#and a bunch of suggestions that I haven't read yet

[copperbadge]

More on mindfulness and meditation

I feel like perhaps I came across as anti-meditation in that last post I did on it, and there were some folks who were a bit vocal about not liking meditation in the notes, but the notes also had some great and interesting discussion of what can count as mindfulness that isn't traditional meditation and what some alternatives might be, so I wanted to do a follow-up. Especially since I don't think I'm going to get to respond to everyone individually.

The post was not meant to be anti-meditation, but to express frustration with the way meditation frequently is, or rather fails to be, taught. I can understand why people would struggle with "mindfulness" (vastly overused term) and meditation, so I'm not here to argue with or shame anyone, and I really appreciate the alternative suggestions. But because mindfulness can mean so many things, and people can meditate for many different reasons, I wanted to talk a little about why I'm being asked to do it.

It's easy to lose track of why one might try meditation for mental health, because the cause and effect are so temporally dislocated from each other. I try to keep in mind that my specific goal is emotional regulation deriving from increased present-moment attention. Some of the stuff that was suggested is great for a goal other than this, like puzzle games that allow people to empty their racing minds or activity that brings someone back into their body when dissociating -- both extremely laudable functions! -- but that's not why I'm here. Meditation is meant, for me, to be a maintenance medication, not a rescue inhaler.

There is science that suggest that mindfulness practice, under a specific definition of the term, can help to manage emotional dysregulation, ameliorate Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and reduce depression and anxiety. I discuss the science in a slideshow here but essentially this specific form trains the attention into the present moment, which improves executive function -- and as we know, emotional regulation is a facet of executive function, so this leads to better emotional regulation.

There is not a lot of science on it yet so there is room here for yoursamplesizeissmall.jpg, but it's all we've got so I'm running with it. There is one foundational practice and three practices that build on it which effected this change in subjects of the study:

Breathing Meditation doesn't really confer any benefit the others don't, but the others all employ it as a basic practice. We know this can calm the parasympathetic nervous system, although to be honest I have not found that to be the case personally. As soon as I stop the deep breathing I'm right back where I was, likely because my issue is ruminational, not situational. But everything else wants you to breathe first, so I still have to do it.

Body Scan focuses attention on the body and as others have pointed out is good for people prone to dissociation. As I said in the other post, I live here; paying extra attention to my body isn't something I need. I was asked to try it anyway as part of a practice in keeping an open mind about stuff I think is dumb, and clearly I do need practice in that. Still, it's likely I'll be able to let this one go pretty soon.

Loving-Kindness asks you to think positively about others, expanding compassion from a single point outward to the world. I've encountered this before in reading Pema Chodron; I don't do it as meditation, but I do try to practice it in life because I am not naturally a patient or compassionate person, and that has been helpful in the sense that it keeps me from getting punched in the face a bunch. For me there's no real "train the attention to be in the present" aspect on account of that, however.

Observing-Thought is where you just sit with your thoughts, let them arise, sometimes label them in some way, and let them go. I was most interested in this purely because it's the only one I hadn't already encountered. I haven't found it useful so far, but I don't have enough data about it to be definitive, and if it is training executive function I would expect that to take time.

Now, I know that all four of these have science backing them, so I know that we're not just dealing in new-age woo here. The problem is functional, not theoretical. The issue overall is not "meditation is boring" -> "find a way to make it interesting", although I do appreciate that it may be an issue for others and I like that people were offering solutions. The issue for me is that the boredom derives from the fact that the meditation isn't being taught. There's no progressional learning -- there's no step-progress-reward-step-progress-reward like with most difficult skills.

Any task is boring if you aren't deriving any reward from it or you are being expected to execute it without skills or training, and in this case I'm facing down both. Long silences from a meditation leader are fine if you're there to engage with a practice you already have familiarity with, but if you're trying to learn, they are the opposite of helpful, and they are actively punishing to someone with ADHD.

I don't want to be entertained (I mean, generally I do, but in this case I don't expect it). What I want is a pedagogical approach that steps up to the practice rather than beginning with it, so that I know I'm doing it right, I experience rewards along the way similar to how I currently do learning Italian, and I have more confidence that what seems dull and fruitless actually will produce results.

Uh, so yeah thanks for coming to my TEDtalk; the fact that a practice that's especially hard for people with ADHD helps with almost every problem ADHD presents really sucks, and I wish we approached teaching meditation as if it were something you actually did have to learn rather than something you're supposed to Do Until You Get It. In the meantime I guess bumping the speed on the recording isn't the worst thing I could be doing.

#sam has adhd #not yet fired from therapy #mindfulness

[libraford]

Idk maybe it's because I'm autistic and don't get how things are supposed to work (I also haven't been able to work for over a decade due to disability so take this all with a heap of salt) but it feels like she needs someone to blame for problems.

You said last year there were three leads but this year you're doing the work of three on your own. Did they quit or get fired? Maybe someone else was the assigned "problem child" last year? But the fact that you didn't get any useful feedback at the times problems supposedly happened and they continued using your work...it just reads like a power trip on her end tbh

One of them left to become a veterinarian and do photography on the side. The other one of them left because there was a pretty big death in the family and also oldest kid was going through his senior year. Both have said that they might come back, but so far neither of them have committed.

The two of them were nearly perfect leads. Like they did all the paperwork properly and had all the details right and they didn't rush and they rarely did anything wrong.

Except when they did. And since I learned from one of them, I learned on all of her mistakes.

So I've had to be retrained.

Again and again and again.

There would typically only be one lead per job, so its not like I'm doing the work of three people the way I was doing the work of like... 7 people at the flower shop. I am still doing the work of one person, but I am doing it every day instead of only two to three times a week.

So the mistakes I learned are more obvious now and I am put in positions where previously I was not, like having to call as soon as there's a problem- because previously I was not often having these problems. I get dinged for not following procedure for this.

She tried training me on groups last year, but every time there was a chance to learn on the job something interrupted it. The first time it was because the person we had doing individuals was going painfully slowly and she had me set up my unit to clear out the bottleneck. The second time it was because our individuals photographer went into labor.

So I've been trained wrong on a bunch of things and had to be retrained. Attempts to train me properly have been interrupted, but she thinks that I received proper training and that I should be good to go.

So I do it. And I do it wrong. Over and over again.

And then I get the critique and there is disagreement between my boss and her boss about how I'm supposed to have done it.

And then I try again. And there's disagreement between my boss and me about how I was supposed to do it.

So my spirit is fuckin' crushed lately and I just want to get to the end of the season but of course there's YET ANOTHER critique at the end of the year where she says I'm bad at receiving critique when I've had to be retrained several times in several different areas, and she claims that NOTHING HAS CHANGED FROM MY INITIAL TRAINING even though documentably it HAS, which makes me feel like a fucking crazy person for suggesting that its hard to keep up with the changes sometimes.

And she says she's tired of arguing with me about how things are supposed to be done when I'm supposed to KNOW how things are done by now because this is my THIRD year in the business and why am I so argumentative?

At the last groups job, I asked her to help be out a little bit and check my work to make sure I was doing it right. I wasn't even done with the first group and she jumps in and tells me my numbers are wrong, changes it all and that's how we found that the guides were different. But when I talk to her about what made me mad there, she has a different story- she says that I did 2 or 3 classes wrong before she jumped in. Which is not what happened to my recollection.

I've asked her to take a more passive role and she got mad at me because she swears that she did take a passive role and now I'm being inconsistent- because I asked her for help and now I'm asking her not to get her hands in it. So now I'm confused again because I remember that day completely differently, and when I asked the rest of the crew they said that she was being pushy. Once she left and I was on my own, I did fine- but being unable to even get through a whole class without her jumping in to save the day kind of crushed me.

So I think she's misremembering a LOT. And making it my problem for bringing up inconsistencies, confusions, and changes. Either that or I have worse memory problems than I thought I did.

And now I'm being told that I go too fast. Because there were days last season where we were done an entire hour earlier than we were supposed to be. And I asked her- did people complain? Were my photos bad because I was fast?

No, no one complained. We had less retakes this year than we did any year.

If no one complained, then the problem is that I'm not taking time with the students to get the perfect photo. The problem is that you don't think I could possibly be that good and that fast at the same time. But if a kid only needs thirty seconds to get the pose, why should I take more time than is needed?

My photos have improved significantly from my first year. Oh my god, they've improved so much. But I'm struggling to learn a new, complicated thing for which I've gotten mixed messages and not gotten a lot of consistent guidance on.

And because I get confused when something is different from what was described, I am told that I can't take criticism.

Well yeah, no- if that's the criticism you've got for me, no I can't take criticism.

[daisystwistedgarden]

𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔

a/n: let the record show this is not the fic i was supposed to be writing rn!! i've been working on a post about the character's prev hs experiences for the college au. but then @etheries1015 posted this fic about rubbing lilia's back and i read it and urgh. i couldn't stop myself. i also saw something going around about lilia using magic to cover up his scarring from the war and fuck that's so good. so i included it. here is my humble offering of a fic toying with these idea-- credit to the linked author and fic for premise!

content + warnings: lilia x gn!reader, suggestive, established relationship, pet names, reader lives in ramshackle, discussion of lilia's scarring + trust issues/evasiveness, reader debates if there's insecurity involved, implied further smut

word count: 1.4k

"you haven't been wearing your back brace recently, have you?"

"hmm... no, i don't suppose i have been."

"of course not. i saw you slouching at your computer earlier, too. no wonder you're so bent out of shape."

lilia chuckles from underneath you. you're almost certain there's a cheesy grin twisting his lips. knowing him, he's delighted by his own mischief, regardless of the effect it has on his body-- and, more obviously, he's delighted by the fact that you love him enough to do him this favor.

"you'll take care of me though, right?" he twists his head to peer over his shoulder at you. he's grinning.

"maybe i should just let you suffer. maybe then you'll learn to take your health more seriously."

"you're wicked, darling."

"no, but i should be. i'm too soft on you."

"you're the light of my golden years."

"yeah, yeah. quit squirming. i'm trying to get this knot between your shoulder blades."

somewhere along the way, you noticed that lilia has some lingering issues with his back. at first, it was subtle shifts in position on your earliest dates to hide the fact that sitting in one spot too long makes him sore. then it was the over-exaggerated stretching before every battle, always played for laughs but never skipped for fear of aggravating his injuries in public. lilia never outright told you he has issues with his back. you never pressed him on why-- it seems some parts of his past he'd rather leave behind-- but as your relationship developed, he became more comfortable lowering his guard and letting you into these parts of his life.

which is how you've ended up here.

ramshackle dorm's shotty yellow lighting comes off as warm and intimate as the sun begins to set through the large window nearby. lilia is sprawled out, face-down in your comforter. you sit carefully on his hips. his jacket and vest have long been discarded carelessly on your floor, leaving him in the button down he wore to classes. even that's mostly undone at this point. the ribbon usually tied around his neck is now bunched in his fist. you had, at one point, been discussing your day, but now the silence was only occasionally broken by the playful spats between you as you tried to urge your beloved fae to take better care of himself.

"that feels good," he murmurs as the heel of your palm pushes hard into the tough knot near the base of his neck. a pleased little groan just barely escapes his lips. "a little weak, but nice."

"sorry, it's just-- i don't want to crumple up your nice school shirt."

"do your worst," he replies. "unless you'd like me to take it off?"

"doesn't surprise me that you're so eager to strip while you're in my bed." now you're grinning.

his signature laugh is low and breathy. lilia is not facing you, yet you're certain his eyes have narrowed as he assesses the challenge laid before him. but you don't want to change the mood so soon-- after all, his back is still sore from the long day he had. you take the initiative to untuck his collared shirt from his slacks and slip your hands under the fabric.

there. under the pads of your fingertips, you can feel them-- the scars.

jagged. rough, still, even after what you assume are years of healing. the contrast between soft skin and scar tissue makes your touch falter.

it's important to note that you've never actually seen the scars on lilia's body. every time he's been shirtless around you-- from simple moments while changing to more intimate encounters-- his skin appears entirely smooth and unblemished. but the scars are there. no doubt. you can feel them, so certainly that you worried along the way that your vision was going bad for you to missing something so crucial. yet they never appeared no matter how close you got.

the conclusion you came to was that lilia was using magic to hide these scars from you, plain and simple. his motivation? unclear. maybe he was just more comfortable that way. but surely that took up unnecessary magic, right? you couldn't help but worry that maybe he hid them for fear of not being found attractive because of them. a ridiculous notion-- wasn't it clear how truly head-over-heels you were from day one?-- but you hadn't found a way to bring up these thoughts without seeming accusatory. maybe this was a molehill your own worries had made a mountain.

"something wrong, dear?"

his voice is even, but you can see right through the question. the lingering tension over these hidden scars hung thick in the air.

"... look at how bent out of shape you are, old man. i'm going to have to hide your controller if you don't stop slouching."

the joke successfully breaks the ice. any tension fades when lilia lets out an amused little scoff.

"i promise to wear my brace tomorrow, alright?" he acquiesces, shifting underneath you with the sort of old man grunt you've grown to find incredibly endearing.

"good enough."

you push up the rest of his shirt to have better access to his bare back. the conversation meanders to the events of the day, to the rest of your week, until the conversation devolves into jokes and teasing back and forth.

the air thickens, and a different kind of tension surfaces. silence fills the room, punctuated by the sound of your respective breathing and the occasional grunt or pleased groan from the man below you.

it's nice. his body is warm underneath yours, his skin soothing beneath your palms as you work his tense joints into languid putty in your hands. it's not often that lilia is so quiet and still for you. your lover is a vicious tease. it's a little surprising he wasn't tried to flip this situation on you yet. all this shifting and touching has left a pool of desire flickering to life in the pit of your stomach.

"my love?" you begin softly. the fae beneath you lets out a small hum of acknowledgement. "are you feeling a bit better?"

"absolutely," he murmurs, turning his head a bit so you can see his grin. he looks especially pleased as one cheek presses into the blankets, his eyes closed tight under your heavy gaze. "though i wouldn't protest if you continued..."

a moment passes where neither of you speak. your hands slide up the expanse of his bare back, mapping out the hidden texture, until they come to rest on near his shoulders where his shirt is bunched up. then they slide off of him entirely to brace yourself on the bed next to his sides. you lower yourself carefully until your chest grazes his back. his eyelids flutter, but they do not open. you can see his smile grow a bit wider in the meantime.

your lips press softly to the curve of his jawline. he lets out a pleased sigh. one ruby eye flickers open to get a look at you now that you've closed in on him.

"is this part of the massage?" he croons, low and breathy and all-too-pleased at where this might be heading.

"i don't know," you muse. "i thought about helping you relax in other ways... but i think your back's a little too weak for such strenuous activity."

a challenge. a wicked glint illuminates his eye, and his body vibrates under you as his signature laugh rings through your room. khee hee...

"my dear, i assure you-- nothing would stop me from indulging in such pleasures. a sore back means nothing in comparison."

he begins to shift underneath you in an attempt to roll over, but your hand pushing one of his shoulders back down into the mattress renders him still. he lifts his head, question poised on his tongue, but your lips meet his in a quick kiss before he can ask why you've stopped him.

"maybe it would be best if you laid back and let me take care of you?" you murmur, soft and suggestive. the hand that had his shoulder pinned wanders up to push the hair off the back of his neck, where your lips press another warm kiss against his skin.

lilia thinks leaving the house without his back brace was the best decision he's made all day.

𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 ❀

#i need him so bad #the thirst crept up on me while i was writing this and for that i might write a smutty part 2? maybe? we'll see #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twst #twst #twst college au #twst x reader #lilia vanrouge #twst lilia #twst lilia x reader #twisted wonderland imagines #shhh i'm still figuring out tags on this blog

[immajustvibehere]

Hi there! You’re stuff is always sooo good! I saw your post asking for some inspo.

