#and it's interesting that all of this coexists alongside the good in her

[thisloveforyourmom]

the pearlrose tag is sure full of takes

#people seeing rose as someone who has real flaws and struggles to see past her own self interest is not people seeing rose as horrible evil #(yes including self hatred! doing things without considering others is still doing things without considering others #if its bc u assume u know whats best for them) #like she is a more interesting character if she goes against the 'kind selfless amazing wonderful departed mother leader' trope #by just being actually selfish! #not secretly selfless! actually kinda selfish and self centered and accidentally cruel in a nonmalicious but still painful way! #and it's interesting that all of this coexists alongside the good in her #like how amethyst's easygoing attitude and commitment to growth coexist alongside her destructive temper and insecurity #like how garnet's affection and sense of responsibility exist alongside her isolationism and impulsivity when pressured #like how pearl's strong caretaking nature and capability exists alongside her obsessive tendencies and snobbiness #rose is more interesting if she is both caring and selfish! both healing and cruel! she is flawed she is deeply flawed #ITS A FEATURE NOT A BUG!!

[gendercriticalthinking]

hi, agender non-binary person here interested in gender critical feminism! i was wondering what your take was on people being uncomfortable with certain pronouns (he/him, she/her).

how do you feel about they/them pronouns, or neopronouns?

Hello there! I apologize so much for not answering your ask in a timely manner!! Responding to people on social media still makes me a bit anxious and stressed so I usually ignore my notifs even though I really shouldn't haha

Thank you for your question, and for being open to listening to gender critical people!!! It's an important and admirable quality to have, and especially worth praising when you and others have outright been told to not interact with gc people/radfems at any cost! So yes, thank you for that! :)

As for your question (which is a good one!) I originally wrote this very long rambly reply and saved it to my drafts hoping to make it coherent one day. But then recently something happened that made me realize something about human nature in general that directly ties into how gender identities and discomfort/enjoyment of certain pronouns came about:

My brother has always loved nature, especially animals. The reason his favorite color is green is because it's the color of plants: trees, jungles, the places animals live and eat and get to be free in. He's so obsessed with green that seeing something green, anything green, compels him to go " :O !!!! Green!!!"

Because he loves nature and animals so much, he's also a vegetarian. And not just in a "eating animals is bad for the environment" way, but a "it disturbs me on a visceral level to see, smell, or be near meat" way. I have to clean up my bowls and plates that I eat meals that have meat on (I mean, I'd do it anyway because you should pick up after yourself but you get what I mean) because the thought of touching a utensil that once came into contact with meat, even if I ate that meat and it's gone now, carnally disgusts him.

He loves animals, and he wants pets. He'd never ever malnourish a pet just because he has a problem with meat, but it'd be a real emotional challenge for him to feed a carnivore wet meaty food and/or live prey every day. (The token family dog was always fed by our parents or me; he'd be okay if our dog liked dry food but he doesn't lol.)

So I researched the options out there for herbivorous pets, and I found a couple species of lizards (he loves lizards in particular, partially because they're often... green) that eat an exclusively plant-based diet! I showed them to him and he was definitely on board... but alongside the herbivores we found a species of lizard that's a bright, vibrant green and makes a great pet, but they need to eat (preferably live) insects.

He's over the moon about the green insectivore lizards. Once he learned they existed it was over for him. They're all he wants, he's 100% sure. And it's for a lot of other reasons besides the fact that they're green, but... they're green. There are no herbivorous green lizards that make good/easy-to-care-for pets. On some level, he cares more about the green-ness than the vegetarianism.

Why is that?

It's because humans are obsessed with creating symbols to represent ideas. So much so that they often get more attached to the symbol itself than the thing it's supposed to be a reminder of. It's like a self-made Cloth Mother that's built to look like the Wire Mother, but comes with none of the substance or nourishment.

Green represents nature and animals coexisting peacefully to my brother. The emotion the color green instills in him as it reminds him of the things he loves is so powerful it surpasses his enjoyment of the literal thing that the color represents to him.

I'm just using him as an example, but everyone does this. Your favorite childhood shows make you happy because they're nostalgic and reminds you of being a kid first and foremost. They can be well-written and artistic and enjoyable underneath that feeling, but the simpler time they mentally take you back to is what you love about them. Your favorite characters, the "he's just like me fr" ones you read fanfic of, are ones that remind you of yourself and/or ones that you're attracted to. They can also be fun to analyze and have interesting personalities and be great meme fodder, but at the end of the day they represent something to you beyond their objective qualities.

.

So. If we live in a world where women are treated as lesser to men, not fully human, accessories to the actual thinkers, and we use "she/her" to refer to women, is it possible your hatred of hearing those pronouns is because they represent the idea that the person saying them to you sees you as inferior, vapid, incomplex?

If you're in a community where being a female who goes by "they/them" or "it/its" or "he/they" means you get to be who you want to be, who you truly are, enjoying everything life has to offer instead of being restricted to a role someone else made up for you, why wouldn't you like to be called something other than "she"?

When the majority of people who go by "she/her" in your spaces are amab people who constantly, vocally fetishize and dehumanize people with your biological body type (with a few afab people who don't seem to act like you or share your interests sprinkled in) why would anyone as smart and complex and kind to yourself as you ever like being called "she"?

Do you have an innate discomfort with certain pronouns because of dysphoria, or do you hate what the sound of them represents, reminds you of, that they're telling you what other people think of you? Do you enjoy being called certain pronouns because of euphoria, or do you like what the sound of them represents, reminds you of, that they're telling you the people who use them must listen to you and care what you think and support you being who you are?

What's my take on pronouns? They're symbols that represent the type of person you are and want to be. They mean something important. They tell a lot about a person. They're not something to play around with and try out for fun like they're clothes. They're not something you can make up out of thin air and pretend they have no connotations attached to them other than an Aesthetic TM you like.

Nor are they an escape from the problems of the world: the baggage comes with them, I'm afraid. It's a lot easier to change your bio and Discord server role than to change people's minds, especially ones belonging to those who hate you. That doesn't mean it's better or it works, just because it's feasible for you to do.

Whenever you feel a certain way about hearing "she," know that countless other women feel the same way as you. And know that leaving "she/her" behind doesn't mean you've found a cheat code out of being victimized and belittled, you've only left women like you behind instead.

#ask #misogyny #gender critical #radfems please interact #radfems please touch #lgbt #lgbtq community #lgbtq #gender #gender identity #trans #non binary #queer #transgender #agender #i said my old draft was too long and yet i go and write this instead lmao #and this ask was from so long ago i don't even know #i'm sorry anon. i hope you never stopped being curious and asking questions.

[volklana]

It Feels Like Jealousy

Title comes from this song: 

Summary: Set during the course of the Falcon and Winter Soldier, Bucky is forced to come to some really harsh realizations about his feelings and actions.

Warnings: Jealous Bucky. Hints of Zemo x Reader if you squint.

Words: 4,124

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series the Falcon and Winter Soldier and the parts referenced in this are for the purpose of keeping to the timeline. 

Not proof read as much as I would have liked but just dipping my toes back into writing. 

“Are you sure about this Bucky?” 

“Are you?” he countered dryly refusing to meet your eyes. Bucky had been short and distant ever since Sam had called you in asking for your help with Karli and the flagsmashers.

You and Bucky had been close once, initially when Steve first brought him back, he seemed to trust you. He would smile in your direction when you entered the room with Steve. He told you stories about their time in Brooklyn as kids and revelled in your music suggestions. Throughout his time in Wakanda you had followed Steve anywhere he needed you to be. You were there for Steve all throughout the blip and you had fought alongside him in the great war against Thanos. When Steve passed, and Sam decided to give up the shield and you were supportive of his decision, Bucky made his contempt for you very clear. You simply never heard from him again until Sam messaged you asking for your help and now you were forced to coexist, neither one wanting to break the ice on what was really going on when the mission was so much more important..

You pushed down the feelings that arose as a result of his coldness and the nerves in your stomach, and instead turned your attention to the briefing Zemo was giving Sam. 

Stepping out of the car, Zemo outstretched his hand for you to take, “Are you ready my love?” he asked softly and all you could do was nod as he placed a hand on your waist and pulled you close, “I may need to touch you more than you would like little one, but know I will only do so in order to keep us in character, you understand this?” Again you nodded, wishing he would stop referring to you as ‘little one’ you found it annoyingly endearing and you were determined to dislike this man with everything in you. 

As soon as you stepped into the bar, Zemo began referring to Bucky as the Winter Soldier, a pit formed in your stomach, and Zemo pulled you closer, not ignorant of the stares you were attracting. 

When Zemo ordered Bucky to attack you felt yourself wanting to spring into action but a calming hand from Zemo on your lower back reminded you not to break. You watched as Bucky made quick work of his opponents, seeming to relish in the challenge. You startled as you felt a pair of arms try to pry you away from Zemo but he reacted quickly, tossing the offender into Bucky’s line of fire and Bucky seemingly more enraged choked him out on the bar. Zemo seemed to be enjoying watching Bucky “fall back into form” way too much and it made you uneasy. 

You and Sam shared a worried expression as Sam asked Bucky if he was good, a curt nod all you got before Zemo took you by the hand again. 

Selby raked her eyes up and down your body as you were seated beside Zemo, you crossed your legs and rested your hand on his thigh, you tried to look at him like he was the only person in the room you were interested in. But you could feel her eyes boring into you, it made your cheeks flare with the intent of the heat in her gaze. 

When Zemo offered Bucky up on a platter in exchange for Selby’s information, you felt rage flare up inside you, this was never agreed upon, but she considered him for a moment before her gaze turned to you, “Throw in this one and you’ve got a deal,” she returned cocking her eyebrow at Zemo, who turned to you with a sad smile.

“She is very precious to me,” he countered but Selby remained stoic, “Very well you may have her,” he agreed. 

Upon this Selby, freely gave Nagel’s name, she seemed to be relishing in her position of power over Zemo knowing he needed her in order to find Nagel, and then to everyone’s horror Sam’s phone rang, Selby demanded he answer it on speaker, and you sat forward in your seat ready to spring into action, you didn’t miss the way Bucky fell into step behind Selby, ready to strike too should he need to. 

You sprung into action when the shot rang out and Selby collapsed, as did Bucky and Sam. When the coast was clear you followed Zemo calmly into the street until shots rallied around you and you had to take off running, Bucky and Sam in the lead. Zemo clasped your hand pulling you in tow, you cursed him for putting you in high heels and held his hand for dear life. 

An excruciating shot of pain ran through your left shoulder as you realised you had been shot, it momentarily stunned you but Zemo kept pulling you, urging you not to stop, as you rounded a corner into an alley catching up with Sam and Bucky, shots flew out overhead killing the guys that were pursuing you. 

As Sharon emerged from the shadows, your breath was staggered and you were clutching onto Zemo heavily neither Sam or Bucky noticing your injury. She pointed her gun right at Zemo and you placed yourself into her line of fire, shielding him, pushing him behind you. An act not missed by Bucky. Luckily Sam took over explaining and you relaxed a little, as Sharon seemed to acquiesce.

You tried to put as much pressure on your wound in the car on the way to Sharon’s. Sam sat in the front and you were sandwiched in the back with Bucky and Zemo.

“You’re injured,” Bucky noted curtly, you nodded and he slipped your jacket down to inspect the damage. “Y/n”, he barked “This needs to be stitched right away, you’ve lost a lot of blood,” again you nodded weekly, you were dizzy from said blood loss and you didn’t need a scolding from Bucky who already thought you were useless. 

Once you got to Sharon’s Bucky ushered you straight into the bathroom, seating you on the tub while he opened the first aid kit. He had to peel your jacket off, it was clinging to your blood soaked skin.

“Can you get the bullet,” you asked weakly. You were snow white and Bucky was worried you were going to pass out.

Bucky hummed, “Yes, but it’s going to hurt like a bitch.”

You took a swig from the bottle of vodka Sharon had given Bucky to sterilise the wound, “Do it,” 

He tore a piece from the bottom of your dress passing it to you and instructing you to bite down on it and without warning dug his metal fingers into the wound. The pain was blinding and you screamed down onto the rag of your dress in your mouth, gripping the side of the tub so hard you thought your fingers were going to break and panting until you heard a metal clink into the bath behind you. 

You had to bite down again as Bucky began to clean the wound tenderly and you almost missed the way he shushed you gently “It’s nearly over, I promise.” 

He made quick work of stitching you up and once he was done he stood behind you for the longest time, only returning to your line of view to take the rag from your mouth and allow you another swig of alcohol. 

“You need rest,” he said simply, “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“Zemo could have abandoned me,” you said weakly, taking a slow breath, “I fell behind, he came back for me, I’m not sure what game he’s playing but he could have abandoned me and escaped and he didn’t.” 

Bucky seemed to consider this for a moment and nodded.

“Thank you for fixing me up, I know you don’t particularly like me so I do appreciate it.” 

Bucky took an intake of breath, “It’s not that I don’t like you,” he said softly, “I’m angry with you.”

You looked up at him sadly and he continued “I had just found him again. I thought we would have so much time together, and then..With Wakanda and the blip, you got all that time with him and he never got to see me be..good. I’m sorry every time I look at you I see everything I missed out on.”

You hung your head a little considering what to say next, but before you could he spoke again “It’s not your fault I know, I’ve just lost the one person who believed I was good.”

“I believe you’re good Bucky. Sam believes you are good, you just won’t give us a chance to be your friend. You won’t give…me a chance,” you said almost defeated. 

“You say that like you weren’t horrified when I did  my little Winter Soldier stunt back there in the bar, I saw it on your face” he countered.

You stood up defiantly, standing face to face with him, “I was horrified that you had to do that in the first place. I was horrified that Zemo would ask that of you!”

You poked him in the chest hard, “You talk a big talk about being misunderstood and you’re out here blaming me for things that aren’t my fault. Insinuating you guys don’t need me at every step and making assumptions about me that aren’t true when all I’ve ever done is be there for Sam and Steve whenever they needed me, I became a goddamn criminal to try and clear your name. I’ve tried to be your friend but you shut me out at every step.” You were seething, you knew these feelings of hurt you were repressing were going to surface one day but you were really hoping it would be after you had completed the mission you sat out to do. 

You and Bucky were almost chest to chest, glaring at each other, chests rising and falling rapidly with the tension between you. Bucky opened his mouth like he wanted to argue but eventually broke eye contact and turned his attention to the ground. 

You sighed loudly, “Go to Sharon’s party, get whatever information you can on Nagel. I need to rest,” you said pinching the bridge of your nose, “Thanks again for fixing me up.” With that you retreated from the bathroom leaving Bucky fixed to the spot. 

After Zemo shot Nagel and all hell insued, you were as surprised as anyone when Bucky had shielded you behind him and as you climbed into the backseat with Sam, you caught his eyes staring back at you in the rearview mirror. You hadn’t spoken a word since the argument last night but you could sense something had shifted in him. 

You sat in silence on the plane to Riga, so much unsaid between you and Bucky that the air was thick between you. Sam noticed but he didn’t press. It wasn’t until Zemo’s eyes caught your attention that you snapped back into attention.

“You have been exceptionally quiet all day today little one,” he cooed and Bucky shot him a warning glare.

“Stop calling her that,” he snapped.

“I’m just tired,” you interjected, “I just need some sleep.” 

“Please, sleep little one,” Zemo offered, passing you a blanket, resolutely ignoring Bucky “We will wake you before we land,” you nodded and accepted it gladly. 

Bucky huffed and slumped back into his seat, at the use of the god damn nickname again, you settled down to get some sleep.

When you arrived at Zemo’s apartment, you gladly accepted a glass of whiskey when Sam went to shower and Bucky went to take a walk. 

Zemo eyed you carefully, settling down on the sofa in his robe, freshly bathed “What is the situation with you and James?” he asked, before taking a sip from his own glass.

“There isn’t one,” you answered 

“You make him uncomfortable,” Zemo replied nonchalantly.

“I don’t mean to,” you whispered 

“Do I make you uncomfortable?” Zemo asked with a quirk of his head, but a playful glint in his eye.

“Sometimes,” you smirked, swirling the liquid in your glass, “You are hard to read.”

I make my intentions clear and I carry them out, I would think that would make me quite easy to read, no?”

“Why didn’t you leave me the other night? You could have let me fall behind and escape but you didn’t?”

He considered the amber liquid in his glass, “I like you,” he replied honestly “And I intend to see out this mission.” 

Bucky returning cut your conversation short but that playful glint in Zemo’s eyes returned at the frown Bucky was wearing at seeing you two together. 

Bucky poured himself a whiskey, and John Walker kicked the doors of Zemo’s apartment open, ordering you to hand Zemo over, and soon the Dora Milaje appeared behind.

You were torn between placing yourself in front of Zemo and waiting for Sam’s lead, but you were waiting to spring into action nonetheless. 

As soon as Bucky sprang into action you did too, taking your eyes off Zemo for a split second, but that was all it took for him to disappear, you didn’t even have time to process this before you watched Ayo drop Bucky’s arm to the floor. 

“You going to miss your little sidekick?” Bucky sassed as you examined the hole in the floor Zemo has escaped from, you whirled on Bucky but he was walking away before you even got to respond. 

At least Zemo was nice to you. 

After Lemar’s death, after John killed the flagsmasher you, Sam and Bucky shared a look. 

It was time to take that shield back. 

It was a vicious fight and when Bucky was knocked unconscious, you tried your best to wake him, shaking him, begging him to get up while Sam battled it out with Walker, you hoisted Bucky up as soon as his eyes opened, just in time for him to takedown Walker before he smashed the shield down on Sam. The three of you rallying down blows until you managed to wrangle the shield from his arm. Your ribs were fractured. You didn’t have the luxury of being a supersoldier and every intake of breath was agony, but you did manage a sigh of relief when Bucky dropped the shield down by Sam’s side and turned his attention to you, extending his arm for you to grip and pulling you to your feet, and just like that he turned his back on you and walked away from you, his name died on your lips and instead you turned your attention to Sam, helping him up to his feet. 

You were benched. No other word for it, the government decided it and you had no choice but to follow, especially after Walker’s very public stunt. That’s how you found yourself in Louisiana staying in the spare room in Sarah’s house. You had offered your help to Sam on fixing his parents’ boat, years of working on prototypes for the Avengers had to count for something, right? 

