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nebulanewts · 1 year

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Well,here I am posting about LL news again,this time w/ the new Hasunosora / Link! Like! Love Live! gals :] since we now have more information on them bc of this stream that happened earlier

Here’s their 2d art! From what I saw in the stream,it seems like they’ll have 3D models in the game which is,,to be expected but still a little odd,I like the art style,it’s different but still kind of Love Live-y if that makes sense?? Anyways,here’s their names and my general first impressions of their personalities so far

From left to right:

Hinoshita Kaho - 1st year,yellow image color,overall from what I can tell is the genki leader but in a kind of Chika / Kanon mix kind of way?? It feels weird to compare new idols with older generations,but idk how else to put it she’s cheerful and positive but is also slightly more reserved if that makes sense…I also thought that she might like flower arrangement / might come from a family that owns a flower arranging business OR just likes flowers idk I might have misunderstood it somehow but she might

Otomune Kozue - 2nd year,mint / teal image color,kind of a ojou-sama type?? Which idk if we’ve really had before besides maybe Maki? Idk but she’s very reserved and calm,Kaho seems to look up to her a lot and she teases Kaho a bit back about not studying bc she takes studying and idol practicing,but yeah I think their dynamic is rlly cute so far

Murano Sayaka - 1st year,blue image color and oh my god she’s BABY!!!! Potentially one of my favorites out of these girls,she’s a little softer and shy (??) but she wants to try her best!! Yes I’m biased bc idol characters like her are usually the ones that become my favorites,but listen she’s just so CUTE ok like her design,her personality,her VOICE all of it is great (+ also she’s really good at figure skating which from what we know fits her super well plus she might know Tsuzuri from figure skating?? Idk)

Yugiri Tsuzuri - 2nd year,red image color and I literally said to myself “guess we gotta have a tbh creature girl every generation now” fndjdj there’s no other way to describe her I also like her a lot so far,she’s mysterious and quiet but also kind of silly and has a lot of gap moe…sort of like more mature Rina,idk how else to put it she’s rlly cute and again her + Sayaka have a super cute dynamic like they both help each other out of their shells in a way?? But Sayaka also spoils her a lot and reveals this less serious side to her too,I like it a lot also her voice sounds similar to Moca from Bandori which I think is nice

Osawa Rurino - 1st year,pink image color and well…we got our Nico / Kasumi / Natsumi type,she’s super energetic and a little bit smug?? Calls herself Ruri,uses a lot of English and knows a lot about idols or at least wanting to make people happy through being an idol,she also gets teased a lot + is childhood friends w/ the next girl which is very cute,she also…really likes tokusatsu type shows?? That’s kind of interesting chdjdj maybe I heard that wrong

Fujishina Megumi - 2nd year,gray image color and I lied,SHE is my favorite so far like…she’s a little calmer but also pretty upbeat ; She also seems to know a lot about idols,fashion and wanting to spread happiness through being an idol,plus also apparently isn’t good at studying (which…is a mood) and again,is Rurino’s childhood friend + understands her the most bc of this,listen the moment she said “Hi-Megu!” that’s when I decided she was already my favorite ok dndjdj

That being said,I’m pretty excited for these girls now that we know a little more about them! I look forward to knowing even more soon :] also it seems like the characters stream in the game?? So there WILL be a story in the game and we don’t have to like. Figure out the story through them talking about it while playing a game or something which is good cndjdj also a lot of people are saying the gameplay is similar to Uma Musume or Idolmaster which I can see why but yeah it’s definitely unique compared to the other series / games but we will see,it looks pretty fun and interesting so far

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kazuichikazuichi · 1 year

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"When you get this, you have to answer 5 things you like about yourself publicly!"

thank you for tagging me @1medichan1 and @catcrazy-blog !!! <3<3<3

bit long, so if you don't wanna read that's fine, it's all under the 'keep reading'! also tagged some people to continue the chain at the end, but it's totally fine if you choose not to take part! no pressure :)

this took a LOT of mental energy lol but im proud of myself for coming up with 5 things!!

i like how passionate i am about danganronpa! and i knowww that might sound like a silly thing to put on this list, but it's true. being an active part of this fandom has made me the happiest i've been in a long time! i love these silly little characters with all of my heart, and sharing my interests with like-minded people has been so much fun. and also, liking danganronpa has kind of contributed to all of the things on this list, so i just feel it's helped me like myself a lot more as a person!

i like that i am queer :) lol not to make this post depressing but i've spent so many years hating myself for who i am, and i feel like i'm actually finally starting to accept myself properly. still don't know exactly what label fits my sexuality (or gender lol) but i think queer suits me, and it feels nice to know there are so many people like me in one way or another!!

i likeeee hmm i like my height! again, it's something i've disliked about myself for years, ive always wanted to be a bit taller, but after realising i'm the same height as fuyuhiko, i like it more now! whenever i see a picture of him with anyone else e.g. a screenshot from the anime i just mentally go ooooo so that is how tall i would look next to them!! so my height makes me happier than it used to :)

i like that i'm creative! sometimes i dislike the art or writing or whatever i make, but i'm proud of myself for pushing through and practicing my skills regardless. i won't get any better if i don't practice, right? so i've got to keep going!! :D

hmmmm, last thing. i like that i'm quite good with animals! definitely not gundham level lol but i have 4 cats, i raised them all from feral strays practically by myself and i think they love me a lot! sometimes i have to spend hours just like rolling a ball for one of them to play with.... and it's..... exhausting (😭😭) but i love them dearly.

the end!! i will taggg @tenkoandkaede, @ileshkve and @hugeresolve to recreate the post too, with 5 things you like about yourself, but absolutely no pressure to take part if you don't want to!! entirely up to you :) and if anyone i didn't tag sees this then feel free to take part as well and spread more positivity!!

#hmm maybe i should make a tag for when i talk a lot like this lol idk. enjoy the positivity regardless!! <3 #this is like the most open ive ever been about myself on here LOL hi everybody now you know i am fuyu sized and have cats. big revelation

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laiwater · 9 months

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current white men i, as an aspec woc, am currently attracted to.

Firstly, I would like to preface this post by apologizing to myself and my online persona that this is the very first post I am making (though I am no stranger to Tumblr) and will definitely be looking back and cringing. But, I digress, this is purely for personal enjoyment and the fact that I love anonymity.

Second, there is no particular order in which I rank these men, I just enjoy them and their existence and their creations. So, I guess that's how this list came to be.

Now. On to the white men!

Number one, the one and only, Matthew Gray Gubler. Not sure how this obsession spiraled, but I'm positive that it started with an edit of Spencer Reid on TikTok.

He is both a blessing and curse to my existence. I get a visceral reaction when I see him on screen as he spews out his little factoids. I also feel very ashamed and embarrassed as I watch, to completion, a thirst edit of him and all I can is a black screen with my stupid smile reflected back at me. I feel crazy.

It has come to a point where I started watching other things he stars in. (Yes, thirst watches. I am devolving.) Today, I watched The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, which was very entertaining even without Mr. Gubler. Yesterday, it was Suburban Gothic and that one 15 minute bowling mocumentary where he humps the air. Tomorrow? Who knows. Maybe Horse Girl. Side note: I love Alison Brie.

To wrap up my blurb on Matthew Gray Gubler, I want to say 2 things. I love him as a creator and creative. He is the epitome of silly, which is something I think everyone can be just a little bit more, and he most definitely is Tumblr if Tumblr was a person. His history with art and creating is really intriguing and something I look up to! He models, acts, directs, writes, draws, and more. I just love creative people.

Next white man is Irish, has long beautiful locks, and is gigantimasaurus: Andrew John Hozier-Byrne! Professionally known as Hozier!

Unreal Unearth is actually the very first Hozier drop that I got to experience as a new-ish fan of his work. I love everything he creates; his lyrics, voice, sound has so much emotion and power. I was literally in the shower singing out Francesca as the water beat down my back.

My love for Hozier doesn't just stem from his music but also the content of his music, where he draws inspiration from, and how he's literally just some dude. Cue his handsome Squidward story and the one where he was cursing out some badgers.

The best way to describe the content of his music, in my opinion, is yearning for various releases in terms of love, hope, despair, a better understanding etc. He writes so well, and his feelings can be viscerally felt through paper and sound. He always sounds like he's on the edge of something, always anticipating a moment.

Last one, because everything comes in threes, is Thomas Straker, which is the "all things butter" guy, in case you didn't know. VERY random, I think, but I also don't think so.

Love, love, love a man that can cook. Even more so when he is nice to look at, and doesn't desecrate the food he makes (if you've seen those gross cooking TikToks where they completely violate their ingredients, you'd understand.)

Personally, I've been obsessed with this man ever since his butter series because 1) his voice is really really smooth, 2) he unapologetically loves food. Him creating these recipes and watching him eat his own dishes like they're the best thing to exist is elation.

Not sure if I'm starting to sound weird, but I think it's the same way people feel about Carmy from The Bear. Also, I cook. And it's just attractive how he cooks and enjoys cooking despite his comments telling him he uses too much butter - which is ridiculous because butter is what makes so many foods taste rich and good. Literally go shadow Gordon Ramsey as he makes a steak.

Anyways, that's it. That's the post. My laptop is about to die because I decided to write this in one sitting instead of packing because I'm leaving for school in two days. Crazy.

#blurb #my writing #white men #matthew gray gubler #mgg #hozier #the hoziest #unreal unearth #thomas straker #all things butter guy #writing tags makes me feel silly sometimes #laiwater #aspec #woc #not proofread

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mesaprotector · 1 month

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Haven't posted about Elden Ring in a bit.

I've been off on vacation for two weeks, then sick for a week. I hadn't played since I finished the game but basically the only thing I could focus on while sick was farming every single item in the game. The Magma Blade was painful to get.

It occurred to me that I really avoided getting good at Elden Ring combat (except for some specific skills). One thing I'm going to do before the DLC is try to fix that. I guess I could post this on somewhere like Discord or Reddit that has a lot more PvP tryhards, but I honestly find those communities pretty unpleasant. So here goes.

I played the game blind. Well, mostly blind - I gradually caved and researched more once I got near the end. This meant my understanding of the game's mechanics was poor at best. I beat the game with effectively 23½ Vigor (25 with a permanent debuff I didn't know about), fat-rolled through almost every fight, and depended on summons and Torrent most of the time. The skills I did develop (strategic aggro, stealth, crossbow shots) were useless in most boss fights. My reasoning was "well, I'm not getting one-shot...".

I play with mouse and keyboard, and always have. I never owned a controller as a kid (I wouldn't have thought to ask my parents, and they wouldn't have bought me one if I had), and since I've grown up I've played games seldom enough that it was never a priority. I vaguely know how to use one thanks to trips to friend's houses, but I still find it a miserable experience. On my recent trip I went over to a friend's and started Stray, the game where you're an adorable cyberpunk cat. I got to the very first action sequence, and attempting to turn corners with the controller was useless, it felt like the floor was slippery ice. I plugged in my mouse and beat it first try.

Aiming with a mouse is just so natural for me. You don't need lock-on (which is a necessary evil for controllers, but is at least a little immersion-breaking). Horse combat, which most Elden Ring players think is clunky and difficult, becomes easy.

The main downside of keyboard and mouse* is that the default keybinds are quite awkward. Sprint and dodge are the same key (and can't be separated). Switching equipped items uses the ARROW KEYS which means one of your two hands needs to leave its position for a second. The pouch keybinds are obscure and I never used it my entire playthrough.

So, after 200+ hours in Elden Ring, I changed all my keybinds. Shift is now sprint/dodge; space is now jump; the mouse middle key is now heavy attack and mouse 4th button is now weapon skill. Definitely taking some getting used to and I expect a lot of silly deaths but I can already tell it's so much better.

(*some absolute genius said they used controller and mouse to play the game, which is definitely superior but too daring for me)

I played the majority of my run with the Treespear, which it turns out was a rare good decision on my part - it's one of the best Dex/Fai weapons - but the main reason it's so good is something I didn't know, which is that you can buff it with Order's Blade for crazy damage, one of only two split-damage weapons that's true for. I never used Order's Blade... it requires 13 Int and my character was dumb as rocks, and proud of it. Plus I kind of want to use something different on my next run.

So after farming everything in sight this past week and trying them out, I found a weapon I'd never looked twice at - the Guardian's Swordspear (Keen affinity). It only scales with Dex but can still be buffed; halberds are absolutely the #1 mounted weapon class; and it just feels natural. Still unsure on which weapon art I'll stick with but for now I have Piercing Fang. It's a quick running attack that has lovely synergy with Wrath of Gold.

And yes, I'm still going to use incantations on the next run - how can you be a Faith build and not? - but disallowing lock-on means I'll be focusing on close-up magic and buffs. Hitting soldiers from across the map is funny a couple of times, but it doesn't have nearly the visceral joy of getting the timing down on a Fortissax's Lightning Spear or a Catch Flame.

Dex/Fai is a weird combination because it feels it doesn't get a lot of balanced, merely "very good" weapons. You have unique weapons that are downright broken (Blasphemous Blade, Sacred Relic Sword, Envoy's Long Horn) plus ones that are situationally good but not a great primary choice (Godslayer's Greatsword, Black Knife, Vyke's War Spear). I'm hoping my new Swordspear strikes a happy medium and gets me up to scratch on dodging, spacing, timing, and everything else. I'm still never going to join the PvP scene - I just want to git gud for my own sake.

#elden ring #nerdy build thoughts #video games

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thatone-highlighter · 1 year

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Hello!!! I am here to rant about something random to you!!! Since I want to rant and I figured you might at least slightly relate bc of how you’ve talked ab SU :]

Yknow that when we had that CAWM post and in part of it we talked about how these shows [AT and SU] are important to us? I was just thinking about like why AT specifically connected to me so much [and also how that extends to characters?] like, of course AT was very important to me when I was younger, but I’m just kinda wondering why AT is the thing that extremely stuck with me. There are thing I could argue built more of who I am today then AT [even tho AT did definitely contribute to who I am] Like The Lion King which got me interested in animation and art, and I probably never would have even watched stuff like amphibia without it getting me into animation! Maybe AT was just a right time right place type of thing, maybe my autism was just like “oh yeah that’s OUR thing forever now.” OH that’s another important part of it ! I’m like 99% sure my neurodivergency has contributed to AT becoming as important to me as it did, I call AT my special interest, which definitely has a ton of different definitions depending on the person but for me it’s like, my default, it’s the thing I’m most likely thinking about and the thing I see the world through if that makes sense?

