#documents are way easier to spread and read

[cutestdeliveryboy]

friendly reminder for some of you in drama,

please make a proper document!! it’s easier to spread misinformation when multiple evidences, sources and information are shared across blogs, instead of being in one single place.

create a google document!

(it doesn’t have to be pretty. please include content warnings, use hyperlinks to parts of the document, provide testimonies once your point is over.)

create a google drive!

(for evidence: screenshots, screen recordings, other small notes…)

think about gathering testimonies!

(for readability, it’s easier to have them at the end. they can either be anonymous, as in you hide their identities, or they can be open. as in they don’t hide.)

this way, it’s easier to share your story. keep your cases clean, don’t edit any screenshots to keep your story strong. be honest about everything and don’t let anybody dull your sparkle.

small note: please talk to each other instead of spreading it across social media. some situations may call for it, but most of the time (not every time) it doesn’t need to become a public issue.

[cacoetheswriting]

Please more Congressman Bucky and his assistant - I beg of you. I love your writing so much, been a silent follower for a long time!

stop it omg! i'm glad you're here and i hope you enjoy this <3

pairing: congressman!bucky barnes x assistant!fem!reader word count: 1.5k

content warnings: suggestive & mature themes, adult language, workplace romance in the making (aka slow burn), power dynamic imbalance (boss/employee), age gap (although not necessarily specified, reader would be mid 20s and bucky is obviously over 100 lol), mutual pining, use of pet names, fluff, jealousy and slightly possessive bucky - unedited - if i missed anything, pls let me know!

a/n: technically part 2 of this fic, but can be totally read as a standalone.

A document remains hidden in the bottom drawer of Bucky’s desk, under some random paperwork that no one will ever need.

You’re his assistant. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s how it should be — despite said document itching at the back of his mind. The blank Consensual Relationship Agreement (just in case, or whatever bullshit he’s telling himself).

Days pass as normally as they can. Following a rather flirty lunch, you’re careful around him, not wanting to say anything untoward. Bucky notices this shift immediately and ultimately decides, despite the overwhelming urge to ask what’s on your mind, if you’re as confused as he is, equally lost in the possibilities, not to point it out. 

News of a job opportunity in London spreads through the office like wildfire. Working for the Prime Minister, now that’s experience Bucky can’t guarantee and he makes himself forget about the document along with the attached attraction and one conversation that led to almost… nothing. It led to nothing.

You don’t say anything to anyone, until the day of his big speech.

Karen, Head of Personnel and human resources police, informs the future congressman you took a couple of personal days. She doesn’t give any details, but Bucky suspects it has something to do with London. A pain in his chest, a crack.

Luckily, the event goes without a hitch. Bucky is a hit. His speech was impressive, jaw muscles relaxed — a vast improvement from the last couple of times, and there's only one person to thank.

Afterwards, he’s redirected to a different room where a portion of the attending voters, who are also big campaign sponsors, gather to meet with him personally for a further discussion. He’s circling the crowd, shaking hands and waving.

There, amongst the few, Bucky’s gaze immediately latches itself to you. Like a magnet. Surprise graces his otherwise brooding features and he chews the inside of his cheek, fighting back a smile.

You wave. Fingers dangling one by one.

“Excuse me,” he says to one of the sponsors currently accosting him, “I’ll be right back.”

All eyes are on him as he crosses the room, but he doesn’t care. You’re with him, not in London, like he suspected you might be.

“What are you doing here?” His tone is pleasant, welcoming. “It’s your day off.”

“I’ve been told to remind you about a charity dinner for Survivors of The Blip.”

“You could have called,” he says simply, “I’m a pretty relaxed boss. You don’t need to uproot your day to do your job, especially during your time off.”

“I know you don’t really check your phone when you’re attending these things,” you say, tilting your head sideways. “So I figured it’ll be easier to come here and remind you personally.”

You smile sweetly. And because silence stretches, as he holds your eye contact a little too long, you add:

“Plus I have a date in the area.”

Bucky’s jaw locks at the word ‘date’. The sting of jealousy is worse than thinking he may never see you again.

“I watched your speech on my way here,” you tell the brooding man, not letting him stew. “You did good. Definitely an improvement from last time.”

He drops his shoulders, relaxing, and lets out a low, breathy chuckle.

“I took your advice.”

You arch a brow. “Had S-E-X?”

“No, no.�� Bucky shakes his head, smirking. “To test that theory, I’m waiting for a uh…”

“Worthy mate?”

He snorts. “Something like that.”

There’s another beat of silence. Charged with something far beyond platonic. He’s fighting the sense to reach for you, here in front of all these people.

“You should get back to mingling,” you say. “There will be a car waiting for you out front in an hour taking you to the hotel. You have a room, number 313. Here’s the key and you’ll find your tux hanging on the wardrobe door.”

“And you?” Bucky asks unintentionally. The key in his Vibranium palm, your fingers still gently pressing against the plastic.

“Me?”

“You know where I’ll be. Shouldn’t I know where you are?” He’s testing the waters. You can tell him to fuck off, he’ll understand. He’ll hate every second of it, but he’ll understand.

Instead, you roll your eyes. “I’ll send you a location pin, boss.”

And with that, you saunter out of the room. 

He watches you go off on your date with a sinking feeling in his chest. Rationally, Bucky knows it’s ridiculous. He’s got no claim on you. Aside from occasional light flirting, there’s nothing else going on between the two of you. He may want there to be — especially late at night, when he’s in bed all alone — but from what he hears, London is on the table and he won’t hold you back from chasing a dream.

The charity dinner is just more politics.

Bucky is bored out of his mind. He wishes for a friendly face. Sometimes Wilson attends these things, but tonight doesn’t seem to be on Captain America’s agenda. So he sits alone at the large banquet table and nurses a whiskey.

Someone will approach the odd time. Thank him for his good work or wish him luck in the upcoming election. He politely shakes their hand, makes small talk, and lets them walk away to the next table.

