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rosy-cheekx · 3 years

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I Want To Be A Real Fake

@kaiserkorresponds said: Black and White + "I want to be a real fake" + formal clothing <3

Prompted fic that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I received it! Hope you like it, Kaiser!

Jon would not consider himself fashionable. He has a distinct sense of style, yes, but that style lately has been Tired-Academic-Works-in-a-Cold-Office,-Steals-Sweaters-When-Necessary-core. Not exactly suitable for the business casual dress code The Magnus Institute “requires” (no one seemed to pay attention to the Archive staff’s choices of attire), but certainly not suitable for the small rectangle of cardstock Elias Bouchard hands him, on a quiet spring morning in the Archive.

“What’s…what’s this?” Jon asked, staring at the neat, printed text as if it was Greek. (If it were Greek, at least, he could decipher parts of it. He was an English Lit student, after all, and he had really enjoyed etymology.) The card was a stiff black and white, with the black owl logo, the symbol of the Magnus Institute, printed in the top middle. Glancing down at it, he saw a date, and the words: “black-tie.” Shit.

“My apologies, I forgot how tired your position tends to leave you.” Elias’s voice was prim and polite, but Jon still winced inwardly. “As a head of a department, you are now strongly encouraged to attend the fundraiser I host in April each year. Our donors are fascinated by our departments, and especially the Archives. Gertrude’s disappearance has raised questions as to her successor, and I trust you can assuage the concerns of our donors at your accomplishments in the position.” Jon chose to believe that Elias’s keen eye didn’t sweep the mountains of paperwork that surrounded his desk as he surveyed the small, poorly lit office. “I’m certain you’ll be able to find appropriate attire for the occasion.”

He turned on a heel, halfway to the door before seemingly considering something. “Ah, and Jon, one more thing. Gertrude always requested she bring an assistant. Would you like to do the same? I am happy to accommodate one more for the catering count.”

Jon snapped his mouth shut, utterly dumbfounded by the responsibility just thrust upon him, and nodded mutely, before clearing his throat. “Ah-um, yes, I would appreciate that. Does it matter which one?”

“Someone who can make a pleasant impression, please.” Elias raised an eyebrow, nodded almost imperceptibly, like he had made a decision, and rapped his knuckles on the doorframe on the way out. “I trust your judgement.”

Jon counted to thirty, to be certain Elias wasn’t coming back, and slouched into his office chair, scanning the save-the-date again, without the immense pressure of Elias’s eyes on him.

“The Magnus Institute Fundraiser Gala,” it read below the embossed owl, within a thin black border. “23 April, 7-10 pm. Black tie. Catered.” Jon traced the owl with the pad of his finger, flipping the card over to see, in Elias’s thin cursive: Make a good impression, Jon.

God, this is going to suck.

“Sasha, come on.” Jon wasn’t one to beg, but desperate times and all that. He had cornered her in the breakroom, while Martin was on a research trip and Tim was getting takeaway from the chippie down the street. “It’s only three weeks away, and you’re the one I trust the most. Please.”

“Jon,” Sasha sighed, smoothing her skirt patiently. “I would if I could, I swear to you. But my sister’s wedding has been planned for months, I’ve already requested time off, and I can’t undo all that for a work party.”

“Fundraiser,” Jon corrected instinctively, even as he signed in resignation. “Fine. I just really didn’t want to go alone.”

Sasha scoffed, shaking her head to herself as she opened the fridge and pulled out her bagged lunch. “You have two other assistants you know. What about Tim? Or Martin?”

Jon wrinkled his nose at the thought of bringing nervous, rambling, doe-eyed Martin to the gala. “God no. Martin would be too much; I need someone who can handle themselves and hold a decent conversation. I need someone who can attend a black-tie gala and look more at-home than me.” A withering look from Sasha.

“So why not Tim, then? He can do all those things.”

“Do all what things?” Jon jumped and spun around to see Tim, carrying a grease-spotted bag in one hand and a paper soda cup in the other. He surveyed Tim in a moment: the button-up shirt, red and printed with tiny black balloons, sleeves rolled to the elbows. Sunglasses pushed to the top of his head, dark black hair artfully mussed. High cheekbones dotted with freckles, and what Jon swore could be the faintest bit of eyeliner.

“Tim, would you like to go to a fashionable, catered work party with me?”

“Boss,” Tim lowered himself to a knee and held out his soda solemnly. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Tim, that’s backwards. The kneeler isn’t the one who accepts,” Sasha chuckles helpfully.

“You’re just jealous of our love, Sash!”

Good Lord.

Jon was really hoping the food would be good. He was in Tim’s flat, in the toilet, checking himself in the mirror one final time. His hair was carefully braided, courtesy of Tim’s deft hands and coiled into a thick bun at the base of his skull, gold and emerald hairpin snugly in place. His suit was nice: a respectable white shirt, dotted with tiny lime-colored flowers he had to strain his eyes to see, under a dark green suit jacket and matching trousers. The suit itself was cut in a rather androgynous style, pulling tight at Jon’s waist in a way he rather liked, and contrasted beautifully, he thought, with the smooth brown of his skin. He flicked an invisible piece of lint from his thigh and, satisfied, stepped into the hall to tell Tim he was ready to go.

“Tim, I’m all-woah,” the exhale was accidental. Tim’s suit was certainly not subtle. He was wearing a deep blue turtleneck, hair perfectly coiffed. Over the turtleneck, the suit jacket was white, a spray of water-color flowers in all shades of blue and purple shifting with every movement. The navy blue heeled suede boots on his feet accentuated his already-tall frame “Tim, you look good,” Jon breathed.

“Ouch. No need to sound all surprised. I know I clean up well; I dirty pretty damn good too.” Tim chuckled and adjusted his sleeves. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. ‘I don’t want anything too crazy.’”

Jon grinned shyly, rocking on his heels of his own, less intimidating dress shoes. “I like it, I think. It feels nice.” The excitement over how good he felt in the clothes had, all too briefly, suppressed the impending doom he was feeling about the evening’s events. “Are you ready for tonight?” he asked for what must have been the fiftieth time, spinning the solid black ring he wore around his finger.

“Yes, Jon. Talk about the reorganization process as a structural renovation, converting files to audio formatting for future accessibility, don’t talk about artefact storage even a little, don’t get caught up with anyone too pretty, I get it.” His voice was flat, bored by the repetition. “This is going to be fine.”

“What-what if it isn’t, though, Tim? What if they ask about Gertrude or how their money is being used, o-or how the restructuring is going? I can’t bloody well tell them I’m using a tape recorder that’s probably older than I am.”

“Jon,” Tim’s well-manicured hand was on his shoulder, nails the same blue of his turtleneck. “Take a deep breath. For Gertrude: be honest. It was a tragedy, and you hope she’s found, but until then you’re doing your best to act on her wishes as her replacement. And for the rest, be vague. Restructuring is going ‘as well as can be expected’ or ‘is running quite smoothly with the help of your three wonderful assistants.’” He winked. “And tell them you’re using a multimedia system, that’ll confuse those old boomers enough to move topics. And it is technically true. Laptops and a tape recorder are multiple medias. Anything else we can riff, you know? I can talk with the best of them.” He eyed Jon meaningfully. “This will be fine. It’s one night. And we’ll get chips after. Promise.”

Jon nodded and closed his eyes, breathing steadying. He was grateful Tim had been available. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“So, how did you know what black tie meant?” Jon asked, eyeing Tim across the seat of the cab. They’re on their way now and Jon’s hands are steepled tightly, pressing his fingertips against each other until it hurts to do so. “I had to Google it last week when I went shopping, in case we had to wear literal black ties.” He needed to talk about anything, anything but this stupid fundraiser they drove steadily towards.

Tim grew silent for a moment, considering his words. “My brother was an extra in a movie once and started dating a stylist for one of the leads. He fibbed his way into getting us tickets for premieres, so I’ve made my way through a few high-fashion events.” He shrugged, fiddling with a thin silver bracelet along his wrist, were Jon knew the letter D was carved in delicate cursive. “I like it, too, you know? Dressing up for events. It makes me feel debonaire, like a spy.”

Jon shook his head in disagreement. “Makes me feel fake,” he mumbled, eyeing the lorry floor beneath them. “Like everyone knows I don’t belong. I hate having their eyes on me and knowing they’re better than me.”

Tim prodded Jon with his elbow gently, raising his eyebrows in a comforting manner. “That’s it though, isn’t it? We aren’t fake. We worked our way here. Hell, you’re the boss of an entire department, Jon. We’ve gotten to where we are in the Institute because we deserve to be here. And anyways, everyone at that party next week is gonna be fake. They’re pretending to care about our jobs, and we pretend to care about their money, and they pretend they’re even the ones who write the checks and not some snooty financial advisor in Wales.”

Jon shrugged, trying to keep himself from biting back that he wasn’t enough, didn’t earn this spot, that Sasha deserved it more than he did and was doing nothing to prove to Elias he was up to the monumental task of being the Head Archivist. He didn’t, though, and instead took a steadying breath, nodding to Tim’s comforting words.

“And anyways,” Tim continued, shrugging. “Even if we have to be fake for a night, it’ll be fun. We get to be a part of ‘the queen’s high society,’” he added in a high-pitched, overly fake RP accent, eliciting a chuckle from Jon. “And Rosie said the catering Elias orders is divine. Apparently we should keep an eye out for tiny samosas?”

As if on cue, the cab shuddered to a stop. Jon thanked the driver, paid, and followed Tim out.

The Institute looked different under the pretense of wealth and success. It was still the same building of course, but the floor was clear of the rain mats and the smooth marble floor paved the way to the library, the main sitting room of which had been cleared as a rather respectable grand hall to host a party. Tables lined the cordoned off books, hot plates and silver trays steaming slightly. Bottles of wine lined a bar, behind which a vested individual with slicked-back hair was pouring small glasses and taking orders. A quiet orchestra completed the scene, cello and piano in a delicate duet. Before tonight, Jon couldn’t have imagined this many people in the Institute alone, least of all the library. Not that it’s packed. There’s maybe thirty or so well-dressed individuals milling about, the din of conversation white noise in comparison to the floating of the music.

Tim’s hand is on his back, pressing kindly into his spine. Oh yes, he remembers dimly, and nods, allowing Tim to guide him into the library and hand him a glass of wine. They stand out a little, two beacons of color around what is a pretty drab spectrum of black and grey, save for a few spectacular dresses in the crowd. Jon finds he doesn’t mind it, except that it may lead to unwanted conversation. It’s not his looks he fears being judged on, but that he be found wanting when it came to his capabilities. He was always selectively self-conscious like that, some things utterly meaningless, others inexplicably important.

Jon isn’t a huge fan of wine, but he finds himself clinging to the glass as a lifeline as he and Tim meander through the crowds, largely ignored. The music is intoxicatingly simple; he finds himself caught up in the deep reverberations of the cello as they walk, feeling it deep in his chest. There were, in fact, samosas, as well as small cannoli, and he and Tim piled plates as high as they could without garnering stares.

There weren’t many people Jon recognized; he didn’t even see Elias as he scanned the crowd for faces. Wine in one hand, a plate in the other, he thought maybe the night wouldn’t be too bad.

Jon shivered, the sensation of being stared at prickling the back of his neck. He spun around, trying to appear casual, and spotted Elias at last. He was standing with a large man, broad and wearing a deep blue suit, scruffy beard a mix of tawny and white. Elias crooked his finger, smiling primly. As Jon made his way over to the pair-who he could’ve sworn he hadn’t seen previously, he was intercepted by a short bald man in a plum velour suit, leaning heavily on a cane.

“Ah, Archivist,” he smiled warmly, extending a hand to shake before seeing Jon’s hands were full, and nodding his head instead. “Congratulations on your promotion. Elias has told me he expects great things from you.”

Jon smiled politely, glancing over to see Elias and the other man gone again. Regretfully, he turned his attention back to the man. “It’s a shame about Gertrude, yes, but I’m hoping I can do her proud,” he said in a practiced tone. He glanced over his shoulder. Where was Tim? He was just with him.

“Of course, of course. I was hoping I could have a word?”

“W-with me?”

“Yes, you see, I was rather concerned when I heard Gertrude’s position had been left open. When Elias said you yourself where at the junction to take over, I wanted to meet you for myself. I worry about the Archivists in your institute, so many of you do such monumental work for so little recognition. Do you worry your work to be meaningless? Your name insignificant when it is all said and done?”

(It is this conversation he remembers, months later, when he demands to record Prentiss’ attack. He refuses to be another mystery, a name on a placard to be wondered about.)

“I-ah, yes? No?” What was the right answer here? Jon stammered out a half-assed reply about doing his best, midway through when he felt a hand firmly on his shoulder, where his neck and collarbone met. Glancing to his peripheral, he saw a golden ring, an eye, and was frustratingly grateful to hear the cool tones of Elias Bouchard over his shoulder.

“Now Simon,” he said, voice even, “you aren’t trying to scare my dear Archivist, are you?” He gave the shoulder a squeeze but remained put. “Jon, I believe you’ve heard of Simon Fairchild, a significant donor to our establishment.”

Jon nodded wordlessly, not really listening to the two bureaucrats delve off into some topic or other, craning his neck to look for Tim. The music had picked up, he registered dimly, a orchestral melody led by a violin, sharp and whimsical.

“Jon?” Another squeeze to his neck, and Jon tried not to wince. “Wouldn’t you agree,” Elias asked, voice patient at surface level. “That the best way to move forward is to restructure the Archive?”

Jon nodded, trying to recall the answer he had rehearsed. “Yes, ah—my team and I have worked quite hard at recording the statements a-and organizing them in a way that will last long-term.”

“Ah, what a delight,” Simon—Mr. Fairchild—said warmly. Jon was reminded of the voices adults would use when they spoke to him as a child, when his inane facts about space or etymology had moved from endearing to obnoxious.

The conversation lasted for what felt like days, Jon feeling rather like Mr. Fairchild’s cane: a statement piece, contributing nothing to the conversation but unable to find a smooth exit. Leading questions from Elias led to thankfully rehearsed answers before Simon found his own exit and walked away smoothly, eyes wide and taking the room in.

“I-I really should find Tim,” Jon muttered, glancing around the room anxiously.

“Nonsense. He’ll be back,” Elias said, releasing Jon’s shoulder and taking his elbow in turn, “I would like to introduce you to a few dear friends of mine. I believe Tim is keeping one occupied at present.” Jon sighed inwardly (and maybe outwardly as well) and allowed himself to be led around the room. His wine glass was empty, as was his plate and he found it snatched away by a member of catering. He had nothing to cling to, to keep his hands busy, and was struggling not to pull out his delicately-placed hair pin just so he could fiddle with something.

Jon was taken on a tour of old rich people of England. Names flew past him, conversation buzzed around him, and still Jon felt like nothing more than a well-dressed trophy to be ogled at. Did Gertrude do this every year, he wondered dimly. No wonder she disappeared. He fiddled with the ring on his finger, nodding and smiling at the appropriate times, speaking when needed, and feeling the swirl of the orchestra build up in pressure behind his eyes. The music was beautiful but hard to listen to. Something about it was ugly, hiding a dark secret behind the innocent melodies.

Eventually, the evening was so much of a blur that he couldn’t even begin to fathom how much time had passed. It may have been weeks, may have been merely twenty minutes. Jon glanced down for his watch before realizing he had taken it off at Tim’s flat and never strapped it back on. Pity. It only added to the dreamscape reality he seemed to be participating in.

At last, Elias led him towards the large burly man that was suddenly in view (hadn’t he always been? Jon wasn’t quite sure. The wine must have affected him more than he thought with the nerves) and Jon saw Tim, similarly trapped in conversation as he had been. He smiled apologetically as Jon and Elias approached and the larger man smiled warmly at the newcomers.

“Ah, Archivist. I hope you don’t mind I stole your companion away briefly. I was curious about the nitty-gritty of your Archive. Timothy here was very informative.” Tim winced at the use of his full name and a part of Jon smirked, relating to the sentiment of being called Jonathan or worse, John.

“I’m glad he can answer your questions.” Elias spoke before Jon could open his mouth. “I’m quite proud of the Archive staff. Jon chose well and I am sure the four of them are going to do great things together. Jon, you remember the Lukas family?”

Jon nodded, confused for a second before the man in front of him extended his hand. “Peter Lukas, at your service.” The hand was cold, and a feeling of dismay washed over Jon as he shook it. He couldn’t help the feeling that the shake of that hand was a seal of his fate.

The orchestral music had picked up, a swirl of strings and piano, ascending in pitch until it grated at Jon’s ears. No one else seemed to react to it, however, as the manic notes pulling at something inside Jon’s brain, something he couldn’t explain. It was almost like a migraine, but sharper and deep in his spine and in his ears. Elias let go of Jon’s arm at some point during the conversation with Peter Lukas, a discussion about boats, maybe? Travel? This was the conversation Elias was so keen on Jon being a part of?

As Jon felt that grip relax, the glint of the ring on Elias’ finger seeming to wink at him, Jon took a staggered step backwards. “Mr. Lukas, ah-Peter, it’s been a pleasure. Elias, ex-excuse me.”

Jon turned and dashed out of the library, feet carrying him on instinct through the winding halls and down the stairs of the institute, deep into the Archives. He stopped when he felt his feet echo against the cold, solid lino of the archival storage and bent over, hand on the wall, gasping in shallow, rapid bursts. It was too much, it was too much, he thought he could do this but it was too much and he wasn’t enough for them-

“Woah-boss.” Tim was there. When did Tim get here? Was he speaking out loud? Shit. “Jon, yeah-hey, Jon. I’m here. You’re okay. Take some deep breaths, okay? You’re going to black out if you’re not careful.”

Jon felt his suit jacket being shrugged off of him and the newly allowed freedom of his shoulder helped. He took a deep, sputtering breath, the sweet oxygen flooding his system and sharpening his thoughts.

“The-the music and the talking,” he said under his breath, Tim craning to listen without infringing on his personal space. “Too-too much.”

“The music? Jon, hey, hey, just focus on calming down, okay? That was a dick move of Elias to separate us immediately. I was talking to that Lukas guy for way too long. Not even sure what we talked about. I think he’s just one of those guys.” Jon smirked to himself as he focused on the floor beneath his feet, breathing slowly until his heart rate had resumed a normal rhythm.

“Says you,” he mumbled, eyes closing as he pressed his warm cheek to the cold wall.

“You bastard!” Jon felt a light swat on his shoulder. “I listen to people! I have meaningful conversation; just ask Martin and Sasha and Alexa from Library and Calvin from Artefact Storage. I am practically a professional listener.”

Jon smirked, satisfied with his jab and turned around, now pressing his back to the wall. “God, Tim, I do not want to go back in there.” It was hard to admit out loud, even if the evidence was written all over his face.

“Okay. So, we won’t.”

“What?” the answer was so mind-bogglingly simple, Jon reeled.

“We don’t want to be here. We’ve talked, we’ve eaten. Let’s just leave. I can tell Elias I had an emergency and you had to escort me home, like a true gentleman.”

“Lie to Elias? I feel like that cant end well.” The offer was tempting, Jon hadf to admit.

“I mean, Sasha has keys to my flat. I could ask her to start a fire, if you think that’s sufficient?”

Jon barked out a laugh at that. “Ah, no, lets save a fire for something big. Yes. Let’s-let’s go, Tim. And-er, I suppose I should thank you. For coming tonight. I know its not an ideal way to spend an evening.”

“Are you kidding?” Tim did a twirl, Jon’s own jacket slung over his shoulder. “I look hot. You think I’d pass up an opportunity to dress up like this? You’re dreaming.” He smirked and took Jon’s arm, leading him back up the stairwell. It felt different than Elias’s touch. That had been a cold tug, directional and leashed. This felt…snug, more like a link in a chain than anything else. Comforting, reassuring.

