#and i'm (not) ready for the full version of get in the water even though that's 2 or 3 albums away 🥲

[mikahorror]

just listening to the whole Epic saga on repeat. again

#epic the musical #the circe saga drops on the 14th & i just know they've been fooling us with the hermes bit #if there's no 'i don't think you're ready' or 'when does a comet become a meteor' #or ' the blood on your hands is something you won't lose/all you can choose is whose' type lines i will be SHOCKED #and i'm (not) ready for the full version of get in the water even though that's 2 or 3 albums away 🥲

[dduane]

That paprikahendl recipe

So the first thing to be said is possibly the most important: this is a paprikahendl recipe. (And in this case, it was made with duck, because we were out of chicken... so it's probably paprikaentl, if anything.) :)

Everybody's mom or grandmother would've had her own version of this, which would naturally be the best one in the mind of the person you were talking to. The original dish, though—as @petermorwood has pointed out—would have been a peasant dish of the use-a-moderate-amount-of-flavorful-and-spicy-meat-to-season-a-lot-of-noodles-or-whatever kind. If you're a peasant, after all (and maybe even if you're not, of late...), meat is expensive, so in dishes of this kind it's used as more of a seasoning for what you have plenty of—in this case, the tiny flour-based noodles-or-dumplings called spaetzle. (In its rural beginnings, of course, the meat probably would've been a laying chicken that was too old to lay any more... or even a cockerel that had started shooting blanks, and whose morning racket was starting to get on your nerves.)

Later, though, a small tender chicken (or two) was seen as preferable. Paprikahendl became very popular in Hungary and other parts of central Europe, and in the process—over time—got taken somewhat upmarket. The recipe I used as my basis for this version is one that apparently was (and who knows, maybe still is) served at one of Vienna's famous Sacher establishments. As a result it contains elements I'm none too sure about—such as the last-minute apple—but otherwise seems to me to hold water.

The full recipe is here. Now let me tell you what I did to with it.

(inserting a cut here, so those who don't want to watch a bunch of video clips of things frying and cooking won't have to...)

Normally in the initial stage of this recipe, you'd cut up a whole small chicken (or two) into pieces, color them in your preferred frying fat (in Hungary, possibly lard, but at very least butter) and then set them aside to make the sauce. In this case, since the meat I had to work with was duck, I cooked that as directed and put it aside while we went off to do some other stuff. I also made spaetzle to go on the side, as it's the kind of thing you'd be likely to run into regionally. These we can fortunately buy ready-made, like most other kinds of pasta. Or you can make them from scratch. Since I now have a Magic Spaetzle Machine to do this, I'll show how that's done some other time. (Or you could look at this video...)

Then, to make the sauce, I pulled together:

The zest and juice of a lemon

Half an onion or more, chopped fine (I have to be careful with onions, as too much will set off my IBS)

Off to one side, I asked Peter to do the dry paprika mix for me. This was two very heaping tablespoons of paprika, and about half a teaspoon of cayenne, to mock up the heat of the hotter paprika that would have been used in small villages in the Carpathians.

Then I clarified some butter in the microwave, about three tablespoons of it (you melt it in a tall glass and set this aside until the milk solids settle out, then pour off the clarified butterfat) and dumped that in the big cookpot along with the onions.

When those had hit the cooked-until-translucent point, I cut the duck up into chunks and got them ready to go in: then added the paprika and (when that had fried a little) the lemon juice. (Paprika can taste a little raw in a sauce if you don't fry it a bit first.)

Then in went 125 ml of rose wine (I'd have used white if I'd had any, but whatever...) and about 500 ml of chicken stock, and everything got stirred very well together.

After that, the duck got chucked in and the pot was covered and left to simmer for 45 minutes or so. Normally this would be the time a raw chicken would need to cook, and naturally the duck was well cooked already: but it seemed to me that another 45 minutes getting even more tender couldn't hurt it.

So that was what happened. At the end of 45 minutes, the duck was removed and set aside while I got busy with finishing the sauce. You lower the temperature in the big pot until the pre-sauce liquid is just barely simmering. Then to thicken it, you use about a cup of the thickest sour cream you can lay your hands on, with a third of a cup of flour beaten into it very well with a fork. At which point you should be able to do this with the fork:

Now you find a big balloon whisk and start whisking this mixture into the pre-sauce, sort of a tablespoon or two at a time...making sure each dose of sour cream + flour is very well beaten in, leaving no lumps, before adding the rest. When it's all in there, you very gently raise the heat, stirring or whisking occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken. Then add the meat back in and let it warm through in there for a little while longer: ten or fifteen minutes should do it.

Assuming that people are ready to eat, you heat the spaetzle (and toss it with some butter), plate it up, and add the paprikahendl on top. And dig in.

...Anyway, that was my take. If you go googling for "paprikahendl", you will find many, many more recipes: some far less complex than this approach, some far more so. Pick one that suits you and see what you make of it. This one worked really well, though: so you might like to take a shot at it.

If you do: enjoy!

#paprikahenldl

[oakbuggy]

Liar, Liar Chapter 5

Recom!Neteyam x female OC

Summary : Tala of the Tawkami gets captured by a familiar face and to both of their misfortune, they are trapped together due to circumstance. They are extremely vexed by this and each other and also very horny.

Warnings: Minors DNI, non-con+dub-con, explicit smut, dirty talk, authority, power struggle, mentions+depictions of blood, minor violence, character death, marking, biting, scenting, ANGST

!! Each chapter will have images throughout the chapter, only the AO3 will have the NSFW-uncensored versions. Please keep this in mind as you read !!

Chapter 5 (NSFW) ~9.3k words

AO3 Link Here!

Prev Chapter / Next Chapter

When Lo'ak woke it was through cold shudders and violent gasps, rousing Tsireya next to him awake.

"Yawne?" She called out to him so gently, "What is wrong?" Lo'ak couldn't hear her sweet tone but still his large hands grappled for hers, finding them within the darkness of the mauri and the night sky.

He could only think of the searing gaze of the brother he thought he lost so long ago and the grip of a knife he was actually so ready to use. The sound of the waves outside, mindlessly and rhythmically tumbling against each other, gave him some peace, so he breathed out hard, pushing beaded braids out of his face.

He could hear the water, yet why did it still feel like his blue skin was getting scorched?

"Lo." Tsireya's voice was louder and she willed his attention to her, her other hand cradled his jaw. The Sully's jewel-toned eyes flickered, anchoring their gaze on her blue ones.

"Sorry." He rumbled, voice still saturated with sleep. She shook her head and smiled softly, he could tell that her eyes were tracing all the stripes on his face, the star patterned marks of his forehead.

Lo'ak always liked her eyes, they looked like the sky.

He kissed her knuckles. "Thank you."

Tsireya nodded, her sweet smile dimpled and she pressed her lips against his brow, the hair tickling her. There they were, in their shared mauri, colorful and thick blankets adorning their bedspread and their limbs still tangled together in this safe harbor.

"What did you see?"

"..." The lump in his throat was heavy and painful. "I saw him. I saw Neteyam."

The Metkayina woman gasped softly. She couldn't believe it, she remembered too well how the eldest Sully son looked as he died. How she was there all too long with him, alone, as he bled out.

They didn't know how to feel, when they heard the news from the Tawkami alchemist, (tala full name). No one did, not when they saw the signs of struggle and blood in the Compass's photo album.

"Great Mother... How was he? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, he's... he's a completely different person now, 'Reya. Mom was there, he barely even looked at her, kept saying shit about dad and turning him in," Lo'ak covered his face with his other hand, fingers splayed as he willed himself to stop shaking. He could feel his emotions rising, he knew his tendencies now and all had seen how intensely Lo'ak blamed himself for Neteyam's death. Impulsivity, stupidity- "He hates me."

"Don't, Lo'ak. don't do this to yourself." Tsireya squeezed his hand, darker blue and with an extra digit and so comforting as it held hers.

"It's the RDA, the vrrteps [demons], they've poisoned his mind when they brought him back, just like Tala said. You know that Neteyam would never actually blame you."

Lo'ak smiled weakly. Yes, he knew his older brother, yes, the Neteyam he knew would probably stab himself again than even 'look' at his family members the way he did in the dream. In a sick way, however, Lo'ak thought he deserved it all the same.

"Enough of that. You're doing it again." His mate cut off his spiraling again and this time he chuckled, his thumb rubbed her palm.

"How'd I get so lucky with a girl like you, 'Reya?" He joked, though sincere. It's been years and he's grown, tattooed and proved himself as both warrior and adult. And yet still he didn't know exactly how to return truly how much he loved her, when her floral and oceanic skin calmed him, and her scent drove him wild.

Tsireya smiled brighter, dimples showing cutely. "How funny, I was just thinking the same thing." She answered. It made him laugh, made him pepper kisses along her cheeks and dimples, her neck and shoulder and arms.

"Now you're just being cute." He snickered and brought her dark curls to his lips again, intending to kiss every part of her and take in her scent. She calmed him, she knew it and she rested her forehead on his.

A moment. A quiet. Every moment like this felt perfect with her.

But heat still glowed in the back of Lo'ak's mind, his brain was just too active, as evident by the way his tail swayed behind him restlessly. He kissed Tsireya’s forehead again. “I’ll be right back. I just need to clear my head.”

“Alright, just don't take too long.”

Tisreya never got tired of the way he’d smile at her, fangs showing through upturned lips.

“From you? Never.”

A few more lingering looks, Lo’ak stepped onto the pathways of the camp, Txampaytsrul [Ocean Nest]]. A new wartime settlement was established between the forest na’vi and the ocean na’vi tribes, as a way to protect their homes yet keep close to Bridgehead. It made another home away from home for warriors and healers like Lo’ak and Tsireya, those from different clans that allowed their love to grow.

The Omaticayan male stared all around him, at Eywa’eveng, his brother’s words reeling in his headspace. Their dad doomed this place, this place still teeming valiantly with life and beauty despite the RDA’s efforts?

Tiny pebbles of sand became smoothened rock and Lo’ak settled onto one that hung over calmed waters. He heard something… above him, he looked up.

“Hey bro.” He greeted upon seeing Spider, hanging upside down along the fronds of the tree above the rocks. Gracefully the smaller maneuvered himself next to his younger brother.

“What’s up? You alright?” He said, jerking blond locs away from his face. Lo’ak shrugged.

“Bad dream. What are you still doing up?”

“Haven’t slept much since I ran out of Tala's sleep mix.”

“Kiri’s not good enough?”

Spider chuckled. “Tala got some secret ingredient she’s never told anyone about. Kiri said she knows it but… she doesn’t want to use it. It’s Tala’s thing, something like that.” Lo’ak hummed in agreement. It’s been many months now since the Tawkami na’vi’s capture, and thinking about Tala inevitably made him think about…

"Dream was that bad?"  Spider asked, a brown-eyed comforting gaze settled on his younger brother and Lo’ak sighed.

“I saw… Neteyam. And mom. It didn’t go well, it felt real and really hot, like it was burning.”

Spider’s eyes went wide.

“How... how is he?” He said, a lump forming. It had messed him badly enough to know it took Neteyam’s death to be truly accepted into the Sully family in the parents’ eyes, it was an awful reminder to him.

“Not good. It's like I could feel what both he and mom were thinking, we all could, and it wasn't... It was bad."

“What was he thinking about?”

“About how you were probably the only one he was sure he wouldn’t kill. Because of… you know,” Lo’ak shrugged and smiled at Spider in chagrin, “Quaritch.”

“Oh…” Spider starved carving into the stone with his thumb, “fuck.”

The mention of Colonel Quaritch still hung like a dead animal in the air between them, the body gone but the stench remained. Both men understood the emotions and rationalizing behind the choice, but Lo’ak could never forget it and Spider couldn’t ever quite forgive himself, even if some days he was sure there wasn’t anything to forgive. The smaller Sully sucked in breath through his teeth.

“Bro, I–”

“Brooo!” The younger groaned, “you already said sorry like a hundred times you skxawng. It’s not like it was ever going to bring him back. It’s been years.”

Relief soared through Spider’s heart instantly and he smiled.

“Right, right, yea.”

Lo’ak leaned back, both men more relaxed and sporting warrior garb and tattoos. They were brothers, they’ve already made their peace.

“Whatever Great Mother is planning, I hope she does it soon.” Lo’ak sighed, bringing a hand to his face.

“I wanna save him. What dad’s gonna say at the family meeting tomorrow though, I don't know.” Lo’ak huffed.

“We will. But yea, the family meeting...” Spider’s words were clipped, a family meeting was often a stressful affair, Neytiri could not help but look displeased with him there or for any other more intimate function within The People. Lo’ak noticed and clapped a large hand on Spider’s back. Their fingers matched in number and scars.

“That includes you, dude. Mom’ll lay off you, I promise, she’s been… okay.”

The smaller Sully scoffed but nodded. “By okay you mean no longer cursing under her breath whenever I’m near, then sure. She’s better.” Spider shook his head, admonishing himself slightly for his bitterness, “But if she had that dream too, I don't wanna upset her more. You know I would.”

Lo’ak snorted and tapped on the glass at Spider’s forehead. He was lucky he couldn’t give him a noogie for the dumb shit he just said.

“Spider. Bro. You’re a true Sully, look at how much the RDA wants to kill you! And Neteyam, even though he’s not allowed to!” the corners of his mouth raised, a laugh ready to bellow.

"Yeah, I guess that's what it takes to be a Sully, huh?" Spider joked and the two of them laughed, some stress finally leaving their young features. As the giggles quieted down and they returned to staring at the night sky.

"Maybe this will end the war." Spider broke the silence and Lo'ak hummed, agreeing. The end of the war, the  two of them hoped. The return of peace, and maybe selfishly that included the return of their brother and their family.

"You think we'll all survive it?"

At this the smaller smiled. "If even Neteyam's alive now, I don't think it's bad to hope for it,"

"We'll fight for happy times to return, and they will, you'll see."

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

Neteyam was not happy. Neteyam knew he had fucked himself over when his eyes cracked open and eh saw the long length of Tala's back, which he stared at in frustration.

He could feel his veins bursting. Fuck. Fuck. This was exactly why he avoided her, the curves of her body made him recall all too vividly the way he completely let go in front of her. How he praised and begged for her–to feel that much more of her skin on his. He tried to block it out, but the feeling of her bite, her first mark on him, triggered so many feelings of possessiveness and desire in his head and his heart–wasn’t she supposed to be helping with his headaches? 

His fingers grazed over the bandages she had applied the day before, still pristine and his overall condition did technically improve. But his digits twitched, Tala’s stupid little mark was right above the injury, on the curve of his neck.

It was barely noticeable, the bruise would purple up and disappear within the day. The soldier didn’t pay too much attention to how his tail thumped softly underneath the covers.

He had a full view of her striped back, they must have disconnected sometime in the night. With his hand, which Neteyam thought assuredly he was going to use to push Tala off, he surprised himself by tracing the line down her spine. His hand hovered over the fullness of her hips, pushing down the covers to reveal more of her, and his thumbs rested on the indents of her back dimples.

Tala… Tala… Li’Tala.

Remnants of their night together reached up and stained her ass, they had made such a big mess. He tried so fucking hard not to look at those swollen pussy ips peaking between her ass cheeks because they’d only be grossly caked in old cum–

Why was he hard. Why did that make him hard.

He internally groaned and quickly covered her body back up. The only silver lining Neteyam could figure in this situation was that Tala was working marvelously as a distraction of the usual mental battles he was forced to participate in every day of existence. She was just… too effective.

And that agitated him.

With a natural poise, the soldier kneeled up and grabbed at the starched lab coat without disturbing even a wrinkle of the blanket on her body. Quickly he searched through the inner pockets, carefully rolling the tiniest crumbs of herbs and plant matter. Not necessarily satisfying his need to prove her guilt.

The first outer pocket held only hard crumbs of honey he already knew of. It made his mouth water, he truly like he was a child again when she pushed the small piece of it into his mouth.

Her smile was nearly as sweet.

“Hmmmm…” Tala stirred, as if on cue, and Neteyam immediately hid the coat behind him, buried underneath his body as he resettled onto the mattress. Something in him saw this moment as peace and didn’t want to disturb it, not even with his suspicion active.

Just… not yet.

Tala sighed and turned and rubbed sleep out of her eyes. She yawned as she swore she saw a flash of dazzling yellow and heard quick movements of fabric but when her eyes focused on his form, he was breathing peacefully and sleepily.

Great Mother… She looked at the mark she gave him on his neck, her wrists and right ear feeling heavy. What had she done? What was she thinking? She turned to face him fully.

Tala was surprised to find herself still in his bed, all things considered. This was the first time she’s woken in warmth, in comfort even, she wondered how bad was his fever that he let this happen. Regardless, all the softness of the sheets or his heat didn’t stop a tightness developing in her chest, a pressure. She didn’t truly want her place to be a thing warming his bed.