He thinks to thank you tomorrow. For the work you do. All these people, telling him how great he is for the personalised emails with detailed information on campaign progress. The meeting reminders, and the efficient follow-ups with transcribed minutes. The overall care. You do that.

Uncharted feelings aside, losing you to London would be a blow to his campaign.

And just as Bucky is thinking of possible ways to influence you to stay, his phone buzzes. He retrieves it from the inside pocket of his tux. Your name graces his screen and the brunette man can’t help the smile that circles his lips.

The text is simple. A location pin, as promised, to a restaurant a block away.

He types: Received with thanks.

Three dots appear, then disappear. One minute passes and nothing. Bucky thinks you must be enjoying your date and is about to lock his phone, put it away, when it vibrates in his grasp once more.

You: In case charity becomes too boring.

Bucky blinks at the words. He re-reads the text a couple of times to really make sure you’ve sent it, and even after he’s done so, he’s not sure what to make of it.

He sends: Am I faking a work emergency?

You: ???

Bucky: What about your date?

You: I wouldn’t be texting my boss if I was enjoying myself.

Then, a few seconds later.

You: No show.

The brunette man’s grip tightens around the glass in his hand. Anger rises, bubbles up inside his chest, waiting to burst. He does his best to suppress the feeling, but the thought of you sitting alone at a restaurant, stood up by some dickhead, makes it difficult.

He’s up on his feet, making his way through the crowd before he can talk himself out of the idea.

Outside, the air is chilling. Bucky hopes it’s not a sign of what’s to come. He walks down the dimly lit streets of the city, phone in one hand because even though he’s got your current location memorised, the blue dot is enticing. He can’t let it disappear.

He can’t let you disappear.

There it is again, the thought of losing you to London. Creeping up on him, then falling like a ton of bricks. Bucky quickly shakes his head. Trying to suppress what he’s feeling about this particular scenario. Now is not the time.

Nearing the restaurant, Bucky’s movement falters. He sees you standing outside. One arm hugging the long coat closer to your body, the other down your side, flicking ash off a cigarette. You lift your head in his direction, almost as if you can feel his gaze on you, and a smile flashes across your features.

“Didn’t think you’d actually show,” you say as he approaches. Honey-like tone, although a splinter of sadness.

“There’s only so much mingling I can handle.” Bucky’s careful with his words.

You raise a brow. “I suppose I’m flattered. Not every boss would choose his PA over a fancy dinner.”

He swallows. I’d choose you over everything, seems like too loaded of an answer. But the words are there, at the tip of his tongue. He just can’t push himself to say them. Yet.

“Should we go in?” Bucky asks, hand at the back of his head, uneasy, not wanting to let silence win because when it’s quiet, you might decide this — whatever this is — is a mistake. He’ll unintentionally push you towards London.

“I uh, I actually gave the table up,” you answer, putting the cigarette out, and he tries to hide his disappointment.

He swallows a breath, arm falling back down to his side. Then, Bucky looks around. Some passers-by point, whisper. His lips purse into a tight, fake smile. He waves and mouths hello, as always polite because that’s how he was raised, but truthfully, he wants you alone.

He’d even settle for alone-ish.

“But I’m assuming you didn’t eat?” The brooding brunette wonders, catching your eyes once again.

You shake your head in response.

“Then let’s go, sweetheart.” Charming tone and that damn moniker making your cheeks bloom with blood.

Bucky proceeds to turn on his heel and starts to walk, glancing over his shoulder to make sure you’re following — which, to his delight, you are.

With a bright smile on your face.

as always, thank you for reading & please support your writers by reblogging <3

[insidekatmind]

Unspoken tension~Hwang Jun-ho

Wearning: +18,smut

The night was cold, the sharp air whipping through the streets of Seoul as the city's noise blended with the hum of your thoughts.

You weren’t the social type,everyone at the precinct knew that. Always closed off, reserved, with that distant demeanor that kept others at bay. Hwang Jun Ho, on the other hand, was different. Persistent. Smiling. And for some reason, he never gave up on you.

He had invited you to his place multiple times, with that expression caught between shyness and amusement, almost expecting rejection. And you had turned him down, as always. "It's not my thing," you had told him without a second thought. But something, that night, pushed you to do the opposite.

And so, here you are, standing in front of his apartment door with two pizza boxes balanced on one arm and a bag of beer bottles in the other. You stare at the door for a few seconds before knocking.

Footsteps. Then, the door opens.

Jun Ho looks at you, surprised. His dark eyes widen slightly before a smile spreads across his lips, asmile he tries to suppress but that betrays his emotions.

"I thought you said no," Jun Ho says, smiling in disbelief.

"I changed my mind," you reply simply.

You step past him, entering without acknowledging his still-incredulous gaze as he closes the door behind you. His apartment is small, tidy, carrying a faint scent of coffee and scattered documents on the living room table. It’s clear he had been working until just moments ago.

"Pizza and beer?" he asks, a note of amusement in his voice as he watches you set everything on the table.

"Are you complaining?" you ask, looking at him.

"No, not at all." He chuckles softly, heading to grab two glasses.

You sit on the couch, opening a pizza without much ceremony. Jun Ho does the same, settling beside you. The first sip of beer is cold, the first bite of pizza fills the silence.

But the tension... it grows.

It lingers in the air, in his measured movements, in the way he occasionally glances at you from the corner of his eye, in the spaces that feel too small between you. You don’t talk much. You don’t need to. The ticking of the clock on the wall marks the seconds in which he seems to take a breath, as if he wants to say something—but then holds back.

"Are you always like this with everyone?" he finally asks. His voice is low, almost uncertain.

You look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Cold. Distant. Like… you’re always about to leave."

You lower your gaze to the beer bottle, rolling it between your hands. You don’t answer immediately.

"It’s easier that way."

"For who?" he asks.

You lift your gaze. Jun Ho is looking at you now, this time without hesitation. Dark, intense eyes—those of someone who isn’t afraid to dig deep.

He leans in slightly, his warm breath brushing against your skin. His gaze drops to your lips for a moment just a bit too long to be casual.

