth drop open right away to reassure you that it's fine, that he's fine, to wave it off even though you know better. You press a finger to his lips with a stern look. "Not everything needs to be about me, okay?...I like you better wearing your colors and face paint." And you mean it, he can tell this isn't something you're forcing yourself to do.

He melts and his worried gaze softens, acceptance was always sweet but it was infinitely better coming from you. Quietly he asks if he can hug you to which you oblige- giving him a fond squeeze around the middle. You shoo him off after a while after finishing washing his face and to go change, with a statement over your shoulder that you'll handle breakfast this morning.

You're more than willing to make an exception for Jack, he's become such an integral piece of your life. He doesn't scare you, he doesn't make you uneasy or uncomfortable- quite the opposite with how careful he is when he dotes upon you so gently. Always asking for consent before bridging any gaps as not to push boundaries.

#somethings wrong with sunny day jack #there's something wrong with sunny day jack #something's wrong with sunny day jack #theres something wrong with sunny time jack #sunny day jack #tswwsdj #swwsdj #sdj x reader #sunny day jack x reader #sdj

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shibalen · 1 year

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synopsis: sculpt your own dreams <3

warnings: none, unless you fear the short and sweet

word count: ~1.4k

...

It wasn't the loud pattering of the rain that awoke him. No, in fact, as he gazed up at the grey skies, Kazuha was quite sure this very same rain had lulled Milly and him to sleep a few hours ago. The sound had become too familiar and comforting to disturb him, although he had to admit the rain in Sumeru's rainforest was more intense than that of the other seven nations.

Next, his eyes fell on Milly who was peacefully napping on his lap. Her arms were tucked underneath her head for extra comfort. Thankfully, her soft features and relaxed brow told him she was having pleasant dreams. Nevertheless, it flustered him slightly that she had dozed off on his lap although it had already been two months since he read his sonata for her aloud. Butterflies still fluttered in his stomach like on the day he'd met her. He silently held his breath whenever they shared such moments of intimacy, and Kazuha doubted she would ever cease to stir such feelings in him. Not that he wanted her to stop. Archons, he prayed she wouldn't.

For a moment, Kazuha allowed himself to admire her like this. She must've been exhausted after they had set off from Port Ormos so early in the morning. Both of them had wanted to do a few days of exploring before sailing with The Crux again, and Milly was especially excited to learn more about the creatures of the rainforest. She was exploring every nook and cranny before the sudden downpour had forced the couple to take shelter underneath one of the forest's magnificent trees. The journal where she had marked down all her findings was now safe in her satchel.

"You've worked hard," Kazuha mused and gently pulled the blanket back over her shoulders where it had slipped off. If he wasn't trying to be careful of waking her, he would've kissed her head too. For now, he settled for combing his fingers through her hair, brushing a few strands from her face.

Then, if it was neither the rain nor Milly stirring, what was it that had woken him?

Kazuha listened again, searching for the vague sound. They were not in danger, that much he could sense but upon careful listening he knew they were being watched.

Seconds later a patch of moving grass caught his eye…Those were cabbages? Mushrooms? Plant spirits? They certainly didn't appear like the fungi they had dealt with previously. They seemed smaller, more full of life. He watched them with both curiousity and interest as the creatures moved towards their campsite—one slim orange mushroom and one green cabbage. Every now and then they made a few pauses, however, stopping as if to dance and sing in the rain.

Once close enough, they dropped several fruits just beside their bags. Zaytun peaches, he recalled.

How fascinating. Were these adorable spirits bringing them gifts? Hopefully they did not think the two of them were some evil humans that needed to be appeased in order to prevent them from wrecking havoc. Before he knew it, a chuckle escaped his lips.

Unfortunately, that alerted the creatures. "Red nara is looking!" the orange one panicked. "Quick, go before tiny nara wakes up!"

And just like that the spirits waddled off and disappeared without a trace.

Kazuha had never seen such a peculiar sight. "Is this… a dream?" He would've been entirely convinced of it had it not been for the pile of fruit that was still in front of them.

"Hmm, what is?" Milly groggily turned on her back, meeting her sleepy brown eyes with his.

Seeing she had stirred awake, Kazuha's face melted into a soft smile as he reached out to caress her cheek. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She shook her head no, and Kazuha glanced back at the fruit. "I think we've had visitors."

Following his eyes, Milly inclined her head and looked over at their new refreshments. She squinted through her blurry vision. "And you didn't just get them while I was asleep?" she asked.

"I am much too devoted to my current job. I don't think I could stray a step from it," he replied light-heartedly.

"I had a rather fine sleep, thank you. I'll have your payment ready." Milly laughed and sat up. She stretched her arms high above her head, taking in the fresh forest air. It was so crisp from rain a whiff of it already energised her, washing away most of the drowsiness. She may have also found her new favourite spot to sleep; she hadn't had such nice dreams in ages. Then she gave the mysterious occurrence another thought.

"Maybe an aranara brought them."

Kazuha tilted his head. "Aranara?"

She nodded. "Yes. They're tiny woodland spirits in Sumeru's folklore. Only children can see them, because they can dream, and there are plenty of stories from the kids about how the aranara have helped them."

The further Milly explained, the more Kazuha began to believe what he'd seen were the aranara. He also explained this to her, and of how he'd been awakened by the sound like rustling leaves and singing.

They passed time discussing why and how the aranara had shown themselves to him but were left with more questions than answers. It was meant to be a light conversation really, nothing serious, yet the two ended up wondering about the boundaries between reality and illusion; what would it feel like to consciously be able to shift between dreams and the real world.

"I think every person's concept of dreams and consciousness is a little different," Milly said, taking a bite of a zaytun peach. "The way placebo works: if you want to believe the existence of something, it will become a part of your reality regardless of whether the thing is actually there or not."

Kazuha hummed, his own peach in hand. "You are right. The borders of dreams and reality are thin as thread in the end."

Milly wiped her hands into a clean cloth. "Honestly, I wish this rain was a dream." She sighed, plopping her back against the three's wooden trunk. She loved nothing more than talking with Kazuha, whether it was about a pretty leaf in his hair or the meaning of life, but she was itching to do some research before it got dark.

Kazuha observed her longing gaze towards the lush vegetation. He admired her passion yet at the moment he wanted nothing more than to bring a spark into those gorgeous eyes. He thought back to the aranara he'd seen dancing among themselves, and their conversation with Milly. Perhaps all they needed was a change of perspective.

Standing up, Kazuha bowed his head and offered her his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Milly blinked up at him, amused. "What are you doing?"

"Shifting our borders of dreams and reality." He smiled.

From those words Milly seemed catch onto his little idea fast. She huffed a chuckle of disbelief, but Kazuha found her embarrassment cute. "In that case, you may."

She took his hand and Kazuha led them from the shade of the tree into the pouring rain as though it were a grand dancefloor. They were soaked in seconds but neither of them had felt so refreshed in a while.

"It's colder than I thought," Milly said.

"Come closer then. I will dry our clothes later." Standing chest-to-chest, Kazuha pulled her to him by her waist while the other hand still held hers in a soft grip. This was ridiculous and very childish, yes, but also the best decision he'd made that day when she lifted her head to look at him with that precious shine in her eyes, with that irresistible smile. There was no use trying to conceal the drumming of his heart.

A harmonious hum on his lips, Kazuha carried them into a graceful waltz. Milly joined in with a tune of her own, and soon it felt like the whole world was spinning around them alone. Indeed, their worlds had shifted into a different reality, a dream. Selfish as it was, this time Kazuha wished nothing would awake him.

Yes, let the call of birds and the rhythmic melody of rain last. Let the wind hum and the forest dance alongside them. And please, let her not stop laughing.

…

Behind the roots of the ancient tree, two aranara watched the humans waltz. Their smooth movements eventually turned into a game of hopping in puddles though. How silly, but at least they never let go of each others' hand. Slipping was dangerous. "Nara not tired anymore. Nara know rain bring happy memories."

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gclionessa1230 · 3 months

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Part 7 snippet

i'm on a roll with this somehow but i like what i've got and there's more to come.. the Fire-Cats will be located as will Cynthia's mother (that's coming so no spoilers..)

Lion-O spent time with Cynthia in the medical bay as often as he could but seeing as how things with her weren’t changing in terms of her either getting better or showing signs of improving, he was beginning to lose hope on her ever waking. It was disheartening but the ladies remained by her side as did Lioness-A. There wasn’t much they could do to persuade Lion-O to visit Cynthia except every other day or so and only for a couple of hours.

“We’ve got to do something about this your highness,” Amnextria said as Lioness-A sighed heavily. “If this keeps up on Lion-O not wanting to come around to be with Cynthia, then the relationship they have is as good as over once she wakens.”

“The problem is that he doesn’t think that she’s going to recover,” Lioness-A said. “There’s been almost no changes over the last two or three weeks and the healers are talking about putting in a line to provide nutrients for Cynthia. There’s not much else they can do for her at this point.”

“We may have another issue,” Oona said when she met up with the two in the ICU waiting room. “I just saw the king walking around the gardens with a young lioness named Calica earlier this morning and it looked serious.” That brought Lioness-A up short.

“Who is she?” she asked quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“A daughter to one of the prides that’s near the polar ice caps from what I’ve been able to learn,” Oona told her. “And I’ve only spoken to her one time.” Lioness-A growled slightly.

“Stay here and let me know if the healers bring you any news on Cynthia. They were conducting a CT and MRI on her today to see what’s going on exactly,” she said as she headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Amnextria asked.

“To find Lion-O and get his side of the story on this. He’s betraying Cynthia by doing this and I think he’s forgotten about the intimacy they once had,” Lioness-A said and left with Shayanya going with her.

“I don’t think it’s that serious my lady as there’s a strong bond linking Lion-O with the Lady Cynthia still,” Shayanya said. “He could be doing this just to appease an elder or something.”

“I hope that’s all it is but if it’s not, then he’s getting a piece of my mind and Cynthia may leave here for her world once we find it,” Lioness-A growled. She found Lion-O in his office and had Shayanya remain outside to keep everyone else away, including Calica as this had to be done. “What is going on with you?” Lioness-A asked her brother when she came up to his desk and glared at him. He sighed.

“I was approached by Calica’s father a few days ago,” he answered. “Most of the elders are thinking that if Cynthia’s still in the coma then it’s likely she’s not going to make a turnaround for the better and that it’s time for me to move on to find someone else to hopefully marry.”

“The healers are doing an extensive CT and MRI on Cynthia right now and will have the results hopefully soon,” Lioness-A told him. “They’ve already lowered the O2 down to two liters and she’s been fine with it.” She sighed. “If it keeps going on them lowering the O2 like that, she’ll be woken fairly soon.” She gave him a long look then. “And how do you think she would feel if she woke and didn’t see you there?” He sighed.

“Probably happier,” he muttered. Lioness-A scowled.

“You really think that?” she demanded. “If it came down to it and Cynthia recovers fully from this, she could leave and return to her homeworld and be reunited with her family and she’d never come back here. Which is sad cause how the hell would you explain the intimacy the two of you had before all of this happened?” Lion-O had no answer to give on that and the question stung, more than he realized.

“The Boktorians haven’t found her homeworld yet but they have a rough idea of where they think it is,” Lion-O finally said. He got up and went to the window. “They’re finding more and more of Cynthia’s people though and are sheltering them on Boktor till they can find it.”

“Were any of them Cynthia’s mother?” Lioness-A asked.

“Don’t know as the last report I saw said that they were getting a detailed listing of all of those people that they have. If her mother’s there, her name is flagged for them to bring her here to be reunited with Cynthia,” he said. “And more than likely, she’ll want to see her mother more than me.”

“Cynthia will want to see both her mother and you, you big idiot,” Lioness-A said as he stared at her. “Quit feeling so damn guilty for what happened and think about this a moment,” she went on. “You and Cynthia are linked by a very strong bond. I can sense it along with the other Barbaries that are here. Something is linking the two of you to the other but if you keep doing this, it could break that bond.” She looked at him a moment. “Do you want to lose that connection that the two of you had?” she asked as he froze. “Don’t answer, just think about what it is that you want and I’ll be waiting in the ICU waiting room for word on Cynthia if you want to find out what’s happening.” She left the room in a huff and it was only then that he broke down in tears, his heart aching.

.::~*~::.

Two hours later found Lion-O arriving in the medical bay ICU waiting room and he saw that Lioness-A was still there along with Amnextria, Shayanya and Oona. Lion-O had bid a fond farewell to Calica who wasn’t upset but wished the Lady Cynthia well and promised a gift for her. That had touched Lion-O but it told him that more and more of the people had grown to love Cynthia. Lioness-A saw him and came to his side.

“Any news?” he asked quietly as he found a seat on one of the sofas. She shook her head.

“Not yet as the healers are doing the MRI and they had to disconnect Cynthia from the machines to move her to the room where that’s done,” she replied.

“The good news is that she was breathing fairly well with a nasal cannula in place instead of the respirator,” Oona said. “That’s allowing her throat a chance to rest by not having the tube in place.”

“When did that happen?” Lion-O asked.

“Yesterday late,” Oona told him kindly. “It was a relief to see the respirator taken off.”

“Cynthia’s also starting to fight the sedation some,” Amnextria said. “I heard that when they came to get her to do the CT scan so they’re weaning her down on the sedatives.”

“Has she fully healed from the wounds?” Lion-O wondered. Lioness-A shrugged.

“Based on what we’re hearing I think so,” she replied. They heard a noise and Lion-O came to his feet when the bed holding Cynthia passed by them and he came to the door just as it stopped.

“We’ll have the results of the MRI and CT scans shortly,” Pumyra told him gently. Lion-O sighed as he squeezed Cynthia’s hand and was startled when her fingers moved in his. The puma smiled. “She’s fighting the sedatives which is a very good sign.” She looked at him. “Follow us to her room.” Lion-O and Lioness-A followed the puma to Cynthia’s room and watched as they got the bed set back into place. The nasal cannula remained but the heart leads were hooked back up as Siberias came in and did a check of Cynthia’s eyes with the flashlight he had.

“She’s reacting to the light as she should,” he said and noted her respiration along with the heart rate and blood pressure. “All within normal range. I’m going to go and see if those scans were reviewed yet and I’ll be back with an update.” He left as Lion-O sat down in the chair by the bed and held Cynthia’s hand. Her fingers moved briefly and lightly curled around his. Pumyra smiled as she moved the blankets out of the way and began the process of changing out the bandaging on Cynthia’s chest, revealing the scars just below her breasts. They were pink but not as raw looking and showed signs of healing.