And !!! How this relates to my favorite character/s in AT [for context even tho I’m p sure you know this: my all time fav is PB and Fern is also a top fav] I see myself a lot in my favorite characters, I’ve said that AT is a part of me, and that definitely extends to characters. You can see that easily in how I take characters names actually,,, a little side note, but I’ve considered using heart as a name before, which I feels hammers this point home even more since heart is ofc my wjh fave [tbh I still really want to use heart as a name but idk if it would be weird since their like an oc and not a tv character and I’m too nervous to ask Mal lmaoo] and also, I end up seeing these characters just, as me a lot, like in the same way that AT is such an important part of me that it feels like you couldn’t separate it from me, I also feel like my favorite characters in a way because their so important to me [ofc this type of connection varies between characters, I think I feel this most for PB] and I also definitely feel like the neurodivergency has contributed to this, and I think this happens to others too [I mean how many people named Marcy have you seen around the Amphibia fandom shgdhdhshs] autism is weird [extremely positive] and makes me identify with my silly little blorbos a lot.

Anyways, I wasn’t really going anywhere super specific with this, and I don’t really have like, a question for you to answer to in this or anything, I just wanted to talk about my experiences and thought you’d maybe like to hear about em???

I dont really know what it id about su that got me into it. I think it might have just been a perfect thing at the perfect time. I had the ability to watch it, the autism liked it, i was at an impressionable age. The stars perfectly aligned and then it consumed my entire life for the next 5-8 years and counting. Theres nothing specific about it no specific plotlines or characters that specifically connect to me in a specific way its just. Special to me, its comforting and nice.

I dont really like, consider anything my special interests? I dont really know what counts as one so i dont call anything it. But yeah, to me its just, i dont even know how to put into words what SU is to me. Its what i spent hours upon hours thinking about at school, whenever i had downtime, every week on the way to soccer training i would sing songs to myself to keep myself entertained, to this day every time i get bored and start singing to myself Love Like You is the first song i go to. Its so important to me its such an important part of so much of my life, i truely very much would not be the person i am today without it.

I have a weird relationship with names, if i could i probably wouldnt have a name, every name ive used feels good for a while and then eventually it just, stops. Even duck which is a name i Love and in years of using it online it has never stopped being one i like, the idea of making it my Actually Legal name just, isnt there. The relationship you seem to have with names where you take the names of your favourite characters is very interesting to me, its cool. In concept i get the idea of seeing yourself in a character and relating to them that way, but in practice i think i have too flimsy of a sense of self to really see myself in anyone else. I think it would be cool if you added Heart to your name arsenal. On the server a few people have asked why we have a Heart role if its empty, but me and Mal both agree that it we could never give it to anyone else, theres no way we could ever give the role to anyone who wasn’t you, it would feel too wrong its Your role.

Thank you for talking to me about all this, i love talking to you about each of our fav Cartoon Network shows,,,,,,

#thousand word adventure time post 2-electric boogaloo #i feel like i ended up so off topic what i was responding to each time but eh #i fr missed talking to u like this bestie #i know it wasnt that long but it felt like Ages #uwu love u bestie #Tree Man Posts #asks

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marmotish · 3 years

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🎄👻 Duncan Christmas SQ 👻🎄

Part 3. The Crossing

(~2500 words under the cut)

The bus ride down to Cairnryan was awkwardly silent, with neither Duncan nor Freyja really ready or willing to discuss what had happened. Less awkward than actually speaking to each other though, from an outsider’s perspective.

Not a word was spoken until they had boarded the ferry, with the exception of Duncan hissing “one ticket!” when Freyja initially asked for two at the port.

With most passengers choosing to enjoy the onboard amenities, it was reasonably empty up on deck. No surprise though, given it was late December. The winds coming off the water were chilly to say the least, and the overcast sky did nothing to improve the scenery. But they would have to speak eventually, and better it happen out in the open, away from a larger crowd. That was when Freyja decided it had been long enough avoiding the subject.

“So what was it like?”

“What?”

“When you were inside -“

“DON’T SAY IT.”

Freyja stopped talking, and returned to watching the ocean. Looked like the blunt approach wasn’t the best way to start. But the question was still hanging in the air, unanswered. It was now up to Duncan to resume the conversation. But when? Who knew. Minutes ticked by without another word being spoken.

Well, if he wanted to spend the next couple of hours in silence then that was fine. Nothing was stopping her from enjoying everything else the ferry had to offer. If she got moving now, she could -

“It was really quick, I don’t know...”

OK, forget that.

“I didn’t even know what was happening, but then everything kind of hit me at once. The smell of the street, the cold air on my face, the clothes on my body, the ground under my feet... well, your face and all...”

He hesitated, as though he might have said too much. Freyja waited for him to continue, watching his face carefully.

“It was almost like - being alive again.”

Well FUCK.

Freyja didn’t know how to respond to that. Duncan had always seemed more life-like, more alive than any of the other ghosts she knew. The way he moved through the world was reminiscent of a living person.

Not like Professor Binns, who acted like he didn’t even know he was dead. Quite the contrary, Duncan was more than aware of the fact that he was dead. That was just the problem.

Sure, he floated around like any other ghost, but it was little things that Freyja noticed while they were in Glasgow that kind of set him apart. He never took shortcuts through walls, he moved through the appropriate doorways and corridors. He stuck to moving along the sidewalk. He waved away car exhaust even though he couldn’t smell it. When it had started raining, he pulled up the hood of his cloak, even though he couldn’t get wet.

All these behavioural quirks told of someone who was trapped in an existence they didn’t want, who was instead trying to hang onto any threads of humanity, of a real existence. But pretend as much as he like, he would never be able to replicate the feeling of really being alive. And he had never come closer to being alive than for the few seconds he had taken over Freyja’s body.

Choosing the blunt approach again, Freyja broke the silence with another question.

“Would you do it again if you had the chance?”

“What?!”

Duncan leapt back, putting plenty of space between them. Freyja raised her eyebrows in question, waiting for a reply.

No, it was a terrible idea. As much as he wanted to feel almost alive again, he didn’t know if he would be able to handle it. He barely made it to 5 seconds before.

“You know,” Freyja shrugged her backpack off her shoulders. “I’ve been up for almost 30 hours straight, and I’m just now starting to feel it. I wouldn’t mind switching off for a bit.”

Duncan almost imperceptibly shook his head in confusion, watching as Freyja pulled out an impossibly large blanket and sets it on one of the boxy seats on the deck.

“Think I’ll have a rest. Might be my only chance before we reach the port.”

“Up here on deck? In the cold?”

“well I could sleep inside, but then you wouldn’t be able to smell the salt in the air, or feel the wind in your face. Anyhow, this blanket’s thick and heavy enough to keep you warm.”

“You keep saying ‘you’, but -“

Freyja settled down on the seat, pulling the blanket around her shoulders while Duncan hovered from a safe distance looking understandably perplexed.

“Though you’ll probably fall asleep before too long. If you were able to feel what my body felt before, then you’re going to feel tired too. Think of it like we’re 2 drivers of the same car, my body being the car obviously. If the car runs out of petrol, it doesn’t matter who’s driving. It’s not going anywhere.”

“JUST GET TO THE POINT.”

Freyja glared at him. “Oh NOW you want the blunt approach.” Rolling her eyes, she continued. ”Fine. I’m saying if you wanted to try the possession thing again, then that’s fine with me.”

OK. She really said it. He wasn’t really expecting her to.

But possessing someone just to fall asleep? What would be the point in that? Then again, it would be less intense than possessing a body that was being fuelled by pure adrenaline. Surely something like falling asleep should be enough for him to handle. God knows he was emotionally exhausted. Not being able to sleep and spending every moment with your own thoughts would be enough to exhaust anyone. Who knew that would also be the case after death?

“Why would you let me do that again?”

Duncan was wary. On one hand, he was tempted to take up the offer. But this didn’t seem to be an offer made from the goodness of her heart. From the past year, he’d come to realise that Freyja rarely did anything seemingly selfless without some kind of underlying motive. That or she was just bored, and he didn’t know which one worried him more.

Freyja shrugged. “Why not? Besides, I’m curious. I want to know if the theory about cars and drivers is right. I have two conditions though. One, that you get out before we hit port. Two, if you’re somehow able to cart my body around, don’t lose my blanket or any of my other stuff . That includes money. I’m on a budget.”

With that, Freyja dropped her backpack onto her lap and hugged her knees up towards her chin, enveloping herself in the blanket. She watched and waited for Duncan’s response.

He was grabbing at his own sleeves, unsure about what to do. It was strange to see him look so uncomfortable, and he was silent for so long that Freyja regretted ever making the offer.

“Hey, forget it-“

“I don’t even know if I can do it again.” Duncan started, rubbing his arm. “But - I want to try.

“Alright?”

“And I don’t want you watching me.”

Freyja nodded. “Fair enough.” She slumped a little further down on the seat and closed her eyes.

Duncan shut his eyes as well, and took an un-necessary deep breath. He took a moment to steel himself, then peeked out of one eye. Freyja’s eyes were still closed, but her legs were jiggling under the blanket. Impatience or anticipation? Hard to tell.

Screwing both eyes shut, he flew forward, meeting a sudden feeling of warmth followed by a shiver up his spine. Gasping, Duncan opened his eyes. He brushed a silver fringe out of his face. Seated in the deck chair now, he observed the world from this borrowed body. Steadying his breath, he closed his eyes, focusing on each new sense in turn.

Now, having spent more than a few moments in this body, he could also feel Freyja’s consciousness at the back of his mind, and it was slipping steadily towards sleep.

Well, she was right about two things. One, he could definitely feel the exhaustion from this body. It was a wonder she kept going this long. He could feel his eyelids drooping, try as he might to keep them open.

Two, this blanket was undoubtedly warm enough to keep out the winter chill. It was heavy though, weighing down on his body. Not that he minded, it was a comforting weight, like being held in a warm embrace.

He pulled the blanket up to his ears, slowly breathing in the salty sea breeze, feeling the gusts of winter wind across his face. Wrapping his arms around himself, he allowed the sounds of the sea to lull him to sleep.

---

The sounds of screaming (laughing?) children running across the deck jolted both Freyja and Duncan awake, with the latter being suddenly ejected from the former’s body, practically hurtling over the railing.

“Are we there?”

Duncan reeled himself back in on deck before taking a look ahead. “Not far off, the port’s further inland.”

“Ok, ok that’s good.” Freyja rubs sleep from her eyes, stretching herself out. “You have a good rest?”

Duncan turned his head sharply in Freyja’s direction, ready to catch any hint of mockery. But if she was being anything other than genuine, he couldn’t tell by her face. “it was fine.” He answered.

Freyja wandered over to the railing next to Duncan, carefully bundling up her blanket to avoid tripping. He waited for her to interrogate him about the possession, but she didn’t press further. She didn’t even look at him. Rather, she kept her gaze fixed on the water’s edge, taking in the sights. “Can’t wait to see the city.”

Again, Duncan tried to gauge Freyja’s tone. Was she being serious? Sure, a relatively neutral zone like the city centre was nice enough by comparison, but surely she knew the state of things once you ventured past the ring of steel. “You keep up with Muggle news, right?”

“If you’re talking about the situation over here, then yes, I’m aware.”

“I kept up with the news while I could, and I wrote to Gran while I was away as well. But I get the feeling she downplayed a lot of the stuff that happened when I wasn’t there.” Duncan shifted his gaze towards the approaching port. “Now I haven’t been able to write or keep up with the news since ... you know. But I can’t imagine things are much better than when I last came here.”

Freyja took a deep breath before answering. “It’s not the kind of thing that just blows over in a few years.”

“You know what was ironic though?” Duncan let out a mirthless laugh. “My parents told me it would be safer here with my Gran.”

Freyja frowned, but didn’t say anything. Duncan continued. “You know the First Wizarding War started not long after I was born? My family was scared shitless, and they didn’t even see the worst of the attacks, if you can imagine. Muggles were copping the worst of it at that time, and not just from the Death Eaters.”

Duncan’s jaw clenched, and he appeared to be gripping the railing tightly. “sometimes I don’t think my family ever stopped to consider what was happening outside their magical little bubble. Hell, they barely even paid attention to me until I started at Hogwarts. Then they saw that I could be a valuable, contributing member of the magical community.”

The children from before came running and laughing past them again, momentarily filling the silence that had fallen.

“Whether I was at home with my parents or with my Gran, it made no difference to me, safety-wise. There was no escaping what was happening out there. It’s funny - it all seemed so normal, I thought everyone’s childhood was like that. I guess if you never knew any different, you didn’t realise just how messed up it was. “

“By the time the Wizarding War ended, I was already at Hogwarts. I hadn’t been allowed to see Gran since First year. When we heard that You-Know-Who had been defeated, the first thing I did was run off to write a letter to my Gran telling her it was over. Asking if I could come over again.”

“But she said the same thing she’d been saying since I was 11. Not now, we’ll wait til it’s safer.” Duncan sniffed, his expression darkening. “It probably killed her to know that after all the effort she put into protecting me here, I died in a fucking explosion anyway...”

Oh God, things weren’t meant to get this heavy. Freyja had been silently pleading for him to stop talking. But it just kept coming, and she could say nothing. But what could she possibly have said? What input could she have given?

Like Jacob, Duncan’s childhood had been constantly shadowed by the War. Unlike Jacob however, Duncan was unfortunate enough to be caught between two different conflicts from two different worlds. It must have been confusing for him as a small child - not knowing where one finished and the other began.

Freyja racked her brains for something appropriate to say, when the arrival announcement sounded, alerting passengers to gather their belongings and prepare to disembark. Grateful for the interruption, she quickly moved back from the railing and started to fold up her blanket to pack it away.

She stopped mid-fold and ventured a look back at Duncan. He hadn’t moved from the rail, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

“Duncan, I -“

“Don’t bother hurting yourself trying to squeeze out an emotion, that’s not what I was going for.” Duncan turned to face her, his usual fed-up expression back in place. “But I do want to say that... I appreciate what you’re doing. I know Belfast isn’t exactly one of the top tourist destinations for Christmas right now.”

Freyja nodded in acknowledgment, continuing to pack up her blanket.

“Are you scared?” Duncan asked.