"For you? Or for those who want to be close to you?"

A shiver runs down your spine. And it’s not just because of his words. It’s the way he says them. The quiet certainty behind them.

You feel your heartbeat quicken, a nearly imperceptible tremor in your hand gripping the bottle.

The silence thickens. He’s still there, still too close, and you should say something,anything,to break the moment.

But you don’t.

And he notices.

You tried to look away from him but you seemed drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Jun Ho stares at you, his gaze unwavering. He's so close that you can feel the heat radiating off his body, the faint scent of his cologne mixed with the beer. His proximity, his attention,it's intoxicating.

His hand comes up to your cheek, fingers tracing a line along your jaw. You're frozen in place, your breath catching in your throat. His touch is electrifying, sending jolts of electricity through you.

His eyes bore into yours, studying you intently. He's trying to read you, unravel the thoughts going through your mind, the emotions you’re trying to conceal.

His hand slides from your jaw to your neck, his palm resting against your pulse point. He can feel the thudding of your heart, the erratic rhythm betraying the mask of indifference you’ve carefully crafted.Jun Ho leans closer, his face just inches from yours. His gaze flicks to your lips, and for a moment he seems almost transfixed. You can feel the warmth of his breath against your skin, a soft exhalation that seems to fill the silence.

Then, he speaks, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why do you keep shutting everyone out?"

You seemed surprised by his question. “It makes things easy for me,” you whispered, looking at his lips. Jun Ho lets out a soft sigh. His fingers trail along your collarbone, creating a path of fire on your skin.

"‘Easy’ doesn’t sound very... happy," he murmurs, his touch moving back up to your cheek. His thumb brushes over your lower lip, as if testing its suppleness.

Your breath hitches in your throat at the contact, your body reacting without your control. And he notices. Of course he notices.

His eyes glint with something like satisfaction, but it's quickly replaced by an intensity that makes your heart pound faster.

"Not everything has to be easy," he says, his hand slipping behind your neck, drawing you closer.His face is so close now that you can count his eyelashes. The proximity is dizzying, the heat of his body radiating through your clothes. You’re caught in a whirlpool of sensations, a storm of conflicting emotions.

His thumb continues its path, sliding along your lower lip, tugging it gently. Your head tilts back involuntarily, offering him access that he gladly takes.

Jun Ho leans closer, his lips ghosting over your ear, his voice a low rumble in your ear. “Stop running away.” His breath is warm on your skin, making you shiver.

His fingers tangle in your hair, tilting your head back, exposing the vulnerable line of your throat. His gaze rakes over you, taking in every detail, every shiver, as if trying to commit them all to memory.He kisses your jaw, his lips trailing a scorching path to your ear again. “Stop putting up walls." He bites down lightly on your earlobe, eliciting a soft gasp from you. His hand grips your hip, fingers digging into the flesh almost possessively.

Jun-ho pulls you astride his thighs and you cling to his muscular shoulders. As you sit on his lap, you can feel the hard lines of his body against yours, a stark contrast to the soft curves of your own. His thighs are firm and strong beneath you, and his hands find their way to your waist, gripping you with a possessiveness that should make you uncomfortable, but only adds fuel to the fire burning through your veins.

He drags you closer, his face just inches from yours. His eyes darken, filled with a hunger that leaves you breathless.

"Stop hiding." His voice is hoarse, his fingers tight on your waist. The words seem both command and plea.

His lips find the soft skin of your neck, trailing kisses from your ear to your collarbone, then back again. He sucks lightly on your pulse point, the suction making you arch against him involuntarily.

His hands slide under the hem of your t-shirt, fingers dancing across your bare skin. The touch is light, teasing, leaving a trail of goose bumps where they pass.His hips grind against yours, the friction sending jolts of pleasure through you. Jun Ho growls softly into your neck, his fingers digging into your flesh. He nips at your skin, leaving tiny marks that you know you'll find later.

You're so close that you can feel his heartbeat, a rapid thumping that mirrors your own. His hands slide up your back, pulling your t-shirt over your head and discarding it carelessly.

You look at him and take his face and kiss him. The kiss is instant, electric, a collision of need and desire that both of you have been restraining for so long.

His arms wrap around you, pulling you as close as physically possible. Your bodies meld together, fitting perfectly like two halves of a whole. His lips move against yours fiercely, hungrily, as if he can't get enough of you.

His fingers thread through your hair, angling your head to deepen the kiss.

His tongue flicks against your lower lip, demanding entrance, and you oblige readily. The taste of him is intoxicating, a mix of beer and something uniquely his.

He devours you, his kiss bruising, but you match his fervor with your own. Your hands roam over his shoulders, his back, every touch a silent plea for more.

His hands are everywhere, mapping every curve, every plane of your body. He explores you like a starving man, his fingers leaving behind trails of fire.Jun-ho unhooked your bra as he continued kissing you. His actions are quick, practiced, as if he'd been thinking about this moment for longer than he cares to admit.

Your bra falls away, leaving your upper body exposed to the air and his gaze. He pulls back, his eyes roving over your torso with a possessive glint that makes you shiver.

He pushes you back gently, lowering you onto the couch, his body covering yours as his lips find your neck again.

You touch his black t-shirt and lift it up for him to take it off. His eyes never leave yours as you help him remove his t-shirt, the fabric sliding over his muscular torso with ease.

His chest is toned and defined, and you can't help but pause for a moment, fingers trailing over his skin reverently. He notices the way you're looking at him, the way you touch him,it makes him shiver.

Jun Ho leans down again, capturing your lips in a demanding kiss.

His body presses against yours, the heat of his skin searing through you. His hand moves over your waist, up your side, over your breast, touching you reverently, possessively.

His lips move to your throat, his teeth grazing lightly over your pulse, and you let out a soft gasp.

"Beautiful," he murmurs against your skin, the word both a compliment and an declaration of ownership.His mouth moves down to your breasts, kissing and caressing them, then down to your belly and down to your waist to take off your pants.