And then Bucky showed up, sipping beers with Sam. Helping out on the boat and sleeping on Sarah’s couch. 

The heat was cruel and you tossed and turned in bed, eventually deciding on creeping downstairs for a glass of water. Bucky was asleep on the couch so you tip toed into the kitchen, relishing in the cold relief the glass of water in your hand was offering. 

Bucky appeared sheepish in the kitchen scratching the back of his neck, “Can’t sleep?” he asked.

“No. I’m sorry if I woke you,” you answered wanting to escape the awkwardness lingering between you. 

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what I said to you back in Madripoor, it wasn’t exactly fair to you.”

“Bucky, how you’ve treated me this entire time hasn’t been fair. I’m sorry, truly sorry that I got to spend so much time with Steve and you didn’t. Don’t you think if for a second I could trade places with you I would?” 

Bucky bit the inside of his cheek and looked down. 

“The whole time he talked about you. Before we found you, after the blip, you were all he talked about, if you think he ever forgot about you he didn’t, and I’m sorry that I didn’t get turned to a pile of ash too, okay. I’m sorry that I got the extra time with him that you deserved.” 

“It’s not that,” he interjected.

“Then what is it Bucky because I can’t keep apologising for things that aren’t my fault so why don’t you tell me what it is I’ve actually done so I can apologise for that too and we can go back to being friends.” 

Bucky sighed and took a step forward “We are bound together through the shield, initially through Steve, but now it’s the shield, and when Sam decided to give it away, you sided with him, you didn’t fight it. You didn’t fight for..me.”

“You think that shield is the only thing that binds me to you? When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that I care about you? Steve didn’t leave the shield to me or you, he left it to Sam, and I’m sorry that I chose to support him in that decision but Bucky that was in no way me choosing him over you. I would be there for you if you would just let me!” 

Bucky quirked his head, not quite sure how to process the meaning behind your revelation. 

“You care about me?” 

“Yes Bucky,” you sighed “Not because of Steve. Certainly not because of the shield, but because of you.” 

“I don’t,” he began but cut himself off, “I don’t know how to let you in. I’m scared to. I thought by being cold to you it would force you away. Force you to admit that you were only sticking around me because of your loyalty to Steve.” 

You took his hand in yours, “All I can do is try Bucky, Give me a chance Bucky, can you at least give me that?” 

He looked into your eyes properly for the first time in months and nodded.

The next day Bucky and Sam were training with the shield, and you didn’t want to impose, instead busying yourself with jobs on the boat. When you came back in the evening Bucky was gone, you tried to ignore the disappointment that pooled in your stomach, you had been hoping Bucky would open up a little bit more to you, you really hoped his disappearing act was not because he didn’t want to face you in the light of day of the progress you had made last night. 

You travelled with Sam to the GRC meeting in New York, you infiltrated the building with Bucky in an attempt to resume the hostages within. Getting separated upstairs you got engaged in hand to hand combat urging Bucky to continue on without you over comms. 

When you finally caught up with Bucky he was attempting to break hostages out of a burning van, whilst you and Walker were engaged in hand to hand combat with the flagsmashers, a nasty blow to the head knocked you out cold whilst Bucky charged at the one who had hurt you, they went over the side and Bucky made quick work of him on the ground. 

Bucky came back for you, with Walker in tow as you were tending to some of the hostages, and he held your hand as Sam emerged carrying Karli’s body, you grasped his tightly. You only released it to grasp Sam in the tightest hug you physically could, before you made yourself scarce with Bucky and Sharon. 

You arrived at the cookout a little later than anticipated, cupcakes in hand and were pleasantly surprised to see Bucky talking to Sarah with kids hanging off his arm. 

Sam spotted you and engulfed you in a hug, you gripped him tightly, revelling in his warmth. 

“Bucky came,” you grinned as you pulled apart.

Sam gave you a knowing smile, “Are you two finally going to be honest with each other?” he asked.

“Sam I don’t know what you’re talking about?” 

“Tell the man you have feelings for him, goddamn if I don’t smash your heads together soon I will burst.” you happily excused yourself when Sarah called your name, scooting out of his knowing glare. 

You danced a bit to the music, ate as much as you could physically fit and when the drinks started flowing you relaxed into the heat of the evening. You were sitting on the pier laughing with Sarah and her friends when Bucky’s shadow crossed your eyeline.

“Ladies, I was wondering if I could borrow y/n for a second?”

“Bring her back though!” one of Sarah’s friends warned and Bucky put his hands up in defeat before offering you his hand and helping you up.

You walked a little bit away from the music and stopped looking out into the ocean, Bucky was fidgeting with his hands and you could feel nerves forming in your stomach.

“You eh, remember the last time we were here and you told me you cared about me?” he began, smiling nervously, “Well I think, no I know I should have told you that I care for you too.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek and examined him carefully, he sighed knowing he would have to continue. 

“I’ve had these feelings, I guess for a while now. Since before the blip, before Wakanda even and I didn’t know how to process them, and I think..shit no again I know now that it is jealousy.”

“Jealousy?” you said in disbelief turning to fully face him.

“I’m jealous of Sam, of Zemo, hell I’m jealous of Steve, any guy who got to be close to you in a way that I could not seem to do. In Madripoor I told you I was angry because you got to spend all that time with Steve, that’s partly true but not for the reasons I let you believe. I was angry because it’s time I missed getting to spend with you too.”

Your head was reeling, in part because of the alcohol you had consumed but mainly from the shock of Bucky’s confession.

“Sam and Steve are my friends Bucky you have nothing to be jealous of. And in case you’ve forgotten I was only tolerating Zemo because you broke him out of prison.”

“But the constant flirting…”-

-”Was very much one sided. Bucky there is only one person I have feelings for and up until 20 seconds ago I didn’t even think he even liked me.” 

“But that’s just it y/n he does. I do.”

“And the being horrible to me was because you thought I had chosen Sam over you?”

Bucky at least had the decency to look ashamed, “It was worse when Zemo came along,” he offered shyly, “I thought you would pick up on it and the more you didn’t the more frustrating it was.”

“Bucky, how is anyone meant to figure that out?” you laughed, and for a second he looked at you deadpan before bursting into laughter too, “No I guess not.”

You stood biting your lip, the ghost of a smile still on your face. 

“So where do we go from here?” he asked shyly, looking very unsure of himself. You reached out your hand to him and smiled when he took it.

“I think you should kiss me Bucky,” you stated matter of factly and he laughed “Yes ma’am,” before ducking his head and meeting your lips.

You cupped his face gently as he pulled away, “You never had to be jealous Buck, I only ever had eyes for you from the moment I met you.” 

“Well please no more pet names, if I had to hear Zemo call you little one, one more time I was going to smash his face in.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh lacing your fingers around his neck, you both startled at Sam’s drunken voice booming,

“If I had known Zemo was what it was gonna take for you two to finally admit your feelings I’d have happily busted him out of prison myself.” 

Bucky glared at him until he went away, before pressing a kiss to your lips.

“C’mon doll, we best get back to the party before Sarah and her friends kill me.”

“What was it you just said about pet names?”

“Doesn’t count when they come from me,” he winked, taking your hand and leading you back towards the music. 

Tagging: @mrsragnarlodbrok @buckgasms @miss-patriciah-maximoff  @hellomissmabel  @knittingknerdy @shamvictoria11 @buckysberrie @assembletheimagines @dearthofequanimity @wellthatsrandomkek @mitra-k-w @nikkitia7 @fantasticimpaladoctor @feelmyroarrrr @sebseyesandbuckysthighs @andhiseyesweregreen @frickin-bats @buckyywiththegoodhair @iiharu-kunii @bellenuit45-blog @james-bionic-barnes @avengerofyourheart @jaegers-and-kaijus

#bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #Bucky Barnes #james bucky barnes #falcon and winter solider series

[sparkymalone]

Here is what I have so far for chapter 16. I'm not going to post any of the smut, since I don't know if that's allowed or whatnot.

Feedback is appreciated! Take a look and let me know what I can do to fix this nonsense. I think it maybe just got too rambly? But I don't know.

Maybe there's nothing wrong with it and I'm being too critical. That's possible, too.

Or if you just want to read a chapter early, that's fine, too. Lol

Chapter 16: The One That's Based on 'The Little Mermaid'

The sunlight glinted through the clear ocean water, illuminating the sea creatures swimming below. Warmth permeated the water around Hajime and he couldn't help but smile. He swam along behind a school of fish, his elegant green tail swishing behind him.

Most days in this particular ocean area were like this, warm and serene. The creatures that lived here were all fairly peaceful and coexisted easily (aside from the natural food chain, of course). The merpeople generally got along well, too.

Hajime was pretty well-respected by the other merpeople he knew. Not because he was anything special, really - he wasn't. But he was fairly friendly and helpful, and the others responded well to that. And he generally liked all of them, too.

He pulled away from the school of fish, fins gliding through the water. He swam down to a nearby reef that he had become very familiar with over the years.

Chiaki was waiting for him, dozing off against the coral around her. She smiled at him tiredly. "Good morning."

Hajime smiled back fondly. "You're going to get all scraped up if you keep leaning on the coral like that."

She waved off his concerns. "It's nothing to worry about. Now come on," she grasped his hand and started swimming towards the surface.

Hajime happily followed. As much as he loved his friends and the peaceful kingdom they lived in, he never quite felt like he belonged. There was no denying that his heart yearned for something else.

Hajime was fascinated by the surface world. He had been for as long as he could remember. Whenever he could, he would swim near the shore or climb up onto rocks to watch the land-dwellers. They were all so interesting to him.

He couldn't interact with them, of course. Contact with anyone from the surface was strictly forbidden. Hajime wasn't completely sure why, but he wasn't about to argue with King Kamukura. Still, he loved to watch them.

He didn't tell many people about his love of the surface. None of them really seemed to get it. Chiaki had been the most understanding. She would often accompany him to look at the land-dwellers, even though she didn't find them as fascinating as he did.

Lately, the two of them had begun a new routine. There was a particular time of day when ships would often sail past the reef they had just been in. Chiaki had first alerted him to the regularity of the ships about two weeks ago, and since then, they had gone to the surface to see them almost every day.

Sure enough, as they neared the surface, the underbelly of a large ship passed overhead. Chiaki and Hajime swam up alongside the ship, trying to find the perfect distance to see the deck without being too visible themselves. The ship seemed a bit too large, however, and they couldn't get a good look.

"Let's just wait for a bit," Chiaki suggested as the ship sailed away. "Maybe a smaller boat will come by."

Hajime sighed, but agreed. The two of them floated lazily in the water for a long while, waiting to see if anything else would happen.

The sun was beginning to set and a storm was starting to roll in. Hajime was just about to give up when he heard something in the distance. He turned to look in the direction of the noise and was pleased to realize that a boat was approaching. He glanced over at Chiaki, but the girl was still fast asleep. Hajime contemplated waking her up for a moment, but eventually decided it wasn't worth it.

As the boat drew near, Hajime could see that it was much smaller than the last one. He swam up to the boat once it was close enough, excited to see if he could catch a glimpse of some land-dwellers.

In the orange light of the setting sun, slowly being overtaken by dark clouds, he was able to make out a few people sitting on the deck of the boat (a yacht? Hajime thought he had heard this type of boat called that before). He approached the side of the ship, hoping to get a better look.

Once he was close enough, Hajime decided to push his luck. There was a ladder on the back of the boat and, against his better judgment, he grabbed on and started climbing. He peeked carefully over the edge of the deck.

There were a few individuals sitting along the sides of the boat. They were dressed in lavish clothing (or, at least, that's how it seemed to Hajime) and all seemed rather preoccupied.

Hajime felt his gaze slowly being drawn to one individual, however. There was a man sitting by himself near the back of the ship, gazing off into the sunset with a bored expression. The merman began studying this particular land-dweller, wanting to get a better look - and to understand why his attention was so captivated.

The man had very short blonde hair and sharp, golden eyes. His delicate features were twisted into a scowl. He didn't seem very interested in the other occupants of the yacht. He was leaning against the railing, looking rather annoyed, and Hajime found that he couldn't take his eyes off of him.

A silver-haired woman approached the blonde. "Young Master, a storm is gathering, and the water is getting rather rough ahead."

Hajime idly noticed that this was true. The waves were getting increasingly choppy, and while it didn't bother him at all, he supposed it might be a bit much for someone who was used to solid ground.

"Perhaps you and the other guests should go below deck," the woman continued.

The blonde scowled at her. "Fuck that," he grumbled. "We're almost home, right? How bad could it be?"

The woman furrowed her brow. "I believe it would be better to be cautious, especially since you can't-"

"Hey!" the man hissed, blushing. "Don't fuckin' talk about that here!" He glanced around to see if anyone had heard, but no one else seemed particularly concerned with their conversation.

Bowing, the silver-haired woman apologized. "I'm sorry, Young Master. But please, consider going inside or putting on a life vest."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever."

As the woman walked away, Hajime continued watching this blonde land-dweller. He seemed smaller than the others. Hajime knew that land-dwellers came in a variety of sizes, but he had always associated it with age. This man seemed to be around his own age, however, so his diminutive size felt unusual… and somehow just made him more captivating.

The waves were indeed getting bigger, Hajime noticed, and the yacht was beginning to rock. Most of the people on the deck started carefully making their way inside. The blonde just grabbed onto the railing stubbornly.

Hajime held tightly to the ladder for a bit longer, but as waves began crashing against the boat, he reluctantly decided it would be better to head back underwater. He cast one last curious glance at the blonde man as rain began to fall, then hopped off the ladder and back into the sea.

He swam a little ways down, looking up at the ship. The water was really roiling now and the yacht was being tossed around quite a bit. Hajime knew he should probably head back to Chiaki, but something kept him there, following the boat still.

Hajime couldn't shake the feeling that something bad might happen. The silver-haired woman's words from earlier came back to him and he idly wondered if the blonde man had gotten safely inside.

There was a flash of light above the surface of the water. Lightning, Hajime realized. The storm was getting worse.

A particularly large wave struck the side of the boat and, moments later, a body crashed into the ocean. The person flailed about, but clearly had no actual swimming form and couldn't get back up to the surface. Their movements began to slow down the longer they were under the water.

Hajime felt panic setting in. He wanted to help, but it was forbidden for merpeople to interact with land-dwellers. If he let this person see him, he'd be in a world of trouble.

Still, he couldn't just let them drown. Hajime made up his mind and sped through the water towards the poor human.

As he drew closer, he realized that it was the blonde man from before. Almost subconsciously, Hajime began swimming faster, feeling an even greater sense of urgency.

He reached the blonde and pulled him into his arms, surprised by how small he seemed. Hajime checked the man, but he was unresponsive. Furrowing his brow, the merman swung his tail and jetted them both towards the surface.

They broke through the surface of the water and Hajime lifted the other man's head into the air. The human coughed and hacked, trying to get a proper lungful of air. But with the storm raging the way it was, keeping his head above the water long enough for him to breathe was proving difficult.

Hajime looked around, but he had lost track of the boat. They weren't too far from the shore, however, giving the merman an idea.

He swam towards the beach, moving as quickly as possible, pulling the blonde with him. He still tried to keep the man above water, but he could only do so much. He just hoped that once they were somewhere safe, he could make up for all the human's lost air.

It took several minutes of swimming, even with Hajime's powerful fins. But eventually they reached the shoreline and Hajime started looking for something specific. He was relieved when he was able to spot the place he wanted.

There was a small grotto set into the rocky shore, offering some slight cover from the storm. He swam into the alcove and pulled the blonde up onto some rocks. There, sheltered from the rain, the man should be able to breathe.

Hajime studied the diminutive man, really taking in the details of his face. His eyes were closed, long lashes fanned over his freckled cheeks. He was honestly stunning, and the merman found himself more enthralled than ever.

However, the man was not breathing.

Hajime could feel panic setting in again. What was he supposed to do? There had to be something. He thought back to all his time studying the land-dwellers and tried to find something useful.

Suddenly, it came to him. He had seen humans pull other humans out of the water and then resuscitate them… somehow. It wasn't super clear, since he wasn't able to get too close, but it looked like they were pushing on the person's chest and then… kissing them?

…Worth a shot, he supposed.

Gently, Hajime placed his hands on the blonde's chest and pushed. If he remembered correctly, the rescuer had pushed in a sort of rhythm. Hajime tried his best to imitate what he remembered. He pushed on the man's chest for a while before leaning down to his face.

He hesitated when he was close to his mouth, however. He felt a little weird about kissing an unconscious man. Although, the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that what he had seen the rescuer do was kissing. So what was it, then?

Realization struck him and he quickly covered the other man's mouth with his own, blowing air into his throat. He went back to pushing on his chest, alternating between that and giving him air, just like he had seen the other human do.

After a few minutes, the blonde suddenly convulsed, coughing up water. He took several gasping breaths before his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Hajime froze, hovering above the man's face, hands still resting on his heaving chest. Their eyes locked and, for a moment, neither of them moved.

After a long silence, the blonde spoke. "...What… What the fuck… happened?"

"The storm," Hajime explained unhelpfully. "You, uh… fell off your boat."

"...D-Did you… save me…?" the human asked quietly, voice hoarse.

Hajime gave a slight nod. "Um… yeah," he murmured. His cheeks flushed as he realized that this was the first time he had ever gotten to talk to a land-dweller.

He was so dead if the king found out.

The blonde furrowed his brow. "Thanks… but where the fuck are we?"

The merman let out a startled laugh. "Oh, um… a cave, near the beach."

"Which beach?"

Hajime had no idea how to answer that. "...The sandy one?"

The human scowled at him. "Which one, you jackass. The name." He started listing off names, absolutely none of which Hajime recognized. Seeing his blank expression, the blonde sighed. "Jesus. Okay. I'll figure it out myself, I guess."

Hajime winced. "Sorry. I, um… I'm not familiar with… the area."

"Whatever, it's fine." The human started to sit up and Hajime moved to help him. Once he was upright, he looked around the grotto, assessing the situation. The storm was still raging just outside.