Neteyam’s nose twitched and immediately Tala had to suppress a chuckle. Oh, how long had he been awake? Somehow he’d teeter on the line of just enough being adorable that it made tiny moments like this worth it, the fun she could poke at through his militaristic exterior. It was wishful, she knew, it was just pretend.

Tala planted her cold feet quickly onto his thighs and Neteyam snapped back.

“You skxawng!” He hissed childishly, the facade abandoned and she laughed.

“It’s what you get for trying to fool me, hona tsamsiyu [adorable warrior].” Tala replied teasingly, eyes too much mirthful. Whatever scathing dither he was about to spit out was unfairly interrupted when she suddenly sat closer, supporting herself on her side as she hovered her face above his.

“Good morning.” She purred musically.

Neteyam swallowed, her curtain of hair covered him slightly and it reiginited him, he breathed in her scent. Heady healing roses and charred honey now.

He pursed his lips, “...Morning.” The taste of honey sprung forth and the fact that she was not too unlike it. Her taste.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

His reply made the corners of her smile rise. “See what happens when you let a proper healer take care of you?” Her voice dipped low and nearly saccharine, her tail swayed behind her in self-satisfaction. The male na’vi’s nose twitched again, irritated, and he rolled his eyes. Impossible.

“Don’t get cocky.”

“Around you? Never.” Her words held an unspoken insult but her smile made it teasing and humorous, Great Mother he hated when she smiled like that.

Tala examined his injury, checking and complimenting herself on her work, and used the back of her hand to check his fever. Still warm, but not nearly as bad as before.

Meanwhile Neteyam was struggling, her leaf green eyes were so inviting and kind that he thought he was going to melt. Did she know how tenderly she was looking at him? Did she know the way her eyelashes framed them made him only want to stare longer?

He grabbed her by her shackle and those infernal green eyes only widened.

How many times did his heart find necessary to trick him into liking this woman?

“Is something wrong, Corporal?” Her using such a name made him grimace and jerk back, letting go of her wrist.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Tawkami.” He replied, a sneer felt so much more natural to him now than soft words.

“What game?” Tala whispered. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, his eyelids too naturally closed. Except, to the utter demise of his ego, she only hovered in front of his lips.

Oh, she did deserve some fun, didn’t she?

“Would you like to kiss me?”

Damnit.

"Seems like you want me to." He murmured.

"Only if it's like last night."

"And how was it last night?"

'Like you cared for me.' Tala sighed pettily, "Fine, nevermi-"

Neteyam obliged so easily, the warm contact of her lips made him sigh, both of their bodies relaxed. He reached to bring her closer, curling his arm around her torso as Tala settled her hand on his cheek, their legs tangled together once more. Heat surged between their bodies, Neteyam almost dug his fingers into her flesh but Tala pulled back.

“No. Soft.” She whispered then pushed back into the kiss without letting him reply. He got the memo through, his hand splayed on her hips and near-affectionately massaged her softness.

Their kiss was slow, gentle, plush lips squeezed against each other. It was an entirely romantic kiss and both wholly melted into it.

Tala was as much lulled into Neteyam’s warmth as he was in hers and notes of regret and self-contempt seeped in. She knew it was wrong, her eyes peaked open when Neteyam gently held her jaw. Large and scarred hands that weren’t trapped in cuffs and surely had killed their own.

Tala was foolish, she always accepted that fact.

“Why did you call me Li’Tala last night, Neteyam?” She whispered softly into the kiss but all Neteyam heard were words that damned him.

He broke off the kiss and swallowed.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?” He challenged.

It made her scoff, "If you were to be my mate, why aren't you crying tears of gratitude right now?"

She remembered that? Of course she did, he did too. He chuckled dryly.

"I can call you whatever I want, you are my toy."

"You said you wanted to pretend."

He froze.

Tala closed her eyes and sighed. Of course, he wouldn’t give her an answer, it was probably too much for him to admit to wanting to feel loved, no matter how fake it was, no matter who it was with.

She pushed him and turned away and it flummoxed Neteyam. He was stunned by the quickness of cold surging through his body without her in his arms and his hands chased for her waist to hold her closely. It was as if he was the one being discarded and Tala wondered if he’d ever realize the depths of his immaturity, his neediness.

What was he doing? Neteyam couldn’t find it within himself to let go of her.

“Would you rather I call you syulang? Is that it?” He murmured meanly, a smirk on his lips, trying to distract.

“You’ve got many nicknames for me, don’t you, Corporal?” She replied with her own smirk. His dropped.

“Stop picking a fight with me, filtsyíp [little toy].” His voice had an experienced razor-sharp edge but it was tinged in pleading. Tala bristled at it all the same. She poked his nose, mockingly affectionate.

"You are needy."

Neteyam’s ears raised in complete offense, his brows went up so high, Tala couldn’t count the wrinkles on his forehead. "Needy??" He scoffed, not him! No, what the fuck?

"You are needy and stubborn and you find me irresistible, just admit it, you."

Her smile was irritating him now.

"You're crazy."

She giggled, "And you," She poked at his cock that was awake and at attention, he didn't notice before, "are hard for me."

Neteyam cursed in his head.

“That’s not for you.”

“Ahuh.”

She was supposed to be helping with his headaches, not being one.

He reversed their positions with ease, hand spread against her throat. He pushed her down by her neck and growled.

“Filtsyíp, you forget yourself.”

Her hands went up to cradle his face and it felt more like he was being ensnared. Her legs locked around his waist, bringing their hips together and Neteyam had to bite back a moan at his cock head perfectly pressing against her folds.

"Am I? Are you sure about that?~" Her singsong voice forced a shudder through his body.

Yomioang [chalice plant]. She was fucking dangerous.

Neteyam gathered his arms around her and just when Tala was thinking how predictable a man he was, he stood up, holding her, and walked towards his connected bathroom.

"Neteyam! What are you-!" He ignored her squawks and wiggling. This bathroom had a shower head affixed to the ceiling and Tala's eyes went wide. She screeched.

"Don't you dare!"

He dared. Neteyam turned the water on and it soaked them both, her tail pointed up violently, the water was so cold!

“Neteyam! What is wrong with you?! Let me go!”

He didn’t let her go, he let the freezing water ground him. He'd almost let her do whatever she wanted with him.

"Oh, poor Tala. Can't handle a little cold water?" He taunted, standing straight proudly as he cupped her ass to support her weight better. He held her up around her back, with his stupid strong arms. She closed in on his face with a petulant hiss, nails digging into his shoulders.

"Happy with yourself, soldier?"

He looked at her, watched the way the water streamed from her face, her hair, onto the valleys of her breasts and her tummy, creating a perfectly little triangle down her pelvis. He smiled, showing his fangs.

"Yes, thank you filtsyíp."

OH, he said it was such a smirk, she wanted to slap it off entirely. Great Mother, she wanted him to drop dead. Tala steamed for a good few seconds, the water slowly turning warm, and she watched dirtied water flock and swirl over the drain. Her tail was swinging back and forth, enraged.

"Seems like you needed to cool down, and took me with you because you're a..." Tala's reply devolved into grumbling curses and Neteyam laughed.

Soon the soldier turned off the water and sat her back down on his bed, now shivering. He contemplated giving back her lab coat, but it's not like the material would do much to dry her off.

He threw her an extra towel carelessly. 

"Finally. You trying to get me sick now too?" Tala scathed. She continued to glower at him as she worked to dry herself off, looking away from him as she patted at her dark hair.

Neteyam rolled his eyes and walked close to her, kneeling towards her as she sat at the edge of his bed. The corners of his mouth were raised but Tala could hardly call it a smile, not with it brimming with arrogance like that.

"Want another shower, filtsyíp?"

She tightly frowned.

"Then keep that mouth shut."

--

Like a wet cat, Neteyam unceremoniously handed Tala off to Private Patty a few 10 minutes later.

"Corpor-aluhhhhh." Patty's composure was compromised, seeing two very wet na'vi as she stood in front of Neteyam's quarters. Her yellow eyes darted between the two, each face had irritation practically glowing from their features.

"Just take her back to Lab 12 now." He said tiredly and handed Tala off to the guard.

"Sir, yes sir."

The door closed and Tala sneered at him the second before it completely shut. She stood up straighter, a towel still covering her and she looked up at Patty.

"Do you even want to know?"

"No. Let's get going, troublemaker."

Tala sighed, her ears flat against her head in irritation. She followed Patty, casting one last glance at Neteyam's door. This was another lesson, it seemed, that she really should stop being so willful and think ahead for a second.

Because no amount of humiliation and guilt was worth the treatment of being HIS little toy. She prayed for his sake that he would not get hurt again, because surely, she would NOT be helping this time.

--

Neteyam fell back into his bed, slowly dressing back into his usual uniform now that that yomioang was out of his space. He wanted to welcome the usual drumming in his head, the usual migraine but Tala's scent was unfortunately everywhere still.

He wanted to punch something, so he figured getting up and getting some sparing done would do him immense good.

As Neteyam put on his headband he realized that the main source of her scent was still on his bed, her lab coat. He had forgotten to return it to her, having had too much fun mocking her towards the end.

With only little expectation now, Neteyam dug into the last pocket. Might as well, it was more about the principle than actually finding anything-

He felt the prick before he could see it and there it was… a thin and crude titanium needle, tiny and unnoticeable at the bottom of Tala’s pocket. The tips of Neteyam’s fingers held the needle in place as he excruciatingly slowly pulled it out, letting it glint even from the low light of his room.

Ah.

He should have known.

--

Patty turned first, hearing loud footsteps behind them as Tala walked ahead of her, wrists clasped together once more.

"Corporal Tom?"

Fingers poised as claws and it latched onto Tala's neck, her scream died as the hand began to squeeze at her windpipe. Her own hands flew to it, digging her nails into the skin but nothing deterred him.

“Change of plans, Private. I'll take her back myself." Neteyam husked and Patty knew immediately how pissed he was.

"Wha-what's wrong, sir?"

"None of your concern, Private. This won't take long." He roughly turned Tala to face him. His eyes looked like suns burning into her but he was emotionless. She was just so good at pretending, wasn’t she?

“You never did answer my questions, filtsyíp. It’s fair for me to get them now.” He discretely slid out the end of the needle from underneath his watch and Tala balked. Oh, shit.

"I-I can-"

Her words were interrupted when a larger group of prisoners shuffled across his path, a pair of guards to every few shackled na’vi. Their blue skin was drenched, still shaking and freezing from the pouring rain outside. They created large puddles as they walked on the otherwise immaculate Bridgehead flooring. There Anke’ti was, amongst the miserable group, having just returned from the dark and cloudy outside from digging useless trenches around Bridgehead. His body may have been numb to the bone but he could smell his best friend and his head snapped toward her

Green met green, Anke'ti's eyes widened at the scene he stumbled upon. That resurrected soldier, the Sully, hand squeezed around Tala's throat.

"Tala...!" He gasped, breaking the formation of the prisoners. It caused confused and agitated mumblings, hisses, from the other na'vi and the guards yelled at them to keep in line!

"Yayo!" Tala reached out for him, making Neteyam's sneer only worsen. Him again.

Against a well-rested soldier with minor injury, a starved and exhausted captive was definitely no match. Neteyam elected to sidestep Anke’ti and use the force of his leg to kick him back to the floor, next to the other prisoners. Tala screeched, a panicked voice bubbled from her constricted throat.

"Don't hurt him!"

“Don’t do this.” The soldier warned Anke'ti, ignoring Tala. He noticed another soldier about to strike at the group with a powered up baton and he opened his mouth to order them to stop when another voice bellowed out instead.

“You wanna blow out the entire facility? Turn that shit off, boy!” Quaritch’s growl and thunderous footsteps hushed the aggravated soldiers and warriors. Soldiers stood straighter, their batons turned off but at the ready as the prisoners huddled closer together, snarled and ready to strike back.

“The fuck’s going on, Tommy?” The older man barked, eyeing the entire group. An apprehensive prisoner, a strong grip around a smaller female, her smell strong on his Corporal. Oh, just great.

"I can handle this." Neteyam gruffed out. Quaritch snorted, golden eyes landing on Tala and instantly it made her cower, lowering her eyes back to Anke'ti.

"Anke, stop." She whispered hurriedly, eyes gazing at the rest of the prisoners. These were not warriors, perhaps she and Anke'ti may have been the only ones in that hallway, and that meant whatever her friend did, they would follow.

Anke'ti glanced at her, conflicted.

Neteyam noticed and with a silent huff, he let go of Tala's neck. He took a small step away, closer to the Tawkami male now, fingers lazily draped in the air.

See? Now get back in line.

Anke'ti's ears folded flat against his head, but after his friend nodded at him reassuringly, he straightened his posture. He no longer radiated aggression, and shuffled back to the group.

The other na’vi took notice, they too calmed their stances.

Quaritch sighed and jerked his head at the nearest dreamwaker. “What’re you waiting for? Take them away.”

Neteyam kept his eyes on the Tawkami long after the rest of them shambled away, though again the Colonel casted his stare on him.

He scoffed at his appearance and the little love bite, “Careful, revenge is a good motivator for a prisoner like that. A bit of stress relief ain’t supposed to get you killed.” When he called her stress relief Tala's ears pointed down, embarrassed and fearful. Was he going to tell him now about what she's done, especially about Halloway?

“We live stressful lives, Colonel. Everything we do can get us killed.” The soldier cooly replied. It made the old man's expression pinch.

“Jesus Christ, if that aint the truth… Regardless, glad to see you’re up and about, finally. That looks like that smarts.”

He glanced down, the blood through the bandage was no longer bright red.

“I’ve handled worse. If you'll excuse me, Colonel.” Neteyam glanced at Tala, who resolved to watch Anke'ti's back disappear into the distance. She was so worried now, he looked thinner still.

"Keep it short. Mission briefing’s at 0-900 hours." Quaritch started to walk away, leering at them both. "Private Eastin, follow me."

"M-me?" Patty owlishly blinked but nodded. "Sir, yes sir!" She scrambled to follow the older Recom soldier, she looked back only once at Tala and Neteyam. When they finally disappeared down the winding halls of Bridgehead, Neteyam's grip returned, now on her braid.

"Now, where were we?"

Tala hissed from the pain, forced to quickly follow the soldier's lead into an emptied and dark lab. He roughly pushed her against the wall as soon as the doors locked shut, seething. Neteyam's eyes looked like they were boiling through hers.

"Did you hope your yayo would save you now?"

The air was knocked out of her chest, his arm pushed against her harder onto the wall. The room was dark, darker than his room, and Tala felt suffocated further by the way his eyes glowed gold in the shadows.

"I-I don't know-"

Neteyam again pulled out the needle and she huffed. "That's literally nothing, Neteyam."

"It's what you used on Halloway, isn;t it? You wouldn't be dumb enough to have only one, would you?" He pulled her kuru back, making her whimper as it forced her to look up at him more.

“There’s a symbol being spread around the facility here. Was it you?”

Tala’s breath hitched, even if she hadn’t seen him for three weeks, he was still around Bridgehead. He must’ve been informed. Her brows pinched together.

"What are you even talking about?" She struggled to choke out, fingers gripping the metal wall. She tried to find any purchase, any bit of relief.

The towel fell from her shoulders and onto the floor. Without it, the na'vi was completely bare so she moved her legs closer together, only for Neteyam to kick them apart once more. He dug his knee between her thighs and she hissed at the friction, her skin against his rough camo-pants.

"You're just a little whore, aren't you, Tala? What, changed your mind? Decided you only wanted my cock?" Neteyam taunted, riding his knee further up so it directly and roughly rubbed against her cunt. Tala breathed deeply and quickly.

"J-just get to the point, Neteyam. Are you really this angry over a tiny piece of metal?" She laughed meanly, because she knew too well how to. "Or was the cold shower actually not very helpful?"

He growled above her and with both hands he forcefully dug into her hips, grinding her down against his clothed thigh. Tala mewled, shuddering violently.

Slick was already coating the waterproof material and the Omaticayan buried his face into her wet hair. He growled his amusement against her ear. 

"Look at you... answer me and I can help you, little toy. It looks like you need it."

Tala squeezed her eyes shut, her fangs prodding into her bottom lip. Her handiwork, the mark she’d given him and her treatment on his chest, mocked her so vividly. She did forget herself.

"I-mmm!-I didn't..." She whined, balling her fists up against Neteyam's chest. He was fully clothed, now sporting a black tank top that let her lean against his bare neck. His scent, she hated that she was becoming addicted to the tree musk and sunlillies on his skin.

"I-there are metal scraps in-in the lab. I don't have any more." She explained, though she found it hard to focus as he continued rhythmically sliding her up and down his thigh. He was her only source of warmth now and she quivered as she chased it.

He sighed, suddenly stopping. Tala squeaked, supporting herself on her tippy toes as she gawked up at his smug expression.

