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citrusy-lemons · 10 months

Text

pancake-cakes

tasm!peter x reader

summary: late night cravings bring out some deeper feelings.

author's note: HOLY SHIT, count on me to go MIA for a month after posting. honestly tho i'm so sorry, i've got school and extracurriculars and projects and shit and i haven't really gotten time to write and my schedule is still super hectic, hopefully i'll be able to get other stuff out soon but no promises :/

let me know what you think? constructive criticism is welcome and please be nice :)

see, the middle of the night wasn't meant for this. it's to sleep and dream and pee.

not for baking a cake without having most ingredients of the cake. but you'd gotten a sudden craving and it was a weekend tomorrow, so bad decisions were inevitable.

did you have a million assignments to do? maybe. but peter also had a million assignments to do and he was still here, so technically, he's also making bad decisions. he was aware of that fact.

mind you he did try to convince you to go back to sleep at first but you wore him down. he didn't put up a big fight, he never did, against you.

he's convinced himself that he was only there to watch over you and make sure you didn't slice a finger or spill the flour, not to help you out with your late night shenanigans. but he was cutting up the strawberries so, really, he didn't have a strong resolve.

"you know, i think that when the box says 'pancake mix' you're supposed to make pancakes," he said, turning to you, who was reading the back of said box.

were you trying to bake a cake in the middle of the night with pancake batter cuz you didn't have the stuff for the cake and didn't want to go to the grocery store to get it? kinda. would peter have gone and got the stuff himself if you'd asked? yes.

"i didn't listen to you the last 17 times, i'm not gonna listen to you now, and besides," you said, pouring the mix into a bowl, "a pancake is just a cake but made on a pan instead of an oven. we're just changing the recipe a bit," you shrugged, like it was obvious and he was the stupid one.

"there are so many things wrong with that sentence, i dont even know where to begin,"

"here's a hint, don't."

you were being mean, you knew that. you didn't mean it. peter knew that. and you knew that peter knew that but you would apologize later. he knew that. he sighed dramatically.

"you wound me,"

you rolled your eyes at that. pretending to be annoyed at him was easy. wiping the smile away from your face when you were around him wasn't.

"if i had a dollar for every time you're wounded, i'd be filthy rich."

he glanced up at you. he knew that that wasn't completely a joke, it had a bittersweet tone to it. was that the reason why you were up at this ungodly hour? peter knew that you'd been stressed lately, he didn't know he had a hand in that.

"hey, you wanna tell me what's up?"

you didn't meet his eye, but you did stop fiddling with the bowl. almost immediately, you grabbed the knife out of his hand, mumbling, "you're cutting them all wrong,"

you both knew that wasn't true. one of the perks of having grown up with may was that peter was a fantastic cook. he'd been doing this sort of stuff forever. you needed to get better at excuses.

he gently laid his hand over yours to stop you and said your name softly, pleadingly. a long pause. you complied.

"it's just that," you started with a sigh, and dropped the knife, "you're my best friend peter, and i know that being spiderman means a lot to you," hesitation creeps up as you get to the actual issue. peter senses a 'but' coming. you look at him.

"but you come home every night with bruises everywhere, in pain, and i know you say that they'll go away in the morning and they do but," you're rambling now, he doesn't stop you.

"you have to see it from my perspective, i-" another sigh, you look away, "i get scared, peter."

oh. you were worried for him. he wonders how he didn't realise that before. that time he came home with a stab wound and you looked like you were going to cry he thought you were nauseous at the sight of blood. peter was an idiot.

"i know i shouldn't but i dont like the thought of you getting beat up every night." you were talking with your hands now, "imagine how you would feel if i came home with bruises all over my body and told you not to worry and that i'll be fine in a couple hours." you looked at him again. there was a sort of pain in your eyes. peter wishes it weren't there.

"it doesn't feel good peter. and you assume that i'm supposed to be okay with it?" you took a deep breath and closed your eyes, turning back to the strawberries. your hands were shaking.

peter thought about it. about what you'd said. you were scared for him and he understood that. it couldn't have been easy to be with someone like him. but he couldn't very well abandon spiderman. it was a part of him now. he knew that you knew that, but at the same time, he understood your point.

he thought about how he'd feel if the roles were reversed. if you came home with the type of wounds he did every night, he would be terrified. he couldn't blame you, of course he couldn't.

but he was spiderman, he had a responsibility, an unspoken vow to this city. he had opportunities and powers that no one else did, and he wanted to do good with it.

he hadn't asked for it, but he still had it. if he gave up being spiderman, he didn't think his conscience would let him live with it.

"i'm not asking you not to be spiderman," you spoke, finding your voice, "of course i won't do that. i'm just saying..." you trailed off, unsure of what you wanted and whether you were allowed to have it.

peter took both your hands into his, silently begging you to look at him. you did.

"i know what you're saying, and i understand. i don't blame you, i get where you're coming from and i promise, i'll be fine," he said, softly. he knew you were anxious about his safety.

"i can't give up being spiderman, and i know that's not what you're saying, but you have to understand, i can't not do it, it's a part of me, and i swear i will be more careful," his brown eyes bore into yours, willing you to understand. you blinked and unconsciously looked to the floor.

"but what if, being careful isn't enough one day? what if it isn't just some robbers or burglars but some other things? what if it's one of those aliens or mutants or something and you can't defend yourself? what am i supposed to do then, pete?"

you closed your eyes again, trying to stop the tears. peter's heart was tearing itself knowing that he was the reason for them. how could he tell you that him being the cause for your tears hurt more than any knife in the world?

"hey, look at me," he said, searching for your eyes. you shook your head but looked up at him anyway, the tears in your lashes resolutely not giving in to gravity.

"nothing is going to happen to me. i've handled stuff like that, you know. i know you're worried and upset but i promise, nothing will happen. you need to trust me, okay? we're going to be fine. please, I need you to trust me."

he said your name like it's the last time he'll ever get to, not in a way a friend is supposed to.

you sniffed, "i trust you, i do. it's this city that i don't trust," you steeled yourself, "but if you're sure, and you believe we'll be fine, then i do too."

he cracked a smile then, and pulled you in for a hug. a tight one. neither of you let go for quite a few minutes. you relished in it.

"god, okay i know i'm being silly, i'm sorry," you said after you'd pulled away, rubbing at your eyes.

"you're not being silly, don't be sorry. it's completely okay and valid. don't ridicule your thoughts, you're allowed to feel," peter said, in a scold-ish manner that he'd no doubt learnt from may.

"and please step away from the strawberries, and go back to butchering your so-called 'cake'," he said with a teasing smile, bumping his hips into yours to move you back to the bowl of pancake mix.

you scoffed incredulously, back into your playful demeanor, "excuse you, i would have perfected this pancake-cake if i weren't feeling sleepy right now, so, unfortunately for you, you won't get to taste this deliciousness, whenever i do get to make it,"

"oh, what a tragedy, i won't get to torture my tastebuds with whatever concoction you manage to brew up,"

you shoved at him, not that he moved an inch, and grabbed the plate of cut strawberries.

"just for that, i'm gonna eat these strawberries in bed using your pillow as a table, and you know i can be a very messy eater," you laughed like an evil sorcerer and ran towards the bedroom.

peter, horrified at the thought of sleeping on a sticky pillow, ran after you, forgetting that he had sticky hands himself. (pun intended, i'm sorry i couldn't not do it)

"come back here you!"

the pancake mix in the bowl, the half pack of strawberries waiting to be cut, and the anxiety were all left forgotten back in the kitchen.

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usuibu · 21 days

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Omg!!! I live ur writing so much! The way you write eren is like literally perfect!! I was wondering if I could request reader walking home or at a party or just like out somewhere and they notice some people making her uncomfy and they cal eren to pick them up? Some fluff and comfort are my coping mechanism 😭

LMAO STOP THE COPING MECHANISM IS SO REAL💀💀 and ofc bb thankyou so much for the request i love you😋🥰

Im just gonna work off the whole saviour dynamic w eren and hopefully u dont mind

——————

More requests/masterlist

You don’t know why you’re here, you really should’ve just stayed home if only Mikasa hadn’t dragged you out.

“Cmonnnn it’ll be fun, I promise! Even Sasha’s coming!”

You really shouldn’t have listened to her, right now she’s - God knows where - with Sasha playing some obscure drinking game while you’re here sitting on the leather couch already intoxicated yourself.

You felt gross. Sticky even from the sweaty, crowded living room, humidity suffocating you. There was about 5 people on this couch made to fit only 2, you sat there staring down at your stupid sore feet in your stupid stupid heels with stupid strangers grazing your bare legs next to you.

The noise of the room tuned out as your tipsy brain was half conscious until you were snapped back into reality feeling a creeping hand on your shoulder.

Whoever was next to you was apparently speaking for long enough that you don’t know what they’re on about, “— or we could go back to my apartment..”

Your head snaps back up and you anxiously shrug off this guys tacky hand, sobering up just a little bit. Enough to start comprehending things.

“Sorry, I have to go” you say while peeling yourself off the leather, you don’t know where you have to go you just knew to leave because clearly you weren’t functioning well alone.

You turn and almost begin walking away until you almost trip on your stupid heels, this guys hand had gripped your arm rather too harshly to pull you right back onto the couch.

“Hey we were in the middle of something” he slurs, clearly a little more intoxicated than you.

You’re still so lost, why the fuck is he still talking? Why is this room is so hot? This couch is too sticky. His breath smells like shit. Your feet hurt like shit. You’re so tired all you want to do is leave at this point. All of your senses have been overwhelmed you can’t take it.

He continues to ramble nonsense again so you settle to tune it out again, unsure if your feet have the strength to even walk away and give resistance against this random ass guy if he tries anything worse.

You pull out your phone from your unpractically tiny bag and open your messages.

23:16 — Eren

Erenb

Yes this is erenb

Can gou pixk me up

How drunk are you💀

Honestly nor that nuch this tine

Thid guys bortherijf me hurry up ples😋

This guy??

What’s going on?

Donr asknme idek myslef💀💀 hes jusr weirdinf me out

Im coming dw mika sent me the address earlier

Otw

He didn’t lie when he said he’d be quick, honestly Eren was waiting for you to return from the party. He got too bored sitting in your apartment alone watching tv.

You get a call and immediately shoot up knowing Erens arrived. You’re still too drunk to process whatever this guy was doing.

You think he’s following behind you? Who knows? You get out the front door with a cool breeze hitting you. It’s much quieter out here which would be nice if this guy wasn’t still trying to pursue you even after a good ten minutes of radio silence from you.

You feel your body sigh with relief as you spot Eren’s car, you make eye contact with him through the front window smiling. You can slightly see how he grins at your drunken walk in your painful heels until your vision spins to face the guy.

His hand was now on your shoulder and before you knew it Eren was getting out of his car. Whoever this man was he was clearly upset?? Clearly drunk and clearly mad at you. He’s rambling and you still don’t want to listen, hes saying something about you not mentioning you had a boyfriend or anything along those lines?

All you knew is that he was mad, you could feel it in his inebriated grip on your shoulder. Then you start to feel the alcohol coming back up you’re system as his other hand creeps to hold your waist. “Cmon ditch your boyfriend”

Before you can get a word of disgust out you feel familiar arms save you from this repulsive guys hold. Eren shoves his chest as he drunkenly stumbles backwards.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Eren spits out as his arm ushers you to stand a little behind him. He isn’t really one for violence when it’s a complete stranger. He has better things to do than that.

He can tell he’s drunk and after a few nonsensical sentences pour out the guys mouth; Eren’s done eyeing him down with demise so he walks you back to his car while the guy drags himself back to the party.

“Are you alright?” He questions you while rubbing his hand against your arms to warm you up as much as he can walking down the party’s front yard.

