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masterjedilenawrites · 3 years

Text

Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 2

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. First, 2 platonic chapters for set-up/build-up. And then, the story will split into 2 paths depending on your romantic pairing preference: You and Thrawn, or You and Eli.

Chapter Masterlist

Chapter 2: The Plan

Pairing: None...yet...

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of bullying

Length: 2k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

The rest of the week saw the three of you using every bit of free time outside your classes and studies to gather information for Thrawn to build a solid plan.

Eli tailed his pesky classmate Arden everywhere, even skipping a class one day to break into his dorm, trying to learn anything about the guy that could be useful to get him involved in the plot. Thrawn analyzed the simulation software and protocols that would be used to administer the tests, mapping out every possible way Commander Burdick could hijack it. And you were the one spying on the Burdick himself. Since the commander didn't seem too interested in your grades, you were able to shadow him without suspicion, and had been able to slip a bug into his offices to eavesdrop on any potential conversations about his plans for sabotage.

Your classmates and the staff were none the wiser. That was the advantage of being social outcasts. Half of them avoided you all like the plague, and the other half already thought you were weird people doing weird things. So it wasn't long before you'd all gotten enough intel to work with.

It was late in the evening at the end of the week. You found yourself in Thrawn and Eli's shared dorm, which looked identical to your own in the opposite wing, because the Empire couldn't bother with things like individuality or comfort. Eli sat on the edge of his top bunk, his legs swinging casually, and his coat unbuttoned to reveal a wrinkled undershirt you knew he hadn't bothered to wash all week. Thrawn paced about in the middle of the room, his long strides only allowing him about four good steps before he had to turn around. He still had his uniform on, boots and badges and all.

You leaned against the railing of the bed, watching Thrawn as he went back and forth. Sometimes he sat still when he was scheming, with his fingers steepled and his gaze seemingly reaching into some unknown dimension beyond your comprehension. That usually happened when he was running through variables that didn't concern you, at least from his perspective. You and Eli had accepted long ago there would always be parts of his plans he would never share with you. He was kind of a control freak like that.

But tonight, he seemed to be more welcoming of collaboration, hence his steady rhythm of pacing in front of you.

"Only one variable remains, as I see it," he was saying. "We understand how the commander will manipulate the system to cause a redundancy in the simulation, thus rendering the test impossible to finish successfully."

You and Eli shared a glance; the only person who truly understood how that was going to happen was Thrawn. He'd tried explaining numerous times but when it came to codes and tech, the two of you weren't able to fully keep up.

"We also know through your investigating," Thrawn motioned to you with what you thought was an impressed look, causing you to feel a little pride, "that the commander plans to only sabotage my test, believing it will be too suspicious if Eli also fails. He will also manipulate his false code to originate from the computer of his former lover Eva Carroway, who currently works in HR. So if an investigation does ensue, it will be traced to her and not him."

You and Eli chuckled under your breaths. It had been a little amusing when you'd discovered Commander Burdick was using this plan to not only undermine Thrawn, but also get revenge on his ex-girlfriend. But even more hilarious was how awkward Thrawn treated the subject. He had been quite perplexed to learn people could be so vindictive after a break-up. And any time he explained that detail of the plan, like he was doing now, he hesitated over his word choice. You couldn't tell if he only pretended to be confused about romantic relations, or if that was truly an area he found himself lost in.

If Thrawn noticed your snickering, he didn't respond to it, only continued to recap the plan. "We have also determined how we will expose the altered code naturally, so it does not cast suspicion on us... What was the word you used?"

"Backfire," said Eli.

"Yes. It would not due to have anyone suspect that we altered the test ourselves, or to have our concerns disregarded altogether. Thus, arranging for the maintenance crew to get a mild case of food poisoning so their performance checks are postponed to occur right before the tests will take care of that variable. At the least, they will fix the altered code and I will take the test as normal. At the most, they will report it and the commander faces expulsion."

"So..." said Eli through a yawn as he stretched. "What's left to work out, then?"

Now it was time for you and Thrawn to share a look.

"Were you not interested in involving your classmate, Arden Fey?" asked Thrawn in his soft, contemplative voice.

Eli shrugged. "Yeah. But Burdick's already got his scapegoat, his ex. So it'll be easier to keep him out of it. Whatever."

You could tell he was trying to be nonchalant. But just this morning, he had spent the entire walk between classes ranting about some new insults Arden had come up with, and how badly he wanted to show the guy up once and for all. You knew your friend wasn't feeling "whatever" about it.

"It's not a matter of ease or difficulty," Thrawn stated plainly. He had stopped pacing and was standing with hands behind his back, highlighting the broadness of his shoulders and the height of his stance. His presence seemed to fill up the whole room, and not for the first time, you were glad to be his friend and not his enemy.

"Yeah," you added in encouragement. "We just have to get creative. Find a way to make Arden a more appealing scapegoat than Burdick's ex. In fact...."

You trailed off as an idea occurred to you. You darted out of the room, surely leaving your two friends perplexed, but you would only be a second. You sprinted down the corridor toward the lifts, where a bulletin hung against the wall with fliers and pamphlets. One notice was a bit larger than the others, a promotion of an upcoming gala event to celebrate the Academy's anniversary. You ripped it off and went racing back to the boys' dorm room.

Eli had come down from the bunk and held a concerned look, probably prepared to follow you if you hadn't returned so quickly. Thrawn was still standing composed, but there was a curiosity in his eyes that made you smile.

You held up the poster in front of your chest. "What do you think the likelihood is of us playing successful matchmakers this week?"

Thrawn understood your idea almost immediately, looking down on you with a pleased smirk. It made you flush a little, to know the Chiss was impressed. You rarely had a chance to contribute good ideas when his mind worked so much faster than yours.

Eli caught on next, and he started to grin, the happiest you'd seen him in a while. His smile was infectious and you grinned back. Happy looked good on him.

"We know Eva's not shy with younger guys," you explained. "Before Burdick, she was fooling around with some intern in the med bay."

"And Arden's vain enough," added Eli. "If he thinks anyone's interested, he'll go for 'em."

"So we get him to ask her to the gala as his date...." you said.

"Burdick sees the two of them together...." said Eli.

"And realizes he can get back at his lover in another way, by pinning the sabotage on another student...." joined Thrawn.

The three of you stood together, proud and satisfied that yet another plan had finally worked out. It was almost worth the stressful studying and petty bullying and all the other unpleasant things you had to endure at this god-forsaken school, just to have fun moments like this with trusted friends.

"We should attend this gala as well," Thrawn said eventually, holding out a hand for the poster. He inspected it thoughtfully. "It is only a few days before the tests, so I hadn't planned to pay it any mind. But now...."

"Yeah, we should make sure Burdick's as jealous as we want 'im," nodded Eli.

You were secretly pleased. The plan was already a win-win, but now you would be able to go to the event yourself, too. You hadn't mentioned your desire to go to either of them before, figuring they weren't interested and not wanting to sound silly if you suggested it. But you did love dancing, and it was so very rare you got a chance to wear something other than your Imperial uniform.

"It's a dance," you noted, in case they couldn't tell by the details on the poster. "We'll need to go in pairs."

"I suppose it would make the most sense for you and Eli to go together," said Thrawn quietly.

You looked between the two, realizing both of them were flushed slightly. Eli's cheeks were dotted with pink, standing out amongst his dark brown features, while Thrawn had more of a purple tint to his face now, a color you'd never seen there before. You could feel yourself growing warm and uncomfortable as well. It was only a dance... only a way for you to enact a much more important plan... but it was the first time your trio had had to engage in anything other than platonic friendship. The balance of your group seemed to be shifting ever so slightly in this moment, and you had no way of knowing if it was for good or ill.

You cleared your throat, pushing away any feelings that might have been brewing in your chest, and instead calling focus back to the mission at hand.

"Actually, I think I'd better go with Thrawn. Whoever doesn't go with me would have to find their own date, and no offense Thrawn, but I think Eli has the better chance of asking someone else."

You hoped they hadn't noticed how hollow your voice sounded, how hard you were trying to keep yourself emotionless.

Eli was pinker than ever. "Uh, I highly doubt that..."

"You're not completely hated around here, you know," you said quickly. "Definitely not with the girls. You're not bad looking, you can be charming if you try, and you're... you know, human." You glanced at Thrawn and added again quietly, "No offense."

Thrawn shook his head. His color and demeanor had already slipped back into his usual neutral self. "No, I agree. Those are the dynamics of our peers and we must work with it. I will take you to the gala, Eli will find his own date, and all three of us will push Arden and Eva together as well. It's a good plan."

You all nodded in agreement. But there was a knot in your stomach, a nervousness you didn't quite understand. You cared very much for both Thrawn and Eli. They were your best friends, your only friends. As a group, you were bonded by your ostracism, protecting and supporting each other on your journey out of this hell-hole.

And separately, you had something special with each, too. You and Eli came from similar backgrounds, and had the same need to disconnect from your surroundings and just have a bit of fun every once in a while. The two of you had spent many late nights together, either hopping between bars, exploring the city, making each other laugh uncontrollably, or quietly sharing the honest thoughts you both buried far too deeply inside. Some nights you'd done all of the above, and returned to your dorm feeling both exhausted and renewed.

But Eli didn't always appreciate the finer things in life, and that's where you connected with Thrawn. He wasn't necessarily an optimist, but he had this way of noticing the beauty that existed everywhere around you, even in the most simple or mundane of moments. Everything had the potential to be interesting. His calm but strong presence had kept you grounded and sane throughout your studies here so far. Sometimes you would talk, other times you would simply be in the same space. And either way, you felt better about life.

You didn't exactly want your relationship with them to change. But you couldn't help but feel this gala would do just that....

Next Chapter: The Preparation >

Blueberry Path | Thrawn x reader

Cowboy Path | Eli x reader

#star wars #thrawn #eli vanto #thrawn x reader #eli vanto x reader #choose your own adventure #friendship #romance #friends to lovers #mitth'raw'nuruodo

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nightswithkookmin · 3 years

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still same anon. this was another one of my asks from months ago. basically it was a comment I made about jikook's intimacy. it was from this interview: https://youtu.be/T--BOS8oTec the moment I'm talking about happens from 3:00 minute timestamp onwards. i was saying how despite this moment being "skinship" or whatever, it kinda hit different? there's also intimacy there. bc you see how jimin doesn't have to say anything and jungkook immediately understands what to do and starts massaging his neck. jimin literally threw a glance at him, tilted his neck a lil and jungkook didn't need a second more to know what to do. I wanted to talk to you about it since I know that you're not big on skinship defining jikook's relationship, but I think there ARE jikook skinship moments worth noting and this is one of them imo.

Oh ok. Thanks.

SKINSHIP IN CONTEXT

I think skinship by it's very definition is an intimate act depending on the level of familiarity between the parties involved in the act.

From my understanding of skinship, it's basically interactions that would otherwise be viewed as sexual outside of their culture but viewed as acceptable platonic behavior between the same sex or even the opposite sex.

The objective of skinship is to be intimate with another person on a level that's only next to romance.

I remember my sister telling me how shook she was when she found out for the first time, around 2011 when she first moved to Seoul, how she couldn't even keep her pants on at a 'Jimjirban' because all the gals in there were expected to walk around butt naked in the spa. No towels, no pants, no robes butt nakedttt.

'Mehn, this doesn't happen where I'm coming from' she said to her companion.

A. I'm black.

B. I'm not flat.

C. I'm wearing my pants.

Her very naked friend, a native SK, whom she says she'd only met for like a week, then grabbed her underwear and pulled it down her thighs exposing her deforested vagina to the winds and a dozen other curious gazes. All females.

'For a second, I thought I had been tricked into an orgy of a sort. I was very naked without my consent. Wind whistling through my shy butt cracks. Watching very naked females of varying ages stare on with pride and smiles on their faces as if I had just saved a village or something and when I jiggled when I walked I could hear them gasp, amazed- Goldy, how is this not gay?'

'You think skinship between their men is weird, wait till you see their women. Wait till a very attractive Korean girl is breathing down your neck and caressing your nape and complementing your skin while showing you pictures of her boyfriend on her phone.'

She says it took her a while to get used to the skinship between women in SK and seeing the men interact in a certain way messed with her brains for a while. She said she felt her intelligence was being played with most of the time.

I guess if you want to look at Jikook's skinship as intimate then there's nothing wrong it.

Skinship is intimate at the very least.

But skinship, for all intent and purposes, is platonic and nonsexual in nature. And maybe this is a fatal flaw on my part. Or maybe thanks to my sister, I'm desensitized to this form of interaction but I have a hard time seeing Jikook's intimacy as platonic or even seeing most of their skinship as romantic- in anyway. It will make sense in a bit, hold on.

I have a hard time equating skinship with romantic intimacy. But that's just me.

I wasn't able to click on the link you sent but I'm guessing this is the moment you are talking about?

I wouldn't call this skinship. I mean it is but I wouldn't call it that. Skinship is meant to show how close two people are. How familiar they are with eachother.

This doesn't show how close Jikook are. But It shows how caring and affectionate JK is as human being, as a dongsaeng, and as a boyfriend.

I'd rather we celebrate that. JK doesn't get highlighted enough. He caters to the people he cares about. He is an attentive person.

Hate to be a grinch but I can pull up a couple of times JK has done that very gesture with Jin or Tae or Hobi. Remember Soop? Remember when Jin complained of feeling cold and JK went up to him immediately and 'warmed' him up?

Of course, Jimin kept stealing glances at him like he could throw a shoe at the back of his head if he could but that's beside the point.

The man is an empath. He's said several times he feels a lot of pain watching his hyungs go through it. Fact is, Jk cares about people. He's kind, loving and he shows this aspect of him through gestures like these.

He does it for Jimin. He does it for all the members because as he's said, they are all a family.

It's stressful hearing people claim he doesn't give a fuck about Jimin, that he doesn't care about JM because he shows affections for others besides JM.

At some point we would have to make a distinction between what acts flows from their unique personalities because of who they are at their core and what act flows from them being a couple.

Most people who see Jimin as a natural nurturer and what not are able to separate this identity from his ship moments but JK isn't accorded the same privilege. It is why most people are quick to lash out at him when he interacts with others in the same way he interacts with Jimin.

When JM acts nurturing towards V or RM or Suga he is seen a good, kind person.

When JK does something affectionate it's seen as a beautiful Jikook moment or Taekook moment or Jinkook moment and is soon swept under the carpet, soon forgotten and never tied to the personality of JK- perhaps because most of these shippers don't care to know who JK is as a person and as a human.

When Jimin does something affectionate its 'awww Jimin is such an amazing person' even if that act is merely performative sometimes.

I try not to engage in conversations that perpetuate this horrifying discrimination against either of Jikook. They are both individuals.

There are a lot of Asks sitting in my box highlighting the various ways JM is awesome and kind and amazing as s boyfriend to JK and not a single out of 500 plus posts talking about how empathetic JK really is. How thoughtful he is to even pack motion sickness drugs to go on trips even though he doesn't get motion illness and JM is the one that often complains about motion sickness on trips.

The heteronormative lens, on opposite ends of the spectrum in the shipping community, which dictates we perceive on Jikook as either feminine or masculine is a telltale sign of the misogyny and misandry prevalent within this fandom.

The fandom's heteronormative lens filters Jimin as the wildly feminine archetype, wildly fragile, sexy and womanly right down to the way we praise him as the 'good woman' in his relationship with JK- loyal, faithful, nurturing, kind, silent in that he continues to perform Jikook even when Jikook are not in a great place. etc.

Yet because he is seen as womanly or feminine, the part of the fandom that hates women hate Jimin. That's where all the slut shaming, bullying and harassment stems from- misogyny.

Jk is viewed as the opposite of that. By most, he is very masculine man and as such harbors all the traits of masculinity the modern woman detests- toxic masculinity, cheating, disloyal, fuckboy who treats women like shit. All forms of hatred and intolerance towards men is projected on to him especially by male intolerant people or dare I say feminist women within the fandom.

And you see them in the way they are always fighting for Jimin against JK as if Jimin were a fragile faithful woman whose man don't treat him right thus further perpetuating the heteronormative stereotypes of Jimin.

What's disconcerting is Jikook are both men and yet depending on how their masculinity or femininity is perceived, they are both treated very differently.

You hear Tuktukkers talk about how Jikook is as a result of heteronormativity and thus prescribe Taekook as the ideal homonormative ship- because to them, Tae and JK are both seen as two whole men.

To them Jimin is just not man enough to even be gay- isn't that the foundation of homophobia?

Gay men not seen as men at all?

Whereas amongst Jokers, Jimin's manliness is often forgiven and JK's is abhorred. Jk is too much of a man and men just ain't shit.

This may sound like an over simplification but Tuktukkers hate women, Jokers hate men and either side suck. In my opinion.

Jimin is a nurturer he cares about people including his boyfriend. JK is an empath he feels the pain of those close to him including his boyfriend and is often moved to ease or take away some of that pain.

It's thus annoying to hear people out here yell and complain on every turn each time JK interacts with the others how JK 'doesn't act exclusive' with Jimin or how he doesn't care about Jimin.

Should he not care about anyone besides Jimin just because he is dating Jimin?

It's annoying when they say the same about Jimin. Jimin nurtures everyone ergo there's nothing special or exclusive about the way he nurtures JK.

Nonsense such as these are spewed without taking into account that those acts in themselves speak directly to who these people are as human beings first and foremost; secondly, to how they feel about the person at the recieving end of their affections.

If they are treating everyone the same it's probably because they love everyone too- in a non romantic way of course. It's their love language. They love others with the same heart they love eachother with.

It doesn't take away from how they feel about eachother. JK admiring another member does not mean when he admires Jimin it's nothing. It just mean he admires Jimin too.

Not everything has to be romanticized or given a romantic context. They are each expressing themselves and their feelings for their bandmates. It's about them not their bandmates or their relationship with said bandmates.

Certain moments are just attestation to their love language be it platonic or romantic and it says more about who they are as people than what their relationship with the other person is. It's not all about their relationship.

People need to start treating Jikook as individuals. They are humans first before a ship. Shipping them shouldn't take away from their authentic expressions of self.

That's how they each end up getting cussed out in these streets left and right.

It's ridiculous.

This is JK being JK. Imma leave it at that.

This is from the same interview where Tae was talking about how they love showcasing their bond.

It's ok to celebrate it. Just see it for what it is- as flowing from JK's kind self. This is not Jikook. This is JK. Jeon Jungkook.

Don't fume or act disappointed when you see him do the same kind gesture for another member just because of the meaning you are imposing on this moment. Know what I mean?

That being said, there are certain Jikook 'skinship' moments that crosses the line of skinship right into sexual foreplay.

If 'skinship' leaves you 'sexually excited' it's not skinship. Nobody can tell me nothing.

Make of this moment what you will. Just be responsible with it. I think. But don't mind me. I'm grumpy.

Signed,

GOLDY

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xsugarysweetsx · 4 years

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Ukai x Reader where Ukai and the reader were in the same class in high school. And the reader goes off to be a pro vball player. But then she retires and decides to visit the male Karasuno vball team. Then Takeda is like "can you be the assistant coach???" And shes like sure?? Skip to where they win against Shiratorizawa and she like kisses him and theyre like :0 or something like that, idk 😂 but i live your writing so much, and i cant wait to see what you write next❤️❤️❤️🥺🥺🥺

Hello! You’re one of the few to request for haikyuu! So thank you and enjoy! I changed it a bit but I hope it’s okay!

Look at this pretty man! Look at that smile!!

You were his crush from the moment he laid eyes on you. He was just a second year when he first met you. You were in two of his classes but what made him have eyes for you was volleyball. He had seen you during your practice and he felt his heart skip a beat.

You may or may not have been the reason why he joined in the first place. He eventually had the guts to ask you to practice with him. It became a ritual between you both whenever you had time. He loved everything about you. Not only were you beautiful but you were smart, athletic and skilled in what you did.

Sometimes he would fantasize what it would be like if he dated you. Ugh he would have been the happiest guy in the whole school. But when you had gotten the opportunity to reach you drama of being a pro player, he didn’t want to hold you back.

He had bought you followers to ask you out but instead said they were to congratulate you. You’re ere a little disappointed that he didn’t ask you out, but you accepted the gift regardless. The day you left broke his heart into pieces. Whenever he would see a volleyball he would feel a pang, remembering exactly what it symbolized.

He watched you play in tv and would always feel so proud when you would score. If he didn’t see you in person this was the closest he could get to. As you both became adults, you only blossomed more. Not only did you skills sharpen but you were a beautiful woman now.

He would see the way reporters scanned your body and face and it urked him. He wasn’t sure about his feelings for you but he felt something. After announcing your retirement at age 28 he felt a little sad. Sad to see you go from the sport you loved playing but also happiness and pride.

He was proud of how far you came and happy you had control over your life. The sad thing that troubles him was that he may never see you again.

———

It was just as you remembered it, Karasuno high school. You had come today to speak to the volleyball teams. Apparently they had been doing better than they have in years. First you had gone to the girls and they were delightful, and very motivated to win.

Next it was the boys turn, you heard they got a new coach who was really whipping them into shape.

The sound of balls hitting the wax floor brought memories back.You were there for another reason but that was to be told with the team.As you stood at the doorway you saw a lot of potential in this team, and you smile to yourself.

There was one boy in particular who was very short but you were taken aback when he sprinted across the court and spiking the ball. Your eyes went wide, what did you just witness? Someone of his height, with that speed and ability to jump, this kid was going places.

It reminded you of yourself when you were in highschool

“incredible isn’t he? He’s our secret weapon during matches“ a voice appeared next to you, looking to your right you see a man of your height. He outstretched his hand

“I’m coach Takeda it’s nice to mea-WAIT you’re..you’re Y/F/N!” He exclaimed

“That’s me, and I’m sure you got my email” you added in

“Oh yes I did thank you so much” he bowed “this way I’ll introduce you to the team” he walked you towards where their coach was giving them a pep talk

“I know the schools are going to be a challenge but if we put our practices into play, I’m sure we’ll make it” you’re more than sure you’ve heard that voice before. When their coach turned I’d when you both realized.

It was Ukai Keishin, wow he’s really grown up hasn’t he? And that hair, it suited him, but it’s been years

“Y/N..hey“ he finally spoke

“Hey Keishin“ you said shyly, your old feelings resurfacing “So, you took after your grandfather huh?” you joked

“Hey they needed me so How could I turn them down?“ he smiled “Alright everyone, I’m sure you’ve heard of Y/N, one of the pros that retired. We actually attended high together before her career“

The boys chatter and stared at you in amazement, one boy with a blonde highlight raised his hand and asked

“Were you his girlfriend“ both of you blush and stutter

“Nishinoya don’t ask questions like that!“ exclaimed another with silver hair. The rest of them laughed at the scene. You could tell they make a good team together, not only communicating on the court.

“She probably has one, come on she’s smokin’ “ said one who looked like Buddha. He got smacked up the head by a girl in glasses who you assumed to be the manager. “I still love you though!“ he exclaimed bowing to her

“Well, Ms.Y/L/N has offered us something extremely special for the time being during the tournaments“ he looked to you and said “She has accepted to take the position as our assistant coach“ You smiled feeling welcomed already

Not only were you able to help out a team but you were also catching up with an old friend. You both caught up with things that have happened and all. there were even some times where situations became tense. Whether it be catching each other watching the other, or being alone in the elevator or unfinished sentences.

Even the boys could see the unspoken thing between you both. They all hoped for you to get together finally. Sometimes they would push you to make the first move. Yet you never did.

He felt especially nervous since the finals were coming up. The boys have been working so hard and they’ve improved so much but now they’re going against the powerhouse school.

The match was exciting, scary and it all played out to be a great game. They all exceeded your expectations and made you proud. During the last said they made a come back and block a spike. It got your team the winning point and no one could believe it. It was a moment in history for the team, you couldn’t hold your excitement.

You kept out of your seat and into Keishin’s arms, kissing him in victory. Well some celebrated some stuff to take a look at you both. Not believing what they were seeing with your own eyes. Old friends finally Letting their true emotions show for one another.

He didn’t dare pull away from you instead he wraps his arms around you and pull you closer. This is the Moment he was waiting for for so long, it felt so right and comforting. He finally had you after so many years in such a long time waiting, you were finally his.

When you pull back you didn’t even acknowledge all the surprised faces. It wa just you and him at this moment. Just by how you kissed him he could tell you had those feelings closed off. Put away for years just like him. He rested his forehead to yours and he whispered

“So...did I finally win you? After all this time?”

You chuckle “I guess so, even though I’ve been waiting for years” you peck his lips.

“Shut up and kiss me again” he cups your face and kisses you once again. The team came around to clap and cheer for you both.

You were finally where you belong, with him.

I hope you liked this :)!

#ukai keishin #ukai x reader #haikyuu ukai #haikyuu x reader #ukai keishin x reader #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu!!#coach ukai #ukai fluff

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refusethyname28 · 3 years

Text

Hey you, I think I’m...

Pairing: Sirius Black x Remus Lupin (Wolfstar)

Summary: Sirius doesn’t know how to tell Remus how he feels. Perhaps a thousand and one letters will do the trick?

A/N: I wrote this fic quite some time ago for a weekend challenge on Harry Potter Amino. It was a challenge for pride month and this is kind of what came of it. This is set during the Marauders’ Era. The ending is set around 1980.

Warnings: None

Word count: 6157 words

The moon and the stars cried. The moon lighted the way while the stars fell down while not knowing what to say. It was hard to keep it all in when all they both desired was to be together, yet neither knew what to say or how to say it. That is why they cried.