His lips leave a trail of fire over your skin, his touch simultaneously gentle and insistent. He kisses each inch of your flesh, his tongue darting out to taste you.

He undresses you slowly, his hands deftly removing your pants, baring your legs to his gaze. His fingers trail over the sensitive skin on the inside of your thighs, making you shiver.

His lips move up your inner thigh, leaving a path of wet kisses, getting closer and closer to your core.You moaned and arched. “Jun-ho” you moaned.

His name on your lips, a sound he never thought he'd hear, drives him wild.

"Say it again," he growls, his fingers digging into your thigh hard enough to leave bruises. “Say it again.”

His mouth is inches from your core now, so close you can feel his breath on your most sensitive flesh. He looks up at you through his lashes, waiting, wanting."Jun-ho" You whispered as you tried to take off his jeans and boxers.

His breath hitched at the sound of his name. There was something in the way you said it, the huskiness in your voice, that sent a jolt of desire straight to his core.

Your fingers fumbled with the button of his jeans, and he helped you, lifting his hips so you could slide the fabric down. He kicked the pants off, left in just his boxers.

His eyes were dark, almost feral, as he looked at you, his fingers playing with the hem of your panties.He takes off your panties and enters you and you moan, holding on to him and hugging him.

He's everywhere, surrounding you, filling you, and it's more than you ever imagined.

You cling to him, your fingers digging into the solid muscle of his back. You're lost in sensations, your body moving against his in perfect rhythm, as if you were made to fit together.

"Jun-ho," you gasp, your voice sounding foreign, desperate. "Please."

He responds by driving into you deeper, his hands gripping your hips to keep you still, his lips on your skin, tasting you, marking you.You moaned as you felt his thrusts getting harder making you scream his name. Each thrust was like a jolt of electricity, driving you closer and closer to the edge.

His name fell from your lips like a prayer, over and over again.

"Jun-ho," you gasped, barely able to form a coherent thought, "Don't stop, please don't stop."

He didn't, instead he quickened the pace, his eyes locked on yours, his gaze never leaving your face.

"Look at me." He said through gritted teeth. "I want to see you."

You look up at him with your lust-filled eyes as you pull him into a kiss. Your kiss is messy, uncoordinated, more teeth and heat than finesse, but it's perfect in its intensity.

His tongue tangles with yours, his breath hot against your lips. He swallows your moans, his arms holding you tight, as if scared to let go.

"You feel so good," he growls, his words muffled by your mouth, "So good. You're mine."

He's losing himself in you, in the heat between your bodies, in every sound and motion. It's more than lust, and he knows it.

His teeth graze your shoulder, biting down just hard enough to leave a mark.

"Mine," he whispers against your skin. "Say it. Say you're mine."

“Yours,” you moaned as you felt his cock slamming harder into you. Your words seemed to drive him crazy. The possessive glint in his eyes became darker, almost feral. He leans in, his lips brushing against your ear.

“Again,” he ordered, his voice rough and dark. “Say it again.”

He thrusts into you even harder, as if to prove a point, eliciting a strangled cry from you.

"You're mine," you gasped, your nails digging into his back. "All yours."The words spill from your lips, a mix of need and surrender. He seems to grow even harder, more aggressive at the sound of them.

“That's right," he murmurs, his voice rough. “You’re mine, understand? Every part of you. I'm the only one who gets this, who gets to see you this way.”

His arms wrap around you, pulling you closer, as if trying to make every inch of your body his own.

“Say my name,” he orders again. “Say it.”

The sound of his name on your lips is music to his ears. Every gasp, every moan, every time you say it, it's like a confirmation that this is real.

"Again," he growlt, his hips never ceasing their relentless rhythm. "Say it again, I want to hear you."

Your body is a mess of sensations, every nerve ending on fire, but you find the strength to speak.

His name falls from your mouth like a mantra, ragged and pleading. "Jun-ho...Jun-ho..."

Jun-ho's name sounds like a prayer on your lips, a plea for more, and he's determined to give it to you.

"That's it," he murmurs, his teeth gently biting into your jaw. "Just like that. So good for me."

He's losing control, slipping further into this primitive need to claim you, possess you. He needs to know you're his, needs to mark you as his own.

He bites down on your neck, hard enough to leave a mark, his hands gripping your hips even tighter.The pain mixes with the pleasure, the intensity taking your breath away. You cling to him, your fingers digging into his shoulders as if he's the only thing anchoring you to this world.

His name is a broken record in your head, an endless loop of pleasure and need. "Jun-ho... Jun-ho...Jun-ho."

Each thrust deepens, each touch more possessive than the last. He's not just taking you, he's owning you, claiming you. And you love every second of it.

Your body is writhing under him, each movement driving you both closer to the edge. You're both lost in each other, in the sensations that are taking over.

His breath is hot on your skin, his words a mix of praise and demand. "You drive me insane," he groans against your neck. "You’re so beautiful, you feel so good."

He captures your lips in a bruising kiss, his tongue swirling yours, his passion almost wild. He's pouring everything he is into you, every feeling he's held back for so long.

He kisses a path down your neck, his teeth grazing your sensitive spots, making you gasp and shiver. His fingers dig into your flesh, marking you, claiming you.Your body is on fire, every nerve ending alive with sensation. His touch leaves a trail of fire across your skin, each movement sending a jolt of pleasure straight to your core.

He's everywhere, his scent, his taste, his touch. You're surrounded by him, in him, and you never want it to end.

“I'm coming,” you warned. Your words were the sweetest thing he'd ever heard, a desperate plea and an announcement all at once. He knew what you needed, what you wanted, all without you even having to say it.

His fingers dug into your hips as he increased the pace, his name on your lips a litany. “Come for me,” he growled. "I want to feel it. I want to hear you say my name."

You came moaning his, triggering his orgasm too.

The world explodes into white noise as you both come together. All the tension, all the desire, all the need suddenly released in one single, intense moment.

You cling to each other, shaking, breathless, trying to come back to reality.

He collapses on top of you, his body heavy but comforting. His face is buried in your shoulder, his breath hot and ragged.

