#there is a high chance i might also soon start a new island on my switch lite! im thinking about new themes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mmkin · 3 months

Text

Get You Some Arlong ch 8

I'm considering adding a subtitle to the title of this story. 'Get You Some Arlong' was meant to be a tongue in cheek title since I couldn't seem to think of a good one (they all sounded silly and cheesy) but now I would like to add a more serious one. Suggestions welcome

Ch 8 of the story is now up for those who enjoy my Smexy Fishmen stories. Chapter is NSFW/18+ but all consensual. TW mentions of biting/blood but consensual.

As a treat here is a new picture of Arlong and Squid I drew yesterday. I wanted Squid more feminine looking so I put her hair down, but now i can't help but think of the Rachel haircut and the outfit Luann wore for most of King of the Hill lmao. (these drawings I've been doing recently take about 15 min each in case anyone is wondering) Chapter is also included here under the cut.

VIII

When I first started planning this fic, it had been meant to be a fun one or maybe two-shot of smutty headcanons featuring that smexy sharkman, but after I watched the Sabaody and Fishman Island arcs, I wanted to do something more with Arlong, especially given the flashbacks we see of him in the Fishman Island episodes. I mean, how could I not?

Now we’re at 8 chapters and it feels like Arlong’s Reader has become more of an OC because of how much I have invested in this story and now I’m even wondering if I should write about Arlong having a child with his little squid. But hell, I had fun writing this, and falling down the delightful rabbit hole that is One Piece, and I’m happy for the new buddies I made in the fandom. If you enjoy this story, please check out the companion piece I am working on, ‘Get You Some Arlong Pirates’ which is a collection of stories featuring Arlong’s Big Three.

All reviews, feedbacks, recs and reblogs are sincerely welcome and very much appreciated by this author who works so hard to bring you smexy fishman stories.

o0o0o0o

Tempers were high. So was drunkenness. You were pretty buzzed, but unlike Toma, you weren’t the type of person to get volatile after a few drinks. Arlong, on the other hand… well, pissing off a drunk Arlong is never a good idea. No one needed to tell you that, but seeing a drunk, angry Arlong in action is not something you’ll forget. Especially when Arlong is angry because he’s defending you.

Toma's friends desert him, melting into the shadows or diving into the water as Arlong takes hold of his misbehaving subordinate. You see the panic in Toma's eyes, the realization that he absolutely, positively fucked up, and that he'll be lucky to get out of this alive. Part of you feels sorry for him because you remember how terrified you'd been after confessing to Arlong what you did for Nami. Arlong's maw is not something anyone wants to be looking at, especially if there's the chance they'll go down it.

Arlong doesn’t rip Toma apart, but the fishman got a bite from his captain that he’s not going to forget anytime soon, however superior fishmen may be to humans in terms of durability. It’ll be a while before he can do any work, and the ones who egged him on will be responsible for his care as well as the work he was supposed to do.

You sit in the corner of the foredeck, processing what just happened. You have to admit to yourself that it was nice having Arlong come in like he was your knight in shining armor. You might not be a captive princess, but all things considered, being a pirate is much more fun.

You nurse a bottle of rum, letting the buzz soothe your nerves.

“Do you really think we shouldn’t sell them?” you hear Chew ask. You’re so lost in your thoughts that you do not realize immediately the question was aimed at you. You turn to where Arlong and the Big Three sit, lounging in the chairs that would normally only be used by the top-ranking officers of the ship and their guests.

“There’s several reasons. I was serious when I said we shouldn’t bring ourselves down to their level. I have nothing but sympathy for those of us who spent time as slaves. There are plenty of things we do to retaliate against those who would harm us, and we are called many things. Let’s not add ‘slaver’ to that list, all right?” you ask, but before anyone can answer, you continue, “Sure, there would be a profit in Berries, but humans are generally the cheapest on the slave market, so in the long run, I do not believe it would be worth it, especially as the Marines are bound to notice when a number of their own turn up on the market. And last but not least, engaging in the slave trade would just bring us more attention. There’s already enough to deal with because of the new additions to your territory and the extra manpower needed to maintain these holdings. Plenty of people hate slavers – humans, too. You see how they enslave one another, not just other races.”

Arlong stares at you but says nothing. Chew gulps his drink. Kuroobi has his arms crossed, looking at you. Hatchan simply nods.

“With this many Marines in our custody, I am sure we can find at least a few that can be bought off. Nezumi can only oversee so much territory, after all. As for the rest, this is the biggest vessel we’ve captured, so I don’t doubt we have some skilled people down there. We can use them and have them teach what they know to fishmen.” Despite the World Government’s official stance on equal rights for various races, there is one glaring fact – there is not one single fishman in the Marines. Nor are you aware of any other race than humans or giants being enrolled in the Marines.

“They can still be a source of income… just a more steady and permanent one. With slaves, once they’re sold, they’re gone, and so are any useful skills they might possess. If we keep them, others can’t use them against us. We have Marines here, not just civilians. Let us use them for the glory of the Arlong Empire,” you add coldly. At that, you see a smile stretch Chew’s pert lips while Kuroobi looks at his captain.

“I do not disagree with the idea,” Kuroobi concedes. “We can always threaten or kill anyone who refuses to cooperate.”

“There we go," you say dryly, raising your bottle to him before taking a long swig. After they talk a bit more, Arlong's friends leave one by one, leaving the two of you alone, the sound of waves lapping against the hull and cries of seabirds fill the silence. The morning will come, with plenty of work to do, so you are happy for these quiet moments with him.

“Thank you for being a gentleman and so gallantly coming to my aid,” you tease him. Moonlight catches in his eyes as he looks at you, and the corners of his mouth pull his expression into an appreciative smirk.

“I can not have anyone disrespecting my mate,” he comments with a faint growl.

“When did that happen?” you ask.

“What do you mean?”

“This is not the first time you’ve called me that,” you say quietly. “But we never courted, or made an agreement…” You trail off, knowing that’s going to sound pretty weak to someone such as Arlong as soon as the words slip past your lips.

“So?’ His gaze is cool and predatory.

So… what? “I…” You pause, unsure of how to express your thoughts.

“You object?” He leans closer to you. You ponder your answer. You do not object to the position you are currently in. You just… sort of wish you had been asked. Maybe it’s the romantic side of you. You know that this man is a predator. He is selfish, possessive, easy to anger, and prideful. Still, you let him have you. You can’t say that he hasn’t treated you well.

“… No,” you reply quietly, but in a firm tone as you look at him. “I don’t know if I sound silly to you, but…” You look down.

“You do sound a bit silly. I will not hold it against you, little squid." You feel his hand under your chin. "Think about it. You have told me in no unclear terms, multiple times that you were mine. Whether in answer to my questions or making these declarations on your own."

You blush at that, and he grins, baring these sharp teeth that had just torn into someone to defend you. There is still a bit of blood just past his lower lip.

“You took a great risk with Nami, knowing my wrath. You did it because you cared for me.”

“I do.”

“That is when I knew you would be a worthy mate. And you did not object the first time I called you that, did you?”

“… No, Arlong,” you concede. “Though that’s not entirely fair… you had me in a position where I could not really think to object…”

He chuckles at that, taking pleasure in the fond memory. Fond, indeed, since you were right there with him, sharing and making these memories.

“After all the time we’ve spent, and what we shared, do you have doubts?” he asks.

“No, Arlong. That’s not it…”

You feel his other hand grasp your forearm, forcing you to scoot your chair closer to his.

“I just wish you had asked me. I know it’s a small thing considering what we’ve done, but it still startled me when you called me mate the first time,” you admit.

“Is that so?” You feel his fingers trail along the inside of your arm, and that sends pleasing shivers down your arm and spine. “What’s done is done, little squid.”

So it was done. Many times in the past, and the future holds the same. You do not pull away as he caresses your arm or other places.

o0o0o0o

You and Chew are sitting at the bar, going over the most recent messages. Arlong and Kuroobi are away with a troop of fishmen, leaving Chew in charge of Arlong Park. You’re not a leader in Arlong’s crew, but being his mate does place you firmly in a position of respect, especially among those who know about you.

And since Arlong’s friends are a big part of his life, it means they’re going to be part of yours, regardless of how you feel about them. It’s a good thing you’re already solid friends with Hatchan, and it seems that your relationship with the other two may become more than polite. Which would be nice, you have to admit. You normally didn’t stay long enough in one place to make more than acquaintances, but you know that you’re here for the long run, as a member of Arlong’s crew and as his mate. And Arlong’s friends were fiercely loyal to him and their shared goals, so you were going to be spending a fair amount of time around one another.

“I miss him.” you sigh almost without thinking as you flip through some papers to make sure you didn’t miss anything. You woke up this morning hot and irritable, and cursed the fact that Arlong had to be fucking gone when you were starting one of your heat cycles. You would find things to distract yourself with, and once you were done meeting with Chew, you were going for a long, cold swim.

You feel a little embarrassed once the words slip past your tongue. You don’t want to sound needy or whiny. After all, Arlong had to deal with the loneliness at home when you were out on a mission. You were a grown adult, and you’d deal with this.

“Hm.” Chew lets out a quiet hum as he glances over a page before he speaks. “You really care for him.”

You’re not sure if that’s a question or a statement. But a nod works either way. “So do you,” comes your soft reply. “As a longtime friend and nakama, I mean…”

He nods in affirmation. You make notations on a couple of the papers. So you both care about Arlong and share the same desire to see him home safe. How warm and cozy.

“I am happy for my brother.” He looks up from the paper to meet your gaze. You get the feeling that he has something he wants to say, but is not quite sure if you’re close enough to share his confidence. You give him an encouraging smile.

“But I do wonder if you have any lady friends who might want to come here…" He raises his eyebrow, and you let out a small, warm laugh. It's as you've noticed since you first arrived here, it's pretty much a sausage party even though now there are a few fishwomen in the village. There is quite a ways to go, but it's a start.

“I’m working on it.” You raise the tumbler of tangerine juice you were sipping. “To friendship… and happiness.” you offer. Chew raises his bottle and you clink the glass together.

After you’re done with Chew, you go for that swim, trying to tire yourself out with mad laps around the island.

But it seems like it’s going to be a restless night.

Arlong doesn't keep toys around, nor does he want you to keep any. After all, as Arlong reasons, whatever do you need such things for when you have him? His fishman pride disdains these toys that humans use for their pleasure, pointing this out as another example of their inferiority.

And yes, when he’s around, you don’t need any of these toys you’ve seen in advertisements in certain magazines. But when you’re alone, what the fuck are you supposed to do to satisfy that ache in your loins? Your fingers and tentacles just don’t cut it, however much you try to use your tentacles to fill your passage in an attempt to stimulate the fullness of Arlong’s cock(s), or when you use your fingers to try to stimulate what Arlong does to your clit.

Any pleasure you achieve is minimal. You would be lying if you said that propositioning a fishman didn’t pass through your mind.

“Fuck, Arlong!” you exclaim in an angry whine. Part of you wants to give up, knowing that you’re not going to get full satisfaction without Arlong’s help. The other part of you is stubborn, demanding at least some release from the heat that aches between your legs.

Fucking heat. It’s awesome when you have a mate to share it with, but absolute misery when you’re on your own. You’re curled up on your side, working at yourself frantically and commanding your body to release some of that pressure already so you can move the fuck on and hopefully get a few hours of sleep before the sun comes up.

“Fuck… come the fuck on…" you pant and gasp. You can feel how engorged your clit is against your fingers, and your insides respond to the friction against its surfaces, but your body also knows that it's not the real thing. You arch your back and curl your toes, increasing the intensity of your self-ministrations while imagining Arlong being the one to give you such attention. You're so lost in your work and muttering heatedly that you do not hear the door to the bedroom open and then close.

Arlong stands there for several moments, eyes adjusting to the semidarkness as he watches you try to bring yourself some measure of satisfaction. The scent of your heat is heavy in the air within the confines of the room, with the effect that one would expect. His shorts become too tight as he listens to your frustrated mewls, your hips rocking, your appendages making soft, wet sounds as they work at the most intimate part of you.

“Y/n,” you hear a growl, and you’re so feverish with pent-up energy that you think you’re hearing things.

“Arlong…” you breathe, trying to visualize him. It’s not as if you don’t have enough memories of his face, his voice, his touch, his smell, his taste… but what is an illusion compared to the real thing? It’s not until you hear cloth dropping to the floor that it dawns upon you that your desires are manifesting themselves into reality.

Your eyelids flutter open, and you gasp softly to see Arlong standing at the foot of the bed, looking down at you. It takes a couple of seconds – and the sound of his breathing – for you to realize that he really, truly is there, in the flesh, and from the looks of his cocks and hungry grin, ready to ravish you.

“Arlong…! How did you…” you manage to gasp out.

“The job was a success, and so I hastened back home. None too soon, from the looks of it…" he says in that lustful chortle that makes you feel so dirty but in such a good way…

“None too soon," you agree, withdrawing your appendages from yourself, and spreading out for him. He had better not tease you…

Fortunately, it seems like being apart from you has built up his need as well, for he climbs on top of you, giving you the attention you so crave. He pounds into you with a ferocity that pushes all non-sexual thoughts from your head. Your cries and shrieks fill the room, as do his roars and growls.

After several rounds, you indicate to him that you want him to clasp his cocks. This is a rare treat for him, and he is all too happy to oblige. The soreness that will come from this is well worth the abatement of that maddening heat, and you arch against him as he pushes the fullness of his manhood into you. It almost seems as if he might break the bed itself with the way he’s going at you, not that you’re doing anything to stop him.

Aren't you just so happy that he came home early? He only leaves your side to get drinks and towels to refresh or clean up. You cling to him and he keeps his arms around you as you lay there together, basking in the afterglow of a passionate session. You run your hand along his chest and arms, savoring the feel of his sharkskin. You rub your cheek against him and kiss his chest, feeling his heartbeat and breathing. He has a nose and fangs that can tear you apart and arms that can break you, but there's no safer place in the world for you than his embrace.

You love him.

Love. It’s not a word to use around Arlong, and you’re not sure if it will ever be. Love, in Arlong’s eyes, is a weakness, a human sentimentality, a silly dream fed by romance books and old tales of chivalry. So it’s a word that you do not allow yourself to voice.

It’s not that he’s not capable of caring. You know he cares about his crew, especially the Big Three. And there’s no doubt he cares about you. But Arlong is Arlong. The words he chooses to express his bonds with the people he cares about are more pragmatic. ‘Brother/sister’, ‘nakama’, or 'mate' are roles he assigns with respect.

You wonder if, in the future, Arlong will ever soften in his feelings towards this 'pathetic human sentimentality' because even though you accept that Arlong is the way he is, you'd be thrilled if one day he were to ever tell you that he loves you. Maybe you've spent too much time around humans and some of their notions have rubbed off on you...

“I’m happy to be your mate,” you say as you look up at him, placing kisses along his jaw as you hook an arm around his neck, your chest flush against his own as you drape a leg across his hip.

“Mmm. Good,” Arlong rumbles as he runs his hand through your hair. “You are a worthy mate, indeed. I could not ask for anyone more pleasing,” You feel his lips press against your forehead.

You did not realize it at this time, but that is one of his ways of telling you he loves you. You bask in his affection, studying how the moonlight drains nearly all the color from his skin to leave it a pale silver tinged with just a bare hint of color, the sun on his left chest standing out in a red so dark it's almost black.

‘I could hear you moaning outside the door before I came in,” Arlong comments. His fingers trail along your hairline. “And the scent of your heat… I’m almost surprised there wasn’t a pack of fishmen thronged outside,” he adds with a tone that is a mixture of lecherousness, smugness, and pride. You blow a raspberry at him, and he rumbles out a low laugh.

“You had best get some rest, Y/n. There’s plenty to do in the morning.”

“Only if you hold me,” comes your reply. He tightens his embrace, and you smile to yourself as you cuddle with him.

o0o0o0o

“I don’t think I’ll ever be used to that,” you comment as you see the headless body of Buggy the Clown struggle against his restraints for several seconds before going slack, a curious trophy among the prizes displayed in the games of Arlong Park. Arlong might have simply disposed of him as he has done to many others who challenge him, but in the clown's case, it was because he was trying to run his own operations in Arlong's territory.

However, this Devil Fruit user and his particular abilities have caught Arlong’s interest, so your captain has decided to make use of him as suits his skills. His head is safely secured within the building, on a level where just Arlong or his Big Three have access, at least when he’s not being used elsewhere. Chew has taken to taunting Buggy, keeping his head firmly tied in the sack while walking by the body several times, Buggy’s white glove-clad hands reaching uselessly for its head. The clown will protest, of course, but his head does not come out of the bag unless there is enough distance between the two parts of his body, or Arlong locks his body in a trunk as he’s done a few times. The clown was being especially mouthy this afternoon, so Buggy will be in solitary confinement for the rest of the night.

You have to admit, there's a certain charm about that human, at least when he's not being too annoying. You've kept mostly out of the way, simply listening as he goes back and forth with Arlong or Chew. It's a weird kind of dinner theater, and you have to admit it does make the park a bit livelier when Arlong puts Buggy's head on a table for show. On occasion, you feel bad for the clown, because hey, it has to be an absolutely weird experience being separated from your body and completely helpless to the whims of a pissed-off sharkman pirate captain.

The clown was quite resistant to his situation at first, but the need to be reunited with the rest of himself is wearing him down, and Arlong knows that. So the sharkman just shrugs and laughs at your comment while his crew sits around him, drinking, playing games, and gambling with their cut of this month’s tribute money while Buggy fumes and schemes and you have to admit to yourself that you wonder what the clown might do or say when Arlong brings out the head tomorrow morning. Buggy might not have intended it, but he’s now providing Arlong Park with entertainment, with Arlong as his defacto manager.

o0o0o0o

“You have the most beautiful eyes,” you whisper as you stroke the hair from Arlong’s face. The blue is cold and clear, terrifying when he is angry or predatory, and brings out the cool lavender tones in his skin.

But right now, you see his eyes gleam with warmth as he looks up at you. You press your lips to his temple as you caress his cheek. Several months have passed since that fateful night on the Marine ship. There is a definite shift in the way some of the fishmen regard you. Toma serves as a clear lesson – or two of them. First, do not assume that the mighty Captain Arlong will allow himself to be controlled by anyone. And secondly, don’t fuck with Arlong’s mate.

What’s done is done.

“Oh, before we get too comfortable, I have something for you.” He rises, the back of him almost as impressive as the front. His dorsal fin juts out from the wild mane of black hair that’s spread between his wide shoulders, and you are also afforded a nice view of a glorious ass and legs that almost seem to go on forever. You wonder what this little interlude will bring and what could distract Arlong from getting ready to climb on top of you as you know he was about to.

He pulls a small velvet bag from a desk drawer before returning to the bed. Your curiosity is piqued and he knows it.

He pulls out a stacked gold chain bracelet, seven strands of golden chains almost as thick as your pinky, connected at both ends with matching gold bars that clasp together. It is an ideal piece of jewelry for someone who spends a lot of time swimming, with no jewels or embellishments that are vulnerable to salt water. The design is simple but elegant, and you imagine how it will look on your arm. You wonder if there is any special occasion for such a lavish gift, and try to remember if there's any significance to today's date…

“I know I told you before that what is done is done,” you hear him say as you stare at the bracelet draped across his palm, shining that deep, rich yellow under the lamplight. You blink and look up at him in surprise.

“But I am asking you now.” He lifts his hand. “Do you accept?”

“Yes,” you breathe You repeat the word more loudly, lifting your left arm so that he can put the bracelet around your wrist. His large fingers struggle for a moment with the toggle clasp, but the bar slides home and the cool metal rests comfortably against your skin. It’s an appropriate complement to the thick gold chains around his wrist and neck.

“Looks good on you,” he comments. You regard him with a happy smirk.

“I know that’s not the only thing you have to offer,” you reply. Not that you’re not grateful for the gorgeous – and quite valuable – gift he’s just given you, but Arlong is Arlong. You know him too well, and the gleam in his eye tells you that he knows exactly what you meant. You can’t deny that Arlong was – is – right about you being his mate.

One might even call you his Siren, even if you do not count singing among your abilities. He’s inexorably drawn to you as you are to him, since the first moment you laid eyes upon one another, before either of you quite understood what you were feeling.

He rises on his knees, leaning over you, and the familiar lust surges fresh in you as you respond to instinct, your loins pulling toward him. A downward gaze reveals both of his cocks on full display, and there is no denying the visual appeal of an attractive man displaying his arousal for you.

“Arlong,” you purr as he closes in on you.

o0o0o0o

(Arlong’s POV)

His mother is lost forever. His father abandoned him. Even his sister became distant from him. Fisher Tiger was dead, and Jinbe… hm.

He leans over his mate, looking down at her as he strokes her arm and back, careful around the area on her shoulder where he’d bitten her. Marks from his nose were visible on her neck and cheek. There was another bite on her hip. He was careful to not do these sorts of things to her too often, and the mark on her cheek was no accident – he was mindful about his nose in regards to that lovely face of hers.

He will mark her again and again. The tattoo is not going away. Cum can be cleaned off, but he can always produce more, and enjoy himself while doing so. The bites and sawnose cuts heal and he is sincerely glad for that, for his mate’s sake. But there is something about the act of biting or marking her in itself, committing the deed on her, the thrill of knowing she is his and that she accepts and even welcomes it, tasting her blood and the vitality she brings into his life.

He places kisses along the puncture marks on her shoulder, careful with his nose as he nuzzles her. She is his mate, and he knows he will never let her go.

It honestly surprised him, what she'd said that night after he'd disciplined the fishman who'd tried to bully her. At that time, he didn't see why a seemingly small matter should bother her so much when she'd come to him freely. He did not doubt her loyalty or care for him.

He told her that what was done was done, and why not? He asked her if she objected to being his mate, and she said no. The matter was settled, and she accepted his amorous advances, making fierce love with him in the captain's quarters, christening his newly-acquired Marine ship. Life was good.

But what she said nagged him. It was such a small and trifling thing, so why should it bother him? And why was she bothered about it in the first place? It wasn’t until a conversation with his officers about tributes and collections that he started to understand. When he came here, he’d taken the island. Then the others surrounding it. And so on. He wanted something, he took it. He did not ask these weak humans if they wanted to be part of the Arlong Empire, or if they wanted to pay him tribute for their pathetic lives.

She wasn’t simply something to be taken – however much their intimate activities might indicate otherwise – but something to be valued. Making this simple gesture would make her feel valued, and didn’t she deserve to feel valued by the mighty Arlong the Saw?

Arlong hated to admit that he felt a bit nervous when trying to decide what he would give her as a physical reminder of this gesture. Finally, he’d decided upon the gold bracelet, something practical but valuable and a status symbol that speaks well of both its giver and recipient. And it did look good on her, the polished metal setting off the cool tones of her skin.

“You do know that this means I am never, ever letting you go, mate?” he asks with a growl, his hand running along her arm, feeling the gold on her wrist. Although he’d already made that decision a long time ago, he thinks with satisfaction, he would enjoy reminding her now and then.

She is his mate, the velvet glove to his iron fist, the voice of reason to his power and rage. He curls up around her protectively and possessively.

“Is the big, bad sharkman threatening me with a good time?” she replies with a smirk.