(Luckily, they weren’t laughed out of the Nando’s they popped into late at night. Lemon and herb and spices covered their hands, but they were careful to keep their jackets clean. Jon, when looking back on the evening; remembers this moment, talking and laughing and letting the fresh night air was over them. Elias, Lukas, and Fairchild be damned. He’d deal with that tomorrow.)

#the magnus archives #tma #tma fanfic #fanfic to a tea #jonathan sims #tim stoker #prompt fic #black-tie #elias bouchard #still a dick #peter lukas #simon fairchild #sasha james #me? write everyone BUT martin>#amazing

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koushou · 4 years

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Could we get uuh,,, Todoroki x f!reader who is insecure abt their looks bc they look more "boyish" than most girls? 😳 As much as I love being an androgynous queen, I get insecure sometimes, esp when it comes to guys liking me

this is my first ask im 😳💕💕

beautiful

pairing : todoroki shoto x f!reader {fluff}

warnings : none really, like the teeniest suggestive ending, just todoroki being like the best bf ugh 😩

a/n : thank you so much for requesting anon!! i tried my best, im so sorry if it isn’t exactly what you wanted but shoutout to all the androgynous queens you’re amazing !! <3 (also can you tell im terrible at titles pls)

shopping mall dates with your friends were always something you looked forward to, shoto knew this well. so why had you come back to the dorms empty-handed?

The familiar ringtone playing from your phone woke you up from your slumber, as bright sunlight shone through your windows where the curtains did poor job of providing you with any coverage. You opened your eyes and would’ve immediately shut them if not for the music still coming from your phone on your nightstand.

Swinging a hand blindly over, you felt the cool screen of your device and brought it close to your face, as an all too familiar contact name displayed on the top of the screen.

Grumbling slightly, you pressed the answer button and brought it up to your ear.

“Y/N!! Are you still sleeping??” You almost wanted to hang up right then and there from the cheery girl’s voice ringing into your ear.

“Mina, it’s-” You glanced over at your alarm clock on the same nightstand, “-literally 9 in the morning, what do you want-”

“Come on! You remember we have another shopping day today, right??”

You rubbed your eyes and rolled over in bed on your side, away from the blinding light illuminating through the glass windows.

Shopping dates with your girlfriends in Class 1-A took place almost every weekend, something you always looked forward to. Hero training was stressful, everyone was always striving to further improve and expand their quirks and skill, almost never having time for any sort of break.

Truthfully, you had forgotten about your planned day with the girls today, since it had been a pretty tough week, with work piling up on top of one another, heck, you were barely keeping up your grades.

“Oh...right.” You ran your fingers through your somewhat messy, medium-length hair, attempting to comb it slightly and getting rid of the small knots that had been formed in your sleep.

“Hey, don’t tell me you forgot - anyways, we’re meeting up downstairs at 10, so see you later!!”

“Yeah, alright.”

Quiet beeps signaling the end of your short call with Mina, you sighed and wondered how the alien girl managed to stay so hyper in the morning, not that you were surprised anymore.

Sitting up in bed, you let out a yawn and stretched out your body, excited for the day to come.

On some days, you just wanted to sleep in and have a day all to yourself in the comfort of your small dorm room, but these shopping sprees with the girls always took your mind off any troubles on your mind.

Throwing your blanket to the side lazily, you get up from your bed and groggily made your way to the bathroom, phone still in hand. Flicking on the light switch, you cringed at the sudden brightness.

A notification noise sounded from your phone, a smile spreading across your face as soon as you saw who the sender was - your one and only white and red haired boyfriend.

Unlocking your phone, you were met by a few text messages from your lover.

shouu <33 : good morning love, have you woken up yet?

shouu <33 : you’re going out today with the others right? i wish you could come and be with me, but i hope you have fun.💗

Your heart could not handle this level of cuteness in the morning.

Turning on the water to get ready for your morning shower, you typed out a reply to your boyfriend.

good morning shouto 🥺 i just woke upp

imy so much as well, i promise i’ll be with you when i get back!!💕

You stripped off your clothes and hopped into the shower, the water more on the warm side, exactly how you liked it.

After about 20 minutes, you stepped out with a towel wrapped around your torso, the cool air hitting your legs, making you shiver slightly. You made your way over to your closet in the corner of your room, picking out what clothes to wear.

It was scorching hot out, and you were feeling lazy, so a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts seemed like a good choice.

The time was about 9:40 when you had finished brushing your teeth and mindlessly slapping on some sunscreen, you didn’t want to become tan, after all.

Internally crying, you shoved your wallet with your credit card inside your small purse you usually brought when you went shopping, making a note to yourself to cut down a bit on your purchases.

You knew that promise was going to go out the window as soon as you step foot in a store, but hey, you always felt better after coming back to the dorms with bags of clothing in your hands.

Deciding to head down to the common room earlier to grab a quick snack to eat, you received another message from your phone.

shouu <33 : i’ll be waiting for you, love.

shouu <33 : are you sure you don’t want to use my father’s credit card? i don’t think he would really care if it gets maxed out, you know.

You giggled at your boyfriend’s message even though you knew he was being 100% serious.

shou...bby, i cant do that-

shouu <33 : alright then, be safe and text me when you get there, okay?

i will! ily <33

shouu <33 : i love you too :)

When you reached the common room, you were met by pink, black, green, and brown haired girls.

“Y/N!! Good morning!!”

“Good morning, Y/N.”

“Hey Y/N-chan, ribbit.”

“Oh hey Y/N!”

You smile at your energetic friends, Mina, Momo, Tsu and Uraraka, who were all lounging on the couches.

“Good morning, guys.”

Mina lets out a whine, “Where is Jirou? That girl is almost always never on time-”

“What’s that, Mina?”

A voice from behind the girls spoke, causing everyone to jump and turn at the same time.

“O-oh good morning Jirou-”

The purple haired girl stood behind the couches, and your eyes scanned over her outfit. A white, loose short sleeve hung around her shoulders, paired with some black shorts. A simple outfit, yet she made it look so much more appealing.

She charged towards Mina, who was now desperately hiding behind Uraraka. It was then that you finally took notice of the other girls’ outfits, and suddenly became all too aware of your own.

Mina, with a pink shirt tucked into her jeans, a black belt as a finishing touch. Her curves showing perfectly, all in the right places. You would expect her pink hair to be messy and puffy, but it was tamed, neatly brushed, and reminded you of soft cotton candy.

A cropped maroon top, with black jeans, complementing Momo’s smooth, black hair which was put up in a lower pony tail than usual. Her gentle features sure to attract admirers wherever she went. The way her dark bangs framed her face, the way her smile was bright, genuine - an appearance of a true, proper lady.

You glanced down at your own outfit, trying to smooth out wrinkles in your own shirt. No genius was required to see that you obviously stood out in your group of feminine friends, you being the only female with short hair and a different style.

It wasn’t that you hated the way you looked, but it made you think sometimes that you weren’t as attractive or liked as much, compared to your friends.

“Well then,” Uraraka clasped her hands together, interrupting your thoughts, and grinned. “Shall we get going?”

You all cheered, getting up and ready to head to the shopping mall.

Mina locked her arms in yours and dragged you out of the doors, grinning at you while the other girls trailed behind.

“Come on old ladies! We’re gonna max out our cards!!” She yelled at the sky once you were outside, the hot summer air hitting your skin immediately.

“Hey, who’re you calling an old lady?!” You smacked Mina’s arm, making her stick her tongue out at you.

“Fine, whoever gets there last is an old lady!!”

Your pink haired friend takes off toward the mall which was located about 20 minutes away from your school, with you laughing and running after her, followed by your other female friends.

The negative thoughts you had on your mind previously vanished as you all ran after one another, not giving a care in the world to the questioning looks passersby shot your ways. Spending time with your friends always somehow managed to brighten your mood, regardless of whether they knew how you were feeling or not.

And your love for them could never be put into words.

6 girls arrived at the Misako Mall, panting, out of breath as they bought water from a vending machine.

“Oh-” You pant, fumbling with the buttons on the machine, inserting a few coins in and watching as the bottle falls to the bottom.

“Ura-ha..ha...Uraraka, you’re an old...ha...lady!” Mina teased the gravity-quirked girl in between breaths.

“Yo-you’re so mean, ha, Mina,” Uraraka coughed, sputtering as she practically shoved the water bottle down her throat, drinking half of the bottle in a few seconds.

“Slow down - ribbit - Ochaco-chan,” Tsu patted the said girl’s back, making sure she didn’t choke.

“Well, guys, where do you want to go first?” Momo spoke up, after you guys rested a bit on the benches in the lobby.

“I kind of wanted to check out the accessories in that shop we passed earlier,” Jirou scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, nodding towards a shop near the entrance of the mall.

You all turned to look at the store she was talking about, not surprised to see the exterior of the shop decorated in dark, emo-style accessories - exactly Jirou’s style.

“I want to go there too - ribbit,” Tsu nodded in agreement, this time shocking the group, since Tsu had always seemed to be into more cuter accessories.

“I was actually interested in that one over there,” Momo tapped her chin thoughtfully, gesturing towards a high-class looking store on the second floor of the mall.

“That looks nice! I really like that white dress they have in the front,” Uraraka stared dreamily at the level above you guys, and an idea popped into your head.

“Why don’t we split into pairs? That way, we can all check out the stores we want to and meet up back here when we’re all done!” Your suggestion earned approving nods from the rest, all of you agreeing to text in the groupchat you had when you were finished in your stores.

Tsu and Jirou, Momo and Uraraka, and you and Mina walked off into different directions of the mall, chatting excitedly.

You and Mina decided to first go into a casual-styled store filled with jeans, tops, jackets, etc.

Walking into the store, a friendly cashier at the counter greeted you guys, who you both smiled back at.

Thankful for the cool air conditioner providing a contrast to the burning weather outside, you scanned the racks for anything that caught your eye.

“Oh! Y/N look here!” You turned to where your pink friend had ran to, spotting her a few aisles down.

Making your way towards her, she holds up a light pink, off the shoulder top decorated with small flowers and a lace ribbon in her hands eagerly.

“Do you think this would look good on me? I really like the color!” She beams at you, holding the clothing item up to herself, admiring it in a tall mirror nearby.

You study it for a second, before smiling back at her and nodding excitedly in agreement.

“It suits your skin color so well too! You should go try it on!”

“You think so??” She grins at you happily as you chuckle back in response.

“You should pick out some clothes first, then we can go to the changing rooms together!”

“Okay, let me look around a bit more!” You walk off to the other side of the store, studying any clothes that may peak your interest.

A striped red, orange, and white button-up shirt catches your eye, hanging on one of the racks. You take it and hold it up to your torso, satisfied with the way it looked.

Keeping it around your arm to try on later, you decide to pick out a few more clothes to try on to avoid making multiple trips to the changing room. Just as you were about to turn around and continue your search for more clothes, you felt a figure approach behind you.

“Hey, uh, sorry to bother you but I thought you were really pretty, and I was wondering if I could get your number?”

A voice made you turn around, and you were met by a man who looked a bit older than you.

He was standing right in front of you now, his eyes staring at...the top of your head?

You cleared your throat awkwardly, not expecting the sudden question.

“Oh! Thank you, but I have a boyfriend already, I’m sorry-”

The man’s eyes finally focus on your face, before laughing at you.

Wait, what?

You furrowed your eyebrows at the still laughing man, who looked down at you like you were a mere piece of dirt below him.

“I’m not talking to you, you’re not even pretty?” He scoffed when you gaped at him.

“I’m talking to the hottie behind you,” He grinned and stared past you to whoever was standing there.

You slowly turned around, expecting to see some random stranger behind you, but you were met by a puff of familiar pink hair.

“O-oh, Mina...” You mumbled, not wanting to make eye contact with your friend, disheartened from the man’s words.

You were never one to get bothered by anyone’s words, especially not from a stranger, but this one hit you differently.

“What did you say to my friend?! You wanna repeat that, huh?!” Mina yelled at the man, steam almost emitting out of her pink ears.

“Woah, calm down, pinkie, I just wanted to get your number - I didn’t know she was your friend.” He chuckled, and glanced at you again.

“Just saying, you could do so much better.” It was like bullets, the man’s words, aimed straight at your heart.

Storming up to the man, Mina slapped him directly on his face, leaving both of you in shock.

“Say that again, I dare you!!” You ushered Mina away from the furious man despite her protests of wanting to beat him up.

“Hmph, who does he think he is?!” You stopped walking when you guys were a good distance from the stranger.

You bit your lip, trying to suppress your emotions and not make a fool of yourself in a public space.

“It’s fine, I-I don’t really care,” Sighing, you gave Mina a small unconvincing smile, which she saw right through.

“Are you okay, Y/N? Don’t listen to him! He’s just blind,” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

You chuckled softly, trying to change the subject, “I’m fine, come on, let’s go try on our clothes.”

Mina sighed, eyeing the one top you had on your arm. “You only have one shirt? Don’t you want to try on more?”

You scanned the racks around you guys, randomly picking a pair of black plaid pants, flashing your friend another smile.

“It’s okay, there’s not much I like here,” You grabbed her arm and led her into the changing rooms, chuckling at her pile of clothes hanging over her arm.

“You sure got a lot, Mina.”

“Their clothes are really nice!!”

Mina and you went into rooms besides each other, and you could hear the girl squealing while trying on her clothing.

Instead of trying on your clothes immediately, you slumped against the white door, taking a deep breath, the man’s comments still on your mind.

You’re not even pretty.

You could do so much better.

Wrapping your arms around your torso, you looked in the mirror on the wall across you, taking in your appearance.

There were few things about you that would seem appealing to any man, and you should’ve gotten over the stares people give you wherever you go by now, but it was hard.

It really was.

Of course people would be attracted to Mina first, or anyone in your friend group, for that matter. She was outgoing, kind, bright, and feminine.

Tears poking at the corners of your eyes, you quickly wiped them away with the back of your hand before they fell.

Why couldn’t people just accept who you were?

Why couldn’t people accept the fact that you were happy in your own body, and that you loved yourself the way you were?

The common stereotype that all females had to be feminine, had to be proper, you were tired of it.

A loud knock from the other side of the door you were leaning against sounded, and you jumped a little, before hearing your friend’s cheery voice.

“Y/N! Are you finished? I want to show you the top!”

“Oh- One second!”

Quickly tidying up your appearance to get rid of any hints of your silent breakdown, you unlocked the door and looked over Mina.

You were right.

The light pink color of the top really did complement her skin color well, her slender shoulders were exposed, and the lacey ribbon around the collarbone area of her shirt gave it a finishing touch.

Gasping, you admired how good it looked on her, while she giggled and jumped excitedly in place.

“It looks so beautiful on you Mina!!” You gave her a small hug, giggling along. “It’s like it was made for you!”

“Thanks!! What about your clothes?” She nodded towards your top and pants still sitting in the changing room, untouched.

You coughed, “Oh- uh give me a second, I still need to try on the top,” She nodded and pushed you back into the room eagerly.

“Show me when you’re done!”

You nodded and smiled back at her before walking back into the room and locking the door behind you.

You had already lost all interest in shopping today, but reluctantly changed into the striped button-up shirt, looking at yourself in the mirror.

It was okay, nothing really special, and you certainly wouldn’t be spared any second glances from anyone. Not that you cared, you were already in a happy and healthy relationship with Shoto.

Shoto.

A thought suddenly popped into your mind.

What did Shoto think about your appearance? Coming from a rich family, it was only natural that he would be into proper, feminine females.

Why was he even dating you? Does he actually mean it every time he calls you beautiful?

Maybe you should change your hairstyle. Or the way you dressed. Maybe then, Shoto would love you.

Maybe then, he would think you’re beautiful.

Running your hand through your short strands of hair, you suddenly didn’t want to be here anymore.

You wished you were in the safety of your dorm, under the blankets where no one would have to look at you.

You were probably an eyesore, walking around everyday at school, getting judgmental looks from left to right.

Shaking your head, you tried to push those thoughts to the back of your mind, straightening yourself back up.

Unlocking the door again, wanting to get this day over with, you were met by a excited Mina as she looked over at you. You noticed that she had changed back to her own shirt.

“You look great Y/N!!” She hopped excitedly over to you as she admired your top.

You shrugged, glancing down at your top. “I mean, it’s okay, I guess.”

She raised her eyebrows at your response, asking worriedly, “Do you not like it?”

“Not really, it’s kind of plain.” Sighing, you picked at the sleeves and wrinkles of the shirt.

“Oh,” Mina pursed her lips together, cocking her head to the side. “That’s alright, then. What about the pants?”

Truth was, you had forgotten to try on the pants while you were inside, and you didn’t want to risk purchasing something you weren’t sure would look good on you.

“Oh-uh, I didn’t like that one too much either,” You glanced back at the item still hanging in the changing room.

“Oh no,” Mina pouted. “Are you going to buy anything?”

Biting your lip, you shook your head. “Guess not.”

It wasn’t really that you didn’t want to buy anything, you just thought that at this point, it didn’t matter what you wore.

Because, you weren’t as feminine as other girls.

"Give me a second to change back, and we can go to another store.” She looked like she was about to say something, but decided to close her mouth and nodded instead.

The remaining time you spent with Mina was just her jumping around stores excitedly and you mindlessly staring at clothes you wouldn’t ever buy.

It was about 2 in the afternoon when you all decided to meet back up, ready to head back to school.

You realized that you hadn’t bought a single item in the past 4 hours spent in wandering around the mall.

“Y/N! Did you not buy anything?” Momo asks worriedly as you and Mina approach the other two pairs in the lobby.

You shook your head at the tall girl, sighing, “Nothing really caught my eye today.”

“Oh, we can walk around a bit more together if you’d like!” Uraraka offers, holding a large bag in her own hands.

You smiled at her words, shaking your head again. “No, it’s alright! I’m sure we’re all tired, let’s head back.”

“Gosh, this weird man came up to us earlier and had the audacity to call our little Y/N here unattractive??! And then proceeded to ask for my number??” Mina huffed, clenching her fists dramatically at the memory.

You chuckled awkwardly. “Mina, you didn’t have to slap the poor man.”

“Poor man? By the sounds of it, he hasn’t learned his lesson yet.” Jirou speaks up, cracking her knuckles, eyes darkening. “Where is he?”

You laughed. “Jirou-”

“Oh dear, that’s terrible.” Momo patted your shoulder. “You’re very beautiful, Y/N, you know that?”

You smiled at the kind girl, letting out a deep breath.

“I understand where he’s coming from, though...” You mumbled quietly.

“Did you say something, Y/N?” Uraraka asks from next to you.

Shaking your head quickly, you link your arms with the brown haired girl, grinning at everyone. “Let’s head back now!”

Pushing open the large glass doors, you were met once again by the humid air, the sun’s rays burning down on your exposed skin.

The girls chattered happily about their new purchases, peeking inside the others’ bags and taking a couple out to show.

Even though you walked in the middle of Uraraka and Momo, you couldn’t help but feel left out, not having any new clothing to wear.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you nudged Momo, making her turn around and look at you.

“Hey Yaomomo, what’d you get?”

She smiled and opened her bag for you to peek inside, and you almost had to close your eyes from the amount of bling inside,

Bling, meaning dresses decorated in gems, with a few jewelry pieces and other accessories. Of course, there were a couple casual wear on the bottom of the bag.

“Oh, I’m not even surprised anymore,” You pretended to huff at Momo, turning the other way.

“You’re so classy and fancy, Yaomomo, are you trying to flex your class on me?”

