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sunnynwanda · 3 months

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Black hole

Part 2 for the Wedding bells snippet. The next parts can be found here and the finale.

The moment their eyes land on the ring, Hero jerks up. The slumber is chased from their eyes as their pulse picks up. It seems to be racing against time itself, frantic to comprehend the wave of heat crushing over Hero's head. They sit up in their bed, staring at their left hand. They know this ring. They've seen it one too many times in their dreams to forget its familiar weight on their finger.

They fold their elbow, allowing their hand to balance in the air. It doesn't feel foreign at all. Though it should. Hero was never a fan of jewellery, and it's not like their line of work allowed it, so they never wore much. But this, it feels comfortable. Like it belongs on their finger. Like it's always been there.

Hero exhales loudly, waving their hands over their face to counter the heat that blushes their cheeks. The movement sends a sharp jolt of pain between their ribs, causing them to stop with a hiss. Wait. Hero carefully peels their shirt off, examining their wound - a treated wound, mind you.

How the hell... and who..?

They stop mid-thought. It seems they attempted to ignore a certain constant in their dreams for far too long. It's time they found out the truth of what was happening with their mind and, apparently, now body as well. And there's only one way to do it.

The bell chimes, announcing the arrival of a new customer. The coffee shop is rather empty for a Saturday morning, and Hero assumes not many were willing to wake up this early for a cup of coffee. Only two customers are waiting for their orders, and three more are at the counter.

Hero gets in line behind Villain, standing a little closer than necessary to whisper into their ear. "Hi."

"Jesus Christ," Villain jumps, glancing around to locate the intruder. "You scared the fuck out of me!" They complain, turning back aroun to face the counter and avoid Hero's scanning eyes.

"Since when are you scared of me?" Hero chuckles at their back, unfazed by the hostility. They need answers, and Villain's mood is of no concern to them. "Is that a new development?"

"Fuck off, I'm not committing a crime," their nemesis retorts, rolling their eyes at the customer in front of them that is taking their sweet time choosing a goddamn drink. Villain cannot fathom what could be taking this long.

"Are you not?" Hero muses, nudging their arm as they come to stand side by side. Villain's face is void of emotions despite the harshness of their words.

"We're in a coffee shop - you think I'm that desperate?" Villain quirks a brow. They sigh in relief when the person in front of them finally makes a choice, stepping aside to wait for their order.

"I don't know," Hero admits, but as Villain steps to the counter, they think of a way to test the waters. "Be a darling - grab me a coffee."

With that, Hero walks towards the corner table. Villain is stunned by the sudden change in their interaction style but shrugs and - much to Hero's surprise - obeys.

When they place the paper cup in front of Hero, they only hum in appreciation. As Villain sits opposite them, Hero decides to keep their charade up. They shrug their coat off, visibly wincing at the excessive movement.

"Does it still hurt?" Villain asks without thinking. Hero can bet they don't realise what they said yet. Just how far away is your mind?

"Yeah, it's a nasty cut," they take a sip of their coffee and have to stop a satisfied groan from escaping. Villain nods, staring out of the window absentmindedly.

Hero watches their face, noting their bloodshot eyes and bitten lips, before glancing at their long fingers wrapped around their cup and not finding a matching band. "Where's your ring?"

It's entirely out of the blue, and Villain is positively out of it because they reply before they can process the question and its implications. "I left it on the sink."

"After washing my blood off your hands?" Hero's intense gaze finally manages to draw Villain's attention.

"Wait, what?" Their face remains composed, but the storm in their eyes is a combination of shock and horror. Their fingers grip the poor paper cup until it bends in, causing the hot liquid to spill over their fingers, slightly burning their skin. Villain can't feel it.

"It was real, wasn't it?" Hero asks though the answer is clear now. They grab a napkin and reach for Villain's hand, forcing them to place the cup down.

"I don't know what you're talking about," it's a poor attempt at a save, given the tightness in their voice, but Villain had to try. Their brain is foggy with anxiety and something else they won't name because hope is a luxury they cannot afford. Not unless they are sure.

"Mhm," Hero nods and finishes with their fingers, discarding the napkin on the table before looking up at them. Villain struggles to keep their face emotionless when Hero's palm covers their knuckles gently. "So you guessed I was wounded?"

"You're always wounded. I'm used to your clumsiness," Villain jerks their hand away from Hero's grip, trying their best to sound snarky. "Tactical research, is all."

"Does knowing my coffee order provide a tactical advantage as well?" Hero quips, leaning back against their chair. Their ribs feel like they are about to crumble in, but their wound doesn't seem to be the sole reason.

"If I choose to poison you," Villain hates the way their stomach turns when Hero gives them a lopsided grin, their lips parting enough to reveal their front teeth.

Villain loves that goddamn grin so fucking much.

"You mean to tell me it was all a dream?" Hero takes a sip of their drink, watching Villain fumble over the brim of their cup.

"Of course," Villain confirms in a decently confident tone, twisting the napkin between their fingers until it rips. "In what world would I marry you?"

Got you.

"Sure," Hero has to press their lips together to keep their smile at bay. They wait for a moment to make sure their voice is stable and to let the tension brew. If Villain's twitching is any sign at all, they are doing a fantastic job of it. "I didn't mention the wedding, though."

Shit.

Villain bites their tongue as hard as they can. They taste blood, but that's what they get for not keeping their godforsaken mouth shut. Hero's stare is unrelenting and curious.

"You know I always feel sick when you use your powers on me. No wonder I've been so sick recently," Hero is right, they know that. They know everything about Hero, in fact. It doesn't make this any easier. "You're gonna have to explain what's going on."

"I-" Villain sighs, shaking their head. The sheer terror of telling Hero what's happening overwhelms them. There is no way they can put into words just what they've been going through.

The scope of their misfortune borders catastrophic ranges, with them caged in the very centre of the black hole that keeps compressing inside, threatening to shatter the universe over their head while they watch.

All they can do is watch.

Over and over again until their mind breaks.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

Masterlist

Taglist: @marvellousdaisy @alltimelowing @lateuplight @surplus-of-sarcasm @betwist @excusemeasibangmyheadonawall @enemies-to-idiots-to-lovers @miaowmelodie @thatonerandomauthor @hhabaddon @burningoutlikeicarus @daemonvatis @weepingcowboywolfbat @thelazywitchphotographer @kaiwewi @soul-of-a-local-bard @pigeonwhumps @aflyingsheepnamedrose @thatneptune @ohwellthatslifesstuff @worldsfromhoney @thiefofthecrowns @crow-with-a-typewriter @qualityrabbitsoup @stargeode @villain-life @villainsblood @whumpifi

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autisticsupervillain · 7 months

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It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters...

The Terrarian vs Paper Mario!

Conditions:

Mario has absolutely everything except for the Pure Hearts. Terrarian has everything. Speed Equalized.

Scenario:

The Terrarian intends to steal the Crystal Stars to use them to make a new weapons set. Mario stands in his way.

Analysis: The Terrarian

The land of Terraria, despite it's unassuming exterior, is a chaotic and dangerous one. The universe was created as an experiment by the Gods, a test to see if some form of cosmic balance could be maintained. However this balance was threatened by the dread god Cthulhu, who sought to bring all of Terraria under his domain. Luckily, the ancient race known as the Dryiads were able to overpower the dark lord, fighting it to the very last man and crippling him irreversibly. This forced Cthulhu to retreat to the dark side of the moon, where it would attempt yo regain its strength to one day attempt to conquer the world once more.

That day was soon to be fast approaching as a cult arose, seeking to revive Cthulhu and bring his horrible reign down upon all. That is when our hero enters this story: The Terrarian themselves. They were a simple nobody of unknown origins until the mysterious guide appeared before them one day and sent them off on their quest to prevent Cthulhu's return.

And luckily for all of us, The Terrarian has many.... many.... many tools on hand to help them fight the forces of darkness. This dude has more armors than Tony fucking Stark, each of which designed to help them combat that numerous beasts infesting Terraria.

Every armor and weapon at their disposal bolsters their already superhuman strength to some degree, which says a lot when they're capable of killing ghosts and blasting zombies into big meaty chunks with just their bare hands. Many of their armors, as well as their healing items such as potions, campfires, and statues, can speed up their regeneration, which is already good enough to help them recover from having their face ripped off. On top of that, many of their armors allow them to duplicate ammunition, allowing them to mow you down with their variety of gattling guns and magical crossbows with complete impunity. And if that wasn't bad enough, their most powerful armors can increase their capacity to summon minions as well as allow them to turn invisible.

On the topic of said summons, they're completely intangible, unable to be harmed even by those who can kill ghosts and effect souls. This is especially problematic when you have to deal with all the other things the Terrarian's magic can do. They can make it rain damaging blood from the sky, bring down small meteors just by swinging their sword, can freely teleport just about anywhere is sight or teleport all the way back to their base, and even nullify your ability to heal from it all. Their ranged weapons are equally deadly, capable of shooting poisonous projectiles, intangible projects (that go straight through everything that isn't you), giant fucking lasers, the works. Really it'd be easier to list all the ways the Terrarian can't kill you.

I don't think that the Terrarian wouldn't be willing to use this on you either. They can be shockingly ruthless in the pursuit of their goals. For example, they were perfectly willingly to permanently sacrifice their Guide's life to get a shot at killing the Wall of Flesh, unleashing the spirits of Light and Dark and causing untold chaos in the process. Hell, they even helped hasten Cthulhu's return just so they could kill it themselves and solve the problem for good. So you can fully expect some ruthless tactics out of them. Magically enducing confusion in you to get an opening? Check. Sucking out your very life force until you're nothing but a dead and empty husk? Sure thing. Spraying you with a weapon that corrupts you into a mindless servant of the all consuming Crimson, omnicidal Corruption, or over zealous Hallow right down to your very soul? Yes, they'd do that.

And good fucking luck retaliating properly, even assuming you could hit someone who can fly, teleport, and turn invisible at whim, their numerous charms and armors grant them resistances to poison, mind control, fire, ice, and many, many more. Hell, they can even resist your ability yo nullify said resistances with the right gear. And if that's not good enough, they can even transform themselves at will into a form that gives them a better advantage, such as a merfolk who can breath underwater or a werewolf with increased strength at night.

Even with all this at their disposal, the Terrarian does have some considerable weaknesses. That being that a lot of their stuff relies on their gear. If you take that away, you'd be left with an incredibly experienced and skilled fighter... but that's about it.

Having said that, they're still an underdog ehen compared to their competition. The Terrarian builds nearly all their gear themselves and has used it to slaughter entire armies and even outright gods in the span of a single night. For example, the Celestial Towers that sealed away the Moon Lord (Cthulhu), are powerful enough to pull the moon closer to the Earth in the span of seconds. The kinetic energy generated would measure out to 152.98 Ninatons of tnt, or 9x more than the energy needed to destroy the Dwarf Star OTS 44.

Source:

And keep in mind, this isn't even the Terrarian at their peak. They would later fight against the same Mokn Lord who was stated to be capable of destroying the entire realm of Terraria.

The loot they got from beating the Moon Lord is even stronger still. When you're powerful enough to beat gods who can destroy stars, you're powerful enough to do damn near anything. The Terrarian is far more than a simple Minecraft clone. They're in a league all of their own.

Analysis: Paper Mario

Mario "Jumpman" Mario. You know who he is and what he does. Even if you've never touched one of his games, you probably know everything about Mr. Video Game. This humble plumber has risen high ever since his humble days chasing after Donkey Kong Sr. Being basically the only competent form of security that the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom has, Mario has rescued its resudents and princess from the clutches of the nefarious Bowser countless times. But some of his adventures are a bit.... craftier than others.

For the sake of this analysis specifically, I'm treating Mario and Paper Mario has two distinct entities. While Nintendo has gone a bit back and forth in the past as to whether or not Mario and Paper Mario are the same guy, with several games in both series referencing the events of each other's games as canon while at other times treating the two as completely distinct entities, so really, you're fair to read them either way. Mario has about as much continuity as Tom and Jerry most days anyways, so for the sake of fairness, I'll be limiting Mr. Jumpman to his arts and crafts arsenal today. Even when treated distinctly, Mario and Paper Mario should powerscale off each other in stats regardless, because Paper Jam is a game that exists.

Not that being two dimensional has made Mario's arsenal any less vast. The usual arrangement of hammers, fire flowers, and mushrooms with various effects are all here and accounted for. Paper Mario is just as capable of making big jumps as his three dimensional counterpart and has saved his version of Peach just about as often. And what's unique in Paper Mario's arsenal is often times uniquely devastating.

Mario's papery proportions allow him to move in unique ways. He can flip between 3-d and 2-d to avoid attacks and reach otherwise impossible areas and he's been "cursed" with all manor of shapeshifting abilities, from the power to turn into a paper plane and soar through the sky to the power to the ability to turn into a paper boat to crosd the sea! Mario can breath in the vacuum of space (except for when he can't) and survive space radiations completely unprotected.

Moreover, Mario's inventory is versatile and deadly. The mega star can make him grow absolutely gigantic and let him plow through everything in sight, while his Pixl allies give him a whole host of powers. Tippi analyzes his enemies for him, giving him advice and informing him of their stats, Barry creates, well, barriers to protect Mario from threats, Carrie turns into a floating platform to carry Mario and pals out of danger, and Thoreau lets him pick up and throw enemies and objects over twice his size, among many others.

Over the course of his first adventure, Mario would rescue the seven Star Spirits, allowing him to overcome Bowser's wish granting star rod and nullify his invincibility. Mamar sings a song to put enemies to sleep, Skolar rains down stars from the sky, Muskular decreases the enemy's strength, Misstar restores his health, Klevar stops time, and Kalmar transmutes the enemies into stars. The Crystal Stars can give many of the same abilities, on top of powers such as creating Earthquakes and sealing away beings as powerful as the Shadow Queen, who could cause earthquakes all over the world and covered the world in darkness.

Yet, despite all that variety, Mario's most powerful and arguably strangest ability comes in the form of things. Real life objects of incredible power that can be used to absorb and redirect poisons, melt entire mountains, and even spin the entire planet! Such a feat, if performed on Paper Mario's world, would generate a kinetic energy equivalent to 154 exatons of TNT. That's enough to shatter the moon!

Source:

And that's on top of being considered equal to his mainline counterpart. The same Mario whose power stars can create galaxies, who could survive the universe being reset, and defeated the Megabug, a dimensional instability that was going to destroy Mario's entire dimension.

2-d or 3-d, Mario is one of most powerful video game characters Nintendo has ever created. No matter what side series he hails from, Mario is the mascot for a reason.

Throwdown Theme:

youtube

Throwdown Breakdown:

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. This is a big one.

The arsenal on both of these combatants is absolutely massive. I don't think I even touched on half of it in either of their run downs. And both of them have ways of killing each other right out the gate. The Terrarian could always just corrupt Mario into a unicorn, but Mario can just as easily turn the Terrarian into stars. As video game characters controlled by the player, neither side really has a go to openinh move in combat, so determining who wins the quick draw is difficult. And that's on top of all the abilities that just counter out, like flight, because they both have several ways of doing it.