Following his gaze, Hajime hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think you should go back out there just yet. The water is pretty rough, and since you can't swim-"

"I can swim!" the blonde yelped, whirling to face him. "Who the fuck says I can't?!"

Hajime held his hands up defensively. "Sorry! It just seemed like you couldn't. When you fell off your boat, you basically sank."

The man was flushed a dark red. "Wh-! What, were you just fuckin' watching me?!"

It was Hajime's turn to blush. "K-Kinda, I guess…? But," he hurriedly added, "it's a good thing I was, because I saw you fall!"

The blonde frowned at him. "...You definitely weren't on my ship. Were you on a nearby boat?"

The brunette looked away evasively, unable to keep himself from cringing. "...Not exactly."

Arching a brow, the human took a better look at his rescuer. Messy brown hair, intense hazel eyes, a very… shapely chest (shut up, gay thoughts), and a fish tail covered in glistening green scales.

…Wait, what?

His eyes widened. There wasn't much light in the grotto, but that was clearly a tail. "What the hell…?"

Hajime followed his gaze, blushing. "Oh, er…"

"Is that some kinda… mermaid costume or something?" the man asked hesitantly.

"Merman."

"Whatever, answer the question."

The brunette tried to think of something, anything, to convince this man that he was just a normal human. "...Um… no, it's real." Hajime cursed his honesty.

Thoughts reeling, the blonde stared at his tail. "...No fucking way."

Hajime winced. "Please don't freak out. And please don't tell anyone. I'm already going to be in deep trouble for just talking to you."

"...Can I touch it?"

That question was so far out of the realm of what Hajime had been expecting that his brain short-circuited. "Uh… what?"

A flush slowly crept up the blonde's neck. "S-sorry, that's really fuckin' weird, isn't it?" He looked away. "I, uh… I won't tell anyone about this, don't worry. No one would believe me anyway." He shifted, bringing his knees up to his chest, suddenly feeling cold.

Hajime licked his lips nervously. "...You can touch it. My tail. If you want to."

They stared at each other, wide-eyed, both clearly surprised by the offer. Finally, the blonde snorted, a wry grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, fuck it. I'm pretty sure I'm hallucinating all this, anyway. Why not touch the mermaid's tail?"

"Merman," Hajime corrected him quietly, but his eyes were quickly drawn downwards as the man reached one freckled arm out towards him.

They were sitting side by side on the rocks, so Hajime's fins were splayed out against the wet stone. The blonde's hand moved down to about where his knees would be, and gently brushed his fingers against the shimmering scales. He ran his fingers up and down a bit before glancing up at the merman's face to make sure this was still okay.

Hajime was flushed, staring with rapt attention at the hand touching his tail. He hadn't really been touched in such a way before, since his tail wasn't exactly considered special amongst an entire race of people with similar tails. The human's fingers traced the shape of one of his scales and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Sorry," the blonde quickly apologized, voice barely above a whisper. "Is that uncomfortable?"

But Hajime shook his head. "No, just… different." He watched intently as the man resumed studying his tail, slowly moving down to his fins, which fluttered under the light touch.

The man let out a soft laugh. "Sensitive?"

"Kinda."

Smiling, the blonde sat back up. "It's probably the same as having your feet tickled, huh?"

Hajime just shrugged, having no frame of reference for that comparison. "I guess? What are 'feet'?"

"These things," the human replied easily, raising one leg and wiggling his foot around.

Enraptured, Hajime leaned closer. The blonde was wearing swim trunks, so his movements drew attention to the fact that his legs were on full display. The brunette followed the slender, freckled limb, watching his foot wiggle. "Whoa…"

The blonde blushed at the intensity of his stare. "...Y-You can touch my legs… if you want." He looked away as Hajime faced him in surprise. " 'S only fair," he mumbled.

Hesitantly, the merman reached out and placed his hand on the other man's knee. He moved down slowly, tracing his fingers gently over his skin, running them softly against the top of his foot. He glanced up to see the blonde watching him, straight-faced aside from the crimson blush adorning his cheeks.

Fuck, he was cute.

Hajime carefully moved back up the man's leg, brushing against every freckle he encountered. As his hand moved past the knee and onto his thigh, however, a soft whine escaped from the blonde's mouth. Hajime looked up in surprise.

The human had a hand over his flushed face, avoiding the merman's eyes. "Th-That's enough," he growled, but he didn't move.

Blushing, Hajime couldn't help the little smirk that formed on his lips. "Sensitive?" he asked, echoing the man's question from earlier.

The blonde glared at him, but it was diminished by how red he was. "Shut the fuck up. A-Anyway, it's weird to be touching another man's leg like that."

The merman shrugged, but obligingly removed his hand. "You started it."

"Well, clearly it didn't feel the same for both of us."

Hajime contemplated that. "In all fairness, you didn't touch that high on my tail." He eyed the man's thighs, wondering if it would feel the same.

"...Do you want me to?"

He looked up, startled. "...I… yes?"

The blonde took a deep breath to steady himself before hesitantly reaching out and placing his hand about thigh-high on Hajime's tail. He rubbed gently against the scales there, eyes searching his face for a reaction.

Hajime felt a flush crawling up his neck. The hand on his tail didn't really feel any different than it had further down, but the fact that the other man clearly wanted it to was making him flustered. Plus the way he was looking at him…

The merman carefully slid his hand back onto the blonde's thigh, watching his eyes widen in surprise.

The atmosphere in the cave was suddenly much different. The two of them locked eyes, faces burning, as their hands ghosted over each other's lower half.

The human's hand slid up over Hajime's hip, brushing against the bare skin of his abdomen. The brunette let out a soft gasp, his own hand slipping down onto the other man's inner thigh by accident. Another quiet whine escaped the blonde.

Unable to contain himself, Hajime leaned closer. "...Can I kiss you?"

The human looked up at him, wide-eyed, and nodded.

Hajime carefully pressed his lips against the other man's. Even though he had just given him mouth-to-mouth, this was completely different. He focused on the softness of the human's lips, the hitch in his breathing, the flutter of his eyelashes against Hajime's cheek.

The blonde parted his lips invitingly, and the merman gladly complied. His tongue gently slipped into the other man's mouth, tasting him. His partner's tongue met him halfway, and they moved together in a slow dance.

They kissed like that for a moment before Hajime pressed the blonde back, laying him against the stones so that he could have better access. He kissed him again, enjoying the soft whimpers coming from the human's throat.

Eventually they had to break for air. They locked eyes, both flushed and panting. "...What the fuck are we doing?" the blonde breathed.

Hajime smiled slightly and was about to answer, but a distant shout cut through the air.

"Young Master!"

They both whipped their heads towards the mouth of the cave. The storm outside had calmed considerably while they were distracted. It was still raining, but the wind and waves were mostly back to normal.

There was another call in the distance and the blonde scrambled out from under Hajime. "That's Peko! Shit, she's probably worried sick." He looked at the merman. "I need to get back."

Hajime nodded slowly. "Okay. Do you need help? Not saying you can't swim," he smirked a bit, "but you're not great at it."

Glaring, the human moved towards the mouth of the grotto. "Just get me to my damn yacht."

The merman slid back into the water and gestured for the blonde to join him. He directed the man to hold onto his shoulders before swimming swiftly away.

They were able to spot the boat fairly easily. There were several people shining lights off the sides, searching the water for the man they'd lost. Hajime carefully avoided the lights as he approached, not wanting to explain his existence to any more humans.

Once they reached the back of the boat, Hajime helped the blonde up onto the ladder. He clambered up onto the deck, but when he looked back, the merman was gone.

"Young Master!" He was grabbed by a panicked Peko a moment later, and all thoughts of the mysterious merman were pushed to the back of his mind.

Hajime watched from a short distance away, making sure the blonde was safe. He saw the man look back out at the ocean several times and he smiled, just happy that the human was thinking about him.

Hajime would definitely be thinking about him, too.

Suddenly very embarrassed about what had just happened, the merman dove beneath the water and began the long trek home.

***

"It was… insane," Hajime finished lamely. He had been recounting his adventure to his friends, to mixed reactions.

Chiaki beamed at him. "How sweet! Do you think you'll see him again?"

Kazuichi stopped fiddling with the ship part he had been working on. He often scavenged sunken ships and took them apart for fun. "That's an awful idea. We're not supposed to interact with the surfacers, you know?"

Hajime shrugged in response. "I couldn't just let the poor guy drown."

"No, but you still didn't have to make out with him." Kazuichi frowned at him. "If the king finds out what you did…"

"But he's not going to find out, right?" the brunette asked with a twinge of annoyance. The other man backed off.

Chiaki was still thinking about the positive aspects of Hajime's story. "Hmm… he said it was his boat, right?"

Hajime nodded, not really sure where she was going with this.

"So then there's a chance he might sail through here again… I think."

The brunette felt his cheeks flush. "It's… it's fine if I don't see him again." He recognized the lie for what it was.

So did Chiaki. "It's okay to want to see him again, you know."

Hajime just sighed. "...Okay. I want to see him again. But I know it's not going to happen, so let's just drop it."

All three of them fell silent. After a few minutes, Kazuichi tried to change the subject, talking about some sunken ship he had heard about from a fish, but Hajime wasn't really listening. Even though he was the one who wanted to drop the subject, he couldn't help but still think about the land-dweller.

He knew he wasn't likely to ever see him again, so Hajime took the time to really hang onto the memories he had. He focused on the man's bristly blonde hair, his dangerous golden eyes, his adorable freckles… how soft his lips were…

Chiaki was watching him with a bemused smile. "You really have it bad, huh?"

"Dude," Kazuichi whined, feeling ignored.

"S-sorry, just ignore me," Hajime told them, blushing.

God, he was so fucked.

***

Hajime honestly didn't expect to see the cute blonde ever again.

So when he appeared while Hajime was people-watching at a nearby beach a few days later, the merman was shocked.

He watched, wide-eyed, as the man walked along the shore, gazing out towards the sea like he was looking for something. Hajime's heart leapt into his throat as he realized that he might be what the blonde was searching for.

The human spent a long time watching the waves and looking around. Hajime had to resist the urge to leap out of the water and throw himself at the blonde. Instead, he stayed hidden behind an off-shore rock, just watching.

Eventually, the silver-haired woman from before came to collect the human, who cast one last look at the sea before following her away.

Hajime watched him leave sadly. He would give anything to be able to spend time with him again.

With a sigh, he swam away.

***

"I told you he'd be back," Chiaki told him triumphantly.

Hajime just rolled his eyes. "Technically, you said he might sail by again."

She frowned up at him, puffing out her cheeks. "Hey. This is even better, right?"

They were hanging around in the stone grotto Hajime called home. The two of them had been talking about the land-dweller for a while now. Kazuichi was sitting a few feet away, ignoring the conversation as well as he could.

"I mean, it still doesn't really mean anything." Hajime fiddled with a conch shell, wishing he didn't care as much as he did.

Chiaki sighed. "Maybe, but if he was looking for you, then that means he's thinking about you just as much as you are him… I think."

The brunette ran his fingers through his hair and considered her words. "...This would be much easier if I could just… go to the shore," he mumbled. "Like… on the land."

With a dramatic groan, Kazuichi finally joined the conversation. "Then just go, man."

Hajime furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"If you care more about this land guy than your own safety, then just go," Kazuichi reiterated, scowling at his friend. "What's the king really going to do?"

"Murder me," Hajime replied flatly. He paused, then added, "And murder the human."

The pink-haired man sighed. "Then… I dunno, become a human or something."

Hajime's frown deepened. "That's stupid. I can't just become a human."

Kazuichi glared back. "Maybe you can, I don't know! I'm just sick of you always obsessing over the surface and not doing anything about it!"

Silence fell over the three of them. "Sorry," Hajime finally offered. "I didn't mean to talk about it that much."

Kazuichi sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I probably sound like a jerk."

There was another pause before Chiaki fluttered her fins in thought. "Maybe you could just go to the shore, though. Just stay in the shallow water and maybe he can come to you."

"I don't know if that's a good idea. He's not a very good swimmer." Hajime smiled at the memory.

Kazuichi perked up as an idea occurred to him. "Wait, maybe you can become a human." Both of his friends turned to him questioningly, so he continued. "The sea witch might be able to do it."

Chiaki frowned. "I don't think dealing with the sea witch is a good idea…"

Hajime nodded. "Probably not."

The pink-haired man shrugged. "I dunno, dude. It might be worth it to at least ask. You like this guy a lot, right?"

Hajime was alarmed to find himself considering it. How much did he like the land-dweller? Enough to make a deal with a sea witch?

…It couldn't hurt to ask her price, he supposed.

***

The sea witch burst out laughing when Hajime described his request. "That's hilarious, little man!"

Hajime frowned at her. "If you can't do it, just say so…"

"Oh, I can do it," she corrected. She tossed her hair behind her, as though that would make any difference underwater. Her strawberry blonde pigtails were just as unruly as before. "But it's still hilarious."

The brunette shifted, feeling uncomfortable. "Why's that?"

The sea witch gave him a toothy grin. "You want to do something so extreme, and just for a man?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Honey."

Hajime was feeling more irritated the more she talked. "I didn't come here for you to laugh at me."

"And yet here you are." She settled in front of him, her strange black and white tentacles getting uncomfortably close to him. "How long do you want to be on land? Forever?"

Realizing this could be his chance to become what he was so fascinated with, Hajime nodded slowly. "...Yeah, if that's an option."

"And what are you willing to give up?"

That question caught him off-guard. "Uh… besides my whole life down here?"

She waved him off. "No, I mean what'll you give me?"

Hajime just shrugged. "I don't really have much… What do you want?"

The sea witch made a big show of considering the question as she turned back to her cauldron. Hajime couldn't help but think that her whole "witchy" decor was a bit much. It almost seemed like she wanted it to be over the top

"How about," the witch began, looking at him over her shoulder, "your voice?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "My voice? What?"

"The price for my spell." The woman grinned. "I'll make you human, but I get your voice."

Hajime's hand instinctively went to his throat. "That's… a little bit extreme, don't you think?"

"Says the guy who literally wants to be turned into a different species," she teased. "How about this: you give me your voice, but just temporarily."

The merman thought it over. Something still seemed off, though. "Then, what do you really get out of the deal?"

The sea witch regarded him in surprise, looking almost impressed. "Look at you, catching on so quick! Let me give you the details." She crawled around the cauldron, putting it between the two of them. "I'll make you human for three days. During those three days, I get your voice. If you want to stay human, all you have to do is get your loverboy to kiss you."

Hajime felt his cheeks heat up. "That seems kinda strange, don't you think?"

She shrugged at him. "I don't question your shit, so don't question mine. Get him to kiss you in three days and you get to keep the legs and you get your voice back."

"...And if he doesn't kiss me?"

The witch grinned wickedly. "Then you belong to me."

He frowned at her. "What does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like, dummy." She turned away, busily grabbing things off the shelves behind her.

Hajime mulled over his options. The deal was definitely strange, but then, his original request was pretty strange on its own. He was certain that he couldn't trust the sea witch, but…

All he had to do was get the blonde to kiss him. They had already kissed before, so theoretically, kissing him again should be easy… right?

"...Okay. Let's do it."

The witch cackled at him again, already tossing things into her cauldron. "Hell yeah! Here we fuckin’ go!” Whatever she was doing, the cauldron started glowing an ominous shade of green. The sea witch waved her hands, chanting something, and a current of green swirled into the water above the cauldron. With a flick of her wrist, the witch sent the current towards Hajime.

He only had a second to react before the water around him was all glowing green. He yelped in surprise, feeling a strange tingle coursing through his body. The feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant, just odd.

That quickly changed as pain shot through his tail. Hajime let out a pained cry, hands instinctively clutching at his fins. He watched, horrified and enthralled, as his tail slowly split in two. The scales gradually disappeared and, before he knew it, his tail had become a pair of legs.

Pain was still coursing through him, however. He made another noise - or at least tried to. With alarm, he realized that no sound was coming from his mouth. The pain he felt settled in the base of his throat and he knew his voice was gone.

The sea witch was grinning at him deviously. “You better hurry up, honey. Humans can’t breathe underwater.”

Hajime felt panic shoot through him as he realized she was right. Quickly he started swimming for the surface, but it was proving very difficult. Legs didn’t exactly work the same way his tail had.

Eventually he managed to coordinate his movements enough to start progressing towards the surface, but his lungs were already starting to burn. He scrambled to move faster.

Ironic, he thought, drowning trying to get to the person I saved from the same fate.

Just as his vision was beginning to dull around the edges, he broke through the surface of the water. He silently gasped for breath, taking in desperate lungfuls of air.

Once he was breathing again, Hajime took in his surroundings. He was still a ways off from the nearest beach. He really should’ve thought this through a little more.

Just as he was preparing for the long swim to shore, he heard the familiar sound of a ship approaching. Turning, he noticed a vessel slowly approaching him.

Realizing that he no longer had to hide from the land-dwellers, Hajime excitedly waved at the ship, hoping for rescue. Thankfully, the sun was still high in the sky, so he would be easy to spot.

The ship slowed as it passed, and Hajime was shocked to realize that he recognized this particular yacht. What were the odds?

A person hurried down the back ladder of the boat, extending an arm out to Hajime. “Hey! Grab on!”

He swam close enough to take the outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled onto the back of the boat. He leaned heavily on his rescuer, unsure how to balance his weight on his new legs.

“Whoa there,” the man holding him chuckled. He was huge and had no problem supporting Hajime’s weight. “Lucky we came along when we did. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

Hajime opened his mouth to answer, but of course, no sound came out. He looked up at the man helplessly, suddenly realizing how hard this was going to be. He had no way to communicate.

To his credit, the man quickly figured out that Hajime wasn’t able to answer him. “Something wrong? Are you injured?” He looked over the castaway’s body. “Looks like you lost your swimsuit, at least.”

Hajime looked down. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that he was completely naked. He knew that the land-dwellers had little outfits that they usually wore when they went in the water, but he had certainly never thought about wearing one. He also became aware of the strange appendage he seemed to have grown along with his new legs. But he could figure that out later.

The man gave a boisterous laugh. “No worries! We’ve got extra clothes onboard! Let’s get you on deck!”