Her head snapped up, fixing Duncan with a stern gaze. She tightened the loops on her backpack with a little more force than necessary, and swung it over her shoulder. “An outsider walking into a decades-old sectarian conflict? Should I be scared?”

“Outsider or not makes no difference if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’d be stupid to not be scared.”

Bristling, Freyja jammed her hands into her jacket pockets. She knew perfectly well that being from out of town wasn’t going to be her get-out-jail-free card. She knew that waving her wand around wasn’t going to be any help if she was outnumbered. But part of her just wanted to know if she could do this. A stupid, selfish, insecure part of herself. The same part that reared it’s ugly head when Jacob once again dismissed her as some sort of unnecessary baggage in the Portrait Vault last summer.

“And I know you’re not stupid. Bloody Ravenclaw, and all.”

“My stupidity runs deep, don’t let the blue and bronze fool you.” Freyja grimaced, studiously avoiding eye contact. “but I’m not so stupid to believe that this is going to be a walk in the park.”

The other passengers were filing past now, a more insistent cue for the two of them to get moving. It took two shoulder collisions to bring Freyja out of her reverie, and shake her head clear of nagging doubts. She looked up at Duncan and gave him a decisive nod.

“Come on. We’ll make sure the only one of us who gets back to Hogwarts dead is me, ok? There’s no way I’m sharing my bathroom with you for the rest of eternity.”

---

#hogwarts mystery #duncan ashe #hphm mc #freyja young #this one’s really long I’m so sorry 😂😂#it’s gets a little heavy #but this is where we start kinda getting into Duncan’s head and I didn’t want to cut more out #it’s a bit more comprehensive than my last two to be fair #probably the first thing I’ve uploaded where I’ve put more effort into the text than the pic #the next art I post will definitely be something a little more positive or silly #don’t shoot me I haven’t written this much since uni #Duncan SQ

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doodleimprovement · 4 years

Text

CSAU :: Moonie Jericho and the Mysterious Case of the Moon-Jumper Mask

At long last, It is finished! Happy Halloween!

Below the line is a lighthearted fic taking place in the “Coffee Shop” AU (( @doodledrawsthings ))with Magic! Family fun! Low stakes! And a gratuitous cameo by my OC because of course Nell is here

Seriously though this fic is about as lighthearted as it gets. At the end of the fic are a few sketches I drew but didn’t end up coloring.

((There’s going to be an alternate ending posted separately at a later date, but its not relevant to the fic))

Enjoy!

Fall in Subcon Forest came in gently as always, and by the time Halloween rolled around, everyone was firmly in their sweaters and beanies and thick leggings and hiking boots that were only occasionally used for hiking. The leaves of the trees and the shining sun framed the town in such lovely muted colors that it looked like a picture right out of a magazine.

Not that anyone in the Horizon was looking out the window to see it - the curtains were closed in an attempt to not blind the employees and clientele.

It was that time between the end of school but before trick or treating, which meant that all of the teachers and parents were coming into the Horizon with their kids to get the new specialty drinks - well decorated and tasty, and more importantly, not hilariously overpriced. The kids in particular seemed to love the “Ghoulishly White Hot Chocolate”, and the teens flocked to the “Jack-O-Spices Frozen Pumpkin Latte”

Luka was almost certain that the pumpkin spice smell would burn itself so deep into his nose he’d never be able to un-smell it. A small price to pay for the rise in business, he supposed.

“Luka, Two Snatcher-ccinos!” Clover called from the cash register.

“I still hate that!” He responded with a light tone

“Too bad, make ‘em!” She teased back with a light laugh.

“Don’t get all testy, you two! We’re only open for another hour!” MJ called, grinning before turning back to the coffee machine, where they were effortlessly making yet another latte.

“Too long!” Clover argued, grabbing a muffin for a customer from the bakery display

“You’re telling me, and I still have to take Bow and Hattie trick or treating” Luka huffed, finishing up one of the “Snatcher-ccinos” and moving onto the next one.

“WE are!” MJ corrected. Luka just playfully rolled his eyes.

The conversation ended up dying rather quickly as the business went through its last rush, and, at long last, 4 o’clock came, and the store shut down. The three employees did a rather quickly clean up this night around - they were all eager to be anywhere but work that spooky night.

Once in the back of the store, Luka seemed to almost melt in relief, leaning further and further into the wall.

“Ugh, my limbs feel like Jelly” he commented as his voice gained its echo

“For all we know, they are,” Clover teased. “We’re meeting at MJs in an hour, right?” She stretched.

“Yeah.” Luka nodded “Have they already run off?”

“Yup. They’re excited” She chuckled “You gonna get home alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. See you later”

“Later!”

0o0o0o0o0

That stupid, cursed thing of a mask had not moved in weeks since he’d found it, and its stupid grin had started haunting the corner of his vision when ever he was in his studio.

It seems like it's decided that sitting on the desk in his art studio was its happy place. At least it was out of the way, and in a place he didn’t frequent often.

Though its eyes definitely still moved, which gave MJ hives like you would not believe. Why he kept it in his studio he wasn’t sure.

Tim had told him that the thing was mostly harmless, that it just seemed a bit… off, which wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Timmy even said that he got “good vibes” off of it, which was a strange phrase to use on something that felt at the very least mildly cursed.

Finishing with the caplet for his costume, gently clasping it, he looked in the mirror and gave himself a smile.

It was obscure, sure, but he’d put a lot of work into it! The legend of the “Lonely Man” was well known in these parts, maybe someone would get it. Someone had to.

Whether or not anyone got it, he was still happy with the tattered thing. That faux old age took forever to get right.

As he straightened out his clothes, his eyes caught the mask once more.

His hand picked it up off his desk, and his thumb rubbed on the odd surface. He couldn’t really tell what it was made of, but it was… oddly smooth, he thought. His brow furrowed as he looked at its eyes, a single pupil in its left eye, and a cascade of diamonds in the other. It was certainly an interesting and eye-catching design. He also liked the blue and reds, and that weirdly off-putting grin.

Such an odd thing.

He held it up with one hand over his face - not putting it on, but getting a look in the mirror at how it would look with the outfit.

He found it utterly bizarre that he could see clearly through the eyes despite what seemed like thick paint over it.

The mask itself wasn’t actually that scary when taken all at once. Oddly enough, it seemed to match with his outfit - at least, color wise. It didn’t even seem evil or anything. It seemed… kind.

That was an odd word to use. MJ tended to flip flop on how he feels about the damned thing

Before he could think any more about it, his doorbell rang, and the mask was left on his desk, forgotten the moment company arrived.

“Who is it?” He asked as he approached the door

“The Dread Pirate Roberts!” A little voice announced as the oak opened up.

To his absolute delight, Harriet was dressed indeed the Dread Pirate Roberts, missing nothing but the mask (The town doesn’t allow masks on minors, for some reason. A weird little policy). Next to her stood an excited Bow, grinning from ear to ear. He knew exactly who she was, but still asked-

“And who are you?”

“My name is Inigo Montoya” She said with all the faux-seriousness she could muster, holding up a foam sword “You killed my father, prepare to die!”

“Oh, goodness, the finest swordsperson in the world and The Dread Pirate Roberts have come to my home, I don’t stand a chance!” He moved out of his way as the kids ran into the apartment, and their father walked up behind him.

When his eyes went to Luka, he let out a snort. The man was dressed in a slightly silly looking prince outfit dyed almost completely purple, and his form was mostly purple as well - an energy-saving tactic if ever there was one.

“And you are?”

“He’s the ghost of prince Humperdink” Bow grinned. “This was the best costume we could find for it”

“I honestly think he shoulda died at the end of the movie so I'm cool with it.” Harriet commented as MJ moved to the side and let the group in “Is Clover here yet?”

“Not yet, I’m sure she’ll be here any minute and we can get right along with trick or treating!” MJ announced

“Yay!” the girls responded in unison, taking their place on MJs couch and turning on his old television for a brief moment of entertainment

Mj looked at Luka and grinned “Well, you’re lookin’ spooky, Luka”

“You kind of do too… what do you look like?”

MJ snorted “I’m the ‘Lonely Man of Subcon forest’. Heard of it?”

“Nope, don’t think I’ve been here long enough” Luka shrugged “Does look nice though. Very zombie-ish.”

The two chatted for a bit before there was another ring barely 10 minutes later.

“That must be Clo” MJ pushed himself off of the wall. “Can you get that? I want to grab my wallet so we can get the kids some ice cream before they go running around”

Luka nodded, giving him a grateful smile before turning to the door to greet the final member of the trio

MJ popped back into his studio, grabbing his wallet… and looking again at the mask.

He pocketed his wallet, and picked the mask up again. His thumbs rubbing against the strange texture of the mask’s sides.

He couldn’t help but admit that he was tempted. Maybe, he could just see what it’d look like, just for a moment. Who knows? Maybe this has all been anxiety for nothing and the mask is just… weird.

He looked back into the mirror, and placed the mask on his face.

There was a moment where he stared amusedly at his reflection - it added a certain air to his outfit. Maybe wearing it out wouldn't be so b-

And then his body seized

He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. He trembled and a pain started from his head and traveled down his spine. It was like the worst shiver from the cold he’d ever experienced. Like ice was pressed directly against his skin. It dispersed like a fog, freezing freezing, and, suddenly-

It stopped.

Panting heavily, MJ pulled themselves back up to a standing position - when had they bent over like that? - and lifted their head, making eye contact with themselves in the mirror.

“GAH?!”

They were - blue! And - and the mask was very much not a mask!!!

When they blinked, it blinked. When they moved, it moved. When they grimaced, the mouth moved along to create the expression. their eyes scanned over the crescent shape, past their neck and then landed on their-

“H-hands!” They stared - they were missing a finger and - had claws?? They clenched their fists in disbelief, eyes catching on a glinting just under their sleeve.

.. Where had the chains come from?

“MJ? MJ are you okay?”

Clover

“D-don’t come in, its fine!!” They panicked, “I’m uh, just, finishing up and stuff with my costume!”

“It looked finished to me” Luka commented “Did something rip?”

“Y-yes?? yes! Something totally ripped“

“They’re lying!” Hattie pointed out

“Sounds like their lying voice” Bow added.

Curse these adorable, smart little girls!

“I-I’m fine!” They yelled out “Totally fine, just fine”

“... MJ I’m opening the door, be decent”

“No, Clover, I - “

But the door opened anyway

And Clover - dressed up as “Generic princess” - looked in, and … stared.

“.... MJ?”

“.... H-hi, Clover.”

“Clover, what are-” Luka cut himself off “Uh….”

“It’s me! Its MJ, I uh - “ They tried to come up with a succinct explanation for the situation, despite not having any real idea.

“The mask” Luka quickly concluded, recognizing the face after MJs unfortunately previous run-ins.

“I … yes” MJ’s shoulders slumped a bit.

“Hey, at least you still have feet” Luka commented, causing MJ to look down and see that he did in fact still have his shoes on. Thank heaven for small mercies.

“What happened, what is it?!” Harriet pushed her way through, her eyes wide as saucers once they landed on the recently transformed adult “... Whoa”

“I … I put on the mask. I was curious and - and it..” They looked back down at the pale, blue hands, nervously moving the fingers and claws. “I felt like I was freezing, my whole body and then…” They trailed off.

“Whoa..” Harriet approached him slowly “It's like, Majora’s Mask!”

Lukas put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from jumping - now really was not the time “... I suppose that's one way to describe it.” He gave a deliberate, thoughtful face towards his transformed friend.

Bow was very firmly behind the adults, staring rather intently and slightly bewildered. Sure, she had been getting used to Mr. Princeton as a parent but.. This was somehow very different.

“... We need to talk to Tim.” Clover concluded

“Tim’s out of town” Luka reminded the group with a grimace “He and Timmy had some kind of meeting thing with other magical people. We don’t…” Luka huffed, his hair fluffing up a bit “We don’t know anyone else whose adept at magic like they are”

Harriet furrowed her brow a bit, looking at the discomfort that MJ was experiencing, rubbing their hands together. Could they be stuck like that? She wanted to think that maybe this really was like the Zelda game, but who could tell? It's not like they knew anyone….

“Yes we do!” She snapped her fingers“I kinda hate that Mu was right, but there is a witch in town!”

“What?” Lukas’ brow furrowed “Who?”

0o0o0o0o0

Getting to the edge of town was… novel, to put it simply. The group was rather lucky that Luka was used to doing this sort of thing. And he was about 4 times larger than the group, so that helped in flying them around.

With the sun kissing the earth, red rays crawling into the darker sky, they didn’t have too much time, but followed Harriet and Bow as they got past the town center, and led them down to-

“Wait, why are we at Nell’s place?” Clover stared ahead at the Mint-green home, succulents hanging from pots and a radio sitting on the edge of the porch.

“Because Nurse Nell is a witch!” Harriet announced walking up the two steps of the porch.

“What- Harriet!” Luka startled.

“Its true!” Bow defended as Hattie knocked on the door.

“Kids, we’ve known Nell for a long time, she’s not-”

“She is!” Hattie argued “We saw it!”

“She made us promise to keep it a secret!” Bow added.

Said nurse opened the door as MJ tried to speak up

“I wasn’t expecting trick-or treaters,” She greeted before looking out the door, “But I do-” She paused as her eyes landed on the strange group at her front porch.

There was a rather awkward, extended silence as her eyes scanned MJ through her thick lenses with a gaze that conveyed a strange kind of surprise.

“.... Inside, now” She pulled the door open further, leaving no room for argument.

The adults shared a glance, but did as she said, entering her small living room. She greeted them with a nod as they entered, and shut the door behind them, motioning for MJ to approach her.

She didn’t say a word as they did so, and very slowly lifted her hands to their face, holding it steady as she scrutinized. “What happened? Less than 3 sentences” She half asked/half demanded. Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it was serious.

“Uh, I put on a cursed mask and it uh… did this” They tried to sum up.

“Where did you get the mask?”

“I found it in the forest. I thought it was abandoned from the spirit festival”

“And why did you pick up an abandoned mask in the forest?”

They awkwardly didn’t respond. She sighed

“I get it, hun” She responded, resigned. “Stay still”

“I am”

“Stiller”

Clover and Luka watched her with some skepticism, seeing the woman take a deep breath, and as she exhaled, her hands suddenly glowed dimly, tapping at the side of MJs head.

“Hah! See! Told you!” Hattie pointed, jumping slightly

“Shhhhhhhh!” Bow shook her “She’s doin’ magic stuff!”