On one hand, Mario cannot destroy or guard against the Terrarian's summons, as even people who can punch ghosts to death bare handed can't touch them, meaning Mario's ability to fight Boos wouldn't help and he'd be getting harassed all fight. On the other hand, Mario's ability to shift between two and three dimensions would provide a similar level of Intangibility, as Terrarian has never shown to hit a foe who becomes incorporeal in such a manor. On the third hand, Terrarian has even more ranged options, with a huge plethore of guns, bows, and magic staffs, whereas Mario heavily relies on either massive Area of Effect attacks or attacks that are relatively close range.

Both of these combatants can either defeat beings who or are comparable to beings who can defeat people who can threaten to destroy the entire universe, so there's no considerable gap in power. Any attempts to buff or debuff stats would get swiftly countered out anyways by potions and power ups.

So what's the deciding factor here? Well, there's a few things that work in Mario's favor here.

1. Unpredictability. As vast as the Terrarian's arsenal is, all their weapons are at least things that look like weapons at first glance. Mario, meanwhile, can just summon a giant chicken or stop time with a stop watch, or spin the Earth with a fan and you don't know which until he does it.

2. Analysis. Tippi is going to be able to give Mario a tip that the Terrarian is very dangerous and very versatile, cluing him in to the fact that he should open up with a winning move first, while Terrarian is going in blind.

From there, Mario could just stop time or put Terrarian to sleep before turning them into stars. While Terrarian could just as easily open up with an instant win move, they both wouldn't know to do so and would have no way of predicting Mario's arsenal because of how out there it is.

As versatile as these two god killers are, Mario is just that little bit... craftier.

This Throwdown's Winner is....

Paper Mario!

#fictional throwdown fridays #super mario bros #paper mario #terraria #the terrarian #Youtube

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pinkprimrose05 · 10 months

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ARC-V Month Day 26: Action Magic - Crossover

Oho? What's this? Our cast has been given an entirely new script!! Such curious mixes can create infinite possibilities, each more intriguing than the last. Show us how you're crossing over ARC-V with other media, and let's dive into a whole new world today!

Crossover day, woohoo! This one's been a fun time to work on, firstly because I'm six feet deep into a newfound hyperfixation on Honkai: Star Rail, and secondly because the concept gave me enough inspiration to actually write something new, for the first time in... *checks notes* ... one year and a half!

(Oh God)

In any case, Iter Exitium: On Harbingers and Pathstriders is up on ArchiveofOurOwn, but also available to view right below the cut. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the read!

______________________________________

Listen:

You are in a daze right now.

___________

The day is Monday, the 26th of the month. A short, cheerful chime resounds through your room, and the lock screen of your phone shows the time to be 4:01 A.M.

You pick up the phone from its spot on the ground beside yourself, squinting against the bright light of the screen as it buzzes a second time, signifying an incoming message. Curious, you decide to take a look and see who it is that has enough free time to message you at such an hour.

The contact name that appears before you is... ah. Not quite a surprise, but not someone you expected to be up at this time, either.

"The Simulated Universe has been updated once again."

"Meet me in the office for testing when you return to the Space Station."

The messages are short and straight to the point, in typical Akaba Reiji fashion. You let out a cross between a sigh and a yawn, mark the contact as unread for good measure, and shut the phone before settling back down in your small cot.

Little luminescent stars of various colors fill your vision as you gaze up at the ceiling -your first choice of decoration in what was once a plain, empty room- and slowly but surely, as the hum of your thoughts begins to quiet down, and the Stellaron's pulse settles into a steady rhythm, the gentle tug of sleep pulls you down, down, down.

___________

You do not know who you are, why you're here, or what you're going to do next.

___________

The day is Monday, the 26th of the month. When Yuzu -the other amnesiac two doors down the hall, who proclaimed herself your friend after knowing you for exactly five minutes- barges into your room to wake you up with a paper fan to the head, she says it's already 9:30 A.M.

You scramble out of the room immediately after, plastering an easygoing smile as you jog down to the parlor car, saluting Conductor Classikuriboh as you pass by them. Navigator Youko greets you at the breakfast table with a wave and a plate of honey-drizzled pancakes, and it takes everything in you to not hug her on the spot.

(Sometimes you catch yourself thinking that the Navigator and her husband would make good parents in the future. You have no idea where this specific thought comes from -you don't know the first thing about parents, after all- but the statement rings true to you all the same.

Yuzu joins shortly after, all sweet words and innocent smiles, as if she hadn't just smacked you out of bed a short while ago. Conversations start up and veer off, delving into topics of cooking, music, the IPC's newsletter and many others besides, and when breakfast is finished, you look at the empty plates and an idea springs to life in your mind.

"Hey, wanna bet if I can balance these on one finger all the way to the kitchen?"

The suggestion is immediately shut down by an even stronger swing of Yuzu's fan, and you could swear it leaves a little bump on the side of your head this time. You let out a dramatic sniff when no one offers their sympathy and condolences; Yuzu just stares at you like she's judging an idiot (that's probably exactly what she's thinking), while Youko shrugs neutrally and disappears down the hallway.

"Traitors, the lot of you." You huff, voice cracking under the pretense of mock hurt. "And here I thought the Astral Express was a kind and welcoming family..."

"We are kind and welcoming, you're just not using the one braincell you have." Yuzu fires in retort, moving to pick up Classikuriboh and shoving them in his face. "Seriously, Yuuya? You want the Conductor picking up all those glass shards after you?"

Oh, she did not just pull the Conductor card.

As if on cue, Classikuriboh lets out a series of loud squeaks, wiggling out of Yuzu's grip and shooting the pinkette their nastiest glare. They pull up a small tablet and type in an impassioned message, then place it on the table for everyone to see.

"Hey!" The message reads, as indignant as the little furball who wrote it. "Classikuriboh can handle broken glass and stupid passengers just fine, but Classikuriboh refuses to be manhandled like this! Put some respect on Classikuriboh's name and let me clean the couch in peace!"

Yuzu blinks in disbelief, head swivelling slowly between you and the Conductor. You barely manage to suppress a smug grin as she gives Classikuriboh an apologetic bow of her head-

... Hey, wait a minute.

"Did you just call me stupid?!" You yell after the Conductor, who goes right back to cleaning the couch like nothing happened at all. "Rude!"

Truly, you had no one to support you in this cruel world. Hmph, so be it! You'll just leave them and stay at the Station for the day- see how they'll manage without your entertaining antics.

You whip out the phone and check the messages, then send a "Sure, I'll see you there!" to the young Genius's invitation-

"You're going to the Space Station?"

-and were it not for the fact that you're still seated in a chair, Yuzu's intrusion would have surely sent you jumping five feet in the air. As it stands, all you do is flinch and turn to her with your best face of utter betrayal, to which the pinkette just rolls her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, it's not my fault you're so easy to distract." She turns over her own chair to face yours and moves from behind you to sit down. "Anyway, what's this about seeing Akaba? Does he want your help again? Is he pestering you to test his little game? You know you can just block him, right?"

"Sheesh, Yuzu, slow down! It's no problem, really. I don't mind helping him out with the Simulated Universe- I mean, it's actually pretty fun, and I get to contribute to a cool scientific endeavor while I'm at it. Seems like a pretty good deal to me!"

"Well, if you say so..."

"I do!" You grin at her, hoping it comes off as reassuring. "Besides, there's nothing entertaining on the Express when we're restocking supplies, and I really don't want to just lounge around and do nothing all day."

"You could always help Yuuto with sorting the archives-" Yuzu begins, only to be immediately cut off by the frantic waving of your hands.

"Oh nononononono- nope, nuh-uh, no way. I don't know how he's fine with staring at books and words for hours on end, but I would spotaneously combust if I so much as give it a try!"

Yuzu stares at you. You stare right back in desperate defiance.

She rolls her eyes again. "Fine, fine, go out and touch grass or whatever it is you do for fun. Just don't stay out for too long, okay?"

"Yes, mom!" You salute with a sunshine smile, and dash off not a moment later for fear of a third encounter with the paper fan of death. The last thing you hear before exiting the parlor car is "we're not bailing you out if you do anything stupid!"

Fair enough, fair enough.

___________

None of that matters.

___________

The day is Monday, the 26th of the month. The clock at Akaba Reiji's office reads 11:13 P.M the moment you enter the Simulated Universe.

Just like the last few times, the simulation begins with a fizzle of purple, and then the world around you begins to take shape. The plain walls of the Leo Space Station appear before you, and in a matter of minutes, you find yourself standing in the supply zone, just a couple meters away from a small Antibaryon.

"All systems are stable and fully functional." Akaba's voice drones from his post. "You may start the test run now, Trailblazer."

Nodding, you will your trusty bat into existence and approach the spherical machine, resolved to swiftly put the little thing out of its misery. This run is supposed to be for testing a new feature called Blessings, where you acquire one each time you defeat one of the enemies scattered around the map- an easy enough task, considering the many times you've gone up against said enemies by now.

The Antibaryon retreats into the void after a single strike to its core, and the four Baryons you encounter right after are defeated just as easily, though they take a little longer due to their number and the way they keep bouncing out of range. And so, a few minor battles won, occurences and events gone through, and a bunch of random Blessings obtained later, you reach the first stage of Elite enemies, featuring a centaur-like Voidranger... uh, was that the Trampler or the Reaver, again?

Well, it doesn't really matter, anyway. A hit to the ranger's back takes it by surprise, and from there on it's a game of dodging energy beams and distracting the enemy with Imaginary summons of various shapes, until you manage to charge up a strong enough strike to its weakest point, ending the battle in one fell swoop.

You allow yourself a moment to breathe as the Voidranger disintegrates into particles of data, and your own band of cartoonish animals vanishes in a shower of sparks soon after. One last sweep of the stage confirms it as fully cleared, and so, with a confident smile, you step into the portal leading to the next stage...

... and promptly freeze when your feet touch nothing on the other end.

Hold on, what?

Thousands of small lights twinkle as far as your eyes can see, a few opaque orbs and a smattering of dark rocks dotting the horizon alongside them. Stars, planets and asteroids, you notice after a beat- it seems that the new domain is themed after outer space.

... Wait.

No.

That can't be right.

The only time you were abruptly thrown into space was the very first testing session, the one where you came into contact with... an Aeon...

The realization hits you alongside a sudden wave of heat and wind, forcing you to shield your face against the burning sensation. What the hell was that?

Try as you might, you can't even begin to look for an answer. A buzz of static starts in your ears, mingling with the acute rush of scorching air, the harsh crack of rocks breaking, the discordant boom of stars dying-

It is a symphony of ruin all around you; a glimpse into pure and utter annihilation, brought by a force unknown and unseen-

Except, you know exactly who's behind this.

You've drawn their gaze before, after all.

A blinding flash, a literal supernova, heralds the arrival of death incarnate themself. Eyes of molten gold lock onto stunned red, bearing down on you with the weight of a thousand suns-

It is burning.

You are burning.

You cannot look away.

This is Destruction, you find yourself thinking, as the fabric of reality fractures into numerous shards. Your gaze holds the Aeon's against your will, even when the edges of your vision fade into the dark.

This is Destruction, a voice that is not yours whispers, low yet clear above the din of everything, as the universe itself collapses before your eyes, as the Aeon turns their back on you with a sigh.

This is your destiny, in each and every life.

The light around you dims down like a candle, and all sound tapers off into a low hum. You tip your head back and close your eyes...

Then everything goes white, and all is quiet

___________

....However, what you do know is this.

___________

The day is Monday, the 26th of the month. When you come to once again...

... you do not know what time it is.

"Hm, you've regained consciousness. Can you hear me?"

You blink your eyes open at the voice, and sure enough, the pristine space that is the 83rd Genius's office greets you in all its plain glory, its owner leaning on the wall beside your sitting form. Right; you were at the Station to test out Akaba's newest update to the Simulated Universe, and then-

"Something... something went wrong back there." You mutter, pushing yourself up. "You said nothing about an Aeon showing up, so what happened, exactly?"

"I'm afraid the answer to that is still inconclusive." Akaba says, smooth and level, if not for the minute tremble that tails the end of each word, outing his otherwise well-hidden shock. "Nanook's appearance was not expected at all in such an early stage, and even stranger is that their behavior does not quite line up with the expected parameters, which is a curious anomaly in and of itself."

You shake off the ensuing flash of recollection -ruin, death, destruction- and blink, confused. "Eh? How so?"

"A fact you may be unaware of is that, while some Aeons are willing to communicate with others, some are actively averse to any form of contact, and may react negatively to being seeked out. The Destruction falls under the latter category, according to all past records, and forcing you out of the simulation corresponds with that trait... but the issue at hand is the fact that they weren't seeked out- it was the opposite that happened."

Akaba's gaze slips past yours, downwards, and you place a hand over your chest in response. The Stellaron pulses within your form where a human's heart should be- quiet and dormant, yet a constant reminder of what you are, of the danger your mere existence poses, and the reason you stand here to begin with.

"You think it has something to do with all of this." It is not a question, because it needs not be such. You both know the answer very well.

Akaba nods in lieu of saying yes, anyway. "A relatively likely possibility, but one that must be studied in further detail and from several angles before being taken for granted."

"Huh, so you'll need me for more tests soon? Should I expect another message from you, then? Or maybe a phone call?"

"Only if you're still interested in carrying on with our agreement. Remember: you help me gather data to refine the Simulated Universe, and I will help you answer all questions about yourself to the best of my ability."

You smile. It comes out a little sharper than you'd have liked. "I guess there's only one choice to be made, in this case. Well, I'll see you in the next patch update then- for now, good sir, I bid you adieu!"

Not bothering to wait for a reply that wouldn't come, you push yourself off the wall and towards the office door. Just before you pass through, you glance at the little clock lodged at the far corner of the room, and per the message the ornate arrows read, it is now 2:08 P.M.

As the door closes behind you, you allow yourself one more moment to reflect on all you've seen and heard.

This is Destruction. This is your destiny, in each and every life.

The words puzzle you, and perhaps they'd be alarming to someone else, but right now, pondering them gives you no such worries.

Who's to say anything about your fate, anyway? It is a fickle thing; a tapestry woven through one's choices and actions at each turn of life, unpredicatble and impossible to determine...

And as far as you're concerned, yours is only just starting. After all, the one voice that managed to pierce past the fog of your memories had left you with two things to know:

___________

One: Your name is Yuuya.

Two: Your destiny is yours alone to write.

#arcvmonth2023 #arcvmonth #yugioh #yugioh arc v #yuya sakaki #sakaki yuya #fanfic #fanfic prompt #pink's silly aus #pink's fanfics

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asirensrage · 10 months

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WIP Word Search!

I got tagged by @residentdormouse in the latest word search game. If you don't know, the rules are to search your WIP(s) for the words listed and share the line(s)/scenes they're in!