With great difficulty and a lot of help from the large man, Hajime managed to climb the ladder onto the actual deck of the boat. He looked around, taking in the sight. For all of his observations, he had never actually seen what a boat looked like from the top, and he wanted to commit the experience to memory.

The other man climbed up behind him and quickly grabbed a nearby towel to wrap around him. “Here, this should make you at least a little more comfortable.” He clapped Hajime on the back, nearly knocking him over, off-kilter as he was. “The name’s Nekomaru, by the way. What’s your-” He cut himself off, noticing Hajime’s helpless expression. “Ah, right. That’s okay, we can figure that out later. Come on, let’s get you some trunks!”

Hajime followed behind him unsteadily as he made his way across the deck. There were other humans here, too, most of whom kept their distance, whispering amongst themselves as they watched him pass. He didn’t recognize any of them, but he was fairly certain this was the blonde man’s ship.

Nekomaru led him below deck and into a small cabin. He rifled through some sort of bag and pulled out a swimsuit. “Here! It might be a little big on you, but we can tie it.”

Of course, Hajime had no idea how to put the thing on. He was still getting the hang of walking. After a minute of panicking, he figured out that he could sit down and try to manoeuvre his legs into the swimsuit.

The large man watched him struggle, arms crossed over his broad chest. “Huh… We should probably get you checked out once we get to land.” He helped Hajime get back on his feet and adjusted the large swimsuit. “Where are you from, by the way?” At the castaway’s blank look, he winced. “Right. Can’t talk.”

Nekomaru led him back to the deck and got him situated on a seat near the back. The large man then left him to go see when they would be heading back to shore. Hajime was alone.

So far his experience being a human was… underwhelming. But Hajime was sure it would get better once he was on actual land. And once he found the blonde man, of course.

As if on cue, a familiar face emerged from below deck, looking as grumpy as ever. Hajime tried to jump to his feet, but his lack of coordination resulted in him falling back into his seat. The action successfully got the other man’s attention, however, and he watched as the blonde’s eyes went wide.

The man approached him cautiously. “You… There’s no way…” he murmured once he was close enough. His eyes fixed on Hajime’s legs and he frowned. “So it was just a costume?”

Hajime shook his head and opened his mouth to explain, but no sound came out. He shut his mouth again, looking frustrated.

The blonde arched an eyebrow at him. “...What the fuck is wrong with you? Can’t you talk?”

The former merman shook his head again. He felt a little sheepish suddenly, realizing he had no way to explain to the man why he couldn’t speak to him. This deal was getting worse all the time.

Crossing his arms, the blonde studied him for a long time. He finally dropped into a seat next to Hajime. “So I guess I can’t ask you why the fuck you’re here… or what your name is.”

Hajime shrugged helplessly. A thought occurred to him and he pointed at his mouth, directing the other man’s attention there. He then mouthed the syllables of his name, hoping he could at least get that across.

But the blonde just seemed confused. “Uh… I can’t read lips.”

“Young Master.” The silver-haired woman that always accompanied him appeared out of seemingly nowhere. She eyed Hajime apprehensively. “I was unaware that we had a new guest.”

“I’m just as confused as you are,” the blonde replied, eyes still fixed on Hajime. “Maybe even more.” He blinked as an idea came to mind. “Hey, Peko, see if you can figure out what he’s trying to say.”

The woman - Peko? - turned fully to Hajime, her piercing red eyes studying his face. The merman swallowed hard before trying again to mouth his name. “Ha-ji-me?” the woman repeated as he formed each syllable, and he nodded excitedly.

“Hajime?”

He whipped his head around to look at the blonde. Hearing his name from the other man’s mouth was oddly endearing, and he felt a broad smile form on his face.

The blonde man, on the other hand, was still frowning. “Is that your name?” When the brunette nodded, he hummed thoughtfully. “Huh. How did you get here?”

Hajime just shrugged, not certain how to explain that without words. He just pointed helplessly at the sea.

Nekomaru approached again, looking as cheerful as ever. “Hey, Boss! I see you’ve met our stowaway!”

The blonde looked up in interest. “Oh, you know where he came from?”

The large man nodded. “He was just floating out in the water, nothing around for miles! Lucky thing we found him, huh?”

Peko regarded Nekomaru coolly. “You shouldn’t bring strangers onboard without alerting us.”

“He was gonna drown,” Nekomaru argued, crossing his arms.

“It’s fine, Peko,” the blonde told her. He studied Hajime again. “...Do you have someplace to go?” When the brunette shook his head, he asked another question. “What are you even doing?”

Hajime shrugged again and Nekomaru laughed loudly. “Yeah, I keep forgetting he can’t answer, too!”

The blonde scowled up at him. “You can leave now.” He glanced at Peko. “You, too.”

“Young Master, I hardly think I should leave you alone with a strange man from the sea,” the woman told him, voice even despite the obvious jab.

“It’s fine,” he hissed. “Fuckin’ go.”

Eventually, Peko and Nekomaru walked away, leaving Hajime alone with the blonde man. He smiled at the man at his side, who just frowned back.

Hajime had an idea. He turned fully to the blonde and pointed to himself, mouthing his name. He then pointed to the other man with a questioning look. It took a second, but the blonde seemed to catch on. “Oh, my name?” The former merman nodded. “It’s Fuyuhiko.”

‘Fuyuhiko,’ Hajime mouthed, not missing the way the other man’s cheeks reddened as he did so.

“A-Anyway, since you don’t have anywhere to go, I guess you can come with me.” He paused, crossing his arms. “Seriously, you’re going to have to explain to me how the fuck you got here and what your actual plan was. Are you just stupid?”

Hajime frowned, giving his head a slight shake. He thought about it for a moment before motioning out towards the ocean, and then pointing at Fuyuhiko.

The blonde regarded him with surprise. “Me? What…” His cheeks flushed. “...You came to see me?”

He nodded, also starting to blush. His eyes widened as the other man started to laugh.

“Dumbass,” Fuyuhiko snickered. “We kissed once and you crawled out of the fuckin’ ocean for me?” Despite his laughter, his face was still bright red.

Hajime couldn’t help but smile. The blonde’s laughter was really cute.

Once he regained his composure, Fuyuhiko leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice. “So… Were you just pretending to be a mermaid last time?”

The brunette shook his head, mouthing the word ‘merman.’

Fuyuhiko looked up at him, expression unreadable. “You’re telling me you’re really… seriously a merman?”

Hajime nodded.

“Then how the fuck do you have legs now?”

The former merman sighed silently, pointing helplessly at his throat.

The blonde groaned. “God, this is annoying. Maybe when we get to shore you can write it out?”

Hajime nodded excitedly. He hadn’t even thought about writing. That way he could explain the whole scenario. He’d be able to kiss Fuyuhiko in no time.

***

As it turned out, his plan to write down his explanation had a fatal flaw.

Merpeople didn’t write the same way as land-dwellers.

Once they got to Fuyuhiko’s home (which was startlingly large), Hajime had been given a sheet of something the humans called "paper," plus a writing implement. He had spent several minutes trying to figure out how to use both objects.

Back under the sea, writing was typically done on stone slates, or traced into the sand, if you were close enough to the bottom. Writing on paper was a bit different, but in an interesting way. Hajime was excited when he started getting the hang of it.

He began writing out what had happened to him while Fuyuhiko hovered over his shoulder. Not even two sentences in, however, the blonde interrupted him. "What the fuck is that?"

Hajime looked up at him, confused. He looked back down at the page curiously. Sure, his handwriting was a little messy, but-

"None of that makes any sense." Fuyuhiko grabbed another pen and scribbled something on the page. "Words are supposed to look like this, see?"

Both of them stared down at the paper, at the two drastically different writing styles. Seeing them side by side made it abundantly clear.

Merpeople had a completely different written language than surfacers.

Hajime had really hoped that it would be the same, since they apparently had the same spoken language. That clearly wasn't the case.

Fuyuhiko groaned loudly. "Goddamnit, so much for that plan." He frowned at the other man, trying to figure something out. When nothing came to mind, he sighed. "Ugh, okay, I guess we'll figure out your story later."

The former merman gave him an apologetic look, scratching his head.

"It's fine. For now, let's just get you settled in." He led the way out of the room they were in (some type of study?) and up a set of stairs. He ended up having to help Hajime, realizing that he had never encountered stairs before. "Shit, sorry."

The brunette just smiled at him and accepted his support. He didn't miss the way that Fuyuhiko's cheeks got just a bit pinker.

They made their way into a bedroom on the second floor. "You can stay here until we figure this out. I think there are some clothes in here…" Fuyuhiko went to the closet door, opening it and observing the contents. "Yeah, there's some stuff you can wear. Hopefully it fits. Go ahead and get changed before dinner-" He turned just as Hajime started pulling his swimsuit off and immediately Fuyuhiko turned crimson. "W-What the fuck are you doing?! Wait for me to leave, dumbass!"

Hajime looked at him, confused. Merpeople didn't really wear clothes, just accessories, so he didn't have the same sense of modesty as the panicked human.

Shielding his eyes with one hand, Fuyuhiko headed towards the door. "I'll, um… I'm gonna go! You get dressed, okay?" He paused at the door and cringed as a thought dawned on him. "...You probably need help, huh?" He turned to see Hajime nodding sheepishly. "Shit," he sighed.

Still blushing furiously, the human went back to the closet and yanked out some clothes. He averted his eyes as much as possible while instructing Hajime how to dress himself. When he reached the buttons of the shirt, however, the merman proved completely inept.

Fuyuhiko sighed dramatically before stepping closer to Hajime, who was sitting on the bed. He batted Hajime's hands out of the way and started fastening the buttons himself. He tried very hard not to think about his fingers brushing against the other man's chest, or how close their faces were, or how he was technically standing between Hajime's legs.

As he finished with the buttons, he moved to pull his hands back, but Hajime caught his wrists. Their eyes met and Fuyuhiko's breath hitched. He was even closer to the merman than he had realized.

"...What are you doing?" Fuyuhiko asked quietly, feeling Hajime's thumbs rubbing softly against his wrists.

No answer came, obviously, but the brunette gently tugged him closer. Hajime leaned in, breath washing over Fuyuhiko's lips, hazel eyes searching his face to make sure it was okay.

He was so close now, lips barely a hair's breadth away. Fuyuhiko could feel his heart pounding.

At the last second, the blonde shoved Hajime back, quickly stepping away. "S-Stop!" His cheeks were bright red as he placed a hand over his face. "We can't… You can't just show up here and…" He gave a frustrated growl, unable to find the words he wanted.

Hajime blinked at him, face flushed. He tried to apologize, but no sound came out. 'I'm sorry,' he mouthed.

Fuyuhiko just shook his head and turned away. "It's… it's fine. Just stay here. I'm gonna go." He opened the door to leave, but paused again. "I'll have someone come get you for dinner." And then he was gone.

The merman let out a long sigh and laid back on the bed. That had been awfully close. Maybe kissing Fuyuhiko would be easier than he thought.

Hajime frowned to himself. He didn't like the idea of kissing the other man just for the sake of the spell. If they kissed, he wanted it to be because it was what they both wanted. He had tried to kiss Fuyuhiko just then because it felt right in the moment, and he had thought that the other man felt the same.

It was fine, though. It was only the end of the first day. Hajime still had plenty of time.

He sat up with a determined smile. He was going to kiss Fuyuhiko before the three days were up, and he was going to let it happen naturally.

***

Dinner was an experience.

The man from earlier, Nekomaru, had come to collect Hajime. He led him to a lavish dining room with lots of people gathered around the table.

Hajime ended up sitting between two people he hadn't met before, while Fuyuhiko sat near the end of the table. The blonde didn't talk much during dinner, and Hajime wasn't able to hear anything, anyway.

What he did hear, however, was a lot of chatter from the people surrounding him.

From what he could gather, it sounded like Fuyuhiko was some sort of royalty, or at least someone important. The diminutive man had been tasked with entertaining guests by his father. That was why he had been spending so much time sailing.

The blonde clearly wasn't too happy about his current role and wasn't afraid to let everyone know that. It seemed like most of the people present were used to his attitude, though.

Hajime tore his attention away from the conversation he was listening in on, glancing over at Fuyuhiko. He was surprised to find the other man looking back at him. As soon as their eyes met, however, Fuyuhiko scowled and turned away, leaving Hajime confused.

After dinner, Hajime found himself wandering around the building a bit. He was really getting the hang of walking, but he wasn't sure he was ready to tackle the stairs by himself. Besides, he was enjoying the sights.

He ended up outside on the back patio. The night sky was beautiful, and as he approached the railing, he was treated to an amazing view of the ocean.

Hajime smiled softly. He missed his friends, but he knew they'd want him to enjoy himself. Well, Chiaki would. Kazuichi would probably complain about him getting left behind.

As he was admiring the view, another person approached him from behind. "It's nice out here, huh?"

Hajime turned in surprise and was pleased to see Fuyuhiko coming to stand by the railing beside him. He smiled warmly down at the blonde, remembering why he was there to begin with.

Fuyuhiko ignored the way the merman was looking at him. He leaned against the railing and smirked at Hajime. "Heh, you're probably sick of looking at the ocean, though, right?"

The brunette thought about it, gazing out at the sea. Then he shrugged, shaking his head slightly. He has never seen the ocean from this perspective, after all.

Fuyuhiko hummed in response. After a pause, he sighed. "...I have so many questions for you, but you can't fuckin' answer any of them."

Hajime gave him an apologetic look. They fell silent for a while, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The merman looked up at the stars, thinking that those actually looked better back home.

"...Hey," Fuyuhiko started quietly. Hajime turned to look at him. "Did you… seriously come all the way here just for me?" His cheeks were flushed and he wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes.

The merman nodded slowly, studying the other man's face. Once he was able to speak, he would have to explain that he also wanted to live with the humans, but the simpler explanation would suffice for now.

Fuyuhiko's golden gaze gradually moved up and their eyes locked. "...Why?"

Hajime considered the question for a long moment, unsure how to answer. He wasn't even sure he knew the reason. There was something drawing him to the other man, a feeling powerful enough for him to follow Fuyuhiko onto land.

How could he possibly explain that?

He moved forward slowly, drawing closer to the blonde. Fuyuhiko eyed him apprehensively. Hajime lifted his hands to carefully cup Fuyuhiko's face, feeling the heat radiating from the smaller man's cheeks.

Hajime leaned in, closing in on Fuyuhiko's face. He watched the blonde's eyes slowly close, his long lashes fluttering slightly. The merman felt his heart beat faster and his own eyes slid closed as he neared Fuyuhiko's lips.

Just before they could kiss, however, a voice cut through the night air. "Young Master!"

Both of them scrambled away from each other, turning to face the silver-haired woman who was rapidly approaching them. "P-Peko, it's not-" Fuyuhiko started, face flushed.

The woman swiftly placed herself between the two men, glaring coolly at Hajime. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

The merman held up his hands defensively, mouthing a silent apology even though he wasn't entirely sure what the issue was.

Peko's piercing red eyes narrowed. "You have no right to lay your hands on my young master. Do you have any idea-"

"Stop it!" Fuyuhiko barked, grabbing the woman by the arm. "He wasn't doing anything! I, uh… had something in my eye," he lied, shooting a look at Hajime. Play along.

The brunette nodded, backing Fuyuhiko up. Peko studied him for a long time, apparently deciding whether or not to buy into the obvious lie. Eventually she sighed. "Fine. It appears that you don't mean any harm, so I can let this slide."

Hajime was flooded with relief, but it was cut short when Peko continued.

"But I would advise you to learn your place."

Fuyuhiko scowled at her. "Shut the fuck up with that. I don't care about being 'above' anybody else. Being the heir to the clan doesn't mean I'm off-limits or whatever."

"Perhaps you don't think so, but your role in the clan does put you above others. You shouldn't be fraternizing with random commoners." Realizing how she was addressing Fuyuhiko, she bowed her head. "I am sorry if I've spoken out of turn."

The blonde was already shaking his head. "It's fine, I get it." He turned to Hajime. "We should probably part ways for the night. Can you find your way back to your room?"

Hajime nodded. He wasn't ready to be separated from Fuyuhiko yet, but he recognized that this was for the best. So he watched sadly as Peko led the smaller man back into the house.

His thoughts were still reeling. They had come so close to kissing again. And there was definitely chemistry between them, Hajime felt it. And it was only the end of the first day.

The merman headed back into the house, more determined than ever

***

Throughout the next day, Hajime found himself in many similar situations. Whenever he was alone with Fuyuhiko, the two of them would be drawn together, as though by some magnetic force. Usually this resulted in them touching in some way.

Several times, they got frustratingly close to kissing before something (or someone) would interrupt. Hajime was just about ready to grab the other man and kiss him senseless the moment he saw him.

He returned to his room in the early evening. He wanted to keep spending time around Fuyuhiko, but the blonde had eventually chased him away, claiming he had to work.

Being on land was still strange to Hajime. There were so many things he didn't know how to do. Nekomaru was nice enough to instruct him how to do a few things without asking why he didn't already know, but he knew he still had a lot to learn.

Now, sitting on his bed alone, it really started to sink in that this could end up being Hajime's whole life. If he met the sea witch's terms, he would officially become a land-dweller. It was a little overwhelming.

A voice cut through the silence. "Psst, hey loverboy!"

Hajime's head whipped around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Airy laughter surrounded him and he tried following it to the source.

The voice led him to a vanity set against the far wall of the room. As he drew nearer, the mirror began to shimmer before changing to show the grinning face of the sea witch.

"Surprise!" she shouted. At Hajime's shocked expression, she continued. "Since your time was about half over, I thought it might be a good time to check in, see how you're doing. So? How's it going?"

The brunette just frowned silently at her.

The witch cackled. "Oh, right! You can't tell me!" Her tone clearly conveyed that she hadn't forgotten about Hajime's affliction at all. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I've been keeping an eye on you the whole time!"

Hajime's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak before remembering it was futile.

"You and your man have been getting awfully cozy, haven't you?" she teased, chuckling when Hajime blushed. "In fact, you've been getting so cozy that I think I'm going to change the terms of our contract a little."

The merman furrowed his brow angrily. He tried to yell at her, but still nothing came out.