“Those are nearly healed,” Lion-O said quietly. The puma nodded. He felt Cynthia’s fingers move. “Easy girl,” he breathed softly to her. “I’m here.” Pumyra reached up to shut the IV with the sedative off.

“Is it safe to do that?” Lioness-A asked as the puma removed the connecting tube from Cynthia’s arm.

“At this point I think so,” Pumyra replied as Siberias came back into the room. He saw Pumyra removing the IV bag of the sedative and nodded.

“Good,” he said. “The scans came back clean. Cynthia’s lungs are fully healed and seeing as how she’s breathing as well as she is, we can let her wake on her own now.”

Lion-O felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw Cynthia’s head shift before her eyes opened. He came closer to her and gently ran a finger along her cheek as her head turned toward his touch. He lightly kissed her forehead.

“Hey girl,” he whispered. Cynthia moaned as the bed was shifted allowing her to sit up. “It’s okay,” Lion-O said as he stroked her cheek gently.

“Lion-O,” Cynthia gasped weakly. Her hand came up to grasp his still on her cheek.

“Sssh,” Lion-O whispered as he slid on the bed and held her. The warmth of her in his arms, stirred his heart as he gently pressed a kiss in her hair.

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captainseamech · 1 year

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//I mentioned a few days ago that I had some things going through my mind and that I was building up courage to tell you guys that and... I think this is finally the appropriate time for such. It's nothing against anyone here, I promise you that. It's more about myself, really.

This post is written with small text font to make it faster to read (since I typed a lot), but if you want me to leave it all on a regular font feel free to tell me so and I'll fix it. And if there's any misspelling or grammatical error bear with me since I do be a bit sick still and... I might fix later (if I remember to do it) so my English might be worse than ever in this post. I'm sorry in advance.

.... for the past couple days since New Years hit us in the face I've seen my mutuals just... moving blogs and all that to start fresh aside from ships, relationships and the like and honestly, that kind of motivated me to do such since I'm... frankly unhappy with how this blog is looking recently, but I'm also in quite a big dilemma since I hate making choices and I wanted to be more open with you guys for a moment. Again, I've been thinking deeply on whether making this post or not but I think it will be worth it in the end (or I just wasted some of my time typing, who knows.)

On one hand it'd make me feel better and refreshed to move from here, starting with a theme, carrd and all that fancy stuff; especially with a better organization of my tags from the beginning since I feel my tags are... all over the place as of currently in comparison to my other blogs; as well as I'd have a way better sense of making my verses since I just... well, kind of hoarded lots of them with some that I barely dont use (if not straight up abandoned behind one starter call and/or headcanon post since I made them specific to one 'dead' fandom or whatnot). And also that I, somehow, get some quite mean/meaningful intended anons here for things that I did or not so hopefully moving places would make them disappear or even just appease them.

But on the other hand... this blog of mine has so much memories!! This is my oldest blog (November 2017!!) on this website, old peeps that were mutuals with me that still lurks in my followers list because the good times!! I had with them in the past!! before my hiatus are just!!!! And like, recently a few old mutuals of mine have been coming back to this site on a way or another with their older tumblr blog, or even just!! Keeping them there!! For the memories!! I put so much hard work on this blog and my writing over the years, especially with Cat (@/faultfindingfirebot) being such an old mutual of mine and developing our characters together!! All the memories with that ship is just!! Lurking here!! Everything is here!! With a simple mouse scroll through their blog tag!!

I know that moving blogs doesn't necessarily mean having to delete this blog, but still!! All the memories (even the cringe ones) are here and I just!! Don't want to lose this treasure y'know? I started on tumblr with this blog and I hoped to die on this hill still here! Maybe I'm just unnecessarily being emotional over this clusterfuck of a messy blog, but still! There's development from both me and the way I write my character with so much joy and not carrying much about fancyness! But apparently fancyness has become a major point in every rpc, to the point of really making me feel legitimately scared and/or hesitant to approach because some writers really despise mobile writers somehow... and it doesn't do wonders to my anxiety honestly.

So... Again, it might sound stupid of me to be emotional over this blog instead of quickly moving on like normal people should but as I mentioned repeatedly before... The memories that lures around this blog are one of the most important things that I could've asked for and this is why I'm opening up to you guys because I want to establish more communication with my mutuals publicly since I always sucked at keeping a stable conversation with each and everyone.

I reckon it might sound straight up weird for me to feel attached and just not do it like a normal person would and move blogs already without letting one's mind out but... I really, really cant help it at all. And I just couldn't stop it from happening too, even though I tried my best to avoid it. But scrolling back on this blog sometimes to see all the good and bad things me and High Tide has gotten through is just... developmentally nostalgic in a way, and sometimes I like to relive the old times no matter how cringe it seemed with both new and old time mutuals.

TL;DR: Should I just stop whining around and move on to try new experiences or stay here where I always belonged?

#🛳 | outside the ship / ooc #📱 | stuck in my datapad / mobile posting #long post tw #tw long post #[ it's under read more but still snbdndkf ]#[ and also I tried to not make this reading boring my yeeting icons here and there... hope it worked ]

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mycomfortblanket · 1 year

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Sweater

The party was mostly an excuse to get Sokka out of his room and into different clothes. His break-up with Ash had been hard, it practically destroyed him. He wouldn't leave his bed for days at a time except to use the restroom and he wouldn't eat unless someone brought him food. At some points, it starts to get pretty pathetic, but whenever anyone looks him in the eye, they can see just how deep this heartbreak is and the sympathy comes rushing back.

So Katara devised the plan to throw a party with alcohol- lots of alcohol- to help boost him out of this slump and hopefully start the process of getting him back on his feet. She invited all the usual people and then told them to invite at least 5 people of their own, so this was going to to be a big party.

"Are you sure this is actually going to work though?" Aang questions her as he walks in the front door behind her carrying an armful of groceries. "I mean, we started smoking weed in the living room yesterday and he didn't even come out for that. Just texted one of us to bring it to him."

"I don't know. I don't really know what else to do for him. It's getting to the point where I'm thinking of calling reinforcements," Katara grumbles and starts pulling out bags of chips and two-liter drinks. They finish unpacking the groceries for the party and set up the kitchen island with everything that will be needed for the night: red solo cups, their many assortments of shot glasses from all their vacations, bowls of chips, rolling papers, and pretty much anything a bunch of drunk and/or high college kids would need. Aang even found a few chargers that he plugged into the wall and made a sign advertising a charging station if they do a body shot off someone.

An hour later, Zuko arrives with Toph in tow, both of them looking aggravated at the fact of having to do a party and socialize. "Don't get me wrong, a bunch of drunk and stupid college kids is fun to fuck with, but I can do that any day of the week if I go to the right frat house. Why do we have to do it the night before I have to be up early for a presentation at my dad's company?" No one really offers her a reason as to why it had to be tonight so she huffs out a breath and takes a seat at one of the bar stools.

"Here, I got you a Dr. Pepper, maybe this will appease the monster in you," Aang walks over and places the drink in front of her, and kisses the top of her head. She leans into him slightly as he does this, closing her eyes briefly to soak in his affection.

"Dr. Pepper will do nothing to save you, peasants," she grumbles as she opens the drink. After taking a few sips, she mumbles, "Maybe it will, I don't know, the night is still young."

"Where is he?" Zuko asks.

"Where he's been for the past month. Go see if he will get up, will you?" Katara gestures towards the hallway that leads down to his bedroom.

"Urgh, why do I always have to do it?" Zuko groans under his breath. He hears something about him possibly seeing Sokka naked but chooses to ignore it. He walks down the hallways and pushes open the door to Sokka's room. Just like the last time he was here earlier this week, there are still clothes strewn about the floor, a random Netflix documentary is playing on the tv that's mounted on the wall, and Sokka is laying twisted in his sheets. He's on his stomach with one of his arms hanging off the bed rolling a tennis ball back and forth on the floor with his hand.

"Hey, dude," Zuko says, pushing through the door and walking over to the bed. He moves Sokka's feet over and plops down in the spot they just occupied. "You going to get up today?"

"Yeah," Sokka says unconvincingly. It's the same answer he's given anyone who has asked him that question, so Zuko doesn't take the response seriously. He watches the documentary as a cheeta attempts to take down some animal. The show really spared no gory detail as they get in close for a shot of the takedown.

"As fun as watching that animal get totally annihilated, you actually have to get up today," Zuko says, looking away from the tv and over towards Sokka who hasn't moved an inch. He doesn't say anything, just continues to roll the ball on the ground.

Huffing out a sigh, Zuko scoots to the side of the bed that is against the wall and places his feet against Sokka, one near his armpit and the other on his hip, and bracing against the wall, pushes Sokka off the bed and onto the floor.

"Oomph," Zuko hears the wind get knocked out of Sokka and a little strangled cough, "What the fuck, dude!" Sokka yells from the floor.

"You have to get up! We're having a party tonight, what if someone needs your bed?" Zuko yells back and scoots off the bed. He bends down and helps Sokka up with a hand under one of his arms. "You're fine, you've survived through worse," Zuko says with a little amusement in his tone.

Toph appears in the door frame, her sightless eyes staring straight past Sokka and Zuko and out towards the window. "Katara sent me down here to see if you guys were fucking and if that's what that noise was for."

"Dude-" Zuko starts.

"Why does everyone insist that I'm gay?" Sokka cuts him off.

Toph snorts and mumbles a 'whatever' and walks back towards the kitchen. "No one is insisting that you're gay, Sokka. We all know that that's my thing. The group couldn't handle more than one gay," he says, trying to lift the mood.

Sokka lets out a long breath, still not looking at Zuko. He shakes his head a little as if to clear some thoughts, "I guess I'll go take a shower since I'm up." He grabs a towel from his closet and then walks out of his room and towards the bathroom across the hall.

Zuko chews on his lip and stands in Sokka's room for a bit. The truth is, everyone is pushing at Sokka being gay because of Zuko's overwhelming and completely obvious crush he has on the guy. Zuko's tried multiple times to get the group to lay off of it lest Sokka finds out, but none of them seem to want to let it go. Even Aang, the nicest and most diplomatic of them all sometimes hint at the fact that he and Sokka are practically dating.

He leaves Sokka's room and walks back into the kitchen where a couple more people have shown up. The actual party doesn't start for a few more hours, but leave it to Yue and Azula to show up early to help with preparations and whatever else they seem to think they will miss out on if they're not here.

When he rejoins the group, they're talking about Sokka (shocker) and his current mental health status (also, shocker). "I think he really just needs to get out of his room for a while, see that there are still people out in the world," Aang comments quietly.

"Right, but is a party really the best way to do that? Wouldn't a walk through a park accomplish the same thing?" Toph counters, which is weird because she's never been one to turn down a party.

"I think the alcohol and chance to 'forget' is appealing," Katara forms air quotes around the word forget. "I swear though if anyone tries to hit on him, especially in the state that he is in right now-"

"No one is going to do that," Yue interjects. "You take one look at the guy and can tell he is shattered." She glances at Zuko as if asking permission, but he doesn't know what for, "I just want to know what she did to him that destroyed him so much." Oh. That.

Everyone is quiet for a minute but no one offers up any explanation as to why Ash and Sokka broke up. Naturally, people do look at Zuko for those kinds of answers since he and Sokka share practically everything, but this is a first for him not knowing what the fuck happened.