“Shahahahaha!”

o0o0o0o

And that’s how you got you some Arlong. All the Arlong, in fact.

SHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

This picture is what I imagined for the gift that Arlong gave Y/n.

#writing #one piece #strawberrycatbeans #villain gets the girl #arlong #fanfiction #opla #arlong pirates #arlong x reader #fishmen are sexy #op x reader #one piece x reader #arlong/reader #x reader #fanart

16 notes · View notes

illumiera · 2 years

Text

I was tagged by the wonderful @bougainvillea-and-saltwater and @kiir-do-faal-rahhe (thank you both!! 💖) to play this ask game about my Dragonborn, Elentari, and now I'm finally getting to it!

What’s your OCs favourite tavern?

It isn't all that often that Elentari finds herself in a tavern for recreational purposes—as the Arch-Mage and slayer of Alduin, she cuts a very recognisable figure, and she's conflicted with just how much her dragon soul enjoys all the accolades, drinks, and songs in her honour she receives—but when she does, she has a real soft spot for The Bannered Mare in Whiterun. It's full of familiar faces, and on a relatively warm evening, there's nothing quite like sitting outside, watching the light fade and the Gildergreen's petals drift down to the streets... 🥰

2. What about their favourite beverage?

Ellie, like many Bretons, is a firm believer in the healing power of a good cup of herbal tea. She's no alchemist—ask her to make you a potion of magicka fortification and she's just as likely to turn you green—but she does have a wide range of teas in her kitchen cupboards, as well as some honey to spoon in and a warm, cosy hearth to drink them by. As far as alcohol goes, she loves a spiced wine. You can tell she's a teeny bit tipsy because she'll start gesturing when she talks as opposed to staying rather still!

3. Who do they travel with?

Not long after arriving in Skyrim, Ellie ran into Lucien Flavius, who offered to pay her if she'd show him around. She was initially reluctant to travel with anybody, but she also hated the idea of such a trusting scholar trying to fend for himself and finding trouble, and so she agreed, promising herself that she wouldn't get attached to him due to her fears of losing those close to her. (Spoiler: she got attached and now he's her best/only friend.)

A couple of years into her journey, of course, strange things start happening on the island of Solstheim, and she discovers that Miraak isn't the enemy she was expecting him to be... but you'll have to read my fic to learn how that goes down, and to meet another companion she'll soon be gaining... 😊

4. Are they wealthy? How do they make money?

As Arch-Mage, Dragonborn, Thane of several Holds, an explorer, and a person generally incapable of resisting anyone's call for aid for any task no matter how mundane, Elentari is never short of money. Any market stall owner or shopkeeper who tries to give her something for free will find themselves roped into a vicious politeness battle from which there's no escape—if you refuse to charge the Dragonborn for the potions she needs, you'll soon find yourself in possession of a handmade satchel for your ingredients (yours was falling apart!) or a new cloak (it's getting cold, after all, and she had this warm fabric lying around...).

She's also a hoarder. You might think she doesn't act very draconic at first glance, and then you'll see the amount of jewels she keeps and the sheer amount of artefacts and other assorted shiny things in her basement and you'll quickly change your mind. 👀

5. Do they worship any aedra or daedra?

Ellie worships the Eight, and like many of High Rock's Bretons, elven gods like Magnus and Jephre, but she holds special reverence for Mara above all—and each time she absolutely has to take a life, she'll say a prayer to Arkay on their behalf. She's no priestess, but if that prayer has even the smallest chance of preventing a necromancer from raising her slain foe or stopping their soul from being used against their will, she'll do it. Growing up in Daggerfall, she volunteered amongst the healers in the Temple of Kynareth every Loredas, and sometimes does the same in Whiterun if she isn't too busy.

6. What is their biggest fear?

Having lost her parents and her little sister all in one night, she's petrified of losing those she holds dear, and as much as she craves companionship, she's very reluctant to allow herself to get close to anyone for fear of the same happening again. She also doesn't much like the dark; it makes her think of the absolute nothingness she saw when she died. The canopy of her bed is strung with tiny magelights, and she'll never go into any cave or barrow without a candlelight spell at the ready.

7. Any pet peeves?

Dog-eared books, books in weird orders (she would NOT be impressed with my by-colour bookshelf organisation system, let me tell you), bad manners, snoring, overly coarse language, anyone who openly underestimates her because of her size and stature (rare as that is these days!), those who make no secret of viewing themselves above everyone else, dropping pins when sewing and later finding them when stepping on them...

8. Do they like being Dragonborn? Or do they see it as a burden?

She readily rose to all that her role asked of her and she doubts she'd want to be any different, but it's a heavy weight to bear all the same. As well as the alienation that comes from finding kinship with neither mortals nor dragons (how fortunate that there's another with a dragon soul out there, hm? 😌), she knows that in any situation that arises, all eyes turn to her to fix it. Take the Civil War: she's not sure she wants to intervene, but there's pressure on her to decide it for one side or the other, and those draconic impulses of hers are like, "hey, why don't we just declare ourselves High Queen and be done with it?"

She also suspects that had she not been born to be Laat Dovahkiin, she'd have simply stayed dead when her family was killed as a result of a Dark Brotherhood contract. Her last act was one of love for her little sister, meaning that Mara might have tried to intervene for her regardless, but then again, if she hadn't had that destiny on her shoulders, would the gods have been paying any attention to her at all?

9. Favourite Skyrim faction?

Ellie's on friendly terms with the Bards College and the Companions (there was some tension there on both sides, but after it eventually grew to mutual respect, she helped Kodlak, Farkas, and Vilkas cure their lycanthropy), but she's the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold. There's only one possible answer! 🥰

10. Any object they carry with high sentimental value?

When the Bellefeuille sisters each turned sixteen, Elentari first and Nienna just over a year later, they were each given a silver ring with their initials inscribed on the inside: E. A. J. B. (Elentari Anastasie Juliette Bellefeuille) and N. G. B. (Nienna Genevieve Bellefeuille). Ellie wears her own ring on her left middle finger and Nienna's on a fine silver chain about her neck, and she never takes either off.

11. What about hobbies?

Ellie has a variety of hobbies! She likes to study magic and history, as well as read for fun (she has a collection of smutty romance novels that are as meticulously organised as her spell tomes), and she loves to do that reading in a sunny spot in her garden. The garden itself is maintained both through her careful work and through magic so that her flowers can bloom all year round despite the cold, and sometimes she finds it grounding, being outside barefoot or dozing amidst the sweet-smelling lavender and buzzing bees. Singing is a regular pasttime of hers, as well as playing music on the lute or the violin. Oh, and she sews and embroiders her own clothes, stitching intricate little designs into each piece, some of them enchanted for various properties!

12. Favourite Skyrim city?

Without a doubt, it's Whiterun! When she's not taking care of Arch-Mage duties, she lives by a waterfall in the hills between Riverwood and Whiterun, and she likes that it's only a relatively short walk to everything she needs and some of the places that quickly became familiar and comforting to her when she first arrived in Skyrim, fresh from the confusion and fear of Helgen. Riverwood will always be her favourite place, though, thanks to its peaceful woods, the wildflowers, and the rushing of the waterfalls. 🌲

Now, I never know who to tag with these things, so I'm leaving it open: if you see this and you want to answer these questions, consider yourself tagged! 💖

#thank you both for the tag! 💖#tag game #oc: elentari #skyrim #skyrim oc

9 notes · View notes

variousandnefarious · 10 months

Text

my interests;

beanie babies - I’ve been collecting them for a little over a year now, I post every time I get some new ones ^-^

pusheen - I’ve had an obsession since seventh grade but I started collecting some merch around three years ago!! it’s so expensive tho nfndnf so far I have a lot of teddy bears, a blanket, a mug, and a shirt! and I’ll probs get a tattoo of pusheen and stormy one day >-< (edit from future myr: I indeed have a pusheen and stormy tattoo)

animal crossing new horizons - 1000+ hours yeah… im onto my third island now, I should start posting stuff about it sometime soon, when it looks the way I want it to! I’ll often reblog acnh related stuff :3

other video games - oh the brainrot is SOOOO REAL. Other games / franchises I might post about are Sonic, Kirby, Splatoon, Legend of Zelda, Pokemon Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and I think those r my main ones but I’ll probs add some in the future :3

winter - best season only season! You’ll often see me reminiscing about cold weather / awaiting the return of it. will often reblog anything that has to do with snow

2000s toys / nostalgia - grew up during this time so I’m often prone to reblogging stuff about it! digicam pictures from back then, outfits and popular toys (lps, monster high, mlp, sillybandz, everything and anything really)

miniature teacups - I must post my collection some day… (update - i have!) my smallest one is about the size of the nail on my pinky

sewing - I love hemming and adjusting n all the things like that. I make garments sometimes but not often, I find they require a lot of work and resources n also I always end up messing up bc I cut corners jfkdbf

writing - I don’t do it often and enough and I haven’t had the chance to as of recent due to some poor mental and physical health :o hopefully I’ll be back on it soon!

80s décor - gross and grimy 80s rooms. ugly tiles and bold gold trims… that one shade of pink… too many florals. it’s where I reside

Any kind of design / interior design - esp 80s-90s for interior, but I’m a big fan of architecture and design and just building overall so I post a lot about that sort of stuff!

this is a list of appreciations, comprised of various things that I could remember. perhaps I’ll add more stuff some day :3

#shenanigans

0 notes

tricktster · 4 years

Text

the twilight series suddenly makes 100% more sense if you read them under a specific premise that, i contend, is heavily supported by the text:

Much like Amy’s diary in Gone Girl, the books in the Twilight Saga are verbatim reproductions of in-universe diary entries carefully and deliberately created and curated by badass unreliable narrator Bella Swan as a means to achieve immortality.

Prerequisite assumptions:

1) Bella actively and persistently wants to become a vampire, both diagetically and (I contend) non-diagetically. The average vampire novel format often fails to capture realistic human behavior in one highly specific area: the protagonists are frequently mortals who grapple with the choice of whether to become a vampire. This is stupid, because being a vampire would obviously be dope as hell; particularly in the Twilight Universe, where vampires are not required to take a human life to survive, and indeed, have the capacity to live full and rewarding lives while integrated* into the human community.

(*integrated-ish; see Assumption 6)

2. There are too many coincidences for Bella to have encountered the Cullens by sheer chance, only to be the ONE person that Edward can’t live without (due largely to the novelty factor of not being able to read her ding-dang thoughts.)

3. Diagetically, the Volturi don’t even know Bella’s psyonic gifts until New Moon, but we also know that the Volturi scour the globe for recruits to enlist into the protection of their governing body.

4. Nobody wants to be a voiceless cog in a bureaucracy.

5. Nobody, and especially nobody in high school, wants to be a high school student forever.

6. Vampires in twilight are, as a group, cartoonishly terrible at disguising their true nature.

7. Forks is a backwater town approximately 3.5 hours away from the biotech hub of Seattle.

7. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney can eat my farts and they deserve to be preserved in this snapshot of an innocent author’s mind slowly unraveling.

Proposed timeline:

In 1993, there is a key system meltdown at a improvised biohacking startup in Seattle, rendering all innovative genetic modification experiments into a puddle of brown sludge that nobody can figure out how to dispose of per Federal regs, since they don’t even know what it is.

The broke founder of the startup, who for the purposes of this timeline I will call Jeff Bezos because that’s who it was, eventually grows tired of all the discussion about what to do, and just pops it in a barrel, drives a few hours out of town, and dumps it in a pond.

Bella Swan, a small child, is hanging out at a park with her family friend Jacob Black (and a ton of his friends) when they all decide to wade in a slightly murky pond. Thereafter, they are transformed.

Bella grows up as a normal, highly powerful mutant with a +20 to deception checks and wisdom saves. She lives in Arizona, but up until 2002, summers in Forks. While in Forks, she picks up on the local lore about a family of vampires who don’t eat people.

Because Forks (population: 17 + Charlie’s mustache) is boring, Bella bones up on the only interesting thing about it, i.e. Vampire Hometown baybeeeee.

In 2000, George W. Bush gets elected president, and his evangelical politics and general bumbling ineptitude informs Bella’s opinions on authoritative governmental entities.

In 2001, the Cullens make their intention to move back to Forks known, but they take a while because they need to pack all their stupid graduation hats and volvos, etc.

Later in 2001, a psychic Volturi scout rolls through Forks to ensure that nobody within living memory recalls the Cullens, and notices an anomaly in the psychic field.

The scout goes to confront Bella about joining the Volturi, and Bella immediately clocks him as a vampire, because vampires in the Twilight Universe fucking suck at looking/acting human. This leaves the scout in a bind: she’s too valuable to kill, but she’s a pre-teen, and therefore too young to be transformed per Volturi authority.

The scout warns her he’ll have to kill her if she discusses the existence of vampires with any human. He then tells her he’ll be back in five years, and begins to sweet talk her on how good life will be when she’s a vampire, beautiful, immortal, powerful, etc. Bella asks if she has to kill, and dude says “nah, actually there’s a bunch of vegetarian vampires who are moving back here soon. Fucking nerds, but otherwise they’re doing well.” Bella is all about becoming a vampire, because Bella is a rational actor.

Bella moves to Arizona, and as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are unjustifiedly initiated, she recognizes that while she DOES want to be a vampire, she does NOT want to be a foot soldier in any war that she can’t support. She needs a plan.

In 2004, Bella is watching her step-dad’s minor league baseball game when it occurs to her. On her own, she’s a target for the Volturi, but if she had some people to watch her back, she might be okay. Of course, nobody fucks with the Volturi on behalf of some rando human. She’ll need to con her way into a coven who’ll have her back and also give her that +10 to constitution via vampiric transformation, which she desperately wants because she’s a rational actor. And where are the non-volturi vampires that might have her back? Fucking Forks.

Bella moves to Forks in 2004, and upon seeing the Cullens, she immediately clocks them as vampires even though they left their “we’re all vampires” booty shorts at home, because, as previously discussed, vampires in the Twilight Universe fucking suck at looking/acting human.

Bella notes that all the vampires but one are paired off in heterosexual bliss, and takes note of the straggler as a potential vehicle to vampyrdom.

Bella figures out that Eddie can read everyone’s mind but hers, because Edward Cullen fucking sucks at looking/acting like a human who can’t read minds. Bella further observes that Eddie has a huge undead boner for her.

She’s found her mark. Now she just needs to convince him that she’s better off as part of the coven than on her own. Problem: Eddie’s a self-pitying insufferably guilt-striken perpetual adolescent who keeps himself busy by feeling sorry for himself because he’s a vampire, angst angst angst etc etc. Also, I think he’s Catholic, so add some more guilt in. She’ll have to win him over by convincing him that they’re destined to be soulmates.

What does a vampire used to having complete insight into everyone’s mind but his crush’s want? A method to know what she really thinks of him. Bella begins writing a “diary” knowing that there’s no way in hell Eddie won’t sneak in and read it. So she Gone Girls it, and begins to lay a trap to lure him in. That first diary? Twilight.

This was just in the movie but a stoner chases her around with a worm on a stick. Nothing to do with this theory, I just like that part of the movie. Where’s my spinoff about that guy?

Eddie won’t give Bella what she wants (eternal life) by the end of book 1, even though she asks him to EXTREMELY POLITELY. Time to hit the diary with some more promises of undying love.

Bella reconnects with her old friend Jacob and the rest of the Mutated By Jeff Bezos Boys. Alas, they cannot turn her into a physically powerful sexy immortal with a bite, so she’s still stuck with plan A) win over a whole family of vampires with big Mormon energy. It’s the long con.

Edward’s angst abruptly takes a swing towards terminal. He’s absolutely your classic sadboy, perhaps because Bella now has one (1) friend that he knows about.

When Eddie begins to drift away on account of Angst, Bella conjurs up a secondary love interest who, coincidentally, is ALSO a sexy supernatural entity, and is much less coincidentally just Jacob.

We should establish here that Edward is like a 107 year old white dude and so even though Diary!Bella pretends not to see it, Metatextual Frame Story!Bella knows that dude is super racist.

Jacob Black is three things: 1. Like Bella, a mutant (although one with shapeshifting abilities), 2.one of Bella’s oldest and most trusted confidants, and 3. down to clown on an elderly teenage vampire who keeps stereotyping him. Sure, says Jacob, I’ll take the form of a werewolf. He seriously thinks we’re all just beastmen, huh? Hey look at me now, I’m Regis Philbin because this is 2005 and Who Wants to be a Millionaire is still sort of relevant. Sick.

Edward does not like that Bella has one (1) other friend. Bella and Jacob plot to use this to their advantage and lure Edward back on the wings of jealousy.

Eddie gets himself into trouble on account of Angst and poor communication, so Bella has to go rescue him from himself/the Volturi.

Aro finally meets her and gets to test her powers, which impress him. Now she’s back on the fucking radar.

I forget everything that happens in Eclipse, so i have chosen to omit that part.

Eventually she extracts a quid pro quo from Eddie; i’ll marry you if you turn me into a dracula.

We don’t really call ourselves that, Wet Blanket Cullen replies, entirely earnestly.

Bella gets married at 18 in 2006, and Eddie starts to backtrack his promise about changing her. This won’t stand.

Well, look, he’s an elderly guilty catholic/mormon teen who probably still uses super racist terms, but she’s stuck on honeymoon island, he has certain angles that work for him, and seriously what are they gonna do but fuck? Bella’s alternative is listening to her “husband” drone on about his interests, which are almost certainly Car, How Do I Post a Minion Picture on Facebook, and Licorice Used To Be a Lot Cheaper in the Good Old Days.

Whoops a fetus.

Bella recognizes that she’s GOT to have this baby: time’s running out, and Bella knows that at least two of the Vamps in her coven will cut ties if she terminates or otherwise fails to carry this baby to term because of the conservative religious subtext. She’s going to have to stick it out for 9 months, even though it’s a risky call.

Bella gets what she wants after giving birth. “My time as a human is over, but I've never felt more alive. I was born to be a vampire.” That’s a direct quote. Except now she’s got a (pretty cute and easy) baby that she desperately wants to protect from Turning Into A Vaguely Religious Cullen Dressed Head To Toe In Cream Colored Wool.

Bella decides to fake her own death and escape with the kid and Jake so they can form i guess a detective agency. Bella will get “killed” by the Volturi, move to Sydney, and open up shop, and Jake will take the kid after her a few months later.

They’re gonna need a reason why Jake gets the kid though, and there’s only one reason to do anything amongst the Cullens: a heterosexual love interest with a super problematic age gap.

Jesus, Jake sighs, is Eddie really going to believe I’m in romantic love with your actual infant? Does he really think that little of me?

Yup.

Bella tries to draw the Volturi’s attention.

Works too well.

The Cullens call up all their vague acquaintances, who are at least kind of fun. Particularly that one dude who keeps getting angry about British conduct during the American Revolution.

Well, fuck, now the Volturi are bringing an army to fight their ragtag army of Vampires Who Are Cool And Interesting Enough That We Can Safely Presume They Are All Definitely Gay. Bella can’t let those guys die, they’re the first actually compelling vampires she’s ever talked to.

Bella saves the day because she’s OP.

All the Cool Vamps start packing up to leave and Bellz almost goes with them, but the Cullens would just keep sending missionaries after her if they knew.

Bella finishes her fourth journal with the vague warning that the Volturi are still out there somewhere and they miiiight just try and get her.

Two days later, she stages a scuffle and gets the fork out of Fucks. Her journals are the only clue.

Sirius Black and baby nessie follow once edward has stopped sobbing into his cream colored sweater and moved on to Extended Power Pouting.

Bella recruits her own army of fledglings.

Bella stages a coup against the Volturi and succeeds.

Bella sits on the iron throne with a hot lady vampire on each knee and they all kiss and stuff.

Nessie I guess forms a post punk band?

Edward dies from aspiration of a brussel sprout that he ate because he just wanted to feel something.

Charlie and Billy get married.

Charlie’s mustache develops a cult instagram following, providing them with a modest retirement income.

Jacob shapeshifts into Bill Murray and is always crashing weddings.

Bella’s stepdad is off in the B plot this whole time winning the world series with the help of a kooky angel.

There. Fixed. My soul is at rest.

36K notes · View notes

onceupon · 3 years

Text

London Boy

summary: Y/n finds herself all the way across the pond, trying to escape OBX. But much to her surprise, a certain someone might get in the way.

pairing: Rafe x reader (just an intro in this part, we’ll get there dw)

warnings: swearing, drinking, some mentions of anxiety?

word count: 3.2k

a/n: if you’re a sucker for a slow burn like me, buckle up and enjoy the ride. I plan on this being multiple parts and this is also my first time posting so please be gentle with me lol :’-) (not canon Rafe)

You huffed as you dragged your extra large and definitely overweight luggage down to the pickup area at Heathrow airport. You had just landed in London where you’d be going to school until the holidays. You had decided to apply for, and actually got accepted into, your high school’s British exchange program. Every year Kildare Academy gave the option for 15 seniors to study for half the school year at Westheath Academy in London, a private boarding school, while 15 kids from their school came to yours. Normally, you wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving your friends and family for that long, not to mention missing out on half of senior year at home. But ever since the drama that erupted during the summer after your junior year that ended with you being shunned by your “friend group” (where they really ever your friends to begin with?), you practically jumped at the opportunity to get as far away from the Outer Banks as possible, albeit for a little while.

You didn’t know at all what to expect at Westheath, you had skipped the predeparture orientation at Kildare a few weeks ago, but you didn’t care - didn’t care who was going or what Westheath was like, all that mattered was that for the next few months you could finally breath. It was the clean slate you desperately needed, a chance to finally be around people and places you hadn’t known since birth. Sure there were going to be 14 other kids from Kildare there as well, but you had zero intentions of sticking with your OBX peers over the next few months. You weren’t going to let your small town suffocate you for a second longer if you could help it.

You double checked the license plate on your phone screen as the Uber you ordered pulled up.

“Y/N?” the driver called out from the front-right window (god that was going to take some getting used to.)

“Yep!” you smiled, huffing as you tried to pick up your luggage and step off the curb. Thankfully the uber driver was quick to your rescue, effortlessly lifting your suitcase into the trunk of the car. Leave it to you to overpack without even thinking to leave room for all of the clothes and souvenirs you were certain to accumulate - oh well, an excuse for a new suitcase you supposed.

Not in the mood for small talk, you were relieved that the Uber driver silently read your mind, playing a pop station as you both respectfully ignored each other’s presence. You anxiously tapped your thumb on your phone, eyes flicking between the screen where you watched your route progress and the view out your window of townhomes, pubs, and countless strangers passing by.

You hadn’t felt anxious about leaving for London the entire first half of junior year, so why was your stomach and head simultaneously churning now? You were so excited to experience a version of life that was the opposite of everything you were trying to get away from - a version of life that involved British accents, buzzing city life, and endless possibilities. But it was all of a sudden dawning on you how unfamiliar it all was. As much as you hated to admit it to yourself, no matter how far you ran, you would never be able to fully separate yourself from OBX. That damned small beach-town would always be a part of you, an inextricable thread in the fabric of your life.