“Yeah I’m alright now at least, thank you Eren”

“That guy looked fucking homeless”

You softly smile to yourself, at ease in Eren’s presence. Half the grossness you felt in that stupid party had already began dissolving.

The drive home was quiet, calm. You were dozing off in the passenger seat while you held his free hand in you lap. His thumb swept back and forth until you arrived home. He reaches behind into the back seat, you’re too hazy to question why really. Eren bends over to take off your heels to then slide ur home slippers on.

“I don’t know why you wore those tonight, you know they hurt”

“I know right?!” You huff back at him. He laughs softly at your drunken state and gets out the car. He opens your car door to usher you out and puts his arm around you to help you walk to your apartment.

He lies you down on the couch and tells u to stay which you have no real trouble doing. He returns to the room holding one of his navy blue t-shirts and grey shorts.

“Okay baby, take off ur dress” he says gently.

“At least ask me to dinner first” you retort back. You snicker at your own joke but take off your dress all the same. He slips his shirt and shorts onto you then carries you to your bed effortlessly.

“You’re soo strong, do you have a girlfriend?” you giggle while feeling up his muscular arms. He only laughs at you and quickly leaves to grab something. He returns again, your micellar water in one hand and your toner in the other, “hey which one is the makeup thingy to take it off?” He questions, trying to communicate with whatever sober is left in you. You point to the micellar bottle and he wipes your face with it. The cool water and Eren’s delicate touch was extremely soothing. Although making you even more tired it did sober you up a little more.

Once he’s done, he puts everything down and climbs in bed next to you, pulling the blanket up, he moves you so that you’re on your side and pulls your knee toward him so that your leg is over his legs. He moves his arm to lie under your neck and pulls your whole body nearer with his free hand now on the small of your back.

You inhale deeply the scent of his chest and neck, now intoxicated by his musky scent while his hand slides up to bring your head nearer while he breathes deeply too, face shoved in the top of your head.

He moves to place a chaste kiss on your forehead.“You okay?” He asks, voice just above a whisper.

“Now I am, that guy was weird”, you murmur back still with a face full of chest.

“Yeah he was a fucking weirdo” Eren says, now speaking at a normal volume. “You’re not going alone to those parties anymore, I’m having a word with Mikasa trust”

You laugh at his seriousness and press a kiss to his collar bone, “No laughing I’m serious” he smiles, making space between you too to be able to kiss your collar bone too. He litters playful kisses on your neck. You laugh more while he roughly moves on top of you to only press more ticklish pecks all over you; intentionally smothering you.

You stop him by grabbing both sides of his head and bringing his lips to yours. You kiss him softly while he willingly returns it. He deepens the kiss with his tongue swiping your bottom lip until you open your mouth in the slightest, letting him slip it inside.

#attack on titan #eren jaeger #eren x reader #eren aot #headcanons #eren x you #bf!eren #boyfriend!eren #saviour #eren fluff #eren x reader fluff #aot fluff #comfort #eren comfort #eren x reader comfort #drunk reader #harrassment?

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silverskye13 · 2 months

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Hi, I just came from reading the last chapter of RnS, and I am once again shaking by how strong it made me feel, which is also finally giving me the strength to ask this, finally.

How do you write compelling, logical emotions? Like, you are writing as you go, and yet I go back and everything reads with such a sound conclusion, like the characters are feeling what they're meant to be feeling, like their emotions are deeply complex and it's just, how? Are there any tips you can give?

Have you studied any writing theory, or have you got any advice on dissecting pieces of writing for improvement? Because I feel like there's oh so much I can get from "improving from writing more"

Thank you for the kind words. Gosh I'm glad the emotions all make sense. I feel like that's one of the harder things to juggle -- especially when posting chapter by chapter, where sometimes weeks go by between scenes. It gets easy to lose things.

Answers to questions [as best I can] under the cut, because I can see this getting long and rambly.

How do I write compelling, logical emotions?

Uhm! This is a bit hard for me to articulate, because writing emotions is very intuitive to me. I'm a very emotionally aware person -- generally speaking I can recognize how I'm feeling and why very quickly within myself. That, I think, helps being able to write them. But some tips that are hopefully helpful:

Study yourself Emotional intelligence aside, the best way to write feelings is to figure out what they feel like. It doesn't have to be in-depth. You don't have to psychoanalyze yourself. It is enough to be able to go "I'm nervous. My stomach feels tied in knots, my throat is dry." or "I'm happy. I feel like I could dance, there's energy I need to get rid of. I feel full to bursting." Any time you've read something and gone "Oh god, that's exactly what that feels like!" It's because someone sat down and studied it for a few minutes. Sit with the uncomfortable feelings, or bask in the good ones. Root yourself in the moment and really stew. It doesn't have to be for big life events. If a movie makes you feel excited, just take a second to describe how it feels. If a book makes you cry, give a thought to what the tears are like. The next time you sit down to write a feeling, you might not be able to remember exactly what it felt like, but you will probably remember the words you attached to it.

Emotions in real life aren't logical, but stories are If you've ever gotten really angry, or really sad, or just any Big emotion, you know they're often overwhelming and paralyzing in their own special little ways. It is so easy to get swept up in the feeling of a thing that your brain turns off, and your body does crazy irrational things, and then its hours later and you've calmed down and it feels like you'll never get that emotion back again, because it was just so... much. That is allowed to exist in a story, but writing incomprehensible feelings takes your reader out of it after awhile. We need something to stay rooted in, if only so we have a reason the character is feeling as they are. Story emotions have a beginning, middle and end that you can chart. We see what causes them, we feel them, they come down from the high, and then they get a resolution. All of that doesn't have to happen at the same time. The character can feel anger over something and it drives their progression for the rest of the book. But, if at the end of the story, we don't see a resolution, it gets harder to believe -- even if in real life, emotions aren't always nearly so neatly tied. [Depending on the type of story you're writing, sometimes you might choose to intentionally leave emotions unresolved by the end, but generally they're still addressed in a "X was still angry, and would always be, but life moves on" sort of way. As long as it was an intentional choice that thought was put into, and that's evident in the character, people will believe it on a writing/empathy level.]

Emotions keep your character relatable, so keep them reasonable Emotions are how your readers connect with your character. Its the little moments where you get into their head and empathize where your attachments grow. Being able to see not only that a character is feeling something, but also see why they feel that way, does a lot of heavy lifting for making you like a character. Even if their feelings are inherently irrational [ie. thinking your friend hates you because they don't want to hang out one day], if you know why the character would feel that way [main character has social anxiety, which has been a problem through the whole book] you can sympathize with them, and care about their struggles.

Think about body language There is so much more to emotion than just "his stomach tied itself in knots" and "his anger was a lightning strike." Emotions are movements and mannerisms. Even something as simple as pacing can convey a thousand different things: quick steps, talking with your hands, in fast circles, leaning forward, beaming [Excited, sharing ideas]. Slow, ponderous steps back and forth in a line down the hall, hands clasped behind your back, brow drawn, gaze low [Contemplative, troubled, turning an idea over and over]. Stomping, storming, glowering, fists clenched, stopping sometimes in front of the door you're pacing in front of, scowling and turning back to your solitude [angry, bracing yourself for an unpleasant confrontation, could be calming down or could be building yourself up to something]. Body language can sometimes convey more of an emotion to the reader than writing how the feeling feels can, especially in a limited POV where you're only inside one character's head.

Physical pacing to show emotion, through word choice Make. Your readers feel things. With punctuation. This is where reading poetry will really help your writing, tbh. Poetry is where punctuation gets really contemplative, really intentional, and you can use that to your advantage in prose too. My thoughts are running. You can tell they're running because I'm in a rush and the words are longer and this sentence is running just like I am. It's one step over and over and over, and ignoring periods for commas because commas feel a little more like a step and less like a hard rest -- and sometimes you do breaks because it feels like a tumble what does this make you feel? It's breathless your readers are waiting for you to stop so they can stop reading and it feels distressing like maybe it's panic or thinking too quick and -- There's something. Creeping. Up on you. A hesitant feeling, like a predator in the grass. There is something disjointed here. In the sentences. The hard stops make you pause. The longer sentences lull you into something. It feels off-balance. Unsafe. Are you scared? Hesitating? What is it, exactly, creeping? You can also get really crazy with it. A character isn't thinking clearly so y o u s ss t art b r e a k i n g up t he wo r d s. You have to be careful. It has to be legible still. But it can be bold, and it can mean something and it can be eye catching and it can be a thought without acknowledgement. Play in the space! Words are toys.

Emotions are your stakes, just as much as bodily harm is If your readers care about how your characters feel, you have a compelling tool to drive their care for the rest of the plot. It's not just bad enough that they could be physically hurt by a situation, putting them in emotional distress makes your readers distressed. This does, however, need balance. In the same way you wouldn't keep your foot on the gas in a car at all times from point A to point Z, lingering too long on one emotion when your readers are invested emotionally drains your readers. There needs to be periods of rest and happiness, to balance the periods of emotional turmoil, guilt, and apathy. If you've ever read a book and thought "Man this character is a crybaby, they never stop whining" or "this book is making me depressed. Everything keeps going wrong all the time!" the balance is skewed too far towards the sad/depressive emotions, and you are emotionally distancing yourself as a result. Something similar happens the other way, if you ever read something and feel like the characters are never in danger, or the plot isn't taking itself seriously. Everyone's tolerance for this is different, but generally speaking, adding small moments of comedy and levity to temper hardship can go a long way to keeping your characters emotionally relatable -- so many people cope with humor anyway.

Read and analyze what you like in other works For the same reason people trace a drawing when they're trying to figure out how the original artist drew it, for the same reason you first knit a pattern instead of knitting a sweater from scratch, pick up a book you love, that gets you emotionally invested in the characters, and really pick apart why you like it. Write down words or descriptions you thought hammered an idea home. Reread a scene once or twice and feel your heart squirm over it and ask yourself why? Just, sink your teeth in and analyze. It helps a lot.

And on the subject of analysis...

Have I studied any writing theory, or have I got any advice on dissecting pieces of writing for improvement?

Also kind of hard to answer! Specifically because I haven't studied much writing theory, outside of reading comprehension classes in high school that I'm 10 years removed from now. If I had to give advice, I think it would have to be from my experience which is: Read a lot and take notes.

You're correct, "practice writing" can only get you so far, in the sense that anything in a vacuum is hard to learn from. If I've only ever eaten a PB&J, it's gonna be real hard to learn how to make spaghetti. Chances are I don't even know tomatoes exist. So, read a lot, and read critically, and take notes.

When I say read critically: I mean read with your eyes open. Ask yourself "why?" as often as you can. A book makes you cry, why? Is it specific to the character? Is it because you want them to be happy or because they're going through something you've been through? A book makes you frustrated, why? Was an important plot point forgotten? Are the characters hard to understand? If so, why are they hard for you to understand? Does the author not explain their motives correctly, does it feel like you skipped a chapter? Or is it because their motives are understandable but you still think what they're doing is stupid? I recommend going back and reading your favorite book with that lens. "This is the best fight scene I've ever read!" Why? Was it important to the characters and therefore important to you? Did it wrap up a plot point well? Was it just fun watching the bad guy get beat up?

I learned how to do this first with descriptions. A few years ago I was reading Kings of the Wyld, and about halfway through the book I realized I thought Nicholas Eames was the best writer I'd ever read. That's objectively untrue, I'm sure there's some better, but it's how I felt and I wanted to know why. So I read the book again. I figured out it was because his descriptions were great. It wasn't just that I could see what was going on in my head, the descriptions told me things about the world.

"The wheat was as gold as the Summer Lord's beard." It's autumn, the wheat is ready to harvest and they have a god named the Summer Lord who is cloaked in gold. That's a lot of information packed into one sentence.