My words: Sun, Clouds, Wind, Rain, and Lightning

Your words: Taste, Run, Narrow, Frequent and Wide

tagging: @chickensarentcheap @residentdormouse @elmunson @ninjasawakenedmystar @smurphsbookshelf @nadja-antipaxos @comatosebunny09 @renhoeku and anyone else interested!

Sun - from The Sacrifice, an unposted Demon Slayer fic

A gnarled hand reaches from the side, larger than her waist, and grabs her. She lets go of Cora instantly as she’s dragged up into the air. She has no choice but to get a good look at the thing as it holds her up in the moonlight. “Ah…” She chokes on its breath, pungent with the smell of rotting meat and old blood as if someone left meat out in the sun. The short horns on its head and slitted pupils of the eyes made it look demonic, and the strange colour of its skin and sheer size is unworldly. She can hear someone screaming. It drapes her over its shoulder in a parody of a fireman’s carry and reaches for Cora. “Snack before the meal…” it gargles out. There is a part of her that wonders if she should be insulted. Is it calling her fat?

Clouds (well, cloud) - from Dig My Grave (take my hand) an unposted My Hero Academia fic

“Isn’t she a hero?” The two voices one asks. “Yeah! What if they come barrelling in to save her?” “No one’s coming to save her,” the scarred one says. “No one even knows she’s gone. Isn’t that right?” He aims the question at her. “We did test her…did you not?” The smoke cloud says. The man with the hand on his face turns back towards her and Sayuri reminds herself to stay still. Out of everything she was afraid would happen, this hadn’t been an option. “Yes. She refused to save a hero after I dropped a steel beam on him.”

Wind - from the unposted wip "A Slayer in Hawkins"

“Who are you?” Dustin cuts in. Her head snaps towards him, as if she hadn’t just been talking to herself in a low tone. “Oh!” She smiles at them. “My apologies for my manners. Been a while. I’m Vivienne, like Vivien Leigh.” “Who?” They all ask and her smile drops slightly. “You don’t know Vivien Leigh?” Steve glances at the kids who just shrug. “Gone with the Wind? She played Scarlett O’Hara…” She shakes her head slightly before adjusting her grip on the weapon she’s still holding. “Would you mind telling me where and when I am?”

Rain - from the unnamed Tokyo Revengers fic with my oc Takara.

She’s moving down an alley that is usually empty and connects the park to some of the streets, including the way she takes to get home. It’s not empty this time. The group of similarly dressed boys up ahead are facing and talking to someone else. Even in the rain, she easily hears Takemichi’s voice. Hears the threat that’s given in return. She builds up speed. There’s no real way to do this quietly so she has to be fast. She tucks herself in and low, bracing herself before slamming her body into the one leading the pack. She knows how to shove her elbow into the tender spot under his ribs and throw him off balance. He goes flying into the others and she skids to a stop. Thankfully without falling. She stands there, panting under the street light as she faces the people trying to hurt Takemichi. “Well, what do we have here?” she asks, pretending like her whole body isn’t thrumming under her skin. “Takara? Get out of here!” “Nah,” she says. “What type of sister would I be if I just ran off while you got hurt?”

Lightning - apparently I rarely use this word. This is from a Kylo Ren horror oneshot I need to edit and post.

“I don’t want it. I don’t want anything you’re going to curse me with.” “I don’t think of it as a curse, more a blessing. Regardless, you do not have a choice.” He says something you don’t understand and lightning shoots down your spine. It feels as though you’re being electrocuted. The flames on the candles grow and the heat in your stomach increases. You cry out, tears building in your eyes and falling as it feels as though the blood in your veins is boiling.

Enjoy!

#tag games #my wips #wip tag games #wip word game #fic: dig my grave (take my hand)#fic: a slayer in hawkins #fic: the sacrifice #oc: takara

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lost-diary-of-a-hurt-soul · 1 year

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My heart has the strength of an extreme bodybuilder. You know those people that look a little terrifying how strong they are? Almost as if they're going to pop like a balloon because of how inflated their muscles are? That's my heart, on the brink of popping, it's so inflated and yet it still keeps training like an addiction at this point now. It shouldn't have that strength. It shouldn't have the experience or training that it does to be that terrifyingly strong, but it does.

My heart started training at a young age. Learning how to prepare for the impact of the bullets of hurtful words. It began learning the art of time travel, growing up quicker to take care of people older than me who should have been taking care of me and aging down to then beg to be taken care of by strangers. I had more trust in being taken care of by boys I just met than family I had known my whole life. My heart ran a marathon for every boy / girl it dared to fall in love with and always went a few extra miles every time.

My family adds weights to the ends of my barbell as if testing the limits of my strength and they rarely help me distribute the weight evenly so it becomes a solo balancing act of strength. What has more importance over the other? The left side with the family obligations and desperate wants and needs, or the right side of self-care? I can sometimes balance the weights by myself, giving into the small self-indulgences of life, always with a guilty conscience of where my time could be spent better otherwise. I give so much from empty cups. I’m not Santa Claus, I’m not rich, I’m not a therapist, I wasn’t supposed to be a parent to my own parents, and I’m not a suicide hotline specialist.

My heart lifts the weight of other people regularly... Have you ever felt the weight of pulling someone back to earth when they didn't want to be here anymore? I think that was my heart's most intense form of exercise. It started that training at age 11. She said I was the one that threw her off the edge and then I had to learn to pull my mom back. It became a game of tug-of-war that has yet to even end. The thing is? I never pushed her off the edge, she willingly climbed down to a point where she decided was safe. She says she just needed to know I would pull, that she'd never actually let go of the rope. She turned the rope into a swing and anchored it around my neck. Why my neck? The day she first climbed down, I got assaulted and she tied the rope around my neck. She choked me as a consequence to me not being loud enough in my cry for help when I was assaulted. I speak in a lot of metaphors, but that last sentence wasn't a metaphor by the way. She pulls on that rope every time I don't fit into the mold of the person she wants me to be.

Then there was a boy... He held a gun to my head (the gun to my head isn't a metaphor either) and blindfolded me and then said that I was the one that threw him off the edge and that I was the only one able to pull him back. He kept adding thorns to the rope cutting up my hands, soaking the rope in alcohol to burn the cuts.. That was another game of tug-of-war, but I had my eyes closed. I didn't even notice when he started climbing the tree behind me with each rope I threw and turned me into his own marionette. When I opened my eyes, I cut the rope. And you know what? He stayed in the tree looking for some new ropes to hold.

I kept pulling every rope I found. I had seen what happens when someone lets go of the rope in the game of tug-of-war. I never got over it. I couldn't let that happen. I started adding super glue to the ends of the rope. No one ever let go of my ropes, they came back up. Some stayed on earth, feet planted in the ground, some still jump and throw their rope up to me when they do, and I'll pull with all the strength of my heart every time. I would never jump, I could never put the weight of my whole self into someone else's arms to save. I know how heavy it is and I can't add to anyone else's heart's training.

Thump... Thump.. Thump. The pounding of my heart beats so loud. I love the way it feels when the music is so loud it feels as though the bass of the song starts controlling the way my heart beats, like it's giving my body a break it so desperately needs and pumping the blood through my heart for me. Music is a pacemaker keeping me alive when I'm feeling like I'm the one on life alert.

Have you ever really paid attention to how much someone's favorite songs will tell you about their life? All I need is the top 3 favorite songs, and 1 song you think describes you. It's interesting if the 1 song they choose actually matches the vibes of the 3 favorites or if they're just showing off what vibe they hope they're giving off. You listen to the songs. Pay attention to the strength of the bass, do they need a pacemaker too? Pay attention to the rhythm, does it flow nicely down the river or is it crashing like a waterfall? Pay attention to the lyrics, it's speaking the words that resonate most with their soul. Sometimes the words speak in locked metaphors and you only need to pay attention to decipher the code to unlock the different meanings. You use the clues from the other songs to help read deeper into the words.

If music is pumping my heart, I don't have to use my hands to do so anymore. The music is so loud I can let out a scream so easily and so loudly without worrying about anyone else hearing. The muscles in my heart have the ability to let go of the tension and just release.

My heart is an extreme body builder and although I don’t think it should have ever gotten to this point? I don’t think I know how to properly live my life without continuing to lift weights. It’s as though the risk of trying to put down those weights would make me feel weak. Through the pain, I get satisfaction knowing I can help. Even if that help isn’t met with thank-you’s, even if that help is met with pain, even if that help is met with angered people… I'll continue to put my heart's strength to good use.

#love #feelings #music #poetry #journal #personal writing

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ocean-anchored · 4 months

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Dear future self continued... 2024 Goals

What do I want to work on this year? -I would like to read at least 7 books on my TBR this year. Also would love to finish the 4 I started last year that aren't done yet too (Ed's book, Untamed, Highly Sensitive Person & Atlas of the Heart) -I want to do my solo trip this year. Doesn't matter where, whether it just be across the province, a roadtrip in the US or even a solo flight somewhere. -I want to further deepen my friendships. I know this is a given, but I'd also like to see myself adding another girl to my circle. -I would like to feel fully invested in a church. Not feel like I'm still iffy & testing it out but I want to plant myself in one, join some more groups within the community hopefully & attend some more church activites. - I want to better my relationship with God. I know I can just reflect on that in a year from now & see how much more trusting I am with Him, only time will tell but I want to be more invested in that. More trusting that His plan is greater & he's going to take care of me. - I want to ask for help more. I realized that I still seclude myself a lot when I go through hard times, I don't allow others to help or open up & I deal with things on my own. I started to in the later months especially when I had ended things with Zack, I did open up with Amber & Sasha more & even Shane so I want to continue to be able to ask for that help back. -I want to compliment more strangers. I remember I went to the peter lougheed house with mom some weeks ago & our server had such a beautiful smile, I had told him at the end of the meal & he blushed & got flustered. This world is so cold and unfriendly. I want to compliment more people, more strangers. Whatever it might be, I want to be kinder. Softer. More compassionate. I want to say nice things & speak more kindness into the world. -I want to focus more on the less people pleasing side. I feel I've done really good with this the past year, not necessarily "not caring what anyone thinks" but less concern for how people will see me & being able to say no to things & not be worried what that outcome is. - Speaking on which above, I also want to be better at not allowing the absolute dog shit in my life. Not allowing people to treat me like an option, not chase connection, not force a friendship. I want to set healthy boundaries & really lean into my self worth this year. Not letting it waiver depending on who responds to me or how someone treats me. -I also want to stop the self punishing. I've been doing a lot better at this in the last several months. Not dwelling on the bad & negative, not allowing myself to sink into a hole of what a shit person I am etc. I've been better at redirecting my thoughts when they come to those & combating them with positives & truths but I do want to have a lot of growth in that. -I want to establish a better lifestyle. More balance & healthier habits. While still not binging but allowing myself to not have such restrictions. I would like to get back into a workout routine & build my strength. I'm not unhappy with my body but I would like to feel better in it. I really need to get back into going to bed at a decent hour to get my full nights sleep & be waking up at a good early time to start my day. Building better routines for sure & not letting busy life destory healthy habits established. -I want to save more too this year. -I really need to find balance this year. I don't want to be running on empty all the time. Last year was amazing & I have so many great memories & was out all the time but I really want balance this year. I want to spend more time with myself, like getting back into shadow work & reading or listening to meaningful podcasts again. -More things that make me happy. More mountain trips & hikes. More puzzles. More green thumb with plants. More drawing. More focus on my skin care. More cold showers. More time with Nova.

#personal #dear future self #dearfutureself #goal setting #2024 goals

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yanderes-galore · 2 years

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i wasnt sure if you taking portal requests at first since i didnt see it anywhere on your lists except the masterpost so seeing you post those Glados headcanons someone else requested made me happy.. (god bless evil robot women) can i suggest Glados turning Reader into an AI for a scenario with her? 👀

Oh- it's supposed to be- It's fixed now. Here you go! Also, not sure how long the scenario will be with this prompt but I hope it's good.

For Science

Yandere! Glad0s with AI! Darling Scenario

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Vague Yandere behavior, Robot gaining sentience, Implied torture, Implied continuous death, Sadism, Disassociation (?).

"It takes some getting used to, but I'm sure you're capable of it."

The voice is mechanical yet feminine. You don't even remotely feel like yourself in the current moment. That and you couldn't discern who was talking to you.

"What...?"

You manage to croak out what seems like a question. A voice that sounds like yours crackles out from what you think is you. Why does everything feel so fake?

"See what I mean? You're so disoriented it's amusing. Yet, testing can't continue until you get used to your more mechanized body."

For some reason you feel as though you should be anxious. Even though that feels right you for some reason can't comprehend such an emotion right now. You feel strangely empty of all emotions except confusion.

Even then that feels so very faint.

"Mechanized body? You...."

Your voice trails off. Yes, your voice was the one that crackled. Panic theoretically would be coursing through your body. Except, from what you're hearing....

"Robotic body if that explains things. To perform better testing, I can't have you dying on me like humans do."

Robot... no wonder you couldn't feel much.

You weren't human anymore.

"As you probably lost your memories during the process, I am Glad0s. The one who will be testing you for the sake of science. You are the finished project of an experiment to make a human an AI. Luckily I had the instructions... on hand."

Glad0s paused before saying 'on hand', as though she was trying to recall something. Although her pause was quickly glossed over when you felt something move. The table-like structure you were held on moved upwards.

Where you saw Glad0s, a bot connected to the ceiling in a circular room.

"Good Morning, or night, time is relative in this facility. Especially with your current condition. You should only have one thing to worry about."

"What's that?"

"Testing, it's what you're meant to do just like you were before my little experiment."

You couldn't do much but listen. The orange 'eye' of Glad0s scans you slowly before backing off.

"I will admit, I think I've outdone myself. A metal body perfect for testing. One that can even be repaired after being pulled apart."

The clasps that held your body release, causing you to fall on foreign feet to the ground. You try to regain your balance in front of Glad0s, eyes trying to take in your new surroundings.

Everything felt so new.

"Good. Your balance looks fine. Soon we can proceed with testing."

You try walking. While it doesn't feel natural, you notice you're moving. A good start, you guess.

"What was I before?"

Glad0s doesn't respond at first, before turning to you.

"It no longer matters. What matters now is the future."

You feel her response was rather cryptic. For now you choose to get used to your new body. All while Glad0s watches closely.

"...I do believe you'll have even more promise than before. Well done. It's time we start."

A metal claw grabs you at the sides, pausing your movement.

"It will be a treat to watch you. Your struggles, your success, maybe even your continuous demise. Even if you're damaged, only I can fix you."

You stare helplessly at Glad0s when more claws attach to your limbs.

"I will be sure to put you back together as you were always my favorite subject."

There's pressure, a pulling in your limbs. While emotions are faint, there's one rather prominent.

Fear.

"We'll have so much fun, just you wait."

#yandere portal #yandere portal 2 #yandere glados #yandere glad0s

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love-lightcc · 3 years

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✨Pick A Card Reading✨

What Messages Do You Need To Hear?

In celebration of 500 followers, I decided it was time to do my first PAC general reading! Please enjoy. Your feedback is both appreciated and encouraged!