The Uber pulled up to a halt in front of your destination. You hesitantly glanced out your window as you double checked the silver number on the building. Yep, 25 Brampton Rd - you were here. The Uber driver graciously lifted your suitcase out of the trunk for you and as he pulled away you let out a long breath - your fresh start was waiting behind the doors in front of you.

You rang the doorbell to the lobby, the security here no joke. You were soon buzzed into the building and you shakily pulled your suitcase in behind you, desperately trying to calm your nerves to no avail.

“Hi,” you croaked out as you approached the man seated at the front desk. “I’m- uhh here to check in to my apartment- uh I mean flat… I think… I’m with the Kildare Academy exchange,” you rambled, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Despite your best efforts, your anxiety was taking over.

The man gave you a sympathetic smile. “Name please?”

“Y/n L/n,” you replied, pulling your lips into a sheepish straight-lined smile as you mindlessly tapped your fingers on the handle of your suit case.

“L/n, L/n, L/n,” the man quietly muttered under his breath as his pen traced over a list of names. “Ahh here you are. Alright Miss L/n, here is a fob, this lets you into the building, now this key lets you into your flat, you’ll be on the second floor - apartment 2C, and this key is for your individual room,” he began to fire off at you as he rounded the desk and came to grab your suitcase, beginning to walk as you hastily followed suit. “This packet will tell you everything you need to know about our building here - wifi, laundry, trash days,” he shoved some papers in your hand as you both entered the elevator, him pressing the button for the second floor.

You emerged on to your floor and a few steps later you two were at the door of your new home, which the man quickly unlocked gesturing for you to step inside. “And this, Miss L/n, is your flat for the next few months with us here at Westheath. Your room is the second right down the hall there and I believe you’re the first here. Two of your flatmates who are yet to check in are from Kildare, such as yourself, and the other two are students of our own here at Westheath. You know I’m surprised how early you are, classes don’t start until next week! But nevertheless I’ll let you get settled,” you stood staring blankly at your new surroundings, more or less registering the words this man was firing off at you.

“I’m Richard by the way, if you ever need anything you know where to find me,” the man extended his hand toward you.

“Thank you,” you smiled, accepting his handshake.

“Welcome to Westheath,” he smiled back and just as quickly was turning on his heel and back out the door before you could get in another word, leaving you in your new flat by yourself.

You slowly walked through the empty place, meandering through the kitchen and living area, down the hall, peaking into the bathroom, and then finding your way to your room. It certainly wasn’t the type of living arrangement you were used to back home - your family lived on Figure 8 in the Outer Banks meaning you had grown up surrounded by mansions and luxuries. This place was small, simple, and yet it was cozy and well… perfect. It was the exact opposite of your Figure 8 life and that alone was enough to make you love it. You smiled, content, as you sank on to your empty bed, taking in your new room. You had a nice sized desk, a decent shelf, and a wardrobe. Simple and sufficient. You could get used to this. The room was starkly barren, but since school wasn’t set to start for another week and no one was here yet you made a mental note to go on a little mission to find some plants and decorations to bring the white box that was your room a bit more to life.

——-

Three days had passed and still your other flat mates had yet to show. You were starting to wonder if they ever would or if you’d end up living in this flat all by yourself. Your room was now decorated, you had found some cute posters in a shop you had wandered into, some plants in another, and string lights in a third. You had acquainted yourself with the grocery store around the corner and the drug store down the street and you’d even gone on the tube all by yourself.

Being on your own these last few days had been decidedly therapeutic, leaving you unable to contain a cheesy grin every time it hit you that you were actually here, in London, far far away from OBX. But you couldn’t help feeling a little lonely, with a passing hello to Richard every time you left and returned to the building being your main source of human interaction these last few days.

You laid on your bed as you debated the decision you were about to make - you would’ve never dared to use Tinder back home. You knew virtually everyone on the island and would’ve been absolutely mortified to match with anybody there. But hey - you were in London baby! This was a fresh start and nothing was off limits. You sighed and gave in, downloading the app and quickly making a profile. You must’ve rearranged the order of your pictures at least a dozen times before you finally decided it was good enough. You started to swipe, an endless supply of British boys at your finger tips. You couldn’t suppress a chuckle at how funny the whole concept was, your inbox already flooding with cheesy pick up lines from your matches. You spent the next hour going back and forth with these boys, silly, meaningless, flirty conversations - god it was so much easier being a flirt through a screen, you would be positively flushed in the face in person, unless you were drunk of course (your drunk self was a dangerously confident flirt for sure).

Liam: are you free tonight? Down to grab a drink and chat?

Oh wow. Straight to the point wasn’t he. You knew the point of the app was to eventually get off it and meet up with someone, but now that you were met with the opportunity, your stomach was flipping upside down. Fuck it, what do you have to lose?

Y/n: yeah that sounds great, I’m in Hammersmith if you wanted to go somewhere there?

Liam: perfect so am I (: 8pm at The Ladle. See you there xx

Pure adrenaline coursed through your body as you started doing your hair and makeup, throwing clothes all around your small room to find the perfect outfit that was cute but simultaneously made it seem like you weren’t trying too hard. You threw your wallet and keys in your purse, chugged the glass of wine you had been casually sipping on by yourself, and quickly headed out the door before you could overthink it and change your mind.

——

You nervously approached the bar that Google Maps had directed to you, not sure what you were getting yourself into, but you had already walked all the way here so you’d be damned if you didn’t see it through.

“Y/n?” a voice called out to you. God, hearing your name in that accent sent shivers down your spine.

“Yeah that’s me, Liam?” you questioned back, staring up at the fluffy browned-hair boy approaching you.

“That’s me,” he winked, extending his arm out to you which you nervously grabbed, as he led you into The Ladle, spotting an empty table for the two of you.

“So Y/n, what are you doing here in London. Something tells me you’re not from here?”the boy across from you smiled as you two got settled in your seats.

“Hmmm I wonder what could’ve ever given it away,” you replied with a sarcastic smile, American accent in full force. “But I’m here for school, on an exchange at Westheath Academy.”

“Oh shit, that means we’ll see each other around. I’m finishing up my last year actually. And somehow you’re the first American I’ve had the pleasure of being on a date with,” he smiled with a devilish grin that felt like it was burning into you, you hoping the flush on your cheeks wasn’t too obvious with the dim lighting.

“Lucky me,” you smiled back, faking a sly confidence as best you could despite the fact that you were all nerves on the inside. Dating was not something you were familiar with, having maybe gone on two back home, if those even counted.

“First round on me, what are you drinking tonight Y/n?”

“Umm a vodka cran is fine,” you replied to which you were immediately met with a scoff.

“No way babe, you’re in a pub in England now. Should’ve figured as much coming from an American like you,” he chuckled with a shake of his head, his fluffy hair bouncing with it. “I’m getting you a pint,” he asserted, walking over to the bar and giving you a moment to breath and collect yourself. You hated beer but weren’t about to put up a fight, at this point you would down just about any alcohol in order to get some more liquid courage in your system.

He quickly returned, placing the tall glass of golden-colored liquid in front of you.

“Cheers, to new school mates,” he winked extending his glass up to yours.

“To new school mates,” you smiled back, bringing your glass to clink with his, taking a long swig and trying not to grimace at the taste of the liquid going down your throat.

——

The night passed by quickly, you and Liam going through three rounds of drinks as you both laughed and bantered with one another, your nerves all but dissipated by the alcohol now coursing through your bloodstream. Heck, the beer was even starting to taste… good? God you barely recognized yourself anymore, but in the best possible way. One by one you were letting the closely guarded walls you had built up over the years in OBX fall, and you were feeling better than ever before - you felt free.

You and Liam stumbled back arms linked to the building you found out you were both living in, Liam on the fourth floor. You rummaged for the fob in your purse and you both got on the elevator, Liam instinctively pressing both your floor numbers. The elevator dinged opening to your floor, Liam turning to you with a cheeky smile.

“See you around, Y/n,” he winked. Why did you find that so attractive, or maybe it’s just because you were slightly drunk.

“Goodnight Liam,” you smirked back, blowing him a kiss as you walked out the elevator, the doors closing behind you.

You couldn’t help but smile like an idiot as you unlocked your flat and stumbled into your room, immediately collapsing on your bed. London. It was definitely going to be an adventure.

——

You were woken up the next day by the sun peaking through your window. You yawned and let out a big stretch, still giddy from last night’s date. It’s not like you thought you had just met your soulmate or something, you both kept the evening light, mainly joking and flirting as you downed drinks. But god you couldn’t remember the last time you had that much fun or ended a night feeling so confident and carefree. You were embracing every ounce of the euphoria you were getting from your new life.

You slipped out of bed and made your way to the kitchen, still rubbing the morning crust out of your eyes. Just as you got a pot of coffee going, you heard the distinct sound of a key turning, startling you as you realized it was coming from outside of your flat’s door. You cursed at the fact that you were about to meet a new flatmate while in your flannel pajamas and messy bun hanging halfway off your head, but mainly you were excited to finally have some company.

“Dude it’s no Figure 8 living but fuck it I’ll live anywhere to not have my parents breathing down my neck these next few months,” you heard a voice say, now in the hallway of your flat.

You immediately freeze. That was a male voice, definitely a male. Of course it makes sense now that you think of it, everyone in the flat gets their own room so what does it matter if the flat is co-ed. The thought just hadn’t crossed your mind, you automatically assumed you’d be living with all girls.

“Yeah man, anywhere that’s 1,000 miles away from Ward sounds like the perfect place to me,” another male voice laughed in return. Ward? Ward Cameron? That couldn’t possibly be who the voice was referring to because that would mean you were living with- and before you could even finish your thought you were standing jaw slightly parted staring at Rafe Cameron and Topper Thornton in front of you. Two of the most popular guys at school.

You weren’t really friends but your families knew each other so you inevitably saw one another at kook events every now and then. You couldn’t help but feel intimidated by them. You always told yourself you didn’t care about boys like Rafe and Topper or about fitting in with their crowd, yet you always became nervous in their presence. They were cool. They partied a lot, were athletes, and had girls tripping over them, which you couldn’t fault considering anyone with eyes could tell they were attractive, but you’d never have the confidence to be so bold with guys like that. Unless you were drunk of course. And unless you were the new confident and carefree version of yourself that you had been on your date last night with Liam.

“Yo Y/n, no fucking way, I didn’t know we’d get to live with girl,” Topper smiled at you with a teasing grin.

You were suddenly acutely aware of how disheveled you look and how you weren’t wearing a bra under your thin pajama top.

“Uh hey w-what are you guys doing here,” you managed to choke out. That confident girl from last night had disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, leaving you now feeling winded in front of the two boys from your hometown. Why were you getting so flustered?

“Just on a little exchange program from Kildare, maybe you’ve heard of it,” teased Rafe sarcastically, a smile tugging at his lips, holding back a laugh at how caught off guard you looked.

“Yeah no yeah of course,” you stuttered, “I guess I just wasn’t expecting you two to want to sign up for it.”

That’s when you realized the obvious. Every year there was always a number of spots reserved on the exchange for athletes, and Rafe and Topper were two of Kildare’s star soccer players.

“What and get to miss an opportunity to play at Westheath and go to Premier League games all semester? No shot,” laughed Topper.

“Maybe you should’ve gone to orientation after all, roomie,” joked Rafe as he picked up his bag following Topper down the hall to their rooms. Rafe Cameron noticed I didn’t go to orientation?

You let your face fall in your hands with a groan only audible to you. You quickly picked up your head and shook yourself off, pouring yourself a cup of coffee as you tried to ground yourself from your frazzled state. Looks like escaping OBX was going to be harder than you thought.

---

Part 2

#rafe cameron #outer banks #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron x reader #obx #outerbanks rafe

116 notes · View notes

y0itsbri · 3 years

Text

gallavich week 2021 - day 2 - fantasy au w/ inspo from this wonderful prompt list by @ianandmickeygallavich // @gallavichthings

You're Not Getting Cold Fins Now, Are Ya?

word count: 6.3k

(click on art for better quality)

Mickey truly enjoyed being a fisherman. He liked the solitude that came with the job -- no one on his ass trying to tell him what to do or that what he's doing was wrong when it definitely wasn't. He was always a resourceful little bastard, and his confidence at sea was not unwarranted. He knew how to do shit, and how to do shit right -- crewmates be damned. Nothing but him and the water, just the way he liked it.

He often sold his fish at the market in the small coastal town where he and his sister, Mandy, reside. Her charisma luring customers to their stand, promising the best of the best -- and it wasn't even a lie anymore. Lately, Mickey's produce was the freshest and somehow the most beautiful, catching somewhat exotic fish with vibrant colors that none of the other fishermen were able to attract. Mandy had once trapped him in the corner, demanding answers to questions like how on earth he alone could come up with all this? She thought he was secretly a pirate, raiding other ships, stealing their best, and dumping the rest -- you can't fucking afford to go to jail again, dumbass! Time after time, he reassured her that it was just dumb fucking luck until she caved and let him go, not withholding a dubious glare. Despite what he told her, and even told himself, he was a bit suspicious. He was not a lucky man.

With an ungraceful leap, he had heaved himself out of his boat, the water well deeper than his knees, but his overalls keeping him as dry as he could be. His beef jerky strip hanged out of his mouth as he marveled towards the tree line in front of him. If he didn't feel so damn calm, he might have been a bit frightened at his new surrounding -- but it felt right. He also felt like he was being watched. His eyes scanned past the trees and over to the rocky ledge where water was splashing high and mighty, creating a silvery mist. He saw a patch of orange-ish red shimmering against the water. It was surely too shallow for any fish or octopus that size to be this close to shore. He turned around to make sure he boat was firmly anchored this time before he ventured over to the rocks. But as soon as he turned around again, the orange thing had disappeared. Huh.

Mickey sat himself in the sand, reveling in the feeling of being on land again. As often as he flipped between land and sea, the difference never failed to startle him. He dragged his hands through the sand, feeling like some fancy exfoliator Mandy was always trying to get him to use. He was adamantly watching the colorful rocks bead through his fingertips. A larger stone caught in his palm. He held it up to the sun where it was peeking out from behind the clouds. At first glance, it looked like any other stone -- kind of a boring sea foam color, but in the sun, it sparkled like green embers. He rested the stone atop his knee and turned his attention to a bird squawking from the rocks. Noisy fucker. He furrowed his eyebrows wondering what could have happened for the bird to cause such a fuss. Stuck in his tangle of thoughts and oblivious to the world, a wave swept over him -- even above his overalls.

Mickey leapt up in surprise, "Motherfuck-!" In all his joust movements, he managed his lose the stone... and his dignity. He didn't have a spare change of clothes on his boat because it was supposed to be a short trip. He didn't plan on falling asleep and ending up on an island god-knows-where. So there he sat, pouting, in just his boxers and hat while he let the remainder of his clothes air dry with what little sun there was. He could've sworn he heard someone laughing at him -- giggling, even. He glared towards the squawking bird before determining it was his own paranoia. Mandy had him do all that therapy shit awhile back, so he knows how he can get sometimes and how it's a 'trauma response' or some bullshit that actually made a hell of a lot of sense now that he thought about it.

He pulled out an orange from the front pocket of his overalls, still half damp in the sand. He nibbled on it, tossing his peels as far into the tide as he could, watching it float... float... disappear. Whatever creature was down there must really fuckin' like oranges. It was quick, but exciting none-the-less. Mickey no longer felt sluggish like his impromptu nap that landed him on this island might have suggested. He felt alive.

The sun placement told him that it was time to head back if he had any chance of making it back to the coast before sundown. Fuck! His fish! He picked up his clothes and half-jogged half-stumbled back to his boat, expecting the fish he had caught earlier in the day to have gotten tainted by now. He shoved his legs into his mostly-dry overalls and waded out to his boat. To his surprise, the fish looked good -- almost better than when he caught them.

Now Mickey may not be the most observant, but even he knew something was a little suspicious (something a little fishy is going on here🤔). If he didn't know then, he definitely knew when he turned to see the green ember stone -- his stone -- resting on top of his ice box. The fuck? He picked up the stone, smoothing over it's edges with his thumb, leaving a sparkling trail where his fingers had just touched. So it wasn't just from the sunlight, interesting. He secured the rock inside the zipper pocket on his overalls, then double checking to make sure it was still there. Whatever force on his side might be into second chances, but he didn't want to test his new luck with third chances.

He really had to get going now. He gave the island a once over as he pulled out his map, subtly marking his new uncharted oasis. This was something else.

Since his initial discovery, Mickey had come back to the island several times, and all the more prepared. He kept spare clothes on him at all times now, in case the tide one again decided to have a personal vendetta against him and his overalls -- which of course it had. He also brought more beef jerky, tools, and a tent. He was determined to see more than just the coast the next time he returned.

He had told Mandy that he was going to stop at another port for the night so as not to wait up for him that evening, which wasn't unheard of. With the amount of overnight stays on his isolated island as of lately, however, Mandy thought he had a secret lover a few ports over, teasing and making kissy faces at him whenever she could. "Who is she, Mick? Oh, c'mon, I tell you about my hookups!" "Yeah, and I wish you fuckin' didn't." "Whatever, anyways, she's gotta have a name. Wait! Oh my god! He? Is it a guy? Mickey!" "Mandy, no." She could be annoying as hell when she wanted to, but she mostly knew when to stop.

As much as Mickey denied a secret lover, there was definitely a secret something, but he couldn't place his finger on exactly what it was. He knew there was like the red-ish, orange-ish glow that flickered beneath the surface of the water. And he knew there was feelings. Which sounded weird as hell -- even to himself. He should have just played along with Mandy's hookup in another port theory. Hell, he should find a hookup in another port. That would be a lot simpler than whatever this was. But he just couldn't get himself to stay away from this mystical island. His fish business was doing better than ever, so he had no real excuse to stay away.

He had managed to map out the geography and topography of the island after a few visits -- Mickey knew his shit. No one lived on this island. It looked like no one has ever lived on this island. It was a small, and it was beautiful, but he still couldn't find the source of whatever force drew him here -- at least when he was actively searching for it. He continued throwing his orange peels in the ocean to be devoured by his... friend? He tried to throw his apple cores in, but his creature was apparently not a fan. He didn't blame them, to be honest.

He began to talk to himself and even sing to himself more and more on the island. He thought he may have heard the laughter again, and even some off-key humming or whistles along to his tunes. Mickey didn't even care if it was the paranoia or if he was having some odd hallucination at this point. He just felt entirely too good.

Which is why he didn't see it coming. If he hadn't been so distracted by this siren-like callings, he would have noticed the storm coming. He was Mickey fucking Milkovich, damnit. He knew his shit! Which is why he knew that he could secure the boat as best as humanly possible, and it still wouldn't survive the storm surge unscathed. He hoped that whatever force looking out for him would look out for his boat. He said a quick prayer -- and he wasn't religious by any means -- as he double checked to make sure he had his 'lucky' stone, his backpack, and his map, then hiked inland where he knew there was a cave for shelter.

He had escaped the start of the downpour, but only barely. The dark clouds loomed overhead, chasing out any hopes of a light, easy rain. Mickey huddled against the inner wall of the cave, nibbling at one of his jerky strips, and cursing the lack of cell phone signal on this fucking island that doesn't even fucking exist according to any map he's ever fucking seen. To say he was having a bad day was an understatement. He couldn't do much but wait, and he quickly fell asleep to the pitter patter of the water dripping outside the cave.

He awoke to a sharp burning on his chest. The fuck?! His so-called 'lucky' stone was hot. And glowing. And so was most of the other rocks in the cave. Now this was definitely something. The stones obviously did not want him to stay still as they grew hotter and glowed brighter, but this time alternating and lighting up a path down a miniscule stream he hadn't noticed before. The storm had long stopped, and he hoped these bewitched stones would at least lead him to the shore so he can check on whatever remains of his boat.

Mickey followed the path to the shore, luckily, but more towards the rocks that he noticed on his first visit. He hardly saw the rocks now as he was drawn to a heap of familiar orange-ish red-ish laid up on shore. He fully expected it to disappear again so he refused to even blink, inching closer. It was alive -- for sure -- that was good, but it was battered from the storm. It looked scaley... but also had hair? It grunted and rolled over. Yup. That was a man. But also a fish.

Mickey thought his hallucination were playing entirely too many games on him now but he physically could not bring himself to turn away, as much as he swore he wanted to. He wanted out. He was insane. That was the only explanation, because obviously mermaids weren't real. He was sleeping, he had to be. He would wake up in his bed next door to Mandy's and all of this would go away. Hell, maybe the whole island was in his dreams. Maybe he was trapped in a very realistic coma. He looked around for something to wake him the fuck up when he heard the creature groan again.

Fuuuuuck, now Mickey was involved. The tide had pulled back far enough that left the creature stranded on the land. The stone grew hotter yet against his chest. "Alright, alright, I fuckin' got it, thank you," he grumbled. The creature turned it's startled head towards his. They locked eyes -- green embers. Of course.

"It's you, isn't it? All this time?" Mickey asked as the creature weakly tried to hide his face. Mickey didn't know why. It was a beautiful face, somehow covered in freckles that sparkled.

"Nah, man, it's cool, right? We've been having fun, eating oranges and shit?"

The creature unburied its head and quietly whistled one of Mickey's favorite songs, earning a chuckle out of Mickey as he awkwardly lifted the half-man half-fish in some semblance of a firefighter carry. Mickey expected the creature to be slick and cold, but he was soft and warm. Odd, but not unpleasant. They were almost to the water now.

"Yeah, Rain on Me by Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. Fuckin' banger. Don't tell my fuckin' sister about this. She'd never let me live this down."

The red-headed creature tilted its head in confusion.

"Lady Gaga? Ya know, Mother Monster?"

He seemed to startle at the word 'monster' as he wiggled, escaping Mickey's grip into the water, disappearing into the dark sea. Frowning, in a last attempt at communication.

Mickey wasn't having it. Nah. The creature had been luring him for weeks. Hanging out with him for weeks. Even called out to him with some fuckin' moon stone type things. And now it wanted to disappear? He didn't fucking get it. He kept talking to himself as he paced along the shore.

"You're not getting cold fins now, are you?" Mickey teased, "Wait, fuck, is that offensive? Fuck, I'm sorry, please just come back."

He was acting fucking pathetic. He buried his face in his hands. Fuck. His brain was fucked. His life was fucked. His boat was fucked. His boat.

Mickey nearly tripped as he stumbled back to his boat. Or more like where he docked his boat. All that remained was his anchor. The rest had been mangled and scattered along the shore. He could probably get it fixed eventually since he had the little foresight to keep his tools safe in his backpack. But until then, he was stuck on an island, that apparently didn't exist, with a companion, who apparently didn't want to be perceived, and a dwindling supply of beef jerky. Great.

It had been a depressing night. Without Mandy's overenthusiastic presence or his new friend's feel-good aura, Mickey was especially pessimistic. He hardly got any sleep, his brain racking all the ways he could possibly fix his boat. Mickey Milkovich knew his shit, but he was beginning to feel a little doomed. He took out his 'unlucky' stone from it's secure pocket, fidgeting with it like he does when he's nervous. The thing was cold (one could say it was stone cold😎).

Feeling hopeless, he stormed back to the shore, tossing his last orange into the water, intent on yelling at the water until he died a peaceful death.