For a moment, there's only the sound of your heartbeats, the sound of your breaths.

Then, he whispers, "You’re mine."

[ammoknightsofficial]

Translating the Dev's Headcanon Spread for Kyle's Family

Alright, so, I've gotten my hands on the Monster Hunter Stories 2 Art Book! That means it's time to translate This Image, piece by piece! The text on this is quite small, and the halftones can interfere with legibility at times, but I managed, for the most part. I'll be including notes for each section, particularly anything that may seem like an odd or interesting choice, for Maximum Transparency!

Everything's Under the Cut!! Have fun!

母：優しく穏やかな女性 // The Mother of The Family. A Loving, Gentle, and Quiet Woman.

I've chosen to write this in full sentences, rather than the original format, since that feels easier to communicate. You may notice that "Gentle" is both Green and Blue, and that's because 優しく and 穏やかな both communicate a kind of Gentleness, with 優しく being more like "Tender" and 穏やかな being more like "Calm".

カイルがまだ幼い頃に病にかかりこの世を去ってしまう // She Fell Ill when Kyle was Very Young. She never Recovered, and Passed Away when he was still just a Child.

Before I Get Into Translation Notes - I Have Some Thoughts.

I'm going to be fully transparent - this part is one of the main reasons I got the book. I had my suspicions that she was terminally ill and died when he was young, but I didn't want to make any absolute statements until I could properly translate this passage. I had basically no doubts about it, though - this particular scene here is absolutely striking, and communicates what's going on extremely well even if you can't read it. Kyle's too young to understand what's going on. He thinks a flower will make her feel better. Meanwhile, you have the second youngest brother that's just barely old enough to know, and in that horrible point where he understands what's happening, but doesn't know what to do or how to handle it. Then there's the middle child, with enough emotional intelligence to know that comforting the second youngest and not dissuading Kyle's - the youngest of them all - attempts to help is the absolute best course of action here, to keep everyone strong while their mother (tries, and fails to) fight(s) her Terminal Illness. It's really amazing character work, all in one simple image.

This explains a lot about Kyle's actions during the course of the story. It's kind of difficult for a lot of people to understand why he reacts the way he does to his father getting injured, but with the context that he watched his mom die of a Terminal Illness when he was practically just a baby, and was powerless to do anything about it... It really makes sense, doesn't it? On a personal level, I mean. It also puts this post-game line into some new perspective...

"I'm not putting on a brave face" is such particular wording, and such a particular reassurance to give. He's had to before, and the way he's saying this almost implies - to me, at least - that maybe the player character is intended to, perhaps, know about that bit of history. That's all Speculation, though - I just find it an incredibly interesting string of implications.

As for Translation Notes...

The main thing that may seem out of place is the fact that "She never Recovered" is in both Red and Green. That's actually nothing special, it's just the fact that her illness and her death are being linked together in this passage. She died because of her illness - not because she got, I don't know, eaten by a dragon or something later, in some odd unrelated event. She was Terminally Ill, emphasis on Terminal.

カイル家族イメージ　―　作中には出てこない設定イマージです // Headcanons about Kyle's Family - These are Characters + Character-Establishing Headcanons that Do Not Appear in the Story.

Apologies for putting the Document Title all the way down here. I wanted to talk about Kyle's mom first, lol. I've already explained my reasoning for translating イメージ as Headcanon. I don't think anything else is all that noteworthy.

A Chart Depicting the Developers' Ideas for What the (Living Members of the) Family Looks Like. In Birth Order, we have...

長男：真面目・優等生　―　23年

First-Born: Serious + An Honor Student - 23 Y.O.

次男：自信家・明るい　―　21年

Second-Born: Self-Confident + Cheerful - 21 Y.O.

三男：優しい・賢い　―　18年

Third-Born: Kind + Wise - 18 Y.O.

四男：勝気・負けず嫌い　―　16年

Fourth-Born: Determined + Hates Losing - 16 Y.O.

Me, personally, I think the birth order sounds right, but I'm not a huge fan of how young everyone is. The Fourth-Born looks 19-21 to me, the Third-Born looks in their mid-20s, so on and so forth. But that's partially just the fact that I, myself, am currently in my 20s, and generally really prefer writing + drawing adults. Straight up, I clocked Kyle as being at least 18 when I was doing my playthrough of the game, but this image seems to imply he's about 15. Extremely weird thought to me. I will personally continue writing him as an adult, and his siblings as generally way older than the Devs are estimating. That has no bearing on this piece of Dubious-Canon, however, just something I wanted to mention as a bit of an oddity to me.

Also, the second Kanji in the Birth Orders actually specifies that they're all sons (男), but I'm using the Gender Neutral forms of the Birth Order terms just because I find that more comfortable and less clunky, personally. No other reason.

And, no, I don't really know what that bit of handwriting next to the Third-Born's head is. I also currently cannot fully decipher what this passage (originally below the Headcanon Spread) means, though that's likely just a Skill Issue.

If I figure it out, I'll likely Reblog this Post with an Update, but for now, I think I've covered what I can.

Thanks for Reading!! Hopefully you found this interesting, and maybe you found it useful!! The print on this spread was really, really small, and at times quite frustrating to decipher - hell, I just straight up gave up on the above passage - so any comments or compliments in the notes will be appreciated!!

[bbanghiitomi]

| i think you're something i have been looking for

synopsis: one day your sister sends you a google document link to their position paper because she needs your help, you have no idea that she had a partner for the essay and that you didn't change your email account.