Dear Remus Lupin,

Before you go out and interrogate everyone, talk to everyone you know and even the people you don’t know, to find out who wrote you this, please believe me when I say that I truly mean what I wrote in this letter. I think you’re wonderful, and I mean that in the best way. I genuinely think you are an amazing person to just admire. You are kind, caring, loving, gentle- even when you say you’re not. The way you study always gets me, you know? It’s your head pining over all that homework, all those books, and then at some point, you will accidentally knock over your inkpot and you’ll curse at yourself. And then you’ll look up to see if anyone heard you. Honestly, it is so extremely adorable. Or when you arrive at the Great Hall with your friends, it is amazing to see that smile on your face as you breathe in the smell of freshly baked goods. To put it lightly, I think I fancy you…

“I think I fancy you, honestly this sounds stupid,” Sirius muttered to himself as he was reading through the letter he was currently writing. The young Black groaned in frustration and shook his head. His three best friend had gone outside to enjoy the sun, but not Sirius. No, he had to write this, he’d promised James that he was going to confess his love to Remus this year. The problem was that end of the year was quite near, it was now the beginning of June and if Sirius did not confess his love this year he’d owe James a lot of money. The male had locked himself in their dormitory and told himself that he was not allowed to leave until he finished this. Sirius’s eyes skimmed over the letter and not that much later he put it down and took out a new blank piece of parchment. “Shouldn’t ‘love’ be a celebration?” the young male murmured to himself. This did not feel like a celebration, this was a lot harder than he anticipated, and he was scared of rejection. Sirius never really wanted to admit that he was scared of being rejected and ignored by the ones he loved most. He could not lose his best friend over a stupid love letter. This confession was more like signing his own will or placing the final flower on his coffin before saying goodbye, because not only would he confess his love, he would also have to come out as gay. Yes, it was a very well-known fact that Sirius made out with girls in the past, and he did enjoy it, kind of, but did he ever feel like he wanted to spend the rest of his life with one of those girls? You guessed right, not ever. Not once did he think that he might be settling down with one of those girls. He did have that feeling every time he looked at Remus. Remus grounded him, he made sure Sirius was true to himself and that is what Sirius needed. Some to ground him, to steady him when he was falling apart. He needed someone to truly love him for who he was, not for the image or reputation he had. It was like Remus had the power to truly open Sirius’s eyes, to show him the wonders and beauty of this world.

Sirius stared down at the blank piece of parchment on his bed, and he shook his head. He let himself get lost in new thoughts. He wondered what his family would do when they found out about Sirius’s sexuality. They would presumably find out about it not even a second after Sirius officially came out. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to that. The Blacks knew everything that Sirius was up to in the shortest period of time, they had people everywhere- and with people, Sirius meant his younger brother, Regulus. Sirius sighed and closed his eyes. He thought of all the pros and cons of him telling Remus about his feelings, he was rather quick to realise that there were more cons than pros. “I promised James, and I never break a promise,” he told himself, and he went back to writing, starting a new letter.

Remus John Lupin,

Look I know, I’m not that great with things like love and big romantic confessions. You tell me every time I get a new girlfriend, and I’m sorry. I really tried to change all of that, but it didn’t happen. Something else did happen though, you see, I fell for you. Well, this did not exactly happen recently, let’s say, I think I’ve been in love with you for quite some time now, years even. You might hate me for it, you might think I am not capable of something like this, and I am sorry you feel that way about me. But I’m not going to keep this inside of me any longer, I need to say it. I am madly in love with you, Remus, and I cannot help it. So, is it really necessary for you to ask around who sent you this letter? Not really, I guess I can better say it. Well, it is me Moony. You’re mate, Sirius. Yes, I fancy you. I fancy you and your billion cups of tea at 3 AM, I fancy you and your knitted jumpers, you who folds your socks every night before you go to bed, you who will get grumpy whenever James and I are being too loud while you’re reading a book. I fancy messy you, sad you, angry you, sick you, tired you, I fancy you, Remus. Everything you are, I fancy it all. James told me that it would be easy to tell you how I felt, but it is not. It is the worst thing ever. You make me nervous. You, of all people! I know you’ll probably laugh at me and think I’m being silly, I mean, who is able to make Sirius Black nervous? Well Moony, congrats you’re the one. You’re the winner.

It’s hard for me to tell you because I don’t know how you feel, I don’t know what I will do when I see your reaction. I just can’t lose you, Rem, I can’t. But that’s not the only thing. I’m scared of the reactions I will get from others, I am scared of what my family will say. I am scared to go back there this summer and face the consequences if I do decide to send this letter. Honestly, I’m scared of it all. An outcast, the white sheep of the family, the disappointment, not a true Black heir, a disgrace and now the word ‘homosexual’ can be added to that stupid list of things and names they can call me. I’m sorry I shouldn’t put this all on you, it is not your fault. You’re too good, even if you can’t see it yourself. I’m also afraid of loving you because I’m not even sure if I truly understand the extremely complex concept that is love. People always say: ‘when you know, you know’ right? With you, I like to think I know, but is that love? Or is it just a stupid little crush, a stupid little crush that I’ve been having since we decided to become Animagi to help you. I’m afraid I don’t understand the concept of love well enough to really be yours and to fully commit myself to you. I’m not even sure if you want to have me. Look, I understand it if you don’t, that’s okay, I think? I might be heartbroken for a little while, but I am not losing my friend over a crush, so you bet your magic arse that I will be there to annoy you the rest of our lives. No matter what will happen when you read this, no matter what you will do, we’re a team.

Yours sincerely,

Sirius Black.

Sirius stared at the paper as he let the ink dry. This was the very first letter he actually finished. He’d written a couple before but all ended like the one before this one, without a proper ending. They were all written by someone ‘anonymous’, it was slightly odd that this one, where Sirius used his own name, was the one letter he actually finished. But he was never going to send this. This letter was too raw and too personal, he couldn’t send this to Remus. The poor lad would have a heart attack reading this. This letter was never going to see the light of day ever again. Sirius waited until the ink was fully dried down, he then closed the letter and put it away with the other letter. All the letters, concerning this very matter, were being stacked away in a little box Sirius kept hidden from the rest. Not many knew that there was a loose floorboard next to Peter’s bed. You could take it out and hide things underneath it, that is where Sirius hid the box. The male then endeavoured to write a few more letters, but all ended disastrously. In other words, the letters did not even have a proper ending so, instead of putting them with the other letters, Sirius burned them. After a little while, he decided to give up and join his three friends outside by the lake.

James cheered loudly when he saw Sirius arrive, Remus looked up and gave Sirius this absolutely dazzling smile. It was like the softest smile in the history of smiles and it was a fact that only Remus Lupin could smile like that. Sirius wanted Remus to never stop smiling like this, he was gorgeous like this. As soon as Sirius’s eyes rested on Remus his mind was calm. The sun shone upon Remus beautifully and the hot beams highlighted Remus’s face in the most beautiful ways. “Hey Pads, finally done?” Remus’s voice brought Sirius back to reality, and he nodded, smiling at his three friends. “Pain in the arse, Transfiguration, but please don’t tell Minnie I said that. Otherwise, she might never smile at me again,” Sirius spoke in a very dramatic voice. He let himself fall down next to James and Remus. Peter handed Sirius a bag of peanuts and the young Black took some. “What have you three been up to?” Sirius casually asked. He genuinely tried so hard not to get too distracted by Remus, which was awfully hard as Remus was just sitting there, not having a clue of what he was doing to Sirius by being extremely handsome. Sirius thought it was not fair for someone to look that gorgeous at the age of sixteen. Compared to Remus Sirius himself felt like a mess. A beautiful mess according to a lot of girls, but a mess nonetheless. “Nothing much, Pads. Don’t worry, you did not miss out on anything,” Remus assured his friend and Sirius nodded. The four boys sat there in silence, only the sounds of the birds and the lake could be heard, and Peter’s chewing as well. Remus laid back in the grass, and he closed his eyes, letting the sun all upon his face as he lay in between the flowers. Sirius watched his friend lay back, and he was, again, in awe. Remus looked absolutely stunning already, but this truly was a wonderful sight. Sirius felt someone nudging him, but he ignored it, he was too captivated by Remus’s beauty. The young werewolf always spoke of his face as ugly, because of all the scars but Sirius was someone who actually found beauty in scars. Sirius had scars himself, both mental scars and physical ones. Sirius learned to live with them by telling himself that every scar had a story, they were a sign of survival, how harsh that reality might be to others, it was the truth. Every scar had a story, that’s what made them so special. Remus hated it when people pointed out his scars or even looked at them, but when Sirius did that it was okay. Sirius felt somewhat privileged in that way. The young Black heir just wanted to kiss each scar on Remus’s body and tell gorgeous carrier how wonderful he looked, that the scars did not make him ugly, not at all. They made Remus even more interesting, captivating and more bloody gorgeous than he already was. The nudging kept going on and soon Sirius realised that it was James Potter who was poking his sides with his wand. “What?” Sirius spoke in a slightly hushed voice as he eyed the Potter boy. James just stared his best friend in the eyes and arched his eyebrows up. “Nothing, literally nothing,” Sirius whispered, and he sighed deeply. “Mate, you know our deal,” James said back and Sirius nodded, he was still glancing over from his one side, where Remus was, to his other where James was practically breathing in his neck. “Potter, too close alright?” Sirius chuckled and he pushed his friend away a bit. Sirius plucked the grass as he kept thinking of ways to tell the scarred boy that he, Sirius Orion Black III, was deeply in love with him. The letters were certainly no option, he couldn’t even properly finish them, well except for one. Remus had often told Sirius that he wasn’t sure if Sirius was capable of love and that kind of commitment, and yes, it hurt Sirius every time his friend said it, but he knew that Remus did not mean it in a bad way. Sirius wasn’t even sure about it himself, committing to someone like that was a huge step, and considering everything Sirius has been through, he wasn’t completely sure if he was able to love someone like that. So, Remus did have a point. Remus just wondered if Sirius was ever going to settle down, as he basically had a new girlfriend even two or three weeks. Not that it was Sirius’s fault, the girls were all too clingy, they didn’t like it that Sirius spent more time reading Remus a book, because Remus was too tired to read himself, than he actually spent with them. But it also showed how well they actually knew Sirius, because he would, without hesitation, choose friends over lovers unless that lover was also your best friend, which made things rather complicated. Sirius kept his eyes on Remus, and he observed the male in silence while he was being observed by James Potter. It is kind of uncomfortable to have someone watch you this closely, especially because it was James, and he simply couldn’t do things without being extremely obvious. Or at least, he couldn’t do that with Sirius, the two knew each other too well. “Lads, I’m going to have to borrow Pads for a little while, we’ll be back soon,” James then suddenly spoke and Sirius looked at his best friend with a perplexed look on his face. “‘Course, go ahead, we’ll meet you two here again,” Remus said with his calm voice and his eyes still closed. Peter just nodded and finished the last of his peanuts. The two mischievous Gryffindors got up and walked off, leaving their two friends behind.

Sirius looked at Remus as he was being pulled along by James. It was obvious that James wanted to talk to Sirius in private. The two often had these little moments where they would just take the other out on a little walk, and they would talk about everything and anything. James and Sirius had that kind of bond and it was an amazing thing. James truly was the brother Sirius always wished he had The two were now far away from Remus, Peter and any other students really. The young Potter stopped moving and Sirius did as well. The young Black heir looked up to his taller friend. James looked at Sirius, and he raised his eyebrows at the Black. “What? You have this look on your face,” Sirius said as he was being observed by his best friend. “You need to take some action, Sirius, it is very necessary,” James said and Sirius groaned. “Did you write a letter?” James then asked and Sirius shook his head, but he then remembered he actually did write a letter with an actual ending. “Wait, I did actually, but it’s horrible and it is messy and. I cannot possibly send him that letter,” Sirius explained, and he sat down. James dropped next to him and patted his best friend’s back. James opened his mouth, wanting to say something but Sirius interrupted him. “And no, I am certainly not going to tell you where I hid it.” James closed his mouth again and stared at his feet. He really wanted to help Sirius, and he knew that Sirius wanted all the help he could get, even if the male did not want to admit that. Sirius was one of wanting but not speaking it out, James figured that had something to do with his past. It was odd how Sirius was so confident and overly dramatic while walking through the halls but when it came to subjects like love, hate and fear he turned into this silent and overly timid person. It seemed as if Sirius was afraid to allow himself to love someone for real, that is how he acted anyway. James had been telling his friend to tell Remus all year long, but it didn’t happen. Sirius was still hopelessly daydreaming about Remus Lupin. “Sirius, are you afraid to be loved?” James then suddenly asked the young Black in all seriousness. Sirius looked up at James with big eyes, and he sighed deeply. Obviously James knew everything about Sirius, James knew Sirius even better than Sirius knew himself. It was kind of annoying at times, but he also loved James for it. “Perhaps,” the long-haired whispered. It almost was as if Sirius was afraid his fear of being loved would become reality if he said it out loud, that’s how soft the whisper was. Sirius did not want to feel like he needed love, he didn’t want to be desperate for it, but he was. Even though he wasn’t truly sure if he knew the true meaning of the word love, he still wanted it. “It’s okay to be afraid mate, you’ve been through a lot. I really don’t know how you feel right now but I can imagine confessing this to Remus must be hard. But please remember you should be proud of this love, even if it isn’t mutual. Remus making you feel like this will prove anyone wrong that said you weren’t capable of real love. You are, and being scared to admit the way you feel about him proves that.” James rubbed Sirius’s back to comfort his friend. “Remus said that,” Sirius whispered. James nodded and kept rubbing the Black’s back in circling motions. “I know Pads, but he doesn’t mean it like that. He knows very well how vibrant you are, and he knows that you are truly capable of love.” James would be there for Sirius, he would always be there. It wasn’t common in the Black household for anyone to talk openly about their feelings, the children were being taught to keep it to themselves and not to bother anyone else with it. They needed to be strong, to keep the image up, and they could not, under any circumstances, show weakness in front of others. That’s something that haunted Sirius, he couldn’t express himself properly, it was a problem for him really. People wondered why Sirius acted the way he did, they wondered why he had so many girlfriends and who he went from one to another in just a span of barely a month. Sirius wanted to be loved, he wanted to feel loved but he did not know how to ask for it. That was his problem. He never knew true love, never knew what it was like to have a loving family who listened and cared for you, how was anyone supposed to love him if his own family despised him for who he was. What kind of effect would Sirius’s coming out have on his family? Sirius also had to keep in mind that he would have to spend his summer at 12 Grimmauld Place. “Hey mate, I’m here for you alright? Obviously, I’m not going to hold you to that agreement we made. That would be cruel. If you’re not ready to tell him you’re not ready and that’s okay. You need to take your own time with this, just know that I fully support you. I am proud of you no matter what.” Sirius smiled softly at James as the messy-haired spoke these kind words to his friend. The two talked about some other things, such as Sirius’s home life, James’s crush on Lily, Sirius’s crush on Remus and some new ideas for pranks were being discussed as well. After a while, the two Gryffindors decided to go back to their friends.

Dear Remus Lupin,

This is my first letter to you. For your information I won’t be stating my name in this letter, that would be way too awkward. I’m not sure if I were able to face you again if you knew my name. So, no, you will not find out who I am. I just wanted to let you know that I admire you. Admire, that’s putting it lightly, I actually think you are amazing. You are wonderful at everything you do, you’re so kind and gentle even though you say you’re not. You won’t be able to convince me of that. I like every little thing you do, for example, you sitting by the fire late at night while reading a book, or you running around after your friends to make sure they don’t get into too much trouble or even you studying in the library with Lily Evans. I like it all, love it all. To be quite honest with you, I think I’m…

His heart skipped a beat as he read the first letter over and over again. The handwriting was unlike something he’d ever seen before. It was swirly and just absolutely gorgeous. Remus couldn’t believe it, he kept staring at the paper, reading the last words over and over. “I think I’m,” the young werewolf whispered to himself, and he took a deep breath. He then remembered there were more letters, Remus then opened the next envelope that was addressed to him.

Remus,

I’m just going to keep it simple, I think, or I hope. You see I’m not the best at this grand romantic gesture and all. As much as I would like to do something like that for you, I’m not sure if others would appreciate it that much. Romantic, I said? Yes I did. I’m just going to tell you, I like you. I like you a lot and…

Remus turned the letter to see if there was something written on the back of the paper. Nothing, these two first letters were not finished. He picked up a new one, there were about eighteen letters in the box he found, so he kept on reading. It was a good thing that the other three lads were out, because Remus wasn’t too sure what he would do if they found him in here, with all the letters.

Hi Remus,

I fancy you. I’m—

That was a short one, but it was rather straight to the point. There were a few letters left and even though Remus already got the message, he simply could not stop reading all the endearing letters.

Remus Lupin,

Hey you, I’m trying to tell you something here and I would really like it if you’d take your time to read this before going on a quest to find out who wrote you this. It’s rather personal, the thing I wrote in here. You might wonder who this ‘I’ is, well I’m deeply sorry but I will be keeping that too myself. I just figured, or actually my friend did, that it would be best to tell you. I have deeply fallen in l—

Remus read a couple more, they were all unfinished. Some letters were bold, some of them were romantic and some were serious or formal. But they all told Remus the same thing. It was a beautiful thing actually, to see the writer struggle with putting this into words. To see how the writer wanted to tell Remus but wasn’t too sure what to say and how to say it. That was until Remus opened and read the last letter.

Remus John Lupin,

Yours sincerely,

Sirius Black.

Obviously, Remus knew these letters came from Sirius, he literally found the box after trying to look for his chocolate. The lads were known to steal Remus’s chocolates, especially Peter and this box happened to be hidden underneath the loose floorboard close to Peter’s bed. Remus thought he was the only one who knew about that spot, not that he used it for anything, but he figured that whenever he might need a spot he would have one. The letters were stuffed away in a little box with the Black family crest. Remus actually remembered Sirius getting that horrid thing. The young male got it for Christmas a few years back, two perhaps. It had been a snowy and cold night and the four boys decided to stay at Hogwarts, which took Sirius a lot of trying to convince his parents by owl to let him stay as well. The boy had been thirteen or fourteen at the time. This box arrived and when Sirius opened it there was nothing inside it except for a little card with one word written on it, ‘disgrace’. Seeing Sirius’s reaction to that little note had been horrible to watch. The poor boy immediately got tears in his eyes, and he tried to dry them and not to let it show, but he couldn’t hold it in, so he went upstairs, crying as he did so. Obviously James followed him to their dorm. The common room hadn’t been too crowded at that moment, so not many had seen what happened. After a little while, Remus took it upon himself to check on the two boys, so he made his way upstairs to their dorm. When he opened the door Remus saw a crying Sirius with red and puffy eyes in James’s arms who was holding him tight and telling him how amazing he was and how horrible his family treated him. It was at that very moment that Remus realised that he wanted to be that person for Sirius. He wanted to be the one Sirius would look for to comfort him. Remus wanted to be the one holding Sirius and telling him how beautiful he was inside and out. That was the moment when Remus realised he had fallen in love with Sirius Black.

Remus read the last letter again, he then grabbed one of the other letters and compared the handwriting. The letter with Sirius’s name actually looked like it had been written by Sirius himself, but all the other letters were in a different handwriting. There were a couple of similarities, for example, the way Sirius always connected the letter ‘o’ with the letter that followed. Remus wondered if Sirius truly came up with a whole new handwriting for just these letters. Obviously, Remus loved the last letter the most. It was personal and really well, Sirius. He read it again and pressed the letter against his chest.

It wasn’t that much later when Remus heard three familiar voices coming from the common room. James, Sirius and Peter were rather loud. Remus held Sirius’s letter in hand, and he made his way downstairs. He really had no idea what he was going to say, but he just had to see Sirius right now. There were so many thoughts and questions rushing through his head right now. For example, Remus wondered why Sirius kept it all a secret, and for how long this had been going on. He arrived in the common room and immediately looked at Sirius who gave him a soft smile until the Black realised what Remus was holding in his hand. Sirius went pale and his eyes big, he turned his gaze away and avoided Remus’s eyes at all costs. Remus made his way over to Sirius and towered over the smaller male. James and Peter had stepped aside to see how this was going to end. A few other Gryffindor students, who were sitting in the common room as well, were watching everything happen. “Remus-” Sirius mumbled almost inaudibly, he still wasn’t meeting Remus’s eyes. The Black was too scared to see Remus’s reaction, what if there was hate in his eyes or disgust? He couldn’t have that, he could not lose Remus, but he was afraid that he in fact just had. There was a silence, no one said a word, not even the students who were just sitting there, no one. Sirius was about to say something else when he felt Remus’s soft hands cup his cheeks and press their lips together. It caught Sirius off guard, and he would have fallen if it hadn’t been for Remus catching him. Remus’s lips were soft against Sirius’s plump ones. It was truly a magical kiss. Sirius was a bit light-headed at the moment, and he wasn’t truly sure if that was because of the kiss they shared or because of the lack of oxygen as the kiss was pretty intense.

Several gasps could be heard around the common room when Remus initiated the kiss by pressing their lips together. Everyone had fallen silent, and they were watching the two males kiss, which was kind of awkward. It was pretty obvious that there was chemistry between the two, there always had been chemistry. Then someone started to wolf whistle at the two and people started clapping and cheering. There were some cheeky comments as well, but none of it mattered to the two kissing boys. They were in their own little world right now. All they knew at that moment was each other. They parted and stared each other in the eyes. “You’re in love with me?” Remus whispered against Sirius’s lip. “I am, very much,” Sirius replied and they kissed again. This kiss was a lot lighter than the last one, it was short but still romantic. “I am in love with you, Moony. I am so in love with you.”

1980

Dear Sirius Black,

Remember how and when we got together? You better do because I will never forgive you if you don’t. I thought it fitting to write you a letter for our three years anniversary. It was exactly this date that you wrote your last letter, a week before we got together. I know it might be a bit too soon, but I have something to ask you. Please don’t freak out, just consider it, think it through. That day, exactly a week from now (which is when I will give you this letter), when I read your letters I finally opened my eyes. I finally saw us together, and so did you. Our horizons met, love. Ever since that moment, you brought me nothing except love and light, all of that light will lead me into the darkest of nights, I am now able to fight those nights because I know that you will be by my side. I am happy and proud to be yours, Sirius, I really am. I know, this relationship wasn’t easy for us, you had trouble with your family because of this and you were afraid. To be honest with you, I was scared that one day you would see me for whom I think I am, and I’m still scared of that, but I also know that you love me. I know the scars we have, they will bleed, they will heal and open up again because that’s how life works. But I believe, Sirius, both of our hearts believe that we can get through all of those tough times because we can. I am sure of it. All of the stars will guide us home Sirius, you are my star, you’re my home.

I have something to ask you, Sirius, and please don’t freak out.

Yours for eternity,

Remus Lupin.

When Sirius looked up from the paper Remus was sat on one knee, holding a little box in one hand. “Sirius Orion Black III, will you marry me?”

It was this night, exactly three years ago that the moon and the stars finally aligned. No longer did they cry, they were finally together. After so many exchanged words and letters, tonight was the night that they truly became each other’s significant others. The moon and the stars, proud to be together after all they’ve been through.

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terrific-togekiss · 3 years

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What if there was a Walt Disney Fighting Game? [Video Game Concept]

Note: I am well aware, that Disney would probably never say yes in a million years to this idea. Taking their beloved, child friendly characters and having them fight?!

OH THE HORROR?!

I am also aware there have been concepts for this in the past.

Final Fantasy Dissidia was supposed to be a Kingdom Hearts fighting game, but Nomura felt uncomfortable portraying Disney characters in such a violent atmosphere.

And there are sketches of what a Walt Disney fighting game could've been, inspired by Super Smash Bros, before it was canceled. It would've focused on more violent characters such as Gaston, Beast, Ursula, Captain Hook, Captain Silver and the Horned King. But the idea was dropped.

Here's the link.

This entire post is just building and putting together what a Disney fighting game would look like to me, if one came out in today's world. It's all merely speculation and ideas that's been in the back of my head for awhile.

(Special thanks to @mayflower-gal for helping me set this up. 😁)

Anyways, let's get started!

Part 1: The Plot

For the plot, I believe it would have to be something simple, since this an idea for a first game. It's the start of a potentially huge franchise, so I wanna keep it not only simple, but an aspect that helps kick off the potential series. And pull in many fans, old and new of Disney.

Let's take into account one thing: what's a recurring theme across various Disney movies (and overall media)?

Is it the lovable, comic relief sidekick that makes audiences laugh? Is it the songs that kids find themselves singing, long after the tale is done and the curtain has closed? Is it perhaps, the clever celebrity choices for important side characters?

No, It's the one defining aspect that draws in audiences, both new and old, bringing you to fall in love with the characters as the story is told:

Wishes.

Pinocchio wishes to be a real boy. Beast and all his servants wish to be human again. Tiana wishes to have her own restaurant. Ariel wishes to see the world beyond the sea.

Everyone wishes for something more in their life and have dreams that they wish come true.

What if all those wishes were counted? Collected?

Watched over. Much like a parent to their children. Or a teacher to their students.

Found engaging. Found entertaining. Found comforting. Found peaceful. Found introspective.

Looked at with childlike wonder and glee when accomplished.

But frowned on when those wish for selfish desires. And an even deeper disappointment at those very same inhuman desires, coming true.

Good and bad exists inside every person, it's just a matter of what one chooses to act on and stand by at the end of the day.

What someone wishes for is reflective of that.

Now imagine that same being coming to life and wrecking havoc across the Disney universe. Judging for themself, if any of these colorful, imaginative characters, truly deserve their...

Happily,

Ever

After.

Yep, the main plot of the story mode is all the various Disney characters literally fighting for wishes and dreams to come true...

against the LITERAL embodiment of wishing upon a star.

Each playable character having their own unique ending.

Some endings being repeats of your favorite Disney movies, with some minor changes to acknowledge the game's plot. While others are original due to the wide cast of characters that are available, besides your favorite Disney Heroes.

For example, you beat the story mode as say, Pinocchio, he wishes to be a real boy.