“Hm…” She masterfully ignored the yelling children “Well, good news is that the magic isn’t very strong, Just… aggressive.” Nell announced. “And it's not malevolent” She let go of their face.

“... I… How can you tell?” MJ asked, their own hand tapping their blue cheek.

“.. Let's say it's a feeling” She summed up. “You can sit down. I need to grab something from my library”

And she left the room

“.... I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nell that serious” Clover spoke out “Also the uh, glowing hands? Didn’t know she could do that”

“How did you not know she had magic?” Luka asked with a rather incredulous tone

“It never came up!” Clover retorted

“How did it never come up?”

“Its cool!” Harriet jumped into the conversation

“It think its cool too” Bow agreed “I always wondered how my paper cuts at school always healed so fast…”

MJ had sat themselves down, hand staying on their head, feeling the strange curve of their forehead with a certain fascination. Nell’s words - said with so much affirmation- did make them feel better about the situation.

The nurse returned, her expression still relatively serious, but calmer as she carried an old, thick book with a rather overly ornate cover in a faded blue.

“You’re lucky I collect these old things” She commented for a moment, sitting down next to MJ. She flipped through the pages, finding a two-page spread with a plain mask listed on it, and text printed so small that MJ just could not read it. “Here we are.”

Harriet climbed up next to her “What's it say? That’s a lot of words!”

Nell chuckled a bit at her eagerness “It is, but... “ she hand rested on the book for a moment, and then she lifted it, and the text glowed, lifting and circling around her hand like a ring.

“Whoa…. It's like the unknown from the Pokémon movie!” Bow jumped, causing Nell to laugh more.

“A little, I suppose” Nell responded, and she looked over at the other two adults, mostly at Clover, whose bewildered stare caused her to laugh again “You okay there?”

“... How did I not know this about you?”

“Never came up, dear. Don’t think too hard about it. You too, “Snatcher”” The woman gave a smirk. Luka cleared his throat. “Now…”

A simple flick of her hand, and the letters were floating around MJ’s head, and some of them glowed just a little bit brighter “Hm….. Alrightie, that's a good sign” She snapped, and the letters, very suddenly disappeared as if popping a bubble. “Well, Give until dawn, and then you should be able to take off the mask. If you can’t, come to me. I don’t work tomorrow”

“Oh… Well, that uh, wasn’t so bad. I’ll be okay?”

“Of course” Nell nodded, shutting the book “I’d’ve called the Kagai’s the moment I let go of your face if I thought otherwise”

“The who?” Hat questioned.

“Another time, Hattie, another time” Nell placated. “Now….” she exhaled, putting the book on her coffee table and clasping her hands together “I just realized I haven’t even said hello to any of you”

Something about that sentence finally broke the tension, getting a laugh out of Clover and Luka, and a snicker out of MJ.

The next ten minutes consisted of Nell reassuring the group that MJ would be fine, and reiterating that they needed to come to her if the mask did not come off by sunrise.

“There’s a lot of magic in this that I can sense. So uh, just be careful.” She warned. “I don’t know a lot about that, so you’ll have to ask Tim”

MJ nodded “Uh, thank you, Nell”

She gave them a kind smile “Don’t mention it. Next time you need me though, have Clover send me a message or just call me, alright?” She looked passed them to Harriet, who gave her a sheepish smile.

“Got it” The transformed barista nodded.

“Oh and, don’t be too worried about people seeing you. Just say it's a costume” She recommended as they walked out with their family waiting just beyond the porch. “Happy Halloween!” She called before abruptly shutting the door

“So……” Bow started

“Can we go trick or treating now??” Hattie finished.

Luka looked up to MJ, who seemed much calmer than before, despite continuing to lift their hand to their weirdly shaped head.

“.. Yeah, yeah i think we can” they gave Luka a grin “And thanks for getting us the help, Hattie” MJ reached down and picked her up “Who knew the Dread Pirate Roberts could be such a help!”

The girl giggled before being put back down “Then let’s go!!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

MJ was initially a bit tittered when they entered the town, but the moment anyone noticed them, the compliments rolled in.

“Wow! You look like a spooky zombie!”

“What game is that cosplay from?”

“How did you get the prosthetic to look like that, damn!”

“Wow, that is a really cool idea for the Lonely Man!”

MJ was beaming at the semi-undeserved praised as they took the kids from neighborhood to neighborhood, filling their pillow cases close to brimming with so much candy that Luka kept making a face and seemed to be mentally preparing to hide all of it, whispering to Clover and MJ about taking some of the candy so that it wasn’t all in his apartment.

“Seriously, all that candy?? They’re going to get cavities and I cannot pay for dental work like that.” The father aggressed. MJ just laughed a bit, looking ahead at the two girls who were trying to run ahead to the next house.

And then Bow’s foot caught a crack.

“Ah, Bow!” MJ startled, hand reaching out - but there was no way they’d reach her before she fell-

And then, she just stopped falling, stuck in midair as if floating.. But she wasn’t.

Upon closer examination, she was held up by a variety of red strings, connected to MJ’s clawed fingers

“... Uh”

“Whoaaaa” Hattie gaped “Magic! Cool!”

Bow pulled himself up to a standing position, and MJ put their hand down, the strings disappeared

“.. Thanks” Bow cleared her throat “That was really cool”

“It kind of was... “ They commented, looking down at their hands “I’m gonna be having a heck of a long talk with Tim when he gets back from wherever he is”

“Yeah, definitely” Luka nodded in agreement.

Lucky for the group the rest of the night went without incident, with MJ joining Luka at home and the two of them staying up until the sun started showing through the windows.

“Ready?” Luka asked him, the being no longer human shaped, as he’d finally reached his limit

“Yeah.. I think so” MJ took in a breath “She said it can just… come off like how I put it on…”

“Alright….” Luka’s voice trailed off as MJ reached their hands up to their face, thumbs by their cheeks, but then - wait! The edge, the mask! They felt it.

Barely bothering to breath, they mentally counted… 1… 2… 3!

they pulled it off and gasped as that icy feeling went through them even faster than last time, trembling and nearly falling over as Luka kept them up with their tail.

“Hey, hey! You okay MJ?”

MJ looked up, nodding “Yeah, uh, how do I..?”

“You’re back to a nerd, if that's what you’re asking” Luka lightly teased

Their hands went back up to their face, and gasped when they felt their regular skin, and their glasses (Where had they gone? Didn’t matter)

“Oh, thank god” The tired barista flopped onto their partner, “That was exhausting. Thank goodness the Horizon is closed today…”

“Hah, ready to sleep?”

“Oh, definitely” MJ commented, looking down at the mask still in their hand, its smile seeming not nearly as spooky than before.. “Hm..”

“What?”

“.. Why’d it choose me, I wonder” They muttered, sitting up and placing the mask by the window sill “But… we’ll see about finding out more, hm?”

“.. Yeah, we will” Luka confirmed.

MJ gave him a smile, hugging his partner with a slight nuzzle “Come on, we need to sleep. Hattie and Bow-”

“Oh, don’t remind me. We’re in for a hell of an afternoon” Luka groaned, but he was still smiling.

Saying that things were “back to normal” was never correct with this group, but things were still pretty okay. Maybe better, even.

Moonie figured they’d just have to wait and see.

BONUS::

Costumes! I wasn’t able to finish these in time, but I hope they suffice!

#doodledrawsthings #coffee shop au #ahit coffee shop au #ahit #a hat in time #ahit moonjumper #moonjumper #ahit snatcher #snatcher #ahit hat kid #hat kid #ahit bow kid #bow kid #ahit florist #florist #ahit oc #ahit nell #csau nell #nell

283 notes · View notes

mediicusvitae · 2 years

Note

🍒+ ikkaku-of-heart :)

{ @ikkaku-of-heart | Positivity meme – Not accepting! }

{ Another one where I don't even know where to start! }

Anubis, as you are well aware, I was absolutely terrified of reaching out to you in the beginning. I admired your incredible writing skill from afar before I finally got my butt kicked by my friends to message you, and even then I had to hide behind anon to gush about your skill!

Unfortunately (or fortunately in this case) my writing style is terribly obvious, lmao. A little happy dance was danced when you followed me back, and I am so, so happy that we got to talking!

Your catalogue of Lovecraftian horrors is a marvel to witness, and I am still greedily inhaling every little tidbit of Joras lore you decide to share with the world. You fleshed this mysterious foggy island and its inhabitants out so well that it now truly feels like a piece of canon to me and I'd love to go on a spOoOoooky vacation on it if I wouldn't be eaten by the Old Ones in the first two minutes after stepping off the ferry c': Though I'd definitely love to try some lobster ice cream!

As for Ikkaku - I know how hard it can be to develop a character that you know next to nothing about, but you fleshed her out so fantastically! Sorry, Oda, this badass narwhal lady belongs to Anubis now! You turned a character that so few people would look twice at into such a complex woman with a detailed backstory and personality, and the love and dedication you have for her is evident in every single post on your blog.

You are truly a gem of an inspiration/roleplayer/cosplayer/fanfiction writer/friend who is a true delight to speak and write with, and also the main reason why I ship LawNa. Your fics, drabbles and threads with other roleplayers are always a fantastic read! I never feel awkward running ideas by you, something that usually doesn't come easily to me. You're always coming up with such interesting plots and scenarios and trading angsty ideas back and forth with you is always a blast! I just love drawing silly doodles inspired by our conversations, and it always gets me so flustered when I see you using my art for Ikkaku as icons because I just feel so very flattered??? That you enjoy them so much to cooperate with them into your blog????? Alongside your fantastic writing?????? I don't think I'll ever get over this to be honest (*ﾉД`*)･ﾟ･。♥

Thank you so much for wanting to interact with Lamy's several verses, especially the Survived verse because it holds such a special place in my heart! Same goes for the three-way sibling relationship we are developing together with Ashi ;u; Lamy is still stubbornly refusing to get close to her future nakama because she doesn't want to get attached, but we both know that this will be futile. Ikkaku will play a huge role in her finally accepting that she is a Heart Pirate now and that they won't allow the Government to hurt her any longer, and their sibling interactions just warm my heart.

Ikkaku is going to be one of the main reasons why Lamy won't be able to temporarily leave the Hearts without bawling, and the sole reason why she won't end up dying alone in a moldy prison cell because of the stupid self-sacrificing brain cell that the Trafalgar siblings seem to share. The happy ending of this story will rely on one curly head, and I am so looking forward to their jail talks, having them trash a whole marine base together and Ikkaku having a badass shark heritage moment in the process!

I wrote far too much again, but who can blame me? Anubis, you are a gorgeous, funny, creative and skilled human being with a heart of gold and the same goes for your muse! Thank you for brightening up my days ♥ Here's to many more interactions!

Ps. You're the only person I know who fences, and I think that that is literally the coolest hobby ever!

#{ thank you for sending anon <3333 }#ikkaku-of-heart #ikkakuofheart #;outofspots #;asks #;answered #;anonymous

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scullyy · 4 years

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Afterglow

Pairing: Clementine x Louis

Word Count: 2k

Summary: Once the party has finished, the children sulk off to their rooms, worrying about the fight ahead. For Clementine and Louis, the night is still young.

A/N: welp….I was gone for longer than I thought. It was a nice break, I hadn’t realised how much I actually needed it. Despite that, I missed everyone, I missed being here. So I figured what way to come back than by posting a one-shot I’m high-key proud of?

Enjoy xx

Does the darkness have a name?

As AJ blew out the last candle, that’s all there was. Darkness. The odd ray of moonlight poured into the room, shining through the wooden beams covering the window. It was on all of their faces, shadows making them appear older. They all felt it, together. A sombre harmony.

Clementine watched her friends slink out of the room, whispering their goodnights. She noticed the gentle shake on Ruby’s shoulders, her hands held tightly together, trying to comfort her own mind. Tenn and Willy walked away together, thankful that their friendship wasn’t long gone, thankful for the pleasant distraction.

She wondered when it first appeared, this darkness. Had it crept into their lives as children? Already apart of the world long before they were ever born, or was it new? Festering on the decay and newfound rot. She pulled her jacket around herself, trying to conceal the darkness that was definitely within her.

She was so wound up in her brooding thoughts, she didn’t even notice the small presence beside her until he tugged at her pant leg. “Clem?” Her goofball looked up at her with tired, sunken eyes. “Can we go to bed?”

Clementine would have taken his little hand and gladly dream of lighter things if there still wasn’t someone in the room. Hiding away from the moonlight, wrapped up in more darkness than anyone, Louis. His hands now lay empty beside him, the keys on his dear piano lonely. A few minutes ago he was lighting up the room with his tune, capturing the attention of everyone. Now he hid away into himself, a form Clementine hadn’t seen from him before.

“You run off kiddo, I’ll be there soon,” Knowing he would want to stay by her side, she gave AJ a little push out the room, quickly waving goodbye until the door was shut completely. He was still so new, he didn’t understand what the darkness even was and why it won’t ever go away. She turned back to Louis, finding him now tracing the edge of the keys. The silence was haunting, he didn’t fit into it at all. “I can tell that something is on your mind.”

He inhaled deeply before answering. “I’m wondering what Violet is doing right now.”

Clementine froze on the spot, her feet attached to the muddy carpet only because he was brave enough to say what everyone was thinking. “I don’t know. If Lilly wants soldiers I’m sure she won’t hurt any of them.”

“Yeah, you might be right,” Rather he hoped she was. All of them; Aasim, Omar and Violet. This woman, Lilly, was so ruthless. Yet it exposed just how blind Louis was, how unsafe and vulnerable they had been this entire time. “How many more of us have to die before the dust finally settles?” Hearing Willy and Tenn list off the names of their old school mates unlocked memories Louis filed away, hoping to never tread across again. The kid they found chomped to bits by the river, the debate club president they found hanging from the basketball hoop, the girl Louis used to sit next to in art class was barely recognizable when the walkers left her by the river. Her neon purple socks being the only telling feature.

Clementine felt it again; that strange thump in her heart, out of tune with the rest of her body. If the darkness did have a name, she assumed it would be her own. Bringing death and war wherever she went; the motor inn, Marsh House, the cabin group, Howe’s Warehouse, hell even the Garcia’s. People ran or they died and Clem couldn’t decide which was worse. “We’re going to be okay-”

“You can’t promise that!” Louis whipped his head right at her, revealing the red veins popping in his glazed eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, pressing at the tight knots that never seemed to go away. “Sorry. I’m just scared. I’ll, uh..I’ll sleep it off, that should help.” This was everything. His parent’s divorce. Marlons’ death. Violet’s, Omar and Aasims’ capture. Every shrapnel of pain, guilt and grief throwing him into the shallow end.

