#as a side note... my calligraphy really is bad... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ironwoman18 · 1 year ago

Text

Rather Be - Part 5

Chapter 5: Their third date

The Forger had a really long week. Loid had side missions all week, short ones but still needed to arrive late at home.

Thankfully for Anya and Bond, Yor was also busy with extra hours at the town hall office, so both of them stayed at Grandpa Siggy and Grandma Barbara.

Grandpa knew how to help Anya with her classes so he was helping her with her homework and since he liked Spy Wars as well, he used it to help her in a better way. Loid took mental notes of some of his methods but it didn't work for him, she always found a way to make him lose his patience.

On Friday Loid received a call from Becky’s bodyguard, Martha “Hello Mr. Forger. I'm Martha, Ms Blackbell's bodyguard, speaking”

“Oh yes. I remember you. Is everything ok with the girls?” He asked, he tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible but her trained ear could tell he was expecting some bad news, she smiled thinking it was adorable how he was worried for her daughter.

“Yes, don't worry” he released the air he didn't know he was holding “just calling you because Ms Blackbell wanted me to call you to ask for permission to take Anya with us to watch a movie. Her father accept that she brings a friend to their Saturday’s movie afternoon”

He smiled at that. He was glad that Anya became her best “I'm sure she will love to, so yeah, she can go”

Martha smiled on the other side of the line “perfect, I'll make sure to have popcorn and peanuts for her”

Loid laughed softly when Nightfall entered his office while he was looking at the window “Sounds perfect, thank you so much” he said as the woman spy stayed in the room listening to him.

The white haired woman had shivers when she heard his beautiful laugh. She could tell it wasn't fake or acted. Was he aware of her present and he was acting?

“Oh and please don't give her lunch, she can have it here”

“Ok no problem. And can you not tell her when you pick her up? I want to use it as a prize for her to do her homework and work on her handwriting”

‘Oh senpai... If I was your wife that little girl would be a machine well oiled’

“Sure I won't tell her, have a good day Mr. Forger”

“Thank you” she said, closing his eyes, smiling, then he finished the call and said “What can I do for you Fiona?”

‘As expected, he knew I was here’ she thought then said “Doctor, here's the file of a new patient”

‘Oh no... Another side mission...’ He thought tiredly “ok thank you” he walked towards her and looked at her “there's no other doctor who can do it?”

“No, they said they only want you” he sighed looking at it. Using his quick reading he was able to know what the mission was all about. He nodded looking at her “fine. Thank you” Twilight’s cold blue eyes looked at her “you may leave now” she nodded and left.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead and left to do the mission. Meanwhile Yor also had to stay late at work doing extra hours again. Her boss needed them to finish some boring paperwork before leaving.

Late that afternoon Loid arrived at their building apartment when he saw Yor paying the old couple for babysitting their daughter.

“Daddy is here!” said Anya excitedly, hugging his legs, Yor looked at them and smiled.

“Good evening Loid, I just arrived to pick Anya up” she said with a warm smile and he smiled back.

“Good and thank you for watching over her”

“Oh don't worry, we enjoy the younger energy she is bringing to our home” said Barbara with a smile “by the way, she did her homework and we worked on her calligraphy”

Loid smiled “that's music to my ears. Ever since Anya started at Eden, that was a problem but hopefully working it with you will help her”

“I helped my children and my neighbors’ children with that and they had very elegant handwriting” Loid nodded smiling.

“Then my daughter is in good hands. Thank you and good night” then the small family walked to their apartment and walked in.

After Loid made sandwiches for him and Yor and sat by the table with Anya. While they were eating, Anya told them about her day.

When they finished Loid said “Ok Anya, since you worked on the calligraphy as I asked you to and did your homework with grandpa and grandma, I decided to give you a prize” the little girl was excited and her eyes sparkled, she tried to read his mind but stopped because she wanted the surprise coming out of his mouth “Becky wanted to invite you to watch a movie with her and I decided to allow you to go tomorrow”

Anya jumped up and down excitedly and jumped over to the table to hug him which made him and Yor laughed.

Then the little girl went to her bedroom to lay in bed as her mother was going behind her to read her a story and Loid with Bond went for a night walk.

When Loid and Bond arrived thirty minutes later, Anya was asleep in her room and Yor changed into her pajamas and was sitting on the couch reading a book with her legs on the couch, she lifted her head when she heard the door opening “You both took your time, didn't you?” she smiled looking at them.

“Yes, I had a really busy day and wanted a time to relax” he said while he was taking off his coat and gloves then he removed Bond’s leash and let him go to lay by Anya’s bed “by the way, it seems like we will have snow sooner or later”

She nodded “Yeah, the weather is getting colder as the days passed. I love winter” she confessed to him.

“Me too” he got a cup and poured some wine in and sat next to her “I was thinking... Since Anya will be at the Blackbells tomorrow, do you want to go on a date with me?” he asked, blushing a little, which he cursed himself for.

“Sure, I would love to” said Yor also blushing.

“P...perfect” said Loid, a little nervous again and thought ‘What does this woman have that makes me so nervous? I’m Twilight, the best spy of his country but with her I’m just a pudding under the three o’clock sun on a summer day’ Then he took one of his books and continued his reading.

They were in a comfortable silence only interrupted by either of them taking a sip of wine or when either passed a page of their books. Normally Twilight could read a page in two seconds but with this novel he wanted to take his time, he was enjoying it and he wasn’t in a hurry.

At eleven, both adults went to their rooms to sleep. Tomorrow would be a good day, they were sure about it.

OOooOOooOO

The next day, Loid woke up early to cook breakfast for them. He had some plans for his date with Yor, he heard her said to Anya on their way to wait for the bus that on friday there will be a movie she had being expecting so they might go to watch it, then lunch by a restaurant by the river and after that going to a street concert of jazz music, he read about it on the newspaper on his way to work.

While he was thinking about it, as usual, Yor was behind him without him realizing it. “Oh... good morning Yor” he said with a little drop of sweat on his forehead “how did you sleep?”

“Good morning Loid, I slept great, thank you” she said with a big smile “what about you?”

“Great as well,” he smiled back.

“Do you need any help?” she asked, watching him almost done with a Spanished tortilla and toast on another plate.

He checked his wrist watch “can you wake Anya up? it’s getting late” she nodded and left to their daughter’s bedroom.

While Yor woke her up he finished their food and even made coffee with milk for him and Yor hot cocoa for Anya, just in time for the two Forger girls to sit by the table.

“Good morning papa!!” she smiled, hugging him by the waist when he put down her cup.

“Good morning Anya” he smiled and rubbed her hair gently getting a giggle from his daughter “Are you ready for the movie today?”

She nodded and started to eat quickly “Anya, eat slower. We are on time” said Yor and the little girl did as her mother said. The rest of the breakfast was relaxed for them, talking now and then about their plans for the day. Anya was happy to learn that her parents made plans for the day.

When they finished, Loid sent Anya to her bedroom to get ready while Yor washed the dishes and Loid went to his bedroom to get ready for when Becky arrived.

An hour later the Blackbell arrived and they went down with Anya “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Forger and of course good morning Ms. Forger” said Martha smiling.

“Good morning” said the three of them, then Loid smiled and added “In her backpack there is another dress in case she had an accident” he looked at his daughter “there’s also some of her favorites toys and a box of peanuts” the woman nodded.

“We had the peanuts covered but since she loves them so much, I guess it’s ok to have more, just in case” she smiled “Ms. Blackbell stayed at home because she couldn’t pick the right outfit in time so we will meet her at home” the Forger nodded then the two parents kissed their daughter’s forehead and cheek then she got in the car and left.

“Are we ready to go for the date?” asked Loid once the car left, Yor just nodded and both left, walking as Loid told her part of his plan but not all the details because he wanted to surprise her.

Their first stop was the movie theater and when he bought two tickets for the movie she wanted to watch she was blushing so hard that her face looked like a tomato “Did you hear me when I told Anya?” he nodded and she thought ‘What a careful man, taking the time to pay attention to details’ then added “Thank you” and kissed his cheek gently.

“W...welcome” said Loid blushing softly, they walked in the theater and bought some snacks then went to the hall where they will watch it. It was a fun movie, with romance and some action about two spies that were enemies and became lovers in the end.

Yor cried once or twice at the love moments of the couple and how he sacrificed his job for them, which moved the girl in the movie to do the same for him and in the end they ended up living in another country with different names, making a beautiful family.

Loid was a mentality counting the things the writers got wrong from a spy, some were quite accurate but other well mere lies. However he was enjoying it, especially Yor’s reactions to the movie. In the end both walked out of the movies chatting about it and how fun it was. Loid checked his watch, and it was almost lunch time so he looked at her and asked “Yor, what about we go for lunch?”

“Sure, I would love to” and both started their way to the restaurant “Do you think it’s possible that enemies from different countries can fall in love?”

“It’s a possibility, if they find more similarities between them and sacrifice a lot of things to be together” he said looking at her “Can you imagine a person from Westalis falling for an Ostania's person?”

“Everything is possible” she smiled “as you said, if they find a common ground, it’s pretty possible” she looked at him.

Loid smiled and thought ‘If you knew... I’m from another country and I trust two Ostanians. Maybe I’m trusting too much but I can’t help it... The warmth I received from both of you reminded me of my mother’s...’

They arrived at the restaurant and after asking for a table outside, both of them ordered a cocktail and some seafood snacks as they waited for the actual lunch. Meanwhile they had a nice chat about random things like the beautiful view or the restaurant they are in.

When they finished their lunch, they went to the jazz concert where they ended up dancing together and with others and having fun.

At last, Loid invited her for a ride on a bout around the city which she accepted. It was a really fun day for them, with having to worry about their daughter following them with Frankie. The sun set while they were on the boat so they enjoyed the view.

“This had been a beautiful day, Loid” she said after getting out of the boat while they wait for a taxi “Thank you very much”

He smiled and looked at her “I’m glad you actually enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to share this day with you. Without you being angry” she blushed remembering their last date was a disaster thanks to her injury.

“It definitely is,” she said, smiling more and holding his hand softly. He let it happened since it was her who did it and any display of affection from her was welcome, since she was too shy and it was good for the mission to look like a couple, unconsciously he liked how her hand felt on his and how perfect their hands fit, like the right piece of a puzzle, but of course, Twilight could never entertain that idea.

When they finally arrived home they ended their day by the TV watching some old movie he remembered watching with his mother before the war started which force him once or twice to hold her hand and whipped a couple of tears, he tried to hide them but little he knew Yor noticed it and allowed those light touches.

By nine Anya arrived in Martha’s arms, asleep and smiling slightly. Loid and Yor bet she was having a good dream about her day.

“How did she behave?” asked Loid.

“Great, she was a perfect young lady” said Martha smiling at them “In her bag is a present from Ms. Blackbell as well as a half eaten bag of peanuts” he nodded and smiled.

“Thank you. Have a good night” he handed Anya to Yor and when Martha left he closed the door and they took Anya to her bedroom. The present from Becky was a plushie of Bondman.

‘You can find this plushie outside the country... Becky’s father used his influence to get this’ thought Loid looking at the new toy, then smiled ‘She made a really good friend’

Then the couple took turns for a shower then went to sleep in their bedrooms. Smiling after a wonderful day.

OOooOOooOO

Hope you liked this one. Also, since this world has weird names for some countries but quite similar to ours, I made the decision of turning Spanish into Spanished.

If you have other prompts for me, let me know, I will continue to look for more things and come up with new ideas. Do you think they celebrate Christmas or Father's day? Because I might have some ideas. Also I would do a birthday party for each member but there’s no canon information of their birthdays (Fake or Real).

#loid forger #yor forger #spy x family #anya forger #loid x yor

5 notes · View notes

makahimetenshi · 2 years ago

Text

Follow me inside the wastelands - Chapter 26 -Arthur Maxson x Female Sole Survivor Fanfic

Hello to the ten maybe twenty people who keeps reading this fic 26 chapters later…its funny because I don’t see you in the numbers but I see you when I make an update. Which makes me wonder where the hell are the 60 people of chapter two, maybe in the middle of the road…and it’s a long road

If you are very very very delighted with one fic and want a continuation I didn’t write or post you can donate me at least $5 bucks, most of this fics have next chapters I don’t finish because lack of motivation but hey a $5 is a $5, I see a few reviews and comments that fics that are abandoned months laters receive comments of wanting to know what happens next. Here it is, I finished my handling with you all, enjoy the fic

The radrain didnt stop until a month and a week later from the latest events, Arthur had a bit of remorse for how things ended up last time…but not that much, he was tired. Know that this situation wasn’t normal but if knocking up somebody would be this problematic better spare himself…

A week after the radrain stop he received another letter, not from Nora, from the Longfellow old man, he was at the entrance of the airport delivering that letter and damn it was a miracle that he remembers who he was to accept it and not shoot at him, thing is that it wasn’t exactly a letter from Nora, but from Maccready, if it was really him of course, he didn’t know his calligraphy to judge if it was really him or not…

“She is at Sanctuary and will be for another pair of weeks if you want to pay a visit”

Cool, thanks for the notice…

He make a ball of the note, playing with it nervous on his hands and swallow saliva…yeah…yeah…lets pay a visit…

A paladin and a few soldiers should be enough, she says to always park the ventibird in the Red Rocket station since it’s the designated place for air vehicles…According with scribe Nereah power armor isn’t necessary for now, strong winds move all the radiation to another side this days so the air and the sky are clean to move freely, that’s what he expect of Nora doing outside too.

So he did, take a paladin and a few soldiers on a ventibird and move there, doubt that anyone but Nora will attack him…if that happens of course… he hopes to be able to take down a pregnant woman in case of anything, never did it before, its not like he wants to do it but…lately he don’t know anything…

At arriving at the station he knew that everybody in Sanctuary will be aware of his presence, so be it, but anyway he told the paladin and the soldiers to stay aside and just watch any weird movement in the settlement, if they hear shootings of course to come and help but nothing more than that, just in case of an emergency scenario.

But even before placing a foot down on the ground he saw at the wooden bridge a patrol of minutemens with…a pregnant lady in a blue vault suit. He swallows saliva and walk towards them. Meeting Nora, looking at her in the eyes avoiding to look at her belly. It wasn’t the only thing he wanted from her of course

At standing one in front of the other he wanted to talk and say anything, not really having something planned, before they didn’t have all this problems to communicate but now he felt like nothing more needs to be said even if there was a lot of talk to be done. But she did first. She talk first- Come on, lets go to my house to talk.

Arthur sighted and relax his shoulders, sometimes they understand the other too well

Of course he didn’t want their private drama to be part of his soldiers and hers but they need protection constantly from their positions.

Walking along her felt good and correct in another time but now it feels…odd…it gives him bad vibes, he hated that, wished everything to be as before but…no…his eyes slip to her rounded belly, his child was there now, and he loved it, this was all worth for him, maybe not easy but yes worth for him. A bad chill press on his spine when he saw the door of her house, the last time he was there maybe…it was when they conceive their child.

Both go inside the house and Nora leaned against the next wall, looking down, hands behind her back.

-Isnt that suit a bit tight?

-Why are you here Arthur? –rude, she always has awful ways to say things

-I suppose you would be here after the rain is over

-Its true, there’s a lot of settlement work to do everywhere, the radstorms leave a lot of damage in people houses…only im not doing it, im giving directions and helping but not much

-Im glad you aren’t…-he stay in silence for a moment, looking at the ground before looking up again- Nora its over –she look at him, not saying anything- you are five months now what do you expect to happen? You are even taking care of yourself, its not like you expect to loose it and free yourself from this –her hands moved to her belly, only to the sides.

-Taking care of it is something that it just felts natural and correct to do…I pass through this before…but I never expect it to happen again less with you.

-When you ask your husband down in the vault 111 about being happy again weren’t you talking about me? –he was quite sad about that

-Yes…and I was right, it did end horribly like with the last person I take down there

-It didn’t end, im not saying anything about an end, I keep looking for you because I don’t want it to end

-You know why im here? Why I still am a brotherhood soldier? –what? That only confuse Arthur- because I killed Danse –what does a thing have to do with the other? Nora sobbed, and look up trying to contain the tears in her eyes to not fall down her cheeks- If Danse would stay alive I would align with the institute just for his sake, but I killed him

-You killed him because I order you, he was synth and an spy…-he didn’t get it.

-No, I didn’t follow your orders, I killed Danse because I was mad I couldn’t convince him to run away with me, I confessed my feelings expecting it would change his mind and he say he can only look at me as a sister, I was mad, I let a fury consume me and I killed him taking the opportunity because I was so mad to be rejected after wanting him for so long…but not for the good of the Brotherhood…because I resented him –now tears were going down her cheeks, this was the second time Nora talks about killing someone because a fury consume her

So…Danse was the other guy everybody talk about. But they never were a thing.

-What does this have to do with our baby? So much time passed…-well it does feel like shit knowing that your woman has feelings for other person not gonna lie, but it doesn’t matter that much since he is dead a long time now

-If he choose to stay with me I would align with the institute to keep him secured by my side for sure

-With the same son you kill because of the atrocities he made? –this was bullshit, an attempt to make him go away.

-Or the railroad maybe I don’t know im…-she moved her hands to the sides of her head

-Confused, because this has nothing to do with our child, with me…with us…-Arthur step in front of her and place his hands on the sides of her belly, feeling it warm and heavy on his palms.

-I loved him, he was my best friend –Nora was sobbing, and as much her words were a stab on the chest they were discussing something far much important- and I was so mad for so little…I killed him, he didn’t deserve it

-Nora I told you before that you don’t have to be a saint all the time, you have the right to feel and you are pretty aware of it, you feel and do all the time –lets just forget the Danse subject shall we? It hurts him too, remembering your best friend hurts so much

-Don’t you see that I don’t choose the brotherhood? That I didn’t choose you!? -oh no she wouldn’t pull him away with this- if would choose anything else if he was still alive!

-Bullshit, you look after me for months, what we have is real and you can’t deny it, enough with this nonsense

-I would never choose an hypocrite with tech parts –now he did separate, doing circles on the floor walking almost laughing.

-You are so desperate, have nothing against me, you don’t wanna just admit that there’s absolutely no reason for this drama –she looks ashamed behind all the tears and the red nose.

-No…i…

-Come on, if you didn’t have an abortion until now, when? You want this baby, and don’t have a real problem with me…because I didn’t give you any single reason…ever

-Do you really want someone like me to be the mother of your child? –someone with an unclear goal, who flips sides all the time, who doesn’t like the idea of being a mother again

-This isn’t about me! –Arthur pointed at her with a sarcastic smile, cornering her in her own trap- I don’t get why five months later we keep discussing the same thing but yes! I do! For god sake I do!...-he stay in silence, looking at his sad dog face thinking carefully before talking- listen to me…I been working really hard…this half year…due to the results and achievements we both –he pointed at himself and her- had…I been promoted…

-You are already elder what biggest promotion would you need? –she was confused, still sobbing.

-I been talking and negotiate with other elders in California…contacting them back, they recognize my authority over Lyons…is not just my soldiers, my followers like they used to call them…I don’t have a cult…they recognize mine as a chapter of the brotherhood with no doubt…im no longer on Lyons shadow.

God. Nora close his eyes, its true, Arthur have his own problems too, and never take the time to think on them. Be at his side.

-And? –she moved close to him, taking his hands, feeling awful about never care about him, its true, she place all her drama in his shoulders and never care about his problems, her own hands tremble but this is the minimum she can do about it, even if it was useless and one attempt to feel herself better.

-We can go Nora, we can go away –he look at their hands together.

-I don’t get it.

-We can travel away from the Commonwealth, settle in somewhere else –she shook her head to the sides.

-What?

-You have horrible memories and experiences of this place, this land, lets go away, make new ones, the three of us…

-Can we do that? –Nora was so confused

-Yes! I have everything prepared…im just waiting for you…for our son…

She loose his hands, but Arthur put his on her shoulders, moving her head with his to look into her eyes.

-I…I don’t know…I have so many things here…

-This place only give you suffering the more you are here, lets go away from this memory’s, make some new ones with me and our child

Her breathing accelerates, a lot.

-I don’t think I can

-Nora it’s a chance for us

-But what about the minutemens…

-You can pass the power so someonelse, forget it, you are a sentinel you can work anywhere

-What do you mean

-I want us to be happy together

-I was happy before the baby! –she screamed, pulling away from his grip walking around the house nonononononono

-You weren’t happy before –Arthur follow her.

-Maybe –again, she grabbed the sides of her head.

-We can be all happy together, away from the horrors of the commonwealth

-I don’t know I have so many things to do…-Arthur place his palms in her cheeks, making her look into his blue eyes, she melted into that gaze.

-Im here just waiting for you Nora, I not leaving without you…but we can heal together away from this place

-The wastelands horrors are everywhere…my malnourished slim little kid –oh gosh she remembers

-They are, but together we are stronger…-her eyes fill with tears and Arthur hug her, pulling her against her chest, kissing on her head while she sobbed.

-I have to think of it…-why?- there’s so much im leaving behind

-You made a manual in case of death, what more do you need? Consider yourself dead and come with me, in case you died for any reason somebody else have to take your place anyway…

-Well I prefer you to have my caps ally…-true, logically true

-This door is open for us, only together, you told me a lot of times you wanted to travel away from the Commonwealth, this is not your old home anymore

-I don’t know if I will fit good as a mom no matter the place

-Im also becoming a dad –she look up at him, taking a breath, closing her eyes before hiding her face on her neck

-I have to think on it

Well

She didn’t say no but…that wasn’t a yes…and knowing her…she was saying no for sure. She didn’t want to follow him into the wastelands.

Arthur separate, and place a hand on her belly, it was the biggest he had seen until now and he believes…it was going to be the biggest he see forever…He feared not seeing her again for some reason stiching in the back of his neck and it didn’t feel like a common fear.

He took a long breath, look up trying to hold the tears, not wanting to take out his hand from there. He feared not being able to touch there again.