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Take a deep breath and focus. Pick the pile that calls to you - the one you are most drawn to. You may feel drawn to more than one. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't ♥️

The Piles:

Pile One: Ant 🐜

Welcome to Pile One! I'm definitely feeling the busy vibes on this pile, but not necessarily work related busy. I am feeling a lot of movement, and perhaps some tests of faith coming for some. Things are beginning to shift for you. Some of you may be going through a huge transition phase and are already in the thick of it. Whichever it is, everything around you is changing, and it is all for your greatest good, but you are fighting it!

You are being called to release this resistance and surrender yourself to the Divine. Trust what the Universe has for you and believe in its power. You are on a journey that is leading to safety and balance. Just because this transition is all new to you, it does not mean it is bad. Luck is literally on your side! Some of you are on the brink of something big! If you have not already, now is the time to tell the Universe EXACTLY what you want. Where would you like to see yourself in a month? A year? Whatever you picture, can be yours! Take action by allowing the Universe to take care of you, because it's here to do just that! As soon as you tell the Universe you want something, every energy that flows through it conspires to make it yours. The first step is cultivating that trust.

Get in touch with those powers so that you can make the best of this transition and make it clear what you are looking for. You cannot stop fate, and you're lucky if you can slow it down. But you can have a say in how you allow it to shape you. Change can be very daunting, but it is all for your highest good. Release what is holding you back - you can't take it where the Universe is sending you! 💫

Affirmation:

💜 “Believing in spiritual guidance gives me certainty and the freedom to keep dreaming even when I can't yet see the result." 💜

Pile Two:Stegosaurus🦖

Welcome to Pile Two! This pile gave me very nervous and anxious vibes, but I also felt a lot of passionate fire and earth energy with lots of adventure in there. Feeling a little under pressure, Pile Two? What is burdening you - your flame seems to have been snuffed out! I feel like a lot of you are very caring and generous people, so full of hope and joy. I'm feeling a lot of adventurous energy that has been stifled. You give, give, give, Pile Two, but at the end of the day, you're left feeling a little hollow and maybe empty. Maybe feeling a little lost? This pile made me feel for you, Pile Two.

You are being asked to really retreat into yourself - Why are you giving so much up for others when its exhausting you? What is keeping you from realizing your gifts? Take a look at your goals and take inventory of your mind. Accept the parts of you you are afraid to show people - you know, the ones you think are unlovable. You are so full of light and so full of energy, Pile Two! Reclaim your wholeness, because you are a STAR. Take some time to yourself and partake in some mediation that is going to ground you and remind you who you are. Forgive yourself for any shortcomings and step into a new day. It is time to rest and begin to heal the parts of you that you have forgotten. Explore some shadow work and talk to your inner child. It is time to heal.

You have a lot to work on, Pile Two, but so long as you remember your sunshine and your inner beauty, you will always find your way back to yourself. It is okay to ask for help from those you love - because you are loved and cared for tremendously! You are doing the best you can - don't ask yourself for too much. You deserve all blessings the Universe has in store for you. I love you.

Affirmation:

💕 “I am patient knowing that whatever is of the highest good is coming to me." 💕

Pile Three: Giraffe🦒

Welcome to Pile Three! This pile was FULL of clear strong energy. You guys are quite driven, huh Pile Three? I feel like some of you may need a lot of attention and maybe some have a lot of hobbies to keep you from boredom? Like you eat up every bit of knowledge that comes your way. I feel a lot of resilient, ambitious and creative energy and some seriously balanced people. I truly feel like you are on the right path here. Keep it up! Right now, you are on the brink of a new breakthrough - a leveling up!

Your ancestors are suggesting that you are in need of a teacher. Someone who is going to challenge you to make that next step. Don't worry - this person is on the way. You are about to embark on an amazing journey - a breakthrough is coming to you in the form of this person who will show you what you are looking for. This person will provide you with a new opportunity that will take you to your next step!

For now though, you do have some things your ancestors and Spirit want you to focus on a few things. Firstly, be careful not to lose yourself in this process. Stay grounded and take time to care for yourself. Don't get lost in your hobbies and interests - or your learning! Secondly - don't stop doing what you are doing. Your spirituality is in a very fertile state. You are going to see things happen at the speed of lightning! Finally, take some time to focus on the successes of others and celebrate their wins too. Celebrate everything around you - things are about to get even more exciting!

Affirmation:

🧡 "Wanting more for others puts me into an energy of abundance." 🧡

♥️🌞🌻 I hope you guys enjoyed this! I would love your feedback, so please do share and let me know if I should keep doing these! Have a blessed day! 🌻🌞♥️

#pick a card #tarot #pick a picture #pick a card reading #tarot reading #tarot cards #general tarot reading #PAC #virgo #witch #witches of tumblr #green witch #personal #diviners #divination #free tarot #pick a pile

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ialwaysknewyouwerepunk · 3 years

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fine line - a close reading

gonna cry bc i’m at the end, gonna cry bc it’s fine line.

(x x x)

want to give the same disclaimer as with lights up: this song is so layered, so multi-faceted, that i could never hope to give an exhaustive analysis. due to its vagueness and openness for interpretation, i assume that everyone, just like me, has their own ideas about it and has attached importance to it in ways that no one else’s words can or should alter. this song means the world to me for reasons that aren’t necessarily in this post, and that’s how it is with art that touches us deeply. i’ve tried my best to pull it apart, lay it bare, spread it open, if you will, so it’s almost as free as it can be for you all to form your own opinion on it. in the synthesis i will make my own conclusions, but feel free to ignore that if yours are totally different. i’m just one set of brain and heart taking in fine line and projecting whatever i think is right onto it. alright, let’s go

fine line, track 12

sung in falsetto

live version at the form: first verse not sung in falsetto - after first chorus goes into falsetto - like “thinking of her” has summoned her

Put a price on emotion

pouring emotions into the art you create: how much is genuine / how much do you show - line between being authentic to your audience and giving away too much, wanting to keep things to yourself and not feeling truthful with what you’ve written

exploits of the industry: lay your soul bare - or the exact opposite, some pretend emotion - to score that hit

I'm looking for something to buy

cynical. emotions aren’t genuine, right? where can i go buy some?

～ lights up themes. fake life, industry, being a sell-out

You've got my devotion

But man, I can hate you sometimes

“you” = career, music, Harry Styles™. devoted to the craft, to the job, all the ups and downs of it, despite the hardships it brings

“man” is deliberate: can be seen as an offhand interjection, like “man, that’s rough”, but nothing is casually placed in this song. “man” is: The Man, the heads in the industry, the people pulling the strings. The man in Harry, the man he’s been in the media all these years, the part he’s played/had to play, the man that’s in him

⟶ “hate you”: hate for industry shit, self-hate created by having to play pretend (～ only angel analysis, the persona of the Bukowski womaniser)

“sometimes” - it’s not fucked up all the time

“you” could also be a lover, but the sudden “hate” there then would be for that person, which is absent in any other song about them, doesn’t make any sense

I don't want to fight you

And I don't want to sleep in the dirt

like there’s a choice to me made, but he doesn’t want to make it: either I fight this “you” or I sleep in the dirt

“you” as the industry: if he doesn’t fight them, he might end up being a beggar, lose all his self-worth bc he gave in to everything they asked/told him to do

“you” as himself: fight your instincts, part of who you are/the persona. if he doesn’t fight to figure himself out, though, he fears he’ll also lose

“sleep in the dirt” as a sense of rejection, as well

We'll get the drinks in

So I'll get to thinking of her

drinks to cope - falling, only angel, from the dining table - or to be braver and confront emotions better - tbsl

who is “we”? who is “her”?

narrative of “you” as “lover” further disproven: if “I” and the lover get together over drinks and “I” starts thinking of “her”?

⟷ “her” could be the lover, but then who is “you”? the industry? some other person, besides that lover, harry is devoted to? multiple lovers, all of a sudden? no.

⟶ “I” and “you” are all harry, that get to thinking of “her” because she is in daydreams with him. the narrative that harry is fighting a part of him, the persona he has (had) to play bc of industry limits, makes most sense. that persona is within him now, and part of his work, but all of him, “we”, is begging to come into the light - of which she is a huge part

We'll be a fine line

balancing act. let everything coexist but pay attention that those lines don’t get crossed the wrong way. what we are, what i am, is a fine line between what makes us go under and what lets us thrive

we will be: determination to fulfil this prophecy, statement of fact “we always will be”

“we’ll be a fine line”: other way of interpreting it is that on both sides of that line is what entails “we”, all that is harry. what merges on that fine line is where it’s just right, when harry is fully himself in every way

“fine line” can also be an echo of criticism, bigotry, in the style of: it’s a fine line between being simply flamboyant and queer, between dressing like that and people thinking you’re a transvestite or summat (cause we wouldn’t want that, now, would we) - “we’ll be a fine line” could be owning all of it. putting himself in the middle of all those messy lines, as someone queer without a category

Test of my patience

patience with himself - kindness to self - took a long time to figure shit out and it was a challenge

waiting for change: industry and its allowances/openness

There's things that we'll never know

my favorite line

“we” = harry / harry and company / us in general, all of us listening

～ tpwk “i don’t need all the answers”: deep sense of acceptance

peace to be found in accepting this!!

You sunshine, you temptress

“sunshine” - as in all the love songs (blue skies, sunflowers, summer days…): lover - possible that there are multiple “you”s in this song?

sunshine could ofc also be directed at the temptress, still

female “temptress” - “i’ll get to thinking of her” - she - it’s tempting for harry to think of her all the time, to lose himself in the “her” in him

other interpretation for “temptress”: woman he knows with negative influence in his life - resemblance to woman “you flower, you feast”, so echo of Bukowski ～ only angel, kiwi (my sunshine, my love, who is involved with this temptress…)

My hand’s at risk, I fold

⟷ tpwk “dropping into the deep end”

not showing his cards just yet / forfeits

anxious to show all of him, to take the chance, with all the risks and consequences involved

Crisp trepidation

I’ll try to shake this soon

nervousness, anxiety - about (not) taking (enough) chances, (not) laying himself bare (release of the album that reveals much more than before)

“crisp” fresh, this feeling is unfamiliar - change is coming “soon”

sense of agency: I can get rid of this feeling by my own volition and make these changes - hesitant, insecure: “try”

wants to be braver. he’s not going back, but still needs to calmly coax himself further and further into the light, out into the open (“we’ll be alright”)

Spreading you open

Is the only way of knowing you

(can anyone else hear “spread thin” like a whisper under “spreading”? or am i imagining things.)

“you” is back - the only way of knowing “you” is to spread them open - the physical

to spread someone open - very literal, don’t need to paint the picture, or to lay bare, to lay it all out

⟶ “you” as himself - the only way of knowing who i am is by doing this: writing this album, performing these songs, letting others listen in and form their own interpretations, let this world grow where i’m laid bare and OPEN and exist as this person who has issues, who is angry, who doesn’t know who he is a lot of the time, but is still so happy to be here - let it spread and let it all circle back to me so i can grow deeper into myself

We'll be a fine line

We'll be alright

“we” = h & self, h & lover, h & fans

collectiveness from tpwk

(notes on a piano sounding like drops, like he’s emerged from the water and dripping dry)

SYNTHESIS

Everything about this song is plural. Personal pronouns are all over the place. I, you, her, we. The sound is incredibly layered, with Harry’s own voice echoing through its verses like he’s singing to himself in an empty cave. Meanings can be attached to every word like it’s a wax tablet used too many times. What Harry has said in interviews for once holds pretty true to the actual meaning, in my opinion.

“It felt like it described to me the process of making it and how the album felt in terms of the different kinds of songs on it.” (Capital FM)

This can mean a lot of things, and I think it means all of the things, of course. It means Fine Line is a summary of all of his emotions he visited on the album, of the things he’s laid bare. And it means that the actual process was also described, as one that can be frustrating and challenging, with added industry shit.

Harry has expressed straightforward gratefulness to his label for "leaving (him) alone” while making the album and that speaks volumes. This time, he had the chance to make his art without the constant interference of a label, which meant he could weave in criticism as well. “Put a price on emotion” is first and foremost a critique on the industry. It’s the first line of the song, setting the tone for the interpretation of this song is about the risks I took while making this album. It involves criticism on an industry that creates such an atmosphere that only a certain type of music and artist breaks through or can be successful, that limits people in their personal expression. Convinces them that it’s better that way. That it’s better to hide who they love because the general public won’t accept them. That it’s better to create a song about a fake emotion than be honest. Harry loves writing songs and being on stage, but it’s taken a while for him to be fully comfortable there as a solo artist and bloom into the person that could make Fine Line. He loves his career, but it’s also limited his freedom in ways beyond our comprehension, and it’s exploited him to the point where he didn’t know who he was, in ways that have clearly taken a toll on his mental wellbeing. To a point where he finishes this album reassuring himself, most of all, that everything will be alright.

That process of making Fine Line obviously includes Harry confronting emotions he hadn’t before. He has stated that he experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows while making it. There are things he hates, he was fighting but doesn’t want to (anymore), uncertainties he was trying to figure out but had to accept he couldn’t, risks he still doesn’t know he can take without shaking. At the centre of it all is this sense of “knowing you.” The different personal pronouns in the song paint a fractured picture, which is ultimately deliberate. That the “you” Harry is devoted to and can hate sometimes doesn’t line up with “her,” that the end focus does seem to be this “you” that is mentioned in the same breath as “man” and “temptress,” forming the “we” together with “I”.

After having songs like Lights Up, She, Falling and even TPWK, one of the central themes on the album has undoubtedly been self-discovery, in all its pain and glory. There are no female pronouns on the album besides, obviously, in She, and then here, in Fine Line. She is about a man living with a woman “just in his head”, who “sleeps in his bed while he plays pretend.” It is very clearly a trans narrative, the story of someone struggling to put into words what they’re experiencing in terms of gender. To a point that they fantasise about running away. Fine Line brings the ideas of knowing what it all means, which Lights Up kicks off (“do you know who you are?”), Falling deepens (“what am I now?”) and Treat People With Kindness turns on its head (“I don’t need all the answers”), together. Harry is still doubtful, and the questions asked earlier in the album haven’t disappeared, but he has accepted that “some things we’ll never know.” His aim, however, is still “knowing you.”

To have Fine Line, as the summary of these emotions of self-growth and self-discovery, echo that one female pronoun, speaks volumes. It is a direct reference to She, to that story about gender. “Her” in this song refers to “she (who) lives in daydreams with (him).” The one who still only fully comes out when they’ve had a drink. The one he’s still working to include in who he is, as he tries to figure out who he is, all of it. The song where he sings in falsetto, just like on Fine Line. Of which he sang the first verse an octave lower live at the forum, switching between those voices, those perspectives. That’s also why “you” in this song is also Harry to me. We get this fractured sense of self, this “I” and “you” conversing over a drink, this “you” Harry is devoted to and wants to figure out. “You” and “I” form “we” and all of them are Harry. The lines are blurry on purpose, there is no way to figure out where “you” ends and “I” begins.