The sea witch waved him off. "No good, can't hear you. Anyway, it looks like you're not going to have any trouble kissing your little human, so how's about we up the ante?" She grinned wickedly. "Now if you want your voice back, you're gonna have to fuck him!"

Hajime felt his heart stop and his brain short-circuit. He shook his head, no way was he going to agree to that.

"I'm not hearing any objections," the witch jeered, "so the deal is done!"

There was a flash of green light, blinding Hajime for a moment. When his vision cleared, he glared at the mirror.

The sea witch was cackling excitedly. "Hell yeah! Look at that fuckin' face!" She leaned closer to the mirror. "Is that despair you're feeling?"

The brunette took a step backwards, feeling overwhelmed by the new situation. He could feel a pit forming in his stomach.

"Good luck, loverboy!" The witch gave him a little wave before the mirror shimmered again and changed to show Hajime's reflection.

He stared at the mirror for a long while, processing what had just happened.

The sea witch had changed the terms of their agreement - could she do that? He supposed she could, since she already did. And now just kissing Fuyuhiko wouldn't break the spell. He had to somehow convince him to have sex - within the next day.

Hajime sat heavily on the bed, mind reeling. How the hell was he going to pull this off?

The merman grimaced. While he definitely did want to sleep with Fuyuhiko, he didn't want to rush into it for the sake of this spell. He had wanted all of his interactions with the blonde to be as natural as possible.

And then, of course, there was the tiny detail that he didn't actually know how humans have sex.

First things first, he supposed. He needed to kiss the other man before he could get any further.

…Tonight. I'll definitely kiss him before the end of the night.

***

Hajime held onto that determination all throughout dinner. He ended up sitting a bit closer to Fuyuhiko this time but there were still multiple people between them. The merman didn't let that deter him, however, and he spent most of the meal giving the blonde longing looks.

He knew that Fuyuhiko was aware of his staring. Even though the blonde was deliberately not looking back at him, his cheeks and ears were flushed.

When the human finally did meet his gaze, glaring at the brunette in embarrassment, Hajime just responded with a slight smirk and a pointed look at Fuyuhiko's lips.

After dinner, the blonde cornered him just outside the dining room. "Come on, we need to talk," he growled, grabbing Hajime's arm and pulling him along.

They ended up in a very nicely furnished bedroom with a healthy layer of clutter. Hajime wondered briefly if this was Fuyuhiko's room before he was pushed to sit on the foot of the bed.

The smaller man stood in front of him, arms crossed, glaring at him. "What the fuck is your problem?" At Hajime's blank stare, he continued. "You can't just keep… fuckin'... staring at me!" He gestured angrily and his cheeks turned red.

Hajime felt a little embarrassed. Maybe staring hadn't been the best move, but really, he didn't have any other way to get Fuyuhiko's attention. He gave the blonde an apologetic look, shrugging slightly.

Fuyuhiko sighed. "Look, I know… I know that there's something between us," his blush deepened, "but you can't just keep mad-dogging me until I… Shit, I don't even know what you expect me to do!"

His grumpy expression was adorable, and Hajime couldn't help but smile a bit.

"And that!" Fuyuhiko pointed at the merman's face. "Quit, like, smiling and shit when I'm mad! It pisses me off!"

God, that was even cuter. Hajime started laughing silently.

"Seriously, asshole! Knock it off!" Fuyuhiko moved forward to grab the front of Hajime's shirt. He realized his mistake as he became painfully aware of how close they were now, but he didn't back down.

The brunette looked up at him, expression an odd mixture of surprise and mirth. This close, he could really see how many freckles the other man had. His eyes slowly trailed down to Fuyuhiko's lips.

Drawing in a shaky breath, the blonde tightened his grip on Hajime's shirt. "Stop looking at me like that," he said, voice low.

Like what? Hajime mouthed, not even thinking about the fact that the human couldn't hear him. He gently grasped Fuyuhiko's wrists but didn't move them.

"Like you wanna fuckin' kiss me," Fuyuhiko murmured, and he was so close now, and there wasn't anything to stop them. Hajime couldn't resist.

The merman closed the distance between them and kissed him. The blonde pulled on Hajime's shirt, tugging him even closer as their mouths pressed together.

Lips moved slowly, sensually, savoring the moment before parting invitingly. Hajime licked into the smaller man's mouth, hands moving to cup his face. The memory of kissing Fuyuhiko in the cave came rushing back vividly.

The blonde made a soft noise, kissing back eagerly. Their tongues met as the kiss deepened, all of the anticipation from the last two days coming to a head.

Fuyuhiko nipped at Hajime's lower lip, letting go of his shirt in favor of burying his fingers in his hair. The merman pulled him closer and he allowed himself to be drawn into the taller man's lap, straddling him.

After a moment, the blonde pulled back, panting. "Shit," he breathed. He clearly wanted to say something else, but instead he dove back into the kiss. Hajime answered in kind.

They kissed for several minutes, quiet moans escaping from Fuyuhiko's throat. Hajime's hands moved to the other man's hips before sliding down his thighs, marveling at the way his legs were able to bend.

Fuyuhiko growled against Hajime's lips. He pulled away again, but not very far. "What the fuck is happening?" he asked between kisses. "I don't even know you, why the fuck do I want you so bad?"

Hajime laughed silently before his mouth was occupied again. He willingly gave up control as the blonde kissed him harder, clearly taking out his frustrations on Hajime's mouth. The merman slid his hands back up Fuyuhiko's legs, coming to rest on his ass, earning a breathy moan.

Eventually they broke apart. Fuyuhiko took a deep breath to ground himself, frowning at the taller man. "We have to stop. I can't… I don't want to do anything I'm gonna regret."

Hajime furrowed his brow, but he understood. He let go of the human, allowing him to stand up.

Fuyuhiko straightened his clothes. He was still trying to catch his breath, and he wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes. "...Sorry," he muttered. "I'm not trying to be a cocktease, I promise."

The merman wasn't sure what that meant, but he shook his head to show that there were no hard feelings. He stood up from the bed and indicated the door.

"Yeah," the blonde hurriedly agreed, clearing his throat. "It's probably better if you go."

Hajime walked to the door with Fuyuhiko following behind him. As he stepped into the hallway, he felt the other man's hand on his shoulder. He turned to face him, curious, and was caught off-guard as Fuyuhiko leaned up and kissed him again. The merman was surprised, but happily returned the kiss.

The blonde didn't linger, however, pulling away just as suddenly. "I'll, um… see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Hajime nodded and watched him close the door. As he made his way back to his room, the brunette couldn't help smiling to himself. He had successfully kissed Fuyuhiko! Now he just had to get a little further.

He sighed at the thought. The blonde had definitely been into the kiss, and it certainly felt like he wanted to do more, but it also seemed like he was hesitant. Hajime couldn't blame him, really. Asking him to jump into bed with a man he barely knew was unfair.

The merman reached his bedroom and busied himself with getting ready for bed. He tried not to think too much about the beautiful human, but it was proving truly difficult.

Especially because the strange appendage between his legs was standing at attention.

***

After breakfast, Fuyuhiko told Hajime that he had to actually work and pawned him off on Nekomaru. Hajime didn't mind, of course. He knew Fuyuhiko would have something else to do eventually, and he liked spending time with Nekomaru well enough.

When the blonde continued avoiding him after lunch, however, Hajime started growing concerned.

He was quickly running out of time. He had to get Fuyuhiko to sleep with him by the end of the day, and he definitely wouldn't be able to do that if the man in question wasn't around.

Hajime allowed Nekomaru to lead him outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fuyuhiko somewhere. The huge man commanded his attention, though, trying to explain some game involving kicking a ball. The former merman watched his demonstration incredulously, knowing full well that he didn't have the coordination for that.

Before he realized it, another couple of hours had passed. The sun was already starting to descend and Hajime still had no idea where Fuyuhiko was.

Luckily, Nekomaru saw his searching glances and understood immediately. "You looking for the boss?" When Hajime nodded, he laughed. "Man, you two sure like each other a lot! Young love sure is cute!"

His statement was a little confusing to Hajime, since he was under the impression that Nekomaru was the same age as him, but he blushed nonetheless.

The huge man just grinned at him. "He's probably meeting with his father right about now, but you should be able to catch him before dinner."

Hajime sighed. He didn't like waiting, since he was rapidly running out of time, but he also didn't want to disrupt Fuyuhiko's life anymore than he already had. He nodded to Nekomaru and went back to trying to kick the ball without falling over.

***

He wasn't able to find Fuyuhiko before dinner, and the blonde gave him the slip again right after the meal. Hajime ended up just going to Fuyuhiko's room and sitting slumped against the door.

It was probably a pretty pathetic sight, but Hajime didn't care. If this is what it took to be with the human, then so be it.

Glancing out a nearby window told him that it was getting late. The sun had set long ago. The merman sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since he sat down. This might be the end of his land adventure after all.

Just as he was getting ready to start the long walk back to the beach, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up hopefully and was pleased to see that it really was Fuyuhiko.

Gold eyes met hazel and they stared each other down for a moment. "...What the fuck are you doing?"

Hajime climbed to his feet and just indicated the human.

"Waiting for me?" Fuyuhiko snorted, but his cheeks still turned pink. Well, pinker. "That's kinda sad, you know." He came closer, stopping right in front of Hajime. "What exactly do you want?"

The question was so blunt, and the man's face was so deadpan, it caught Hajime a little off guard. He stared back blankly for a second before pointing at Fuyuhiko.

The blonde frowned, brow furrowed. "Me? What, like… you wanna fuck me? 'Cause I'm not into that casual shit, okay?"

The merman shook his head. Obviously he wanted to sleep with the human, but that wasn't all he wanted. He reached out and gently laid his hand on Fuyuhiko's chest, directly over his heart.

It took the smaller man a moment to catch on, but when he did, his face and ears turned a deep red. "You…! What the fuck are you saying?!"

Technically I'm not saying anything. Hajime really wished he could speak instead of having to keep his snarky comments to himself.

Fuyuhiko grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. "...You're so fuckin' embarrassing." Despite the insult, he leaned up and kissed him.

Hajime gladly kissed back, carefully wrapping his arms around the other man, bringing their bodies flush together. As the blonde's lips parted, he happily took advantage. Their tongues met and the kiss deepened.

When they broke for air, Fuyuhiko glared up into Hajime's eyes. "I don't know what this is between us, but you better be taking it seriously, you hear me?"

The merman nodded in agreement, leaning in to nuzzle the other man's ear. There was so much he wanted to tell him, and the thought that he might be able to soon kept him on target.

Fuyuhiko made a soft noise as the brunette started kissing his neck. "Fuck… Let's get out of the damn hallway," he muttered, pulling away from Hajime. He grabbed the merman's wrist and pulled him into his bedroom.

Once inside, he shoved Hajime backwards onto his bed and slammed the door. Fuyuhiko stood over him, brows knitted and cheeks flushed. "...I'm serious about not wanting anything casual. If we… If we do this, you have to… promise…" He cut himself off, seemingly too embarrassed.

Hajime sat up and pulled the smaller man closer. He cupped his cheek and gazed up into his golden eyes, knowing that he felt the exact same way. I promise, he mouthed, though he wasn't sure Fuyuhiko would understand. I want to be with you… More than you know.

The blonde let out a nervous breath before kissing the taller man deeply. He moved closer so that he was standing between Hajime's legs, his own legs pressed against the bed. He pulled back just enough to speak again. "...You're not, like… going to leave me to go back to the ocean, are you?"

Shaking his head, Hajime leaned in, pressing soft, reverent kisses to Fuyuhiko's freckled cheeks. If only he could explain that this was exactly what he needed to stay here.

The human pushed him back onto the bed again, but this time he followed, covering Hajime's body with his own. He kissed the merman hungrily, straddling his hips.

(cue the smut)

A couple of notes:

So I wasn't sure if I wanted to make Fuyuhiko a prince, or just keep him as the heir to a yakuza clan (a yakuza prince lol) so I left it kinda vague. But I definitely leaned more towards the yakuza explanation. Should I make it more clear?

And I don't know why Nekomaru is there, lol.

I think I could probably take a lot of the beginning out, but idk. What do you all think?

#kuzuhina #fuyuhiko kuzuryuu #hajime hinata #fanfiction #writing process #Live or Die You And I Are Together #sparky writes

[imsparky2002]

Ghouls and Monsters - The Witch and Doll

(Scarynette does the Wednesday thing of poking Maridoll's shoulder. The voodoo girl looks around and sees no one there, she turns around and yelps as the human gives her a manic grin.) 

Scarynette: Gotta say, it's so cool to see myself as a monster. Hmm, I wonder what would happen if you pricked yourself? Would I feel pain even if from another dimension?

Maridoll: Oh…when I get hurt it effects everyone in the immediate area, so…I try to avoid it as much as I can.

Scarynette: Oh, that sounds unpleasant. I hope you've babyproofed the school. I can be a bit of a klutz at times.

Maridoll: Most of my belongings are babyproofed and my friends always look out for me.

(She has a warm smile on her face.)

Maridoll: They’re always there to pick me back up when I fall.

Scarynette: I can say the same thing. It's good to have friends, and even better to hear them scream! Can I ask if you've got some special someones as well?

Maridoll: (Blushes) Yes. My wonderful partners, Kagami, Adrien and Luka.

Scarynette: (She lets out a dreamy sigh) How they make my heart shiver. I bet they treat you very well.

Maridoll: Yes! Kagami is very protective but also gentle. Adrien is such a ray of sunshine, I can’t help smiling too. And Luka…he always understands what’s inside my heart.

Scarynette: They truly are blessings, aren't they? Ooh, may I see a photo of them? And your friends?

(Maridoll takes out a picture to show her.)

Scarynette: Such a wide variety! But they all look as awesome as ever. Ooh, by any chance do you have a witch at your school?

Maridoll: We do! She’s a friend of ours, her name is Candace.

Scarynette: Oh, Candace! She's a cheerleader in my dimension. Mylene and Kagami have made sure that there's plenty of school spirit for her squad. 

Maridoll: You go to school with humans? Like... a regular school?

Scarynette: Well, Adrien and I are taught alongside our sisters by the Witches of Wisdom, but we also go to DuPont.

(The witch then frowns.) 

Scarynette: I'm assuming that you aren't so as fortunate in your world?

Maridoll: N-no. Humans…most of them REALLY don’t like monsters.

(She gives her a comforting hug.) 

Scarynette: Monsters in my home aren't appreciated by most corners of the world, either. Even if becoming heroes of Paris have helped somewhat, we're nowhere near coexisting.

(Maridoll is interested in the "hero" mention, and decides to change the subject.) 

Maridoll: Wait... you and your sisters are superheroes?

(Scarynette nods) 

Scarynette: Would you like to see?

(Maridoll has a small smile.) 

Scarynette: Arachne! Web me up! 

(A dark and spooky transformation happens and Zhīzhū appears. She opens all of her red eyes and shows off a fanged grin to Maridoll, climbing up to the ceiling before dropping down behind her.) 

Maridoll: Woah... you look so much like Reshy!

Zhīzhū: I’ve always had such a love for spiders…what wonderful creatures!

Maridoll: And they're very helpful when we're designing clothes! Your outfit already looked beautiful, but after transforming... wow. (Zhīzhū shows off her Morticia esque dress underneath the cloak.)

(Maridoll squeals and claps her hands)

Zhīzhū: I'm glad to see you appreciate fashion as well. You know, you're a very pretty girl. Some people might say you need to have more confidence in yourself, and that's true, but remember to stay true to who you are. You can be as quiet as you want, you know that?

(Maridoll squeaks and runs in to receive a cloak hug. Hearing her own voice makes the compliment feel even sweeter.)

Maridoll: (Sniffling) T-thank you.

Here's the second-to-last crossover and it's the first between different species! Both characters are a joy to write, and thanks to Weeby for helping with the dialogue. Make sure to reblog, reply, post and ask. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

#marinette dupain cheng #marinette #witch #voodoo doll #monstrous #monstrous au #monster au #monster #school for monster #ghoul squad au #ghoul squad #miraculous ladybug #miraculous

[theroastedwretch]

Across The Screen Part 1- A Note to Hacker Boy

Warnings- Threats, language

A/N- This takes place as part of Between the lines, sometime after Jake's return in episode 7 but before the end-of-chapter climax.

Index

Once he’d been able to take the time to finish NymOS and turn his attentions to going on the offensive rather than simply fending off the attacks, the number of attempts on MC’s phone had dropped off dramatically. His pursuers had all but stopped, in fact, likely satisfied to see that he’d been drawn out of hiding and confirming their suspicions about her importance.

Even the majority of amateur hackers who had merely seen her name alongside his own and viewed it as a challenge had died down. Either interest had dwindled with time, or word of his rather forceful response to the intrusions had made its way around enough to stymie curiosity somewhat. 

So it was first the surprise that stayed his hand from his instinct to automatically go nuclear when NymOS had alerted him to the most recent intrusion.

The second was the realization that the term “intrusion” was far too strong for what had been done. There were no attempts to access any of the data on the device, no malware or links or attempts to plant a door for later access.

It was a glorified text message, and nothing more.

The origin had done nothing to mask their identity, and while some of the would-be hackers had been impressively reckless and arrogant, none had been this incompetent so far. In fact, the source device didn’t even appear to run their free virus protection often enough. No hacker would leave themselves this open while checking their email, let alone while planning an attack.

The uncanny family resemblance he found during a quick scan only served to confirm the conclusion he was finally certain of as soon as he got the location data of the device.

“H.B.-We need to talk.-P”

Really, he should have been expecting this particular conversation for some time now.

Jake: H.B.?

Paige: Hacker Boy. I thought it was polite to use titles until we were formally introduced.

Sarcasm and barely contained hostility. Wonderful.

Jake: I will assume nicknames are a family trait, then. Jake: So, how can I be of assistance?

Paige: Well you can explain why my sister is worrying about cyber attacks and asking me to teach her to do her makeup disguises. That’d be a pretty good start.

He had truthfully only been aware of the attacks. True to his word, he had stopped looking into her messages with people outside of Duskwood quite a while back, only recently faltering when he’d seen the influx of conversations with Joe. 