I know it sounds very redundant since a majority of these things already happen in the Disney movies, but I feel as though relieving them would be fun. In addition to some original ones that didn't happen with either the villains or less major characters.

It's only the hypothetical first game and I wanted start with something simple, that fans could easily get into. More complex plots, with more character interactions should be saved for any possible sequels.

Part 2: The Gameplay

The game would be your typical 2D fighting game. You have,

Combos exclusive to every character that requires practice.

Playstyles that make each character feel unique.

Special moves for each character to get the upper hand and the main focus in besting your opponent in 1 VS 1 matches.

Of course, there's dialogue before fights in the character intros. With so many to pick from, it had to be put in somewhere.

It resembles 2D fighting games that you've all no doubt heard of, such as Marvel VS Capcom or Street Fighter.

But what would a Disney fighting game have to offer on the table, in order to survive the overall video game market?

It would have to be something unique and a feature that not only gives it originality, but a chance to stand out with so much creativity and innovation. Practically begging fans for more.

Which is why I present to you: Disney Songs.

Or as this game prompt will call them: Musical Finales.

The highlight of many Disney movies and overall media, the music is what leaves a lasting impression on many audiences. Which is not surprising, since Disney is mostly a musical. At least in terms of most of their films.

With so many iconic songs from throughout the company's history, of course I'll be squeezing them somehow!

Each character has a music meter, that can only be filled up with how the player times and follows the beat of the character they play as. Follow the rhythm and beat of a character, and it will fill up quicker. Get cut off by the opponent and it doesn't fill up.

That beat being the music of the stage each player fights on, by attacking to the music and the same time. Think of it like the Sound Battles mechanic in Mother 3.

Every character has four different kinds of attacks: Neutral, Musical, Wonderful and Special.

Neutral Attacks are normal attacks that are mostly used to set up combos.

Musical Attacks are attacks that deal more impact, when timed with the music of the stage.

Wonderful Attacks can be seen as character oriented attacks, that embody the personality and charm of the character you play as. And can be used to entertain the audience. We'll get into that later.

Special Attacks are unique finisher moves that require a separate meter to be filled up, as with most fighting games.

Now what happens when the music meter is full? A Disney Song starts playing of course!

Say you filled up Cinderella's music meter for example, then "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" starts playing, granting some unique abilities for Cinderella.

Each song would grant different outcomes and bonuses for the various characters. They're not Special Attacks, as that's already a separate mechanic already.

For example, "Part of Your World" starts playing if you're playing as Ariel, filling up the stage with water and slowing down the opponent, giving Ariel a chance to either take advantage of that, bump items into them or create big waves of water.

But what happens if BOTH characters trigger the music meter at the same time?!

Well, that's where this gimmick becomes a fight for which song keeps on playing!

Both songs would start playing, both at the same time and volume. Except, both characters have to compete to see which is stronger.

This is done by the two characters fighting, before triggering a rhythm game between the two. Once one is the victor, the other song fades, while the other stays playing. Doubling the duration of that character's Musical Finale.

Another mechanic is the Entertainment Meter. Every level you fight on has one, that determines which fighter the audience likes more. Via Wonderful attacks, you can charm the audience into supporting you more. This activates things like getting healing items or stat boosts in power and speed. Some of your favorite Disney sidekicks even provide aid from the audience!

It's almost like watching a Disney movie live and being able to interact with the story!

Or the battle system in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

I feel as though this is the best way of keeping the game interesting, giving it an identity of its own and still embodying that magic people will grow to love. It can also lead to some entertaining interactions in the background or foreground of a stage, as the music meter also brings in characters that would not be playable, but support playable characters nonetheless. Like Flounder and Sebastian.

Of course, either feature could be turned off if you're not a fan of that sort of thing, but that's a given.

Part 3: The Stages

With many Disney movies pick from, it's no wonder there's plenty of choices to pick from. Since this is the first game, I chose to focus more on the movies. Here's my take.

Steamboat (Mickey Mouse cartoons)

Duckberg (Ducktales)

Spoonerville (A Goofy Movie)

Dwarven Forest (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)

Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland)

Monstro (Pinocchio)

The Prince's Ball (Cinderella)

Neverland (Peter Pan)

Forbidden Mountains (Sleeping Beauty)

The Coliseum (Hercules)

Andy's Room (Toy Story)

Elsa's Ice Castle (Frozen)

San Fransokyo Institute of Technology (Big Hero 6)

Atlantica (The Little Mermaid)

House of Mouse (House of Mouse)

The West Wing (Beauty and the Beast)

Cave of Wonders (Aladdin)

Pride Rock (The Lion King)

Ant Island (A Bug's Life)

Tamatoa's Trove (Moana)

Hawaii (Lilo and Stitch)

Headquarters (Inside Out)

Mor'du's Ruins (Brave)

Big Ben (The Great Mouse Detective)

Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Merlin's Cottage (Sword in the Stone)

Emperor's Palace (Mulan)

The Great Before (Soul)

Todayland (Meet The Robinsons)

Paradise Falls (Up)

Zootopia (Zootopia)

Monsters Inc (Monsters Inc)

Nomanisan Island (The Incredibles)

The Bayou (The Princess and the Frog)

Atlantis (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Halloweentown (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Oakey Oaks (Chicken Little)

Spirit Mountain (Brother Bear)

Sherwood Forest (Robin Hood)

Treasure Planet (Treasure Planet)

Horned King's Castle (The Black Cauldron)

The Secret Lab (The Emperor's New Groove)

Bald Mountain (Fantasia)

The Grid (Tron)

World's End (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Radiator Springs (Cars)

Grandmother Willow's Forest (Pocahontas)

East High School (High School Musical)

The Axiom (WALL-E)

Regent's Park (101 Dalmatians)

New Mushroom Town High School (Onward)

Happily Ever After Castle (Walt Disney Opening)

Part 4: The Roster

The bread and butter of many fighting games, the roster is no doubt one I had a bit of trouble putting together. With so many characters from over the years, it's no surprise. But since this is the outline of a possible first game, here's my interpretation.

Also, the cast is big to avoid being too barren or dull.

And because I had a lot of fun putting it all together.

Mickey Mouse (Mickey Mouse): The all around character of the game, he mostly fights by a series of cartoonish tricks, magic tricks and his paintbrush from Epic Mickey. His Special Attack would have him break the fourth wall like and rewind the fight like an old film projector in reverse. Except he heals, while the opponent receives twice the damage. His Musical Finale "Sorcerer's Apprentice" has him use Yensid's Sorcerer hat to its fullest and give his overall moveset more flashes to distract the opponent and slow them down.

Donald Duck (Donald Duck): Everyone's favorite, greedy mallard and the world's angriest duck. Donald would fight mainly with toon force, his fists, his bad luck and his anger. The more damage he takes, the angrier he gets. His Special Attack would have him don the Duck Avenger persona from his PK days and use a series of superhero gadgets to finish the opponent. His Musical Finale "The Three Caballeros" trades his anger for Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles showing up, making him happy. As they hurt the opponent, each time they hit Donald, to keep him happy.

Goofy (Goofy): Everyone's favorite Disney dad, Goofy joins the fight as not the brightest but with the biggest heart. He has toon force to aid him in some unconventional ways. His Special Attack would have him become Super Goof from his older days. His Musical Finale "Eye To Eye" would restore health everytime he dodges an attack, with a dancing flair to it.

Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves): The first Disney Princess, Snow White makes her debut and she's not alone. The Seven Dwarves direct most of her attacks, such as tossing rocks, mining tools as weapons and even just grabbing the opponent and tossing them. Snow White herself can sing and command woodland animals to tie up opponents or just fight to defend her. Her Special Attack would have the Dwarves try to roll a boulder, only for lightning to strike on the opponent and the boulder as extra damage. Her Musical Finale "Whistle While You Work" will call on a huge number of forest animals, as they tidy up the stage and Snow White, slowly replenishing her health and slowing down the opponent.

Pinocchio (Pinocchio): Don't lie in his presence, as that nose is not only for show. Pinocchio fights mostly by using his nose as a staff, the Blue Fairy bringing other toys to life to aid him and Jiminy Cricket distracting the opponent with music. Pinocchio's Special Attack would have him wish upon a star and turn himself into a real boy, as the opponent is turned into a puppet and loses damage as a result. Pinocchio's Musical Finale "I've Got No Strings" would cover the stage in thin lines used for puppets: if the opponent touches one, their frozen briefly. If a projectile attack hits, the same happens.

Cinderella (Cinderella): The bell of the ball and someone whom never gives up on kindness, Cinderella will use the dance moves she showed off at the ball for her moveset, having a dancing and musical feel to how she plays and flashy dances to win against the the opponent. With her Fairy Godmother using her magic to help her, such as flashes of light. Her Special Attack would have the clock strike midnight and she leaves behind her glass slipper: once the opponent touches it they get weighed down by a giant magic dress. Cinderella's Musical Finale "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" would have the Fairy Godmother cast a series of spells over the stage, as a new carriage pops up every time Cinderella pulls off a combo. The carriages run over the opponent and can even carry Cinderella to safety.

Peter Pan (Peter Pan): Leader of the Lost Boys and Captain Hook's second biggest pain in the butt, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell are here. Peter Pan has a pocket knife with him and Tinker Bell's pixie dust for aerial attacks. His Special Attack would have him toss a bunch of gold on the opponent, as the rest of the Lost Boys tackles them and beats them up for the treasures. His Musical Finale "You Can Fly" would create a trail of pixie dust behind him, that randomly causes the opponent to either jump too high or too low.

Captain Hook (Peter Pan): Keep all 'ticks' and 'tocks' away from this pirate! Captain Hook has a wide array of hooks to switch between, a flintlock pistol and his sword to win the battle. His Special Attack would have him run away from the Tick-Tock the Crocodile, as said crocodile attacks the opponent instead of Hook. His Musical Finale "A Pirate's Life/Elegant Captain Hook" would call his ship the Jolly Rodger onto the stage, as the pirates on the ship occasionally throw knives at the opponent and shoot at them, everytime Hook is caught in a combo and can't escape.

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty): Aurora, sleeping beauty herself, is doing anything but sleep and her guardians are making sure of that! Her attacks has the Good Fairies use their magic in numerous ways, such as moving objects, animating objects and even petrification. Her Special Attack has Prince Philip show up with the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue, to deal heavy damage on the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Once Upon A Dream" boosts her stats everytime she's hit.

Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty): The Mistress of all Evil, Maleficent uses a wide array of magic powers from cursed, throny vines, to her iconic green fires, she's one tough fighter from a distance. Her Special Attack would have her turn into a dragon and breath fire down on the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Once Upon A Dream" would have her make the opponent more drowsy, each time they hit her, until falling asleep, unless they keep moving.

Robin Hood (Robin Hood): The sly fox of England and one talented theif, this fox focuses on disguises, archery, swordsmanship and woodsmanship to make his way. His Special Attack would have authorities show up to arrest him, as they rain down arrows on the opponent in the process. His Musical Finale "Running Through The Forest" would allow him to dodge all attacks, without needing to hit the controls or input buttons.

Basil of Baker Street (The Great Mouse Detective): World's greatest detective! At least in the mouse world that is. Basil would investigate the stage of the fight, much like a crime scene and even pick up clues that double as weapons, such as a propeller or a mouse trap. His Special Attack would have him investigate a crime scene that hurt the opponent, before pushing them aside as 'worthless' evidence. His Musical Finale "Let Me Be Good To You" would have him require no further evidence and counter each hit with a deduction on his opponent's crime and even stop them from performing combos. Doing damage in the process.

Professor Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective): Never call him a rat. Ever. This crime boss of the miniature crime world be no stranger to fist fights and gleefully take a swing at your demise, whether it's his fists, cane or traps. If not him, then his minions are more than happy to drown some orphans! His Special Attack would have him call his pet cat, Felicia to devour the opponent. His Musical Finale "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" would give him more durability to hits, more destruction to the stage and traps cover more range on the stage.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid): Princess of the Sea, everyone's favorite mermaid is ready to explore beyond the sea. Armed with her father's trident, some amazing swimming skills and various sea animals at her command, she's more than ready. Her Special Attack would have her conjure a giant wave, that also covers the opponent in sea creatures. Her Musical Finale "Part Of Your World" fills the stage with water and can have Ariel bump floating objects into the opponent.

Ursula (The Little Mermaid): The last sea witch you would want to cross paths with, Ursula has eels to do her biding, poisonous ink clouds and even thunderclouds. Her Special Attack would have her turn giant via King Triton's trident and use the added power to attack the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Poor Unfortunate Souls" has her disguise herself as the opponent and slowly regain health from all souls being eaten by her. As a bonus, if she's infront of a mirror that's on the stage, her reflection will be her true form.

Belle (Beauty and the Beast): My, quite an odd girl, reading books and getting on the field of battle?! Belle's entire moveset would revolve around books; not magic books, just books on the rest of the cast and fairytales overall. She would be able to switch between each of these books and use what she's learned from them. For Example, 'Romeo and Juliet' gives Belle immunity to stat changes and rose themed weapons that hurt the opponent, like throwing weapons. 'Aladdin' gives her a magic ring that can conjure up magic smoke, furniture on the foe and teleport her. 'Jack and the Beanstalk' plants vines that can raise her up or entangle the foe. There's more books at her disposal, but that's just the general idea. Her Special Attack has her father ride in on his invention, chopping up an entire forest until the opponent is covered and crushed by chopped up logs. Her Musical Finale "Tale As Old As Time" gives her the power to 'skip' a fairytale, turning each of her attacks into the endings from the books. For example, 'Aladdin' would trap the opponent in an oil lamp, leaving room for her to attack.

Beast (Beauty and the Beast): The poor and cruel prince, turned into a monster as evil as the one in his heart. Beast has his boost in strength from his beastly form and claws to defeat the opponent. The curse not only affected him: his servants are by his side. Lumiere can incinerate the opponent or plant fires on the ground, Cogsworth can distract them with timed clock sounds, Mrs. Potts can spill tea to slip up the opponent, Chip will knock over bookshelves and Wardrobe can block attacks. His Special Attack would turn the opponent into a piece of furniture, leaving them open for attacks: each opponent having a different transformation. His Musical Finale "Be Our Guest" would have every attack with one of his servants, also heal Beast in addition to hurting the opponent.

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast): Nooo oooone's slick as Gaston! Quick as Gaston! No one's neck is as incredibly thick as Gaston! He's especially good at combo breaking! Boy what a guy that Gaston! Gaston has his inconic blunderbass and his fists, along with a bow and quiver and a hunting knife to deal with an opponent, almost as if they were an animal he's hunting. His Special Attack would have an angry mob charge at the opponent and beat them up. His Musical Finale "Gaston" gives him a strength boost, everytime he pulls off a combo successfully.

Aladdin (Aladdin): Everyone's favorite street rat and theif, he's not alone on the field of battle as Abu and Genie are here to help him. Abu can cling to the opponent and hit them repeatedly, Magic Carpet can be used for aerial attacks, Aladdin has a sword that he 'borrowed' from a guard and Genie can shape-shift in a variety of ways to best the opponent. Aladdin's Special Attack would have Genie distract the opponent, as Aladdin steals something off them and uses it to beat them. Aladdin's Music Finale "Friend Like Me" would have Genie grant a wish, each time Aladdin gets a combo, such as a stat boosts and healing.

Jasmine (Aladdin): The sultan's own daughter that would rather be anything than a prize to be given away. She has learned self defense skills, her father's guards and her pet tiger Rajah in her moveset. Her Special Attack would have the guards arrest the opponent and toss them into prison, as they struggle to escape and take damage. Her Musical Finale "A Whole New World" has one the Seven Wonders of the world occasionally pop up in the background to hurt the opponent, as the fight goes on.

Jafar (Aladdin): The Sultan's Royal vizer of Agrabah and one whom believes he should rule Agrabah. Jafar has his magic staff to hypnotize and cast spells onto his foe. Occasionally tapping into the phenenomal, Cosmic power of his Genie form to do some real damage. And Iago is here as well... mostly to complain. His Special Attack would have him become an all powerful Genie and Iago wishing for ways to 'hurt' (not kill) the opponent. His Musical Finale "You're Only Second Rate" would boost all of his stats and attacks, except he can't KO the opponent until the Musical Finale is done.

Simba (The Lion King): King of the Pride Rock and son of Mufasa, the Lion King himself is more than prepared with his claws and iconic roar. His roar can even control the weather to strike lightning and cause windstorms. His Special Attack would have him call on the spirit of his father, Mufasa, as the two of them roar at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Circle Of Life" will have him remember, how we are all connected and draw on the life-force of nature, slowly healing him and giving his roars more range.

Scar (The Lion King): Mufasa's little brother and King after his timely demise, Scar has his claws and his hyenas to make short work of his foe as if their nothing more than a light snack. His Special Attack would toss the opponent of a cliff, into a Wildebeest stampede just like in the movie. As a bonus, he would say 'long live the king's son' if Simba is the opponent. His Musical Finale "Be Prepared" has him do damage without needing to attack the opponent and just walking into the opponent.

Pocahontas (Pocahontas): Daughter of Chief Powhatan, this Disney Princess has the skills necessary in order to survive and win. Her Special Attack would have her people come in to fight alongside her and best the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Colors Of The Wind" gives her attacks more launching power and each dodge she does generates winds that hurt the foe.

Governor John Ratcliffe (Pocahontas): The main villain of Pocahontas, this greedy scoundrel will do anything to claim what he believes is rightfully his. He has a sword and uses his position of power to call his men into the fray. His Special Attack would have his men charge like in the movie at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Mine, Mine, Mine" prevents the opponent from interrupting his attacks and tripping over any gold sticking out of the ground.

Quasimodo (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame): The hunchback of notre Dame himself and quite the sweetheart, he just wishes to see the outside world. His job as the ringer of the bells comes in handy to stun them, swing bells at them, his talented acrobatic skills and surprising strength. His Special Attack would have him reenact the Festival of Fools and have the opponent be caught up in all the chaos. His Musical Finale "Out There" turns all of his bell attacks, into soothing sounds, that heals him.

Esmeralda (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame): An outcasts, like many other outcasts of Notre Dame, she's picked up on a multitude of tricks to evade capture. Such as illusionary tricks to trick opponents and various circus acts from the Festival of Fools. Her Special Attack has Phoebus teleport out of a field of smoke and beat the opponent. Her Musical Finale "God Help The Outcasts" plants multiple pillars of light over the stage, that burn the opponent and heal Esmeralda.

Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame): Someone whom believes only he can purge the world of evil and that all he does is for the greater good. Frollo, due to his old age mostly uses his sword, his horse and his 'fears' to end the opponent. Those 'fears' being cloaked figures that defend Frollo and burn the sins of his opponent. His Special Attack burns the stage, with the opponent caught up in the flames being tied to a stake. His Musical Finale "Hellfire" burns the opponent every time they hit and touch Frollo.

Arthur (Sword in the Stone): The rightful king of England, proven by pulling the sword in the stone, Arthur is ready to be king. Merlin's apprentice is armed with the sword of legend: Excalibur and his mentor Merlin is there to provide some magic aid by turning Arthur into various animals and predict the opponents attacks with foresight. Arthur's Special Attack has Merlin turn into a germ to infect the opponent. Arthur's Musical Finale "Higitus Figitus" grants Arthur increased weight, almost as if he's the sword in the stone and making him harder to launch and knock away.

Hercules (Hercules): The son of the Greek God Zeus, Hercules goes to prove himself as a true hero and this brawl may be his greatest trial yet. With his power as a Greek God, granting him immeasurable strength, agility and endurance. And his pet Pegasus shows up for aerial attacks. His Special Attack has his father Zeus come in and hurl his thunderbolt at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Zero To Hero" increases his durability each time he pulls off a combo, making him immune to attacks at times.

Hades (Hercules): Greek God of the underworld and lord of the dead, Hades will claim victory. In addition to mastery of fire and smoke, Hades can shift between generally calm and collected, to angered and enraged, which affects the range and power of his attacks. Pain and Panic also shapeshift to provide some help. His Special Attack has the Titans show up and attack the opponent. His Musical Finale "My Town" floods the stage withdead souls that slowly deplete the health of the opponent.

Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles): One of the greatest superheroes whom ever lived, in spite of an unneeded early retirement from the government. Robert "Bob" Parr, known to the public as Mr. Incredible, has his moveset revolve around his superstrength and invulnerability, also being able to use the environment to his advantage like uprooting trees. His Special Attack calls in the rest of The Incredibles; Dash, Violet, Elastigirl and Jack-Jack to help take down the opponent as a family. His Musical Finale "The Incredibles" has his attacks all release shock waves that occasionally make debris hit the opponent, like it's the intensity of a comic book.

Syndrome (The Incredibles): You better catch him while be monologues as he does not play around! The wannabe superhero uses zero point energy to toss the opponent and send objects flying their way. His Special Attack calls in the Omnidroid to make short work of the opponent. His Musical Finale "Kronos Unveiled" forces the opponent to not stand still for too long or repeat the same attacks, or else the Omnidroid will fire lasers at them almost as if their being analyzed.

Mulan (Mulan): From lying to save her father's life, to saving all of China to joining other famous Disney heroes on the field of battle, Mulan has been through a lot. She has a sword, fireworks, a staff and a fan to best her foes. Mushu tags along, spitting fireballs at the opponent and tricking them into attacking smoke illusions that resemble Mulan. Her Special Attack has fireworks hit a snowy mountain, crushing the opponent under an avalanche. Her Musical Finale "Reflections" has Mulan disguise herself and blend in a crowd that slowly came onto the battlefield. The opponent attacking a random person will have them retaliate and hurt them.

Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas): The pumpkin king and the patron of Halloween, his title comes with a wide array of pumpkin bombs, a flexible and detachable skeleton body. His Special Attack would have him trap the opponent in a series of giant pumpkin bombs, before his pet dog Zero lights them up. His Musical Finale "This Is Halloween" plants a series of tricks and treats all over the stage: treats for Jack that heals him and tricks that leave the opponent in a scared state. They take more damage while scared.

Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas): A literal burlap sack of nothing but bugs, Oogie Boogie has those very same bugs come out and harm the opponent. From spiders that tangle them up, to tarantulas that poison them to flies that hoist them up, he's as gross as sounds. His Special Attack would have him inhale the opponent and let his bugs do the work. His Musical Finale "Oogie Boogie's Song" increases his luck of landing higher damage, by also hitting a dice on the stage.

Tarzan (Tarzan): A man raised by apes, Tarzan has the strength to even keep up with apes and survive in the forest. In addition to his amazing strength, Tarzan can also swing from vines, use his impressive smell and hearing to counter attacks and a spear. His Special Attack has him command an army of apes to beat up the opponent. His Musical Finale "Son Of Man" puts fruits on the trees he swings from that he can heal himself with: since the opponent is not Tarzan the same fruits either poison them or make them dizzy.

Yzma and Kronk (The Emperor's New Groove): The former advisor of Emperor Kuzco and her most loyal henchman. Kronk does the fighting with his astounding strength and Yzma will be in the background, occasionally throwing potions on the opponent. Kronk will pull the lever, that will do a variety of things such as drop a bust of Yzma, a giant rock, a vase, etc. Their Special Attack has Yzma yell 'PULL THE LEVER KRONK!' sending the opponent and Yzma down a trap door to below the stage. Leaving it up to interpretation what happens, as Yzma casually walks back to the stage with a crocodile biting her leg. Their Musical Finale "Snuff Out The Light" replaces Yzma's potions with singing that prevents the health bar from going any lower.

Milo J. Thatch (Atlantis: The Lost Empire): An orphan that grew up to be quite the cartographer to even finding the lost city of Atlantis. Since he's not much of a fighter, the friends he made on the trip will do the fighting for him. Vinny plants explosions, Mole digs holes and attacks from the ground, Sweet heals Milo and boosts his durability, Audrey sends vehicles at the opponent and Cookie leaves food for people to trip over. He's even picked up on some Atlantean magic from Kida. His Special Attack has him pilot an Atlantean cruiser, shooting lasers at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Where The Dream Takes You" reverse the opponents controls, every time Milo lands a hit, almost as if their lost without a map.

Kida Nedakh (Atlantis: The Lost Empire): Princess of Atlantis and the current Queen, Kids is armed with a spear and a connection to the Heart of Atlantis, granting her forcefields and runes that dish out the ancient city's might. Her Special Attack summons a giant tsunami with the opponent being hit as Atlantis sinks. Her Musical Finale "Kida Returns" has the stage covered in runes, as the guardians of Atlantis will hit the opponent if they step on a rune.

Stitch (Lilo and Stitch): Experiment 626, also known as Stitch is an alien that befriended the kind-hearted Lilo Pelaki. Stitch is indestructible, has four plasma blasters, can roll up into a ball and lift up to 3000 times his own weight. His Special Attack calls in his cousins to each hit the opponent once, before Stitch himself smacks them with a car. His Musical Finale "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" doubles the strength of any attacks timed with the music.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean): Captain Jack Sparrow comes to the battle with his signature sword, musket and flintlock pistol. His Special Attack has the Black Pearl ram the opponent and shoot cannonballs at the opponent. His Musical Finale "He's A Pirate" makes him impossible to KO, he can still take damage though.

Sulley and Mike Wazowski (Monsters Inc): The dynamic duo and best friends, Sully and Mike fight with the former scaring the opponent and the latter being pulled from the background, used as a ball to hit opponents. The more combos they land, the more scare is generated as energy: this energy being used to power machines to attack the opponent. Their Special Attack has the stage be overloaded with scare energy, to the point of canisters bouncing all over the stage and hitting the opponent, much like in Monsters University. Their Musical Finale "If I Didn't Have You" makes the opponent laugh each time they hit Sulley, generating energy and leaving them open to attack.

Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet): Jim Hawkins, someone with the 'makings of greatness' according to Captain Silver has a chance to prove that here. With his solar surfer to pull off some amazing tricks, a knife and a blaster, he can hold his own just fine. His Special Attack would simply be Treasure Planet blowing up, with the opponent caught in the explosion, as he flies away on a ship. His Musical Finale "I'm Still Here" gives him the markings of greatness, in the form of stat boosts everytime he pulls off a trick on his solar surfer.

Captain John Silver (Treasure Planet): The fearsome pirate cyborg and only real father figure to Jim Hawkins, Captain Silver is ready to use those pirate skills from over the years to claim his treasure. As a cyborg, he has a wide selection of tools and weapons, such as lasers, a cybernetic eye, guns, a sword, a cleaver, a battering ram, the list goes on. His Special Attack has the opponent fly into space, while he leaves on a pirate ship. His Musical Finale "I'm Still Here" fills the stage with comets that can freeze the opponent if they come into contact with them and increases the strength of Silver's lasers if they pass through.

Merida (Brave): The Scottish princess and daughter of Queen Elinor and King Fergus, enters the battle with her archery skills and swordsmanship to win the fight. Her Special Attack has her ride in on her horse Angus, delivering a series of arrows to finish off the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Touch The Sky" makes all her arrows hit the opponent, without fail.

Kenai and Koda (Brother Bear): The bear brothers, one born a bear and the other cursed to turn into a bear. Kenai and Koda fight as a team of bears from claws to wilderness skills they picked up. Even the Great Spirits watch over and protect them, by influencing nature to protect the brothers. Their Special Attack has the spirits of Sitka and Koda's mother come in to protect them and deal with the enemy. Their Musical Finale "On My Way" increases the range of their block, with the Great Spirits protecting them.

Tiana and Naveen (The Princess and the Frog): A hardworker that believes the only way you can make it in the world, is through hardwork. Even if that meant kissing a frog. Tiana has a wide assortment of cooking utensils to win. With Naveen distracting them with singing and dancing. They can switch to being frogs, where they use their tongues to tangle up the opponent and hop off lily pads. Their Special Attack has Mama Odie turn the opponent into a series of animals, before sending them away with her Voodoo magic. Their Musical Finale "Almost There" gives Tiana a golden glow that greatly increases the range of their attacks and distracts the opponent with golden glows.

Dr. Facilier (The Princess and the Frog): The Shadow Man himself and one whom turned Naveen into a frog, Dr. Facilier fights with his cane, Voodoo magic, shadows and spell casting. His Special Attack has him pull the opponent into a deal, as their dragged down by the Voodoo Spirits. His Musical Finale "Friends On The Other Side" let's him take a gaze into the opponent's future, turning all of his attacks into counters, if they hit the same time as the opponent's attacks.

Rapunzel (Tangled): The lost princess of the Kingdom of Corona, blessed with magic hair and has quite the efficient frying pan. Her hair can not only heal herself a bit, but can be swung from, tie up the opponent and makes for a surprising whip. Her Special Attack has Flynn and Maximus ride in, with Rapunzel hitching a ride, as the three take down the opponent. Her Musical Finale "I See The Light" fills up the stage with lanterns, that can blind the opponent if they touch any.

Hiro and Baymax (Big Hero 6): The child genius and the helper robot turned fighter have become quite the crime fighting duo, that honor Tadashi's wish of wanting to help people. Baymax does the fighting, with Hiro on his back, such as martial arts, rocket fist, an energy blade and sonic blaster. Their Special Attack calls in the rest of the Big Hero 6, as they teamup and take down the opponent. Their Musical Finale "Immortals" assuming they get the rights to the song has Baymax dodge every attack that comes, without needing to move the controller and slowly heal up.

Judy Hopps (Zootopia): A young bunny from Bunnyburrow that came to Zootopia to pursue her dreams of being cop and help people. Her bunny physiology grants her enhanced hearing, quick agility, high jumping and she has trained herself to take down foes much bigger than her. Her Special Attack has her do her job as a cop and arrest the opponent, with the entire police force joining in to help. Her Musical Finale "Try Everything" plants tourist attractions all over the stage, that can hurt the opponent and heal Judy.

Elsa (Frozen): The Queen of Arendelle and the Ice Queen herself, forced to conceal don't feel, don't let them know. But she'll be doing anything but that here! Elsa has ice powers to freeze the opponent, create pillars of ice, ice slides, ice skates etc. Her Special Attack calls in Marshmallow to deal with the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Let It Go" allows her ice powers to come to life and aid her in battle.

Moana (Moana): Moana of Motuni, whom has sailed the sea to return the Heart of Te Fiti with Maui. She has a harpoon and an oar, along with the ocean helping her and watching over her. Her Special Attack returns the Heart of Te Fiti to Te Fiti, whom fully heals Moana, temporarily boosting her attack. Moana's Musical Finale "How Far I'll Go" covers the stage in water that has boats to hit the opponent and granting Moana faster speed.

Maui (Moana): The Maori Demigod of the wind and sea, with quite the number of feats from over the years. With his magic fish hook, he can shapeshift into a number of animals, his most common being a hawk. His Special Attack being lassoing the sun into the opponent. His Musical Finale "You're Welcome" makes all damage to Maui, take longer to leave an impact.

And that's that. A LOT longer than I thought it would be. Now your probably thinking, what about all the other Disney media? It's an idea for the first game, so other characters (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Scrooge McDuck, Goliath, Kim Possible, etc.) would appear in a potential sequel.

Or DLC, since every game these days has it.

Thanks so much for reading all this and taking the time to do! I would love to hear some thoughts and feedback! I had a blast making all this and would like to see if you're interested in hearing more video game ideas.

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icykalisartblog · 3 years

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A Dayoun Drabble: “Aged”

Synopsis: In which Damar thinks about ageing and is trounced by his vastly-older partner. I guess this was inspired by those scenes about Bashir’s birthday from “Distant Voices!” Also on AO3.

@evenmyhivemindisempty because I know you enjoyed my Damar POV!

Aged

Damar's first speech as a Legate was invigorating. He felt a tingle in his blood that rivaled the effects of kanar, and it was mostly because he was finally able to recite his own words instead of having to listen to Dukat grandstanding and butchering his meticulous compositions. But Damar's good mood was soon torpedoed by faint praise from Dukat: "The role of legate suits you, Damar. Though I'll stick with the rank of gul. You know I prefer action." Damar gnashed his teeth as he walked back to his quarters, cursing his cowardice. He should have struck back with, "Is that why you almost blew up a ship with your daughter and me on board?" but had held his tongue because he was a miserable wretch who had only risen in the ranks because he was the good, efficient Cardassian in the eyes of their Dominion handlers.

He put his hand to the panel with more force than intended and then walked inside without waiting for the door to slide open all the way. The heady smell of fermented fish touched him as he entered and he almost let it whisk him away to happier times of bars in the capital before he shook his head, rejecting the nostalgia. A table had been set in the middle of the room, with one heaping plate of dumplings on one side presumably for him, while Weyoun sat across from it with his own, an expectant grin on his face.

Damar sighed. Why not take the bait? Things could not get any worse. “What is this ab—”

“Happy birthday, Damar.”

“What?”

Weyoun tilted his head to the side. “Did you forget your own birthday? How sad.” But he was still grinning. He motioned for Damar to sit.

Damar scowled deeply. Weyoun never bothered to pretend to be sympathetic in private, and Damar had no reason to bother masking his displeasure in return.

When Damar made no move to take a seat, Weyoun leaned back in his chair, eyes sorrowful enough to make him look like a kicked riding hound puppy. "And here I thought you liked these. Your psychographic profile mentioned you cried again and again when you couldn't afford any at the street vendors in your youth."

Damar sat down, struggling to keep stone-faced. He was not going to give Weyoun the satisfaction of being tackled—not that Damar had ever been skilled in that tradition anyway. Suffering Weyoun's continued presence was the first thing to give him the energy to try, and he still failed to muster up the required aggression. Even worse, as soon as he sat down and he saw Weyoun's grin, he knew he had done exactly what Weyoun had wanted him to do. But Damar’s stomach won out over his battered pride, as it always did, and he picked up his glass. He paused and did not take a sip. “This isn’t even a drink, Weyoun. This is fish sauce.”

“Is it? I thought it was the fish juice your people are fond of.” Weyoun stared into his own glass. “That would explain why it was so thick,” he mused. He picked up the glass and had the nerve to take a swig of it without flinching.

“Do you want me to eat or projectile vomit? I won’t do both.” Damar poured some of the sauce he had been served over the dumplings. The translucent brown over the pale dumpling skins actually made a pretty picture, but the knowledge that Weyoun would not be able to comprehend that made him quash the thought.

Weyoun regarded him with his mouth open partway and gave him that aside glance he always utilized when he thought Damar had said something particularly stupid. “If you aren’t brave enough, I’ll make a substitution.” He got out of his chair and sank down to the floor, pulling the tablecloth aside and taking something from under the dining table. He emerged with a bottle and two new, clear glasses. He popped open the bottle and poured out the liquid inside, then handed Damar a glass.

The delicate, floral bouquet took caught Damar off-guard. “Is this k’hava wine? Why are you giving me this?”

“It’s your birthday. You’ve taken one step closer to being middle-aged. You gave your first address to your homeworld as legate,” Weyoun said. “I’m just doing my job. It’s my duty to ease these transitions. And what better way to ease yours and celebrate another year of your life than with something of a higher caliber than the swill you’re always guzzling?”

He knew Weyoun was playing the game, being opaque, but hearing about his “duty” still hurt. Damar took a sip to hide his grimace. The wine tasted like a sunny day. “You wouldn’t know quality if it boxed those good ears of yours.”

Weyoun moved his hand in tight circles, watching and listening to the wine in motion. He smiled slightly, probably because he already knew he was the victor, and Damar knew if they had been in public Weyoun would have made a show of chuckling or grinning. Here, he knew he did not have to. In the negative space of Weyoun’s smile Damar could perceive the ravages of his own age, but the little wrinkles around Weyoun’s eyes were making an appearance as well. A pulse of warmth shot through Damar’s chest despite the fact that the wrinkles showed up whether or not Weyoun’s happiness was fake—he was such a skilled performer—and Damar refused to continue down that line of thought and instead dove into his dumplings and stress-ate. Stress-eating, stress-fucking—really, any action Damar took could be prefaced with “stress-” and it would be accurate. From experience, Damar knew it was difficult to eat and cry at the same time, and thus one could help stave off the other.

The repulsive noises Weyoun made as he squished the soft insides of a dumpling and contrasted it with the crispy seams kicked Damar out of his miserable reverie. He knew Weyoun was probably tormenting him on purpose over his past snoring problem, but that just encouraged Damar to retaliate by flicking his tongue into the k'hava wine and slurping it up like a child.

“Clearly, Damar, you’re the one who doesn’t know how to handle quality,” Weyoun said. He cocked his head to the side. “...Which would explain why you never know what to do with me.”

“I know enough to treat you with contempt, you regnar.”

Weyoun did chuckle that time, highlighting his wrinkles again.

Before Weyoun could return to eating loudly—if his ears were so sharp, how could he bear it when even Damar found the sounds sickening?—Damar asked, “How old are you, Weyoun? Based on your looks, you’ve made it to being middle-aged already.”

“Damar, you were present when this body was activated. Really, the Cardassian eidetic memory must not be as impressive as your people claim—”

“Shut up,” he snapped, only to immediately realize he had been the one to ask Weyoun a question and that telling him to be quiet just made himself look even more like an idiot. “I don’t mean your body. I mean… how long your line of clones has been around. And what about your wrinkles? Are they for show, or…?”

“Although initially these features were bestowed upon me by the Founders because many species prefer to interact with a diplomat with life experience, I have since earned my wrinkles many times over.” Weyoun was always excited to discuss himself. “The Weyoun progenitor was activated over one thousand seven hundred years ago.”

Damar choked and spat out a half-eaten dumpling. He knew he must have been wide-eyed and reeling based on Weyoun’s smirk. Damar barely bit back on the urge to blurt out another stupid exclamation along the lines of “That’s a long time” and instead said, “And… do you remember what you were like before your body was engineered by the Founders? Do you ever dream about being a tree-dwelling creature or something?”

Weyoun hummed quizzically as he played with his food. “I think you misunderstand the situation. I was never primitive, and I was not one of the first Vorta to be created. The Weyoun line was created during a period in which the Founders paused their exploration of the universe and focused their attention inward. I was blessed with being activated on their homeworld, the birthplace of gods.” He pressed his fingers into the dumpling skin, breaching it and spilling its contents over his plate.

Damar swallowed hard. “Did you ever visit the Vorta’s homeworld?”

“I have, on several occasions. It’s often used as a place to monitor alien species and determine if they would make valuable Dominion allies. If you’re curious, much of the planet is covered by deciduous forest.”

“But you don’t consider it a home. And you don’t think of the Founders’ home planet as your home, either.” He knew the answer, but voiced it as a formality.

“It would be difficult to consider any one place my home when my assignments are temporary. This conflict with the Federation has caused this particular mission to last far longer than usual.” He leaned over his plate, as if he could fortune tell with it. Without his disaffected mask, the unimaginable exhaustion weighing him down was obvious. “And it would be arrogant of me to consider my place at the Founder’s side a home,” he added, quietly.

What had Damar been thinking earlier, nearly crying at the dinner table? He was the arrogant one. Yes, having a birthday feast without family made a mockery of tradition and made him feel like an exile. Throughout his life Damar had done nothing but fail upward, losing home, love, and family as he rose in the ranks. But he had still had them to lose. Whereas Weyoun had been alive for almost two thousand years and had survived without them. For a Cardassian, that was not even living at all. Weyoun had no home, and had dealt with being continually uprooted. Most people hated him, and not just because diplomats were eminently hateable. And without love, he had no hope of being part of a family. Yet despite everything, Weyoun remained a beacon of strength, finding space to play despite being enslaved and indoctrinated, always ready to crush any opponent in an argument, and eager to leave Damar feeling shaken, terrified, and in love. Damar was left in awe of his power.

“You certainly made quick work of that.” Weyoun gestured to Damar’s plate. It was empty, and Damar had not even noticed.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to binge,” Damar muttered.

Weyoun shrugged. “It only makes sense. I'm not offended in the slightest. Here, take some of mine.” He slid his plate across the table.

“B-But you barely had any! You need to eat some too.” He did not think Weyoun knew what he had been mulling over, but under that scrutinizing gaze anything seemed possible.

“Actually, I don't. The Vorta metabolize food rather slowly. I've been eating at this pace to feel the textures and to indulge in your dining tradition. Though your concern is touching.” He picked up his glass of fish sauce, and downed it all, leaving himself as unctuous as his demeanor. “I should be full now if I wasn’t before!”

Damar heaved a sigh. “I know I should be used to this by now, but it is shocking to watching you drink things like that... and I drink a lot.” After a moment’s hesitation, he plucked a dumpling from Weyoun’s plate. He hoped the k’hava wine Weyoun was sipping would make it less disgusting to kiss him later, because he was definitely going to be kissing him after dinner was over. Even though it hurt, he made eye contact with him and said, “Weyoun, I’m glad we met. You know that, don’t you?”

Weyoun blinked. “Of course I do. Why, I’m the best thing that ever happened to you.”

For Weyoun's sake, Damar did not argue. Instead, he let himself flush blue and then kept eating, providing Weyoun with an interesting array of sounds. Damar could never have asked for a better birthday.

#dayoun #damar #Weyoun #This was supposed to be a fluffy drabble about Weyoun's wrinkles #but Damar is so miserable and pathetic that it turned angsty #IcyKali's Writing

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officerrxyes-inactive · 4 years

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Fox’s Pride Round table Discussion Highlights

feat. Brian Michael Smith and Rafael Silva

This isn’t perfect but it’s my rough take on what Brian and Rafa talked about in the stream. I highly recommend checking it out on your own if you have the time! Besides what’s mentioned below, the other guests had some incredible things to say as well and I think it’s really important everyone checks it out. It’s available on Fox’s pages on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and Hulu!

See my notes under the cut (I wrote them on my phone so and I have capitalization turned off and I’m not going through and fixing it... there’s also probably some spelling mistakes oops. Also this was just my take on what they said but if you got something else and find any of my paraphrasing incorrect and/or disrespectful please let me know!)

•brian talks about being a black trans actor on a major primetime tv show and what it was like to experience it, especially with it being pride month. it was a lot of what he said in his live with ronen. he explains how monumental it was on a personal and collective level. he also talks about the people who have reached out to him; parents of trans youth and trans people themselves, some out, some still in the closet. they tell him how much it means to them that kind of representation his character has brought to television, and that the character is played by a trans actor. he mentions growing up he didn’t even know there were other people like him. he grew up loving and watching film and wanting to do that but feeling like that’s not possible. even when he started acting he thought he would only be able to get background work or facing the fear that he may be outed and face violence. but now to be able to see better representation of real trans experiences, mentioning laverne cox on oitnb, he realized there was a way to tell trans stories in a way that was authentic. once he realized that was possible, he decided that’s what he wanted to do since that’s the skills he’s aquired in life and that’s what he’s lived through. he wants to use the talent he was given in acting and storytelling to bring something that many other people might not have seen and that they need to see. he is so grateful to be able to play a trans character on a such a large scale. he says that film is one thing but television is in your living room, in your home, so to bring that sort of representation into the homes of people that may not have otherwise seen it, or be able to relate to it, is going to change the way they relate to people in real life and how they respond to news. it will feel personal and he is happy to be apart of that.

•rafa talks about what pride means to him. he shouts out the people that came before him that fought so he could be here today (directly and indirectly). he also talks about the importance of self reflection and self education because we need to recognize and learn about those who have come before us and allow us to take the stand that we currently do. he says the pride is the recognition of everyone, whether he knows them personally or not. he mentions that it’s important to recognize stonewall and the aids crisis when reflecting on our history. he identifies himself as out and gay (we knew he had a husband right and previously said he was in the lgbtq community but this is the first time he labeled himself correct?). he talks about ryan murphy, and how he makes television for everyone who has been oppressed. he says that pride is also embracing everyone in the lgbtqia+ community. he says that as a community, we do a great job at advocating for ourselves in but there are other issues that need to be addressed such as racism and transphobia that still exist within. he says that who are we to tell other to accept us if we don’t accept ourselves fully and we need to take responsibility. pride is calling people out, calling people in, bringing it to the light, self education, and celebrate who you are.

•brian talks about how you don’t have to be an activist or an expert to contribute or be apart of this. there are people out there who have dedicated their lives to advocating for change and building the framework for the stuff we are seeing now so you don’t have to be an expert in something to contribute. just by having conversations with friends and family, or calling out people when they say/do something problematic or by educating yourself can have an impact. he also talks about ways to use your position or talent to create a path for someone who has the experience to come in an amplify the message. he says it’s important to recognize when to step out of the way and let someone’s voice be amplified if it’s not your place to speak on their behalf. he says you don’t have to be an expert or have the skills bc there are people around you who do and will step up.

•rafa talks about coming out in hollywood and if he felt pressured to keep his identity a secret when he was starting out. he says that growing up in brazil, it was ingrained to be strong and not talk about it (he says some specific word but i can’t pick it out). he came out when he was 19, right after college and he didn’t know what he was doing when he came out but he needed to get it off his chest. coping with coming out and having just moved to nyc, he says the shame was always there since it was happening in the most formative years of ones life. he does feel pressured to conform to a certain type of behavior, then and now. but also recognizes that he feels this way and he doesn’t have to. he says that he tries to own up, be himself, and say the things that he wants to say (and if that’s gay, than nice, that’s the point :) he says that as soon as you own up to the way you feel, power is bound to happen. he says that being yourself, you aren’t sure how that will impact other people. when you help yourself, you allow others to do the same. he talks about how the blm movement encouraged to own up to who he is as an immigrant, latinx, gay man in this industry and outside of it.

•brian talks about his hope for the future with regard to fox’s tv for all. he says it’s phenomenal that he’s black trans man playing a series regular on a major tv network. he also notes that it’s a positive representation, playing one of the most heroic positions in society. and by putting a black trans person in that position is beyond significant. he wants to continue to see that expansion with more normalization. he praises ryan murphy for doing a good job bringing these stories to light. he wants to continue to see the representation of people who are nonbinary, genderqueer, disabled, and older trans people on tv. he notes that these roles should be significant as well, not just minor or side characters. many people feel alone in the community and their connection is through what they watch so it’s so important to show that in media. he says that kids need to see this kind of representation and that if he had seen a black trans father on tv as a kid, he would probably be on a very different path.

•rafa shared his last thoughts, saying how easy it is to act on emotions and go with the crowd when everyone else feels the same way and the same time. he thinks that the way to keep it going is when all the emotions are gone and we are left with rationality, is when we need to be strongest and push for change. when it’s not easy or comfortable, that’s when the growth will start.

#rafael silva #brian michael smith #911 lone star

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nerdygaymormon · 3 years

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Sometimes I really hate being Bi. I know know the Church is true and I'll never leave it, but man is it a struggle. I started to think I was Bi on my Mission, and wow, that was scary. Ever since I got home, little over a year ago, I feel like I'm attracted to women more and more and I hate it. (I know I'm Bi and not Lesbian.) I see a cute gal, and I want cuddles and dates, and so many other things, but I can't act on it. (Especially since I'm at BYUI.) Do you have any tips on not hating yourself

Everyone has some things about themselves they don’t like or about which they’re hyper-critical. Often these are about not living up to our ideals, actions we wish we had or hadn’t done, not living up to some societal ideal, about a failure in our life. This is normal and part of being human.

Queer people in particular must deal with self-hatred that goes beyond just a normal part of being human. We grow up hearing negative messages about people like us and we internalize those messages. And often we have an inner voice that is authoritative and may sound like our parents or religious leaders and thus when it speaks to us, that voice gives those messages extra heft. These things cause us to see ourselves as lesser and to feel shame over our feelings and how we experience life.

An important part of unraveling this self-loathing is to recognize the negative messages, refute them, and replace them.

For example, your world won’t end just because you’re bi. Some people may view you differently if they find out, but a lot of people will continue to respect and love you. Perhaps you’ll lose some people, but you will not lose everything and everybody you care about.

That’s recognizing and refuting the negative messages, now let’s replace them. Being bi is a wonderful part of what makes me the person I am and I’m lucky because it brings many important gifts into my life. I can find beauty and love that others miss.

When you’re at church or school and hear a negative message about queer people, push back against it. You can raise your hand and speak up. If you’re not feeling brave in that moment, it’s okay, and explain to yourself why that comment was wrong and replace it with a positive comment.

Another thing you may have heard is that being gay or bi is a choice or the result of a lack of faith or some other reason. Fact is that it’s biological and a natural part of this world. This is literally how we’re made.

Associate with other LGBTQIA people.

I always feel so much better after I’ve been with other queer people. Being with them helps fight the things I was taught about the queer community, I can see & experience that they are normal people. They are fun, loving, caring, and supportive, exactly the opposite of what I’d been told. You can attend USGA-Rexburg and there’s a new resource center going up in town.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spends quite a bit of time teaching and celebrating early pioneers. It’s quite a legacy and something to be proud of. The same is true of the queer community, we have amazing pioneers. We are a brave people. You have claim to two incredible legacies. Read about some of our queer Mormon heroes of the last decade.

Shame withers in sunshine

If you’re not yet out to friends and family, that’s okay, you have a blog and can write about your experiences and thoughts online. You can also find & connect with other queer Mormons.

One thing I’ve experienced, which has surprised me is that as I write and post about things of which I was embarrassed, the shame associated with them goes away. By sharing with others, it is no longer a secret that needs to be hidden, but something I’m taking ownership of.

If you’re awesome on paper, then you’re awesome in person

I used to know that I could write things on paper about myself that would sound great, but I didn’t have positive feelings about them. That person on the paper looked good, but somehow I didn’t have those same feelings about myself. I was the first person in my family to get a college degree, I now have an MBA, I served a mission, I am the favorite uncle in my family, I play the piano, I am kind and trusted and so on.

Learn to draw boundaries

Often when we don’t feel great about ourselves, we make up for that by seeking the approval of others, more so than is usual or healthy. We end up agreeing to do things we may not want to do just so that we seem agreeable and worthy of their approval, even from people we don’t care about that much. There is power in being able to say “no.” Schedule time to get your school work done, to participate in activities you enjoy, in having time for friends, for contributing to the community. You can agree to spend time helping others with things they want, but protect your boundaries and don’t overstretch yourself.

Boundaries also are important when it comes to people and messages you associate with. Try to find allies and queer people that you can associate with. Even if you’re not “out,” you can present yourself as an ally and be with people who express positivity about queerness.

You don’t have to accept everything you hear at church, what church leaders have said, or even all the “doctrine.” Church leaders have been tragically wrong in the past, they are not perfect conveyers of the love of our Heavenly Parents. You don’t have to believe the terrible things taught about LGBTQ people. I know this is easier said than done. It helps if you’ve experienced God’s love for you, or if you’ve thought about how illogical it would be for loving Heavenly Parents to send queer children to earth with no way for them to express who they are or to have happiness. We are supposed to experience joy in this life.

Take care of your health

When I met with a psychologist because I was suicidal and also wanted help with my internalized homophobia and low-self esteem, the first things we discussed were if I was getting enough sleep, was I eating a healthy diet, was I getting exercise. Our physical well-being contributes to our mental well-being. Sometimes a good cry is what I need to express the feelings I’m having, followed by a nap, then I feel much better.

Allow for growth and forgiveness

We all learn and change and grow. As others grow in understanding and do better, allow them the grace of forgiveness by recognizing things said by their past selves were said in ignorance and recognize the growth they’ve undergone. This also applies to you and your past self.

A common exercise that helps is to think of what you would say to someone else in a similar position. So often we speak of love and acceptance and not being hard on themselves, and it’s pretty great advice which we could apply to ourselves. Another exercise is to have a picture of our younger self, or even of just some young person around ages 5~12, and know that they are going to grow up queer, what advice would you give them? You deserve the same compassion, kindness and love that you show to others.