— nonidol!sportsjourn!mdanielle! × nonidol!athlete!fem!reader

(⁠ ⁠´⁠◡⁠‿⁠ゝ⁠◡⁠`⁠)(⁠ ⁠´⁠◡⁠‿⁠ゝ⁠◡⁠`⁠)(⁠ ⁠´⁠◡⁠‿⁠ゝ⁠◡⁠`⁠)(⁠ ⁠´⁠◡⁠‿⁠ゝ⁠◡⁠`)

BEEHIVE tavern

minji: [sent an attachment]

minji: y/n YOU LOOK GOOD

minji: finally!!!

y/n: fuck you mean by that?

hanni: SHE'S GONNA BE ON REGIONALSSS

hanni: i'm so proud you have an achievement other than being hopeless romantic!!

y/n: when can i actually get a compliment without an ill intent?

y/n: and thanks btw, this is like my 10th regionals my whole table tennis career

y/n: doubt i'd get any further, i always lose when i'm about to get a spot

minji: this is your time to change that!!!

minii: plus, you can't just weep when you've won. you're gonna be the talk of the region once you reach nationals!!!

hanni: IKR you can't keep being negative, just grab the chance!

hanni: you might meet the one in the regionals!!!

y/n: how many times have you said that???

y/n: thanks guys, that's why i always do my best during training.

y/n: i'll try reaching for the nationals spot, promise.

minji: we appreciate your hardwork bro! you're like super busy with training and such!

minji: and we want those hours of hardwork to be worth it!

hanni: ya plus, you really deserve it this time!

hanni: if you need something you can always ask us!

"unnie! come here!" you look up from your phone to the living room where your sister is sitting on the couch on her laptop for something. you sigh before standing up from the dining table chair and making your way to the living room with your phone. "what's up?" you ask, standing beside the couch, darting your eyes on your sister who is leaning on the laptop. her face is almost close to smothering the monitor of her laptop. "don't sit like that, do you want to be a shrimp forever?" you tell your sister before putting a hand on her back, causing her to stir and sit straight, looking up to you.

"oh hi!" youngseo sighs before turning the laptop for you to see. "unnie, can you help me? i've been working on this position paper for a while but i really can't take a grasp of it." you nod and take the laptop to read what your sister has written so far.

"i assume this is a position paper?" you ask, youngseo's face lights up and she nodded.

"yeah! we were asked to pick an editorial cartoon and make two positions for it, then choose one and make a position paper out of it." youngseo answers, she leans on the couch and scratches her cheeks, pursing her lips. you nod as you read the paper, apparently it's about the spread of fake information with the use of social media — having some experience in writing before, you expected the paper to be a lot more easier.

with that in mind, you turn to look at your sister with pure confusion. "what's so hard about this? it's just a position paper." you tell your sister who then sighs and shakes her head. "no! you don't get it! we were given a 10 page format for the paper, i really did think too that it was easy but it's not." youngseo protests, shrugging and standing up, she walks next to you and gives you a side hug. "come on unnie! please help me..." she whispers and buries her head to your shoulder.

you couldn't help but sigh of course, you still have the laptop in your arms and you look at your sister. "i'm really worried about you, what if i wasn't here?" you tell her with a chuckle, the younger girl pouts and sticks out her tongue. "but you're here and you have no choice." she lets go of you and you take it as a chance to place the laptop on the coffee table and cross your arms.

"alright, i'll help. send me the format and this google document link." you tell your sister who nods and smiles brightly at you. "thank you so much sis!" she laughs and claps her hands. you shake your head in faux disbelief. "make sure to check out the document and be updated." you remind her before leaving and making your way to your room which was upstairs.

"okay unnie! i love you!" you hear your younger sister as you leave.

it's funny, you really did have good intentions for your sister when you finally received the link of the document and the paper format — youngseo was right, the formatting of the position paper required was different than the usual, it followed certain paragraph forms that aren't usually used.

when you opened the google document link, you started editing some stuff and entering new paragraphs, making sure you follow the format and the right grammar — the thing is, you didn't know that you were using an email account you didn't mean to use.

minji'spinkytoe@gmail.com

another thing is that, you didn't know another person beside you was making edits and writing on the same document. your sister had never mentioned that the work she was doing that you were now working on was a project that is done by pair.

"minji's pinky toe..? is this youngseo?" a certain girl behind the account: mdaniellebasiceduc@hybe.com muttered under her breath, they've been working on this project for almost 1 week as the allotted time for the work is 1 month, in those 7 days she and jiwoo shared — the girl had never used this account and have been using her school account.

now this account that is sharing the same document as she was is an account she had never seen before, not only the name was questionable but it's also quite peculiar how much work the person behind the account has done in just a span of an hour — usually youngseo would be asking several questions and will take time before writing a new paragraph just to make sure she's doing the right thing.

danielle scrolls to the recent paragraph that the account is currently working on.

your eyes spots the anonymous puppy in the document and squints your eyes. "is youngseo active?" you look up to see there's another account working on the paper and click on it to see the email.

"huh?" you whisper to yourself. you watch as the person starts typing out a sentence besides the one you just finished.

youngseo? why is your email account named like that?

"like what?" you ask yourself before clicking to check the email you're using and to your surprise, you immediately gasp as your eyes lands on the account that hanni made in your laptop. "oh my god, what is this?" you start to panic realizing that the person in the same document might have thought that youngseo is the one behind the email account.

"holy shit..." you mutter before typing an answer to danielle's question.

oh my god, i'm sorry i was using the account my sister's friend made.

danielle blinked as the anonymous raccoon finally answered.

you couldn't help but sigh and slap yourself due to embarrassment and now you'll hear youngseo whining into your ears for putting her on an awkward situation.

BEEHIVE TAVERN

y/n: dude what the fuck?

y/n: [sent an attachment]

hanni: LMFAOOOO what's the context?

y/n: don't you ask my ass you know what's up.

hanni: what?

minji: what's the matter?

y/n: dude hanni made an account on my laptop named minji'spinkytoe and youngseo's classmate saw it.

hanni: NO WAY LMFAOOOO

minji: bro what the fuck? my what? ಠ⁠_⁠ʖ⁠ಠ

hanni: ur pinky toe.

minji: hanni what the fuck!!??

hanni: look it's supposed to be a joke since you sent me a pic of your toe.

hanni: and ofc i didn't know ms. lee right here wouldn't notice.

y/n: how am i supposed to know? ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

y/n: my sis asked me to help her with her paper and i didn't know someone else besides her was working on the document.

minji: DUDE WHY MY TOE ┻⁠┻⁠︵⁠ヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠︵⁠┻⁠┻

minji: why not y/n's toe instead?

hanni: cause it's funny okay!!?? →⁠(⁠°⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠°⁠)⁠┗

y/n: youngseo's gonna scream on my ears tonight (⁠●⁠´⁠⌓⁠`⁠●⁠)

turns out you really weren't wrong because as soon as you got downstairs your sister suddenly appeared as if she was teleporting. "youngseo—!" you're caught off guard and your sister crosses her arms on her chest with a sharp glare. "why did you use that horrible account?" she asks.