-Nora please

-I just have some things to do…

-I love you –he said out from the heart, but he knew that wouldn’t break her, wouldn’t reach her…

-I love you too

Not really, both stop loving each other with the same intensity as before. And that break Nora and Arthur hearts.

-Does it move? The baby –the question take Nora by surprise- its five month your exams are good you should feel something

-You have no idea –what does that mean? – it hits hard for only being five months…

-You are big –maybe too big for five months only, but he never see a full healthy pregnancy before, always on sick and malnourished womans. Nora put his hands over her belly, pressing them down over the leather of the vault suit

-Maybe too big for any suit

-Don’t worry, I can get as many comfortable clothes you need

-Ill give you an answer later…-that was a no, Arthur give up for today with grief, he move his hands away separating but the second before pulling…he swear he felt something against his palm.

-You know ill be waiting…im not leaving without any of you

-I know…

The elder will leave that day with the feeling on his palm of…something pressing hard against it…and the round sensation of her warm belly.

He took the ventibird at the Red Rocket station with the paladin and the soldiers waiting for him back to the Prydwen, the whole journey he would think on his pregnant woman and his 5 months child moving inside her, really moving. Soldiers can see that the elder was tired, defeated, again, today wasn’t a victory for him, the sentinel was being too rough and difficult to seduce.

That day Arthur decided that if she was going to stay at Sanctuary working unable to convince her, he would infiltrate an spy between the minutemens lines, not for anything more than just watch her and inform about her everyday and well being

He needed to be in some form…present…for her and their son if she didn’t allow it.

But he wouldn’t use a soldier from his own forces, he asked the other elders for an external intelligence soldier to come to the Commonwealth for a secret mission, not because his were unable but they all know Nora and had connections to her, maybe someone loyal to her and her triumphs will snitch on him. I mean if the elder ask you on a mission it was important if course but there may be some friendships or closeness involved since she was such an important soldier from so long, she started from initiate and had a big link…to Danse…one of the most popular and beloved Paladins…even if his name faded in time because his anti-synth campaign did good results.

Maybe it wasn’t moral, but he wanted to know what was up with his family, she didn’t want him close because of her own traumas and honestly he can’t travel everyday and mobilize a group to protect him, he had duties and responsibilities to do. Maybe she had hers to, he wouldn’t deny that, but clearly…their thing was dying, she didn’t want him close. He offer everything.

The only single thing he didn’t offer was to end up the pregnancy, and even if he offer it not only now it was too late he doubted it would improve something.

Maybe the baby really change the things, as it was expected of course it would change things…but he wished for things to get only better and they didn’t. He puts too much confidence in this relationship. It break his heart having this realizations but…It would be foolish to continue complaining after 5 months. That’s it. Its over.

He kick the table in his quarters with a small kick, but still one of the bottles of vodka fell, not spill…looking at the transparent bottle make him realize how much passed since he stopped drinking…before Nora he drink at least one shoot a day, and now this bottle was in the table as decoration mostly since year and half…

Maybe he needed a drink today.

The spy was introduced two weeks later in Sanctuary, as a citizen of the Commonwealth who came to work and live from the radio transmissions.

For an entire month he followed Nora and Maccready from the shadows, giving weekly reports to the elder of this chapter and everything seem…normal…apparently she gives directions and orders only, organizes patrols and logistics. She doesn’t eat in the communal dinners. Wakes up early to do…small labor, like cleaning the streets and moving the cattle, lately they were fencing the surroundings of the “isle” that is Sanctuary.

But she is big, bigger than any pregnant woman that the spy have ever seen for her time, it couldn’t be a thing of prewar genes.

Maccready was around, and specifically says in the report, around enough to not bother and not be noticed. It was almost like he was the spy of Maccready and Maccready was the sentinel spy. The spy suspected that Maccready had a slightly idea of what he was doing here, but not his identity.

Should he warn Maccready? Or it would be too much? Two spys over a single person…

Nah, he didn’t need to know that much.

Two weeks later. Nora ambushed the spy against a wall and put a knife on his neck.

Not using force by any methods, just corner him walking around in one garden, walking at his side was enough for her to push him lightly against a wall and since the spy knew that she was the pregnant mother of elder Maxson child he wouldn’t do anything to defend himself to not causa an accident.

Nora had the card of being the general of this place, almost like Hancock in Goodneighbord, she can do…a lot of questionable stuff that usually would be excused as something she does to protect Sanctuary, so pushing and menacing a settler against a wall…was something nobody would question at all. She had a good enough image so this wouldn’t bother at all.

-Let me go! –say the spy, not actually scared about the knife on his neck, acting to not break character.

-You think I wouldn’t notice eventually an spy in my home? –she said spitting in his face, taking another knife out of…he couldn’t really know where but Nora take lessons from Hancock on how to be a good mayor- so, who send you? I think I was in good terms with the railroad

-Im not an spy!

-Drop the act dumbass, it will make it easy for you

-Please I beg you! –a raider gang maybe? This guy didn’t look that weird

-You know I never had the chance to interrogate someone on court before the bombs dropped…this may be a good practice –she said before giving him a hard punch in the stomach, when the man fell to the ground beated by pain she sat on his back and use both hands and knifes, one under his neck and the other up behind the head. Shit this was no good at all.

-Believe me im not a spy! I swear!

-Not good enough, keep trying

The spy can see from the side of his eyes how people were coming over them, noticing the odd and violent situation happening in the peaceful settlement, damn if more people joined this would be more and more dangerous for him.

-You are making a mistake general!

-Maccready, give me a hand over here, hold his feet

Oh no, not him precisely. Both man exchanged looks and…damn he understand the situation, he understand who he was and what he was doing there.

-If you weren’t pregnant ill already be free! –its true, he can’t harm her, she was carrying the son of the elder, if by any chance she receives any harm that would be his end, better summit and not move a muscle

-You sure buddy? –she asked all cocky

-Just because you are the general doesn’t mean you can do this!

-Nora –Robert call her securing the man ankles, she look at him with a bit of effort due to keeping the concentration on her prey –we need to talk

-What? –she said getting off the spy with her legs to knee in the ground next to him, still with the knifes on his neck, loosing a bit of control cutting slighy the flesh making the spy jump a bit when Maccready come close to whisper on her ear his concerns. Whisper whisper whisper…-that fucker –was that an insult to elder Maxson? That will go in the report –you –Nora call him taking the knifes out and kicking the side of his body while Maccready secured his wrist- come with us

This wasn’t an experience she needs as a pregnant woman, less with the belly at this stage but oh well she can still move good without problem

-Let me go! –scream the spy while Maacready make him stand to walk to Noras house, at getting inside Codsworth understand the situation with the strange man and move besides her to protect his pregnant maam.

-Come on, I said that resisting will do it more difficult for you –the raider talk was something that really entertained Nora

-Again! Im not a spy! –Maacready kick him in the calves making the man curl in pain, the mercenary took the chance to sit him down in a chair, not tying him up, standing behind.

-Hey General –call the mercenary to the woman on the other side on the room- do you still have the Throatslicer? –well that name sound intimidating

-Oh yeah, what a great idea –she said with a bright smile, in the moment she leave the room the handy robot behind her pull out a circular saw, just pull it out but when she came back throw something to Maccready in the air –here you go!- and stand against a wall, placing her hands on her belly

-So –said the mercenary catching a rusted knife, just placing it in his shoulder, securing it the grip with his fingers, letting the blade between his neck and shoulder- are you going to make it easy? For you, specially

-I don’t know what more do you need to convince you im not a spy

His brotherhood training didn’t let him fear a hostage situation but this was taking too long to change, I mean he assumed this was a situation it could happened and for a month he did it pretty well but…she is a sentinel, of course this wouldn’t last too much.

-What is a scar or two? –said the mercenary before strabbing him in the right shoulder by the front, taking by surprise the brotherhood spy who tried to stand from the chair but the mercenary wouldn’t let him, pulling him down again in the chair, stabbing him in the left shoulder now- heres goes the second! –the soldier tried to fight and use his arms to defend himself but the wounds there make his grip all weak

-Let me! Im swear im not a spy! –his voice cracked in pain, still in the other side on the room, Nora was watching

-Robert –she called him, the mercenary close his arms around his neck to avoid him from running away –an ear

-You cant be serious –said the spy taking a breath- im not what you think! –the opens on his shoulders were getting hot from the blood coming out

-Do it –she said as the Mister Handy robot leave her side and move closer with the flamer and the circular saw, to menace him to stay in place as the mercenary pull one of his ears and place a knife in the union between the ear and his head- you can talk you know?

-Please don’t! –ok the acting wasn’t working, she wasn’t softening and he was really doing his best to not drop the image of an innocent settler. When the knife started to cut a bit of skin the spy overventilated and surrender-Ill do it! –like a professional, Maccready stopped but move the knife to his neck again, were there was a bit of blood flowing down too.

-Will you talk? –she said getting closer.

-Yes! –oh no the wounds on his shoulders were really really bleeding

-Alright, but the knife stays there –a sadistic smile appeared on her face, the woman take out 2 syringes, one of med-x and another of stimpack from whoever knows were…-see this buddy? Im giving it to ya when we are done

-Im bleeding –his clothes were all wet and the metallic smell from blood was all over the place

-Don’t worry, I don’t have rugs anymore in this house, too much bloodstains to clean

-So who is your boss? –ask the mercenary moving the knife around

The spy didn’t want to talk at all but…

-The brotherhood…

-Weird you don’t recognize him–said Maccready to Nora.

-Odd to me too, doesn’t act and move like an initiate neither, what are you doing in this side of the commonwealth fella?

He didn’t want to talk at all

-Im sure there’s plenty of interesting places around to sneak your noses more than this old neiberhood –mutter the mercenary into the spy ear

-Not if the sentinel is not around –said the spy, Nora look confused at him.

-Me? Why me?

-I believe is pretty big obvious Nora –when Robert said that Nora give a kick to the air and look at the ground

-let me tell you something –said the woman walking slowly towards him- you can still de your work around –Maccready raise an eyebrow confused, the spy too- yeah…you can stay here…-she said with a smile, the spy swallow saliva at seeing that curve- you can even write this conversation in your report –she wasn’t mentioning the elder at all, but it was implied- in fact I want you to specifically communicate this so listen up –the woman knee in front of him looking at his terrified eyes, it wasn’t easy to keep the composure in front of someone with so many raider vibes- you can watch me, follow me, try to sneak into my secrets…but you will fail, one day I will disappear out of nothing and there will be no sight of me at all, I will be out of your sight so youll have nothing to report at all more than your failure, I swear ill make you fail you mission stupid toy

The man swallow again feeling a void in his stomach.

-You will let me around?

-Yeah, you can still do settlement work, live and eat our food –she stand up, looking big and powerful, menacing- are you a brotherhood soldier or a third party?

-A brotherhood soldier –Nora make a sign with the head to Maccready and the man put the knifes down, lifting him up from the chair as she stands back.

-Never see you before –she said as dropping the med-x an the stimpack to the ground, not breaking them, just letting them fall, one of the syringes having a small crack on the sides spilling the content by little drops- you are lucky I don’t let a brother or a sister down, go away sucker

The spy knee down trying to pick up the syringes before the liquid spills on the ground and loose the chance to heal a bit, his arms and shoulders hurts like hell but he was able to move enough to pick the items, as soon he got them between his fingers doing that regrettable show the mercenary pull the neck of his coat and use the force to take him out of the house as Nora open the door, throwing him outside like a pile of trash, not caring if he crashed against the floor.

Door was smashed in front of the spy face, who take the chance to inject the stimpack and the med-x in his shoulders, feeling the burning of the cuts in his neck still present

Inside the house Nora pull the hairs at the side of her face, having a burnout of stress.

But she will keep her word.

The spy was still around, walking, working, eating, sleeping, defending the settlement, going on patrols searching for problems nearby…she wouldn’t look at him in the eye, others would direct him but there he was, still around, no one was kicking him. Yes, other settlers were suspicious of his attitudes and manners, because of the show, of course if the general menace you with a knife against a wall and then interrogates you in her house you won’t be seen as well as before by other people specially if they loved her so much but…he was still around.

He will write this to the elder in his report, repeat everyword of her, specially the menaces and comments about him. But after that report others followed, others that will look like more like before the discovers the spy, saying that the days were normal, that she was working around and directing things as usual, not talking to him its true but…just like before…her pregnancy look normal, growing everyday a bit more.

Its like she wanted the spy around.

At 7 month, she will stop using the vault suits to change it for dresses, like a Laundered denim dress, surely because she doesn’t fit anymore in other clothes and they were too tight to move around with her gigant belly…and a Old fisherman's hat, not sure why so ugly but it must be to protect from the sun. Something was odd with that pregnancy, she was too big, really big.

But a week later after that…she keep her word…and disappear…the spy lost track of her for two more entire weeks. She vanished in the air. He would ask around to the people or what they acted like his bosses, not only no one wanted to answer much because it wasn’t really their business to get in trouble because the newbie was asking too much but because they didn’t know either.

He wrote the elder about it, about her dissaparence, how she wasn’t around, she wasn’t working on the settlement but apparently didn’t leave because everybody that would be her companion was around. Even Maccready.

She wasn’t dead, there was no movement if that was the case but everything was still so organized and fine that it couldn’t be, she was directing people from somewhereelse.

The spy started to panic and get dessesperate nonononono he loose his objective, he performed horribly in this mission, the spying was a fiasco, the cover up was a mess…and now the sentinel is gone! His discontent was starting to be visible because of how many people he was asking to get more information about the sentinel whereabouts, so visible that the man that almost cut one of his ears approach him one night, with a letter.

-Give this to elder Maxson –was the only thing the mercenary said to him

The spy delivers the letter to the airport with another soldier connections, not wanting to face the elder Maxson at all, arguing that he wanted to return to the settlement to see some new movement happening.

Maxson open the letter with full frustration knowing the situation from previous reports, she was so slippery to any of his plans.

“Nora is doing fine, healthy according to Curies report” said the letter Maccready read “Ill update you about her status but since she is not going out for a while…”going out? So she was underground? Oh his poor brain was trying to extract and read between lines as many information as possible”Changing, but since she is not my woman I will not look at that��Oh he can understand the meaning of that, still, Nora was barely still his woman at this point ”I don’t think she is ready even at this time, if you send some goods…ill deliver them to her “So the mercenary have access to whenever she was “I try to convince her everyday that she doesn’t have to do this alone, I lost my wife and I don’t think any protection is enough for the ones we love, she would do good in have you at her side, a little extra more of protection” is she the only who don’t see how unnecessary this is? Apparently she doesn’t bad mouth of him at all, if this letter was truly written with sincerity of course”Since I don’t have as many time as before ill leave you the details of my payment in the dorso of this letter, as you see and heard im doing fine my part of protecting her” of course, this man was working for his son Duncan “You are going to receive more letters from me, she is at the end stage and you deserve to be informed as well” oh gosh she really was the problem everybody understand him so well “Dunkan wasn’t fond of your offer and I wasn’t fond of leaving him again after being separated, I know you will take care of your son well as I do with mine, anyway, Nora doesn’t know about this letters, doesn’t have a way to, so ill keep informing you how things are going”

Arthur look at the back and there was drawings and instructions of apparently a place to leave the payment in caps secured until he has time to look them again, of course he wouldn’t have time if he has to be around Noras side.

It was useless to keep searching more hidden things in this letter content, it was pretty clear, I mean clean and vague because it doesn’t say much but there was no seconds intentions at least from a man that wasn’t as smart as her, Maccready was just an ignorant mercenary, doesn’t have the capability to write something more deep or do more than just…killing…performing his job…

So…she was…fine…

And changing…

Arthur prepared a package of things she left behind here in the Prydwen, at some point in their relationship she became comfortable enough to bring a few of her most beloved possessions to his quarters thinking it was their forever spot, new and beautiful dresses, clothes of all kind, magazines, books, hair products…she surely needed them since well its difficult to find this odds in the commonwealth.

By making this items go he was…letting an important part of their past together go to…separate…

But she needed them, his son would need clean sheets and blankets too, so he prepared a package to send…

Clothes and underwear for her, towels, infant clothes and a pacifier for their child he asked from the California chapters, clean sheets and blankets, a bottle for babys milk…even if he wanted to hold it feeding his child…he let that thought go away, didn’t need it right now doesn’t know how things are going to develop once the baby is born, he was living day by thay this tortuous situation…wiping sheets, soap, shampoo, purified water cans, cloth diapers for change as underwear for the baby…

Food he supposed she has…wasn’t going to fill space on things she wouldn’t eat…

Meds supply like rags, cotton, alcohol, clean surgery items, pillows, antibiotics…

Arthur was letting some of her things go away from his quarters with all the pain in the word, hating everysecond, but he do this for his child, now his child was the most important thing in the world. If the zeppelin by some reason exploded, he would run away to look after his child immediately.

The package will be delivered to Sanctuary directly…and hopefully if Maccready gives the goods to Nora, his spy will be able to locate her again. Hopefully.

A last pair of gifts for Nora were placed in the package, this feels like a coffin to their relationship, but she was the mother of his child and she would surely appreciate it, she was giving him something important, something she apparently never wanted but…do it for him. As she said, this was her solution.

At vault 111 Nora open the package that Maccready and Preston sneak in secret in the middle of a cold night with guards around securing the perimeter, knowing there was spys of the brotherhood nearby, being the most careful as possible to not snitch the general secret private quarters in Sanctuary…this will be her private spot for the last days of the pregnancy. She secured herself with Codsworth and Curie as her only company, but if Maccready and Preston were careful…they can be around sometimes, a few, maybe once a week.

Inside the package there was a box with supply’s and…it was surrounded by bloomed roses, open, bright red with a with a beautiful aroma of roses that enveloped Nora as soon as she opened the package seeing that spectacle took her breath away but the fresh watermelon that was among the provisions made her eyes water.

Gosh she never wanted things to end this way.

#makahimefanfic #fallout 4 #elder maxson #sole survivor #arthur maxson

2 notes · View notes

zgvlt · 3 years ago

Text

launch our love jade leech x reader

summary: You and Jade send out your wedding invitations. (Almost) nobody knew you two were dating in the first place

author's note: written for a discord server event! bc june is wedding szn. and also because i realized i needed more silly (and domestic) jade in my life. this is sillier than most of my writings bc i wrote it to destress from my finals hehe

tags: gender neutral reader, sfw, fluff, established relationship, marriage, weddings, some cursing, 6.7k+ words, not beta read

you can also read this on AO3

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM (CAUSED BY YOU AND JADE)

“Jade, you’re smiling. Is something funny?”

“Aren’t I always smiling, my dear?”

“Not always, not with your teeth.” So you said, but weren’t you the one baring your teeth at him right now? “You’re amused by something. Care to share?”

Maybe Jade didn’t seem like the type, but he loved jokes—stupid jokes, and even funny things that weren’t actually jokes. He just liked being able to laugh at something, someone, and oh, he was going to have the biggest laugh of his twenty something years of life—both on land and in sea.

In fact, he might have been laughing right now just at the very thought of the situation.

“Perhaps I’m just happy?” he mused, knowing for certain that you didn’t buy it. You knew him too well, for too long—sometimes he still found himself thinking just how odd it was for the two of you to have gotten so close, but it certainly made things more interesting, didn’t it? It would be difficult to imagine how he’d be living his life now if you weren’t by his side. “You bring me happiness. Is that so unbelievable?”

“No, but isn’t it weird that years ago I would have thought your words were some ploy to tease me, or make fun of my feelings for you?” you said, a laugh escaping your lips. “I can’t believe I fell for you first. So cringe of me, honestly.”

“Yes, but I had been the one to ask you out first,” he reminded you, clicking his tongue in the process, “really, you made your feelings so obvious but you simply wouldn’t do anything. Did you ever feel bad for me, poor Jade Leech who knew nothing about human romance customs, having to do all the hard work in courting you?”

“Yes, and in my pity I stayed with you for eight years,” you deadpanned, clearly enjoying the joke as much as he was. That was something about you he’d always loved—you always got a chuckle out of him, not merely from your words, but even your mannerisms and willingness to just go along with whatever he was saying, inserting your own quips as well. “And will continue to for even more years than that.”

“My love is so gracious,” he praised, clearly teasing but voice laced with unmistakable affection, “if this is what it feels to be pitied by you, then I’ll simply have to have your pity all to myself, hmm?”

“You…”

Jade really couldn’t help himself then, laughing as you were torn between letting him know he was being infuriating, or saying something terribly sappy yourself.

“I still don’t believe you, by the way,” you said, returning back to the original topic of conversation, “but I think I know why you’re so excited now. It has to do with the invites we sent out earlier this morning, doesn’t it?”

“Heheh. I might be losing my touch if it’s that obvious,” he replied, both of you knowing it had more to do with you than him.

The invites. They were pretty things—pearl white envelopes with intricate calligraphy at the very center, something formal to fit both Jade’s disposition and the event, but the design of the letter inside clearly had your touch. He actually still had a few unsent ones himself, ones he would deliver himself once he returned to the Coral Sea.

Save the best for last, of course.

“You think any of them would have gotten it by now?” He responded to your question with a smile that showed his teeth, he was certain of it this time. Oh, he was more than sure at least one person would have gotten it, received by the ones that lived closer, already opened by the ones a little less busier, and he was elated in anticipation of their responses. “Judging by the look on your face, that’s a yes. Should I mute my phone?”

“Absolutely not,” he replied immediately, and then added for good measure, “additionally, could you make sure every call is on speaker phone?”

As though simply waiting for his cue, your phone began to ring, and Jade had no doubts someone had already read the invite and was more than ready to make a complaint, or ask for an explanation, or both.

“Is it–” he looked over your shoulder to read the caller ID– “ah, I was wondering which one of the two. Go on and answer. I’ll just be here, listening attentively.”

“Fine, fine, but get ready. Once this call ends we’re clearly going to get them non-stop, either from your phone or mine.” You took a deep breath, as if to prepare yourself for your impending doom, before pressing the answer button.