She knew it all too well. “Louis, you’re not going to bed,” Clementine recognised the look on his face, she had seen it on AJ countless times before and it always lead to nightmares and restlessness. She glanced inside the case for the classical record, finding another one inside, secretly hidden away. Lady luck was on her side for once. After setting it all up in the gramophone, she twirled over to him extending her hand. “Dance with me.”

He looked at her hand then back at her, trying to decipher what she was doing. “What?”

“C'mon, or can you not dance?”

She could see it, the darkness rolling off his shoulders like a wave lurching off a steady rock. A cheeky smile appeared on his face slowly, her Louis was shining through once again. The silly boy she had fallen for. “Oh, I can dance. I’m just not sure you’ll be able to keep up with me.” He hopped up, rubbing his sweaty palms against his jeans. When did it get so hot in here?

Clem took a final step closer, their shoes now touching. “Then show me.” She breathed into his ear, enjoying her little sense of pride as the roaring moonlight exposed his flustered expression. No longer were his eyes hollow and empty, now returning to their glowing form.

The gramophone sprang to life as the song began to fill up the room, an entity all of its own as it seemed to brush away the dark clouds nesting around them. Or perhaps it was love, crawling under their skin as they slyly glanced at each other. Either way, what bliss.

I’ll be seeing you In all the old familiar places

Louis shook his head, trying to string together a sentence. “Let’s…uh, how do we start?” They readied their hands into the right position, even if it was entirely based on what they saw on tv as children; his hands crossed around her waist, hers snaked around his neck. “You want to stand on my feet?”

Clementine’s eyebrows pursed together, her nose crinkling. “Is that a short joke?”

He hummed it over, purposefully ignoring her stubborn gaze with a slight glint in his eye. “It is now.”

That this heart of mine embraces All-day and through

Louis twirled her around beneath their natural spotlight, letting the sparks from the moon push against the claws of the darkness. It fell away from their minds just as quickly as it took ahold of them. “Never took you for the dancing type.”

“There’s still a lot you don’t know about me, Lou.”

In that small cafe The park across the way The children’s carousel

He pulled her in rather closely, placing his lips against the tip of her ear. “I look forward to finding out more then.”

The chestnut trees The wishing well

A fleet of giggles broke free from both of them as he twirled her for the umpteenth time. Clementine found the room still spinning once she was back in his arms but she didn’t mind, he was there to keep her close. He was the only thing she was certain of these days. “Told you we would have plenty of time for dates.”

Louis madly grinned from ear to ear. “This is another date? Damn, two in one day. I think that might be a new record.” His normally chipper voice had somehow reached a new level of glee, making her already frantically beating heart soak in the sound.

I’ll be seeing you In every lovely summer’s day In everything that’s light and gay I’ll always think of you that way

Clem bit at her lip, considering what exactly he had proposed. “I don’t think it is…”

“It is now, I decree it!” He sang out loud in his typical fashion.

She rolled her eyes, a common reaction to his quips. But unlike the other kids, Clem was still smiling. “You can’t just make up new records, there’s a system, it takes time.”

“Of course I can!” He twirled her with a tad more ferocity this time, letting her get distracted from the silly debate as she couldn’t help but squeal, her feet at frantic work to keep her level.

I’ll find you in the morning sun And when the night is new

Louis pulled her in closer than they originally were before, gazing down at her. His eyes softer, radiating warmth. A warmth she hadn’t seen in another human for quite a while.

“Time doesn’t exist anymore.”

Clementine gently patted his shoulder, returning to her original stance. “Let’s just get through tomorrow, then we can discuss our future.”

Their future.

I’ll be looking at the moon But I’ll be seeing you

Their future could be anything; her wish was his law. Anything she wanted or desired for the chance to show her he could be it all. He could be hers and she could be his and they could be together and it would work.

As if he wasn’t already hers the moment she graced his lowly life with her presence.

I’ll be seeing you In every lovely summer’s day

“Ow!”

“Sorry!”

“Maybe I should stand on your feet.” Clementine huffed as she attempted to shake the pain out of her foot. The heel of his boot was a lot harder than she had considered, then again she never gave his shoes much thought. Not when there were other more charming factors about him to focus on.

In everything that’s light and gay

His eyes shot down to his feet, watching carefully with every step he took. “Maybe I’m not that good at dancing.” There was no beat or melody to their odd little dance, their feet just stepping wherever and however.

I’ll always think of you that way

Gently placing her finger beneath his chin, she raised his head back up, forcing their eyes to meet. “You’re not too bad, we’ll just have to practice.”

“Oh ho ho! Practice? More dates? I like the sound of that!”

I’ll find you in the morning sun

She considered her next words carefully, not wanting to burst this enchanted bubble they had made. “It means you can’t die on me tomorrow.”

Louis almost didn’t hear her over the music, until the words settled and the weight of it clicked. It was there; death and the darkness that came with it. Not just for the war they were about to embark on, but every day after that too. “You can’t die on me either. This is a two way street.”

And when the night is new

She knew the weight of these two simple words, yet declared them anyway. “I promise.”

His much larger arms clung to her much smaller waist and gently dipped her to the floor, her hat tumbling down, though neither of them cared. She clung onto his shoulders tightly, her nails digging into his warm coat, wondering if he was trembling the same way she was. “Me too.” He promised, with nothing but love on the mind.

Their eyes remained linked; copper melting with bronze. The darkness had sulked away, letting the moment remain in a light bliss shared by the two. A new, hopeful harmony.

I’ll be looking at the moon But I’ll be seeing you

#twdg #the walking dead game #the walking dead game season four #twdg clementine #twdg louis #twdg clouis #twdg louisentine #clouis #louisentine #twdg clem x louis #clem x louis #telltales the walking dead #twdgs4 #twdg the final season #twdg fanfiction #twdg headcanons #fanfiction #scullyy #my work

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prongsisabadger · 3 years

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TWP Chapter 27

The fact that the extraction team was in orbit didn't mean we would be getting out of Felucia right away. The separatist forces had blockaded the system and the fighters would have to punch a hole in it first. I would have worried about it if it hadn't been the 104th that had been sent. The pack had incredibly talented pilots, most of them reassigned to him after their former squadrons had been destroyed.

Very early on, Master Plo had decided he would take in any troopers who had lost their entire squads and needed to be reassigned. According to Ahsoka, some Masters thought it silly. Why want a battalion made up of whichever troops death hadn't claimed? None of them had worked together before, they didn't know each other's dynamics and would probably be an inefficient group of traumatized misfits.

Turns out they weren't. Scarred and burdened with survivor's guilt, the members of the Pack got very close, very fast because they had a lot in common: they all yearned for comfort, a place to belong to. That is what the Pack was. In addition to that, Master Plo's caring yet imposing nature made for an incredible leader to rally behind. That, and soldiers who survive the loss of an entire squadron are either lucky or skilled, either way they were both good things to have in battle.

So you could see why I wasn't concerned, the best pilots in the GAR were coming to break the blockade, and break the blockade they would. There were brothers to save, Generals to aid and their very own Commander to get back. I will not lie and say I thought myself unimportant to the Pack, no, I knew I could count on them to have my back whenever I needed them because they knew I would give my life to protect them too.

Still, with the two droid battalions approaching fast from the northeast, and the possibility of the divided forces in front of us overwhelming Ahsoka, I had no time to waste keeping my eye on the sky. I had the 212th to protect too. I put all my worries aside and focused on the battle at hand. It was amazing how fast I could force my mind to compartmentalize things in the heat of battle. I realized it all came crashing down on me once the adrenaline abbed away and I found myself in a safe environment once again. It made sense, in my mind, to be able to do it, I had been Plo Koon's padawan for a few years before the start of the war and most of that time I'd been training in Dorin. The only real action I ever saw was as a member of the GAR and I'd been surrounded by soldiers the entire time. It was only natural for me to learn from and adapt to my environment.

"Commander!" it took me a second to realize it was T.H. over the comm who was trying to reach me. "Commander, do you read me?"

"Yes, T.H."

"Commander, the enemy to the northeast is five minutes out. We'll be outflanked any minute." There was distress in his voice, urgency, but not fear. He believed we would get out of there no matter the cost. but it would cost.

I turned to my master and started to back away and towards T.H's position before I yelled, "Master! I'm off to reinforce the northeast, the enemy is almost here."

He nodded, never taking his gaze away from the droids marching towards us.

"Make sure the men are ready to leave at a moment's notice."

I crossed the clearing as fast as I could, jumping over ammo crates and sprinting full speed to where I could feel T.H. As I approached the like of firing troopers, I switched my saber ona and took my stance right at the front. This was going to get ugly.

"Alright, boys, the 104th is trying to break through, we better stay alive until they arrive!" I said in as light a tone as I could manage. "Whoever kills more tinnies gets free drinks!"

"You heard the Commander, Fellas" chuckled Waxer over the comms. "She's buying my drinks tonight!"

"Yeah right, you have the aim of a geonosian bug, Waxer. I'm getting those drinks!" answered another clone.

Suddenly the commlink was alive with light hearted banter and renewed morale born of healthy competition.

"If I win though, you boys are buying for me, and I'm planning on hitting Coruscant clubs hard once we head back." I chuckled, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. We were all trying not to lose our cool as we waited for the next wave of droids to arrive and it showed.

"I never thought you were the type, Commander." Teased Boil.

"I'm not, but one's 18th solar return happens only once, trooper. And I didn't have my Age of Responsibility celebration last year, the war kinda got in the way." I laughed.

The commlink went wild, and all of a sudden I had half a platoon making arrangements for when we went back to Coruscant. The battle started, but no one seemed to notice, they were all too excited planning a bar hopping route and picking who was in charge of what for each of them. Was it unprofessional? Very much so, yes. The entire situation seemed almost fictional: troopers staring death in the face while excitedly planning a celebration. But I hadn't been aiming for professionalism, I had wanted to give them something to look forward to. I wanted them to have something to fight for other than their lives, as trivial as a solar return celebration seemed at the moment.

We had little time left on the battlefield anyway. The Pack had managed to create an opening in the enemy's blockade of Felucia and now the gunships were landing all over us to get every single soldier, Jedi and Padawan off the Force forsaken planet. I almost didn't realize the clone that came up behind me and started to lay cover fire had his armour painted gray. It was only when I felt Art through the Force that I realized we were going home.

The entire force that had been guarding the north east boarded the gunships without a second's hesitation.

"Double time, Boys. We still have to make it up to the cruiser!" I encouraged them as they all moved.

Once every last man was on board I ordered the pilot to take off. After getting clear of the foliage, I made a head count and found every trooper was present and accounted for. I reported to Master Kenobi of our situation and took the liberty of asking about Ahsoka.

"Your friend is following her Master's teachings," Said Obi-Wan with what sounded like a frustrated sigh in my ear. "I hope her habit of disobeying orders isn't contagious. I'd hate to have to go through this again with you, Kriari."

I chuckled, thinking of all those stories he had told me about Anakin as a Padwan.

"Don't worry, Master, I think Master Skywalker's made your hair go gray enough."

"Careful, young one, Anakin might be offended." He retorted with a light tone. I assumed Master Skywalker was somewhere around him and listening to every word we said.

I cut the link and focused on the rising tension around me. The gunship was swerving violently from side to side as the pilots attempted to keep us all airborne and alive. I felt the need to reassure them, tell them everything was going to be okay. But I didn't want to lie. My connection to the Force was strong, but not strong enough to see the future.

"So, who's paying for drinks tonight?"

...

"And then there was this huge argument -mid flight- about who had had the most kills and who hadn't because apparently the Commander thought alcohol was the best encouragement for the 212th. And now we need to coordinate this big ass Solar Return celebration because both battalions got excited and wanted in." Explained Headfirst trying not to laugh at how ridiculous the situation had been. "I mean the pilot was trying not to get shot down and still he went 'If I get us all on board the cruiser, do I get free drinks too?'"

The entire table burst out in laughter as we had our first meal post battle. I had left both Master Kenobi and Skywalker to deal with Ahsoka and what I assumed was a major fuck up judging by how serious they all were being about it. AfterI finished my meal, I left the men to their own devices so I could get cleaned up.

It took the Pack no time to welcome me back. I got salutes, pats on the shoulder, on the back and even a few "good to have you back, Commander" as I walked down the corridors and to my quarters to shower.

Scrubbing the dirt and grime of the battlefield felt better than I had anticipated. I was sore from the explosion and the rough landing that followed, but nothing seemed to be broken. I waited for my clothes to dry after washing them with an old robe wrapped around me. I had missed my quarters aboard the ship so much. The walls had been decorated by a few of Art's creations, a mirror and a few pictures of the Pack and I after missions. The sheets had been changed from their original grey and white to more earthy tones -I had been missing the Temple quite a lot at the time- and the closet had most of my clothes in it, if not all of them. The lingering smell of incense I'd burned the last time I had been on board still stuck to the walls and sheets. This had become my home after the Temple had been flooded by force sensitive children escaping the war. And the cozyness and familiarity of it all put me more at ease than I had been in a very long time. Not that I didn't like the 212th or my quarters there, but it was definitely not the same, even if I wore their colors on the armour for my left arm.

I got re-dressed and dried and styled my hair in its usual side part before re-braiding the longer strand on the back of my neck. I -of course- put my armour back on, but not without polishing it first. A Jedi must always look their best, they are a symbol and a representation of the Republic in the war. If we were roughed up, disheveled and dirty then it didn't do any good for morale.

As I finished smoothing away my robes, someone knocked on my door, which was odd in itself. I had already given my report and spoken to the hologram of the Council before heading for the mess hall. I hadn't had the chance to speak with either Master Plo or Wolffe because they were both engaged in post-battle protocol and I hadn't wanted to disturb them. I would get to see them later anyway now that my tour with Master Kenobi had come to an end.

I opened the door to a stone faced Wolffe. His posture and demeanor only seemed to have gotten colder and rougher during the time we'd been apart, but I still could feel how uneasy and unsure he was as he stood there, proud and strong as someone of his rank and experience.