Growth and change also happens to our faith. Here’s a post where I shared about faith transitions and I found it very helpful in understanding how I experience my faith is different from my family, it’s because we’re in different stages.

Take pride in trying, not in failure or success

Coming out is freaking hard and takes a lot of courage. Like a lot of things in life, many people attempt to do this and then fail, they back down, the moment feels wrong, they get panicked, or whatever reason. Failure isn’t the worst thing, not trying is. And the more we try, the more successes we’ll eventually have. And once you have some wins under your belt, it gets easier to do those things that were once hard.

When being bi brings happiness, it’s easier to love this about yourself

For so many people, being queer is only associated with negative things in their life, but when you can start associating it with positive things it becomes easier to accept and love this part of yourself. When you have queer friends, when you have experienced the excitement of a crush on a boy and on a girl, when you go on dates, or someone sends a message that your posts about your feelings really helped them, those positive experiences will be associated with being bi.

Add voices and writings that affirm you and your experiences

So often scriptures are used as a weapon against queer people. A lot of people think they know what the Bible says about queer people based on a few verses pulled out of context, but they’ve not put in any real study to the original language, situation or what those verses read like when put back in context. Nor are they aware that there’s also positive scriptures about queer people. I put together a collection of things I learned that I hope will help others.

This year I’ve really been enjoying the Beyond the Block podcast, which has a Black man and a gay man discuss each week’s Come, Follow Me lesson. I also have liked the Faithful Feminists podcast. Both of those podcast highlight principles and concepts from the scriptures which are important for marginalized people.

Find blogs, podcasts, books, videos, lectures, classes, twitter accounts and whatever else that helps affirm you and helps you understand yourself.

#queerstake

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jaspers-levis · 4 years

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Continuation Two: Dusk

TW: Self-image, allusion to eating disorders, abuse mention

PSA: The point of this story is not that the reader has value as a woman because of Paul’s attention. Everyone has value. Period. Size, shape, orientation, identification, race, religion, etc are all things that make us who we are but do not define our value as a human being. You don’t need a significant other to believe you have value before you suddenly have value. The point is, sometimes we as humans struggle to see the truth already in front of our own eyes. Our loved ones are there to remind us that no matter what the voices in your head say, you are perfect just the way you are.

Continuation Two: Dusk

Paul Lahote x female reader

“Ugh!” you grunted, your hand slipping from your waistband as you tried desperately to shimmy into a too-tight pair of shorts from last summer. The jean material would barely fit over your hips, shockingly snug despite the fact you were sure you hadn’t gained that much weight over the last year. You tugged one last time, only to hear the material rip. “Damn it!” Sighing, you slid the shorts down your legs and pulled them free, falling back onto the bed in defeat. It hadn’t been that long since you’d been able to fit into those shorts easily, and the size was already on the larger side in your mind. How could you possibly have gained so much weight in such a short time?

Nothing would fit you beside your largest pair of athletic shorts and even those were snug; you took a deep breath to hold back tears and failed. For years your ex had ridiculed you over your size until you obsessed over every calorie, every crumb on your plate. You’d prided yourself on dropping sizes every few months, until you’d gotten to your ‘goal size’. It was an incredibly unhealthy point in your life, both mentally and physically, but if it was possible for you to make your ex happy in some small way it meant one less way he could hurt you. Now it was a hard to break habit to value your appearance by the number on the tag, a habit you’d thought you’d dropped until now. Hot tears slipped down your cheeks and dripped into your hair, sticking it to your face.

Your phone buzzed beside your head, despairingly you smacked the covers until you found it.

hey babe, be home in a few. dont forget the bonfire 2nite!

You groaned, smacking your forehead lightly. The first bonfire of the summer with the entire pack celebrating the official start to the season was this evening; the weather was supposed to be warmer than it had been in the last few months so you’d pulled out your summer wardrobe in the hopes that everything still fit. This was the last pair of shorts you tried on and everything else was similarly too small… your heart sunk. You wanted to wear something cute to the bonfire, but nothing seemed to fit.

It normally wouldn’t be such a big deal, but Emily and Kim were both small and athletic and always wore clothes that highlighted their form. Quil’s new imprint Hannah was tall and slim, with a river of striking black hair and a fondness for crop tops and short shorts that showed off her endless legs. It felt like every other female you knew was fit and perfect--besides you. You knew it wasn’t a good idea to compare yourself to others but it was hard when you were constantly surrounded by supernaturally attractive men and their similarly attractive significant others. Why couldn’t you be slim and perfect too? You felt like a chubby little frog next to them…

“Babe, I’m home!” Paul called from the kitchen, the front screen door slapping shut behind him. Hastily you sat up and swiped at the embarrassing tears dripping down your cheeks but it was too late. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Paul was at your side in an instant, his warm hand sweeping your hair over your shoulder and resting against your neck.

“Nothing, it’s fine,” you muttered, turning your face away. “My dumb shorts don’t fit.”

“Oh,” you heard the frown in his voice and he picked up the offending garment from the floor. “These ones? Well baby, these are tiny! No wonder they don’t fit, they’re practically a children’s size.”

“But I used to fit in them just last summer!” you cried, turning to him and grabbing the shorts. “How did I get so fat??” You thrust yourself up from the bed and went to stand in front of the full length mirror. “I used to be so tiny, I never had a problem fitting into anything. Now I’m just a chunky little gremlin…”

“I’m sorry, what?” Paul asked incredulously, coming up behind you and yanking the shorts from your hands and chucking them forcefully into the corner of the bedroom. He slid his hands under your shirt and wrapped them around your waist. “Honey, no. For one, you’re tiny still, especially compared to me,” he chuckled and gently kissed your neck. “And secondly, who the fuck cares? We’ll buy new shorts.”

“It’s not that, I should be able to fit into them still! How could I have let myself gain so much weight?!” you sniffed again, glaring at your shape in the mirror and seeing every slice of pizza, every spoonful of ice cream, every piece of bread…

“Seriously? You’re not overweight!” he retorted, his dark eyebrows pushing together.

“Compared to Kim, and Hannah, and, and, and everyone else I am!” you sobbed, trying to pull away from him to hide your shame.

Angrily he spun you around and cupped your cheeks to look into your eyes. His hands trembled slightly, the only betrayal of his weakened control. “Y/N. You are NOT overweight. You are HEALTHY. You’ve gained weight because when I met you, all you had in your fridge was a bag of salad and a carton of eggs. Do you know how happy I am to see you fill out? Do you know how much it made me nervous that you would forget to eat for a day? I look at you and I see someone who is happy and healthy now. Every inch of you is perfect.”

Startled at the raw emotion in his voice, you hiccuped. Paul’s eyes were serious and dark in above his russet cheekbones, but not without love. Tenderly he wiped away tears with his thumbs. “I love you for better or for worse, no matter what you look like, no matter how much you weigh or what size you are, no matter what you do with your hair or if you wear makeup or not, or if you wear nice clothes or sweats,” he whispered, pressing his lips to yours in the barest imitation of a kiss. He pulled away and smirked suddenly. “But luckily, you’re exactly my type, and I think you’re hot as fuck.”

You giggled at that, leaning into his touch. “So you don’t think I’m fat?”

Paul rolled his eyes and pressed his face into your neck, nipping delicately at the sensitive skin there. “No, you’re delectable,” he growled, pulling the two of you back onto the bed with you on top and slipping his hands under the ragged t shirt you wore to caress your back. “And tempting,” he kissed your collarbone. “And perfect,” he pressed his lips to the hollow of your throat. Planting hot kisses across your skin, he began to lift your shirt, his eagerness abruptly making itself known against your stomach.

“Thank you,” you whispered shyly, ducking your head against his shoulder.

He growled softly and paused in his attempts to undress you. “For what?”

“For helping me remember my value, even when I struggle with it. I… haven’t always been good at remembering that my size shouldn’t matter.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he smoothed the hair over the back of your head.

“What do you mean, ‘you know’?” you leaned back and frowned.

“Honey, I’ve seen photos of you from the time that you were with your ex, and you’ve mentioned he’d abused you. It’s not hard to make the leap,” he pushed himself up on his elbows and swallowed a shudder. “I swear to everything that is holy, if I see that fuckwad ever again I will rip his fucking teeth out one by one and make him eat them like candy.”

“Okay, well we’re not going to let that happen, for legal reasons,” you laughed and smacked his chest.

“Mm, well, you better hope he doesn’t show up again because I can’t make any promises,” Paul shrugged unremorsefully, but calmed enough to stroke his fingers down your bare thighs straddling his waist. “All I can do for now is make sure you know how loved you are, how smart and funny and strong you are, and remind you that I love every piece and part of you just the way you are.”

Your heart squeezed in your chest, suddenly overfull of adoration for this fierce, wise cracking, temper-losing, enormous giant of a man who had a tenderness to him that belied everything his friends and family knew about him. Looking down at him, all you saw was the love in his eyes, the truth in everything he said. Paul had fought hard and earned every bit of the trust you placed in him, trust you had always had difficulty in placing in another person. While you believed in the imprinting mechanics having seen it first hand, it had taken you months to trust Paul in spite of your supernatural bond. Now, for the first time, you felt yourself truly letting your guard down, having shared your last and most shameful weakness. And he loved you, despite that. “I love you so much,” you smiled shyly and bent to kiss him lightly.

“I love you more, honey,” he returned your smile before deepening the kiss into something smoldering and languorous. Paul kissed you like it was the first time, the last time, and every other time in between, worshipping every inch of your skin with his lips and hands until you were burning up with desire. No matter that you didn't have anything to wear to the bonfire, it was likely you wouldn’t make it there before dusk anyways...

#paul lahote #paul lahote imagine #twilight fan fiction #twilight #twilight fanfiction #Twilight wolf pack #werewolves #twilight wolf #twilight wolves

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mobagehelllocal · 4 years

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“do you even lift bro?” extra notes i - iii:

I finally finished rereading all my “do you even lift bro?” stories! Man, I feel like I wrote them ages ago. As I mentioned before, I have been going back to do grammatical edits and what not. In the process, I’ve also been noting down my thought process for writing these pieces, and little easter eggs I put in for fun~ This extra notes will contain my thoughts from versions i to iii!

*please do not read if you haven’t read “do you even lift bro?” ver i - iii.

The title came to me immediately upon reading the request hahah. originally, it was meant to just be fluffy and cute... but I think it’s actually pretty funny. To me, at least hahah.

Divus’s was the one exception, but i’ll get into that later.

The reader personality was based on one of my ocs. She was also the oc in my special Malleus x OC story, “bright eyes.”

I went with her because she was an OC, who, in my opinion, is the epitome of a optimistic fangirl lmao. If you’ve read “bright eyes” then I think you’d understand what I mean hahahah.

For ver i--I think I definitely wrote Riddle’s first. followed by Leona, Azul, Malleus, Kalim, Vil then Idia.

One of my best friends is a super huge Riddle stan (if you’re reading this, hi sis!) so I wrote his story primarily with her energy in mind. In short, she would most definitely bench press Riddle.

Her energy + the base reader personality makes Riddle’s story one of the most fun actually. His reader is probably the most mischievous ones--which I thought balanced out well with Riddle’s actual personality.

Leona’s story is heavily influenced by pride dynamics. It’s common knowledge that it’s the female lions who hunt hence why in Afterglow Savanna--the women are stronger. Leona is royalty, so I assumed that from a young age he’d be told to wed a strong woman.

I also need to note that Leona is described as respecting women. here’s the thing, I’m pretty sure it’s specifically women from Afterglow Savanna because they could bench press him. That’s not to say he doesn’t respect all women--he probably just puts women from Afterglow Savanna on a different standard because of his experience with them. Either way, you surprised him greatly, and assume that Leona will not be able to look you in the eye for awhile.

Azul’s story specifically takes place after Jamil SR Lab Coat episodes and Azul’s R PE Uniform episodes. I found their relationship funny, and thought it would be fun to continue off from there.

Most of Azul’s stories come from me just wanting to fluster the hell out of Azul... that being said, I did delve a bit into the magic of TWST for this one. I remember it was Crowley (was it in the prologue?) who noted that magic is dependent also on how much someone believed in their ability to do something. This is why Azul falls down haha, his will faltered and he stopped believing.

Jamil doesn’t get a break at all, doesn’t he? The reader and Jamil actually vibe really well because they both understood enough about Kalim to know what he was doing.

I think I remember being pretty stuck on which one to do for this. I think it was reading Jamil’s SSR Dorm Uniform story that really made me have an ‘aha’ moment on how to write it--since something like this happens on there.

Surprisingly for Vil, once I had figured out that I wanted to write him getting mobbed, and being saved by his reader--it flowed out really fast from there.

For Vil, I always end up bringing up the issue that he’s something like a celebrity and you are one in the million who adore him. I thought that this was just one way to sort of tackle your relationship together.

I really enjoyed highlighting how you love Vil different from the rest who adore him. The importance of how you see his flaws and still love him--especially because as an influencer Vil has a certain pressure to appear in a certain way.

Idia’s was the last one I wrote, but I had a lot of fun because I stuffed it full of references. I figured that Idia’s thought process would be more of him thinking life as a game, that’s why he uses terms like support level often in my writing.

On that note, I know ‘Gao-Gao Dragon-kun’ is a reference to Tamagotchi, but I decided to just merge up Tamagotchi and Pokemon in this case. Hence why ‘Gao-Gao Shield and Sword’ existed lmao. I didn’t put too much effort in that and just switched ‘Shield and Sword’’s order HAHAH. I did consider making it ‘Gao-Gao Gun and Wand’ though.

‘Water Crest: The Seven Dorms’ is a reference to Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I felt incredibly clever when I came up with that HAHAH. But also, when he references support levels, he’s talking about a gameplay in Fire Emblem. For people who aren’t familiar with this, essentially, FE has a system wherein the more you use two units together the likely their support will rise. The supports go from C-B-A-S, with S as the highest. When Idia says he works hard on S Support, he literally means he went out of his way to spend time with you and befriend you. Isn’t that cute? When he references SS Support, it actually doesn’t exist HAHA, but he didn’t realize there was “another level” sort of thing xD

When I write funny Malleus stories, the other members of Diasomnia are likely to be hiding in the bushes. Most funny stuff probably fly over Malleus’s head so... The other Diasomnia members pop in to react hahaha.

To Malleus, your tendency to treat him as a regular person, and not treating him as a lord--makes him incredibly fond of you. It’s because you treat him as an equal, that makes him treat you as an equal. I also think this was the piece where he started calling you “bright light.” There’s no deeper meaning to it, he really just sees you as a bright light--like a brilliant star. You, literally, light up the world. :,)

Ver ii order of writing--Ashton, Dire, Divus. I had come up with the premise of Divus first though.

I think Dire was the hardest one for me, because I kept worrying about things like--’what if he’s not actually like this,’ or ‘what if that isn’t how he would actually act’ etc etc. but I think it turned out pretty alright.

Dire, for all his claims of being a kind person--I think actually is a kind guy. He does have the tendency to be a little manipulative and whatnot... but at the end of the day he does care.

For Divus, I sniffed GBF Belial’s Perfume because I wanted to get inspired (and I sort of headcanon they smelled alike) but it went horny too fast.

Divus is naturally intrigued with you, and he’s also very aware you’re attracted to him. So it amuses him to fluster you. He’s very aware of how good-looking he is, and he doesn’t mind flirting with people.

How I chose to portray Divus is actually based on how @avionvadion writes Divus in her story “Once Upon A Dream.” please check it out! It’s a super cute fanfic about a girl in Twisted Wonderland~

Ashton... I was surprised at how fast I was able to write his piece actually hahha. I went with a no braincell, but cheerful and all-around good guy.

I don’t think there was a lot of Ashton to really research about, but... I just tried to make him good guy Gaston... for now xD

Ver iii--it went Floyd, Jamil, Jade, Rook, Lilia, and Epel.

There’s this scene in, I think, the first episode of Avatar: The Legend of Aang where Appa wouldn’t fly. So Sokka just straight up... insulted? Appa? i guess. Then Appa suddenly COULD fly, and Sokka was just straight up amazed and yelling... Yeah that was my primary inspiration for Floyd’s story.

Floyd... Floyd is twins with Jade, let’s not forget that. I’m sure Floyd is actually really intelligent, he just isn’t in the mood to be sometimes. Hence he’s able to really understand something when you say something seriously. I think Floyd would always take you seriously when you say something important.

For Jade’s story, my inspiration was the story of my dad tripping. It was only witnessed by him and mom. My mom talked about how terrifying it was to watch a six foot tall man fall down. My dad just found it funny. Hence, I thought, Jade should trip.

Other than that, the general idea I wanted was that it’s our time to pamper Jade. He’s one of the two characters who I know would love to pamper his reader. So this was his lover’s chance to pamper him. Also, he’s also one of two characters who would have an idea about your insane strength.

Jamil, much like Jade, is the type of guy who pampers the people he loves. He doesn’t take to being pampered too well. He’s not used to it.

Jamil also appreciates getting his hard work recognized, so I’m sure he has a praise kink hahah. He’s also easily embarrassed. I think Jamil needs someone who acknowledges all of his hard work, who also accepts his mistakes.

Epel was the last one to write, and actually a genuine struggle for me. I always... end up writing something in relation to his struggles with his face and femininity. Epel is someone who wants to be seen as a real man, so I worried about what he’d think of a reader who had the strength he wanted.

I figured if it was anyone else, it might inspire jealousy in Epel--but because it was his lover, he was able to push aside his negative feelings and look at the bright side. You’re truly his ideal, and he wants to learn how to be strong from you.

Rook was another tough one. There did exist a version where you surprise him... but the more I thought about it, the more I found it impossible for Rook to not know or not have an idea. He’s the other character who would have an idea about your strength.

On that note, thinking about a romantic partner for Rook... I thought what was best was someone who wouldn’t find him odd. Who would actually try to learn about him.

Lilia’s... was also pretty easy given he enjoyed hanging upside down a lot in the main story hahah. Lilia cute, I love him. Also, when will Lilia stop messing with Idia? Probably never tbh.

I touched upon the topic of mortality and immortality, but because I wanted this to be lighthearted--I chose not to pursue it. It would drag the mood down, but honestly--it’s something we can’t ignore and is very integral in relationships with Lilia or Malleus.

#aimuses #ainotes #ai lift series

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revlyncox · 3 years

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Naming Our Joy

Taking note of all of the things that make us happy - large and small - is a helpful practice. This Platform Address was written for the Washington Ethical Society, June 20, 2021.

We started a project at our house on June 1. Even though we’re not yet back to spending a whole afternoon indoors at the library with the children, we wanted to collectively celebrate the experience of a summer reading club. The kids used several sheets of flip chart paper to draw one hundred rectangles, plus doodles and illustrations and instructions for a shared reading chart. Everyone in the house has their own color of magic marker to color in a rectangle with the name of a book as we complete it. Reading, for us, is a delight. Asking each other questions about what we’re reading is a love-language. And so, as the rectangles have bloomed in six different colors throughout the month so far, each one has been a small notation of joy.

Sometimes we think about the seasons of our joy only in terms of peak experiences. We think of the Winter Festival, or New Year’s Eve, or the state fair, each a symbolic splash on a monthly page in the scrapbooks in our minds. If you’re a person who celebrates birthdays, maybe that’s an important milestone. Maybe camping or travel or visiting family we can rarely see sticks out in our minds as we anticipate our hopes for the year ahead. These are all good things. And yet peak experiences are not the only things that bring us joy.

It seems to me that paying attention to all of the things that bring us joy can help carry us through times of transition. Many things in our shared lives are improving, and we’ll get back to some of our favorite big, celebratory events in adapted ways; meanwhile, let’s value all of the things that keep us grounded in the best of who we are and who we can be. Today, as we hang on the cusp of summer, celebrating parents and graduates and weddings and pride, yet still aching from a difficult year and a half, let’s open our minds and hearts to all the forms of joy we can name.

Today’s story, “A List,” from Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel, gives some hints about how to notice joy. The attention to detail in this story, the room Lobel makes in the narrative for pause, and the enduring friendship that is the focus of the entire series are all helpful lessons for us as we gather up sparks of happiness in our own lives, fireflies that may be only with us for a moment, but whose lights we can remember for years. From this story, I learn that small things count, that it’s important to rest and reset, and that we can find joy when we travel together.

Small Things Count

As we are naming our joy, small things count. Frog begins his day by checking off tasks like, “get dressed” and “eat breakfast.” Those things matter. There are days when self-care is a victory, and days when we need to practice self-compassion because those tasks are out of reach. In some ways, it’s a practice of mindfulness, of paying attention to where we are in the moment. As we dress, we can notice the feeling of fabric on skin, and we can hold in loving kindness all those who saw to the completion of that garment.

I think back to times when celebrating small things got me through the day, or helped me inch toward a distant goal, or just brought me back to center after being knocked off balance by the regular turns of daily life. After my children were born, I decided to give fitness walking and running a try. I had never done that before - my favorite team sports up until that time were swimming and frisbee - but something about taking time for myself with my headphones every day was appealing at that point in my life. So I got a “couch to 5K” application on my phone to help guide me through workouts that started very small, and gradually increased until I could participate in a whole race.

The first couple of days were frustrating. I felt like I spent more time lacing up my shoes than I did actually running. But eventually, because there were records, I could look back and see my stamina increasing over time. Not every day, because some days are better than others, but over time there was improvement. I could celebrate when I could run rather than walk for a whole minute, and then a whole five minutes. When I was able to value the time I spent on the practice, even if all I could do that day was walk around the block, I had more energy to keep going. I did get to run in a race eventually. I have since switched to a different form of exercise for my regular workouts, because I have age-appropriate knees, but I did learn something about finding joy in small achievements. Sometimes we need to work up to things gradually, and when there are setbacks we need to work up gradually again. Writing down the joys and the milestones can help.

Focusing on the positive aspects of the experience and on the signs of improvement helped me sustain a practice. The same can be true for groups. I think people at WES have experienced Appreciative Inquiry before. Sometimes we think of Appreciative Inquiry in terms of a meeting or an event or a process of discernment, it’s also a paradigm shift in our organizational life together, a perspective where we lift up and leverage strengths rather than focusing on deficits. The philosophy of Appreciative Inquiry was developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University in the early 1990s. So Appreciative Inquiry has been around for awhile now, and there are newer ideas we need to incorporate about competing value systems and multicultural competency, yet I think it is worth returning to an approach where we ask questions about what’s working and build a positive vision for a future we can move toward together. To bring out the best we can be, we need to identify and nurture what’s best right now.

As our community gradually re-emerges from the pandemic and builds toward a new normal of accessibility, inclusion, compassion, and justice, we will face setbacks, and the speed of our hopes may outpace the reality of how fast we can go without leaving people behind. Let’s find joy in each moment, each time we find ourselves sharing time or space or intention. When you appreciate something about WES going forward, write it down. Ask questions about how members can keep doing what you do well. Share your excitement about small things with others. Make a list, because small things count.

Rest and Reset

The second thing we learn from Frog and Toad about naming our joy is that we can rest and reset. The first thing on Toad’s list is “wake up.” That’s what makes it the beginning of the list. Every day is new. The last thing on the list is “go to sleep.” Toad does not take for granted that he will automatically remember to rest at the end of the day, he puts it on a list. Maybe some of us need a reminder sometimes, to care for our bodies instead of pushing to do one more thing. And when he doesn’t know what else to do, Toad pauses. Now, as the reader, we can imagine that it would also have been a fine choice for Toad to let go of his attachment to his list and either help Frog try to find it or create a new plan, and maybe that’s something some of us need to hear as well, but I also have some admiration for a character who will simply pause rather than rushing into the next thing without consideration.

We’ve talked before at WES about the tension between our focus on “deeds, not creeds,” and the philosophical foundation of the inherent worth and dignity of every person--value that people simply have without earning it. What we do, and the impact we have, is of greater concern than the intentions of our minds or the secrets of our hearts. Yet we cannot forget that worth is inherent, even if we or our neighbors haven’t achieved any great deeds lately. So I hope we can encourage ourselves and each other to rest. People need time to bask in their inherent worth; to notice the beauty of the people and world around them and within them; and to care for their own valuable, precious being. It may be the case that allowing rest for ourselves will also remind us of the inherent worth of others, and will lead us to create a world where every person can have what they need rather than putting up obstacles to separate the worthy from the unworthy. Rest may give us a foretaste of the Beloved Community. Rest creates room for the experience of joy.

The reset part is also important. We can experience time as a kind of river, and there are ways in which the past and the future flow into one another, yet most of us experience time as moving. The past and the present and the future are connected, but they are different from one another. Rest gives us an island in the river so that we can separate them, looking back and looking forward and looking around us so that we can differentiate what was from what is and from what we anticipate will be. Things that brought us joy in the past are worth remembering fondly, but that doesn’t mean repeating the same thing will bring us the same joy or is even possible. Being present in the here and now, resting in the sense of not striving or problem solving or planning or fixing, helps us experience what is bringing us joy right now, without diminishing that joy with comparison to the past or the future. Frog and Toad go to sleep. Maybe tomorrow they will take another walk, or go swimming, or grow a garden, or write a letter. But the comfort of being in that moment is where we pause at the end of that chapter, and pausing helps us value the joy in that moment. Rest and reset to highlight the joy of the present moment.

Travel Together

A third thing we learn from Frog and Toad is that traveling together can help us amplify joy. The thing on Toad’s to-do list that transforms his day is meeting up with Frog. As companions, they support each other in new discoveries, they affirm each other, and sometimes they can be of service to their friend in a way that brings its own kind of joy. When Frog sees the list, he says, “Oh, that is very nice.” Frog appreciates the project his friend has worked on, and that’s a source of happiness. When Toad is disappointed about losing his list, Frog sits with him, simply being present, the peace of friendship providing a balance to the sorrow of a project gone awry. As the evening nears, Frog reminds Toad of something on his list, and reconnecting with his project brings Toad the excitement of a reclaimed goal. There is more joy in their adventure together than there would have been for either of them alone.