THE CALL WHERE HIS SIGNIFICANT OTHER GETS CURSED AT (AND HE LETS IT HAPPEN)

“You fucking fuck,” Ace said, slowly and almost threateningly, and Jade almost let out a huff of laughter at that alone. Only almost, for he had wanted to stay silent for a little longer just to hear what either one of you would talk about. “I raised and looked after you for over three years–”

“Now who’s doing the raising in the group, you say? If not me, it’s obviously–”

“Shut up! I need to tell you how disappointedI am!”

Jade threw you a look and you only shrugged. Ace always seemed like the annoying older brother type of friend, but was he actually some secret mother hen type? He always pictured that role for… essentially every other close friend you had, but he supposed distance could bring the fretting out of anyone.

“As I was saying, you know how much I L-word you, you little shit, but what is this behavior? Is this how you repay me?” On second thought, this was annoying older brother behavior. “How could you do this to your best friend—no, absolutely no oh, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Ortho, Sebek, is my blah blah now! Betrayal! One second I have Jade’s contact name renamed to your TOTGA, next second you’re getting married to him?”

At Ace’s exclamation Jade allowed himself to unstifle his laughter, slapping his thigh with the free hand, the one not attached to the arm that was draped around your own laughter-induced quivering shoulders.

“TOTGA?”

“The One That Got Away. Coined by Cater, but Ace found it too funny so it stuck as an inside joke about… well, obviously about you,” you explained, near groaning at the reminder, “basically, Ace thinks you were incapable of returning my feelings.”

“Hey, I never said that! I just said you were too much of a wuss to actually do anything. You cried when he became a fourth year, remember? Ace… I want to see Jade, huhu. I’m so sadddd, wah wah wah, wah, wah.”

“What a subpar impersonation. I wish I was there to witness it myself.” It was a little hard to shake off the image in his head once Ace got it in there—he hated seeing you upset of course, but you crying because you missed him? That would have certainly been a cute sight. He wondered if Ace or one of your other friends had managed to have that, or any other similar event, recorded on video.

He’s not quite Azul but he’s made his fair share of deals, too.

“And for your information, Ace, you might like to know that it was I who made the first move, so you would be right about your assumptions.”

“Thank you for your service. My dear friend would have stayed single, still living in the college, doing nothing but taking care of Grim until the ripe old age of a hundred and one otherwise,” Ace might have sounded like he had significantly calmed down, but you seemed to know better.

Ace was never particular about the respect for seniority, and while some parts of him had already matured, according to you that is, some parts were bound to stay the same.

“But also, I just know you’re part of the reason why I never found out the two of you got in a relationship in the first place! So what was the reason? A prank?”

“Of course not. What kind of man would have a joke run for as long as eight years?” Jade said, pretending he wasn’t that type of man. Honestly speaking, he really never intended it to be secret or anything. Azul and Floyd knew because it was impossible to hide things from either one—the latter being his brother, the other being your supplier of potions in your earlier years of visiting him and his family.

It just so happened that with a strange set of circumstances it would appear you never got the chance to tell anyone, he was too private a person to share the more intimate details of his life, and the two of you decided to just stick with it for as long as either one of you didn’t get caught.

“Okay, fine, I know why Jade wouldn’t say anything… but you, don’t think I have forgotten about you. Actually, shit, I’m tired of shouting. Give me a sec.”

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Giving the phone to our favorite Deucey-Weucey. Nice going with the invites by the way—flying envelope followed me around in the middle of the street until I opened it. I thought my unpaid taxes were haunting me!”

Ah, yes, the wonderful flying tracker envelopes. Jade had paid good money for those—for convenience, else it would have been too difficult sending formal, non-digital invites to everyone all across the land, but he would not deny that the idea of an envelope hunting and chasing down your mutual friends was fun to imagine.

“You were shouting that loud in public? Also… are you joking? Ace, pay your taxes?”

“Pass. Oh, and don’t tell Deuce I said that, by the way. He’s freaking out more than me—he’s been spamming me with texts because I got to call you first—and we don’t need the policeman to freak out even more because of my inability to be a law-abiding citizen. He just finished his shift, too! … Yo, Deuce! Guess who I’m on the phone with—Oi! At least ask before–”

“First of all, congratulations,” a different voice came out of the phone speaker this time, a little gentler and kinder but clearly holding back. Ah, Jade thought to himself, here was the other one he was waiting on for your end. “Bet you Ace didn’t even say that, right?”

“He didn’t,” the two of you replied at the same time, much to the chagrin of the voice whining at an audible distance.

“Oh, hello,” Deuce greeted, oddly politely, “you don’t mind if I shout at your spouse-to-be, right? I’ve been holding back from doing so for about twenty or so minutes now.”

Well, Jade always liked politeness. Why, it reminded him of himself, after all.

“Fufu… go for it,” he said, but honestly you could have been the one to agree to it yourself with the way you readied yourself by pushing the phone slightly further away than when you were talking to Ace. Interesting reaction.

“You can cover your ears, I just need to get this out of my system… WHAT THE HELL? THIS IS WORSE THAN ANY OF ACE’S PRANKS!” Jade had to wonder if that was more compliment or insult. Deuce was less harsh than Ace with his wording, but the tone of voice was more intimidating, a little delinquent-like. You seemed used to it, though, maybe even a little fond and reminiscent.

“We kept comforting you because we… okay fine, Ace, shut up, because I thought you kept getting rejected, but not only have you been together all this time, the two of you are getting married? Also meaning, time had passed since you proposed… or Jade proposed to you?”

“Actually,” Ace interjected, loud enough to be picked up by the microphone, “since when did the two of you get together? This is very important by the way, please answer correctly.”

“Answering correctly… ah, I see what’s going on here,” Jade replied with an amused laugh, “I hope you got the right answer, then. The last week of my third year, so before the summer of yours.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before the two of them began making a ruckus once more.

“Fucking Ortho?! Out of all of us, Ortho gets it right?” Ace bemoaned, “The way we dissed him too for guessing incorrectly. Of course he knew without actually knowing. I mean thank the Seven it wasn’t Sebek or Jack or I would never let myself live it down, and if it was Epel he would never let us live it down, but wow.”

“They made me bet as well, by the way,” you told Jade, “betting on my own love life… or lack of, at the time.”

“And you got it wrong?” he snickered, always happy for something new to tease you about. “Please do tell, when did you think we would get together?”

“Uh… I don’t remember?”

“Never. You said the two of you were never, ever, ever, getting together,” Deuce reminded you, pretending to simply be helpful even though it was obvious he was attempting to get back at you one way or another. Well, it was helpful to Jade, at least. He’s not surprised by the answer, it would have been rather typical considering your mindset back then, but your reaction right now was very adorable.

He had no plans of teasing you about it at this very moment, but he stored that information for another time.

“Wait, I just realized something. You were also crying to us that time, so then… you were crying because–”

“Oh,” you sounded a little bashful, “it was because I thought we wouldn’t be together because… you know, Jade would be out there in some mountain, probably without phone reception, and I would be stuck in NRC, so…”

“...so you didn’t think you two were actually in a relationship,” your statement was finished for you by Deuce, who sounded, and probably looked, exasperated, “and then you two actually were, but you were either still sad about the distance or too embarrassed to tell us you were mistaken that you never told us.”

“Yeah, something like that, and also I kept getting teased about it so as payback I kept holding off telling all of you, until…”

“Until you literally forgot to ever tell us,” Ace groaned, “shit, that’s one long grudge.”

Well, Jade might have had some part to do with you not talking about it after your third year. He was the one who convinced you it’d be fun to let them figure it out for themselves. If they weren’t able to tell while they still got to see you every day, how much harder would it be for them once you all went your separate ways all over Twisted Wonderland?

“Okay, maybe deserved on our end, but I don’t want to take responsibility so fuck you… oh, and congratulations to both of you lovebirds… er, fish?”

THE CALL WHERE HE MESSES WITH SOMEONE (AS USUAL)

You were still in the middle of your call with Ace and Deuce, voice call turned video call as the three of you planned a pre-wedding meet-up with the rest of your friend circle for the purpose of deciding who your best man would be (thankfully not a problem he has to deal with, considering Floyd was the only real choice), when he received a call on his phone.

“Who is it?” you asked, breaking away from the conversation for a few seconds.

“Trey,” he replied, quite normally if he would say so himself, although you must have known better based on the way you were looking at him.

“Don’t stress him out too much, Jade.” He agreed, although he certainly didn’t promise anything. If he was being honest, one of the calls he was anticipating getting was from the bakers’ son. Perhaps because it was interesting seeing the seemingly ordinary people break out of their restraints and say something funny.

“Say hi to Trey for me! Or tell him to call me… not any time for the rest of the day or night, if I’m being honest.”

With that he slinked away from the bedroom to the living room, letting himself relax atop the sofa as he answered the call.

“You know, Jade, most people send in their order forms online these days. Or in person, if they want a taste test first.”

“Oh, do you not want to comment on the invite first? The RSVP is included in the envelope, but you could let me know right now. How many guests do you intend on bringing? You could always bring your siblings—given my being a twin, I’ve always been fond–”

“Jade,” Trey interrupted, already sounding exasperated, “am I really a guest when you’re asking me to make your wedding cake?”

“And the wedding favor pastries as well, if you don’t mind,” Jade supplied, smiling to himself. Good, Trey was reacting exactly how he wanted him to. Sure, he did not doubt the man probably had some degree of surprise regarding his relationship status, but that seemed to be a second thought in the dread of dealing with what would presumably be at least a medium sized order.

“We would appreciate your suggestions as well. Which do you think would be better: cupcakes, quite overused but popular for a reason; small cakes, so we don’t have to go through the hassle of giving away slices of the wedding cake; or something a little less fancy, like cookies or brownies?

“Also, what do you think about the cake itself? How many tiers are the norm for wedding cakes? Why is it that most people go for height when you can go for width and length? What do you think about including mushrooms–”

“Jade, absolutely not. We can add the fake sugary ones if you want, but no real mushrooms,” Trey sounded somewhere in between flabbergasted and disgusted at the suggestion. Now, wasn’t it obvious he was just joking? He wasn’t really going to insist on adding mushrooms in the cake… unless it was actually an unfounded good combination?

“Also, for the love of the Queen, please just go to the bakery for a taste test… ugh, I can’t believe you’re getting married before me. What in Wonderland…”

“Really makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” And because Jade was secure with his sense of humor, he laughed at his own joke. What Jade would give to be able to see the look on his face right now, curious about what sort of face he must have pulled in that dead silence of five seconds. “Oh, and I just thought of something… what do you think about mushroom shaped biscuits as wedding favors?”

THE CALL WHERE YOU GET A PART-TIME WEDDING PLANNER (BUT WHO DOESN’T LOVE FREEBIES?)

You had received a few more calls last night, mostly quick congratulations paired with a “but… have you always been together with Jade? Somehow, I always thought…”

Those people never pried too much, likely to save themselves from the potential embarrassment of having forgotten such an important detail about a friend, maybe preferring to ask someone else about the details. None of them were too interesting so Jade didn’t mind much.

The real fun continued the very next day. The intended guests seemed to have enough decency to not call past midnight, although he did spot a few 3 a.m. text messages sent to some group chat you happened to be in, so the night was relatively peaceful. Someone, however, seemed to be a particularly early riser, dragging the both of you with him with one notification.

Not a call, just a notification that somehow jolted you awake, your sudden movement waking him as well.

“What–”

“I thought it was for work… I panicked.” Despite the fact that it was very much a weekend, it seemed that it was hard to get rid of habits. “Who else just sends sudden calendar invites to unplanned video calls aside from… oh, this makes sense, actually.”

You suddenly got up from bed and Jade, admittedly still a little sleepily, watched as you tried to fix yourself up—slowly walking to the bathroom as you washed your face, even brushing your teeth. That told Jade he would not be expecting you to head back to sleep despite the fact that the sun had likely risen at most about half an hour ago. If it weren’t for the fact that you were just straightening out your rumpled sleepwear, he would have thought you had planned on going out.

“Already so energetic in the morning,” Jade commented. For a busy man like him, he quite liked getting to sleep in whenever he could with his beloved at his side, but he was just as content watching you in the early hours of the day. Seeing you go about your morning, yes, but more so waking up in the same room as you, something that would become more common once the two of you got married.

He had always missed mornings with you whenever he was under the sea instead of by your side.

“Jade, do I look presentable?” you suddenly asked, plopping back down on the bed, lowering your head to lock eyes with him. He’s not quite sure what you’re expecting out of him considering the biased lens he views you in.

“You know my heart is aflutter whenever I see you,” he answered, not dishonest in the slightest but always worded in a way he knew you would like, “my darling is as beautiful as usual, brilliant and timeless like the most precious pearl.”

“And that’s not what I was asking. Presentable is different from beautiful.” Still, you looked appreciative of his praise, allowing yourself to accept it instead of turning it down, and really, that’s the reception Jade likes the most from you. “Oh well. Vil will probably understand anyway.”

Oh? He knew you and Vil kept in touch even after his graduation, but among his list of people who he thought would contact you next, he had not considered someone as busy as Vil Schoenheit to be next. Not that he had any plans of going back to sleep when you were already awake, but now he was more enthused to listen in—intrigued in all matters that had to do with you, and he supposed because it had to do with him, as well.

He doesn’t even have to tell you—you put it on speaker immediately.

“You know, most people these days try to soft launch their relationships on MagiCam, but you did not even do a normal hard launch, no, you went all the way with a wedding announcement. Do you think yourself a celebrity with this kind of secrecy?”

“Ahaha, well–”

“Oh, and before I forget, I’ll be sending you my work schedule. We can’t have you looking like a potato on your wedding day, can we? Do you already have something to wear? If not, I can introduce you to some designers, no need to worry I still remember what styles you like best, and then we can choose which outfit you’ll want to wear best during the ceremony itself, and then the reception—

And we can’t forget about make-up! You–ah, Jade, hello, I just noticed the top of your head peeking near out of frame. I can send you both some palettes that would work best with your skin, the Seven knows I have too much unused make-up from brand deals, and–”

“Vil,” you interrupted suddenly, “not that I don’t appreciate the help, because I do, I mean I haven’t even thought of getting into more comfortable clothes for the reception? But why are you doing so much? Aren’t you busy?”

“I would have to agree. It’s as if you have chosen to take up the task of being our wedding planner.”

“Because it’s bad manners to outdress the newlyweds,” Vil explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world to understand, “so just this once, the both of you have to look better than me. Understood?”

THE CALL WHERE YOU AND A CROW ARGUE ABOUT WHO WALKS DOWN THE AISLE AS YOUR GUARDIAN (SPOILER: IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TREIN)

Jade took over the kitchen most days, for as long as he had the time for it. Not only was he confident in his skills but he enjoyed the act of cooking just as much as getting to show off his skills for you.

And of course, because there was the thrill of letting slip that there was some special secret ingredient that always left you slightly perturbed or excited. Not that there was any most of the time, he just wanted to see if you would keep buying it, and he would eat up the slightest hesitation before you eventually gave in because A) you trusted him and knew deep down he was either playing with you or added something he knew you liked, or B) you just wanted to eat your meal already.

One of those was more romantic than the other.

Regardless, he was cooking for you because you seemed like you needed the energy. While the both of you agreed on wanting to get married soon—considering the two of you lived together and were as domestic as couples could get to the point that it was as if he was already a married man anyway—you seemed to wonder if there was enough time to plan everything that still needed to be planned.

“Of course there will be,” he reassured you, momentarily abandoning the meals he had not finished plating to step closer to you, “we still have four months to go, and I’m here to help you, remember?”

“I know, and I love you even more for it.” You don’t waste a single second after he places his hand atop yours, turning your palm over to interlock fingers properly. That’s another thing Jade adores about you—how easily you can confess and show your feelings for him. “A part of me was just hoping wedding planning would be a little easier than it actually is.”

“I’m sure it’s made easier with magic involved,” Jade said with a laugh, “although ceremonies are much simpler under the sea.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean that kind of preparation.” You seemed to be experiencing some degree of unease, likely at the thought of something. “More so… people.”

Jade smiled. Close-lipped.

“If there’s anyone being a bother, or being troublesome–”

“Jade, no,” you interrupted quickly, as if suddenly fearing for the lives of several people. “Not like that. I received an email from Professor Crewel a while ago. Apparently our wedding has become a hot topic in the staff room.”

He blinked, pretending to be surprised.

“Oh my, now why would that be?”

You need not answer that question, not when it was so obvious. You had wormed your way into their hearts in the span of four years, perhaps even more considering how often you visited for the sake of Grim, and now they were attached to ex-Ramshackle Prefect, current pseudo-NRC staff.

(Neither of you were really sure if beast caretaker was a real position considering Crowley had yet to house any beasts beyond Grim, but you liked the allowance and the ability to come and get your cat-not-cat whenever you wanted.)

“I don’t know,” you sighed, legitimately looking a little confused, “but Professor Crewel… he offered to help with the clothes, but I said Vil was already doing that, so instead he said he’d send over some gifts. I mean I expect that on the ceremony day itself, but not months before?”

“May I ask… did you happen to have a favorite professor?” Because it was easy to tell why one of them was buttering you up so suddenly, although he was a tad unsure if it would be for naught. Perhaps you already had someone in mind.

Before you could answer, a song he could not recall having heard before rang out in the room. It was, for a lack of a better term, the type of tune that would be catchy at first until it inevitably became the most annoying sound in existence. Earworm might have been the word for it.

“Ah, Crowley is calling. I forgot that was the ringtone I set for him,” you said, as if that was enough to explain everything.

It was.

“Headmaster–”

“My child, who has grown up so fast to the point of finally getting married.” You exchanged looks with Jade, and while he was evidently more amused than you, he understood the incoming headache. Crowley himself was the incoming headache. “I would just like to remind you that this most generous, gracious, giving headmaster of yours is also your guardian by law, yes?”

As much of a secretive man the headmaster could be, now was certainly not one of those times, and the realization of what your old professors were up to had dawned on you.

“Professor Crewel’s quite generous as well,” you said, “you know, he offered to buy me a few things for the wedding”. It was as if you were pretending to be deep in thought, when in reality you were baiting the crow into either telling you what he wanted outright, or at least offering you something a stingy man like him normally wouldn’t.

Then again, Jade was just a little concerned that even if Crowley did get you something, it would come from NRC’s budget. None of his business, but there was the probability of you feeling guilty over that.

“What, so are you choosing Divus then?”

“Who said I would be choosing Professor Crewel?”

Truthfully Jade did think that, among the whole staff, Headmaster Crowley or Professor Crewel would have been the best choices to take the position of your guardian down the aisle, but perhaps that was merely his impression of who would most want to be in that position as opposed to who you would want.

“See, I was just thinking of having Grim stroll down the aisle considering he’s the closest I have to family, but Jade and I have been talking about whether he should be a flower boy or the ring bearer.”

Yes, that much was true, and while a basket would have been heavy he was partial to flower boy simply because it would be funny to watch him throw petals around the beach, accidentally having his paws sink in the sand, but he could not say that or else be accused of bullying your beloved beast by you.

“So since it can’t be Grim… since he looks after Grim when I can’t, I thought Professor Trein–”

“Absolutely not!” You had ruffled the feathers of the headmaster with one utterance of a name, as though you and the senior professor had personally offended him. With how dramatic he used to be, and seemingly still is, it was very likely he felt that way, Jade thought. “Trein has already walked down the aisle for SO many weddings! This is incredibly unfair for the childless like me.”

“Isn’t Professor Crewel in the exact same situation?”

“No, he has his puppies. That makes him a father. Meanwhile there’s me. I am alone and childless and you are the closest thing I have to a child, will you deprive me of the opportunity to flaunt–ahem, to show my support for the marriage of two very wonderful NRC alumni?”

“Wow,” Jade said, almost in disbelief at such a poor excuse, “that sounded very convincing and not at all falsified. I might ask you to replace my father at this point.”

THE ONE WHERE SOMEONE STRESSES ABOUT HIS WEDDING MORE THAN HIS FAMILY (AND HIM)

Jade had expected that his brother would momentarily make a fuss, that his twin would be filled to the brim with excitement while complaining about how the wedding date was too far and how he should have it sooner.

He also anticipated his parents' congratulations, their happiness in spite of wanting a ceremony under the sea as well, their wishes that you had visited with him today so that they could spoil you with something extravagant for the occasion.

But Azul? Sure, he had expected some degree of fretting, but the octomer was stressing about the wedding as if he was the one getting married. Dear Sea Witch, if this was how Azul was going to act at being his wedding’s caterer, just how much worse would he fuss if he ever got married?

“You should have told me sooner, Jade!” Azul exclaimed, already grabbing a scroll with one tentacle to jot down estimates—Jade was unsure of the specifics but it figured it must have been the usual: assumed guest count (Azul had not even bothered to ask, somehow he just put a number eerily close to the own estimate you and Jade had in your heads), times and dates, which foods and drinks he’ll likely end up having prepared, even from where best to source ingredients around June, the month of the wedding.

“Ah, Trey’s handling the wedding cake and favors, but not the desserts themselves, so feel free to cancel those two out,” the moray added, stifling a laugh at how cross Azul suddenly looked with him.

“I don’t know if I’m more upset at you going to Trey for that when I’m perfectly capable, or for not telling me before I finished the estimate costing. Do you know how difficult it is to cater for big events?”

“With the amount of experience I’ve had assisting you? Of course I know,” Jade pointed out dryly, “and I know just as well that you are incredibly capable. This is simply a small feat for you, Azul.”

“Most caterers in the industry ask for six to twelve months in leeway preparation time when it comes to reservations.” It was phrased to be informative, but really it sounded like he was being chided. “If you had not come to me, I am certain everyone else would have rejected you. Aren’t you fortunate to have me as a… to have connections to someone as capable as me?”

A part of him still hesitated to call Azul a friend. Perhaps it was a case of old habits dying hard, or just for the sake of either one of their prides, but he would never call Azul a friend to his face. Azul was just Azul, who he and his brother stuck around with since childhood because he was interesting, but–

“And congratulations, Jade. I’m happy for you. Who would have thought you would ever marry,” Azul said, smirking and yet refusing to lock eyes with him. Jade thought he might have been a little teary-eyed, but it was harder to tell underwater. Even if he was sure, he had no plans of making fun of Azul for it, just this once.