“You sunshine, you temptress” is the most enigmatic line in that respect, and to me blurs those lines even more between the pronouns. “You” is suddenly also identified by a female noun. And no this isn’t about some kind of love triangle. “Sunshine” aligns with all the odes to his lover in the rest of the album. So what does that mean? That there are multiple “you”s in this song, meaning that Harry is addressing both his lover and a temptress? So “her” he’ll get to thinking of, the only other female pronoun used in the song, is identified as a temptress, but tempting to do what? To take risks? And no I won’t forget the “man, I can hate you sometimes,” where "man” is not a casual interjection but an identifier of “you.”

Or is it an echo of “the light” from Golden’s “bring me back to the light” and Light’s Up’s “step into the light”? So that the “sunshine” symbolises being in the clear, being out of the darkness running through his heart, the darkness caused by not knowing who you are. “You sunshine,” you beacon of light. “You temptress,” risk-taker and source of anxiety. You, one I need to spread open to figure out, to know about, source of happiness and despair, one I’m devoted to but also hate. You, man, you, temptress. You there, in the mirror looking back at me.

All of you, and myself included, we’ll be a fine line. And we’ll be alright.

This song is about all of that. The self in art, the self on its own, the other, the journey, the chances, the fears, the passion. Hope. Reassurance. Confidence. And, most importantly, that everything will be alright in the end.

read all my lyric analyses here

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arhvste · 3 years

Text

❝ YOU WANT THIS! ❞

— iwaizumi hajime x reader

— an: based off of ‘be honest’ by jorja smith because she’s sexy

— dt: megan thee stallion because it’s her birthday and i have nothing else to offer to my queen right now </3 so here megan, you might like iwa if you ever watch hq

— warnings: suggestive content [not explicit nsfw but it is still suggestive]

“i know you want me”

iwaizumi kept his distance as he watched you softly sing to yourself, emptying the remaining clean crockery remaining in the dishwasher. he had intended to help you, but seeing you like this always caught him off guard.

forever in your own element, unaware of what was lurking past your direct vision, you paid no mind as your boyfriend leaned against the sturdy door frame, eyes never once tearing away from your body.

“every day, not only when you're lonely, yeah”

your body moved so naturally around the kitchen, every drawer and location for every utensil memorised like the back of your hand. not once did anything interrupt your flow. hands grabbing and tossing things to where they should be, iwaizumi watched as music from the speaker dominated the atmosphere.

“you see, you think you know me”

had the dishwasher not been open, anyone could have mistaken your kitchen activities as a private show for anyone who happened to be watching rather than just chore.

your hips moved on beat to the song as a mischievous twinkle glinted under the dimmed kitchen lights, your silhouette seductively moving identically to your own body; you were simply alluring to watch.

“but you don't even know nothing about me, yeah”

the lyrics strung out your lips as you finished up with the plates and utensils. your boyfriends old aoba johsai jersey adorning your frame and his grey calvin kleins fitting your waist and thighs, iwaizumi bit his bottom lip at the tempting sight of you in his clothes in your shared apartment.

he’d well and truly claimed you and he had every intention to reinforce that fact at this very moment as he stood up properly and quietly wandered over.

“you see my, thick thighs”

you jolted at the new presence behind you. well sculpted chest pressed up against your back and calloused hands secure around your waist. iwaizumi grunted as he felt you tense up however, that was only momentarily. the second his hand dipped down to graze over your thighs, you felt at ease once more.

whenever you found yourself so close in his touch, a wave of security and and relief crashed over you, he was the only man capable of holding you in such a way, both physically and mentally, iwaizumi hajime had truly made you his.

“lost when you look into my brown eyes”

tilting your head up, iwaizumi brought his hand up as he dragged his fingers along the bottom of your jaw demanding your eyes to interlock with his. that once mischievous twinkle in your eyes now gone, but replaced with a strong desire with tints of lust scattered scarcely in your gaze. iwaizumi’s own stare holding a strong dominance and want for you.

you read each other like your own favourite books as you relished in the feeling of the pads of his fingers running up and down your neck and jaw before finally letting you drop your head back down.

“see, my little waist can make you switch sides”

his previously free hand retreating back to your hips, thumb circling the side of your upper thigh, he cleared his throat slightly at the feeling of your waist backing up dangerously against his own. you were testing the waters before entering risky territory you knew you wouldn't be able to leave and iwaizumi was slowly, but surely growing slightly impatient at your little game.

“you never know the devil in a disguise, so why don't you stand up, baby, and”

you hummed as your boyfriend ran his hands up and down your sides, body swaying in time with yours as his fingers reached up the fabric of the aqua material. the sides of your torso growing warm under his touch, you pulled away out of his touch slightly in means to provoke him and of course he never failed to notice this behaviour.

“tell me, tell me, tell me do you want me on top?”

iwaizumi pulled you back as close as he could into him as you airly laughed at his rough play with you. his hands gripping your hips and you swayed them in time, he encouraged your movements as you threw your head back and flashed him a playful grin before dropping your head back down.

“so let me show you, show you, show you, i don't need to back it up”

your playful smile still tugging at your lips, you purposely dropped down slightly to press up against where you knew your boyfriend was most sensitive. he clicked his tongue at your misbehaviour as his fingers hooked under the white trimming of his boxers that you were currently modelling for him and him alone.

“don't wanna hold you, mould you, scold you, split you in half with my heart”

his thumbs teasing your skin above the waistband as his fingers teased the skin under the grey material, he smirked as he had you exactly where he wanted you. you gasped as he teasingly tugged at the waistband slightly before you brushed his hand away in attempts of scolding him despite the fact butterflies in your stomach countered your intentions.

“i just wanna love on you, trust in you, honour you, please, do the same on your part”

paying no mind to your ‘telling off’, iwaizumi let his hands find their way back up the jersey again sending shivers up and down your body. lips pressed up against your ear, he permitted his hot breath to fan against the shell of your ear as you whined unsure of whether you wanted him to stop or continue.

that didn’t matter anyway, he was going to make that decision for you.

“be honest, you want this”

the athletics trainer muttered along, his words only loud enough for your ears to catch. hand dipping out the jersey, he brought it back up and let his fingers dance along the base of your neck where the material refused to cover. dragging his fingers up once more, he hooked his fingers under your jaw as he guided your head up allowing him more access to your neck as he hummed in praise for your obligation.

“but i can be heartless, regardless of my conscience”

licking his lips, iwaizumi took advantage of the acces you had granted him as he proceeded to press kisses along your neck and jaw as you continued to sway your hips against him, your own hand reaching up to his neck as he marked the territory he demanded was his.

“be honest, you want this”

your breathing now short and shallow as you felt yourself grow excited at his faint possessiveness over you.

his claim over you always so rough and present, but never once overbearing or concerning. he had taken you so abruptly, but not to the point where you didn’t like it. no, you quite liked his strong desire for you to be his and his alone. it felt satisfying know he wanted you as much as you wanted him, the two of you holding an equal balance of both love and lust for one another.

“but i can be heartless, regardless of my conscience”

iwaizumi pulled away and admired the now painted canvas of your skin. a new masterpiece to memorise along with the countless others he had previously painted on your skin as well as the countless others to come.

now sick of the lack of skin-to-skin contact, iwaizumi pulled your waist towards him as he guided you to your shared bedroom, dim city lights from below the apartment windows calling you both in for another night of intimacy.

“w-wait let me turn off the speaker-” you protested but was cut of by a soft pinch left on the side of your hip from your impatient boyfriend.

“leave it on, i like it.” he tutted as your eyes widened before you nodded allowing him to take over the way he liked.

the second you entered the bedroom, the door was kicked shut but not to the point where the song that had caused this event was drowned out.

despite the fact your mind was currently scattered and you only had clear thoughts of your boyfriend and your own selfish desires, at that very moment, you had decided that just maybe doing your chores in your boyfriend's clothes later at night in the future was a clever move.

especially if this was going to be the outcome.

general taglist → @atsumuwoah @bloody-bella @bbymilkbread @miracleboy420 @doggonudezz @tsumue @peteunderoos @tsukkisbean @saturnfarie @dear-kozume @zumisace @boosyboo9206 @totorosleaff @27kei @dai-tsukki-desu @crescenttooru @kuxredere @warakou @iss6s @lovinnoya @sophiashortcake @wompwomphq @waitforitillwritemywayout @webworld @brokeasshoee @sunasbabie @rowley-with-ackerman @mjoork @trifliz @curiouslilbeast @ineedsomefoodpls @hp-hogwartsexpress @ghostexhibit @kenmacorps @vhskenma @lollypop-lam @cultsumu

ALL CONTENT BELONGS TO @KUROOSKULT ON TUMBLR 2021 PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, CHANGE OR PLAGIARISE

#i hate this ending but i need to shower :(#happy birthday megan thee stallion #iwaizumi hajime #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi x you #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #hq #hq x reader #hq x you #haikyuu imagines #hq imagines

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autisticsupervillain · 2 years

Text

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters...

The Terrarian vs The Hunter!

Conditions:

End Game Versions of both. Childhood Beginnings Hunter is restricted. Speed Equalized.

Scenario:

After defeating the Moon Lord, The Terrarian begins looking for other worlds so they can find more gear. In their quest, they wind up opening a portal into the Hunter's Dream. Hoping to keep the Chaos plaguing Yarnham from spreading to other worlds, The Hunter attacks The Terrarian in order to close the portal.

Analysis: The Terrarian

Source:

And keep in mind, this isn't even the Terrarian at their peak. The loot they got from beating the Moon Lord is even stronger still. When you're powerful enough to beat gods who can destroy stars, you're powerful enough to do damn near anything. The Terrarian is far more than a simple Minecraft clone. They're in a league all of their own.

Analysis: The Hunter

Yarnam is a rotten little town full of a rotten little people... and then it got worse. No matter how much they may protests, it was not the machinations of Gods that brought ruin to this place. It was what these pathetic, opportunistic people did with those Gods that damned them. It's fitting that the only way to escape such a place is to become a God yourself. Or, failing that, become what hunts them.

The Hunter's origin is ours to interpret as we see fit, though it may as well not exist at all for as changed as they are now. They went to Yarnam looking for a cure to their terminal disease, and they got it. In exchange, they are conscripted into The Hunt and made to hunt the beasts that roam Yarnam and protect what little that remains of the people there. Though it seems they're the only one trying anymore. As one of the Hunter's colleges said shortly before turning into a bloodthirsty monster, "you'll be one of them sooner or later".

Perhaps "bloodthirsty" was too apt a phrase, seeing how the Hunter actively weaponizes theirs. The Old Blood is what gives The Hunters their power and The Hunter ends up guzzling a lot of it by the end of the game. Furthermore, they can turn their own blood into fuel for their power, or even absorb the blood of their enemies for this task. This is made all the more impressive when remembering that blood tends to drive irrevocably mad when consumed and used in the way the Hunter does, yet they themselves go through it by the gallon.

When they aren't drawing on enough blood to drown Count Dracula, The Hunter gets their resources from The Hunter's Dream, a pocket reality ruled by the Moon Presence that the Hunter can freely teleport back to so long as they have a lantern. So long as they are under contract for The Hunter's Dream, they will be freely revived upon death as the Moon Presence rewinds time to revive them.

Even without this safety net, The Hunter has a plethora of abilities to fall back on. They can freely kill ghosts with any of their weapons, as well as constant get stronger through the constant absorption of Blood Echoes. They can read memories with a touch and see the outlines of other hunters in parallel worlds. They can heal themselves by countering an opponent's landed strikes, but their most notable aspect is their immense willpower.

They're grasp on their sanity is genuinely incredible. They can freely fight and kill Great Ones, beings whose mere presence drives people into a feral madness. While most people who learn about Great Ones are driven into an animalistic Frenzy, the Hunter themselves is unaffected. What's more, while most Hunters struggle with the constant urge to transform into a beast, this Hunter can not only resist that urge, but can transform at will and maintain complete control of themselves while doing so. They've also been known to tank electric bolts, walk through active lava with ease, can walk around in poison pools with ease, and shrug off acid. Even without their immortality, the Hunter is incredibly hardy.

Don't think they're lack for offensive capabilities though. The Hunter frequently duel wields swords and guns to great effect, freely capable of bring all of the above and more to bear down on their opponents with their various swords and guns. The Shaman Bone Blade mind controls enemies to their side, the Crown of Illusions dispels illusions, and Boom Hammer creates minerature explosions. Notably, the Bloodletter is capable of driving every foe it touches completely mad. Forced to process information it simply can't understand, the mind fails and the body explodes in a shower of gore. And of course, they'll get plenty of opportunity to use it as they summon other Hunters to assist them.

The Hunter has fought and defeated some of the most powerful Great Ones the Pantheon has to offer. This includes Rom, who was actively keeping the moon from getting closer to the Earth. When Rom died, the moon nearly blots out the sky, generating a kinetic energy of 11 yottatons in the process.

Source:

The people of Yarnam can sleep easy, what few remain of them anyways. For the Hunter is here to slaughter their nightmares.

Matchup Mashup:

youtube

Throwdown Breakdown:

First thing's first, the stat gap. While both fighters have defeated people who could move moons, The Terrarian's moon took only 3 seconds to approach the Earth, whereas as The Hunter's took 24. This is a pretty big difference, as it's why the Terrarian's feat is in the Ninaton's range while Hunter's isn't. To contextualize, 1 Ninaton is worth 1000 Yottatons... and Hunter is only 11 Yottatons.

The funny thing is, this means exactly jack shit. The Hunter can just come straight back. Throwing yourself at impossible odds over and over is Soulsborne MO, The Hunter wouldn't even blink after getting obliterated the first time. This fight would end the same way regardless.

So with both a big strength gap and endless resurrection in mind, what can these two do to each other? Both of their kit counters out, as each largely resists or can just tank/revive from whatever the other can throw at them, one thing stands out in both of their arsenals. The Bloodletter on the Hunter's side and the Clentaminator on Terrarian's. While you could argue for Terrarian's mind resistance could shrug off it's mental effects (which I don't entirely buy. It drives you to madness because you can't comprehend it and nothing in Terraria works that way. That's why I didn't use Childhood Beginnings Hunter for the record, because I didn't want them to ein just by standing there t-posing), it making the Terrarian's blood explode would definitely be lethal. Similarly, The Hunter has endured similar corrupting effects to the Clentaminator, that weapon specifically corrupts them down to their very soul, which really wouldn't kill them, but it would irreversibly alter them. So, who hits the first shot.

And that's the bullet that puts Hunter down. Bloodletter is a melee weapon that Hunter has to use to hit someone who can freely fly, teleport, and turn invisible at will, while dealing with up to 4 summons they can't hit and whilst dodging a storm of bullets. Yes, The Hunter can summon other Hunters to lighten the load, but the Clentaminator would still work just as well on them too. Neither fighter really starts with their win con, so the two would at least get a good back and forth going, but Hunter ultimately just can't compete with Terrarian's versatility.

So the Terrarian beats the Hunter. Somehow this victory feels... Hallow.