What if Arthur has a special night planned with the reader, but he has a bunch of tasks to do before he is free to meet her? The whole day goes from one bad job to then next, and all he wants to do is meet her later for this perfect night. And when he finally gets to the hotel where he’s supposed to meet her, he’s filthy, banged up, and exhausted. He has lost almost all his money that he needed to treat her to a perfect night by the time he gets there.

How would it go from there?

Simple Nights Spent Together

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x gn!Reader

Summary: Reader wants Arthur to understand that every time they get to spend with him is precious :)

fluffy little good night story, thanks for the request!

1100 words, less than 10 minutes reading time

Arthur slowly opened the door to the hotel room he knew you’d to be in. This was the same room the two of you always occupied whenever you managed to snatch a few precious moments away from camp, often for some undisturbed intimacy. But today turned out slightly different than normally. The day didn't really go according to plan and now Arthur felt like he had failed you. Before he gave the door a final push, he looked at himself. Dirty, knuckles stained with dried blood and a bad conscience that the guy who shot and hit his satchel got away with it. It had been a grim realisation that hit him a tad too late, when he discovered the gaping hole in his satchel. His money and a collection of other possessions that had accumulated were now lost somewhere on the sprawling prairie.

The door wasn’t fully open yet, but Arthur hesitated.

"Y/N?", he whispered. The tone of his voice was enough to suggest that something wasn’t right. You had grown restless over the past hour, because the time you had agreed upon was long past and you had feared the worst. So as soon as you saw the door open and heard his voice, you discarded the book you had been reading and sat up.

"Finally! You okay?", you walked to the door, doing Arthur the service of opening it fully and letting him in. His shame would've probably prevented him to do so.

"'m really sorry...", he mumbled, not even looking you in the eyes. You didn't answer, still busy with scanning him for serious injuries, though glad you found none. Arthur took off his head to fiddle it awkwardly between his fingers, revealing his unkempt hair.

"Nothing to be sorry for, I can see that you've been held up", you offered a little smile before standing on your tiptoes and planting a peck on the cheek.

"I wanted to go clean myself up first, but I didn't wanna be any later then I already was...", for some moments, Arthur had even considered not turning up at all, but he knew the consequences of this would have been you worried sick for the entire night.

You helped Arthur out of his coat: "That's okay. Go get a bath now, I'll stay awake and wait."

"Yes, Ma'am", Arthur said unironically. He was about to walk out when he stopped. Holding up his butchered satchel. He would have to ask you for money. He turned around, his cheeks blushing in shame.

"Oh no! What happened!", you immediately took the satchel and looked at the damage. It felt light, the hole was big enough to drain it of most its contents.

"Bullet hit it..."

"Is your journal-"

"Had it in my saddle bag", Arthur explained briefly, "I-uhm...do ya have some change on ya?"

You gave him a couple of dollars without hesitation: "I'll get it fixed first thing tomorrow, I promise. Oh and-", Arthur had started to walk off, "Have you eaten?"

"I’m not hungry", Arthur replied, accompanied by a dismissive wave of his hand. 'Not hungry' was a subtle code for 'I haven't eaten all day, but please don't bother for me'. But of course, you did. The lamb chops you got from the saloon were done and you had carried them to the room only a minute before Arthur returned, his damp hair slicked back.

"Yer really shouldn't have...", Arthur commented when he saw the loaded plate and two bottles of beer.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I planned on eating that alone...", you grinned as Arthur approached you and gave you a quick kiss. He smelt pleasantly like soup, though the clothes he wore still gave the familiar odour of soil and pines. Arthur had tasted the meat that on your lips – apparently you had tried some – and sat down willingly. Eagerly, he finished the plate.

His shoulders were slouched, and you could tell by how slowly he blinked that he was exhausted and ready for some sleep.

"'m real sorry, darlin'...", Arthur sighed, "I really had something different planned for tonight than just sleeping..."

Arthur was hinting at some fun and intimacy, but you weren't even a little bit disappointed that none of this would be happening.

"Arthur", you leaned forward as your lips curled into a soft smile, "This is the perfect night."

The man looked at you like you were telling a stupid joke.

"Firstly...", you started and handed him a wet rag to clean his hands which glistened in fat, "you're alive. Can't take that for granted in this line of work, so this alone makes it a good night."

Then you helped him out of his clothes which he wouldn't need for sleeping: "Secondly, you're here. You came. You had a horrible day, I can tell. But you still showed up and I really appreciate that. Makes it an even better night, because we get to share a bed."

Arthur would often get this warm tingly feeling when you cared for him in this way. Not that he frequently found himself in situations where he messed up or ruined a date night, but sometimes things were out of control, and you never made him feel like you didn't understand that. Without resistance, he allowed you to guide him onto the pillow, his whole body sinking into the bed in the process. With pleasure, he watched as you crawled on top of him. He just barely managed to lift his hands to place them on your hip.

"And lastly", you pressed a light kiss onto his cheek, "Do you have one healthy arm to spare?"

Arthur didn't understand this question, shooting you a quizzical look before checking out his arms: "Both of them lookin' fine to me."

"And now if you, Mr. Morgan, have at least one of those arms to spare for me tonight, so I might rest my head on them instead of the pillow, since I much prefer your arm, I'd call this a perfect night", you called out in a theatrical matter, before falling onto the mattress next to him and resting your head on his arm.

Arthur chuckled warmly, pulling you into an embrace. "You sure are something...", he mumbled.

"Most of all I'm just happy to have you", you replied, snuggling up to him.

A contented sigh escaped Arthur’s lips. If he weren’t so tired, he might have found the words to express what he felt. It was the sentiment that it was his turn to express how privileged he’s to have you.  

"You know", Arthur whispered, his words slurred by the tiredness that washed over him, "I'm gonna make up for all of it tomorrow." He placed a suggestive kiss on your neck.

"Looking forward to it", you answered softly, well aware that sleep will claim you both in a few moments.

#arthur morgan x reader #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan fanfiction #arthur morgan #red dead redemption community #rdr2 #rdr2 fanfiction #rdr #rdr fanfiction #arthur morgan x gn!reader #arthur morgan x gender neutral reader

[haveyouwatchedthiscartoon]

How much animation do you watch?

Hi yalls! I'm @heroictoonz and I saw this trend going around and wanted to do this! I love a lot of cartoons, some mainstream and some diamonds in the rough! And I thought this was a fun way to be autism on main lol

Rules - Submissions are OPEN

-Only ONE suggestion per ask. Don't try to suggest a bunch in one ask it'll get me all confused bruh

-Only FIVE submissions per person at a time. Just so that way one person doesn't fill up the inbox too fast lol you can always come back and throw some more down later just make sure not to blow up my inbox and give others a chance to submit

-Be as specific as possible! Tell me what year it was made and even add an image if you want! I wanna make sure I'm posting the right thing in the case it's something even I haven't seen!

-Give your show a recommendation if you want! Every post under a read more tab will have a recommendation explanation. Basically giving your show propaganda to why someone should check it out if they haven't yet! This isn't required but it makes it more fun!

-This is for ANIMATED SHOWS AND MOVIES ONLY! If it's not animated it doesn't belong. Yes you can submit anime but this is for ALL cartoons not just anime. It's also for cartoons and animated movies for all age!

-The show that gets posted and its content is not reflective of me or the people who post it. Don't bring problematic media discourse to my doorstep or I'll explode on spot thanks for understanding

Other Blogs like this to checkout!

@haveyoureadthiscomic-poll @haveyoudrankthis @haveyouplayedthisgame @haveyouseenthisseries-poll @haveyoueatenthis @haveyouplayedthisgame-poll @haveyouwatchedthisshow-poll @haveyouwatchedthisanime @haveyoureadthismanga-poll @haveyoureadthisbook-poll @haveyoureadthiswebcomic @haveyouwatchedthisyoutuber

And hey! If you like what I’m doing here or any of my content, consider supporting me over on my Ko-Fi :)!

#polls #tumblr polls #poll #cartoons #animation #dear have you watched this youtuber uh i used ur post to help make mine i hope thats okay i wanted to promote as many poll blogs as possibl #but i only follow like three #heart emoji

[politemagic]

Sleep Token Living in a Haunted House

These headcanons are based on this meme I made the other night. I had a lot of thoughts on the eepies living in a haunted house, a lot of them are inspired by the show Ghosts if you've seen it. I had a lot of fun writing these so I hope you like em♡

1.45k words (she got lengthy so i added a keep reading)

➺ Thanks to a few years of communing with an ancient deity, Vessel has become quite attuned to the spirit realm. Everywhere he goes, he can sense the presence of the souls unable to move on from the mortal plane.

➺ When they first step foot in their new home, Vessel immediately feels like he’s being suffocated by the amount of activity in the house. He tries to identify the spirit, but there’s too many to even keep count, the grand foyer a whirlwind of translucent figures in various period attire.

➺ When they sit down for dinner at the end of the day, Vessel decides to tell the others about their spectral roommates. After observing them for the better part of the day, he hasn’t picked up on any signs that they’d be malicious, they honestly just seemed to carry on with their lives despite being dead.

➺ II just shrugs. From what Vessel's told him in the past, there are ghosts just about everywhere you go, and they haven't bothered him yet. He imagines it won't be much different living in a haunted house, if the spirits are as tame as Vessel seems to believe they are. 

➺ Really, II just feels bad for Vessel. He knows that he'll be able to live in peace, unable to see, hear, or even sense the ghosts, but he knows Vessel isn't afforded that same luxury. He just hopes he will be able to find some form of solace from the constant commotion Vessel was describing.

➺ III is way too excited. As a kid, he always dreamed of living in a haunted house filled with a bunch of ghost friends. He’s always secretly been a little jealous of Vessel’s gift, but if he lived in a haunted house… Maybe he could find a way to communicate with them himself.

➺ Two days later, Vessel knocks on his door only to find III seated in the middle of a ring of candles, mumbling some words he knew were just gibberish. His interruption earns him a pointed glare as III explained to Vessel that he wanted to make sure that the ghosts knew it was okay to talk to him, so he wanted to reach out first.

➺ In the long run, it might have been better for the ghosts if they had left III alone.

➺ One night, he was trying yet another method of communication with the ghosts after exhausting most of the suggestions he found online. The Ouija Board started out as a joke, a housewarming present from Espera given after they had been filled in on the house’s haunted status. But III decided it was worth a shot.

➺ He had been at it for about a week at that point, and he was starting to think that Vessel was full of shit when he said the house was haunted. That was, until he sat with his fingers resting on the planchette and asked if he should give up.

➺ The planchette drifts slowly over to the “No” and III was over the moon. Using the Ouija Board suddenly became his favorite activity.

➺ He asks them any questions he thinks of. He’ll ask for opinions on things like his outfit or if a classic novel was worth the read. “They were there when it came out, I figured they’d know!”

➺ The ghosts plead with Vessel to get him to stop (in my own personal hc the ouija board emits a sound or something that beckons the spirits and they actually find it really annoying).

➺ When Vessel tried gently suggesting III use Google instead, he insisted that he preferred “Ghoul-gle”. (i'm so sorry). Vessel knew better than to try and dissuade him any further.

➺ IV is equally as excited as III, but it’s more from a root of curiosity than a root of fantastical dreams. He’s always been fascinated by ghosts, sometimes even wondering if he might be a little “sensitive” himself, though he never experienced anything like what Vessel described.

➺ He spends a lot of his time as they’re settling into the house researching the different people who have died in the house. He’ll print out news articles and stuff to show Vessel, asking if that person still haunted the house.

➺ He has a note on his phone where he keeps track of the different ghosts and what he knows about them. He tries to keep track of where the different ghosts tend to hang out, so he can be aware of who might be around any time he’s wandering the house. (in the US version of Ghosts Jay has a note on his phone that’s all the different specifics of how ghosts work. I think he would have that too for sure)

➺ IV would never openly admit it, but sometimes, when he’s alone, he’ll talk aloud to the empty rooms. He doesn’t try as hard as III because he’s overhead Vessel tell him to ease up a few times. But he secretly wants to talk to the ghosts so badly, and thinks it just isn't fair that Ves is the only one with the ability (he doesn’t think it’s fair to him or to Vessel).

➺ The ghosts were constantly talking Vessel's ear off, excited to finally have someone who can hear them! They'll ask him to do different things for them, like open a window, turn on some music, or leave the television on while they're out of the house.

➺ Vessel is still navigating the best ways to set boundaries with the ghosts so he can, you know, live his life. He already lives in the service of Sleep, he really doesn’t need to be serving the will of these ghosts on top of that. 

➺ Sometimes he’s very receptive to their requests, and other times he can be quite crass in his denial. Slowly, they begin to work out some systems as to what they can ask for and when they can ask him about it, and for the most part they’re very respectful of his space and offer their own help when they can.

➺ Outside of Vessel, the ghosts have also taken a shine to II (probably because he’s the most chill™), taking it upon themselves to help him in any ways they saw fit. It could be anything as menial as closing the door when someone forgets to shut it all the way so that he doesn't have to get up from his seat, or once he swore he felt a sudden, cold presence engulf him when he complained about the heat while practicing his drumming.

➺ As you can imagine, III was very jealous when he walked into the kitchen one evening to see a coffee mug carefully floating down from the top shelf as II fixed himself a cup of tea. 

➺ He was pouty the rest of the day, not understanding why they would prefer II. When II tried to suggest that maybe it was because he left them be, III insisted that II just didn’t understand them the way he did. “Maybe if you bothered to talk to them, you’d learn they were real chatterboxes!” 

➺ IV expresses his silent jealousy of II's status as the ghosts' favorite non-medium in the house differently than III. Instead of moping, he pays attention to the little things Vessel did for them, and he makes a point to do them himself as well.

➺ He winds up becoming quite a talented baker after learning that the ghosts loved the smell of cookies. The aroma of his chocolate chip cookies quickly won over a few of the ghosts. (I’m just gonna say it. I think there’s a female ghost from like the 1800s in that house with a little bit of a crush on him. He’s attractive, thoughtful, and knows his way around a kitchen. That’s what dreams are made of right there)

➺ Though IV really won them over when he snuck into III’s room and threw the Ouija Board away.

➺ III decided that he didn’t like ghosts anymore when IV showed him the picture of the “Thank you ♡” left in the steam on the mirror after his shower.

Bonus bc I like the idea:

➺ One night at dinner, IV makes a playful jab at III but instead of hearing the expected laughter of his friends and bandmates, he swears he hears the laughter of a woman.

➺ Later, IV asks Vessel about it in private. He laughs and confirms that yes, he did indeed hear ghost laughter. Evidently the former lady of the house found his comment to be very amusing.

#these were just some silly ideas rattling around in my brain but i hope you enjoy them!!! #if you have thoughts please please please share them i want to read them <3 #also consider this my formal invitation to anyone to come scream with me about sleep token #this is my first time posting anything like this for sleep token im surprised it took so long? #sleep token #sleep token headcanons #worshitposting #sleep token vessel #sleep token ii #sleep token iii #sleep token iv #em's stcu #(gang pls don't let this flop)

[minhosimthings]

Icarus's Lament: A Hyunjin oneshot

Synopsis: A siren falls in obsessive love with a human, and it mimics the story of Icarus and Apollo

Pairings: Hyunjin × Fem!Siren!Reader, includes rest of Skz, and an original character

Warnings: fluff to angst, fem!reader, just suggestive towards the end, don't read if you don't want your heart broken, ANGSTY AT THE END, forbiddened love, one sided love, obsessive love

A/N: Kay, finally finished this and I AM OBSESSED. look im a simp for mythology and lore and all that stuff, so yeah writing this was very theurapeutic. im sorry I haven't posted in a long time, but i've kinda been busy with work and stuff so i couldn't find time to write. BUT this baby's out so simp on this while i work on some of my other wips.