"Commander, I wasn't expecting visits, I was on my way to the bridge to greet you and Master Plo." I said with a smile and just a smidge of confusion in my tone.

Wolffe only grew more uncomfortable with each second which was very unusual of him. I knew we had been on almost friendly terms when we last saw each other so this sudden change puzzled me greatly.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked finally, a little lost on what to do at his lack of an answer.

This seemed to startle him because he rejected my offer right away, like the idea was preposterous -which it might have been but I had a mute soldier in front of my quarters so what was I to do?

"I was-" he started before clearing his throat, his cheeks tinting slightly. "I was here to deliver something to you on behalf of the 104th." he said, pulling out a sheath from behind him.

It wasn't longer than my forearm and the sheath was the exact same grey color as my utility belt and lightsaber. Unable to say anything I took the weapon and unsheathed it. It was a beautifully crafted vibroblade. I looked up at Wolffe, grateful, confused, and a little giddy. He didn't return my gaze, in fact he was purposefully avoiding it. I didn't mind, he wasn't the type to show he cared, this was very new to him.

"Thank you, Wolffe. It's beautiful," I said, securing it horizontally on my belt at the small of my back. "But to what do I owe this amazing gift?"

Wolffe's face colored even further as he steeled his resolve and turned to look me in the eyes.

"Your armour has too much orange in it. We felt a little more gray was necessary."

#TWP #clone wars fan fiction #star wars the clone wars #plo koon #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #commander wolffe #captain rex #padawan!oc

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universallywriting · 3 years

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I got tagged by the always wonderful @suf-fering so I’ll give a little positivity a try, lol. In no particular order, half art and half writing:

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work!

Long post of art and writing under the cut, and it’s all about me me me and not anyone else so askld;asj; read at your own risk

1. I’ve been learning to draw this year, and I like the little Twig I drew from Hilda. Baby Boy.

2. On that same note, I drew a cartoon otter for pinktober. he’s a cutie too.

3. I drew an emote this year that everyone uses. I’m very proud of that, lol.

4. I’ve enjoyed drawing flowers this year.

5. Of Friendship and Fantasies, because it was fun to write a piece exploring gender and sexuality and having it be just, like, pure comedy and fun. I feel like we always have to write about it like it’s a big, serious thing. It’s nice to write about it casually.

Stars, it would have been funny if they had kissed. Connie thought about it for the next week as she tried to focus on school. She wouldn't mind at all if Steven kissed her as a girl. Steven was Steven after all. It'd be cute and silly if she did. She should tell Steven that - that if they kissed while in girl-mode it would be really cute and fun.

Connie thought about it during class, her eyes glazing over during a math lecture she had already mastered. The end of her pen pressed to her lips in a fake kiss. It wasn’t weird to kiss her pen. She wasn’t uncomfortable. So it really shouldn’t be a big deal to kiss Steven just because she had her boobs on for the day, or something like that.

She wondered if Steven would kiss any different as a girl, if they were really kissing and not just doing a fun peck (which was actually normal in other cultures, so they could definitely kiss on the cheek to say hi). Would she be gentler about kissing? But Steven's girl-mode wasn't really gentler. If anything boy-mode Steven was softer.

So maybe girl-mode Steven would be the kind of person who would pounce on her neck like a vampire. She could see that. Or maybe she'd keep that kind of flirty tone. She'd kiss her really slow, until Connie was flustered and asking her to hurry up. Or maybe she'd be the shy type if Connie was interested, and her cool face would go all wide eyed and parted lips as Connie slowly leaned down and kissed her deep and slow.

It was fun to think about, was all.

6. Wheels. All of it. The whole thing. I’m not even gonna bother taking a snippet from it. Just, like, as a whole, Wheels was great to write. I loved writing, I feel it fit into the established canon really well, and it’s just a really fun, interesting piece.

7. Gap Year! Lol, had to say that one. If I had to pick, out of everything, my favorite chapter is absolutely Chapter 16: Sunrise. It is a chapter that focuses entirely on therapy, on healing, on learning how to cope with the things that trauma leaves behind.

I desperately needed to see healing for the characters I loved. And though there was plenty for Steven, I never saw any for Connie. So I wrote it myself. I worked with a lot of great people to make it as good as I could, and I know it meant a lot to a lot of people. The whole story did. But that chapter I’m proud of most of all, because more than anything else I think we should focus on the work it takes to heal.

Stories of healing are interesting and valuable and good and we should have more of them.

8. Second User! I could probably fill a top eight just with scenes from Second User. I really had so much fun writing it. Second User is the kind of fic I write where I barely care about my audience and I do it all for me, lol. And I just really, really love writing the horror of nightmares - no blood, no gore, just the surreal terror your mind makes.

There was a way out of this. She tugged on a wrist-thick cord, weaving her hands through the tangled mess and dragging the binding to her mouth. Her lip curled back, teeth bared, and she snapped around the bitter rope.

Everything was pain.

Not in her body, but in her heart, her mind. She was a child on the beach, a ruined ship jutting up from the sand - the aftermath to a battle she never got to see. Steven was gone, hiding, done with her for the first time. The world had turned scary and he was the protector and she was the protected and the split in their worlds loomed below her feet like a canyon.

Her eyes burned and she tried to breathe, but her throat and mouth were full. She coughed, gasped, and oak leaves scraped across her tongue on their way out into the air.

The cord sat, half severed by her teeth in her hands, and it bled green acid. It flowed over her mouth, across her hands, dripped slowly down her arms with a sizzling pain she couldn’t feel. The tangy scent of scorched wild mustard filled her nose.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” her own voice asked coldly.

She tried to speak, but no sound would come. The acid was thick like blood, coating her tongue and teeth and lips and hands, and she had nothing to heal it away. She swallowed the poison and felt the thickness creep along her throat to her belly, and revulsion and disgust nearly brought it back up.

Also at the end that i kinda wanted to say Listen All Night Long but, like... I also feel like it was so much more of a collab and such a big reason I loved it so much is because of Kerry’s beautiful designs, and working with her to create something cool. I don’t know if it was my best work, but I know that the stuff we made together was really great! And it was so much fun to have quippy, silly prose throughout too. So special category for collabing with suffering on that one, because i have no idea how to classify it but i fucking loved it.

#long post #top 8 #thanks for the tag #love u kerry

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sagemoderocklee · 3 years

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2020 has been a weird fucking year, to put it mildly. There have been a lot of ups and downs, and with New Year’s Eve and the start of 2021 upon us, focusing on the ~positive~ seemed like a better way to end the year, and hopefully start 2021 feeling inspired and proud for overcoming this horrendous year.

For many people, it was difficult--even impossible--to get anything done this year (myself included), and that’s okay! But if you were able to make progress on writing projects, even if it was just one or even if it was just part of one, you should celebrate that! I wish I’d thought of this sooner and organized it better, but regardless I wanted to celebrate my own accomplishments with regards to my writing, and encourage others to do the same! I was going to tag people, but I’m not sure with it being 2 hours til midnight for me if that would feel like putting too much pressure on others, so if you want to do this too please do!

This wrap up is honestly just a self-indulgent look back on the works I’ve made and what I learned/gained from each, maybe what I don’t like about them, some totaling on what I did, and some resolutions for the next year. It’s silly, but I think it’s kinda fun and if you missed any of the things I have posted this year, you’ll find them here!

2020 Fic Wrap Up:

Kado: Parts II+III (COMPLETED)

Kado was started in September of 2019 for the @puregaalee summer event. This was a last minute thing that I started the day the prompt was due and managed to write the first part in about 6 hours while sitting in a cafe--remember that? Sitting in cafes? Man, I miss that. I hadn’t anticipated working on Kado, but I decided that I was going to finish it this year, and I’m honestly amazed that I did. This fic is sweet and fun, and surprisingly popular, though it isn’t my favorite of my works. However, it is a light, fluffy little romcom modern AU, and I learned a lot with it because despite my struggles with modern AUs and their horrible lack of political intrigue, this fic forced me to work within set parameters. I was only writing a 3 part story, and each part could only be 9 scenes long. For those unfamiliar, kado is another term for Ikebana, and in Ikebana there are specific elements to follow. Certain styles will only use three branches, some will use nine. So my goal was for the structural elements of the fic to mimic Ikebana. In doing this, I was able to do something I don’t usually do, which is keep this story more concise.

I’m still not sure how I personally feel about the ending, but I think endings are always a struggle, especially with something like this.

Gate of Dreaming (COMPLETED)

This is a fic that I started last year, then left to sit untouched with only 2k words. Getting back into it was a bit difficult because I was writing something very different from my usual: stream of consciousness. This fic was very experimental for me not only because of the stream of consciousness, but also because of the changing tenses. This was another exercise--unexpected though it was--in brevity. With this particular story, it couldn’t be dragged on and on, because--despite the 100 year time span--the events take place within the Infinite Tsukuyomi. This was also the first time I’d worked from Lee’s PoV in quite some time, so that was fun because I do enjoy writing him, but usually write from Gaara’s PoV. This is definitely one of my favorites from this year, and since it had been sitting on the back burner for so long, I’m so excited that I could finally get it done.

Another one where the ending really wasn’t easy to achieve, but I did end up liking it more than I expected, and I think the best thing is that it’s open-ended which leaves room for others to guess at what the future holds.

It Eats Your Heart (WIP)

This was an unexpected fic for me in every way imaginable. Starting another fic? Making another modern AU? Tackling the horror genre? None of those were things I’d planned to do this year, but lo and behold, that’s just what I did. I really enjoy a good bit of horror, but it is NOT an easy genre to work within, and this fic has definitely been a push for me. But with it being such a push, the payoff is far more. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something I like doing, but I think this is the biggest step outside of that and I am so incredibly proud of how that first chapter turned out because of it. I was really able to surprise myself with this fic, and I am hoping to update the next chapter early on in the year.

Absolution (WIP)

This fic is probably the second oldest idea/longest unpublished fic I currently have up. Formerly a much longer title, the idea for this fic came to me in May of 2017 when a friend, @brianadoesotherjunk / @brianadoesart, posted a piece of GaaLee fanart that sparked inspiration. The fic took off, morphed into something much bigger than the one scene depicted by the art, and now 3 years later, the first part is up. Initially, this was meant to be a long shot, but after sitting with this for so long, I realized that I needed to split it up into 9 parts, which allowed me to use this for GaaLee bingo and finally publish it. Much of the first part was already written before this year, but I’d been quite stuck on it until now. This is actually probably one of my favorite GaaLee concepts to date. I remember back in the day, there weren’t a lot of different takes on getting Lee to Suna so he and Gaara could fall in love, so (at the risk of sounding cocky) I think that Lee as a nanny is rather inspired. I think with this fic, I pushed myself the hardest to get past the hurdle of writer’s block and accepted that publishing is probably the best way to motivate myself to keep going. The feedback for this fic has been really motivating, so I think I’m probably right about that.

I do think there are some parts in the middle or towards the end that could maybe use some tightening up, but I’m just happy to finally have this fic out in the world.

The Art of Love: Chapter 11 (WIP)

TAoL is such a ridiculous labor of love. The chapters for this fic are novellas in and of themselves, so each time I update it takes a lot of work to get them out. This fic is one of those like magnum opus type fics. I have put so much into it, and I’m honestly amazed that it’s only been up for 3 years because I’m approaching the halfway mark on it, and I don’t think I expected to be there by now. Despite being able to churn out 30k chapters, I have a hard time focusing on one thing and I often struggle with mental health related writer’s block, so big works are always sort of sporadic in their updates.

This particular update of TAoL was definitely one of my favorites though. Initially, I didn’t plan to go the sort of dark fantasy rout that I did with Shikamaru, but I actually really love what I’ve done with him, though I worry others won’t be as into it or that the execution isn’t quite there. One thing I would like to work on with future chapters of TAoL, however, is maybe pairing things down a bit--though I’m not sure that’ll always be possible. The next chapter is a Naruto PoV chapter, though, so I expect that one to be a MUCH shorter chapter than the last three and should be able to get it out sometime next year.

Before I could publish this chapter, however, I did go through and make some big changes, which is something I often struggle with because of such long breaks in between working on certain projects. I will say, though, that TAoL continues to push me to greater heights as a writer, and I look forward to actually finishing this fic someday.

Thirteen Strokes: 1 + 2 (WIP)

Another unexpected fic this year, however, this one was actually an idea for about a year, unlike IEYH. This fic has really given me a lot of perspective on my own writing and world building, and has inspired me to sit down and really start committing the things I’ve developed to paper to create a cohesive view of Suna, Wind, and the shinobi world. This fic is meant to be a Romance. Like just full on Romance. I write a lot of tragedy and focus on a lot of darker themes in my writing, so while I don’t think of this as stepping outside of my comfort zone, it is very different from my usual, and a really nice change of pace. I think, in all honesty, it is one of my best works, and I do hope I can continue to deliver on the remaining 11 parts of this story.

if this were the last i felt you breathing (COMPLETED)

Ugh. This fic has been my enemy for 2 long years. I signed up for a Secret Santa exchange, and of course, I regretted doing it when I found that I was not motivated and, after the month of October where I was churning out fic after fic for GaaLee Bingo, that I was massively burned out. I wasn’t able to think past writer’s block, and so I ended up settling on dusting off an old, unfinished piece for my giftee, and I hope they can forgive me for not coming up with something brand new for them.

This fic was a struggle. Working so closely with the canon--following the Rescue Kazekage Arc as closely as I did for this fic--made this a much bigger challenge and this fic sat and sat and sat for two years, untouched and incomplete. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I know it’s not my best work, but I am glad that this fic isn’t hanging over my head and that I was able to deliver something to my secret santa giftee.

My goal with this fic was to rewrite this particular arc from Lee’s PoV to give more depth to the arc and shift the emotional core of it away from Naruto. Naruto as a character has a lot of flaws that never get addressed, and one of the things that is consistently frustrating for me is the way the emotional core of the series rests on him in unrealistic and often superficial ways. Naruto hasn’t spoken to Gaara in three years, but I’m supposed to believe he’s this affected by Gaara’s kidnapping? Temari and Kankuro are right there! Lee is right there! I wanted to see that, so that’s what I set out to do, and ultimately I don’t think I fully succeeded, but I tried. I guess not everything can be a resounding success

---

This year I managed to do a lot more than I realized. New works, updates, and COMPLETED pieces?! I never would have thought, but staying home gave me more free time, and when I was too broke to work on costumes, writing fanfiction was something free I could do.