"C'mon, man," his voice came out sounding more like pleading than yelling, but what can you do? "I don't give a fuck if you're a man or a fish. I need you to help me fix my fucking boat! You got me into this mess, you get me out of it!"

He collapsed in the moonlight. He was absolutely not on the verge of crying. He was focusing on his breathing so intently that he barely heard his voice.

Holy fuck, though. He finally got why the legends always referred to mermaids as sirens. He would follow this voice anywhere. It was as disturbing as it was comforting.

Mickey was knocked out of his trance as his previously-tossed orange rolled to a stop at his feet.

"I said, I'm sorry." The siren's red hair poked out of the ocean several feet in front of him. Mickey continued to stare. How the fuck did this motherfucker's freckles glow brighter than the stars in the sky above them?

"I never meant to cause you harm. Swear. I even brought you the best fish I could find. My family lectured me about cannibalism or some shit, but I just wanted any excuse to see you again."

Mickey stared in awe. The creature's voice ringing through his ears prettier than any choir he had ever heard. He had got to get himself together. He was supposed to be mad. Right!

"What about my fuckin' boat? You realize I actually have to leave this place eventually, right, Red?" Maybe Mickey was being a bit harsh considering he was basically in the middle of some magical doomsday. But he was still ridiculously frustrated at his current situation.

"Hmm," the creature considered, "my name is Ian." Ian. Ian. Ian. The name chimed through his head. "And I was thinking about your boat. I tried to save it before it was too late, but I ended up too close to the shore, and the tide was ridiculous, and hence I got stranded and we got off to the wrong... fin." Ian gave Mickey a dumbass smirk, clearly proud of himself.

Okay, it did ease the tension, Mickey would give him that. Mickey was silent for a bit too long again.

"And what is your name?" Ian mused, "I've got to stop calling you That-One-Hot-Fisherman in my head."

Mickey nearly choked, and tried to cover it up by rubbing his hand against his lips, "Mikhailo." He had no idea why he was compelled to share his real name. He hadn't used that name in years -- only liking it from the sound of his mother's mouth. He corrected himself, "Well, it's Mickey. That's what I go by."

"Okay, well, Mickey Mikhailo, shall we get started on rebuilding your boat now or do you want to wait until morning?" Ian looked both devious and sincere. It was maddeningly confusing.

If Mickey swooned at the way a fucking fish said his name, that was nobody's business. But he couldn't deny he was exhausted. His stone was warm against his chest, comfortingly so, not hot like before. He managed to mumbled out a "in the morning" before falling into the peaceful sleep he had been so desperately craving.

Mickey awoke to sunshine in his face and a bird pecking at his thigh -- the pocket where his final jerky stick remained.

"Fuck off you fucking fuck!" He shooed haphazardly while rubbing fucking literal sand out of his eyes. God, what a nightmare.

"I see someone's not a morning person," teased an orange blob from the water. Mickey rubbed his eyes again. Right. Ian.

"Fuck off, fish genius over there."

"That's not any way to treat your only chance of getting off the island anytime soon," Ian pouted.

Fish genius had a point.

"Sorry," Mickey grumbled. He was never one for apologies, but man did he need to stay on this creature's good side. But, he was all good sides as far as Mickey was concerned. In the daylight, he could see how Ian's orange hair curled into little rings when it air dried. It looked real fuckin' soft. He couldn't remember if he had the chance to touch it yesterday on their fucking rescue mission. He needed to distract himself before he said something he regretted. He was not about to be flirting with a fish. He wasn't!

"Ya got any more oranges you can toss my way? Fuckin' starving."

Ian pointed at the one sandy orange a few feet from where Mickey had slept, "Just yours that you tried to hit me with, thank you very much."

"You like the peels, though." Mickey said as he tossed a piece into the ocean, floating several yards away from where Ian's head bobbed out of the water.

That took Ian aback, "Damn, I thought I was slicker than that."

"Not that slick, man."

"Hmm." Ian briefly considered before speeding over to the peel and devouring it quickly, "I can get you some sea food -- as your people say."

"Ain't that basically illegal for you, Red? Ain't you technically sea food?" Mickey musing, tossing another piece of his orange peel into the water.

Ian rolled his eyes. "I-an." He sounded it out slowly. "But I mean, circle of life and all that." He chased the orange peel, twisting it in his fingertips, awaiting Mickey's response.

"Nah, it's cool, don't worry about it, I-an. I don't really want any part in your whole fucked up moral dilemma situation. Got enough of those myself."

Mickey avoided Ian's attempt at eye contact, and Ian didn't push the conversation any further. He seemed tentative again. Mickey didn't want to lose him again.

"So... boat stuff?" Mickey huffed as he stood up, turning to his mangled beauty.

"Yeah," Ian did that dumbass smirk again that had Mickey fucking blushing, "Boat stuff."

Ian explained that he had spent most of the night gathering the parts that he could find in the water, and even some special mud and sea weed looking things that he promised would hold it together if Mickey's tools couldn't. Mickey took offense to the lack of faith Ian had in his skills, but he eventually agreed that it was at least somewhat warranted given their current predicament.

Mickey spent the morning gathering boat parts from land, and by midday, he felt hopeful. It was a 'finding treasure in the trash' kind of moment, but it was enough for now.

Ian and Mickey had fell into idle conversations as Mickey worked to restore his boat and Ian gazed onward, bobbing in the waves.

"So, you have a sister named Mandy?" Ian asked after a slice of silent had washed over them.

"What, are you a psychic, too?" Mickey laughed nervously under his breath.

Ian rolled his eyes like that was the stupidest thing he's ever heard. "No, smartass, I'm a good listener." He paused. "You talk about her a lot."

"Wasn't sure if you were real or if I was crazy." Was all Mickey managed to respond. Ian was really more of the conversation carrier and neither of them seemed to mind.

"Do you have any other family or friends?" Ian wondered, this time genuinely curious.

"Considering I'm talking to you right now, what do you think?"

Ian silently stared at Mickey until his watch became uncomfortable and Mickey felt the urge to continue.

"Mandy's the only one that sticks around. She actually cares about me -- fixes me dinner, drags me out to meet her friends, even makes sure I get enough sleep -- she's fuckin' crazy."

"It sounds like she loves you."

"Yeah. Dunno why."

"You're a good person, Mickey."

Mickey flashed Ian his knuckles reading 'FUCK U-UP' in faded black ink. "Yeah, I'm a real stand-up guy."

"No, I mean it." And Ian just looked so genuine that all Mickey could do was believe it for once in his goddamn life. All it took was for a fish to tell him. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

"What's your social circle look like? Couple of dolphins, maybe a crab?"

"Maybe," Ian confessed. Shit, maybe this was some real life Little Mermaid. "But I also have five siblings."

"Y'all all got bright-ass fins? Or is that just you?" Mickey still couldn't believe this was his reality right now, but shit, might as well hear about all of Ariel's siblings.

"My little sister, Debbie, she's orange like me. My mom had a theory that our colors are reflective of like our auras or something. She was always hanging around this old-as-balls sea turtle spouting off whatever nonsense he remembered. Some of it makes sense, though. My oldest sister, Fiona, is purple. Then there's my brothers -- Lip is blue, Carl is green, and Liam is yellow."

"Mandy has black hair like me. But she has a nose piercing, and I ain't getting one of those anytime soon."

Ian smiled that Mickey was even trying to draw some sort of semblance between their drastically different worlds. But it felt so natural, Mickey couldn't help it.

Mickey felt his lucky stone grow warm, again. Ian wasn't in any trouble, though. He was literally right fuckin' here. And he was happy. Mickey was happy, too.

By nightfall, they had called it quits. Mickey had ended up using some of Ian's 'special' tools, earning a fair amount of teasing from Ian himself. Whatever. The red-head had been protecting him so far. He trusted him -- even if that thought was terrifying. The mud would dry in the moonlight, and Ian assured Mickey that he would be set by morning.

Mickey was fucking hungry after a long day's work. It was high tide and Ian had something different in mind.

"Now that we're talking," Ian started. "I've been wanting to show you this."

Mickey waited for further instructions.

"Follow the stones, I'll meet you there, promise."

Mickey trusted the fucker despite his innate inability to trust anyone else, so he followed the stones into the thick of the forest. He knew the island. He had mapped the thing. He didn't know what Ian could possibly want to show him that he hadn't already seen.

The path stopped glowing near the bottom of a cliff. He knew about the cliff. But what he didn't know was that the cliff was a waterfall.

"Woah."

"Pretty cool, huh? Only happens with lots of rain."

Ian had prepared them a fish dinner set on another rocky edge, like the one on the other side of the island.

"Ian. You're a fish. This ain't right."

"First of all, I'm a mammal. Second, it's fine. They tell me when they're ready to die so I have a clear conscious as far as I'm concerned."

"Dude. I knew this was fucked up, but that is fucked up."

"Dude," Ian mocked him, "We're in the middle of the fucking ocean. Do you have any better ideas, or are you just gonna be all pissy? Least you can do is eat with me."

Mickey's jerky supply was officially gone. Fish genius had another point.

Mickey wouldn't admit it to anyone, but Ian's dinner was even better than Mandy's were.

Morning came and Mickey found himself not wanting to leave. Of course, he knew he had to, so he would.

"So, Red, I guess this is goodbye?"

"Only for now. You'll be back." Ian winked. Mickey knew he would.

"This is stupid, but like, you can't go back with me? Like, we make a pretty good team."

Mickey was visibly uncomfortable at his moment of vulnerability, and Ian took pity on him with a gentle smile. "Unless I want to get hunted, I'm better off here. It's safer."

"Right, right." That made sense. Mickey didn't even want to think about the possibility of Ian getting hurt. There had been rumors about mermaids in the area, but he had always assumed them to be tall tales. He knew enough of the fishermen were heavy drinkers and supposed that played a factor in their truth-telling.

"My mother is on land now, but she wouldn't choose to help me. Learned that the hard way."

Mickey frowned. He knew what it was like to have a parent that would trade you for literally anything else. But he was more curious about another part of Ian's story.

"What do you mean your mom is on land? Like she was captured or something?"

"No, nothing like that. More like she's got two legs that she uses to chase whatever thrilling experience she can. Another one of her wacky theories was that her 'true love's kiss' gave her the ability to shapeshift between her land and water forms whenever she wanted."

"Huh."

"All my siblings think she's crazy. The idea was tempting enough for awhile, though. Fiona had gotten real close to this sailor named Steve. He promised her the world and she believed him. But their bond wasn't enough to shift. Fiona was sure he was her soulmate. He still comes around sometimes. And then there's Debbie, who almost got killed trying to woo some girl at the port. I think my mother is just a hopeless romantic. But hope can be dangerous sometimes."

Mickey listened on to this story that sounded more like a children's bedtime story -- all this princess nonsense about a true love's kiss made him think that maybe this red-head was Ariel. He suppressed a laugh when he saw the worried look in Ian's eyes.

"Well whatever it is, she sounds pretty lucky."

Ian smiled softly, sadly. "Yeah."

"Hey," Mickey said gently. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay."

And with that, Mickey sailed his patchwork boat back to whatever wrath Mandy was about to unleash on him.

The door creaked as Mickey made his way into the apartment he shares with his sister. He was nearly tackled on sight.

"Mickey, what the fuck!" Mandy punched his shoulder before crushing him into another hug. "I was so worried about you, you little shit!" "Ow! Jesus, I'm alive. Would you calm your tits?!"

Mandy gave him one more punch for good measure, "Where the fuck have you been? Three days, Mikhailo Aleksandr, three days! Tell me you didn't get that bitch up at the other port pregnant. I'm not taking in anymore rug rats."

"Bad storm. Boat wreck. And ya know what," Mickey threw his hands into the air, "I wish I would have got someone pregnant. Instead, I was stranded at sea, so maybe be a little bit nicer to me?"

"Fuck." She slumped a bit, "How did you manage to get back? Did you call one of your pirate buddies?"

"Jesus Christ, Mandy. I'm not a pirate -- even though they are dope as fuck, by the way. I just so happen to have a few brain cells -- something you don't know anything about."

Mandy rolled her eyes, "Competent enough to sail straight into a storm, huh?

Mickey flipped her off, "Good to be home, sis."

Mandy smiled, "C'mon, I'll make you some real food. I'm sick just thinking about you surviving off fuckin' jerky for half a week."

-- Mickey picked up a couple shifts at Mandy's bar the next week and a half to make up for three days of lost produce and another week for the time it took to properly fix his boat. He trusted Ian's magic mud well enough, but he didn't want to push his luck.

He wore short sleeve button-ups when he was bartending. He didn't have the comfortable luxury of built in inner pockets like with his fishing overalls, so he sewed his own. He couldn't stand the idea of not having his lucky stone close to his heart.

One night while he was slinging drinks, he mind at sea, he felt the stone grow hot and hotter. Fuck! It nearly burned his skin. He took it out from its pocket tossing it back and forth between his hands. It was glowing again. He felt nauseous. This had to mean Ian was in danger, right? Like last time in the cave? He wasn't on the island. He didn't have some magic pathway leading him exactly where he needed to go. What if he didn't get there in time?

He must have looked as insane as he felt because he felt a cautious hand on his shoulder. "Mick, take a fifteen."

"Got it." Mickey headed out back. Mandy would assume he was just having a smoke. But he ran. He hoped to hell that he was on the right track. The stone glowed brighter so he took that as a good sign.

He was out of breath as he rounded the corner and ended up at the docks. The stone's glow died down and it grew cold. Something was very wrong. What the fuck?

"Ian!" He probably looked like a psychopath screaming at the sea. Maybe he wasn't far from it.

This was the dock his boat was usually parked at. He was on his way to his old spot. Maybe--

A flash of red caught his eye in the dark water. No fish that red was ever this close to shore. His stomach crumbled. Oh my God, Ian.

Mickey dropped to ground, trying to get a better look at what was wrong. Wrapped in fishing nets was Ian, his skin a sickly shade of blue that wasn't from the moonlight.

Mickey made quick work of the fishing net with his pocket knife, careful not to cut Ian's slightly cold body. Was he too late? He couldn't be too late. He was here now. Everything would be fine.

Tapping into the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Mickey heaved Ian's large body onto the dock planks. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing at least.

"Ian. Ian, look at me. You're safe now, okay?" Mickey turned around, making sure he was alone. Luckily, no one was out at the water this time of night. Mickey pulled Ian's head into his lap and brushed his fingers through Ian's hair. Fuckin' finally. It was soft. So soft. "Hey, Red, wanna hook me up with whatever conditioner you got under the sea?" He laughed at himself to keep from crying.

Ian murmured something, lips barely parting.

Mickey stopped his caresses, "What was that, Mumbles?"

"Said you're a dumbass." Ian repeated. It was quiet, but his sass rang through. He was alive alright.

"I know." Mickey smiled for real this time. He placed a gentle kiss on Ian's forehead near his hairline. Ian's eyes fluttered open as they held each others' gaze.

They were distracted when Mickey's stone glowed bright again. Probably brighter than it has ever been before. The color shifted from it's usual green ember to resemble more of an icy blue. The boys watched as it began to shake on the ground -- where Mickey had dropped it when he spotted Ian's body. The stone continued to vibrate violently until it burst. Green and blue specks of light joining the stars in the sky above them. Mickey was so entranced by the light that he didn't notice when something else began to shift.

Ian's shimmering red-orange tail was replaced by two, long, freckled legs. Ian's eyes grew wide as he hit Mickey's arm.

"The fuck you hitting me for -- holy shit."

"Maybe my mom wasn't crazy."

"Maybe not." Mickey traced Ian's new legs with his fingertips. "How do you feel? Pretty big change, champ."

"It feels right... which is weird." Ian concluded after a moment, wiggling his toes.

"You're weird, so it makes sense." Mickey nodded, like it was obvious.

Ian rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

Mickey cocked his head as his lips upturned into a smirk, "Make me."

Mickey had expected Ian to still be chilled from the water, but he wasn't. He was warm and soft. So there they stayed, tightly wrapped in each others' arms under the dancing green-blue stars and the sound of gentle waves knocking into boats.

It was safe to say that Mickey had entirely forgot about returning to his shift at the bar that night. They had decided to sneak Ian into Mickey's room before the fishermen got their early start on the day ay the docks. It was still dark when they slowly opened his apartment's front door, knocking into each other and trying not to laugh at their bizarre situation.

Mandy flicked on the larger kitchen light, ready to give her brother an ear-full for leaving her alone to serve the bar creeps all night when she noticed he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by a tall, gorgeous, red-headed man, who appeared to only have eyes for her brother, not even noticing her presence.

"I thought you said you didn't have any bitches?" Mandy said, hoping to burst them out of their little bubble.

Mickey mumbled a quiet fuck under his breath. And surprisingly, Ian was the first to speak up, "Uh, you must be Mandy? I'm Ian. I'm uh- just visiting town."

"Mhm, whatever you say. Mick, next time, at least tell me when you're ditching work for a booty call, yeah?" She said after an appreciative glance Ian's way, bumping Mickey's hip as she walked past them to her room down the hall.

"Oh, work. Yeah, my bad." Mickey had genuinely forgot. Something about soulmates kind of clouding his judgement.

"Pasta's on the stove -- goodnight, dumbass and company!" She called before slamming her door closed.

Ian erupted into a fistful of giggles, "So much for sneaking in, huh?"

"Whatever, do you want some pasta, or are you sticking straight to cannibalism and orange peels?" Mickey teased.

"I'll have whatever you're having, stud." Ian squeezed the back of Mickey's neck.

After their late night/ early morning pasta, they had curled up in Mickey's bed, facing each other in silence, their eyes saying all the words that they didn't need to say out loud. Until-

"Fuck!" Ian's abrupt comment startled Mickey, even causing a hitch in Mandy's snoring in the next room over. Softer, he continued, "Your lucky stone, Mick. It's gone." He looked sad. He wanted to fix it.

Mickey brought his hand up to Ian's cheek, brushing it softly. "I don't need it, man. I have you."

Ian covered Mickey's hand with his own, then brought their hands to his lips, kissing each of Mickey's tattooed knuckles gently, like they held the secrets of the universe. Mickey smiled.

"I am the luckiest man in the world." And he was.

#i’m not a writer but i wrote this #i'm really excited about this one tbh. it's my first like true au and !! mermaid !!#also title is from ariel lmao #shameless #gw2021 #ian gallagher #my posts #gallavich #mickey milkovich #ian x mickey #shameless au #gallavich au #gallavich week 2021 #gw2021day2

58 notes · View notes

esperata · 3 years

Text

As of this point in time, halfway through 2021, I have now written riddlebird for twelve different variations (not including those vague enough for all media types). There will be others to come (Telltale, the 2022 movie and 🤞 Batwoman) but it felt a good time to look back on what I’d achieved. So below is a selection of fics from all these iterations of the characters.

I’ve picked my favourites in each category (where there has been more than one to choose). Honestly I’m surprised I haven’t written more for some of these fandoms. I certainly intend to. I was also legitimately surprised because I’d forgotten writing a lot of things. Maybe I need to do this exercise more often.

Batman (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences A quiet girls' night out takes an unexpected turn for Harley, Ivy and Selina as they get caught up in a shoot out at the Iceberg Lounge.

Batman (Movies 1989-1997) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences One was a 16 year old kid from an abusive home, the other a medical anomaly living in a circus, but when their paths cross whole new possibilities open up for them both.

Harley Quinn (Cartoon 2019) Rating: Mature Victor knows the cruel highs and lows of love. It is his blessing and his curse. One not any of his teammates can understand. Or the fic where Victor is utterly oblivious to Penguin and Riddler's VERY obvious relationship.

Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences "Life begins anew" That was certainly what Eddie and Jervis were hoping for as they launched their new joint venture. New starts and better lives. It would soon take a turn neither were expecting.

Batman (1966) Rating: Mature Joker has roped Penguin, Catwoman and Riddler into an audacious scheme to claim the moon before anyone else. All Ozzie and Eddie have to do is keep their secret relationship, well, secret, on the caper. Easy, right?

Batman Ninja (2019) Rating: General Audiences When Penguin is brought with several others to ancient Japan by an experiment gone wrong, he has a wealth of things to concern him. Not least of which is what precisely might have happened to Riddler.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold Rating: General Audiences Fortune favours the brave, they say, but Riddler is stacking the odds in his favour as he approaches Penguin for a date.

Batman: The Animated Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences The tale of how Penguin and Riddler met, became friends, and then something more. "Words are easy, like the wind; faithful friends are hard to find."

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Penguin has got himself a luxury island and his fellow rogues have been invited for a visit. One in particular has an ulterior motive for going though.

Batman: Arkham (Video Games) Rating: Explicit Factions are at play backing Penguin into a corner. And if that wasn't enough to be dealing with, he also has to fathom whatever is going on between him and Riddler.

Teen Titans Go! Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Edward is taking Oswald out on a proper date today, whether Arkham likes it or not.

The Batman (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Riddler has barely escaped the Batman but his trouble might not be over as he runs into another criminal acquaintance. Its a good thing he doesn't a crush on him or anything otherwise things might get awkward.

Gotham Rating: Mature Edward's goal at the GCPD is simple; work hard, keep his head down and try to fit in, until a chance encounter with the inhabitants of the Van Dahl Mansion changes everything.

#fic recommendations #riddlebird #oswald cobblepot #the penguin #edward nygma #the riddler

37 notes · View notes

shenanigans-and-imagines · 3 years

Note

Hi! I saw that you might be interested in writing fics about Sigyn x Loki and it’s totally fine if you don’t want to do this because it is a little angsty and doesn’t really fit your description of what she was doing during Thor but could you maybe write something where Sigyn dies somehow a little before the events of Thor happened and Sigyn’d death was what lead Loki to do New York. And maybe he was pardoned and joined the avengers and they notice that Loki wears a ring and they start getting really curious. Maybe they ask him or Thor about the ring and find out about Sigyn. I know it doesn’t really fit what your version of Sigyn was doing during Thor but I would really like to see how you write this.

A/N: You’re right, this isn’t how I picture Sigyn in the MCU. I want her to be a more active character and really don’t like fridging my ladies if I can help it. That all being said, it’s a fun thought experiment. Consider this just an AU where Sigyn dies.

Also, this kinda turned into a thing, so enjoy!

Word Count: 3.3K

The transition was gradual, to say the least. Nobody really trusted Loki, apart form Thor. But then again, Thor would trust a rabid dog not to bite him if it asked nicely enough.

He had vouched for his brother’s changed ways and Loki himself hadn’t done anything directly to contradict Thor’s word. Plus, it was hard for them to deny how he had come to the rescue on their behalf and the world at large.

Still, there was an unspoken understanding to stay out of each other’s way. Only occasionally did Loki interact with the rest of the team outside of missions and even then it was mildly antagonistic, like a little kid looking for attention from their siblings.

Eventually, it just got comfortable, for lack of a better word. They’re weren’t friends, but they weren’t enemies either and that seemed to be enough.

So perhaps it wasn’t a surprise it took them almost six months to notice the ring.

Natasha was the first to catch it.

She stood on the edge of the mat, watching Loki spar with his brother.

It was just a casual observation. She spent most of the match counting how many times one of them missed a weak spot of the other. Finally, Loki took the advantage and managed to disarm his brother, but not before something fell out of his shirt; a silver chain with a solitary gold ring dangling from the end of it.