She laughed, slapping your back lightly. “Oh sorry, I just can’t help that I’m so rich and proper.”

You tensed up at her words. Of course, you knew she was being sarcastic, but her use of words hit the same spot in you again as earlier.

“Hey guys...” Mina starts, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What?” An ominous feeling settles in all of your stomachs.

“Last one to the dorms is an old lady!”

All of you groan, watching as the pink alien girl takes off once again, having no choice but to follow behind.

6 girls arrived back at the dorm building, panting once again.

“Mina- ha, I swear to - god,” You breathe out, pants coming from all six of you.

Mina just giggles at you as you all arrive back in the common room. Your classmates are sprawled out in different places throughout the room, and their heads all perk up simultaneously at the new arrivals.

Bakugou were surrounded by Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero, as always, trying his best to swat them away.

Tokoyami and Aoyama were chatting in the kitchen, while Iida, Midoriya and Shoto hung around the TV, watching whatever movie was put on.

Ojiro, Koda, Shoji, and Sato were nowhere to be seen, you guessed they were up in their own rooms.

“Oh, hey guys! Welcome back!” A certain red-head’s voice chirped from the middle of the room, flashing you all his big smile.

“Hey Kirishima!” Mina smiled back at the boy before making her way up to her own room to organize her newly bought items.

Momo, Tsu, Jirou, and Uraraka followed after her, while you made your way over to where your boyfriend was on one of the other couches.

“Hey, love.” Shoto smiles at you softly as he opens his arms for you to give him a hug.

“Hey Sho,” You happily accept your place in his arms, tired from the long day you had. “I missed you.”

“I missed you as well,” He plants a small kiss on the top of your head. He was about to say something else before a realization dawns on him.

“Love, did you not buy anything?” You gulp, afraid that your boyfriend would see through your feelings and ask you what was wrong.

“Oh- uh, I just didn’t feel like anything caught my eye today!” You shrug, hoping that he would accept your answer and move on.

Of course, Shoto could be dense at times, but he is everything but stupid.

He always knew how you adored these little shopping sprees with your girls, and never once had you arrived back empty handed. On top of that, your vibe just seemed a bit...off.

“Can we go to your room and cuddle? I’m a little tired,” You look up at him, to which he responded by giving you a small kiss and chuckling.

“Of course, let’s go, love.”

After saying goodbye to Iida and Midoriya, you both made your way to Shoto’s dorm, immediately flopping down on the bed after stepping inside.

Shoto laughed softly at your eagerness, wasting no time and following in after, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing you flush against his chest.

The warmth and vanilla scent of your boyfriend was enough to calm you down and get rid of any past bad thoughts you were having earlier that day.

You felt him bury his face inside your hair, inhaling softly your shampoo from this morning. Normally, you would’ve swooned at the action, but it somehow made you feel uneasy. Insecure.

Shriveling away a little from his body, you were met by a very confused Shoto staring back at you.

“...Love?”

You bit your lip, not sure how to explain why you seemed uncomfortable.

“I-,uh, Shoto?” Your eyes made contact with his as he hummed in response. You decided it was now or never.

“Do you...think I’m pretty?” Biting your lip anxiously as you awaited his answer.

Confusion flashed through your boyfriend’s face. What kind of a question was that?

That was what he wanted to ask, until he noticed the tears forming in your eyes, and worriedly sat up, bringing you with him.

“Of course I think you’re pretty. You’re beautiful, darling.”

Not convinced, you sniffle before asking again, “Really?”

He furrows his eyebrows together, lifting you up and onto his lap so you were straddling him now, both of you in a sitting position.

“Did something happen, love? Why are you asking me these questions?” He reaches up to wipe a stray tear that had slipped its way through your eyes with his thumb.

“No reason-” You started, but your boyfriend’s piercing gaze told you he wouldn’t take that as an answer.

Taking a deep breath, you avoided his eyes as you began to speak.

“Today, when we were at the mall, a man came up to me, called me pretty, and asked for my number-”

Shoto raises his eyebrows, to which you wave away quickly.

“-I thought he was talking to me, but turns out he was speaking to Mina, who had been standing behind me. He then called me-” You cleared your throat, a bit anxious for your boyfriend’s reaction.

“He said that I wasn’t pretty, and that Mina could do so much better than being friends with someone like me...” Your voice trails off as you felt Shoto’s grip on your waist tighten.

“He...what?” You could’ve sworn you saw flames flicker behind Shoto’s eyes, his left and right hands heating and cooling on your sides without thinking, to which you yelped a little, surprised by the temperature change.

His eyes softened, looking down at your waist and rubbing it softly. “Oh- I’m sorry, love, I did not mean to hurt you.”

You shake your head, smiling at him. “You didn’t hurt me at all, Shoto.”

He exhales deeply, looking into your eyes. “Baby, you’re the most beautiful, kind, amazing girl I’ve ever met in my life. Don’t ever listen to what anyone else says, you’re absolutely perfect the way you are.”

Shoto plants a deep kiss on your lips, tears threatening to spill over at his touching words.

When you pull away, there’s still a lingering thought in the back of your mind.

“Don’t you ever wish - that you had a more...you know...” You rubbed your eyes, sniffling as the first few tears made their ways down your cheeks.

Shoto tilts his head to the side as he pulls you closer to his body, rubbing soothing circles on your lower back.

“A what, love?”

“You know, a more...feminine...girlfriend?”

You nervously glance at him, waiting for his response.

There’s silence for a moment, and your heart drops.

“Who ever said that girls have to be feminine?”

You directly look into his eyes for the first time that evening, confusion plastered on your face.

Shoto has a soft and loving, but firm expression as he speaks.

“I don’t care if you dress, or appear differently than other girls. There is no “correct” way to look if you are a certain gender. You’re absolutely beautiful no matter what you do, or wear.” He leans forward to peck your lips once again.

“But...when I look at someone like Yaomomo, she’s just - so much more attractive and proper than someone like me...”

Shoto sighs, tilting your chin down to look at him.

“Proper? What’s not proper about you, Y/N? Your hair? Your clothing choices? Baby, you could wear a trash bag, have long hair - or even shave your head bald, I’d still fall in love with you all over again.”

You giggle a little, making him chuckle, seeing that he successfully cheered you up a bit.

“I mean it, Y/N. I love you, and I’ll continue loving you, forever. Please don’t ever feel like you have to compare yourself to other girls, because you’ll always be the prettiest girl in my heart.”

Your heart felt like it was on the verge of bursting as you leant forward, kissing your boyfriend deeply. It was like all your emotions were expressed through that kiss. It was almost as if Shoto’s loving words washed away every single insecurity that has ever passed your mind in your whole life.

“Thank you so much, Shoto. I love you, so, so much.” You both grin as you placed your foreheads together, noses brushing against each other.

“I want you to say it, love. Tell me you love yourself, and that you’re beautiful.”

Your face heated up from the request, placing your hands on Shoto’s shoulders and trying to push him away, only to have your wrists caught by his strong hands as he leaned closer.

“Come on, Y/N, I’m waiting,” he smirks at your flustered expression.

You pouted a bit, before taking a deep breath, embarrassed from Shoto’s intense stare.

“I-uh- I love myself the way I am, and...I’m beautiful.” You squealed and cover your face with your hands after finishing your sentence, not used to those words coming out of your mouth.

A laugh escapes Shoto as he pries your hands away from your face, placing a kiss on your nose.

“That’s right, love. What do you say we go shopping tomorrow, just me and you?”

Your eyes brightened at the idea, and Shoto could feel butterflies flooding his stomach.

“Yes!! I’d love that, Shoto,” You threw your arms around your boyfriend’s neck, burying your face into his hair.

He chuckles in response, leaning back and studying your face for a moment, making you confused.

Then, he takes your arms and pushes you back until your back is pressed against the bed, pinning them above you. His body hovers over yours, as his knee sneakily moves up to place itself between your thighs.

“But right now, let me show you just how beautiful you are, darling.”

#todoroki x reader #todoroki shoto #bnha x reader #bnha fluff #mha x reader #todoroki fluff #mha shoto #shoto todoroki #shoto x reader #bnha scenarios #mina ashido #bnha tsuyu #momo yaoyorozu #jirou kyouka #uraraka ochako

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a-little-slice-of-fandom · 4 years

Note

A) hi how ya doing? B) I miss you C) can you analyze anything of Aragon? Thank you :)

Hey anon! I’m doing good ❤️❤️❤️ thanks so much for asking! I hope you’re doing well too!

Aragon is really interesting to me, because her song is kind of like the bohemian rhapsody of six. Very few people will say that it’s their favourite, but everyone will instantly sing along because it’s so catchy! Plus, it’s a great song to follow ex-wives with. It keeps the energy up and introduces the audience to the plot of the show.

I will say this until the day I die: while I would love if more songs were as scathing as say AYWD...you could never start with those songs. It’s too much too quickly. You need the more catchy, light-hearted songs of Ex-Wives, No Way and DLUH to start with because it helps get the audience invested in the show and the plot as a whole. Six, first and foremost, will always need to work dramatically. That’s why the old, more openly bitter No Way was changed to something a little more light-hearted.

The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of Aragon is regal. She’s the queen who was married to Henry for 24 years and was a Spanish princess as well. She’s the refined, confident queen who knows her own worth and honestly? I get the vibe she just wants a little bit of respect from the other queens. While some people characterise Aragon as rather cold, I honestly don’t get that? The show portrays Aragon as a very loyal person despite all that Henry put her through, and she clearly cares for Mary and also, to a lesser extent, Parr as her god daughter (remember she calls Howard “the least relevant Katherine”...meaning she does see Parr as relevant.) and she often refers to other queens as “babe” even though she was just arguing with them five seconds earlier (harking on the idea of forgiveness, something I think Aragon is very good at in the show!). Plus, while there’s only one line referring to Mary, Aragon is always so protective of her and warm to her. In the album, Renee’s “aw, hi baby!” is the most adorable and heartwarming part of the song and it’s clear she adores her daughter, while the “oh, you don’t remember?” in the live versions is so protective of her baby. It’s honestly something we don’t discuss enough. Moreover, Aragon’s song is one of the most energetic, but she has her earnest moment of pleading as well, along with her undisputable strength of refusing to back down and accept Henry’s lies. She is also incredibly passionate when talking about something she loves or defending herself when she has to (which make sense! This was the woman who rode with an army wearing armour while pregnant. Aragon was not to be messed with!).

I personally disagree with people who try and claim that Toby and Lucy wrote Aragon as the “angry” queen because she never truly gets to the levels of boleyn or seymour (yes there’s the miscarriage argument where she does raise her voice but like...are we ignoring Seymour’s “boohoo Mary had the chickenpox” or the fact that Boleyn is also shouting in that argument??? And she usually goes louder than Aragon???) and yet she’s so often defined by that trait even though other queens share it and are even more extreme. And yes, Im fully aware of why certain people characterise aragon in this way and I’m so annoyed that even though we continually call out the fact that’s it’s problematic, it continues to happen. However Aragon does have flaws like every good character should. Aragon just won’t try and listen to the other queens. She refuses to accept that Boleyn or Seymour might have had a worse time than her. Now I personally never got the feeling that Aragon blames the other queens for anything. Her feelings are directed at Henry. Notice in now way she talks about how henry is “running around with some pretty young thing” and she refers to him having “one son with someone who don’t own a wedding ring”. Those people? They’re clearly supposed to be Boleyn and Bessie, two people who are actually on stage at the time. But Aragon doesn’t take an easy shot at either of them in her song. She doesn’t say their name or call them out or try and involve them in her song. Contrast this with DLUH where Boleyn grabs Aragon, forces her to be front and centre in this verse and then insults her constantly (“three in the bed” = airing Aragon’s and Henry’s ✨ intimate issues ✨ with the entire world while “Don’t be bitter, cause I’m fitter” and “he doesn’t want to bang you, somebody hang you” are both pretty self explanatory). I think it’s absolutely key that Aragon doesn’t blame Boleyn or Bessie or direct any misplaced feelings towards them in no way or the show. Her (very justified) feelings of anger and betrayal are (generally) directed at Henry. And that’s something so many people ignore! And I personally wish more people would be like Aragon in this regard in the real world. I don’t know if other people agree with me, but it’s your boyfriends/husbands job to not cheat on you, not someone else’s. I do know some people think that Aragon is slighting Boleyn and Bessie in that verse but if we’re sticking to tudor ideals, Aragon not mentioning them by name (in essence keeping their “dignity” and “honour” intact) would be the kinder thing to to. (Note I’m only saying this with Tudor ideals in mind. I also think Aragon fully knows that Bessie was 13 when Henry started making advances on her and again, refuses to blame Bessie for what happened because she knows she’s a victim).

However...Aragon doesn’t ever try and listen to other queens and will insult them if she has to. She (along with the other queens like Boleyn and Seymour) gets more and more defensive and petty as the show continues. However, she never gets to the same levels of hard hitting insults has say Boleyn. But I mean...Aragon was a queen who went through so much in her lifetime and never was able to really talk about it. Yes, she resisted Henry trying to get their marriage annulled, and she was one of the strongest women at the time, but she couldn’t deal with her emotions the same way that we can today. She never got to told Boleyn to go away or leave her alone. She never got to bad mouth Henry because he was the king. She was, first and foremost, a lady, and she was expected to act in a certain way all of her life. And now that she’s reincarnated in modern days, she doesn’t have to do all of those things. She can be annoyed and let it show, she can tell Boleyn all those things she wanted to do back in the day. Some actresses even lean into the idea that it’s sort of cathartic for Aragon to FINALLY just say what she wants to say without having to worry on how it would reflect on her as queen. Mind you, I still think that Aragon considers how her words would reflect on her (much more than any other queen) but she definitely has more wiggle room within the show than she did during her reign.

In addition, while the fandom also like to reduce Aragon to obsessed with her religion, I actually really like how her relationship with Catholicism is portrayed in the show. While I do concede that Aragon’s faith is sometimes reduced to the butt of the joke, that’s not always the case and I personally really enjoy how Aragon seems to gain a lot of strength from her religion, instead of it holding her back or hindering her. While I do understand why so many characters in media struggle with their religion or find it suffocating (my relationship with Catholicism is...fragile at the best of times), but I genuinely love this idea that Aragon’s faith is what guides her and gives her inner strength in times of need. I mean,,,when she’s pleading to Henry during now way, the music slows to something that sounds more like a gospel song, Aragon is kneeling with her hands clasped and there's bright white light around her (i also vaguely remember something that looks like a crucifix behind her as well? But I'm not 100 percent sure on that). At the time where Aragon is most vulnerable and needs to find inner strength and wants guidance...she turns to her religion and that's seen as a very positive thing!!! The same with Aragon's verse in Sox. Moving to a nunnery and finding friends there is something that's now postive and liberating instead of being stuffy and boring and restrictive like nunnery are often portrayed as in media. (yes I know that's also a play on Henry wanting to send Aragon into the nunnery after their divorce but I do think that there’s no malicious religion-basing in Six is a nice touch that’s often overlooked).

Finally, Aragon’s costume is quite important to her character. It is one of the more feminine outlines (especially the updated version on broadway) and I do think it’s an inadvertent issue that the queens with the more stereotypical feminine costumes are more catty whereas the more stereotypical androgynous or masculine outfits (aka Parr and Cleves) are often the voices of reason, but I don’t think that’s intentional or is intended to comment on anything. It’s just a coincidence. However, the gold of Aragon’s outfit obviously symbolises her love, courage and passion, along with indicating her status as a noble. While yes the rest of the queens were all noble in some way before they married Henry, Aragon was a Spanish princess and the daughter of two incredibly powerful monarchs. She was probably the highest standing out of any of the queens, and her costume reflects that. I also think that her wearing gold to flaunt her status could be her trying to make up for the years between her marriages to Arthur and Henry (where she didn’t have many provisions made for her as far as I know) and also the last few years of her life. (I’ve seen differing reports on how Aragon was provided for after Henry divorced her, with her claiming that she was living in poverty while others state she got 3000 pounds. If anyone has any confirmation then let me know). Either way, her wanting to flaunt her status after her reincarnation by wearing lots of bright gold makes total sense. I’ve also seen a few people say that the bust on Aragon’s costume is the most historically accurate but I can’t confirm that, although if it is then that’s a really nice touch.

Well this took ages, but it was fun to finally get to analyse stuff again AND do it on a queen who doesn’t get discussed very much!!! Aragon often gets reduced to “catholic” or “angry” within this fandom, even though she is just as complex as any other character within the show but she just expresses things in very different ways. And that’s okay! This whole show is about how women (and NB folk!) are different and do have different experiences and do express things differently and have different personalities and that’s okay! We should celebrate our differences.

#six the musical #six #sixthemusical #ask #anon ask #anonymous #anonymous ask #anon #ask answered #enya discusses: six

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oddlovergirl · 4 years

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Hey, the Golden Wind English dub is coming to a close pretty soon, and I wanna talk to you guys about something. Remember a common complaint about the English dub being about Narancia sounding a lot more masculine than his Japanese sub, which was considered more fitting to his androgynous appearance? Today, while I was browsing the Trivia section of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo out of boredom for the umpteenth time, I discovered a new fact added on the web page that there is a tweet stating that a non-binary trans-male actor named Casey Mongillo wanted to audition for Narancia but the BangZoom casting director didn't let them because she didn’t believe an LGBT actor could sound non-LGBT. As you can see from this article https://comicbook.com/anime/news/jojos-bizarre-adventure-dub-english-discrimination-lgbt-anime/, this is going to stir up quite a controversy, and for good reason, too.

For those of you who don’t know who Casey Mongillo is, they are the voice for Shinji Ikari in the 2019 Netflix English dub for Neon Genesis Evangelion, Scorbunny and Chrysa in the Pokémon Journeys television series, Shou Suzuki from Mob Psycho 100, and more. They’re also a gamer as well; you can find their gaming channel on YouTube. Once I got home from work, I decided to go on Youtube to find some videos on Casey Mongillo just to get an idea on what their voice sounds like, especially as Shinji. Needless to say, I am quite amazed to hear how Casey talks and even gave range when voicing Shinji, managing to give an androgynous edge to the boy (even if Spike Spencer managed to do a fantastic job voicing Shinji in the ADV dub). If Casey were to voice Narancia instead of Kyle, imagine the memes popping up about Shinji finally growing a pair and living in an alternate timeline where his relationship with his father isn’t so badly damaged, being rather healthy even (fun fact: the Netflix dub voice for Gendo is Ray Chase, and I know y’all like to make memes about Bruno being a parent).

Also, I would like to let you guys know that Casey Mongillo has one thing to share in the aforementioned article I had a link to; they stated they don't want any negative energy to obscure the love fans have for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure:

Casey Mongillo: “I need to reiterate that I’ve discussed this with the casting director since. While it does hurt to not have been able to audition for this show and others because of my orientation, it also hurts to see people throwing hate around towards the director. Nothing gets solved with hatred. It's negative energy, and doesn't help anyone. It's better to help educate people with outdated views than hate and shun. I still have faith the studio will change for the better. Support VAs from marginalized groups. That is all.”

So yeah, please do this for Casey.

It’s truly a huge letdown that Casey didn’t get to voice Narancia. Don’t get me wrong, Kyle McCarley did a GREAT job voicing Narancia. Even if it sounds weird to hear Narancia sound masculine, at least Kyle managed to give a stellar performance as him, especially regarding Narancia’s heartbroken reaction in GW episode 28, and his talk with Trish in GW episode 30 is quite stunning, with him making the boy sound so calm and weary. But still, having Casey give Narancia an androgynous voice would be a match made in heaven (no pun intended regarding one of the Stands)! It just made me wish that I can hear Casey voice-act as my favorite little orange boi.