Just this once, he might admit to himself that Azul was a friend.

THE ONE WHERE HE SURPRISES EVERYONE ONE LAST TIME (BUT IS THERE EVER REALLY A LAST TIME?)

Jade has long prepared for his speech, has it memorized down to the very last word. Even if he hadn’t, it would be relatively easy to say everything on the spot—discuss how he fell for you, the story of how you two got together, the love he did and does and forever will have for you, and of course, how the two of you managed to keep everything a secret until recently. Still, he prepared for it, mostly because he had one last surprise saved for the very end.

You’re a little teary-eyed near the end, what people thought was the end, of his speech; he thinks he can spot his father crying as well, and he wonders if that’ll stop or worsen by the time he has to give out his speech. Azul’s there, nodding his head in approval and clapping as if he had just finished giving a business presentation instead, while Floyd is cheering and hollering and amazingly, his tie has yet to be fully discarded.

On your end of guests, he can spot a few of your friends be mildly surprised from witnessing how heartwarming he could be when he felt like showing it; Malleus Draconia simply radiating joy from being present, still really odd to know his significant other was friends with a future King; Leona, placed at the table farthest from Malleus’, not looking particularly enthused, almost as if he hadn’t brought an expensive gift in hopes of one-upping his fellow prince (although he was certain Kalim had one-upped them both on accident).

The professors were also there, and he had overheard them (rather, Crowley and Crewel, who you eventually decided both got to represent you down the aisle) arguing amongst themselves earlier about who got to dance with you first.

The answer was him, your groom, quite clearly, and perhaps Floyd will want to steal either him or you away for a little bit.

When the clapping ceases he lets out a most bright grin, then again when was he not genuinely smiling and laughing today, before speaking into the microphone once more.

“Once more, I thank all of you for attending this special day. You have all helped make this a memory-filled day… but before I hand the microphone over to my father, I have an announcement to make.” He turned to look at you, still seated beside him and beaming in approval, even throwing a little thumbs up from beneath the table.

He loved you even more for not only letting him, but encouraging him to have one last hurrah.

“I have heard a lot of complaints regarding how sudden we announced our wedding, or perhaps more appropriate to say our relationship status.” He had received a few chuckles out of that one, but who was Jade if not someone who wanted the last laugh? “We, my beloved and I, understand your complaints, and so we took your feedback, went over it carefully, and decided to do better next time.

“That is to say, you are all invited to our second wedding in the Coral Sea. Same date next year, no dress or tail code this time, fufu…”

He loved it—the commotion it caused, the way his father was weeping a little harder, he did wish for the two of them to have the Coral Sea ceremony; the way Azul was calculating the costs of everything again, now with the included costs of actually having the guests be able to breathe; party animals like his brother, Kalim, and Cater easily anticipating another celebration; Ace, Deuce, and Jack having war flashbacks to what happened the first time they visited the place; and most importantly, your reaction.

You already knew what was coming, but he always loved watching the different expressions bleed into your face, and there was just something about how happy you were at the reminder that you’d get to celebrate your union again, but this time in his culture.

With the microphone safely out of his hands and plopped in front of his father, his lips near your ear. The world may already know, but even then he whispers the words themselves as though they were still a secret—

“I love you.”

“You only love me because chaos always follows me around,” you said, clearly joking. Because he’s him, he returns the favor.

“Oh yes, because I stayed in this relationship for over eight years for a joke. I pity you, my dear.”

“Mhmm, if this is what it feels to be pitied by you, I can’t wait to experience it for the rest of our lives.” He’s unsure of who laughed first, but what does it matter, really?

A few of your fingers slipped underneath his gloved hand, idly writing something against his skin that warmed his heart—your new initials.

“I love you too,” you whispered back, and he smiled because he knew. Beneath the politeness and the jokes, the truth was not something that he had to wrangle out of you, but something easily seen and easily told.

“So… how are we pranking them next?”

masterlist

#twst x reader #jade leech x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #jade leech #twst #twisted wonderland #nathya twst writing

2K notes · View notes

volkswagonblues · 5 years ago

Text

a lil guide to the Fire Nation for the ATLA fic writers out there

(aka. a no means exhaustive primer on east asia by an asian person)

This is a guide for fic writers want to write a canon-era story set in the Fire Nation, or featuring Fire Nation characters. A quick little primer on the tiny details of everyday life that you might not think about, but certainly stuff that would make me, an asian person, wince if I were to encounter it. BRUSHES, not quills. CHOPSTICKS, not forks.

(note #1: this was partly inspired by a chat with @elilim)

(note: #2: I originally intended it for zukka fic writers before realizing that other writers might find it useful. so apologies for a slight Zuko-bias for that reason)

(note #3: this is all stuff i was thinking about when writing firebender’s guide, in case anyone was wondering)

1. CLOTHING

Okay, I think the most straightforward way to describe what everyone’s wearing most of the time is “tunic”. They’re all just...tunics of different colours and varieties. Later when Zuko’s the Fire Lord he wears robes. The show provides a better visual guide than I could, here are a few notes to keep in mind:

a) Japanese people wear their collars LEFT crossed over RIGHT

I don’t think this would come up in writing as much as it would in art, but it’s considered bad luck to do it the wrong way because that’s only for dead people. Let my boy Zuko demonstrate:

b) There are no buttons

This is picky, but Wikipedia says “Functional buttons with buttonholes for fastening or closing clothes appeared first in Germany in the 13th century.[6] They soon became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting garments in 13th- and 14th-century Europe.” I kinda believe it. If you look closely, characters’ clothes are always tied together or wrapped in some way with a belt. If there are fasteners, they’re braided frog closures that go into a little loop, like the qipao-style dresses women wear in Ba Sing Se, or Zuko’s casual prince’s clothes in the topmost image. Anyways, I don’t think Zuko or Azula or the Gaang would technically button or unbutton anything when they’re changing clothes. Clothing is designed to be tied, not buttoned.

[so much more under cut]

c) This isn’t a real rule, but there’s something called koromogae, or the seasonal changing of clothing in Japan.

This is something I learned when I was writing firebender’s guide, and I just liked the fun detail about there being a strict calendar for when to wear something. I liked the idea of someone like Zuko, who actually spent most of his formative years outside of the Fire Nation, coming home and just suffering mutely through the summer heat because upper class etiquette says no changing into cooler clothes until August 15.

From My Asakusa:

And this website:

Generally, people change from thick, heavy, dark-coloured clothes for winter to thin, lighter, bright-coloured clothes for spring and summer. In traditional Japanese culture, particularly in formal settings such as tea ceremony, it is important to acknowledge the changes of seasons—in such circumstances, not only the patterns and colours of the kimono that are worn but also the utensils and furniture that are used are required to change. By changing their clothing, people notice and appreciate the change of seasons. [Japan Foundation]

Here are some visual guides from the official creators for clothes: (notice how it’s pretty much always left over right)

2.FOOD AND EATING

a) Traditional cuisine

It seems like the most common foods in canon are Fire Flakes and meat, to the point where poor Aang had to eat lettuce out of the garbage at some point.

HOWEVER, the Fire Nation seems to basically a big subtropical archipelago, so I would guess that seafood and rice are common. If you want to write about characters eating, a. quick google for “traditional japanese cuisine” would help you come up with a menu really quickly.

Wikipedia says:

The traditional cuisine of Japan, washoku (和食), lit. "Japanese eating" (or kappō (ja:割烹)), is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Seafood is common, often grilled, but also served raw as sashimi or in sushi.

But before we get too serious, at one point the Gaang eats a “smoked sea slug” (Sokka’s Master)

Oh ATLA, never stop being you.

b) Utensils

One thing to keep in mind is chopstick etiquette. Someone like Zuko or Toph, for instance, would have completely internalized all of these.

Another thing is that there are no glasses. Cups and bowls are made of ceramic or clay. Let the Gaang show you:

And another note: characters won’t eat “bread” in the European sense, ie. a baked lump of dough. Steamed buns, yes. Fried pancakes made from batter, yes. Flatbreads, okay I’ll give it a pass. Rice or noodles should be the most common carbs of choice.

3.ETIQUETTE

“In the homeland, we bow to our elders” - angry schoolmistress in The Headband.

Japan Guide has a list of etiquette rules for visiting Japan, which is interesting but not too necessary to read. In general, based on what The Headband tells us, Fire Nation characters would have been raised with a strong nationalist curriculum that values communal contribution over individualist expression. Even someone like Zuko, who openly rebels against that, probably couldn’t help but be affected by it. In general the Fire Nation seems to have an East Asian-ish set of values. It’s patriarchal, all the positions of authority are filled by men; there seems to be a strong emphasis on patriotism; there’s a sense of diffidence and respect towards one’s elders; and finally, there’s an emphasis on “knowing” one’s place in society and fitting into what’s expected of oneself.

I don’t really know how to describe it, but in China and Japan I sometimes feel like there’s rules for everything, and even people born and raised there acknowledge it could be stifling at times. You could go down a rabbit hole researching points of etiquette (for instance, rules on who has to sit where in group dinners...), but to me the most important thing is acknowledging that Fire Nation has a rigid system of etiquette, and also, they’re an imperialist power who’s pretty prejudiced against foreigners. Poor Aang/Kuzon gets called “mannerless colony slob” just for being slow on the bowing action (!!!)

(in firebender’s guide I had a lot of fun imagining the stupid microaggressions Ambassador Sokka has to face in the Fire Nation, so obviously I’m just biased)

4.WRITING AND DESKS

Characters would probably write on paper, with a calligraphy brush. Not quills or pens -- a brush. Technically, old Japanese and Chinese texts should be written top to bottom, right to left, but the show itself doesn’t do this, so I think you’re fine.

One fun thing about traditional calligraphy is that you don’t use bottled ink. You have something called an ink stone, and then you grind your ink yourself by rubbing the ink stone in a special little dish with a bit of water. In my (very few) encounters with this stuff in the calligraphy lessons of my youth, the ink stones can be plain or have beautiful designs on the side. It looks something like this:

ATLA is an East Asian-ish universe, so characters are likely to be kneeling at a table, not sitting. To demonstrate, here’s my boy Sokka doing his famous rainbow at Piandao’s:

and here’s the war chamber meeting when Zuko speaks out against a general’s plans to sacrifice some soldiers:

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS: This is Zuko’s cute little setup when he’s writing his goodbye letter to Mai. In this case he’s writing in a chair and table. It’s possible that some furniture items, like a sitting desk and a bed in a bedframe (not a bedroll or futon) are special royal palace features. Normally in a private setting we see characters sitting on the ground or on a slightly elevated platform with a low table. Maybe Caldera is just different? Or rich people are just different: the Bei Fongs also have a sit-down dining table + chair setup.

(That little rectangular box is his ink dish!!)

5.A NOTE ON GENERAL CULTURE

It’s worth talking about a few general points of East Asian culture. I can’t claim to speak for ALL of Asia, and I don’t think I should. But I do think ATLA fic writers who want to set something in the Fire Nation should take a few moments to at least skim the wiki pages for filial piety and Nihonjinron (literally, "theories/discussions about the Japanese"). There’s a certain...vibe to...asianness... that I’m not sure I can explain without like, a doctorate degree in sociology.

It’s a bit like gender, I guess. There’s no definitive checklist to what is a woman and what is a man, and we can argue that gender is performative, that it’s a construct, but at the end of the day gender is still (tragically) real in the sense that it still shapes people and affects how we walk and talk and dress and think. Nationality is the same. Obviously, the Fire Nation is a made up place in a made up show, but out of respect to the cultures that inspired it, I do think it’s worth familiarizing yourself with some of these cultures’ codes and values.

Also, ahem, if I can direct you to war crimes in the Japan’s colonial empire. Again, worth remembering that the Fire Nation was an imperalist colonizer too.

I might do a continuation of this post and talk through my more abstract takes about Fire Nation culture - Is Zuko an example of filial piety gone right or filial piety gone wrong? Why I think Zuko’s flashbacks are like, at least part teenage melodrama bullshit (the reason is son preference), how someone like Sokka might be treated once he’s openly Water Tribe in the Fire Nation (probably with racism...), specific aspects of asian homophobia and racism, etc. We’ll see.

This is not a definitive guide. Comments and critique welcome.

If you think there’s a factual mistake, PLEASE hop in my asks and let me know. I also think there’s a huge blind spot in ATLA for South and Southeast Asian representation, so I acknowledge that I can’t speak for all Asians, and there is no such thing as a “pan-asian” identity.

If there’s something else you’re curious about, I’m not a historian or anything, but I like research. Ask me and I’ll try to answer the best I can.

And oh, one last thing, this is how I do research when I wrote firebender’s guide, in case anyone’s interested in learning more (LINK)

#Avatar The Last Airbender #zukka #atla fic #my fic #fire nation

3K notes · View notes

dickwheelie · 4 years ago

Text

sooooooo I wrote a sequel to that love entities jmart post that got pretty popular. all you really need to know is that post mag 200 jon becomes a local cryptid and listens to people's stories about encounters with the entities to help unburden them of some of their fear. please enjoy!

_____________

Just inside the entryway of Old Fishmarket Close, hidden just out of sight of the street, there stands a shrine. It is not an old shrine of weathered stone, nor is it carefully crafted with intricate religious symbols, nor is it static, weighed down by years of collected dust. It is in many ways a living shrine; flowers bloom and wilt at its feet, while above it, against the wall of the Close, piles of paper, photographs, and keepsakes are haphazardly stacked and stuck. The shrine seems to breathe as each day passes, as innumerable and unsung hands replace its flowers and let their offerings crawl up its wall like vines.

The shrine is not marked, but everyone who looks for it, in the shadows of the entryway, knows precisely who it is for.

You arrive that day with only a piece of notebook paper in your hand. Upon it is written a short message, and not an uncommon one to see at the shrine: Thank You. A substitute, of sorts, for the flowers and other gifts that people often leave. You, like many others, are not well off, and you hope that a small note can make up for your lack of material offerings.

As you approach the shrine, a gust of wind whistles through the alleyway and rustles the pages plastered across the length of the wall. You’ve brought no adhesive, so you slip the piece of paper partially beneath a bouquet lying on the stone walkway. It’s relatively fresh, so you hope it won’t be moved anytime soon. You’ve no idea who replaces the flowers, but you suspect it’s never the same person twice. The locals all know about the shrine and the person it’s meant for, and they’ve grown protective of them both.

Dozens of other people have had the same idea before you; the ground is littered with short notes of gratitude. Thank you for listening, says one, transcribed in loving calligraphy, the i’s dotted with hearts. Thank You For Finding Me, Whoever You Are, says another. I rely lik yor hat, says one written in crayon. Another says, You’ll probably never read this, but thank you for hearing my story. There must be hundreds of them, and there are more each time you visit.

You had spent the better part of the morning trying to come up with something more eloquent to write, but you’ve never been great with words. Telling the mysterious person your story had been the only time you’d ever felt as though your words matched your thoughts, that what came out of your mouth was exactly how you felt, and that the person you were talking to understood you fully.

You suppose a thank you is better than nothing, and after one last fond look at the shrine, you turn to go.

A footstep that is not your own echoes down the alleyway. You turn, half-alarmed, but relax at once when you see who it is.

You have only ever seen him once before, about a month ago when you told him your story, but he is difficult to forget; his figure tall and thin, his posture horrendous, his features hidden entirely by a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. He stands now at the far end of the alleyway, hands clutched before his hunched torso, giving you the distinct impression he’s staring directly at you.

“Um, hello,” you say, haltingly. You’re not quite sure how to address him, but you figure a polite greeting is universal. You gesture at the shrine. “I don’t have, uh, another story or anything. I was just leaving a note for you.”

His hat tips curiously to the side, and he shuffles forward with his cautious gait, peering closer at the shrine. The dark brim of his hat swivels towards you, as though asking a question.

“The shrine,” you say. “I just left a short note. It’s no big thing, I just—I wanted to leave something.”

The words seem to mean nothing to him. He looks at the shrine, then at you, then back at the shrine. He steps a bit closer to it, and reaches out a long-fingered, gloved hand to touch the petals from a bouquet of daffodils. After the briefest of moments, he pulls away again, hands resuming their wringing.

A thought occurs to you. “Do you . . . do you not know what this is?”

He shakes the hat once.

“This is . . . this is for you,” you say, spreading your arms to encompass the garden on the ground and the sea of pages above. “The flowers, the little trinkets, the thank-you letters—it’s for you. From . . . from all of us, who’ve told you our stories. You’ve helped us so much, we wanted to let you know how much we appreciated it. How grateful we are.”

He doesn’t react, and so you reach out and pick out a card, one that says, Talking to you about how scared I was of the dark made me less afraid of it. I sleep better at night because of what you did for me. Thank you, mysterious stranger. Much love, E.M.

“Here,” you say, handing it to him, and he takes it with a shaky glove. The brim of his hat lowers as he reads. "That’s just one of them. There are loads more just like that.” You survey the pile and pick out another. “This one’s from a kid, thanking you for helping their mom . . . And this one’s just a simple thank you note but they did cover it in glitter glue, so, there’s that . . . And this person wanted you to know that their anxiety improved after talking to you . . .”

He takes note after note from you, reading them all, silent and unexpressive as always, but there’s something in his posture that is unbearably human. Somehow it reminds you of how people stand when they hold a baby chick in their hands.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know,” you say, not unkindly. You’re both sitting on the ground now, amidst the bouquets and piles of thank-yous. “Who else would this all be for?”

As he picks up yet another note, a tremor runs through his body. He raises a gloved hand to the shadows beneath the hat, and you watch as two drops of water stain the page in his hand. His chest convulses as more tears fall, his hand moving under the hat to wipe them away, but they keep coming. Still he makes no sound.

You didn’t know he could cry. You don’t know why you’re surprised; he’s strange, certainly, and perhaps not entirely human . . . but he has heard so many horrible things, and human or not, he deserves a chance to cry.

“Are you—are you okay?” you say, not sure what to do.

The hat nods once, and then shakes.

“I . . . I know it’s probably a lot, all at once,” you say, and you reach out to touch his arm. The movement comes naturally, without much thought; you would have done the same for a friend.

He flinches at your touch, and you immediately pull away, but then he relaxes again, and nods. Tears are still falling from the shadows down onto his coat.

You touch his arm again, gently, and he doesn’t move away. “I’m sorry if it’s overwhelming. But we really are grateful, and you have a bad habit of not accepting thanks. This was one of the only ways we could think to . . . to show you.” You take a deep breath, and gaze into the shadows of where his face might be, doing your best to look him in the eye. “We don’t really know who you are, or why you came here, or why you choose to listen to us. But somehow, we know you mean well. I think everyone who’s told their story knows that, me included. That you’re trying to help us, that you want to do good. And you do. We . . . we want you to know that you’ve done good.”

His chest rises and falls shakily, and though he still makes no sound you swear you can hear a sob. He reaches out and grasps your arm in turn, and suddenly you realize what he needs.

“Can I give you a hug?” you ask.

The hat nods, again and again, and you open your arms, and he falls forward. You would have done the same for a friend.

You almost expect the hug to be gentle, but it is not; it is tight and desperate, and feels so human you do not think twice about hugging him back just as tightly. He is not terribly warm, but you can feel a heart beating beneath his coat. A few tears fall on the back of your jacket. You know that if you just looked up, you would be able to see his face beneath the hat, but you keep your eyes shut tight.

When you move apart, a few moments later, he seems a little more composed, and no more tears fall from beneath the hat. He straightens his back a bit, growing taller even in a sitting position, and you can see just the barest hint of a mouth, which is smiling a delicate, wobbly sort of smile. He brings a gloved hand up to his chin, placing his fingertips against it, and moves them towards you, once, twice.

You are by no means fluent in sign language, but you recognize the sign for Thank you when you see it.

You smile back at him. “You’re welcome,” you say.

He looks back at the shrine, at the piles and piles of notes he has yet to read. You watch as he picks up a handful more, seemingly at random, shuffling them in his hands and pressing them close to his chest. After a pause, he reaches out and slowly picks up one of the bouquets, overflowing with small blue flowers. You’re not entirely sure, but you think they might be forget-me-nots. He pulls a single flower from the bunch and tucks it, carefully, into the collar of his coat, as though for safekeeping.

He nods once, satisfactorily, and stands slowly, giving a small bow in your direction before he turns and shuffles back down the alleyway, the bushel of blue flowers peeking over his shoulder, rustling in the breeze.

Just before he is swallowed by the shadows at the far end of the Close, you call out, “Thank you! Again. For . . . for everything.”

It’s certainly just a trick of the light, but when he turns back to look at you, just before the shadows overtake him, you swear you can see the light catch on a single, twinkling eye, crinkled in one corner by what must be a smile.

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #gwyneth writes

480 notes · View notes

robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

Text

Beautifully Spent

aka Five Times Lan Qiren Left The Lan Sect Behind

- Chapter 2 -

A/N: As a note, each of these chapters is a separate story with a different point of divergence from canon timeline.

When Lan Wangji was six years old, and Lan Xichen nine, their mother died, breaking their hearts. Even Lan Qiren, who had never liked He Kexin and might have even hated her for having ruined all his dreams of travel, felt her absence keenly – he kept thinking of her at odd times, a matter of irrepressible habit. I should tell her about this next week, he would think as he watched his nephews accomplish something, or, upon receiving an offer to go night-hunting, We can’t go because we wouldn’t be able to make it back in time for the monthly visit, and then he’d abruptly remember she was dead and there would be no more monthly visits.

One time, sitting and watching Lan Wangji carefully practice his calligraphy during the time that would normally have been their monthly visit, he even found himself inexplicably wiping tears out of his eyes. It had been a struggle, but they’d finally gotten Lan Wangji to stop going to her door, ignoring snow and chill to wait there as if simply willing it would allow the door to open again, but he remained overly quiet, even quieter than he’d been before, the loss hurting him deeply, and seeing him hurt had hurt Lan Qiren. He tried to be subtle about it, to hide his abrupt display of emotionality, but before he knew it, Lan Wangji had come over to stand by his side, his little hands holding his own, earnestly mumbling, “Don’t cry, shufu, it’ll be all right” in an echo of what Lan Qiren had been trying so ineffectually to say to him.