Zuko shrugs, "I don't know. No one does. At this point, I'm a little afraid to find out."

~~~

The shower has been off for about an hour now and they have about another hour until people actually start showing up and Sokka is still nowhere to be seen. Katara shoots a glance at Zuko. Dropping his head onto the back of the couch where he is sitting, he lets out a complaining groan but still, he gets up and trudges back towards Sokka's room.

When he walks in, Sokka is dressed in actual clothes but is just sitting on the bed starting at a little figurine in his hands. He's twisting it over and over, completely transfixed on it, he doesn't even look up when Zuko walks in.

Zuko moves towards Sokka and nudges him with his knee, "Hey," he says quietly. Sokka jerks his head slightly to acknowledge that Zuko's there and that he's talking. "Party is about to start. You ready?"

Sokka finally looks up at him, squinting a little as if he is looking at something bright, "Yeah. Yeah, let's get this-" he stops and frowns, taking in Zuko's outfit. "You're wearing that?"

The frown shifts from Sokka to Zuko as he looks down at himself. He's wearing his navy blue sweater, ripped black skinny jeans, and Doc Martens. "Yeah? What's wrong with it?"

Sokka doesn't say anything, just stands and goes over to his closet. He flips through a few hangers and pulls out a shirt or sweatshirt every so often before hanging it back up. Finally, he pulls out a dark maroon sweater, similar to the one he is wearing. "Here, wear this."

Zuko rolls his eyes but pulls his current sweater over his head and tosses it somewhere in the room before taking the maroon sweater out of Sokka's offered hand. Maybe it's just Zuko's wanting brain or maybe he's wishing for it to be true, but he swears that Sokka's eyes stay on his chest just a little longer than necessary.

He pulls on the maroon sweater over his head and is immediately engulfed in the smell of Sokka. Pulling it down and straightening it out, he glances back up at Sokka and sees just a hint of a smile on his face, "Yeah, that looks better. Why is it that that sweater looks better on you than it does me? That's just not right," but he claps a hand on Zuko's shoulder and walks past him out of his room.

When both of them emerge into the living room, there's a small cheer that goes up around the friend group. Red solo cups filled with something are immediately placed in both of their hands. Just in the five minutes, he was in Sokka's room, the occupancy of the living room has doubled in size.

Sokka is sitting on the other side of the couch, cradling a bottle of vodka to his chest. Zuko can feel his eyes on him as he continues to play Brick Breaker on his phone. Personally, he's reached his limit with the socializing and his introvert battery needs to be recharged, so he is over here avoiding everyone. Zuko's legs are up on the couch with him, both of them bent at the knee so he can rest his arms against them while he furiously taps at the screen of his phone.

Zuko feels Sokka shift until one of his feet is nudging his own, trying to get his attention. He only glances up before quickly looking back down at the screen. He's so close to beating his high score, if he can just get past...

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that Sokka places the bottle of vodka down on the floor in front of the couch and sits up. Zuko glances at him again and sees that Sokka's eyes are trained on Zuko's hands. He looks back at the phone and lets out a quiet gasp. He almost screwed up, he needs to focus, he can't get distrac-

A shadow goes across his phone and lap and without thinking, Zuko looks up. Sokka is hovering right over his lap. Some part of his mind registers the fact that he can hear the game over tune from his phone, but he can't really bring himself to care when Sokka is looking at him like that. One of Zuko's legs drops down to the floor and the other falls against the back of the couch so that Sokka is practically kneeling between his legs.

"What are you doing?" Sokka slurs. He looks into Zuko's eyes and he can feel his breath start to shake as Sokka continues to stare.

"N-nothing. What are you doing, Sokka?" he asks, his voice wobbling just a little. Zuko glances off to the side to where he knows Katara is sitting and prays to any and every god that she doesn't look over. She became obsessively protective over Sokka because of his breakup with Ash and she even said before the party-

Sokka lifts one of his hands and traces Zuko's jaw with the tip of his finger, pulling his gaze from Katara back to him. "Just wanted to see what you were doing," he whispers. Sokka's eyes drop down to his lips and he moves the finger from Zuko's jaw to his lips and traces the bottom one gently. Sokka's own tongue flicks out to wet his lips before flitting his eyes upwards to meet Zuko's. He can feel the hand that isn't touching his face move so that it's pressed into the couch next to Zuko's hip. "You have really pretty eyes, did you know that?" Sokka asks, shifting even closer to him until he is just a breath away.

Is Zuko fucking dreaming right now? Is he in some porno that he doesn't remember turning on? He has Sokka in his fucking lap giving him those��eyes and acting like he is going to kiss him and more. He must be in a coma or something because there is no actual way this is about to happen.

"No, I didn't know that," Zuko mumbles, swallowing hard. Sokka presses in even closer and Zuko's eyes flutter shut at his closeness.

Sokka hums in his throat and just barely brushes against him when he is suddenly ripped away. Zuko's eyes instantly fly open and he is met with the sight of a very angry Katara standing over him.

Read the complete story on Ao3

#zukka #zuko #sokka #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko fluff #kinda gets spicy in later chapters

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wickedsrest-rp-archive · 2 years

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Town Hall | Group Thread

TIMING: Current PARTIES: Like half the town! SUMMARY: The town hall meeting goes about as well as you’d expect—everyone is upset and talking over one another until Leah drops the bomb that some people are going to have to stay behind to stop the damage before it spreads outside of White Crest. A few ideas on how to figure out how to stop the destruction of the town are thrown around, and Lil volunteers to make contact with some old, dead townies and see if they have any ideas.

—

Rarely was the town hall filled with such life, despite the thick atmosphere of dread from those within. Even those in White Crest who chronically looked the other way knew something was seriously wrong. They didn’t know what or how, but when all the town’s leadership had to say about things was “ayuh, this is real bad,” it seemed appropriate to panic. As the gathering crowd reached critical mass, a collection of friendly faces and those who rarely tread from their homes, many called out. “Who called this thing?” “Are these The Horrors? Are they back?” “A 20 foot lion ate my son and then flew into the sky”. Maybe there was no one who could truly appease such a fearful crowd, but for now, everyone only needed to listen.

Now was a bad time for Rio to remember how much he hated crowds. But he kept reminding himself that despite that, he had been one of the first people to ask for a town hall in the first place. It only made sense that he toughened up and threw himself to the wolves. Metaphorically, hopefully. As the group became more restless, Rio figured he needed to say something. He stood up, ignoring his shaking limbs and scratchy throat. He cleared it quickly, unintentionally doing the track of grabbing everybody’s attention. No going back now. “Uh hey everyone. I was one of the people that asked to gather everyone for a town hall. If uh- well anyone that knows me knows that I really don’t like public speaking, but this felt important.” He paused, scratching at his neck as he tried to figure out exactly how to describe the trip to the future he had gone to. “I think something really bad is going to happen to this town in the next two months. I don’t really know what. But I do know there’s been weird stuff going on for a while now. And me and a few other people ended up seeing this town in the future. Or what was left of it. Which wasn’t much.”

“Is this a Y2K thing? ‘Cause we all know how that ended up.” It was a bunch of mierda that Metzli had experienced. Everyone caused chaos from their paranoia and they were watching White Crest do the same. If people weren’t careful, the mass hysteria could prove to be dangerous, especially in a town filled with supernatural beings. “I’m not trying to be an ass, but we gotta be logical here. Stuff happens all the time here and it always settles.” Their eyes softened at Aylin, and they hoped they didn’t raise her anxiety further. “We just don’t wanna jump the gun.”

Aylin made her way over to where Rio was standing, tapping her fingers against her thighs. “Thanks - I - I appreciate you doing this. Apparently not supposed to say thanks but still, thanks.” She handed him a small piece of candy - one of the many sour ones she had on her person. “I also asked about a way to let people know about some stuff that I’ve found out. I - well, myself and some other individuals got a quite literal ‘blast to the past’ - as in, we’ve seen the past of this town and history is - uh, well, repeating.” Her gaze found Metzli and she offered them a small smile.

This whole town hall thing felt stupid and like a waste of time to Kaden. What the hell could most of the people in this town really do anyway? And would they even believe what was happening? He was pretty sure he should be shutting this down if he were adhering to his hunter duties. Not that he was great about adhering to any of those as it were. But if flannel kid was running it, he’d show up. He believed it had to be extremely fucked if Rio was running this shit. His brows furrowed at his words. “Future? And how bad is bad, kid?”

“I was born after Y2K” Rio replied shortly, but turned back to the person once he realized that his anxiety of the whole situation was going to hold him back here, “I mean I know what Y2K was though. And trust me, I hope I’m wrong. But I don’t think I am” Some dude no older than him called him kid like Kaden did, grabbing his attention immediately. “Really bad. Like a desert where the Common was supposed to be.”

Emilio was restless. He sat in one of the chairs that had been spread across the room, his foot tapping against the floor as he listened to Rio’s opening speech, grimacing with each new piece of information that was added. The future. It was a hard thing to argue with, wasn’t it? Especially when Aylin added in her experience in the past. It was undeniable that something was happening; the town had been ‘unsettled’ for months now, in a way that was far more intense than usual. What was happening still seemed up in the air. “If what you’re saw is real,” he said, “what are we going to do about it? Can’t fight something this vague.”

“So what, we’re fightin’ climate change then, izzat it?” Rhett complained from the back of the room, arms folded across his chest.

Metzli smiled back and gave a small wave, eyebrow raising at the bearded man bringing up climate change. They relented, raising their arm and pocketing their hand to stand back as they scanned the room. Some faces were familiar, some not. All in all though, it looked like everyone was ready to listen.

Lil wasn’t one for crowds of people, well at least living people. Still, as it seemed like the town was going up into flames, she figured she should at least come in and see what was happening, arms folded in front of her as she tried to blend into the back of the room. Her normal smile and easy glint in her eyes had become more solemn as of late as she listened to the kid in front of them trying to call the town hall together. She thought of a million things to say, but for a moment she couldn’t seem to get any of it out instead just sighing slightly. “ Don’t think we’d all be here if things were going well now would we?” Her voice more quiet, concerned than she normally lets on.

Rio’s nerves were almost palpable. Leah put a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly with reassurance. She knew what he was feeling, and she hated public speaking just as much. But White Crest and its residents were some of the most important things to Leah, so she sheepishly looked to those around her as she addressed them as well. “I don’t think panicking is going to do us any good. We’ve all seen White Crest through some of its worst times, right? It’s quite possible that this will work itself out in the end, like the town always does. But it's important for everyone to know exactly what we saw, and it seems like there’s a cycle of things just… ending in White Crest. And the things that have been happening around town lately usually precede it.”

This whole thing was… weird. Cass shifted where she stood, glancing around the room. There were people here she recognized, and people here she didn’t. They all looked a little scared, which made her feel a little better about feeling a little scared. There was some comfort, at least, in the people she did know being here. She offered Aylin a reassuring smile in hopes of easing some of her anxiety, flashing Rio a quick thumbs up to do the same. “Has anyone ever stopped it before? Do we know that?”

“We don’t know if anyone’s ever stopped it before.” Aylin paused, “but I don’t think so. I mean, maybe, but we didn’t find anything that said this.” She bit her lip, offering a smile to Cass. “But that’s why we wanted to get all of you here, because maybe someone here can help! Doğru? Belki?” Right? Maybe?

Aavyan didn’t want to be here. In fact, a town hall meeting about the damned apocalypse didn’t even rank among the top 100 places he’d like to be. He slunk in, and stood against the back wall, eyes darting nervously among the crowd. There were some faces he recognized (some he wished he didn’t), but their presences did nothing to ease the anxiety that kept the hair at the back of his neck standing on end. “If no one’s ever stopped it before, what makes anyone here think we can do anything?” he asked, voice strained. “Shit–er, stuff, has gotten out of hand. I’m not feeling very confident in our chances with what I’m hearing thus far.”

Leah piping up was a cause for concern, causing Metzli’s eyes to widen and their anxiety to raise. The situation was definitely serious and they immediately started packing in their mind. When Cass spoke, they perked up minutely and quietly shuffled their way through the mass of people. Placing a careful hand on her shoulder, they smiled and looked back up to listen intently.

It was almost like no one in the room recognized him. Not even Rio. Was there something on his fa– Oh. Right. He was still a damn teenager. “Putain de merde,” Kaden grumbled to himself. “Ending? As in…” His brow knit together as he concentrated on the thought. “But the town’s still here. What happened before anyway?”

The optimism in Aylin’s voice was somehow both laughable and admirable. Emilio doubted anyone in this room would have any answers; most people old enough to remember the previous occurrences of things like this probably got the hell out of dodge the moment history started repeating itself. “And if no one can? We should plan for the worst case scenario here.” That was probably going to be the most likely end result.

“Ain’t the thing about all them time travel movies is that, like… y’can’t change the future?” Rhett seemed incredulous at best regarding the conversation at hand, throwing an unimpressed glance at the few faces he knew. “Sounds like might be best to just rattle our dags n’ get the hell on outta here.”

Crow stood behind Rio keeping an eye on the crowd and taking in the words. He was a little inclined to agree with Rhett that leaving would be easier than staying and fighting an unknown factor but he wasn’t about to abandon the town if others were staying. “Running is smart.”

Metzli’s hand on her shoulder was a welcome comfort, and Cass offered her sibling a quick smile to show her gratitude. “I don’t think time travel movies are, like, based on facts or whatever,” she replied, glancing to the man who’d made the statement. “And I don’t know if we should just give up. There’s a lot of smart people in here, right?”

“Old dude is right. Can’t fuck with the time shit.” Mateo crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He wasn’t one for gatherings with random people, but with the safety of his loved ones being a concern, he figured it was best to attend.

Lil saw some of the faces of the faces that she knew and she tried her hardest not to look at them, knowing that her face looked grim. Normally she’d be the first to jump in with Cass, trying to find a solution, but she wasn’t so hopeful about all of this. Not since Jonas didn’t come back. Lil’s eyes focused on Emilio after he spoke and then Rhett echoing what she was feeling. Clearing her voice slightly Lil said, “ I agree with them, but I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. The - fabric is all wonky now. We need to get people out of here if we can.”

“We got anything in place for that? ¿Plan de evacuación? Probably a good time to break it out, even as a last resort.” Though Emilio doubted they’d come up with anything better. Truth be told, he had little attachment to this town; so long as he could take the people he loved with him, he was willing to set up just about anywhere.

“Have you seen the news? Weird shit is happening in other places too. Not just here. Evacuating may not be a total solution.” Metzli raked their hand through their hair, talking toward Emilio. “There’s something bigger happening and it looks like we’re at the core. We can’t just run.”

Metzli had a point, and Emilio grunted in brief acknowledgement. “That happen in the past, too? This shit happening outside of town?” He glanced at Aylin, unsure if she’d know the answer.