Just imagine! How frigging epic would it be to hear Shinji be an extraverted, childish cutie with a huge violent streak and even scream out the Volare Via stand cry? Just imagine that shit.

UPDATE circa 1/30/2021: Last night I happened to have rewatched a video Casey made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6yDW5vLz-A, and it is spectactular to hear them give Narancia the appropriately high-pitched, childlike emphasis on the voice (and especially yelling out the Stand name Aerosmith). If there was a Golden Wind/Vento Aureo abridged series with a cast that includes Casey Mongillo as Narancia, I would watch it in a heartbeat.

#Narancia Ghirga #JJBA #jojos bizarre adventure #Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken #jjba golden wind #JJBA Vento Aureo #Vento Aureo #jojo vento aureo #jojo golden wind #Golden Wind #casey mongillo #shinji ikari #neon genesis evangelion #jojo

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otakween · 3 years

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07-Ghost - The World (Part. 2)

Episodes 11-20 of the 07-Ghost radio show. I’m really enjoying listening to this. It makes me want to investigate which other anime have radio shows. The only other one I know of is Zetsubou Sensei. Pretty funny that the lesser known shows would be popular enough to be on the radio. Links below for anyone who wants to listen (raw Japanese only).

Episode 11

This episode kind of feels like the beginning of a new season because they got a new opening and ending theme. They’re nice to listen to but not something I would want to download or anything. They have a cheesy mid-2000s vibe to them (gee, I wonder why?) This episode was cute because they had Hakuren’s VA as a guest. It’s fun to imagine Teito, Hakuren, and Mikage all hanging out together since that never happened in the series.

This time around they discussed “what would you do if X happened to your best friend” scenarios and read a lot of fan mail. As usual Mikage’s VA lost every game lol. I think Jun (Hakuren’s VA) said at one point that he thinks of Mitsuki (Teito’s VA) as an “ikemen” looool. I just googled her name and she does look really androgynous.

Episode 12

More of the same, more teasing of Namikawa (one of the fanmails was just asking if he got bad grades in school lol). This time around the beginning conversation was about “who would make a good brother, sister, mom, etc. in the 07 Ghost universe?” It kinda bugs me how surface-level and basic their answers are. They never really mention side characters or manga-only characters so they really only have a tiny amount of people to shuffle through again and again. On the other hand, Namikawa never read the manga so...

They played two games: “which thing is smaller?” and what’s in “Pandora’s box?” Saiga flat out said she didn’t want to do the second game lol. She’s getting bored with the formula. I do think the show is stronger when they’re just chit-chatting or bouncing ideas off listener mail, but the games are easier to understand language-wise so it’s good to have a mix of the two.

Episode 13

This episode had Kuroyuri’s VA on as a guest which was a nice change of pace. They discussed grades again (you can tell a lot of the listeners are very young based on the listener mail) and played shiritori using dialogue from 07 Ghost. I feel like they’re getting pretty creative with the games they come up with.

This episode and the previous one had a lot of ads at the end for 07 Ghost content (DVDs, drama CDs, manga, etc.) They mention the “upcoming live event” which I’m guessing is the same one that was released on DVD. Are live anime events still a common thing? I know the Tales of series has an annual festival so I guess they must be. -sigh- why can’t I live in Japan :(

Episode 14

This episode was fun to listen to, Namikawa and Saiga crack each other up a lot and have great chemistry. I feel like I’m enjoying this radio show more than I enjoyed the entire series? Loool

Anyway, in this episode they spent a long time talking about and giving each other nicknames (they settled on “Wada” for Namikawa and “Ouji” for Saiga). Namikawa got roasted by the listeners a bunch, as usual, and they had a “dad joke” competition. Two listeners wrote in about their worries, one was worried about his sore neck and the other’s husband was mad at her for spending too much on anime (lol). I guess this episode came out around the mid-point of the anime’s broadcast because they referenced the Frau dolls and the weird noises they make, which was funny.

I think I need to listen to more Japanese podcasts cuz this is fun and great practice. If anyone has any reccs, please let me know!

Episode 15

Sho Hayami (Ayanami’s VA) returns!! His voice is sooo dreeeammy. One of the listener mail’s mentioned his fan club and I totally get it lol. I would join if I could. Anyway, this episode was cute. They talked about their first crushes (Hayami’s was a boy!) and played a game where they had to read some exposition from 07 Ghost and pick out what was wrong about it. Honestly, I struggled to understand that part because fantasy world vocabulary is tricky. Namikawa lost as he always does and his punishment was that he had to talk like a baby for the rest of the episode. He did a really good job lol.

They did a “last supper” segment again where they ate pudding (flan) with soy sauce, which apparently is supposed to taste like sea urchin...ew.

Episode 16

This episode was decent, a little meandering lol. They had Hyuuga’s VA on as a guest and he seemed surprisingly shy compared to the character he plays. He was very quiet and didn’t contribute much to the conversation. I was a little nervous when he lost one of the games they played and had to speak “rabbit language” (basically adding “pyon” or “usa” to the end of every sentence) for the rest of the episode, but that actually was exactly what was needed to spice up his debut lol. His awkwardness plus the vocal tic was pretty hilarious.

This episode took place after the live event because they had some fan mail about it. One girl went with her mom which is so cute (I can imagine dragging my parents to something like that lol). They discussed what it would like to be a twin and played a game where they had to read a bunch of tricky words (mostly katakana) really fast. It sounded really hard! I kinda wish I had the script so I could try for myself. I really like reading katakana

Episode 17

This episode felt really short, the nico nico video is only 38 minutes long! Castor’s VA guest starred this time and was way more energetic than Hyuuga’s VA in the last episode. He was hamming it up a lot. They discussed sleeping positions and played a game where they got a list of 3 07 Ghost characters and had to figure out what they all had in common. I had fun playing along (although I didn’t do very well lol). Namikawa lost and had to use “zamasu” language? I’m not really sure what that is.

At the end of the episode they read some listener mail and gave love confession advice lol. Almost made it a third of a way through the show!

Episode 18

A nice, simple no-guest episode. This time around they discussed what pets would suit them and played family feud basically (and failed miserably). Saiga and Namikawa both got “punished” for failing the game and had to speak like the opposite gender. They both really struggled to do so lol. Masculine/feminine speech is so weird to me. I’m sure English has some, subtle version of this, but if someone told me to “talk like a guy” I wouldn’t know what to do. (Lower my voice? Say “bro” a lot?) It’s always interesting when other languages have a quirk that there’s no real English equivalent for.

This episode felt kind of lazy. They spent most of it just chit-chatting and didn’t seem like they wanted to do the regular corner. They ended up running out of time for the final fan letter reading. I’m not complaining really, it was just noticeably less professional than some other episodes.

Episode 19

Not gonna lie, the Japanese was a little tricky for me in this one. Haruse’s VA made his show debut and I didn’t recognize his voice at all lol. Haruse barely talks in the show so I was like “???” They asked him what kind of character Haruse is and he was like “...nice?” Lol poor Haruse. Not much to say about him anime-wise.

This definitely felt like a “we’re running out of ideas” episode. The game they played was really weird. Basically it was “what do you do when X natural disaster occurs?” with 07 ghost characters illustrating what to do vs. what not to do. Haruse’s VA lost and his punishment was to speak in broken Japanese (like annoying foreigner characters do in anime). It was really obnoxious lol. The episode ended with a “Last supper” segment but I had trouble following what they were eating :/ Almost to episode 20!

Episode 20

Another Hyuuga episode, although I felt like he didn’t talk as much this time. These episodes are really starting to blend together. This one was recorded in October so they discussed autumn and things they like/dislike about it. Practically every fan letter was about Namikawa (either bullying or praising him). I finally understand the “Wada” joke (namikaWA DAisuke), it took me a few episodes.

Unfortunately I didn’t really understand much of this episode, especially the game they played. It sounded like they had to pick a symbol to represent a character from 07 Ghost, but I’m not sure if that’s the gist of it. Namikawa lost as usual and his punishment was to speak like an old man. I thought he did a great job! Sometimes I forget I’m listening to voice actors instead of regular radio hosts. It makes sense that all of their punishments would be impressions related.

#07 ghost #07 ghost the world #radio

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mischiefandspirits · 3 years

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Doppelgänger (13/19)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Memory Blank, Part 1}

“It said Sam?” Tucker asked as Danny finished explaining what happened in the earlier ghost fight.

“Actually, it was more like,” Danny raised his hands and wiggled his fingers, his voice falling into a slow rasp, “Sam.” His voice went back to normal and he dropped his hands. “But you get the point.”

“You can’t really blame me for this, can you?” Sam asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

“Well, it’s got something to do with you, but don’t worry. I saved Paulina, so you don’t have to apologize.”

“Good. ‘Cause I’m not gonna,” she huffed, her hands on her hips.

“You just have to -”

“Hey, Danny.”

The trio looked up to see Valerie walking up to their picnic table.

Sam narrowed her eyes at the girl. “What do you want?”

“I heard about the attack on your guys’ class,” she said, ignoring the girl and staring at Danny. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” he said slowly, glancing at his friends. “I got out as soon as the ghost showed up.”

“That’s good.” She glanced over the three and ducked her head. “I guess I’ll go then.”

The three watched her walk away with frowns.

“What was that about?” Tucker asked.

“No clue,” Danny said. “Maybe she wanted info on the ghost?”

“Maybe,” Sam agreed. “She was definitely up to something.”

“Speaking of the ghost,” Danny said, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a Specter Deflector and snapped it around Sam’s waist before she could object. “You have to wear this and stay out of the way.”

“What?”

“Sam, something weird is going on and you’re clearly the cause of it. It’s probably better for all of us if you just lay low.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star was frowning when Valerie met back up with her. “What were you doing over there with Fenton?”

“Just asking him about the ghost attack.”

Star rolled her eyes and turned to her phone. “Of course you were.”

“So anything new?” Valerie asked, gazing around the park as they walked.

“Not really. The only thing that’s happened is the ghost attack. Paulina’s kind of miffed right now, though. She tried to invite the ghost boy to her party, but he didn’t seem to hear her.”

“Ghost boy?” Valerie asked, turning back to her friend. “What ghost boy?”

“Uh, the ghost boy, duh. You know, the one you hate.”

“I hate a lot of ghosts, you’ll need to be more specific.”

Star looked up at her with a frown. “The ghost boy. The one who Paulina’s been in love with since he rescued her. The one you’ve been rioting against since he got your dad fired.”

“You mean Doppelgänger?”

“Who?”

Valerie met Star’s confused look with one of her own. “Doppelgänger. The ghost kid. Androgynous ghost with green skin. They’re the one who got my dad fired by leading that stupid dog into Axion.”

“I thought you said the ghost boy did that.”

“Who are you talking about?”

Star gave her a worried look and tapped at her phone. She handed it to Valerie to show her the picture she’d brought up.

Valerie looked it over. “I have no idea who this ghost is.”

“Are you serious? Are you feeling okay?” Star said, taking back her phone.

Valerie didn’t get a chance to respond because suddenly the park was filled with screams. They turned to see a ghost that looked just like Terminatra chasing Paulina. Star went running so Valerie ducked behind a tree and called up her suit. She came around the tree just as the ghost Star had shown her came up from the ground next to Paulina.

“Well, let’s see if we can’t change that a little,” he said, his voice cheerful and confident.

“And now it’s not,” the popular girl chirped, a look on her face Valerie had only ever seen her give Doppelgänger.

He tried to blast Terminatra, but she formed a hole in her body to evade the attack.

Valerie used the distraction to pull out her rifle and shoot the cyborg into a tree. It collapsed and dissolved into red mist.

She turned to the ghost boy as he turned to her. He gave her an awkward smile and wave.

“H-hey, long time no see,” he chuckled before diving into the ground.

Ignoring Paulina’s cries for the ghost boy to come back, Valerie took to the air and swapped her rifle for her phone. She had some research to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny scowled at the ground as he walked up the stairs to his house. “I’m just saying, the ghost knew your name, and now this other one shows up attacking Paulina too. It might be connected. I’m just w-”

“Save it. I’m not in the mood. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, okay fine. Bye, Sam.”

“Bye.”

He ended the call with a sigh. He hadn’t meant to tick her off, he was just frustrated and worried. Maybe… maybe they shouldn’t go to the party on Friday after all.

“Danny.”

He turned to see Valerie running up. “Uh, hey?”

“I know now might not be the best time, but I need to talk to you. Please. Something crazy is going on.”

She certainly looked freaked out, but Danny wasn’t sure what she meant by the best time. He wasn’t feeling up to dealing with his ghost hunting rival, but she couldn’t know that. “Why are you coming to me?”

She gave him a confused look. “Because you’re my friend?” she said hesitantly. “I know what happened last night with our confessions was… But I thought we’d still at least be friends, right?”

Danny’s jaw dropped. Confessions, what confessions? Oh god, she didn’t know about him, did she? “Last night? What are you talking about? I didn’t see you last night.”

She took a step back. “What? But… Oh no, did that change to?”

“Change?”

She shook her head. “Please, can we go somewhere private?”

He nodded, still shocked, and let her inside. Once they were in his room and the door was shut she collapsed onto his bed.

“Alright, talk.”

She ran a hand over her face. “Does the name Doppelgänger ring a bell?”

“No, should it.”

“But you know the ghost boy?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” he said, shifting awkwardly before sitting down on his desk chair.

When she looked up at him, she looked more scared than he’d ever seen her. It sent a shiver down his spine.

“Until an hour ago, I’d never heard of him.”

“What?” She… didn’t know who Phantom was? He didn’t know if he should be happy or worried. “How is that possible? How do you just forget a person -- er, ghost -- out of nowhere?”

She shook her head and took out her phone. “It’s more than that. I looked him up and… nothing makes sense. Like, like…” She held up her phone to show him the picture of him kidnapping the mayor, “This never happened!”

I wish it didn’t happen. “What do you mean?”

“This says the ghost boy kidnapped the mayor, but there wasn’t a ghost like this involved. Walker was overshadowing the mayor and he grabbed Doppelgänger to try and frame them. Everyone knows that!”

Danny’s brain short-circuited. He scrambled through all the questions that raised and landed on, “You know who Walker is?”

“Of course I do. You told me about him,” she huffed.

“I did? Why would I do that?”

“Because you were helping me with my ghost hunting?”

Danny couldn’t help himself, he laughed. A ghost he may be, but he’s not suicidal. Why on earth would he help the girl trying to kill him? Well, he supposed that might give him a good look at her arsenal, let him know what she’s capable of. It’d be risky though.

She was giving him a horrified look. “We… You do help me, right? Oh god, that’s how we became friends! If you aren’t helping me, then… How much has changed? I thought it was just Doppelgänger stuff, but clearly it isn’t.”

Danny pushed down his hysteria in the face of hers. He rolled over to the bed and grabbed her shoulders. “Valerie, calm down. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Exactly!”

“Look, we’re not going to get anywhere acting like this. You need to explain. Start from the beginning.”

She stared at him for a moment as she calmed her breathing, then gave him a smile. “Just like the cage, huh? It’s good to know you aren’t too different.”

“Cage?”

She shook her head and pulled back. “Alright, the beginning. You… Do you know I hunt ghosts?”

He nodded. “But you never told me. Sam heard you talk in the suit once and figured it out.”

“That’s actually how you knew before. Okay, so I became a hunter when this ghost kid, Doppelgänger, chased a stupid ghost dog into the labs where my dad works. Someone heard about the incident and sent me ghost hunting gear to get revenge.”

“Sounds familiar, but the ghost boy -- I think he calls himself Phantom, by the way -- was the one who did it as far as I know. Also, I didn’t know where you got your gear from.”

“Okay, so nothing too different. After that… I think the next thing that happened was when Walker led his goons in an invasion. I didn’t really know what was happening, but then I rescued you from the school after you got caught spying on a meeting the ghosts were having. That’s how we knew about Walker.”

Danny’s eyes widened. He remembered the meeting, but, “You didn’t save me from the school.”

“I didn’t?” she said and she gave him a glance over. “How’d you get out?”

“Phantom saved me,” he fudged.

“Then you never told me why they were there,” she said, staring at nothing. “So I never reached out to Doppelgänger -- or Phantom, I guess -- and we never teamed up to rescue everyone that had been overshadowed. If I wasn’t there, Mrs. Fenton wouldn’t have known about the mayor because she’d never have listened to a ghost like she did me, which is why everyone thinks Phantom is guilty.”

“Butterfly effect,” Danny said, processing. “You actually teamed up with a ghost?”

“Temporarily. I didn’t have anything to stop possession so I needed their help to get the ghosts out of people.”

That made more sense. It’s not like Danny and Valerie hadn’t had a temporary truce before. Maybe he should have tried to bring Valerie into the fold when Walker attacked. Things would be a lot easier if everyone didn’t think he’d kidnapped the mayor.

“Wait, if we didn’t become friends after that, does that mean Kitty didn’t overshadow me to get back at her boyfriend?”

“Ki-Kitty overshadowed you?” Danny gasped.

“I guess that’s a no,” she chuckled. “Yeah, she somehow thought we were dating so she overshadowed me and tried to date you to make Johnny jealous.”

“Oh, no, Kitty overshadowed Paulina.”

“That makes sense. You used to have a crush on her, didn’t you?”

“Used to?” Danny blushed, he had not meant to say that.

Valerie was blushing as well and she looked away. “Right. Anyways. After that would have been…” She scowled. “Ugh! It would have been Skulker.”

“Skulker?”

She thought for a moment. “You know the flour baby assignment thing.”

“Yeah, we got paired up.”

She nodded. “Right. Well, Skulker -- this collector/hunter ghost -- saw me out as Red Huntress and wanted me for his stupid collection, but when he saw the two of us joking about our child he thought we were mates so he decided to capture us both. We were locked in a cage together for eight days before Doppelgänger tracked us down.”

Danny made a choking sound. He’d been locked in a cage with Valerie for eight days? By Skulker? Presumably in the zone? “That is all sorts of yikes.”

“It actually wasn’t that bad,” she admitted in a soft voice. “It was a week’s vacation from all my responsibilities and you pretty much annoyed Skulker into giving us anything we wanted.”

He smirked. “Okay, that sounds like me, and annoying a ghost that much does sound fun. That definitely didn’t happen here though. We, uh, kind of hated each other. I was actually a bit of a jerk. I didn’t believe you about having a job so I was pretty ticked that you’d basically shoved the entire project in my lap.”

“Sounds like I was a bit of a jerk too,” Valerie said and he shrugged.

“I was a bigger one, trust me. Anyways, I wasn’t grabbed, but I think you might have been. I, uh, heard a rumor that your hunter persona and Phantom got kidnapped into the Ghost Zone so a ghost could hunt you both to the death. I think you were gone for less than a day though. It would explain how trashed the flour sack was when I came to pick it up.”

“Trashed?”

“Completely. The only reason we got a C instead of an F is that everyone else’s got baked into cookies by Tucker’s mom.”

She snickered. “I heard about that. For the record, we got an A. It was a pity A since we were kidnapped and the baby was left behind with your sister or something, but it was still an A.”

“Lucky.”

She laughed and shook her head. “So if Phantom is Doppelgänger’s replacement in whatever’s going on, does that mean Plasmius placed a bounty on him too?”

Danny froze. “I know about the bounty, but Plasmius? My dad said some Wisconsin ghost placed the bounty in order to distract everyone so he could steal our portal.”

“Let me guess: blue skin, red eyes, kinda vampire-y?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Plasmius. He did show up in your parents’ lab so he might have been trying to steal your portal, but you, Jazz, and I kicked his butt all the way back into the Ghost Zone.”