PLEASE READ: So this fic is based off of the myth of Icarus and Apollo. you should probably read a bit about it if you want to understand why it has a significance to this fic. And by Icarus and Apollo, i mean the romantisized version of the two forbiddened lovers. Also also also shoutout to my darlings @iutdwae and @1-800-shedevil who are as obsessed with mythology as I am.

Mythology is so pretty isn't it? It's amazing how humans have made stories out of deities whose existence they made up simply because they were too afraid of being authoritarian of themselves. The Gods were made up to fulfill human desire, to tell them that someone is always watching. And the people who defied the existence of a robed man, carrying a cross or some other wooden thing, were burnt to death, no matter if God was watching or not. All so paradoxical isn't it? The Gods were greedy beings, or atleast that was your philosophy. You had Aphrodite, greedy for love, so greedy that the roses were stained with her blood when a lover was shot. Then you had Zeus, greedy for his women, so greedy that he couldn't notice his wife's burning wrath. You had Kore, the flower girl, so greedy for freedom, that she became Persephone for a man who took her from her flowers. Yet you questioned why they weren't reprimanded for their greed. Why were the beings below them scolded for wanting more than they could salvage, while The Gods had statues built of them, overflowing with wine and bread? Why must there always be a punishment for greed, no mater human, selkie or dragon?

"My sister, what are you doing near that mirror again?" Your older sister, Menthe's voice broke you out of your stupor from staring at a jewel encrusted mirror. It was a pretty one indeed, filled with magic and glitter near its seams. "Are you looking at the humans again, darling?" Menthe scoffed and wrapped her arms around your waist, her tail colliding with yours, sending a bolt of electricity through to your scales. "Menthe let me go." You fidgeted in her tight grasp, but you knew you couldn't win. Menthe wasn't the Queen's best soldier for nothing after all. "Stop looking at the humans and maybe I'll let you go." Menthe chuckled, seeing you give up and sink into her hold, feeling the seaweed coat the scales in her arms, protecting them. "Sister when will we be going up by the way? You said we could go together today." Menthe finally let go of you and swam away from you as fast as she could. "Menthe! Don't you run from me!" You chased after her, silently summoning the water to take you faster. Of course the ocean obliged. It always was sympathetic to you. To a siren who got turned when she was pushed into the water, by a man who was jealous of her love. By a ruthless human who hated her for something she had no control over. But still, it confused your sister and the entire mermaid population as to how you didn't remember anything about the incident or that you used to be human. You had woken up on a bed in the castle of the Mermaid Queen, surrounded by a bunch of beautiful tailed creatures. Amnesia, was how they explained. Menthe had taken you in, calling you her own sister and spoiling you rotten, because apparently you were too adorable. Your love for humanity remained though. Every day you would get your magical mirror out, a girl from the Princess of Mermaids, and stare at the humans passing on the beach above. They were fascinating, with how they could jump and run so easily. Even though you could turn into a human and walk on land, you could never jump or run like they did, lest you accidentally rip your beautiful tail, embroidered with glittering scales and the prettiest gradient of colours. You rarely took trips to the land, and whenever you did, you were always sent heavily guarded. The fact of why exactly you were special was still unknown to you, as no one ever had the courage to tell you that you used to human. Humans who were turned into mermaids or sirens, to be more specific, were always special, having the power to control the sea with the mere notes of their voices. But the only problem was that they never knew that, courtesy to siren rule being that the special ones couldn't be told that they were special. Weird rule, you always thought, not knowing that you were one of the special ones.

"Menthe come out from there I can see you hiding." You called out to your sister, who was trying to hide behind her wardrobe. She groaned and came out from behind, flipping her hair behind her, and dusting her tail. "Y/n why do you want to go today?" She whined, pouting. "I cannot take you, you know that?" "I'll go with Chan then." You said, firmly, trying to end the conversation. You hadn't been up on the beach in a long time, four months to be exact and you were greedy. You were greedy to go up there. And greed never exactly suited you because when you wanted something, oh Lord, give everyone around you strength and patience.

"Fine you can go with Chan." Menthe finally gave in. "But, if you even try to run away, I will seriously kill you." You giggled at her sentence, knowing that she couldn't even lay a finger on you if she tried to.

"Chan! It's so good to see you again." You swam up to a stout Siren with broad shoulders and the most adorable dimpled smile. "Y/Nnnie!" He swam over to you and engulfed you in his arms, giving you a sense of warmth from the surrounding cold water. "Going up today? You ready?" You balled your fists up and nodded frantically. To say you were excited would be an understatement. You were basically a hyperactive squirrel today.

"Be safe alright?" Menthe hugged you once last time and gave you a conch shell. "You know what the shell does right?" She quizzed you. You rolled your eyes at her, knowing that you've gone through this routine every single time you wanted to go up to get high by the beach. "It calls you incase I run away and you have to get me because I am a careless incompetent brat." You grumbled. "Well atleast the careless brat part is correct." Menthe chuckled before pulling you in for another hug and finally letting go of you.

"Why can't the sunlight reach down to the water Chan? I love this warm feeling so much." You and Chan stepped out from behind some moss covered rocks completely dry, despite having being submerged in water just a few seconds ago. The secret entrance to what the humans called 'Mermaid land', was known to only a few of the Sirens. It was a bunch of rocks and a humorous piece of driftwood which invoked curiously in the humans, although they never went near it. It was funny, you thought, how humans were scared of just driftwood. It was funny how humans feared everything and that they made up myths to explain their fears. Menthe had very patiently explained to you how humans weren't very smart but you didn't believe her much. If they weren't smart, how would they have invented so many things which made their lives easier, like fire?

"Do you want to go to the market first Y/N?" Chan asked you as you set foot on the warm sand on the beach. You loved the feeling of sand. It was like having a thousand needles prickle the bottom of your feet, except that the needles massaged your feet instead of pricking them, to make them bleed your precious blood. "Sure." You said to Chan. "We can go to the market first and then we can come relax on the beach before going back down. Is that alright Chan?" Chan nodded and smiled again, showing those adorable dimples to you. The people of the town knew Chan, since he came up more often than any of the other sirens. The people knew him not as Chan, but as Christopher, the mysterious stranger who could come down to town often to give remedies for human illnesses, since, to be frank, the creatures of the deep had much more knowledge about medicine than humans did. They didn't question him or ask anything since the dark plague when he basically saved every single child in the town, and the townspeople pledged their loyalty to him. Chan was peculiar to them, not saying a word to anyone but the children who would laugh and go after him, calling out 'Uncle Chan!'.

"The marketplace has gotten more prettier since I last saw it." You let out a breath of amazement at seeing all the trinkets and food being sold in the market. It was a wide lane, flanked with stalls, selling seafood, vegetables, mirrors, cloth, jewelry and tiny trinkets. "You saw it about four months ago Y/Nnie." Chan chuckled softly, as you tried to keep up with his pace. He was more used to walking on two legs than you were, and as you walked slowly behind him, he kept a protective arm around your waist, ready to catch you incase you fall. "Ooh Chan what are those?" You excitedly pointed towards a brass thingamabob. It was like a pillar, with many open top, where something was carved into it. It also had a tiny painting of a rose on it. "That's called a candelabra Y/N." Chan responded calmly. "Humans use it to light fire, in order to bring light." "Can-de-lab-ra." You pronounced the foreign word slowly, making Chan chuckle again at your cuteness. "Can I have one pleease?" You pouted to Chan, who you knew couldn't refuse anything when you asked for it. Two minutes later, you strolled deeper into the marketplace, holding the candelabra and a flower in your hand. Chan had a medical job he had to do in town, so he suggested you come with him and wait outside while he finished the job. "Menthe would kill me if I left you alone, but it wouldn't hurt to tell her." He shot you a mischievous smile. You didn't mind being left alone. You knew enough about humans to interact with them, without Chan's knowledge so you were excited.

"That's the house!" Chan called after a few minutes of walking. He pointed to a brick mansion, which looked like a palace. It was beautiful, with ivy coating its walls and lavender growing in the garden. You could smell the roses and herbs too, and you could hear the meowing of a cat. The mansion was far away from the main town, so you assumed it belonged to some rich family. That's how human society worked, as Menthe had told you. The richest lived far away from the common folk, merry making and drinking wine while the poorer ones starved under a candle. The humans who invented this system of society were cruel and unfair, you thought. Every siren in your universe was always treated fairly, no matter where they came from. And that's how you thought everything worked until you found out about humans, not knowing that you were a human yourself.

"Y/N-" Chan stopped you before you two knocked on the iron gate, guarding the house. "When we go inside, you need to bow when I bow okay? These are some important people according to human society so we need to respect them. And put on your hood to protect your identity. To them, you're my little sister alright?" You listened intently to all of his words, wanting to impress the first humans you would probably see up close. "And also, don't talk too much. I know you love talking, but these people don't really prefer it, okay?" Chan stroked your hair gently before kissing the top of your forehead.

"Ahh Mr Christopher wasn't it?" Most of the humans you'd see everyday seemed kind and lively and approachable but this man standing in front of you definetly wasn't. He had a bulging stomach, smooth, flattened greying hair and a magnificent, protruding moustache which made him look very much like a fat, angry walrus. "Your grace." Chan bowed to the man, surprising you. No one was addressed by 'your grace' except for the princess! It took you a second or two to realise that this was human land. Their rules were entirely different from yours, maybe even worse, you thought as you curtseyed to the walrus man. "And who is this beautiful young lady?" The man looked you up and down, eyes full of hunger. Chan stood slightly in front of you, shielding you. "She is my sister, your grace." His firm voice rang through the humongous hall. "Now I believe your niece and wife are the affected people in the household whom I was summoned to treat?" The walrus man looked slightly furious at Chan's words, but he didn't let his anger flow and instead said, "Yes. Yes they are. I shall guide to upstairs where they are resting. Meanwhile, your sister-" he shot you a look again. "-can explore our house perhaps? I shall send a servant with her." Chan looked at your pleading eyes, and gently smiled. He kissed the top of your forehead and whispered, 'be safe, don't do anything out of line.' and went off with the walrus man.

Was this what freedom felt like?, you thought as you strolled around the huge courtyard of the house, with a servant following you. She didn't talk much, instead preferring to cough every now and then, to remind you that she was there. Sand felt really good on your feet, but grass felt better. You had taken off your shoes, much to the disdain of the servant, and felt the dew-filled grass tickle your feet gently. Butterflies were flying here and there and they reminded you of the starfish that would accompany you whenever you and Menthe would go explore sunken ships and other ruins.

You were about to take a whiff of the lavender bushes you had so excitedly run up to when- "Oh where did you come from?" There was a strange creature tugging at your dress tightly. It had black and white fur and the tiniest paws you had ever seen. A dog. This was a creature called dog. Chan had told you about them on your second trip to the surface and you had always wanted to meet one up close. You bent down to pet the dog, seeing as it was tugging on your dress so tightly, when suddenly it ran away at the speed of a lightning bolt.

"Hey!" You shouted, quickly picking up your dress and running after it. "Come back here!" You ran after the dog, who seemed to be running to a more kempt part of the garden where weeds weren't growing and the grass was trimmed, and as you tightly clutched your skirt so as to not trip over it, you couldn't hear the servant behind you screaming at you to not go there. You could spot a figure in the distance holding something in his hand, and the dog was running up to the slender figure.

"Hey!" You called after the dog. "Wait for me! I'm not used to running!" "You wicked wrench stop right there!', a rough voice called after you and as you finally stopped running and looked back, a stout man jumped onto you and pinned you to the ground. You shouted out in pain, in response to your head roughly hitting the ground. You could feel the man's horrible breath against your ear as he said, "got you now you wrench!"

"What is going on here? Martin get off of the young lady." You heard a silky voice say, on whose command, the man on top of you, got off quickly and stood up straight. The man with the smooth voice extended a had towards you and helped you get up. He was handsome, with black hair framing his face perfectly and the most attractive eyes you had ever seen. His lips were smooth, and cherry red, like an octopus' and his figure was carved by the Gods themselves. He had a strong yet soft grip to his hand, which threatened the shredded appearance of his skin.

"Are you alright Miss?" He asked you, mesmerising you with his voice. Being a siren meant that you had the power to understand the most random. Whether it was the chirping of a bird or the clacks of the claws is a crab, it all meant something to you. It was basically music, or whatever the humans called it. But there was something about this man's voice, that you couldn't decipher. It was silky yet cracked, smooth yet with a tint of roughness to it. It was.... beautiful.

"Uh Miss?" The man said again, waving a hand infront of you, which made you realise that you were probably staring at him. "Oh I'm so sorry! Yes I'm quite fine, thank you." You said, keeping your tone calm. "Ahem Sir." The man named Martin gave a cough. "She was trying to enter the private garden sir. Surely you must punish her." The way he said all of that with a widening smile on his face disgusted you, but the man next to you spoke before you could. "Martin hasn't anyone taught you manners? You mus'nt ever touch a lady, leave pouncing on top of her! Would you like to be out of a job Martin?" Martin looked down at his shoes and shyly shook his head muttering the word no. "Apologise to her. Now." Martin bowed to you and apologized before hastily leaving.

"Im sorry about that Miss." The man bowed. "By the way what were you doing chasing Kkami like that?" "Kk-ami?" You slowly pronounced the word, trying hard not to keep staring into the man's beautiful eyes. The man chuckled softly as the dog you had been chasing ran up behind him, intertwining itself between his legs. "His name is Kkami. If he perhaps bit the seams of your dress, please forgive him. I really do not know why he does that, Miss- uh?" "Y/N. My name's Y/N. And Kkami's forgiven." You smiled at him, as he pronounced your name, spelling out syllable and syllable in his smooth honey voice. "My name is Hyunjin." He introduced himself. "Hwang Hyunjin. May I ask what you are doing in my house?" "I-"

"Y/N! We need to go!" You heard Chan's voice shouting your name loudly, and as you turned around in the direction of his voice, you saw him hurrying down to you and Hyunjin along with the walrus man. "Ahh my son." Walrus man sighed out. "I see you've met the sister of the man who had just saved your cousin and mother." Chan slightly blushed as Hyunjin extended a hand towards him, slightly leaning to shake hands with the shorter man.

"Nice to meet you. Well we really must get going. Thank you for your hospitality Mr Hwang." Chan bowed to the walrus man and hastily took your arm, leading you out of the big iron gate as the walrus man and Hyunjin stood there, blinking at the both of you leaving.

"He was sooo handsome Menthe! Like Apollo himself." You were currently brushing Menthe's long black hair and telling her all about your trip above, especially mentioning Hyunjin atleast a hundred times. "You have only talked about his features, my Y/N." Menthe chuckled. "What of his persona?" You thought for a moment and came to the realisation that you didn't know anything about this man. Just that he was the son of the walrus man, a dog owner and he was pretty kind. You shrugged your shoulders to Menthe, who chuckled again. "Ahh my sister." She sighed, with a smile imprinted on her face. "You're so innocent you are."

"By the way-" she added. "Chan's going up again tomorrow to check on that fat human's wife again. Do you wish to go?" She raised an eyebrow at you, as you jolted out of your shared bed. "OH COURSE I WANT TO GO I LOVE YOU MENTHE." You shouted, startling her as both of you giggled under your breath and went off to sleep, with the water floating calmly around you.

"Y/Nnie come on! We're going to be late!" Menthe shouted at you, as you delicately brushed your hair, making sure each strand stood as perfect as carved stone. "I'm coming!" You yelled back, as you took one last look in the mirror and went off to see Chan and go up to the heavens again.