Additionally, he’d never gotten into the habit of digging into her communications with Paige. He had struggled enough to get familiar with MC’s blunt, presumptuous manner without the additional layer of her sister’s excessively abrasive attitude. Between that, and the sisters’ fondness for using embarrassing life stories and uncomfortable innuendos to harass each other, reading their conversations had been one of the most intrusive he’d felt during his career as a hacker.

Jake: I hadn’t realized that she asked you for assistance with disguising herself, but I assure you that it’s wholly unnecessary. Jake: MC has a tendency toward wanting to have back up plans for every angle, which, while admirable, isn’t needed in this situation.

After the discovery of Hannah’s depression, and MC’s admission of the same, he’d begun to do research into the condition and had learned about the prevalence of anxiety as a coexisting condition. He had yet to ask and verify, but MC’s habit of catastrophizing and the need to predict everything that could possibly go wrong had fit the diagnosis rather well.

He’d firmly ignored the number of criteria he had fit as well. In his position, his behaviors were perfectly reasonable survival instincts, nothing more.

Paige: Sure, she does that, but if someone is after her, isn’t that a good thing? 

Jake: As I said, the precaution and concerns are unnecessary. Your worry is understandable, but I won’t allow anything to happen to her, I assure you.

Paige: Why is this even happening? Ever since she got involved with this Duskwood bullshit she’s been stressed, miserable, and getting harassed. Paige: And I’ve been waiting this whole time to learn one good reason that I shouldn’t sound the alarm and get my family and friends involved in hosting an intervention or taking her phone or something. Paige: And so far, other than her refusing to talk to me ever again, I’ve gotten absolutely nothing.

He pinched the bridge of his nose with a low groan. The conversation was going even more poorly than he would have predicted, and he’d had rather low expectations of his ability to handle MC’s sister to begin with.

He needed to weigh his options carefully. The last thing the investigation needed was yet another obstacle, and this obstinate woman could easily take on that role if he didn’t play his cards right. If he pushed her too far, it would cause stress to MC, or possibly remove her from the situation entirely. 

Hadn’t he already seen evidence of the havoc that sisters could wreak in protection of each other?

Jake: I will answer all of your questions to the best of my ability, within reason, on one condition.

Paige: Which is?

Jake: The program that I created to stop the attacks on MC’s phone is designed with a number of fail-safes to protect her, and admittedly myself. Jake: I cannot speak freely to an unprotected device.  Jake: It will also allow her to more openly confide in you, which I believe she would appreciate. Jake: I will not use it to monitor your communications, location, or activities in any way. I have no interest in your life outside of your importance to MC.

There was a relatively lengthy pause. While he was impatient to get through, and end, this conversation, he could understand her hesitation. Not everyone could be expected to offer up their lives freely the way MC had done rather foolishly. She was too trusting by half, and it filled him with warmth at the same time it terrified him.

He tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited, regretting that he’d severed the connection to the device upon discovering that it belonged to her. He’d gotten rather reliant on knowing what the other person in a conversation was doing that caused the delay in response, and he found it even more difficult to navigate without the additional information.

Paige: I don’t believe you’ve ever spoken freely in your life, dude. Paige: This is going to void my warranty, isn’t it?

Jake snorted despite himself. Apparently the rather unfortunate sense of humor ran in the family as well. It was less charming when layered in acid and not coming from MC, but it felt familiar regardless.

Jake: Only if they can find it. And they won’t.

Paige: Whatever, what do I need to do?

It was a matter of almost no time at all to get NymOS installed on her device, and he was surprised to see she’d added it to both her laptop and cell phone almost immediately. Either she was insatiably curious or she trusted MC’s judgment more than she let on. Regardless, he appreciated that she was cognizant of where the leaks could come from.

Once the system was fully online, he returned to the chat and asked something that had been bothering him since the conversation started.

Jake: I had been under the impression that your computer literacy was relatively basic. How did you manage to send the message and alert NymOS?

Paige: I have a friend who’s good at tech and was willing to help me out. Paige: Or rather, he was willing to help MC out. Not enough to stay once he saw some of the comments on Lilly’s video— guess he thought you could do something to his phone just by him being on the same network as me

Jake: I’ve been purging those as they appear, where were you able to find one at this point?

Paige: I’ve got screen grabs, Hacker Boy. And don’t think about deleting them, I have backups. I downloaded your weird murder bot so you’re going to accept that I’m keeping what little leverage I have in this situation Paige: You think I can’t see how fucked the power dynamic in your relationship is? 

Jake: I don’t believe MC sees it that way.

Paige: Yeah, because she’s naive and wants to think the best of you. 

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from swearing. She wasn’t entirely wrong. If he were more of the vindictive sort, his skills would allow him to keep MC in a precarious position. But she was overlooking the fact that MC could walk into any police station, hand in her phone, and receive full immunity for any crime she’d participated in on top of protection from him in the blink of an eye.

And it was a trap he’d almost certainly fall for.

Paige didn’t need to know that, however, so he tried a different track to reassure her.

Jake: I have no intention or desire to hurt MC in any way, least of all through taking advantage of the trust she has granted me.

Paige: You’ve already hurt her pretty bad, you know.

He supposed it made sense that she knew about it, MC would guard his secrets around his identity fiercely, but likely needed emotional support at times during their early association. 

Jake: My intention had been to protect her and avoid everything that has happened since then. I underestimated both her feelings and my own, as interpersonal relationships aren’t my strong suit.

Paige: Wow is that an understatement.

Jake: I won’t try to convince you that I will never hurt her again with that particular failing of mine. But that risk exists in all relationships, not just this one.

Paige: What do you want from her? 

Jake flinched back like he’d been hit. Her blunt phrasing, along with the unexpected confrontational question sent him reeling for a moment. 

Jake: At the moment, I’d appreciate her continued assistance in finding Hannah as her involvement has been invaluable.  Jake: Beyond that, I ask you to trust that my intentions aren’t nefarious, I’m not using or manipulating her to get what I want. Jake: I would prefer to leave it there for now. Forgive me but I believe it’s a conversation best held with MC first, though I know that may not be of much comfort for you.

Paige: I… damn it, I want to tell you that’s not good enough but that’s actually reasonable.  Paige: Why are you even involved, then? She got pulled in, but Lilly’s video makes it seem like you inserted yourself.

His first instinct was to sidestep, or even shut down the conversation entirely, but when had his first instinct worked lately? Being reckless would ruin everything, but making the wrong move could cost him both Hannah and MC.

Jake: My involvement in Hannah’s disappearance is due to the same motivation that led you to this conversation.

Paige: MC? That makes no sense. Paige: Oh. Paige: OH.

He watched her type and delete several times, presumably gathering her thoughts as she came to terms with what she’d just discovered. He was actually somewhat impressed— he’d expected her to take longer to come to that conclusion. He was starting to think he had underestimated her.

Her next message seemed to confirm that she’d come to the correct conclusion.

Paige: Aw fuck, that means if this thing between you two works out I’m stuck playing nice with Lilly, doesn’t it? Paige: I get to punch her at least once. It’s only fair. 

He couldn’t deny that he and MC had both somewhat waved away the consequences of Lilly’s actions to the girl out of understanding of her motivations. Paige, however, seemed much more in line with Lilly’s reactions and it was likely that if they ever met, it would be a rather loud and potentially violent confrontation.

Jake: I leave that between you three, frankly. I will not get involved, only ask that you keep MC’s best interest at heart since she was the one the video impacted, not you.

Paige: I wanted this conversation to involve a lot more yelling and make me less frustrated, not more. Paige: If you fuck her over, I don’t care what I have to do to make you pay, I’ll figure something out. Paige: Like you said, you’re way too emotionally constipated to never hurt her, so I won’t even ask for that. But this isn’t a game to her and it can’t be to you. Paige: She’s too kind for her own good. She’d jump in front of a bullet for people she cares about, and as much as I don’t like it, that involves you jokers now too. Paige: Especially when her mental health is in the toilet like this, she sees herself as expendable compared to others and this shit is already fucked up enough that she might try something stupid. 

He was sorely tempted to take the conversation off track and demand elaboration on the description of MC’s mental state. He was beginning to get more familiar with MC’s personality and quirks, enough that while he still couldn’t read her emotions, he could recognize patterns and tie them to previous situations. 

But something like her overall health would be much harder to learn, and he’d come across multiple instances of times where something would indicate that she was doing poorly, only for her to mask it as needed. 

That was a conversation for another day, and he could only hope that Paige would cooperate when the time came.

Jake: I have already asked her not to come to Duskwood, but she refused to promise that. I know she cares deeply for her friends there and as things get more complicated, I worry about the choices she may make as well.  Jake: And I’m confident that you would be able to come up with something to make me pay. I’m well aware of the impact you had on the campaign she and Lilly implemented to distract my pursuers. Jake: I should have expressed gratitude sooner. Jake: It’s another reason I wanted to install NymOS to protect you. You’re the most important person to her, and she’s the most important to me. 

Transitive property, he recalled with a laugh, but kept that to himself knowing she wouldn’t understand the reference.

Paige: Alright, I’ve had enough of this for one day, go do creepy Jake stuff or whatever. Just remember what I said.

Jake: And I thank you for keeping what you’ve learned today private. I’d prefer not to come to regret this conversation.

Paige: Yep. See ya Hacker Boy.

Before he had time to close out of the application, he received an alert from spy mode that he was relatively certain he was intended to see.

Paige: Your boy fitted me out with his stalker robot. Paige: I hope he knows I have no money.

MC: Wait, WHAT?

And with that, Jake had already come to regret the conversation.

#duskwood #duskwood fandom #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood fanfic #duskwood mc #duskwood episode 10 #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood jake #duskwood game #duskwood everbyte #jake x mc #mc x jake #jake duskwood

[seolminju]

hello again, beautiful people! ✨ 🌊 it's me, ryan (h/h, 25+), and i'm here to introduce you to another muse of mine, another favorite: seol minju! hailing from jeju city on jeju island, she was raised by a single father who convinced her that her mother is a mermaid living in the sea, and to this day, she fully believes she's half-mermaid, half-human—she just has legs instead of a beautiful tail. she works as a fortune teller at a café, and makes jewelry to sell at local boutiques. if you want a reading, let her know. she'll give you a discount! read more below! 💖

1.

tw / parental death

as mentioned above, she was born in jeju and was raised by a single father. he's honestly, like, the best dad ever probably. he really did his best to ensure that his daughter had a good life, especially given the unfortunately grim circumstances of her mother's passing. while he worked a lot to provide for them and ensure she wanted for nothing, she spent a lot of time alone—creating mystical make-believe worlds in her mind, whispering secrets into the sea mist to communicate with her mom, and when she got older, most of her downtime was spent watching makeup tutorials, hair styling tips and tricks, and fostering her interest in the metaphysical and occult.

in school, she was bullied a lot. despite her traditionally beautiful appearance, she had—and still has—a rather oddball personality. she speaks in a soft, lilting manner, and asks strange questions to people in order to break the ice; often making those who don't take kindly to whimsy uncomfortable. more often than not, her female peers thought she was a strange pick-me girl, her male peers wanted to date her for her appearance but seldom cared about her personality, and craving a change of pace and some independence, she moved to seoul after graduation; much to the chagrin of her father.

she's basically a fish out of water now, but she's doing her best to assimilate to her new surroundings; finding everything so different and unreal in its own way. she works as a fortune teller and jeweler, but also has strengthened her sfx makeup skills and is sometimes booked for that, as well, mostly around spooky season.

2.

seol minju is a mystic. ever since childhood, she's felt more comfortable in a self-constructed world where sea nymphs, fae creatures, and other magical beings coexist alongside her. she's always felt as though she can access other realms that most humans cannot, and when she tries to express this to people, they often scoff at her; finding her assertions lame, overly peculiar, or impractical. as she's rather soft-spoken and delicate, it's difficult for her to stand up for herself whenever others demean her passions, but she still holds onto hope that she can prove them wrong someday.

above all, minju just wants to be accepted. she's never once felt like she belonged anywhere, and often hates that she was given legs instead of a mermaid tail. she convinces herself that life would've been better under the sea, but tries to remain grateful for all she has.

now, does she actually believe that she's half-mermaid? while it's complicated, she'll still assert that she is. she's not a moron, but it's genuinely how she copes with the fact that she never had a mother. whenever she can, she heads to the nearest beach to spend time with her; finding the water extraordinarily comforting, as if it's home.

minju has no genuine concept of time. this is frustrating to many. she'll always take forever to get ready. she'll always run late. she'll move at very slow paces. she likes to say that she's simply taking her time and taking everything in, but it's still annoying. you'll have to tell her to show up ~2 hours earlier than she's supposed to for her to show up on time. no lie. another unfortunate tragedy about her is that she often falls for all the wrong men. she has garbage taste. please wish her luck in the future.

3.

as she's rather new to the city (arrived early last year), most of her friends who are in seoul are likely rather new to her. maybe your muse met her when she would post-up in random places throughout the city offering free palm/tarot readings for practice!

maybe your muse is also from jeju and they can bond over missing home. that, or maybe your muse hates jeju and butts heads with her about it. i don't know. she'd love knowing someone from back home.

maybe your muse needed their makeup done for halloween last year, saw her instagram, and messaged her for a commission! she loooves shit like that, and she'd make you look terrifying, haunting, or beautiful. whatever you want. she's honestly really good at it.

maybe your (male) muse is an ex-lover of her's. could've lasted from may to december 2023? we can mess with the dates, too, but you know. as mentioned above, she typically falls for the wrong types of men, and she ends up hurt or used a lot, and it sucks, but... it's just the tea for right now. i hope she grows out of it.

i'm up for every type of plot and adore to brainstorm, so i'm sure we can always figure something out ourselves, as well! 🥰

#JONGNO:HELLO #/ 2 outta 8... i'm trying my best. 😅 #/ please 💖 this post to plot! i'll send mssgs out asap!

[cosmictapestry]

B13

13. primal play

girl me too

prompt list here

Sometimes, when Lucienne touches him a certain way, Lord Morpheus will make a sound—a sound like a growl, reverberating through his chest. It is a desperate, aggressive noise, warning her to give him what he needs before he takes it, and the idea of him acting on that drives her so wild she eventually has to talk to him about it.

He is, predictably, horrified. He promises not to make the noise again, or any noise at all if she prefers, or perhaps they should abandon this arrangement entirely—and she pulls him close and tells him she wants what he's threatening, wants the good, hard fucking she can feel up to her sternum, and he comes while she tell him about it, and that is all they do that night.

It is still a long while before he is able to consider giving it to her. He knows she is telling the truth about wanting it—she imagines it often enough—but what little sense of identity he clings to names him as a gentle, attentive lover, soft of hand and patient, and he finds it difficult to reconcile that this can coexist with the substantial dream mass of lust and instinct inside him.

He denies this part of himself so ferociously. It is uncivilized and unbecoming and unworthy of an Endless, he tells her, to be overcome by base instinct. Lucienne doesn't push him on it. She can tell he's interested, though, can tell it satisfies something in him to be ridden fast, to come inside of her, to let his corporeal form move without rational input.

The first time she convinces him to fuck her properly it is with her lying on her side, one leg up over his shoulder, and she can see it in his face as he slides inside of her so quick and easy and his mouth opens, and he forces himself still, and he growls so low she almost doesn't hear it.

"Yeah?" Lucienne rocks back on him, feels the sharp nails of one hand dig into her thigh, pale spots of pressure on dark skin. He's been playing with her for hours, fingers in her cunt and tongue on her clit; she knows how open and soft and hot she must be, fluttering around him, and she's wanted him inside her all evening. "Give it to me, then."

Her lord swallows hard, and he grinds slow and sweet, the way he knows gets her off, but then he draws back, and plunges slowly forward, and his breath catches, and then he cannot move slowly.

Truthfully, Lucienne doesn't think she can come again, but she's certainly going to give it a valiant effort, hearing the wet glide between them as he begins to fuck her, feeling the way he presses against her leg to bury himself deeper, seeing the sweat building on his brow.

He comes, stilling only momentarily with a high, breathy whine, and then he doesn't stop moving. Instead he falls forward over her body, gives himself more leverage to snap his hips against hers, to fuck hard and deep and fast into the core of her, even easier and slicker now.

Lucienne scrabbles at his shoulders, draws blunt nails over his clothed back, moans loud and long when she manages to come again on his cock. Lord Morpheus groans, she feels her body clenching around him, and he buries his head against her ribs and snarls while he fucks her, long and deep until he stills again.

She feels him throb, the fresh flood of heat, and she hears his sharp, desperate groan, alongside the drag of teeth on her skin. "Lucienne," he slurs the second he is able to, raising his head and looking at her with wide-eyed worry. "Are you—"

"Perfect, my lord," Lucienne murmurs, and she draws him down onto her chest, still nestled inside of her.

#again this is a little bit rougher!! but everyone is having fun. #anyway my point is that these guys have great sex LMAO. in spite of the everything #the sandman #morphienne #x #minors dni

[bigskydreaming]

Now I’m thinking about the Marvel vs DC crossover comic from the 90s that led to the brief Amalgam thing.....and how the rumor back in the day was that Marvel and DC were toying with the idea of ending the event by exchanging one hero from each universe. Allegedly it was going to be Hawkman that ended up staying in the Marvel Universe longterm, while She-Hulk would end up staying in the DC Universe, but then the deal they were working on fell through and that never happened.

But given how both Marvel and DC have extremely different tones, not every hero or concept from one universe would transfer cleanly into the other universe. Like there’s a reason analogue versions of popular Marvel characters have never made it big in DC and DC analogues like the Squadron Supreme have only ever been so-so in Marvel stuff....and its NOT because analogue or blatantly derivative characters can’t be done well, its just.....the Justice League in general aren’t a good fit for the Marvel universe for a variety of reasons. And similarly, a lot of Marvel characters and concepts just wouldn’t hit the same way if they were part of the DC setting.

That said, in general I’ve always preferred the Marvel Universe to the DC one just in terms of setting and general themes, and I wonder if part of why the Titans have always appealed to me so much more than most other DC characters is because they feel like they COULD actually be transplanted into the Marvel universe without too many major changes being made. Like I just mean....the Titans are very much DC characters, but more than a lot of other DC characters I feel like they could just as easily be Marvel characters?