"He had learned long ago that harboring regrets was akin to stashing embers in your pockets: hopeless and bound to hurt." That says so much about the character. He has regrets, ones he's worried over so much he's learned how futile it is. And the image of someone holding onto embers because maybe they deserve that pain is poignant and relatable. We have all done something we regret.

I started writing down all the descriptions of his that I liked, picking them apart to see how they work. I like descriptors that inform you about the world, that are unique to the character, and that are rooted in the physical. I think that's successful writing, so I emulate it.

If you want to get better at writing, really study the stuff you like and ask yourself why you like it. If you can't do it in your head, if you can't just read a book and figure out what went well, write it down! It doesn't have to be a 10 page paper. Just writing "I loved X character and I think xyz reason is why" is enough to get you started. The more you practice figuring out what you like, the better you'll get at identifying and describing it. The more you know about those things, the better you can transfer it into your own work. Study can be really fun when you really dig your elbows into it.

I also think it's equally useful to do this to media you don't like. Pick a book you hate and do the same thing. Why don't you like it? Is it because you don't like the themes, or because the characters were too frustrating to relate to? Was it because the plot seemed forced? Were there plot points and ideas that seemed awesome that the author just ignored? Figure out what you don't like, what you think doesn't work, so you can figure out how to avoid it.

The thing about studying anything is: everything has rules. Learn the rules. Learn why the work [or why they don't]. That's studying.

Learning when its appropriate to follow or break them, that's writing.

This turned into a very, very long rant! Hopefully it helps :'D if not, my apologies.

#writing advice #answering asks #anonymous #writing #long post

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amethystfairy1 · 7 days

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So I know in Traveling Thieves, avians are meant to forget their loved ones & their names from the colony when they're sold off, including forgeting their own name as well and not using it (tho so far all avians we've had the pov of have been seen defiantly holding onto their own name at least, even if they don't give it out). And we've seen a lot of it from the main 3 avians how they'll be thinking about their cousins but the names would be struck out and such, presumably to symbolize either fuzzy memories or trying to block the memories out. But I'm curious about how successfully they've managed to actually block out those memories. Is it truly from purposefully trying to forget because of the rules, or is it just from how long it's been that they've genuinely started to lose memories?

These question may be answered when we eventually get the big meet up of all the different groups, so feel free to ignore this if the answers would give spoilers, but what would happen if two hypothetical hybrids who knew each other from their colony later met in the old continent? Like, I know they probably wouldn't say anything out loud about the recognition because they aren't allowed to, but would they still refer to them by name in their mind when thinking about them? I imagine it would be an internal battle between the rules that they were raised on, which state they should forget their past attachments and therefore consider the other a stranger, and the other part of them that remembers and can't close off those memories.

And I know the situation would be probably very different for our main 3 avians versus any hypothetical ones, what with being family and also Grian & Pearl having masters that are actively trying to help them unlearn the rules of the colony and how the rest of society treats them. But I assume we'll eventually see how those 3 react in that situation anyways further along in the series, so I'm more curious how it hypothetically would work for avians who maybe weren't like super close or anything, but they did know each other enough to remember each other's names. Do typical avians make themselves forget just because they're following the colony's teachings, or is it more about potentially trying to distance themselves from those memories so that they don't hurt them further by reminding them about when life was a little better and they weren't slaves yet?

Sorry this got really long and rambling. I'm just having lots of thoughts

Don't apologize for rambling! I love the rambles!

Ok, as you said, some of this is spoilery, so let me try to explain this the best I can without spoiling anything 😆

They are not actually forgetting anything. They are trying to repress those memories as per the rules of their conditioned headspaces. When they are sold from their colonies and collared, their ties are cut, which is something they are raised knowing about. They know what it means, and therefore when they are sold, they've been so heavily conditioned and trained into these headspaces that they immediately begin repressing those memories.

In your hypothetical scenario, where two avians who knew each other in their colony but perhaps weren't super close ran into each other out in the Old Continent, they would most certainly recognize each other.

Again, I want to stress this, they are not actually forgetting anything.

There is no erasure of memories, no supression so intense they genuinely forget stuff, none of that. They still have all their memories, they just compartmentalize them and do not address them.

So if I were writing from the perspective of one of these avians looking at the other avian, I would probably have them refer to the avian by name, but struck out like you mentioned I do with Grian, Pearl, and Jimmy. It would be the same thing. And of course they would never say each others names aloud, and would give no outward indication that they recognize each other.

Hopefully this makes sense! I know it's a bit of a confusing concept 😅 if you or anyone else have any more thoughts or questions I'd love to hear them! I have a ton of fun world building, after all!

#fanfic #ao3 fanfic #traveling thieves au #dark fantasy au #worldbuilding

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ganondoodle · 11 months

Text

feeling much better now having gotten some sleep (the dont trust how you feel about yourself past 9pm is good advice no joke)

of course all my criticism of totk still applies but im feeling less depressed about it, tho i will say its honestly kinda baffling how many times the game actually got me interested and excited about stuff and then just kinda drops it in a dead end, of course they were those kind of things in botw as well but it seems much less .. balanced in totk

(not even just the big things like making me want to actively do something to help zelda turn back when it just gets solved on its own in the end, but also some lil things like the fact that so many NPCs tell you about that newly discovered animal species and when you find the dongos they are just gem vending maschines)

in the end i can say, no, i dont like totk, tho i still love the graphics and the way the world is made ( botw showed me jsut how immersive and alive a world can feel i love it to death), i liked the gameplay and that it kept the freedom botw had established, the bossfights are mostly fun (tho i wish you could refight more of them), i LOVE the yiga and im glad they got more of a spotlight, the music is FANTASTIC i keep catching myself humming along, alot of the sidequests are much bigger and feel like you are actually doing something, i like how the sages are a bit more integrated into the story, the majority of the new designs are great, both the japanese and german voice acting is great, and the end fight has some of the best build up i have ever experienced, my heart starts to race when that music build up starts even tho i have beaten it 3 times already-

however, the story is both simple and incredible flat with lots of stuff that doesnt make sense especially when it was said to be a sequel, the zonau should have stayed a mystery imo, they failed to make me care about them even a little bit and often felt forcefully crammed into the world and its history, i think you could have told an incredible story taking place in the present and leave the past be the past, you easily could have connected botw and totk in a much better way than they did, i dont like how it changes aspects about botw all the while nigh ignoring it ever happened, it still feels like it was trying to be a replacement and not a sequel and all the referencing and callbacks to the old titles may have been done in good faith but that and including time travel yet again ultimately lead to people ripping each other to shreds over trying to prove its placed in the old timeline despite it making no sense at all and confusing people even more; often when the game made me care or be excited about something it was dropped in a dead end, there was a ton of missed opportunities and lost potential to tell a much more nuanced and interesting story/lore, and thinking about it only makes me sad for the things that could have been

overall i think my disappointment is outweighing my fun and the only way i can keep playing it while having fun is ignoring everything that isnt, which works quite well most of the time since im pretty much done with all story stuff but i keep slipping into my little rants nonetheless; i will say its making me a little worried about the future of the franchise, but i know im in the minority and maybe i will just have to accept that the new stuff wont be for me anymore and i should not hope for anything that interests me xD

except for some meme material or specific characters i love i dont think i will make much use of anything totk tried to establish, and i hope thats fine with the lot of you (<3) hopefully that also means my ranting days are over xD

anyway, back to making niche art i go! (sorry for making you endure these long ass rambling posts :,) )

#ganondoodles talks #would you believe me if i said i found more stuff that i find a lil weird #like the way zelda gives you her time power thing and the way the mastersword got sent back in time #like i dont need to have it all written out to me like im a baby but soem things are just kinda weird but acceptable #and some things actively take you out of the game- threatening your immersion #-stares at the shrine of life-#i will miss digging through theory videos on youtube tho #bc considering how big of a game totk is and how wide its influence goes .. its gonna affect everything #anyway i want to reiterate that damn the music is good #and it makes it all just hurt more #the music got me more emotional than anything else in the game besides koga #and it kinda sucks thinking about the impact it could have had if both the music AND story were this great

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star-centric · 4 months

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Thank you! I'd be happy to request! I'd love a story with Mina Ashido x gn!reader (platonic if that's alright). Reader hasn't got a good sense of fashion, though they've always admired Mina for her expressiveness. Reader asks Mina for fashion advice, and Mina is delighted to help out. Is something like that okay?

PAIRING: Mina Ashido x Gender!Neutral Reader

NOTE: Yes this is so cute!! Sorry this took so long 💔 I had writers block for a good minute lol but hopefully that’s over with!

CW: fluff, platonic, SFW, gender neutral reader, reader’s a little insecure but is trying

Sometimes you found yourself envious of Mina.

She was always confident, had no hard times making friends, and had a fashion sense- something that you severely lacked. Living in the dorms and being around your classmates made that very obvious.

You wanted to be like Mina in a sense. You didn’t want to keep being holed in your room, avoiding going out with them. You didn’t want to keep missing game nights because you were worried what they would say about your outfit. You wanted to have fun too.

You wanted to express yourself freely and be comfortable in your own skin like the others were.

And you knew the one person that could help.

“Fashion advice?”

“Yeah.” You sheepishly answered, looking everywhere but at Mina. “My wardrobe is a little…outdated, to say the least. But I don’t know how to exactly fix it. And I know that you have a really great fashion sense so I was wondering if you could…help me?”

You would have continued rambling but you felt hands pace up with your own before you could.

“Of course I would love to help!” You swear that you saw literal sparkles in her eyes. “I have so many ideas on what we could do. I saw something the cutest outfit the other day that I think would look perfect on you-”

Mina’s excitement outshone your own right now, as she was already thinking of new things for you to try. When she let out a gasp, you were starting to get a little worried.

“We can go shopping!” She squealed. You didn’t have a chance to even respond before you were pulled out of her room and rushed down the hallway.

“We can’t waste any time- I know the first place we can go to!”

—

You looked different.

The outfit Mina had you try was…nice. Really nice. Like hard to take your eyes off of yourself nice. All of the outfits she had you try on was stunning- and it was hard to believe that the person in the mirror was you.

“Sooooo- what do you think?”

“I love it!” Mina’s excitement was contagious, and it was hard to wipe the smile off of your face. It was a breath of fresh air to see yourself like this. It felt refreshing- you finally felt comfortable.

“Good- me too! I love the way the colors pop against your skin, and the way they bring your eyes out too. This one we have to leave with.”

“You said that for the last 3 outfits.”

“Because they all look so good on you duh- and they’re on sale! No way we’re we gonna pass on this.” Mina grabbed the bundle of clothes hanging on the dressing room door. “Meet me at the register when you’re ready!”

You don’t know how much time passed at the mall, but by the time you both were leaving the sun was beginning to set. The total surprisingly wasn’t that bad, and you both walked out with plenty of bags in each hand. But you felt light- it felt empowering. You can’t remember how long it’s been since you felt like this.

“Thanks again for tagging along, Mina. I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course! Shopping is my forte so it was never an issue. Besides, you seemed kinda down lately so I’m glad this was able to help you feel better.”

That made you stop in your tracks. She noticed? You wanted to lie and try to play it off, but all you could do was stumble over your words.

“It’s not hard to notice when you’re cooped in your room 24/7.”

Which was…true. She wasn’t wrong. You still felt a bit embarrassed though. Mina didn’t let you linger on your thoughts, skirting in front of you. She gently called your name.

“You don’t have to be alone all the time. We’re all here for you- I’m here for you. There’s nothing wrong with you either.”

“I…I know Mina.” You knew she was telling the truth, but your mind made it hard to believe them. But, today was the first step in making that change. You took a deep breath, willing yourself to be more confident. “I know.”

“You had fun today right?”

You nodded, it’s been a while since you smiled so much.

“So let’s keep hanging out then- today doesn’t have to be the only day we do this either. I’m always open to shopping, and we could always do more stuff in the common room with everyone. I just don’t want you to think you’re alone because you’re not.”