The Winner is...

The Terrarian

#fictional throwdown fridays #terraria #the terrarian #bloodborne #hunter bloodborne #Youtube

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nose-bandaid · 3 years

Text

love, at its core

hi!! i hope you're havin a good day rn 😊😊 i just saw requests are open??? i was gonna ask if i could request something with yuto?? like his s/o is chillin with him at home and then they just get hit with the realization "omg my boyfriend is just sitting there and i can kiss him any time i want??? all i have to do is ask??? is it really that simple???? what a concept..." i know its very specific but its just smth ive been thinkin about these days?? like people datin can just kiss each other any time???? its just so simple yet so special at the same time??

Yuto x (gender neutral) Reader fluff | 2k words

synopsis: waking up one day, you were hit with a curious thought that made you realize how lucky you were to have a boyfriend

a/n: here you go anon !! i hope that this is what you wanted and that i didn't get carried away with the idea 😅 enjoy<3

ngl this ended up a little similar to -27°C but i love domestic relationships so it's cool

There was something peculiar about living with your boyfriend.

Nothing had changed since yesterday, or last month, or even the year before. You've been living together for a while now and today shouldn't have been any different. It shouldn't.

However, an intriguing thought in your mind constantly nudged you to love him even more today.

When you woke up, the first thing you did was roll over onto your side to study Yuto's face. Even asleep, he was incredibly pretty and you reached a hand to brush the strands of hair that had fallen over his face. He's been growing it for quite a while now, and oftentimes he would tie it all back in a small ponytail that you thought was endearing. But you thought he looked especially fluffy when he let his hair down. The sight of it that morning, however, tickled your own face and you tucked it behind his ear with a small smile.

"Better?" You whispered, not really expecting a reply because you believed he was still asleep. But he did, in fact, whisper a quiet "better" and you locked eyes with him in surprise.

"G'morning." He croaked out, trying to rub the sleep out of his face.

"Good morning Yuto," You replied, laughing when he leaned into your touch and tried to snuggle back to bed. "It's time to wake up, sleepyhead."

He wrapped an arm around you to pull you closer, burying his face into your neck to plant a kiss there. "But there's nothing planned for today." He whined, and it came out more of a question than it did as a complaint.

You wriggled your way out of the hug and poked his cheek. "You promised you'll make breakfast today though!"

That caused him to stir.

Yuto hefted himself into a sitting position with a huff and sent you a lazy grin. "I guess you're right; I can't back out of that."

Leaning in to plant one last kiss on your forehead, he patted your shoulder before standing up. "Just stay in bed for a while longer, love. I'll let you know when breakfast is ready."

You watched him quietly as he changed out of his pyjamas and exited the bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar so that you didn't feel completely alone. Placing a hand on your cheek, you wondered why today, of all days, your heart suddenly decided to skip a beat with every word he said. With every move he made.

It was probably then, that something within you clicked and made you realize that wow, you have a boyfriend.

And you have the privilege of waking up next to him every morning and seeing him smile.

=====

You got out of bed not long after Yuto left the room. The sound of the dishes and sizzling on the stove only made you want to wake up and join him in the kitchen.

When you arrived, Yuto greeted you with a nod towards the coffee brewer, already boiled and ready to serve. On your way to grab a mug, you glanced over his shoulder to see what he was making and sent him an approving smirk.

"Looking good, Yu."

He laughed as you poured yourself a cup of the drink and returned to the table. "Are you talking about me or the food?"

You shrugged. "That's up to you. It could be both, you know."

"Well, you came just in time to eat my beautiful breakfast." He replied and transferred the food onto the plates neatly laid out on the table. His spare hand reached into the drawer behind him to grab the utensils and he handed it over to you. "Time to dig in?"

You puckered your lips slightly as you accepted the food. "Give me a kiss first?"

If the sudden request for affection surprised Yuto, he didn't show it. Instead, he promptly grabbed you by the waist and pulled you in for a quick kiss on the lips. He tasted like the chapstick he always kept with him — a mix of vanilla and strawberries.

"Another, please." You asked when you separated, eliciting another one of his lighthearted laughs.

"Anything for you, love."

The kiss was deeper this time, and you blindly dropped the fork and spoon somewhere on the empty space of the table in order to wrap your arms around his neck. Beyond the sweetness of his lips, you could taste the lingering mix of morning breath and bitter coffee.

"Yuto," You muttered, breaking the kiss. "Have you brushed your teeth yet?"

"That's..." He averted his gaze. "I'll do it later, I promise. Let's just eat breakfast before it gets cold?"

"Okay, okay, you win." You decided, backing off to pull yourself a chair. "Let's test out your chef skills."

The breakfast was delicious and he beamed when you praised his cooking skills. You found yourself settled right beside Yuto, as opposed to your usual seat directly in front of him. With an arm linked into his (which admittedly made eating a little more difficult for both of you), you stayed close to the warmth of his body. Placed in front of you, carefully balanced against the box of tissues was your phone playing a video that you've been wanting to show him for a long time now.

Already knowing what's going to come next, you spent most of the time watching Yuto's face, catching every reaction and comment he made about the video.

It was the mundane things like these that made you appreciate him — or even the concept of dating — even more. Sure, going out on exciting dates, sharing thrilling memories. But being able to see him do the most normal activities while having him by your side? You believed that was the peak of a relationship.

"You have something on your face." Yuto's voice pulled you out of your thoughts and you looked at him in confusion. Before you could register his words, a thumb was already wiping your cheek, clearing you of your mess. "There."

"I love you, you know that?" You blurted out the moment you got over the initial shock.

"And I love you more, you know that?" He cocked his head, mimicking your voice.

You buried your face into your hands, unable to handle his cuteness. "Gosh, you're going to be the death of me."

"I'll make sure to take credit at your funeral, then."

=====

You spent the rest of the day trailing Yuto more than you intended to. But you couldn't help it when everything he did made your heart flutter. It felt like the beginning of your relationship all over again. You were amazed when you realized that you could simply ask him for affection and you would just... receive it?

There really was someone in this world who loved you just as much as you loved them. If you asked for a kiss, Yuto would willingly kiss you — this morning was proof of that. And you knew for a fact, that if you hugged him, he would always hug you back. There was hardly a time where he didn't return the "I love you" when you said it to him. And he never forgets to show you just how much you meant to him.

They were all simple things. Things that you'd normally overlook because they were so normal. But at the same time, they were the things you treasured the most.

This concept of dating... was quite a unique one.

"Yuto~" You called out to the boy who, oddly enough, was just standing in the middle of the room, staring out the window. "Can I have a kiss?"

As much as dating piqued your curiosity, you weren't going to complain about how simple it was at its core.

Without asking any questions, Yuto pecked you softly on the cheek, lingering there for an extra moment. You could feel his lips curl up into a smile before he pulled away.

He turned back to the window and squinted his eyes when the sun shone brightly on his face. "The weather's nice today, kinda makes me want to go on a walk."

"I'll come with you!" You offered readily and he perked up at the idea.

"Is that so? Then I guess that's a good incentive to go on a walk." He hummed.

"Of course I'd come with you!" You argued, following him to the front door and slipping a light coat on. "But on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"Let me hold your hand?"

After his shoes were put on, he quietly held out his hand for you to take, and that was enough of an answer.

======

Later in the evening, the two of you were relaxing on the couch watching a rerun of an old show you've watched far too many times now. But with the comfort of the plot and the way it never failed to make you laugh, neither of you minded.

Yuto let you hug his arm as you played with one of his hands. Like this morning, you found yourself spending more time thinking about him, and the show soon became background noise. You inspected every inch of his hand, placing soft kisses on it once in a while. You thought it was incredible, how every single part of him — both inside and out — could be so beautiful.

"What's up with you today?" He asked playfully when you finally distracted him enough to tear his eyes away from the screen. In the back of your mind, you noticed you were both missing out on one of your favourite scenes. "You've been clingier than usual since morning, did I miss something?"

When you didn't answer right away, Yuto's eyes widened as he suddenly sat straight up. "Wait, I didn't miss something, right?"

You laughed at his reaction and pat his shoulder reassuringly. "There's nothing special happening today, Yu, don't worry. I was just thinking..."

"About?" He relaxed back into the couch and let you pull him into your embrace.

You pondered over how to answer him for a couple of seconds. "About how lucky I am to have you."

"That's it?" He asked, baffled at the simplicity.

"Well, in short, yeah." You hesitantly answered and met his gaze when you felt it burning into you. The look in his eyes was a familiar one; a mix of curiosity and determination as he encouraged you to continue.

"It's normal for me to wake up next to you, and see you go to work, and watch stupid shows together and eat meals together and kiss each other goodnight. I don't normally think twice about all of that. But this morning, I realized that being able to do those things with you is so special and I'm so lucky to have you as my boyfriend."

"You know," He started thoughtfully and laced the hand you were holding into yours, tracing light patterns with his thumb. "I've never thought about it that way until you mentioned it."

"It puts things in a different perspective, doesn't it?"

Yuto's eyes wandered as he spoke. "It does, and it's a nice reminder to appreciate everything that we have right now."

"Exactly!" You agreed, happy that he understood what you were getting at.

"Is this why you've been exploiting my kisses today then?"

You froze. "Uh, maybe?"

"And to think that I was worried about missing something important." He let out a dramatic sigh.

"Listen, this was important okay!"

"I know, I know." He moved your clasped hands onto his lap, pulling you closer to him. "I'm glad you brought it up, it's a nice thing to think about."

The two of you settled into a comfortable silence to focus on the last few minutes of the show, everything long forgotten until the credits rolled across the screen. Yuto shut off the TV once they did, tired of the mindless entertainment and stretched as you spoke up again.

"So... I can still have another kiss though, right?"

He smiled. "Yes, of course, you can."

#newskynet #kdiner #pentagon #pentagon yuto #yuto x reader #pentagon x reader #yuto fluff #pentagon fluff #yuto #adachi yuto #nose-bandaid

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petrichormeraki · 3 years

Note

If you don't mind then 10 kiss prompt with fwt? 👉👈 Pls

10. “Happy you’re alive” kisses

*SCREAMS* G O D I LOVE THIS SHIT HELL YES

This was supposed to be the best day of Dream’s life, the day he would marry his true love, despite the war and conflict that their respective sides had endured. It was the SMP vs L’manburg, and yet even with both sides so vehemently refusing to back down, Dream found love in the son of his enemy.

Today was supposed to be their wedding. Even if it wouldn’t change the war back home, even if Fundy and Dream would find themselves on the opposite sides of the battlefield, today was supposed to be perfect. There even was a truce, upheld under threat of permanent death; there would be no fighting here. Only love.

Dream exited the spawn portal, immediately greeted by his future husband, dressed to the nines in a three piece suit and grinning so wide his face looked about to split in half. He rocked on the balls of his feet as Dream gawked at the world, completely outfitted to represent Treasure Planet, the movie they watched on the night Fundy proposed.

“Before we do anything, I want you to put this on.” Fundy said shyly, producing folds of shimmering white fabric from his inventory. Dream uttered a surprised laugh as he unfolded the cloth to reveal a beautiful wedding dress, studded with white diamonds and rhinestones.

“WHAT? You got me a dress? Oh, and a flower--” Dream stuttered as Fundy held out a bouquet of yellow daffodils to his fiance. “This--this is amazing!” Dream carefully pulled the dress over his head, doing a little spin to dazzle Fundy as the gemstones glittered in the setting sun. “Did you--Did you get this just for me?”

“I bought the dress! It was so expensive!” Fundy affirmed, beaming as Dream turned away from him so he could help him with the veil. “I don’t want to say I’m in debt, but, uh--”

Dream snorted as Fundy pulled away, nodding in satisfaction as the veil seemed to hold steady. Fundy then formally held out his elbow to his fiance, who looped his arm in with his without prompt. “Alright, follow me, Dream, I’ve got a LOT to show you.”

Fundy gave Dream a tour of everything he had prepared, most of which were as stunning as the portal Dream came through. (The one exception was the cobblestone crafting tables. Dream playfully punched his fiance in the arm as soon as he saw them, prompting Fundy to burst out in laughter and mischievous snickers.)

The tour ended with Fundy revealing a button in the middle of a bridge looking out at the flying ship, which Fundy explained would shoot cannonballs at the island as it was pressed. Dream’s eyes lit up as soon as Fundy finished talking, and with that the guests were allowed to spawn in.

Dream immediately pressed the button as soon as their communicators buzzed with the notification that people had begun to spawn, jumping back in shock as the cannons fired explosions worth several stacks of TNT at the island. “That’s not what I was expecting!!” Dream shouted breathlessly over the deafening sound as Fundy cracked up beside him, watching the guests jump out of their skin at the noise and carnage. “That is NOT what I was expecting!!”

“...I’m gonna do it again, though.” Dream said after a second’s hesitation, slamming his fist on the button again. Fundy flinched as more explosions rocked the bridge, wheezing with laughter as he saw the guests scramble for safety. “Stop, stop!” Fundy laughed desperately, wiping a tear from his eye. “Stop, stop, stop--”

Dream figured Fundy was joking, as his laughter prohibited him from speaking, so with an ecstatic grin on his face he punched the button again.

The final explosions directly hit the bridge supports, and with a startled shout Dream and Fundy were thrown off the breaking structure straight into the void.

Dream caught himself in midair, floating in place. He tried to refrain from using his godly abilities in front of his friends, but in moments like these they came out in a reflex.

Dream’s relief was torn from him as he realized his fiance did not have the fail-safe he possessed, and was plummeting into the endless void with a choked scream of terror exploding from his lungs.

Dream moved without thinking. He dropped into the void after Fundy, wind tearing against his body and making his eyes water. Still, he plummeted, reaching out his arms for his husband as the sky became darker and darker the longer they fell.

The air got thinner and thinner, and right as Dream saw Fundy’s eyes flutter shut, his hand brushed his suit jacket sleeve. Dream gripped it as tight as he could, yanking upwards and praying that his clothes wouldn’t rip him away.

Dream pulled Fundy close and abruptly halted their decent, his balance thrown off by the sudden midair stop. Dream wasted no time in shooting back up to the floating islands, the air’s sudden shift from freezing to a comfortable warmth making his muscles ache.

Dream landed on the bouncy castle, springing into the air a few times before his momentum slowed and allowed him to dismount. Ever so gently, he laid Fundy on the ground, his heart thudding so hard he was sure the entire server could hear it.

Fundy’s eyes were closed, his head limply succumbing to gravity when Dream hesitantly tried to shake him. “Fundy-? F--Fundy, wake up--”

Footsteps rapidly approached him, and Dream felt Sapnap’s calloused hands nervously flit about his shoulders as he stared at Fundy. His chest hadn’t moved since Dream laid him down.

“Fundy?” Dream said, less as a question and more as a statement. He didn’t know who he was even directing it to. “Dream, h-” Sapnap said gently, breaking off to swallow thickly. “He’s....He fell in the void, man.”