"Were you planning on using it on me, little toy?" He asked, noticing though that she was struggling not to move at all. The material of his pants were driving Tala crazy, stiff wrinkles kept pressed against her sensitive vulva.

But the question knocked some sense back into her and she glared at him.

"Why would I do that after I just finished treating you? I didn't plan for you to get shot and then somehow I be available to heal you, if that's how far you're thinking."

Grumbling, Tala tried to step out of the muscled thigh. Her scent was heavy, it felt like it was almost suffocating him and Neteyam roughly held onto her ass cheeks now, commanding attention again. Her leaf-green eyes were dark, it made him think of lightning in the jungle.

"Who knows, maybe you've already flirted with some other guards while I was gone. Maybe you got yourself your own little group of rebels willing to fight for your escape. Your yayo was about to."

Tala's ears strained, his comment baffled her.

“How badly did the vrrteps mix up your mind, hm? One moment begging for me, the next stranglin–”

She couldn't finish the sentence when suddenly Neteyam forced them both into a large storage locker, he locked the cabinet from the inside and covered Tala's mouth. She was about to struggle when she heard a familiar click and whirr of the doors opening.

"So how much do we need?"

"Only like 30 kilograms, it should be somewhere around here." Tawtute voices rang through and Tala tensed.

Neteyam kneeled behind her and very slowly and silently, he led Tala's body to also kneel, able to disperse her weight on top of him--

She jumped away when she suddenly felt the delicious lick of pleasure of her hard cock against her shiny pussy lips. She whined but that only caused Neteyam's hand to clamp around her face harder.

"You hear something?"

"Huh? No?"

Tala dug her nails into her palms as they sweated against the inner metal walls of the storage locker. She tried to resist when Neteyam's other hand started forcing her down, squeezed against her clavicle and neck.

Her thighs trembled when once again the tip of his cock slid against her wet cunt, she couldn't even turn to see his expression. All she knew was that he was horny and insane and angry at her.

Slowly and carefully, the soldier moved his hand away from her face and she breathed as deeply and quietly as she could. His tail came in front to wrap around her waist, coxing her  hips to lower more.

She shook her head, knowing he would be able to see her.

"You stay quiet and I'll forget the whole thing, hm? Besides," Neteyam mocked, whispering into her hair now as he embraced her from behind fully, "You like riding me, don't you?"

Tala cursed more expletives than she realized she knew in her head. Neteyam knew what he was doing was overwhelmingly unnecessary right then, that really he should have reported the entire affair and dust away any bitter feelings.

And yet, it crushed his ego to realize she was right. The cold shower did little and now her tight cunt was mere centimeters away from his weeping cock. He wanted to fuck her and fuck away all these strange feelings of betrayal, indecisiveness. All those feelings that swirled whenever he was around her.

Tala bit her lip as finally her hips lowered. Neteyam used his other hand to adjust his cock into her entrance, she stopped at the bit of resistance of her folds.

He squeezed her neck to kill her squeal as he pushed her down further on his ridged length, stretching her out in one thrust.

Her shackled arms reached in front of her, fingertips willing to not make any sound as she needed to keep her balance and sanity. Something about being in this extremely confined and dark space was making her nerves go on fire and her walls immediately squeezed around his ridges. Neteyam bit his own lips, he continued pushing her body down until her ass was flush against his hips.

Great Mother, his hard cock was pulsing warmth inside her, Tala couldn't control her inner walls spasming despite them not moving.

"Be good." He strained and Tala nodded, still unable to speak with his hand on her throat. Unknowingly, her tail wrapped around his forearm tightly. Oh, she felt like she was going to cum from him just being inside her now, what was happening.

Her eyes were fluttering open, eyes rolling back and her knees were shifting her position slightly, letting her rut tiny movements on him.

He couldn't help himself, she wasn't being good and in this situation, she would be far more mortified than he in getting caught.

So he let go of her neck, which let tiny sounds spill from her closed mouth. He brought both large hands to start playing with her tits, teasing the stiff peaks carelessly.

She hated this, she hated this. She felt so humiliated, how easily she became putty in his arms. She thought she'd gained some sort of foothold over him, but he knocked her down so easily and now his cock was so pleasurably rubbing against her sweet spot over and over, heating her up from the inside. Oh, she hated him, she hated him--

The voices outside stopped, the door whirred loudly closed and instantly Tala crumpled on top of him.

"NNnhg!" She moaned, high pitched and whiny.

"Was that the best you could do?" Neteyam teased from beneath her but before she could reply he fucked up into her harshly.

"I-MMM!" Tala brought back her bound hands to her mouth, trying to muffle the wanton moans as she tried not to fall over from his powerful thrusts. It was nothing like last night, he fucked her to dominate her even though she was on top.

"You wanted me to beg, hm? Wanted me to kiss you all nice and soft?" He pushed her face against the locked cabinet door, rutting into her even faster and rougher, their bodies smacking against each other in the dark heat.

"fuck,, fuck fuck!" She cried tightly to herself. Her tongue rolled out of her mouth, mind was getting hazy now...

"C'mon, ma'fil [my toy]. You want to do good for me, yes?" He groaned as he watched her fucked-out expression and the way her pussy squeezed and sucked in his cock hungrily. He could see all the details of her blushing flesh so easily in the dark, he enjoyed smelling their scents and their juices mixed together inside the locker.

"Ahh, ahh, mmg, gonna-gonna cum, please!" She whined, eyes rolled over. Her hands clasped together tightly, legs were beginning to shake from how roughly he was fucking her.

He just wanted to hear that pretty pussy make all of its pretty noises, wanted to make it squelch as it came from his cock.

But he had an idea, and as excruciating as it was to stop, he did. Tala gasped.

"Bu-what, please!" She whined, trying to grind her hips back on him but he suddenly fully sat down, caging her body in his arms. He leaned against her back, licking at the light sheen of sweat.

"Mmmh, please, Neteyam, please I need to---"

"Only good girls get to cum" He drawled out, he could feel his length twitching inside her and it drove him mad but he resisted.

"Good girls don't make sneaky little weapons or flirt with other men."

Tala cried out, "But-but I didn't~!" In the haze of her desire, the lies sounded extremely true even to her. Well, she never flirted with other men at least!

"Your poor yayo, wonder how he'd feel seeing you begging me now? How did he feel seeing my mark on you?" In place of his lust, Neteyam's cruel words were growing. Tala fidgeted, confusion laced in her every breath.

"W-what are-"

"Or your little mark on me?" He bit into her skin and desperately she squeezed his thick cock head inside her. It made him involuntarily buck, it's true, but it wasn't enough. Not by a long shot.

"We're not lovers, if that's what you're trying to say!" Tala huffed, frustration beading up. "M-maybe I did only want you, you inside me, okay?"

She twisted as best as she could, at least to make eye contact with him and he could see little droplets cling to her eyelashes.

"I’m your toy. Please let me cum~!" It was her final whimper, the only thing she could think to say in that moment and by Eywa, was it the best thing she could've said.

For Neteyam's yellow eyes widened, his pupils contracted even bigger as his possessive nature was stroked to perfection and he basically purred. She was his toy, wasn't she?

"Now you finally get it." His fangs gleamed even in the dark when set Tala against the floor of the locker now, ass raised up.

"OHH, MMMM!" Tala screamed when Neteyam plunged back into her hot and wet core, haggard moans and breaths punching out of her lungs.

He fucked her so hard she thought he was willing her to become part of the floor, but that didn't stop her juices from flowing out of her nonstop or her orgasm from skyrocketing.

"Ahh, ahh,-MM,MM oh, oh, great mother I’m gonna--"

"C'mon, cum for me, Li'Tala."

Tala screamed into her arm as her body convulsed, she was seeing stars as she came so hard she instantly felt numb. Neteyam growled loudly and his hips stuttered, her walls strangling his throbbing length and it coaxed his cum to coat her insides again and again.

A few moments later, Neteyam kicked open the locker door, letting in refreshing air to cool their skin as he cradled Tala against his body. They panted hard and in sync, their bodies twitching from exhaustion and ecstacy and now sticking together, sweaty.

Tala was exhausted, emotionally and physically. She didn't even register how Neteyam had entwined his tail with hers, otherwise she'd surely jump at the opportunity to tease.

"No more of these metal things." Neteyam huffed out.

"Okay..."

"Or those symbols."

"Alright..."

Neteyam shifted, nuzzling into her neck. He liked her perfume too much.

"And don't forget what you said... you're MY toy. Mine."

Tala weakly glanced at him, though his face was still hidden away in her hair. She bit her lip and looked forward, the way their legs tangled together.

"Yours..."

The word felt heavy and bitter in her mouth.

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

It’s been a week and Tala had found herself at an impasse.

By no means did she keep any such requests Neteyam had asked of her, Orlek’an simply insisted on her being more careful and that the Anurai woman handle the rest.

She sighed, Neteyam was becoming… overzealous. They had seen each other every day since that incident and each day increased in both intimacy and confusion.

“Something wrong?” Tala turned in her stool back to Dr. Hanson. She smiled cheekily, of all the scientists he had become her favorite. Extremely easy to annoy.

“My ass hurts.”

He choked on his coffee and Patty chortled loudly behind her. Tala sighed louder and stretched out onto the table, prompting the scientist to quickly move his coffee mug and digital pad away to make room.

“Can’t you spare me any zoslu paste? My hips feel like they’re about to break.” Tala whined softly, though truly she was not expecting any charity. Patty howled even louder and Dr. Hanson sputtered.

“I gave you advil! And Jesus Christ, get up! We still have 18 more samples and variations to look through!” Dr. Hanson yelled. Tala rolled over and looked up at him with fluttering eyes.

“Please, a break? I’ll be very cooperative after, I promise.” She asked meekly, her voice small and sad, and Dr. Hanson sighed into his mug.

“Fine. 20 minutes, and then back to work!” He grumbled. Tala smiled and purred against his arm, from 5 minutes to 20, she had done a good job wheedling him to be nicer and nicer.

She took off her new coat, for some reason Neteyam had permanently kept her old one, and laid it flat on the floor. It would be her only cushion and yet it was enough for her then anyway.

As Tala curled onto the floor, her ears could hear the soft whirring and vibrations of mechanical components and people walking and talking. She didn’t have many solid clues of how long since she’d been captured, a few months now at the very least.

It felt like a new lifetime. Eerily comfortable and constricted, Tala increasingly felt a weight settle on her chest with each new cold day she woke up to.

Tala looked down at her hands, inhibitors heavy on her wrists. How long has it been since she’s seen the skin underneath?

Why does she worry about these tawtutes, these bare acquaintances?

How much longer did she have to stay a toy for someone who obviously despised her?

Was there nothing she could do but wait for Eywa?

Tala sighed, she could feel her face heating up. Oh, she’s tried so hard not to think about any of this, she needed to compartmentalize it all, yet the moment she relaxed everything bubbled to the surface.

Not to mention everything with Neteyam. Especially after what had happened the week before, Tala wished desperately for his face to disappear from her thoughts. But it never did.

He was ruining her, though perhaps she was giving him too much credit. 

The Tawkami put her focus back on listening to the machines clicking and vibrating. It was calming, she could get lost in this rhythm, she just needed to calm down. It reminded her of water and rain, and she wished she could see it again–

“GET UP, NOW!”

Patty violently hauled Tala up by her shoulder and only then did she pay attention to all the other noises. Shouting, some screams of panic. Tala snapped to Dr. Hanson who was cursing and gathering materials left and right as Patty impatiently punched in codes for the lab doors to open.

“Wh-What’s-?”

“Flooding in Sector C. It’s been raining hell for fucking days, and something’s punctured the fort!” Dr. Hanson yelled and scrambled after them as Patty dragged her to run down. Rain?

The hallways were filled with scrambling scientists and some guards barking orders, soldiers quickly clearing out rooms. Tala passed by the opposing hallway that led to the prison. “Wait!” She hissed, pulling at Patty’s kuru. The soldier yowled and glared at her.

“What the fuck!”

“Orlek’an, my friend!! What about my friend?!” Tala shouted over her. Patty made a face and looked towards the prison.

“I’m sure the guards cleared her outta there, now let’s move!”

“We have to check! Those guards are skxawngs, they barely even remember to feed us!” The Tawkami girl seethed desperately. “Please, Patty!” She begged loudly over the alarm now blaring through the compound. The lights went out and Dr. Hanson screamed more curses. She could hear Patty curse loudly. Tala yelped when she felt liquid spilling onto the floor and it only made her cling tighter to the soldier to beseech her.

“Please!”

The emergency lights came back on, shining green. Patty glanced at Dr. Hanson, obviously as scared shitless as they all were, and then back at Tala. She cursed again and hit some buttons on her wrist tech and Tala’s hands were freed apart.

“I’ve deactivated the magnets on your cuffs, and I've allowed you full access to the floor. Just hit this code on the door and you can get your friend, follow the blinking lights for the exits. My priority is the safety of Dr. Hanson.” Patty explained quickly and Tala nodded.

“Wait, you can’t just let her go-”

“We’re getting you out of here, Lloyd, no questions!”

“Patty!” Tala yelled.

She turned to Tala.

“Thank you.”

Patty’s mouth was tight as she nodded and she picked up Dr. Hanson, bounding the other way.

Tala looked for only a second until she too was running fast, making large splashes with every leap, basically tearing her lab coat off. She was trying to take care not to slip, but the water level was rising surprisingly quickly.

The water was up to her shins when Tala arrived at the prison doors and punched in the code.

“Orlek’an!!”

“Tala?!” The Anurai woman screamed out, her hands raw from scratching at the cages. Tala sped to Orlek’an, seeing her clearly for the first time.

“How did you-”

“No time!” The younger quickly punched in the code for Orlek’an’s cage and she breathed out in relief when it blinked white and the metal doors opened.

For the first time, Tala looked at her Anurai cellmate fully and wholly, she was older than her, she had already known, and beautiful. Her eyes glowed amber and quickly the two women held each other tightly.

Tala let out a watery laugh, the Anurai woman was so much taller than her, and she smelled like yovo fruit and waterfalls.

“Here, quickly.” Orlek’an handed her a bundle of darts, and bandaids to hold the sharp and rough metal by. Tala almost hesitated but gripped the darts carefully. Much bigger than the needle Neteyam had confiscated, these ones were coated in the nonlethal poison Tala managed to create behind the scientists' backs.

She nodded, finally, it was time to enact something they’d been preparing for weeks together, just them two. 

“Let’s go now, young one!”

Orlek’an grabbed Tala’s hand and the two waded as quickly as possible away from the prison.

Tala strained her eyes between the dark and bright green, the lights blinking. She gestured for the Anurai to follow her and the two swam and paddled desperately.

This must be the disaster, the first one of Eywa’s Revenge. By Water.

They dove, a light at the end of the hall. When the women resurfaced at the exit, soldiers herded scientists and prisoners, scrambling all around in the chaos. 

The rain made it still so difficult to breathe but Great Mother…

Tala inhaled deeply, the rain and the seawater, the mist and the dirt.

Finally, she was outside.

But only just.

Orlek’an and Tala ran behind more facilities as they made their way to the docks, which was no small feat. Though the sea wall was massive and easy for them to locate, Bridgehead was even bigger and water sloshed all around, making it difficult for any one of them to gain footholds.

The force of the waves was enough to topple over the people in large exoskeleton-machine suits and every so often, Tala or Orlek’an would throw their paralyzing darts. The rain was on their side, never did a droplet deter a dart from its trajectory and each throw left a dreamwalker or tawtute soldier falling to the ground, stunned.

When they neared the sea wall, they were not the only ones. There were multiple prisoners, each had risked their escapes by the raging ocean than by attempting a crossing of the RDA’s Kill Zone.

Tala’s eyes blinked away heavy raindrops as they strained, she turned to Orlek’an. “Why way?!”

The older woman also searched until her eyes landed upon the edge of the seawall, implanted into a rocky cliffside next to the edge of the sea itself. The older na’vi gestured for Tala to follow her as they sprinted towards the edge, losing their footing as the waves that tumbled inside Bridgehead city only increased in violence.

Tala gasped, eyes locked onto a figure already on the sea wall.

“What is it?” Orlek’an shouted.

“It’s– It’s my friend, Anke’ti!”

There he was, already deep in the water and crashing with violent waves, trying to scale over the sea wall. Each time he got closer and closer to the edge, and each time his blue body was more and more visible against the cement.

Tala clasped Orlek’an’s shoulders.

“Go on! I need to help him!!” She shouted and then hugged Orlek’an tightly.

“Goodbye, my friend. Eywa be with you.” She whispered with all her heart. She could tell tears were streaming down her face already, despite the torrent of rain. Her first friend, her only friend here.

“Eywa be with you, Tala.” Orlek’an kissed her cheek and they looked at each other for what could be the last time.

Tala squeezed Orlek’an’s hand, tried to smile, then dashed past the woman. Eywa, she prayed, she prayed deeply for all her friends to survive and to see them again.