“I really want that too.”

Your words were sincere, and while it would take baby steps, you were ready for the new changes that would start to make yourself look- and feel better too.

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wilcze-kudly · 4 months

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Finished the 'lil Kuvira's first day in Zaofu' blurb

The wooden waggon her family used had always been uncomfortable, being the rickety, unstable old thing that it was. But today, under the sweltering sun, it seemed particularly incommodious to her, especially paired with Father's angry ramblings.

- Your mother and I have have tried to get through to you, Kuvira, but you refuse to listen! - he admonished, repeating things she'd heard thousands of times before. - You have no discipline! No remorse for what you did! -

That wasn't true! Kuvira bit her lip. She had apologised, it had been an accident... It was Mother and Father who refused to listen! And Mother hadn't said sorry for grabbing Kuvira's wrist so hard it bruised, or for pulling her hair... Kuvira hadn't meant to throw that rock as hard as she did, hadn't meant to break Mother's ribs.

They approached the strangest city Kuvira had ever seen. Huge metal petals spread over the lush green valley, revealing tall, glistening towers that jutted into the annoyingly bright sky. This looked nothing like the village Kuvira came from, nothing like its clay houses and dirt roads.

Father continued berating her, motioning at the metal city with his chin. - There's a master metalbender here, who agreed to take you off our hands. - he said and Kuvira firmly stared down at her feet and the worn planks of the waggon. She wanted to scream. -Hopefully, she can knock some sense into you. And remember, this is for your own good.-

Kuvira sort of hated her parents at the moment, but that didn't mean she wanted them to leave her with a total stranger. She didn't want Mother and Father to drop her off here like they dropped off the pickens they raised and sold to the local butcher!

She didn't want to have any sense knocked into her, either! It didn't sound very pleasant. She swore to herself that she'd hate the evil metalbender who was going to take her away from the only home and life she knew.

She was chased out of the waggon, despite her clear reluctance. She clutched her small sack of belongings in her small, but already calloused by work hands. There wasn't much in it, to be honest. Two spare shirts and a pair of trousers, along with five pairs of socks and underwear. She had been allowed to take three toys with her and Father sold the rest the day before her departure.

She'd yelled and stomped her feet, of course, but it was no use. She might have been the strongest earthbender in the village, but she was still just eight, after all. Father had dragged her back home, grip painfully tight on her shoulder. He said he had sold her toys to pay for a healer to come take care of mother and then he told her to pack what was left of her things.

That's how Kuvira had been informed that her own parents were getting rid of her.

Father turned the waggon around so fast that Kuvira didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to Patchy, the old, balding ostrich horse that had served her family long before she had been born. Bitterly, she remarked to herself that Patchy was probably more of a family member to her parents than she ever was. At least Patchy did what he was told.

Kuvira stood in front of the weird city, looking up at it in... awe wasn't the right word, but neither was apathy. She just didn't feel like feeling anything other than the nervous gnawing at her stomach.

She didn't want to be here, she wanted to be back home! Even if Father and Mother took all her toys or made her work on the farm until her hands bled again.

She wondered if there was still time for her to bolt. Maybe she could make her own way home, or maybe she should run away altogether. Any course of action in the world seemed better than having to go with the evil, evil metalbender.

A clanging sound signaled the sealing of her fate as the odd, metal gate opened and a figure stepped out.

The metalbender did not look very evil.

In fact, she looked like one of those travelling acrobats and dancers that sometimes came to the village to perform for coin. Thin and willowy and covered in odd metal jewellery, her graceful limbs obscured by the green folds of a weird robe. With the circlet upon her head, peeking out from under wavy, jet black hair, she looked like some manner of royalty. At least she did to Kuvira, who, notedly, had never encountered any royalty.

- You must be Kuvira. It's nice to meet you. - the lady said cordially, the corners of her sharp but gentle eyes turned upwards by a soft smile that formed on her lips.

Kuvira remained obstinately silent, lifting the dirty sack to her chest, as if it could somehow protect her from her uncertain future.

The lady crouched down, so she was more or less at Kuvira's eye level. Her smile wavered a little, though it didn't leave her face completely. - My name is Suyin. But you can call me Su. - she tried again, reaching a dainty hand out for Kuvira to take.

Kuvira stayed still, furrowing her brows. The lady seemed nice, but Kuvira was here to have some sense knocked into her, if Father's words were to be believed. She didn't trust the lady, no matter how nice she seemed. After all, she was still taking Kuvira away from her home and family.

- You'll be safe here, I promise. - Su assured, as if she could read Kuvira's mind. She seemed so calm, content to stay crouched before Kuvira indefinitely, until the little girl was ready to take her hand.

Kuvira hesitantly took Su's hand, making her smile widen. Though Su's hands were much smaller than Father or Mother's, her thin, deft fingers still wrapped completely around Kuvira's tiny hand.

The woman stood slowly, making no sudden movements, as if Kuvira were a small animal that could be easily startled into turning tail. She gently led Kuvira towards the gate and into the metal city.

So maybe this was not the worst course of action in the world.

----+

Kuvira should probably have been looking around the city more, but she couldn't bring herself to spare it more than a cursory glance. Most of the buildings had a lot of metal incorporated into them, the clean streets were littered with small shops and full of people who wore robes similar to Su's.

Su had been walking rather slowly, letting Kuvira look around at her own leisure. Not like Father, who walked so fast that Kuvira had to constantly jog behind him, so her little eight year old self wouldn't be left behind.

Eventually, they reached a train station and Su beckoned her onboard. Kuvira had never been on a train before, and she couldn't help but kneel on her seat, nose pressed to the windowpane as the train pulled out of the city and made its way towards a similar, smaller metal flower.

She turned to look at Su questioningly. The woman followed her gaze, before explaining. -The city is made out of a few sectors and the monorail connects them. - she said, then she pointed to the 'sector' they were currently headed to. - That one there is where my family and I live, and so will you. -

- Family?- Kuvira asked incredulously. It hadn't occured to her that the metalbender could have a family.

Su beamed. - Oh yes, my family. My husband and our children. Your new siblings. - she added and Kuvira mulled her words over. She wasn't sure if she wanted any siblings. She opted to once again focus on what was behind the window.

Wide expanses of green, lush meadows with flowers dotted here and there and a far off river in the distance. And, of course, the form of... well, of Kuvira's new home, apparently, glinting in the sunlight.

The train reached its destination much sooner than Kuvira would've hoped it would, but she compliantly hopped off her seat. Su reached to pick up Kuvira's sack for her, but the little girl hurriedly snatched it away. It was her sack, her things! Su arched an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, simply motioning for Kuvira to follow her.

They stepped out of the train and onto a large courtyard, filled with vibrant greenery and stone or metal decorations. At the far end of the area was a huge house and apparently that's where Su and her family lived.

- I took the liberty of picking out a room for you, I hope you don't mind. - Su said as they walked to the house. Kuvira shook her head, and the metalbender continued. - It's rather close to mine and my husband's, so if you need anything, don't be afraid to knock, alright?-

- Alright. - Kuvira answered absentmindedly as they reached the door to the house.

Su smiled at her and stepped into the house, Kuvira right behind her. The metalbender stood still for a moment, cocking her head, before turning to her small companion. - My family are in the living room right now. - she announced and Kuvira frowned.

- How do you know?- she asked suspiciously.

Su smiled mysteriously. - Seismic sense. - she answered airily, leading Kuvira down the hallway. - I can use earthbending to 'see' my surroundings and tell where things are.-

Kuvira's eyes widened and her jaw dropped just a little. - You can do that?-she breathed. She'd, of course, been told that this woman was a master metalbender, but Kuvira hadn't exactly considered what such mastery entails.

Su chuckled softly. - Yes. My mother taught my sister and I when we were very young.- something sad and wistful crossed her relaxed features, lips curling ever so slightly downwards.

But Kuvira paid that no mind, too engrossed in the next question that tumbled from her lips. - Can... Can I learn to do it?-

Su ruffled the girl's hair, smile eclipsing the sunlight that wafted through the wide windows. - Of course, sweetie. As soon as you get comfortable living here. - she assured and that gave Kuvira more stability than she'd ever had. - Would you like to meet your new family now?-

Kuvira chewed her lip. She supposed she'd have to meet the rest of the house's inhabitants at some point... And Su seemed to really love her family. Kuvira didn't want to offend the woman and have the offer of learning seismic sense retracted the moment it had been given to her.

She nodded faintly and Su beamed, clasping her hands together. - Perfect!- she exclaimed, gently steering Kuvira down another corridor. - They already know you're coming, so you don't have to worry about being a surprise.-

Kuvira wanted to ask how many kids Su had, or anything else of the sort, but her attention was quickly drawn to voices, muffled and quiet, but rapidly becoming louder and more clear.

- Junior, dear, don't chew on your pencil.- a man's soft voice admonished quietly.

- Sorry, papa. - came the sheepish answer of a young boy.

- Papa, keep reading!- urged a little girl's voice. The man chuckled.

- Well, Opal, why don't you help me read it?-

- No, papa! I wanna listen to YOU read it!- the girl squealed, just as Su and Kuvira reached the door.

Su confidently swung the door open, to be met by a chorus of many little voices exclaiming: 'Mommy!!!'

- Hello, darlings! - Su gracefully slipped through the door, Kuvira hot on her heels, almost hiding behind the woman, in the folds of her robe.

- Good to see you, dearest.- the man said softly, his voice was warm and steady. - Did...-

- Yes.- Su replied his unanswered question, stepping aside a little, revealing Kuvira to the world. Immediately, several pairs of moss green eyes settled on the newcomer and suddenly, Kuvira wanted to leave very much. But Su placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. - Everyone, this Kuvira. She'll be part of our family from today. -

- It's very good to meet you, Kuvira. - the man was sitting on a couch, with a kindly, inviting smile. He closed a thin, colourful book and placed it in his lap. He leant in a little. - We've all been very excited to meet you, right kids?-

A couple awkward murmurs sounded from here and there. Kuvira shuffled her feet in discomfort. - Hello. - she finally hummed, tightly gripping her sack. Su lightly patted her back, as if commending her for finding her voice.

Someone approached Kuvira from her left and she snapped her head to look up. It was a boy, her age, with shaggy dark brown hair falling down onto his sun-kissed forhead and curious green eyes observing her from behind angular glasses. - Hi... uh, hello, Kuvira. - he smiled, extending his hand. - I'm Baatar. It's nice to meet you.-

Before Kuvira could even consider shaking his hand, another, more high-pitched voice corrected: - Your name isn't Baatar! It's Junior!- it came from a small boy, no older than three, who was cheerfully and confidently trotting up to the pair of older children.

- Shut up, Wing.- Baatar hissed through his teeth, before glancing at Kuvira and faltering. - I'm actually Baatar Jr. - he admitted sheepishly.

- And I'm Wing!- announced the little boy, flinging his arms around Kuvira's waist with a huge, toothy grin. Kuvira stiffened, but didn't exactly want to push him away in front of his parents.

- And that's Huan!- he motioned towards a gloomy looking boy, who was seated in an armchair, limbs splayed out haphazardly. At least, Kuvira thought he was a boy, his hair was somewhat long and she couldn't really tell with those long, odd robes everyone was wearing.

In lieu of a greeting, Huan offered a grumble, before turning back to whatever strange metal item he'd been nursing in his hands. Rude.

Wing tugged at the hem of Kuvira's shirt to get her attention again. - And that's Opal! And Wei! - he pointed at the two little tufts of jet black hair, crowding against their father.