“I would have paid to see that,” he muttered, imagining himself taking down Vlad as easily as Valerie described. “So that was pretty recent. The only thing that’s happened since then was…”

“Phantom robbing a bunch of places?” Valerie said. “For the record, it wasn’t his fault.”

“I don’t know if I believe that,” Danny muttered. Oh sure, he knew Freakshow had been controlling him, but he’d still done a lot of horrible things, and hadn’t he proven he had the strength to break free. Why hadn’t he done it much sooner? Why had Sam nearly had to die for him to break free?

“It’s true.” Valerie shook her phone at him. “I’ve seen the videos. Phantom’s eyes are normally green, but during his crime spree, his eyes are red. He was being controlled by that ringmaster. The one they say he was supposedly working with. I know it. I’ve held the staff he was using to control the ghosts.”

Danny jerked back. “You have?”

“Yes! Doppelgänger came to me for help after they realized what was going on. I stole the staff so they could take out the ghosts and the police could arrest Freakshow. I even u-I mean, I destroyed it so no one else could use it.”

Danny frowned as her voice caught, picking up that there was something she was hiding, but decided to let it go for now. “How come this Doppelgänger wasn’t brainwashed?”

“They got lucky there’s more than one of them. Phantom seems to be a solo act so I’m not surprised he was taken.”

“Doppelgänger’s a team?” he asked and he suddenly realized she’d been referring to the ghost as they.

“Not exactly. You know how ghosts all have a weird quirk. Like the Box Ghost and boxes? Doppelgänger’s thing is duplication. There’s usually two or three of them running around and even when there isn’t they talk about themself in plural. It’s always we and us with them. So when one of them would fall under the spell, another would snap them out of it. But that’s why they came to me, they couldn’t take on the ghosts Freakshow was controlling without falling under.”

Not too different than what Sam and Tucker had done for him, then. Just a lot less dangerous because Valerie had all her ghost hunting gear and Sam and Tucker hadn’t brought anything. See, this was why he’d wanted Sam to wear a deflector! Maybe if she’d been wearing it -

He shoved the thoughts out of his head and focused on Valerie. “That all sounds incredible. One problem, none of that happened and Doppelgänger doesn’t exist as far as I know.”

She growled and punched his mattress. “But it did! I lived it! Everything you’ve said, none of that makes sense! I’ve never heard of Phantom! He doesn’t exist as far as I know! Except he does because I saw him in the park earlier! I don’t understand!”

“Are you sure someone or something isn’t messing with your head?” he suggested.

“NO! I know what’s real and what isn’t! I… I can prove it!” she gasped, jumping to her feet and pulling off her backpack.

“You can?”

“Hold on, I know I stuck it in-Yes!” She turned around and held out a Specter Deflector. “You gave me this last night. Said it would protect me. I didn’t take it off until I got to school this morning.”

Danny carefully took it from her and looked it over. To his surprise, it was an actual Fenton Specter Deflector. But that wasn’t possible! His parents didn’t sell the Specter Deflectors. They were too difficult to make in bulk. It couldn’t have been stolen either because he’d gotten into the family stash before he’d met Sam and Tucker at the park so he could grab one for Sam and they’d all been there. This wasn’t the same proto-design as the one he’d used on Vlad, so she couldn’t have gotten that one.

“I don’t understand, this shouldn’t exist.”

“But it does! And so do my memories. I just don’t understand how.”

Danny ran his thumb along the belt. “You remember the ghost fight in school today, right?”

“Yeah, I didn’t see it, but I heard all the screaming.”

Something sunk into Danny’s stomach as the pieces started coming together. “And you were wearing this all night, up until school?”

“Yes, why? Do you know what’s wrong with me?”

“Not you, us.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Episode summary: "Valerie meets canon Danny and is confused by his life choices"

#danny phantom #danny fenton #valerie gray #tucker foley #sam manson #Doppelgänger au

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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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April 25: 2x16 The Gamesters of Triskelion

Finally watched some more Star Trek. I feel like it’s been forever...

Today’s ep is The Gamesters of Triskelion, which is... okay. It’s not terrible but I think its best aspects are the most familiar: the type of alien, the moral values at play; and its weakest are its most unique.

I think Spock likes it when Kirk says “mind the store.” What a folksy human thing to say!

Plus now that he’s Captain he gets to sit in the chair.

This conversation between Spock and Scotty is hilarious. “I’m assuming you mean they disappeared in an unusual way??” “Uh, yeah?? Do you think I’m dumb?”

This alien looks like Lady Gaga c. 2010

Kirk is being very Dramatic today.

Come on, Spock, gotta get your man.

You know Spock is worried when he mentions hope. That is, as McCoy says, a human emotion.

“Collars of obedience.” Kinky.

Stylish pink jail.

I’m really feeling this Spock and Bones interaction today. That’s a great eyebrow lift.

If the random alien is leaving, Uhura must have been his ass down.

“Nourishment interval.” We need to bring this into our modern vocabulary.

Not one, but TWO ladies in command gold today (one at Communications, and one at Spock’s station).

Wild aquatic fowl.

I feel like this episode is another example of a writer putting her alien sex fantasy on television. Like, a hardcore alien sex fantasy. The obedience collars, the training harness, the whipping, the weird flirtation between Chekov and his “training thrall”--herself a very androgynous alien, just to throw some gender play in there.

Kirk turning up the charm again. I missed Charming!Kirk. I mean, picking up a silver platter to use as a mirror and saying “That’s beautiful”? This man has no shame.

I feel like this episode shows how Spock’s logic is actually a very effective life strategy. He’s facing a very mysterious situation with high stakes--literally his best friend/soulmate/captain lost, plus two more crewmen--but he isn’t defeatist like McCoy or defensive like Scotty. He just follows the evidence, even when the evidence seems wild. And he was right.

Detective Kirk time!

“Are they computers?” He’s hoping so, since he’s very good at defeating computerized enemies.

Could it be instead another example of aliens who have transcended their physical bodies?

He is really laying the charm offensive on thick here.

I get how people have vague memories of TOS and remember Kirk as slutty, because certainly there are lots of shots of him kissing ladies, but like... 90% of the time he's using charm as a weapon, like he doesn't like Lady Gaga, he just wants to get off this planet.

“Love, for one thing.” Time for Kirk to be a Romantic Nerd again. He sure does love love!!

See imo just as it’s ridiculous for him to limit love to being one of the most important things on Earth, since he barely even spends any time on Earth and his general thesis is about what all intelligent creatures can care about besides their basic needs being met by “Providers,” I think it’s silly to limit love to being between men and women. And just as he’s kinda lying about the Earth thing, I think he’s lying about the heterosexual thing.

People in love “live together, help each other, make each other happy.” I love his definitions of love!! Like with Edith, he center helping each other in the definition.

McCoy and Scotty think they can take on Spock lmao. The Captain’s life is at stake; he’s not fooling around. And he’s right too so y’all can shush!!

Honestly, that leaning down to talk quietly to them--I know it’s because he doesn’t want to say the word “mutiny” too loud where other people can hear him, but it really reads like he’s mocking them.

Shauhna is harassed at work.

Spock’s like ‘screw a landing party, I will retrieve my space husband by myself... and I guess McCoy can come too.’

McCoy’s voice was the one Kirk heard but he still calls out to Spock.

Mmm, yes, disembodied alien brains.

I like the painted background behind them, too. Which is apparently stolen from Devil in the Dark. S2 needs more painted backgrounds.

“You think YOU’RE competitive? A race that does nothing but gamble? Well you’ve never met humans lol.”

Since when has Kirk ever competed for a woman? Hardly a competition when he always wins.

“Fresh thrall” something so... ugh about that phrase.

Ah, yes, an Andorian.

I’m starting to feel like this is Spock’s Pre-Reform Vulcan Sex Fantasy.

I feel like Shauhna will eventually become the leader of the Triskellion people. My mom thinks it would be cool for Kirk to meet her again in the future. I feel like there’s a fanfic in there somewhere...

“I didn’t lie, I just...lied.”

Honestly, don’t bother leaving everything to these disembodied colorful brains, just take Shauhna with you and enlist her in Starfleet. Or at least, like, high school.

...And after all that she STILL has a crush on Kirk. The man is too powerful.

What, no return to the Enterprise? No Kirk appearing shirtless on the bridge? No everyone acknowledges that Spock was right the whole time? No awkward little joking time?

I guess perhaps Kirk is embarrassed.

So overall... again, B basically.

As far as commonly used tropes in Star Trek go, this one is actually one of my favorite ones. I like it more than “godlike man must be defeated” and probably even more than “computer runs society,” though not as much as “old Earth tech becomes sentient.” But generally speaking “aliens transcend corporeal bodies by becoming too smart” is a good trope and I like seeing the different spins on it: the Organians, who can choose corporeal bodies if they want and are incredibly peaceful; the aliens from Return to Tomorrow, who wish they still had bodies; the aliens from The Cage/The Menagerie, who do have bodies but can’t do much with them, who must rely on aliens they capture to do physical work on the planet’s surface for them; and these aliens, who are so bored they must rely on arbitrary wagers using enslaved aliens just to have something to do. There’s something sort of... sad but fitting about that fate. Understandable, awful, pathetic. Still, I wouldn’t call this my favorite take on the trope.

But the specifics of the story, outside the “brain-aliens trope,” I didn’t like so much. The BDSM kink stuff mixed in with like actual slavery made me super uncomfortable. I know it’s based on Ancient Rome but like... even though it was a clear bread and circuses situation, that was not what I was thinking of tbqh.

This is a good episode for showcasing Star Trek Values, which overall I would say are my values. I do see how some people today would criticize them for being a little... well. How to say it. Colonizer-savior. I completely disagree that this is the reading that should be given to them and in fact I think it’s a bad faith reading but people are the way they are and certain things are in vogue sometimes and not others, so. I just mean that when Kirk says that they (the Federation, one would assume) have helped other civilizations “progress” or whatever word he uses, it sounds a little like they came in and made alien societies better using their own values. But I would say that what we actually see, in specific examples throughout the series, is the Federation wanting the civilizations it interacts with to be free, in fact requiring members state to be free, and that is really the one value a free society can impose on others or require of others--choosing slavery or dominion is choosing to relinquish all future choices, and thus cannot be allowed by any society that values freedom. That catch-22 that we see so much now. So, my point is, I think the values Kirk epitomizes for the show are freedom, self-determination, and a certain conception of progress, too: the ability to grow and develop, the avoidance of stagnation. And certainly this episode shows a clear case: having everything provided for you in exchange for being the professional playthings of a bunch of disembodied brains is objectively bad! Surely we can all agree on that. But this obvious example is used as an excuse for Kirk to speechify on the topic of what a utopian future will look like, what the best of humans can be, and what the rest of the universe could be like if it learns from our best traits (and not our worst). Which is overall something I find very comforting.

I’d just been thinking, at the beginning of this episode, that I think S1 is a better Kirk season than S2. S2 has too many episodes that problematize his leadership or his heroism, or that barely even use him--even episodes like The Trouble With Tribbles that outright mischaracterize him imo. But this episode really was Classic Kirk and I appreciated that. We see him being charming, smart, selfless, strong, creative, romantic... coming in at the end to embody the utopian values of the series.

Spock was so well characterized and so smart and so heroic, too, that he kinda was the mvp for me, though... Don’t take away my Kirk stan card lol. Spock was just so In Command... You can see how he could become a captain later, even if being in command never really interested him much.

I don’t entirely get why Kirk bargained for the thralls to all stay and make their own government (or to be trained in self-governance by their enslavers... a whole different issue tbqh), given that it’s already been established that most/all of them have been kidnapped from other planets. Should they not be... returned?

And if most/all of them are 2nd or later generations, that’s a whole other complex issue that could perhaps use third party mediators or something...

I also wondered about Shahna's origins. Was she the descendant of another civilization that is native to the planet, or is it just that her people were kidnapped so much earlier that she herself, personally, has never lived anywhere else?

I think it both makes more sense and is a more fitting ending if it’s the first. It makes sense to me that the first peoples enslaved by the brains were natives of the planet: more convenient that way. Also, I think we need to see more alien planets with more than one humanoid or human-intelligence level species.

And, if her people are native to the planet, having them become leaders of their own right again and not just possessions of the glowing brains is more powerful. Otherwise it's kinda sad: yes, they can form their own government here, but they've still been robbed of their real history and their real homeland, which they don't even remember.

Also as my mom pointed out, it’s not clear the brains themselves are native to the planet. They could have been invaders--the last real thing they did before they started wagering fake money--and Shauhna’s people the natives.

I really did like Shahna a lot and I hope she becomes the leader of whatever government they set up and eventually does get to travel into space.

Imo this was one of those TOS eps where the potential back story and the hints of world building are more interesting than the actual story.

Also apparently the actor who played Galt was trying to walk in a gliding manner so it wouldn’t be clear what he was hiding under those robes and... I have to say, definitely wheels.

Next up is A Piece of the Action, one of my favorites. Great plot, great fun, great sci fi concept, great Kirk material!

#the year 2021 #2021: star trek #star trek tos #2021: fandom thoughts

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talesfromthegameff14 · 3 years

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When the Past Breathes: Part 3 - Final

[Part One, Part two]

[Writing Music: https://youtu.be/CdhqVtpR2ts ]

[Content Warning: PTSD Flashbacks]

Costa del Sol, one of the prettiest places Aya’s ever been in the world. Well prettiest civilized place that is. It was warm with sparkling, clear water that shone silver in the moonlight as he ran along the edge of the incoming tide. Bare feet pounded the damp sand, leaving imprints of his passage that quickly filled back up with water before they were washed away with the next wave. The tepid water that lapped around his ankles was strange. It should be icy cold and punishing, his breath should turn the dark air white with frost, he should have gooseflesh along bare skin as he sprinted, trying to outrace something that would never leave him.

He wasn’t home.

Dunrai was gone. The spot where the stocky xaela had always been within the Aya’s mind was empty, hollow, echoing only with the Uyagir’s thoughts for some time now. It wasn’t a violent thing this blank space, just a slow slipping away until there was nothing left. What it meant beyond Dunrai being gone? Aya wasn’t certain, he wasn’t certain of anything beyond the prickly chill that felt like it was going to consume him from within when he probed at that spot for too long.

Normally he could ignore it until something reminded him of the quiet, silver haired man. Finding a pair of missing glasses unexpectedly, Terbish asking for lemon tarts, seeing Twi’s puppy, or watching a sailboat pass by on the horizon were all bittersweet moments indeed.

Tonight was different. Tonight it was the full moon that taunted him. The moon that had seen their heartfelt vows given to Nhaama under her serene gaze two turnings of the seasons ago. Not the wedding that had been for friends and family, but the private time for just them, when they made promises that they swore they would never break.

The promises play through his mind like a broken reel, the sparkling stars above taunting him just like they did when Dunrai left him for the Bhazkaran to save his husband. Save Aya from what? Some elusive thing that the Bhazkaran insisted was a threat? A lie told by the silver eyed Eikon that stole Dunrai from him, that was the only thing that made sense. The stars didn’t heed Aya’s thoughts. Instead they descended from the sky like a plague of lotus, surrounding him and blocking his view of anything else. The swarm turned all he saw into swirling silver edged in crimson, threatening to drown him in the memories and rage.

<"Like Chinua, who always knew the heart of the wind, our hearts are known to each other.">

<"Like Okoe, Nhaama has given you to me and me to you to protect each other.">

<"Like Tuya, we carry on each other's memory should one of us fall.">

<"Like Narankhuu and Gantulga, we share our strength and work together, for each other and for our family.">

Aya abruptly stumbles to a stop, staring into the night in wild eyed grief. He could see them, the constellations for each of the vows standing out in the chaos of the memories that attacked him. The heroes of the Dazkar, the names sacred to the tribe, used to teach and guide and learn, for oaths that should not be broken.

Finding the stars for Narankhuu and Gantulga, fixed and gloating within the silver sea that has his breath coming fast and ragged, Aya snarls, fingers wrapping around the hilt of a blade mostly unseen. The aether katana conjured without effort in response to the threat only he can perceive. <”You.. You.. you promised them to me. Damn you, you promised that we’d work together. Not that you’d run away. Over and over you ran into yourself, leaving me to deal with everything alone. Or leaving us to do it without you. Then you left again, did you die?”> He spins, drawing the blade through the constellation that taunts him, the points of light flare then disappear, leaving a jagged hole in the vapor trails of the stars that still dance too close in his mind. It leaves a view of the moon hanging in the sky, katana lifting to point at it with a low growl, <”Or did you take him from me? Are.. are.....”>

The unseen blade vanishes, Aya bringing his fists up to the sides of his head with a frustrated sob, knees giving out so he lands heavily on the wet sand. <”I wish I could forget.”>, is whispered by a voice strained and cracked into the uncaring wind that was bereft of guidance, the stone around his neck staying dark and silent for once. Fingers clenched around his horns, the painful scrape of claw that made his brain itch was something real in the moment where the xaela couldn’t find anything else to hold onto. It was paired with heaving breaths interrupted by tears and unintelligible words, too broken to be understood. Two years, it should have been a celebration tonight, not this. Not the rage and pain and heartbreak and.. fear.

Fear is what drove Aya out of the warm bed and away from Tolemy’s side. The pattern of the memories that assaulted him shifted. The pinpricks of light turned dark as they showed his sisters laboring to deliver their children. Zareen almost dying, Sana struggling to the point that it seemed she might slip away too. Then the points of darkness turned into an inferno, scalding Aya from within as his soulbound burned to nothing. The flames turned knife edged, tearing C’tolemy away as something irreparable shattered into shards so sharp they cut deeply into what was left. <”Don’t take him from me too, again. Please.”>, the heartfelt plea cast towards the moon by a mind that was too battered to endure another heartache. <”Please Chaand, please. Let us have this life, let it be long, let us find the happiness that neither of us had when young. Please.”>

Aya looked up to the orb shining high in the sky, the shades given life by his mind finally fading away. They left behind the shape of the moon, blurred and indistinct from his tears. The xaela stared up into it as if it held all the answers to banishing the fear that turned his blood cold in his veins. Aya shivered from the chill within that didn’t numb him, there was no peaceful Grey this time, hadn’t been for months now. Instead everything was sharp and brittle in this moment, hovering on the edge of slipping further into the anger and paranoia that’s been nipping at his heels these past months. <”Please?”>

A sleepy and worried voice comes from behind Aya, answering the question that wasn’t meant for a mortal’s ears to hear. >”What are you asking for Sajanavaa?”< The words aren’t in Xaelic, but the warm tones of the Coeurl. It isn’t Tolemy that Aya sees when he turns to stare in the direction that the sound came from. No, the form is liquid, androgynous, moving in a way that makes him feel like the world is distorting from the afterimages that follow the sinuous path of each comforting gesture offered to the floundering xaela.

>”Cha..”<, no, that wasn’t right, the voice wasn’t right, or was he finally losing his mind entirely? The brush of fingers along his cheek that wiped away the remnants of Aya’s tears grounded him. The warmth was known, beloved, needed. With a sigh that echoed in his soul the Uyagir leaned into Tolemy’s fingers, >”You. I’m asking for you Fire of my Heart. For us to grow old together, be happy together, be strong enough to survive whatever may come, together. It’s all I want. I want to look to the future, not drown in the past.”<

Tolemy smiles, reaching for Aya with both hands, flickers of afterimages showing in the pale gold eyes and along the edges of his hands, >”And I you my songbird of the steppes”< Even the words echoed after being spoken, >”He is yours as only he can be West Wind.”<, Tolemy’s voice distorting into something both familiar and queer, reverberating within Aya’s horns almost painfully.