She ran breathlessly toward the closest edge of the sea gate, enclosed by natural hills and mountains. She started climbing, feet singing as they crunched on the wild grass underneath. It was wonderful, but she could not stop to admire it! She needed to go faster!

Tala kept her eyes on Anke’ti as she climbed, he was so close, so close to reaching the edge, and – yes! Anke’ti grabbed onto the edge of the sea wall and started climbing himself up. The strain of everything, his thin body shook in both the wind and exhaustion. He had already been experiencing the pressure of rain on his back for many days now, he looked so tired.

“ANKE!” She screamed and she could feel herself smile for that briefest moment when his tail raised, ears flicked. Anke’ti continued his struggle, continued pulling himself up.

Hope filled Tala’s heart, she just needed to see him off, follow him once she knew he was over—

A spot of black in her peripheral vision, a malicious shine through the torrential rain, a gun – NO! It was pointed right at him!

Tala changed her direction towards the soldier, trying to climb faster but it simply felt too long, she felt too slow, she wasn’t going to make it in time, the soldier started to squeeze the trigger and–

Tala prayed to Eywa with a scream.

.

.

tag list: @xylianasblog @itchaboi-itchyboy @hotdsworld @pandoraslxna @luvv4j4ybe11 @neteyamsyawntu @akoyaxs @whatevenisagrapefruit @teyamsatan @justcaptiannoodles @theblueflower05 @neteluvr @neteyamssyulang @plooto @hao-ming-8 @teyamsilly @vivid-ink @vampirefilmlover

#liar liar #avatar way of water #neteyam sully #fanart #fanfic #atwow neteyam #neteyam x oc #smut #doodle #recom neteyam #AU #rda neteyam #avatar 2

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12-7 ROOM (Preview)

▪︎ Pairing: brother's best friend!Haechan x reader

▪︎ Genres: poor attempt at rom com, fluff

▪︎ Warnings: profanity, alcohol consumption.

▪︎ Word count: 1381

Playlist: darl+ing by SVT, My Favorite Part by Mac Miller, I Couldn't Be More In Love by The 1975, Golden by Harry Styles.

drabble requested by anon – full fic version coming out soon!

friday, 10:14 p.m.

Mark moves around the small apartment urgently cleaning up. He makes sure to pick up and throw into the garbage bag between his hands every empty Red Bull can that his roommate has left lying around. On the old couch rests his guitar, and on the little table in the living room his lyrics notebooks and Haechan's engineering notes.

"Mark," Haechan calls for him, to which the older one only responds with a small sound, indicating that he has his attention—partially, as he's still concentrating on his duty of getting all ready for your arrival—, "Your food is getting cold."

Mark lets out an exasperated sigh while getting all his belongings inside his backpack and his guitar in the case. "I'll just order something once I'm at the studio."

"Wait, you're leaving?"

"Yeah, I need to get some work done with TY. And y/n's arriving at any time so this place has to be tidy and clean and–" Mark stops all motions of arranging the mattress you're going to sleep on on the living room floor, to fix his eyes on his friend. "Haechan, could you like, put on a t-shirt or something?"

Small drops of water fall from Haechan's wet hair onto his naked torso, fresh from the warm shower he just took. The young man does nothing but question his best friend with a lopsided smile as he finishes his bowl of ramen, sitting at the counter in front of Mark's—that remains full and cold by now.

"What, you think y/n's gonna be scared of all this handsomeness?"

Mark's face is expressionless while looking at Haechan, who's feeling himself to add to the point. And Mark has missed you a lot, but he thinks that the faster he gets a break from his chaotic roommate, the better. He can't wait to have a week free of the jokes and headaches Haechan causes to him, because Haechan will have you to annoy. Even when he will still be working, to Mark, that sounds pretty much like a vacation.

"Nah, dude. It's fucking cold, you'll get sick."

"You will get sick if you don't get anything to eat as soon as you make it to work," Haechan answers back as he gets up from his chair and puts his favorite Michael Jackson t-shirt on. "Promise me you'll order."

"Yeah, I promise," Mark sounds sincere. A quick hug and a few pats on each other's back and Mark is opening the front door, one step out ready to leave for a late night music session. "Please receive y/n well for me–

"Y/n!"

Screams and laughs from both you and your brother fill the little apartment, as you greet and hug him after almost four months without seeing each other. Just in time, is what Haechan thinks while observing the cute interaction and gently caressing his belly from underneath the t-shirt because, well, he is really confident but (even though he has known you for years and you've shared many moments together) he's not confident enough around you to show himself like that. At least not yet.

His face lights up as soon as he sees you extend your arms in his direction, and Haechan manages to squeeze you into a warm hug, spinning you in the air while the both of you laugh.

Your brother says his goodbyes, and Haechan tells him there's a chance they could meet up at Johnny's later, in case he wants to join in after work.

"Alright, I'll get there with Taeyong later then."

He waves to the both of you and closes the front door, leaving you alone with Haechan.

"Take a relax, bro," he offers you to sit at the counter, making you giggle after hearing the famous line after months. You observe him filling a cup with water and placing it in front of you before speaking again. "Want some ramen?"

"Hell yeah. I'm starving."

"Let me heat it up for you."

But he was already on it even before you answered. Haechan knows well he's very good at turning the simple dish into a delicious meal, and that it's one of your favorite things to share since you two met.

You wouldn't say it was love at first sight, but maybe adoration since the first encounter. Only weeks after your brother moved to start studying, he invited you over because he was missing home too much. And Haechan wouldn't be his apartment buddy until a year after, but they already frequented the same group of friends. The two of you were standing awkwardly in a corner at Taeyong's birthday party, and ended up at your brother's because you were hungry, eating ramen together: his secret recipe (that wasn't mysterious at all) that included tomatoes and scrambled eggs and that he only made for 'real special situations'. (He said you might be a lucky one.)

Haechan sets the bowl in front of you, the tomato scrambled noodles and eggs making your mouth water and curve in a smile. A ray of sunshine gets on the chair beside you even though it's almost midnight, and makes you feel at home, warming you even though it's freezing outside.

saturday, 01:47 a.m.

"So, how did you two meet?" Yuta asks, taking up the free space next to you on Johnny's couch and passing you two cans of beer. Exactly what you need after three rounds of karaoke with Johnny and Doyoung that are inexhaustible.

They're still going off strong in front of the TV, waiting for Mark to get back and join them in their madness.

"Oh, we're not together."

"Oh, that's for sure. I know you're not pulling any bitches, Haechan."

Haechan laughs dryly at the japanese boy, putting on his best expression of annoyance; tongue poking at his inside cheek and rolling his eyes, and he replies, "That's not true. I can pull anyone I want."

"Prove it," Yuta pushes him, because he knows that Haechan is an easy-going person, and always a good target for a challenge.

Haechan quickly scans the room while you busy yourself taking a sip of your can, not really wanting to get involved in Yuta's teasing, until he lands eyes on Jaehyun. The boy loves Haechan and is almost always up for some of his affection.

"Jaehyun's not an option," Yuta adds, the always good observant, and Haechan sighs very audibly before throwing his head back on the couch.

But he composes himself quickly to ask, turning slightly to you with his arm still firm around your shoulders. "Would you get with me? Hypothetically?"

Would you get together with Haechan, hypothetically? Considering the four-year crush you've had on your brother's best friend since the moment you met him, no, you wouldn't.

You would get with him for real. All of your friends say it's time you brave up and just confess to him.

"I mean… Yes?" you answer by looking at Yuta, trying to avoid Haechan's eyes that you know are set on the blushed skin of your face. "Haechan is not a bad match," you finish with a shy shrug, sinking yourself deeper on the couch and taking another long drink.

Haechan smiles contentedly at your answer, his chest filling with confidence, and gives you a kiss wet with beer on the forehead that gets you squeezed up to his body for a second. By the time he's done, you rest your head on his shoulder to return the affection, ignoring all the butterflies in your stomach and Yuta's knowing stare.

"Keyword there: hypothetically. But I said 'prove it.'" Yuta pushes a little more.

"Bro, you're so annoying." Haechan gets up from the couch and almost makes you spill all your beer while trying to get you up with him. "What, you want us to make out?"

Yuta nods, crossing his arms and spreading his legs on the couch that he has all for himself now, challenging the younger boy.

"Sorry dude, we're not into exhibitionism."

Haechan takes your hand to drag you away from the living room, but you can still hear Yuta's laugh and the words the two of you would end up choosing to ignore for the rest of the night—or the rest of the week.

"This is not how you're getting some, Haechan! Don't say I didn't try helping you!"

Author's note: :) been wanting to write roommates Haechan and Mark for a long time now so I'm excited about this one. Hope it's entertaining enough. Thank you anon for the request! This was part of my 1 year event. Let me know if anyone wants to join a taglist for the upcoming full fic.

#zh-lele 1 year #haechan fluff #nct haechan #haechan fic #haechan x reader #lee donghyuck #haechan #zh-lele

[magical-regical]

Y'all okay,

I started playing 'What in Hell is Bad', it's basically an 18+ version of 'Obey Me' and yea this game is spicy.

Anyway, big surprise, out of all the sexy demons I've interacted with so far, two of them I've done the sideways tango with, my favorite character is this guy

Who's not even a demon. He's the childhood best friend character.

But plot wise he takes care of the MC before the whole demon thing, knows how to cook, and I'm pretty sure was ready to search through the entire world to find them when they had to take and extended visit to Hell.

What more could you want in a man? A decent dic— according to MC he has that too so check mate.

More thoughts about the game itself under the cut if you're interested.

I just finished chapter one, and can I just say this game is hard, in every sense of the word.

It's a new game by a smaller developer so it's full of bugs but I've heard the devs do try their best to patch them ASAP so I don't hold that against them. Aside from my boy Satan not hitting water enemies, even though devs said they patched that a few updates ago, it's mostly QoL improvements that can be made to make the game just overall more enjoyable including but not limited to:

A pity system? Maybe? I don't know if this game has pity or not on their gacha machines and if they do I'd like to know how screwed I am because I have no self-control and have been doing single pulls on the hot boy gacha instead of saving up and doing 10-pulls so I wanna know if it's better to do 10-pulls or if it literally makes no difference because I just go until I hit pity like in arknights.

Skipping the cut scene that plays when you gacha because I swear that's one of the main reasons you can't play this game in public no matter how discreet you try to be lmao

Opening multiple chests at once and levelling up multiple times in one go because as far as I know, right now you need to click one by one for both of these.

Maybe a thing where it just takes you to the part of the story you're currently in instead of making you click through chapter select and scrolling to it.

A shortcut button to the gacha screen, secret club, and dark sanctuary (resource grind stages). They're core aspects of the game yet you can't get to them without going through the home screen.

Auto deploy and auto play for the resource grinding stages

Setting an L-rank character (side note, it's really funny that the highest rank of cards is rank 'L') as your homescreen boi is really awkward because it always ends up zoomed in on one part so you can't actually see the full boi.

This last one I feel like is just a personal thing but why is it three red keys per single pull for the hot boy gacha? Three just feels like such a random number lmao. Ig they mostly want you to use the red gems, which are grind-able to some extent, to buy the keys from the store.

Overall tho, I enjoy it. I like the tower defense like combat system and being able to move units around is actually pretty fun. So yea give it a try, see if it's your cup of tea.

#whb #what in hell is bad #whb minhyeok #whb satan

[raccoonfallsharder]

rocket says take a fuckin' study break ✩࿐࿔

in honor of it being finals season for many of you, i'm resharing the take a fuckin' study break drabble/minific from ✩࿐࿔ take what you need here, in full. ao3 version here.

fluff | gn reader | no use of y/n | drabbles | word count: 1,020.

“Ow!” you yelp, rocking back on your stool and scrubbing a hand at your forehead. “Did you just flick me?”

“I been talking at you for like two minutes,” Rocket grouses. “It’s like talking to a frickin’ wall.”

You glower. “I told you. I’m studying. And writing. And studying. Leave me alone.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he jeers. “Terran finals. Whatever. Sounds like a waste of time. Haven’t the humies on that backward mudball realized yet that tests don’t actually measure learning? It’s like using a yardstick to measure time.”

You sigh and lean back. “Yeah, they know. Doesn’t matter though. If I want to pass these classes and get this stupid degree, I need to–” You scrub at your forehead again and sigh. “You know what? Never mind. I cannot have you un-motivating me right now. What did you want?”

He leaps neatly onto the stool across from you and sets two glass bottles on the tabletop, then leans his forearms on the little table between you, smirking smugly. “To pay you back, cupcake.” The mockery in his voice does not bode well for you. “Remember what you told me last week when Adam was whining about how I was making him study the Bowie’s schematics for too many hours?”

You feel your stomach drop. “No,” you lie, big-eyed.

His smirk only grows. “Lemme refresh your terrible frickin’ memory, then.” Now his teeth are sharp and he heightens his voice into a whiny falsetto. “But Rocket. Maximum productivity is only five-to-seven hours a day. You can overload the crappy baldbody brain if you go longer than that–”

“Pretty sure I did not say ‘crappy baldbody brain,’” you interject dryly.

“–and he could lose everything you’ve taught him already. Plus, he needs fifteen-to-twenty minute breaks every fifty-to-ninety minutes.”

You stare at him flatly, unwilling to dignify his bad mimicry with a response. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to care. He’s snickering openly at this point.

“Time to take your fuckin’ break,” he tells you. “It’s for your own damn good.”

You feel your brain fluttering in your skull like a trapped bird, and your heart is already starting to pick up the pace too. “Rocket,” you plead, all that old academic anxiety spiking high. “Unlike Adam, I’m actually on a time table. I need to finish all this by–”

“And if what you told me was true, I’m not gonna let you overdo it and lose it,” he tells you, his voice dropping for just a moment into something serious and intent. “Now get up. You’ve been at this for at least an hour-and-a-half.”

You hesitate, staring reluctantly at your laptop screen.

“Do I gotta give you a direct order, kid?”

You glower at him and drag yourself off the barstool. He turns sideways on his own, leaning against the table lazily and taking a mouthful of his ale. “Five deep breaths,” he orders lazily. “Your eyes aren’t laser cannons, and your angry looks aren’t gonna shut me up, cupcake.”

“God, I hate you,” you tell him, and then close your eyes and plant your feet and take your five stupid deep breaths.

“Roll your shoulders. Three times in each direction.”

You start and he cuts you off with a barked, “Slower. Start over.”

You scowl at him and do it.

“Touch your toes.”

“Geezus, I hate you,” you repeat. He just raises a brow and waits till you follow his instructions.

When you rise back up, he’s nudging the second glass bottle in your direction. “Drink half a’ that.”

You glare but lift it to your mouth anyway. It’s just water – but it’s the perfect temperature, and you suddenly realize you haven’t had anything but caffeine all day, and even that had been hours ago. You end up drinking more than half, easily.

Rocket sighs and shakes his head when you put it down. “Okay, ready for your next mission?”

“Rocket, I don’t have time–”

“It’ll take less time if you shut up and do what I frickin’ say.”

“You are the worst.”

He grins and his tail flicks. “So I’ve been told,” he concedes with mock humility, like you’ve just given him a compliment. He raises a clawed finger. “You need some fresh air, and you need to eat. You’re gonna go down to that street food stall in the Zygomatic Arch and get yourself a roasted yaro root wrap. Then you’re gonna come back and Kraglin’s gonna meet you across the street from here with a data pad. As long as you’re eating that wrap, he’s gonna let you scroll through those Terran holovid transmissions–”

“It’s goddamn Tiktok, Rocket.”

“–for exactly five minutes. No more an’ no less. And then you’re gonna come back in here and drink the rest of your water and I’ll leave you alone.” His grin widens. “At least for the next ninety minutes.”

You stare at him witheringly. “I hate you.”

“You keep saying that, cupcake, but I don’t think it’s true.”

You sigh, and feel your shoulders drop in defeat, and you head toward the open tambour door that leads into the streets. It’ll be nice, you grudgingly suppose: to breathe some fresh air and get some of the artificial Knowhere sunlight on your skin. To stretch your legs out and grab a snack and see some people, even if just in passing.

And it’s good that Kraglin’s gonna be in charge of the datapad because he’s such a fucking simp for his captain that he’s not gonna let you go over the five minutes Rocket has rationed for you on Tiktok.

“Kid.”

You pause in your steps and glance back over your shoulder at Rocket. His smirk is just a little softer, and you abruptly remember that this jackass actually cares about you – like, really cares about you. He just tries to hide it under layers of being fucking annoying.

“You’re gonna win your finals.”

You blink, and a laugh startles its way out of your chest, softly puffing out of your mouth. “That’s not–” you start to say, and then you laugh again and shrug. “Sure will,” you tell him affectionately. “For you, Captain. Thanks.”

please remember to take 15-20 minute breaks every 50-90 minutes! (set alarms on your phone to help.) use that time to open your window or go for a walk (even if it's cold). take some deep breaths. stretch. drink water. unclench your jaw. talk to someone who won't let you stay distracted for too long. and grab something to eat (even if it's just a granola bar). brains don't retain jackshit without sleep, nutrients, and moments of rest.

you got this. you're gonna win your finals.

check the ✩࿐࿔ take what you need masterlist for more self-care reminders, including eat somethin, drink some goddamn water, and go to frickin bed already (yeah that means you).