The first was the only girl, hiding behind the biggest stuffed toy Kuvira had ever seen. The huge fluffy air bison almost completely obscured her small frame. There was also a boy, identical to Wing, curious mossy eyes peeking over his father's shoulder. Su's husband smiled, gently nudging the pair towards Kuvira. - Come on, you two, say hello to your new sister.-

- She's not my sister!- Opal snapped suddenly. And though Kuvira kind of agreed with her, she could tell by the look in the younger girl's eyes that it was meant as an insult. Kuvira scowled at her new 'little sister' who did much the same.

- Now, Opal, be nice. - Su gently berated, crossing the room and settling next to her daughter. - Kuvira joining our family doesn't mean we love you any less. - she reminded gently, hugging the girl.

For the first time, Kuvira wasn't next to Su and she was mortified to realise that it frightened her. She held onto her sack for dear life.

- Wei, would you like to say hello to Kuvira?- Su's husband asked gently. The boy who looked like Wing nodded slowly. He gave Kuvira a shy little wave, before shuffling behind his father again.

- Don't mind them. - Baatar Jr comforted, adjusting his glasses. - Opal's just jealous that she's not going to be the only girl anymore.-

- Not true!- shrilled Opal, mustering a surprisingly fierce glare.

- Totally true! - Wing chirped, still glued to Kuvira's side. He glanced up at her curiously. -Hey, can you earthbend? Mommy said you can earthbend!-

It took Kuvira a moment to find her voice again. - Yeah, I can earthbend.- she confirmed, though she hadn't done so since the incident with Mother.

Wing cheered incoherently. - Cool! Can I see? Can you metalbend? When did you learn? Huan can bend, but he does it boring and he never shows us anything cool! Do you do fun bending?!- he went on a tirade, disregarding an offended gasp from Huan. Kuvira's brain barely kept up with him.- I haven't started bending yet, but I will and then I'll be just like mommy and grandma Toph!-

- Me too! Me too!- announced Wei, his shyness defeated by the prospect of a sibling that did not use bending just for 'boring things'. He clambered out from behind his father, wide eyes locked onto his twin and newly adopted sister.

Baatar scoffed, crossing his arms. - Like you two aren't enough trouble without the ability to throw boulders around with your minds. - he grumbled, rocking on his heels.

Wing rounded on his brother, releasing Kuvira and hopping about the room. -You're just jealous because you can't fo ittt~ he singsang mockingly, bounding in circles around the two older kids.

Baatar smacked him up the head. - See, you know nothing about general history. - he took a deep breath and lifted his index finger. -While non earthbenders can't throw boulders via traditional means, technology bridges the gaps between us more and more. Like the catapults that the Fire Nation used during the Hundred Year War. Those launched rocks, no earthbending required. - he recited as if he were reading from a book, looking down his nose at Wing.

Wing was not impressed. - Boring! - he decided, still spinning around. - Grandma didn't use cata.... cata... - he furrowed his brows, clearly struggling with the new word. -... the things! I'm gonna be an earthbender like her and then I'm gonna be the strongest!-

Something vaguely malicious crossed Baatar's face, a menacing arch to his brow. - Oh yeah?- he lilted, leaning in. - You're gonna be the strongest?- he teased, grabbing Wing under the arms and tossing the three year old into the air before catching him. - You've got a long way to go then!-

Wing shrieked, kicking his legs and flailing his arms in futile attempts to escape his big brother's hold. Baatar Jr laughed madly through his smug grin.

Behind a discombobulated Kuvira, Huan muttered something condescending and rolled his eyes.

Wing's luck turned when Wei came to his rescue, leaping from the couch, straight onto Baatar's back with a shrill battlecry. The force of his charge sent the trio sprawling onto the soft carpet, still locked in a fierce wrestling match. For a boy outnumbered, Baatar was doing pretty well for himself, until Wei sat on his arm and bit him lightly. This immobilised the oldest kid long enough for Wing to steal his glasses.

- Hey! You jerkwad!- Baatar Jr yelped, flailing his free arm as a gleeful Wing pranced around the room in his brother's glasses. He probably couldn't see that well in them, because he almost immediately bumped into Su.

The master metalbender knelt at her son's eyelevel and removed the oversized glasses from his little nose. - Boys, please. - she admonished gently, placing the glasses back on Baatar Jr's face. - Wei, stop gnawing on your brother's elbow. Wing, what did we say about taking other people's things?-

- Sorry, mommy...- the twins said in unison, and Wei rolled off Baatar's arm and skipped up to Wing.

Baatar Jr sat up and set his glasses straight. -You two are animals. - he sniffed, standing up and dusting his trousers off.

- Junior! - Suyin turned to her oldest, hands on her hips. - No name calling. And who taught you to call people 'jerkwads? Was it your grandmother? -

Behind her back, Wei blew a raspberry at Baatar, before immediately going back to being the picture of innocence.

Seeing this, Opal giggled into her stuffed bison's fur.

Kuvira had been so enraptured by this odd performance that she hadn't noticed Su's husband approach until he placed his hand on her frail shoulder.

- Don't be put off by the chaos, Kuvira. - he ressured, smiling as he watched Su try to get Baatar and the twins to hug it out. - Our household is often hectic, but we all love each other here. And we're very glad to have you join us. -

- Oh, my babies!- Su squealed proudly as her three sons made up. She showered the trio's heads with kisses, before standing up with a pep in her step. - Now, who's up for dinner? -

A cascade of 'I am's shook the room.

Baatar Jr leant down to look at Kuvira. - What about you, Kuvira? - he asked slowly, calmly, his hand softly squeezing her shoulder. - Are you hungry? -

Kuvira was hungry. Her stomach twisted and turned. She was very hungry.

She almost nodded, but stopped herself. She'd already eaten today. Father had given her a porkbeef sandwich during the ride here. Which was a lot.

Father and Mother had always complained that Kuvira ate so much. That it was so expensive to have a third mouth to feed.

Maybe this was a test? Maybe Su and her husband were testing if she ate too much. Maybe if Kuvira showed that she wasn't expensive, maybe Su would be happy to have her.

Kuvira shook her head.

- Aww, are you tired after the ride here ?- Su cooed, absentmindedly petting Wei's head as the three year old clung to her leg.

Kuvira supposed sleeping would be less troublesome than eating.

She nodded.

- That's perfectly fine, sweetie.- Su smiled, and Kuvira was glad she answered correctly. -You can go to sleep early, alright?-

Kuvira nodded again.

- Alright, your bedroom is upstairs. - Suyin spoke with a smile. She tried to move, but Wei was still clinging to her leg. - Huan, could you show your sister the way to her room, right?-

- ok. - Huan rolled off the armchair, still holding his weird little metal... thing. With two fingers, he motioned for Kuvira to follow him.

Kuvira was glad to follow. Huan lead her up the stairs, feet clad in thick socks lightly thumping against the stone floor. He moved all light and catlike, weird, like a ghost floating a bit above the floor. That is not how earthbenders are meant to walk, Kuvira decided. The Beifongs were weird... odd. But nice.

Kuvira hoped that the Beifongs would decide she wasn't too much trouble to keep around.

But just in case, she swore to herself that she's gonna do her very best to get them to like her.

Huan stopped so abruptly that she almost ran into him. He turned to look at her. - Here's your room. - his voice was so monotone as he motioned towards a door.

The door was huge! Bigger than some of the houses from Kuvira's village..

Kuvira gripped the intricate, beautifully decorated handle. She carefully pushed the big door open. She gingerly stepped into the room.

It was also HUGE. Thrice as big as Kuvira's old room. There was a big, soft looking bed... the green quilted blanket covering a plush matress. Big, empty metal shelves with wood detailing, a similarly made desk and chair. A whole wardrobe! What would Kuvira even put in that??? A bedside table with a glowing crystal atop it.

Everything was so pretty and decorated and Big. Kuvira felt so tiny and lost.

- Mom said you can ask for books and stuff like that. - Huan said from behind her, leaning against the doorframe, shaggy jet black hair falling over his eyes. - Mom and dad sleep two doors to the left. And the twins' room is right in front of you. Good luck with that. They're loud. -

Kuvira nodded silently.

Said silence remained heavy between them until she finally said. - thanks. -

- No problem. - Huan gave her a tiny grin. He seemed like he was going to leave, but then looked like he changed his mind. - Hey, um. Here. - he held out the metal trinket he'd been playing with. - I made this. For you. -

Kuvira looked down at the nonsensical object in his hand.

Metalic, silvery tendrils coiled and intertwined in various ways, confusing and overwhelming. Twirling and branching off, connecting and coiling.

- Um. What is it? -

- It's a statue. - there was a nervous stutter in his voice and his hand shook a little. - For you.-

- That's not a statue. - Kuvira had seen statues. In the small temple on the outskirts of her village. With big scowling rock statues of deities and spirits and long dead Avatars.

That's what statues were. Not this weird little metal... thing.

- Yes it is. -

- No, it's not.

- It is!-

- Nu-uh-

- Fine. - Huan snapped, tossing the 'statue' into the tin trashcan by the door. He stormed out of the room. - Forget about it!- he slammed the door shut.

A couple seconds of silence passed. Kuvira didn't move.

Finally, she sat on her bed, trying to ignore her stomach's gurgling. She wondered if she should unpack her bag, but ruled against it. She might have to pack back up soon anyway, who knows?

She did, however, take the 'statue' out of the trashcan and placed it on one of the empty shelves.

She felt bad getting into the pristine, pretty bed in her dirty clothes and with her dust coated skin and hair. She curled up, trying to take up as much little space.

The bed was so soft. Maybe a little too soft. She was kinda sinking into the mattress to be honest. She rolled around a bit, till she was comfy.

Or, as close to comfy as she could be.

She was tired, after all.

Despite her hunger, it was relatively easy to fall asleep in this odd bed, in this odd house, in this odd city, with this odd new family.

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sivler · 7 months

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Happy Third Anniversary!!

(keep reading for some rambles)

I can’t believe it’s been 3 years! I’ve only joined this community recently (December 2022), but it’s already made such an impact on me and my life. These characters and their stories and relationships have really helped me find myself in some senses.

I mean, part of the reason I love this game so much is that I see myself in so many of the characters. And they acknowledge so many struggles and it makes me finally feel seen in some sense. Their hobbies, their flaws, their relationships, it all feels so real and sometimes I’ll read through them and just think about how I’ve felt those exact ways.

I am an aspiring actor, singer, drummer, and artist. So…perhaps you can see how I feel heard while playing this game. I’ve also been struggling to get myself to do the things that I love recently, and sometimes (even if it’s a little silly), thinking about these characters and what they’ve accomplished makes me want to get up and do these things just a little bit more.

Anyways, long story short, this game has not taken long at all to worm its way into my heart. This game is still going strong after three years and hopefully it will for three more.

Happy Third Anniversary, Project Sekai!

#Project Sekai #prosekai #Proseka #puroseka #prsk #pjsk #project sekai fanart #hatsune miku: colorful stage #ichika hoshino #kohane azusawa #minori hanasato #kanade yoisaki #tsukasa tenma #hatsune miku #They’re growing up so fast #I’m gonna cry

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kydrogendragon · 3 months

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Febuwhump - Suffering in Silence

Pairing: Dreamling Words: 1671 Warnings: Dub-con Ao3 Link Here

Dream had found comfort, here in the Waking world. After so long, confined to glass and iron with only cruel and indifferent stares to greet him, the warmth of Hob’s smile was a welcome respite. He owed Hob more than he could possibly repay. Each smile, each tender greeting his friend gave him—and friend he was, indeed; another miracle in it’s own right—was one that Dream cherished and held close to his chest.

After their reunion at the New Inn, a temple in a sense, to him and to their shared history, Hob had left Dream with an open invite. It was a gift so freely offered, almost without care, but to Dream, it was the highest gift he could be given. So he visited. He visited more often than he would have initially thought. While there was still much to be done in his realm, he found there were greater periods where he could slip away without harm for a brief visit to the Waking. Each time, Hob greeted him with that same warmth and care.