Natasha frowned, her eyes focusing on the tiny object. It was just a simple band, no jewels or markings from what she could see. The only thing which struck her as odd was the size. It was much too small for the likes of Loki.

Her eyes darted to the man in question, who stared back at her with a guarded expression.

Without a word he helped his brother to his feet, and tucked the necklace away.

He wasn’t telling and she wasn’t asking.

The next was Steve.

He couldn’t sleep, which wasn’t so unusual. Even before he went into the ice he wasn’t much of a sleeper. The scientist who worked on him said it had something to do with the serum. He just didn’t require as much sleep as the average person.

On nights like these he found himself wandering, allowing his thoughts to shuffle lightly in and out as he feet carried him where they liked. It therefor came as a surprise when he noticed one of the lights in the kitchen turned on and a single figure sitting at the island.

Steve stayed in the shadows, watching with suspicion and curiosity.

Loki did not seem to know he was there. A long forgotten mug of something sat on the surface beside him. His eyes were only for the ring between his fingers.

Steve stiffened waiting for something, anything to happen. Knowing Loki it was a magic ring of some kind. Perhaps he was working out a kind of spell or curse. But, the longer Steve waited, the more he realized nothing was going to happen.

His eyes then turned away from the ring at to the man holding them. His heart twisted.

Sorrow permeated Loki’s features, and the resignation that it was all there would ever be.

Steve knew that look. He had worn it often enough on sleepless nights.

“Do you require something, Captain?” Loki said, turning his head up to meet his gaze.

Steve immediately stiffened, automatically preparing himself for a fight.

“No, just getting some air. What are you doing up?”

“The same as you,” he said, smoothly. “Just getting some air.”

It was obvious neither bought what the other was selling, but it was also obvious neither were in a position to ask any further questions.

“I’ll leave you to it then.” He turned to leave, but found himself pausing before he could stop himself. The familiar ache was back in his gut. It was what had woken him up and it was back with a vengeance, recognizing it’s own pain in another.

“I’m sorry,” he said, before he could stop himself.

Loki’s gaze darkened, but still his grip on the ring remained ever gentle. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

Steve shook his head. “No, I think you do. And I’m sorry.”

The other man remained silence, but gave a small nod.

Steve took it as his leave to go and walked away. It wasn’t his place to ask and so he wouldn’t.

It was Clint who finally got it out of him.

He never trusted Loki, for obvious reasons. The rest of the team might have been able to buy the changed man act, but none of them had had their mind permanently screwed with like his had. He played nice while on missions, but was soon as they were off the Quinjet, he kept as far away from Loki as possible.

So, when Natasha told him about the ring, he was more than a little suspicious.

There had to be something about the ring. It had to be a talisman Loki could use to trick them. Maybe it turned him invisible or he used in for illusions or whatever magic crap he called it.

Clint started to keep his eye out.

Once he was looking for it, it was obvious Loki took it wherever they went. It was always tucked away, buried under clothes and armor. Even when they were back at the compound, Loki never let it leave his body.

Once in a while, he’d catch Loki running the metal between his fingers in thought, followed almost always by some sort of interjection about whatever mission was at hand and how to improve it.

He had to begrudgingly agree that most of Loki's suggestions were decent ones. Maybe the ring gave him a type of insight; seeing into the future perhaps?

Either way, his suspicion was growing stronger everyday. There had to be someway to figure out what it was.

It took about a month for him to get his chance.

Loki always kept the ring on while he was around other people; however, he wasn’t so careful while he was alone. Through some carefully place cameras, Clint discovered he did slip it off before going to sleep and whenever he went into the shower.

Sneaking in when he was sleeping was out. Clint observed easily enough the man was a light sleeper. Even with all his training, he doubt he could come up with a decent excuse if he got caught, which only left one other option.

He waited until the end of a particularly grueling mission. Everybody was exhausted and a hot shower seemed like heaven, just the opportunity he needed.

Clint followed Loki to his room. He didn’t enter until he heard the water running. After that, it was easy enough. In a flash he was in and out, holding the cool metal between his fingers and booking it to the lab.

A part of him felt childish. It was more like stealing a few bucks out of his brother’s wallet, rather than a high stake’s espionage to reveal a traitor. Desperate times, he guessed.

Just his luck, Tony and Bruce were already tinkering away when he burst in.

“How quickly can you guys analyze this,” he said through panting breath.

The two scientist looked up in confusion.

“Somebody sell you a knock off ring?” Tony said, dryly.

Clint shook his head, not having time for jokes. “It’s Loki’s.”

That got their attention.

“What does it do?”

“How’d you get it?”

“I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. We have maybe ten minutes before he realizes it’s gone.”

Bruce shot Tony a skeptical look, but Tony ignored it.

“Let’s see it.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Clint handed it over.

“I’ll get a sample and see what it’s made out of. If there’s anything not of Earth we’ll find it. Bruce?”

Banner gave a reluctant sigh. “I can check for energy readings. If it’s anything like Thor’s hammer, something might turn up. But, I honestly not sure what I’m looking for. You never said was Loki was using it for.”

Clint shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know he won’t go anywhere without it and he keeps it out of sight as best he can. Nat only spotted it on accident and apparently he gave her this really weird look.”

“Weird how?”

“Just weird, like she saw something she shouldn’t.”

“Good enough for me,” Tony said, already placing the ring under a microscope. “Ten minutes you said?”

“Eight now.”

“Let’s get to work.”

Two minutes in Tony discovered the ring was mostly gold. There were trace amounts copper and nickle, but only enough to keep the metal from being malleable. Really, it wasn’t anything one wouldn’t find at a local jewelry store.

Bruce meanwhile, found nothing. No radiation, no magnetic field, no anything to indicate it wasn’t just a completely normal ring.

Clint ran his hand through his hair in agitation; they had three minutes at most.

“There has to be something!”

“I’m telling you there isn’t,” Bruce insisted.

“It can’t be, why else would he have it?”

“Sentimental reasons? Maybe it’s his mother’s.”

Clint scoffed, but a nagging sense of doubt crept into his gut. “No. You missed something. Tony?”

“Not much, just that it’s stronger than it should be.”

Clint perked up at this. “How do you mean?”

“I mean there isn’t a scratch on it. If it has the amount of gold the computer says it does it should have some kind of wear on it, but nothing. It’s perfectly preserved.”

Clint turned to Bruce. “See, that’s weird right?”

Bruce rubbed his hand behind his neck. “It is a little weird, but let’s not forget Loki isn’t exactly a local.”

“You’re defending him?” Tony accused.

“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying we have to look at all the options.”

Clint opened his mouth to protest, when the doors slammed open behind him.

They were out of time.

“Stark,” Loki snapped. “I want a look at those cameras you–”

He stopped, physically halting in his place as he eyes quickly shot to the ring on the table.

His expression remained cool, but Clint was just able to catch look of panic flash across his features.

“Ah, there it is,” he said, smoothly. “I’ll take that back now, if you don’t mind.”

He made a move toward it, but Tony was faster.

“You were looking for this,” he questioned.

Loki’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I had misplaced it, but now that it’s found, I would like it back.”

“This is yours then?”

“Of course it’s mine.”

Tony nodded, giving a “what do you know about that” expression.

Clint straightened. He could feel the tension rising between the two men. Something was going to happen, he just had to be ready for the signal.

He was so focused on the scene in front of him, he failed to notice Bruce sneak carefully out of the room.

“It’s an interesting ring,” Tony said. “Sturdy.”

“Indeed,” Loki said. His mask was slipping, the frustration slowly melting it off his skin.

“I’m curious," Tony continued, "what exactly is so special about it? I’ve been running every test I can think of and nothing’s wrong with it. Absolutely nothing. It’s literally, the most perfect ring I’ve ever seen.” He took a pause, casually glancing in Clint’s direction. “Might want to step back from that Barton, highly corrosive.”

Clint looked behind him to see a full beaker of bubbling liquid behind him. Holding back a smile, he instantly understood.

“That’s all very well,” Loki said. “But it does not stop it from being mine.” He held out his hand. “Return it to me, now.”

Tony smirked. “Think fast.”

In a second, the ring was in the air, not towards Loki, but right for Clint.

He caught it mid-air, just in time for Loki to pivot towards him with murder in his eyes.

Clint didn’t hesitate. Spinning around, he held the ring over the beaker silently daring the so called “god” to move.

Loki stayed in place, even as he vibrated with rage.

“Careful with that,” he warned, his voice sharp and cold as a knife.

“What is it, then?” Clint challenged.

“It’s a ring. Nothing more.”

“Really? Then I don’t see what I can’t just…” The chain slipped between his fingers.

“Don’t!” Loki snapped.

Clint caught it. The ring remained intact, swinging dangerously close to it's demise.

Loki visibly sighed in relief, but something in his eye gave Clint pause. It wasn’t just anger or even fear, it was pain.

He pressed his lips together, his mind whirling with what it could possibly mean.

“Why do you care about this?” Clint asked, again.

Loki’s eyes never left the glinting metal, as he shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. Clearly you’ve already convinced yourself it serves some nefarious purpose. You will not accept anything short of that explanation.”

“Give me a better one then.”

Loki lip twisted. “I think not. You see Agent Barton, I believe it’s perfectly within my power to take my ring back from you. The only choice you have is whether you want to keep it or your hand.”

With a flick of his wrist, a knife appeared in each of his hands, glinting sharp and ready.

“What is going on?” Thor’s voice echoed in the small room.

On instinct Clint turned his eyes away from Loki.

It happened in an instant. The sting of the cut. The cool metal slipping between his fingers. A blast from the corner of the room. A brush of air. And a knife embedded in the wall behind, with the small chain dangling from the hilt.

Clint turned to see Loki thrown across the room. Tony’s now armored arm was still raised, and ready for another attack.

Looking down at his own hand, Clint could see a trail of blood sliced across the back.

“What the hell?!” he snapped.

Loki struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. His brother was at his side in an instant. Bruce stepped in the middle of it all, his arms spread wide.

“Everybody, calm down,” he said. “Let’s not make this a bigger mess than it already is.”

“You’re seriously showing your belly, now?” Tony accused.

“Take it more like a warning growl,” Bruce countered.

The threat was obvious, making Tony visibly shocked. He backed down, lowering his arm.

Thor supported Loki, bringing him fully to his feet.

“I’ll ask again, what is going on?” Thor said, will all the authority a prince of Asgard could muster.

“Just a little disagreement over stolen property,” Loki said, smoothly.

Thor’s eyes went to the necklace still swinging against the other wall. The anger on his features nearly matched Loki’s.

“Stark?”

“Me,” Barton interjected. “I wanted to know what Loki was hiding. From the length he’s willing to go to to get it back, it must be something.”

Thor shook his head. “Do you have any idea what you might have done?”

“No, that’s kind of the point,” Tony said. “What is it, the One Ring or something?”

“It’s a personal matter,” Loki said.

“No good enough.”

“Clint, drop it,” Bruce snapped.

“No! What is it? What the hell can be so important that you’re willing to finally drop your changed man act to get it back?!”

Thor let out a long sigh. “Barton, you can not–”

“Enough, brother,” Loki cut in. “You wanted a story Agent Barton? I’ll tell you one.

“Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a prince. Second born of his family, he grew accustomed to being looked over by others; his subject, his friends, even his father would easily pass him over."

"Does this have a point?" Clint interrupted.

Loki said nothing.

Clint's frown deepened, but it was obvious there was no other way he was going to get an answer out of the would be king. So, he kept his mouth shut, until Loki started again.

"The prince grew resentful, turning deeper and deeper into himself. It came to the point where nothing else existed, except the darkness. Until one day, he came upon a maiden practicing spells in a garden."

For the first time in Clint's memory, a soft smile came to Loki's lips.

“She was beautiful and intelligent, and the prince offered to teach the maiden what he knew. She asked what he wanted in exchange, and the only answer he could give, was her company. And so they practiced and talked, and little by little the darkness around the prince began to fade. He was still second to many, but their opinions no longer mattered. In the eyes of the maiden, he found light.”

He shook his head. “The prince was never sure what the maiden saw in him, but it was enough for her to agree to marry him. He then presented her with a ring. An ordinary ring to some, far too simple for a soon to be princess, but in it held a spell. The ring would never fade or tarnish, as long as his love for her survived.”

He blinked, his expression darkening. “But love cannot protect one from death. Long after they were married, but not nearly long enough, a plague tore through the kingdom. It infested every corner from the lowest commoner to highest lord, until finally, it arrived at the palace gates. The prince’s eldest brother, his mother, and wife all caught the disease. After weeks of uncertainty, it was determined they would pull through, save for one. The maiden, his light, died in his arms while they slept."

Loki paused, swallowing down the emotion clearly rising in his throat.

“The darkness returned with a vengeance, to which the prince succumbed. He turned against his brother, his father, and everyone else he blamed for his failings. Slowly but surely, he pushed them all away until he found himself falling to an abyss, completely and utterly alone.

"But, that was not the end of the prince’s story. For you see, the prince was not as alone was he thought. Another found him, and offered him something he had no had in years; hope.

"He told the prince he sought six stones, that when combined would bend the universe to his will, including bringing back what was long dead."

Loki's eyes grew even more distant, his hand going to his chest, instinctively reaching for a familiar chain.

"He promised the prince he could bring back his light. All the prince had to do was conquer a single planet. A simple task, the prince thought. And so he went, ready to burn a world for the chance to see his love again.”

A sardonic smile spread across his face. “But the prince failed and in his failure, he realized while he might be willing to pay such a price for his love, she would not feel the same. And so he set to make amends, all the while keeping a symbol of their love close to his heart as a reminder of the light he must always remember is there.”

Loki paused, looking up to his captivated audience. In a room full of people compelled to give the have word, not a sound was uttered.

Maintaining the silence, he walked passed all of them to where his heart hung. With a small tug, he pulled the knife from the wall, and lay the necklace gently in his open palm.

“Does that answer your questions, Agent Barton?” he asked, taking a moment to run his finger over the flawless gold.

Clint blinked, unsure of what to really say. He really only had one question left to ask.

“What was her name?”

Loki glanced at him, and for the first time Clint saw him, not as a would be god, but as a man, tired and filled with regret.

“Sigyn.”

#marvel #mcu #loki #sigyn #logyn #natasha romanoff #steve rogers #clint barton #tony stark #bruce banner #thor #loki x sigyn

125 notes · View notes

mmsapataoltda · 3 years

Text

Heartbeat (PART 2)

check the tags for trigger warning. In case anyone is in doubt this happens in 146 so Lin is 26 and Tenzin 27

I don't know how to put a link here so part 1 is fixed in my page

fic under the cut

After Lin returned from her tour on the Island with Izumi close at her heels, Tenzin could notice her slightly swollen eyes and how she kept away from social interactions as much as possible. Kya was also watching her from across the room. The joy she felt when Lin and Tenzin announced the expected baby was slowly coming apart as she watched the earthbender interact with her baby brother. She didn't know if she felt worse because she was jealous of her brother or because she couldn't be overjoyed anymore by the little-announced news.

After all the guests had left, Lin and Tenzin said their good night to the family and retired to Tenzin's room. Lin's stillness was making Tenzin worried, he was used to her closing down when she didn't want to talk about something that made her uncomfortable, but this was different. She looked scared. But when she turned off the light on the lamp on her side of the bed said good night and then rolled over on her back to sleep, he figured it would be better for both of them if he just snuggled her body against his.

The next morning, right after breakfast, Lin was sitting on one of the beds at Katara's healing hut on Air Temple Island. Tenzin was sitting in a chair in front of the bed, watching Lin as serious as she could be. She was apprehensive, Tenzin knew, and made a point of staring at the wall behind him like it was the most interesting thing in the world in an effort not to look at him.

- Everything will be fine, Lin. - he said trying to calm her down, but she just directed her impenetrable gaze to him

- You don't know that. – she replied firmly – This child is growing inside of me, there is a high chance of her being born with three eyes.

The screen doors separating the room from the rest of the healing hut opened and Tenzin immediately rose to his feet to carry the basin of water Katara had brought with her and set it on the nightstand beside the bed Lin was occupying.

- Hi sweetheart – Katara greeted Lin affectionately as she approached the bed – Can you take off your shirt and turn to get started? - Lin nodded and did what Katara had asked, turning over in bed with only his bindings and sweatpants

Katara approached again with her hands covered with water and placed them on the metalbender’s chest, she opened her mouth to speak to Lin, but Tenzin interrupted her:

- Aren't you going to examine the baby first? - he asked anxiously

- I didn't know you were a healer, Tenzin. – the waterbender Master said ironically and resumed her consultation. Lin was pressing her lips together to keep from laughing at the face Tenzin had made at her mother's reply – I'll ask you some questions, okay? – the earthbender nodded – I need you to try to be as exact as possible with the dates. I assume you weren't trying to get pregnant. - was the first question

- No. - Lin and Tenzin replied together after exchanging looks

- When was your last cycle?

Lin pondered for a while, doing the math in her mind.

- 5 weeks.

- Did you have sex during this period? – Katara's question made Tenzin red

- Yes. - It was Lin who answered

- How long are you late? – she asked and moved the water to Lin's back

- About 15 days. My cycles are not regulated, I always end up missing one or two due to stress at the Police Station.

- When was the last time you had sex?

- Mom... - Tenzin objected, turning almost scarlet, receiving a reproachful look from his mother

- Two days ago. – Lin replied, ignoring Tenzin's objection and Katara nodded and moved her water-covered hands away from Lin's body

- You can lie down, I'll start examining the baby.

Lin did as the healer asked and soon Katara's hands were on her stomach.

- How did you find out you were pregnant?

- I can hear the heartbeat through the earth. – Katara smiled with this information

- I believe the baby was the person she was listening to last night. – it was Lin's turn to nod but Katara and Tenzin noticed her stiffen at the mention of Toph

Katara asked a few more questions about Lin's health as she moved her hands around her abdomen before stepping away and returning the water to the bowl beside the bed. Lin put on her shirt and sat down next to Tenzin on the other side of Katara's desk.

- Well... Lin, your weight is excellent for your height. The baby is approximately 5 weeks old and has a strong and regular heartbeat. – she paused in her notes – There is only one thing that worries me. – Lin shifted in her chair suddenly uncomfortable, she knew something wouldn't be right – Toph's pregnancies were very delicate, especially with Su. She had pre-eclampsia both times and with Su she went into premature labor because of it, thanks to the Spirits I managed to reverse the situation and Su was born close to the scheduled date. With that you have a genetic predisposition to have a risky pregnancy. As you said yourself, you are under a high level of stress at work and this is already causing changes in your blood pressure. This can cause complications for you and the baby's health. – Tenzin moved his hand to reach Lin's and squeezed it gently, but Lin didn't respond to the gesture – Under these circumstances I suggest you take maternity leave within the next few weeks.

- No way! – Lin exclaimed, pulling her hand away from Tenzin's touch and crossing her arms, she should have seen it coming

- Lin, try to be reasonable. – Tenzin asked quietly

- Tenzin, no! I'll have to stay away for almost a year when the time comes, I won't be locked inside the house for another seven months doing nothing, this will end up leaving me more stressed than the Police Station. – she turned her attention to Katara – Katara with all due respect, but I will not stop working unless absolutely necessary.

- I knew you would react like that. – Katara made a few more lines of notes before addressing them once more – You can work until your fifth month of pregnancy… – Lin opened her mouth to thank her, but Katara raised her hand to interrupt – Dont thank me yet, i'm not done. But until then you will work in the office, no fieldwork.

- What? – Lin almost yelled and her eyes widened in protest, but Katara paid little attention

- No patrols, no field investigations, no stakeout for 36 hours and no operations. And I know this is important to you, but you're also going to have to start slowing down with your workouts.

- Katara… - Lin tried to argue, but Katara continued

- And that is absolutely necessary. I'll talk to Chief Song myself if needed to. - Lin snorted and tightening the knot she made with her arms - Due to the delicacy of the pregnancy I will also ask you to stop drinking coffee and take appointments every two weeks.

- Something else? – Lin asked completely grumpy

- That is all.

And in the blink of an eye, Lin was up and out of the room.

Tenzin found her in the living room crosslegged on the window sofa as she turned the pages of the book she was reading almost aggressively.

- Lin. - he called her gently passing through the small crack in the door, but she ignored his presence. Tenzin rubbed a hand across his forehead and sighed before approaching her with slow steps – Lin. – he repeated and knelt on the floor in front of her, gently lowered the book she was using to hide her face and rested his hands on the metalbender’s knees

- I'm scared, Tenzin. – she confessed almost in a whisper – I'm not sure of anything about my life right now and it scares the shit out of me. First I was scared to be like the Chief, now I have to be away from my job otherwise I might end up losing the baby. Tenzin… – he approached her, snuggling between her thighs and lifting a hand to caress Lin's waist – I'm so confused. I never wanted this, I didn't want to have a baby, but now I'm pregnant and I'm not hating it, but at the same time it has my job and Chief Song has nominated me for the Captain's exam...

Tenzin had to compose himself with the revelation of that information, she hadn't said anything about the nomination. Lin looked down to meet the airbender's eyes and he noticed that her eyes were filled with fear, that feeling looked so wrong in Lin's eyes, she was always brave, always gave herself to the things she wanted, he couldn't let her feel that way.

- You can be sure about one thing: I'm here for you and I will always be, no matter what. And I'm sure you're going to do what's possible and impossible for our baby because you're like that, you give yourself to the things you commit to. – Lin smiled gratefully at him and tilted her head to the side – Now about your work… – Lin tensed again – I'm sorry this isn't going the way you planned and that this will interfere with your work, I know how important it is to you. But I'm here for you and I know you're going to be Capitain and then AC and then Chief. – he smiled – We can make this work. You could move to the Island, you would be closer to my mother and I could take care of you. We can turn the room next to mine into a nursery, we'll let Kya decorate it with all those cute baby things… – Lin laughed at the same time a tear escaped her eye – We can get married.

- On that hill I like with view to the city. - she completed placing her hand over his on her waist and reaching for the other to intertwine their fingers

- On that hill you like.

- I could do that.

The weeks went by smoothly, and Lin's move to Air Temple Island was accomplished with two flying bison trips under the supervision of Sokka and Aang that wouldn't let her lift a pin, let alone a box. At each appointment with Katara, she would tell her that everything was running smoothly, that she just needed to pay attention to her stress level and her diet. A few days after completing the 12th week Tenzin was responsible for a big spike in her blood pressure.

- You´re showing! – he almost yelled when Lin appeared in the room among the steam from the bathroom only wearing her panties and her bindings while drying her hair with the towel, she almost left the floor at his sudden reaction

- No, I am not. - she said immediately pulling the towel from her hair and looking at her stomach

- Yes you are! – Tenzin jumped out of bed and grabbed Lin's wrist dragging her back into the bathroom

He doubled a gentle stream of air on the mirror to defog, positioned Lin in front of him, and turned her on her side. Lin fixed her eyes on the reflection of her belly on the mirror and found what Tenzin was referring to. It was a small bump, it was almost imperceptible, but it was there. The earthbender ran a hand over her stomach, feeling the lump and couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

- It's our baby. – Tenzin said hugging her from behind placing his soft hands on the small bump and placing a series of kisses on Lin's exposed neck, who immediately started to feel hot and tilted her head to the side so that Tenzin had better access to her skin

The kisses became wetter and firmer, then Lin moved Tenzin's hands to her breasts squeezing it lightly, which made her let ou a little moan. She turned and brought their lips together in a needy kiss wrapping one leg around his hip, Tenzin realized what she wanted and then lifted her other leg holding Lin firmly on his hip by the thighs and walked with her in his arms to the bed

Tenzin was definitely loving the pregnancy hormones.