#take what you need #rocket bullies you for your health #look sometimes you just need someone to tell you what to do #wholesome #rocket raccoon fanfiction #rocket raccoon fanfic #rocket raccoon fluff #rocket reminders #studying #finals #rfh fanfic #rocket raccoon x you #rocket racoon x reader #rocket x you #gotg rocket #rfh masterlist #self care reminder #self care tips #rocket raccoon #guardians of the galaxy #gotg fanfiction #self care #rocket raccoon x reader #gotg fluff #gotg vol 3 #guardians of the galaxy fluff #x reader #reader insert #gotg x reader #gotg rocket x reader

[superanimepirate]

PJO TV Show Live Reactions Part 3

I'm out of Chocolate chip cookies, but I did have cereal and I'm ready for Medusa

Oh, and this is not spoiler free for the books and possible future TV show events

Oh the attic is creepy and the oracle is creepier I love it.

Ah Baby's first Quest and Oracle Visitation

Oh they didn't show the rest of the prophecy. Interesting? I'm not sure why exactly, I guess so we can find out later?

Oh he's actually choosing his companions. Oh he didn't wait for Annabeth that was cute.

Wait so Blackjack is just...at Camp? Does Luke steal him later?

Poor Grover on scooper duty. Of course Percy would choose him tho.

Oh! Ok there's the prophecy. He's worried about the friend betrayal. I don't if he thinks it will be Annabeth, since he had that little speech about trusting her to do what was needed to be done?

I love the Poseidon Cabin its so pretty! There's a water feature!

Oh. Hello. Luke

Oh I like the animation on the shows that's cute.

Oh. Yeah. I knew Percy was considering Luke. I'm so glad he chose Grover, who knows how that would have turned out. It...probably would be really bad actually.

Wait. Something I've never actually considered of before, can Grover talk to Thalia's spirit that's in the tree? Does the tree have a dryad? Don't all tree's have dryads? But Thalia's is a special tree. Huh.

Percy be nice! Before Annabeth smacks you lol, Thalia is a bit of a touchy subject, though I understand the comment of gods and saving Thalia.

Oh, we've cut out Argus?

Oh Annabeth is being difficult but it's kind of adorable. Grover...what are you doing? I mean, its adorable, but what?

Never split the party!

Hello old Mrs. Dodds. Annabeth, don't antagonize the fury

Oh, HoO foreshadowing?

Wait Percy, why bring the shoes in a box? Instead of wearing them or giving them to Grover?

"I didn't even know New Jersey had forests, but we found one!" Walker Scobell has somehow harvested the spirit of Percy Jackson, I fear he may be unstoppable

Pfft Oh Percy, you think you can just...call a goddess?

Grover the vegetarian is investigating someone cooking hamburgers on a Satyr path. Ok

Oh the statues actually look pretty cool

Hello again, Mrs Dodds

Oh, we've got her actually name now, cool. Hello Auntie Em. I'm really liking the actress already

Oh we aren't beating around the bush ok Hello Medusa

Ok, so far I'm loving this version of Medusa, but I wonder if we well get the meta commentary on how monsters take out grudges on the children of the gods, since she at least claims she won't do that to Annabeth. In this, did Annabeth get tormented by spiders

Annabeth, don't antagonize the gorgon

Medusa's story time! I'm glad they kept that she was a priestess for Athena, but they took out the screwing around in Athena's temple, or did I misunderstand that? Or maybe that's what Annabeth is talking about, calling her a liar? IDK there have been many versions of that story, including one that paints Poseidon in a very bad light and Athena in an even worse one so...

Oh, what are you offering Medusa? This is creepy and I love it

Creepy basement full of statues. Lovely

I'm not sure if I love or hate that Medusa is still beautiful in this instead of ugly

Oh the invisibility hat! That's smart!

Love that they used it against Alecto

But I'm still waiting for Percy to be Impertinent

Uncle Ferdinand! :(

Bury it in the basement? That's not impertinent. And would lose Annabeth her hat. Thank you Grover, they both need to hear this, I love Grover.

Ah, there it is. The betrayl line. It makes sense it would bother him during this quest.

Oh so Percy and Annabeth had monsters trying to turn them on eachother, is it Grover's turn? Will it be the Pink Poodle Gloriosa?

Ah. There's the impertinence. I love sending the head to Olympus, but I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about using that head against Gabe, he doesn't seem very abusive in this version, though abusers don't always go 100 % all the time so I guess we'll see

Percy is singing the song!!! These kids are too cute for this dangerous quest

Hermes! Oh are we going to see the delivery next episode? At least Hermes seems amused.

I like the ending song, and the credits still slaps

#percy jackson #percy jackson spoilers #percy jackson tv show #percy jackson tv show spoilers #percy jackson live action #percy jackson live action spoilers #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson and the olypians spoilers #pjo #pjo spoilers #pjo tv show #pjo tv show spoilers #i hope that covers the spoilers tags i'm still not sure if there is a consensus on that #really liked this episode despite some odd choices #Wonder if we'll get a thalia cameo #i don't think she's been cast #has she?

[sarandipitywrites]

saran's year of writing (2023)

hey y'all! saw a couple posts like this floating around and thought i'd hop on the train, because this year has been WILD for my writing (in a really good way). let's start with the bullet points version and i'll put the details under the cut. here we go:

I JOINED WRITEBLR

shared snippets of my work with other, actual humans!

made friends?!

started (and finished!) draft 2 of Dead Roots, Dark Water

wrote 1 short story for every week in october (that's 5 stories in a month! that's great for me!)

first NaNoWriMo in 10 years (and i finished it!)

drafted and re-drafted The Art of Empty Space

started draft 3 of Dead Roots, Dark Water

details, links to projects, me getting maybe a tad too personal, and those all-important wordcounts under the cut:

I JOINED WRITEBLR

i just realized i only started participating at the beginning of october, but it feels like i've been hanging out with you all the whole year 😅 maybe that means i should cut back a bit? nah...

really though, this year was the year i started taking my writing more seriously (not in a 'gotta get published' kind of way, but in a 'writing makes me happier than anything else and that's enough reason to set aside time and energy for it without feeling hella guilty' kind of way) and seeing you all posting your work and being so positive and encouraging to each other was what helped me get up the nerve to join in. and i can say without a doubt that it's the best choice i've made all year. y'all are such a supportive community and i've never once felt like i was encroaching or didn't belong here (and for me, that's really saying something)

so i guess what i'm getting at is: THANK YOU! i've loved reading your snippets and projects this year, and i'm way more confident in my own than i've ever been 💜 y'all are good peeps

Dead Roots, Dark Water

word count (edited and written): 187,789

that's a lotta words! DRDW is both my longest work wordcount-wise, and the work i've dedicated the most time to... probably ever. and i'm SO happy with it, it's a little concerning (/positive)

DRDW is now on its THIRD draft, and (assuming i don't do a massive re-edit) should be ready to start posting in 2024! *excited screaming* i've never released anything i've written in its entirety (the snippets i've been posting are actually a lot more than i've ever shared before), so this is MASSIVE for me and i'm both excited and terrified! overall, though, it's a very, very good thing

Short Stories

this october, i decided to challenge myself to do several things i don't ever do: write short stories; write them on a timeline; and share them. and i did! i wrote one short story for each week in october, and posted them here. they're far from my best work, and due to the timeline, they never could have been my best, which oddly i think helped make it easier to post them? they were also the first pieces i shared here (or anywhere)! they're not awesome, but i'm proud of them and i'm proud of myself for sharing them

NaNoWriMo and The Art of Empty Space

i've done nano once before, ten years ago. i was in college and had a lot more time then (and a job where i could spend the entire day just writing - i didn't know how good i had it), and even so i remember struggling to reach my word goal. but by the power of writing everything in wingdings so i can't second-guess my word choices, i made it this year! and even though i decided to challenge myself by writing a romance-heavy project (something i've historically avoided because IT'S HARD FOR ME, DAMNIT), i love AES and its characters and that feels fucking awesome.

even though my brain decided to spring a surprise plot restructure on me and now i have to rewrite like half of it. it'll be better for it, though, so it's all good 🥲

What's Next?

my plan for early 2024 is, of course, going to be to work on draft 3 of DRDW with the hope of getting some chapters posted (they are LONG, so i'll probably post to tumblr in chunks and the full, unbroken chapters on Ao3 due to formatting). once that's ready, i'll be able to return my attention to AES and getting draft 1.5 all written up. i've mostly figured out where the plot's going there, so it'll just be writing it up to figure out the gaps. if i'm able to write something for november again next year (which i really hope i will; nano did some great things for AES), it'll probably be one of the other Jak & Daxter fics i have kicking around in my head, because i am Obsessed (and switching it up between working on fanfic and original fic seems to work well for my brain).

i've been not super active here for the last month or so because Real Life Work is kicking my ass, but hopefully that will calm down and i'll be able to do more of what i want: writing wild shit, reading your wild shit, and screaming about it together 💜

good vibes and best wishes to everybody in the new year 🥂

#ayearofwriting #a year of writing #writeblr #2023 #writers on tumblr #saran rambles #the art of empty space #dead roots dark water

[tired-teacher-blog]

Title : The beginning of the end

Characters : Aizawa/ Fem reader

Genre : Angst/ One shot

Summary : Your happy news bring destruction upon your relationship with Aizawa. Is it the end for you? Or will there be a second chance?

Prompt

Masterlist

Happiness is how you would describe your life with your one and only Aizawa Shōta.

You have been together for years, and the possibility of carrying on without him is unimaginable.

You have been through thick and thin, pain and pleasure, tears and laughter. You have seen it all and came out unscathed because no matter how hard it was, your love has always been stronger.

You have never told him before, but deep down, you've always wished to make a family with him.

You've always wished to be the mother of his children, to have mini versions of the both of you, to spoil them rotten because that's how much you would love them, and to watch over them as they grow and make you both proud.

You spend countless days and nights building a perfect picture of how your life would be with your cute little family.

You've never dared telling him though. And it's not that you're afraid he would object, you are certain he wouldn't, but it is a huge step and no matter how ready you think you are, your careers have just begun so maybe you should put a pin in the thought for now and possibly come back to it soon?

_ "Y/n, what's the matter love? You seem distracted." You're doing it again, allowing your mind to wonder where it shouldn't.

_ "Oh no! It's nothing I'm fine." You're hoping he wouldn't notice as you play it dumb again.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.

Come to think of it, what's the big deal? To be frank, is anyone ever ready to have kids? It would be scary still, even if you plan and anticipate it. But once you hold your child in your arms for the very first time, you would feel invincible and ready to take on the world, that's what everyone says, and for now you choose to believe it.

You pace the bathroom anxiously after placing the pregnancy test on the counter. It says you should wait a few minutes before checking the result, the longest few minutes of your life.

If you are to be honest, you haven't really been taking your birth control pills as you should have lately.

Is it that you wanted to speed the process on your own? You're not entirely sure anymore.

What you're certain of though, is that seeing the "positive" result on that stick would make you the happiest woman on earth.

The waiting is over, and it's time to see if you're going to be a mother.

Your eyes water and your vision is blurred as you barely make out the two lines on the stick you're holding in your trembling hands.

You are going to be a mother.. a mother.

It takes you a moment to comprehend your new situation, but once it sinks in you let out a shaky giggle and give in to your tears.

It's happening, and you're thrilled.

At last, that perfect picture you drew and cultivated all by yourself is coming to be, and you get to share it with the man you love.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.

Your eyes wonder between his office door and your still non-existent baby bump. You smile caressing your tummy and knock gently on the door. You know he hates being disturbed while working but you can't wait, and you're positive he will forgive you once he hears the news.

_ "Yes." He sounds annoyed but you're too excited to falter now.

_ "I'm sorry to disturb you Shōta but I have something to tell you."

_ "Alright come in."

And so you do, still guarding your smile.

_ "It's getting late honey so why are you still awake?" He lifts his head up momentarily as he questions you, but your beaming features soften his own.

_ "I told you! I have some news and I couldn't go to bed without telling you." You shuffle your feet, hardly containing yourself.

_ "What is it?" He tilts his head, leaning back in his chair as he gives you his full attention.

_ "We're pregnant! I mean I'm pregnant but we're having a baby! We're gonna be parents!" You jump up and down as you blurt out the best thing that has ever happened to you.

But.. Where is your hug? Where is your kiss? Where is your "We're going to be the best parents"

Where is everything you've been imagining? This is not how things should be.

_ "Shōta.." You nearly whimper as you halt all movements and search his expressions for an answer.. an answer that you almost don't want to hear.

_ "Are you sure? We've been careful though right? You're taking the pill aren't you? This can't be happening."

This can't be happening..

_ "Shōta.." His name is the only thing your fogged up brain can come up with.

_ "We're not ready for this! We're still too young for such a big step don't you agree? My career has just begun and you don't even have a stable job yet.. We're not even married."

_ "Shōta.." You want him to shut his mouth for a moment. Does he think you don't know what he's saying? Of course you do, but you can do it together and that's something he needs to know.

_ "You have to get rid of it, I can't deal with this right now." He's strangely calm for someone who has just suggested you kill your own unborn child.

You drop to your knees and say nothing. Fat tears speak for you instead.

_ "Come on it's not a big deal." He tries to soothe you as he sits by your side and gently strokes your cheeks.

However, his touch is unfamiliar to you, it's burdening and you hate it.

_ "No, I will not get rid of it! I will do it by myself if I have to!" An unusual sense of determination washes over you as you strike the hand that was once your source of comfort.

You stand up on shaky legs and march to your bedroom, pulling out a suitcase and mindlessly filling it up with whatever.

Do you wish he would follow you and beg you to stay?

Do you wish he would apologize and tell you to keep the baby?

Certainly.. But he's not, and you're not going to waste your time waiting.

You're taking a stand, setting your own fate.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.

A few months have passed, then a year, and another.. and before you knew it, that fateful night became nothing but a distant memory.

You smile bitterly remembering the last time you two were together. And you wouldn't have thought of it if not for the email you have just received.

It's a job offer from none other than the prestigious UA, the same one where he's currently working.

You would've immediately declined it, had you received it a couple of years ago, but you're over it now.. you're over him.

A little girl there needs you, and that's all that matters.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.

_ "Yes Eri! You're doing good baby! Look at you!" You clap your hands encouraging the little ray of sunshine as she finally manages to control her quirk.

It was a tedious journey and it took a toll on both of you, but she's finally able to do it on her own, and those bright eyes and innocent smile are your true rewards.

Your mission is complete, and it's time for you to move on to the next.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.

You would be lying to say your heart doesn't skip a beat everytime you pass each other on the corridor and you catch him stealing glances at you.

You would be kidding yourself to say your resolve doesn't falter whenever you see the way he treats Eri and the rest of his students, or the way he would willingly jump in front of a bullet for them.

He has certainly changed.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.

_ "Hey y/n, can I talk to you?" He is hesitant, unlike how you remember him to be.

_ "I've been here for months and this is the first time you exchange words with me." You're not looking to reprimand him, you're way passed that now, but it doesn't hurt to be a little playful.

_ "You're right, I'm sorry.. To tell you the truth I've been ashamed of myself. This is probably a little too late but can't we start over? I would love to be a part of your life as well as our child's. It took me years to realize that I was wrong. I was never able to get over you. Please believe me, I've changed."

He has really changed. It's amazing what a few short years can do to a person.

You are finally able to take a good look at what those years did to him.

A few more scars than you remember, a pale complexion, tired eyes.. He still looks beautiful to you, the most beautiful person.

You almost give in to him if not for those painful memories.

_ "I've waited so long to hear those words, when I was struggling all by myself. But it's fine now, there is nothing to be guilty of. As turned out, you were right."

_ "What do you mean?!" His voice raises as he grabs your arms.

_ "I was never able to do it, as much as I tried to look after it, our child died in my belly before taking a single breath. I wasn't even able to know if it was a boy or a girl. It all worked out as you wished." You shake his hands off of you and grit your teeth trying to stop yourself from weeping.

You spent nights after nights crying over your lost baby, and when you were finally able to get up and move on with your life, he drags you back to square one.

He looks hurt, about to collapse, and you love it. It's his turn to be crippled with pain.

You take a mental image of the empty shell of a man in front of you, and turn your back on him for good..