Total new works: 5 Total updates: 9 Total completed works: 3 Total words this year: 143,587

---

I have a lot of goals for the coming year, and I know I won’t make all of them, but that won’t stop me from trying.

2021 Writing Resolutions:

Reach 1million words (+238,073 words)

Finish IEYH

Finish Pearl-Filled Lungs

Update TAoL (Chapter 12 and 13)

Update Absolution

Update 13S

Update Find Me (Chapter 6)

Start the Ballad of the Dragon and the Phoenix

Start editing Alliance

Return to working on Honor Bound

Return to working on We Need Not Be Yellow Tulips

#naruto fanfiction #gaalee #naruto #shippuden #gaara #rock lee #fanfiction 2020 wrap up #fanfic year in review

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nomunamuinmybrain · 3 years

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Bitter 6

Finally! It took me so long to get it together and finish this chapter. A lot has happened in my life since I last posted but most importantly I graduated from university. Now that I have all the time in the world I want to give all my attention to writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you are all safe and healthy given the situation with the pandemic.

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Summary: Sometimes our thoughts get the best of us. Sometimes depression gets the best of all of us. Too oblivious to realize that we are surrounded with love. This is a story about learning to receive love, learning that you deserve love. A fun group of friends and their lives as they gradually change and grow. Sometimes bitter other times sweet much like chocolate such is life.

FLUFF WITH A SPRINKLE (or so) of smut/Slow pace

words: 1.7k

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Chapter 6

A knot forming in my belly, the sensation stretching to my heated mound forcing my thighs to rub in frustration. My hand slithers from my aching breasts to my slit, I can’t believe how wet I got just thinking about him. Next thing I know, the other side of the bed sinks under his weight as he makes his way over me. I am not sure how he got here but I don’t care. I can feel his scent, heavy and sweet, making me dizzy. His hands take over from mine, teasing and touching me. I want him to taste me everywhere. Devour every inch of my being with his sinful mouth, marking me as his. It’s as if he is in my head, knowing my every thought, every desire. My hands pinned above me held by his hand.

No longer thinking reasons to resist this, I completely surrender to his touch. My back arches wanting even more, he is everywhere, I breathe him in and in my utterly intoxicated state that’s when I hear it, beeping loud in my ears, my alarm clock. I knew this seemed too good to be a fragment of reality. Grunting noises escape me while I roll around trying to mute the source. The boys must have gotten up earlier or maybe they left the room right after I fell asleep, making sure I get some rest since they know how stressed I was about this whole coffee meet cute and that’s when I felt it. A strange flutter in my lower belly, a tingling but it was nothing of anxiety, it was pure excitement. I jump off the bed to get ready and after a much appreciated pep talk from the guys I was already out the door and on my way to the coffee shop. Namjoon was sweet enough to text me good morning and ask for my order beforehand. We lock eyes as I am crossing the street and I am positive his smile is outshining the sun, thankfully I did not faint in the middle of the street. Deep breath.

“Here you go. Iced latte, medium, double shot espresso with soy milk and one pump of caramel.”

“Sorry for making you memorize the whole thing. I’m a bit particular with what I like. Especially coffee.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, I’m no better. Iced Americano, blonde roast, extra ice, extra shot with foam.”

“Are we sure the barista didn’t spit in these cause I think I would if I had to make this order.” My silly remark made him laugh and the flutter in my belly grew stronger.

We started walking, heading towards the park. Conversation with him was smooth, effortless, he seemed to be as invested as I was which was refreshing cause for once I felt like I wasn’t blabbering someone to boredom and every time I took my turn to say anything he would look at me. He gingerly brushed his fingers against mine, weaving them with mine, brushing his thumb softly. I guess for the first time I felt interesting to someone other than Hoseok and Tae. There was nothing we didn’t touch on, from family stuff to career and childhood and lost dreams, there wasn’t a topic off the table. When we got to the unavoidable point of discussing relationships and experiences of that kind I tensed up a bit and unfortunately he picked up on that.

“It’s okay if this is too much for you, we don’t have to…”

“No, it’s fine. It’s better to be upfront with things like this.”

“I agree. Took me a while to come to terms with confronting people and situations.”

“Well, I’m in the same boat you know. I don’t have much experience with dating and I’ve never even been in a relationship. My insecurities plus my anxiety and depression haven’t, how should I put this, they didn’t leave any space for that stuff. Working on my relationship with myself and my mental health seemed more important. Also I never wanted to burden anyone with my issues, it wouldn’t be fair. Society has us believing that through another person we can finally feel whole but, well, it’s nothing but a sugar coated pill. Building a strong and healthy relationship with yourself is a blessing on the long run. To the eyes of others it might seem like I’m behind on that stuff but it doesn’t faze me as much anymore.”

“For the record you are not behind on anything, that’s bullshit. You made your wellbeing a priority and that is admirable to say the least. My last relationship has left me with so much trauma it left me frozen, unable to put myself out there to meet someone else. I wouldn’t even have approached you if it wasn’t for my friends pushing me, I feared that I was damaged goods, sort to say.”

I halt my step, turned to look at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re not. I hope you know that you’re not.”

“I know. Now, I know.” His hand cupped my check and I could feel the redness spread as I leaned into his caress. “I hope you know that too.” he continued.

He leaned in, his breath fanning warmth against me, he looked in my eyes, my lips and then back into my eyes, longingly. His plump lips parted letting out a sigh. “I- I really want to kiss you.”

I drew in a sharp breath and answered in a small voice. “Me too.”

His kiss was deep, intoxicating and somewhat controlled cause let’s face it we we’re in the middle of a park. A satisfying grunt escaped me and he did something that I can only describe as a low growl, it was sexy and I could feel the tingling intensify. With both hands on my face, his thumbs tracing patterns on my cheeks, he withdrew his plush lips to lovingly nudge my nose with his.

“I’m so glad we can be together in this moment. Wait, no, that sounds weird. What I meant, what I’m trying to say…”

I take the lead to put him out of his misery. He looked adorable fumbling for the right words.

“Namjoon relax. I know what you mean. I feel the same way.”

The rest of the walk we joked around and I honestly haven’t let go with another person so soon, he has a way, a warmth that just makes me feel comfortable and most definitely desired and appreciated. Before we parted we set another date for Sunday at the movies and for the first time in forever I felt excited for something. Once we got to my building we kissed one more time and even though I told him to go he waited to see me go up which I wouldn’t have done given the situation I had to witness. The door was open and the apartment was full of people. Squeezing my way in I browse for Hobi and once I spot him in the kitchen I make my way to him and grab him from the arm.

“What’s all this?!”

“We are pregaming before we get to Jungkookie’s party. It’s a last minute situation and I offered to help. You do remember we have Jungkook’s thing today, right?”

“It’s 15:46! And yes, I do remember. Isn’t it a little early for pregaming anyway?”

“Um, not when you have a bunch of art hippies. It’s called a brunch pregame or something like that, who cares. Pancake?” he stuffed it in my mouth before I had a chance to answer. Tae jumped and hugged me from behind, most definitely tipsy, playing with my curls.

“How was coffee with dream man Kim Namjoon?” he asked

“She’ll tell us later when we are not in a sea of strangers.”

“In a word, perfect. I’ll head to my room and get ready.”

In the sanctuary of my room I drop my phone on the desk and head to the shower. A much needed scorching hot shower later and with the date replaying in my head, I sit on my desk to do my makeup. It’s already 19:40 by the time I’m finished and the noise has died down assumingly because everyone has left. I wasn’t all that excited about being among people tonight but I would never skip any of Jungkook and Andy’s parties. I think it’s a new sold out show that we’re celebrating but who cares really it’s just going to end up crazy. Jungkook notoriety for making each meetup an unforgettable event is unbeatable. After last time’s paint war debacle I opted for jeans to be as comfortable as possible.

Half an hour later we’re already parked outside of Jungkook’s house and then Hobi locks us in. Tae was the first one to give him the stank eye and question the sanity of his action.

“What the hell?”

“Tae, I am not gonna make the party if y/n over here doesn’t give us the details of this mornings event. I might actually eat my own hand.”

“Okay, okay, but I’ll fast forward a bit because I don’t want to drag this on. I had a wonderful time with him, he is so sweet and considerate, we talked about everything and anything. Also, we kissed and I cannot wait to go on another date.”

Hobi and Tae couldn’t hide their happiness, so prominent in their expression. They both jumped me to give me the tightest hug possible.

“Baby girl we’re so happy for you.”

“Let’s break this up now and get going Jungkook is waving from the door.”

We get to the door, Jungkook waiting for us, arms open, cigar hanging from his mouth.

“You’re into smoking now?” Tae asked

Much to our surprise he bit down to reveal the molten caramel center. Of course its made of chocolate, he’s a candy nut. We’re all ushered inside, everyone’s scattered here and there in the large common area having conversation over the latest pieces acquired in his personal collection. Among new faces and a few familiar ones I spot a face my memory could never erase, he looks up at the same time, eyes locking with mine and shoots me a wink.

My old crush.

The ever so charming, Kim Seokjin.

#bts #btsfic #bts fanfction #bts college au #bts namjoon #namjoon #namjoon x reader #namjoon x yn #seokjin #bts seokjin #bts hoseok #taehyung #jungkook #thekimlinenet #hyunglinenetwork

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iworshipkeanureeves · 4 years

Text

There Are No Rules (1/3)

Keanu Reeves x Reader (The Devil Wears Prada AU)

A/N: This is my entry for @toomanystoriessolittletime birthday writing challenge and I’m so grateful for this AU idea, because I have so much fun writing it. The story should have 3 parts, and if everything goes according to the plan, the remaining chapters will be posted over the next couple of weeks. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Reader applies for a job in a fashion magazine where Keanu is editor-in-chief.

Warnings: insults, anxiety

Words: 1.9K

There she was, standing in the bustling lobby of a skyscraper, ready to go up to the highest floor for the interview at one of the biggest magazines in New York City. A small town girl, desperate to become a world-renown journalist, writing stories she was passionate about. But this had to wait, at least for now. Y/N needed a job, any kind of job, just to make ends meet, and working within a publishing industry, even if it meant she wouldn’t be writing for some time, felt like a good compromise.

The elevator ride appeared to take ages, Y/N was nervously stomping, grasping her petty resume in her hand and repeating her words of introduction. Finally, the door opened, and she stepped into a loud corridor crowded with people rushing back and forward, all kinds of perfumes mixing in the air.

Y/N looked around, finding the reception desk to be empty. Having no idea where to go next, she just stood still startled by the chaos surrounding her. Even though these people seemed ignorant and unwilling to help, Y/N still felt observed, like an exotic animal at the zoo, and completely out of place.

“Are you lost?“ A stunning red headed woman popped up in front of Y/N’s eyes. She was elegant and sophisticated, with an immaculate style, so perfect that it made her seem intimidating. The fact that she was scowling, while examining Y/N with a judgmental look, didn’t help too.

“Uh-I I‘m Y/F/N, I‘m here to meet mister Reeves.“ Y/N’s words seemed to make the woman even more puzzled, and she squirmed crossing her arms with a suggestive hostility. “For the job of assistant,“ Y/N added, feeling her hands getting sweaty and drying them on the sides of her skirt.

“Are you sure you’re in the right place?” the woman pointed to the huge sign on the wall spelling Vogue, and Y/N’s enthusiasm was dissipating with every second spent here, she was already questioning her choice.

“Yes, I’ve been told to ask for Emily, where can I find her?”

The woman lifted her brows looking rather agitated, “Oh God, okay, that would be me,” she sighed rolling her eyes. “After me.” Emily gestured for Y/N to follow her, and an awkward silence settled between them.

Y/N was observing people through the glass doors, every single one of them looked like they were professionals of their craft and it definitely didn’t help Y/N to calm her nerves.

“Listen, I’m just curious, you are clearly not into fashion, so why Vogue?” Emily finally spoke, and she seemed genuinely interested how someone like Y/N could end up in a place like this.

Y/N knew it was probably better to lie, but at this point, she was convinced the job would never be hers, no one from Vogue would ever even consider her. “I saw a position open online and just thought why not, I mean it was either Vogue or TV guide, so…” Y/N hated herself for coming here, TV guide would have worked just fine for a temporary job, and now she felt like she was going to end up unemployed again.

“Oh, just great, that’s exactly the spirit we’re looking for” Emily’s voice was full of ridicule, “Well, good luck!” Another scoff left her throat as she watched Y/N sheepishly approaching Reeve’s office.

“Good morning, Mister Reeves?” Y/N knocked on an already wide opened door, finding a man in an elegant suit sitting behind a desk full of stacked issues of Vogue. He nodded slightly arching his brow, and Y/N understood that she was expected to explain what she came here for. “I’m Y/F/N, I’m here for the assistant’s position, human resources sent me.”

“Hmm,” Reeves hummed eyeing her from head to toe, like everyone here did. “Okay, sit.” Y/N stepped forward placing her resume on his desk, and carefully positioned herself on the edge of a chair with her back unnaturally straight. She was extremely uptight but she couldn’t help it, especially when everyone here was pitch-perfect, and she didn’t feel so. “And call me Keanu, please,” he said opening the folder, beginning to look at her resume.

Y/N sat there looking at him flipping through her portfolio, she was analyzing every little frown settling in Reeve’s face, but frankly, there weren’t any clear emotions showing, he seemed stone cold, and Y/N didn’t know what to think of it. Did he like what he saw? She wasn’t so sure about that.

“What do you know about fashion?” Keanu leaned back in his chair, pushing the folder away. In that moment Y/N got really scared, she didn’t know what she had expected, it was stupid of her coming here in the first place. Sure she knew what Vogue was, she had heard of a few fashion names before, however, Y/N couldn’t tell what exactly was trending right now, and it showed.

“I don’t know much yet, but I’m willing to learn, I graduated from…” Y/N was trying to come up with something, but she got cut off by Keanu raising his hand up, gesturing her to just stop talking.

“Listen, it’s great you’re educated, you resume is impressive, but I need you to show me some character, you know. Vogue is fierce, thousands of girls would kill for this job, and I have to be sure you can withstand it.”

“I-I can,” Y/N stuttered, feeling like this was the end of it all.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Keanu sighed, fixing the loose strand of dark hair falling over his deep gaze. “You’ll hear a lot of crap from me and maybe even more from others working here, I just need to know you won’t be a whiner about that and you’ll do the job exactly the way I tell you. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, turn around and go.” There was something petrifying about how unbelievably calm he spoke those words, just as if it was the norm in this world of Vogue. Given the way Y/N was welcomed today, it probably was.