“Yes,” he said, wiping harder, and ultimately giving up entirely and letting the tears stream down his cheeks, hiding his face entirely behind one of his sleeves. Lan Xichen found them at some point and curled up into Lan Qiren’s other side, tears starting to slowly seep down his own face; trying to hold back their strange shared grief was like trying to stop the tide. “It will be all right, eventually. I promise.”

He had made that promise too soon, it seemed: less than a week later, one of the elders remarked that it was time for Lan Xichen to take up some of the duties of running a sect.

“What?” Lan Qiren asked, blinking. “You’re joking. He’s nine.”

“He’s the future sect leader,” the elder said, and his gaze was cold. “Never forget, Teacher Lan, that although you fill the role now, you are only a custodian in his name.”

“That’s not the point I was making,” Lan Qiren said, frustrated; he had never been very good with words or with people. “Of course he will inherit the position, given time. But he is not even old enough for his own sword, and years away from night-hunting – why would you burden him with sect business? He’s far too young.”

“He is at exactly the right age to begin. How else can we ensure that he will not fall into the failings of his father or the crimes of his mother?”

“He is a child,” Lan Qiren stressed, wondering what he was missing. “We can only teach him to the best of our abilities, and hope that he does well with it; there’s nothing else that can be done.”

The elder shook his head. “We cannot take the risk of another generation of disaster. He must be trained, and trained now, trained well. If we do not take action, it may be too late, and he will be ruined.”

As you were, he didn’t say, but Lan Qiren felt keenly the burn of humiliation. He had never lived up to their expectations the way his brother had, and then his brother had gone and failed them all, too.

“What exactly are you thinking?” he asked, trying to dismiss the feeling of foreboding in his belly. An introduction to the burdens Lan Xichen would eventually face would not be so far amiss – a shichen a week of helping to transcribe simple letters, perhaps, or running errands, the sort of thing a boy could do and not be bored; that wouldn’t be too bad.

That wasn’t what they had in mind at all.

They wanted Lan Xichen to start tackling political problems at once, forcing him to make real decisions, deal with paperwork, and then also three times the usual lessons in sword and music, all the skills he would need to have. And all this, of course, on top of his regular lessons –

“We can assist, of course,” one of the elders said to the others, ignoring Lan Qiren’s aghast expression entirely. “But the sooner he grows accustomed to the work, the sooner he can step up –”

“You’ll crush him!” Lan Qiren exclaimed, interrupting, and he never interrupted the elders. “He’s a child, and a child who just lost his mother at that – how can you even suggest this? He would have no time to study in depth rather than shallowly, no time to think, to become his own person –”

“We will polish him into a perfect jade,” an elder said. “Him, and the younger one, too. What more do they need than to be of service to the sect?”

It wasn’t that Lan Qiren disagreed that service to their sect was the highest good, or that scholarly and martial pursuits were of the highest caliber, far more important than aimless play. He was a teacher, a strict one, and the sect rules accorded with his understanding: Learning comes first. But at the same time, there was learning and then there was learning – he was a teacher who cared for his students’ well-being, too. He knew that the approach proposed would not polish Lan Xichen into a jade but mold him instead, brutally pruning away any part of him that did not accord with the elders’ wishes.

It was just what they’d done to Lan Qiren the moment he became acting sect leader, after all.

They’d loaded him up with responsibilities until he’d nearly worked himself sick, refused to grant him the slightest freedom to travel even in a small and supervised manner, and they’d tried to force him to recant even those few things he did enjoy – composing music, teaching children. If he hadn’t already been as old as he was when it started, he wouldn’t have had the strength of will or determination to preserve even those few little things of his own…

“He should move into the hanshi soon,” another elder agreed. “If we expect him to take on the responsibilities of an adult, he should be treated as one.”

“Agreed. The sooner he disengages from messing around with his peers, the better. They will only distract him from what he needs to do.”

“I do not agree with this,” Lan Qiren said. “I am his guardian and his teacher. I do not agree.”

“I’m disappointed in you, Qiren,” one of the elders said, and Lan Qiren felt an automatic wash of shame, instinctive and ingrained after all these years. “You took the sect leader position with the knowledge that it would not truly be yours, and now you wish to preserve your personal power longer?”

I never wanted the position, which offers only power in exchange for its brutal demands! I still don’t want it! But to put it onto a child, any child, much less my own nephew who I love – how could I agree to that?

“You must not be selfish, as your brother was,” another elder scolded him, and normally Lan Qiren would be the first to agree. Being like his brother was his worst fear, and one he would do anything to avoid – but at the moment, the reminder felt wrong, as if they were using it as a tool to manipulate him rather than expressing what they really thought. “Do not cling to power and authority, after all. You cannot and must not steal what belongs to your nephews, Qiren. Never forget your place.”

Lan Qiren stared at him mutely. His place?

He had never been selfish. He had sacrificed everything – he had been filial and loyal, obedient to his elders, and they had taken everything from him, just as they planned to do to the two children that had been entrusted to his care. The only difference was that Lan Qiren had been allowed to live freely for a little while, and even that freedom was only because the elders had utterly ignored him in favor of his more talented brother, who had been protected by the love of his powerful father; for his nephews, who were all but orphaned and left only in his inferior care, there was no such defense.

This time, it was clear that the elders meant to rectify the situation – this time, they wouldn’t even leave Lan Wangji his childhood, let alone Lan Xichen.

They would hollow them out and leave them as little more than puppets, blindly obeying the rules without having the time to contemplate their meaning. They would squeeze out every moment of every day, turning each endless shichen into a joyless burden, transforming the rules into little more than a yoke to chain them – his nephews wouldn’t be Lan, who chose willingly to obey because they loved the rules and loved their sect and wanted to give everything for it. They would be little better than slaves.

Perhaps, Lan Qiren thought suddenly, it was not his selfishness that the elders were constantly seeking to correct. Perhaps it was their own.

He tried, first and foremost, to argue with them, but they did not listen to him. They had never listened to him, not from the first moment he had yielded to their wishes over his own desires and allowed himself to be trapped in the Cloud Recesses as the new sect leader. No – it was even older than that, from even before then, from as far back as when he had been small and helpless and crying out for help in his own way, not even knowing what was happening to him and why…

They had always turned their faces away.

Lan Qiren had tried his best to please them, and had failed. He’d thought the blame lay with him, but now he wasn’t so sure – now he thought that it didn’t matter what he did, that he never would.

Lan Qiren’s nephews were the ones who were small and helpless now, and unlike the elders that should have watched over him, he would not turn away.

The plan he hatched was ruthless in the extreme, but there was nothing else he could think of in his desperation. The Lan sect had always been very secretive, in its own way, keeping outsiders from knowing their personal business; although everyone within the sect knew that it was the elders who held all the real power, even if they disdained the work of it and left much of that for Lan Qiren to accomplish, from the outside it appeared as though Lan Qiren were sect leader, invested with all the powers of one.

To be a sect leader, in their day and age, was to be a tyrant.

No need to look at Wen Ruohan, the chief example of this trend, a man who made his sect kneel and touch their heads to the floor upon hearing that he was coming. It was enough to look instead at the Jiang sect, whose sect leader Jiang Fengmian whiled away his days waiting for his old lover to write, ignoring his wife despite her maternal family’s power and influence within his territory. Look at the Jin sect, where Jin Guangshan bedded every prostitute and poor young lady within range, surrounded by a cloud of rumors regarding whether he’d bothered to get all of them to consent – rumors there might be, but no one dared to make any trouble for him over it without actual proof. Look at Lao Nie, whose sect, elders and all, sighed and shook their heads over his excessive fondness for dangerous people, but could take no action to stop him.

Look at Lan Qiren’s father, who had spoiled one child into madness and neglected the other into near despair, and had trained his whole sect to accept it as a given. Lan Qiren was working to repair that damage, to lead by example, but it was a hard upward struggle – rot might start at the head, and healing, too, but the healing was harder than the rotting.

A sect leader, in short, was a tyrant.

And as far as the world was concerned, Lan Qiren was the sect leader.

Lan Qiren bided his time until the next discussion conference. It hurt him to wait, seeing poor Lan Xichen get stretched thin under his new duties and constantly reminded to keep a serene smile on his face throughout, seeing poor Lan Wangji so stressed at his brother’s misery and his own amplified lessons that he'd started biting people again, but he knew it was necessary. A discussion conference meant outsiders, and outsiders meant not losing face; it was the one time that Lan Qiren was actually treated as a sect leader by all around him, the one time no one would gainsay anything he said, even if they would later tear strips off of him in private.

It was his only chance.

"I have an announcement," he said mildly, presiding over the large gathering that marked the conclusion of the discussion conference. His Lan sect was the host of this conference, and he was accordingly seated at the head of the room, equal with the other Great Sects but given additional deference in view of the location - it was easy for his voice to carry, despite his quiet tone, and all the sects turned towards him to listen. They were probably expecting something anodyne, some additional prize or information about the weather to keep in mind as they departed. "I have decided that my Lan sect's ties to the rest of the cultivation world have grown stale, seeing each other as we do only at these times and the common people only on night hunts. As a result, in my authority as Sect Leader Lan, I intend to make a journey throughout the various sects, taking along my nephews to introduce them to your families. In my absence, the Cloud Recesses will be managed by my cousin, Lan Yueheng -"

Talk exploded in the whole audience, furious and loud, all but his own Lan sect which was calm and stone-faced as always, though of course that was only their pride and concern for face overwhelming their shock. Poor Lan Yueheng was the exception, of course, his jaw dropping open like a weight dropped from a great height until his neighbors noticed and elbowed him in the side to make him stop - Lan Qiren mentally apologized for not having warned his cousin up front. He hadn't dared to risk it.

" - and accordingly I will be leaving alongside the rest of you at the conclusion of this conference," he concluded, for once relieved that his voice never varied far from a monotone; he sounded cool and calm and in control, and like he hadn't noticed the way his sect elders were trying to strangle him with their gaze even as the maintained decorum. "Our first destination is the Nie sect's Unclean Realm, with Lao Nie as our host."

Lan Qiren hadn't warned Lao Nie, either, but he knew him well, and to his relief hadn't misjudged him - the other man didn't spare so much as a moment to blink in surprise, instead grinning broadly at the other sect leaders.

"You bet you are," he laughed, his voice booming and loud. "And don't think I'll let you leave so quickly, Qiren - not until your nephews are best friends with my sons, and not until you've had a chance to work your magic on my sect's younger generation and turn them from little beasts into proper gentlemen!"

Lan Qiren barely resisted rolling his eyes - he still didn't know who it was that had come up with the nonsense about him being able to turn the most hopeless waste into a gentleman, but it was rank exaggeration. But to his surprise, the first person to respond was the head of one of the more distant small sects, Baling Ouyang, a young man with an excitable temperament; he leapt up to his feet and exclaimed, "Will he really? Sect Leader Lan, I insist you visit my Ouyang sect next, if you haven't made firm plans - I scarcely recognized my little hellion nephews after a season in your care, all grown up, careful in thought and action, compassionate and upright...and no more pranks!"

Another exaggeration. The Ouyang twins had been troublesome only at the start, until Lan Qiren realized that what they longed for most was recognition as separate beings rather than a collective whole; as soon as he'd treated them with respect, and showed them how to act in return, they'd taken to his lessons like a desert to water.

"Sect Leader Lan's skill in teaching is very well known," Sect Leader Yao said, always first to speak after his friend from the Ouyang sect. "You'll really come to our sects to do it, rather than our children to the Cloud Recesses? And you won't charge, of course...?"

"Naturally no," Lan Qiren said, a little puzzled by their enthusiasm. Was it so expensive to send children to the Cloud Recesses? He’d never charged for his lessons, although he supposed there was the cost of travel and maintenance to the standard preferred by students, and of course guest gifts were customary, although he never made any demands. "I would be your guest, and enjoying your hospitality – room and board would be more than sufficient…"

"In that case, you should come to Pingyang next -"

"No, Yueyang!" someone else called, and before Lan Qiren knew exactly what was happening, the sect leaders were arguing over who he should visit first. The most enthusiastic were the ones whose children he had taught already, but the others were quick to catch up, loathe to miss out on what they perceived to be a good deal - even Wen Ruohan, never one to lose out to others when it came to something perceived of as desirable, extended an offer with a smug, snake-like smile.

Lan Qiren provisionally accepted all the offers with a growing sense of relief: with such public acceptance, the Lan sect would lose more face by refusing to let him go than in allowing his unorthodox action. It was just as he has hoped, and more successful than he'd dared to dream; the other sects had fixated on his teaching skills and in doing so had ignored the strangeness of a sect leader taking his heirs and all but running away from home.

That relief carried him through to the end of the meeting, when everyone divided up to pack up their things, and Lan Qiren returned to the inner parts of his sect to do the same.

"What are you thinking?" one of the elders demanded the second they were alone. "Have you gone mad?"

"Did you see the reception of my idea?" Lan Qiren replied, hiding the giddiness of relief under a facade of calm. "The sect will benefit greatly from the connections we will make."

"That's no answer!"

Lan Qiren was a filial child; even if they were wrong, he would not tell the elders so to their faces. Instead he only bowed deeply and said, "What's done is done. I need to get ready, and quickly; it would be embarrassing if we weren't prepared."

Of course, he'd already packed everything he thought he'd need, determined to take Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji with him no matter what - it was only luck that his plan had worked as well as it had, allowing him to pretend to some move of subtle strategic genius rather than a retreat out of desperation. Still, he needed to go through the motions.

"Fine," another elder spat out, although their demeanor made it clear that it wasn't fine at all. "But did you have to announce that the provisional leader was Lan Yueheng? He's completely unfit!"

By which they meant that he wouldn't listen to them - that he was brash and lacked tact, said what he thought and cared for nothing but his experiments, his wife, and his children. Out of all of Lan Qiren’s cousins, he was the most thick-faced, shameless to the extreme, essentially immune to criticism or guilt.

That was, of course, exactly why Lan Qiren had picked him.

"He's good at math and accounting, and at arranging provisioning," Lan Qiren said, picking the more acceptable reason. "That's the key responsibility left over, isn't it? Everything else, I can do through correspondence."

The reassurance that Lan Qiren would still be doing his duty to the sect - would still be accountable to them - helped settle some ruffled feathers. It wouldn't be pleasant to try to do the work of sect leader from abroad, Lan Qiren knew; it would mean a lot of sleepless nights slaving away by candlelight, with no support from any aides, bearing all the weight himself. No doubt the elders knew it too, and figured that he'd soon enough lose interest in what he heard them calling, in hushed voices where they thought he could not hear, his "little show of rebellion".

Lan Qiren didn't care. The sooner they left, the better the chances that the elders would continue to be deceived into thinking that Lan Qiren was doing all this for his own sake - some last stab at achieving his long forgotten dreams, doomed to inevitable disappointment - instead of what it really was, which was freedom for his nephews. They couldn't be assigned work or classes from a distance; their education would be wholly in Lan Qiren’s hands.

He'd take a thousand sleepless nights of overwork if it meant they got to be children a little longer.

"Are we really going to the Unclean Realm?" Lan Wangji lisped, looking even more rosy-cheeked and excited than usual. "Will – will Nie-gongzi will be there?"

"Yes, Mingjue-xiong will be there," Lan Xichen said, and grinned at Lan Qiren over his brother’s head. He looked more carefree than he had in...possibly years, and Lan Qiren briefly regretted how long it had taken him to do this. "Since you like him so much."

Lan Wangji turned bright red at once.

"Both of the Nie boys will be there," Lan Qiren said. "The younger one is closer to your age, Wangji. You can get to know him as well."

Lan Qiren went next to the library pavilion, looking for books on their sect rules - he might not trust his sect elders, but he loved his sect, loved their rules and traditions, and he wanted his nephews to love it, too. He wanted them to see the Cloud Recesses as a refuge, as a haven - not a burden.

He would give his nephews the freedom he'd longed for, and when they were older...when they were older, more resilient, more sure of who they were, he would bring them back and he would ensure that they obtained their rightful inheritance. In full, not in part - Lan Xichen would be a real sect leader, not a puppet for the elders, taught only to be pleasant and yielding and to perform well with his cultivation, swordsmanship and music only for the purpose of impressing outsiders. Lan Wangji would be his brother’s right hand, would love and respect him and be loved and respected in turn.

Maybe, Lan Qiren thought to himself, amused, they would even find some compatible child on their way and one day return to bring them home as a dao companion.

He couldn't wait to find out.

#mdzs #lan qiren #lan xichen #lan wangji #sect leader nie #my fic #my fics #beautifully spent

196 notes · View notes

thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness · 4 years ago

Text

Toshiya’s creativity Vol. 5 Japanese

The fifth theme of this serialization is "Japanese". Wearing a kimono for the first time, we took some pictures of him at a shrine. What is unique about “Japan” and Japanese people? What does Toshiya think and feel about it? Through these questions, we were able to discover a new side of him again.

“Putting it on for the first time, the kimono straightens up your back naturally. Walking was harder than I expected.”

Notes before reading: This is from ‘Toshiya’s creativity’, the serialization done by Ster Edge Magazine and later compiled into a book with the same name. This is Vol 05 (Ster Edge 004), which was published in September, 2017.

Links or credits to this post when the content is reposted or captured in other SNS is appreciated :) Scan by @robiconic ---------

*The theme of this interview is 和 (wa), a Japanese concept that originally means “harmony,”. It is used to represent “Japan” and “Japanese” as a cultural and identity concept.* From the beginning, when this serialization was decided, we wanted to do a photoshoot in kimono someday. We were told “Toshiya has never worn a kimono”, so we were looking for an opportunity to do it. As it is a relaxing period, feeling the arrival of the season of Autumn, the theme is “Japanese”, and the shooting was done in kimono. “I’m wearing a kimono for the first time in my life. I used to wear jinbei or yukata when I went to a hot spring, but this is the first time I’m wearing a full-fledge kimono. After getting dressed, I learned things like how many pieces of clothes I was going to wear inside or how surprisingly difficult was to walk. Also, the location of the shooting is at the venerable Nezu shrine, so combined with that, my spine will naturally be straightening up.” The shooting location is at Nezu Shrine. In the precincts, there is the “Wishing kaya tree”, the “Otome Inari Shrine”, and the “Senbon torii” and “Roumon”, all is surrounded by a Japanese landscape, making it a popular spot visited by many foreigners. “First of all, when you think of ‘Japanese’, shrines and temples may come to your mind. There are many historical buildings such as shrines and temples in Kyoto and Nara. I don't go to shrines very often. When I go, I ask for things like staying healthy this year. However, I don't ask for anything with a strong feeling. I feel that relying on God is the last resort, and after all it's up to me to do everything." Letting himself go with the flow, it felt like if Toshiya had this idea while detaching himself from the world. He talked about other things that come to his mind when he thinks about “Japanese” “Then, tea ceremony or calligraphy. I have never made tea, but I would like to try if I have the opportunity. I’d like to try Japanese sweets that are made specially to be served with tea. I think that the fresh Japanese sweets and other confections they make and serve with the tea are beautiful. Rakugan (*traditional Japanese sweets, dry confection of starch and sugar, mixed and pressed into a pattern) or similar sweets are not my cup of tea. I don’t like feeling of dryness inside my mouth. However, in general, I may like other Japanese sweets. I haven’t been doing calligraphy at all now, but I wrote my wishes (in kanji) during the New year holidays for a magazine project. That’s all. The characters I write from time to time are so bad that I don’t really like them myself. I once thought I should learn them properly so I could write beautiful characters (laughs).” He is not good at writing his name on a celebratory [gift-money] envelope. He mentioned Japanese sweets, so we asked him about Japanese food. “Japanese food ... I want to eat it occasionally. I like miso soup. And things like grilled salmon are the best. Ah, I also like nanohana (young shoots of the rapeseed plant) served as a vegetable side dish. However, since I left my parents' house, I think the chances of eating Japanese food are reduced. Because at my parents' house was mainly Japanese food. What do I like from my mom’s cooking? Hmm…my mom’s cooking is pretty much crude/raw style. There is nothing very elaborated/refined. Its feels like average home cooking (bitter smile). That’s where my love for nanohana comes from.” Has he any experience with Japanese musical instruments as an artist? “No. I played taiko (Japanese drums) at a festival when I was a kid. It's nice to hear the sound of the drums or a flute. When I hear it somewhere, I’m like “are they playing in a festival?” I'm curious about that, and when I actually go there and hear it, it makes me feel like I’m really at a festival. If there is a festival nearby, I will want to go there. When it comes to street food they sell there, I like candy apples. " After all, Toshiya has a sweet tooth. In order to continue to unravel Toshiya thoughts about “Japanese”, we decided to continue talking about Japan and overseas. “It’s also because I’ve lived here all my life but, Japan is good after all”

As he often is touring abroad, I think he feels the difference between Japan and overseas. What does Toshiya feel from the stage? “It might be obvious, but when you go overseas, you get to fully understand the good things of Japan. There are things everybody knows, like the food is good and the public safety is also good. Of course, people who are living overseas might not share this feeling about Japan. After all, I’m used to live in Japan so I like it. In the past, I felt attracted to foreign countries and I wanted to try to live overseas. Even now, sometimes I think about the United States …. sometimes I think about how living in a neighbourhood in Los Angeles would be because the climate is good. But I think that in the end I would want to go back to Japan. About going abroad on tour and playing lives, I think the response of the fans is completely different. Overseas…it depends a bit on the country we play in, but there is a general feeling of freedom. I feel like everyone is enjoying the live individually, each person does it in their own way. It feels like it doesn’t matter how the people around them is enjoying the show, it conveys the message directly of “I’m enjoying the show this way right now!”. On a good side, in Japan there is a feeling of solidarity and unity. A bit on the bad side of it, I feel like many people is not good at having fun in their own way. There is an awareness that the surroundings and that your energy must match it. Mmm…. all the energetic people gathering as one is really the best part. In the end, in whatever form, if the person who comes to watch the show comes back home having enjoyed it, that’s fine, isn’t it?” Japan is good for many other reasons. "I like the smell of tatami mats in Japanese-style rooms. As I don't have Japanese-style rooms at home right now, I’d have to go to a ryokan or so. But they usually put vinyl on it, so the floor can be used as a space for luggage or equipment so you can’t lay down and relax. There is no point in having a Japanese room-style at all (laughs). If I ever build a house in the future, I will make a Japanese-style room for sure. A 6-tamami-mat room is cozy and neat, so it would be ok. Then, if you say “Japan”, the four seasons come to my mind. Recently, spring and autumn are short, and the rainy season comes late, so it feels strange. .....Depending on the weather at that time, the cherry blossoms bloom, the leaves turn red, and the scenery becomes snowy, I feel a sense of elegance in that scenery. I was originally raised in the countryside of Nagano, so I guess it's because I've seen that kind of scenery for a long time. When the rice fields were filled with water, summer came, and the frogs started squaking. It's autumn when rice harvesting is over. My favourite season is winter. If it is cold, you can wear more clothes but, when it’s hot even if you take everything off, it’s still hot. I can’t stand that at all. When it’s winter, it snows, so there are times that you’d want to go and see a Gashho-Zukuri village. I’ve seen about Gashho-Zukuri somewhere and they were so beautiful that I want to go someday. When you go to different regions, you can find delicious food everywhere. Recently, I haven't been going around so much, but when I was young, I ate delicious food everywhere I went. Talking about eating it came to my mind but, chopsticks are also unique to Japan, isn’t it? Chopsticks seem to be difficult for foreigners to use. Also, the nuance of some words are unique to Japanese language. "Hashi" in Japanese can mean "chopsticks", "bridge" or "end". This is one of the major differences between Japan and overseas. ” “Living in the countryside is good, but I don’t know if I will eventually settle in Tokyo” He is from Nagano so we think he would like to live surrounded by nature as a matter of fact so when we asked him “Besides Tokyo, where would you live in Japan?”, Toshiya gave us a surprising answer as only he could do. “I may be living in Tokyo because it's easy for work. As I mentioned earlier, I think the countryside would be nice as you can experience the four seasons. But well, in the end, Tokyo will be the best because it’s very convenient (laughs). You can find anything here, isn’t that already convenient? If I think about it in that way, even if there are some places I want to go, when it comes to living, it’s like “Yeah, Tokyo”. The ideal situation would be changing places every 2-3 months (laughs)” Finally, the final snippet of this interview. The current theme is "Japanese", so we proceeded with our tal while citing things associated with "Japan". We mentioned Shogi (Japanese chess) and Go (Japanese board game), which Toshiya says he have never played. Several keywords with the “Japanese” feeling such as Bamboo mat/screen, paulownia chests of drawers, kotatsu, or the image of his grandfather sitting on a chair holding his grandkid’s hand and so on.