Lin was lying comfortably on his chest stroking Tenzin’s sternum as he drew large circles on Lin's bare back.

- Do you think Kya can find out if it's a boy or a girl? – he asked after placing a kiss on Lin's black hair.

- We don't need Kya to find out. – she replied raising an elbow to look at him – I know it's a girl.

- Oh? – Tenzin raised an eyebrow as well

- Beifongs don't have male children.

Thinking of the Beifong family tree Tenzin realized that Lin was correct. Lao was the only male child among three sisters, Poppy had only one sister and had an only daughter, Toph, who also had only daughters.

- But we can talk to her after dinner, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to tell everyone that she found out. - Lin commented lying down again on the airebnder’s chest

- I bet she will.

Unlike what they expected, Kya didn't show up for dinner. Katara said she was in her room packing her things to leave the next morning. Lin's heart clenched at the news, she didn't want her to leave, a selfish part of her wanted to keep Kya close so she could feel her heady presence that made her so confused. After Tenzin excused himself to take a phone call in his office, Lin did the same and went to Kya's room, something was wrong and she knew.

Lin knocked on the door, but loud music drowned out the sound, the metalbender opened the door a crack and she could see Kya stuffing clothes into her suitcase as she muttered to herself. Lin cleared her throat to announce her presence and Kya flew nearly three feet off the ground but didn't turn to her, the waterbender brought her hands to her face and took a few deep breaths before turning to face her. The waterbender didn't greet her with a bright smile as she always did, instead her eyes were sad and puffy and the tip of her nose was red. Lin raised her hand toward the radio and turned her fingers to turn off the device.

- Are you leaving. – it wasn't a question

- Yes. – Kya replied trying to sound firm and went back to stuffing clothes in her suitcase

- Why? – Lin asked entering the room, but Kya didn't answer her, just started to form a ball with the piece in her hand and threw it on the bed aggressively – Kya. What's happening? – Kya turned to her and once again Lin was surprised to see the piercing blue eyes filled with tears, Lin always knew that Kya cried at a drop of a hat but there was nothing that could explain it

- I can't be here right now. – Kya's answer only made Lin more confused – I'll come back when you enter the eighth month to help with the delivery, but I can't… – A sob escaped her lips and Kya covered her face to hide her tears

Instinctively Lin approached her, grabbed her wrists and gently pulled her hands away from her face. Still holding one of Kya's hands, Lin raised the other to the waterbender’s face and touched it with the greatest gentleness in the world, as if it would break with any careless touch. At first Kya was transfixed by the closeness she was from the metalbender, but she let herself feel comfortable as callused hands whiped her tears.

When Lin's hand lowered again, without noticing Kya mirrored Lin's gesture touching her face, she didn't seem bothered by the touch, so Kya ran her thumb over the twin scars on her cheek. They weren't smiling, they were afraid that any movement would break the spell surrounding them. The waterbender tried to absorb every detail of Lin's face, she wanted to kiss her. Lin's eyes were fixed on Kya's lips and she wondered if they were as soft as they looked. But suddenly Kya's touch faltered and she let out a soft breath.

- That's why I need to go. – Kya said fighting back tears and took her hand away from Lin's face.

The metalbender instantly missed the touch and watched silently as Kya closed her suitcase threw it over her shoulder and walked through the doorframe with just a "Good night Lin" and left leaving Lin standing and confused in the middle of her own bedroom.

When Lin returned to her’s and Tenzin’s room, Tenzin was lying on the bed while reading a book. She could feel that her cheeks were still hot and they sure were red. Tenzin lowered the book and sat up, noticing his girlfriend’s lost gaze.

- Lin, what's wrong? - he asked worried.

Tenzin's voice brought her back to reality and she blinked a few times to clear her thoughts of what had happened, or nearly happened, in Kya's room.

- Nothing. – she replied with a brief smile – Everything is fine. – she watched Tenzin's shoulders relax immediately.

- What did Kya say? - he asked anxiously

- That's a girl.

The way Kya left the next day left Lin thoughtful and distant for the next few days. She didn't understand what they were or where those feelings related to the waterbender came from, but she knew one thing: she missed Kya. That didn't mean she didn't love Tenzin, of course she loved him, with every beat of her heart, so what Kya made her feel made her even more confused. So, as with all the feelings she wasn't going to talk to anyone about, she stuffed them inside a little box and pushed them into a corner of her mind where she could pretend they didn't exist.

Along with the 14th week of pregnancy came the exam to select the next Captain of the Republic City Police Department. The theoretical part for the Captain's exam was being applied and all the Lieutenants of the 15th Class were gathered in the brifing room with their faces buried in scrolls reading and writing, Lin Beifong was the only Lieutenant of the 16th Class present. After explaining the entire situation to Chief Song, he did not allow her not to take the test with the other Lieutenants of the 15th class.

- This test is a mere formality, I have already made my decision, you will be the next Captain. Yoy will take the exam and as soon as you come back from maternity leave you will assume the post. - he said

And that's how she ended up sitting in the back of the brifing room for a four-hour test. Occasionally her right hand would leave its resting place beside the paper to caress the belly completely imperceptible to outside eyes hidden under her armor, which was no longer being so comfortable. Her foot remained barefoot against the floor as the heartbeat of the small baby growing in her womb soothed her.

Later that day, Lin and Tenzin were sitting on their bed, their backs against the headboard, she had just told him about how the test had gone and about all her expectations in that matter, Tenzin assured her that there was nothing she should worry as Chief Song had already made his decision that she would take over after her maternity leave, his hands never leaving Lin's stomach as her cold hands covered his.

She reached over to her bedside table to pick up the book about pregnancy Katara had given her, which had been hers during her pregnancies. Lin was devouring the book. Each chapter talked about what to expect in each week of pregnancy and what was happening with the baby in that week, as she completed each week she read a new chapter and reread it several times until completing the next. That night Lin couldn't contain her anxiety and ended up reading the chapters about the next few weeks, while reading Tenzin lay with his face lying close to her bump, talking in whispers with the baby.

- Her eyesight will start to develop in a few weeks. Unless she's blind.

- She's not blind. He is not blind - Tenzin countered - But if he or she is blind, that’s not a problem.

- I already told you it's a girl. – Lin said looking at him – You can call it "she", because the baby will be born and she will think you were wrong all along. – Tenzin frowned at her confused and Lin shook her head – Suddenly she's not even listening, she might be deaf.

- Not a problem too. One of the monks who trained my father was deaf. - he commented trying to get around Lin's pessimism

- Okay, but what if it's not okay?! Two heads, three arms...?

- Stop. – Tenzin said horrified to her

- I'm just saying. If a woman has to have a child with two heads, three arms and 11 fingers, that woman is me.

- Lin... it doesn't even make sense, if she has three arms it will be 15 fingers and I don't know why I'm saying this. – he shot in sequence, getting ready on his pillow – Now go to sleep, please. – he got up to kiss her temple and Lin started to move to get out of bed.

- I just need to get something from the kitchen. - she said getting up from the bed and left the room

Tenzin knew she didn't need anything from the kitchen. The trip there was just an excuse to be able to put her bare feet on the floor so she could hear the baby's heart beating. He knew Lin was worrying too much and that listening to the baby's heart soothed her.

When she reached the kitchen, Lin placed her hands on her belly, closed her eyes and stomped firmly with her left against the floor. The waves of her seismic sense swept the entire first floor, but Lin was focused on the small square meter she was standing in, the waves crept up her body and she could see the outline of her baby in her womb. She stroked her tiny belly until the waves dissipated and the formed image faded from her mind.

One Wednesday night in the middle of the 16th week of pregnancy, Lin woke up with a terrible pain in her lower abdomen. She sat up in bed with her hand on her stomach and let out a silent scream of pain. Something wasn't right. She turned to Tenzin and shook him desperately, trying to wake him up.

- Tenzin. – she turned to him and shook him with all the strength that was left in her body, which wasn't much when he heard the tone of his girlfriend's voice he sat up immediately on the bed – Tenzin, there's something wrong... the baby. - she said through her tears, the only words that escaped her mouth and in the next second she was bending forward in a scream of pain

He immediately got out of bed to run to his mother's room, but as soon as he turned on the lamp to see his way to the door he froze in place as he noticed the pool of blood Lin was sitting in. In that moment she knew. Her baby was gone.

Tenzin entered his parents' room unannounced, they were sleeping peacefully facing each other, completely unaware of what was going on. The door hit the wall with the force it was opened, Katara was the first to get up and when she noticed the expression on her son's face she realized that something wasn't right.

- Lin is in pain. - he said breathlessly

In less than a second Katara was on her feet with Aang at her heels.

- Take her to my healing hut, your father and I will prepare the pool. – she said as she tied a robe around her waist and put on her slippers

Tenzin carried Lin to his mother's hut, her weight barely perceptible in his arms. She was terribly quiet and pale, the tears had stopped and now they were just damp, glistening memories on her cheeks. He walked quickly while trying not to pay attention to the bloodstains on her thighs. As soon as they entered the hut, Aang came to their assistance and helped Tenzin get Lin into the pool.

Aang moved to leave the room and let his wife work on Lin and put a hand on Tenzin’s chest to walk him out, but Tenzin didn't move a muscle, reluctant to leave Lin alone.

- Tenzin go with your father. - Katara asked in a professional tone

Then he left the room, his father closing the screen doors behind them. But the look on Lin's face was one he couldn't shake from his thoughts, and one he knew he would never forget. Her face was streaked with tears, but no new ones left her eyes, she stared at nothing with a blank expression. That was the word that would be used to write Lin at that moment. Empty. He had never seen her like that and wished he had never had that opportunity.

When the doors opened again, nearly an hour and a half later, Katara's devastated gaze confirmed what they already knew. Tenzin felt the air leave his lungs as he brought his hands to his head feeling his knees go weak, Aang held him in place helping him to control his breathing while Katara's hands rested on his chest whispering things he didn't register. Once he was merely steady on her knees, Katara said:

- Lin had a miscarriage. As it was in the second trimester of pregnancy I needed to clean the uterus so we need to move her very carefully and she will need healing sessions for a week. – he could see that she was on the verge of tears as she tried to pass on the information, he tried to move towards the closed door, but his mother stopped him, she opened her mouth to speak, but the words were not passing through her throat – She passed by a huge trauma, a miscarriage after the 12th week is more aggressive and she is very fragile. Tenzin. – she looked deeply at her son – She needs you more than ever, you need to be strong for her, I'm not saying you shouldn't have your mourning period or block your emotions, but you need to take it slow with her.

The airbender nodded firmly and took a few breaths trying to get his emotions under control before entering the room. Lin looked smaller and more delicate than ever in the water, her clothes were soaking wet as were the ends of her hair that made contact with the water just below her shoulders. He didn't know what to say and before he had a chance to find out he heard Lin break into a sob:

- Tenzin. – at the sound of Lin's broken voice, he immediately strode to her stepping into the water without bothering with his pajamas getting wet and she hid in his chest while crying openly and clutching his shirt – I'm sorry. I am so sorry. – she kept repeating as he stroked her black hair and her back

- Shhh. – he said with his chin resting on top of her head – This is not your fault, you don't have to apologize for anything. – it was only at that moment as Lin clung to his clothes and cried desperately that he realized that his own tears were running down his face and falling into the black strands of his girlfriend's head

Five days had passed since that terrible Wednesday night, and Lin still declined to join the others at family dinners or eat a decent meal or receive anyone outside the family who lived on the Island. Including your mother.

- I don't care that she doesn't want to see me. She is my kid. – she argued with Katara, but the older woman refused to leave her position in front of the door – I swear Katara, if you don't get out of my way I'll bury you in a hole so deep that I myself won't be able to find you. She needs me! I am her mother!

After realizing that arguing with Toph in Lin's earshot would not benefit anyone at all, she relented and let Toph into the room. In a historic effort to talk about her feelings, she told Lin how she felt when she almost lost Su and what helped her overcome that trauma in an attempt to help her daughter. But it wasn't the same, Su was very much alive and walking around her new town living her private fairy tale while Lin went through hell. Toph left placing a kiss on Lin's hairline and he said goodbye with an empty "Thanks, Chief". Although Toph hasn't left town, appearing on the Island from time to time, she hasn't returned to visit Lin, content in just listening and feeling her footsteps across the bedroom floor.

Katara and Aang were being the pillars on which she and Tenzin could stand, they were also going through their respective griefs, but they didn't fail to lend their strength to the young couple. Strangely, the metalbender found great relief in meditating with the two airbenders in the first rays of sun and this was the only activity that made her leave the room apart from the healing sessions with Katara. At Lin's request, the waterbender had told her everything that had happened that night that no one would ever forget, assuring her that none of it was her fault, but Lin couldn't stop blaming herself. What if she had listened to Katara and stopped working? What if she had eaten better? What if she hadn't ventured into the training room? What if she had been more careful? The "what ifs" circled in Lin's head and refused to leave.

On the seventh day Kya arrived. Dropping her suitcase at the stairs and running into the house.

- I came as fast as I could. Where is she? – she asked exasperated to Katara who had her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down as Kya tried to cross the kitchen agitated

- She's in the bedroom, but first you need to calm down. – Kya stopped moving and took a few deep breaths, although Katara could still feel her daughter trembling against her palms – Better. – she said and released Kya who almost flew out of the kitchen and up the stairs

Lin heard a soft knock on the door. With her feet off the ground she was unable to tell who was knocking, so she simply replied:

- It's open. - in a weak voice

When Kya came into view she was overwhelmed with the urge to cry, but she pushed it deep into her chest.

- I'm sorry, Lin. – Kya said as soon as her eyes landed on Lin sitting on the bed, she crossed the room with long strides and open arms, enveloping Lin in a much-needed hug that wasn't refused. The metalbender could feel Kya's hot tears on her shoulder, but she didn't cry – It's okay to cry. – she said in a gentle voice when Lin wrapped her in her arms, burying her face in Kya's neck and smelling her scent

- I do not want to cry. – Kya knew that was a lie. Lin broke the embrace and got up from the bed, the younger woman turned to her, the tears she'd struggled so hard with finally leaving her eyes – But what I want to do now is scream. I want to scream until my throat hurts more than my head, stomach and chest. I just want to scream to relieve some of this pain and this anger I'm feeling at myself. – Lin said firmly through his tears, gesturing hugely as she walked in front of Kya

- Then scream. – Kya replied in the same tone – Scream. Let it out.

- I can’t do it. – Lin said, trying hard not to sob and shaking her head – I can't, I can't, I don't...

She slipped on the wall she was next to and as soon as her hands covered her face she let that sob escape. Kya sat beside her, silently humming a tune as she stroked her back in large circles and allowed Lin to cry all her tears. After a few minutes, Lin calmed down. Kya was the first to get up from the floor and reach out a hand to help Lin up, who accepted and stood up carefully and leaning against the wall. But Kya didn't let go of her hand, tucking it in Lin's so that their fingers intertwined and she started walking towards the door to leave the room. Lin hesitated.

- Where are we going?

- Do you trust me? – Kya asked with a gentle smile and Lin's heart squeezed and she nodded

The two walked through the living room and kitchen hand in hand, ignoring the eyes that accompanied them. When they reached the outside of the house Kya began to guide her to the covered pavilion where Tenzin and Aang trained when the weather was not favorable.

- Ok, Kya I'm not a child, I don't need a tour on the Island. – Lin said when they entered the pavilion and Kya's hand left hers to close the door

- Scream. – she said turning to Lin

- What? – Lin asked as if that was the most absurd idea she had ever heard

- Scream. – she repeated, encouraging the earthbender with a nod of her head

- I can’t. - she took a step back

- Do it.

- No, I can't do it...

But before Lin could continue her argument Kya leaned forward screaming.

- I can’t do it. – Lin repeated with a frown and turned to leave the pavilion

And then Kya screamed again.

In an unexpected move, Lin turned to her and finally screamed, with all the force in her being, a soul-shattering shout. When it was over she sobbed and the glass windows began to shudder as tears ran wildly down her face. She screamed again causing the glass of all the windows in the pavilion to break and crash to the floor, but this barely caught Kya's attention, who had her full attention turned to Lin and accompanied her scream this time.

Lin's third scream came hoarse but powerful from her throat, and the shards of glass lying on the floor near the broken windows flew towards the metalbender, forming a curtain of glass around her. The shards began to whirl like a hurricane around her without ever touching her. Kya watched the scene completely shocked at Lin's power, not knowing how to react. She is glassbending. When Lin's hoarse scream ceased she fell to her knees on the ground as the shards of glass froze in midair keeping Lin partially hidden within the tunnel. Kya stepped forward and reached out to touch them and the curtain fell away, falling around Lin, keeping her untouched in the center of a circle, and Kya quickly entered the circle.

She knelt beside her and Lin collapsed into her arms. Kya held Lin close as she cried and sobbed in her arms once more, while she herself silently cried trying to make the act go unnoticed by the earthbender.

Each of them deposited the feelings that choked them in their screams. For Lin the pain that had suffocated her from the moment she learned she had lost her baby, the overwhelming guilt she felt for thinking she hadn't been good enough, and the feeling that she had let everyone down. For Kya it was seeing Lin suffer like that and the inability to make her stop suffering, the guilt of leaving, the mourning for the more than premature departure of a niece she would never have the opportunity to meet and the pain that gripped her lungs from not being able to comfort Lin the way she desperately wanted, from not being able to be with her, from not being able to say the "I love you" that almost escaped her lips every time she looked at Lin.

#angst #miscarriage #blood #eating disorder #depression #anxiety #kyalin #linzin #kya ii #Lin Beifong #tenzin #beifong #tlok #the legend of korra #heartbeat

37 notes · View notes

teacup-set · 3 years

Text

Giants

Summary: 'Thank you for the recipe', her note says, but what she really means is 'thank you for raising me, thank you for making me who I am.' She knows mama will know what she means, she always does. [SSS family]

Read on: AO3, FFN

The sun is low on the horizon and the sky looks like it's on fire. The contrast of the world has shifted, and the aged rust-orange of the hokage tower looks burning red like its early days. The villagers often joke that the sun burns brighter these days because there is a flame-fanning uchiwa in the hokage office, that the will-of-fire that was once a flickering flame is now a ferocious katon.

In her office chamber, Sarada feels much more muted, heaving under the weight of the faith people put in her. This had always been her dream and she harbored no disillusion about how difficult it is to be hokage. And yet, she is crumbling. The kage summit that she is organizing looms on the horizon, and every half hour there seems to be a new logistical difficulty without fail. Just the administrative nightmare that is hosting the world's most powerful dignitaries in an event that is without a doubt a beacon for those with ill-intent has eaten up all her time. She hasn't even gotten to thinking about the delicate issues and negotiations she has to raise at the summit. She is overwhelmed, but people depend on her so she can't let it show. Part of her wants to run to her parents home, because there she is still a child, free from the weight of the world on her shoulders. There is no time for that though. Her parents, along with the Uzumakis, moved out from Konoha some years ago, choosing to spend their retirement away from the shinobi world in a rural part of Fire country. It would take too long to make the trip, and there is still much to do for the summit.

Sarada eyes the phone on her desk. 'I could call, I suppose.'

Without thinking about it too much, she dials the number. By the second ring, she remembers to cough and clear her throat lest her voice gives away her frustration. By the fourth, her mother picks up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, mama!" says Sarada, forcing cheer into her voice.

"Sarada! How are you sweetie?" Sakura chimes. Already, Sarada feels lighter.

"I am good, mama. How are you and papa?" asks Sarada, resting her chin on her palm.

"We are both well sweetheart, though you and the others should drop by once in a while," her mother's voice becomes fainter as she speaks, like she is turning away from the mouthpiece, "Otherwise your father and uncle Naruto will keep trying to fill the void by acting like children themselves." and Sarada imagines her mother is eyeing some mess they have made in the background. She laughs.

"Okay, okay, I will try to make a trip soon." she concedes. The line is silent for a second.

"Sarada, is everything okay?" Sakura asks, and immediately Sarada wants to kick herself for thinking she could ever fool her mother. Both her and her papa agree, they could give the whole world the slip, but mama knows them by heart.

"Yeah, of course." Sarada attempts, and from the silence from the other end she knows she has failed. "It's nothing, mama. Just stressed. The hokage summit is next week and Konoha is hosting." she admits in defeat.

"Oh darling, that's a lot of work. Are you holding up okay?"

Sarada wants to refrain from worrying her mother, but it is a chance to finally vent out all that she has been holding in and she is verging on desperate so she bites.

"I...don't know mama. There is a lot to do." she starts, "I am still trying to take care of all the security measures. There is tension between Kumo and Hoshi, and they will not allow the Raikage delegation to cross into the land of fire."

"Iwa and Oto have also been bickering. I really hope they will behave at the summit, otherwise I don't know how I'll handle them." she sighs and continues as Sakura patiently listens, "Even beyond the kage summit there is more to do. There have been a few bad harvests near the south east border, and sending provisions from the center's stock takes too long. Most of it rots by the time it gets there. The Fire Daimyo asked the Daimyo of Tea country to help since they are closer, but they refuse. Apparently we have 'a history of not interfering in each other's affairs' and that's how they want to keep it. Can you believe that?" she huffs angrily.

"Sarada, is this line secure?" Sakura asks, her voice level.

"Uh, yeah. I am calling from my office." Sarada replies, taken aback by her mother's sudden question.

"Okay." Sakura begins, "The daimyo is wrong. Fire country and Tea country don't interact because of Tea country's reluctance to interact with nations that have shinobi villages. But during the time Lord Second was Hokage, Tea was experiencing tensions with Sea Country. Something to do with ships from Sea Country intercepting the cargo from Tea, I think? Anyway, they had requested help from Fire country then."

Sarada sits up straighter, listening attentively.

"They requested the Leaf to assassinate one of the people involved. They happened to be a higher-up in Sea country's government, and if the responsible party was discovered it would have caused a scandal." Sakura explained, "An ANBU unit was dispatched to take care of it, without any official mission report or paper transaction to make sure it would not be traced. But just in case they were discovered, to ensure that the Leaf would not be held responsible as the perpetrator, the Second kept a signed declaration from the Tea Daimyo sealed away. You should be able to find it in Lord Second's section of the records room. Not only is it proof that Fire and Tea have been involved in each other's affairs, this is information that Tea would very much like to avoid from entering the public domain. It might help you make your case, though I can't imagine how wicked someone would have to be to refuse to feed the hungry." Sakura finishes, sounding angered.