"Whaat are you two up to?" You peeked your head out of the front door to see Chan and Menthe whispering to each other, about God knows what. Once they took a glimpse of you, with your eyes all curious and your head wrapped around the door, they immediately got away from each other's tails and stood awkwardly with their hands behind their back. Chan's ears got redder and Menthe fiddled with her fingers, a common thing they do whenever they were shy or embarrassed, or hiding something.

"Let's go Y/N, we're already late." Chan said, adjusting his satchel and ruffling his hair as he always does. "You know humans don't like tardiness right?"

"Chan why did you take me up again?" Chan stopped in his tracks as both of you walked up the path to the mansion again. He looked at you, with glassy eyes, and sighed, and then led you to an empty lane. "Y/N, I need you to listen to me very carefully." He sternly said. "The Hwang's eldest son, Hyunjin, the boy you met yesterday has asked for you again if I were to come to treat his mother one more time. He said he would like to talk to you. But I'm telling you-" his voice became deeper. "Do not, in any circumstance, reveal who you truly are. If he asks you where you and I are from, just say we are from a neighbouring village alright? Humans do not like beings like us. So if he finds out about what we hide under the waves, we're done for." He finished his impromptu speech and led his way along to the mansion again, with you meekly following behind him. It was scary to see Chan all serious like that, since he was probably the smiliest siren in all of the Kingdom.

"Mr Hwang." Chan bowed low to the walrus man, who was donning a velvet suit today, making him look like a fat plum. Behind him, stood the beautiful figure of Hyunjin, who eyed you up and down a number of times. "Well Mr Christopher-" Mr Hwang clapped his hands together. "My son wishes to spend some time with your sister for as long as you treat my wife and niece, if you allow. I promise that no harm will come to her." Chan looked at you, with what looked like pitiful eyes and bowed again to Mr Hwang. "I allow it, your grace. But please. I hope your son will be respectful to my sister." Mr Hwang waved his hand carelessly and muttered words of 'yes' and then left with Chan up the staircase, leaving you alone with Hyunjin.

"May we go out into the garden?" Hyunjin asked you, slightly bowing down, his silky black hair falling on his face. "Will Kkami be there?" You blurted out, eyes widened. Hyunjin chuckled and nodded, his eyes calm and collected. He led you out of the front door, letting you be in front while he silently followed behind. The garden felt much more livelier than it did yesterday. However, there was a new addition to the garden. There was large patch of tall, handsome flowers growing over in the spot where you chased Kkami down. They were painted with the hues of dark purple, pink, white and a bit of lilac. "Are you perhaps eyeing the hyacinths, Miss Y/N?" Hyunjin's voice snapped through the air, which made you lose the staring competition you had going on the flowers. "Hy-a-cinths?" You pronounced out, concluding that that was the name of those handsome flowers, which were all huddled together like crabs on the beach on a winter day. "May I touch them?" You tentatively asked him, to which he raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you can. Apparently they're very good poisons, or as my father and the library told me so." "You have a library here?" You had often read about libraries as big rooms with shelves everywhere, stocked with hundreds of books which humans could borrow and return within a time limit. Siren's weren't really that used to borrowing and returning things, so you and Menthe usually had a large collection of books at your own home. Human books had always interested you. How the pages fade with time, how humans like to breathe in their scent claiming it calmed them down, how they used to write stories and make collections of them.

"Miss Y/N?" Hyunjin tapped lightly on your shoulder, distracting you from a butterfly that had landed on one of the hyacinths. "Kkami's here." You looked down to see the same dog, nudging against your foot. Thankfully he wasn't chewing on your skirt and as you bent down to pet him, you noticed how much he looked like Hyunjin. You decided not to voice that thought out loud, sensing that it might be considered rude up here on land.

"He's very pretty." You told Hyunjin, still petting Kkami, who seemed to be enjoying the pets. You had a question burning within you though. Why would this man, who looked like the reincarnation of Apollo himself, ask for you when the only interaction you had with him was mumbled apologies and thank yous?

As if he had read your mind, Hyunjin knelt down next to you, and scratched Kkami's ears. "You must be wondering why I had especially asked for you, Miss Y/N?" God he smelled so good too, like fresh seaweed and the silver coating of Menthe's arrows. The most prominent feature of his, that stood out like a crab in a stingray's nest, was the tiny mole on his nose. It was like a blackhole that you would love to dive into and sleep in. "Well I was wondering about that, Mr Hwang." He smiled softly. "Please, Miss Y/N. Call me Hyunjin." "Then stop calling me Miss Y/N. Just Y/N is fine too." He chuckled at your words and stood up from his kneeling position. "Why don't we take a walk around the garden? I would love to show you the gazebo under which I paint."

The rest of the garden was, in a word or two, simply gorgeous. It was far larger than you had initially taken it to be, and as you took in the sweet scent of nectar, and the lively chirping of the birds, you realised that this house was as big as the Queen's Palace. These people surely weren't royalty. After all royal people have crowns don't they? And Chan hadn't told you anything about their lineage or where their from or if they were someones of importance.

"You look very familiar to me." Hyunjin said, making you slightly jump at his voice cutting through the silence. "As if I've seen you somewhere before." "Is that why you asked for me?" You raised an eyebrow at him, slightly picking up your pace to catch up to him. "If I say yes, would you be mad?" Hyunjin chuckled. "But yes, that is one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to you. Secondly, Kkami told me that he likes you, so he wanted you to come over." You looked down at your feet, to Kkami who was walking happily in between you and Hyunjin. You giggled under your breath. Hyunjin was adorable.

"Well who do I look like then?" You quizzed Hyunjin. His eyes faltered for a split second, as he raised his hand and pointed forward. "Let's talk under that gazebo." His hand was pointing towards a beautiful red structure, supported by four gold-coloured pillars. It had carvings all over it which were, from what you could decipher, love letters. You traced one of them saying 'Mea Vita', before settling down on the green bench next to Hyunjin.

"You look like the exact carbon copy of my late wife, Priscilla." Hyunjin sighed heavily as he said that. "I know it is stupid, rude even to summon you, just because you look like someone I used to love, but I need to know who you actually are, and where you're from." He sighed again before continuing. "She was taken from me, kidnapped, when we were 26 to God knows where. And now, here I am, a 30 year old man, lamenting about someone who I don't know even exists. So I need to know-" he leant closer to you holding your hand in his. You could feel his breath against your skin, as he said in a deep voice, "Are you Priscilla?"

Something in you burst. Something in you wanted to scream 'Yes!'. Something in you said, 'if you say yes, you can stay with him'. Something in you told you to ignore your old life and start a new one. Change is inevitable right?

"I-" "Y/N!" Before you could answer to Hyunjin, you heard Chan's raucous voice again, slicing through the air like a horn. "What are you doing with my sister, Hwang?" Chan spat at Hyunjin, who immediately let go of your hand and stood up. "I was not doing anything, Mr Christopher." He stated simply. Chan took your arm and dragged you out of the gate, before you could even say goodbye to Hyunjin.

"Chan why did you do that? I was talking to him!" You shouted at him, when both of you were well out of earshot of the mansion. "Y/N what was he telling you?" Chan said, taking on that stern voice again. Your mind faltered for a bit, wondering whether or not you should tell him about Priscilla. "He was telling me about the flowers in the garden Chan. Nothing else." You felt your stomach sink at telling Chan a bitter lie, but your mind was currently being controlled by your heart, and you were letting it.

"Y/N are you lying?" Chan looked you up and down, as if he could see right through you, but your mind didn't budge. You went closer to him, put your foot down and said in a tone as if to end the entire conversation, "He talked to me about flowers and nothing else."

"So I heard you upset Chan today." Menthe fiddled with a thread and needle, trying to sew her initials onto a handkerchief. "That's not like you, Y/Nnie." You put your own needle and thread down, and let out an exhaustive sigh. "I didn't upset him Menthe." You picked up the needle again, to continue stitching your crab across the handkerchief. "There was simply a misunderstanding."

Menthe sighed heavily and put down her needle and thread on the bedside table, swimming up to you and putting her tail next to yours. "You can't get close to humans, you know that right?" She put a hand on yours and kissed it gently. "I know you love humans Y/N. But under no circumstances, are you to get close to any of them, understand?" You gulped and nodded gently, kissing Menthe's forehead. It was a wild day today, and it was only about to get wilder. If only Menthe knew what was about to happen that night, she would have bound you to your bed right then and there.

Midnight. That was when Menthe usually fell dead asleep. It was a routine for her and everyone in the Siren Kingdom to fall fast asleep at midnight. You didn't know whether this was a spell or just pure habit, but it was weird how all of them fell collectively asleep together. But you weren't going to be on your bed tonight. Tonight, you were planning to do something. Something dangerous. Something that you wouldn't ever do. Something which was prompted by your newly acquired wings.

The moment you heard Menthe's snores rumbling through the sound of the serene water, you kicked off your blanket and silently got the bag of possessions you had packed and silently crept out of your house. There was certain feeling hanging in the air, something which you just couldn't describe. It wasn't guilt nor excitement which you felt. It was a serene feeling, like the ocean wrapping around you, like feeling a fire for the first time and it felt good, as you crept out of the water, leaving your place behind, possibly for forever.

The sand never felt warmer, even as it was bathing in the moonlight. The blowing wind never felt better, even when it was cold and chilly. The night never felt so alive, even though you had just abandoned the only home you had ever known.

You walked up along the dark and empty street, all alone, to Hyunjin's house. It was scary to be all alone, but I guess it was your determination which got you through the night to reach the iron gates of Hyunjin's house.

"Hello?" You called out, screaming at the top of your lungs. You couldn't see a thing in the darkness, but you could hear footsteps coming from afar. "Who's there?" A harsh voice called out. "Please!" You screamed with all your might. "I am an accomplice of Hyunjin's. My name is Priscilla!" For a moment, it seemed like the footsteps had stopped. You then heard more harsher footsteps and rough voices sounding through the air. And before you knew it, the gate was slowly opening and no more than six men ran up to you, one of whom you recognised. "You! It's you!' Martin said, pointing his finger to you. "Please-" you begged. "I need to see Hyunjin."

"How dare you speak the young master's name like that? You wench!" One of the guards grabbed your arm roughly. You roughed around, trying to break out of his hold when- "What is all this?" A familiar voice rang in your ear. Hyunjin. He came out of the darkness, holding a lamp, in a red robe. "Y/N? Is that you?" He asked you slowly as he held up the lamp. "Hyunjin." You said, silently.

"Let go of her, you bastard." Hyunjin growled at the man near your arm, who let go of you instantly. "Y/N, what happened? Wh-why are you here this late?" Hyunjin wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

"Hyunjin, it's me." You breathed out. "It's Priscilla."

"How do we know you really are Priscilla?" You stood before the walrus man and a thin old woman, who you assumed was Hyunjin's mother. She looked like him, the same eyes and the same lips, but she had an air of someone who liked everything to be perfect. "You may test me or ask me anything." You responded, keeping your head high. "Rest assure, I will answer."

The walrus man scoffed and put down his smoking pipe and leant forward. "What is Hyunjin's best talent, which got him into trouble when he was fifteen?" You smiled widely, and put your hand to your chest. "Forgive me my lord, but please. Do ask something more harder. He got into trouble with the mayor because he had painted a picture of his daughter, nude. Well of course the best painted in town needs the best muse doesn't he?" "And do you know, Priscilla? Whose daughter you are?" Hyunjin's mother asked. "Well, you all know I do not go by my family name anymore. I prefer to be the called, the Girl in blue." Hearing your words, the walrus man and the thin woman gasped. The Girl in Blue. That was the name of the painting which Hyunjin had painted of the mayor's daughter. Or more precisely the painting which he had made on Priscilla. Or should I say, you?

"Y- only Priscilla knows who the girl in that painting is." The thin woman said, in a barely heard whisper. "You- oh my! Priscilla!" She got up and hugged you tightly as Hyunjin smiled widely behind you. "Priscilla my darling." She kept whispering into your ear. Her hug was comforting.... Genuine. And it felt good. It felt so good. That a family like this had fallen for a little girl's lie.

"She did WHAT?" Chan screamed at Menthe and the other guards. They were at a meeting, when Menthe thought it would be good it tell them about the current sticky situation. "I don't know how she did it. Or why she did It. But I can see that she is at that boy's house." Menthe sighed. "Hwang's."

"You know how much trouble it would be if she's there." One of the guards, Changbin said. "She doesn't know of her past and it could be her strong point." "What of her past?" A stern voice came into the room. Minho, the chief advisor to the Queen and one of your friends had strolled in, with his strong black tail, decorated with golden scales.

"What of her past, Chan?" He questioned again, glaring at everyone in the room. "I only know that she used to be human, but someone-" he glared at Menthe. "Turned her into a siren. So I ask you one last time-" he leaned forward, putting both his hands on the table. "What of her past?"

"If I may, Minho." Jisung, one of the younger sirens, and Minho's best friend spoke up. "Y/N didn't use to be just a human. She was the daughter of the mayor of the town under whose waters we live in. She had a twin sister, Priscilla, who loved this boy called Hwang Hyunjin. They got married soon after Y/N turned 26. But unfortunately both the sisters got kidnapped one day. You know how these humans are." He let out a short laugh. " So greedy for money, that they would resort to violent methods. Once the ransom was paid however, the man who kidnapped them, didn't let them go. He had fallen for Y/N's beauty." Chan clenched his jaw at that, catching Menthe's attention. "When she rejected him, however, he grew angry and threatened to throw Priscilla and YN off of the ship. And it seems that Priscilla had offered to take her sister's place. But you know Y/N's persona. Headstrong and stubborn. She must have done something to anger the captain, which ultimately led to where we are right now."

Minho sighed heavily as Jisung finished with his speech. The room turned quiet, with a tense atmosphere. "Does she have the normal powers or anything else?" Minho turned to Chan, who looked down at his tail. "She is an extraordinary siren Minho. But she doesn't know about most of her powers, which us normal sirens do not possess. For example-" chan crossed his arms, showing off his veins like lighting bolts. "Mind reading." The room collectively gasped as Menthe held her hand to her chest. "Is-is that how she tricked them? The Hwangs?" She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Chan simply nodded as Minho's eyebrows furrowed. "We cannot get her back. We simply cannot. If we try to, the entire human population will be after our kingdom. On behalf of the Queen, I cannot risk that." He swam over to Chan, and put his hand on his arm. "I'm sorry Chan." And he left the room, leaving the rest of the Sirens shocked and wounded.

The day was perfect. The day was pleasant. It was filled with flying birds and bells and bouquets. A sprightly day for a wedding.

You had spent a lot of time with Hyunjin after the day you had proved to his parents that you were 'Priscilla'. It was a pleasure to will away the seeds of dead time with Hyunjin, sitting in the garden, painting. He taught you how to paint, joking about how you apparently used to love colours but could never manipulate them as well as he did. You learnt how to paint his favourite flowers, hyacinths and you gifted him many handkerchiefs, embroidered with hyacinths. You learnt how to play something called a piano. You had seen something similar in the shipwreck you and Menthe had gone to last month but never actually expected it to make noise. It was mesmerising to watch Hyunjin play the piano, how his fingers delicately moved across the buttons, creating melodies only your dreams could ever produce.

The people of the town loved you. They never questioned about where you were from or how 'Priscilla' got back to her lover. You never really knew why, but as the Gods watched from above, upon a scene of you singing to the town's children, not knowing about the power of your voice, they shook their heads in disapproval. You learn how to be more human now, slowly taking in their habits and learning how to hunt, run, jump, climb up trees and nurture flowers.

You learnt the history of humans, about wars, battles, bones and bloodshed. That was the part about humans that you hated the most. That they never learnt to co-operate and live in harmony, like sirens did. One thing that did surprise you though was that you never had a day when you missed the ocean or your life there. You knew you couldn't go onto the beach, because if you did, the beautiful scales on your magnificent tail, would start to glimmer again. And a girl's got to keep a lie, doesn't she?