Leah looked to the townspeople, the ones she recognized and the ones she didn’t (who was that teenaged boy? He didn’t look familiar at all). She looked to Nicole, and then down at her hands, and then back at the people again. “It seems that in past situations, whatever was happening in White Crest was stopped before it was spread outside of the town. I want to make that clear- the strange things that are happening in the outside world, they’re likely leaking out of White Crest. Stopping what’s happening here will stop it out there, too.”

Aylin glanced over to Emilio. “Not entirely sure - but I don’t think so? But also they didn’t have televisions back then, so they probably couldn’t find out stuff as easily as we can now, with like, Instagram and the news and whatever.”

A year ago, Aavyan would’ve laughed his way out of this town hall. Time travel and monsters eating people was the kind of thing in movies. Maybe the others had a point with that. If no one had been able to stop this thing before, maybe the movies held a grain of truth to them. “Well, we sure can’t stay either. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like our chances if it’s 1912 and we got big lobsters.” He crossed his arms over his chest, glancing between Emilio and Metzli. “Y’all cannot be serious about thinking of staying, right?”

Something stirred in Kaden. He wasn’t sure what he’d call it. Definitely not fear or concern. “We can’t just all die, either.” There were people in town he cared about and the thought of them all dying as the town caved in on itself – he couldn’t let his thoughts drift there. Not to mention the innocent people who just picked the wrong fucking place to live. “Whatever the solution, it can’t need the whole town. We should start getting people out.”

“Finally, someone is making some sense,” Aavyan said, gesturing at the French kid

Crow rubbed the back of his head but nodded at Kaden’s words, “Can help get people out. No matter what we do.” He knew how to get in and out quickly so leading groups outside of town and helping people collect their essentials would be easy for him.

“It’s not about staying, tonto,” Metzli rolled their eyes at Aavyan, “If it’s spreading, it doesn’t matter if we stay or not.” Looking to the teen boy, they nodded. Getting people out would be smart, but they’d need to keep capable ones in town to stop whatever it was that was causing the chaos.

“There are people who won’t leave,” Cass pointed out. “There always are. In every natural disaster, there are people who refuse to leave their homes. We can’t leave them to die if this thing really is, like, a ‘wipe out the whole town’ kind of deal. We need to find a way to minimize the damage at least.”

“If people won’t leave, then evacuate them,” Kaden said. “I’m not going to sit around and let innocent people die just because they’re too stubborn and stupid to leave town.” He didn’t know how but he’d throw people into buses heading out of town if he had to. “Whatever’s going to stop this thing clearly is taking the town with it. We shouldn’t sacrifice people just because they won’t leave.”

With so many people around to comfort him, Rio was starting to feel a bit more comfortable, though the situation didn’t exactly have much comfort to spare. “I’m not sure everyone could leave even if they wanted to.” Rio began. Leah and Rio had gone through hundreds of books probably, looking through all of the Scribe texts they had in an attempt to find records of this happening. They hadn’t been thrilled with what they found. “We couldn’t find much about the weird things happening outside of the borders before, but it’s spreading. We think that’s new.”

“D’you know how it was stopped?” Rhett asked Leah. “If you somehow know it all happened before… sure someone had to scribble down the damn cheat code, eh?”

“This ain’t a video game, abuelito.” Mateo chuckled, despite the man having a good point. If it’s happened before, there had to be written history about it. “He is kinda making sense, though.” He muttered with a shrug.

“You got anything about it in the library?” Emilio inclined his head towards Leah, shifting a little. He probably wasn’t her favorite person, given the whole ‘drunken bone theft’ ordeal, but they had much bigger problems than that now, anyway. “Rhett’s right. Somebody had to have written something down.”

“Oh!” Aylin chirped nervously, “there’s lots written down, but it does just all come to a halt. Which… is the issue, but also how we sort of figured out that stuff just all,” she gestured away with her hands, “goes poof.”

Lil sighed slightly, thinking that the entire meeting was going sideways but liking that it was going towards a clearer picture . “ Then we have to stop it, but we don’t all have to stop it.” She couldn’t help but snort at the idea of a cheat code but shook her head. “Do - you guys have any people that could be contacted that might help. Anyone - written down in that book?” She wasn’t quite sure how many cards she could flip, but being an exorcist did give her something to go on. “With all of it being wobbly, I might be able to - talk to them.”

Poof was bad. Poof was very, very bad. Cass felt some of her hope slipping, and she leaned into Metzli a little for reassurance. But Lil made a good point; time was so fickle right now. If they could find some way to harness that… Maybe they could get more details? “Is there any kind of, like… pattern to the time travel stuff? Maybe we can figure out a way to work with it instead of against it?”

Aylin turned to the woman who’d asked about names in the book, “I remember one - Patricia Williams. I think. There might’ve also been someone called Alexander Parrish, too.”

Lil nodded at the younger as she explained some of the names, her arms stretching in front of her for a moment before nodding, realizing there were plenty people in this room that would be confused on why she asked - although she did find it somewhat charming Cass thought she was going to go through time to talk to them. With the veil breaking - and all the ghosts that loved to scream at her - Lil thought it would at least be a change of pace for them to be helpful for once. “Thanks. That’s something I could work with at least. Although if you guys got something from either of them, it might be easier. ”

Nicole stood in the back of the room, leaning against the wall just near the exit. Ready to bounce when things got too heated. It was her first town hall. And by the looks of it, her last one. It was hard to figure out what the real problem was. Something about time travel bullshit and— People kept talking over each other, and she wasn't sure if they were even listening. Was there even a moderator for this event? Just a bunch of kids it seemed. Not that she'd ever want to be in their shoes or to tell them how to conduct the meeting. So she kept her mouth shut, allowing the chaos and the discussions about…whatever the issue was to continue. She was sure Leah would bring her up to speed on the ride home.

Metzli’s arm draped around Cass protectively, sensing her fear rising as the conversation transpired. None of it was sounding good, and it didn’t seem like a sensible plan could be put together. At least, not with so many people around. Most of them were useless humans who had no idea what to make of everything. “The clock,” They spat out suddenly with a bap to their head, remembering Eilidh’s kid sputtering about her little time warp. “Maybe something is up there? At the tower? Heard lots of stories about all kinds of shifts, and it is at the Common.”

“We do know how it was stopped”, Leah answered Rhett, looking toward Rio and then Aylin. “And the library is partly how we know”, she said toward Emilio, holding his eye contact momentarily before she looked back in the group. “The problem is, in order to save the rest of the world from destruction, 12 people sort of need to… stay here. While it crumbles.”

Emilio snapped his fingers, pointing to Metzli in agreement. “Worth looking into,” he nodded. “Weird shit’s been happening when that thing strikes the hour, too.” Then Leah spoke, and he went quiet. Twelve people, volunteering to die. That was what she was saying. He glanced around the room uncertainly. A year ago — hell, a few months ago, he would have thrown his name in the hat without hesitation. But his eyes landed on Rhett, and he thought of Teddy at home. Probably wasn’t fair now, was it?

Oh. Well that was… less than ideal. Rhett’s gaze quickly found Emilio’s as well, and his brows furrowed. He knew what the idiot was thinking, and just shook his head slowly. “Stay here n’ do what, exactly?”

Now that was something. Metzli’s heart felt like it dropped, realizing what Leah was saying. “Twelve people have to sacrifice themselves.” They stated blandly, answering for Leah.

Aylin pressed her hands against her ears. The idea of people having to sacrifice themselves made her feel sick to her stomach. “But why can’t we save everyone?”

Twelve people had to die. No matter what. Kaden’s heart sank. Some stupid part of him figured he should volunteer and get it over with. It was his duty to protect people, right? Only no part of him wanted to die in this town. Not now. “Who… I mean how do we decide… who?”

People had to sacrifice themselves? Cass’s heart skipped a beat at the notion, and she swallowed as she glanced to her friends in the room. She knew the people she loved were selfless people. She knew some of them would jump at that chance. “Is there any other way?”

Levi, who had been standing creepily at a window this whole time listening in, turned tail and booked it the fuck out of there the moment it heard the word ‘sacrifice’. No way was it getting itself wrapped up in any of that bullshit.

The pain from Aylin and Cass was palpable, and Metzli couldn’t help but feel guilty at the thought of already willing to volunteer. Their embrace tightened around Cass, and their brows creased together as they stayed quiet and offered Aylin a worried glance. If they had to pick between themself and the ones they loved, it was always going to be the latter. With or without a soul.

“Any volunteers?” Aavyan deadpanned. “It’s just human sacrifice or nothing, right? I mean, come on.” Why were they trusting the word of some long dead prophets or whatever? Surely there must be any other option than just letting twelve of their fellow townspeople die. Everyone in this room was someone’s friend, brother, grandmother, cousin–something. He shouldn’t have come to this meeting. Better yet, Aavyan should have never come back to White Crest in the first place.

“Volunteers? We can’t seriously be considering this.” Cass glanced around again, hoping to find anyone as horrified as she was.

“Why do we have to have volunteers?” Aylin spoke up at nearly the same time as Cass. “That seems - cruel, or like - why do people have to choose to die? I really really don’t like that at all.” She took in a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself.

“We aren’t going to stop looking,” Rio promised. “If there’s any way to avoid this we are going to figure it out. We don’t want anyone to die. Or have to choose to stay behind. But…” Rio paused before letting out a big sigh, “From what we’ve found in old journals it’s never been stopped before.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Metzli stated with conviction, “We always do.” They swallowed and began to back away, a tumultuous parade of thoughts marching through their mind. There had to be another way, but panic was beginning to creep into the room—or maybe it was just their mind. With all the information they were presented with, there was a lot to think about. Too much, even.

“And what happens if we don’t find another way? If not enough people volunteer?” Rhett didn’t exactly make a habit of being a ray of sunshine, but these were the sort of things they had to consider.

Mateo had had enough of the conversation. Whatever the town decided to do, he decided that it was their problem, and left. Plenty of selfless people out there would volunteer, and in the meantime, he’d get Vida and Luz out.

Lil was already formulating how to get the ghosts to her with relative ease, when she heard Leah’s words and her brain settled for a second. Of course. She’d had a gut feeling about all of this and she settled for a moment. Everything always had a dam cost, and she figured that the piper usually got paid in the end. She should have felt some sort of anger or remorse, but instead her jaw settled, not wanting it to start drawing straws or some sort of nonsense. She knew when she entered White Crest she’d die here, and it didn’t seem as horrifying as the other’s expressions seemed to think.

Lil sighed and said, “ Then I guess I’ll be the dumbass to start it, so we don’t end up in fucking lots.” Lil said to Rhett knowing that it would start another argument. Waiting for the shock to settle down a bit, Lil tried to be gentle and said, “ It’s morbid, but I think we should at least consider having people that are willing to stay behind, if just if it comes to that, or many more people than twelve are going to die. For what it’s worth we still need to know what they did if we’re going to have any chance at all. They must have done some ritual that we’re going to need to do and since we don’t have a book on it we're going to have to ask them. So - at the very least I’m staying here. Whatever happens happens. ” Lil said the last part with a confidence that was mostly stolen from her father as she didn’t look at her friends with a shrug in her shoulder. She wasn’t frightened - death had never scared her - and she was fairly resolute on it. “So I guess I'm volunteer one. Hopefully it turns out they just fucked up the ritual huh.” She put on an easy expression, not one of fear in hopes that the rest of them would see that she wasn’t doing it out of morbidity.

“I’m not concerned about the possibility of there not being enough volunteers, not when White Crest attracts the very people who feel pulled in by this sort of thing”, Leah started. She looked toward Lil, trying her best to convey all the gratefulness she was feeling with just a look. “And again, there’s always the possibility that we’re wrong, that it’ll be nothing… Just a harmless ritual, and White Crest could be back to harmless fish rain as soon as the New Year.” It wasn’t an irrational thought. Despite the piles of research she and Rio had pulled up about what was happening, Leah couldn’t help but have a glimpse of optimism about the town that she loved so much. She had only ever seen it work out, somehow some way, at least in this lifetime. And how could she distrust what her eyes have proven to her so many times?

Leah was right — there would be no shortage of volunteers. That was the problem. Cass ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head quickly. “We’re going to find another way.” She said it with conviction, with a certainty she didn’t feel. They had to find another way. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing the family she’d built for herself here.

Emilio looked to Rhett again, heaving a heavy sigh as he forced himself to his feet. He inclined his head towards Rhett, then towards the door in a silent question. You wanna get the hell out of here? If he stayed any longer, he had a feeling he was going to do something stupid, like offer himself up for this batshit plan.

Taking the slayer’s point, Rhett frowned and nodded, pushing himself off the wall. “Great. Best put out a notice in the dailies, then.” Making sure Emilio was ahead of him, the warden followed him out the door.

“We’ll do everything we can to find another way.” Aylin’s voice shook, but she turned to Rio and whispered to him, “what about pancakes? I think I need sugar to get my mind off of this, and maybe it’ll help us figure out something to do so that people don’t have to sacrifice themselves.” She offered him her hand. “I’m ready when you are.”

Rio couldn’t ask people to volunteer to sacrifice themselves, he didn’t want to give up on searching for an answer. “We can set up research times. In the library or at the park. We have plenty of books to go through. Anyone who wants to volunteer can show up and help try to find something.” Somewhere, somehow, maybe they’d find some sort of hail mary. After that, he focused on Aylin’s question, grabbing onto her hand and wrapping his fingers in hers, “Flipped has the best pancakes. And they never held it against me that time I got thrown through their window.”

#wickedswriting #season 4 #chatzy

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marvel-girl-13 · 2 years

Text

just a little too late

Warning(s): Old writing, my take on marvel, canon divergence

Word Count: 3203

Summary: Thor: the Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok never happened. Following the events of the Avengers, Loki is returned to Asgard and banished to Bjorg, a lonely planet. Several years pass in silence... until Loki makes a request.

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Loki stood outside his manor, staring up at the sky with honest fear and unease in his heart. Yet there was determination there as well, empowering him to do what he was about to do. Hopefully, Heimdall could feel that, and it would allow him to look past the god's past mistakes and know that he was asking for this with his heart and not for just him. He had a purpose, and with that purpose came a promise that one person in particular had to hear. “I ask for this one favor,” he called up. “Please, Odin! If you can at least grant me this one simple favor, then I shall be at peace.”

Silence answered his plea. There wasn't even a crash of lightning to strike him down or a tremendous roll of thunder to scare him back into the mansion. Odin's voice did not boom out even a simple "no." It was this quiet that angered Loki more than any literal response would have. After all of this time, after he had suffered and struggled out here on this barren planet, trying to find the answers and appease those that had sentenced him here, he couldn't get the one simple request that he so desired to be answered. Indeed, he had already waited too long to do this; but he had changed in his exile. At least enough to make this one trip back to Asgard.