#aizawa shota x y/n #aizawa shouta #aizawa shota x reader #my hero academia aizawa #aizawa shota x you #aizawa shouta x you #aizawa shouta x reader #bnha aizawa shouta #shota aizawa #shouta aizawa x reader #shouta aizawa headcanons #shouta aizawa imagine #bnha shouta aizawa #shouta aizawa x you #my hero academia headcanons #boku no hero headcanons #boku no hero fanfic #my hero academia fanfic #boku no hero imagines #my hero academia imagines #my hero academia fluff #shouta aizawa fluff #aizawa fluff #aizawa fanfiction #aizawa angst

[themculibrary]

Bucky And Natasha (Winterwidow) Masterlist 2

part one

Burn With Me (ao3) - MissMorwen E, 48k

Summary: “What year do you think this is?” The Soldier looked like he was ready to bolt.

Natalia’s mouth was dry despite the water she’d drunk so recently. This was bad. Very bad. “I don’t know.” It came out as a whisper. Her body buzzed as if it was filled with static. As if she was a snow globe that someone had shaken so hard that the falling snow had turned into a blizzard, making it impossible to see the object within.

“Fuck.” He said for the second time. Apparently noticing her reaction, he stepped closer, grasping the railing of her bed with both hands. “You’re safe. This isn’t the Red Room, no one’s gonna punish you or anything for a wrong answer, but Christ, Romanoff…” He trailed off.

-

Natasha loses her memories during a fight and while everyone around her wants to help her recover them, she only trusts one person: Bucky Barnes, the former Winter Soldier.

dead ones walking (ao3) - shewritesall T, 5k

Summary: Tangling his fingers through her hair, he gently lifted her face up until he could see her again. Her eyes were closed tightly in pain and her lips were dripping with blood, and panic filled him like never before. She'd die before they got out, he realized and suddenly he was much more amenable to Hydra's demand.

"I'll do whatever you want," he snarled, turning to them with Natalia still in his arms. "If you save her life, I'll do it. Whatever you want."

Golden Locks, Silver arms (ao3) - Caspinn, kalkoenvsneoklak bucky/natasha, howard/maria, pepper/tony, clint/bobbi, peggy/daniel M, 52k

Summary: Before she was known as Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow and member of the Avengers, Natalia Alianovna Romanova was an assassin. Trained to kill at a very young age, Natalia is considered the best asset at the Red Room. Getting the chance to train under the Winter Soldier must be one of the best opportunities for her. And indeed, both their lives change because of it. Though, if it's for the better? That's up to debate.

Go Ugly Early (ao3) - just_another_tinker steve/tony, clint/phil, bucky/natasha E, 252k

Summary: He’s The Captain?

This was not good. This was so not good.

There were theories of course, of what The Captain would look like. Most followed the typical Hollywoodesque belief that he was some version of the Godfather, sitting in a dark room with a cigar, commanding his forces with a flick of his wrist. There were even some that even thought that The Captain was not one person, but a whole network of people with eyes and ears everywhere.

The blonde Adonis in front of him was definitely not what Tony was expecting.

Of course, in the end it didn’t matter.

There was a reason no one knew what The Captain looked like.

Because anyone who saw his face never lived to tell the tale.

Heart Full Of Bullets (ao3) - Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye) T, 12k

Summary: When Kate brings Yelena a piece of strange tech, Bucky figures out how it works. The consequences of his choices are going to be anyone's guess.

Help I'm Alive (ao3) - IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics) steve/tony, bucky/natasha T, 57k

Summary: Bucky moves silently, following Stark to his car. He presses the gun muzzle lightly against the base of Stark’s neck causing the man to start and freeze.

“Didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try and hold me at gunpoint. Least of all in the basement of my own office building.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I just want your help.”

“You’ve got a funny way of doing that. Most people use the suggestion box.”

In a blink, Bucky’s pulled the gun away, flipped it on his finger, and turned it around so that Stark can grab it if he wants. In another, he moves to stand in Stark’s line of sight. Dark eyes flit from his face, to the gun, and back at his face.

“I’m a funny guy,” Bucky answers dryly, letting the gun drop from his hand and onto the ground between Stark’s polished shoes.

--

Where Bucky decides to go to Tony for help instead of staying on the run. Friendships are formed, tested, strengthened, along with romances.

Hold My Hand Through This (ao3) - ap_marvel T, 7k

Summary: “I’m the only person in your life you can technically call a friend,” Natasha countered with a snort. “You haven’t left this… Place you call an apartment, in a week. I mean, seriously,” she scoffed, looking around at the bare walls. “It looks like you’re squatting here.”

He rubbed a hand over his face with a tired sigh. “I didn’t exactly get to choose the upholstery when they gave me the keys.”

“How horrible of them.”

I See Red (ao3) - spinachgarden T, 1k

Summary: Every day is a perfect day.

He wakes up with her in his arms, a faceful of red hair, smooth skin under his fingertips. For a blissful, quiet moment, everything is red, red like her hair, red like the moment right before the sun slips below the horizon on a perfect night, red like a fire in the fireplace, warm down to his bones, defrosting some of his winter. She fits perfectly against him like a puzzle piece, their jagged edges smoothing out into a beautiful picture, a picture of fall leaves and crisp air, of cool mornings and warm afternoons, right before the world turns icy again.

I Think We Need Each Other (ao3) - nataliasromanoff N/R, 27k

Summary: Natasha doesn’t want to work with him.

Bucky doesn’t want to work with her.

But they have orders and a disgruntled boss and a high profile target that just might make these next few weeks worth it. The job, exactly?

Marital bliss.

Supposedly.

AU where Natasha and Bucky are partnered up for a mission neither of them want to be on. There's arguing, insults, anger, and the constant, irresistible urge to rearrange the angle of someone's nose. But it's when Bucky gets horribly injured does Natasha realize that she might need him more than she thinks.

June Hymn (ao3) - EliotRosewater T, 3k

Summary: After a mission, Bucky and Natalia met up at a safe house to wait for extraction.

normal people stuff (ao3) - buries T, 5k

Summary: Bucky and Natasha team up for their most intense mission yet: they’re moving into their very own house.

Of Felines, Fistfights, and Falling in Love (ao3) - Green_Angst_And_Ham T, 14k

Summary: James Buchanan Barnes is no longer the Winter Soldier.

James Buchanan Barnes is still very much capable of murder.

And right now, he’s weighing the pros and cons of it in his mind. Maybe he’d be able to explain himself to Dr. Raynor. Convince her that a slight relapse was justified given the circumstances.

Because what is Sam Wilson thinking, leaving a cat on his doorstep.

(Or: Unexpected cat acquisition leads to the reunion of everyone’s favorite ex-Hydra disaster couple).

Stone Cold Sober (ao3) - MedeaV E, 13k

Summary: It sinks in only then that he woke up in bed naked with Natasha, Natasha who is basically his mentor, his supervising officer, informally, precisely because she doesn't have the attachment to him Steve has- oh, thinking about last night really hurts. Natasha gets up, not bothering with her pants, and he blushes because he just blatantly stared at her ass, she throws one more look at the floor, clutching her clothes to her chest, and then she stumbles out, door falling shut behind her.

He groans, burying his eyes in the pit of his elbow, feeling for the blanket blindly, resolving to deal with anything else later.

That's MY Bucky Bear! (ao3) - emma98 steve/darcy, bucky/natasha T, 120k

Summary: Steve Rogers and Darcy Lewis didn't exactly get along. In fact, when they were within a stone's throw of one another, they were often bickering. If you asked Steve, it was because Darcy couldn't manage to not get herself kidnapped every other week. And if you asked Darcy, it was because Steve was a giant douchewagon.

Leave it to Natasha and Bucky to bring them together for their own personal reasons and enjoyment. But when Steve and Darcy turn from bickering adults into bickering children (with incredibly foul mouths), it turns out the joke is on Mother Russia's finest.

Through the Darkness Shines a Light (ao3) - orphan_account T, 4k

Summary: Life might've been just a collection of moments, but she'd been on the run for long enough. Maybe this one could last a bit longer for a change. - Natasha and Bucky try to cherish what they have as long as it lasts, with the end of the world just around the corner.

Together, we'll both be warmer (ao3) - MedeaV E, 12k

Summary: He already knew he liked her. What he didn't know was that as soon as she acted like she really likes him, he'd jump on it like a hungry wolf, regardless that it's just for a cover. Willful blindness. And now that they're probably about to die, he maybe overreacts a little.

When We Were Young (ao3) - Xi_khaleesi E, 128k

Summary: It is 2002, 18 year old Natasha Romanova is looking her graduation from the Red Room in the eyes. Fear isn't what she should be feeling. Madame has broken her of that habit. Someone has given her a reason to be afraid now.

James doesn't remember anything. Only that he's woken up, metal arm in tow and the newest member of an underground Soviet academy to train super soldiers. He's been the only successful one of the five. The only thing that really has mattered is the girl with red hair who's made him forget to breathe.

Natasha and James encounter each other many times, each time reminds them how hard it is to deny feelings they've been told to not have.

Worse Before It's Better (ao3) - All_InProcess T, 4k

Summary: After managing to rescue him and get him to a safehouse, Natasha sets about the most challenging part of the situation: convincing Bucky to let himself be comforted and taken care of.

#themculibrary #marvel #mcu #masterlists #winterwidow #winterwidow masterlist #bucky barnes #natasha romanoff

[dorothygale123]

LAST TIME ON CHINESE MYTHOLOGY KAI!

The water god Gonggong was a sore loser and decided to make everyone suffer because of it, destroying Mount Buzhou with his thick head and causing the heavens to fall. Luckily, the great goddess Nuwa was able to repair the sky with a combination of molten rock and severed limbs, but the mortal world is still in great peril.....

Ah, the flood myth. A staple in most Indo-European myths from Noah to Utnapishtim. The widespread prevalence of such a specific myth structure implies there was an actual flood of massive proportions in that part of the world, and here we see evidence that it may have gone as far as East Asia. Most flood myths are focused on the idea of a cleansing apocalypse, with the gods becoming angry at how sinful humanity is and wanting to start over. While there are versions of the Chinese flood myth with this same inciting incident, many also blame Gonggong knocking down the heavens as the cause. For our purposes today it doesn't really matter how or why it happened, just that there's water everywhere.

According to one of my sources, the flood actually takes place directly after the debacle with the 10 Suns, which had gotta be a real kick in the teeth. Like, we just got rid of the unbearable heat and yeah, we did want water, but not THIS MUCH! As a side note, perhaps this can give a bit of context as to why Gonggong and Zhurong were fighting. It may have had something to do with the devastation caused by the suns and how to fix it, with Gonggong losing and then trying to do things his way anyway in the most needlessly destructive way possible.

Anyway, no matter the reason there's water water everywhere and not a drop to breathe, so humans are unsurprisingly drowning. Seeing this, the human emperor decided to try and find someone who could help. Nuwa was apparently taking a nap or something after fixing the sky, so he had to find someone else. He ends up going to this guy named Gun, apparently the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Gun get the idea to go to the heavens and steal some divine dirt, much like Prometheus. However, also like Prometheus, he's caught and punished for his theft. Even worse, he doesn't even get to use his magic dirt and full on dies. Yikes. Supposedly his executioner was Zhurong, who started this whole mess in the first place by fighting with Gonggong. Great work bud, super helpful.

Luckily, Gun's death wasn't the end as he was apparently.... pregnant, I guess? Because after his corpse had been sitting there a while a healthy baby boy popped out, ready to take on the world! This boy was Yu the Great, a significant Chinese culture hero and mythical Emperor. Due to his achievements later in this myth, he is also called Yu the Engineer.

So Yu is born out of his dad's corpse, and apparently even though Gun was executed for stealing the magic dirt it wasn't actually confiscated, so Yungets his hands on is pretty quick. Either that or the current ruler of the heavens just... likes Yu more, I guess? And gives him some magic dirt. I think it would be cool if Nuwa snuck him some of the stuff becuase she thought the ruler of the heavens was being stupid and she didn't want the humans she'd created to all die becuase of the stick up his butt. Either way, Yu has some and starts spreading it around. Wherever the dirt touches the flood waters, it creates new land for people to stand on. He uses the new land to make dams, likes, and canals to guide the waters to the ocean.

In some tellings, Yu uses a large staff to measure the waters as he controls the flood. This is yet another possible origin story for the Ruyi Jingu Bang that Sun Wukong stole borrowed from Ao Guang. This is why some scholars speculate that the Monkey King is the reincarnation of Yu the Great. Personally I'm not that into it and prefer Wukong to just be his own special kind of wierdo, but it's a legitimate theory. You decide whether you like it or not.

Anyway, the flood waters recede and humanity can finally get back to their normal life.

For real this time.

Probably.

Sh*tpost Masterlist

#mythology sh*tposting #lmk #lego monkie kid #chinese mythology #sun wukong #journey to the west #mythology #jttw #chinese myth character inspo #gonggong #zhurong #nuwa #yu the great #ruyi jingu bang #chinese flood myth

[pbandjesse]

Me and Jess are sitting in the Japan pavilion in Epcot after a very very long day. We are waiting on fireworks. I am having such a a great time even though at some points today I was in so much pain I thought I was going to fall apart. But Jess did such a good job breaking up our day and making sure we got a good break. I am having such a fun trip.

We got to bed last night after washing hair and getting cozy. We werent able to get the Disney Plus to log in so instead we watched the story book version of Rapunzel they had in the TV and Jess was asleep before the 13 minutes was up. It took me a little longer but not much.

And it was a pretty great sleep. Excellent excellent pillows. I was tired but I felt pretty good. I would be better once I had some caffeine.

We got dressed and I braided my hair. Jess curled hers a little. And things were good. We were both a little unsure about how cold it was or our shoes but we made our choices and headed to breakfast.

When we got there we realized we could mobile order. So after we figured that out we didn't have to wait to to long before our food was ready. A coffee and a soda helped. It was interesting to learn how the soda cups have an RFID chip in the bottom to track your refills. And we decided that I should get the reusable mug for the week because it will be a better deal in the end. But that would be at dinner. For the morning I got a paper cup, we shared eggs and tater tots and Jess got waffles. It was a good meal and kept us on budget.

I went to use the bathroom and smashed my arm between the stall door and the toilet paper holder and it hurt so much. I was still holding it by the time I got back to the table. Ouch.

But it was time to go. We walked to the bus stop. The line was crazy long. But we were in a good mood and it was fine to wait.

The problem would arise when 6 Animal Kingdom buses came before an Epcot did and everyone was a little frustrated and upset. We were fine but we were also a little stressed. The Epcot buses would be an issue all day. I was very motivated to get to what Jess wanted to get to first before the park opened so I was focused.

The bus we got on was very full and we were a little squished. But it wasn't a long ride and once we got to the park, after going through security and using the bathroom, we got into Epcot! I was so excited.

We needed to get to France to try and get on the Remy ride. I was trying to make Jess power walk. But in the end it did not matter. Because the line was two counties over it was so long! We were not going to wait in that.

(Had to pause for an hour to watch the fireworks. Now we are waiting for the bus)

So instead we started walking around the world. And it was really neat! I knew I would like this one but I only had some small memories of what Epcot was like. For some reason I had completely forgotten it had a water front. And it was like a full circle. Not what I had in my mind. But it was so cool seeing everything.

I liked Mexico a lot. Way more then I expected. The ring carver souvenir stand wouldn't be open until noon so we had time to kill. We would still start in Mexico though with a boat ride where Donald duck was missing.

Here is my honest feedback of all the rides we went on today: Disney needs to not rely on screens. Whenever there were animatronics it was incredible and engaging, from the simple ones to the realistic, it was incredible. But when there were screens filling in for part of the set dressing or storyline it was so stupid. Like just not enjoyable at all. And I'm not talking about the overhead 360 screens that are immersive. I'm talking about the almost TV projector screens. Thankfully not everything is screen heavy.

I really did enjoy our first ride. And just walking around. We decided to head back to spaceship earth to try the ride inside the ball. And it was probably my favorite of the entire day. We had to wait outside for a while but it wasn't a terribly long time. Which is very good because it was freezing.

It ended up being incredibly windy and that wind was icy cold. I am really really glad I wore this fleece because I would have been miserable. My face was so cold. Thankfully the rest of me was fine. I had decided at the last minute to put on tights and that was such a good call. Saved my day for sure.

Jess was still a bit cold. So after our next ride, where we got to learn about living with the land and plant and fish farming techniques, Jess would buy a sweatshirt. She was a lot more comfortable after that.

We got to add to a painting at the festival. Jess did 5 squares of yellow and I did 5 of a grey blue green tone. It was a lot of fun to get to be a part of the art. And we'll get to see it later and know where we helped because I made sure to ask. It was really nice to have an activity.

Back to spaceship earth. This was my favorite ride. I loved that it was going back in time. For some reason I thought it was talking about the future. So I really was just tickled seeing all the different historical scenes and marveled at how the animatronics moved. They took our pictures and used us in a little animation on the screen in our car which was hilarious because we didn't know the picture was happening so we both looked so silly. There was an incredible star part. We went backwards for a little which was probably the most uncomfortable part. But it was just so cool. I loved it.