"Priscilla darling!" Mrs Hwang's voice rang through the dressing room. "Oh my! You look so beautiful." Indeed you did look beautiful in the gorgeous blue gown that Hyunjin had given you, reminiscing about the time when you first got married. Your hair was done up into a gentle ponytail, which made you wince every now and then, from the pain of it sticking to your scalp. "Thank you mother." You smiled at Mrs Hwang. "Might I ask, what you are doing here?" Mrs Hwang let out a tiny laugh, and clutched her hand in yours. When she let go of it, you saw that she had placed something on your palm. An ornamental comb. It was beautiful, green glimmers here and there with a giant blue jewel adorning the top. Tortoise shell, you assumed, as you traced the outline of the comb. It looked oddly familiar. "I thought you'd like it dear." Mrs Hwang said, as she fixed in into your hair. "It was you sister's was it not?" You gulped and nodded, not being able to understand anything. "Poor Y/N." Mrs Hwang breathed out. "She was so sweet." She said, before leaving the room, leaving you confunded and slightly scared.

The wedding was beautiful and as you walked down the aisle, accompanied with three girls, who called themselves your friends, you couldn't help but feel something weird. Something like everything was going to come crashing down any second. Something, like disaster.

"My muse?" Hyunjin cooed to you, as both of you sat on his ivory bed. You sat on Hyunjin's lap, still in your wedding dress, as he pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arms around your waist. It was almost midnight, since the walrus man insisted that they pour another shot of barrel wine until midnight. And now as you sat peacefully on Hyunjin's legs, feeling his hot breath hit your neck, there was an overwhelming sense of worry filling you.

"Priscilla? Darling are you listening?" Hyunjin said, cutting you out of staring at the bluejay outside the window. "Y-yes, my love." You stuttered. "What is it?" Instead of answering you, Hyunjin pulled you to him and kissed your lips harshly, biting them. "Hyunjin wha-" "Allow me to do this, my muse?" You nodded slowly, not knowing what the man in front of you, the man you gave up everything for, was about to do to you.

"God you're so pretty, my darling." He chuckled lowly as he moved his hands to your legs, sliding them up your thigh. You moaned out in pleasure, though you didn't know what he was doing. "Hyunjin~" you moaned as he took off your undergarments, and made his way down between your thighs.

"Oh I have been wanting to do this for so long." Hyunjin laughed, taking off his belt and putting you properly on the bed. He kissed you neck softly, all the while keeping his hand between your legs, massaging your privates. "Hyunjin- oh my!" You breathed out as he started moving his fingers faster.

"Priscilla?" Hyunjin slowly got out of the bed. "Priscilla what is this?" He gasped, his face turning into one of horror. "Hyunjin? What happened? Darling are you alright?" You asked him, while he kept staring at your legs. "You-you're not Priscilla." He whispered. You looked at his face, tears forming in his eyes and then looked down at your legs.

Of course. The Gods would never permit a siren and a human together would they? In the joy of the moment, of turning into a human, of getting a man whom you admired, you had forgotten one essential thing. You couldn't stay human, for more than a month. And you had been on land for two months atleast. Lies must always be revealed and yours seems to have come quicker. The scales. The scales of your tail had started reappearing from your thighs. And lucky you, Hyunjin had just saw it, as he bent down to your legs.

"Hyunjin! I can explain! No wait!" You cried as he picked up a dagger from the wall, as screamed for his guards. "Who are you, you wrench?" Pure fury ran through eyes. "What have you done to my Priscilla?" "No- Hyunjin I haven't done anything to her! I don't-" you cried. You could feel everything crashing and burning. You could feel Mother Earth wrapping her arms around you, telling you it was time to go. At that moment, all you could think about, was the ocean, the sea, the fish you would see everyday, Menthe combing your hair, Chan sending you a dimpled smile everytime he saw you. "Guards" Hyunjin commanded. "I want her by the hanging pole by sunset." He spat at you, before leaving the room. "Find out everything you can."

Love is a peculiar thing. We cannot ever exactly define it. It could be obsessive, friendly, or a dying hunger for each other's body. There were nine forms of love too, weren't there? Menthe always told you that you shouldn't ever go after the last form of love. Mania. That it was dark and cold and benefited no one. You would often heard the story of the boy who loved the sun so much that he flew towards it, on melted wings, and scorched feathers. No matter how much he fell, he still flew. And he didn't know that the Sun knew him too.

And the Sun always watched. Apollo watched from his golden chariot. He watched with his eagle eyes, along with Artemis, how Chan destroyed the town that night. How Menthe helped him, to set fire to every house, starting with the biggest one, where hyacinths grew aplenty. How Chan shed heavy tears over a girl who didn't know about him. Apollo watched, and he sighed, remembering the boy who flew towards him, begging for his love. Begging so much, not realising that the Sun couldn't reach him, and when he did, Icarus was all in Persephone's realm, buried deep underneath the sea, hearing the Siren's call one last time.

#hyunjin #hwang hyunjin #Hyunjin fic #hwang hyunjin fic #hyunjin angst #hwang hyunjin angst #skz hyunjin #stray kids hyunjin #stray kids hyunjin angst #stray kids #skz #skz angst #stray kids angst #hwang hyunjin oneshot #hyunjin oneshot #hyunjin x reader #siren!reader #mythology #greek mythology #icarus #apollo #icarus and the sun #icarus and apollo #bye bye now

[kafus]

ok i've decided i want to infodump about vee and nova a little after all! because uhh not only am i impatient because autism but i also. want to dip my toes into talking about this. just days ago i was still terrified but now i am Tentatively Brave... if i can talk about it here casually like this then i should be able to write a more formal summary later some other time

i've tagged this post appropriately (at least i think i have, feel free to suggest if i should add more) but also a heads up here too before i keep talking that while i'm not going into graphic detail on anything there are STRONG themes of organized sexual abuse of a child, sexual abuse of animals, and grooming! (there are no disturbing visuals in this post, just text)

IF YOU CAN'T READ THIS POST THAT'S OKAY I STILL LOVE U

takes a deep breath alright so the deal with these two. back all the way in 2021, i decided i wanted to make "vent ocs" as in i just wanted some concrete/consistent designs i could use in vent art drawings that weren't a direct reflection of what i envision myself to look like or whatever. i was going through a lot in 2021, in december 2020 i had just gotten my first big repressed memory back and my life was in a whirlwind of change and heavily increased PTSD and DID symptoms, so i was using art a lot as an outlet. in the end i settled on this drawing, based on the design taste i would have had as a young person (god the quality is so old now LOL i've improved a lot but anyway)

i was intending for these two to be just visual designs and nothing more than that but i got attached and actually ended up giving them a whole storyline and everything, which is something i admittedly hadn't done in a long time up to that point so that's cool.

the reason i preface explaining the premise of the storyline with this is because i think it's important to acknowledge that these two are intrinsically tied with my real life and the feelings i experience as a CSA/OA survivor. not because i think someone has to go through awful things to write or draw about them necessarily, but because i am passionate about expressing myself. it's important for me to be seen in some way, to be heard after years of silence. it is not safe for me mentally to share the exact details of my abuse online rn (and please don't ask for them!) but i also don't want these two to be removed from the message that i survived something and this is me making art about that in an abstracted and magical way with a fictional universe that brings me a lot of comfort. i hope this makes sense lol

oh and also with that in mind if you think for even a second any of this is a weird sex thing for me or some shit please stop reading this post and go do something else with your time. this is my trauma expression and i don't need to be compared to the people i was abused by when i was a literal toddler thank you!

AANYWAY so! premise! gonna be point blank with it! vee (not her original name but shh) is born as a normal 100% human girl, aka without the eevee ears and tail. she is groomed from a very young age (like, toddler age) and eventually abducted by her groomers which happen to be members of... well right now it's team rocket because i haven't spent the time to worldbuild a new villainous pokemon organization yet. roll with me here. she is taken to a remote facility out in the middle of fucking nowhere and is never returned to her previous life or family.

Why? well i'm glad you asked! the org is running a bunch of different experiments in this facility and one of them happens to be trying to enable humans reproducing with pokemon. this doubles as both a money thing and a power thing. they seek out a child as the victim of these horrible experiments because children are easily malleable. way easier to control a child than an adult who already has a firm identity/self.

vee is the child they chose. surgery is forcibly done on her to give her working eevee ears and tail, and also like, fuck with her body chemistry and stuff. she's biologically part eevee now. yes this is bullshit pokemon magic science LMAO but she is kept in this facility and chronically sexually abused for a few years by pairing her with various mons and trying to get eggs to happen.

the experiment isn't working though so they hypothesize that giving her a dedicated partner, especially of the same evolutionary line, would help, and they raise nova from birth as an eevee to take on that role. eventually the two of them are paired together. despite the acts they are forced to commit on each other and the abuse they endure, they actually become inseparable very quickly cause like. they don't have anyone else. and also they just genuinely care about each other. additionally at this point nova has evolved into an espeon and has telepathic powers, so him and vee can communicate linguistically with each other, so you know that helps

generally my current focus of this story is in the early years, when vee is 12 and younger, before they start realizing that shit is fucked up and they need to escape (up until that hypothetical point they have been successfully groomed into believing everything happening to them was not abuse/was normal). i have left out a metric fuckton of detail here just to get across the basic premise. i am constantly exploring vee's psyche, nova's psyche, it's like an in depth exploration of the mind of an abused child in horrific circumstances and god it's cathartic. i love these two so fucking much

btw i guess this art has more context now huh haha after i infodumped off the plot to my sister they looked at this art again and was like. OHHH THIS IS EVEN MORE OMINOUS AND HARD TO LOOK AT WITH CONTEXT. AND I WAS LIKE YEAH!!!! YOU SEE THE VISION!!! THE SYMBOLISM!! ETC!!!!

uh yeah if you read this far thank you and i just wanna say i've been building up the courage to talk about these two for GENUINELY two years, it has been over 2 full years since that initial drawing, and i am nervous and jittery posting this but i do not want to die without having shared my work with the world and i'm willing to take the risks to get my voice out there. so you reading it is very much appreciated ur like my first step into being more confident as a survivor lol

oh and fwiw despite these guys being so correlated with my trauma it's not offensive to make headcanons or ask me questions about them or compliment darker art of them however you want, in fact i love that shit!! please i've been holding these guys back for two years i have so much to say that hasn't been said. as much as i am nervous i am EXCITED

#sa tw #mind control tw #csa tw #oa tw #abuse tw #this post is a bit of a mess sorry! #this is why im sort of “drafting” my summary as a stream of consciousness infodump #i need to tackle having the confidence talking about this first #just get it out no matter how messy #and THEN i can clean it up and present it in an artistically pleasing way #kiki was here #kiki.txt #vee & nova

[jeanvaljeancheri]

Hi! Since TSC is coming soon I've been kind of on a jerejean binge in the past few weeks so here are some of my fav jerejean fics pt2. If you haven't seen it yet and want more jerejean recs go check out the first post :)

Mon Petit Oiseau 1k

Sometimes, Jean couldn’t stand to look at Jeremy for too long. He was the ever-burning sun, blazing his way through life and dragging Jean along with him.

Jean teaching Jeremy some French that turns into soft introspection that turns into sleepy cuddles

Plus One 28k

Stabbing the invite into the cork board over his kitchen counter, Jean figured he had a little over twelve months to come up with a date for at least one of these. Even someone as inept as him could manage that...

*

Jean has a bunch of wedding invites, and no date. Jeremy has a suggestion.

what softens 26k

Like this, Jean steps into his new life.

This one is a kevin/jean/Jeremy pairing :)

Lucky Stars 50k

“Concussion. My helmet-I...” Jeremy can hear the slight slur of his own words, and tries his best to carefully speak again. “I think I'm okay.”

Jean treats him to a withering glare, unimpressed, before his expression pales slightly, and Jeremy does not have to guess as to why.

Or: Jeremy is badly injured, and finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings for a certain former Raven under wraps as some interesting facts come to light.

Capitulation in Time of War 3k

Jean's time in California is a constant battle against resentment, humiliation, and his annoyingly persistent new captain.

OR

5 times Jeremy made Jean feel safe and valued, and 1 time Jean had to kiss Jeremy about it.

transferable skills 11k

It’s the way Jean watches his own hands as he guides the thread through the paper, pulling the gathering tight to the spine. It’s the way Jean bends, strong and handsome, over a tiny embroidery hoop to get the details exactly right. Jeremy Knox is supposed to be spending his senior year worrying about what comes next. Instead, he’s mesmerized as he watches each stitch come to life and finds, there in between the threads, something completely unexpected.

love is stored in the cat 28k

LD: Hey do u want a cat

LD: Since you’re lonely and life sucks etc

JK: Thanks

JK: IDK

JK: What kind?

LD: Orange

Jeremy gets a cat, and then a situationship. The two are somewhat related.

Falling for the first time 2k

Jean fell first, Jeremy fell harder but who said those three magic words the first time?

--

Or jerejean's first time saying 'i love you'

the service bought and paid for 10k

jean moreau, jeremy knox, and the concept of a gift.

I'll Crawl Home To Him 2k

It’s strange, how quiet this stretch of road is. How peaceful. Walking alone through the dark, with nothing but the moon and the sea for company, Jean feels a little bit like a ghost.

That, or like the last man alive.

C'est un peu une déclaration 1k

« Les Backstreet qui ? » demande Jean, ce soir-là, et le sourire de Jude l’avertit qu’il a posé la question de trop. Ce n’est pas une habitude – Jean ne pose jamais de questions, Jean encaisse, Jean accepte, Jean serre les dents. Ce n’est pas une habitude – et c’est peut-être pour ça que Jude, avec qui il partage sa chambre depuis bientôt deux ans, sourit aussi largement

As you may have noticed, this one is for the francophones! I know not everyone will be able to read it but it's so rare for me to find good French fics that I couldn't help recommending it!

Still updating fics I keep up with

This Time, With Feeling [81k, 13/?]

One Thousand Cuts (and all the other ways to fall in love) [4k, 2/?]

#all for the game #fic rec #jerejean fic recs #aftg fic rec #tsc #the sunshine court #jerejean #jean moreau #jeremy knox #angst with fluff #andreil #ao3 #aftg fic #angst with comfort #fic recs #alternate universe #angst #aftg #angst with a happy ending #hurt/comfort #fake dating #secret relationship #friends to lovers #French fic

[jungle-angel]

Show Me Your Firetrucks (Bob Floyd x Reader)

Summary: You, Bob, the Daggers and the kids get to experience an event in Bob's hometown that's been happening for the last 22 years

Notes: This fic is dedicated to the civilians and first responders of NYC, those who are still with us and those who were called home on that fateful day. To the firefighters, police and first responders, we are forever grateful for your service. (The music that inspired this fic can also be found here, I highly suggest listening to it while you read along).

Cheyenne Falls, Oklahoma

September, 2023

You and Bob were a little less than pleased at the prospects of having to get up so early, your children still at the age when they needed sleep and with them just having started school, which hadn't made anything easier.

Auggie and Patrick excitedly ran into the firehouse where Bob's brother, Sean and his teammates all worked. Both of them ran to their uncle who eagerly scooped them right up off the ground in a big hug.

"Uncle Seanie I ate a bug at school!!" Auggie exclaimed proudly.

"Oh did it taste like chicken?" he teased.

You laughed but Bob rolled his eyes. Typical of his older brother who had always told Bob that bugs tasted like chicken when he was little.

"Well hello, little brother of mine," Sean greeted rather cheerfully. "I see Auggie inherited the male line's shit eyesight."