Despite the confusion, Aya leans into the dark skinned hands edged in silvery white, both too small to cup his cheeks and large enough to wipe away the tears at the corners of his eyes while calloused palms cradle his jawline. >”Come back to me Sajanavva.”<, was murmured close to a horn, soothing the nerves jangled by terror, pain, and something more until the words warped once more. >”Go to him West Wind, he is your gift and salvation.”< A nudge from within and without cease the distortions of a weary and wounded mind, leaving Aya kneeling before Tolemy as the tide washed over Aya’s calves and along Tolemy’s ankles.

>”Come to bed.”<

Aya nodded mutely in response to Tolemy’s request, tears drying and his vision clearing, allowing him to clearly see the figure of his beloved in the shimmering moonlight. Impulsively Aya leaned in to press a kiss to the gravid round of Tolemy’s belly before standing up and reaching out to tangle his fingers with the Seeker’s.

His Gift.

His Salvation.

His Home.

Somewhere far off, a woman whispers, >“You can’t make homes out of human beings Seni.”<

~fin~ [Tolemy, Chaand, and Arha are all owned by @ala-mhinyan Zareen by @yzareenxiv Sana by @songsofbloodandfire]

#ffxiv rp #OC Stories #ayanga uyagir #also Khenbish #ptsd #hitting bottom #time to heal #happy times ahead #now do you believe me is the question #I wouldn't...#Just sayin'

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mister-lucky-bunny · 4 years

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The Grand Neopian University Chpt. 2

The Grand Neopian University

Chapter 2: Eating, Meeting, and Greeting

As expected with such a prestigious college, the amount of choices that Lucky had in regards to food was overwhelming, to say the least. Even though he was familiar with numerous food stand choices, having come from Neopia Central, the Acara had never seen quite an array of delicacies and fancy foods in such abundance before. Ranging from gourmet sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, salads, sushi, cheeses, and plenty of desserts, it began to make Lucky wonder just how expensive a meal would even cost.

For awhile, he decided to walk around, browsing the various food vendors and what they sold. Aside from general food items, there would also be various Neopians selling food that was well known in certain parts of Neopia. For example, one stand that made the Acara slow down was the amazing smelling stand of Altadorian baked goods. Figuring that he might as well treat himself on his first day at the school, Lucky made his way over to said stand, which was being manned by a fat, yet quite burly, Skeith, adorned in a gold Altador toga.

It took no time for the vendor to notice the curious, hungry Acara, quickly brightening up and greeting him in a boisterous, thick Altadorian accent. "Ah, hello, my friend! Yes, yes, I see that hunger in your eyes, one that can only be satisfied by the fine flavors that Altador has to offer!" He started up, getting into a sort of sales pitched. Again, being from one of the biggest shopping districts in all of Neopia, Lucky was no stranger to such practices. Even as the Skeith began showing off a large variety of pitas and hummus, the Acara couldn't help but be charmed by how genuine he was. If the amazing smell was anything to go by, the vendor had a lot of pride in his craft, and was confident that what he had to sell would certainly be worth it.

"Well, uh, let's see..." Lucky began, eyeing over everything. Once his gaze began to linger upon one of the pitas, it didn't take long for the Skeith to grin, lifting it up in a large hand.

"Ah, a pita! Filled with hummus and some very tasty falafel, no doubt!" He said, offering from a few choices of hummus that he had before him. Plain, roasted red tomato, red pepper, olives and caper, roasted garlic, and even one called "Pimento and Caviar" (which Lucky was not bold enough to try). Deciding to go with the "Roasted Red Tomato Hummus", the Skeith scooped an incredibly generous amount into the pita, not slowing down as he popped a heaping amount of falafel as well. "Yes, excellent choice, my friend!"

As he began to fill the pita with some spinach and tomato, Lucky watched with wide eyes, both impressed by just how skillful and precise his movements were, and also a little bit intimidated by the sheer amount of food the vendor managed to pile into the pita. "Wow, that's uh... quite a big pita you're making there," Lucky stated, wanting to not be a silent weirdo.

"You're a skinny boy, yes?" The Skeith joked, laughing a little as he wrapped up the pita, handing it off to the Acara. "Here ya go! Let's say, for you, eh... 150 NP," He finished up, coming up with an amount of money to be paid. It definitely didn't seem like he put much thought into the pricing, as it was a lot lower than Lucky had expected.

Resisting the urge to take a big bite out of the overstuffed pita, the Acara couldn't help but tilt his head a bit. "Only 150? I would've thought it would've been more," He said, freeing up a hand to reach into his pocket, pulling out three 50 NP coins and passing them off to the Skeith, who merely laughed and accepted the money.

"My friend, I do this not for money, but to share my food with others," He explained, puffing his chest out in a prideful way. "Besides, you'll be needing money for books and other school things, yes? I do not want food to be a problem for students," He continued on with a chuckle, waving the Acara off. "Now go eat before it cools!"

Lucky nodded and returned the wave, beginning to move away. "Hey, thanks a lot, sir!" He replied gratefully.

"Hey, call me Buddy, alright?" The Skeith yelled in return, laughing as he served another Neopian that had walked up.

After a quick visit to a vending machine for a bottle of water (for 50 np), Lucky began to scout around for a free table. As his eyes scanned the area, he began to nibble at the pita. As expected, it was quite delicious and he didn't waste time in taking a couple more bigger bites, enjoying the flavor. While the Acara ambled around for a little, May soon zipped right up to his side, also eating at a large bowl of stir fried noodles. The sudden sound of the Xweetok slurping her food made Lucky jump a little bit, making him turn to her. "Woah! Don't sneak up on me like that," The Acara exclaimed.

"Shorry!" May replied with a mouth full of food, quickly swallowing her current portion. "So where do ya wanna sit, Lucky?"

"Uhhh, not sure," He answered, still looking at the dining area. While it was very big, as expected, all of the tables were already filled up with other students. Even though Lucky was above average with his height, he still had trouble finding any seating. "Maybe there's a second area? I can't find any empty tables."

At this statement, May scoffed playfully and shook her head. "Empty tables? C'mon, Lucky, it wouldn't kill ya to make some friends. C'mon, I see a couple of empty seats right over there!" She said, hurrying off to a nearby table. Before the Acara could say anything, May had already sat herself right down, setting her bowl of noodles and looking over at Lucky expectantly. Looking over the other Neopians at the table, Lucky's enthusiasm did not seem to go up. He didn't tend to do too well around new people. Heck, he was still kind of iffy about May!

One of the other Neopains was a Kyrii, who certainly came from Mystery Island, due to the bone necklace that he was wearing and his long green hair. He also had a single tooth ear ring, and had gold bracelets on. Other than a simple, yet long, grass skirt, he was not wearing anything else. The Kyrii had pinned the buttons on the skirt hem, since he had no shirt to afix them on. He paid little attention to anyone else at the table and instead took to prodding and stabbing at a bowl of... what was hopefully food. He knew that those from Mystery Island tended to be quite odd, so he tried not to judge it too much. Still, a bowl of what looked like oily slop just didn't seem very appetizing to Lucky.

Sitting across from the Kyrii was an Aisha, who's background was very obviously Darigan, with dark purple skin and black spikes menacing their back. Their hair was short, neat, and black (obviously), and their red eyes seemed to look at May for a few seconds before returning to their meal. The Darigan Aisha was eating a salad with steak on it, though judging from the amount of blood that pooled around it, the meat looked far too undercooked for Lucky's taste. The Aisha looked incredibly androgynous at a distance, due to the fact that they weren't speaking either. Not only that, but they wore some important looking, yet large robes with a large hood (currently kept down), the lapel of the robes pinned with the same GNU button that Lucky and May acquired earlier. The dark colors of the Darigan Citadel made up the second button.

Finally, the third stranger at the table would be a blue Moehog, with a long orange mullet. Upon closer glance, it was obvious that he came from Tyrannia, due to his larger-than-average tusks. Much like the Kyrii, the Tyrannian wore very little 'modern' clothes, and instead opted for a standard speckled pelt. He also had a ring made of bone pierced into it's snout. The Moehog looked like it was the strongest, physically, as his arms were incredibly muscular, and some pecs were visible as well. He also took no notice to any of the others, as he instead opted to messily eat away at a piece of raw meat with one hand, holding a large Juppie berry in the other, snorting all the while.

None of these strangers really seemed too friendly, in Lucky's opinion, and he would've rather just sat by himself than sit with such imposing figures. However, May's giant, sparkling eyes showed absolutely no fear and kept staring intently, yet patiently, at the Acara. With a quiet, rejected sigh, Lucky slumped his shoulders a bit and stepped forwards. He shifted into his seat as silently as he could, eating his food and keeping to himself.

Of course, May took this as a cue to start up conversation with the others, much to Lucky's chagrin. "Heya! Nice to meet ya all!" She began eagerly. Lucky's ears folded down a bit as the Kyrii and the Aisha turned their gaze towards them. The Moehog, however, paid no mind and kept eating his meal. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the Xweetok took it upon herself to continue her greeting. "My name is May: Illusen's finest disciple! And this here is Lucky! He's here all the way from Neopia Central!" She said, wasting no time in introducing the shy Acara.

Being put on the spot, Lucky looked between the other two Neopians, who now turned their gaze to him curiously. He could feel his face burn a shade of red, due to the fact he hated being brought to attention, especially unexpectedly. Wanting to not be incredibly awkward, he lifted a hand up gently and gave it a little wave.

A derisive scoff was soon heard from Lucky's left, which came from the Aisha, who had crossed their arms in an important manner. "Neopia Central? What'd you do that was so important to get in? Run the most successful lemonade stand around? Maybe even have the biggest stamp collection?" The Aisha joked. Her voice was clearly feminine, yet also rough and very thick with a Darigan accent. May looked quite taken aback with the Aisha's blatant rudeness, balking at the statement. Meanwhile, Lucky buried his face into his food, taking another bite.

Just as he was starting to wish he was invisible, another voice piped up across from the three. "It's awfully impolite to not finish a greeting, dontcha know?" The Kyrii asked, glaring and raising an eyebrow to the Aisha. His voice was smooth, yet high pitched, and also matched his place of origin. After another small scoff and a roll of her eyes, the Aisha remained silent. This gave the Mystery Island native the time to turn to May and Lucky, shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry, about that. Guess she's not used to niceness where she's from," He stated, taking a jab at the Darigan girl. "My name is Enele, an apprentice mystic," He began.

"Oooh, a mystic? So, like, you can tell the future and stuff?" May asked curiously.

Enele laughed a bit and waved a hand. "Kind of. I have predicted events in the past, and even helped the island prepare for a mudslide. I think that is the reason why I was invited to this school. Much much larger than the school we have on the Island, that is for sure," He added with a chuckle.

"That's even less impressive than what I thought," The Aisha laughed, earning another glare from Enele.

"And what makes you so important, eh?" He asked suspiciously.

Leaning back in her chair, the Aisha got a proud look and grinned. "I'm one of Lord Darigan's personal assistant. Name's Val, and Lord Darigan personally made sure I got in. After all, I am the one that kept him from being poisoned by a mole," She added on in a prideful manner.

This made the others curious, as they looked to each other and then back at Val. "Wow, a mole? Did it turn out to be another assistant? Or a guard? Or the butler? It was probably the butler, wasn't it?" May rambled aloud.

Val answered with a shrug. "Didn't matter. Took care of 'im the moment I saw him slip the dust into my Lord's goblet. Never saw me comin'," She snickered evilly.

For the first time, Lucky managed to gather up enough words to ask a question. "Is that what you normally do?"

"More or less," Val replied to the Acara. "Guess you could say I'm a bit of a spy of sorts. I go around the Citadel and listen on troublemakers and thieves. I make sure I stop 'em from seeing through their misdeeds and... 'take care of 'em'," She added on carefully.

"So that means you..?" Lucky trailed off cautiously, wondering if 'taking care' of someone meant what he thought. In no time, she unsheathed a dagger from a hidden pocket, picking at her fingernails with it casually.

"What do you think?" Val asked with a bit of a sneer. This quickly shut up Lucky, with him and May keeping a close eye on the dagger. "Just mind yer P's and Q's and nothin' will happen."

As May nodded meekly, the Kyrii huffed. "Put that away, Darigan. You have no need for that," Enele warned, pointing a fork in her direction.

"And are you gonna make me?" She threatened, pointing the dagger in his direction. Before the Kyrii could respond, however, a new voice at the table made itself known, beginning with a loud snort.

"Alright, you two, let's just relax a bit," The Moehog said, speaking in a surprisingly elegant, articulate voice, sitting up enough to keep Val and Enele from fighting. "No one's here to cause any trouble," He continued calmly, sitting in his seat and taking another few bites of his raw meat.

Wanting to also keep any fights from occurring, May spoke up and nodded. "Yeah, we're all friends here!" She said, which elicited another scoff from Val. "So what's your story, stranger?" She asked the Moehog, who peeked up from eating and began to speak again.

"I'm Krugg. Used to be a weightlifter back in Tyrannia. Damn good one, too," He said with a bit of a snort. "However, I soon decided I'd rather tell stories. Taught myself Common Neopian just so I could tell stories to more than just Tyrannians. After all, speaking only Ugga would put a few others off," He said with a laugh. "From myths to heroes, villains, fables, all of those types of stories, I'd tell numerous others lots of enjoyable stories. Guess they invited me here because I'm so well spoken? Who knows," He concluded thoughtfully. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

"Likewise, Krugg!" May responded eagerly. "You'll definitely have to regale us in a tale sometime!"

"Of course!" He began enthusiastically, rubbing his chin. "Hmm... I've been cooking up one story about this vampire Chia-"

"Another time perhaps, eh?" Enele offered with a sheepish smile. "We don't have much time for a story right this moment."

"Besides, we still don't know anything about Lucky over 'ere," Val said, pointing in the Acara's direction. Upon hearing his name, Lucky peered up sheepishly, polishing off his pita as four pairs of eyes were currently fixated on him. "So c'mon, for real. Did ya own the most successful shop and make a shitload of money?"

"Uh... well, no," Lucky replied after finishing off his lunch. "I worked as the apprentice to someone else."

"Ugh, lame," Val replied, rolling her eyes.

"Were you a hero of any sort, perhaps?" Krugg. "Even the smallest bit of action gets the attention of the school, I've heard."

"Maybe he's keeping a few secrets up his sleeve, eh?" Enele offered, flashing a knowing smirk. "Blackmail someone, perhaps?"

"Coulda bought an invite, too..." Val said aloud.

"N-no, nothing like that at all!" Lucky insisted, his eyes wide as he accused of dirty tricks. "I swear, I just woke up one day and found the letter delivered to me," He explained, feeling quite nervous at this point. The last thing he wanted was to be treated like a criminal on the first day. He knew how rumors worked...

Fortunately for him, May seemed to come to his aid, her usual cheery tone trying to put a positive spin on the situation. "Well, whatever it was, it must have been important! They don't just choose anyone, after all. Maybe they just see something in ya!" The Xweetok offered , smiling gently and placing a hand on his shoulder. While not usually one to like being touched, Lucky didn't seem to pull away from the comforting act.

"Well... I appreciate it, May," Lucky responded, giving a small smile to her. "I'm just as confused as everyone else, though. If I knew the reason I was here, I'd definitely say so."

"Hey, it's alright! I was just pullin' your leg," the Kyrii replied, chuckling a bit. "I wouldn't know what to say in your position either."

"What matters most is that we're all here now," Krugg added, snorting with an important tone. "So we might as well see it through!"

"Yup yup! Friends help friends, so that's what we're gonna do, right?" May asked.

"Better than being alone, that's for sure," Lucky responded with a small laugh of his own.

"Certainly works for me, eh?" Enele added on, with Krugg nodding in agreement. This time, it was Val's turn to receive everyone's gaze, as she merely sat there in silence. Her arms hadn't uncrossed the entire time she had been sitting there,. She looked quite perturbed, yet also visible confused. After a few seconds of awkward, expectant silence, she finally sighed.

"Ah... could be worse Neopians to be with, I suppose... why not, I'll humor you all, yeah?" She responded, doing her best to hide a self-important grin on her face. "Just don't make me regret it, alright?" She snapped suddenly.

"Awesome!" May sang, quickly leaning over to hug the Aisha tightly, due to excitement. From the displeased look that flashed upon Val's face, it was safe to say that she did not enjoy the sudden hug.

"Gaaah!" She exclaimed, trying to pry the hyperactive Xweetok off. The three guys laughed at the sight, quickly finding good company in each other. As Lucky took a sip of his water, he felt a lot more at home, especially with new friends. It was still quite odd to him, of course, as just a few minutes ago, they were all strangers, sitting at a table and not talking to each other. If anything, he had May to thank for this, as she was the one who got everyone talking.

Of course, with how tight she was holding onto Val, he didn't want to thank her too soon. He didn't feel like getting squeezed to death right now.

_____________________________________________

It wasn't long before the group finished up lunch, as well as a bunch of other students. Now was the time to sign up for some classes, which took place in the middle of the courtyard. The GNU's courtyard, as expected, was extremely well kept, with all of the shrubbery cut to look like historical figures. Lots of very color flowers were planted in beautiful patterns all over the place, with various Petpetpets buzzing and flying around them happily. Perhaps the most noticeable art piece, however, was a large stone statue, depicting the symbol of the Grand Neopian University: a large open book with Neopia resting in the middle of it.

"Wow!" May exclaimed upon seeing the gorgeous courtyard. "They must've taken forever to make it look this pretty!"

"I hear they let some of the students take part in groundskeeping and gardening for the school," Krugg informed, which made the Xweetok beam from ear to ear.

"Oooh, I definitely wanna sign up for that program!"

"Don't sign up for too much. Otherwise, you'll have no time in the day for yourself," Lucky advised, heading with the group towards a large cluster of desks, each one of them formed by a large line.

"Well this is gonna take awhile," Val sighed, getting in one of the numerous lines.

"Aw, don't be like that. The lines seem to be moving quickly," Enele pointed out. Indeed, it didn't seem like the staff was taking too much time. For the most part, from what Lucky saw, they would pull out a sheet of paper, talk to the Neopian for a few minutes, write some stuff down, and hand it over to them.

The group of newly acquainted friends still had to wait in the lines for a good while, trying their best to keep small talk going. With stomachs full of food, they would've preferred to hurry up and get their new schedules so that they could take a nice long nap.

After what seemed like a half hour or so, the group managed to be called forward one at a time, talking to professors about what they would want to take. Lucky, naturally, was seperated from the others by an older Wocky professor, who eyed him over through his thick glasses. Even through the professor's large beard and mustache, he could tell that no smile graced his face. Not out of anger, just out of disinterest. Apparently, the Wocky was quite tired as well.

"Let's see... Lucky, yes?" He began, not waiting for an answer before returning to his paperwork. "Says here you're a freshman, so you'll have the mandatory class of 'Neopian History', along with the other freshmen, which will start at 9 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Anything after that is entirely up to you. Hmm... Neopia Central, huh? Perhaps a business related class would interest you?" He droned to the Acara, raising a big, bushy eyebrow.

Despite the obvious stereotype of him being a shopkeeper, Lucky did have a legitimate interest in economy. With a nod, he responded, "Uh, sure thing. Perhaps economy or something?" Wordlessly, the Wocky professor nodded in return, quickly scribbling the class times on the paper.

"Economics 101, Mondays and Tuesdays at 12... any other hobbies or interests?" He asked in a bored tone.

Knowing that 'games' was hardly a proper answer for this type of question, Lucky decided to think a little bit harder on it. "Uh...well, I like music..?" He said, feeling unsure of himself.