I mean....Jericho could work in a Marvel setting, easily, even Deathstroke and their whole family could fit pretty well within a Marvel-based framework. I could see Starfire working as a Marvel character....she’d be really interesting in a lot of cosmic Marvel properties, and ugh imagine Kory as the ruler of her people making an alliance with Storm and Arakko? *chef’s kiss* 

I’m actually very intrigued imagining the possibilities of Raven and Trigon being fit into the Marvel mystical landscape, Gar and Vic could easily fit into a number of franchises, and Lilith - well, I’ve always thought psychics were one area where Marvel definitely eclipses DC. The latter really has only ever had a handful of prominent telepaths or precogs whereas you can’t walk a single city block in Marvel’s NY without running into at least five psychics, mutant or otherwise. But rather than being redundant, Marvel’s psychics are very good at coexisting without feeling irrelevant despite their large numbers, so no reason Lilith couldn’t easily fit into the same ranks as Jean, Emma, Moondragon, Mantis, Xavier, Exodus, Destiny and many, many more.

And of course of the OG Titans, Dick as Nightwing would not at all be out of place alongside Spider-Man, Daredevil, etc, and Garth could be very interesting to play off of Namor and Marvel’s other Atlanteans. Wally and Donna would definitely stand out as few of Marvel’s speedsters could even come close to any of the Flash fam and they operate under entirely different speedster rules, but I could see Donna working as a kind of America Chavez style character.....hmm.

I definitely do think Jericho, Starfire and Lilith would be the easiest to transplant into the Marvel U without having to change almost anything at all about them or their backstories (as long as you just bring the rest of their associated concepts into Marvel with them, ie make Tamaran a planet in a distant Marvel star system and Deathstroke a former Weapon X project whose kids were born mutants as a result, etc, etc).

 Anyway, just kinda an idle thought experiment brought about by the thought “Joey would be really fun as an X-Man.”

[spacesbetweenthewords]

Pacific Rim meets The Iron Giant

Or maybe it should be The Iron Giant meets Pacific Rim because I was really feeling The Iron Giant feels as I started this book. If you've never seen The Iron Giant, it is a movie about a young boy by the name of Hogarth Hughes who finds and befriends a gigantic metal robot that fell from space. The film, set during the Cold War in 1957, focuses on the friendship that develops between Hogarth and the robot. Hogarth is determined to keep his new friend out of the hands of the U.S Military who only want to destroy the giant robot. My little synopsis does the film no justice and I strongly suggest you take the time to watch the animated film, however, as I started Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, a line from The Iron Giant kept repeating in my mind:

"You are who you choose to be."

The beauty of science fiction is the bigger questions that are hidden amongst the aliens, cool looking spaceships, and all that space science talk I hardly understand. The big questions are the ones that sit with you long after you read the last page. How far will you go in the pursuit of scientific progress? What is the price for world peace? Can we coexist? Is humanity damned or redeemable? Each one of these questions has a moment within Sleeping Giants when they reach out and sink their hooks into you. You don't have the answer. The characters don't have an answer. So, these questions sit. Awkwardly. In the corner of the room. Just...watching.

The synopsis of Sleeping Giants is deceivingly simple. A young girl named Rose Franklin falls through the Earth while riding her bike and lands into the palm of a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, the mystery of the strange artifact remains unsolved. The giant metal hand's origin and purpose remains unknown. Rose Franklin, now a highly trained physicist, leads a secret team to uncover the hand's code. Meanwhile, as the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, the eyes of the world watch. Will this be the beginning of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

Neuvel's novel is set up very much unlike a novel. Instead of standard prose, Neuvel builds his story through a collection of interviews conducted by an unnamed man, mission reports, and news stories. We begin with the quest of finding and collecting all the parts of the giant robot. All these parts are buried somewhere beneath the Earth. Rose's team is forced to confront an interesting question: who left these parts to the giant robot? Were they dropped here by aliens, or were they always here?

If you were wondering when the Pacific Rim feels begin, I'd say you're going to feel those feelings (I'm really into that phrase for this review) once Rose's team successfully assembles the giant robot. Bonus: the giant robot is a she! Assembling the giant robot is one adventure, but the adventure Rose's team embarks upon to understand how to operate the robot is full of twists and turns that really make this science fiction thriller stand out. Without spoiling the really good bits, readers who enjoyed Pacific Rim will enjoy the stumbling these characters go through to connect with the giant robot.

Neuvel does a great job keeping the reader engaged in this fast-paced novel. Love, jealousy, and greed arrive alongside those questions that just hang out by the punch bowl at a party. The characters are memorable. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more and more about the unnamed man conducting these interviews with Rose's team. I finished this book delighted by the cliffhanger and curious about where Neuvel will take these characters.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

#book review #science fiction #booklr

[reallgraphics]

10 HABITS OF Content Partners

10 HABITS OF Pleased COUPLES Allow me to express that it genuinely normally takes important commitments to maintain your marriage on A prosperous and many remarkable and adorable development. The subsequent involves the top 10 habits practiced by partners in An effective partnership.

one. Planning to Bed as a Couple

You notice over the early stages of the romantic relationship, you may not be reminded to go to sleep. Fortunately, living partners will, by all implies, resist the temptation of going to mattress in a special length of time. They may always assure they retire to bed concurrently, even though one of these must awaken, in a while, to have interaction in other factors while one particular is asleep. In case their pores and skin will come into Speak to, it may well carry about tingling Except one of them is incredibly fatigued to get sexually enthusiastic.

two. Work on Widespread Pursuits

Once the passion is beautifully settled, it really is ordinary to Believe there are hardly any common passions. But you require not restrict oneself on the quantity of important activities You must do jointly for fun. If there aren't any widespread pursuits, happy couples be sure that they grow them. Often be certain of cultivating your own private interest that will make you be extremely intriguing to the husband or wife and assist in blocking any of you from being much too unbiased.

three. Wander Alongside one another

Instead of one of the companion dragging the other powering, couples enjoying a cup of happiness should learn to stay engrossed to each other. They should understand how essential it's to become together than looking at one another’s sight.

4. Regulate Forgiveness and rely on being your all-time method

Every time they have arguments or disagreements, happy partners constantly modify right into a method of engaging in balanced disagreements and rely on amid one another. It is a lot more prudent to have faith in one another alternatively living in a begrudging and distrusting kind of Life style.

5. Place your give attention to the proper deeds within your associate rather than the incorrect actions

You require not concentrate a lot of within the bad things that your partner is probably going to accomplish. Learn to see positivity from each other and can help you to make your coexistence. Then again, if you consider the right matters accomplished by her, you will however locate a little something lovable much too. As a result, this is very depending on That which you’re prepared to see. Content partners concentrate Substantially on positivity and are All set to handle the disadvantages jointly.

6. Embrace One another everytime you meet following the working day’s do the job.

In most of the time, our skin will remind us from the Wonderful contact, poor touch and no touches which are depicted as neglect. Partners who embrace one another often preserve their pores and skin beautiful and with awesome touch and feeling that may immunize your morale against the globe of anonymity.

seven. Discover how to Say I like you and Good day regularly

Every day greetings are the most effective and interesting way to buy some tolerance and persistence as you will get set to battle the daily challenges of long strains, targeted visitors jams and other sorts of each day annoyances.

eight. Learn how to usually say Goodnight Regardless of The body Emotion

This can help your lover to be aware of and think that you care about them in both content and dull times and you would probably want to be with each other even in the tricky periods of the connection. It reveals what you might have with each other is bigger and price in comparison to any disagreeable incident.

9. Perform a Weather conditions Verify of your day.

Reach your lover at get the job done or dwelling to understand how he or she is fairing. It can be among the finest methods for changing expectations that may help you be in sync after a fast paced day. By way of example, if you find your associate is battling a bad day, it wouldn't be reasonable to foresee any of you to definitely be keen about anything that might have befallen you.

ten. Be Happy and Happy to have her/him all around you

Joyful couple is going to be much pleased when they are viewed together in public. They can be very likely to be in affectionate contacts such as the back again on the again, hand of hand, and hand of shoulder or neck or knee. It's not about bragging but a method of saying that they are closely bonded with really like.

People partners who feel too satisfied have exclusive behaviors. Being happy is surely an only habits that may acquire little hard work and motivation to maintain. It might take a highest of 21’ days of standard repetition to alter a actions right into a habit. Consequently, you should choose a single conduct and apply it for at least 21 times. This tends to, afterwards, be was a practice for this reason bringing in pleasure to the two of you. In case it doesn't get the job done, apologize and commit your self once more to the pattern.

The leading essential to joy when in adore and everyday living in general is always to get into a dialogue using your internal currently being and thoughts. Just pay attention to by yourself and be extra intrigued than intriguing, extra adoring than cute and much more charming.

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[tomorrow-and-tomorrows]

JJK 149. Mai Zen'in

It’s fascinating for a battle shounen manga to have a character like Mai who is diametrically opposed to the ideals of strength and self-improvement that are usually valourized in this genre. Mai doesn't die because she can’t get stronger, but because she doesn’t want to. And although that attitude is evidently incompatible with an existence within the world and situation she found herself in, there is no negative value judgment imposed by the narrative itself condemning her unwillingness to unlock her "full potential".

JJK has always foregrounded competing worldviews and how individuals’ different perspectives and values can either coexist or conflict with others. Maki's ambition to transform the Zen'in clan vs. the Zen'ins' regressive conservatism; Gojou's vision for the jujutsu world vs. the higher ups' ; Yuji's "I want to save everyone" vs. Megumi's "I choose who I save" ; Mei Mei's "I'm on the side of money" vs. Nanami leaving a lucrative job to save people out of compassion, and so on.

So it's particularly impressive that, while operating within the shounen genre, the story continues to maintain its respect for this ideological diversity by preserving Mai’s belief in her own worldview to the very end. Simply put, not everyone wants to become powerful even if they may have the potential to. Not everyone wants to live a life of violence, and not everyone wants to be a saviour for others at the direct expense of their own sanity.

It would be perhaps the more optimistic yet potentially oppressive narrative move to demand for Mai's character to undergo a transformation from a character who resists the shounen ideals to one who accepts them. This type of transformation would by no means be inherently negative; I'm definitely not saying that going down this path would have been bad for Mai's character or for the story. But it would succumb to a temptation to move towards a kind of 'sameness' rather than difference in its depiction of ways of acting in the world. I think Mai's ending is all the more striking because it resists this temptation.

Because I think that the more typical - and optimistic - development arc for Mai would have been for her to learn how to be willing to become stronger as a sorcerer and eventually fight alongside Maki.

But instead, Mai never ends up conforming to those dominant values of strength and ambition. Neither is she subjected to the kind of development traditionally favoured by the genre that are along the lines of, 'you just need to believe in yourself and work hard' -- because if we really think about it, often times a lot of feats in shounen are accomplished by sheer willpower and self-conviction. (JJK is not always an exception to that trope, nor is it necessarily a bad thing!). Mai had previously firmly stated her opposing point of view, and this essential attitude never changes even when we perhaps most expect it to.

In this situation, rather than working to improve her technique to create stronger objects without it costing her life, Mai passively accepts that her weakness will require self-sacrifice.

It’s a fatalistic attitude resulting from having never wanted to partake in a life of violence and hardship.

On the one hand, inflexibility and the inability to adapt are not exactly commendable traits; Mai is certainly fixed in her resignation and refusal to work towards her full potential as a sorcerer. On the other hand, to use Nanami's words, being a sorcerer is shit. All the suffering and regret in the story so far has only continued to reaffirm that sentiment. So we also can't fully condemn Mai for rejecting that way of life to the extent that she would rather sacrifice herself than to push forward to have her own "shounen power-up" moment. Because the aftermath of that would be a path likely filled with death, brutality, and suffering.

The wish to live a normal life is a legitimate and valid one. In an ideal world, her clan would not punish her for it. In an ideal world, opposing perspectives, especially ordinarily pacifist ones like Mai's, would be allowed to exist. Mai having to die because she was unable to escape or adapt to the ruthlessness of the jujutsu world exemplifies how cruel that world is. Mai's persistence in her wish for a normal life, and her "failure" as a sorcerer is not her failure at all; her death reflects a failure of the violently rigid jujutsu clan culture.

In this light, it is all the more tragic that Mai's death was entirely preventable, and fated not by the inevitability of actual "fate", but rather entirely by a radically traditionalist clan system.

At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, I find it impressive for Gege to have allowed Mai to hold onto her values. Just as Maki has always stayed true to her dreams of overturning the Zen'in clan by becoming a powerful sorcerer, Mai has always stayed true to her resistance to that dark and difficult path. From a writing perspective, I think it's interestingly respectful to Mai's character in that way. It's also for this reason that I consider this chapter to be a worthy good-bye to Mai, as she is faithful to her own way of being in the world until the end. It may not conform to the demands of the optimistic self-improvement narrative generally preferred by shounen, but it is a valid perspective, and it is never depicted to be 'lesser than' or 'inferior to' the shounen narrative.

I'm always interested in stories in which there is a genuine dialogue of a diversity of voices, each with their own perspectives and viewpoints even as they conflict with each other - or in other words stories that prioritize 'difference' over 'sameness' in ways of being, thinking, and acting. It's not necessarily uncommon - most if not all stories will feature different character motivations within a given cast. But I think JJK does this particularly well in a particularly convincing way, and 149 is further confirmation of this for me.

Finally, it is notable that Mai herself seems to acknowledge this sentiment. She may have been unwilling to imagine a stronger future version of herself, which is opposite to the advice Gojou had given Megumi if he wanted to reach his full potential. But she died for the sake of believing in the stronger future version of Maki, and this is how she is victorious even in death. All the way to the end, Mai had her way of viewing and acting in the world in her individual way, and Maki had hers; importantly, Mai ends up encourages this difference. Right after she states that "You are me, and I am you", that sameness is undercut when Mai immediately after points to their contrasting motivations:

Mai ultimately encourages Maki to live in the way that Maki wants to live - to the fullest potential of her power and the fullest potential for her capacity to force change upon a corrupt system. Before, Mai had resented Maki for moving on without her ("why didn't you fall down the hole with me?") - she resented how Maki couldn't be the same as her in how she viewed the world. In her final chapter, Mai conversely acknowledged that she herself could never see the world exactly the same as Maki.

Therein lies the cornerstone of her character development; before, she resented that difference between them for those twofold reasons. In the last moments of her life, she no longer resents Maki for moving on without her; she encourages her to move forward into the future. It is of course undeniably tragic, as it must be a future without Mai. And no amount of power gained from such a loss could ever be consolation for that tragedy.

It is fitting, then, that Mai's final message to Maki is full of despair -- yet it is also not without hope. In the interplay between 'construction' and 'destruction', it is ironic yet poetic that Mai wished for her object-construction technique's final and greatest creation to be used to destroy - indeed, to "destroy everything". There is undoubtedly despair both in that command, and in Maki's drive to destruction when she emerges from that room. But somewhere, somehow, there must also be the hope that that destruction will be in the service of "construction", of creating a better future for others, even if it is too late for it to be a future in which they can live in together.

#jjk meta #jjk 149 #mai zenin #maki zenin #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk manga #jjk theory #zenin maki #zenin mai #jjk manga spoilers #jjk spoilers

[legobiwan]

Maul, Obi-wan, and Raydonia

I was doing research for an entirely different post and I just...couldn’t leave this scene alone. There’s just too much going on here for me *not* to dip my oar.

So Maul goes to Raydonia and terrorizes the populace in order to send a “message” to Obi-wan at the end of TCW Season 4:

First of all, the panel where Maul says, “face me,” is interesting as Maul is directed away from Obi-wan as Obi-wan looks at Maul’s back, perhaps in facing Maul’s back, he is looking at the past, or, more specifically perhaps not being able to look at his past he cannot face Maul’s holoimage dead-on.

Secondly, this is such an obvious setup. (I know, I know. “Spring the trap.”) But Maul’s hilarious line in Twin Suns really shows us how much he not only knows Obi-wan, but the Jedi at this point (and in Rebels, he contrives this plan because it has worked twice already, on Raydonia and later, Mandalore):

Although this is not the point of this post, you have to laugh. Maul and Obi-wan, to some degree, have been dancing the same tango for over 20 years and the only time there had been a misstep, so to speak, was when Obi-wan left Ahsoka in charge of the second attempt at a Mandalore occupation instead of going himself. But otherwise, geez, no wonder Maul ended up in Obi-wan’s arms at the end of it all, just like a “dip” maneuver at the end of a dance as mentioned above. (They *know* each other’s moves, flit between lead and follow, and if you take this metaphor to its conclusion, then you realize Maul went to Tatooine, sought Obi-wan not because he wanted Luke, but because he wanted closure, knowing what closure would mean in that circumstance.)

But I’m getting off-topic. Maul goads Obi-wan by threatening to burn Raydonia to the ground and Obi-wan, of course, being of “noble heart,” immediately proclaims that he has to go. Alone, of course.

Mace, being the only voice of wisdom in this room, offers a sound strategy:

Obi-wan immediately rejects this perfectly viable option.

This justification is bullshit. Obi-wan is known for being a master tactician and yet he’s refusing Mace’s offer of backup? First of all, between the two of them alone, I’m certain they could have come up with a decent plan. Secondly, Obi-wan had to know that Maul wasn’t going to keep his word. Raydonia was going to burn, regardless of whether Obi-wan came alone or not. 

And, in fact, here is Exhibit A of Raydonia burning:

Even if he isn’t fully aware of this, I posit that Obi-wan rejects Mace’s offer not because he wants to save Raydonia on the premise of a very false promise (if he were truly concerned about Raydonia, he would have taken the task force), but because, as the title of this episode suggests - he wants revenge. 

And I doubt Obi-wan even admits this to himself, using his “noble-heart” to justify going to Raydonia alone to face a massive threat to both the Republic and Jedi in the middle of a war headed by the Sith.

By every logical, tactical measurement, Obi-wan should have taken backup. And he outright refuses it because of a personal vendetta. I have more to say about this in another post, but his actions here seem to be part of this cycle of “fall” and “absolution” that Obi-wan goes through in TCW, each “fall” going lower, each act of contrition more extreme. (And it plays into a theory I have that if the war had continued, if events had been just a little different - Obi-wan would have fallen and Dooku would have eventually gotten his most prized pupil.) It also says a lot that in the mirrored situation during the “Siege of Mandalore” arc, Ahsoka is only able to capture Maul because she brought the backup. Or, more precisely put, because Obi-wan authorized the (illegal) backup of he 501st. 