“I saved him,” Dream weakly argued, unable to tear his eyes away from Fundy’s still form. He heard Sapnap take a shaking breath, his friend’s hand squeezing his shoulder in a failed attempt to be reassuring.

“He...He’s gone, Dream. He went too deep.”

A strangled cry spilled out of Dream’s throat, his body going rigid at Sapnap’s words. “NO! NO! HE’S-”

Dream struggled against Sapnap’s arms that had suddenly wrapped around him tight and attempted to drag him away. “NO!! LET ME GO!! SAPNAP!!” Dream sobbed, reeling his head back and slamming it into Sapnap’s face. His friend cried out and released him at once, clutching at his bleeding nose with watering eyes.

Dream raced to Fundy’s body and hugged him close, reaching out his omnipotent senses for the life force that he begged the universe was still within reach.

His mind entered the in between, between life and death and everything in the middle. It was a place where Dream had only been once before, in an attempt to test how far his abilities could reach. He had no motive then, other than curiosity, and that alone was not enough for even a god like him to push back against the forces of nature.

But now, he had a cause. He would not accept death, not this time.

Dream pooled all the love in his heart that he felt for Fundy, remembered the fox’s caring and compassionate nature and his unabashed love for Dream despite them being on the opposite sides of the wars. The god held on to his love for Fundy like a lifeline and cast it to the void of spirits, praying to anyone who could hear him that his hand would not return empty.

He would not let Fundy die. He refused to believe this was the end.

Dream’s consciousness brushed against the color of love, of familiarity, the pure feeling of his Fundy. He snatched at it with all of the force his mind could conjure, and then visualized snapping it away from the light in the far distance.

Fundy’s body jerked violently in Dream’s arms, ripping his mind back to waking world. He opened his eyes to Fundy taking a heaving breath, shaking in his fiance’s arms.

Fundy’s pupils were blown way out of proportion, fear and confusion and subtly growing recognition in his expression. “Wh--what--” Fundy whispered, the words cutting off with a breathy cough as he gasped for breath. “What--what happened? Dream?”

A mix of a laugh and a sob bubbled in Dream’s throat as he made eye contact with Fundy, warm and breathing and alive in his arms. He faintly recalled moving, but then his lips were on Fundy’s and everything else faded away.

It felt like a million years when they broke apart, breathless and in tears. Dream held Fundy’s face and bit down another sob of relief as he traced every detail of his fiance like he would never see him again.

“You’re alive,” He said, tears spilling down his face. Fundy’s cheeks had flushed a deep pink at Dream’s sudden display of affection, seeming to steadily become aware of the crowd of guests that had gathered while he and Dream were in limbo.

“I shouldn’t have seen you.” Fundy said hazily, blinking rapidly. A flash of confusion crossed Dream’s mind. “What?”

“It--it’s bad luck, huh.” Fundy explained with the slightest hint of a playful grin on his face. “T--to see the bride before the wedding.”

A shocked laugh burst from Dream’s chest and he kissed Fundy once more to wipe that dumb look off his face.

“Stupid.” Dream said, his voice welling with love when they parted. “You’re so stupid.”

#SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG #I LOVE THEM SO MUCH #midnightmagi #meraki answers #fundywastaken #dream smp #kinda #writing prompts #fic response

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hhjs · 4 years

Text

rewind, revive. (all that we are.)

pairing. — kim sunwoo x reader.

genre. — angst.

alternatively. — wherein letting go is all but a reminder of why he seemed to hold on.

mystery trope!

word count. — 2.8 k

note. — inspired the nbhd's 'wdywfm' and 'reflections'. (impacting characters exactly in that order of the songs.) this is unedited so bear with me lmao

Regret is a funny thing.

One can feel it approaching light years before the realisation hits. Like squinting at dim headlights in the distance, before the vehicle picks up pace, before the tires skid against wet gravel, before it finally, finally occurs that it's too late, too late to go back and walk away, to stop oneself from facing the impact head on. From having the air knocked right out of one's lungs.

Sunwoo knows for a fact what he is doing fits that criteria.

Something about the prevailing silence that comes after heated arguments is utterly eerie; being an on and off couple for the longest time indicated that you recognised that much.

"I think we should take a break. Figure things out on our own."

He looks at the little scar you'd gotten from accidentally ramming your toe into the doorframe because you were too excited to see him. (It's healing.) No, that's not right. From this position, sat atop the sofa, when he's holding his head in his palms as your tone rises mid syllable, that's all he can see. No, he can't look at you. He can't look at himself in your eyes now, dropped way below all expectations you held to him once, silhouette of his peeved face in them leaves a rancid emotion inside his belly.

"Is that what you really want?" You ask, this time with a slight hint of surrender in your voice.

Sunwoo wants to say he doesn't exactly know what he wants, what he is feeling, perhaps it's the aftermath of working too hard, taking on too much stress, or so Changmin explained to him earlier that week, he doesn't quite perceive himself as someone who could lament his problems easily - however, it's very clear to him that he is pushing you away, sealing himself off suddenly, missing out on dates, calls and falling short in the department of being his usual affectionate self.

Or maybe, Sunwoo doesn't love you anymore.

What if he's never loved you at all? What if whatever you have is all a resultant of mere infatuation and he was too young to differentiate from the start?

Whatever it is, Sunwoo isn't too sure, but you... obviously notice. He's always finding excuses to distance himself and it's changing you, who you used to be when he fell in love with you. In fact, every day is a constant evidence of just how disconnected your relationship is from how it was in the beginning, in the 'honeymoon stage' or whatever. The way he tenses up when you throw an arm around him every night he plops down against your shared bed too late, only entertaining your comforting words with monosyllabic responses; he seems to test your patience, trying to find your breaking point.

And this is it, he thinks.

What you suggested as an innocent movie night with him, trying to get him to talk to you, about anything, anything at all, soon took a bad turn when you reached out to interlock your arms and he found himself brushing you off.

It was just the same little act that piled and piled atop all of his 'little acts' and this final blow sent everything tumbling down, all at once. The way you stared at your spread out, empty palm as you asked him why he was being like this is an image he finds difficult to forget.

Albeit he doesn't hesitate, asking you to stop nagging him, to stop overreacting. To just leave him alone.

Now, with the weight of his words absent inside, all he senses is blatant emptiness taking refuge in its place, an epiphany that he can't take back what he said.

You don't say a word when Sunwoo's reply comes in the form of an affirmative nod and what's worse, he thinks, is that you don't look surprised.

As if you saw it coming all along.

...

When he agrees to put up with one of the double dates Eric set, it's because his friends are convinced that the relationship has reached a dead end. Sunwoo ignores that idea and indulges in what he perceives as newfound freedom.

Even though the excitement of getting to know someone new is momentary, replaced by a strong underlying feeling that nauseates him. Whenever Sunwoo looks over the candlelight and watches his date smile back at him, it feels like he's doing something wrong. Something hypocritical.

Recently, every day feels the same. Every hour melding into the same old routine. This is boredom, Sunwoo tells himself, though he's positive it's anything but.

It's quite a surprise not having chanced upon you by accident, given years of dating has merged your social circles.

Really, when he thinks about it, Sunwoo's known you for the longest time.

Since he was sure he would fail a calculus pop quiz and he kicked your chair to gather correct answers, you were so shy, innocent and how that sparked a sense of adoration in him for the first time ever, since you ended up becoming best friends in spite of your essentially different personalities. Sunwoo tries to remember the exact feeling of snowflakes collecting on his cheeks, in your eyelashes, his cool fingers in his pockets, while a street light buzzed overhead - not every detail is clear - but the sight of your beaming face as he timidly confessed his feelings is unmistakable. As time passes, he tries thinking about it more and more, afraid someday he'll look back and miss out the most essential rudiments of the event. Or worse, forget altogether. It's such a distant, fleeting moment that elicits a bittersweet sensation in him. Sweet because some part of him will always be entwined with some part of you, bitter because you were no longer together.

Sunwoo shakes his head, as though the gesture ought to come in assistance in ridding himself of the aforementioned thoughts. He's the one who wanted this whole break thing, right?

He pushes his trolley around, leans on the handle like he used to as a kid and paces up through empty lanes after looking around to see that the seven eleven store is mostly empty. He successfully breezes through aisles and throws in packaged kimbap, frozen fried rice and crisps to his trolley; and then, suddenly, a juice extract shelf in the distance catches his eye.

Sunwoo focuses his vision and marks his next destination, all the while imitating low humming of a makeshift engine with his mouth.

But of course, much to his dismay, his trolley jams right into another that approached out of the aisle to his side that he hadn't kept an eye on in moving only forward.

He mutters a string of quiet apologies, bowing briefly and hoping to God that the person hadn't heard him swear under his breath. "It's alright."

Sunwoo looks up and blinks curiously recognition washing over him.

It's only been a few weeks but the sight of your face, the real thing, not instagram photos, not the ones in his money bag or photo frames in his drawer, hits him with the force of a bullet train.

Your face is bare, shadows splattered against your forehead and the tip of your nose because you're wearing his - and he only realises now - ridiculously big, pink bucket hat, a hand casually positioned into a jacket pocket, there's something so endearing about this.

"Hey." Sunwoo says.

"Hey."

You stare at him for a good second and then as if realising something, you blink rapidly, fishing out a pear extract juice to dump it in his trolley. "Here."

It is an unspoken gesture, to relay that you still remember what he likes and what he doesn't like, that you've unraveled the likes of Sunwoo, excavated all the little, measly, trivial quirks, secrets and lies buried deep inside the cavity of his chest.

"Thanks." Sunwoo just stares, entranced.

It is only when he's back home, nuzzled into the comfort of his favourite blanket that still smells a little like you, does he realise he misses you.

...

"I don't care."

Sunwoo thinks he means it, like this, when he has a hoodie pulled over his head and balances a controller with great expertise, looking perfectly unfazed by Chanhee's comment about whether or not he should invite you to his party, it almost sounds true. "I just wanna see them." He settles. Time apart only reminded him just how impatient he could be when he wanted something and wasn't getting it immediately. He is seeing clearly, you're the only constant in the overwhelming vicissitudes of his life, the only one who saw him at his worst as you did at his best and stayed. That comfort, that very familiarity, is far better than the infamous honeymoon stage or any stage, for that matter.

Sunwoo realises that now. Even if it's just a little late.

Rolling his eyes, Chanhee pushes a grocery bag containing the former's snack and tears open a packet of honey crisps.

Prior to this confession, no matter how much Sunwoo insisted that he was fine, that his stare didn't linger every time he mistook a stranger for you, that he definitely didn't pretend to do the dishes even though he refused to do the chore under any other circumstances just to overhear his friends talking about a new event in your life, or just... about you, Chanhee doesn't believe him.

In retrospect, no one does. But Chanhee is least discreet about it.

"I don't suppose that's a good idea..." He pauses, swallowing, "What if things go south?"

Beneath an act of trying to untie the grocery bag, Sunwoo contemplates that he doesn't know how to respond to this inquiry, he had pictured your next meeting many a times, prepped himself to do or say very particular things, the way you always made up, time and time again forgiving each other in spite of all obstacles in your way, to a point where you friends got tired of you going back and forth, convinced that you could never really break up... - no, he is sure nothing can change, that's a blatant impossibility, Sunwoo knows you and you know him. No matter how much he fucks up - you know he'll always come back to you.

That's how it has always been.

"Figures, huh?"

Sunwoo scoffs, noting the way his friend's expression morphes to a confused furrowing of brows. He holds the yellow classic salted packet up instead whilst wrinkling his nose more than necessary, knowing the remark would prompt Chanhee to get annoyed and forget all about his own remark. “You got the wrong flavour again.”

The older male crumples a crisp in his palm and flicks it at Sunwoo.

The answer is simple, he'll never know if he never tries. Love is not chance but a decision, love is a choice, isn't it?

Well, Sunwoo chose you, he chooses you. He'll choose you over and over again.

...

"Can we talk?"

You nod slowly, a sigh escaping your parted lips. An expression on your face that Sunwoo can't put a finger on. But he doesn't have to, not when you comply so easily, joining him out into the balcony divorced from the apartment rife with noise and evidence of inebriation.

You lean over the railing, your eyes travelling far off into the impossibly dark scenery, the silence is imbued with a vague sense of eerie, the kind that ensues before something terrible happens.

All Sunwoo can think about is how beautiful you are. Suddenly, he feels guilty - see, he can't remember the last time he appreciated you, showered you with accolades you most certainly deserve. He mimics your position, turning his head slightly to take in every detail. Committing it all to memory. Things are different now. You look different.

Last time he saw you, he could map out the swollen quality of your eyes, nails bitten and chipped, the little characteristics that gave away you weren't doing well. Now, there's an indescribable glow to your face, something under the perfectly dolled up look, the red beret on your head, matched with an utterly fabulous coat that guards you from cool autums.

It's a new outfit. The discomfort is newer.

"You look great." He finally speaks and it's not the best way to start a conversation that's dangling by its last finger, akin to an inexperienced acrobat - he doesn't know what is.

You chuckle. "Is that what you wanted to say?"

"N-no...I just.." he pauses, the words all bundling up on his tongue into one big mess of sentences that don't make any sense. When you finally look at him, leaning back on your elbows now, Sunwoo gulps, this isn't a figment of his imagination, no, this is real. It's now or never. "I'm sorry." He starts, the mere utterance of those words seem to spark no change in your appearance. As if you're waiting for him to continue. Right now, apologies just aren't good enough. "This whole thing was so stupid. Baby I-I know I fucked up but... I love you. Okay? I promise I'll do anything to make it up to you. Whatever you want."

You stare at him for a long second, just letting his words sink in but also just seemingly allowing yourself to think. Then you push yourself up, standing straighter. "You dont have to." You say simply, a hint of finality laced into your tone. All Sunwoo finds himself thinking is how you don't reciprocate, uttering the same I love you like you always did. Out of habit.

He curls his fingers into fists, knuckles whitening and whitening under the strain. His vision is a blurring film against which you look like a faint silhouette, secluded by rivulets of raindrops racing down windows. It's embarrassing, how he feels, all those bubbling emotions reduced to that of a child being denied his favourite candy.

"W-What is that supposed to mean?" He blinks, finding that you're staring at your spread out palms. Like they're evidence for something you've done.

"Sunwoo." You say. It sounds like a warning, like a don't get any closer. "I don't like who I become when I'm with you."

At this point, Sunwoo just listens. In his mind, he hadn't foreseen this. He knew it wouldn't be easy, he knew he had to try his best but...this...losing you... that was out of question. Right?

No, he tells himself, he'll fix it, he'll get it together.

"You know, I was really angry at you for breaking up with me...but it was probably for the best." You produce a garbled laugh, lifting your face skyward, looking up at the glossy layers of pollution, of purplish clouds and the barely there moon behind, like you're reading off sentences from them. Sunwoo stares at you, he wants to reach out and trace the curves of your face without thinking twice, without holding back. "We did need time to think... and it made me realise that I've always loved you more than you've ever loved me. Heck, even more than I loved myself...and... I can't be that version of me again." You sniffle, "That's not love... That's devotion."