Instead of writing anything, the professor raised his eyebrow again. "What instrument can you play?" Lucky remained quiet for a few too many seconds, not sure of how to phrase 'I don't know how to play anything'. With a sigh and a small shake of his head, he wrote something on the bottom of the schedule. "I'll refer you to Doctor Finklebaum. She tends to be in her office in the evening from five to six in the afternoon. Maybe she can help you with that," He explained, writing her room and office number on it. "I do assume you have a Neophone, yes?"

Finally, a question Lucky could answer properly! "Yeah, I do. It's a little outdated, will that matter?" The Acara answered, holding up a simple, black phone. It definitely had some wear to it, but was still ultimately in one piece. Hell, the screen wasn't even cracked.

"So long as it can make calls and keep a connection, you'll be fine," The Wocky replied. He paused a moment, looking over the Acara with a more focused stare. Despite Lucky's obvious discomfort, the professor took his time before speaking up. "Say, lad, is that a real water faerie token around your neck?" He asked, showing interest for the first time in a few hours.

"Oh, this?" Lucky asked, holding it up to look over it himself. He nearly forgot that he was still wearing it. "Unfortunately, no. At least, I don't think so," He answered, scratching his head. "I got it as a gift one year."

"A gift, hm?" The professor hummed, a little bit more interest starting to show on his wrinkled, whiskered face.

"N-not from a faerie, of course. Just from my old boss," Lucky added on awkwardly.

The Wocky man stared a little while longer at the charm before returning his attention to the schedule, writing down another few classes and times. "...still, it seems like you have an interest in this sort of subject, so I've got you down for magic classes. Tuesdays and Thursdays at one in the afternoon," He rambled. Lucky smiled a little bit more, nodding in response. Magic was cool, and learning how to harness it would be nice. He just hoped he'd be good at it.

"Great! Thank you!" He said, looking over the paper. "Uh, may I ask what the other class is?" He asked skeptically.

"Our magic classes are conjoined with battle classes, so naturally I signed you up for both. After all, what good is learning magic if you don't know how to properly apply it?" The professor asked in a rhetorical manner. "These classes start at one in the afternoon on Wednesdays and Fridays," He concluded. Lucky's stomach sank a bit, his excitement dwindling. If there's one thing Lucky knew he wasn't going to be good at, it was fighting. A skinny twig like him would be utterly useless in an arena!

"I-I see..." He said with an unsure tone.

"You'll be fine, lad. After all, you look like you got a good head on your shoulder. Fighting isn't just about brawn, y'know," The Wocky replied, writing a few more things down on the paper before signing it. From the looks of it, he was referring to another sheet of paper to help come up with the book list. Each class was associated with one or two books, which would need to be purchased. "Alrighty, here you go, lad. Classes begin tomorrow, so get any last minute supplies before then."

"Thank you, sir," Lucky stated, scanning over the list quickly. His brow furrowed a bit as he read over the book list. He figured that however much it costed would be a lot more than what Lucky had in his pockets currently. "Uh, quick question, sir... what if I don't have the funds to buy all that I need?"

At this, the professor sighed, waving him off. "Lad, I'm sure you'll figure that out on your own. Now please move along, there's still more students who are waiting for their schedules," He sighed in a tired tone.

"R-right! Sorry about that, thanks again," Lucky replied hurriedly, quickly rushing out of line. Once out of the way, he kept scanning over everything, his nerves feeling a bit overwhelmed again. What if he didn't understand any of the subject matter? What if he was unable to attend a class? What if he ran out of money the first week of school?

While his anxieties bounced around his head, he was met with the familiar voice of his roommate. "Hey again! Finally get your classes sorted out?" She asked innocently.

"Eh... more or less?" Lucky responded, scratching his head once again.

"Works for me! The others went on ahead to the Book Store, so we should probably head over there," She said, walking alongside the Acara. "We can talk about our classes on the way there!"

"Sure thing," He responded, sighing gently to himself. "Well, she's helped me make friends, so hopefully she'll help keep my mind off of my worries," He thought, adjusting his glasses. At the very least, he knew he had a couple thousand NP to spend on supplies. With a new set of friends, he knew he wasn't going to be lonely, either, so thankfully he was off to a good start.

He just hoped it would continue as such.

#neopets #fanfiction #neopets fanfiction #dylan writes #the grand neopian university

5 notes · View notes

enbyleighlines · 4 years

Note

Would you consider writing Jiang Cheng's response to Nie Huaisang's confession as anpther one of the modern mdzs fics? Maybe with Wen Qing as well since I know she and Jiang Cheng have a relationship too? I cannot get enough of the modern au. I already love the way you write nhs so much and I need them to have a happy ending 😭

Absolutely, my friend! I’m glad to hear you are enjoying them~

—

On the night of his Jiejie’s wedding, Jiang Cheng drives Wen Qing and himself back to his apartment in silence. Both of them are exhausted from the long day, so the lack of conversation isn’t unusual or awkward.

Still, Wen Qing must have sensed something. As soon as they settle in for the night, and Jiang Cheng is about to climb into bed, she speaks up.

“Something on your mind?” She asks, looking up from the book she had been reading. She is marking her place with a finger.

Jiang Cheng knows that if he brushes off her question, that she will simply shrug and go back to reading. She will drop it, and probably not bring it up again. That is just the type of relationship they have. It is casual, surface level... a little cold. They both keep each other at arm’s length, metaphorically speaking. Their bodies can touch but their hearts can not, not for long, not long enough to risk forming an attachment.

Of course, Jiang Cheng also knows that he’s only lying to himself. He has already grown attached. Wen Qing just doesn’t need to know that.

When Jiang Cheng doesn’t immediately answer, Wen Qing folds the corner of the page she is on and sets the book aside. She gives the empty side of the bed a few pats. “Come on,” she says, “Say what you want to say, or forever hold your peace.”

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, but sits down beside her anyway. “Nie Huaisang said something to me today,” he begins.

Wen Qing raises a single eyebrow, and waits patiently.

“They... told me that they like me,” Jiang Cheng confesses, trying to keep his voice tight and emotionless.

“Okay?”

“Ever since high school,” Jiang Cheng continues, “Can you believe that? Holding onto a crush from high school that long?”

Wen Qing snorts, but at least she tries to hide it behind her hand.

Jiang Cheng flushes, remembering that he is still harboring a crush on Wen Qing that had begun in high school. God, he can be such a hypocrite!

“Well,” Wen Qing says, “What did you say?”

“What could I say?” Jiang Cheng counters, deflecting by pure reflex. He feels the guilt he had suppressed earlier begin to bubble back up. “I told them... I didn’t know what to think. I mean, they sprung that on me so suddenly! So I said I’d give them a proper answer later, after I’ve thought things through.”

Wen Qing hums. Even as exhausted as she is, she clearly sees where Jiang Cheng is going with this. “And how do you feel about Nie Huaisang?” she asks, knowingly.

“I don’t know,” Jiang Cheng admits. It’s the not knowing that is messing him up, but he doesn’t say that. “I mean, Nie Huaisang... they’re assigned male at birth? I think that’s what they’re calling it these days. And I’m not gay. So I shouldn’t be attracted to them.”

“But you are?” Wen Qing guesses.

“Is that weird? Am I gay now?”

This time, Wen Qing is unable to hold back her laughter. She giggles into her fist, clutching her stomach with the other hand.

Jiang Cheng scowls and waits for her to finish.

After a moment, Wen Qing meets his gaze again. She’s still smirking, though, that little curl at the edge of her lip that drives Jiang Cheng wild. “If anything, you would be bi,” she corrects him, “Unless you no longer find me attractive?”

It’s a dig at him and they both know it. Jiang Cheng shoves her shoulder, and she only laughs some more.

“So we can rule out you being gay,” Wen Qing teases.

“Will you take this seriously?” Jiang Cheng grouches. “Just answer the question. Is it weird, for me to be attracted to Nie Huaisang?”

Wen Qing gives him another smile. This one is genuine, almost fond. “Of course it isn’t weird,” she says, “You might have a slight attraction to men, or you could just find the concept of androgyny attractive. As much as I wish human sexuality was as simple as movies and TV would have us believe, it’s far more complex than that.”

Jiang Cheng considers that. “Is there a word for... being attracted to androgynous people? As well as women?”

“Probably,” Wen Qing answers, “but I don’t know what it is. I find the concept of labels limiting at best and misleading at worst. But if you think it would help, I can do some research for you.”

Jiang Cheng leans back against the headboard. He doesn’t know if it would help. He supposes Wen Qing might be right about the labels thing. Any time they’ve attempted to put a label on the strange relationship they share, it’s only ever ended in heartache. And, on that note, being attracted to Nie Huaisang isn’t Jiang Cheng’s only problem.

“Hey, Wen Qing,” Jiang Cheng murmurs, “Are you... jealous, at all?”

Wen Qing sighs. “You know I’m not a jealous person,” she reminds him, “Why? Do you want me to be jealous?”

He kind of does, but he won’t ever admit it. And it’s not jealousy itself he craves, exactly, just the confirmation that maybe Wen Qing feels a fraction of what he feels for her. That maybe she considers him a part of herself, something she doesn’t want to lose.

Wen Qing sighs again. “We’re not exclusive, either,” she adds.

Jiang Cheng is painfully aware. He spits, “I know.” And then, “But have you actually ever... slept with anyone else? While the two of us have been a thing?”

Silence fills the room. Wen Qing fidgets with the ends of her bangs. “I’m too busy for that,” she deflects.

They’re both living a lie. That much is clear. Jiang Cheng blows out air though his teeth, and attempts to put his temper and ego aside for the moment. “So is it really fair, then, if I ask Nie Huaisang out on a date?”

Wen Qing surprises him. She reaches out and puts her hand over his, lacing their fingers. “C’mon, don’t they say everything’s fair in love and war?”

Jiang Cheng sucks in a breath. It’s the closest Wen Qing has ever gotten to admitting that there is love between them. He gives himself a moment to savor the little victory. And then he says, point blank, “I want to know if you’re okay with me asking Nie Huaisang out on a date.”

“Yes,” Wen Qing answers easily. She gives his fingers a squeeze. “Will you be okay asking them out on a date?”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Cheng admits.

“What’s holding you back? Be honest. Is it the whole gay thing?” Wen Qing’s smirk has returned. “I hope you realize how dumb that sounds to me. I did the whole gay panic thing back in middle school. That’s child’s play to me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jiang Cheng finds himself smiling now, too. He remembers that Wen Qing was the first out and proud person he ever met. He remembers her wearing bi pride pins on her backpack, and how she was always the first person to put bigots in their place. She’s always been the strongest and bravest person he knows. He loves her so damn much. He only hopes that one day he’ll find the courage to tell her.

“So what’s really holding you back?” Wen Qing asks.

Jiang Cheng’s grin falls. He feels bad saying it aloud, even if he knows Wen Qing won’t judge him. But he says it anyway. “I’m afraid of hurting them,” he admits, “What if things go great at first, but when it comes to... getting intimate, I freeze up? What if I don’t find them attractive under the makeup?”

Wen Qing squeezes his fingers again. “That’s always a possibility,” she tells him.

“And I know I don’t know shit about being transgender or nonbinary or whatever,” Jiang Cheng continues, “but I heard that being misgendered hurts. And what if Nie Huaisang thinks I’m misgendering them, by not being attracted to them?”

“I don’t know,” Wen Qing says.

That shuts Jiang Cheng up. He looks at her, surprised. “What?” He asks.

“I don’t know,” she repeats. Her expression is so warm, so affectionate. “There are no easy answers, Jiang Cheng. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart. But I think it’s a good sign that you thought so much about this. It’s clear that you care about them. So... I think you should ask them out. You clearly want to.”

“I do want to,” Jiang Cheng confesses. He puts a hand to his chest, and is startled to find that his heart is pounding. When did that happen?

Wen Qing leans over and gives him a peck on the cheek. “So ask them out,” she whispers.

Then, she rolls over, turns off the lamp on her side of the bed, and goes to sleep.

But Jiang Cheng stays awake for a little while longer. He listens to his heart beat, and replays the conversation they just had in his head.

His fears and concerns are still there. But somehow, they feel more manageable.

—

It takes three days for Jiang Cheng to work up the courage.

Finally, he texts Nie Huaisang and asks them to meet him for a morning coffee at a locally owned vegan cafe and bakery. He figures it’d be the kind of place that Nie Huaisang would enjoy.

Jiang Cheng choses a table near a window. It makes him feel a little less claustrophobic. And then he waits.

Nie Huaisang arrives right on time, orders a latte at the counter, and brings it with them to sit in the booth across from Jiang Cheng. The nerves are apparent in every move they make, every little twitch of their fingers conveying intense anxiety.

Jiang Cheng wants to sandwich those fingers between his warm palms, and make them stop trembling.

“Good morning,” Nie Huaisang says. It sounds like they tried to sound nonchalant, but instead they just wind up squeaking on the first syllable.

It’s endlessly endearing. Jiang Cheng rubs the back of his neck. “Hey,” he replies.

Nie Huaisang looks down at their latte, and the foam heart on top. They swirl the spoon, distorting the image. “This is a nice place,” they say, “Cozy, and vintage. How long have you been coming here?”

“This is my first time,” Jiang Cheng answers. He doesn’t want to talk about the cafe! But he doesn’t know how to shift topics smoothly.

“Oh,” Nie Huaisang says. They peek up through their feathered bangs. Today, they’re wearing an oversized striped sweater, almost long enough to be a dress, over some leggings. As always, they look incredible.

Jiang Cheng has long found himself uncomfortably enthralled by Nie Huaisang. Their sense of style is— well, Jiang Cheng doesn’t know anything about fashion, so he doesn’t have the right words to describe it. But whatever it is, it looks good. It looks better than good. Jiang Cheng often avoids looking directly at Nie Huaisang for that very reason. But now that he’s looking, he can’t look away.

Nie Huaisang fidgets nervously, no doubt uncomfortable being under the heat of Jiang Cheng’s stare. “So,” they say, “What... have you been up to?”

It’s obviously not what they had meant to ask. Jiang Cheng suddenly realizes that he’s being a total douche for letting this drag on for so long. And so he blurts out, “I wanted to talk about what we talked about at the wedding.”

Nie Huaisang startles. They avert their gaze, and then ask, “O-oh...?”

“You said you liked me,” Jiang Cheng says, and then wishes he didn’t. Surely Nie Huaisang knew what conversation he was talking about! He berates himself inwardly for a moment, and then continues, “I wanted... to ask you out on a date.”

Nie Huaisang audibly gasps. They put a hand to their mouth a second too late to muffle it. “What...?”

“To the zoo,” Jiang Cheng adds, “Uh, you like the zoo, right? You like animals.”

“I do,” Nie Huaisang confirms. Their voice is so very small. Clearly, they had not expected this outcome. “But... I’m confused. You said... you said you don’t like men?”

“You’re not a man,” Jiang Cheng points out.

That gets a huge smile from Nie Huaisang. It lights up the entire cafe. “I’m not,” they agree, with a breathless sort of glee choking their throat. But then, the smile falls. “But I’m not a girl, either.”

“I know,” Jiang Cheng says. He straightens his spine, and tries to channel a fraction of the courage Wen Qing possesses. “I still think I’m straight, but I want to take you out on a date anyway. Maybe that means I’m not really straight, but right now, I really don’t care. I just want to take you to the zoo. And maybe to dinner, afterwards.”

Nie Huaisang looks like they don’t quite believe him. But they nod. “Okay,” they murmur, “I’d like that.”

#asks #livenarrator #mo dao zu shi #sangcheng #chengqing #drabbles #leigh’s writing #mdzs modern au

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youarejesting · 4 years

Text

BTS 365

[Masterlist] Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

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March 11th - 17th

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Kim Seokjin: Psycho

Through the one way glass, you could see the man who had killed your parents, but it was just marked as an overdose. You knew however they didn’t take drugs or any medication. The man fell asleep, and you slammed your hand on a button ‘cotton eyed joe’ began playing loudly. The man looked broken, and he sobbed as you unleashed a box of mosquitos in the room.

“Okay, I admit it,” the man screamed, you paused the music. You are a master at interrogation and your skills had put many people in the hospital, you never laid a finger on them, but you could get the truth from anyone. “I did it, I poisoned them okay, please let me go I can’t take this. He took my job and then no one would hire me so my wife left me, They deserved it”

“How long has he been in there?” Seokjin asked.

“Six days,” You sighed he looked at you horrified “Don’t worry you can stay awake for eleven days and we fed him too before you ask three meals a day of this”

“What am I looking at?” He asked peering into a container of something he couldn’t identify but could be described as banana spaghetti.

“You know the strings on a banana, yeah…. That’s them”

“Your psychotic”

Min Yoongi: Pie

“He is a genius, doesn’t really socialise with others, but you will share the same office, try not to get in his way he doesn’t like anyone who touches his things”

“Understood,” you said gazing at his side of the office specifically the whiteboard you were reading the equation and sitting there thoughtfully. Something wasn’t right but you couldn’t figure out what.

You sat at your desk working and staring at it, days past and you couldn’t take it anymore. Clearing your whiteboard you took his beginning equation and expanded it the same way furiously filling it out. The door swung open.

“Who are you and why are you writing out my equation?” He said crossing his arms standing to the side watching you this cute spectacled woman biting her lip in concentration as she wrote.

“I’m pie and because it’s wrong, and I am trying to fix it,” she said, her voice was sweet and yet the delivery was bitter. Like the equation had wronged her. “I have been staring at it for three days now… AHA! That’s it.”

“Holy hell you did it, you think you're pissed from three days, I have been staring at it for seven weeks now”

Jung Hoseok: Jewel

“Sir you have a visitor” Hoseok nodded at the man and he gestured someone inside. They had soft hair sparkling eyes, lips pressed together in a thin line of worry and hands shaking. Sitting up straighter he fixed his tie and swallowed down his whiskey.

“Good evening, what is someone like yourself doing seeking such shady company,” he raised an eyebrow.

“I well, it’s my father he is one of your men he is sick and in need of surgery,” few tears escaped and their tiny hands covered their face wiping them away. “I’m sorry I am so nervous, I have never asked anything like this before”

He took her hand in his and sat them on the couch beside him, “How can I help?”

“I can pay it back, I swear I will do anything, I can even work for you just he needs this surgery”

“I will have Taeil find the best surgeon and I will pay for it, but it comes at a price my jewel”

“Anything?”

“Marry me”

Kim Namjoon: Wrong

Namjoon was late and was needed on set in five minutes he had to get changed wishing he hadn’t drunk so many bottles of water during hair and makeup. He didn’t expect the closest working bathroom to be so far away. He saw his outfit in its plastic slip out the front of the boys dressing room he grabbed it and went inside freezing when he saw a sleeping young man on the couch.

He was in the wrong room but he had no time getting changed as quickly as he could. His eyes locked on the figure hoping they wouldn’t wake. He was a sweet-looking young man he had beautiful individual features peach full lips a soft nose cat-like eyes that turned up at the ends with a hint of mischief, thick dark lashes. However together his face looked a little odd and endearing. He ran to set making it just in time for their appearance on the show a chair beside him empty. A figure staggered in and yawn.

“I am so sorry, I had a wardrobe malfunction” the young man sat down and the hosts called him out for sleeping and he blushed.

Park Jimin: Right

Jimin sat up from his pod, it was another day. He dressed in a grey jumpsuit that everyone wore. Walking through the corridor he sat in the mess hall and ate wholemeal paste. No one spoke unless it was about work or errands.