Sarada is stunned. After quickly jotting down a note to check the records room, she pauses. Then slowly realization dawns. To her, mama is mama. Mama who braids her hair, always overcooks the fish, and doesn't believe in separating laundry by colours. But mama is also Uchiha Sakura. She was trained by two hokage, and was also on the same team as one (-and a half). For the longest time, she was also the director of the hospital and one of Konoha's most prestigious diplomats. There is perhaps no one in the village who has been in and out of the hokage building more than mama has. Of course she would know. Mama always has the answers, after all.

"I...thank you, mama." Sarada stumbles, still basking in the awe of her belated realization.

"Shh, sweetheart, don't thank me." from behind her, Sarada hears movement in the background, and then her papa's voice-

"Who is it?" Sasuke inquires, asking Sakura.

"It's Sarada, my love." Sarada blushes slightly, still embarrassed by her parents' affections towards each other, as she listens to her mother catch her father up on their conversation. In the next instant, her papa is on the phone.

"Sarada. There is an alternate route from Kumo to Konoha through a set of islands near Whirlpool. I am sending you a map, await my hawk." her father's steady, reassuring voice carries through the phone.

Once again, Sarada has to reckon with who her parents really are. Her memories of her father revolve around eating breakfast in the early mornings, packing lunches for mama, and throwing Kunai in the afternoons. But her father has traveled the whole world, and not just this one. He has inherited knowledge from the founder of the shinobi world itself. There is so much in this world that only he knows.

"I will, papa, thank you." Sarada says, in a daze.

"Hn." her father replies, satisfied, and then her parents have swapped the phone again.

"Sweetie, is there anything else we can do?" worry rings in her mother's voice.

The laundry list of tasks she has to complete is still infinite, but suddenly Sarada's heart is inflated again. She is ready.

"No, mama, I can handle the rest." she says with confidence.

She hears the smile in her mama's voice. "Of course you can, love."

"You're doing a much better job than the idiot." Her father mutters in the background.

Sarada gazes at her reflection in the window of her office. Staring back at her are her father's eyes, and the purple diamond on her forehead passed down from her mother. Her eyes trail to the hokage regalia hanging next to the door, but instead of feeling daunted, she is reminded of her earliest memory of them. The same cloak and hat, hanging on the back of a dining chair in her childhood home, first when Lord Sixth would come over for dinner, and then Lord Seventh. The same cloak that would hang between her father's dark one and her mother's lab coat, the same place it still belongs. It dawns on her simply. She was born to giants. She was raised by giants. And she is a giant too.

Her reverie is broken by her mother's voice carrying through the phone.

"Sarada, have you eaten dinner?"

Suddenly Sarada wants to burst out laughing. Only her mother could go from delicate, high-risk politics to dinner without a pause.

"No mama, not yet." she answers, smiling.

"Sarada!" her mother exclaims, and her father clucks his tongue in disapproval.

"You must eat, Sarada." her father's stern voice reminds her, and Sarada feels her heart soar. Some things are still simple, and for that she is grateful.

"Oh, Sarada! Your father and I tried a new silken tofu recipe! You will like it, I am sure. I will send it with your father's hawk!" her mother gushes, then turns to her father, "Darling, do you think we could send some of the cucumbers we harvested, too? They will pair well."

Her father grunts in approval and already Sarada can hear him walking away, no doubt to ready his bird.

"We won't keep you anymore sweetie, you have work to do. Just make sure you eat!" her mother chides.

Sarada wants to tell her, 'You aren't keeping me from anything. I will make time for you always. I love you with all my heart.' Instead she says-

"Okay, mama. I will see you both soon." because she will, and then she will tell them.

"Alright then. Bye sweetheart." Sarada savors the cadence of her mother's voice and then the phone disconnects, leaving her in the silence of her office.

Outside the sun has set, but Sarada's heart is ablaze anew.

The hokage summit is completed, treaties are negotiated, the famine is tackled, and just as it always has been, new problems swiftly replace the old ones. Sarada is unflinching, she knows she will solve them, just as she always has.

She finishes tying an envelope to the messenger hawk she is sending her parents’ way. Inside is a photograph of the silken tofu she made, and a note.

'Thank you for the recipe', it says, but what she really means is 'thank you for raising me, thank you for making me who I am.' She knows mama will know what she means, she always does.

Fin.

AN: Inspired by the poem “My mother texts me instructions to cook silken tofu” by Sue Zhao, and my general dislike of being grown up.

#sss family #naruto fanfiction

40 notes · View notes

lunarliza · 4 years

Text

Dirty Little Secret | Chapter One: Blankets

fuckbuddy!JJ x Kook!Reader

You and JJ are fuck buddies- strictly physical. But what happens when you find yourself falling more and more for everyone’s favorite golden boy even though all he can see you as is a spoiled rich girl?

You stared at the ticking clock among the sea of giggling preppy girls. Time had to be running in reverse. There was no way you still had an hour left.

“Alright ladies, let’s now form a single-file line and practice our curtsies,” the cotillion instructor, Linda, ordered. The over-privileged girls hurried to the end of the ballroom, one carelessly stepping over your foot. “Ouch!”

You glared at their backs and non-existent asses as they scurried, being the last one to sulk to your place behind a tall girl named Caroline. The leggy blonde snickered and leaned back slightly once everyone got into formation.

“You look like a beat up mule,” she joked.

You snorted and got on your tip-toes, muttering into her ear. “If I hear the words ‘prim and proper’ one more time, I might actually vomit on the spot.”

You both peered over to Linda who was busy adjusting some of the girls in the front with her annoying pointer stick. It was only a matter of time before she would eventually get to you and criticize, well, everything. Your posture, clothes, hair, attitude.

“If you do,” Caroline added, “make sure to get it all on Delilah in the front left. She totally swiped me for runner-up Miss Teen North Carolina last year.”

You chuckled and shook your head.

Caroline was probably the only thing getting you through these treacherous debutante lessons. She was your typical tall, thin socialite with a Benz and Prada collection to match. Ironically, you guys had more in common than one would think- hating just about every single girl in the room. It may be for different reasons, but the principle was there. Caroline was as competitive as they come and always had to be the center of attention, not that it was hard given her model height.

You, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about becoming a high woman in society- evident in your ability to show up 20 minutes late to each lesson and royally screw up the dance number each chance you got. Caroline admired your talent of not giving a fuck and took a liking to you after you posed non-threatening to her spotlight.

You faked yawned and checked the clock once more.

“Alright I’ve had enough.” You held out your hand to Linda, causing the pageant girl in front of you to wrinkle her perfectly threaded brows. “Linda, I need to use the restroom,” you announced nonchalantly as everyone’s beetle eyes punctured you.

“Very well y/n,” the monotonous instructor answered with her thin-framed glasses hanging on her beak nose.

“See ya next week,” you sneakily whispered to Caroline. You proceeded to hop out of line, snatch your canvas bag at the entrance, and whisk out the door and into the busy street before anyone could see.

It was 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon. Your ferry left in an hour, and til then, you were ready to wander around the streets of Chapel Hill.

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

“How were lessons today?” your mother asked, taking a sip of her 1999 Vineyard Merlot before setting the glass on the black marble table.

“Fine,” you answered, picking at the halibut on your plate.

Her glasses were perched at the bridge of her nose as she scrolled through items on an iPad. You silently glanced over to your little sister, Macy, who slid her green beans onto your plate and threw you a thankful grin.

“What did you go over?” your stepdad, Ted, asked half-heartedly as he scrolled through his phone.

“Uh, we did some curtsies and practiced the dance,” was all you cared to mention as you munched on your sister’s veggies.

“That’s funny,” your mother lifted her eyes from the screen, “because Linda called and said you went to the restroom and mysteriously disappeared. And you were late.” Her tone was much more adamant at the second part, but your face stayed cool as you took another bite of the awful fish.

“There was backup when I left the ferry,” you lied and your mother rolled her eyes, tossing the iPad onto the table.

“Y/n, you need to take this seriously. Ted spent weeks trying to get you into those debutante lessons and we’re paying a fortune for Linda alone!”

“It’s not my fault she has a stick up her ass just like everyone else there,” you countered. Your mom was seconds away from fuming, so you decided to add a little extra fuel. “Also someone stepped on my foot with their heel so I had to rest it or else I wouldn’t be able to properly do the dance.”

“Enough of this, y/n,” your mother snapped at your terrible sarcasm. Macy and Ted stopped eating and watched you both with hints of concern. You didn’t understand why it was so startling to them. It was just any other Thursday evening with your mom if you were being honest.

“If I get another call from Linda, we’re taking away your keys.”

“Take them,” you said, stepping up from your chair and towards the kitchen. You tossed the half-eaten food into the trash and stuffed the plate into the dishwasher. “Not like I have anywhere better to be on this God-awful island.”

You rushed to your room upstairs and kicked the door shut behind you. You sank into your bed, face first, and let out the longest, dreadful groan into the comforter.

This was your life now. After almost a year, you would think that you’d adjust to this pretentious Kook life, but it only made you feel more stranded than ever. It started when your real parents announced their divorce a few years back. Both yours and Macy’s hearts shattered at the news. Your family lived perfectly in a tiny home until you turned thirteen. Your dad- the one who taught you how to ride a bike, swim, fish, and play poker- got a new job where he would go overseas for months on end. You hated not being able to see him and your mom hated it even more- enough to leave him. Your mom ended up taking full custody of you and Macy. Soon after, she met money-bags Ted, and, before you knew it, your bags were sealed packed as you sailed away to a fancy new home along Figure Eight complete with housekeepers, a pool, and etiquette lessons. It was supposed to be this “better lifestyle” your mother tried to paint into your head- but you saw right through it. No matter how green the grass or white the fence, you still felt like you were being locked up on an island you had no interest in exploring.

Making new friends was also a hassle- first coming in as a high school sophomore, and then not knowing how to engage in Kook-speak with the others. It’s not your fault you weren’t well-versed in luxury cars and handbags. You had one or two friends, but spent most of your days alone. It was well past midnight when you caught yourself drowning in your own self-loathing thoughts. A sudden tap on your window startled you as you turned to find a familiar blonde boy struggling to lift the glass. You watched, unimpressed, as he finally got it open enough to slide his lean body in and land straight onto your window seat.

“You’re late again, JJ,” you said, getting up to lock your door.

“Phone died and there’s a guard on duty, so I had to come in through the long way,” JJ stated, plopping himself comfortably on your bed.

He wore his usual fit- dark cargo shorts and a navy button-up with hardly anything buttoned. He reeked of weed and seawater, wearing a sleazy grin on his face. You wanted to swipe it off. Cocky bastard.

“For the last time,” you retorted, kicking his feet off your white blankets, “no shoes on my fucking bed.”

“I love when you talk dirty to me,” JJ snarkily replied as he slipped off his boots.

This was JJ: your fuck buddy. You couldn’t pinpoint exactly why you were involved with this delinquent of a boy, but he was enough piss off your mom and Ted- not that you would ever tell them. You didn’t know what it was about him, but causally sleeping with JJ made you feel more in control of your life. So, once or twice a week, you two would meet up, do the deed, and go your separate ways without a word. No strings, no feelings, hell, not even a friendship. And not a single soul knew. You both understood the terms of your agreement and will stand by it until the day you both die. “Are you just gonna stand there and stare or are we gonna get to clapping cheeks? I don’t have all night dude,” JJ nagged, interrupting you from your thoughts.

You flipped him off. “If someone showed up during their regularly scheduled time, I would have had a lot more energy.” You peeled off your cropped tee to reveal a lacy black bralette and climbed into his lap. His hands cupped the globes of your ass before sliding them into your shorts, mouth connecting with your neck.

“Let’s make this quick,” he added between short breaths, “I have to meet some friends in an hour.”

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

chapter two

786 notes · View notes

heliads · 4 years

Text

Cedar Trees and Lost Boys

You are a dryad, living on Neverland with your family. Will a friendship with Peter Pan blossom into something more, or is he just using you for information on the other dryads?

masterlist

The green of the trees is a dazzling emerald around you. The forest is a beautiful place to live, and the woodlands of Neverland are no exception. As a dryad, you have always loved the sight of the woods, and today is no exception.

Your feet are light on the mossy ground as you stride silently through the forest. Every dryad on Neverland has a species of tree that is unique to them and is the source of their powers. Yours is cedar. You can control their growth, and they help you stay young forever without having to rely on Pan’s magic. You are also connected to each and every cedar tree on the island- you can feel when one is cut down or newly planted.

Once you find a thicket of cedar trees, you walk to the nearest one and place your palm against it, closing your eyes to anchor your magic to it. Once you’re ready, you walk forward through the tree, and end up outside of a different cedar on the other side of the island. Dryads can travel from one tree to another, and you’ve used it to your advantage to save you time otherwise spent walking pointlessly around the island. You’re almost to your destination, and soon the familiar sight of your close friend’s treehouse comes into view.

You barely even have to knock before your best friend comes cheerily to the door. “Oh, Y/N! I’m so glad to see you! Come in, quick, before anyone sees you.” Tinker Bell’s usual bright voice turns anxious in the last sentence, and she peeks her head quickly out the door to make sure no one is around to see you two. Peter Pan is always watching, but you want to make sure he won’t see you.

You sit down in a chair opposite your friend, letting out a long sigh and kicking your feet up. “What’s wrong?” Tink asks, concern lacing her eyes. “Just the usual. The High Council wants me to stay alert because they think another Lost Boy will be coming to the island soon and they want me to follow through with the usual responsibilities.” Every time the council of dryads believes a Lost Boy to be the True Believer, they send you to lure him away from camp and towards the dryad regions of Neverland. The Lost Boys always seem to trust you more than anyone, and once you deliver the potential savior to the elders, they can determine whether or not the boy is really the Truest Believer. This upsets Pan, of course, but seeing as he has no idea who’s drawing away the Lost Boys, he can do nothing but stew over it.

Tinker Bell clucks her tongue sympathetically. “I’m sorry. At least you have something to do, right?” Your mouth stretches into a frown. “I know, but still! It feels like none of the other dryads want anything to do with me until a new Lost Boy shows up, and I’m sick of it. I just wish I could do more than just lure away newcomers, you know-” Your voice drops off as you sense a disturbance in the forest. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps comes from right outside the door. It’s Pan!

“Quick- get up! There’s a window in the back room, you’ll have to leave through there. Hurry!” Tink leaps up, rushing you out before opening the door once you’ve gone. Just as your feet hit the ground, you hear a voice coming from Tink’s treehouse. “Now, who was with you? I know I heard another voice..”

You shiver at the sound of Pan’s voice, and run as fast as you can towards the nearest grove of cedar. There’s an odd sound behind you, kind of like the crack of lightning but more muted. You dare to check over your shoulder, and you see Pan closing the gap behind you! He doesn’t know who you are, and he can’t tell what tree you control, so you sprint with all of your energy to the cedar trees and disappear. Thankfully, you were far enough away from him that he won’t be able to follow you through the tree, but your heart is still pounding in your chest. That was close.

Later that night, the new Lost Boy arrives. He seems innocent enough, with a mess of black hair that’s just long enough to keep falling in his eyes. The other Lost Boys seem delighted to meet him, and they dance around a bonfire that soars high into the sky. Eventually, though, the new Lost Boys looks out into the trees and catches sight of you. His stare is full of curiosity and wonder. You suppose he’s never seen a dryad before, and you can’t help a small smile. You are dressed in flowing green, with a crown of white flowers encircling your hair. His interest in you eventually wins out his desire to stay with the other boys, and he slips away from the camp and into the forest.

“Who are you?” His voice, so full of the innocence of young children, is almost washed away by the loud clamor of the Lost Boys’ celebration. “I am a spirit of the forest, my friend. Will you come with me to the land of the dryads?” The boy nods slowly, then takes your hand. The two of you walk back into the dark woods, unnoticed by anyone.

Before long, you reach a tall cedar. “If you come with me through this tree, you can meet all of my friends. Would you like that?” You keep your voice soft and relaxing, and the boy immediately agrees. You place your hand on the tree, opening the doorway between it and the tree at your home where the others are waiting, and usher the boy through. You’re about to step through yourself when a hand closes around your wrist, yanking you back and stopping you from joining the boy.

“And who might you be?” You whirl around at the voice, freezing in place when you see who’s found you. Of course, it’s none other than Peter Pan. You find you can’t say anything. “You must be a dryad, probably the one who ran from me at Tinker Bell’s? The one who keeps stealing away all of my newest Lost Boys? I can’t blame them, of course, who wouldn’t want to go with you, but still. They are my boys that you’re taking.”

You can barely find the courage to open your mouth. “I- I don’t-” Pan just smiles that vicious grin of his. “Don’t worry, love. I won’t hurt you. All I ask is that you visit me tomorrow. Midnight, at the cliff’s edge. I just want to know exactly who else lives on my island.” With that, he releases your wrist and walks away, leaving you staring after him.

The next day passes in a haze, and before you know it, it’s time to meet Pan at the cliff. By the time you get there, a light wind has kicked up, and it toys with the strands of your hair. No one is there waiting for you, and you take the moment alone to stare out over the ocean. Dryads usually stay within their region of Neverland, and seeing as this cliff is in Pan’s domain, you don’t often get to see this particular view. The sight of the crashing waves comforts you, and for a second, you almost forget why you’re there.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” You jump at Pan’s words, spoken from just a few inches away. “Yes, yes it is.” You murmur distractedly, trying to calm your racing heart. You hadn’t realized he was there, but nonetheless he comes to stand beside you. “I’ve always enjoyed this sight.” Pan turns you, staring deep into your eyes. “Tell me, was it your choice to lead away the Lost Boys? Or did the Council ask you to?” Your shoulders stiffen at the mention of the Council. How does he know about that?

“I do what they ask. We all do.” You manage to say, but Pan just clucks his tongue impatiently. “Oh, but where’s the fun in that? Come on, Y/N, haven’t you ever wanted to do something just for yourself?” You look at him, surprised. “How do you know my name?” Pan just chuckles lowly. “I have my ways of finding things out. Are you going to answer my question?’ You look at him skeptically. “Why do you care about whether or not I like what the Council tells me to do? I don’t have a choice, and you don’t even know who I am!” Pan looks at you contemplatively. “I suppose I’m intrigued. I heard you talking about it to Tinker Bell, anyway, so it doesn’t matter that you didn’t answer. I want to give you a chance to be yourself, instead of a pawn of the Council.”

You laugh at that. “Well, I appreciate your offer, but I doubt Peter Pan wants to befriend a dryad just because. What strings have you attached?” Pan pretends to be hurt. “None, actually. I was just going to ask for you, in case you were bored of just doing things for the Council. I can see I was mistaken. Well, I’ll leave you in peace. Goodnight, Y/N.” He turns and starts walking away from you. At first, you hold your tongue, but your curiosity overwhelms you and you call after him. “Fine. What do you want, Pan?” He stops walking, and when he looks back at you, a taunting grin is spread victoriously across his face. “I want you.”

That wouldn’t be your first meeting with Pan. They end up happening every few days, or whenever you can get away from the Council long enough to see him. You find that he actually wants to be close to you, and his reckless, wild friendship is one of the best things you’ve had in a while. You can finally be yourself with him, not just another dryad that the Council can order around.

It’s on a clear night like this, moonlight drenching the island in a mystical silver glow, that you and Peter sit side by side, legs dangling over the cliff’s edge. You always meet here, to talk and laugh like you’ve known each other for your entire lives. You’re pointing out the constellations, or at least the ones you know. He knows some that you don’t, and you’re surprised to find that the dryads have different names for some constellations than the Lost Boys. Just before you can find Perseus, a deep voice behind you makes your heart drop.

“Y/N. What is this?”

You turn to see none other than your father, glaring at you from the entrance to the forest. Behind him stand a number of other dryads, including a few members of the council. You stand up quickly, trying your best to come up with excuses but only able to stammer out a few syllables. Your father takes a step towards you. “This is forbidden! You are not to speak with Pan, and you knew that! What are you doing?” He squints his eyes suspiciously. “Are you under a spell?

Peter speaks from beside you, his voice cool in contrast to yours. “What else would it be, dryad? You know, it’s taken you so long to find out. Just think, all this time she’s been walking around your home with my spell on her heart. Who knows what she would have done if I asked?”

Your father glares at Peter, and you turn to the boy beside you. “What are you talking about?” You hiss, your voice barely a whisper. “Look, she doesn’t even know. Why else would I want her near me, for company? Please. I just needed to make sure the spell still held. That’s what I said when I first met her, actually. I just want to know exactly who else lives on my island.” Peter turns to face you now, emboldened by his cocky confidence. “She was just doing your dirty work, and I had my chance. What a shame.” Your heart feels like it’s about to shatter. It was all a fake. You can see right through him now, and you know he’s not lying. Why would he want to stay with you? Why would he want you around? It was just so he could get inside your head. He’s telling the truth.

You collect the last scraps of your confidence, then walk briskly away from Peter and towards the other dryads. “I’m so sorry, Father. I didn’t know.” Your father shakes his head understandingly. “It’s alright, Y/N. There was no way you could have known.” No, there wasn’t. You leave with the rest of the dryads, and you can’t even bear to look back at Peter. You know the pain will overwhelm you if you see his face once more.

And so you don’t return to the cliffs. It hurts to be without him, even knowing what he’s done. You miss his late-night conversations, and the sound of his voice by your side. The days go by, night after night where you stare up at the unforgiving moon and wonder about Peter. Is he at the cliff, waiting for you? Is he laughing at you now, from the camp of the Lost Boys? Is he wishing for your company like you’re wishing for his?

Eventually, you can’t take it and slip out of your bed and into the night air. You’re still firmly on dryad territory, and that’s where you stay. There’s a small creek a short ways away from your home, and you let your feet lead you there. You crouch down beside it, watching the silvery clear water burble over small rocks in its path.

“You haven’t come to the cliffs in a while.”

Your eyes go wide as you recognize the voice. Sure enough, it’s Peter. “What are you doing here? This is the middle of dryad land!” You hiss at Peter, trying your best to cover up for the jump in your heart when you saw him. He just tilts his head to the side, dismissing your worries. “I wanted to see you. Why have you been avoiding me? I know you can go wherever you want in the forest and not be caught by them.” You let out a sardonic laugh. “Of course I’d go find you. You know, when we were found out by the other dryads, I realized something. You weren’t lying about why you were with me.”

Peter raises his eyebrows. “Trust me, there was no spell. I just needed to get them to believe in you.” You shake your head. “Not the spell, but the reason. You used me to get to the other dryads. You know it’s true! Why else would you want to be with me? I’m just some dryad, and you could have chosen anyone.” Your voice drops off until it can barely be heard. “I was the easiest target because you knew I’d trust you. You knew you could trick me into believing you, and you used that to your advantage.” Peter’s usually confident smirk has slipped from his cheeks. “That’s not true. That’s not true at all.” You look at him desperately. “Then what else would it be?” Peter says only one word: “This.”

Before you know it, he’s kissing you. The sudden touch of his lips on yours is enough to bring everything to a standstill. When he finally breaks away, you feel like you could get lost forever in the emerald of his eyes. You don’t think any forest in the world could hope to have that shade of green.

“This is why. Because I knew, even then, that I never wanted to be without you. I love you, Y/N.” Your breath comes shallowly. “I love you too, Peter.” He smiles at that, and leans over to kiss you once more.