What he should have anticipated, however, was man’s innate greed. And Hob, having lived for so long, a man fueled by desires, was far from exempt from this.

It was an innocent enough of a night. Hob had specifically asked if Dream would be free this evening, so Dream had ensured he would for Hob does not ask much of Dream, if at all, and Dream would not leave his friend wanting. Not when the debt between them were so high, or so he tells himself. More likely, he is motivated by the bright smile he’s gifted in return for a simple yes.

Hob had cooked dinner for him. It wasn’t an uncommon activity, Hob has done this occasionally before, but this time their shapes are familiar. Small pastries, savory and golden crusted, lie stacked on a platter on the kitchen table.

“Maybe this is a bit selfish of me, but a coworker and I had gone down the rabbit hole of talking about food and meat pies had been mentioned which made me remember the venison pastries from forever ago and then they wouldn’t leave my mind until I’d had ‘em again.” Hob takes one of the small hand-size pies in hand, looking more bashful than Dream had ever seen before. “Anyways, figured now that I’m hopefully less of an arrogant arse, you might give it a try? If you want, of course.”

Dream eyes him for a moment, watching his gaze flick away from Dream and to the plate between them on the kitchen island. He does not eat much in the Waking, though he has been tempted more times as of late, so long as it was something Hob wished for him to try. So he takes one and smirks as Hob watches him, enraptured, as his teeth sink into the flaky pastry.

“They’re nowhere as good as they used to be. For one, it’s lamb, not venison. Bit hard to get that nowadays, at least quickly. And I’m no chef, so the pastry dough was pre-made, but—”

“It is good,” Dream says, interrupting his friend’s ramblings. “Thank you, Hob. You are a better chef than you give yourself credit for.”

Hob just smiles, looking down at his own pastry in hand with a slight flush on his cheeks. It was here that Dream first catches the whiffs of Hob’s daydreams.

He does not make a habit of peering into the thoughts and dreams of his friend. He has not done so over the past centuries and now as they grow closer, he does not do so now. This particular daydream, however, is strong and demands to be seen. Trying to ignore it would be akin to trying to look away from one’s own nose. Impossible, to say the least, lest Dream changes his form (or in this case, leaves Hob’s flat, which he is disinclined to do just yet).

Flashes of the pair of them race through Hob’s consciousness. Hob, working over the stove, chopping vegetables and preparing meats. Then, a pair of slender, pale arms wrapping around Hob’s waist. A kiss, pressed to the tanned skin at the back of his neck. The words, “Hello, Love,” whispered with such reverence and care that it makes Dream’s heart lurch in his chest.

The daydream ends as Hob hisses, blowing into the steaming center of his own pastry. “Shit, careful. These are still blazing hot apparently. Damn near melted my tongue off.” Hob turns to the fridge and Dream can’t help but reply the daydreams of Hob’s mind over again.

A week passes by the time Dream visits again. They’re sitting down in the lobby of the New Inn, Hob working on marking as he talks of his days and his students and the drama of the History department. He sips idly at the glass of wine Hob brought for him when Hob looks up at him.

There is a question in his eyes and a daydream pushing out from his mind. Lips are on Dream’s own and he can feel the phantom touch of Hob’s own against him. The gentle scratch of hair against his jaw, a puff of hot breath against his skin. Dream feels it all as the images flow through Hob’s mind.

Then it’s gone as Hob speaks. “Wanna move upstairs? Kareoke’s about to start here soon and God knows I won’t put you through that particular brand of torture.”

Dream nods, stiffly, still processing the ghost of a kiss upon his lips. Hob packs up, waving a hand in parting to the barkeep, before leading them both up the stairs to his flat.

He has had time to think after the very first daydream. Dream told himself should it be a one-time fantasy, he would leave it. Human minds do not control their thoughts as Dream does. But he cannot deny the details of Hob’s dreams. These are not mere images in which Dream takes a leading role simply due to proximity. No, these are well-worn ones, slowly build up in accuracy and detail over the course of many years. Dream does not doubt that Hob has had such dreams for a long time now.

Which brings him to the forking path he’s at now. Hob, his dearest friend, one Dream finds himself wishing to do anything for, longs for him in such fashions Dream is unsure he’s prepared to give. His love is not one that is sought for for long, he has found. But Hob is different. He craves, he wants. And Dream could provide, even if the thought makes him tense.

Hob is his friend. But Hob wishes to be more.

How long would it take for Hob to grow tired of Dream? Of his friendship? He well knows he is lacking in such areas. He has never had many friends and is unskilled in the practice. Would he lose Hob? Would he lose him soon?

Would Hob court him? Ask him for his love and attentions and then shun Dream should Dream rebuke him?

He has more experience as a lover, both as Dream and in stories. Perhaps he could keep Hob closer for longer should he be his lover rather than his friend.

Hob closes the door behind them and turns only to be pushed against the wooden door, Dream’s lips upon his. Hob startles, but soon melts into the touch. His lips open, head tilts so that they may draw each other closer. It... it is not strictly unpleasant, despite the echo of lover’s past who have spurred his touch, of those who had loved parts of him, but not all of him. Hob moans and wraps his arms around Dream’s waist, pulling him closer. Dream allows him.

This, he can be good at. He was always a skilled lover when it came to the physical. He need not speak, he simply need to act. And when they part and Hob looks up at him with more awe in his eyes and joy upon his face, how could Dream ever think to deny him this?

No, he can keep Hob closer this way. He can hold onto his friend for longer should he press kisses to his lips and allow the freedom of touch upon his own form.

It is only when they move into the bedroom that Dream begins to think he has made an error. Hob undresses him, leaving him bare in the Waking in a way he has not been since—

Hob guides him onto the bed. The sheets are warm and soft and should be a comfort, but they are not. Lips trail down his neck and Dream carefully controls his breathing so it does not betray him here. Daydreams flash through Hob’s mind as his eyes rake across his bare skin. Echoes of guards long dead ring in his ears. Their sneers, their threats, the obscene thoughts and comments that left their lips, laying claim upon his body. It is not unlike the visions that he sees in Hob’s own mind now, even if the tones of them are different.

There is a hand upon him, stroking him. His breath shudders and he is thankful Hob takes it as a sign of pleasure rather than... it is not fear. Not completely. But close in the way that it makes Dream’s skin crawl. He wants to leave. He wants this to be over. But he stays and he pretends. He is good at that.

It’s in the aftermath, Hob’s skin, warm and covered in a sheen of sweat, pressed against his back, that Dream begins to ponder his mistake.

“Love you,” Hob mumbles into the curve of his neck. Dream feels his mind half–way into his own realm. He is unsure that Hob is even aware of his words. Dream should be happy with this. Hob is happy, happier than before. He smiles wider. Dream owes him this much.

Dream owes him this.

#ky writes #the sandman #dreamling #dream of the endless #hob gadling #febuwhump2024 #febuwhumpday7 #nsft

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tiny-cloud-of-flowers · 4 months

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Okay. As intended: the Clio rambles. This is probably going to be very long and disjointed, but hopefully that is tolerable.

To try and sum them up:

Clio will now have pointed ears once she becomes a Spirit, and I've figured out a way to justify this in the context of what those mean in this series.

I'm fairly confident that I now know when Clio becomes a Spirit, and the circumstances surrounding her doing so. The only thing I'm still slightly missing is how she would actually know how to do it, but the game doesn't exactly explain that when it happens later on to another character, so..

Her story now follows that of the canon KHUX player quite closely, including the bluff at the final battle. A main deviation is that she would have still been hesitant, but ultimately did accept the invitation to the Dandelions, so she comes back with Ephemer and Skuld to gather survivors instead of being one.

The one thing I still don't know at all is how things end - whether I leave Clio in KHUX, or bring her forwards, and if so how and how far.

Okay, now for the actual rambles. Suggestions/comments/criticism/etc. is very much encouraged, because right now I do feel like I'm talking to the wall a bit.

What first started things off, I think, was me trying to justify porting the pointed ears that Clio has in FFXIV back to her original KHUX iteration, because they look cute on her. Both games have characters with these ears, but they mean different things in each one. In FFXIV they're just a natural trait of any Elezen - or Lalafell, but Clio's specifically are because she's half-Elezen there. Conversely, in Kingdom Hearts, they're quite specifically gained from exposure to darkness (or in most characters' cases from being possessed by Xehanort - it's just that he himself is implied to have gained them from darkness exposure in the first place, since he doesn't have pointed ears or golden eyes yet in Dark Road).

Now, Clio is very much not someone who feels the need to use darkness - she has strong light in her heart, and wields it valiantly. So, it wouldn't make very much sense or be very in-character for her to start falling to darkness and gain them as a result of the effect it has on her heart and body. However, as part of the story of my selfship, Clio becomes Aria's Chirithy Spirit (since she was never given one like she should have been, and Clio becoming hers allows her to survive the story). Chirithies are known to be tied to their individual Keyblade wielders, in that if the wielder dies or falls to darkness then so does the Chirithy - so, since Aria is already technically fallen to darkness by virtue of being a Heartless, it makes sense that Clio would also appear to be affected by that darkness (though I don't think she herself would actually become corrupted by it, necessarily - it just looks like she might be). Therefore, I can use that as a reason why Clio has pointed ears, implying darkness exposure, but is still very much a Keyblade wielder of light!

That was the first thing, which then led into the even more rambly part of more general story logistics - specifically, the idea of Clio taking the place of the player in KHUX, but also things like how when and why Clio becomes Aria's Spirit, and what her doing so would mean for her own Chirithy.

To the first part (Clio taking the role of the player): it would be a nice way of giving her more plot importance, as well as making the game’s story itself more important to my selfship’s story. Clio is absolutely the sort of person to make friends with lots of people regardless of their Unions, after all, and it can be fun thinking about how she might interact with the main cast. It also makes the final battle in particular much more fitting: Clio can pull off the trick of being possessed by a true Darkness much more convincingly given that she actually has a supply of darkness to safely draw from - Aria’s.

However, some details would have to be taken into account; firstly, the fact that the player canonically refuses to become a Dandelion, whereas Clio definitely is, to the point that her being one is how Aria is able to reunite with her and make it back to Daybreak Town, as I’ve previously written. However, what I could do in theory is say that, because the two things I wrote as follow-ups to that first piece were both in the Darkling AU, then Clio escaping the war with the Dandelions is also only the case in that AU, leaving the default version of events to line up better with the player’s story in canon where they refuse to join for the sake of those who were not chosen to become Dandelions (which for Clio would absolutely include people like Aria).

This can then in theory lead on to the other big thing I still need to work out, which is how/when/why Clio becomes Aria’s Chirithy/Spirit. For the when and the why.. if Clio is already friends with Skuld and Ephemer like the player is by the time the Keyblade War breaks out, then maybe she can go with them to try and rescue people from the battlefield once it’s all over.. and come across Aria there, as she had been bearing witness to the war but became injured after trying to step in to defend her Nobody counterpart. In the Darkling AU, Aria simply escapes into the realm of darkness at this stage, allowing her injuries to heal and being determined to find her way back to Clio (though being in that realm for too long is what then turns her more into a Darkling). Here, though.. maybe she can be rescued and brought along to where the Dandelions escape to (like the player is in canon, ironically), but is too injured to wake in a world so filled with light, and so Clio decides to (and is somehow able to) dive into her dream - thus becoming a Spirit, in the same way that Riku does much later on? So, that potentially sorts out the Chirithy logistics (albeit I'm not quite sure what would happen to Clio's own Chirithy if she were to become the same type of entity herself).