For a second Y/N doubted herself, she couldn’t understand why Keanu just hadn’t rejected her yet if she was clearly unfit for the job. Yes, Y/N wanted this more than anything, but she was also getting a little afraid that these people were going to eat her alive.

Before Y/N could say something, the conversation got interrupted by another man storming into the office with his hands full of colorful drafts. Keanu immediately stood up shifting his attention away from Y/N, leaving her with unsettling thoughts. That was when she noticed how tall Reeves actually was, and it only added to his intimidating image.

Y/N could hear everything they were talking about, it was mostly colors and patterns for the upcoming shoot but some gossip slipped in too. Of course it did, it was a fashion world after all, still Y/N couldn’t help but think that it was kind of rude. What kept nagging Y/N the most was the fact that this new man was constantly glimpsing at her, and his glance was judgmental too.

“Who’s that?” he murmured to Keanu, ignoring that Y/N must have heard him as well. Never in her life had she felt more objectified than here at Vogue, but it didn’t matter since she was ready to get going soon.

“That’s, Y/N, my new assistant.”

Y/N couldn’t believe Reeves had just called her that, she was certain that the interview was going south and there was no way she could get the job. But there she was, Keanu Reeves’ new assistant, working at Vogue. Y/N had to gather all her strength trying to play it cool, but the corners of her lips were giving the excitement away.

“I’m Nigel, art director.” He came closer to shake Y/N’s hand, still a little confused whether that was some sort of a silly joke.

He then immediately turned to face Keanu, who had already gotten back to his chair. „Reeves, don‘t worry, I have a new line from de la Renta, we‘ll find something to make her look... umm, well... presentable,“ Nigel exhaled looking at Y/N over the top of his glasses. „Not sure if I have her size, but I‘ll make some adjustments.“

“Leave her the way she is,“ Keanu said in a strict tone, giving Y/N a slight smile. „I like how she looks, it‘s authentic.“

The office stood still. Nigel gulped, failing to understand what was happening, and Y/N was flushing, trying to wrap her head around the fact that Reeves, the editor in chief of Vogue, had just said she looked authentic.

In a minute Keanu eyed her again, arching his brow as his sight was reaching her feet. “Yeah, but the shoes can go,“ he said in a deep voice, turning his chair away to face the New York skyline.

Well, it couldn’t be too perfect.

“I don‘t think I can find the shoes that go with the rest of her outfit,“ Nigel laughed trying to taunt Y/N a little more, but this time it didn’t got to her heart. She knew Keanu liked what she was wearing and that was enough for Y/N to get her confidence back.

“Then maybe you don‘t have enough talent for what we pay you,“ Keanu told Nigel off without even bothering to look at him. Everything coming from Reeves sounded placid, and it left Y/N wondering whether he ever raised his voice here. She assumed there was no need for him to do so, since his stolid tone was enough to make Y/N shiver.

“Come,” Nigel commanded Y/N, and she was confused, unsure if her conversation with Keanu had ended. For a second she stared at the back of his chair, but he didn’t make a single move, so Y/N decided it was time to follow after Nigel.

Everyone here was extremely fast, nobody wanted to waste time, and especially with her. Y/N had to almost run, trying to catch Nigel’s steps and he wasn’t going to slow down.

“I‘m sorry if you got in any trouble because of me,” Y/N whispered trying to lighten the mood between them.

“Oh honey, you have to grow some thick skin here, that was nothing, trust me.“ Nigel suddenly stopped opening the heavy door leading to a huge closet filled with designer pieces. Y/N had no clue what some of the names written were, but she also didn’t have much time to think about it, since Nigel was already getting away from her.

Afraid to lose him in the labyrinths of garments, Y/N was rushing at Nigel’s pace. “So is he always like that?“ She wondered getting a little breathy.

“No, he seems nicer than usual today.” Nigel handed her classic beige pumps, with label saying Jimmy Choo. Y/N wasn’t sure if that was for real, or Nigel was just messing with her, but she didn’t have the guts to ask again. She would have to see it herself.

“Let’s go, I have places to be.” Once Y/N had her new shoes on, Nigel was hasting again.

She was desperately wobbling after him, her Jimmy Choos were sinking into the soft carpet lining the floor and it left little balance for her heels. “Those are not very comfortable,” she whined, realizing how stupid it was, since nobody cared about her problems here.

Not surprisingly, Nigel only rolled his eyes pushing Y/N out of his closet. “Get used to it.”

-Part 2-

Tag-list: @keandrews

>Masterlist<

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves fanfiction #StephsBirthdayWritingChallenge #the devil wears prada au #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves series #keanu reeves x you #keanu reeves fic #fanfiction #reader insert #the devil wears prada

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youwerenevermeanttofeelalone · 4 years

Photo

Everything You Need | Billy Batson

Pairing (platonic): Billy Batson x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 2k

Request: could you write an Ff with Billy Batson where s/o is his best friend who always makes everyone laugh, but in reality she is mega unhappy with her looks and hates herself? So she decides not to eat anymore, but Billy notices this and wants to stop her? Sorry if it’s too dark.

Warnings: angst, mentions of food and an unhealthy relationship with it, self-hate, depictions of worry/light anxiety, fluff, open ending.

A/N: I assumed anon meant “reader” instead of “s/o.” Either way, both the reader and Billy are 16 in this and the ending is open in case anyone wants a part two.

Gif credit @justiceleague

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Billy admired you. He didn’t consider himself a bad person anymore, but if he compared his attitude to yours, he fell short. You were the kindest soul he would ever meet, always giving your best to everyone, caring for and about your friends — you even helped strangers, offering to do things they couldn’t for whatever reason, and constantly making sure people around you were comfortable. You were the funniest person in his life, never failing to make people laugh, the nicest, one of the smartest.

You made people happy, you made him happy, and it worried him because he had observed you were acting weirdly lately. Maybe you were just tired because of school, or maybe he was getting too overprotective — he blamed you for the second one, but not in a bad way anymore. Not long ago he had found relying on people or having people rely on him pointless, frightening at times; Billy now saw it as less of a nuisance and more as a responsibility.

However it was hard, like every responsibility, and it not being his only one didn’t help. He was getting better at putting up with his teachers, though, that was something.

He turned around to look at you before the class started, as he did every day, but you weren’t there. Your usual seat was empty, again, it was the third time that week.

He looked for you everywhere, the art room, the gym, he asked around in case you had gotten there late, he faked having a headache to make sure you weren’t in the infirmary. Everyone but you were in the cafeteria at lunchtime, even Freddy had asked about you when he encountered his brother in the hallways, and by the time the school day finished, he was about to panic.

Billy sighed, relieved, finding you with your back against the big tree you usually made homework under. The park was almost empty apart from a couple sharing an ice cream at the bench meters away from the tree, but you didn’t seem to be paying attention to that.

“Hey.”

Wiping the tears running down your cheeks, you looked up with your eyes wide. “Billy! What are you doing here?”

Your best friend dropped his backpack next to yours, sitting down in front of you instead of beside you in order to fully stare at you. “What are YOUdoing here is the real question.”

Shrugging, you blinked rapidly. He would surely know it if you lied, Billy might be silly sometimes but never dumb — your only option was staying silent.

“(Y/N)? Is something wrong?”

How do you tell someone everything is wrong when you’ve fooled them for years? Hating yourself was easy, natural, but saying it ashamed you. You were utterly terrified he’d find it dumb, that he would think you had lied about everything just because you didn’t show how miserable you were when you simply didn’t want anyone else to feel as bad as you did.

“I’m stressed,” you opted for saying.

Billy nodded in understanding. He lightly placed his hand on your knee in a comforting gesture, “I will help you with all the school stuff, don’t worry!”

Faking a smile, you nodded back, hoping he would take his hand away quickly enough to not realize how plush your legs really were. You didn’t know if you thought it to be better if he didn’t pay attention to it or not which only made it worse.

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Billy kept his word. Even though you didn’t really need help with school stuff you went with it, enjoying spending time with him and Freddy who didn’t need help either.

But the problem started when he showed signs of knowing you didn’t need help with homework. Billy noticed every change in your demeanor. Freddy teased him about it when he confided on his brother and best friend that you were acting differently, but Billy was too busy worrying about you to care if he was being teased or not.

The changes were startling, you were tired all the time, and jumpy. It was as if you were hiding something which wasn’t normal in you, sure you kept secrets but you never hid things — definitely not from him. The most worrisome part was how often you skipped lunch and the disgusted look on your face when you saw anyone with food in their grasp.

“Oh my god!” Billy exclaimed, making Freddy drop the bowl of cereal he had been eating for dinner.

“Wh—“

“I’ll tell you later,” Billy interrupted his brother, walking toward the front door. He put his jacket on, zipping it up before swinging the door open and leaving the house in a hurry.

How could it have taken him so long to figure it out? What kind of friend didn’t think something was wrong when one of the most important persons in their life stops taking care of themselves? Or when that person disappears at any time there’s food near them?

The way to your house felt so long that he considered summoning Shazam to get there quicker. He knew it was only the effect the nerves coursing through his veins had on him so he continued running, hoping your mom wouldn’t oppose to him being there that light. He hadn’t really considered it was a little late for visiting.

With no hesitation whatsoever, he rang the doorbell.

He smiled at your mom when she opened the door, “good night, Mrs. (L/N). Is (N/N) busy?”

“She isn’t feeling very well, Billy,” your mom explained, worry clear in her voice.

“Can I see her?”

Your mom looked at him for a prolonged moment. She was about to say no, to let you rest, when she saw the semblance Billy carried. He looked so worried, more than how she imagined she looked, and because of that she decided to spare the teen in front of her the anguish. “Of course, you know where her room is.”

Thanking your mom, he slid past her and made his way toward the stairway. He ran upstairs.

The door of your room opened out of the sudden, prompting you to turn the lamp on. Billy entered, not waiting for you to give him permission and not asking for it either.

He sat down on the edge of your bed, looking at you. The light from the lamp made your reddened eyes more prominent, confirming his assumption that you had been crying.

“Why?” he inquired, wild eyes fixed on your tired ones.

You mumbled, confused, “why what?”

“Why aren’t you eating,” he clarified.

Your heart dropped — a knot formed in your stomach as your pulse quickened. It was the most adrenaline you had felt in weeks, you were sure you would’ve thrown up by now if it wasn’t because he was right, you hadn’t been eating.

“I’m not hungry.” It was a pathetic lie, both you and billy knew. To make matters worse, your stomach rumbled seconds after you lied.

Your best friend glared at you. “(Y/N),” he said your name sternly, “Why?”

You turned your head to not have to face him. “I— I’m not— I don’t like myself.”

“Oh, come on, (N/N)! You’re the most amazing person in the world.”

“I don’t want to be that! Well, I do, yeah, but I don’t—“ your voice cracked, “I mean my appearance, Billy.”

“The only wrong thing with your appearance is how tired you look right now, I’m sure that’ll change if you eat and sleep better.”

God, for the smartest person you knew, Billy was either dense or was trying to force you to be more explicit.

“I’m trying to lose weight. Or at least not gain more,” you said quickly, hoping it didn’t sound as pathetic as you felt.

And you did, oh, you did. You just wanted to be happy with yourself, it wasn’t a crazy wish to have, but no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t. Every day you found a new thing to hate about yourself, a new thing anyone could make fun of you for.

Billy stuttered, trying for his words not to come out harsh. It had been really hard to learn not to be abrasive. “Well, maybe you can’t, you know? Genetics have a play there...” he trailed off upon hearing your scoff. He shifted on the bed, now sat in a position that allowed him to fully face you.

He felt something in his chest by seeing you so upset. Similar to what he felt when his siblings had been in danger. Billy wasn’t sure he could save you, though, and it made him feel worse. His mind told him he needed to reprimand you, to make you understand, while his heart told him he needed to comfort you. He was too worried to find a balance, yet he still tried.

He placed a hand on your calf from on top of the duvet. He felt you tense under his touch. “You’re smart, you know it’s not the solution.”

“You’re not helping, Billy. We’ll never agree on this because you are not the one who feels like crap because of their looks.”

“But what looks!?” He exploded, “you’re pretty, (Y/N), you must know that.”

“But I’m fat!”

“That doesn’t change anything! And you are just putting yourself in danger.”

“Maybe I don’t care if I’m in danger,” you bitterly pointed out.

You saw the redness of his cheeks leave his face in a matter of milliseconds. His hand felt heavier on your calf as if he was trying to ground himself.

“I do care,” he said in a breath, “I care a lot. I don’t want to see you tired all the time, or have to see you in a hospital bed being fed through a tube, or...” he couldn’t say it, he didn’t want to ever think about the possibility of you dying.

Your bottom lip trembled. “I don’t want to worry anyone—“

Billy shushed you, “I know, I’m sorry.” He didn’t want you to feel guilty, it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault per se. “I’m just scared for you.”

“I don’t want to be like this anymore,” you sobbed, hanging your head. Saying it gave you a mixture of anguish and easiness; having somebody to hear you was nice yet you couldn’t help but get overwhelmed by how vulnerable saying it made you feel.

Billy kneeled on your bed, pulling you into a hug with the side of your body against his front. “It’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

You rested the left side of your face on him, letting the tears fall down. “I feel like it is.”

“There isn’t, I promise.” He sighed, feeling you shake as you attempted to stop crying. “(N/N),” he whispered softly, “there are other ways to do this. Maybe the answer is not the one you will like at first but your health is the priority.”

“I don’t like hating myself, but I can’t stop. I just want to look at my reflection in the mirror and not focus on everything that’s wrong with my body — I feel like people stare at me in the street and judge me and it makes me hate myself more, I just want it all to stop, Billy.”

Hearing that broke his heart, it truly did. It made him feel impotent to know he couldn’t fix it. What was the point of being a superhero if he couldn’t help all the people he loved? It wasn’t fair for you that he had the ability to save you from everything but your mind.

“We will find a solution,” he assured you.

“How can you be so sure?”

“We always do,” he squeezed you as tightly as he could, “but you have to promise me you will accept it, no matter what it is.”

“And if I can’t promise that?” You asked, scared he would stop being your friend.

Billy rested his chin on top of your head. “We will work on it, on everything you need.”

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