“If you remember your parent’s house or your grandparent’s house, “Japanese” will come to your mind”, he says. Kokeshi dolls and wooden carved bear figurines were also mentioned. "It's a classic souvenir from the old days, but it's still on sale. Does anyone still buy it? Maybe someone from overseas who is travelling will buys it?"

It was a harmonious interview with some laid-back stories in between. This time, Toshiya wore a kimono and he looked fascinating with a unique sex appeal than only Japanese men have. The exquisite collaboration with Toshiya, who stood at the solumn Nezu Shrine looking stunning, was impressive.

Toshiya’s voice I wore a kimono for the first time. I want to do it again. Next, I want to wear a hakama or a yukata… It would be nice to wear a yukata and board a Yakatabune (traditional Japanese boat) or go to a festival. Nezu Shrine was a nice place with a very nice atmosphere. There are many torii gates in Tokyo, like Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto. By the way, I met a celebrity while we were shooting. Did they shoot something there too?

#dir en grey #toshiya #toshiyatranslations #translation #Toshiya's creativity

104 notes · View notes

holden-caulfield · 4 years ago

Note

Hi! Hope everything is great with you! ❤️ are you taking requests now? I have an idea for a Draco x reader fic. If you want to write. It’s ok if you’re not feeling it or if you’re not taking request ☺️

I was thinking about plot with something like that the reader and Draco are always on each other and fighting, but secretly like each other. They fight to make the other to notice them or to interact. One day the reader borrows a book at the library and made some notes in it (even if she’s not supposed to, just a bad habit that she has). She just writes some thoughts or comments regarding the book or life in general. And then Draco borrows the same book after the reader and sees that there are notes in the book but don’t know who made it. He likes the notes and decided to write his own notes in the book. The reader borrows the book again and see the notes that Draco wrote. So maybe they go back and forth writing notes in the book or even change to another book. Then I don’t know about the plot only that they end up together and it is a fluff ending ❤️

Oh. God. This request was e v e r y t h i n g, i loved it so much, thank you lovely anon!🤧

Wouldn't You Like To Know

↪︎ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Summary: draco and reader hate each other but a common interest might change everything.

Warning: none :)

Word Count: 1207

Nothing could make you angrier than that slytherin prick, Draco Malfoy, and yet you couldn't bring yourself to loathe him. There was something just so intriguing, so intoxicating about the boy that made you forget about how much of a haughty twat he actually was.

He seemed to be always picking on you, always having to comment on your choice of clothing of the day or stating how 'immensely insufferable' you were. You obviously never backed down, taking every chance you got to talk with the slytherin, even if it was just to insult his incredibly unnatural, yet entrancing hair or his arrogant ways.

You hated the boy, but you couldn't ignore him. Even though you very much wanted to on certain occasions.

It was saturday, a moment to finally be able to relax a bit and forget about lessons for a while, but someone decided to importune you. It was way too early to engage in a full battle, so you saved your efforts, leaving him in the hallway with his clique and a snarky reply. He had a rather surprised look on his face at the lack of interaction, but you couldn't notice it.

You made your way to the library; it seemed to be the only place you could find solace in. Reading had always been a way to unwind for you, therefore it was no surprise that the library was exactly where you were headed.

You skimmed through the long shelves of books, stopping your finger on a very old-looking volume. You took it out carefully and found yourself a cozy spot in the library, near a window so that you could see the lovely morning unfolding.

It was a copy of your favourite book of all time and you could swear the vintage-like look of the tome was due only to your continuous readings. You loved that book, every time you read it feeling like the first time and successfully taking your mind off of whatever you were worried about.

You started reading it for the hundredth time, taking your time while doing so, and without even realizing it you were starting to underline certain sentences. The quill and ink in front of you on the desk seemed to be begging you to use them and that you did. You highlighted all of those phrases that struck something you, you wrote tiny notes near the words you found the most interesting and you realized that when it was too late. The damage had been done, so why stopping?

You kept reading for a long time, the sky visible through the windows changing vastly beside you until it was already past lunch-time. You closed the book lovingly and put it back where you found it, sure to be able to return later, and took off towards the great hall.

Unbeknownst to you, that was also someone else's favourite book because when you came back, more notes had been added. Tiny messages in the most elegant calligraphy you had ever seen were adorning the pages you had previously stained. What really surprised you was that most of those short lines were actually replies or simple comments to your own.

'This is my favourite line.'

'I'd argue that the best line is actually at the next page.'

'This passage, i will never get tired of reading it.'

'How could one get tired when it's the best piece of literature ever written?'

You were completely shocked but somehow your heart warmed at the gesture: a stranger liked your same exact book and took the time to reply to the silly comments of some heedless student, it sounded almost romantic.

You immediately took a quill with the intention to add more comments but froze as you dipped it in the ink. What were you going to write?

You stopped to think for a moment and the most obvious question came to mind, so you retrieved the quill from the inkwell and wrote onto the last page, the only blank one.

'Who are you?'

You let the ink dry and placed the book back in its place, planning to come back the next day and find an answer.

It was silly really, to be so excited just because a couple words exchanged with a stranger. It had no meaning either: said stranger might have had the same habit as you, writing in all the books they read, or maybe said stranger only found your comments funny and wanted to add their own.

Nevertheless you returned to the library the next morning, very early given the fact you hadn't really slept the previous night, excitement flowing freely in your veins and keeping you awake. You hurried to the chosen section and grasped the book, clutching it in your hands as you brought it with you towards your usual spot.

You opened the book and quickly browsed through the pages until the last one. A reply was there, but not the one you were expecting.

'Wouldn't you like to know...'

What now? You couldn't just keep writing there, you couldn't just change book and keep on writing on every single volume in the library...

Defeated, you stood up, book opened in your hands as you walked through the library you knew by heart, trying to decipher who your mysterious correspondent could be.

"You?!" your eyes shot up from the book to meet his grey ones, Draco Malfoy.

"What? Can't even visit the library now?" you replied, eyebrows raised. You noticed he was oddly eyeing your book and slowly closed it.

"Why do you have that book?" he asked again, almost ignoring you with his eyes still set on the tome.

"I was reading it? That's what i usually do with books, you know."

"Are you sure? Because i have a feeling you write in them." your displeased frown soon turned into one of stupor.

"You?!" he nodded, smirking; for the first time you noticed a tinge of genuineness in his smug grin and the thought that maybe, just maybe Draco Malfoy wasn't the bully everyone thought passed through your mind.

You didn't know what to say and apparently neither did he for you both remained still and silent, staring in each other's eyes. It wasn't awkward: you looked into his grey orbs with longing, as if you had always known he could have been what you wanted and finally were able to see this side of him, the side of him you were in love with even if you didn't know it existed.

He cleared his throat then, making you focus back on reality.

"Although i enjoy the library, i think we should find a different place to talk about... this." he motioned to the book and your dreams completely shattered. He was probably not pleased with the discovery, one of the students he hated most exchanging notes with him. "Maybe at hogsmeade, tomorrow, at 8?"

"You don't hate me?" as relief washed over you, surprise did too.

"Not really, i actually quite like you, but i thought you hated me so i played along." you smiled at the unexpected confession and he furrowed his brows. "So, is that a yes? Because i can go back to hating you if not and forget everything."

You chuckled lightly, rolling your eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know, Malfoy..."

Taglist <3

@turn-to-page-394-please @gwlvr @dracosaccount @astoria-malfcy @dracomalfoys-wh0re @eunoniaa @cherie-draco @oeuryale @wh0re4blaise @90smalfoy @sanctimoniousslytherpuff @maybesandohnos @dracoswhore007 @macheregrace @paulina1998 @bungunz @malfoysbiitch @dreamy-clousds @malfoyxxdraco23 @saayanaaa @xlauren-malfoyx @riddleswh0r3crux

[if your name is crossed out, check your privacy settings!]

#draco malfoy #fanfiction #harry potter #draco lucius malfoy #draco x reader #draco imagine #draco x y/n #draco malfoy fluff #fluff #fanfic #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x y/n

270 notes · View notes

evita-shelby · 3 years ago

Text

Between the Shadow and the Soul

Chapter 28

Gif by @cas-kingdom

She sits on the bed and he paces as quietly as possible, first time he looks scared. When they had Charlie, he’d been more excited than scared of the future, with Diane they were confident, but this time it's different.

A bad different.

“How far along are you?” he asks coming to stand by the window. Her gangster, mastermind poet of a husband liked to think while looking out the window. Like a king looking out at his kingdom.

She remembers all those times she’d catch him up there as she walked past that window, all those times when they didn’t even know each other and she’d feel his eyes on her and boy did that help her low self-esteem.

“About a month and maybe a week, haven’t seen a doctor yet, so I don’t really know.” Eva knows Tommy wouldn’t force her into ending it, and while the timing is godawful ---especially if baby Elvira Leonor Shelby is not gifted--- they are having this baby girl like it or not.

“You get the nightmares at six weeks, have you had them?” of course he’d known when they start, he was there the two previous times.

“No, it’s the reason I wasn’t sure. Wasn't sure until Polly told me minutes ago.” she wants to get up, go to him run a comforting hand down his back and watch his, no, their, little kingdom as he thinks, but Eva isn’t sure if they are at that part of fixing things.

The party had her flitting about with the food, the children, clean glasses, but there was that moment under the mistletoe. Same spot they always hung it, same place he tried to use peer pressure to get a consensual kiss from her. She kissed his cheek to his disappointment and that first Christmas together they made love on the brand-new doors.

This time it was almost unsure, like in those early days between their first date and their wedding. Kissing him this time was like coming home. It wasn’t the fervent and hungry kisses from yesterday, not the angry and rough kisses from a month ago, it was soft and bittersweet enough to make her eyes well up.

“Once they start, I promise, I won’t leave anything out when I tell you.” she says observing the man she used to know like the back of her hand. The slight twitch in his fingers he gets when he wanted nothing more to smoke a cigarette is there, a habit she’s pointed out and given her an excuse to hold it, so he stops thinking about how much he wants to smoke near the kids.

So, she takes her chance and there she is trying to hold his hand. “You know I had a plan to tell you before Aman warned me about the rat. Was gonna attach a note with the words fuck you in my Christmas card calligraphy to the test results.”

There's a hint of a side smile on his lips, and when her fingers brush against his, he is the one who interlaces them. She gives his hand a tight squeeze and for now that was enough.

“Aberama Gold, he can help us, Tommy. I know my family doesn’t like him and his people, but he’s the only one who can help us push the Italians out of here.” Esme hisses, keeping her voice low, but not low enough. Someone upstairs had woken up, Eva had felt it and heard Arthur’s heavy steps trying to sneak past everyone.

“Arthur.” Eva’s voice is barely above a whisper. They look at John who are the ones in charge of this operation and he shakes his head.

Arthur comes quiet as a mouse, still in his father Christmas suit, but he doesn’t come downstairs because Billy wakes up.

Polly hangs on the side, they needed her on board so it looks more real. They need the Italians to think Tommy is alone and weak.

They needed for Polly to get angry. To leave an opening Changretta will want to exploit

“Polly, I need you to be the one Luca thinks will betray us, he already knows you are angry at Tommy for throwing Michael under to protect Evie. Out of all of us, you have the biggest reason to want him gone.” John says and Polly stiffened. “I know you can do it.”

“Why not Eva, she’s done this before?” Polly suggests, her fears of fucking up getting the best of her. This Polly is fragile still, the hold the tablets had on her is still there.

“Because ---” she begins, but Tommy interrupts, he doesn’t want them to know their marriage was on the rocks. Polly knows because of Ada and Michael, but the rest don’t.

“Because she’s pregnant, Pol. Why would a pregnant woman want to kill her husband and father of her children? I’m sorry, Polly, but if anyone can fool Changretta, it's you.”

“Then it’s settled, Polly will make a scene at my funeral.” John silences any complaints with a one look.

And just like that it was settled.

In three hours, he and Tommy would stage a very loud fight, John would storm off without Esme and when the Italians ambush him, the men hiding inside his grounds would unleash hell while Johnny Dogs gets him out unnoticed.

Won’t go wrong, says Polly when Eva for once doesn’t have the answers.

No matter how much they try, something goes wrong. Michael goes after John and there were more men than she and Polly had seen.

Michael is going fine, John is hurt, but not dead, something an old silk vest under his shirt had something to do with. John’s chosen to let Arthur know, they can’t successfully plan the ambush at the funeral without him. This is where Polly gets angry for real.

“You don’t grieve much do you?” Ada asks as they tidied up after Esme had come for her children. As far as they knew, they were leaving for the road. As far as Ada knew, Esme wanted to be the one to break the news to them.

“I do, I just don’t show it anymore.” Eva tries to hold back the nausea. Elvira was going to hate eggs, just like Charlie can’t stand salmon caviar and Diane hates pozole.

“So your Aunt Penny wasn’t exaggerating when she said you were forbidden to grieve for your brothers?” because most if not all the things that were said before the mysterious Miss Smith arrived from Mexico seemed too fucked up to be true.

“My family’s old money and only needed to wave a few thousand pesos under the right noses to get me back, but President Carranza wanted to make sure we knew our family’s money and history meant shit to him if we did not stay in line.” Eva sits down and breathes out through her nose, worse than having morning sickness was trying to keep last night’s dinner and cookies while talking about things she didn’t want to remember. “Couldn’t wear black, couldn’t cry publically and worst of all, couldn’t bury them in the family cemetery.”

“We must look very lucky to you.” The laugh is sad and turns to weeping. Grief was never easy, it hadn’t been for Ada when her husband died and ,as much as it pained Eva to see her like this, she couldn’t know her brother was alive.

The family meeting is called. Jeremiah’s wife, Rose, and their teenage daughter, Deborah, are upstairs with the children.

“There’s no number, there’s no percentages. So the hand, the hand beneath him stops him falling. Spoke to someone… my son will live.” Polly’s rage is only half real, but you couldn’t tell with the performance she’s giving.

Eva keeps her old rosary in her hands as a prop. Never been much of a believer, but it was a funeral after all.

John’s chair remains empty, and by the time the meeting is over, Finn will take his place.

“Michael and John were shot because we killed someone… Vincenzo Changretta.”

This is the first time she hears of it, Eva had thought he was still alive. It makes sense, he sent the order to kill her husband and nearly killed her instead.

“His son Luca has come to take revenge. Men from New York and Sicily are in Birmingham. These men will not leave our city until the whole family is dead. That’s how it works, an eye for an eye. It’s called vendetta.”

Arthur puts the bullet on the table, Johnny Dogs had it made yesterday when Eva told him about her reading.

“Yeah, well, the bullet’s been written. It says Luca. When the time comes ,and it will come, me as the oldest brother, will put this bullet into his fucking head.”

Linda shakes her head, every time Arthur showed his real self , they fought.

“There’s been some bad blood between us.” Tommy says the understatement of the year.

Polly scoffed, perfectly timed as is Eva’s quiet plea for her to listen.

“Until this business is settled we stay together. We stay here… Small Heath, Bordesley, Hay Mills down to Greet.” Tommy continues. Arthur nods and Linda looks insulted at the suggestion that she has to stay here.

Tommy had told her last night that they didn’t have to share a bed once everyone left, but he had dropped the topic when he noticed the tremor had returned.

“We know every face, every man is a soldier in this army. These men are professionals and they’re good at what they do, so we’re gonna need more than we have. We send a message to Aberama Gold.”

“Tommy, his people are fucking savages. You know, heathens, Tom. They don’t even let them in the fair, so they come and steal our horses. You know, stealing from their own, Tom. ”Johnny Dogs is scared, if Aberama Gold is summoned that means its bad. He doesn’t know John and Esme had explicitly said no Lees.

“Esme asked us to send word for him,” Eva hardly spoke in meetings ,but when she did it was imperative everyone listened. “She said no Lees.”

“The coppers never gave a fuck about us and we can’t access Tiago’s networks without him, which means we have to end this war between us today.

Take a vote.”

It goes exactly as they had expected. Arthur was angry at Finn being included, Polly called for a truce and voted for Michael.

“Five for peace. Two for truce, one abstention. Let’s get on with the war.” With that Luca Changretta’s fate is sealed.

#thomas shelby #thomas shelby x oc #tommy shelby x oc #thomas shelby fanfic #peaky blinders fanfiction #thomas shelby imagine #oc fanfiction #peaky blinder fanfic #ocappreciation #between the shadow and the soul

40 notes · View notes

pillow-anime-talk · 4 years ago

Text

shush, i’m here.

request: hello! i recently got into sk8, and found your blog. i love your writings, so i’m just wondering if i could request hcs of cherry with a s/o who’s gone through trauma or abuse in their past and has nightmares/ptsd? if you’re not comfortable, i totally understand. thank you for reading my request! have a lovely day! :)

# tags: headcanon; current relationship; romance; angst/drama; also fluff; comforting; nightmares & ptsd; rather sfw

includes: gender neutral reader ft. kaoru sakurayashiki {sk8}

author’s note: hello, my love! thank you for your request and i hope you’re fine :( *hugs you*. btw, cherry loves you so much and he told me about it :D!

↘ Kaoru knows everything that happened in your life before you two met and before you started being a couple; he knows about your problems, all your fears, your uncertainties, and about every quarrel that has taken place in your life and has caused changes in your psyche.

↘ Your partner is really understanding and always supports you and helps you during any panic attack or waking up from a nightmare. He knows perfectly well how to deal with your hot body, fast heartbeat, broken voice and salty tears on both pinkish cheeks.

↘ If you’re at home, he will hug you right away and offer you some warm tea or a glass of chilled water. I think Cherry is very soft to you during such situations, so he won’t let go of your body for another minutes, giving you pleasant hugs and a few short pecks.

↘ He will surely stroke your head after a nightmare and ask Carla to turn on the lullaby, so that you can calm your thoughts and relax your every muscle and fall asleep again, this time more safely and without major problems.

↘ However, if you are outside, for example in a museum, in a shop, in a park, in ‘S’ or at a party, your boyfriend will immediately find a more peaceful place such as a balcony, bathroom or side exit, so that you can only occupy your head with his image. He will get rid of unnecessary thoughts by starting a conversation about what you both should eat, about your favorite animals or flowers, about funny things that Kojirou or Reki have done recently.

↘ Kaoru’s mature character is really beneficial to you, and although you often feel bad about your attacks, Cherry always assures you that nothing is ever at your fault and he is happy to be the one to help you.

↘ When your well-being returns to normal after a few minutes or hours, expect a few more, very nice things like a marathon of your favorite movies, TV series or anime, cooking together or quietly dancing in the middle of the living room (again with Carla as your little radio).

↘ Of course, if you like it, also expect some cute pet names or more kisses in the middle of the forehead, on the temples or on the nose!

↘ Kaoru is here to support you (as I wrote above) and he will definitely shed that cold mask, which he usually shows while skateboarding or at calligraphy shows.

↘ Pink-haired is by far the best and most honest person you could have met and remember that no matter what your future is, he loves you very much and wants to be with you till the end.