Mace, however, isn’t swayed by Obi-wan’s pretty terrible argument. (And for pretty damn good reason.)

But here is where it gets truly bizarre.

What the hell, Yoda? I was trying to figure out the thought process that would lead to Yoda authorizing this. Clearly, it’s not stemming from any military advantage or even thought towards the people of Raydonia. They’re already burnt to the ground, both in Maul’s mind and the Council’s mind (despite Obi-wan’s thin rationalizations). 

So then why? If I start with the really wild speculation, I suppose I could say that Yoda had someone form of...Force premonition that Obi-wan going alone to Raydonia would lead to an intervention by Ventress (who Yoda did sense was kicking and ambivalent about her role in the war) which would lead to Ahsoka’s trial and eventual acquittal which would lead to Maul being captured on Mandalore which would lead to the Duel on Malachor which would lead to Luke finding Grogu - 

Yeah, you know what? 

NO way that’s true. Not even Palpatine could see that far into the future so I can BS on that idea.

So why send Kenobi alone?

I think this harkens to what we see later during the “Wrong Jedi” arc.

 If Ahsoka’s trial was her great test, then Maul’s reappearance was Obi-wan’s. Both Mace and Yoda have to know that Obi-wan was teetering on the Dark Side when he beat Maul all those years ago (in fact, the TPM novelization basically states Obi-wan harnesses some Dark Side to beat Maul in his rage.) Mace wants to bring backup, for very practical reasons but also probably keep tabs on an Obi-wan who was at severe risk of becoming unbalanced. 

Yoda, on the other hand, sends Obi-wan alone to face his past, to face his darkness and overcome it (in the middle of a war with the Sith where the balance of power could have shifted significantly if Maul and Dooku and Sidious were able to coexist in the same room without the threat of first-degree murder). 

And here’s the thing. Both Obi-wan and Ahsoka FAIL this test. Ahsoka walks away from the Jedi, Obi-wan gets the snot pounded out of him, taps into his rage (this is not a man in control of himself),

...and then lets a war criminal go free in exchange for her help, all of which set up the disaster that Mandalore becomes in later seasons. In fact, Obi-wan doesn’t pass this supposed test until over 20 years later, on Tatooine. And...is it worth everything that occurred between this episode and “Twin Suns”? Could Yoda have foreseen all of this? Highly unlikely. It’s nice poetry,  but at what cost?

Which leads to another interesting observation - if Yoda feels this is Obi-wan’s test, then both he and Mace feel Obi-wan is more than capable of flirting with the Dark Side. (Yes, all Jedi are, of course, but this seems rather pointed for a man who is considered the pinnacle of Jedi-ness). Again, I have another long post gestating about this topic, but I doubt Mace and Yoda didn’t notice some signs of Obi-wan’s slow fall and attempts at absolution (it’s almost like the habits of an addict - fall, swear off the sauce, and than fall again, even lower) throughout TCW, but between the pressures of the war and trust in Obi-wan, they didn’t see it as a huge threat.

So after Obi-wan leaves for his Revenge Tour, Mace explains, rather diplomatically, that he thinks Yoda’s idea is hot garbage and that his (Maul’s) -

Yes, and Obi-wan at least does learn from this, as stated above...eventually.

Oh, Yoda. This is where I feel the Coucil lost their way. Again, Dooku’s famous quote about Yoda and the Council from the Clone Wars novelization:

"The Jedi Order's problem is Yoda. No being can wield that kind of power for centuries without becoming complacent at best or corrupt at worst. He has no idea that it's overtaken him; he no longer sees all the little cumulative evils that the Republic tolerates and fosters, from slavery to endless wars, and he never asks, 'Why are we not acting to stop this?' Live alongside corruption for too long, and you no longer notice the stench."

It could be argued that Yoda is placing this “test” of Obi-wan above the people of Raydonia, hell, the entire Republic, in priority. Raydonia is collateral damage, and if Obi-wan fails his test, so are many planets in the Republic (which is *exactly* what played out). I suppose, in the very end - again, 20 years later on Tatooine - this was resolved and Luke Skywalker was saved to eventually help redeem his father and destroy Palpatine but...that only really makes sense in hindsight and overlooks the bad decisions the Council and specifically Yoda, are making in real-time. 

And Mace is not convinced here. Too many things could go wrong. Maul could escape. Obi-wan could be killed. Obi-wan could possibly turn, or at least “darken,” so to speak. 

“Trust in the Force,” Mace might say, “but all others pay in credits.”

#hello there #long post #obi wan kenobi #darth maul #mace windu #yoda #raydonia #meta #well i dont know where *that* little analysis came from but #hey it's my weekend right now so enjoy the fruits of my spare time #and yes i will write that obi wan falling post at some point

[queen0fm0nsterz]

I wonder if Scarecrow girl regret pushing away someone that she initially disliked? Given one of the meanings for scarecrow in dreams is wanting to correct negative decisions and realizing the good qualities in a person you dislike?

(give this post a read for context!)

MASTERPOST

Ok, I'm going to use this question to answer a few of the Ladies related questions I got. Thanks to all of you for the positive feedback on that theory, I really appreciated it!

Starting with you, anon.

1) About Scarecrow

You know, after making a full analysis on the Ladies and getting a good look at each one of their rooms, both in the Residence and in the Nest, I think I agree.

The question now would be, who was she pushing away?

An obvious answer would be (her) Mono. As I previously established: a Lady of the Maw cannot exist unless a Thin Man creates her and a Thin Man cannot exist unless he's betrayed by said Lady. Maybe she regrets leaving him to his fate? The Eye paintings are quite prominent in her section.

Or, this could be referring to the other girl.

I theorized that Scarecrow may have had a sister who ruled the Maw alongside her. Not only that, it might have been one of the others as well.

The candidates to fit this role would be Tengu and Teapot. I lean more on the latter.

Tengu is tecnically the second in line, following the order we previously reconstructed, yet I also mentioned that she and Scarecrow may have been interchangable because you can choose to retrieve them in either order. They're the only ones to which this rule applies; Fox will always be first and Teapot will always be last. Plus, Scarecrow's pedestal is taller than Tengu's, effectively making her the second.

Another thing I think is worth mentioning is that, in the way to reach Teapot, we have to pass over the two armchairs. Reminiscent of when Teapot had to sneak past the sisters, perhaps?

Then, when we do get Teapot, to leave the room we have to once again sneak past Tengu (albeit it's her false persona).

Lastly, I wanted to mention that Red and Blue have always been opposites. It would make sense for Scarecrow to dislike Tengu, especially considering how drastically different they behave. For example, while Scarecrow prefers to hide away from the monsters and ignore them, Tengu actively engages with them and pretends to be a monster herself. I could easily see the Lady in Blue be either disgusted or irritated by this way of handling things.

On the other hand, we have our other candidate, Teapot. I do believe it's less likely, but pictures of one of the girls in the paintings (the one with long braided hair) are seen in her area.

Of course, it's also possible that Scarecrow's possible sister is not one of the other Ladies and was someone else entirely.

This lowkey got me thinking though.

If the "Lady & Thin Man coexistence theory" (yes we're naming it lads), is true, then this means that, if there were two Ladies governing the Maw at the same time, then the number of Thin Men wouldn't line up... because one Mono accompanied two Ladies. Consequentially, our Mono would be the fifth Thin Man and not the sixth, and the number 6 on the Thin Man's door was indeed referring to the number of Ladies.

Now I can't help but wonder how such an event would go down. My guess would be that the Thin Man of the time only took one of the girls (maybe only one of them was wearing the yellow raincoat?), awakening her Hunger which would then lead her to become the Lady while her sister helplessly watches and follows.

Mh. I have to think this one through. The concept is really interesting though.

2) About Fox (and Six)

" I wonder if Fox Mask Girl met a gruesome end for being too kind? Given that kindness will guarantee suffering with certain death in the little nightmares world so it won't be too farfetched that she got killed by someone that she offered kindness to. " - anon

" You know given how Fox mask Lady was able to have children be comfortable in her presence and how she likely died a gruesome death, maybe she was the type to continue on being kind and caring despite what she experienced as a kid and becoming the Lady of Maw? Her horrible death is definitely her being punished for still being kind since the world of little nightmares is where kindness will make you suffer and guarantee certain death. " - anon

I do think she met her demise as a consequence of her gentle nature. But in her defense; if the order is correct, then she was the first Lady ever. Maybe she wasn't aware of the cycle/loop. I'm pretty sure she died at the hands of her successor after trying to offer her kindness and shelter.

(Another thing to think about: the rip on her statue kind of looks like a bite.)

People who try to be kind always get the worst possible outcomes in the Little Nightmares universe. Once again, that famous achievement expresses the core belief behind this world: "Kindness will be your undoing!"

And talking about achievements... the other day I was on the wiki reading the achievement list - as one does - and something caught my eye.

Little fox.

In the achievements, Six is referred as a couple of small animals that relate to her in some way. For example, she's called a "little canary" or a "sneaky rat". Both connections are obvious: the canary is a bird with bright yellow feathers and rats are considered vermins - which is how Six is seen by the monsters.

This only draws more paralleles between Six and Fox, who have been stated to be quite similar in many ways.

3) Additional Color White Meaning - Teapot

@pidgeapodge

That is absolutely correct! Then again, this begs the question: who or what could the Lady in White be mourning?

Again, maybe (her) Mono? Or perhaps she's mourning her own lost freedom?

Out of all the Ladies, current one included, Teapot really seems to be the most depressed about the whole situation. It's really heartbreaking considering how her coding made her out to be an innocent, pure hearted, happy go lucky soul.

4) About Scarecrow's and Teapot's masks.

@doragonlw

Thank you so much for the kind words!

So, personally I do think they kept wearing their masks, even if they're a little peculiar.

You have to keep in mind that people wearing masks is kind of the whole "brand" of the Maw.

When Six gets there every single employee and even some of the guests are wearing masks, with the only exception being the Granny. Then again, the Granny is a contractor, not an employee. She kinda does what she wants and no one can really stop her, which is really funny in my eyes.

Plus, Scarecrow is not the only one we see wearing a sack on her head. We have the Hunter as well! So I wouldn't say it's that uncommon.

Teapot's choice of mask is way more goofy, bc let's be honest. An extremely powerful force of darkness going around with a teapot on her head? But then again, it lines up with her innocent nature.

It's a stark contrast with the current Lady, who is so refined and came right after Teapot.

5) Lady Six design? An headcanon, I guess!

@agandcw20

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!

I actually may have to correct you on one thing before we go though: if the girl in this portrait in the Lady's quarters is infact a younger Lady, then it's safe to assume all Ladies before her wore a yellow raincoat as well.

Perhaps that's their signature clothing, like Mono's paper bag. Paperbag and yellow raincoat, always together.

Moving on!

Yes, I do agree on Six's kimono being yellow. A darker shade of the Lemon color - like how the Lady's kimono was a darker shade of Tangerine - would be PERFECT. Lemon is usually associated with Awareness, Enlightenment and Alertness, which I think would fit Lady Six. She finally realizes how things work in this world and how she was just a pawn into the Eye's plan all along.

As for the mask, I actually thought about it for a while. I don't think it would be the same as the Lady's, because they're really different from each other, but I still think it would have something to do with Noh masks.

Personally, I settled on the Ja mask. It's badass and scary, something I think Six would definetely wear.

(Btw, I tried searching for what Noh mask could be associated with the Lady's. I found several, but the Fushikizō may be the best candidate.)

6) Same person from different dimentions?

" Random thought but what if the ladies and Six actually exist similar to the movie "Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse", where they are actually a different version of The Lady brought into Mono's dimension to continue the cycle? Some of the masks seem to hint the presence of other worlds, AND Six's connections to previous mask owners. Six herself is also hinted to be from a different world as well, as she is labelled to be "awaking in a world she cannot recognize" " - massive brain anon

OK BUT THIS ACTUALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE???

And this actually explains why Mono and the Thin Man would be drawn to her! It's still his friend, but a different version of her! Especially after we've established how the human children are all lured from other dimensions in the LN universe... Wow. Good thinking, anon. This way, the selection of the next Lady is not casual and actually makes sense all things considered.

#little nightmares #ln meta #little nightmares 2 #ln theory #little nightmares theory #little nightmares 2 theory #six #ln six #the lady #ln the lady #the thin man #ln the thin man #mono #ln mono #scarecrow #fox #teapot #tengu #{YOOOO I GOTTA DRAW LADY SIX. I HAVE TO #I will lads #ALSO #the ask box opens again on tuesday! we getting it all out lads.}

[party-gilmore]

I started watching Leverage with my wife. She knew basically nothing going in other than that it's one of my favourite shows. Her review of the pilot is "The jump from insurance investigator to criminal to helping people surprised me. I enjoyed the format." She says Nathan's the least interesting character. Her favourite so far is Hardison. Super excited to see how she likes the rest of the show :3

Haha, the slope really is a slippery one XD i hear a lot kind of from the view fanbase about not liking Nate, but he's actually one of my favorites! Is he a good person? No. Is he honest? Pfffffttt that bitch lies the MOST out of the whole bunch! But fuck, that man loves deeply and fiercely, so much so that the fierceness bleeds into all his other emotions too, which CREATES all fun complicated assholey parts of his personality and that's just... So DELIGHTFUL to see a character with all those different levels!!!

Like, those things can coexist - that he's a fucking manipulative asshole to his team sometimes, and that he loves them very, very much. This is exactly WHY there's such a big (but not jarring) tone jump between the Boston and Portland eras - he's finally worked that shit out after getting the closure on his anger (and, alongside that, how much he both is and isn't his father) and learning exactly what it is he wants, and he's approaching the team on much more even ground and equal footing.

#GROWTH #sorry this turned into an I Love Nate Ford post for some reason XD

[hephaestuscrew]

Also, rumination prompt: I lovw thinking about ghosts on the USS Hephaestus. Any thoughts on ghosts on the USS Hephaestus?

Ooh there's loads of potential in this concept and I've definitely seen it executed in some very cool ways... I'll put my rambling thoughts below the cut :)

There are so many good possibilities here: (a) the first Hephaestus crew are haunting the Hephaestus (b) Hilbert and Maxwell come back as ghosts post-mutiny (c) ghost Lovelace rather than clone Lovelace (d) one or more of the other characters dies and returns as a ghost e.g. Eiffel dies of Decima and becomes a ghost (e) any combination of the above... But my favourite of these is probably (a) because it's such an interesting and potentially angsty way of having the two Hephaestus crews interact with each other. And I love the idea of the Hephaestus being literally haunted by the tragedy of its first crew (rather than just metaphorically haunted)- it really underlines the idea of the second Hephaestus crew living in the shadow of what happened to another version of them.

Then the next interesting aspect to these kind of AUs is the question of who can see the ghosts... I think there's interesting potential in every option. Here's some thoughts about the different possibilities for who can see the ghosts of the first Hephaestus crew:

If being able to see ghosts is triggered by a near-death experience, then Eiffel has had more than his fair share! And I do love the idea of the communications officer being the only one who can communicate with the ghosts (it would also be an interesting parallel to his relationship with the Dear Listeners). Eiffel's fear of not being taken seriously would definitely come into play when he's deciding whether/how to tell his fellow crew members about the ghosts. Plus we'd get GhostLambert trying to tell Eiffel how to do his job and Minkowski would probably catch him bickering with what she'd think was a figment of his imagination.

Or we could have Minkowski dealing with the burden of seeing ghosts on top of all the other burdens of being in command. I imagine her being pretty sceptical about the existence of ghosts, so she'd go through a period of denial where she'd tell herself the ghosts were a psychological manifestation of her fears about whether command have told her the truth and whether she can keep her crew safe. And then when she realises they are actually real, she'd have the difficult task of trying to command a dead crew alongside her living one.

Hilbert deserves to be haunted by the people he killed, and if ghosts are about vengeance/unfinished business, it would make sense for them to only appear to Hilbert. I think he would try to treat the ghosts as a scientifically interesting phenomenon rather than as a representation of his crimes. I like the idea of them messing with him in various ways.

Lovelace talks about seeing ghosts of her old crew in 'Variations on A Theme', and making this literal has a lot of potential in terms of exploring her trauma, guilt and grief. This version of the AU could involve lore in which ghosts only appear to people who they had an emotional bond with or who they really care about. I like the idea of the ghost crew trying to support Lovelace when she's dealing with being back on the Hephaestus.

It would be heartbreaking if Lovelace can't see the ghosts, if she's so close to the people she loved and lost but they can't speak to her directly, if one of the other crew members has to relay messages to her.

Ghosthunters often seem to use various kinds of electronic equipment to detect ghosts and we already know that Hera can percieve things that the human senses can't, so there's definitely a potential justification for her being the only one who can see the ghosts.

What if everyone can see the ghosts but they are all keeping it to themselves because they don't want anyone to think they are going mad?

Alternatively, what if no one can see them and they can only influence things in small ways (e.g. weird noises, moving small objects)? Imagine the ghosts of the OG Hephaestus crew desperately trying to communicate to Minkowski, Eiffel and Hera that Hilbert is dangerous when they can't be heard.

Some other thoughts:

What if OG Lovelace comes back as a ghost but the Dear Listeners still make Lovelace 2.0? Ghost Lovelace and Clone Lovelace learning to coexist would be super interesting...

How do ghosts work in space? Can they float through the vacuum of outer space without difficulty? (in which case they would be very useful for knowing what's happening outside the Hephaestus. Maybe one could even carry a message for Eiffel when he's stranded on the USS Horrible Unending Nightmare.)

Idk how ghost AIs would work but I also love the idea of ghost Rhea...

#I just want to chant 'Haunted Hephestus! Haunted Hephaestus!' cos it's such a good AU #Thank you for sending this #It was very interesting to ruminate on #Also whenever I think about ghosts I think about the BBC show so that might have influenced this #Asks #the empty man posteth #Wolf 359 #W359