“Jimin could you take these units to doctor y/n they are expecting the delivery before this evening”

Jimin nodded picking up the box of vials, the medicine which stunted their emotions. He didn’t understand, but he was feeling things more these days and was scared for a higher dose. Stepping into the room he saw you dancing to some music swaying as you worked and smiling the look was strange to Jimin he had never seen a smile not like that at least and not outside of books.

“Hey your Jimin right, let me help you with those” hands brushed his, and he felt his heart thump hard in his chest it shook him. His breathing sped up and his pupils dilated. He was feeling things, it’s okay everyone was getting shots tonight before dinner.

He watched as you loaded a vial into a syringe and shoot it down the sink and repeated it a second time, before signing the paper and turning to him. “Sign here to bear witness to my injection and here to agree you recurved yours” he looked horrified. “You will find it is better to feel things Jimin”

His name sounded so beautiful, so right, and he signed it.

Kim Taehyung: Nude @wanderlustandlavenderwaves

“Welcome back today we have a special guest that I want you to draw, as you know we have been focusing on weight distribution, body lines and all things to do with movement today we have a model please be respectful,” the teacher said and out came a tall and downright gorgeous model. Taehyung smiled watching them move elegantly across the room to stand in the middle wearing a fluffy robe.

You introduced yourself, your name different from what he was used to. His mouth went dry. Your robe was slipped off your shoulders and taken away by the teacher. You were naked in all your glory, the lines of your body so smooth. The curve of your back and the slenderness of your neck was pretty in Taehyung's opinion.

He began drawing tracing each piece and his brow and palms began to sweat when he drew more intimate areas of your body. He was a mess.

Jeon Jungkook: Awkward

Jungkook was so awkward with others he didn’t know what to say and when he saw someone he liked he passed them by and avoid all eye contact. He was on a game show and he was with a few idols. And that’s where he met you, you looked so cool. With a beautiful androgynous image, you took his breath away; you had short hair and a suit that made you look charming.

You were referred to by they/them and no one in the world knew your real gender and you liked to keep it that way. It wasn’t their business whether you are female or male. You spoke so passionately about music and dance and fans; he was lost in your presence. “Is there anyone here you would marry in the future?” The host asked.

“Every one of you would make good wives and husbands, if I were to pick based on their music alone a wife, perhaps Yuta from NCT or maybe even SNSD’s Sunny both very cute and feisty. If I was to choose a husband mm… Hyuna or T.O.P but if we are going from personalities in real life my wife/husband would definitely be Jungkook, he is shy and cute but also very handsome and traditional. Jungkook-ah let's get married?”

Everyone laughed in the studio and he was blushing, but in a stroke of confidence he teased back “okay when?”

Next Week

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thatonebirbnerd · 4 years

Text

Giving In

Word count: 2295

Trigger warnings: Suicide (but not exactly?), body horror, mind control, amputation, vomiting, a little swearing. Contains depictions of severe frostbite on a nonhuman, death, and mild body horror.

The Dream and Nightmare protect sylvari from corruption by elder dragons, but when someone like Siocánta (sho-KAHN-ta) rejects both, it's only a matter of time. She dreamed of Jormag, and her love of the cold and morbid curiosity may get her more than what she bargained for as she ventures north toward the dragon beckoning her. Sons of Svanir be damned: she'll find a way to be cold enough, even if it kills her.

So this is what I’ve been hinting at for the past few days. I really thought it couldn’t happen, but here we are!

AO3 link

It seems so long ago that I first heard its voice. No, not Mordremoth’s. We all heard that. No, I mean Jormag; for in my mind, the voice of one dragon was merely replaced with another.

I’d left the Nightmare Court by then, and was well into the Shiverpeaks, desperate to leave the stifling heat of both sylvari territory and civilization. As much as I liked the ideal of rejecting the laws of life and morality, I couldn’t believe how many of the courtiers genuinely enjoyed torturing neophytes - or how much I overheated even in the coolest reaches of its territory.

Even after Mordremoth’s death, a whisper nagged at the back of my mind, too quiet to hear. Was this the remnants of my link to the Dream of Dreams, trying to rekindle itself and find a lost soul? I certainly assumed as much. But as I reveled in the cold around me - finally, somewhere that didn’t feel like it was killing me slowly! - I felt pulled toward every shard of corrupted ice I encountered on my way northward. No, it was just the call of the void.

Well, it might have been, until it grew louder as I made my way into a Svanir-infested cave.

To be blunt, I realized I’d made a fatal mistake after it was too late to turn back. The cultists called me a wench and a slave to a dead, heretical dragon - but they figured that either I’d die here, or I’d become their minion if this somehow worked. What a fucked-up win-win situation that would be. But it somehow meant that they didn’t butcher me on the spot. Instead, they led me over to a secluded patch of frozen ground. Spikes of magic-clouded ice, gleaming blue and purple, surrounded me. As the Sons of Svanir bragged about their plans for me, for the first time, I could understand something the faint whisper said.

Let me help you.

Against all the judgement I had, be it better or worse, I let the cold creep in as I listened to what this strange new presence had to say.

I must have been in that cavern for hours, maybe even days. I sat there, alone and numb, with the inklings of words infiltrating my consciousness to keep me company. Every surface around me was covered in ice, and I saw myself change in each shimmering wall and crystal. The frost touched every corner of me with its magic, curling leaves and petals and tracing filigrees over my fading bark. Most of my armor fell off, dead and dry. I stared into the clearest facet I could find, refusing to blink as my once-green irises shifted to the bright turquoise of my surroundings.

But at some point, I simply gave up. Nothing had come to me to bargain. I was still alive, still sane, and apparently intact. I walked out - straight into a Vigil patrol.

Their norn leader spoke up first, a burly dark-bearded man. “C’mon. Get up. What’s a sylvari like you doing in a Svanir den? You’ve gotta have a death wish.”

A sandy-furred charr replied to him. “Hold on. She’s as frozen over as one of them. How does that…”

A sylvari - and let me tell you, I did not want to see another one here in the mountains - interrupted the charr. “We plants get frost. Figure this one’s no exception.”

“She’s not in good shape,” they continued. “And I’ve never seen eyes the color of that ice before, but hers are so bright I’m worried she’s genuinely turned. I don’t think camp has enough resources for what she needs. Get her to Hoelbrak.”

“I’m still a pathetic grandchild of Mordremoth, much to my chagrin,” I retorted. “I’m not quite sure what took me into that cave, but hell, I’m in one piece, and that’s what matters to you folk.”

The charr signaled me to climb on her back. “I’ve carried rucksacks bigger than you,” she wisecracked. “We’ve got no spare gear, and I figure you shouldn’t be in the snow even for another hour.” That bad, eh?

You can’t trust them. Kill her. No. Why would I bite the hand that feeds me? Couldn’t do that.

Which was probably a good thing, because my condition was that bad. Lost most of my fingers, and nearly my legs below the knee, but got away with just some toes missing. They’d grow back, but no telling how slowly. The charr got some of her friends to make what they joked were the smallest combat prosthetics they’d ever made, a pair of metal gloves with articulated fingers. Moving what remained of my hands let me control the gloves to grip things and do simple enough tasks - and at least I could fight.

---

But enough about my reckless four-years-ago self. It’s not even worth bringing up how I got this big old doofus of an ice drake. Thing is, I’m a lot further north now. I have the Vigil to thank for taking me on the long road up. And here, the whispers are a hell of a lot louder. They are now a voice. Jormag’s voice.

I’ve seen others of your kind here. Curious things, you sylvari are. Every single one of you is desperate for control over your own lives. I can give you that. And so much more.

After spending nearly a year stationed in Frostgorge Sound, I’ve finally made it to the edge of the world, as far north as anyone can go: Bjora Marches. Once the norn heartland, now the den of the ice dragon’s champion, Drakkar.

It’s so cold here. Yet not cold enough, even as I walk amongst glaciers. Everyone here can hear the dragon. It’s disturbingly soothing. Alluring, even. Its voice is androgynous, and able to morph into anything, usually the reassuring voice of a loved one. I cut all my ties long ago, but sometimes I hear the voice of a friend from the Court, and wonder what went wrong. Why did you leave? You could have brought so many with you.

You can’t trust the soldiers, Jormag tells me. They will say they want to help. They don’t. You’re better with me. But I’m not ready to believe that yet. Instead, I wander off.

The inland sea to the west of Jora’s Keep and the kodan settlement of Still Waters Speaking, once called Drakkar Lake, is completely icebound. I follow the frozen waters southward, past crystalline cliffs and treacherous crags. The lake is still at night, empty of kodan fishers, but I still have to evade Svanir as I duck into a lonely passage - one that leads to a moonlit cave.

It’s beautiful. And it’s… familiar. I saw this in my Dream, the Dream I swore to forget. Here, Jormag’s voice presses on my mind nearly as much as Mordremoth’s did. No, more than that. But instead of a headache, its presence exhausts me, in a way that just makes me want to fall into a deep, refreshing sleep.

Now that I think about it, I could sleep here. Give in. Sleep.

I could rest. Yes. Rest.

It’s freezing, but I feel warm. Hot, even. I take my coat and boots off, and snap off my gloves. I stretch what remains of my hands. You could stay here forever. Maybe I could.

I lie down, spreading myself over the smooth, icy floor. Some repressed instinct inside of me makes my bark scream in pain, threatening to spill its blackening death into my heartwood. Then it dulls as I go numb, and I let my consciousness slip away. For a moment, I hope it doesn’t come back. Why would you ever leave this place? But instead, for the first time in a decade and a half, I dream - a dragon’s dream.

---

I find myself in… is this the same cave? No. I’m still looking up at the sky, but in every other way, it’s different. A deeper voice growls around me, echoing against the walls, deafening yet near unintelligible aside from a single phrase: You are here…

There’s even more ice here, and it’s… green. How strange. I talk as I stir. My voice is not mine. My voice is the dragon’s. Something rises inside me, forcing the words out of my frost-chapped lips.

You have done well, child. I will give you the strength you seek. But you must first let go.

I stagger to my feet. My leaves are as frostbitten as they were in that Svanir den. My fingers and toes are still stubs. Every movement I make is wrong, every joint at once tense and limp. My head clings to my neck at an odd angle. It could snap, and I could fall down. I am a puppet. Jormag’s puppet.

Ice fortifies. Ice protects. Yet you still fear that which can save you?

My veins are still. My sap is frozen, expanding, ready to burst out. The cold fills every cavity of my body.

I limp to a gleaming wall, smooth and polished as a mirror. I see myself. I am not myself.

This is what you could be. With me.

Don’t you like it?

I can’t respond. The chill creeps up through my throat, seizing my tongue.

My limbs creak, laden with ice, as I reach for my neck in a panic. Then I keel over, tipped off balance, as my head swings forward. For a moment I can see my hands growing back, corrupted crystals pushing through the bark, the new digits covered in rime, before everything goes black.

Then I wake up, gasping for air, still the same old me, in the same place I was before I drifted off.

Jormag continues to plead to me as I put my armor back on. Don’t you want this? Don’t you want what you lost?

The stumps of my hands and feet have lost feeling, and darkened to an ugly shade of blue-black. I can’t lose more of myself and still fight.

I have no choice but to say yes.

Then I will take you, child, to the place where the ice is green.

---

The frostbite is bad enough that it’s hard to walk. But if Jormag says I’m not going very far, then I should trust it and push on.

Indeed, I only have to retrace my steps back to the center of Drakkar Lake. There is a tunnel leading beneath the surface. No one has gone in and come back alive, short of Sons of Svanir. I think I know why.

Everything in the tunnel averts its gaze from me. Must be Jormag’s blessing - because I’d be too slow not to get caught by any of its minions in here.

I’m stumbling, now, as I wind through this strange new cavern. But it isn’t long before I see it: green ice. Not this chamber. Not yet. Soon.

I’m warm again. I leave my armor and gloves behind. My arms and legs are numb. I have to crawl.

Just a bit more. Come on. Not much longer. But the entrance to this chamber, the one I dreamed of, is a ledge. It must be a twenty-foot drop to the ground below, and I can’t walk, let alone climb-

Jump.

If you say so, Jormag.

It takes all my strength to get to my feet and brace myself. I fall, and for a moment I’m aware that my head is… in the wrong place -

---

Is this the end?

No. Not for you. I have plans for you.

Get up.

I’m… awake? So cold. Talking. Not my voice. Familiar… that dream… YOU ARE HERE. I’m moving. Stiff. Ice all over me. Ice inside me. Neck feels… wrong. Cold is good. Finally enough. But need my coat…

My arms… they… hurt! Not numb anymore. Not black anymore? Trying to scream. Something in my throat. Can’t… breathe!… no… don’t need to breathe. Wait - my hands, they’re…?!

Calm down, child. Let it take hold. Take your weapons.

They’re so… beautiful. I can… move my fingers. One by one.

Your dagger broke. But you can do better than that.

AGH! - still choking back something - a spike of ice is… coming out of my hand. There are more coming… all over my wrists. The reason they hurt. They’re so… swollen…

Take the big one. Snap it off. See? It’s a new dagger. You’re welcome.

Thank… you…

Need to bend over. My neck - oh, no. Have to… fix that. There we go. Something in my mouth. I gotta… urgh.

Everything inside… the shards… won’t stop coming. There’s spit frozen on my lip. I try to talk to Jormag. The only one who will listen now. All that comes out is ice.

Now go home. They will let you in. Then you kill them.

---

“I’m not sure what happened to that strange sylvari, the one with the mechanical hands who kept insisting she liked the cold. She came back to camp last night in a silent daze after wandering off a few days ago, leaving her drake behind. We placed her in the infirmary immediately, as her frostbite seemed so severe, she should have been dead. I say “should have” because she summoned icy daggers out of nowhere and utterly butchered the medics who were about to save what they could, then fled. Someone told me there were crystals all over her arms. I heard someone else say that she opened her mouth to speak, but frozen flowers and petals fell out instead. She’s… she’s a sylvari. She can’t be icebrood. Can she?

“Spirits save us from her deranged wrath, but we can’t speak of her anymore. For as the kodan say, her voice is not her own.”

- Final notes in a fallen Vigil soldier’s notebook

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #gw2 fanfiction #fanfic #tyriaslibrary #sylvari #kestrel writes #siocanta #suicide //#body horror //#mind control //#amputation //#vomit //#language //

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siinoda · 5 years

Text

Did anyone order an angsty fic? ME EITHER BUT LETS GO

Y’all can thank @androgynous-bones for giving me the idea from one of his TikTok’s cosplaying as Julian. Go check him out! Thanks to the song If I Could Tell Her from Dear Evan Hansen....y’all I couldn’t help myself.

Basic premise is the apprentice goes to Julian when she starts feeling confused and ready to face her feelings and Julian, being the great boi he is, helps her out. If you haven’t heard the song, I recommend giving it a listen.

FIC UNDER THE CUT

“He thought you were...awesome.”

His voice was quiet, shy almost as he sat with her. She had come to him with a storm in her head, confused at the pull to her master Asra. From what Julian knew, the Magician had kept their past a large secret from her, mentioning something about headaches to him in passing. He wondered if she was ready now, staring down into her bowl of stew he’d prepared that had long grown cold. Judging from the way she spoke of Asra, there was little doubt in his head that she felt anything but adoration. The alertness in her eyes when she watched him, how she was so expressive and latched onto his words like they were the air she needed to breathe. She blushed ever so slightly when Asra complimented her talents...it made a lump in his throat at the thought of the way she lit up when Asra smiled. At the way her eyes seemed to brighten at Julian’s words, even as her brow arched

“He...thought I was awesome?” She asked, confused “How?” Julian braced himself, crossing his arms as he looked away from her. He couldn’t speak for Asra...he’d be lying if he said he had any idea how the Magician felt. But at the same time...she was hanging on his words now, ready to listen to anything he had to say. And he knew if he discouraged this..she’d crack, and he couldn’t bear to see her break over this. So he decided, in his moments of thought, to tell her the truth....well, sort of.

“He said....there’s nothing like your smile, how its sort of...subtle and perfect, and real. ” He said, turning to look at her. Her eyes were wide and he felt his heart swell at how she reacted to his words. He swallowed again, offering an encouraging grin of his own “He said you never knew how wonderful that smile could make someone feel.” She graced him with it now, grounding him where he sat in a remarkable way.

“He noticed a lot of things about you you know....like he knew whenever you get bored of his lessons you would scribble stars on the skin of your ankles. He also knew that you still like to read to his snake, and take notes of her favorite parts.” She was glowing, her face all shock and smiles and...by gods was that a blush?

“He ah...never told me that.” she said, brushing her hair away from her face. He wished it was his hands that were able to brush her hair so softly, but he leaned forward to place them on the table instead, busying them with fiddling with his bowl.

“Well...he kept it all inside his head, what he saw he left unsaid. And though he wanted to...he couldn’t talk to you. He wanted to protect you.” he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he stood. He gathered their bowls, starting to clean them out as she turned to follow his movements. He could tell, even without looking at her that she had a million questions to ask him. He fought the urge to flinch when she settled on:

“Did....he say anything else?” Her voice was still so soft, so sweet and nervous and excited all at once. How could he stop? He had so much he wanted to tell her, so much more he could spill that would make her whole world so happy...even if she did think it was from Asra.

“Oh, about you?” He teased, turning his head to grin at her. Her blush spread as she looked away, self conscious of her request

“I’m sorry, Julian...I must sound silly--”

“There’s more, I’m just trying to remember the best ones” he said, turning back to his task. He could feel the energy in the room shift as she sat up straighter, paying close attention. “He thought...you looked really pretty when you put indigo streaks in your hair” he said, turning to see her beam

“He did?” Julian smiled as he leaned on his counter, nodding.

“Even though it was a magic accident, he thought it was horribly adorable. He wondered how you learned to dance like all the rest of the world isn’t around you, but I will say he was jealous when he heard you learned it from me.” He said, making her laugh before he continued “He kept everything he noticed to himself, every tiny detail he noticed about you.”

“But...he told you” She pointed out, the confusion coming back again on her face. Asra didn’t tell him, they were all Julian’s words; all his own aching feelings he had been holding back as the apprentice seemed to grow more fond of her Master. Julian braced himself, feeling the blush creep up his chest at his own words as they slipped through his lips.

“Well, though he wanted to, he couldn’t talk to you. He couldn’t find the way. But...he would always say: if I could tell her everything I see...if I could tell her that she’s everything to me. But we’re a million worlds apart..and what do you do when there’s this big divide..?”

“He just...seems so far away” She said, looking down to fiddle with the fabric of her clothes. Julian forced himself not to approach her as he fumbled over his own words, hating how he imagined them in Asra’s mouth as he continued.

“He didn’t know how to say I love you“ He said in a rush, his own impatience getting the best of him with the room so charged and the apprentice staring so wide eyed and surprised and oh gods the way she absolutely glowed at his words....he only wished she would glow that way for him. It crushed his heart, the pain seeming to jolt him back to reality as she stared at him.

“Julian...do you mean that?” she asked, scared of a yes and a no at the same time. He nodded, trying to keep his breath under control, trying his damndest not to let it shake in front of her. When she hugged him he felt like he couldn’t breathe, hating himself for getting her hopes up. Asra...you had better love her with everything this world and the next has to offer Julian thought to himself as he patted her back.

“Do you feel well enough to head home?” He asked her, smiling as she nodded.

“Thank you Julian, for everything!” She waved before she closed the door to his home, leaving him alone with the cold stew and the dimming lanterns. His arms circled himself and he squeezed tight, curling in on himself to keep from falling apart.

#julian devorak #julian x mc #asra the magician #asra x mc #fan fic #the arcana #the arcana julian #the arcana asra #arcana angst #angst #angst fic #fan apprentice #I'm so sorry #fanfiction #the arcana fanfiction

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