"Yeah and that was only after he ran into the screen door and broke it two years ago," Bob chuckled.

You, Bob and Sean watched as Auggie and Patrick ran around the firehouse garage, wanting to try on the helmets, boots and jackets that were far too big for either of them. Sean's wife, Zoe, had come down the stairs from the loft just a few minutes later in a pair of ripped jeans and a navy blue t-shirt bearing an NYFD logo.

"Did we miss anything?" Natasha yawned as she walked in with her and Cole's son, Gabe.

"Nope, you haven't missed anything yet," Bob chirped.

"Good because I haven't had coffee yet and the ghoul is driving me crazy."

"Hey I'm going to the donut shop across the street for coffee, does anybody want anything?" Zoe announced.

Everyone put in their orders, including yourself and by the time Rooster, Rusty and the boys had all shown up with Baby Carrie in tow, Zoe was back with your orders.

"Looks like we've got some future firefighters in the family," Rooster remarked, adjusting four month old Carrie in his arms.

"Oof, I shudder at the thought," Bob answered.

Sean snorted and stifled a laugh but went stiff when Bob gave him the dreaded look as a warning not to say anything else.

"Alright, alright, alright!" Hangman announced loudly as he strode in with one twin girl on each of his hips. "I come bearing my trophies!!!!"

He set a giggling Missy and Molly both down on the concrete floors, their little sandaled feet flapping as they chased after their cousins. Mickey showed up with Isabella, Sebastian and Rodrigo some moments later, Coyote following with Paloma, Carla and Baby Tiago while Payback and Maverick were the last to arrive with their own kids and Amelia. Missy and Molly ran straight for Geneva and Neveah while TJ remained happily perched on his father's shoulders. Maverick's two little adopted ghouls were excited beyond words when they saw all the firetrucks and equipment on full display.

"I have never seen a bunch of kids so excited like this before," Sean chuckled as more people began to gather in the fire station.

"Doesn't even begin to describe it," Penny told him. "That's all they play with at home is toy firetrucks."

Everyone shared a few good laughs and caught up with each other over the coffee and donuts that Zoe had brought back. Soon, the whole station was almost full of people, some who were close to Bob and others who were just ordinary members of the community.

"Looks like it's gonna be a good ride this year, little brother," Sean remarked.

"I know," Bob chuckled as he sipped on the cinnamon flavored coffee. "We've got almost everybody in town here and more."

Sean nodded with a bit of a wistful look in his eyes, remembering Joe's two brothers, Stephen and Christopher who had been in New York, one a firefighter and the other a police sergeant. Though both had survived, Sean knew too well that there were others who had not been as lucky.

"Hey," Joe greeted happily as he strode up to his sons. "You two numbskulls ready? Michael's got ants in his pants from waiting in the police cruiser with the K-9."

"We'll get the kids ready Dad," Bob told him.

Joe and his sons both hugged each other tight. "This one's for your uncles," he croaked.

Bob met up with you and the kids to help get ready for the ride. "Am I gonna do good Daddy?" Auggie chirped.

"You will Auggie," Bob laughed, putting the much too large fire helmet on his son's head. "Just remember what Uncle Sean and Chief McKenzie tell you ok?"

Auggie nodded, pushing his glasses onto his nose as his little hands helped button the tiny little jacket that Chief Dan McKenzie had found for him and some of the other children who had come to join the ride.

Father Daly, the firehouse chaplain, led everyone present in a short prayer, giving the blessing for the ride, praying for the souls of the departed and those who were still in the line of work. When he had finished, the brass bell in the yard began to ring loudly, signaling for everyone to jump in the trucks.

"Bye Daddy, we'll see you later," Auggie chirped as Bob lifted him into the cab of the truck with Sean and Chief McKenzie.

"Bye buddy, I'll see you when we get to the city," Bob said, giving his son a kiss before the doors were shut.

You, Bob and the others each jumped into a truck, the kids all riding in the cabs or in the backs with the other firefighters. You gave each other a look, his hand gripping yours tightly as the trucks began to roll out of the station, the sirens going as soon as they were part of the way down the road.

You and Bob hung onto the back rails as the truck rolled down the road with the long line of firetrucks and police cars not far behind. The wind rushed through your hair as the procession rode through Cheyenne Falls, heading towards Oklahoma City. So many others from in and around town had come to stand on the streets, cheering everyone on and to show their support.

You and Bob had never experienced anything like this before, the exhilarating feeling filling you both from head to toe. Bob held your hand even tighter as you hung on, ready for the 110 miles into Oklahoma City, side by side with the man you loved.

#top gun maverick #robert bob floyd #pete maverick mitchell #penny benjamin mitchell #amelia benjamin mitchell #bradley rooster bradshaw #natasha phoenix trace #mickey fanboy garcia #jake hangman seresin #javy coyote machado #reuben paybak fitch #bob floyd x reader #dagger squad

[blacksailskmeme]

Hi there piratefam!

Happy Black Sails Netflix day! 🥳 🏴‍☠️🥳

A quick reminder that we have a little Black Sails Kink Meme running right now (live up til the end of Summer 2024!) The link above is to the event collection of fills and below I'm posting some more info about how to participate if you haven't yet heard about it! :D <3

--

Premise--

I’m encouraging as informal and low stress/pressure of an atmosphere as possible here. Back in The Day when LiveJournal Kink Memes were common, it was very typical to see a prompt put up and filled within an hour. It doesn’t have to be polished, it doesn’t have to make logistical sense, it just has to fill the prompt as best as you can, sexily! It’s supposed to be fun. A bunch of fun, raunchy kink and smut to roll around in as a fandom. 🥳 🥳

So yeah, first thing to expect, it’s basically ALL PWP (porn without plot). Not to say that someone can’t write a full plot epic if they like, do whatever you like, but in my experience, a 4am fugue state smut fill written in a sweaty haze is kind of, the spirit of the thing. We’re creating ficlets, snapshots, tasty treats of smut with as little pressure to make it in any way polished as possible. Please think of this as, hmmm, a little fun writing exercise you do before you go back to your Big Serious Work, if that helps. We are letting loose, we are having fun, we are being deliciously, joyously, unrepentantly filthy with it! The tagline for the event is: “Get High, Jerk Off Three Times, and Write Me a Warmup :DD”

Literally ask for whatever smut you want~~ This is your chance, toss it into the pot! It will be tagged accordingly when posted if it’s filled, so live your truth, chase your bliss, know no shame, no one can see you~~

--

Rules--

–This is an 18 plus event, please, as all of the content will be Explicit. 

–It is also a Black Sails Only Event, please no crossover prompts or fills. However, AU of all types are encouraged with our favorite pirates.

–All ships, all kinks, are welcome for submission, and the fill will then be tagged appropriately. If you have any questions on how to tag something, or just want another pair of eyes to confirm, you can always DM me <3

–Fills must be 500 words minimum of fic. There is no maximum and the fill is allowed to be WIP if you intend to write more chapters later. I would encourage that the content of the prompt be IN the first chapter at least before submission to the collection.

–We’re Gonna Be Nice and Civil!! No ship bashing, no kink shaming, we’re all mature adults here. If you don’t like something, then don’t fill it, don’t reblog it, don’t read it, pretend you do not see it. If you don’t like it, it’s not for you! 

--

Logistics--

For prompts-- you may submit ANON ASK PROMPTS to this blog. I will publish them with a number and a link to the collection. If you like one of the prompts, simply post it through the collection with its corresponding number and then that AO3 link to your fill will be reblogged underneath the original ask prompt. It is helpful when submitting a prompt to give details that are important to you, and the prompt filler will do their best with it. <3 So, I suggest giving a ship specification up front, maybe a vague timeline (season 1, season 2, etc), and then the kinks you want to see with a short description.

For fills-- There is NO CLAIMING PROCESS NECESSARY! If you see a prompt that strikes your fancy, you are IMMEDIATLEY encouraged and free to fill it, there is NO LIMIT ON FILLS for each prompt!

Both prompt submissions and fills will be open simultaneously through the entire span of the event.

The entire collection is marked Anonymous, which means any work submitted to it will be posted Anon. There is no option you need to worry about checking to guarantee this.

After the event is closed, if you want to then de-anon your work, that is your prerogative. However, it will mean you must remove the work from the collection, as the collection itself will forever and always remain anonymous.

As more prompts come in, I will continue to assign them numbers and post them using the tag #2024BSKMemePrompts. As they come in, fills will be reblogged under their prompt using the tag #2024BSKMemeFills.

(PS: If you submit your fill and do not see it immediately, please remember it’s just me handling the organization and I might be asleep. But rest assured just as SOON as I get the notification on the collection I will publish it on Tumblr.)

Information regarding posting to AO3 collections can be found here. The expanded guidelines and rules for fills can be found here.

If you are unsure of something, tags, anything at all, or if you have questions I haven't covered here: please do not hesitate to reach out to me either through the event blog or my main @jaynovz. I will respond to questions as soon as I’m able :DD

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE, HAVE FUN IN THE SPLASH ZONE OF SMUT AND KINK~~ 🎉🎉

#2024bskmeme #announcements #about #black sails #black sails event #long post #there are over 100 excellent prompts already and 12 delicious fills #hop in :D

[mintmillipede]

things i noticed in the good omens 2 opening title sequence part 1

i watched this frame by frame and have had many thoughts. i'll put things which are interpretation or my perspective in purple. feel free to watch along whilst you read if you haven't seen it yet.

also couple of disclaimers which u may feel free to skip: i grew up with chrisitan iconography but am not christian but because of that i know more about that perspective of abrahamic texts so keep that in mind! i'm using guy as a vibe more than a gender but am happy to take criticism on that bc i'm not sure myself yet. also i haven't looked at any other analyses because i want this to be like a fun little puzzle so apologies for overlap/missing things/being wrong. ok enjoy!

ok, scene 1. mountain range, not sure which one but it could be a biblical reference? so possibly judaean mountains but that is a big stretch. aziraphale is coming down from the heavens whilst crowley emerges from a glowing orange crater, which looks a lot like hell especially with the context later in the intro.

they emerge behind a rock into scene 2 into a tunnel and crowley lights a match with his hell powers? this actually interests me because why use a match if you have fire powers? perhaps he's conserving miracles.

scene 3: we don't actually see them emerge from the tunnel, they're seen up ahead later. we start with an animal's skull in the foreground, and i think it's a ram. there's other ram skeletal remains later and there are various rams eating on the hills. from stage right enters: a delivery guy. they've got a delicate package. it's giving me like holy land vibes? idk i grew up christian and it's like christian movie landscape to me.

anyway the delivery guy is trailing behind a figure all in black who is almost camouflaged in the murky landscape. there's also a tree by them which i think is a mustard seed tree!!! there's a parable about it and it's the vibe of starting from small beginnings like the small little mustard seed grows into a tree which birds chill on.

the figure in black is following a couple of steps behind aziraphale and crowley, and they pass a little ram on a rock which has a fleece which reddens. rams were often used as sacrifices in the old testament and probably in other abrahamic texts. not a good omen.

a raven is on a cart with bags which look like they are full of coin. they are having a little snack. this may be about matthew 6:26 where jesus basically says don't worry so much about money look god's feeding the ravens (sometimes translated as birds in general) and they suck (bc they are seen as unclean maybe because they eat carcasses) and you're better than them. it's like god cares for fucking ravens so he's gonna care for you sinners. also they're omens of death. this will be important very shortly.

there's also some real funky looking birds with four legs on the mountain and those were not in the bible (/j idk if they are or not but i couldn't remember them and i feel like i would have). and the paths on the mountains are scrolls, suggesting maybe that the world around them is literally made of scripture.

crowley sets fire to a little bb ram and now they're all on fire it's very mean of him. no i am not colouring that in purple. i think in this context it might be to cleanse the sins of humanity?

scene 4! finally ok immediately wtf aziraphale why are you secretly a lamp??? my bf thinks this is a supernatural show so i looked it up to spite him and there's a bunch of references to lamps in the torah and talmud but bc english-speaking christians can't be bothered to learn hebrew or greek the bible has the most direct reference i could find: 'the spirit of man is the lamp of the lord'

also crowley is a vibe! not sure what gender she's presenting as here but i'm hazarding a guess as femme. blue has a bunch of meanings but none i was sure about, but i saw a bunch of references to the sky. the funky guy behind him does have a human face with a helmet of black hair i think and is carrying something big that i cannot make out. the person in front of them is giving zombie and they are in a graveyard and there's more context later imo for that being accurate.

going stage left, we have another aziraphale and crowley, not in disguise. if i had to guess, these would be muriel and another new ally who are disguised as them to take the heat off of them. i think.

everyday on a gravestone? could be a reference to the song everyday by buddy holly which has been used in promo so far. it's a song about working up the courage to ask someone out... which could signify a development in aziraphale and crowley's relationship but also could signify something coming in the plot relating to heaven/hell. on a gravestone, the song could reference the fast approach of death. could be a combo of these things too. or could be none! i am no oracle. or am i...

at the back, a bucket of pickled herring is being transported by a skrungly little guy. pickled herring does have links to jewish culture but we know there's a pickled herring scene in edinburgh which maybe more suggests scottish fishing culture (not that the two are mutually exclusive of course). the guy travelling alongside the cart with a goth vibe has a shovel suggesting he's a gravedigger.

jane austen! suggests some of her themes popping up in the show but also suggests they're around winchester cathedral, and it does look like they're going into a building but it looks more like a crypt/mausoleum to me. i tried to find more information about a building like this in winchester but i was looking on ecosia and thus found nothing.

here lies the former shell of beelzebub is a canon reason for the change of actors, but here lies adam?!?!??! i know time could have just passed, but it's still mean!!!!! maybe it's a different adam?

scene 5! i think they've entered down a secret passageway in the crypt - you can see some coffins there and i think the masonry fits well enough. we've got some more people following behind the ones who are dressed like azi and crowley. it's a bit too blurry but i've spotted a few who could be aziraphale in disguise as the odd lantern is gone - i think though he is dressed as the gravedigger now as the original gravedigger seems to have changed their garb. a few more could be crowley although crowley's original form with the blue headscarf is still there. the figure in white near the front gives me undead vibes. helmet hair guy is more visible now. we've got someone holding a lantern near the back who is a vibe (could be religious or in some way guiding the souls of the dead). they're followed by a real funky looking guy who i think is wearing a mask??? hard to tell

ok so so so there is so much around them. skeletons and gravestones suggest we're still in a cemetery. if you look on the left, it's the box the delivery guy from the beginning had!!! so many thoughts about this. mentions of a delivery are everywhere. this box is in the recent prime insta post with angel and demon feathers emerging from it. basically this is very very important, so how did it end up here? was the delivery guy buried with this on his body?

we see a web. we'll come back to that!

little feature i like the skull we see has a backbone and a ribcage which is a vibe

scene 6! a lot of ppl too many to talk about in full but def some skeletons. i think religious figures. there's a cool looking punk? too many things so many stimuli. anyway i think this is a crowd of undead people being led into hell to assist on a mission. why just the undead?

they're exiting something that looks like the crypt they came in from, suggesting it's a secret entrance to hell. might this be where hastur met crowley in season 1?

we've got a big wheel which looks like it's used for some kind of pulley contraption imo, but i don't think it would be for the guillotine unless they wanted to adapt the guillotine somehow, perhaps automate it? big stretch

we've got the pyres of files and computers and office chairs. this is a metaphor for capitalism sucking balls.

web! like before. ok so theories perhaps it's a metaphor showing the web of all of the connecting entrances. perhaps it's a big magic hell thing drawing power from everywhere to its centre. perhaps hell listens to people from webs. maybe demons can travel through webs? idk maybe one of these is 25% right. also later we see a spooder so maybe she has laid eggs?

oooh mysterious fire cave. mayb that's where satan is chilling. the inverted pentacle's outside of it. could also be the government of sorts. my boyf thinks it looks like a skeletal face in a witch hat and i think he is festering with lies.

leetle dragon gargoyle!!!! i love her she can do no wrong

i like to think we see the different stages of their headquarters. the castle was the first, the grey building is the current/s1 one, and the blueish lighting is coming from what they're upgrading to. this may also be why there's the pyres of stuff: they're doing a little clear out!

also the crushed metally thing in the foreground... i don't want to say it's the bentley.............. so i will not i refuse to be devastated before the show has even begun

scene 7: we come out of the stairs leading up to the public loos by liberty's london which is right next to soho, the implication being that that's another entrance to hell which is in fact true irl. the old-timey underground logo (probs oxford circus) suggests we're not in present day (so maybe adam is fine! or maybe they're time travelling?) which suggests we're in the blitz (ww2) because of the barrage balloon and the aircrafts. this is also suggested by the old routemaster bus.

ok we're up to 0:33! coffee break meet back in like a day i did not expect this trailer ok i have things to pretend to do

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens season two #good omens season 2 opening title sequence #good omens s2 #good omens spoilers #good omens s2 spoilers #good omens s2 intro #good omens intro #good omens season 2 intro #aziraphale #crowley

[onskepa]

Requesting for a fluff angst story of fem!metkayina!reader (I think that’s how you say it?) and Aonung.