May it be so for all of us. Sometimes companions are hard to find, and most relationships come with moments of tension and conflict, yet there are ways we can cultivate a practice of presence with one another that amplify joy, make sorrow more bearable, and help sustain us on the journey. Some of the secret is in the first two things we learned, that small things count and that we can take time to rest and reset. Small affirmations and appreciations make a difference in our relationships, they help us find joy in each other. Taking time to rest, being fully present even when our companions are having a difficult time, letting the new day reset us for the here and now to be with our loved ones as the people they have grown to become, all of these are practices of friendship that make room for joy.

Over the past year and a half, we have had to reassess what it means to travel together. We share time differently than we used to. We find connection in chat messages and text messages, shared movies over an internet connection, recorded sentiments and songs, notes back and forth about books we’re reading, and cards in the postal mail that are ever more precious. May it be so that in-person connections become more practical for more people, but that does not take away the value of the connections that sustained us during this time. We don’t need to devalue the ways we had to adapt, and we definitely don’t need to abandon the people for whom those adaptations are still needed. We are better together, and that includes the friends who have limited mobility, or sensory sensitivities, or transportation challenges, or delicate immune systems. Our beloveds of inherent worth come in many varieties.

I believe there are spectacular adventures ahead for WES. This continues to be a vital community of exploration, mutual support, and action for justice. We will find new ways to live out WES’s core values, and become ever more fluent in new and old ways to connect as members journey in collaboration. We are better together. In that, there is joy. I invite you to continue that joyful journey and your commitment to WES.

Conclusion

Our joy is cultivated and uplifted when we notice it in progress. This is especially true of the small joys, the moments of contentment, discovery, and affection that sneak up on us without being scheduled. Taking note of our joys - writing them down, sharing them with each other, savoring the moments, naming these times as what they are - helps us to experience them fully. Small things count, so give every moment of joy its due. Rest and reset, finding ways to be fully present and to bask in your inherent worth. Travel together, with appreciation for your companions, respect for their inherent worth, and joy in what you can discover in your shared journey.

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yourdeepestfathoms · 4 years

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Cast in a Chasm

Sequel to this fic

Word count: 3895

———————

Aragon dreamt of blood and crying and broken eggs. Her eyes eventually snapping open was both a relief and a thrill because she was out of that terror, but also because the human was awake. It— SHE was huddled in between her front talons and staring at her with wide, glossy eyes- poor scaleless thing didn’t even have second eyelids to see clearly in the water! How were they not extinct yet?

“Hello there,” Aragon said, nudging Orca in the chest with her snout.

Orca made a pitiful noise of fright and then jolted away. Aragon jumped to her feet immediately.

“Wait!”

She pounced, managing to trap Orca under her front talons. The human yelps, its yellow fur billowing around its head.

“No running.” Aragon said sternly, as if she were talking to a pet tortoise she’s once seen a Leviathan have. “Bad.”

Orca blinked up at her.

Humans must not be able to understand Leviathans, but that made sense. Aragon wasn’t sure how she was going to communicate with Orca.

She took a small step back and Orca flailed awkwardly as she began to float. Her limbs didn’t move in the right way to swim at all! Funny little thing.

Aragon looked around her room as Orca continued to drift upwards. She found a long rope of gelatin hanging from one of the hooks and picked it up. She tied it tightly around her chest and then handed the other end to Orca, who blinked at her. She points at the knot she tied and Orca seemed to understand after a moment because she began tying her piece around her chest.

“Good girl!” Aragon said, patting Orca’s head. Pride swelled within her. Her human was so smart!

Orca blinked at her curiously again. She pulled herself down the length of the rope and then stopped a few feet away when she got close enough to Aragon, anxious. Aragon held out one talon and, after a moment of hesitation, she latched onto it.

“My name is Aragon of the Seahorses,” Aragon said.

“Seahorses,” The human repeated.

Aragon perked up. “You understand me!”

“Smeeg smog smockeefee,” Orca chattered.

“Well, I’m not sure what ‘smockeefee’ means, but I’ll keep note of that.” Aragon said. She tilted her head at the human in her talon. “So you don’t speak Levia?”

“Mrrrrowrr,” Orca said, along with several other chittering noises.

“Definitely not.” Aragon reached up and set Orca on her head. “Stay up here, okay?” She can feel Orca’s tiny paws grasp tightly to her horns. She paddled over to the terrace and got a grand view of the kingdom below her tower, which was glowing in brilliant shades of blue and green and purple and pink. The hatching ceremony was already being set up, although Aragon wasn’t surprised. That was very in character for Seymour, who always wanted to be on top of things.

Orca yelped and gripped her horn tighter when she suddenly plunged off of the balcony and began gliding down to the city. She cants her wings and spiraled around the grand crystal palace until she reached the front gateway. Seymour wasn’t at her throne when she peeked in, but she did see Howard sitting beside it, for once not glued to the queen’s side.

“Where is Seymour?” Aragon asked the pup.

“In the royal hatchery,” Howard answered. “She doesn’t want anyone bothering her right now.”

Aragon looked her up and down. She wondered if Howard was jealous at all, since she was just a ward, not the queen’s actual daughter. Or maybe she was excited to get a little sibling- she couldn’t tell.

Howard fiddled with her tail before looking up. Her rose pink eyes widened.

“Is that the human?” She said.

Aragon reached up one talon to her head and felt Orca pat a claw with one of her tiny paws. She was still there.

“It is,” Aragon said. “Her name is Orca.”

“Oooo,” Howard murmured in awe. “That’s a pretty name!”

Aragon smiled proudly and was actually about to offer Howard a chance to hold the human, but then she heard a voice call out to her.

“SEAHORSE!!”

“Not again...”

Boleyn swam up to her in a whoosh, causing the water around them to spiral and twist wildly before simmering back into calmness. Cleves came with her, this time, but she crossed over in much more gentle strokes, making sure her tentacles didn’t hit any of the ancient architecture in the throne room.

“It appears you have a little monster tied to you,” Cleves observed, eyeing the harness connecting Aragon to Orca.

“It keeps her from drifting off,” Aragon informed. “This is Orca.”

“Hi, Orca!” Boleyn hovered over Aragon, waving to the human, who blinked up at her with big grey eyes before slowly raising a paw to wave back. “She’s so cute!”

“Isn’t she?” Aragon smiled, that feeling of pride swelling within her once again.

“Are you going to bring her to the celebration tonight?” Cleves asked.

“Of course.” Aragon replied. “I can’t leave her anywhere else.”

“Beemish rrrpl zob!” Orca announced.

“Oh! Oh.” Cleves tilted her head. “She doesn’t speak Levia. Why am I surprised?”

“What is a ‘beemish’?” Boleyn wondered out loud.

“No clue,” Aragon admitted. “But I’m sure I’ll learn eventually. Or she’ll learn Levia.” She looked around again, despite knowing she wouldn’t see Seymour. “Well. I’ve got to go get ready. An advisor has to look nice for this.”

Boleyn and Cleves waved as she swam through one of the branching hallways and went back up to her tower. She united herself from Orca for the time being and let the human hang onto a shelf of antique decorations.

“There’s a party today,” Aragon told her. “For the queen’s pup. They’re hatching.”

Orca blinked at her, then squinted her grey eyes. Aragon remembered that she probably couldn’t see clearly at all. It must have been uncomfortable.

Aragon looked around, then paddled over to one of her chests. She dug through it until she found a small block of sea glass. She pulled it out and heated it up at the stream of warm bubbles shooting out of the floor in one of the corners until it was soft enough to carve away with her claws. Orca watched her curiously as she formed the glass into a spectacle-like shape with closed sides that wouldn’t let water pour in. She softened the edges with clumps of algae and then strung a piece of stretchy kelp through either side. When she was finished, she handed the goggles to Orca, who turned them over curiously and then put them on. She gawked at Aragon through the glass eyes, seeing her clearly for the first time.

“Hello,” Aragon grinned. “Are they okay?” She points to the goggles and Orca nodded.

After she had her human seeing properly, she swung around to a tree carved from dark brown mahogany, which was where she kept all her jewelry. She brushed through the strands of jewels, picking up a few to hold to her scales and see which went best with her burnished color scheme. It was always hard to tell- did she want blues and greens to try and match the other Leviathans or did she want to go with warmer shades like oranges and reds?

She feels a small touch on her shoulder- Orca has swam over to her and pulls herself in front of her. She clung to one of the tree branches and squinted through the goggles at the string of rubies in Aragon’s left talon. She shook her head disapprovingly.

“No?”

“Eeemego noomobleck rubieooo,” Orca lectured her.

Aragon blinked. Orca sprung off of the branch and snatched the rubies from Aragon’s talon. She sank almost instantly, finding the jewels much heavier than she had even expecting, but she kicked her little legs and managed to hook it onto a mahogany limb. Then, she clambered up the side of the tree, observing the jewelry thoroughly before heaving off a moonstone necklace. She made a series of loud squeaks and pointed at Aragon’s right talon until she held it up. She brought the black gemstones to the golden scales, analyzed the color mix, then nodded. She set the necklace on Aragon’s talon.

“You’re good at this, huh?” Aragon smiled, winding the moonstones around her neck.

“Good?” Orca echoed in Levia. Aragon must have said it enough in the short span of time she’s been awake to have caught on on what it meant.

“Yes! Good!” Aragon said excitedly. She ruffled the fur on Orca’s head affectionately. “So smart!”

“Good,” Orca repeated proudly. She lugged a strand of emeralds into Aragon’s talon, pointed at it, and said, “Good. Noo gobbish!”

“Well, good thing I wasn’t planning on being a gobbish.” Aragon said. “Whatever that is.” She put on the shimmering green gemstones. As she does so, Orca swam to the very top of the tree, where necklaces turned to armbands and tailbands and earrings and other fancy jewelry she got because of her advisor status. She seemed to be momentarily dazzled by all the accessories before getting back on track and grabbing some matching emerald earrings, which she’s actually able to pick up easily.

“As you wish,” Aragon said as she clipped them on. “Anything else?” She gestured to the tree so Orca would know what she meant. But Orca shook her head and swam over to her shoulder to hang onto. “Very well.”

Aragon waded over to the mirror and pivoted around slowly a few times before nodding. The black and green really did highlight her golden scales.

“Good job, Orca,” Aragon praised the human. She was about to take off down to the courtyard to meet up with Cleves and Boleyn, but then she was stopped by a smaller strand of moonstones hanging on a thin branch of her jewelry tree. It was too small for an adult Leviathan, but it would fit Orca, so she plucked it up and gently wove it around her neck and shoulders.

“Perfect.” She smiled.

“Hubblesnubble.” Orca agreed.

Aragon laughed, quickly tied Orca to her again, and then set off to the ceremony.

—

The city was glowing in dazzling hues of purple and pink, green and blue, yellow and orange. The light from the bioluminescent paste and fire trapped in sea glass orbs gleamed against the crystal buildings and domes, setting them off in radiants of rainbow. Aragon hoped all the light wouldn’t blind Orca.

After sweeping past the band of Leviathans playing the queen’s favorite instruments, she found Cleves and Boleyn at a buffet table loaded with fried lobster and minced tuna and pickled shark, chatting away. Cleves was simply wearing some silver wires that wound around her thick, but short horns and circled her forehead and dark topaz wristbands, while Boleyn had strands of pearls hanging from her neck and a winding tailband on the top of her tail that was designed to look like a snake.

“There she is!” Boleyn cried when Aragon lands before them. “And you brought Orca! Hi, Orca!”

“Yeemo!” Orca waved from where she was situated on Aragon’s head.

“Haha! Yeemo to you, too!” Boleyn said enthusiastically.

“So,” Cleves began, rising out of her sitting position, which always looked so odd because of her tentacles. “What first?”

After a moment of consideration, the three of them (well, four, because Orca gave a helpful, “Zim!” in the process) decided to just swim through the festivities and see what they could find to entertain them until the hatching ceremony.

They sailed past grand glass statues and pups playing with each other and Leviathans dancing aquatic dances until they came to a quiet game pavilion. It was dressed up in fire-lit beads of amethyst and lime and azure and gold, which were braided across the underwater oceanic trees. Swathes of specially-sewn aquatic silk curtains billowed around the outside of the area, shielding it from the cold ocean currents and muffling the noise from the rest of the festival. And there, an elegantly long, but short Leviathan sat alone.

Her scales were a deep indigo color so dark they almost looked black, but there were a few markings that faded to purple in some areas. She had a prehensile tail that she was using to hang onto a piece of coral and four strange segmented wings, almost like a dragonfly. She was playing a game by herself that involved small marble pieces into increasingly complex towers. As far as lame solitary party games went, it was kind of at the top, frankly.

“Heeeey, Nautilus!”

Ice blue eyes, a bright contrast to her dark scales, glanced up at the ground as they landed. A scowl formed on her snout.

“I told you not to call me that,” Blount of the Nautiluses grumbled. “What do you want? And what is THAT?” She peered up at Orca.

“You looked lonely,” Cleves said.

“And this is Orca,” Aragon added.

“A human. Down here.” Blount said. “Wow.” She tipped her head back down to her game, but glanced up momentarily when Orca swam down from Aragon’s head. “Don’t let that thing anywhere near me.”

“Awww, don’t be like that!” Boleyn said. “She won’t hurt you!”

“I beg to differ,” Blount growled, climbing further up the piece of coral to create a distance between her and the human. “Is it your pet or something?”

“Sorta?” Aragon said, watching Orca pull herself onto one of the branches of coral, much to Blount’s dismay. “Orca, this is Blount.” Then, to Blount, “Be nice.”

Blount grumbled something and tried to resume her game. Aragon had no idea how she could always be so angry all the time. It must get exhausting.

“Oh! Oh!” Boleyn suddenly perked up. “Let’s go to the shipwreck!”

“That’s a good idea,” Aragon mused. “Orca can get air there. I’ll also have to give her a new scale.”

And so, it was settled. The four of them, including Blount because she got dragged along, swam off to the large shipwreck on the outskirts of the city.

It was a cargo ship, the break bulk kind, now submerged in the loose sand of a large, empty plateau at the bottom of a cliff face. Strangely, it had air pockets in various areas, which they weaved their way to after entering through a large gash in the metal exterior.

The area they popped their heads into opens out to a large, gently sloped storage room, illuminated by coral. There’s an open central room, with support beams forming shelves on either side. Toward the back, the floor and the shelves extend out into an air pocket. The whole floor here has been covered with a layer of rocks and sand over time.

Orca looks at the dry area with longing. Aragon unties her and she immediately begins to climb the slope eagerly. After a moment, however, she falls to the ground coughing, gasping, spitting out water. The sounds echo against the metallic hull and makes Aragon jolt in fear. She leapt out of the water, her wings slapping frantically against the surface, and thumped down onto the incline. The entire ship rocks and creaks with the sudden force.

“You bumbling whale!” Blount hissed. “Do you want this thing to come down on us?”

“Why is she doing that?” Aragon said in fright, ignoring Blount. Her talons hover Orca’s writhing form helplessly. “Is she okay?”

“She’s expelling the water she breathed in,” Cleves said, swimming over to the shallow area. “It’s normal. Don’t worry.”

At the same time, Orca gave Aragon a weak thumbs up and then returned coughing.

“Oh.” Aragon said in relief. “Thank the whales...”

It takes her a moment, but Orca is eventually back on her feet and has taken to energetically romping about the sand and gravel. When some of it drifts into her nose, she sneezes hard enough to knock herself backwards. She gave Aragon an indignant look.

“Well, stop putting sand in your nose, then.” Aragon suggested.

“Urrmgle,” Orca said before getting distracted by an adventurous crab and following after it until it disappears into a hole much too small for even her. She turns away, disappointed, but perks up quickly. “Blnnnt!!!”

The Leviathans blink at her weird squeaky exclamation, then Boleyn swung her head around to Blount.

“I think that means you.” She said.

“Awww,” Aragon cooed. “She knows your name!” She held out a talon and Orca rushed under it, nuzzling against her warm scales. “So smart!”

“How did THAT happen?” Blount exclaimed. She lashed her tail, splashing Cleves, who was settled in the shallows with her.

“I think it’s cute,” Cleves said helpfully.

“Why me?” Blount said woefully. “I don’t even like it!”

“Her.” Aragon corrected.

“Whatever.”

Blount bundled her four wings in close to herself as Orca steps into the water when she notices some small fish swimming around. She held still for a moment, jumped forward, and missed.

She whirled around, looking very confused and startled. Then, she tried again, missing even more than the first time. On the third try, she hauled her clumsy body all the way underwater and still managed to catch only sand.

Amused laughter swells through the group at the human’s attempts at catching a fish. It earns them an adorably annoyed look.

“Smurggle furgle,” Orca growled.

Eventually, Orca does manage to catch a fish, but it slips right through her claws. That couldn’t be fair!

“They’re slippery!” Aragon called from the bay.

Orca readied herself and dove again. She overestimated her speed and smashed her face directly into the sand below. She resurfaced with a sputter and then attacked again, snatching up a daring fish who got too close. Victory was short lived. The tail slapped her in the face and she dropped it. She makes a miserable noise and gives up, returning to the slope.

“We should get going,” Blount said, finally uncoiling herself. She stretched out her strange wings. “The egg will probably hatch soon.”

They all agreed. Aragon quickly gave Orca another scale to put in her mouth, and then they all set back off to the glowing city.

—

It was a boy.

The purple snout came out first, then the webbed talons, and finally the strange, butterfly-like wings opened and broke the rest of the egg. He tumbled out into the water, his gills flaring open instantly, and the audience of Leviathans gaped at how beautiful he was.

His scales are a clash of gem-like azure and shiny violet. His four wings, much too big for his tiny body, are shimmering purple and blue, as if they were sapphires and amethysts mixed together. Elegant magenta and lavender horns with royal purple tips and highlights rise from his head, and cobalt whiskers billow around his purple snout. His tail is shaped into a dolphin’s, just like his mother’s, who scoops him up into her talons.

Eddie of the Porpoises is the name that was declared. A string of pearls is laced around his long neck. He immediately put a few orbs into his mouth and made an adorable pup noise.

It absolutely sickens Aragon.

She left the ceremony without a word. Her wings beat furiously through the night tide as she tried to distance herself from all the joy and happiness and unfairness. Her mind kept replaying scenes over and over again— blood, eggshells, coldness against her palms. It all repeated nonstop.

Orca is chattering loudly on her head. She tugs at her horns and Aragon growled low in her throat. All the noise definitely isn’t helping her mounting anger. She doesn’t get a chance to snap at the human, though, because the chain net she swam right into quickly became her top priority.

Immediately, she began to struggle, but that just managed to ensnare her further. She growled in anger, lashing her tail and beating her wings furiously to no avail. The net began to rise up- she broke the surface.

It’s a ship. Smaller than the shipwreck, but definitely big, and it was filled with several chattering humans. They point to her and holler to one another in shock. She bared her teeth at them.

Arms reach down. Orca squeals. The gelatin rope connecting them is cut. Aragon roared when she realized they were taking her away.

Then, pain.

Blinding pain.

Blood burbles up Aragon’s throat. Her gills have been cut.

The pain consumed her as she began to choke.

Eggshells, fragments—

The net releases her. She began to sink. The boat speeds off as fast as it can.

Eggshells, twisted bone, tears—

Aragon sinks.

Twisted bone, bits and pieces, nothing left—

Above her, she can see the shimmering full moon high over the surface. She reaches her webbed talons up towards it. Red and black clouds of blood billow around her.

Nothing left to mourn—

She closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, she thought she could see her pups staring back down at her from the endless starry sky stretched over the ocean. Sassy Siren, little Starfish, mama’s girl Sandbar, rambunctious Undertow, bookworm Pearl, and Turtle, the king of giggles.

Eggshells, blood, the limp body of pup in one talon, the broken neck of another in the other—

They were taken from her.

And now, her one last chance at motherhood was being ripped from her again.

Aragon clenched her claws.

Blood, eggshells, her poor, helpless, dead—

No.

Not again.

Aragon took a deep breath, the water stinging in her ripped gills, then slammed her wings downward. She jetted upwards in a flurry of crimson bubbles, swimming faster and faster until she breaches the surface with a tremendous, earth-shaking roar.

The ship didn’t get far. And it was no match for a furious mother Leviathan.

Aragon crashes into the side of it with all her might. It rocks, and some humans go flying off of it, but she can hardly care. She climbs up onto the deck, screeching in anger. She swung her tail around, knocking off two more sailors, then gouged her claws into one that held a pathetic excuse for a weapon. He squirms beneath her huge talon while she snaps her jaws down on a second attacker. He struggles, too, but then she bites down and devours him whole.

Humans taste awful. Much too fatty and oily.

Aragon spots Orca with what must be the captain, or at least someone important. He has her by the necklace, choking her, and was glaring at Aragon. He yells something, but she wouldn’t care even if she could understand. He was no match for her.

Aragon sprang forward, crushing a human male into a puddle of bones and blood and organs, and closed her razor sharp teeth around the man seizing Orca. She grinds her fangs until the bottom half sticking out falls off, then swallowed the rest.

The boat begins to break, so Aragon takes Orca and flees. The water soothes her gills as she swam back to her tower and unceremoniously tumbled inside, laying on the smooth floor in a puddle of scaly limbs. Orca had been jarred free from her grasp when she fell, and she clung to one of her talons to keep from floating away. Then, she leaned forward and bumped her nose with Aragon’s.

It was as if she were saying, “I’m safe now. Safe with you.”

#six the musical #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fanfiction #six fanfiction #six fanfic #six the musical au #catherine of aragon #anne boleyn #anna of cleves #joan on the keys #bessie on the bass #katherine howard #jane seymour #edward vi of england #six the kids

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ddaenghoney · 4 years

Text

chapter seven

masterlist link in blog description.

As a successful songwriter, you want nothing more than the acknowledgment that the chart-topping musical pieces are your own creations. But contracts, relationships, and the difficulty of facing the stakes involved head on, keep your mouth shut until pressure builds too much.

Pairing(s): Park Jimin x Y/N, Min Yoongi x Y/N

disclaimer: any characters depicted do not represent the actual personality of the respected idol in real life.

Series warning(s)/genre(s): Chapter-based written fic, Slow-burn relationship(s), Fake-dating, Unrequited love, Songwriter/producer!oc, idol!Jimin, idol/songwriter/producer!Yoongi, friends with benefits, drama, romance, smut, angst, fluff (updated as needed)

Chapter warning(s): none.

Word count: 5064

if you enjoy please, please let me know!

Yoongi, 2:36pm: Can you meet me at my apartment? I have to upload some things, and my stylists are going to set up there.

Y/N, 2:37pm: Yeah, hopefully I’ll be there before four. I don’t know what Yerin wants.

Your head lifts from your rigid posture on the couch, glancing in the direction of the elevator as a random employee delivers mail to the secretary. She told you to sit and wait approximately twenty minutes ago. The man returns to the elevator, bidding a cheerful goodbye to the girl who waves back at him. Your eyebrows furrow back down at your lap, hoping her normal demeanor can be taken as a positive sign for you.

Yoongi, 2:40pm: Whatever she says can’t be too awful. You haven’t done anything wrong.

Though you’re inclined to agree, at this point in your hole of misdeeds you wonder if even the tiniest things could set her off nowadays. The dates you and Yoongi go on aren’t blatantly full of affection, but given your mutual lack of acting--and desire to be affectionate with one another, you think you’re both done pretty good. Twitter likes it all, from what you have looked at, and celebrity news outlets commonly refer to you both positively as well.

Y/N, 2:42pm: Maybe she’s going to ask me to break up with you at the dinner thing later

Yoongi, 2:43pm: Wouldn’t you like that lol

Yoongi, 2:43pm: Well me too though

If anything good has come from the fake dating, it’s getting on stable foundation with Yoongi. Especially where production is concerned, he’s your favorite person to work with, even if all the things he’s let you have been informal content. The collaborative efforts have been a great use of your spare time, so much so that you don’t mind if they don’t amount to anything he’ll ever actually use. He said the songs aren’t likely to be, because of what he wants done with him, and how their styles won’t work properly with the conjured persona his management team deeply loves to publicize.

An image that you’ve found to be quite different to whom Yoongi actually is. One he also dislikes.

Yoongi, 2:50pm: I’m ordering pizza because I hear the food they plan to serve is going to be weird

Y/N, 2:50pm: You’re a hero… If you get cheese stuffed crust… I’ll buy one million copies of your next album….

Yoongi, 2:51pm: Get your wallet ready then (was already getting stuffed crust though)

“Ms.,” You turn your gaze to the secretary, thoughts of the enjoyable comfort food drifting from your thoughts as she smiles politely, “Ms. Baek is ready for you.”

Walking into the office, you’re met with Yerin sitting back relaxed in her seat, seemingly tranquil. She gestures with her hand to the empty chair across her desk, then uses it to take hold of her coffee mug, taking a languid sip. Unassuming, somewhat welcoming. You remain proper in the straightness of your spine as you sit, simply saying a small greeting that felt repressed like you were in her presence.

“I won’t take long with this.” She flips her hair behind her shoulder, rolling the wheels of her seat closer to the desk. “Just a check-up.” You nod, not fully understanding what she means, considering she hasn’t done anything like this since your first year of working in the company. “From what I see in the press the relationship is going over nicely. It helps giving some official information first to the main news sites that’ll give beneficial commentary.” She goes on like there’s a check-list of points in her head to cross off, while you nod. The first headline to drop the company’s official statement dressed the relationship with pretty phrasing, and light-hearted banter in the paragraphs about pictures of you and Yoongi on the first visible date. “It may start getting a little trickier now, though.” She takes another moment to drink her beverage while you noticeably frown.