We would go in a few shops. I got a baby panda that I had such a visceral reaction to. He's pink!! I carried him in my pocket.

And had a lot of fun trading pins. We each had 12 to trade away from what my mom gathered for us. And I think I have made some excellent selections. I am really pleased and it's been a really fun little task.

Jess said that she is enjoying how I'm interacting and looking at the spaces. She's been here so many times so she is mostly just following where I want to explore. Which lead is to see the 360 video about Canada. Which was honestly pretty cool. And it gave us a little break sitting down when no one was hsing the handicap bench. I even slipped off my shoes to stretch my feet in the ground using some of my old ballet stretched and it helped a lot.

We would head back to Mexico to order our rings. Jess got 'mood' and I got 'jesse' and 'soft' (James thought that it would be funny to have a metal ring say soft.) And the woman was really nice. She sent us back inside the Mexico pavilion to pay.

And when we were in there the nice man, Carlos, at the counter pulled out his guitar and played happy birthday at me and then!! He let me go through his social box of pins for trading and I got an orange bird pin from the flower festival last year and it's my most special pin now. He was so sweet. I really appreciated it.

We were struggling with food though. That was for sure the hardest thing today. When Jess has been here for the food and wine festival there were so many options. But there was almost nothing we could have. It either has bread or meat. And it was super discouraging because today was the day we didn't make a reservation for anything. I was at least able to get a grilled cheese and soup and a piece of chiffon mousse. And Jess was able to have some of the soap and the mousse and that held us together. It was actually really fabulous and gave me a second wind for sure. Between the food and the caffeinated crystal lite I brought with me, I was solid for the next couple hours.

We would wander around the world and eventually pick up our rings. Which I love. But my fingers were a little swollen from walking around so I almost got the one stuck on my finger and had a very scary moment but I would get it off before it was a problem. Once my hands weren't so swollen later I was able to wear them no problem. Though I may take a file the the band later because the edge is just a smidge sharp. Still an excellent gift to myself.

Jess would have some risotto from Canada. Which I did not like the texture of but I was glad she got to eat. We would wander in and out of shops and I was having a blast. But I was getting pretty tired. The sun would perk up and the wind would calm down for a bit and it would get almost to warm for a few minutes. But honestly that was not as uncomfortable as the cold had been. I just took off my fleece and was only slightly to warm in my tights.

And that would last for that long. We decided that we were both pretty low on energy. And we should start heading back. I realized that we were maybe 45 minutes past our energy levels and my feet started hurting so wildly bad. My ankle has been rubbing all morning but it got to a spot where I was just. Struggling. And my struggling made me want to speed walk to get to sitting but Jess was all locked up and going very slow. Which was understandable but I was frustrated because my feet were hurting so bad. It felt like standing on knives (little mermaid reference). But we struggled through and got to our bus and it wasn't even a very long wait.

I was thrilled to be sitting. And the sitting helped give me the little bit of relief to walk back to our hotel. We were both so stiff and it was kind of horrible.

Once I was out of my tights and socks and put on my little toe separators things, we both laid backwards on our beds with our feet on the headboards to try and get the blood to not make them swell and I think it helped a lot. After 20 or so minutes of that I turned around and fell asleep.

Jess let me sleep until 5. I was not thrilled about waking up but she was already dressed so it was clear she let me rest longer and so I pulled myself together. Which was tough. I was still very tired. But I got redressed and we had some huge laughs and things felt right again even if we were both just a little prickly.

Dinner would help. We tried ordering the mobile order from our room. But this did not make things quicker. Annoying. I did get my refillable cup and it's great. I think it will be a good souvenir plus cost per use it is absolutely worth it for me. And our dinner of pizza, fries, gluten free chicken strips, carrots, and celery was actually really great. We had so many sauces. And it was fun people watching. A little child even came up to me to tell me a joke and I told her one back. She has been driving her mother crazy repeating the same knock knock over and over. I was glad to give a slight distraction.

Getting back to Epcot was difficult. We had another multiple Animal Kingdom buses but it made even less sense because animal Kingdom closes at 6! It was after 6! Why are they going there? The answer really is they make a loop and will keep picking people up but it was still frustrating.

The family next to us was funny. There tween daughter was a city girl who was being extra and she did a very very bad cartwheel and I clapped for her and it was just so silly. They gave us on waiting for Epcot and went to Disney springs instead. But we stuck it out and the bus would eventually come. Honestly it worked out because the other family near us forgot their backpack in the restaurant and the mom had to book it running across the parking lot. And she made it back in time. Excellent.

We would get back to Epcot at 7. And it was great. We were able to basically walk onto the finding Nemo ride. Which relied on screens way to much but ended in an actual aquarium and that was amazing.

Jess would go take a break and I would explore all the fish and seahorses by myself. I sat in the tank window to watch the dolphins and got to see manatees for I think the first time ever. They were sleeping but it was still really cool.

Despite how tired we had been I was a really doing great. That rest was perfect. We got popcorn. I don't love popcorn that much but Jess does. It was still fun to snack. And we got to go the other direction. Towards Morocco, the UK, Italy, and Japan. And it was so fun.

Japan was probably my favorite store and I showed so much restraint and didn't buy anything. Jess got one blind box. It is a little cat holding a shrimp. Very on brand.

It was getting late. And the fireworks start at 9. The next thing we wanted to eat was a sushi donut and a strawberry mochi. And they were right there. And at this point there was no line! Incredible.

While we were waiting for the order to come out I suggested finding a bench and posting up for the fireworks. I ran away from her to commander the open bench I saw. And once she brought the food over the mochi was so good! It would have been improved by more strawberry pieces but was still excellent. Jess said the sushi donut was just fine. More a novelty but fine.

We aren't sure the bench was right for fireworks. So we kept running around the area to scope out a better place. We sat and waited and I started this post. Which I am now finishing in our hotel room.

In the end it didn't matter where our bench was.

Once the fireworks started we realized we had a building mostly in the way. So a few minutes in we moved closer to stand and watch. And it was. Incredible. Like I was almost crying incredible. It was about 15 minutes and the music and the way they even used the smoke to bounce light and the ideas about human connection and love. They made firework hearts?? I was enthralled. I may not get Mickey Mouse but I get this. And this was incredible.

And that was it. That was the end of the park day. Except not really. We still had to walk across the world to get to the buses. And I was in such a lovely mood I decided to speed run us getting some pictures together. It is a struggle with crowds. But most people were gone and so we found a few places with nice architecture and I snapped some shots and we got to hear the staff silly singing to each other and it was just so much fun.

We got out of the park and got on the 3rd bus. Didn't even have to wait that long. We weren't able to sit together but that was okay. I wrote my post and soon enough we were back. I was in pain again but it wasn't so bad. And now I'm going to take a shower and we are going to put on a movie and we will sleep.

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom! We better not have as much struggle with the buses. But also we are going to sleep in an extra hour. I am looking forward to a day filled with creatures and critters and Jess says more rides. I am excited.

I love you all so much. Until next time!!

[nokingsonlyfooles]

And, Again with the Art!

This illustration is for Tin Soldier #13, Flour Power. It's been through some changes!

Woo! Finally came up to one with lyrics!

I'm doing some civil disobedience here, with a metred amount of disobedience. I'd be willing to pay songwriters a reasonable amount (like, an amount comparable to something a human being would pay for a single/MP3) for the ability to reprint/remix music with credit and a link to the original. I would be willing to work with a reasonable copyright of 2-7 years. That's not an option right now. So, I rewrite lyrics and link you to the original on YT (which has paid for the privilege of skirting copyright and can afford it), with credit. And I try to give views to the artist's official account, if possible.

I also use song titles, because we seem to have decided those are not unique enough to be copyrighted, but I have no idea if that, or the rewritten lyrics, will hold up if someone gets pissed and comes after me. This is, conceivably, a risk, but any jailbreak is.

My lyrics are Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA. I would go full public domain, but Disney likes to pull things out of there and copyright the hell out of their version, so I gotta add something to keep them away. Just in case! So, with that disclaimer out of the way, here's a parody of Master of the House that tells a different story. You can listen to the original and read along in mental stereo! (To substitute, or "sub" means to use a thing as another thing, or alter it with magic enough to do so. "Master of the Kitchen" doesn't scan, and Maggie has asked to learn about substitutions. But, by all means, reblog and make the obvious joke. Any publicity is good publicity!)

Welcome, mon Dieu, sit yourself down

And meet the greatest handler around

As for my friends, they do their best

But I can manage any request

I’ll settle the debt

Aren’t you glad you met

This guy with few supplies

Who’s a nervous wreck?

Master of the Sub, confidence is key

Specialize in baked goods and psychology

Answer with a nod, service with a smile

Invisibles require you to be versatile

Keeping track of gods and favours

And remember to be nice

But nothing costs you nothing

Before you buy, you’d better know the price!

Master of the Sub, herder of the cats

Ready with some poison or a friendly chat

Water down the wine, I can fix the taste

Somebody will want that, it won’t go to waste

Everybody loves a handler

Everybody's trusted mate

If you need it, I’ll do it

Screw it! My own mental health can wait!

Master of the Sub, always finds a way

Available for counseling both night and day

Servant of the gods, slave of the possessed

Confidant, psychologist, and total mess

Everybody’s first defender

Everybody's chaperone

But though I’ll help you through it

Screw it! When it counts I’m on my own!

Food beyond our means. Food beyond belief

Mix it with some bouillon and they’ll think it's beef

Turkey tastes like sheep, chicken tastes like rat

I can fix the texture, they won’t notice that

Deities are always welcome

Residents are pushed aside

Help them make the best deal

Then I mind them while they’re occupied!

Pay 'em for their skills, careful who they kill

Negotiate the prices and pay all the bills

That’s survivable, just a little pain

Don’t call a god to fix it, or you’ll pay again

When it comes to filling orders

There’s so many tricks I know

All these chains of deals, questionable meals

Screw it! That’s the way the money goes!

I thought the park might be more fun than school.

But gods in heaven, will you listen to this fool?

Master of the sub? Couldn’t cast a spell!

Confidant, psychologist and dull as hell!

Very little skill. Story’s pretty tragic

Guess he’s halfway clever, but where’s the magic?

I’m s’posed to write a paper, what do you want me to do?

It’s still not three pages even with the part about the zoo!

Master of the sub!

Master of the yuck.

Confidant, psychologist

I may upchuck.

Servant of the gods, slave of the possessed

Devious, incompetent and clinically depressed!

Everybody needs a handler!

Everybody likes his grub!

Let’s all learn to substitute!

Let’s all admit the point is moot

Let’s all learn to substitute from the Master of the Sub!

And, here's the shaded version. It has slightly different lyrics, but I think the newer ones are better.

No pen-paper-scan version of this, 'cos I didn't make one. Tin Soldier is a thing. I wrote it. Go read it!

#tin soldier and soldier on #writers on tumblr #artists on tumblr #illustrators on tumblr #illustrations #indie fiction #illustrated fiction #parody song lyrics #creative commons

[ofstormsandsaints]

what does marion think of your mutuals ocs?

For the moment, I'll stick to @besnella, @gingerall and @mariicake 's ocs. Maybe I'll make a second post if anyone is interested

Aleksi - she smells like danger and bleeding duty. Objectively, he is impressed by her talent and her self-control. He also knows how misogynistic demons can be so he admires even more her dedication to her work, how her ambition always drives her farther and farther. Slay queen, show them who's the boss here. Your weaknesses can become your most lethal weapons, don't hide them.

That being said, even if they'd enjoyed each other's company, Marion still can't trust her completely.

She's a demon after all. Even if Aleksi is a supreme depiction of dark feminine beauty and Marion knows his sister would fall head over heels for her. To be like her... Distrust and strong ideologies have been implemented in his brain since forever. He appreciates her dry humour, her blazing confidence and her complex silences - but it'll take time for both of them before they build real trust. Before they truly open up.

I'm certain they'll become drinking buddies though-

Cyra - an old Hollywood siren who lived long enough but whose heart still yearns for the distant memory of a forgotten land.

Water signs make his heart go high. Her adventurous side, her love for art, for cinema and theatre are something he looks up to. + Her curly hair is a yes for him.

He doesn't mind her secretive and discreet personality at all. Cyra does a very good job in hiding her true nature - to the point that Marion was almost scared when he realised she was a demon. Just like Aleksi, he isn't supposed to become friends with her. He's a hunter blablabla with principles blablabla. You get it.

-but once she helped him when he had an anxiety attack at school and couldn't attend his next class. She brought him her notes - smooth, elegant cursive writing on a amber-scented paper.

The next day, he thanked her with a grapefruit soda.

Keiichirou - Oh. Finally a human.

Both immediately though 'how pretty' the first time their eyes laid on each other across the corridor. But do you think they approached each other right after?

No.

Marion spent weeks without being able to do more than just catch sight of Keii's silhouette. Either in a hurry, or just lost in his thoughts, he never had the occasion to go and introduce himself to this handsome boy - renowned around the school. How can someone be so popular that you hear his name at least once a day but he still manages to disappear each time you're looking for him? Once, he mistook Ayato for Keii because of their similar hair colour. Marion walked past the vampire and sighed.

'Hm? What's up, bigot?'

'...Nothing. Just looking for someone taller.'

Quickening his pace, annoyed, he ignored the immortal narcissist's answer.

---

He is way too nice, Marion thought the first time Keii and him talked together. The hunter felt like he was talking to another version of himself - full of brilliant charming smiles and poised confidence. He actually never grew suspicious of Keii's adaptative and manipulative behaviour to be honest. Maybe because he doesn't care as long as it doesn't prevent him from flirting with him. (and because he is simply...not aware of it? Come on, we're talking about Keiichirou. He knows what he's doing.)

But yes. They definitely flirt together. Nothing else occurs for the moment but their chemistry is very, very interesting to observe. The tension burns like a sun and their shared laughter chime like crystal clicking glasses. Are they friends? Something more? Something less?

I would love to write about Sarfaraz and Sai'rish when I'll learn more about them. Ready for them whenever you are dear @lovely-oh-so-lovelyyui <3

#diabolik lovers oc #marion barsotti #marion #alexandra natalya fyodorovna #cyra abbas #keiichirou seong #I'm working on more details regarding Aleksi and Marion #maybe on Cyra too if Mariam dear is ok with it <3 #and maybe on Keii if it's possible- #so many ocs #so many possibilities #diabolik lovers #dialovers

[zarvasace]

I Found Another Portal but Nobody Will Tell Me What the Quest Is

GUESS WHAT I FINISHED MY FINALS (and I really hope I passed that one class) SO! I'm gonna post this :) It's just part 1 of 2.

Gen in both senses, currently ~3.1k, Legend-focused. AO3 link here. (fyi I prefer comments over there so I have them to read later :) )

This is part of what I've been calling the Narnia AU, where the Links live (mostly) in our Earth and have magic portals to different Hyrules. The short summary version of this is: Legend gets isekai'd to modern Earth. Also Wind has access to every camera in existence, somehow.

---

Link sighed, looking into the empty cave. It wasn't a very big cave, and about half of the floor space was taken up by a deep pool, lined with beautiful stones. Once upon a time, the pool glowed with the most gorgeous blue light, and had housed a  powerful Great Fairy, along with dozens of the little ones. This one in particular, and fairies in general, saved Link's life many times, whether here in Hyrule or in one of the other countries surrounding it. He enjoyed visiting fairies when he could, this cave and others.

This pool had been dark and abandoned for months now. The other fairies, when he asked, said that this one had 'moved on,' whatever that meant. Knowing fairies and their different perceptions of the world, it could be anything from literally moving to a different cave or dying. Could fairies die? Link didn't know, and he didn't necessarily like the empty cave.

On this visit, however, Link dared to venture inside the cave just a little farther. He held up his lantern a few inches higher, casting light that curled around rocks and outlined the stones at the edge of the pool. Something… something inside the pool glinted oddly. 

As Link crept closer, a familiar, unwelcome feeling grew in his gut. He had very little doubt that this was the start of another adventure. Part of him wanted to drop the lantern and turn out of the cave, never to return, but the rest of him was too stubborn. He was a Hero, and he didn't shy from the task.

Even if he'd already saved literally everyone several times over. What a pain. At least he never went anywhere without his most important things, and could count himself ready. 

So Link crouched down by the pool, setting the lamp on the side with a sound that echoed. He didn't know exactly how deep the pool went, but it was clear and it was empty. He could see a rocky bottom and the thing that had caught his light in the first place.

An ornate metal frame, detailed with things he couldn't make out from up here, hovered upright over the bottom of the pool. Link knew enough to know that the odd swirling darkness inside the frame was most likely a portal of some kind. At least its magic didn't feel malicious.

Link sighed and weighed his options. He didn't know if there was a time limit here, though chances were pretty good. He'd prefer to go get more of his things from his house, but he didn't know if time would allow for it. He had what he had, then. It would have to be good enough. 