Without really thinking about it, Loki got down onto his knees. His gaze remained skyward, his thoughts wholly focused on his goal. “I am learning,” he said, ignoring the fact that he was dirtying his pants by sitting on the earth. “But in order to keep on learning, I must come back to try and to make amends to prove it to those who cannot see it. Please, Allfather. Even if he does not want me there, I must come. Just for a little while. Have mercy…” Loki could feel the emotion building within him as the thoughts regarding how his choices had led to this and the many things that he had missed because of his banishment.

A bright flash of light suddenly jolted the god slightly out of his thoughts. The familiar sensation of him being transported across the galaxy overcame him, although it was starkly different than what he had experienced in the wormhole that felt like ages ago. Stumbling a little bit out of both surprise and weakness, Loki landed on the golden surface of the main hall of Odin's castle. There was no one there to greet him, but he wasn't about to complain; it was probably better this way, to have only a few people know that he was here. He would have sort of expected Odin to have been present with perhaps a few guards as a safety precaution, but there was nobody in sight.

Straightening up, Loki adjusted his tunic and hastily brushed the dirt off his knees, attempting to look somewhat presentable. It would be difficult, yet understandable should he appear a little worse for wear, but that wasn't the god's style. Already he felt a bit out of place, and couldn't help but awkwardly stand there for a moment or two, trying to figure out what his next move was to be before Odin decided that he had been there long enough. Quickly, he started to move towards the entrance that would lead him towards the great dining hall where he assumed everyone would be gathered.

Now that he was actually here, Loki couldn't help but feel vulnerable. Indeed, he was still without his powers and he had lost the color that his years as a prince had given to him, but there was just the knowledge of how he wasn't wanted here that was making him nervous. If someone chose to attack him, there was really no way he could hold them off for very long. He wasn't out to harm anyone and he was certain that he would be leaving soon because he felt this way. He hoped that with that knowledge Odin would be able to keep him safe for as long as possible. Loki had a feeling that if he kept to his promise, so would the Allfather.

The god halted once he had reached the door to the feasting hall, standing back in the shadows beside the entrance. He was hesitant to enter now, despite how far he had already come without encountering anyone. Swallowing nervously, Loki peeked into the room. Just like the old days during a celebration, it was packed with gods and goddesses, its tables stacked high with glorious meats, cheeses, and the finest breads and wines. Of course, there was always the very best in Asgard. Loki's mouth watered a little at the thought of the beautifully aged wines, longing to taste and smell their fragrances. How long ago had he been given such a drink? All he had back on Bjorg was mulled mead; there was one lone bottle of wine somewhere in the cellar, but the god hadn't had the heart to open it. Why waste good wine when there was nothing to celebrate?

Loki's eyes continued to roam, and he came across Sif seated beside the Warriors Three at a far table. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, talking adamantly as they enjoyed their meal...

“Loki?”

Loki violently tore his eyes away from the sight, turning to face his confronter. He moved quickly and forcefully, like an abused dog unable to tell the difference between a hand that was prepared to beat him and one that was only meant to comfort him. Involuntarily his gaze darkened as he expected the worst, only to see that it was Thor standing some feet away from him. Silence fell, their gazes falling to inspect one another. Upon looking at the thunder god, Loki couldn't help but recoil. Despite how he had aged, Thor looked regal and like the king that the other had so desperately wanted to be. His hair had gotten longer and fuller, the creases lining his face deeper, the light and knowledge in his eyes brighter and more powerful than ever. His armor shone brightly, yet it did not give off the air of battle; rather, it was more decorative and celebratory, matching the majestic cape that hung from his broad shoulders.

Loki knew that he looked horrible in comparison. His hair was greasy and roughly shorn, nearly just as short as it had been before all of this. His cheeks were sallow and his skin ghastly pale, his boots muddy and torn, and his apparel peasant-like. His cloak was the most valuable thing he wore now, but it fit him poorly. The absence of his magic, his titles, and his pride was slowly killing him, draining him into nothing more than skin and bones. Although he could tell that Thor was saddened by the sight of him, the man who he had once called a brother stood tall and serious. “Why have you come?” he asked. One of his hands moved towards where Mjölnir resided on his hip. “How did you get here?”

“I want to see him,” Loki said immediately, taking an eager step forward. Thor seemed a bit startled by the abruptness of his reply but did not back down. “Odin must believe that I will cause no harm because he was the one who let me come.” Again, surprise crossed the thunder god's features.

“After... after all this time?”]Thor asked in slight disbelief. A bit of anger glinted in his eyes. “You didn't even try to come to my marriage to Jane or even when he was born!”

“Odin didn't trust me to come,” Loki replied. “And to be honest... I didn't either. And I... didn't think that you wanted me to.” He dropped his gaze from Thor's. Shame filled him, but what it was for he could not say. Another span of silence fell. Eventually, Loki found that he could speak again. “But I'm here now,” he said with a hint of defiance, holding his head high again. “And I want to meet him.”

Thor did not respond right away, his own eyes falling to the floor as he considered his request. A moment or two passed before he lifted them again, now focusing on the people within the dining hall. Following his gaze, Loki saw that he was looking at where Jane sat beside Frigga at the main table. The human seemed to be taking well to her new life on Asgard, as her features had a healthy glow and her expression was all smiles. Loki had never had the chance to personally meet her, having only really seen her from afar when she and Thor's love for one another had begun to blossom during the thunder god's exile.

In her lap sat a young boy with dark hair like her own that was also slightly unruly like his father's. The little demigod looked quite content and happy seated with his mother, his large eyes staring at his grandmother for a moment before returning to flickering about the room. There was no doubt in Loki's mind that he was searching for the man that was standing beside him. “The moment I heard about his birth,” he began in a soft tone. “I felt this... deep connection with him. I hadn't even met him and yet... we were already close.” Loki looked back at Thor, who was now captivated by the sight of his son. “Just like we used to be.” The statement pulled the thunder god's attention back to the god of mischief, and for a moment it was as if they were just like they used to be: brothers.

There was a pause, and eventually, the sensation receded as they were both brought back to the present. They turned their gazes away from one another, trying to find something else to stare at. By this point, Loki was all set to just leave if Thor did not want him here. He sort of felt like having that moment had been enough for one day, but he also did indeed want to go meet this child. He wasn't going to push though; he had already done so by showing up. So he waited, feeling more uncomfortable and unwanted by the minute. Then...

“His name is Destin,” Thor said quietly. Loki looked back at him, his heart starting the pound within his chest. He watched as the god pursed his lips slightly before turning his head towards him again and forming into a small, perhaps even relieved, smile. He nodded slightly towards where Jane, Frigga, and Destin sat. “You haven't much time though,” he warned Loki gently. “The moment everyone sees you, things could get hectic and I don't want this day to be ruined for him.” The other god nodded. “Come.”

Thor stepped forward and entered the dining hall, Loki not too far behind. At first, no one seemed to notice that the shunned god was even there, too busy enjoying the festivities. It wasn't until they were halfway to the main table that silence began to gradually fall, spreading to each and every table that the god mischief passed. Thor appeared to be unperturbed by this, but there was no hiding how sad yet again it made him.

After what seemed to be an eternity, they reached their destination. Jane immediately got to her feet upon seeing her husband, grinning from ear to ear as she held Destin in her arms, her blue cloak swishing lightly about her ankles with her gold skirt. Loki's gaze was suddenly locked on the child, fascinated by how big the child had grown over the span of years since he had received the news of his birth. By god's standards, he had to at least be ten or even fifteen years old at least by now; he had the appearance of a five-year-old, which was most likely how old he really was, being a demigod and all. Nervousness overcame Loki for a brief moment, but Thor brought him back as he began to speak to Jane quietly, obviously trying his best to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Loki wishes to see him,” he said softly to her. His wife blinked at him, taken aback by his words. It was then that her eyes fell upon Loki, and they widened in astonishment. Clearly, she had heard a great deal about him; and certainly nothing that put him in the best light. Her grip noticeably tightened on Destin, who was gazing up at his father excitedly. “I think Destin at least deserves to meet someone who has been long considered to be a part of the family,” Thor went on quickly before she could begin to refuse. Jane, whose mouth had been open to retort, shut her lips and glared a little bit. “Just for a moment. He won't even leave your sight, I promise,” her husband reassured her. She continued to look doubtful. “Jane... He is his nephew.”

Even Loki was taken aback by this statement. His nephew? Did that mean that Thor still actually considered him to be a part of the family and, even more astonishingly, his brother?! Loki didn't know how to react to this and clearly, neither did anyone else in the hall. Everyone's eyes were glued to Jane and Thor, waiting. Jane looked like she wanted to plead with her husband, terrified of what could happen if Loki turned out to be just as horrible as he used to be. But Thor's eyes were filled with his own pleads towards his wife, and there seemed to be enough to convince her. She nodded, tight-lipped, but nonetheless agreeable. She handed Destin over to him, something that the little boy was more than happy with.

Loki could feel himself shaking as the god turned back to face him, relief and pride on his face. At first, he didn't know what to say now that he had made it here. He could only stare back at Destin, who was now gazing at him with interest. Ages seemed to pass before Loki was able to speak, irrationally terrified of his young nephew. He managed a small smile, taking a little step towards the pair of them. “Happy birthday, Destin. I'm your... your Uncle Loki.” The title felt odd on his tongue, but a small hint of warmth spread throughout his body to hear himself say it out loud.

Destin stared at him, remaining as silent as he had been from the moment Loki had met him. The room remained eerily quiet, everyone waited with bated breath; none of them had chosen to attack, surprisingly enough, probably because they had noticed Thor seeming so calm about the banished god's appearance. Loki was holding his breath with them, growing more uncomfortable with the attention and chaos raging within him. He didn't know what else he could say, but he couldn't find the will to just leave now. His eyes remained glued on the boy, as though he would somehow provide a solution.

But nothing happened. Not a word was spoken in response, and with slight dismay, the god watched as Destin sank a little back against his father's chest. Loki felt deflated, but what had he expected? The child had most likely heard of what his uncle had done, and even the censored version would put him in a horrible light. The kid had probably already started loathing him; after all, the god had nearly gotten his father killed on a few occasions. The tension was starting to mount in the room, so Loki was beginning to think that now might be a good time to take his leave. He turned away, clutching his cloak a little closer to his body to head back to the main hall -

“Loki.”

The tone of Thor's voice made the god freeze. It was soft and gentle, almost like the way that he had spoken to Jane. Slightly puzzled, Loki turned slowly back to face them, a small frown marring his sallow features. He watched as the god of thunder, knelt down and set Destin down on the floor on his own. He was a bit wobbly at first, but regained himself with some help from his father. Destin's blue eyes returned to his uncle, a look of determination mixed with curiosity on his face as he moved towards the other god. At first, Loki wasn't sure how to react. He remained where he was, staring down at the young demigod that approached him.

For a moment, the pair just stared at each other. Loki couldn't help but be fascinated by the small creature before him, a child that showed no fear or anger towards him; just plain interest, and perhaps even adoration. Destin cocked his head a little to the side, still wordless. Loki raised an eyebrow and his brow furrowed, now absolutely baffled by the situation. Was he to just walk away? Or were they to just stand there and stare at one another? Perhaps the child was daft, not entirely right in the mind. But still; what exactly was he to -

“Thank you for coming, Uncle Loki.” Loki blinked, now noticing that Destin was directly in front of him. But he recovered himself, swallowing and smiling a little more. He knelt just as Thor had, now able to meet both the father and son eye-to-eye.

“I wouldn't miss it for the world,” the god of mischief replied, placing his hands a bit awkwardly on the child's shoulders. “If I hadn't, I would have had to prepare for hurricane season.” That ignited a giggle from Destin and Loki couldn't help but chuckle as well, his eyes flickering up and over at Thor before returning to the boy. He was about to drop his hands and straighten up when the child suddenly embraced him around the chest. Loki froze, unsure how to react to the contact. Then he relaxed a little, hesitantly returning the boy's show of affection.

After a minute or two, they parted. “Well, I must get going,” the god said with a small sigh, gazing at his nephew. Destin took a step back, watching as his uncle stood up to his full height once more. Loki nodded toward Thor before turning on his heel and striding out of the dining hall. Just as he reached the center of it, preparing himself for his trip back to Bjorg, the child's voice caught his attention again.

“Uncle!” Loki turned just in time to witness Destin hurrying over to the door of the hall. The demigod peered at him, a bit hesitant now. “When will I see you again?”

For a moment, it was as if all the wind in the god's chest had been knocked out of it. But he stood tall, keeping himself together. “When the time is right,” Loki replied softly. Suddenly, a sound like that of rushing wind came from above where he stood. The god closed his eyes, unable to look at his nephew anymore. And with a bright flash of light, was gone.

#loki #marvel #loki laufeyson #mcu loki #loki god of mischief #loki and thor #loki fanfic #alternate universe #fanfic #old writing #tom hiddelston loki #mcu #marvel mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel cinematic universe #thor odinson #thor

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helunar1 · 2 years

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TUA FIC IDEA (4)

This has perhaps been done a few times but I was having fun with it in my head so might as well note what I thought down

Post S1 AU

Klaus wakes up to find himself back in his 13 year old body. While sure, they all managed to escape the apolcolypse alive for another do over, it kinda sucks when Klaus is the only one who remembers.

Sucks more when the Commission is still after his family.

Klaus was never one for responsibility.

Klaus gasps awake, eyes wide and frantic to the sight a familiar cieling. Where?

What?

The last thing he remembers is everyone at the Icarus theatre, the fucking moon hurtling towards them and pale, bright blue light surrounding all of his siblings - all of them, hand in hand.

He frowns, his hands feel empty.

Klaus feels his heart stutter, once, twice, before finally calming down to sit up and -

He's in his room.

Or what looks like to be his room.

It's smaller - the size it was before Vanya left and he broke the wall down to make room. Knick knacks that usually cluttered his space were not as plenty - his closet, still opened, pnly revealed identical uniforms spilling out.

Small, children sized uniforms.

Fuck.

It worked?

Immedietly he jumps out of bed, glancing down to pat his body - his old pint sized body in shock.

Holy shit, Five did it?

They made it back in time?

Klaus lets out a surprised giggle, not completely sure whether he should be happy or freaking out.

He glanced down at his palms and pursed his lips at the missing tattoos.

A shame.

___

Lots of sibling bonding cuz I live for it

Sibbie bonding moments:

Klaus only one who remembers

Commissions goes after Klaus, baiting him to join them or else they'll take Five and kills the rest of his family to only leave poor, volatile Vanya to end the world