“The appeal won’t simply die down?” You ask, words weightless of strength and only curious. Yerin shakes her head, finger tapping on her notepad while she explains,

“No, there’s always going to be a desire for public pictures of an open relationship like this; especially considering Min Yoongi’s prestige in the public’s eye.” At that you nod once, accepting that tidbit of information to be correct, especially with how much acclaim his work has received in recent years. “With that being said, there needs to be more out of you both.”

You only stare at her, taking in the ideas behind her words, hoping you’re misunderstanding, but knowing that not to be the case.

“Yes, as in more physical interaction.” Straightforward. Yerin rests her chin on her hand as though what she’s saying is cumbersome to explain. She shrugs, catching you off-guard as she beats you to commentary, “I know it’s obnoxious and, perhaps, uncomfortable, but that’s how it is. I’m not telling you to make out with each other in the streets, but hand-holding won’t cut it forever.”

“I,” You bite your lip, not happy with the idea of talking back to her, considering you and Yoongi had already gone in this deep with the thing. But you should speak for yourself. “I don’t think I can do things like that with someone I don’t genuinely like in that way. It’s going to look awkward-- I can’t even see Yoongi agreeing to this idea, either.”

“I know he wouldn’t.” She nods, glancing from you to the window. “Like I say: I don’t need you both to make out, or even kiss. In fact, I don’t want you both to be spotted kissing, that runs the risk of being too unprofessional. Just act more friendly than you both do now. You can still have your boundaries of no real physical affection, but delve deeper for the sake of cameras and people outside of the company’s perception.”

Your head tilts in disappointment of her unwavering decision, though you can’t help but agree with her worry of media’s perception. Not that you truly wanted to deceive people, but from the objective perspective of a general person, Yoongi and you only ever held hands in public, sat across at tables with no further physical interaction-- you both haven’t even faked a selfie session. You bite the inside of your cheek, still trying the last card, “And if Yoongi doesn’t go along with this at all?”

“He will.” Yerin cooly responds to you, finally shifting her crisp stare back to your person. You’re stiff at her words’ finality, wondering how she can be so sure. “Besides that all,” Her calculative actions and stoic demeanor are truly the most intimidating things about Yerin. “You’ve been working on music with him.”

Like how she’s able to state information she has received without you possibly understanding where she would have received it from.

“Y-Yeah,” Because you’re surprised, the affirmation stutters, but you clear it up in the retort. “It’s not against policy.” She nods in agreement,

“No, it’s not. I’m not upset with the fact. Just acknowledging it. Of course I’d want the best of the company’s songwriters to be collaborative with one another.” You nibble on your lip, eyes widening slightly at the high-praise of your value. “I was going to try and get you to help him with his upcoming album anyways; it’s best that it happened naturally, considering how particular he is.” Your shoulders feel less burdened to straighten, fueled by the change in topics that ended up being so much more uplifting than you would like to admit out loud. “Keep up the good work. It always shows you do your best.”

---

A plate with crumbs and the faint remains of a few drops of tomato sauce sit cold on the night stand beside Yoongi’s bed. You sit in a desk chair wheeled in from his spare room under bright lights the stylists brought from the company as you receive their final touches of makeup. It feels like an hour has passed, making you murmur of worry at the idea you and Yoongi would arrive late to this dinner he was cordially invited to.

But on the other hand you’re fine with the delay. Still trying to figure out a way to express Yerin’s order of more PDA to Yoongi, after avoiding discussion of anything in regards to the meeting once you arrived at his apartment. Timely as it was, he had just finished his appearance preparations, and greeted you with steaming slices of cheesy pizza questioning immediately if everything went okay.

You hurried in a yes, fumbling over words but able to avoid untactfully blurting that she wants more from you both.

“Y/N,” The familiar stylist says your name with pride, overlooking you from behind as you take in your freshly styled makeup, hair, and the perfectly fitting dress that you chose out of five options. It holds the contours of your figure with grace, a bandeau-style neckline, with the sleeves purposefully sewn to fall off your shoulders loosely, and somehow in an ethereal way. The fabric’s shine under the fluorescence entirely highlights the rich shade of bronze, and as you take in the entirety of the ensemble-- beautifully black heels and all-- you can definitely agree with the tone that the stylist goes on in. “This dress kills. You have great taste.”

If the foundation didn’t layer your skin, you’d likely have a noticeable flush of confidence, but that aspect is evident in your widening smile. Hell, looking this nice may be convincing enough for Yoongi attend more to those demands Yerin asked you of.

You bite your lip at the thought, head shifting to disperse it entirely--silly idea, maybe even conceited, plus it’s Yoongi you’re talking about. It’s only Yoongi.

“Wow,” You catch sight of the man himself enter behind you, his reflection in the mirror showcasing a fixated, noticeably surprised, expression. Your chest beats with more warmth, fueled in confidence from his reaction that you didn’t genuinely think would occur. You turn, biting your inner cheek as he simply remains quiet, unabashedly taking in the outfit as you properly faced him. Then Yoongi startles in the quiet, releasing the door knob from his hand and entering into his bedroom, wandering towards the rack of clothing that was brought for him, facing it as he finishes. “You look nice, Y/N.”

“Nice isn’t enough, Yoongi.” You nearly cough as his stylist interrupts the moment, missing your lips tighten to refrain from smiling bashfully at his comment. “You should tell her at least a paragraph’s worth of words-- I mean, look at her!” She rambles, adjusting his suit coat while Yoongi allows her to, casting you a glance. This one contained entirely to find your eyes. He smiles softly and nods as though to tell you he genuinely means the small sentence he said.

You didn’t need him to. You knew.

“So,” Yoongi says, comfortably beside you as you both ride to the destination. “Sorry if this dinner thing ends up being really boring for you.” He speaks quietly, somewhat slowly like he’s looking for something to comment on. “I wanted to skip it, since I’m not a fan of the host, but couldn’t get out of it with Yerin.”

You know the statements reasoning invite you to question his disdain of the host, but you miss the chance to keep on track with the subject of Yerin. “Speaking of Yerin,” Watching him flinch a little as your voice raises, you just ignore it and get out the phrasing as innocently as you can, “She,” You reach to fiddle with your hair, smiling in a nervous manner that he could get upset by the idea. Yoongi’s lips curl a little in a frown, taking in your evident worry about whatever you are about to say, and he knew he had the right idea when you shuffled past him to get your makeup done, barely remembering to get pizza until he reminded you. Something definitely happened. “She wants us to be a bit more physical than just holding hands.” Your voice trails, as does your eye contact in favor of the seat’s polyester.

Yoongi’s frown remains, due now to the confusion on why that was so difficult for you to say to him. Judging by past interactions with her, he had a feeling that would eventually come. The idea that she directly asked you instead of having himself present as well for the request makes him uncomfortable. Wondering what her methodology was when this message clearly made you worried to pass along. He sighs, irritated again by the odd work relationship between you and Yerin. But Yoongi’s gentle as he answers you, subconsciously happy when he notices your shoulders lose tension and he settles your small bundling worries. “That’s okay. We’ll figure out some other stuff to pacify the media.”

Your eyes find Yoongi’s profile as he looks out at the passing evening scenery. You’re skeptical. He was just as against the fake relationship as you were in the beginning, so seeing him go along with this new addition as easily as this feels strange. And you wonder even more how Yerin was able to assure you this occurring outcome would come to be. “I’m sorry I couldn’t convince her against it.”

Yoongi faces you, eyebrows furrowing in dismay at your need to apologize, “This isn’t your fault; you don’t need to apologize.” He shrugs, admitting softly, “I had a feeling she’d want more eventually.”

“But not a lot, don’t worry.” You try to soothe your own discomfort as you remind yourself, “Just small things-- not kissing obviously.” Yoongi chuckles, rubbing his neck, humored by the way you pop in small comments.

“Obviously.” He mimics your tone, earning a small pat from you against his arm as you pout at the teasing. Embarrassed, but he didn’t push it. “I know what you mean, Y/N. It’ll be okay, we’re not doing anything either of us are uncomfortable with.”

“Do you want to have some sort of signal in case we cross boundaries like that?” You ponder ideas of how to be subtle, but pause as Yoongi murmurs absently, as though what he says is casual knowledge,

“I think we understand each other well enough to know without that.” Despite the statement sounding unassuming, you can’t deny little jitters of warmth at its implication, but you shrug them away, thinking in the end that it’s silly to read so much into simple things like that.

The car comes to a stop, the area outside sparse of crowds due to the lowkey nature of the dinner party that is apparently only supposed to be learned about after the event concludes. Nonetheless, you exit from the vehicle, holding Yoongi’s hand as he helps you out. The usual. Leading you both into the tower, you think maybe posting a picture with him on your social media account could be enough to suffice for the evening, leaving you both with an opportunity to think of other things for future dates, but as Yoongi’s hand strays to find a gentle purchase around your waist, tugging you closer to him in the slightly busy elevator shaft, you realize he’s able to adapt easily to the new parameters of the fake relationship. Like he didn’t have to think at all.

“Too much?” The words feel like they brush into your hair, but so quietly in order to keep the other few people in the elevator as away from the question as possible. Your head shakes only a little, and it’s not enough to convince him as the grip begins to loosen, then stray away, but you can’t be the only one lagging in this. He didn’t like it either, but you shouldn’t force Yoongi into making all of the effort. You hand shadows over his before it leaves your waist, keeping it situated, warmth leaving the tips of your fingers and onto his skin chilled from the short walk inside. “Okay.” You register his nodding beside, as well as the fluster very slightly in his voice.

Your responsive giggling falls before you’re able to stop it, humored by his shy reaction and how you thought Yoongi was effortless in acting like your boyfriend. Clearly as nervous about the small things as you are. You shift closer towards him when his hand suddenly squeezes in a tickling manner, and you glance up at him only to try harder to muffle laughter as he looks down at you completely embarrassed with his lips straight in a tight line that makes his cheeks fuller.

“Stop-”

“I’m sorry.” You nod away the entertained thoughts, then smile at him dramatically, overly apologetic, trying to play it all away with humor. Yoongi just shakes his head, sighing softly when the door opens.

“I’m not good at this I know.” He says vaguely enough for those who could happen to listen in, but of course you understand. As such you shake your head, walking as he leads you both to the reception area cluttered with celebrities and those sporting designer clothing to fit into it all.

“Listen, we both clearly suck at this.” You respond, catching sight of the refreshments going around on dishes. Yoongi was right: they looked weird. “But we’ll probably get better, I guess.” You shrug, wondering why the event is called a dinner party when no formal dining tables were anywhere to be seen. Instead, you catch sight of people throughout the music industry and beyond, casually involved with one another in dignified manners. Practiced at the art of social interaction, and from what you could see most weren’t meeting for the first time that evening. Feeling like you’re the odd one out. “Don’t ditch me in this, please.”

“No plans of that. Don’t worry.” You step in further with him, altering position so that his hand leaves your waist in favor of your hand, for the ease of walking. You keep close, realizing more and more by your unfamiliarity with everyone that you’re not a part of the world that plays out in the party. Idol and producer Min Yoongi’s date, but not songwriter and producer yourself.

“Just when I thought I was going to get iced out of here.” Walking ceases at a clear voice that causes Yoongi to pause, looking beyond you while you do the same. You immediately bite your lip, trying to refrain from the shock of Jung Hoseok walking towards the two of you, suit sleek, with the patterned shirt beneath it glimmering, a flute of a drink half-finished in his hand, and a bright smirk present. You’re silent, glancing back to Yoongi who responds instantaneously,

“How are you here?” Yoongi speaks quietly, eyes narrowing with baffled shock. You try to think back on any mentions of him knowing Hoseok before, but draw blanks. Then again, why wouldn’t we, they worked at the same company previously. You narrow your eyes at this thought, in your own world for the moment while you get vague recollection of headlines surrounding Hoseok about a year earlier than you hadn’t paid much attention to. The implications of so leading to his removal from the company, and left uncontracted to SoundWave following the merger.

“Believe it or not, people still like me that aren’t the press.” He says with a shrug, sipping at his flute while Yoongi continues to look perplexed by Hoseok standing there. You can’t think of why in particular. Hoseok looks to you before Yoongi can fumble out any other response, smiling politely with an extending hand, “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. You must be Y/N. I’m Hoseok.”

“You know who I am?” You ask in surprise, then recall his hand and shake it in greeting.

“Yoongi told me about you-”

“Hoseok, this is Seulgi’s party.” Yoongi’s continued concern shows, attempting to get Hoseok back on task to the conversation of being there. At mention of the host’s name, you remember it in relation to Hoseok’s in the headlines last year. Jimin had mentioned something about one of their careers getting damaged because of their relationship being caught in limelight. You hadn’t concerned yourself with that, instead fixating on the way the same could happen in your own situation, so as Yoongi sets the last piece of the puzzle in your mind, you revert into quiet.

Calmly looking up at Hoseok who turns his gaze back to Yoongi, you wonder like Yoongi what he’s doing there. A tiny part of you wanting to ask what happened if only to grasp at some fake comfort in knowing that it wouldn’t happen to you at this point. The only good thing perhaps that you could find so far.

“Obviously I know that.” He nods, taking a moment before speaking. “She let me in, it’s not like I snuck through security.” Yoongi’s hand around yours stiffens, worrying you a little that the small statement made him upset, but his expression looks torn instead. “Came with a friend that wanted to come.”

“Yoongi-” The three of you startle as a new person enters the hushed conversation. She steps passed Hoseok, ignoring his presence entirely, and instead smiling wide at Yoongi as she goes on, dress glittering under fluorescence. “You came after all. I’m glad.”

Where Hoseok’s sudden entrance felt easy to adjust to, the appearance of Seulgi is opposite. You feel uncertain of how to take in her sunshine tone towards Yoongi, while Hoseok takes another long drink to finish off his flute, eyes drifting from her to somewhere away. You swallow nervously, feeling implications hiding quietly around the bubble that felt hostile despite the cheerful demeanor the model and idol group member in front of you portrays. “Company said I had to.”

“Don’t be like that,” She teases reaching for a gentle nudge against Yoongi’s arm that intends to remain until he shrugs it off. The hand holding yours tightens once more, and you step closer to him before realizing so, concerned only with creating some type of barrier between them, because Yoongi seemed uncomfortable. “Ah,” Seulgi’s styled waves of rich brown fall over her shoulder as she looks towards you, polite smile, discerning eyes. “The rumors were true after all, hm?” She disregards greetings, head tilting back to Yoongi, “I want to catch up. I’ll show you to the open bar?”

“I’m not planning to drink much, or stay too long actually. Y/N and I have things to do in a while.” After listening to the decline, Seulgi’s eyes take a quick glance again, searching for confirmation that comes in the form of your head nodding, putting on a false, polite smile of your own. Your gaze perhaps more irritated than she would have liked to receive, so she smiles coyly. Nodding once, though chuckling sarcastically,

“What kind of plans happen at almost midnight on a Friday night, Yoon?” In the corner of your eye, Hoseok’s frame notably tenses, releasing a baffled scoff that Seulgi pays no mind to, and Yoongi doesn’t miss a beat in his reply,

“Things that don’t concern you.”

“Harsh.” She giggles like the conversation is an amusing game. “Y/N, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” You’re undeterred by her obviously knowing who you are, trying to roll with the punches as well as Yoongi does.

“You have your work cut out with this one.” She never looks at you as she speaks, never acknowledges Hoseok beside her, just intent on staring daggers into Yoongi’s eyes while the rest of her presents itself as quaint and easy-going.

“I didn’t ask.”

Seulgi’s head turns towards you, dark red lips parted for only a moment at your dry remark, before they close again. She properly takes you in, eyes narrowing in what appears to be a lapse of confusion, while Hoseok beside her chuckles in the midst of it all. She exhales a sigh at his antics, then a small smirk blossoms, matching the condescension in her speech, “Guess it’d be boring if he picked someone that can’t talk back.”

“Seulgi,” Yoongi steps between you two, eyes narrowed towards her but his voice is controlled, appearance utterly poised for any outsider to notice. She takes only a half step back, unafraid, but giving distance to cross her arms dismissively. “Leave her out of this. Don’t get any ideas.”

Seulgi looks at him silently, unbothered by the definite demand Yoongi speaks towards her. You get the feeling that she doesn’t buy it, likely hoping to push him even further. Letting you easily understand why Yoongi had so much reluctance in attending this particular event.

You tug the connection of your hands, causing Yoongi’s head to glance back at you, eyes speckled with the lighting and appearing concerned that something is wrong. Your lips tighten towards him, the smallest of head shakes telling him this isn’t worth it. You feel relaxation in his grip on your hand, returning to the feelings you’re used to, and Yoongi turns to Seulgi who speaks before he can get the two of you away, “Humor me with a chat.”

“Why should I?” His eyes narrow at her offer that she’s confident in. Seulgi takes a look to Hoseok who’s maintained near complete silence despite what his character is known for in the public. Eyes to Yoongi, releasing depth that you didn’t understand,

“Considering last year, you owe me.” Despite the majority of him faced away, you knew her statement struck a chord with Yoongi. Jaw stiffening and eyes narrowing in emotions other than anger. Like he lost to her. Lost to something that happened. You can’t help but frown, worry cascading around your stomach that tells you this isn’t a good change at all. As you turn to see Hoseok’s opinion on this discussion you find him only looking at Seulgi from the corner of his eyes, concerned, confused, curious.

If she was his ex then what does she want with Yoongi.

Yoongi sighs after what feels like an eternity, holding your hand still as he steps away from Seulgi and Hoseok only a few paces. His body faces from them, blocking you from their view as your holding hands dangle between you both. “I’m sorry, I need to talk to her though.”

You want to ask why but your lack of involvement and importance to Yoongi lead you to avoid that, but you’re visibly worried. Tone matching as you still try softly with concern, “Is everything okay, Yoongi?”

He nibbles his lip, though nods. Words gentle, apologetic. “I’ll tell you about it some other time, but I won’t take long.” He pauses, eyes appearing to frown in memory of his earlier promise to stay with you through the entire party. “I’m sorry, I really won’t be long. We can leave after; I don’t want to stay.”

You nod slowly, still wondering if you should let him, but having no reason to stop the situation that is the biggest cause of his discomfort. “Yeah, of course. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re bad at lying.” He says softly, smiling a little sheepishly, while giving your hand a reassuring squeeze. You shake your head, but Yoongi halts you from your need to cover up. “I think you’re worried. It’ll be okay though, it won’t be a long talk. Wait for me at the bar?”

You nod, thinking he appears hesitant to leave you, even after releasing your hand. But Yoongi eventually turns, finding Seulgi patiently behind him despite her still crossed arms. Hoseok’s disappeared, escaped to another part of the venue, and you’re unsure if he spoke to her at all during your small discussion with Yoongi. Then Yoongi and Seulgi disappear as well, mixing into the crowds and going off somewhere.

You sigh, wondering about the dense amount of history and problems between the three of them, and thinking if Yoongi would be okay when he seemed so bothered by Seulgi’s implications. Stepping in the direction of the bar, you try to ignore it, leaving it to Yoongi to handle, because it is clear he wants to. Despite his obvious animosity there is something for him to work through. He said he’d tell you about it.

Your lip drags between your teeth in an attempt to smother the warmth you feel that he trusts you in that way. After Yoongi’s tried to give you an outlet for your problems, and trying to overlook his early judgements of your person to give you the benefit of the doubt, you feel happy that there could be a way for you to help him through any of his troubles as well.

Through the partygoers you walk along, finding the bar as lively as it would be. However, you’re not entirely interested in passing time with anything, instead using the location just as the place to meet with Yoongi after his discussion concludes. You take another look at the attendees, curious if any other big names that you admire have come out, but for the most part see artists of other agencies, socialites, and people you’ve never seen before in the slightest. The atmosphere seems inviting, though you can’t help but feel away from it. Aside from your lack of public image, the people around act separate, like there are things to hide and appearances to keep up, like how Yoongi did his best to maintain visible composure in the jabs between him and Seulgi who herself acted just as well-adjusted as him. Even in this semi-private sphere, people are on guard, unwillingly to give out pieces of themselves that are unsightly, or even human.

Your eyes hit head after head, bewildered by how different this party is despite what you would expect from people who seemingly have it all; even the recognition you crave. Then the gaze halts, locked on sight with the most familiar face you should’ve expected to see tonight. In the midst of Yerin’s slight praise, and the advancing air of friendship between you and Yoongi, the idea of something to upset the positivity left your thoughts long ago.

But as Jimin stands paces from you, eyes greeting yours silently, you wish you considered this outcome. And wished you tugged Yoongi and you out of this party altogether to have a night unbothered.

if you enjoy please, please let me know! i hope you enjoy the series, i’m working really hard on it! : )

tag list (send an ask to be added): @jaiuneamesolitaiire @tsvkino-usagi @xionysus

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thecandywrites · 4 years

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Orctober- Fall Formal

Ok so this was originally meant to be part of orctober. But then I found out about the OKCryptid and I JUST HAD to do that instead but this has been sitting in my drafts and I know it’s two months late but I’m on break for school and I’m catching up with everything and god damn it, this story is so cute and still more or less based on my own life and how I wish I would have had the courage to ask my crush out but I never got the chance so this is my own wish fulfillment and fantasy but with an orc twist and the headcanon that orc culture would take to beads like it’s it’s own subculture and how each bead has LAYERS AND LAYERS of meaning and TRADITIONS on how they’re given and recieved and how they have various styles to suit the recipient and that’s a discourse I will gladly discuss with anyone who will listen to me. Thanks for reading.

Orctober- Fall Formal.

Your name was Brianna Wright and you sat at your lunch table, by yourself, eating and doing homework so you didn’t have to do it at home, listening to the music on your phone through your headphones and drowning out the roar of the other students, most of which were sitting with their partners discussing details of the fall formal and since you were painfully single, you did your best to drown them out while trying to not let it get on your nerves before you took a break and snuck a peek at where your crush usually sat at his table not too far away but he wasn’t sitting there, he must still be going through the lunch line you supposed before you turned back to your homework. It was your first week back to school in your senior year and you noticed how everyone seemed to settle in. Couples had split and come together over summer break and made new friends and lost old ones. Things changed and yet stayed the same.

Your crush was none other than Kihro Soche, an orc who actually worked for your dad along with Kihro’s dad Kidron who was a partner with your Dad’s business and operated his own sister branch downtown, the first to do so several years ago. Hell everyone at Kihro’s table worked for your dad because their dad’s worked for your dad and they were their own father’s apprentices. It’s not that they were mean to you or picked on you, no, far from, they were always polite, both on the job site and in school but that was as far as it went because while all of you were friendly, you just weren’t...friends, or at least you felt they weren’t. Despite your dad’s success and your own younger sister’s popularity, you were surprisingly a loner. You were all business while you were in school and on the job site and you took your own education seriously, which meant you were dream for the teachers who often got you to tutor the jocks, most of which were orcs- to make sure they stayed on their athletic teams, while your teaches handled the trouble makers. Because of this you were neither bullied- nor popular because the only time anyone joined you at your table was when they wanted something from you, usually academic help. You lost count of how many “I owe you one’s” you had with half of all the teams in the school but you were never going to be one to call in those favors.

But despite all this Kihro was special. He wasn’t on any teams and he never asked you for help with anything because he was not only very intelligent himself but he was also more or less the leader of his group. You liked to suppose that if this was a few hundred years ago that Kidron would be an orc cheiftan and Kihro would be the next cheif after his dad stepped down. You had known him for several years as well and he had been to your house when your dad made Kidron a partner in the business and it was your first big “official” meal that you had cooked. Kihro had been with you when you collapsed on a job site this past spring, Kihro was the first one to get to you and actually picked you up and had woken you up and held you as your dad called 911 and he had carried you to the ambulance and his family had visited you in the hospital after that. That’s when your crush on him started, at the tender age of 16 and now that you were 17, it didn’t show any sign of letting up, it just got worse. But while he was always friendly with you and when you had been on the job site together you two worked really really well together but that’s where it appeared to stop and every day you just accepted that you two were just too different and that as much as you fantasized about you two getting together, it was never going to happen. He just wasn’t interested.

Your dad was a plumber by trade, a master plumber at that and he co-owned Wright Plumbing with your Papa, your mom’s dad- Larry Franks and together they ran the biggest- and in your opinion, the best- plumbing business for the west side of the Great Lakes Region. Your dad employed about 75 other plumbers, almost all of them journeymen in their own right and allowed them to bring their own children- the vast majority of them being sons- along with friends and family into the business too as their apprentices. Your dad had hired about a dozen orcs and a half dozen dwarves and other halflings at first, all of them remained and were now running their own branches of the business in the different communities and in the decade since then, the business grew and expanded almost exponentially. Your dad didn’t care what clan these orcs came from either, he employed everyone who was competent and because of this, he was able to hire from all the clans in the area and they all got along for the sake of the business and wore their uniforms with pride and because of the physical nature of the business, orcs, dwarves and halflings also had the intelligence, intuition and strength and stamina needed for the work and they always gave the best results while having high ethics and morals while doing so. Your dad made sure all of them were protected by the union, had very generous wages, large enough to solely and very comfortably- support large families on. The business also had the best health, vision, dental and life insurances the company could get, they got sick leave, maternity leave and even their apprentices made good money- often double minimum wage just to start out and then going to triple with experience, skill and expertise and a lot of these apprentices got headstarts on their own journeyman’s license requirements, many of them getting their liscences once they graduated high school.