After snuffing out the lamp and shoving it back into his—thankfully waterproof—bag, Link took a last look at the opening of the cave, then jumped down into the pool. 

As far as he could tell, the water was just normal water, no fairy magic or any other kind of magic in it. Link tamped down on the transformation magic that rose to the top of his mind like a question, but he did borrow the mermaid's water breathing ability. No need to handicap himself. 

As his lungs exhaled the air and filled with water instead, he sank. Controlling depth while breathing water was difficult without the full transformation, but he just needed to go to the bottom. He caught himself on the mirror frame and drifted closer, looking it over. 

Any doubts he had as to whether or not this was an adventure thing vanished from his mind. This was a portal that was very clearly meant for him. Carvings decorated the gilt frame, iconography that called back to very specific moments in his life. They were vague enough to not give anything away to anyone who didn't already know what it all meant. Link ran a hand across the very special ocarina, the bolt of lightning, the harp, the stylized dress. Each decorated thing was a reminder, some of them unpleasant. 

Just because Link knew this was for him didn't mean he trusted it. He pulled a bow he didn't care about from his bag and poked half of it through the portal. It disappeared, and he waited a moment to see if anything attacked it. As far as he could tell, nothing touched the bow, so he stuffed it back into the bag. 

He tried his hand next. It felt like water on the other side, too. Nothing bit his hand, and it seemed to be fine when he pulled it back out.

So Link put his head into the weird dark portal. It was, in fact, water on the other side, and a lot brighter. Nothing appeared to eat him, so Link pushed himself the rest of the way through. 

It looked like he was in a river, with somewhat murky water that felt very different from Hyrule's rivers. The feeling of evil was entirely missing, as was any hint of magic at all, unless that dirty smell was magic. He doubted it. Sunlight filtered through the water, reflecting off of the oddly smooth riverbed. Link swam out farther into the river to touch the sides. They were rough, like the world's flattest stone, but without visible seams anywhere. Constructed, he assumed, somehow. 

The portal did not disappear, to Link's relief. On this side, the frame wasn't quite as intricate. A relief of the Triforce crowned the top, with elements of the Hyrulean crest surrounding it. Interesting. 

Well, the river didn't seem too dangerous. No Zora, no boats, just the occasional harmless fish. If Link's vision didn't betray him, then there was even a metal ladder built into the side of the river. He swam that way, then climbed up the ladder to a landing filled with weeds. Water streamed from his clothing and hair as he pulled himself up to the bank, but a twist of a certain magical ring dried him off. 

The ring's magic also made his hair fluffier than he'd like, but whatever. It was already pinker than it should be. He adjusted his hat.

Well. New world. Exciting. This wasn't what Link thought he'd be doing today. A part of him reveled in the new adventure, even if most of him was tired already. 

"This one is weird," Link muttered to himself. He saw some trees, which was normal, but a fence blocked most of his view on both sides of the river. Why'd they fence off the river? Didn't they need it? Oh well. Link climbed over the fence, and found himself in a very unfamiliar setting. 

He recognized the buildings for what they were, though they were huge and built with far more glass than was practical. People swarmed the path and staircases, dressed in clothing that would make Princess Styla either faint or squeal in glee, Link couldn't be sure. Most of them wore packs of some kind, but didn't seem like they were traveling long distances. 

A pair of girls about Link's age, maybe a little older, passed him on a path, saying something about classes and teachers. Although their accent was unfamiliar and difficult to parse for a moment, Link gathered that this place must be a school. A huge one, like the university that Zelda was talking about rebuilding near the castle. Had he jumped forward in time?

It would have to be a lot of time, Link thought, watching a long… something pull up on one of the larger roads. It made a lot of noise. The closest comparison he could make was to a metal carriage with small wheels, and without any obvious form of propulsion. Magic, then, probably. A lot of those carriages ran around on the dark roads, following painted lines and most of them smaller than this big one. 

Link gave the big one a suspicious look, chose a direction, and started walking. He was confident, though he had no idea where he was or when he was, because acting confident let him pretend he was in control. It also deterred curious civilians from being overly concerned about him.  

All right, so where was he and what was he supposed to be doing? He understood the language, but he couldn't read the signs. The characters were shaped like swirls, though he suspected they might be related to his own, distantly. He almost recognized a few here and there. Looked like he'd have to ask someone. 

Link followed a boy into one of the buildings, not comprehending anything. There were desks, glowing …books or something, and people sitting at tables writing and reading. If this was like Zelda's ideas for a university, then Link could get behind that. It didn't look like the learning was limited just to the wealthy, either, he thought, watching as someone's pack strap just popped off. Shoddy quality. The guy sighed and just picked it up by the other strap. 

He approached a woman at the nearest desk, since she was answering someone's questions about where a bathroom was. She seemed like someone vaguely in charge, though Link didn't think anyone was actually "in charge" of this room. He listened to the short conversation, trying to get a better handle on the accent. 

When the first person left, Link stepped up to the woman, who turned her attention to him. She'd done her hair in a rather unflattering style, and though Link wasn't sure about the clothing, he was pretty sure Princess Styla would cry over the makeup. 

"What can I do for you?" she asked. The accent was still weird, but he could understand most of it, at least. 

Link gave her a smile that he hoped was friendly. "Hello. I'm… new to the area. I was hoping to get some directions, to, um…" He wasn't quite sure what to ask for. Quests usually gave him information when they started in earnest, they didn't usually just throw him into things like this. 

"Directions to somewhere on campus? Or in the building?" 

"In town, actually. I'm looking for the…" He honestly wasn't sure. He could think of a few good places to get information for an unknown quest, and a few good places to begin. "...nearest temple." 

The woman looked at him as if he was a particularly perplexing puzzle. "Temple? I'm not sure where that would be, but you're welcome to use the public computers to look it up." She pointed at a table off to the side, lined with some of the… glowing things. 

Link had no idea what those were, but she clearly expected him to. He gave her a nod. "Right. Thank you." He turned from the desk, waited until she'd looked away, then hurried down a hallway. 

He knew what doors were, duh, but pretty much everything else in this building confused him. He could guess about the hanging signs, and the bright posters pinned up on boards, but since he couldn't read the words, he couldn't even begin to know what they were advertising. He turned down another hallway to see a door leading outside. He'd never admit how relieving it was to see that. 

Outside, the air was a bit nippy, but nothing his magic stuff couldn't handle. What Legend really needed to do was find monsters, or a fairy, or someone in charge. A sage, maybe. Perhaps he could find one at the university, but he wasn't so sure. Right now, it was a rather uncomfortable place to be, and he didn't know if there was any chance of him randomly running into someone who knew what he needed to be doing. 

Link walked for a little while, until he found a larger road. Across the street, he saw what looked like a collection of shops, maybe a few taverns too, so he followed a group of students across the wide road. One of them complimented his hair. 

An old woman came down the road, headed away from Link and the collection of shops. She'd evidently come out of one of them, since she walked slowly along with white bags dangling from the frame she was supporting herself on. Link paused, and in that moment, one of the bags split open, dropping her things to the ground. 

However jaded and cynical Link could be, he was still a Hero at his core, with the stupid rabbit heart to prove it. He jogged up and leaned down to help her gather things back up. 

"Oh, my, thank you for the help, young man. These bags are so flimsy, aren't they?" The old woman straightened back up and smiled at him. 

Quests did sometimes start with helping old women, Link thought. He sent her a smile back and pulled out one of his spare normal bags from the magic bag at his hip. (He had so many bags.) 

"No problem at all." He put the odd, slick packages into the sturdy bag and eyed all the other white ones she held. A few others looked close to bursting, too. "How far away is your home? I'll help you get everything there."

She tilted her head at him. "Oh, no, you don't need to go out of your way like that. I'm all right."

"I insist. Let me help?" 

The old woman seemed far more suspicious than Link had expected. Was theft really that common here? He tried to seem harmless. It wasn't as if he had any obvious weapons on him. 

"I suppose it's all right, I'm just a twenty minute walk away. Probably ten minutes for you." She smiled and let him take a few bags off of her arms. 

"My name is Link," Link offered as he took the bags. Names meant trustworthiness, right? 

"I'm Martha," the old woman responded. She smiled at him again and started walking. "Where are you from, Link? I don't know if I've ever heard your accent." 

Link followed. "Hyrule. Have you heard of it?"

"Perhaps at one time. I'm not as familiar with Eastern Europe as I'd like to be… My husband served overseas as part of a charitable organization several times, but he usually went to Italy and Germany. In fact…"

---

Wild poked his head into the computer room. Wind sat in front of three different monitors that faced away from the door, grinning. 

"Wind?" Wild asked. "What's so funny?" 

"Wild! Get us some popcorn, this is great." Wind smiled up at him. 

"What is?"

"Popcorn first!" 

Wild rolled his eyes, but complied. Whatever had Wind so enthralled had better be good. His demand for popcorn probably meant that it was, though. 

The house was quiet as Wild walked through to the kitchen. Most of the others were out, at jobs or classes. Wild thought that Sky and Four were out in their Hyrules, though he knew that Twilight was here, probably working on something in his room. 

One bowl of air-popped popcorn, a stick of butter, and a good helping of salt later, Wild pushed his way back into the computer room and pulled a chair over to sit by Wind. "So, what's so good?"

In front of Wind, the monitor on the left showed an ever-changing, tight grid of camera feeds, most of which Wild recognized. Those monitored their portals to Hyrule. The monitor on the right had up some windows that Wild mostly recognized, the internet and maps and such. The center monitor had a single video on it, and that's what Wind was watching. 

Wind took a handful of popcorn and started to eat the puffs two or three at a time. "I think I found a new Link."

"Another one of us? Aren't there already eight?" Wild frowned and looked closer at the center monitor. It looked to be a view of a neighborhood, with two or three houses visible. A young man stood on one of the houses' porches, talking to an old woman. He was clearly attempting to say goodbye, but the old woman kept chatting away. 

"Yeah, but who knows how many of us there are? I'm pretty sure he's like you and Sky, not native to Earth." Wind gestured with a piece of popcorn. "I've been watching him for a little while. He has no idea where to go, and he's dressed like that."

Wild had to admit that Wind had a point. The possible Link wore a long tunic with tall boots and no pants, which was either a fairly bold modern fashion statement or something from a Hyrule. His hair was pink, though. Did his Hyrule have hair dye? Or was it something more magical, like Twilight's tattoos or Time's weird eye? 

"So…" Wild took some popcorn for himself, too. "Why are we just watching him instead of calling everyone up to go get him? I mean, it's pretty weird to find yourself in a place that is distinctly not Hyrule." He thought back to his own first hour on Earth and how he had begun to panic when his slate showed a map entirely different to the one he was used to. 

"He's handling it pretty well. He wandered around the campus for a bit, then helped an old lady with her groceries." Wind switched cameras to a different view of the lady's porch. Wild had no idea how Wind had access to so many. 

"That doesn't sound very exciting to watch."

Wind shrugged. Onscreen, the Link finally got away from the old lady and headed down the street. Wind followed with cameras of varying quality. "I think I'm just curious to see what he'll do next. Also, his expression when he looked at the school's computer lab was priceless."

"What is that he has?" Wild asked, leaning in to look at the screen. "Does he have a slate, too?" It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. 

"Looks like money. The lady paid him? That was nice of her."

It took another few minutes for the Link to get back out to the shopping center. Wild had to admit, he was interested to see where this Link would go next. He knew what he would personally do to get the lay of the land—find something tall and climb it, and maybe try to find something for his slate to interact with, like the towers. This Link appeared to have some kind of plan, since he did walk with a lot of purpose. What was it? 

Wild was sucked in, too. This was really interesting. Besides… "I guess everyone is pretty busy. It's just us right now. We can probably wait until later, when more people are here."

"My thoughts exactly." 

The new Link headed for a glass door in the shopping center that Wild was quite familiar with. 

"Oh no," Wild realized. "That's the one Wars manages. That's a coffee shop. He's going to get coffee."

Wind shared a grin with him and switched cameras to see the interior of the shop. "This is gonna be such a disaster."

#linked universe #um #narnia au #I guess #can't call it portals au #lu legend #lu fic #my writing #isekai au

[magicalcrystalsproject]

💘OneShot the Ball (English version not revised!)💘

Hello guys!! This is a OneShot of My AU!! Hope you like this OneShot!! I made it based on some events from my Magical Crystals planning! Well this OneShot has a little connection with the original fic! It just portrays a random event!!

I posted the original Portuguese version a while ago here on tumblr!! posted this english version on devianart click here and go to devianart i will use it more often than tumblr!

⚠️CRINGE ALERT ALERT⚠️

That night there was a dance in celebration of autumn, everything was well decorated, lively music and various gossips were being brought up to date! Lisa was sitting on the stairs just watching the movement and thinking like a

Castle could be so crowded at just one little autumn dance!

— Is the little Princess accompanied?

'Not as far as I know!' But I think he's late getting ready upstairs!

-Wow!? It was only 17 minutes! You're about 30 and I don't say anything!

"That's why I like you!"

"Come on, let's dance!"

The ballroom was full and very busy, the music was loud and soft and with calm melodies! Loki pulled Lisa close to him and put his hand around her waist. Lisa gently brings a hand to her chest and rests her face on his chest, and he rests his chin on Lisa's head. And they began to move rhythmically to the sound the music played. On the other side of the room Thor was getting drunk next to Juliet who was also getting drunk, both were laughing like fools telling jokes without feeling any with bad slang jokes. Emily walked away disgusted, she couldn't stand to hear ridiculous jokes and feel the taste of breath on her face!

That was totally unnecessary. After so much dancing Lisa was practically tired and so she was heading straight to the royal garden while Loki tried to be superior to Heidmall. Lisa heard someone scream as she turned it was Loki calling her!

— WAIT IT! Please don't leave me here alone!

— Of course I didn't think you were busy, come here then!

“I don't like being away from you and you know it!

— I know, worse than I know, you sweetie!

Lisa and Loki ran out into the garden. That garden was of great beauty (actually it was a garden of a fairy kingdom!) It had an organic layout, it had several species of plants and some animals, with a water source and also with a small stream, there were several statues , stairs covered with flowers and finally it smelled really good (a similar smell to Lisa since she was the Fairy of Nature!) Lisa went to the little stream, took off her shoes, sat down and put her feet in the water and , Loki did the same! Lisa rested her head on Loki's shoulder and they watched the couple of swans.

"I always thought this lake was the real Swan Lake!"

"And why did you always think so?"

Because besides having a Beautiful Princess, there are swans in this lake!

"You're such a cutie hi hi!"

"We're not in there anymore, do you want to dance?"

-Of course I want to!

Loki pressed his body against Lisa's Even though the music was fast, we were dancing slowly in the middle of the Garden, surrounded by plants and some nocturnal animals. Soon they were dancing towards the stream and slowly getting wet, accelerating the rhythm and making circular movements with their hands, they closed their eyes and were ready to kiss until a red-haired and very inconvenient creature appeared:

-Lisa, your mothers asked about you and I said you were here! Would you mind if I mess up dating after getting dumped 4 times in one night for being underage?

— OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN OLIVIA YOU ARE THE MOST INCONVENIENT CREATURE IN THE UNIVERSE YOU TAKEN AWAY FOR THAT BULLSHIT!

— Shut up Horny! I'm talking to my cousin not you!

Lisa rolls her eyes and snorts

— Olivia, I suppose you could go to the salon Nê?

— I don't want not I want to stay with you if you want I call Juliet and Thor they are drunk they won't do anything more right?

-OK!? stay here brat!

— Lisa The horned one here called me Brat!

-The more you are! Go talk to Heidmall he loves to talk!

-Really Loki? Or are you lying as usual?

-No I'm not going there he loves to hear others talk especially with you!

-OK! good then bye Lisa you cute who is dating a sucker hehe!

-Loki you got heavy!

-Do you treat everyone as well as you can?

-It's easy we are all similar and deserve love and respect!

Loki lays down and pulls Lisa, who puts her head on Loki's chest, both of them are watching the stars and the purple sky that reminded a lot of the song Purple Rain! Lisa closed her eyes slowly, because she was tired Loki looks at Lisa with an Admired look and then kisses her forehead and with that Lisa opens her eyes and smiles!

-Let's go back to the salon!

-Okay, let's go then!

-We still have a lot to dance!

-So let's go!

When they come back through the main entrance, everyone looks at them, because it was time for the final dance! Amazing coincidence! And in the final dance Lisa puts her head on Loki's shoulder who pulls her closer and lowers her hand to her waist both accompany the sweet melody of the song, both stare at each other for a few minutes making Lisa blush and Loki kisses her!

-I hate to see people kissing!

-Juliet you hate everything and everyone!

-Shut up Thor you idiot!

-I'm surrounded by idiots!

- Shut up Alicia!

When the Ball was over your Highnesses were already sleeping on the stairs after all they danced a lot even in the swan lake!

–//–

Click here to see the original version in Portuguese!!

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