Made worse because Five hasn't exactly told Klaus who the Handler was in the original timeline ("Goddammit Five," Klaus hisses. "The next time I see that shitheel we need to talk about a little thing called communication. Fuck!")

Made ironic is Klaus decides not to say anything to the siblings - he does try at first but is made to be maling up stories. In the end, he decides to do things on his own ("Who the fuck left me in charge?!" Klaus whines to himself, flopping backwards onto his bed. "Definitely wasn't Five. Fucker wouldn't tell me shit the last time." He lets out a huff, and stares up at his ceiling. "It was probably you, wasnt it?! Telling me it wasn't my time? Or is it just 'cuz you hate me - which, rude. What did I ever to you, huh? It's your fault you created me, not mine!)

Klaus and Five already have mutual companionship so Klaus tries to help convince Five to practice time travel with him (aka trying to prevent Five from running away that day.)

Eventually they come to an agreement to train in secret - Klaus believing that they need to work on physics (Klaus cringing, he never thought he'd be the one to convince Five, of all people, to study math. Five is just as skeptical that Klaus is the one advocating for this, which, fair. He's in disbelief as well. Hopefully this isnt a sign that the world is ending - again. He snickers.)

Quiet training together, as Klaus also attempts to practice his own powers as well. As Klaus is the most sober he's ever been, he attempts to summon Dave.

Five working through equations with Klaus, and them coming to the same conclusion that Five in season 2 - to work in seconds rather than years thing. Klaus is nervous that it'll fuck something up, but it's the only thing to appease the ever curious ans srubborn Five. It somehow ends up working

"Okay, so let's -"

"It worked," Five says suddenly, voice almost a whisper. He sounds completely in shock.

Klaus frowns. "What did?" He asks, but Five is staring down at his hands in wonder. Klaus takes a step forward.

"Five, buddy, you're kinda making me worrie-" but he was cut off by Five jerking his head up, smile wider than Klaus could ever remember. Happy, excited, proud - it makes Klaus take a second to stare. He doesn't remember Five looking so happy. Before he has another second, thin arms wrap around him - and just, what. Five has never been one for physical affection, even as a child. But just as the arms came, they went - Five probably thinking the same thing, judging by how fast he pulled away, face red in embarrassment. Klaus huffs out a laugh. "Care to explain, Five-O?"

Five looks away. Clearing his throat as he straightens his back. "I traveled. Back in time. Two minutes ago. Or...what was two-minutes ago. It, uh, worked essentially."

A beat before Klaus smiles, heart swelling with pride before deciding, fuck it and jumping to hug Five on his own. His brother hisses, trying to protest and pull away, but Klaus only wraps his arms tighter. "This is definitely hug worthy," he laughs. "A celebration!"

Klaus begins to check up on Vanya, seeing how she is. At first she is suspicious, resentful and Klaus could swear he can see the hidden white light underneath her dark eyes. He sighs, and instead asks if he could listen to her play. Opens up about the ghosts- it takes time to explain, the drugs and what not- especially to a sheltered 13 year old. But despite the anger Vanya has built up over the years in his original timeline, theres still time know. Time to fix and undo all the hurt. She agrees and starts to understand, espcially when Klaus hints at how the pills help Vanya stay "less anxious" (he cringes at it, but he will get Vanya away from those pills, he has a plan that he hopes will help).

At times she begins to get jealous of Klaus and Five hanging out more together - Klaus brings her to their training sessions. At first she is hesitant - ordinary Vanya for training on powers that she doesn't have?

Klaus brings Allison out to training one day, despite her annoyance. She didn't need any extra training, but Klaus and her have been closer when they were children and she was curious as to what both her and Five have been sneaking off to. During one of these sessions, he challenges Allison to undo any potential rumours on the three of them (Allison is offended at first but Klaus convinces her that they need to be on a blank slate, no after effects of any old rumours Father made her use while training or on accident). Rumour on Vanya is now broken (also some extra ones they didn't even realize they had - Klaus tries not to be bitter). Vanya doesn't realize this until much later

Klaus hasn't been on any of the hard drugs, only alcohol and weed - but the mind does not forget. He asks Allison to rumour him into staying sober - it has the desirable effects but also, his sanity feels at its limits due to the constant ghosts surrounding him (HE'S UNDER A LOT OF STRESS). He uses his time with Five to train his abilities as well

Takes Vanya to Griddys with Five and Ben (her closest friends) and talks about the pills. She has a self confidence ever since the rumours were removed and they give her the confidence to ween herself off as Klaus notes that drugs affect powers (Vanya doesnt feel ordinary anymore, so believes theres potential of her having powers). Klaus promises to stay the same (despite him already vowing to stay sober and thanks to Allison's rumour - but he doesnt say that. Content with Vanya trying to ween off the pills)

Klaus keeps watch, training Vanya with the others start. Klaus hinting at her powers and they start to show and hiding it from dad (maybe she remembers what happened after some things come to light)

Vanya coming to terms with their gender identity - opens up and asks to go by Viktor. (All pronouns from here on out will switch to he/him)

Klaus comic book powers start to come to light - getting stronger! Also able to banish ghosts - still not a lot but enough so

Ben and him bonding over powers, but Klaus struggles around Ben. Ben eventually confronting him about it as it did put a strain in their relationship. They talk about life, Klaus eluding to feeling alone and unwanted - Ben vowing that he's here for Klaus, through thick and thin. (A part of his heart breaks while another fills - its a conflicting feeling that Klaus does not yet understand. He can only smile, feeling the tears suddenly streaming down his cheeks. Ben, to his credit, doesn't comment, instead keeping his hand - warm, strong, secure - over Klaus's own. I know, he wants to say despite the lump in his throat preventing him from even taking a single breath. I know.)

BEN: Klaus sees Ben and remembers all the years they spent together in the original timeline. It hits him that Ben no longer has any memories together. If Klaus were to really reflect on it, it's probably a lot better for Ben that he does not remember, but somewhere in Klaus's heart he yearns for the brother that stuck with him for almost two decades. He has to move on (didnt he lose too much already?).

Vows to save Ben and let him live- not wanting his brother to confine to him anymore, even if it hurts. He grieves for a brother that once was. They all try to help Ben control the Horror in his stomach during training. *At some point during that mission, Klaus sacrifices himself to the horror due to his immortality. His body is obliterated - trauma for ben who wakes up covered in Klaus's blood. His body at this point needs to be re healed (takes time)

LUTHER: Time with Luther is a little awkward as the two of them have never been close in childhood and even less so as adults. Some part of Klaus feels like he has to save Luther too but he just does not know where to start, especially with the how the others are beginning to look at Klaus as a leader. Lots of fights - but Klaus remembers the Luther of his own timeline, isolated, manipulated and hurt. He keeps trying.

ALLISON: Allison and him were pretty close as kids often bonding over more feminine things that the others were not interested in. Trust is pretty simple to build there. One of these moments is where Klaus asks about the rumour soberity rumour

DIEGO: Diego and him were often the rebellious of the seven children. Their friendship as children was made stronger over their mutual hate for their father. There's a weird rift between the two now that Klaus has assumed a more leader position (despite the fact that Klaus did not want this position in the 1st place). At some point Diego calls him out for trying to be the new number one and "Daddy's bitch boy". Klaus decides that it is high time that he continues someone's rebellious streaks with Diego because because he may be a 30 year old man in a 13 year old body, but it does not mean that he does not know how to have fun.

Scene where Klaus finds out that, due to time travel and timelines, Klaus has not yet met Dave in Vietnam. He looks at the picture in a textbook (similar to the one in the Vet Bar, and sees that he is no longer in the picture). Klaus becomes depressed for a bit - sibbies are concerned. They try to cheer him up (they are closer now!)

Klaus stuff:

Still going thru special training

It was the night after a special training that Klaus begs Allison to please rumour his powers away. He did not need them - and at some point, he is tempted to take Viktor's medication (perhaps he does at one point to see if it could just his own off)

Despite his siblings now closer and bonding, Klaus feels completely alone. He's here, but he's completely disconnected and holding himself by the seems. He has to get this right because, otherwise, what does he have left?

Immortality shit comes in - meets God and has some words

Wonders how tf he got stuck on his own - wonders where the rest of his siblings are. Wonders if it's better that they are healing now, younger and more carefree compared to the ones he came to know years into the future. Is it bad to wish for the ones he once knew? Ones that he barely even spoke to, if only to have someone around to understand what is happening - what is going on? It is during these times he yearns for his brother, hating himself for preferring the dead sibling who has been there and understood him for so long over the very much alive, happier brother who barely knows a single thing about him. Honestly, he's so fucking selfish.

Commission stuff

Around where Klaus starts to make changes the commission tries to intervene with a mission to eliminate Klaus Hargreeves

Harder for the Commission to intervene when they are under the watchful eye of Sir Reginald Hargreeves. There's another shoot out attempt at the mansion - but Ben uses the Horror in the end to kill them all. The others think it's just someone targetting the academy itself, but Klaus recognizes the masks similar to his previous kidnappers. The Commission.

Initially tries to see if his father could help, but is proven fruitless

During a time out, perhaps with Ben and Diego, the Commission attacks them near an alley way. Both Diego and Ben fight back, Klaus who is not as skilled (thanks to not having years of combat training) (or have """useful""" powers in a fight) tries to fight back. One assasin manages to reach Klaus and effectively shooting him in the heart and head - instant kill

Cue diego and Ben screaming, the Commission leaving and believing their job is done - but not before Ben wipes them all out in rage, Diego trying to calm Ben down when the Horror gets too much while also trying to get to Klaus (who's dead , dead , dead)

Interlude - some divine revelation

Klaus waking up to the commotion and helping calm Ben down, who, along with Diego is shocked

The siblings learn about Klaus's immortality (reggie maybe finds out from Luther later). The Commission also finds out - this causes uproar at HQ. How do you eliminate something you cannot kill??

Determined that Ben would need to be eliminated as he is a major threat and was what forced the others to drift in the original timeline

Klaus, maybe at this point being able to have some control of the ghosts, catch wind about Ben being followed. Klaus sticks beside Ben, (Klaus kaughs at the irony of now him hovering over his once deceased brother, trying to keep him safe and alive. Oh how the tables have turned.) - may remove this though. Lots of fighting commission

The Handler comes to see Klaus but Klaus has never seen her before, The lady in red heels talks to him in the most condescending yet chirpy manner that leaves him feeling unsettled. She threatens to take Five away, condemning his brother to the same fate as before if Klaus were to not comply ("Your family for the sake of the timeline, Klaus," she says, smoke swirling from her lips. "You decide.")

"You're brother is a natural born killer," she sneers, her smile tight lipped and shark like. "All he needs is someone to just point him in the right direction." - Klaus get furious here, remembering all the times his Five was anything but.

Klaus going missing thanks to the Commission kidnapping him - manages to escape after a week. Siblings demanding to know what the fuck is happening with him

Klaus comes clean - siblings are in shock but also determined to help (perhaps this is like - a year or two after the time jump, ill figure out a timeline later). Lots of talk about Klaus intentions (Viktor asking if Klaus only befriended him because of the timeline - but Klaus promises him that he did it for them)

Ending????? Subject to change

All sibbies gearing up for the next time the Commission comes after them. All of them bonded and shit - they end up fighting with the Commission taking Klaus and putting him at HQ to be quarantined

Sibbies end up finding their way there where the Handler talks to Five like she knows him. Revealing to him what he once was, a killer and shit. She also shit talks all the other siblings - perhaps showing them glimpses of what once was. ("A shame," she laughs. Her hands are clutching Fives jaw and despite the fear he feels, he cannot shake her away. "I much prefer you when you were nothing but my murder puppet.") - potentially here is where their past consciousness start to trickle in (smthin about temporal anomolies idk)

They all fight, using their powers and what not, to escape and grab Klaus to head back. But they get ambushed - the handler back, Klaus in her grip. All the siblings are shot, sans Five, with a screaming drugged Klaus in her grip. She taunts at Klaus and Five, calling the former a useless junkie who could not save his family just like his brother. Five is injured and weak - same scene as s2 but links back to the scene with klaus where he goes back in time in minutes. Everyone is revived, they kill the Handler and Five just looks at Klaus, says something witty but a call back to that scene

He nods and they both pass tf out with their family surrounding them

Epilogue likely

Thanks to the Commission, the memories of the past merges together? Potentially

Either way, reggie is gone thanks to either Allison rumouring him away or "sudden death". Living at the Academy with their inheritance, happy ending woo!

#is this even legible #idk #maybe I'll get to this one day #luna fic ideas #tua fic ideas #tua #klaus hargreeves #again #not edited #wrotr this in one go on my phone and now my thumbs hurt #gjfjfjf

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lyaenidae · 11 months

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A well needed talk

Kenta's meeting his friends today on the slopes. After a few times down the mountain, they had a little food and chatted about what had been going on lately.

"So did you see Masami and Gabe are together now ?" asks Nanami, curious to know what the boys think of this new pairing. "Yeah" laughs Kenta "I'm actually the one that suggested it ! I knew how Gabe felt since we were teens..." "I can't believe it !" says Taku "Me neither, she told me she didn't think it was a good idea when I mentioned it to her. Said they never agreed on anything."

"Well you never know, sometimes, relationships need a bit of a spark I guess !" says Taku, a knowing smile on the lips, a wink for his girlfriend sitting besides him. "I don't really care, all I want is for them to be happy !" laughed Kenta.

A little while later, night is falling, and Kenta finds one of his friends a bit isolated, lost in thought.

"Hey Miki, what are you doing here all on your own ?" he asks, sitting beside her on the bench. "Trying to clear my head... I've got decisions to make, you see."

"Oh ? What kind of decisions ?" "You know, the life-changing kind... I've got things I'd like to do, but I'm not sure if I should follow my head or my heart." "What does your heart say ?" asks Kenta, their bodies getting closer.

She clears her throat and looks away, so he puts some distance back between them, making sure she doesn't get uncomfortable. "Truth is, I think I want to travel to Selvadorada, discover the jungle, live the adventure I've always dreamt of..."

"I've always been fascinated by the culture over there, and I wish I could explore, alone, away from everything I know. Discover who I am deep inside." Her enthusiasm is clear and Kenta can't help but share it. "It's so funny, I've been feeling very similar things ! My plan is to leave for Granite Falls just after graduation." "Really ? That's so amazing ! I wish I could just decide that without overthinking everything... But my parents are wanting me to go through with the job offer I've had from the lady I did my internship with, and I don't know if I can pass up on that opportunity..." "The interior designer ? You did like it a lot, that's true." he says, thoughtful. "I did. I think maybe I'll take the job, appease my parents and my own fears. It's only a 15 months contract. After that, I'll have money and confidence, and hopefully I can go into the Selvadoradian adventure with a smile." Miki explains, her mind seemingly more at peace after talking it through with him. "Sounds like a solid plan, to be honest !" Kenta can't help but want to hold her hand or get closer to her again. "Yeah, I wish I grew up with a parent as cool as yours, I probably wouldn't be afraid of anything !"