To celebrate the business’ success, your dad often hosted company picnics every summer, they had been potluck at first but as the company grew and became successful, the more he could afford to put into them and make them the blow out events they were- that were the highlight of the year for his employees. Your dad had competition BBQ joints come in and cater to the event, roasting hundreds of whole hogs and a couple hundred chickens that got fried and barbequed and got dozens of kegs of different kinds of beer too in addition to it still being a potluck. You had wanted to work up the courage of asking Kihro to dance with you at the company picnic but your dad had you working the grill for most of it, grilling your body weight in steaks over a dozen times over all day, which you actually enjoyed doing because you loved to cook and worked wonders with meat but you just never got the chance to get away long enough to ask Kihro to dance with you and you knew there was no way he was going to ask you to a school dance and at the end of the night you just accepted that it was your fate to be forever alone and so close but so far from what you wanted. And with your health being as bad and as fragile as it was now, you knew there was no way you were going to go into plumbing as a career yourself so the only times you saw Kihro was either at school- which you were going to be graduating early from in a few short months, or at the company picnics or home shows. That was it, so you accepted the fact that eventually you’d drift apart and be strangers at some point and grow out of this silly crush. And you were scared of asking him and him rejecting you or asking in front of his friends and all of them telling their dads who would then report it to your dad. You were stuck and there was little to nothing you could do about it other than accept the situation as what it was.

What you didn’t know is Kihro had been crushing on you hard for the last 5 years. There was a reason he was the first one to you when you collapsed on the work site, because he had been watching you for a long time and knew that something was wrong for months and when you had dropped to the ground, he had dropped what he had been holding and ran like the wind to get to you and he picked you up and cradled you to his chest and would not let you go and it wasn’t until the paramedics came that he finally gave up his hold on you and he had been the one to really push his family to visit you at the hospital and to see you so sick and practically skin and bones and so close to death, had nearly broken him and he had never prayed so much in his life for you to pull through. Swearing to any god that would listen that if you could pull through, he would do whatever it took to take care of you and never have you this close to death or danger again. But his dad forbade him from doing anything about his attraction to you and he made good money and was able to save a small fortune as an apprentice but it wasn’t nearly what he expected your father to demand for a guy like him to be interested in his daughter. Because while your dad was relaxed and easy going at work, he was especially protective of you and your sisters.

Kihro had wanted to ask you to dance at the company picnics for years now too but his dad had shut him down every time and he knew your dad’s rules of not dating while in school but to hear that you were going to be graduating early after first semester, before winter formal- since your dad had casually mentioned it to his dad, he knew his window of opportunity was going to shut forever and if he didn’t ask you to at least one school dance- he felt like he was going to die, hell- he’d dance with you in the middle of this lunchroom if he thought you wouldn’t die of embarrassment. He tried to get as close to you as he could, when in class, he tried to pair up with you when you were in the same classes together and tried to be as friendly and nice to you as he could be without being creepy or causing any suspicion on your part and he just ADORED you. To him, you were already perfect and already the girl of his dreams because you were humble, sweet, kind, intelligent and had a great sense of humor and you could cook like nobody’s business and you were great with your little sisters and fantastic with his younger siblings and you just oozed ‘mom’ vibes which he was really into. One of his teachers had said that with women there were a couple of types- the fun kind that you dated and the marrying kind and to him, you were both. He had questioned his attraction at first, thinking it was only because you were the “boss’ daughter” and “off limits”, things he couldn’t have- according to his father and everyone else who worked for your dad and he had thought that he only wanted you because he couldn’t have you. But the longer this attraction lasted and the more he thought about it and pondered it, the more he realized that he really didn’t care if you were the boss’ daughter or not. Wright Plumbing could go down and out of business tomorrow and that wouldn’t change how he felt about you because you were an amazing person all on your own and it was your own personality’s merits that attracted him so strongly.

But he and the others were just...scared, scared of rejection, scared of your dad, scared of their own dads and any retaliation they might experience if they even tried to ask you out. But Kihro was done being scared and yesterday had been his journeyman’s license exam and he had passed it with flying colors and he was ready and prepared just in case this blew up in his face. Because as a journeyman there were other plumbing companies that would hire him, granted not for as much as your dad offered his journeyman’s plumbers that had been with him for a few years but it would still be a living that he could support himself in case this went south. So here he stood, kind of frozen in fear after getting through the lunch line and so nauseated from his anxiety he couldn’t even look at his food as he looked from his friends who were giving him the thumbs up and nodding over to the table you were sitting on before he forced his feet to move forward, mentally counting down the steps as he mentally rehearsed what he was going to say to you over and over in his head. He really didn’t want to screw this up.

It wasn’t until you noticed movement in your peripheral vision that you looked up and nearly let the food in your mouth fall out as your jaw practically dropped as you realized he was walking towards you before he sat down across from you.

“Hi,” he greeted you and you could tell he was nervous and you started to worry that maybe you were about to be the victim of a prank and he could see the fear in your eyes and it made his anxiety whirl in chest even more.

“Hi…” You answered slowly after you swallowed before you just subconsciously held your breath, waiting for the floor to drop.

“Um, look, I just...I wanted to ask you if you’d like to be my date for the fall formal.” He blurted out so quickly you didn’t really catch it.

“What?” You asked as you leaned forward and tried to focus harder on him over the roar of the other students.

“I wanted to ask you to be my date for the fall formal.” He repeated as you frowned in confusion.

“Uh...is this...some kind of trick or a joke or a dare or did you lose a bet or…?” You asked as you were more confused than anything and looked from him to the other table he usually sat at and saw them all staring before they tried to look away and act casual which for you was a red flag as panic gripped your own chest as you looked from them back to Kihro worriedly.

“No! No, I didn’t lose any bets, this isn’t a dare or a joke or a prank or anything like that, I swear. I would never dream of doing any of that, especially to you. No uh. I just....look, it’s senior year and my dad said that he had overheard your dad say that you were graduating early and so you won’t be in school for the winter formal or prom, otherwise I would be asking you to go with me to that, but um, I know you usually don’t go to the school dances and I know your dad is really strict with you about the whole dating thing but it’s senior year and I’ve chickened out the last few years and if I don’t at least ask you to one dance before you’re gone for good- I’m always going to wonder what might have happened if I just asked or hate myself for never having the guts to ask out the one girl who deserves to have fun the most because you work just as much and just as hard as I do. And please, don’t think I’m asking this, thinking that you’ll put in a good word for me with your dad either and this has nothing to do with the plumbing side of your life, I just...I just wanted to ask you to the dance.” He confessed and you wanted to cry tears of relief and happiness because holy shit, you had to be dreaming, you must have passed out again and hit your head, this had to be a fantasy, there is no way this was real. Any moment now you’re gonna shake your head out of your haze and see that you were indeed still alone at your table and had imagined all of this.

“Really?” You asked, almost afraid you were dreaming as you finally exhaled and took a few deep breaths to catch your breath again.

“Yeah,” He nodded. “So...what do you say?” He asked, both hope and fear clearly on his face as he in turn held his breath.

“Yes.” You agreed.

“Really?” He lit up with the brightest, most excited smile you had ever seen him wear.

“Yes really.” You laughed.

“Ok, thank you, thank you so so so much, oh gods, I was about ready to have a stroke and pass out, that was harder than the journeyman’s license test.” He breathed in relief and held his stomach and put his other hand over his racing heart that had been pounding so hard in his chest he feared it was going to break his ribs as he caught his own breath and finally relaxed.

“And did you pass?” You asked curiously.

“I did, with a 98.” He answered proudly which made you clap in excitement.

“That’s awesome, I’m really happy for you.” You offered.

“Thanks.” He smiled bashfully before he dug into his meal, finally getting his appetite back as did you too before you tried to figure out matching outfits, of course now that you were having this conversation yourself, this kind of thing stopped annoying you as you exchanged phone numbers to stay in touch.

“So if you’ve been wanting to ask me to the school dances for a few years, why is it just now that you’re coming over here and actually talking to me?” You asked as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Because I’ve been a scared and gutless piece of shit being too scared of your dad and what he could do to me if it didn’t go well.” He answered honestly as you frowned.

“My dad separates his home life and his business life pretty well, besides, I have absolutely no say in anything to do with Wright Plumbing, I think the worst you’d ever have to face is him giving you the “rules for taking my daughter out” talk. Like that’s it. Now I would worry for you from your clan’s side because if you fuck up bad enough, I know the clan self polices themselves. But from my dad’s side, no, I don’t think you have that much to worry about, not really. I mean, I do, because he’s the head of my family and I live under his roof and he has always tried to control every aspect of my life so please don’t do anything that I would catch grief over but we’re both practically adults, I think we can trust ourselves and each other to behave as such.” You reassured him as he had a look on his face you couldn’t really read.

“Well, then let me reassure you that I would never dream of ever stepping out of line and do anything inappropriate with you so you don’t have anything to worry about from me but you’re not wrong about the clan thing, they would bury my ass in a hill if I ever did anything to jeopardize their position with the plumbing business.” He confessed.

“Well, considering all of that, you’re risking a lot just to ask me to a dance. If our positions were reversed, I don’t know if I would have the guts to do what you just did. I mean it took me nearly dying for my dad to realize that plumbing was not for me and I worry about all the apprentices that work under their fathers because granted plumbing is a good skill and a good trade and something that you can make a really good living off of but I worry that it’s been forced onto you guys like it was forced onto me and how many would leave if they woke up one morning and realized it wasn’t what they wanted to do with their lives but they’re afraid they won’t find anything else that will pay as much as my dad does or maybe if they wanted to be artists or clothing designers or restaurateurs or just..any other profession than their dad’s profession that they won’t get the same support.” You reasoned and Kihro was dumbstruck by how profound your statement was because that was very much an issue a lot of them dealt with, granted he personally didn't, but still. He realized that they were wrong to not socialize with you for fear you'd expose that to either your father or theirs.

“So..what are you going to be doing then?” He asked curiously as he leaned forward to really listen to what you had to say as you mirrored him and leaned forward to and now you felt like you were in kissing distance. But he probably wouldn’t be down for that.

“Medical massage therapy. I’m going to White Heron. That’s just off of Westnidge.” You answered proudly as Kihro’s eyebrows shot up in surprise but a smile bloomed on his face.

“Wow, that’s...not anything like plumbing.” He chuckled.

“I know right? Kind of the point. It was either that or engineering school to design roller coasters.” You shrugged as Kihro barked an amused laugh.

“Well both seem like a lot of work but a lot of fun, would you be comfortable enough to practice your massage on me though?” He asked boldly but hopefully because the thought of having you massage him sounded like heaven, although how he wasn’t going to pop a boner while you did so was going to be the hardest part unless you just needed private homework practice, he’d be all about that.

“Yeah I would, White Heron has a spa so the students can get their required practice hours in, it’ll be a few months before I’m allowed to give massages but they’re only $35 for 50 minutes. But again, both of us will have to be professional during the treatment.” You nodded as your cheeks stained rose while your own smile turned a bit bashful.

“Yeah, I think we can do that.” He grinned with a nod as your grin mirrored his before his grin turned mischievous and he gave you a quick peck on the lips right before the bell rang, blanking your mind of all rational thought and reason.

“Huh…?” You swooned breathelessly as your eyes fluttered back open and Kihro was both smug but also biting his lip because he was kicking himself for not doing that sooner, especially for you to have that reaction to him before he leaned forward and kissed you again, this time, you took a firm hold of his shirt and really kissed him back. Not believing that Kihro was the one to give you your first kiss and what a kiss it was. Unfortunately you don’t have any more classes with him for the rest of the day.

You felt like you floated the rest of the day and got home and started dinner and couldn’t stop smiling.

“Hey Brie, how was school?” Your dad asked when he came home and peeked into what you were cooking.

“It was good, Kihro told me he passed his journeyman’s license yesterday with a 98.” You reported proudly.

“Yeah I know, I put together a sign on package for him that he should be signing this weekend.” He answered.

“Oh good, he’s been a really good employee for how long now?” You tried to ask casually.

“Oh a good five years, now that he’s a journeyman, he’ll probably be Kidron’s second in command of the downtown branch.” Your father predicted.

“Good. So if he asked me to the fall formal, you’d be ok with it then?” You presumed before your father did a complete 180 and nearly snapped his neck whipping his head to the side to look at you incredulously

“He did what?” He asked.

“Kihro, the guy you’ve employed for the last 5 years, who’s father has been working for you for 12, who you’ve known since he was 5, who’s father is one of your most trusted OG’s, from one of the few families who came and visited me in the hospital and it was Kihro who got to me first when I collapsed and it was Kihro who knew something was wrong with me before anyone else did and it was Kihro who carried me to the ambulance himself, asked me to a school dance, I can go with him right?” You repeated.

“You’re too young to date.” Came your father’s reply as his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I am aware of that rule of no dating while I'm in high school. And this is a dance for one night, there will be chaperones, I’m sure you’ll be demanding that Grace come with me which I’m cool with. You already track where I am on my phone constantly, have I not done enough to earn your trust so that I can use my own judgement on something like this? Hasn’t it been you who has taught me how to read and deal with people and how to be perceptive and use my own concience and insticts. Besides, don’t you think I know that not only would you kill him if he tried anything, but his father and his clan would too if he dared step out of line because I’m “the boss’ daughter” and he actually made a point to say that him asking me to the dance had nothing to do with you or his job or his father’s job or anything like that. It’s just a case of a boy asking a girl to a dance. This shouldn’t be this complicated Dad. Most fathers around here don’t get the luxury of really knowing who is asking their daughters to the dance, you do though and if Kihro has earned your trust and respect enough that you want him working for you and being the second in command at your downtown branch, that should be more than enough. He should have earned enough trust and enough respect that you can trust him with me, for one night at a school dance. That’s all this is right now.” You defended.

“But what if he wants more than that from you? I don’t think you’re aware how different orc culture is compared to our own.” Your father posed and you wanted to scream but today, you were ready to fight.

“You’re right, I don’t know everything about orc culture because all I know is what I’ve witnessed myself. But I’m sure there are others who could teach me about it if Kihro and I started dating. But if you want to play Devil’s advocate, let’s go. Worst case scenerio if you say yes, is I go, he get’s handsy because he manages to smuggle in a whole fifth of tequila or vodka or whatever and he gets hammered drunk and looses all his senses, he wants to be a two pump chump and I say no and he forces me to have sex anyway and rapes me because he’s twice my size and probably ten times my strength, he could do it if he really wanted to. Would that be fair in saying that is the worst case scenario?” You posed as your dad crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t say anything but you could tell that you hit the nail on the head with that one.

“Now, if that were to happen, yes that would be horrible and unforgivable but thankfully they make something called the morning after pill and they make birth control I can get on but just for the sake of argument, if he knocked me up, I have a choice, get an abortion or keep the baby and become a teenage mother. Both are options in that horrible circumstance but that’s the risk any girl takes in having sex. But back to Kihro- you know as well as I do that orcs tend to self police themselves within their respective clans. Do you really think his father would let him continue breathing if that happened or hell his whole clan would hunt him down because in cases like that clans get together and there would be an orc hunt of a scale I can only imagine and there wouldn’t be anywhere Kihro could run and hide that he wouldn’t be found and then they would all let you take the first shot with your shotgun because not only did he just dishonor his family line but he dishonored his clan and he just put the clan’s honor into jeopardy by literally screwing the daughter of one of the few humans who employs a good number of the clan members and gives them more opportunities than most do and is an invaluable ally to every clan around here, and it would put tension on the relationship the Stormbreaker Clan has with all the other clans and would make the clan itself a target. Now, would you say that’s a fair assessment?” You proposed and waited until your father nodded his agreement.

“Now, let’s flip the coin and look at the best case scenario. Best case scenario, he comes, picks me up, drives me there, keeps his hands to himself, doesn’t drink, doesn’t do drugs doesn’t do anything dishonorable in any way. And we still manage to have a good time. And he drops me off at home before curfew and that’s that and we just remain friends and he’s still gainfully employed by the end of the night and you separate church and state or in this case personal life from business life and allow me to have a life usually enjoyed by most girls my age in our society. Now let's take this one step further, he asks me out and he wants to have a romantic relationship with me which I am open to, he asks me to be his girlfriend and again, for the sake of argument, I say yes to that but only after I get an education from multiple verified sources about how different you say their culture is from ours because if I was going to enter into a romantic relationship with him, I would want to go into it with my eyes wide open and know what I was getting into, so let’s just say for the sake of this argument, that all that happens and, we date for a while. And either it doesn’t work out and we aren’t a good fit for the other and we part- or if, and I mean if, it does work out, we fall in love and want to get married. Then it’s still up to me if I want to marry him or not. And let’s just say I do marry him. You would then- have a son in law who is in your business and you get to keep the business in the family, not that that would ever be my motivation for saying yes to him because ultimately the business may thrive or die with the seasons but marriage is for life but it would be a perk and you get to have human-orc halflings for grandchildren if my Crohn’s goes into remission and stays in remission long enough for me to pump out a few kids and you just get to deal with my decisions and the consequences of those decisions whether they be positive or negative.” You paused to take a breath as your father listened closely.

“Kihro obviously took a very great risk and leap of faith to even take the chance in asking me to the dance and he has had an interest in me for, apparently, the last few years but his own father has shut that down because of our situation and then when he heard that I'm graduating early he realized that his own window of opportunity to ask me to a dance was closing and that if he didn't ask, he was going to lose the opportunity for good and he would have always wondered "what if" and been upset with himself that he didn't just bite the bullet and ask instead of letting his fear of you and what you could retaliate with or the fear of his own father and what he could retaliate with- stop him. So since he took a great risk, I want to reward that by letting him have the pleasure of taking me to a dance. That's all we're asking for right now. I realize that it’s your job to take care of me and keep me safe and you’ve done an amazing job, just, give me enough rope to hang myself on with this. Please.” You requested.

“Fine, one dance.” Your father begrudgingly agreed.

“Thank you, now if and when you want to invite them over for dinner this weekend so you can lay down the rules and the law, but only if you will assure and reassure Mr. Soche that he gets to keep his job and all the other orcs from the Stormbreaker clan get to keep theirs too because this should never endanger all of that.” You specified. “Does that sound fair to you?” You offered.

“That’s fair.” Your dad decided before he stepped away to make a phone call and you used that opportunity to give Kihro a heads up that he and his dad might possibly be getting a call from your dad to invite them over for dinner to have that “talk” you warned him about as you mentally prepared what you were going to do and what you needed to do to prepare yourself and the house for company. You listened attentively as your dad talked with Kidron and smiled in relief when your father assured and reassured that it was ok with him that Kihro asked you to the dance and that everything would be ok before you got an idea and texted all the orc girls you knew and were friends with and swore them all to secrecy and asked for advice on what to do and how to best please and impress Kidron and his wife Rhiox, all of them were surprised if not excited about the development before they clued you in on more of the orc traditions and customs and the expectations that would be put on you if you and Kihro ever got serious which you found yourself biting your lip to keep your smile from splitting your face in half but you wanted to walk into this with your eyes wide open before you asked for a huge favor that had all your friends squealing in delight before they all eagerly agreed to it.

“And what did they say?” You asked your dad when he got off the phone.

“They’ll be over Saturday at 5.” Your father answered.

“Good, I’ll need to go shopping Thursday then, I’ll have a list and a proposed budget by Wednesday.” You offered.

The next day Kihro had you sit at his table and kept his arm around you possessively but you were happy you were received so well into their fold and then after school your other friends from the other school districts met up with you after school to give you what you asked for. A catalog to show you the different beads and what they meant in the Stormbreaker clan as you quickly looked it over and were amazed at how such a simple thing was entrenched in tradition and had layers and layers of meaning and how there were traditions and rules for the giving and receiving of beads before you had them bring you to an orc bead store. The best one in the area where you tracked down and bought the bead of your choice. And you didn’t get any bead, you got one that had a lot of meaning for you as well. Because if you were only going to get one chance to give something to him, you wanted him to have this, it would just be hard to not give this to him until the time was right and you both hinted at dating but for right now, you just both had to survive the dance and see how that turned out but rumors had already sprung up and suddenly guys seemed to come out of the woodwork to express interest to which you had to albeit, a little regretfully inform them that you weren’t dating him, that he just asked you to the fall formal and that was it and if they had any other questions to ask Kihro which most of them chickened out because Kihro was himself- very intimidating.

By Saturday you were amped up. You were cooking a feast with all the necessary components and Kihro's bead was burning a hole in your pocket. You were nervous but excited and hoped you were getting all of this right.

They arrived and one look at Kihro and he was just as nervous as you were but just having him there, looking at you like you were the moon and had hung up the stars in the heavens was enough for you. You went ahead and poured two beers, one for each of his parents and handed those to them with a warm greeting and welcomed them into your home which both surprised and impressed them before you got to get Kihro a beer too, happy to have the chance and opportunity to touch hands as you passed it over before you all sat down to dinner, Kidron and Rhiox very impressed not just by the portion size but what you cooked. You must have had over a dozen beef femurs split and roasted so that the marrow was easy to get to and Rhiox just kept grinning at you and her husband and Kihro and you could tell she was just tickled by all of this and genuinely happy and excited. Kidron however, you could tell he was biting his tongue and you could just see that he thought all of this was a bad idea and you didn’t know what you could possibly say or do to help assure him that it was actually a good idea.

“Ok, I’d like to address the elephant in the room. I realize that Kihro took a risk in asking me to the dance, which I’m honored that he did and I’m happy to go with him. Is there anything I can do to earn your respect and trust or assure you or even reassure you that by allowing us to do this is the right choice?” You asked and Rhiox damn near started crying and the smile she gave you told you that she was already so happy and moved that you would ask such a thing in such a respectful way and was very impressed as Kidron simply sat there and blinked at you a couple of times as the ghost of a smile almost started to spread on his face.

“We already respect and trust you so don’t worry about that.” Kidron answered with a small but gentle smile.

“Good, I only hope to continue to gain your respect and trust and if there is anything in particular I can do- please tell me.” You nodded and that seemed to be the magic words because after that, all the tension coming from Kidron completely melted.

“Likewise George. If there is anything I can do to continue to earn your respect and trust, just let me know.” Kihro added as he made sure to look your father in the eye saying that as everyone then looked to your father to see what his answer would be.

“Well, I know you are risking quite a bit. And I don’t think I need to explain what the stakes are…”

“No because that would be unnecessary, it’s a dance, there will be chaperones, we will behave, I don’t know what else I can say without beating this dead horse to a pulp here.” You interjected as Kihro smiled appreciatively at you.

“Ok, so, that being said, I still want to make sure we all come to an understanding of what the expectations are, you’ll have her home by ten. Grace is coming with you as a chaperone, no drinking, no drugs, keep your hands to yourself except for dancing and even then, hands at her waist. Understood?” Your father insisted.

“Understood.” Kihro shook your father’s hand as you just wanted to die, you were practically an adult and they were just complicating things. But at the end of the night you got what you wanted- a chance to dance with your crush. As cheesy as that sounded.

Your mother, despite hating to go shopping, did take you out and got a dress that was both beautiful yet modest, tasteful and becoming.

But you never got to wear it.

The night of the fall formal you found yourself in the hospital again, another flare, another near death. But you weren’t alone. Kihro was right there by your side as your family and his went and got something to eat, Kihro not leaving your side though and keeping you company.

“You should be at the dance.” You murmured softly.

“Nope, I’m where I’m supposed to be tonight.” He shook his head as he just squeezed your hand that he was holding a little tighter for a moment as he gave you the softest, most adoring smile.

“I wanted a night with you, that’s exactly what I’m getting.” He added.

“I thought you wanted a dance?” You gently contended, a half smirk at the corner of your mouth, your voice hoarse from vomiting so much.

“Do you think you could stand?” He asked which made you frown.

“I guess?” You answered before he got up and gently helped you get out of bed, your hospital gown hanging off your frame as your robe made sure you were modest from behind too. Kihro was careful to make sure you stayed connected to everything before he got your favorite song to play on his phone and set it down on the bed and wrapped his thick and well muscled arm around your waist to hold you up so that your toes rested on his boots as his arm held you fast to him so that you didn’t have too much weight on your feet as he simply stood by the bed and just swayed to the music with you which you thought was beyond romantic.

“This isn’t the gown I thought I would wear for my first dance with you.” You chuckled as you just let your head rest on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart and just relaxed in his arms and happily let him hold you up because your strength and stamina had been wiped out.

“Nah, the gown doesn’t really matter, it’s the girl in the gown that does though.” He whispered before kissing the top of your head affectionately as you smiled gratefully.

“When you make it through this, would you want to be my girlfriend?” He asked before you lifted your head.

“Absolutely.” You agreed before he bent down to kiss you softly, his swaying slowing down as your arms wrapped around his neck before his other hand that wasn’t around your waist came up to hold the back of your head as he kissed you earnestly, pouring his soul into it which was sweeter than honey and purer than gold and he still stole your breath away.

The song ended and he helped you get back into bed before you had him get you your purse in one of cupboards before you got a special beaded coinpurse out, one that you got just to house the bead you had gotten him.

“I had wanted to give this to you tonight at the end of the night if it had gone well and if we had both worked up the courage to ask the other out.” You said as you handed it to him and he smiled so brightly and proudly as tears came to his eyes as he realized what bead it was before he was on his knees next to the bed and kissing you again and hugging you tight.

“Thank you Bri, you have no idea how much this means to me.” Kihro thanked you earnestly before he had you put it into the braid in his hair before he presented you with not just one bead- but three because he couldn’t decide on one at the bead store before you had him put it into your hair which he happily brushed and braided exquisitely and just about the time he was done and you settled back into bed, your families came back with food for Kihro and some bone broth for you.

“Hey dad, we’re dating.” You announced weakly but happily as you pointed to your hair and in particular the beads in your hair with a weak but proud smile as Riox practically burst the windows with how loud her cheer was as she enveloped you into a hug and welcomed you into their family and their clan and told you all about it as she urged you to get better as soon as you could as Kidron and your Dad both smirked at each other, figuring this was gonna happen sooner or later.

So it wasn’t the fall formal you wanted, but it was the outcome you had always hoped for. Besides- there was always winter formal...

#Orcs #Modern Orcs #modern orc love story #orc boyfriend #orctober #late orctober #Fall formal #Better late than never #exophilia #monster boyfriend #monster romance #orc romance

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