The other way in which Clio’s story could differ from the canon player’s is at the aforementioned final battle. In the game, the player pretends to be possessed by a true Darkness in order to get Ephemer and Skuld to seal them and four of the true Darknesses away, which leaves the Union leaders with more lifeboats to escape the destruction of the data Daybreak Town. I’ve already said that Clio would be able to bluff this very effectively due to being connected to Aria (who, as a Heartless, is already an entity consumed by darkness), but.. in the game, when this happens, the player taunts the Darknesses before being attacked by them and falling in battle, letting their heart move on and be reborn. And I perhaps understandably don't want that to happen to Clio, unless I say that that's how Arete happens.

At the moment, I'm also not 100% sure what Aria is doing at this time. What currently feels like the most "keeping things consistent with how I had been thinking of them" idea is that Aria takes herself back off into the realm of darkness again to avoid the destruction of the data Daybreak Town, while Clio can then be tangled up with the finale plot alongside the Union leaders, like the canon player - but then when Clio tricks the true Darknesses, she's able to slip out of where she's sealed them thanks to Aria (somehow), so the two can escape via the realm of darkness and subsequently are able to survive together until.. well, maybe Missing Link? When Clio gets out of the darkness but is kept alive/essentially made immortal by Aria still being in there? But, it seems difficult to think that Clio would be able to escape in a way that true Darkness can't, especially if she's going into the realm of darkness to do so. Maybe we can fight them off together? But that's four of the true Darknesses against only two Keyblade wielders, one of which is already a Heartless (and therefore, entity of darkness).. which seems a bit too tricky

Alternatively, if I did stick to giving Clio the player's canon fate.. I'm wondering whether Aria would be able to salvage her heart somehow, preserving her until such a time as the pair can be together again in the light. There's an argument to be made that, as a Spirit and therefore technically a type of Dream Eater, maybe Clio can only appear in Aria's dreams - but Aria doesn't tend to dream in the first place, because I don't. I am still attached to the idea of her being alive and present, though - maybe even ending up on Destiny Islands, to the point of meeting the main/non-KHUX characters. There's still that one piece of writing I haven't finished yet about that. And I can technically do that with Player?? But it's still not clear how they ended up there, honestly..

I think my uncertainly mostly comes from a combination of the following: I don't want to kill Clio off for the sake of sticking to canon, because I don't want things to end with KHUX, but I don't think she would be able to persist in the realm of darkness like Aria does. Maybe I can pull a Nimda and canonically detour her into FFXIV, but I don't really like the sound of that for Clio specifically. So who knows?? I certainly don't!

I think this last part may have to wait until Missing Link is out, and we know how it ties to KHUX more concretely. The timing of how far apart each game is from the others is still up in the air, after all, and seeing how connected the two truly are might maybe help me figure out if I do indeed want to sacrifice self-indulgence (of keeping Clio alive and incorporating her into other games) for narrative satisfaction.

People who know KHUX: please critique. And anyone in general who has something to comment on about this: please also comment.

#heart of the void #info posts #selfshipping #love: crown of clovers (clio)#selfship: of flowers unchained (clio/aria)#of lux and daybreak (union x)#I told you that this would be rambly #self‑insert: darkness' champion (aria)#of flowers unchained: darkling aria AU #friend: transient silver (ephemer)#friend: fate of the future (skuld)#all those were sort of mentioned #how much have i even written here. it's a lot. it's very messy.#it's twenty to two in the morning #if all you want to know are the conclusions then i've put them above the readmore #if you're interested in seeing my reasoning and how I got to those conclusions then that is what is below the readmore #if you have any questions then *please* ask

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lizard-shifter-noms · 3 months

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Still Subject to Change Chapter 3 (NEW)

——————————————————————————-

Hello everyone! i decided to repost arc 1 of SSTC

(the chapters were way too long and had a bunch of typos but hopefully this will make reading easier)

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

if there are still any grammatical errors i’m sorry.

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Examining him and not seeing anything that could qualify as a spider bite I tried to further calm him down by petting his hair which only worked a little bit.

“Are you good now? Are you alright?”

“I-i there was-spider in- spider so close to my face way too close- i could see its mandibles- why my face–”

I put a finger over his mouth before he ended up rambling himself into another panic attack.

“The spider is gone, were away from it don't worry”

I tried to reassure him but he was still shaking like a leaf, so I scooped him up and started removing the ropes so he could move again.

As soon as the ropes fell off he curled into a ball in my hand looking smaller than ever before.

“sorry sorry i- there was just- it was so close to my face”

He stumbled out not making much sense.

“Whatever, calm down, you can talk when you feel like it, okay?”

He nodded shakily and curled up even more as I went back to walking, this time in another direction to not meet any more surprises in this area.

The whole time Robin just laid in my hand until I managed to find an actual river, where I decided to set up camp even if it was a bit early to do so.

Setting Robin who had been silent the entire time on the ground I rummaged in my pockets for the water skin and tried to fill it up which only worked halfway as my fingers were still way too big to properly hold it.

Offering it to the strangely silent Robin while I tried to pick some Dandelions before they closed themselves overnight.

“You've been rather quiet this whole time, Are you sure that thing didn't bite you?”

He looked away for a bit then mumbled something barely audible.

“i have arachnophobia”

The soft and quiet admission did put some sense to his reaction though, so the problem wasn’t that the spider was a venomous species but that it just was a spider at all.

Watching him fiddle with his shirt hem and refusing to look at me I realized that as a prospective guard such a thing would not be tolerated and that it was a thing he would have to keep secret.

“well spiders really are ugly and i don't like them either so i guess well just avoid those fuckers in the future right?”

“you're not angry?”

He asked meekly and I was a bit put back at this question.

“Why would I be angry? it's not your fault that you have a phobia”

I remarked but still was a bit confused as to why he thought I would be angry over something he had no control over.

But then I realized that it was a Human trait to just get angry at other people and blame them even if they were not at fault, so it wasn't entirely out of the picture for him to assume I would do the same.

But I was not human, not entirely at least and for the first time in about forever I saw the good side to it.

His next words however showed that I still wasn't really any better, as humans really were all I had ever known it wasn't unusual of me to gain some of their traits.

“you- uh you said that the- that the next time i screamed like this you would- you'd... eat me…”

The last part was said so quietly that I almost didn't hear it, but now that he mentioned it I did remember hissing something like that at him when my first try to catch an animal was interrupted by his screaming.

“i'm not-”

I put my hand up to my face before gripping a bit of my hair

“I'm not gonna do that just because you have a Phobia, okay? i know i said i would but i'm not gonna just because you saw a spider”

Then I remembered what I learned on the streets, that I should never take back a bluff or nobody would ever believe me again.

“you'd have to do something really bad, for me to get angry enough to do something like that, but i don't think you could do anything that bad out here”

He did not look happy at the Clarification but said nothing about it.

“So what now?”

He asked instead and was side-eying the rope he was regularly tied up with overnight.

“same as yesterday i'd say, tie you up and then sleep”

I grabbed the rope from where it laid and started the whole spiel of binding him again, after this week i would be able to tie a knot very fast i mused.

I put Robin down next to the Dandelions I had been munching on, which had begun to close themselves as the sun went down.

Using what little light I had left, I tried to wash the blood off my Handkerchief to the best of my ability, putting it on a nearby rock to dry till tomorrow.

I went back to Robin who had already fallen asleep and lied down with my head next to him while creating a barrier over my head with my arms intertwining my fingers and using some moss as a pillow.

Looking up I saw a lot of stars, more than I had ever seen in Tunstead and wondered if the farther I got away from civilization the more of them I would see.

I kept staring at the night sky until I fell asleep to the chirping of crickets nearby.

The following morning i woke to a tugging sensation near my ear, something was messing with my hair and it was lying halfway under my head.

Staying as still as possible and trying to figure out what it was, I listened closely for any clue what was going on.

Feeling tiny hands tussling over my scalp I had no doubt that it was Robin messing with my hair, as he was the only being close enough to touch me.

The tugging was rhythmic and at some point I realized that the motion was similar to having a braid done.

I did not know why he would do that but I could somehow picture him doing that with this distant stare of his.

He seemed to space out a lot and then fiddle with whatever he could get his hands on, in this case my hair.

I debated if I should tell him I'm awake or act like I was just waking up.

In the end I chose the latter, and acting as if i was just waking up i moved a bit making him freeze like he'd been caught stealing cookies

I acted like I had just woken up and started to slowly move and get up.

“Morning, did you try to burrow under my head?”

He tried to rob away which only ended in him looking like a caterpillar as he unsuccessfully attempted to get out of the divot my head had made in the moss.

“It was cold again and i didn’t wanna wake you”

He mumbled into the ground and I nabbed him from his awkward position to remove the rope for today, which was already pretty loose anyway.

He rubbed his wrist as soon as the rope was removed and I put the spare shirt back in my pocket.

“And for the future don't try to burrow under me, you might end up getting squished”

“sorry i won't do that again, but i have no idea how you can just sleep when the ground literally freezes over”

He grumbled out tiredly and resumed to cling to my fingers as I went up to get my Handkerchief only to find that it had traces of frost all over and was still wet.

“Well at least it's free of blood now i hope it dries over the day”

I debated if I should just put it in my pocket or if I could take it with me some other way until I figured out that I could just tie it around my wrist.

Setting Robin down and shoving the water skin into his hands I told him to go fill it up as I couldn't hold it properly to fill it up.

Not letting my eyes off him I bound the cloth around my wrist and as I went over to pick him back up I saw my reflection in the water with my pointy ears, blue eyes and, as predicted, three tiny braids on one side.

I decided not to mention it as it seemed Robin got bored extremely quickly and it didn't bother me so I just left them as they were.

Placing him in my hand again I started walking again towards the mountain that loomed in the distance like a broken fangtooth, still seeming no closer than before, and just as ominous as always.

As we walked Robin seemed to fiddle with his sleeve before he asked

“did you- uh did you find out what that noise was? yesterday i mean”

I ended up telling him about the weird Creature and the maggot eating magpies as well as describing it all in a lot of detail upon request until it was well past noon.

“i think we should look for something to eat, something that's not dandelions for once”

Robin perked up a bit at that and started blabbering again.

“I agree with that! I'm starting to get sick of them.

Maybe we can find some wild Blackberries?”

“Blackberry season is in Autumn, this is wayyy to early for them i think they only just started to bloom”

He seemed a bit disappointed in that but didn't complain much otherwise.

“What else is there then? i'm not good at remembering what's edible and what's not”

“Daisies are also safe to be eaten so i guess we could look for some of those or maybe clover blossoms those work too”

I listed some of the ones from the top of my head.

“i'm starting to hate flowers i don't care that their pretty”

He grumbled and crossed his arms as best as he could in my grip again.

“fair enough, that's understandable but it's that or nothing”

I remembered plenty of times when some wild plants were all I could get so I knew it wasn't too bad even if it took some time getting full.

Strangely, I STILL did not feel any hunger whatsoever and I started wondering if this cursed Bracelet had something to do with it.

What if that continued until I died of starvation? Would I even notice it? What if I started forgetting to eat? Would I just fade away?

I hoped not.

It wasn't long before I spotted a small field with various flowers, some edible and some not.

i could see dandelions again as well as some Daisies and plantains this would do even if i had hoped to find something better.

Sitting down I put Robin next to me and started to stuff flowers in my mouth, never looking away for more than a minute.

It took some time getting enough that I considered to keep going, so picking Robin up again who had made once more a flower crown I went back to walking through the forest.

After about 2 hours I walked into an area that had a lot more underbrush than normal which made it hard to navigate inside of it and sometimes even completely blocking my path making me backtrack for a bit.

Looking back down at my hand while walking I saw that Robin had fallen asleep again, he really must have been tired to nod off like this.

The sky would soon be getting darker again so I decided to look for a place to camp in the thicker underbrush.

As I was walking I suddenly felt a painful sensation in the thinner skin between the thumb and pointer finger of the hand I held Robin in.

He'd Bitten me!