"youngseo look, hanni made that account and i accidentally used it because i didn't know!" you explain watching as she turns her back to you and walks upstairs to your father's office with her feet stomping on the floor. "hey don't tell dad!" you tell her but she turns around to you with a frown. "then why did you tell dani that it was me using it?" you laugh sheepishly and shrugged.

"cause i didn't want her to think you're letting your sister do the work." you answer, youngseo takes some deep breaths and raises her hand to your face. "keep it, thank you for your help but starting tomorrow i will be working on that paper again." she tells you and leaves to enter her room, leaving you confused with her sudden change of mood.

marsh danielle

youngseo: hey dani, i was just gonna say it was actually my sister who was using that account.

youngseo: i asked for her help and lent her the google document.

youngseo: she just really has the most annoying friends ever.

danielle: hey youngseo!

danielle: it's alright, i did kind of think it was funny tho...

youngseo: yeah she's goofy and stupid.

danielle: her name's y/n right? and your youngest sis is hyein?

youngseo: yup, why?

danielle: nothing, i heard your older sis is joining the regional table tennis competition and might make it to the national team.

youngseo: ohhh yeah, but she has to win the regionals first and then she's going to compete in japan before qualifying for nationals.

danielle: that's awesome! good luck to her.

danielle: i'm competing for the regional journalism competition and i'm covering for sports so i was a bit curious.

youngseo:...so you want to meet her or something?

danielle: yes, kind of.

"oooh isn't that danielle?" hanni's voice rolls inside your ears while you are tying your shoes, you look up at your two friends who are whispering towards each other. "who?" you stand in the middle not too far from the duo who both look at you at the same time. "the sports writer for HYBE chronicles." minji answers, you look towards the girl's direction and then to minji.

"you know her?" you ask, minji shakes her head and looks at hanni. "do you?"

"of course not, she's pretty popular okay? and she's attending your competition for the HYBE chronicles." hanni answers, you look once again to danielle and try to decipher what memory you have that reminds you of her name.

but to no avail, you really don't remember anything.

"her name sounds familiar" you tell your friends who both look at you in unison. hanni laughs as if mocking you, she points her index finger towards you with a smirk. "what? she talked to you before?" she says.

minji raises her brows and looks at you with surprise written on her face. "wait really?"

you roll your eyes and shake your head. "duh, no. i just remembered my sister mentioning it once."

while the three of you talk, danielle turns her head around to spot you out of all the people that are present in the park inside the school premises.

"can i excuse myself for a bit?" danielle asks the people who are also a part of their organization, she gets an approval before she takes her leave and makes her way to you and your friends.

you feel minji nudging your sides and you glare at her. "dude what the hell do you want?" you tell her and notice she's staring right in front of you, hanni also was speaking. you turn your head to see danielle making her way to you with a smile.

"hi! your youngseo's sister right?" danielle asks you and you feel your knees shaking, your shoulders feel stiff under her graze. this must be your sister's classmate, yes you figured it really might be her. you look at your two friends who just had their eyes on you with a worried expression. you smile at danielle before scratching your cheeks and nodding.

"oh yeah, right. i'm her sister, is there anything i can help you with?" you ask danielle who only smiled brighter and even giggled. "wow, i've been hearing a lot about you since the division competition and i was so stoked to see you." minji and hanni exchanged looks as you and danielle stood face to face between the duo. you feel your blood boiling upwards to your cheeks causing it to glow red.

you're super sure you've never seen a girl as pretty as danielle, maybe there were some before but if you were to be really honest it really feels like you're talking to the sun itself with the way the girl glows right in front of your eyes.

it's blinding and even the way she smiles doesn't help it.

"ah, yeah... i'm also excited about it. you're also competing right? for the HYBE chronicles..?" you ask her, sounding so cheesy and sheepish hanni felt like she was about to vomit on the spot, but danielle only nodded and even gave you a small tap on your shoulders.

the way her soft fingers trailed on your blazer caused you to almost fall. almost.

"yes! we're publishing our online newspaper and we'll also take our legacy by printing out these papers and submitting them in an international competition." the way danielle talks about it, made her seem more amazing to your eyes — you barely even know this girl but the way she carried herself almost had you wanting to carry her too, with your not-so-flimsy arms.

"god... that sounds amazing." you barely even understand whatever she was saying but you were sure enough that you knew what that meant: danielle is everyone's it girl.

hanni grimaced at your response and minji couldn't help but chuckle, even putting a hand on her mouth. "i know right? you must feel very happy about yours too, i can't wait to cheer you on! good luck." with that, danielle bid her goodbye and left, leaving you with your two idiotic friends.

"ho! ho! hold on! what was that?" hanni asks, holding her hands to your face with a surprise look on her face, minji shrugs and smiles— seeing your lovestruck face at the encounter with such a gorgeous girl. you smile, blinking your eyes slowly, watching danielle go back to talking with her friends. "i don't know..." you mutter.

"wow, she actually knows you? i didn't expect she'd care." minji laughs, she's kidding actually, it's not like you're not that popular too but she likes messing with you sometimes. "you're pulling girls now?" hanni asks, raising her brow at you, you shake your head and bury your face on your palm, smiling. "no! god leave me alone hanni." you say, but smiling hard as you turn away — the duo looks at each other and shrugs.

"i'm still embarrassed by the fact i used an account named minji's toenail and danielle saw it." you sigh as you plopped down your bed, you had your two amazing friends to stay with you in your room before you go through a long training session for the tournament. minji rolls her eyes at your statement.