One night Aonung wakes up to reader talking in her sleep and she’s making suggestive noises and mumbling “oh baby” but he knows that reader knows that he hates being called baby! Now he thinks reader is fantasizing about another Navi other than him, making him jealous and being distant towards reader for a day until reader corners him in their mauri and makes Aonung explain whys he’s being so cold to her. Which he reluctantly explains and reader tells him that she was dreaming about a funny dream of a Tulkun named baby.(idk you can change it if you want! 🤭) then it ends with a bunch of cuddles and reassurance making sure Aonung knows that reader is the only Navi she wants! So basically a bunch of fluff at the end!

(Hopefully this makes sense! Please don’t rush I know being a writer can be stressful so take your time if you do end up writing this 🙃)

Hello sweetie! Thank you for this request! honestly reading your idea made me laugh a bit. Hopefully this can satisfy your reading thirst! Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unil

[god this gif is big]

Night as arrived for pandora. The Metkayina clan was getting things done as the day has ended. Many fellow na'vi heading to their homes, saying their goodnights to their beloved tulkun brothers and sisters. That day the tulkuns have come to visit them The excitement tired them out but look forward to see them again tomorrow.

Ao'nung finished his duties and made his way to his beloved's mauri. His parents let him sleep in their home or his beloved's, as the courting is going well.

Coming inside he sees his beloved preparing for them to sleep. He smiles as he is happy to find such a wonderful mate. They haven't mated yet but he still calls her his mate. His Unil. A pet name he will forever call her as. Which means 'dream'. Sure she likes to sleep a lot and would tell him of many dreams she has, he loves to listen to them. Many of her dreams are vastly different and no two are the same or repeated. He never gets tired of hearing what she dreamed about.

His beloved turns and smiles lovingly at him. Gesturing to get closer, he does and wraps his strong arms around her waist, pulling her close. "long day my love?" she asks softly, he nods as he buries his face into her neck, taking in her ocean scent. A smell he will never get tired of.

Not saying anymore, she leads him to their shared hammock, guiding him to lay down, taking off the band that tied his hair, letting it fall down on his shoulders.

Blowing away the light of the lantern, Unil joined her beloved and lied down beside him. Ao'nung wrapping his arms around unil, bringing her close to his chest, the need to feel her body against his. Unil getting comfy and lets herself drift off to sleep.

Throughout the night it was silent and peaceful, until ao'nung woke up to unil...talking her in sleep? He looked down at her face, she was smiled, pleased at something. Giggling even!

He grew curious on what was making her giggling so much. Could she be dreaming about him? Knowing the sounds unil makes, he probably wont get some shut eye soon, so he he listens to hear and guess what his beloved is dreaming.

"mmnn......*giggles* no no prrnen....haha...."

ao'nung didnt move for a good solid minute. Prrnen? That is a pet name ao'nung hates with his very being! Unil at times would attempt to call him that but he would explain he hates that name. A childish name and something he doesnt want to be associated with. So if it's not ao'nung she is calling in her dream, then who is it?

"no no prrnen....slow down....*giggles* yes like that....I love you" unil continues on in her sleep. With each moan and giggle she makes, ao'nung gets more angry. To him, it sounds like she is dreaming of another na'vi. That thought make him even angrier. Was he not enough for unil? Was he not the best warrior Eywa could give to unil? Was he not strong enough? Not impressive enough? So many questions ran in his head, thinking what could make his beloved think of another man when she is in his arms.

Morning came and the people has risen to prepare for another day. Unil woke up and stretched her limbs, hearing some of her bones pop. "MMnnn~!!! good morning my love, did you sleep well-oh, up so early?" she looks to see ao'nung full up and preparing his tools. "yeah, I didnt get much sleep last night..." he said in a a rather distant voice. "what happened? did you have a nightmare?" concerned she went over to her mate.

But when she touched his shoulder, he pulled away. Unil was surprised by this. He was never to reject her touch, why now? "well, how about some breakfast before getting on with our day?" she tried again, hopping to bring him in a calm level. "don't bother, I already ate" and with that he left her mauri.

Unil was in a mix of emotions. They always woke up together, always ate breakfast together before going to do their duties to the clan. It was so strange and it wasn't a welcoming one either. But for the moment she didn't pursue him. Perhaps he needed some time to himself. It happens.

But never for 3 days straight.

Unil was at the end of her wits. After that morning ao'nung never went back to sleep the night with her. Didnt bother to check on her, talk to her, nothing! and they always do things together. She didnt want to spend another night knowing ao'nung is like that with her.

Of course she also didnt want to bring his parents into the matter, feeling it would get worse. So as a grown woman and a mate, she wants to handle the matter on her own. Unless it gets too much then she will tap out.

So during the mid day she she did her duties quickly and went to find ao'nung. But where the hell was he? She looked everywhere for him! at the ilu pen, with the cooks, in the little jungle, around the reef, asked everyone around and not a sight to be hold.

But she managed to find rotxo and went to ask him where ao'nung was. Rotxo frowned a bit "I really dont know either unil. He seems upset these past days, has something happened between you two?" he asks. Unil sighed, "I am not sure. He just became like that three days ago. I want to know whats wrong so I can fix it". Rotxo pitied unil, she was a good mate for ao'nung, "I wish I could help you, I really do".

"its ok rotxo. Thank you either way".

Rotxo offered her a hug and she accepted. Both not knowing a certain pair of eyes were watching them closely.

Not able to stand it, ao'nung came out from the vegetation and marched straight to the two. "and what are you doing with her? hm? best you back off rotxo!" ao'nung pushed his friend away, rather roughly. "Ao'nung! what is the matter with you!? he is your best friend!" hissed unil, trying to get some distance between the boys.

"What is the matter with you!? you have acting weird recently! it has unil and me worried bro!" rotxo shouted. Unil was quick to help him up, though rotxo made the mistake of smiling softly at unil. It made ao'nung more pissed off.

Charging at him again, he pushed unil aside and went at it towards rotxo. Unil shouted and tried to pull him off, she really didnt want to do it but she grabbed and pulled his queue which made ao'nung hiss in pain and backs away.

"what are you doing?!" he yells but was quick to be silent as unil smacks him across the face. For him, it was as if time stopped. Unil never hit him before. Never layed a hand on him in such a way. He gently grabs the cheek that was hit and stares at his mate with wide eyes. His heart broke seeing her face scrunch in anger and tears flow from her eyes.

"YOU SKXAWNG!! what has been happening to you?! you are distant to me, being unreasonably violent towards rotxo! your best friend! tell me ao'nung! what happened that night? was it me? did I do something wrong?" so many questions escaped her lips as she cried out. She just wanted an answer, a reason behind his change of attitude.

Ao'nung took a moment in realization. Eyes moving from his friend to his mate. He sighs and confesses.

"that night in your mauri, you were giggling and laughing in your sleep. You said a prrnen! and you know I hate that name! so I thought you were dreaming of another man! a man that isnt me!" breathing out as if he was holding a long breathe.

Unil stopped crying, her eyes wide but now in slight confusion. Rotxo got up and did his best not to laugh. "prrnen? you heard me saying that?" she asks as she wipes her tears, the sadness now going away.

"yes! and I hate that name like I said! so I got mad! ok!? is that what you want to hear?!"

"yes actually"

unil and rotxo begin to laugh heartedly. Ao'nung was very confused. "oh my love, why didnt you tell me sooner? all this mess would have been avoided" unil smiles as she explains. "oh bro, haha! feeling jealous over a little baby?" rotxo teased. "baby? what baby? wait, ARE YOU PREGNANT?!" ao'nung shouted. He quickly did some numbers in his head, yes they done it before but not as recently for his mate to be pregnant.

Though that question made the other two laugh even louder, rotxo falling on his back and unil bends down trying to catch her breathe. Ao'nung was starting to feel embarrassed and not understanding.

Collecting herself, unil grabs his hand and leads him to the waters. "come my love, an explanation is very much over due", nodding he joins. Rotxo tagged along to see the outcome of it.

Bit deeper in the reef the three see miklor, unil's spirit sister. But something was new, at least to ao'nung. Closely next to miklor is a little baby tulkun. Getting closer, unil and miklor greet each other, same for rotxo and ao'nung.

"sister! may ao'nung see little prrnen?" unil asks in the sign language. "of course sister, I trust him enough" miklor responds. Unil gestures her mate to come closer, to which he does. At the same time, miklor guides her baby closer to him. "My love, this is prrnen, the one I was dreaming about" unil explain. "miklor had her baby this past spring and I was playing with them both. My dream reflected that day my love"

Everything now all clicked in his brain. Yes, three days ago the tulkun came, and unil spent the majority of the day meeting and catching up with her spirit sister. Ao'nung spent his time with his spirit brother, so he didnt see miklor at all.

His inner thoughts were interrupted when prrnen was carefully nudging him. Asking to play. And play they did. Prrnen was a sweet little one, having the energy of 20 young na'vi. They all played games, danced and sang. Until night came, saying their goodnights to miklor and prrnen they went back to the shore.

"I am very sorry rotxo, I acted like a fool" ao'nung apoligized, his best friend accepted but lectured him to hear things out before jumping to conclusions. With that, rotxo left to go home.

"do you want to..sleep with me tonight?" unil asked nervously. "Always my love" he smiled making her smile in return. Holding hands, they make their way to unil's mauri. "prrnen the tulkun baby......haha, thinking it now, I am such a skawng. I shouldnt let my anger beat my judgment. I am sorry unil, I really am" ao'nung stared deep into unil's ocean eyes, being sincere and truthful. She smiles warmly, "I know my love, I forgive you". Feeling the weight lift off his shoulders, ao'nung hugs her tightly. Eywa truly blessed him such a kind woman.

Holding hands, they continue their way home. For another night of being together, cuddling, and giving kisses to each other. And hopefully no more misunderstandings for the mean time.

And that is all for this one! I hope you all enjoyed it! until next time!

prrnen = baby, infant

miklor = pleasant sounding, beautiful sounding

skawng = moron

unil = dream

#avatar #na'vi x reader #avatar the way of water #avatar 2 #na'vi avatar #ao'nug fluff #ao'nug x y/n #ao'nug x reader #ao'nung #ao'nung x you #ao'nung x fem!reader #ao'nung x y/n #ao'nung angst #ao'nung x metkayina reader #ao'nung x fem! metkayina reader #metkayina #way of water #rotxo #fem reader #metkayina reader #metkayina clan #fem metkayina reader #ao'nung fanfiction #atwow

[purgemarchlockdown]

What Animal Can Tell Us About Amane: The Purge March Remaster.

(CWs: Cults, Child Abuse) (Note: This is sort of a sequel to this post, you don't need to read it to understand this though as I reiterate and expand on the points I make there due to the new information Purge March provided.)

Purge March is out now and has added and recontextualized a lot of elements in Magic and Amane Momose's story as a whole! So let's talk about it in relation to Amane's cover of Animal!

Cats

As I said in my original post, Animal has a very consistent cat motif. It's present in both the original illustration and the lyrics itself.

When it comes to Cats they tend to be viewed as signs of good luck and protection in Japan. They're also well known as cute, if not a bit lazy, aloof, and mischievous, housepets. Cats are, generally speaking, very well-loved animals

This is not the cat Animal talks about. The cat in animal is wild. A cat so deprived of love that it will do anything to get a taste of it. However it's wild nature and unwillingness to hold back make it lose out of the love it so desperately craves due to the "danger" it presents.

Now, Animal is a very suggestive song, but I'd argue that's actually to it's benefit if were viewing it in context with Amane's story for reasons I'll get to later.

For know, let's talk about the cat that Amane is known for.

Unlike what most of us expected, the Cat in Magic IS an actual cat, and I wanna draw some attention to how Amane gets paralleled with it.

Now Magic is it's own wild animal even before Purge March so we won't talk in great detail about these parallels, however it is important to note that in Purge March, the cat has a collar.

Not only that but its sitting with a bunch of junk, old furniture, tires, and something that looks like a TV, another notable motif in Magic.

This cat was someone's pet, something that was supposed to be taken care of, and yet was abandoned. This cat is ultimately implied to have been killed because someone else took care of it. Since the mere idea of it being shown love and affection was apparently so bad for these people.

Not only that but the injuries shown on the cat in Magic are not the cat's injuries, there Amane's.

Here's the injuries of the Cat in Magic, as you might of noticed the Cat in Purge March has a scratch on it's leg and is breathing well.

Amane is the one with bruises on her face and was shown hyperventilating due to being waterboarded.

It's both a very literal cat and a metaphor, Amane is portraying herself through the cat in Magic. While also downplaying her actually pain in Magic.

But we'll get to that in a bit.

All this to say, Animal's cat motif fits very well into Amane's prestablished parallels with them.

Which means we can move onto:

Vulgarity

The 2nd rule of her cult is this:

’Tis ordained, thou shall discard vulgarity

It's the rule we see Amane mess up at the start, and is the only flag not shown flying in the anticipatory shots.

Now the rule is pretty vague as we don't know what exactly is defined as vulgar, and that might be the point.

Amane, over the course of Milgram, has insisted, very hard, that she does not like frivolous things. That she is a very good girl who is strong in the face of temptations.

However a lot of things hint otherwise, for example a recurring line in Magic is her asking if it's alright to spoil herself.

Dear wise one, Am I worthy? Is it ok to spoil myself?

In the same song she asks if it's okay to be "weak" the weakness most likely being this Want for "vulgarity" (and also escaping pain but we will get to that in a moment.)

Dear wise one, Is this ok? Is it ok to be weak sometimes?

We also have her T1 Interrogation questions, where for Q5 someone asked about Amusement parks.

Q: When you go to an amusement park, what do you like to ride? A: That is a place I should not go to.

Not, "I haven't been to" or "I don't want to" but "I should not" implying a rule.

In same Interrogation we also get Q3 and Q17 which add even more information:

Q3:

Q: If you were allowed to do anything, what would you want to do? A: Nothing really. I am not lacking anything.

Q:17

Q: What would you do if the world ends tomorrow? If everything ends? A: Then, I might do all sorts of things I have never done before.

These seem contradictory at first, but it seems like the condition of the world ending that changes her answer. If the world is ending then the theoretical consequences of her actions aren't as severe. While Q3 doesn't state an ending, meaning that there is Always a risk of Punishment.