#— 🍓#sk8 the infinity #sk8 the infinity headcanons #sk8 the infinity x reader #sk8 #sk8 headcanons #sk8 x reader #sk∞#sk∞ headcanons #sk∞ x reader #kaoru sakurayashiki #kaoru sakurayashiki headcanons #kaoru sakurayashiki x reader #cherry blossom #cherry blossom headcanons #cherry blossom x reader

260 notes · View notes

mrs-march-ahs · 4 years ago

Note

Hello There! I've been binge-reading your imagines lately and love all of them! Could I please request a super duper fluffy James March imagine where it's the reader's birthday? It's my birthday today and I'm craving some soft James. Thanks so much!

James Celebrating The Reader’s Birthday

baby first of all happy birthday😭 I truly hope you’re still here, since this is from a little while back. I’m sorry it took me so long, but better late than never I hope! Sincerely enjoy:)

X- your age

----

James March was a master at giving presents, because not only was he always willing to buy you all the riches your heart desired, but because he also put a lot of love and thought into every item. Every detail was always perfect, and if every single petal on every single rose wasn’t ideal, he wouldn’t get it. It came to no surprise, that when you woke up this morning, exactly X years since you were born, James has everything prepared. He had planned all the gifts and all the activities months back, to make sure he did everything he could to make your day special. He needed to outdo himself every year, and with this year being your first birthday as his wife, he made sure it was extra special. The celebration began straight away, when you first awoke and went to the bathroom, and was greeted with a perfume sitting by the sink, with a big pink bow on top. You couldn’t help but smile and open it up right away, smelling it and exhaling in awe at the scent. When you lay back in bed, you look over at James’ empty side of the bed, and notice the teddy bear laying in his space. The cream-colored bear is wearing a tiny tuxedo, bringing another immediate smile to your face. When you pick it up and look at it closer, giggling at the resemblance to your husband, you pull it closer to chest and squeeze him. Even more than the soft feel, the smell catches your attention. You don’t even understand how it was possible, but it smelled exactly like James. Not like his strong cologne, or his body wash, but his natural scent. Although he laid in his spot for a few hours, it was impossible for him to catch it that quickly. The idea of your husband hugging the bear or holding it close for it to start smelling like him, makes you grin even wider. The preparation made the gesture even more special.

Your longing stare at the bear is interrupted by a knock at the door. When you allow the visitor to come in, you are greeted with Miss Evers who pushes in a cart with food on top, and a big bouquet of red roses which immediately catch your eye. She smiles at you and wishes you a special day, and shows you the black dry cleaning bad she has. She raises her eyebrows a few times laughing and hangs the outfit up, before giving you the tray with breakfast.

“Mr. March sends you breakfast, it’s crepes from a restaurant that apparently you’ve been to”, she says, picking up the silver dome and revealing the fancy breakfast. Your mouth opens in shock, recognizing the food from a restaurant you went to with James on Halloween one night. With Halloween being the one night a year in which James can leave the hotel, he makes the most of it and began last year with taking you out to breakfast, at a restaurant that is now closed. Miss Evers brings you your red roses, and laughs at your shock at the food.

“Don’t ask me how he got it- I know the restaurant is shut”, she laughs and shrugs, and tugs the cart out of the room, leaving you to eat in peace. After smelling and examining the roses, you turn to your breakfast, and pick up your fork, only to see a note on the tray. You pick it up and open it, seeing James’ calligraphy.

Happy birthday, my sweet angel. Though I will attempt to spoil you with as many gifts as I can bare, it is I who received the most incredible gift, the day you were born. James

Blood rushes to your cheeks and you turn as red as the flowers in front of you. As you happily eat your breakfast, you can’t stop thinking about how lucky you are to be with a man like James who goes out of his way to make you as happy as he physically can.

Just when you thought you couldn’t be happier with him, he proposed to you. He decorated the top of the hotel and you had dinner there together, under the stars. Just as the clock hit midnight and the day became the anniversary of your first date, he began telling you how much he loves you and cherishes you. Once he popped the question, tears filled your eyes and you jumped straight on him, with your arms around his neck and smothering him with kisses. He held you close and couldn’t stop smiling, before asking you for the answer. The second you said yes, and the beautiful engagement ring sparkled on your finger, James took the knife out of his cane and looked at you for permission. He said he couldn’t bare the idea of anything happening to you outside of the hotel and him losing you forever. Though the idea of death filled your heart with terror, the idea of an eternity spent without James scared you much more. Nostalgically thinking back to the day you died by the hands of your lover, you finish your breakfast and walk over to the desk and look at the black bag Miss Evers left there.

You slide your fingers down with the zipper and slowly pull the hanger out of the bag, the shimming silver dress blinding you. The note on the hanger simply writes, 6pm- Room 66. But you can’t possibly wait until dinner to tell your husband how grateful you are for all these gifts, so you rush down to his office.

You knock a few times before entering, and look over at James surrounded by paperwork, rubbing his forehead in focus. Instead of making your presence known, you sneak up on him and jump, wrapping your arms around his neck. Your affection catches him off guard and he pulls you on top of his lap.

“You know it’s my birthday-”

“Really? I had no idea, angel”

You laugh and shake your head before continuing. “Since it’s my birthday, could I ask for something particularly special?”. You look at James and slide your hand on his shoulder, and when he nods once, you inhale before asking for what you truly wanted.

“Could we go upstairs? And cuddle, just for 10 minutes!”

James looks at the piles of paperwork in front of him and then glances at the clock on the wall. You prepare yourself for James to chose work over you, but much to your surprise, when he looks at you, he smiles.

“Since you are the birthday girl, I believe it would be inappropriate- forbidden, almost, to say no”

#american horror story #ahs #american horror story hotel #ahs hotel #james march #james patrick march #mr march #james march x #james march x reader #evan peters character #james march imagine

172 notes · View notes

commander-kirschtein · 5 years ago

Text

modern!au random quirks headcanons for the 104th

have some rather random headcanons that have been living in my brain for the 104th kiddos - mac

masterlist

eren jaeger:

always talks louder than he needs to. this boy doesn’t understand the concept of inside voice.

he gets caught speaking his internal monologue out loud (pretty much canon.)

If it wasn’t for mikasa and armin, he would be late to everything.

doesn’t have auto correct on and types incredibly fast, so expect 5 messages before you can finally understand what he was trying to say first time around.

argues with jean who the best spider-man is. eren thinks it’s toby maguire, jean is strongly for andrew garfield.

mikasa ackerman:

puts four sugars in her tea. she’s got a sweet tooth.

she will baby talk to animals. only in a whisper though because she doesn’t want anyone to hear her being so adorable.

has an almost photographic memory. super good at remembering appointments and people’s birthdays.

likes scrap-booking! she’ll collect tickets/paper souvenirs/stickers and will print off pictures of friends to stick in it. plus she’s amazing at calligraphy style writing so it looks super pretty.

can’t stand artificial light. her bedroom is lit solely by candles.

armin arlert:

knows all the words to asap science’s periodic table song.

can solve a Rubik's cube in 20 seconds.

knows lots of useless trivia. mainly because he spends so much time reading random wikipedia pages.

can’t fall sleep until he’s checked underneath his bed and inside of his wardrobe at least twice (just in case monsters might actually be real.)

has notifications turned off on his phone because they make him nervous, therefore it might take 3-5 working days before armin gets back to your message.

jean kirschtein:

loves peeling the plastic off brand new things - would buy a new phone just to peel the plastic off the screen.

likes to go for random drives at night with the radio playing. preferably in the passenger seat so he can drift off.

the volume of the tv/his phone always has to be an even number.

goes off on tangents - the topic has to change 5 times before he makes his point.

he snores - tell him and he’ll deny it.

sasha braus:

can’t keep herself still. always fiddling with something and will shift weight from foot to foot when standing around.

likes to eat squirty cream straight from the can.

can’t have her nails painted because she instantly gets the urge to peel it off once they’re dry.

can open bottles with her teeth.

makes the corresponding animal noise when she sees an animal. she sees a dog - she barks. she sees a horse - she neighs (much to jean’s dismay.)

connie springer:

puts milk in before cereal. when people ask why he tells them that it’s his way of bringing chaos to the world.

won’t eat the crust on bread/pizza.

his shoes are always untied.

really good at accent and impressions. it’s his best party trick and it always makes everyone laugh.

has to drink everything through a straw. even bottled drinks and cans.

marco bodt:

really good at wrapping presents. at christmas he’s his friends go to present wrapper.

likes to write nice things to his friends on post-it notes. mainly things like ‘i hope your exam goes well today!’ or ‘hoping you have a wonderful day today!’

refuses to curse. he’s just so pure. jean’s making it his life mission to hear marco say ‘fuck’ at least once.

is super giggly and finds everything funny when he’s tired.

panics when going through airport security even though he knows he’s done nothing illegal.

historia reiss/christa lenz:

refers to her friends with pet names only. most common ones are honey, sweetie and lovely.

that friend who always has everything you could possibly need on her: painkillers, plasters, tampons, lip balm - she has it all.

taps her nails on every surface and says ‘asmr’ when she does it.

wakes up early every morning just to see the sunrise and then will go back to sleep. she just thinks it’s pretty.

ymir:

doesn’t sit on chairs normally. big L from death note vibes when it comes to ymir and chairs.

has a denim jacket covered in pins and badges.

she won’t admit it but she’s extremely ticklish. Don’t tickle her though because the consequences are not worth it.

refers to babies as ‘gremlins.’ and sticks her tongue out at little kids who stare at her.

the queen of eavesdropping. knows everything about everyone. don’t get on the wrong side of ymir cause she’s full of blackmail material.

reiner braun:

terrible at singing - but this doesn’t stop him from singing.

so bad at taking compliments. he can dish them out with ease but dies inside if he’s complimented back (please compliment him he needs love.)

gives an active commentary about every film he watches. Don’t take him to the cinema unless you want people to shush you every 10 minutes.

calls all of his friends ‘kiddos’ despite being the sameish age. He’s just such a dad. Speaking of which - he’s a dad dancer and dad joker.

likes to pick up his friends and throw them over his shoulder or bridal carry them by surprise. even bertholdt. especially bertholdt.

bertholdt hoover:

he can do some card/magic tricks. don’t ask him how, he won’t reveal his secrets.

he has freakishly bendy fingers. can do that thing where he pushes his fingers backwards and they touch his wrist.

starts most of his sentences with ‘umm.’

trips over nothing quite often (it’s those long ass legs - but reiner is always there to catch him ;))

likes to listen to minecraft music to fall asleep (okay but sweden is so nice to fall asleep to.)

annie leonhardt:

still sleeps with stuffed animals (so do i there’s no shame in it folks.)

likes to go out for walks listening to music, pretending she’s the main character in a coming of age movie.

everyone will agree that she has the most amazing smile. but you don’t often see it because whenever she does smile she covers it with her hand.

wears socks to bed. especially fluffy ones.

fascinated by reptiles. she wants to have a lizard and a snake as a pet.

292 notes · View notes

ibijau · 4 years ago

Text

Futures past pt3 / On AO3

Nie Huaisang meets a potential new friend, all thanks to Lan Xichen

The Cloud Recesses were impossibly boring and extraordinarily fun at the same time, Nie Huaisang decided roughly a week into his stay there.

The boring part was the lectures, of course. He frequently fell asleep during those, drawing the ire of Lan Qiren… and apparently asking that the old man speak in a more lively manner was not the right reaction to being caught like that. Nie Huaisang had already been punished to copy Gusu Lan’s rules a few times in just those first few days. It didn’t bother him too much. If anything, he counted that as part of the fun. Back at home being punished meant running around the courtyard a hundred times, or carrying heavy buckets, or some awful boring thing like this.

Copying rules, by contrast, wasn’t so bad, especially after the first few times. Once Nie Huaisang knew them well enough, he stopped paying attention to the words and was free to focus entirely on his calligraphy skills. After a year of this, he was sure he’d have the best handwriting in the world, which he felt was more important than whatever Lan Qiren actually intended to teach him.

Other fun things to do included fishing (technically forbidden), catching birds (forbidden), exploring the back hills (forbidden), and chatting with other bored people outside of class (tolerated, though Nie Huaisang’s loud laughter was forbidden). Nie Huaisang had already found several places he couldn’t wait to paint, as soon as he found a way to escape punishment for a day. The light just wasn’t good enough for it when he went into the back hills too late, so that was a concern, but he was sure he’d manage sooner or later. He just needed to figure out how to fall asleep inconspicuously, and that would solve most of his problems.

During the middle of his second week, Nie Huaisang finally managed to go through a full day without getting scolded at all. It was, in all honesty, not thanks to anything he had personally done. But Jin Zixun had been particularly unbearable that day, attracting all the attention of the substitute teacher, who’d had to replace Lan Qiren at the last moment because sect business had needed urgent care. So Jin Zixun had been the one punished, and he’d made such a huge deal of it that very little teaching had happened after that, meaning that Nie Huaisang hadn’t had a chance to get in trouble as well.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the lectures for the day, Nie Huaisang ran (forbidden) to the little house he shared with the other Nie and hurriedly grabbed all his painting equipment, eager to make good use of the lovely light they had that day. He then made his way toward the back hills, only to hear his name called out just as he was about to leave the last set of buildings behind him.

He turned around, saw Lan Xichen walking his way, and almost cursed. So much for his much desired painting session.

“Were you going somewhere, Nie gongzi?” Lan Xichen asked. Noticing the painting equipment, he smiled indulgently. “Oh, I see. The light is truly lovely for it today. Are you going to the Plenitude Creek?”

“I don’t know if it has a name,” Nie Huaisang replied. “But there’s a nice little clearing when you follow the river long enough, and from there there’s a lovely view of the mountains.”

Lan Xichen nodded. “I think I see the place you mean, and it is quite nice as well. But if you would allow me, I really think you might enjoy the Plenitude Creek. It is hard to find when you don’t know where it is though, so I could guide you there. It’s not far at all, and I believe you might enjoy it as a subject.”

It was very tempting to refuse, if only because Nie Huaisang already had a plan, and he wasn’t sure at all when he’d get another chance to do as he pleased. At the same time, his future self had insisted on the need to be on good terms with Lan Xichen, hadn’t he? And everyone said that Lan Xichen was a very skilled artist already in spite of his youth, so he would know how to spot a nice scenery.

“If Lan gongzi has time to waste on me, I’ll gladly take this offer,” Nie Huaisang said. “Please lead the way.”

Lan Xichen did just that, careful to match his pace to Nie Huaisang’s, just like he had during that tour of the Cloud Recesses a while ago. It really was considerate of him, and Nie Huaisang appreciated it more than he should have. He was used to trailing behind others because he just couldn’t make the effort of walking fast enough, so having his speed taken into account for once was nice. On the down side, it felt quite awkward to be side by side like this in silence. It was probably fine for Lan Xichen, because Gusu Lan preferred the quiet, but Nie Huaisang didn’t like to be around others and not chat. Silence was only for birdwatching, or when he focused on something for once.

“I’m surprised you’re not scolding me for this,” Nie Huaisang said after a while, only to immediately want to slap himself. It was such a stupid thing to say, only made worse when he opened his mouth to add: “Your uncle gave us all that homework to do, I probably shouldn’t be thinking of painting. Da-ge would surely be scolding me. Poor da-ge, he lost the didi lottery, and you won it.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t think that at all,” Lan Xichen objected.

“Oh, he does. He told me as much. I almost forgot my sabre at home when preparing to come here, you see, and he got angry, and he said Wangji would never be such an embarrassment, and how I need to grow up already and all that. But the way I see it, it’s not my fault. I think your brother stole all the accomplishments there were to be had in my age group, so of course I was left with nothing at all.”

“Now you’re unfair to yourself,” Lan Xichen scolded, his voice oddly detached all of a sudden. “I’m sure… I’m quite sure Nie gongzi is skilled at many things, and just needs the chance to show it off.”

Surprised to hear something that very nearly sounded like a compliment, Nie Huaisang pondered a moment on that as they followed along the path.

“No, I don’t think I have any skill at all,” he decided at last.

Lan Xichen frowned, and motioned for Nie Huaisang to leave the path with him.

“The other day, you said your father used to compliment your ear for music,” Lan Xichen noted. “And you paint, don’t you?”

“Oh, very poorly. It’s just something I do because it’s fun. If you were to see it…”

“I would like to.”

Off the path, the ground was rougher, with roots everywhere. Nie Huaisang told himself that he tripped for that reason alone, and not at all because the request surprised him so much. Lan Xichen caught him before he could really fall, but that just made it worse, and Nie Huaisang quickly pulled away, puzzled by that sudden goodwill. Lan Xichen had never taken notice of him before, or only to nod along when Nie Mingjue scolded his unruly little brother in his presence, so why the change?

“Did da-ge ask you to keep an eye on me?” Nie Huaisang bluntly asked. “Is this… are you just going to lecture me, or to take me somewhere to meditate instead of paint?”

His brother used to do both, when he was younger. He would agree to take Nie Huaisang out to admire a landscape, then turn their outing into a cultivation lesson, or make him meditate in a place that was supposed to be particularly rich in energy. Over time Nie Huaisang had learned to run the opposite direction if his brother offered to go for a walk, and apparently he might need to do the same with Lan Xichen.

“Of course he asked me to look after you,” Lan Xichen said, looking puzzled. “He is your brother and I am his friend. But I really just want to show you a place I think you’d enjoy to…”

“That’s what da-ge would say too,” Nie Huaisang retorted, deeply annoyed now. “Thanks, but no thanks. Have your own fun meditating, Lan gongzi, but I have better things to do!”

Nie Huaisang bolted away, running as fast as he could in what he vaguely believed was the direction from which they had come from. He thought he heard Lan Xichen calling his name after the initial surprise had passed, but the older boy made no effort to run after him. Possibly because it would have been undignified for someone as elegant as Lan Xichen to run, and also because it might have been against one of those rules that Nie Huaisang still couldn’t be bothered to remember. Nie Huaisang, meanwhile, was only concerned about getting away from this heinous trap.

He ran until he found the path again. Then, fearful that he’d be too easy to find if he returned to the Cloud Recesses or followed the path deeper into the mountain, he decided to keep running into the woods on the other side of that path, and find a quiet spot where to wait. If Lan Xichen was anything like Nie Mingjue, it might take him a shichen or more to accept that Nie Huaisang wouldn’t be so easily manipulated into behaving.

Worried about being pursued and forced to study, Nie Huaisang kept glancing behind as he ran. That was how he only noticed too late that he’d stumbled into a clearing, one in which there was already a person present.

To be precise, he discovered this other person due to running into them at full speed, causing both of them to fall on the ground. Nie Huaisang initially counted himself lucky, since he’d fallen on top of the stranger, but that sentiment didn’t last long when he was roughly pushed aside, knocking the breath out of him.

“Can’t you watch where you’re going?” the other person snapped as he sat up. “Look at that, I’ve got grass stains now!”

It was a boy roughly Nie Huaisang’s own age, dressed all in white… or in robes that were originally white, anyway. A Lan disciple then, but not a member of the Lan clan: the ribbon on his forehead wasn’t embroidered, marking him as an outer disciple.

“Sorry, I was trying to escape,” Nie Huaisang said, sitting up as well and rubbing his back. “If you want, you can blame me for the robes, just as long as you don’t tell Lan Xichen you saw me if he comes here.”

The Lan disciple squinted at him unhappily.

“What did you do to Lan gongzi?”

“Nothing! He was the one trying to trick me, so of course I had to escape!”

The Lan disciple squinted harder, unconvinced.

“Lan gongzi is too boring to even think of tricking anyone, you must have misunderstood.”

Nie Huaisang gasped, delighted that finally someone else also realised Lan Xichen was so very boring. Delight, though, soon gave way to guilt and a little bit of shame.

Whatever defects Lan Xichen had, his personality was honest and straightforward. If he had wanted to lecture Nie Huaisang, he would have said so, just as he wouldn’t have lied if he thought he knew a place where meditation would be more effective. Someone like him just didn't have the imagination needed for trickery. Which meant that Lan Xichen had probably really just meant to show him a nice scenery to paint. Which, in turn, meant that Nie Huaisang had just behaved in an impossibly rude manner toward the person he was supposed to befriend if he wanted to save his brother.

"You're not going to tell anyone?" the Lan boy asked, his face contorted with terror. "I shouldn't have said that about Lan gongzi, please don't…"

"Don't worry, I think he's boring too," Nie Huaisang distractedly retorted, waving his hand. "But damn, even someone with as little personality as him might take offence… ah, what a bother."

The Lan disciple squinted at him.

"Who are you exactly, to speak like that of Lan gongzi?"

Nie Huaisang winced. There was a rule against rudeness, he vaguely remembered, and maybe also one against disrespecting one's host.

"I'm Nie Huaisang. And you are?"

The Lan boy frowned, then paled and bowed deeply before Nie Huaisang.

"This humble one apologises for not recognising Nie gongzi. This humble one begs for forgiveness, and…"

"Please don't bow," Nie Huaisang complained. "It's not necessary. And don't worry, I'm not important, so nobody ever recognises me. Listen, just don't tell anyone I was running, and I won't tell anyone that you…" he hesitated, and waved his hand toward the other boy. "That you have an actual personality, unlike everyone here. Actually, I think it’s nice!”

The Lan disciple winced, and remained bowed until Nie Huaisang grabbed him by the elbows and forced him to stand straight again.

“There, no need to be so formal! What’s your name, by the way?”

The other boy hesitated a moment longer than was truly polite, and glared down at his feet when he finally answered.

“I’m Su She. I am a disciple of Gusu Lan and… and I should report both of us for punishment for being rude about Lan gongzi.”

“But you won’t do that, right?” Nie Huaisang begged. “Please, you’re the first Gusu Lan person I’ve met that sounds even a little cool, please don’t ruin it?”

Su She hesitated, which Nie Huaisang took as an excellent sign. So far, he’d never seen any Gusu Lan disciple even consider breaking their precious rules. Then again, they usually always moved in groups, meaning they couldn’t be properly negotiated with.

“I suppose I can let it slide for this time,” Su She pondered. “And you really won’t tell that I was… not perfectly polite either, right? I’m doing my best, but apparently I have a bad temperament.”