"Oh, you know, my dad's not always so cool, when you spend your whole life with him..." Kenta hears himself answer, his words feeling a bit foreign for some reason. "Really ? Why not ?" "He's the reason I couldn't complete the ascension of the Komorebi Peak before I aged up into an adult... That was one of my life goals, you know ? And he just decided it was too risky and we should go home without even trying." "Without even trying ? That doesn't sound like Itsuki..." admits Miki, looking a bit affected. "Well, we tried. I just think we could have done more, tried harder. Push the limits a bit..."

"Oh." her face is easy to read. Like she's holding something back. "What ?" asks Kenta, eager to hear her opinion. "I just think, he's your dad. He has a better Rock Climbing skill, more experience on the mountain, will try anything once and will always do his best at everything he tries. Don't you agree that if he thought you could do it, he would have kept going ?" her voice goes softer as she speaks. "Maybe..."

His mind runs very fast, trying to remember the expedition and to understand his father's choices instead of focusing on what he thinks. The thoughtful silence stretches, and a little while later, Miki looks at her watch, telling him she needs to go. His heart sinks a bit, but he gets up to thank her. "It always helps so much to talk to you Miki" he says offering her the most genuine smile. And without warning, she just puts her arms around him.

When he gets home, Kenta finds his dad in the backyard, lost in thoughts. Because he's had time to think about what's happening between them on the way home, he takes the opportunity to try and talk to him.

"Hey Dad, I need to ask you something." Itsuki seems a bit surprised but ready to hear whatever his son needs to ask. "Did we give up on the climb because I didn't have enough skill to make it to the top ?"

"Kenta, you're perfectly capable of doing anything you want to do." "No, Dad, I know that, I don't need a pep talk, I promise. I just want you to be honest and transparent. I'm a young adult now, I can take it, you know ? I need to know if it was because you thought I hadn't prepared well enough. We were supposed to at least reach one more level." "Okay, I'll tell you the truth. Why don't you sit with me for a minute ?"

"Truth is, I'm the one who got scared. I know you expect better from me, I'm your father and I should have been able to pull it together in that situation. But all I could think about was that if we got caught in the blizzard, not only was I putting myself in danger, but I was risking your life too." "But-" "Let me finish Kenta, please. Your sister's friend who lost their life in the Windenburg mountains, the stories I've heard about people getting badly injured or getting lost on Mt Komorebi, the threat of the snow reducing our visibility, it all got to me. I didn't feel confident enough to carry you through the next levels of the climb. I never doubted you, you see. It was myself I was doubting."

"Well I have the perfect solution, I am now sure this will never happen again. !" assured the young Takao with a large smile and trying to appear wise. "Oh you do ?" smiled his dad. "Yes. We were going on this climb with the wrong mindsets. We were both assuming that you would be the only one able to make decisions, the only one in charge, that you would take all the responsibilities on your shoulders. I think we need to try again, but this time, we'll both be in charge." "How-" "Your turn to let me finish, Dad" said Kenta with a wink.

"You will still be the leader. I simply think we should go into this with the idea that both of us can have opinions, that we can share the burden of decision making as well as risk taking. I don't know as much as you do about the mountain, I am aware, and that's why you'll always have veto power, but I think we can make a better team that way." "I raised you well, didn't I ?" is all that Itsuki answered, making his agreement show in his face, as well as his pride. "You did. Don't try and take all the credit though !" laughed Kenta.

#takaofamily #sims4 #snowyescape #vanillagameplay #mtkomorebi #kentatakao #vanilla #rockclimbing

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euphoniaofathousandwinds · 1 year

Text

CHAPTER 2 — THE VISION

"On Kairos' Hill, tomorrow night. The answers you seek may be found if only you look hard enough."

This was the predicament Ria Carter had found herself in today. The classes passed rather quickly, as she faded in and out of the gazes that were thrown at her occasionally. But what plagued her mind wasn't her pending Physics project or the pop quiz in History that was leaked momentarily.

What haunted her was the voices that she, alongside Mar, Lucas, and Irina had heard last night. What terrorized her were the insults, the jibes, and the personal affronts thrown at her that shook her to the core.

But what broke her the most into her downcast state was the gentle, familiar voice that guided them down the hill that night.

"Come forward, if you seek to find who you truly are."

What they truly are? Was some voice in the wind really going to lead them through some spiritual journey into awakening their full potential like some B-Grade anime?

'I might be late tonight. I have a stunt performance downtown.' Lucas had texted her earlier. How they even managed to compose themselves enough that night to exchange numbers was beyond her.

All she knew right now was that she was going up Kairos' Hill through the dirt path, accompanied by Irina, Mar, and Lucas. Well, hopefully, to say the least. The former two had not provided any clarification on whether or not they wanted to act upon the words of the voice in the wind. Hey, even Ria was a bit apprehensive to trust an unknown voice when their past encounters with such weren't the least bit pleasant. But she also doubts the wind needed them to RSVP their presence tonight, so she left it up to fate if they were willing to chase the answers they wanted.

"You're here." Irina declared, her small frame rocking lightly to the beat of the music in her earphones. "Mar's running late."

"So is Lucas," Ria replied, sitting down on a bench near the foot of the mountain, beside Irina.

The atmosphere slowly grew awkward, as neither felt the need nor the knowledge to approach and engage in conversation. The dead silence of the leaves rustling in the wind filled the next few moments, all until Marlon arrived.

"Lucas texted," he said, not minding the egregious atmosphere that had grown between the two girls. "He said to go ahead without him."

"Very well, then!" Irina stood up, wiping off the nonexistent dirt from her teal dress. The light color only served to highlight the paleness in her complexion, which sent a bit of guilt into a long-buried part of Ria's memories.

With that, the three of them slowly trekked up the dirt road they had been terrorized in only last night. By the time they arrived at the top of Kairos' Hill, the sky had grown significantly darker than it was before.

The winds enveloped their bodies as the stars glimmered in the night sky. But aside from Irina's soft pants from short breath, there was nothing but silence. The voice was nowhere to be heard...found.

And the confusion was shared across all of them.

"Is it because we're incomplete?" Mar proposed, prompting himself to pick up the phone and dial Lucas.

And at that moment, a voice bellowed.

"Sing!"

"What? Did it just say sing?"

"Sing!" the winds howled, growing fiercer and stronger, tipping Irina to the side, had Mar not caught her.

"What song?!" Ria asked desperately, if only to appease the winds that seemed to rage so suddenly.

A melody began to play, through the deafening roar of the winds, and it sent shivers down Ria's spine to hear it again.

"I know that song..." she trailed off, eyes radiant in shock and mesmerization.

"Then sing it, before the wind throws us all off the hill!"

Composing herself, Ria caught her voice before it cracked in nerve. She allowed the winds to calm down, letting her hymn be heard through the night's silence.

"Where do we turn once the thousand winds take flight? To the south wind that soothes or the north wind that bites? For all those who hear the hymn of yesteryear, may your tales live on in the wind's chime as fragments of the legends in immemorial skies."

Thus, the wind began to calm down as it sank into a soothing melody. Ria could feel her nerves still at the softer voice that wafted from the night sky that day.

But the words that came were nothing close to the assurance they had hoped to receive.

"An accident. Quickly, or your friend might meet an untimely end."

The image of Lucas flashed in their minds. First, proud and joyous, smirking as he put on his helmet for yet another stunt show. Was this the reason he was late to their meetup today? He was performing stunts downtown, wasn't he?

Next, a flash of red. So swiftly, Lucas had made his way across the course, motorcycle whirring at a speed beyond their eyes could fathom. He was skilled, sure, everyone knew of his little gimmicks downtown, but what did the voice mean when—

A crash. Loud, and deafening. The crowd was covered in screams and cries for help. Panic ensued. In the rubble, a familiar voice groaned, wincing and groaning in the pain of dozens of wounds.

"...help...me..."

"What are you waiting for? RUN!" the voice bellowed, sending a gust of wind to nearly have them roll down the hill. The three felt themselves dazed from the long daydream, thinking momentarily about their next course of action.

It was almost as though the voice meant to get rid of them quickly, as the next few words not only sent shivers down Ria's spine but made her blood run cold.

"If you dawdle any longer, you'll be finding a corpse instead of a friend."

And with that, the three of them ran. It was almost surreal, how quickly they made it from the top of Kairos' Hill all the way to the other side of Tetrasa, the downtown area where the world seemed to grow darker than pitch black.

Irina was the last to compose herself, pants ringing through all their ears as she struggled to keep up with the fast pace. No one blamed her for it, and Mar was kind enough to suggest she sit this one out for her own safety, but even he seemed taken aback by what she replied:

"...You..." she had said, between bated breaths, "...none of you have ever been downtown, right? How would you ever know where Lucas' stunt show is?"

And now there she was, wading them through the darker parts of their small town, as though she'd been there enough times to memorize the place like the back of her hand. But neither Mar nor Ria had the time or energy left to expend in interrogating her, as the image of Lucas' bloodied body and the haunting words of the voice continued to linger in their minds.

"Excuse me, is this where Lucien will be performing tonight?" Irina asked the bouncer who had blocked their path.

"Yes," the large figure replied, "but you need tickets to get in."

"Eep!" Mar yelped, shocked by the voice. Well, considering his yelping hadn't ended at any point since their arrival downtown, that much wasn't really surprising.

"But we really need to get in!"

"So do a lot of people, ma'am. Still, no tickets, no entry."

"You don't understand, mister," Mar declared, although he could barely be seen from where he was cowering behind Ria, "it's a matter of life and death! Someone is in danger!"

"It's a stunt show, sir. It's supposed to be dangerous."

"What in the world are you all doing here?"

"LUCAS!" the three of them exclaimed, eyes lighting up at the realization that he hadn't gone on yet. But the joy was short-lived, as they saw he was already dressed up in full gear.

"Thanks, Marco, but they're with me. You can let them pass." he beckoned the three to follow him inside, as the bouncer opened the door without complaint.

The inside was...bewildering, to say the least. There were crowds upon crowds, cheering and laughing at the performers who were doing their flavors of foolhardy feats. Some of them were so flabbergastingly dangerous that it made Ria nervous, and she wasn't even the one performing.

Which brought them back to their current issue. The three of them locked eyes for milliseconds, reaching the immediate conclusion that they needed to tell Lucas about the vision from the voice.

But just visualizing how they would attempt to do that was enough to make their heads hurt.

"What happened up on the hill?" Lucas broke their train of thought fairly quickly, sipping on an energy drink to add to his adrenaline. "Did the voice stay true to their promise? Or was it really just some mass hallucination or something?"

"Actually, to be classified as a mass hallucination, it would probably require a larger number of people—"

"Don't take it literally, Lancaster. And you should sit down, you look pale." Lucas chided, turning to Ria again to beckon an answer.

"The voice came back," she began, hoping the tension wouldn't crash the weight of her own words.

"And?"

"And it told us that you were going to suffer a bad accident in your stunt today, which is why we ran here."

They could feel something snap. Lucas' brows furrowed, annoyance and disdain playing in his expressions continuously. He stared at the three of them, weighing their expressions and the sincerity of their words with every glance.

"Yeah, no. I'm not buying it." Lucas said stubbornly, picking up his helmet and threatening to wear it and go ahead with his stunt.

Possessed by some unknown courage, Mar grabbed the helmet and pulled it far from Lucas.

"What the... Mar, give it back."

"You need to listen to us! The voice showed us your body, beat up and covered in blood because of these reckless performances!"

"Last I checked," Lucas' voice turned sharp, annoyed by the interference and unwelcome dialogue, "I wasn't asking for your opinion on my shows. Just hand me the helmet, Marlon."

"No, don't! Do you realize how dangerous the things you're doing are?!" Irina answered frantically, her face still faintly pale from the exhaustion. "The chances of you getting into an accident or worse is catastrophic!"

"I don't care about that!" Lucas shouted, this time furious.

"Then what about the people who care about you, then? They're probably worried sick—"

The raven-haired boy tsked, eyes rolling in defiance. Ria was ready to continue her beratement, but the words that fell from her classmate's mouth felt like a weight pulling at her stomach.

"That would actually matter if there were people who cared," Lucas said, nonchalantly. Or rather, that was the image he attempted to project. Even Irina fell silent as she heard the crack in his voice and the weight he carried in his words.

"Lucien! You're up—Oh, am I interrupting something?" a crewman came into Lucas' room, giving them all curious looks and smiling awkwardly at the downcast atmosphere.

All eyes locked on Lucas, whose gaze was intent on Mar's as the other continued to deprive him of his helmet. Finally, he sighed and shook his head scornfully.

"Cut me out of today's show. Or replace me, whatever. I'm not going on tonight," he turned to the three, who beamed joyously, "happy?"

The three of them nodded sincerely, as the crewman made his way out of the room to escape the weighing tension.

The four of them fell silent, not knowing how to approach a topic or each other now that their main concern, Lucas' safety, had been dealt with.

But surprisingly, the ice-breaker came from the tongue that brought it, Ria, herself.

"What...do you mean, when you say that there weren't people who cared about whether you got hurt or not?"

Lucas groaned, an unusual habit as they would come to notice, before glaring lightly at the three of them.

"Don't pretend you haven't heard the story. It was the talk of the town for months when I came here." Lucas stood up, pulling a newspaper clipping from who-knows-where and presenting it in front of their eyes.

It was a piece from the local paper, and quite old too. Around a few years now, if any of them were capable of noting. The headline read, in bright bold letters:

"Illegitimate son of a senator sent away to Tetrasa"

And that was when the realization struck.

"You're...the senator's son?!" Mar exclaimed, eyes still fixed on the paper Lucas had shown them.

"Oh. You guys really didn't know." He said, looking surprised for once. "Yeah. His greatest shame, if you'll have it."

"Your father," Irina inquired, "tossed you here to keep you out of his sight, didn't he?"

Lucas paused, taking in the brutal honesty of Irina's words. Ria was beginning to question whether she just had really bad social skills or she was just intentionally being crass.

Slowly, Lucas nodded, his gaze fixed on the marble floor that seemed to offer all the answers in the world.

"He sent us here to shut down rumors and to..." he breathed sharply, "fade away. Almost like another method of simply deleting us from existence, now that we became inconvenient."

"Is that why you do the stunts? To get him to notice you?" Mar pressed on, losing his cowardice for even a few moments.

"Yeah, that too. But I mostly felt like doing it to get back at him...for trying to make me fade away. I wanted to be here, surrounded by cheering crowds, to remind myself I wasn't disappearing from the Earth, just like how he wants me to."

"But that's stupid," Irina said.

"Are you always this mean? And they say I'm the bad boy." Lucas said, pouting at Irina's choice of words. Turning solemn, he went on. "Yeah, I know. It's stupid and meaningless and horribly dangerous but..."

"But it's all you have?" Ria finished, to Lucas' agreement.

"And what if you get hurt? What if the vision came true and we weren't here to stop it, what if you got into an accident, or worse," Mar breathed deeply, "died?"

"Then you'd be doing him a favor, right? You'd be finishing what he started," Irina continued, causing Lucas to lose his composure for a few minutes as he came to what they were saying.

"Then he'd win. He'd go on with his life, and you'd be a bygone anecdote, a momentary inconvenience left to memories." Ria closed, sealing their words off to strike something deep into Lucas.

It was effective, it seems, considering he was staring off into the distance, pondering their words sagely. Did they hit the mark?