"Hey, don't say that!" He drags his fingers up from the railing and reaches out to touch your elbow, "Come on...we-we can work it out. We always do." These words , they come out all choked up and hoarse.

You stiffen up at the sound, "You're not listening to me." You shrug him off, adamantly piloting your gaze to linger away from him, your back's turned away from him but then you pause, just slightly looking over your shoulder and your gaze softens at the sight of him using his sleeve to dab at his cheeks. The gesture makes him feel hopeful, just for a second.

Then you sigh, shaking your head, "Don't you get it?" You say, "We can't fix this...we can't fix each other.

Inexplicably, he thinks of a perfect world, where he could go back just once, where it all started, everything before, holding his head in his hands and the little scar on your toe and is that what you really want?

This time, Sunwoo would mutter a quick no. He'd flick on the television and snuggle into your side, talking mindlessly about something that makes you laugh. To forget all about the stupid argument.

But in reality, he lets your words ricochet off of the walls, listening to the transient beats of music pouring into the balcony when you slide the door open to let yourself out.

It shuts.

Everything goes quiet.

And this soundlessness, this solitude, he knows this, he's heard this, he's seen this, he's felt this, this... this is final,

this is goodbye.

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geniusgub · 4 years

Text

north//chapter one

here she is!! after the long wait, here is the first chapter of north! I hope you all like it. let me know what you think. more chapters to come soon🖤

also i dont have a tag list for this but if anyone wanted to be tagged in this fic then let me know and I’ll create a tag list

genre: fluff

pairing: spencer reid x female oc

warnings: very basic troupe that I’m sure some people are tired of lol but other than that, none!

word count: 3k

SPENCER

Being late to work is not something that I tend to enjoy. I hate it, in fact. I feel like I'm letting my team down if I'm ever late to round table meetings or if I miss a briefing. But these days, sleep is rare. And if I do sleep, it's not uncommon for me to sleep over the array of alarms I have.

Coffee is a must have for me at all points of the day. No sleep means exhaustion and exhaustion means my brain doesn't work as quickly as it could and that means we don't solve cases and not solving cases means more people die. I can't have more people die on my watch so I drink as much coffee as I can. But the coffee in the bullpen isn't always the best so if I ever have time, I stop at a cafe on my way to work. I take the extra five minutes to walk there before hopping on the metro.

I mumble off my coffee order to the tired looking barista and she scribbles down my name. I hand over a few stray bills to pay and get some change in return, tucking it in my pants pocket. I give a tight lipped smile to the barista before moving to a table in the corner of the cafe, pulling a book out of my messenger bag and starting to read, crossing one of my legs over the other. I don't look up while I wait for the barista to call out my name, not even when two people bump into each other in front of the door or a tourist asks someone else for directions. I just read my book and chew my lip, tapping my fingers against the hardcover.

"Spencer," I hear my name being called and finally allow myself attention to be lifted.

I stand quickly, tucking my book in my bag and closing the flap before heading back to the main counter. But the buckle of my bag gets caught on the button of my sleeve when I try to close my bag all the way. I pull at my sleeve, trying to get the buckle unlooped. But in this tussle with myself, I don't even realize that I'm still walking until I bump right into someone. I move my attention from my bag and catch the person's shoulders so I don't completely knock them over and make not only a fool of myself, but of them too.

"Oh my gosh," I say immediately, my eyes widening, "I'm so sorry,"

"It's okay, it's okay," the girl laughs, her hands squeezing my arms as she regains her balance, “didn’t even fall. You caught me. I didn’t even break a sweat!”

My eyes finally find the girl's face and I'm rendered absolutely speechless. I somehow notice everything about her right away and I memorize her beauty. Her eyes are a bright, beautiful shade of ocean blue and her eyelashes cast shadows over her perfectly pink cheeks. Her hair is wavy and blonde with brown roots, but there's a yellow and blue patterned scarf tied around the front of her head like a folded bandana with pieces pulled out to frame her face. Her nose is small and I can only liken it to a button. Her lips are full and plump and a pretty light pink color and her Cupid's Bow is one that Cupid himself should be jealous of. Both of her ears are full of different types of piercings, and her nose even has a hoop in her right nostril.

She's wearing a light blue knit sweater tucked into a tight denim skirt, along with a pair of short black boots with small heels on them. Her nails are painted white and her fingers are full of rings, each of them different styles and various shades of silver with yellow gems. I notice a tattoo on one of her fingers but she moves and I can't make out what it is. I wonder if she has more tattoos. I find two straps around her shoulders and realize she's wearing a leather backpack, one probably very similar to my own bag. The last thing I notice is the old fashioned camera hanging around her neck, resting just above the waistband of her skirt.

I've seen my fair share of pretty girls. I've seen girls that I wouldn't mind getting to know better. I've met girls that have caught my attention. I've even been in what I believed to be love. But what is this? If I thought I'd seen a beautiful girl before, I clearly hadn't met this girl before. She looks like an angel sent directly from heaven. She looks like she was crafted by God himself and put on this earth to grace mankind with her beauty. Is it fair for one woman to be this beautiful? Is it even possible? I didn’t think that one woman could possess such beauty.

What the hell is wrong with me? I can barely even breathe. I’m just staring at this gorgeous specimen, admiring her smile and trying to memorize the way her fingertips feel on my forearms. I quickly try to think of something to say, another apology for running into her, but I can barely even breathe when I stare at her, much less speak.

"Spencer," the barista calls out my name again, setting my cup down on the counter before walking away. Saved by the barista.

The girl smiles at me and her face lights up, only further illuminating her features. She's got two dimples on her cheeks, bringing out a childlike spirit in her that I pick up right away. "Um," she says with a laugh, "is that yours? You should probably grab it before someone else steals it,"

Okay, Spencer, breathe. You can do this. You’ve spoken to pretty girls before. Sure, it’s hard and it’s scary, but you can do it. Just say words. Preferably, coherent words. Preferably, maybe, a full sentence.

"Right," I finally force out, dropping my hands from her arms. I hadn't realized until now that I was still holding onto her and she was still holding onto me. I reach over and grab my steaming coffee, almost wincing at the heat under my fingertips.

The girl still hasn't moved when I turn back to her, but now she's fiddling with her camera. "Are you," I start to say before hesitating. Her head pops up and she smiles again, letting her camera fall against her stomach. I gulp, shuffling my feet against the floor as I attempt to speak a full sentence. "I didn't mean to bump into you like that,"

"Oh, it's totally fine," she waves her hand at me casually. "I wasn't paying attention either. No harm, no foul. Like I said, I didn’t even break a sweat,” The girl pushes her hair behind her ears and places her hands on her hips. With the confident way she speaks, I almost expect her to keep speaking, but she doesn’t. She just looks at me with the cutest smile, even baring her teeth, waiting for me to say something else.

So I clutch my cup of coffee and swallow thickly. “I-" I hesitate yet again, but when the girl's eyes scream for me to continue, I do. "What's your name?"

She opens her mouth to speak but before she can, another cup of coffee is placed on the counter. "Amelia," the barista announces before walking away.

Amelia laughs, taking a step over to grab her cup, which I immediately notice is tea and not coffee. "Took the words right out of my mouth,"

"Amelia," I repeat as if testing the way the word rolls off my tongue. It tastes sweet. "You heard already, but, um, I'm Spencer,"

"It's nice to meet you," Amelia holds her hand to shake mine, and the panic starts to set in. For a moment, I debate on actually just shaking her hand so I don’t seem like a total freak to this girl that I seem to have a massive crush on. But the prospect of shaking a total strangers hand is repulsive and when I find myself looking at her hand for more than two seconds, I’m starting to count up the amount of germs that would be present there and I have to force myself not to make a face.

So of course, while my hands get clammy and my heart rate speeds up, I do what I do best. I spit out a fact that Amelia didn't ask for. "On average we carry 3,200 bacteria from 150 different species on our hands,"

Amelia's fingers curl into her palm and she retracts her hand, looking down at her palm and smiling just a tiny bit. "You know, I don't blame you for not wanting to shake hands. It is kinda gross anyway,"

"Sorry," I blurt out immediately, still shuffling on my feet. "That was rude of me,"

"It's not rude," Amelia counters, sipping her tea without so much as grimacing at the inevitable heat. "Are you in a rush?" I glance down at my watch and see that I still have ten minutes until I should be getting on the train. I relay this information to her and watch as she smiles again. "Would you like to sit with me then?"

"Oh," my eyes widen slightly and I squeeze my coffee cup so hard that I think I might poke holes in the sides, "y-yeah, sure,"

"Cool," she breathes out, waving me on and leading me to a booth on the other side of the cafe. I'm far too anxious with this situation and by Amelia's beauty and her comfortability around me to even think about relaxing, or drinking my coffee, or taking my bag off from around my shoulder. I definitely can’t remember any of Morgan’s advice on how to chat up girls or any of the conversation starters I’ve memorized for social situations like this. My mind is completely empty, just when I need it to be full and plentiful. How lovely.

Amelia sits across from me and grins, and every time she does, I swear my heart skips a beat and another butterfly breaks through its cocoon in my stomach. "So where are you off to this morning, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Work," I answer, and then realize that's an incredibly vague answer. Amelia raises her eyebrows as she lounges back against the booth, clearly waiting for me to elaborate. "Uh, I work for the FBI, actually. More specifically, the BAU- the Behavioral Analysis Unit,"

"You're a profiler!" Amelia perks up again, sitting up straighter with a huge grin on her face. "That's super cool! My dad is a police officer, sheriff actually, back home in Texas and I'm pretty sure he's worked with the BAU before and he says you guys are awesome. You catch serial killers, right?"

I'm almost stunned by her reaction. Most people don't believe behavioral profiling works, and most people resist the practice, especially local police. But her acceptance of it is incredibly refreshing, and it's welcomed. Honestly, any type of excitement from this Amelia girl is welcomed. It’s a beautiful sight.

I can feel my cheeks turn bright red as I nod, still clutching my coffee cup. "Yeah, we do. And um, what about you?" I hate talking about myself so I change the subject. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm actually meeting a friend of mine to go shopping a few blocks over," Amelia gestures out the window. "But since we're talking about your job, I'll tell you about my way less cool job, which is an artist. I went to Carnegie Mellon and then moved here and I’ve been here ever since. My preference is canvas painting but I bring my camera around a lot, hence," she holds up the camera around her neck, "the camera now. I try to capture spontaneous moments for when I do exhibits and galleries and such,”

"I've always loved art. Never been talented at it, but I like it." I shrug nonchalantly and sip my coffee, trying to divert my eyeline down to the table, but when Amelia smiles at me, I can’t find it in me to break our eye contact.

Something about Amelia's smile brings me in. Every time she flashes her teeth, I feel myself sink further into my seat and I feel my head get fuzzier. I almost forget that I have to get to work in just a few minutes. But I don't want to go anymore. I want to stay here and keep talking to Amelia. I want her to keep going on and on about canvas paintings and her education at Carnegie Mellon, or even just tell me why she likes tea over coffee, if that’s even true. I don’t know anything about this girl but I want to.

"Nobody is technically good at art," Amelia responds. "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in the arts, everyone sees art differently, and that's okay. I'm sure you're not horrible, I'm sure you just haven't found your strength yet, Spencer," She enunciates my name with such beauty and grace that I almost ask her to say it again. I'd do anything to hear her say my name again.

"If-" I'm cut off when my phone rings in my pocket, so I lean over and fish it out. I read a text from Garcia that tells me we have a case, meaning we'll be briefing for a new case this morning. I sigh defeatedly, wishing I hadn't just gotten a text that usually piques my interest. Today, it makes my heart drop.

"You have to get to work?" I look back up at work to see yet another smile on Amelia's perfect face. "Go ahead, it's okay," I’m so used to seeing disappointed faces when this text comes in, not a smiling face. It’s odd, somewhat confusing.

I grab my coffee cup and stand as Amelia does the same. She holds her cup to her chest, looking down at her feet. "Will," I chew on the inside of my cheek when she looks up at me, ocean eyes wide with anticipation as I struggle with my words for the umpteenth time, "can I see you again? We barely got to talk and you-"

"Yeah," Amelia nods before I can even finish my sentence. "Can I give you my number?"

I have to hold myself back from jumping up and down in excitement. "Y-Yeah, sure, of course," I pull my phone out yet again as she does the same. She tells me her phone number slowly so I can get it down, but of course, it sticks in my brain immediately.

"Just text me," Amelia murmurs, looking over my shoulder at my phone where my shaky thumbs press against the buttons on my phone to type out- hi, it's Spencer. She waits until her phone rings and then she smiles at me. "Great, I've got it. Now, um, go. Don't let me be the reason you're late in helping people. You don't have to text me if you don't want to," she pauses for a moment, and I wonder what she's waiting for. Is she waiting for me to confirm or deny that statement? Is she waiting for anything at all? Is it an open-ended statement? Where have all my profiling skills gone? Forget profiling- where is my common sense? "But if you do wanna text me," I'm thankful when she starts talking again, "don't until after you've solved your case. Don't worry about me until you've saved lives. But like I said, if you don't wanna text me, you don't have to,"

My phone buzzes again and I can only imagine it's someone from the team asking me where I am, hurrying me along so we can get started on our briefing. I ignore it for now. "Well," I have to clear my throat to be able to speak again. I give Amelia a bashful smile holding up my phone for her to see, "I'll text you when I'm back home,"

Amelia blushes, her bottom lip being pulled between her teeth. She breathes out a tiny laugh, nodding. "I look forward to it, Spencer,"

I take a step towards the door and feel my body grow cold at the distance starting to increase between us. "I'll talk to you soon, Amelia,"

And with that, before I have it in me to take one more look at the angel standing in the corner cafe, I hurry out the front door. There's a dumb smile on my face as I rush down the stairs to the train platform, struggling to swipe my card and respond to Penelope's text at the same time, all while running to catch the train at the platform. I'm somehow successful at all of this and only manage to breathe once I'm inside the stuffy car. Amelia's face is stuck inside my head and I can't get it out, and I'm positive that I never want to.

///

"Reid? Reid!" My head pops up as Morgan forcefully says my name, catching my attention and bringing me out of my daydream.

When I look up at him, he's already staring up at me with his eyebrows raised, clearly expecting an answer out of me about something. I have no idea what that something is, but he’s wanting an answer about it. I clear my throat, placing my cup of terrible police station coffee on the table and running a hand over my face. "Sorry," I apologize half heartedly, "I was thinking,"

Morgan sits across from me at the table and folds his hands. "Case related?" I glance up at him before deciding to completely ignore him, standing and walking up to the board, returning to examining the geographical profile. "Reid, come on, we've been on the case three days. You've been distracted ever since you walked in for the briefing. You can talk to me," I keep ignoring him. I stare at the map in front of me. "Is something going on? Is it your mom?"

"My mom is fine," I spin around and cross my arms over my chest, ignoring the way my heart starts to speed up when Amelia’s face resurfaces in my brain. “Can we just solve this case so we can go home?”

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