“I think you’re just fine,” Nie Huaisang replied, feeling very generous now that he was certain not to be punished. “But why are you here anyway?” he asked, before noticing a book of sword forms carefully laid on the ground which they’d very nearly fallen on earlier, as well as a training sword, the sort that wouldn’t even cut through congee. “Oh, were you practising?”

It was an odd place for it, Nie Huaisang thought, because Gusu Lan had a few perfectly fine training grounds, where seniors were usually hanging out and could provide help and advice to improve one’s posture. But maybe those same seniors were the reason why Su She didn’t want to practice on the training grounds. If his personality was judged unpleasant, or if his skill was deemed insufficient… Nie Huaisang understood that too well, having the same problem. Even on those occasional moments when he’d considered training for real, he’d ended up discouraged when he’d felt everyone judging him for his low level.

“I prefer to be on my own,” Su She announced, before quickly adding: “Not that… not that Nie gongzi is bothering me of course. You can stay if you want.”

The offer sounded so forced that Nie Huaisang snorted. “I might stay,” he said, mostly to tease, and Su She looked as if he’d bitten into a lemon. “Oh, don’t worry, even if you were the worst swordsman in the world I wouldn’t judge. No matter your level, I’m worse than you.”

“I’m not that bad,” Su She proudly retorted, bending down to pick up his sword. “Just because I’m not as good as those who were born in the sect… but I didn’t start cultivating until four years ago, and my parents are… well, I’d never picked up a sword until they tried to get me into a sect, that’s the only reason I’m a little behind.”

Nie Huaisang nodded. “Those born in sects or from a rogue cultivator have a bit of an advantage.”

“A lot, you mean!” Su She snapped, before taking a deep breath and making himself smile. “But that just means I have to work harder to catch up, and of course I’m grateful that I was allowed to join at all.” He glanced at the manual on the ground, then at Nie Huaisang. “Are you really going to watch me? I… I don’t do as well when someone watches me.”

“I’m just going to sit here,” Nie Huaisang replied after some consideration. “I promise not to look too much. But if I go back right now, then I might stumble upon Lan gongzi, and I’ll have to apologize, and… I just don’t feel like doing that right now.”

To show how little he would be watching, Nie Huaisang sat against a tree so that he’d have to look over his shoulder to see the clearing. Su She glared at him for a while, unhappy with this arrangement, but in the end he gave in and resumed practicing.

At first, Nie Huaisang really tried to respect the other boy’s shyness. He looked just anywhere but toward Su She, wondering how angry Lan Xichen might be (not much, he’d need a personality for that), whether this place might inspire him to paint (not particularly, there wasn’t anything striking to it) or if he might see some birds (he wouldn’t, Su She was scaring them away). All too soon, Nie Huaisang became bored, and decided to check just how bad his new friend was, anyway.

Turning around to look, Nie Huaisang was surprised to discover that Su She was, in fact, very decent with a sword. His posture was good enough that even Nie Mingjue wouldn’t have found much to criticise, he had good balance, his movements were measured and elegant while still demonstrating strength. For someone not born in a sect, Su She was pretty good. Even if he had been born among cultivators, his level would have been more than decent. Nie Huaisang had expected so much worse, and ended up watching the other boy until he was finished with his set of exercises

Su She frowned deeply when he realised he’d been watched, and sheathed his sword with an angry movement.

“I know I’m not good enough yet,” he grumbled. “I’m trying.”

“I think you’re doing very well,” Nie Huaisang said.

“Not as good as Lan gongzi and Lan er-gongzi, though.”

Nie Huaisang snorted and shrugged. “Well, you’ve got to be realistic. They’re on equal footing with adults, those two. I’ve seen Lan gongzi spar with my brother and they often come to a draw, and da-ge is a damn monster.”

Su She’s frown only deepened.

“Someday, I’ll be that good. Better, even. I’m going to catch up and I’ll show everyone!” Su She proclaimed.

Having no ambition whatsoever, save maybe to collect as many pretty things as possible and try to make sure his brother didn’t die too soon, Nie Huaisang found this need to prove oneself a little odd. Still, it seemed to be important for Su She, and Nie Huaisang had decided he liked this weird Lan disciple.

“I’m sure you’ll show them, yeah,” he cheerfully agreed. “If you’re already as good as this with a sword, it’s just a matter of time. How do you do with other subjects? Music and archery?”

Su She grimaced, and bent down to pick up his manual, avoiding Nie Huaisang's eyes when he stood up again and checked the book hadn't been dirtied.

“I got into Gusu Lan because my music skills were judged passable enough,” he muttered. “But that’s all I had for myself. And there’s only so much time in a day, and the sword is more important, everyone says so, and… I don’t have time to practice archery outside of classes, so my skill remains very poor. There’s just a lot to learn, I can’t work on everything at once!”

“It’s really too much to ask,” Nie Huaisang agreed, as if he hadn’t given up on trying years ago. “I’m curious to hear you play the guqin now, though. Saying someone is ‘passable enough’ in the Cloud Recesses, that’s saying they have out of this world talent by anyone else’s standards.”

“You’re mocking me!”

“I’m not! Oh, do you know any fun pieces? I mostly only hear such boring things…”

“Melodies for the guqin are meant to be slow and reflective,” Su She dryly informed him. “But… I play the dizi too, and there are less… formal pieces of music for that. My younger siblings liked it, anyway, and they're too young to care about real music.”

“Great! Then you’re going to play for me!” Nie Huaisang decided, grinning so triumphantly he didn’t notice the other boy’s grimace. “Oh, but it’s getting late, I should head back… I really don’t want to be late for dinner. If I have to copy the stupid rules another time, my wrist will fall off. Let's walk together?”

Su She rolled his eyes, but didn’t make any comment, even though Nie Huaisang was sure that another less interesting Lan disciple would have scolded him for not showing proper respect to the rules.

He was so glad the two of them had met. Surely, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and one far more interesting than the one he was supposed to pursue with Lan Xichen.

#xisang #nie huaisang #lan xichen #su she #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #double time travel #lan xichen is just going to love this new development :)

36 notes · View notes

chibicalzones · 5 years ago

Text

what the characters of haikyuu smell like pt. 3

featuring: 𝐧𝐞𝐤𝐨𝐦𝐚, 𝐟𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐢, and 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐤𝐢

read part one and two!

DISCLAIMER: (just in case) this is my sister’s first impression on some of the boys so don’t take it too seriously!

warnings: touches on gender and sexuality at some parts.

post made by: alex 🍒 - ALSO I FIXED OUR ASK BOX AND SUBMISSIONS! i didn’t even realize they were disabled i apologize :c but yes, feel free interact with us!! maybe we shall open requests? or at least on my end hehe

— kuroo: nail polish

a strong aura

has a superiority complex but he knows bc he genuinely believes he’s better than everyone else

a cheater... in every way

wanted to be cool but then he created his own level of c00L B)

was popular - like the freshman that was friends with the seniors for nO reason

wears platform shoes

prefers vans over converse

drinks straight up expresso shots instead of coffee

uninterested in finding a relationship

(little does she know that this actually geeky science loving nerd is the loml so)

— kenma: wet fall leaves

tired of everyone’s bs

wanted peoples’ approval when he was younger but he’s grown out of that. already figured out it doesn’t matter

“i dont care if my roots grow in”

trans

hangs with the boys

shy

has a mysterious vibes

his old friend group kicked him out and is now a lone ranger

started playing volleyball to find friends and get his emotions out

has his own superiority complex because he wants to feel that he’s better than everyone else but he knows it’s unhealthy

acknowledges his own problems

likes edgar allan poe

— yaku: apple cocktail with vodka

mix of things: nice but also gets ticked off real easily

if he went to parties, he’d just be playing beer pong

has a girlfriend - one of the few things keeping him nice

doesn’t look he cares for people’s approval of him but he really does

B student

likes science but thinks astrology is stupid

jealous of vinnie hacker on tik tok

straight now but will become gay

— yamatoro: leather

grew up in a uhm... unfortunate place?

originally dyed his hair to look cool but went with the mohawk

people think he’s cool but just wants approval

single

dresses different than everyone else

but now since it’s becoming a trend, he’s really annoyed that he used to get bullied for it

had a michael jackson phase

likes edm

really bad at showing his emotions

pansexual

— lev: pool / chlorine

the kid that pushes you into the pool when you didn’t wanna be there in the first place

makes fun of you for watching anime but recently started watching it

grew up watching pokemon as a kid but he only liked team rocket

ALSO has a superiority complex

capricorn energy, moon in aries

actually dresses up scary for halloween

parents are sweet but he can be a bit of a meanie

had a toxic relationship with a woman... because he’s actually gay

— bokuto: gasoline

A CAR DUDE SKDJFSKDFJ

infatuated with cars

specifically owns a tesla in which his dad probably bought for him

spoiled as a kid

the popular kid

every popular person has at least dated him twice

everyone thinks he’s attractive

the class clown but may unintentionally make fun of people in the process

“iTs mEnTAL iLLnesS isN��T IT?”

has rich parents but at least he has morals!!!

but also might take your lunch money

taken, straight

changes girlfriends every two weeks

my sister basically thinks he’s your every day local fuckboi

— akaashi: burnt pasta

really trying his best

has good intentions but his execution’s either subpar or just awkward

likes science, specifically physics

really likes making paper airplanes and that’s how he flirts: he writes love notes and sends them your way

bad at showing emotions so he writes them

doodles and writes in class a lot

a transfer student

hasn’t had his first relationship yet

doesn’t like swimming but he likes pool floaties

knows how to play piano

straight... for now

— konoha: miso soup

a warn person

people who don’t know him are afraid to approach him but to people who are friends with him thinks he’s very comforting

hard on others because he’s hard on himself

has an arch nemesis that fights for his position

passive aggressive but means well

was bullied for the smallest reason... like he owned a spiderman lunch box in third grade

one guy stole his girl and his is SALTY

he’d be very startled if someone came up and hugged him

with that being said, his love language is acts of service

straight

— kita: ink

artistic

he does calligraphy

dabbles in spray paint

a bit conservative

enjoys watching skateboard falls, parkour gone wrong, etc.

cheated in elementary school

a- a bully

doesn’t let people get close to him

people don’t know what to think of him

rather good at things that people may not realize, but he really doesn’t care if they realize or not

prefers iced tea over lemonade

takes health very seriously and doesn’t drink soda

uses they/them and states he doesn’t need a relationship

but he’s had one in the past and that’s how he figured out

— osamu: cotton

a reliable person

doesn’t necessarily have a lot of friends but cherishes to make sure they feel appreciated

has a creative side

specifically sketches using pencil

likes movies and goes on movie dates

people like him for how forgiving he is

a hopeful person

has a realistic outlook on life

very practical

has several friends that are girls that think of him as an older brother

a lot of people like him but he he already has his eyes on set on someone

a closeted bi

— atsumu: butter beer

GEEK

a popular kid with a quirk

a marvel geek, his favorite superhero is the th3 classic iron man

likes girls who don’t wear a lot of makeup, also goes for bruh girls

genuinely a nice person

tries his best to be a approachable person but his geeky-ness gets in the way

has strange intentions?

puts a lot of thought into what he does but does it in a not-so-logic way

needs guidance

questioning life

is NOT like his brother

wants people to like him but he portrays himself weirdly

also questioning his sexuality

takes a gap year before college because he doesn’t know what he wants to do yet

— suna: battery acid

“there’s a potency to his presence”

takes all AP classes

does things for himself but he’s not that full of himself

wants to make it far in life

he doesn’t know what he wants to do but he knows he wants to make a difference in the world

always chooses to pick up trash for volunteer work

likes math because it’s straightforward

his dream significant other is someone just like him: he needs someone to care for him and soften him up

people say he’s intimidating but his friends say otherwise

into alternative rock

he would dress the way he wanted if he didn’t get bullied :(

pan and single

𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬!

— sakusa: the inside of a missionary

overwhelmed by his own thoughts but whatever he thinks, stays there

not much of a talker

he tutors people in math and science

reads a lot of fanfic

has a famous tumblr account - swashbuckler26 and posts abstract and contemporary art

desperately wants to graduate

wanted to become a doctor until he actually started researching

now wants to be an artist

owns peacocks

he has one best friend because they share the same interests but that leads them to argue a lot

goes by they/them and doesn’t care for a relationship

asexual

this is the last part but i’m sure i missed some :/ if you guys have any other characters that you would like her to react to, lmk! hopefully i’ll be able to write for them soon!!! - alex 🍒

158 notes · View notes

thed4rkhand · 4 years ago

Note

Hi! I'm excited for your posts :3 It would be really interesting to read your analysis on Jimin's chart!

So today we’re doing Jimin’s chart and my analysis of it. Let me make it clear right off the bat, that since I’m not a professional astrologer, some things may not match up, further since we’re not super sure of his birth time, it’ll definitely affect the reading. What I can be sure of is that I’ll do my best and I’m completely open to constructive criticism from you all!

Now lets get on with some basic stuff, for those who have not yet read the post with Namjoon’s moon analysis, I’ll again reiterate some principles of Vedic astrology! In the scenario that you’re still confused with all this jargon, feel free to reach out and I’ll be more than happy to help you out.

Starting out, we have to note that while western astrology is usually more advisory in nature, Vedic astrology’s main purpose is to predict. Also, we usually go a sign back from western astrology in Vedic astrology, so according to that for example, if you’re a libra rising, you become a virgo rising in Vedic astrology and so on and so forth. All planets will also shift back a sign, so a Capricorn Mercury will become a Sagittarius Mercury.

Now let’s be aware that the chart may be a bit different, but given the main d1 (Lagna) chart remains the same for about 2 hours, let’s focus on that and the moon chart (rashi chart) for this reading. We can also just look at d9 for strength but not house placements as that can be time sensitive. So, we can take a two hour margin of time discrepancy and still predict accurately.

For this reading, we have taken 13th October 1995 as the day and 10:34pm as the time of birth, with the location set to Busan.

OTHER THAN THIS, LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO DO A BIRTH TIME RECTIFICATION FOR JIMIN LATER ON SO WE CAN GET MORE ACCURATE PREDICTIONS.

Since this is a general chart analysis, we shall be covering topics briefly and discussing the moon, ascendant and sun. For an in depth reading, do pick a smaller and focussed topic as we can honestly keep going on and on about a chart.

THIS READING WILL BE DONE IN 4 PARTS, FOLLOWING THE ASCENDANT, MOON, SUN AND MISCELLANEOUS.

On with the actual reading now-

Right off the bat, we can see Jimin is born into Gemini, with his ascendant at 16’49’, within the Nakshatra of Arda, within the fourth quadrant or pada. His lagna lord, Mercury is retrograde in the 4th house conjunct with sun, in the sign of virgo, where Mercury is naturally exalted as well as Mercury being in its Mooltrikon sign here. Secondly, the lord of Ardra, rahu, is sitting in the 5th house conduct Venus. Further the first house receives aspects from both rahu(north node) and mars. We can keep going but we’ve got a whole chart to cover here.

Now onto explaining what all this means. Being born into gemini makes the natives jovial and social by nature, all while having a very sharp mind. The phrase that comes to mind is ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothes’, not because they’re inherently bad or something, but because people don’t give them enough credit for their genius calculating mind. Throwing the Nakshatra of Ardra into this, I can definitely see the dots connecting slowly. Ardra literally means ‘the fortunate one’. An apparent destructive Nakshatra, given its ruled by the deity Rudra, it has several different aspects to it.

People born in ardra tend to have very extreme emotions and may be prone to anger issues and a habit of destructing anything they deem imperfect. People in this Nakshatra also make great actors due to their ability to mimic others well, a quality that makes them well liked and sociable, often giving them a dual persona of seriousness and goofiness. Such people are extremely affectionate and motherly, And men may display an effeminate quality to them, given that the Nakshatra is female in nature. Further, since rudra is also representative of the half man half woman god, (Ardhnarishwar), such people may have a conflict with wanting to show more and more stereotypically masculine sides to them and thus may engage in extreme dieting or bodybuilding to achieve this.

On a professional front, such people are extremely hardworking and rule abiding, sometimes to the extent of being self destructive. They have a humorous disposition and often hide behind that persona. They also keep a tight circle of friends and often check up on them. Compassionate and coolheaded, such people are often the centre of attention. The tend to multitask very often and find it hard to remain still and let go. lastly, such people and their career usually peaks after the age of 32 (aaahhh whaaat jimin).

lastly, his ascendant is in the last quadrant, which is ruled by Pisces and thus Jupiter. Being in an enemy sign here, people can have body image issues (1st house is our body and mind) and mental destress regarding their capabilities. Such people also love to engage in drinking and are very philanthropic in nature, loving to elevate the unfortunate people in society.

His lagna lord is retrogade in 4th house in virgo, conjunct sun and without aspects. The former indicates that a personal has a constant up and down tussle with their self image, and people often have demeaned them for either their looks or personality. This causes a person to be extremely insecure in themselves, and thus may require constant coddling and words of affirmations. Going four houses away, we can see that his mother is someone who truly shaped him and his persona. Their childhood upbringing plays a big role in them. Their childhood could have been tumultuous, with constant disagreements and obstacles.

They may have problems expressing their emotions or penning down their words, or they might be a very cautious person in terms of what they speak and to whom they speak. Mercury is also exalted here, giving it power, so we see that eventually the native breaks forth of this dilemma in life. They may have a career related to communication (see mercury aspecting 10th house), and they will have a successful career at that. The person may own a lot of real estate with this position. Since its mercury in virgo, such a person may be brilliant with handling technology and may even pursue IT based careers due to the ease of handling gadgets.

Given that here, sun in conjunct, right off the bat, the person must resemble their father a lot in terms of looks. They also have a regal appearance that demands attention. They may be well spoken. Their father was dominating and shaped them into who they are. Since mercury and sun aren’t friends, we can also see that such a person may have anger issues and problems controlling their tongue. This conjunction also forms the renowned Budh-Aditya Yoga, a conjunction that shows extreme smartness in a person. While this doesn’t necessarily have to be academic, such people can be very sharp and grasp things easily, they may even have knowledge on a wide variety of subjects and be extremely curious to learn more. Due to this, a person also become a great communicator, and people enjoy listening to them talk as they hold people’s attention with their unique way of speaking. They can be a great salesperson or politician with such a placement. Studies should come easy, as would reading anything from novels to detailed instructions. There may be a talent for writing stories and one may be good at interpreting symbols, font design or calligraphy.

Now going to rahu and Venus in 5th. This is a great placement honestly, given that Venus, the lord of love, beauty and creativity is sitting in the house of children, past karma, creativity and primary education, in the sign of libra. This would indicate that a native with their Nakshatra lord here would be extremely creative (rahu blows qualities out of proportion), kind of childlike innocence that would attract people who would want to literally ‘nurture’ or mother them, or inversely they could themselves be very motherly to their friends, such people also have good education till primary level (undergraduate level) and also carry a lot of good karma from their past life, which results in gains now.

Further the sign of Libra signifies that their beauty or creativity would be very magnetic, they exude charm and regalness, they tend to attract people like moths and have a very star crossed lovers kind of personality. Given Venus is the lord of 12th and 5th house itself, sitting in its mooltrikon sign of libra, it is extremely powerful here. Such a person may have alien or distinguished ideas, explore new arenas, write about devotion and deep philosophical experiences. They may also be very fond of children and children’s literature.

Given the 12th house is also the house of paranormal and extraterrestrial beings, such a person may be very in tune with their own selves and may regularly take part in activities of the occult like tarot, astrology, magick or occult like practices, or at least they have the natural capacity to do so. They may also be great psychologists with this placement and read people’s minds, with acute sixth sense and empathetic powers. Such a placement may also give clairvoyant abilities to a person. They may have troubles with their left eye, liver and digestive track also.

Rahu in libra makes someone overtly sensual and starry eyed about the world, seeing stuff through rose tinted glasses. Here in the 5th house, this may give an unrealistic image of love and grandeur, cause obsession like love, unrealistic image of self to the world. They may be also seen as a sex symbol of sorts often time, but also have a very cute site to them, as libra is a dual sign itself. Given its the ruler of 9th house here, where retrograde Saturn sits, the person may have many failures in their love life or have a very unsuccessful love life till much older, when Saturn matures at 36 years. further, aqueous gives an affinity for wanting to stand out, attracting people and being attracted to people with unconventional personalities (vmin stans) and of course, being excited about all things foreign. They may have an affinity for writing about unusual and unrelated scenarios or daydreaming about them. They might want to provide comfort to unusual people and nurture them alot, while also wanting to stand out and become unconventional themselves, they hate being blended into the crowd with this position.

As for the mars and rahu aspect to the lagna, it would largely affect the physical and mental state here. Rahu has a tendency to give long, elongated and cat like eyes to people, or very exaggerated features in general, as rahu represents the extremes. These people have unusual but magnetic (rahu is temptation) looks, which only get better and better with age (rahu is the oldest after Saturn). Mars over here gives a ruddy complexion and untidy and unruly hair. It gives a stout athletic body, which is made extremely lean due to his gemini rising. These people have exaggerated Adam’s apple and extremely masculine features (look at his face, at points he looks like he’s a statue with those sharp chiseled features). Mars may give a very sexual look to a person too, making them look more hot than cute usually. The extremely emotive eyes of his are all thanks to ardra Nakshatra, which usually promises that (the eye smile?).

Such people may have very violent thoughts, due to mars. They might also be extremely passionate and would do anything to reach their goal. Rahu here brings a tendency to fall for addictions, such as alcohol and drugs.

So this is part 1 of jimin’s chart, I’ll analyze his sun, moon, miscelnous (house placements, atmakarka, amatyakarka, darakarka, divisional charts and a lot more in that)

Do let me know if you enjoyed reading this and if you have any feedbacks.

#bts tarot #bts astrology #bts jimin #jimin #parkjimin #bts jin #seokjin #jin #rm #kim namjoon #namjoon #bts suga #suga #yoongi #hoseok #jhope #v #taehyung #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #astrology

50 notes · View notes