This is also very complementary with Q12

Q: What is the meaning of life? A: I think it is something you learn for the first time when you look behind yourself when it ends. I do not want to have regrets then, so I live on with all my might.

Amane doesn't Want to regret anything, so it make sense if she knows everything is going to end she'll do Everything She Wants.

We already know that she wants to eat cake due to this timeline interaction.

21/06/27

Shidou: Amane, I heard it was your birthday today. I asked Es-kun if we could get this cake to give to you…… Amane: I don’t need it. I’ll gratefully accept your well-wishes, but I don’t eat things like that. Also…… Shidou-san, I can’t say I’m especially fond of the way you assume that all children will love frivolous things like this. Shidou: ………… Is that so… I apologise. I’m sure everyone else will be happy to eat it, so don’t worry about it. Sorry for intruding. Amane: ………… ……cake……

Timeline also gives us Amane wanting to pet Jackalope but pretending she doesn't. Which might be because of this and also might be because of what happened to the cat.

But we also have Purge Marge and Magic's visual presentation, which put Amane in cute and pretty costumes with fun props.

Magic especially is very indulgent. With Amane getting a really cute Magical Girl-esqe outfit in it and it being presented like a low-budget kids TV program.

Also, the TV found with the Cat in Purge March is possibly the same TV Amane was using at the end of it since Magic is full of Very Literal Metaphors. It's possible it was thrown out because of this presumed "vulgarity."

I could list examples for days but let's go back to Animal, as these concepts of vulgarity and acceptability is what makes Animal's suggestiveness an asset to it's storytelling. Animal Is a Vulgar Song, undeniably so.

The mask comes off and the beast comes out, I do it wild even if it’s ugly

It's the exact kind of song Amane would never in a million years be allowed to listen to! It might even be touted as an example of the sinfulness of the world, and that's why it works!

Amane is not a good girl, she admits it herself in Magic. She's someone who wants cute outfits and nice food and love and happiness and a bunch of other things as is Denied Them because Wanting in the first place is considered a sin.

Sin and Virtue

Sin and Virtue are a big part of Amane's story.

What is Virtuous?

What is not?

And what can be presented as sinful so you have an excuse to hurt someone?

As a song, Animal also toys with these concepts.

You want me to bite you? Accelerating beat, let’s do both the good and bad

What is acceptable and what is not? The character singing talks a lot about how disobedient they are and how that's undesirable.

The mask comes off and the beast comes out, I do it wild even if it’s ugly I can’t do sit, I can’t even do stay, purr until I go

As said previously, Amane Momose is not a good girl. At least not by the standards of her cult. She is simply too sinful, she is not close enough to god. In a world that wants her to be a dog, she is a cat. She is a horrible sinful person in a righteous world.

She is a bad, bad girl who wants so many sinful things who also wants desperately to be good so she can be cherished and loved and Not Abused.

Even I can say "I'm sorry" Even I have hope I swear! I'm going to be a good girl now! That's it!

She's Treated as someone who is undesirable, treated as someone who is sinful. And as much as she Tries she's unable to change that.

After you cry, repent, and kneel, it’s now your turn to say that hopeless “I’m sorry”

Amane also cares A Lot about having a righteous reason to do things. Why wouldn't she if she's been treated as sinful for her entire life? She needs that approval from god, from her cult, from her parents because if not that means she's evil and sinful and something that should be punished.

She doesn't even call herself a good girl in Magic! She just says she can only become better.

I take an oath! I can only become a better girl!

Amane eliminated her mom because her mom wasn't able to reach her own standards and taught Amane that the appropriate reaction to that was violent punishment.

But she still wants her dad's approval.

Q12:

Q: Who do you want to meet right now? A: My father. I want him to praise me for working hard.

Amane really, really, wants to be saved from her own sinful, horrible self. Because, if you were raised to believe that you or your actions were sinful, having that behavior "corrected," thus "saving your soul." could be considered...love.

Amane's T2 Voice Drama:

Amane: I’m happy that I was born to my parents! It was a bit difficult, and it could feel restrictive sometimes, but I’m really happy that I could grow up on such beautiful teachings! I want to live this way!

The Conflation of Pain and Love.

One of my favorite lines in Animal is this one:

If I could even love pain, I would be so happy

The song gestures towards dissatisfaction and lack of love and care multiple times but it gets stated directly here. If only the singer could love pain, if only they could be okay with a low standard of love, maybe they could actually feel happy and fulfilled.

Let’s get lost in each other, plunge into the gate, high expectations of love is not allowed ---------------------- But it’s not scary at all, because it’s love I can really think it’s great. See isn’t it a great thing?

However, as said above, the concepts of sin and weakness and greed are also conflated with wanting and happiness.

If you can be a little greedy, I want to be happy ----------------------- Dear wise one, Is this ok? Is it ok to be weak sometimes?

We can draw the a connection here, wanting good things for yourself is showcasing greed, wanting to be happy is weakness. This is something that makes sense as her cult is stated to consider pain and suffering trails.

Amane: Both pain and illness are trials. According to our teachings, those who run from them are the worst evil there is. That’s one of the four great principles. No matter who you are, that cannot be forgiven.

This explains so much about Amane's worldview. This is why she keeps on asking if it's okay to be weak, if it's okay to spoil herself in Magic. She is constantly going through these "trials," and she can't get away since running away from them is considered a horrific evil.

Her attempts at self-comfort and coping are considered as a weakness, your supposed to just suck it up and deal with it. Having coping mechanisms to horrific inhuman situations is bad actually because it means your running away from god, apparently.

You could easily imagine a situation where Amane is punished for killing her mom, not because it's murder, but because she "escaped" from her trial of punishment and is thus "evil."

(I talk about this in relation of Amane's idealization of the Milgram system here if you want to check that out.)

Pain is Amane's Way to God, it's Amane's way to Salvation, a glimmer of hope for her horrible sinful self.

Even I can say "I'm sorry" Even I have hope I swear! I'm going to be a good girl now! That's it!

Pain is love, pain is their way of "fixing" Amane, pain is their way of "cleansing" Amane.

Except, as stated previously, it doesn't work, it never will! Amane can't be cleansed, can't be purified, no matter how much she tries to be a good girl she'll ultimately fall short.

Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl I hope, I hope everyone can be happy and smile Forever, forever together would be a dream

Because as much as you can train a wild animal to be a pet, you cannot train a cat to be a dog.

Inability to Change

Amane is unable to change, not in the sense of unable to improve. Amane definitely can, cult survivors aren't unheard of.

Amane, is however, unable to change who She is.

Because, who can really? I'm autistic and masking even just a bit makes me feel physically weak after an hour or so. I doubt the 12 year old who wants happiness can pretend she's satisfied forever.

Amane is a person, she can't change that about herself, she just can't. The original sins of humankind sits inside her body festering like a disease. Amane is wrong for wanting close and stable connections. Amane is wrong for wanting to help someone. Amane is wrong for wanting things that would make her happy.

Amane is wrong because she's Amane Momose and she was always going to be wrong no matter what she did.

She can try her best to be the perfect animal, one able to follow every rule and command with perfect accuracy. One able to lobotomize themselves and strip away everything they made them, them.

But she can never change the fact that she's a cat in a world that wants her to be dog.

Layers of makeup, the perfect animal, I'm waiting with my eyes wide open I can’t do sit, I can’t even do stay, purr until I go Show your fangs and howl, are you ready? on the count of three let's say "ZUKKYUUUUN♡", once I bite I don’t let go Layers of makeup, the perfect animal, I'm waiting with my eyes wide open

#milgram #amane momose #008 #milgram amane #milgram meta #milgram analysis #cw child abuse #cw cults #cw torture #I got really fucking passionate writing this holy shit.

[0rczy]

ORCZY'S FAN FICTION RECOMMENDATIONS

For following Fandoms: Varian and the 7 kingdoms, Lego monkie kid, JRWI riptide

Hi there! I tought I would share some of my favourite fanfictions I've read since April last year, as sort of a recap and also recommendations. These are all longer stories btw, ranging from 78K to  236K words. Hope you find something that piques your interest :D

If you have any other recommendations, PLEASE share them, I'd love to read more from these fandoms.

VAT7K

-Varian's Tangled Trials by IFoundYouJustineTime and TheArtistsMuse A complete Vat7k story adapting the original creators' plot points into an amazing, 24 chapters (episodes) long fic that reads like an actual cartoon. If you're new to Vat7k or Tangled The Series, or even if you haven't seen the latter (like me), you WILL enjoy this. If you like a fun adventure with a bunch of nerds as a found family, this is for you.

-What Summer Meant to You -If I Really Hated you (and I really, really do) both by Battybatzgirl First one's a battle of the bands/modern AU, second is an AU where the boys are rival engineers, both focusing on the ship Varigo. The writing style is what made me stay and read these to the end. Incredibly funny and entertaining to read, the way Varian and Hugo are characterised is just. So good. If you like a well written, lighthearted, romantic comedy, this is for you. (Both include some skippable adult scenes, but the story is much more about the romance)

-Making End's Meet by Meltthepoint As the author's name suggest, this is a melting point (Donella x Ulla) story, set in a modern setting. Donella enrolls Hugo into this new school, who then befriends Varian. Ulla and Donella meet again. This is about how two women make up and start anew after their lives went into directions they didn't want. The story is much more character focused, a really fun read. Very insightful about the women's characters. An exception, as I still haven't finished reading it. Definitely not the type of fic I can binge read, but I'm really enjoying it.

At the end of everything by Squirrelflight A Night in the woods AU (haven't played the game, you don't have to, to read it), and unfinished as of yet, but man. Worth checking out! Unlike the stories above, this one's definitely darker and has a really tense aura. Love it. The writing is so good it makes me so thrilled about what will happen next! I also really like, once again, the characterisation.

LMK

-You can stay here by KALL A pre canon story about how Pigsy and Tang adopt MK, how MK gets to be in a safe environment and starts figuring himself out. Great writing style, entertaining plot, what more could I ask for? (maybe an update lol) As of yet, unfinished, and hasn't been updated since late 2022. The author actually posted ( https://www.tumblr.com/its-kall-the-clown/735524530668371968/are-you-going-to-be-updating-any-fics-on-your-ao3 ) about wanting to rewrite the story sometime. Which is great! In case you're reading this, take as long as you want!

-A garden across our collarbone by PittedPeaches Spicynoodle soulmate AU where what you write, or in MK's case, draw on your skin, appears on the soulmate's skin as well. Red Son's journey of (very slowly, this is a slowburn) falling in love with MK. A lot of inner monologues, the story plays out more like a retelling of what happened from Red Son's perspective. Kind of like a diary entry and I LOVE IT. I actually didn't understand the pairing before reading this, nor was I that invested in Red Son's character. This fic changed everything. (it also sends you good luck if you read it on the train! I acquired: friends!)

RIPTIDE

-BREAKING FREE! by earlgray_milktea A fish 'n chips Highschool Musical AU (another thing I haven't seen, you don't need to, to read this). The writing is so undoubtedly Disney, it is at times so over the top dramatic, you can't help but smile at half the interactions. The charm is big on this one. The characters are exagerated but somehow not (completely) out of character. Basically if Riptide was on Disney, this is exactly how they'd act. Also it's just really, really cute.

-Depths of Natarus by goldpines Chip Mermaid AU set in an Undersa/Oversea war, focusing on Fish n Chips as well as Jay Ferin (my girl!). Two reasons why you should read this right now. First: the descriptions are SO detailed and immersive! It made me also kinda have a crush on Gillion Tidestrider. How. Second: it made me care about Jay. And the way she's written here is just so so great. You can tell the author knows what they're doing, the feels just keep coming, I alost teared up multiple times. This story makes you feel a lot of emotions at once, an overall amazing reading experience.

And these were my favs since last April. Specifically the ones that made me go absolutely insane. In a good way. Again, if you have any good recommendations (preferably longer stories, but shorter ones are also fine), please feel free to share them.

Thank you for reading this, if you did :D

#fanfiction #fic rec #fic recommendation #vat7k #varian and the seven kingdoms #vat7k fanfic #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk fanfiction #jrwi riptide #jrwi show #jrwi fanfiction #jrwi fic

[neyswxrld]

fulfilling clichés

Echo x reader (gn)

summary: Date night with Echo!

warnings: some kisses at the end, fluff

word count: ~700

advent calendar masterlist

a/n: this is the eighteenth fic for my advent calendar for my special boy echo!

Echo and you walk through the streets, laughing and smiling. He had his cybernetic arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to his side and spending you some of his warmth.

You decided to make another date evening today.

First, you had dinner in a fancy but luckily relative cheap restaurant, and now you're making your way to the local movie theater. They have a special offer today. It's close to Christmas, so they're showing some fitting movies.

"We haven't decided yet, which one we want to see," Echo says after some time, looking over at you.

"Hmmm, I read that there are a few good ones on today. Have you seen some of them?" you ask and start to list the ones you remember.

Echo just shakes his head, already knowing there wasn't any Christmas film he'd ever seen. "It's actually the first time for me to celebrate Christmas at all."

Immediately, a sour feeling spreads in your gut. You already knew that. A few weeks ago, Echo was a little bit confused about all the new sweet things in the store. When he asked you about it, you realized that he didn't even know what Christmas really was at this point.

You tried to explain it, and even though he was confused about all of it at first, too, he happily decided to (quote:) "try the Christmas" this year.

So you've decided that it'll be the best Christmas ever. For him, and for you. You started to show him everything. Christmas cookies, markets, trees, decorations and a bunch of other stuff. Today was the turn for the movies. Or, at least one movie.

"Oh? I've seen some. If you want, I can sum up some of the plot," you suggest and as he nods with a sweet smile on his face, you start to explain the different movies to him, without spoiling too much.

Echo nods along. Sometimes, he crinkles his eyebrows in a cute way, unsure of what you're telling him isn't rather a fever dream than an actual movie, but in the end, he all in all looks very neutral.

"So?" you ask, "If you didn't like one of those, we also can look at the descriptions of the other movies I don't know."

"Hm... Well, I sure wanna know what the others are about, but there are some you already watched that sound good, too," he says, and you agree.

You do as you said and in the end, you decide to watch a film you already know, and you're more than satisfied with that.

You buy the tickets and stop at the small snack counter. Today is also a snack-spacial. Next to the usual stuff, you can also buy hot chocolate, punch and cookies.

For a short moment, you think you're in heaven.

Both of you decide on the punch and the cookies, relatively fast.

Together, you make your way to the small movie hall, looking for your row and sitting down together on your pair seat.

Fulfilling the cliché, Echo lays an arm around you. You lean onto him and place your hand on his stomach. The cookies stand on a small table that was attached to the seat in front of you, and you reach for them now and then.

When the advertisements start, you two are making fun of them and laugh quietly. As soon as the movie starts, you try to be quiet and watch it.

Occasionally, Echo asks some small questions about it, or you two comment some of the things in a whispering tone. You don't want to disturb anyone of the others.

Sometimes, you also share some small kisses or light touches, like your thumb drawing circles on his tummy or his hand slightly moving up and down your shoulder. Everything is sweet and cozy and with every minute you are close to Echo, the evening is getting better and better.

You don't mind if you're the cringy couple, as long as you feel so loved and warm with him and as long as your heart beats in your chest and the butterflies fly in your stomach in that special way.

TAGLIST:

@isthereanechoinhere96 @trixie2023 @freesia-writes

#clone echo #sweet echo #echo fic #clone trooper echo #bad batch echo #echo x reader #tbb echo #tbb echo x you #tbb echo x reader #tbb echo fanfiction #echo tbb #the bad batch #tbb #echo the bad batch #the bad batch echo #cinema #christmas movies #cliché #all i want for christmas advent calendar #star wars advent calendar #star wars the bad batch fanfic #star wars the bad batch #tbb advent calendar #star wars