#peter pan #peter pan imagine #peter pan x reader #peter pan imagines #peter pan ouat #peter pan ouat imagine #peter pan ouat x reader #once upon a time #ouat #once upon a time imagine #once upon a time x reader

158 notes · View notes

feysandfeels · 3 years

Note

TSwiftMaas pt 2, I’m back and thank you for letting me rant

Champagne Problems - Feyre/Tamlin, maybe a bit of Mor/Azriel

Gold Rush - literally the moment Feyre first sees Rhys on Calanmai and then snaps out of it. Or Emerie seeing Mor (ACOSF new a esta book). Also Rowan seeing *the nightgown*

Happiness - Elain x Graysen

Cowboy Like Me gives me Aelin attitude vibes but Feysand too? “Eyes like stars”

Evermore - Rhys and Feyre (literally dreamed of each other at their worst moments, he sent her the music and stars and he was seeing her)

I so agree on Ivy and I was so happy to see you say that!!!!!

Dude you are so welcome here, rant away!

It also gives me the chance to add some more. So ACOTAR x Taylor Swift part II (Part I)

lol at rowan literally having gold rush seeing Aelin in her nightgown.

Feysand:

Delicate - I don’t know why but this song always gives me Feysand in summer court vibes, when Feyre says “but for a moment I hoped he might be as lonely as me” and Rhys admitting that he is jealous that Feyre smiled for Tarquin (king deserves all the smiles imo). The song is the start of both of them truly realizing that they are falling way more than they intended for the other, but it’s all delicate because of the political implications, because of their own healing process. “This ain't for the best My reputation's never been worse, so You must like me for me” both of their reputations are at a low, so to speak everyone in Prythian is gossiping about how Feyre left Tamlin on their wedding day and is now being seen with the High Lord of another court and being introduced as a member of his court and well Rhys’ reputation has always sucked. However they both manage to see beyond their respective reputations and masks, and this song is perfect for that.

Cowboy like me - Feyre quite literally “never wanted love, just a fancy car” and fancy car here is some financial stability to be able to *live a little* yet she found Rhys and in him he found an equal who now “hangs from her lips like the gardens of Babylon”. Also the way I feel when Taylor sings this is the exact same way I feel with Feysand: my body transcends into another dimension.

Nessian:

The archer - from Nesta’s perspective is just delicious: “I’ve been the archer, I’ve been the prey, who could ever leave me darling, but who would stay” through the progression of “you could stay” is exactly what Nesta’s thought process is like. She sees herself as above everyone but has tremendous whiplash moments where she only sees the ugly in her and wants someone to see her for all of her nuances and all of her spikiness and then Cass does and she realizes that and is lie...he could stay. And I just... it’s just.. beautiful. The Archer has always been a Nessian song to me, a Nesta song to me and I cannot believe I forgot to add it in the original post.

Elucien: they really claimed my favorite Lover songs didn’t they?

Cornelia Street - they’ve been heartbroken before and this feels so right, but what if it’s not it, what if it’s just the bond.. they never want Cornelia Street again. Also “drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar” as in their feelings for one another are stronger than the mating bond pushing them towards the other. Finally to be perfectly honest, they claimed this song with this lyric “Windows swung right open, autumn air Jacket 'round my shoulders is yours“. AUTUMN AIR? LUCIEN, JACKET AROUND HER SHOULDERS? THE JACKET HE GAVE HER DURING THE HYBERN SCENE IN ACOMAF.

Feyl*n:

You’re not sorry - Because T*mlin can’t actually be sorry for something he doesn’t understand so all his apologies are empty. He truly doesn’t comprehend the root of Feyre’s decision to leave him, so all his words and promises are meaningless and Feyre finally figured it out: “All this time I was wasting Hoping you would come around I've been giving out chances every time And all you do is let me down And it's taking me this long Baby but I figured you out And you're thinking we'll be fine again But not this time around You don't have to call anymore I won't pick up the phone This is the last straw Don't wanna hurt anymore And you can tell me that you're sorry But I don't believe you baby Like I did before You're not sorry, no no, no no”. This can also relate to Feyre sending him the letter and him not having to call her/look for her anymore.

Coney Island - the moment when you think about where did all the goodness and love there was go? When Feyre is wondering that perhaps who they both were after UtM were not meant to be together. And also feeling the, not guilt exactly, but the heaviness of wondering who did she kill those fairies for, who did she break for : “Break my soul in two Looking for you but you're right here If I can't relate to you anymore Then who am I related to? And if this is the long haul How'd we get here so soon?”And things simply don’t get better and whatever love was there can’t come to the surface anymore and the fire is getting smaller and their relation ship and the “efforts to save it” feel like they don’t work but make you realize “Over and over Lost again with no surprises Disappointments, close your eyes And it gets colder and colder When the sun goes down”.

#Feysandfeelsasks #Feysand #Nessian #Elucien #ACOTAR #ACOMAF #ACOWAR #I refuuuuuseeee to tag the asshole of the spring court #Taylor Swift

33 notes · View notes

another-rogue-trevelyan · 3 years

Text

If you liked Dragon Age Masterlist

If you’re anything like me, you’re into niche market, high fantasy, single player RPGs, preferably with a historical setting and romance options. So if you’re looking for a new game, here I am with some suggestions!

Sorted by studio:

Bethesda:

Oblivion (2006)

“In the shadow of evil, a hero will rise from the ashes of a fallen empire. The gates have been opened, and the battle has begun. Only one thing can save the world from Mehrunes Dagon and the demonic hordes of Oblivion. The true heir of the Septim line must be found and restored to the Imperial throne. The fate of the world rests in the hands of one. Find him, and shut the jaws of Oblivion.”

The Elder Scrolls series were my gateway into RPGs and hold a special place in my heart. Oblivion features a wide open world, immersive combat, and the ability to customize race, class, and gender.

Skyrim (2011)

“The Empire of Tamriel is on the edge. The High King of Skyrim has been murdered. Alliances form as claims to the throne are made. In the midst of this conflict, a far more dangerous, ancient evil is awakened. Dragons, long lost to the passages of the Elder Scrolls, have returned to Tamriel. The future of Skyrim, even the Empire itself, hangs in the balance as they wait for the prophesized Dragonborn to come; a hero born with the power of The Voice, and the only one who can stand amongst the dragons.”

I have sunk so many hours into this game and still have not experienced all there is to experience. Just like Oblivion, Skyrim offers the ability to customize your character and find a play style that suits you. A huge open world offers tons of opportunity for exploration and questing. You could play this game many, many hours and not even touch the main quest if you wanted to.

BioWare:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021)

Just do it. Just fucking do it I’m still sobbing I’ve never had a game wreck me in this way. I might possibly like it more than Dragon Age which feels sacrilegious to say but it was so good. You follow Commander Shepard (customizable) for three whole games and the choices have serious consequences. Also, romance. Truthfully this might be the most well written storyline I’ve ever seen in a video game. Also, same studio as Dragon Age.

CD Projekt:

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015)

I’ll let the website description speak for itself, but Witcher III was good enough that I didn’t mind being forced to play as a man (those who know me know that I exclusively prefer to play women and often dislike games where I can’t do so)! The characters that make up this story are captivating and suck you into their world, leaving you with some tough choices to make. Also, bonus points for romance! (Yen is one of my all time favorite characters, Triss never stood a chance for me. Sorry Triss fans 😂)

Larian:

Divinity Original Sin 2 (2017)

“The Divine is dead. The Void approaches. And the powers lying dormant within you are soon to awaken. Choose your role in a BAFTA-winning story, and explore a world that reacts to who you are, and the choices you make. With five races to choose from, and an adventure playable solo or as a party of up to four, lay waste to an oppressive order in a world afraid of magic. Become the God the world so desperately needs.”

Full disclosure, I have not finished playing this one yet and will update when I do, but what I’ve played so far has been great! A classic, turn-based RPG that allows you a wide range of character customization. I find this game incredibly satisfying to be a rogue (my preferred class) because it lets me live my dream of throwing knives at people. Also, romance!

Baldur’s Gate III beta (2020)

“An ancient evil has returned to Baldur's Gate, intent on devouring it from the inside out. The fate of Faerûn lies in your hands. Alone, you may resist. But together, you can overcome. Gather your party.”

Fair warning, as of my most recent update to this post (March 30th, 2021) this game is still in a beta phase, which means it is NOT complete and has aspects that are missing, glitchy, or subject to change. With that being said, I’m so obsessed. It’s so, so good already and is only getting better. Another wide open world to explore with a group of companions with strong and sometimes clashing personalities, choices are abundant in this game and will affect how your party members think of you. This game so far gives me the feeling that choices are complicated and aren’t always easy to tell which is morally right, which I personally love. Also, I can be a sarcastic ass with a good heart, which is always fun. Astarion basically owns me now, but if you can resist him there are plentiful other romance choices as well! Customization is already a wider range than I’ve seen in most RPGs and they haven’t even finished the character creator yet, which has me SO excited for the finished product. Also - good hair?!??!! I love it!

Lionhead:

Fable III (2010)

“Lead a revolution to take control of Albion, fight alongside your people, and experience love and loss while preparing to defend the kingdom against a looming threat. Your choices as ruler will lead to consequences felt across the entire land.”

I’ll be honest, this one isn’t my favorite on the list, but was good enough to still make it! This game allows you to choose between playing as the prince or the princess on a quest to save your kingdom from itself, and then a greater threat as well. The game takes place in a kingdom loosely modeled after industrial England, and what did score it some major points were (SPOILER WARNING - skip the purple if you don’t want to know!) that the last act of the game lets you play as the monarch, where you are forced to make some tough decisions in order to save your kingdom. It is very easy to back yourself into a corner, pinch pennies in order to fund the army and save the kingdom, but make your citizens hate you because of it. You’re gonna have to be very, very careful, which is something I did really enjoy about this game. (I’ve heard Fable II was better, and that’s also on my list to try, will update in the future!)

Nintendo:

Fire Emblem Three Houses (2019)

“War is coming to the continent of Fódlan. Here, order is maintained by the Church of Seiros, which hosts the prestigious Officer’s Academy within its headquarters. You are invited to teach one of its three mighty houses, each comprised of students brimming with personality and represented by a royal from one of three territories. As their professor, you must lead your students in their academic lives and in turn-based, tactical RPG battles wrought with strategic, new twists to overcome. Which house, and which path, will you choose?”

Currently playing this one and I’m so addicted! This one is slightly outside of my usual taste but it has made me interested in playing more games like it. The player controls Byleth (you can rename them if you wish), who becomes a professor of combat and battle tactics despite their young age at a monastery and finds themself in charge of a house of students. Battles are tactics and strategy based and classes are highly customizable. I sunk like 30 hours into this game in the last three days. I won’t say more about the plot to avoid spoilers, but it’s been a ton of fun and also has slow burn romance

Spiders:

Greedfall (2019)

This game destroyed my soul in the best way and when I finished it I immediately started a new game to play it again. You play as Lady or Lord De Sardet, Legate of the Congregation of Merchants and effectively the right hand of your cousin, who has been appointed governor of your new colony on the island. While I enjoy the combat in this game, which allows you the choice between one handed, two handed, magic, and pistols or rifles (save that ammo for when you really need it!), this game focuses heavily on diplomacy and relations. Be careful what information you give to whom and how you treat every decision. The enemies you make early on might be people you need on your side later. I also love that choices aren’t always clearly right or wrong, and often are more complicated than they first appear. Even the best intentions can sometimes go awry.

Ubisoft:

Assassin’s Creed, Syndicate (2015)

“London, 1868. In the heart of the Industrial Revolution, lead your underworld organization and grow your influence to fight those who exploit the less privileged in the name of progress”

Another one that I’ll admit, I haven’t finished, and is definitely the odd one out on the list because it’s set in Victorian England, but I was having fun with what I had played so far before Greedfall distracted me. In this game, you alternate between controlling twins Jacob and Evie Frye as you explore and liberate London while meeting famous historical figures and running a gang on the side.

Assassin’s Creed, Origins (2017)

“Ancient Egypt, a land of majesty and intrigue, is disappearing in a ruthless fight for power. Unveil dark secrets and forgotten myths as you go back to the one founding moment: The Origins of the Assassin’s Brotherhood.”

In the spirit of honesty, I haven’t started this one yet, but I am so confident that I’m gonna love it when I do that it’s here anyway. I’ve purchased it, and will get to it soon, I swear! In the meantime, I wanted to put it here because I’m confident some of you will enjoy it. Will come back with a review once I know more.

Assassin’s Creed, Odyssey (2018)

“Write your own epic odyssey and become a legendary Spartan hero in Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey, an inspiring adventure where you must forge your destiny and define your own path in a world on the brink of tearing itself apart. Influence how history unfolds as you experience a rich and ever-changing world shaped by your decisions.”

Y’all this game owned my soul for a while. I’ve sunk so many hours into it. You have a choice to play as either Kassandra or Alexios and navigate the wonders of Ancient Greece. The world is stunning, the choices are important, and this game took a big step for the assassins creed series in becoming a true RPG. I can’t recommend this one enough, you should absolutely go for it!

Assassin’s Creed, Valhalla (2020)

“Become Eivor, a legendary Viking warrior. Explore England's Dark Ages as you raid your enemies, grow your settlement, and build your political power in the quest to earn a place among the gods in Valhalla.”

This game is brand new, hot off the press, and has already been a massive hit. I have only JUST started playing it and am about an hour in, but so far so good! It’s here on my recommendations list because of its wild popularity and because I’ve already enjoyed other games in this series, so I feel confident that some of my fellow dragon age fans will enjoy it. Will update again once I get further in.

Other games on my To Be Played list (otherwise known as things I don’t want to recommend because I know almost nothing about them but will update here after I know more)

-Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2

-Horizon Zero Dawn

-Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag

-Fable 1 and 2

-Kingdoms of Amalur

-Breath of the Wild

-Crimson Desert (not out yet but I’m intrigued)

#will update as I find more #if you liked dragon age #dragon age #video games #video game recommendations #op #rpgs #masterlist

86 notes · View notes

aspoonofsugar · 4 years

Text

Selflessness and Selfishness

Hello anons!

These asks can be answered together.

First of all, I will say that my feelings about the chapter changed with every different translation I received, so I think some things are purposelly left ambiguous and not completely solved because they will be later on.

As @hamliet mentioned in her meta, I think that the chapter is contrasting two different POV:

On one hand there is Hange and the alliance’s POV. They are not fighting for their loved ones. The SC have betrayed former comrades and their hometown to save their enemies. In this chapter, the Warriors too are asked to give up on their hometown and their families, so that they have a chance to save the rest of the world. They are asked to make a very selfless choice, they will be no rewarded for.

On the other hand there is Eren, who claims he is ready to destroy the rest of the world, so that his loved ones can live happily in the lie he will create afterwards, thanks to the Founding Titan powers. He is extremely selfish not only in what he is trying to obtain (destroying the world to let few people live), but also in the way he is pursuing it. As a matter of fact Eren is completely ignoring his loved ones’ feelings and pov.

At the same time, this panel:

Can be contrasted with these other two panels:

I pointed it out here as well:

Eren is so sure of his own future that he has stopped searching for an alternative. He can push forward because he only sees one thing. Mikasa and Armin have been more passive and reactive to the point that they almost stopped moving, but they are still looking for chances and for alternatives. Their vision is struggling against a deterministic perspective and this in itself adds to the idea that their path is different from Eren’s.

The panels above make it explicit. Eren is obsessed with moving forward and sees one single path. This makes him stronger in a sense, but also limited and dangerous.

In short, I think these two thematic conflicts will be solved by the end of the manga. Was there really only one way? Is it right to sacrifice one’s loved ones for the sake of the world? These questions tie to the central theme of freedom. How can humans be free if the future is set in stone? How can they be free if their loved ones are lost to a cycle of hatred? What does it even mean to be free?

In this meta I will mostly focus on the first conflict I underlined because I think it is the main one highlighted by the chapter itself. When it comes to the dychotomy selfishness/selflessness, Historia’s character is a key-one because she plays with these two concepts.

When she first appeared in the manga, Historia projected a selfless persona, but deep down her motivations were selfish. She was looking for a heroic way to die and Ymir pointed out to her how wrong that was. Throughout the Uprising, we explored Historia’s trauma and the reason behind her actions is explained. Historia was abused as a child and was taught she had to be a “good girl”, so that others would love her.

The Uprising was about her...well...”rebelling” against this mindset and fighting back. It was about her becoming a “bad girl” in the sense that she would have acted for herself. In this way, the dychotomy selfishness/selflessness, which had been present in Historia’s character since the beginning found a beautiful synthesis. In the end, Historia’s way of living for others was an unhealthy kind of “selflessness” rooted in a weak sense of self. Her willingness to live for herself was instead a positive kind of “selfishness”, which let her help others in a more genuine and effective way. This is because, all in all, people are a mixture of selfish and selfless traits and must find an equilibrium between them.

What about this chapter? In this chapter we see the lines of Historia’s new found equilibrium becoming muddled.

First of all there is this:

This line is a reference to when Levi told Historia to either run or fight. Here, Historia says there is no need to do either because she has accepted her role of queen and has chosen to do what she can to protect the island.

In short, it is as if Historia is going through the Uprising again, but in a reverse way. At the beginning of the Uprising, she had no idea what to do and by the end she chose to make the role of queen hers. It is not a role she wanted, but she still managed to make use of it to realize what she wanted. In short, she used what life gave her as better as she could.

At the beginning of the conversation with Eren, she is still trying to do the same. She sees no other option to save the Island than to go along with the MP’s plan. However, Eren challenges her and puts Historia’s whole perspective of herself into a crisis:

As people noticed, these two phrases are references to past moments. Historia is referencing Ymir when she told her to live with pride. Eren is referencing Historia herself, when she announced she would become a “bad girl”, who saves her friends.

In the cave scene, these two lines went together. This is because Historia becoming a “bad girl” is her way to fulfill Ymir’s request. However, in this chapter these two lines are juxtaposed. On one hand Historia says that she won’t be able to live pridefully if she does not stop Eren. On the other hand Eren asks her to be a “bad girl” and to save him once more.

In order to live her life with pride, Historia should stop Eren and save the world, even if this means she will go through a high personal sacrifice (losing a friend and becoming a titan herself). However, Eren insists she should just be a “bad girl” and live her own life as if the genocide of the world did not happen.

Who is right?

As one can see, the resolution Historia gained after the Uprising is being challenged. She can’t protect the world without sacrificing herself and she can’t protect herself without sacrificing the world. At the same time, she is asked to choose between a personal connection (Eren) and the world.

The choice Historia seems to make is to help Eren. Just judging by the chapter, she seems to be regressing and to give up on the idea of living with pride. She accepts the role of “bad girl” instead.

This ties with what has been an ongoing motif with Eren after the time-skip. Eren seems to take and twists ideas and concepts, which have been with the readers since the beginning.

Things like “freedom”, “moving forward”, “saving one’s friends” used to be inspiring, but right now they have been emptied of all their meaning. They have become slogans Eren keeps repeating to himself and to others. In a sense, Eren keeps facing the world with the same two or three ideas he has had since he was a child. However, the world has become too complex to be experienced with those same mechanisms. Still, Eren refuses to change his mindset. Because of this, what made those ideals inspiring in the beginning is absent from what Eren does and says now.

In this chapter, Eren is doing the same with what Historia said in the cave. The point of Historia’s arc was not to become a selfish girl, who would sacrifice others for her sake. The point of her arc was to live not for others, but for herself. She had to become proud of who she was. This is why since the cave she has been trying to live pridefully. However, here Eren is using the words, which were symbolic of her change, to ask her to fulfill another role for him. Eren wants Historia to be a “bad girl”, but this is not qualitatively different from being a “good girl”. It is just a different adjective and a different role, but it is still a role. It is still not what Historia wants. Historia does not want a genocide, but she seems to be giving in to the fear for her future and to the feelings Eren’s words provoke in her.

Historia and Eren are the two protagonists of the Uprising and they are the two people, who changed Paradis. However, right now they are discussing of bringing Paradis back to how it was. Eren, who used to despise people accepting their peaceful lives, wants to reduce his friends to “cattle” without will of their own. Historia, who wanted to stop with the lies of the First King, seems to be supporting a plan, which will end with a huge lie.

The world envisioned by Eren is the same world we started with. It is a world where humanity is almost gone and only the people of a tiny island have survived. Eren rebelled against that world, but when all is said and done he is going back to it because he is not able to accept a more complex world than that. Ironically, he is not moving forward, but he is going back.

What does Mikasa have to do with all of this?

It seems that in Eren’s mind, his feelings for Mikasa are connected with Historia’s line. The nature of the connection is still unknown. We can’t infer it from the chapter alone because we still lack a part of the conversation. Why does Historia immediately think of having a baby to escape the MP? There were tons of other ways to succeed at it. And why does Eren connect that moment with Zeke’s question?

We still don’t know.

What is sure is that both Historia and Mikasa are important for Eren. What is more, they will probably end up representing different things, when it comes to his character.

After all, they have been associated before in Eren’s mind:

However, it is still too soon to properly explore this juxtaposition. As for now, if what the chapter shows is to be taken at face value, Mikasa and Historia’s reaction to Eren seems to be opposite.

Historia seems to be choosing her connection with Eren (the moment in the cave) over everything else, even her promise to Ymir.

Mikasa is instead going through an arc, which will probably lead her to kill Eren in the end:

In a sense, this is the same conflict of the serum bowl through a different lens. Once again characters are asked to choose between their loved ones and the bigger picture.

There might still be more to Historia’s choice than what was shown this chapter, so I won’t comment on her anymore. I will say instead that the difference between Mikasa and Eren, which emerged in the serum bowl is showing itself fully in this arc.

Mikasa accepted the inevitability of loss and also that there is more than her and her loved ones. Eren did not. What is more, Eren also missed Levi’s teaching in that situation. It is true that Levi chose Erwin over the world, but he still did it selflessly because he understood what Erwin wanted and gave it to him, even if that was not what Levi personally wished.

Not only is Eren choosing his loved ones over the world, but he is also choosing his own personal version of the world over his loved ones. Mikasa is instead willing to stop Eren from doing what is wrong. Moreover she is willing to stop him precisely because she loves him:

Similarly, she is slowly breaking free of the ideal image she used to have about Eren. She is coming to a full understanding of who Eren is as a person. Despite this, she still cares about him.

When it comes to this, it is interesting that Eren is so conflicted about Mikasa’s feelings for him. As a matter of fact, it is as if Eren is not fully able to grasp how and why Mikasa cares so much for him.

This is why he asks her about it in Marley and later on questions Zeke about the Ackermans. A contrived genetical explanation seems to him more plausible than Mikasa simply being in love with him.

At the same time, Eren is trying to refuse these feelings and to force Mikasa to hate him. He deeply hurts her in chapter 112 and apparently even tells Luise to destroy Mikasa’s scarf.

This has probably to do with the fact that Mikasa reminds Eren of a part of himself he is trying to repress:

Mikasa loves the kind side of Eren, but this is a side Eren refuses because it is also his most vulnerable one.

These are my main thoughts on the chapter and they answer many questions by the anons. To some of the more specific asks, I will give short and individual answers.

#snk #snk 130 #snk meta #eren jeager #historia reiss #mikasa ackerman #my meta

273 notes · View notes