I dropped him on reflex and he let out a startled yelp, running off through the underbrush as I cursed loudly at the blood seeping out.

despite being small he had an impressive jaw strength i gave him that.

But now I had to go catch him again and maneuvering through the thicket proved to be very difficult.

As I ran searching for him while the sky went darker overhead, a hundred scenarios went through my head.

Did he plan this?

Was he looking for an opportunity like this all along?

To get away as soon as he got the chance?

Was any of what he told me even true?

I knew Humans lied a lot so it wasn't completely out of the picture that he'd done just that.

I started to get angry about this.

Of course no Human would ever want to spend time with a Bastard!

why did I even think that the little small talks were anything but a ploy to get me to lower my guard, to make me feel at ease in his presence.

He really was just like the other Humans and i didn't know why I ever thought someone would just randomly be friendly with me.

He was a Prospective Guard for fucks sake of course he would just ditch me the first chance he got.

And now he would probably get the army to kill me or something if I didn't catch him first.

All but stomping through the thicket and sometimes getting branches in my face when I wasn't shielding it with my arms, I saw him trip over a fallen log and scramble to get up again.

Easily stepping over some bushes i bent down grab him just as he got up, covering his mouth with a finger as i didn't want to hear some dumb sorry excuse for biting me.

He BIT me out of nowhere there was no good explanation for that other than trying to get away.

The fire of anger in my head did not subside as I walked over to where I could hear the river.

Settling down next to a huge boulder I could lean on, I thought about what to do now.

simply tying him up again would not soothe my rage but it sure would stop him from escaping again.

Looking down at Him I saw and felt him visibly shaking as well as fighting back tears.

Good! with how angry i was about all of this he damn well could feel a little fear!

There was still blood seeping from the bite wound that was actually bigger than expected and more painful than I anticipated for something like this.

I Glared at him furious at the indignity I had suffered.

I put Robin in my other hand to wipe the crimson liquid off on my shirt and freeing his mouth in the process.

He immediately started wailing and crying out

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bite you! I don't know why I did that! Please don't kill me! Please, I'm sorry! It was an accident!”

He was rambling again but I only half listened as I got the blood off my hand gripping him a bit thighter i raised him up towards my face.

Baring my teeth and showing off canines that were way too long and sharp to ever belong to any human, I growled at him.

“An accident my ass! you're just like all the other humans! double crossing me whenever the chance arrives! like HELL you didn't plan to escape the second you could! I don't know why I EVER thought a HUMAN of all things would be nice to ME!”

As i loudly told him what i thought he started squirming in earnest and trying his best to wiggle out of my grip whimpering loudly

“Please, I'm sorry! don't kill me! don't eat me!”

Eat him? ah yes i threatened to do that didn't i?

That would be possible of course, after all i was big enough to do that now.

I wouldn't kill him of course as the only thing i was proud of was to be able to say that i had never killed anyone or anything that classified as a person.

But I could put him in the Storage organ, though he didn't have to know that it existed.

“don't what?”

I hissed at him shifting my grip to have him dangle by the back of his chainmail.

That had to go I realized, and started ripping it off of him as well as the leather tunic and his Boots.

“Don't eat me”

He squeaked and tried to tuck his legs closer to his chest.

Chucking the stripped off items on the ground next to me I lifted him a bit higher and gripped his torso forcing his legs to straighten out.

“Too bad”

Pushing him Head first into my mouth his legs started to flail as much as they could and I could hear high pitched screams buzzing in my Skull.

It was a weird sensation as I had never taken something alive into my mouth but it was manageable, so, tipping my head back I shoved him all the way in and swallowed hard.

************************************************************************

Robin was in a place he assumed to be worse than hell.

He truly didn't mean to bite Donovan; he just spaced out again!

Seeing the white Blocks of bone that were bigger than his head that had to be teeth he Screamed, those could easily crush his skull in a single bite!

Flailing wildly with his legs and trying not to get close to the ivory boulders he started pleading to be let go and that it truly was an accident!

he had spaced out again!

But it seemed he was not heard as suddenly everything was tipped forwards and he could see down the throat before a loud ‘GLK’ sent him down towards the throat.

He Realized that Donovan didn't plan to bite his head off, but he wondered if that was any consolation considering where he was headed.

Maybe it would have been better to die a swift death between those Teeth than melt away to nothing in acid while still alive.

Screaming again and trying his best not to go down any farther by bracing his elbows on the side of the throat, but another push on his feet sent him even deeper in and pressed his arms to his sides.

The walls that squished him and rendered him immobile tugged him deeper down in a rhythmic motion after a second ‘glurk’ sounded out.

He distantly could feel a different pressure coming from one of the walls of the tube he was currently trapped in.

It took him a moment to realize that that must have been Donovan's hand poking at him, to make sure he didn't choke on Robin? to make sure he went down smoothly? or to gloat?

Robin didn't know, didn't want to know, he just wanted out! but a third and last swallow sent his writhing form even deeper into the core of the Giant, past the loudly beating heart, away from the prodding fingers, and into a fleshy chamber that had just enough room for him to comfortably sit in without being too claustrophobic.

There would have even been enough space for another person to sit next to him without being squished together too badly he noted grimly.

Turning around and wiggling into an upright position left him sitting there stunned for a few seconds.

He was surprised to still be in one piece and hadn't gotten chewed up like the Boar a few days ago.

Starting to panic he did the only thing he could think of.

He screamed as loud as he could and started kicking and punching everything he could, hoping to make Donovan nauseous and spit him back up.

He didn't want to die! Especially not like this!

The walls of the fleshy chamber were damp, and he didn't know if the Liquid running over his cheeks were his own tears or the beginnings of stomach acid.

He screamed again as he slipped over and his arm landed in a puddle of what he presumed to be acids.

Scrambling up again he immediately went back to punching and kicking, desperately hoping he could cause enough of a fuss that he would be freed.

************************************************************************

After Robin slipped out from where my fingers could press in on him and spilled into my storage organ that was previously only used to hide valuables, I realized that this might not have been such a great idea.

He was kicking and screaming and sometimes it hit something sensitive.

It wasn't too painful but sure as hell uncomfortable and would start to ache later, maybe even bruise.

Looking up as something soft and cold landed on my nose I saw that it had begun to snow softly.

Great, as if this night wasn't already absolutely awful! Now it would get really cold too, so sleeping comfortably was off the table.

Not that I could anyway with the current situation.

And i couldn't block out his screams either as covering my ears wouldn’t protect me from sounds literally inside of me.

Looking straight forward trying to focus on these strange sensations and wanting at least the assault on my guts to stop.

“STOP KICKING ME! for fucks sake you're fine!”

I bellowed out but he didn't seem to hear me and I started debating on what to do.

He either didn't hear me or ignored what I said so I tried to squish him by pressing my hands into my storage stomach.

He only screamed louder and started thrashing worse than before, still having some room to move about.

So thinking quickly I filled my lungs with as much air as possible and leaned forward while pushing my hands into my middle.

This did effectively squish him and he went quiet, only twitching a bit and shaking like a leaf.

Holding him like this made me notice that i could feel everything he did, from his arms trying to move, his chest heaving with his breaths and even his way too fast heartbeat.

Now that I wasn’t that angry anymore i felt bad for having done this, it really wasn't his fault that he got stuck with me, and trying to get home was a normal thing to do.

Still holding my hands over the squished Robin i heard him sob, not wail or scream, just sob, and I felt even worse than before.

“please *sob* don't kill me, I'm sorry please *sob* Please let me out i don't wanna die…”

Hearing his heartbreaking crying I suddenly felt incredibly guilty for what I just did.

I truly hadn't meant to scare him this badly! I really needed to work on my anger issues.

Looking at the softly falling snow that had started to cover the ground I tried to think of a way to comfort him, so easing up on the squishing I attempted to speak quietly but still loud enough to be heard.

“Hey”

I said softly and felt him flinch into one of the walls trying to curl up again now that he had the space to do so.

“What do you want?”

the words he spoke were said in a dejected manner, like he had given up…

“I- look i'm sorry i didn't mean to scare you this bad but i promise you're safe! you're not in my stomach right now”

He slowly uncurled a bit and touched one of the walls before taking his hand back.

“How do I know you're telling the truth?”

The words were hesitantly and quietly spoken like he was afraid of the answer.

Taking a breath, I thought about how to word this best.

“I swear by the entirety of my Faeblood that i will not hurt you, i might be a Bastard but my fae half still prevents me from breaking any promises i've ever made”

He uncurled a bit more, seemingly a bit more at ease now.

“If this isn't your Stomach where am I then?

He seemed less scared now and was asking comprehensible questions too, albeit still a bit timidly.

Looking at the snow, who was falling worse than before, I tried to explain it to him as best as I could.

“Well, remember when I told you I had some of my organs doubled? yeah that's one of those, it doesn't work though and i have used it as a coin pouch in the past”

I hoped that this description was at least somewhat understandable.

“So you just… used this as your coin holder? did you not get sick?”

He had uncurled almost completely by now and was shyly poking at the walls.

I tried not to think too much about the fact that it felt good and instead shoved the thought away.

Laughing a bit at his Question i replied to him.

“No luckily not but i had to be careful still some of them were sharp”

I started rubbing a bit at him and at first he flinched away again before leaning back to the front of my Pouch back to the wall.

“Can you let me out then?”

I winced at the question seeing that the snow was even worse than before and i was somehow not being affected by the temperature, but feeling the snow crystals that laid on the ground crunch under my hand, I knew that if i let him out now he'd get sick from the cold.

“I can't, it started snowing and you'd get sick immediately not to mention that right now you're not dry thanks to me but I promise i'll let you out in the morning!”

I hoped this wouldn’t make him upset again but if he insisted I would let him out and try to keep him warm by using some other method if I found one.

“Snow? But it's spring, why would it snow? how cold is it?”

Looking around I saw frost covering every bit of ground that was not near me and my breath coming out in little clouds.

“Very cold, the ground froze and my breath makes little clouds, i think you'd just freeze the moment i get you out, but if you truly want to come out i'll try to make a fire or something”

He seemed to think about it for a second.

“i'm not sure if i like this, but i don't wanna freeze either so i'm staying for now i guess”

I was secretly glad he chose to stay, not because I liked the feeling now that he stopped kicking but because spitting him up on this cold would have made him sick and I did not have any medicine.

I tried to slowly lie down to get into a sleeping position even if i probably shouldn't with weather like this but i was too tired to care about that.

Feeling Robin try to brace himself as I moved to lay on the cold ground my brain kept denying that having something moving in there felt good.

I was honestly a bit scared of that part.

What if I started eating random people?

It truly might be best to disappear from any civilization and just vanish into the woods.

Not that anyone wanted a Bastard like me in their Kingdom anyway.

I felt a weird sting at the thought and I was confused as to why?

I had believed up until now that there was absolutely nobody that would ever like me.

But Robin was the first person I spent more than a day or two with and he somehow still doesn't seem to actually hate me but now he probably feared me after I literally ate him.

As I laid on the ground I sensed Robin move to get comfy and put a hand over my Pouch where I felt him.

He was snuggling into the ‘floor’ and yawned before curling up and slowly falling asleep.

He must have been exhausted after such a scare and thinking he was going to die.

I felt extra bad about it now.

Looking up at the stars and slowly falling snow my hand went back over my pouch and started to softly rub against it.

I literally held an entire life inside my own body which was weird to think about and a little scary too, because I was now responsible for everything and he couldn't even defend himself from any outside forces.

It shouldn't be possible either, but this weird Bracelet had done something to make me a Giant.

Feeling Robin snuggle closer to my hand I continued to massage the spot he was under until I myself fell asleep, still trying to ignore the way my brain told me that having something living inside felt good.

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#sstc #lizards writing #vore story #giant/tiny #soft vore #extreme cuddling #g/t story #v0re #g/t vore #sfw vore #Barmea

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