"Haaa. Whatever."

Well, it was worth a shot. The three of them thought collectively.

"But it was nice. Thank you for that," Lucas said, turning away from them all to hide the blush very visible on his ears all the way to his neck.

"He's like a tomato," Mar whispered.

"I can hear you!" Lucas growled, growing further in scarlet. "But yeah. Thank you for worrying about me. It was...nice to feel that for once."

And the three of them shared a soft smile.

"I'm glad..." Irina had managed to say, before fainting completely.

"IRINA!"

Suffocating.

The hospital rooms Irina had made into her home felt suffocating to look at, that was Ria's honest opinion. Here she was now, sitting beside an unconscious Irina after she had to be rushed to the hospital due to her condition.

Mar was outside, handling the brunt of the explanation, having to reason out to Irina's parents why their daughter was out at night, and moreso, downtown. Lucas had to step out of the picture for a moment as well, lest he becomes the unwilling target of a parental interrogation.

"Urgh.. my head hurts.." the figure atop the hospital bed said, shaking awake. Ria lighted up in surprise, ready to rush out and call the nurses to tell the news. "Wait!"

"I'm just going to tell them you're awake," she assured.

"That's what I meant. Don't...do that." Irina replied, trying her best to get up despite how frail she looked. "Please."

Ria could feel an underlying desperation in her voice and moved back to her earlier seat beside Irina.

Much to her surprise, the other gathered their strength quickly, standing up from the hospital bed and dragging Ria outside through a passage in who-knows-where. It was only moments before they found themselves outside, in front of a stream behind the hospital building.

And near the stream was Mar, who seemed to busy himself with preparing a makeshift picnic near a grove, and Lucas, who was surprisingly nimble in his assistance.

"When did they..."

"I texted them earlier." You know what, for once, Ria didn't feel like asking. She herself was exhausted to the bone, and the quiet scenery of the calm stream was compelling enough to quiet her down.

Once they were all seated, they began to chat idly. Almost as though this was the most casual conversation to have. Almost as though it was only last night that they were terrorized by a voice of unknown origin, and haunted by visions of accidents and crashes. Almost as though they were just a couple of high schoolers being friends.

"You wanted to ask me something, right?" Irina said, taking a bite from a sandwich Ria could only assume she wouldn't be allowed to taste in normal circumstances. Was it just her or was Irina more rebellious than she imagined?

"Your condition," Ria began, trying to soften the topic as much as she could, "is it terminal or anything?"

Irina chuckled lightly.

"It's not fatal or anything, so calm down." Irina assured them, "I just grew up so afraid of everything that might hurt me, that could possibly impede my dreams and I guess…"

"You lost track of everything else?"

"Yeah. My disease isn't fatal, but my fear of loss and failure made me feel like it was."

Irina sighed to herself, gaze falling deep into her own thoughts.

"I know downtown because I frequented it before. I would run away there to get a glimpse of a world I knew—or at least, I felt like I knew—I would never experience. Then I buried that knowledge so deep inside myself I could deny it existed to my own subconscious."

"So you mastered lying to yourself?" Mar asked, pressing her further. He had a habit of doing that now.

Irina laughed bitterly. "Haa. Yeah, basically. I mastered fooling myself out of my own curiosity but faking my desires so much I got lost on which lies I told myself."

The four of them fell silent, letting the winds do the talking as they were enveloped by harmony again. Irina stared at the stream quietly, almost as though the waters would provide her the answers to the predicament she sought so desperately.

"in the end, failure wasn't my greatest enemy after all. It was time. All the moments I wasted running away from the world left me bereft of the chance to experience it." the brunette sighed, "I guess, in that sense, I failed still, huh?"

"What was it, then?" Lucas asked, frustration and determination mingling in his voice. What was he up to this time? "What were the things you wanted to experience? The things you think you failed in?"

Irina locked gazes with him, bewildered azure eyes meeting resolute hazels. "…Why?"

Lucas groaned in annoyance, scratching his head in an attempt to possibly hide the creeping blush on his cheeks. "You said time was your enemy, right? Well, you haven't run out of it yet, have you? If you want to experience the world you missed out on…"

The brunette's eyes glimmered as she realized the intent of Lucas' words.

"What are you standing around for? You have us, we'll walk you through it all, together."

"Fear, huh..." Mar whispered lowly, eyes fixated on the ice cream Lucas had treated them all earlier, as part of his mischievous little scheme into getting Irina to experience the outside world.

Although, the whole ordeal didn't come off as easily as any of them hoped, even with the teary-eyed speech the raven-haired bot had given them earlier. Despite his protests, Irina had argued with him tirelessly about "balanced diets" and "unhealthy and improper nutritional habits" among a great many ideals she seemed to have thrown out the window the moment she tasted the sugary delight.

It was nice to see her loosening up more. Mar would think at that moment. It was nice to see them all so comfortable with one another. So free, so devoid of anxieties and worries and...

Fear. It invaded Mar's thoughts again, like a crawling plague that never seemed to be cured no matter how he dealt with it. It was like a leech, attaching itself to his thoughts and his mind until there was nothing left but the constant absence of everything else.

It wasn't surprising for Mar at all, to learn how Irina had begun fearing the world outside of her grasp, of all she wanted to experience—but most of all, the possibility that for all her yearning, she might fail to achieve what she desired. It wasn't surprising at all, considering it was that emotion that drew him to Irina.

For once, he felt a kindred spirit. A fellow individual who struggled with something so deeply ingrained in who they are, the only way to be rid of it was to remove themselves as well.

Because fear, for someone like him, was endless. It felt like a routine to him now, the fear of everything in the world and all it could do to him.

But what drowned out all these fears was a terror he had concocted on his own. The fear of who he was. The fear of what he would become.

"Feeble. Feeble. Feeble." the voice had called out to him that night. It was a miracle he could keep his composure as it haunted his thoughts amid his graduation speech, yet he stood strong for one of the few moments he had no choice but to do so. And mostly because whatever the voice had told him was nothing new for him to hear.

"Weak. Craven. Wimp. Coward."

These were just a few of the many words Mar had gotten used to hearing from himself, like an echo in his mind that would never end.

And now, Irina had found a way, had found people who were willing to help her overcome the fear she had planted so deep into her character. And it was nice, really. It was fantastic to see someone like her, someone so deserving of all the happiness despite her hurts, finally bloom into what she had dreamed.

But what of people like him? What of people whose fears are buried so far into who they are, the relationship had grown symbiotic with the fear he was meant to revile? What of people who were so trapped in their own horrors that the idea of ever escaping the box they had shut themselves on was impossible? What of people who were made to be too afraid to dream?

"Mar!" Ria frantically shook the shoulder of the smaller man, trying hard to wake him from the daydream that clouded his thoughts.

"Ah..." he shook out of it, finally. Ria sighed in relief. "Apologies, I was in deep thought. Were you asking something?"

"Nothing!" Ria assured, "I was just wondering if you were okay. You've been a little out of it since we left downtown."

"Yeah, you got something going on?" Lucas added crassly, positioning himself on the headrest of the bench Mar had sat on.

From his position, it felt like he was going through a thorough interrogation. Irina had quietly positioned himself beside Mar, eyes still glittering from bliss but curious nonetheless.

"So, what's your deal?"

"Ahh... My life isn't as interesting as you imagine." Mar replied, sweating visibly under the stares of three curious gazes.

"Well, you all insisted on butting in my life, so it's nice to do the same," Lucas argued, pointing the tip of the ice cream cone in mock threat. "Talk."

"B-But..." Mar stuttered, trailing off. He sighed deeply, all manner of thoughts plaguing his mind, but most of all, the hesitation to welcome their unwelcome presence in their thoughts. "I'm..."

"A coward?" Lucas completed, getting impatient. Which of course, earned him a kick on the shin from both Irina and Ria.

"Yeah." Mar agreed, much to everyone's surprise.

Well, if there was a moment, to be honest, he might as well do it now. There'll probably be little chances for it any time soon.

"But unlike you," he faced Irina, "I'm not afraid of the outside world. What I'm afraid of is..."

He gestured to his chest.

"Here. Myself."

The three stared at him, awaiting an explanation Mar was even more hesitant to provide. Was it really okay to tell them this? Or is this too much for a bunch of strangers he only met through a mysterious voice?

"Speak. It might be the only chance you have." the voice had whispered into his head just now, gentle but sincere in its words. Mar felt himself sink into the seat in a growing concern.

Finally, he resigned himself and spoke again, "I'm afraid of becoming something. A person, a concept, an ideal, a character I can't even determine what now. But growing up, I felt so afraid I would become something horrendous."

"Why?"

"Because I feel that way. I feel like some part of me has been inherently afraid of my own dreams and ambitions and of moving further into the world that..."

"You resigned to cower in fear for anything that could make you greater than you are?"

"I'd rather sink lower into failure than feel the fear of being taken so high into the world I can't see the ground anymore. Because then, I would truly feel horrendous."

The four of them exchanged glances, but it was only Irina who had fixed her gaze on Mar's sullen ones, hazel eyes refusing to face them in shame.

"But is that what you want, Mar?" Irina interjected, leaning closer until Mar had no choice but to face her completely. "Are you okay with stagnancy? Do you want to stay in place as the world revolves just because you're afraid of what you could become?"

"Resignment isn't stag—"

"Yes, it is!" Irina argued, this time glaring hard. "How would you ever know that you would become horrendous by trying something new if you never do? Do you simply wanna be stuck in a state of limbo between your fears and your dreams?"

The setting sun painted golden hues over the shocked expression Mar held. He felt himself drawn away for a moment, like a thousand needles pricking his skin had been removed in one fell swoop. For once, the world felt real to him, and not some surrealistic simulation of what he had made it out to be.

"Haa.." Lucas sighed, "What a pain. Hey, Marlon."

"Hm?"

"Wanna go ride on my motorcycle? Consider it the first step into trying something new."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT."

And the four of them erupted in laughter. It was a slow process, but Lucas seemed to be determined—or downright pushy—enough to make it work. Ria could feel something warm fill her chest, at the sight of three people laughing splendidly...and the feeling of being welcome again.

"But do you really deserve to be this happy? Do you really deserve to share their smiles?"

No. No no no no no, not again.

"Can someone like Ria Carter, betrayed and betrayer, really have friends?"

#euphonia of a thousand winds

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human-still-developing · 2 years

Text

The River Analogy

Hi guys :)) Welcome back to my rambles about writing and editing. I was asked a few times over DM and Ask about the 'River Analogy' that I keep on commenting/talking about so I thought I might share it with y'all. This is something which I think applies editing at every level, whether it be line-editing, copy-editing, beta-reading or constructive criticism. So lets get into it <33

What exactly is the River Analogy?

The River Analogy is a mechanism I use to teach new editors about editing other people's work. It goes something like this:

Imagine the piece of work that you have been given to edit is a river owned by the author. You, a small boat, are asked to float down this river to where it intends to meet the sea (the writer's audience and greater society) to 'test the waters'.

The key features to take away from this analogy is to remember the position of the editor, the writer, the audience and the work. So lets talk about all of these in a little more detail :)

The Audience

It seems silly to talk about the audience first but since the entire directive of editing is to create something which other people and the author can appreciate and cherish, we have to keep them in mind throughout the entire process. The audience in the river analogy are described as the people from 'the sea'. There's a couple of reasons for this:

The sea is a unchangeable part of this analogy. You can work with the river, you can't really do anything to the sea. You pump water into this larger body of water but the way that they react to it is something that the river (the work), its owner (the writer) or the boat (the editor) cannot change.

The ocean, like the river, is all made of water! Writing often reflects, criticises or praises some aspect of society as it is. In Seamus Heaney's words, writing is made to 'continue, hold, dispel, appease'. No writing is ever going to be completely distinct from the ocean it comes from :)

The audience is going to consist of people who will ride their boats along the river the writer has created. They derive from this greater 'sea' of society and will experience this work (hopefully more than once) to gain some insight about the sea that they belong too :)

The Writer

The analogy describes the writer as 'the owner of the river'. There's this lovely Gwen Harwood poem (who's name eludes me at this moment) about the writer being 'an other self' to the writing. The writer has created this river but there are aspects of it they cannot control themselves. However, all the parts that can be controlled should be and will be controlled by them :)

The Editor

That's you! You have a very important place in this whole scheme; you are here to test how the river flows. While you don't have any decision making on the river, you are the only one who can actually watch it move from its conception and understand what its like to float down it. You can see places where the river-bank might need to be widened. You can see where rocks and curves in the path may slow down the river too much and other open expanses of water which might make the river flow too fast. You can spot out clever places to draw bridges and make interesting connections.

However, its important for you as the editor to also recognise there are parts of the river that cannot be changed. This brings me to the final part of our equation, the work.

The Work

The work is depicted as a river. It may be an independent piece of work, or part of something larger. It flows out to the audience and has parts that can or cannot be changed.

What can we change from the river?

The speed it flows at (to some extent). We can add buffers to slow down the river at tricky bends to prevent the audience from being thrown off.

The decorations along the river-bank (e.g. we can sprinkle some nice writing and lovely techniques along the way if parts of the writing look too plain)

The bridges it has across it (e.g. clever symbols or metaphors that give the work a deeper intellectual meaning).

What can we not change from the river?

Where it goes (e.g. the direction/message/objective/main concept behind the actual work is hard to change without changing the entire work).

How popular it will be (again depends on the audience).

How it interacts with other bodies of water (can be changed using bridges and direct connections to some extent but the relationship between pieces of writing is something which continues to elude a lot of writers).

So, what should we do?

As editors, you have a responsibility to equip the writer with the best tools to enhance their work and point out places where they can make their work stronger. Using this river analogy helps me make sense of the place of an editor in the greater gist of things and provide realistic feedback to a writer which they can actually use effectively. Furthermore, its something which I fall back to when I feel upset if a writer doesn't take my advice (which may be due to their own decision or a fault of my own) or if their work doesn't gain the traction I think it deserves.

After all, we're all just boats, floating and creating rivers of our own <3

As always, thank you so much for reading this entire ramble of text and I hope you got something out of it. If parts of it don't make sense (likely as often analogies don't have a perfect representation of real life) or if you have questions/want to rant with me, feel free to DM or send an ask because I'm always open to talk :)

Otherwise, re-blogs, comments and likes are most welcome <33

Until next time!

Hics <3

P.S. If you're interested in my other editing guide, check it out here: https://human-still-developing.tumblr.com/post/687842858928111616/constructive-criticism-a-guide#notes

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