"how are you more embarrassed? that's literally my toenail." minji scoffs, earning a laughter from hanni who gripped the edge of your table. "i'm so sorry minji, just don't send photos of your toenail next time alright?" hanni says, wiping a tear from her eyes.

"why not? that was such a silly impression to make." you tell your friends, minji sits next to you on your bed — her weight sinking. "since when did you care about your impression to girls? last time i checked you couldn't even answer a simple mathematical problem to impress a girl." minji crosses her arms on her chest, looking down at you.

"and you used to have stomach aches when a girl talks to you." hanni adds, this causes you to scoff with how true their words are.

yes, you used to never care about your impression on girls even if you'd regret it after since you used to have the biggest and most pathetic crushes on girls you were sure you can never have.

maybe because you've grown or was it really because it's danielle — but you can't ever fuck it up, you don't want to mess this up, there's no way you'll let go of the chance god has given you to crawl your way to danielle's life.

"call it puberty hanni, but i swear i've never seen a girl as pretty as danielle before — not as smart and not as kind." you sit up on your bed and look at your friends, minji scrunches her face at you. "again, how sure are you? you don't even know her." she says. you give minji a deadpan look and answer. "do you? that's why i need to make a good impression and get to know her so we can be friends and eventually i can ask her out."

"i do admire you for considering being friends first with her. but hey, i think you've already made a good impression i mean she did approach you, right?" hanni being a good friend for once says. you look at her and shrug. "really?" you ask.

minji rolls her eyes. "you have a fucked up sense of self-esteem huh? she literally said she's stoked to see you because she's heard of you. she's the head of the sports writing and chief editor of the HYBE chronicles. how will she not have such an impression of you?"

you stand up and look at your friends, your back facing your door as you raise your hands. "woah, you mean i have the chance?" you ask your friends, causing them to grimace together. hanni looks at you with disbelief. "of course you have dumbass!" causing minji to laugh.

"we'll support you in your tournament just in case danielle's present there."

the door opens slightly and your friends all look surprised to see the person behind you, you turn around to follow their gazes only to see danielle standing there with the doorknob in her hand. "oh! sorry, i didn't know where youngseo's room was." you stare at her with no words and smile. "it's okay... you'll sleepover in youngseo's room?" you ask, fully turning your body around and blocking your friends' view of danielle.

"yes, we have another project together and i thought it would be a great idea to stay over for the night." danielle answers, smiling at you brightly — your face lightens up, warmth engulfed your cheeks and ears start to burn red. "really? have you eaten dinner yet?" you ask again, tilting your head with a silly smile. danielle shakes her head and giggles. "not yet, i have just arrived." you put a hand on your cheek and look away. "oh okay, the door next to mine is youngseo's room —"

"danielle! what are you doing there? my sis and her annoying friends are there." youngseo exits her room and looks at you with a deadpan expression. danielle nods and waves at your sister. "oh, i thought this was your room." danielle looks back at you and peeks at your friends waving her hand. "bye guys and..." she looks at your again and taps your shoulder. "bye y/n." before leaving and entering your sister's room.

"oh my god is that danielle!?" hanni stands up from her seat and puts her hands on her head with a surprised look on her face. minji laughs and slaps her thighs. you turn around and close the door with a stupid smile, limply making your way to your bed to throw yourself again. "you should be nice to your sister, she's carrying all these interactions on her back." minji says, patting your back.

you breathe heavily, trying to process the situation with the way danielle touched your shoulder. it felt like a feather fell on your way with how soft her fingers were.

you push yourself up with a determined expression. "i have an idea." you propose.

"you'll cook a meal for youngseo and her friend?" hanni asks, following you as you enter inside the kitchen and starts checking for ingredients around the cabinets. minji stands next to hanni, nodding her head. "no, i'll cook meals for us." you correct her and continue rummaging around any drawers or cabinets you see. "but technically because danielle's here. i mean, when did you cook for us anyway?" minji raises her hands and raises her brows.

"don't forget some nights." you grumble and glare at minji as you prefer the ingredients, minji scrunches her face. "reluctantly." she corrects you.

you ignore her and start chopping garlic and opening the stove, placing the pan on the stove to let it heat while the duo takes their time to gossip together at the kitchen diner table.

"i didn't think about writing academic papers being this hard before, i can usually ace them without doing so much." youngseo sighs as she leans on her coffee table with a small grumble, muttering a curse about how writing papers at their age seems to have been more difficult than it did before. lately, their projects have been revolving around writing lab reports and academic papers such as essays and position papers, even manifestos.

and youngseo is smart herself but usually she's more of a science and mathematics smart not writing smart, good thing she met danielle who's known for her writing wits, whether it may be creative writing or not.

"academic writing is like driving school, there's sets of rules you need to follow and it's really hard to master writing but once you get a hang out of it — you'll find yourself looking for the thrill again and again." danielle says, leaning on the table too and giving the younger lee a bright smile.

"oh, by the way — we haven't had dinner yet and i think there's food downstairs. wanna come?" youngseo stands up and rushes to her door with danielle following her. "okay, i don't mind." she smiles and follows youngseo downstairs where they walk past the living room to the kitchen where they see kim minji and pham hanni discussing personal topics as well as you cooking on the kitchen.

"woah why are you three here?" youngseo asks, walking behind minji who remains seated, while hanni follows youngseo with her gaze— danielle stands at the entrance watching the four girls. "your sister's cooking dinner for us and uh, i personally love her cooking." hanni laughs sheepishly and looks at minji who smiles at danielle and offers her a seat. "yes, i think danielle would love her cooking." minji says, danielle smiles at her and shakes her hand.

youngseo looks at you and to the pasta you're making. "i'm gonna remember this." she whispers and takes a seat beside minji, the three girls start a conversation and danielle makes her way to you. "what are you cooking?" she asks, hands behind her as she sways delicately to the melody of nothing, the delicious smell of the food wafts around the place and danielle just couldn't help but take a peek.

"oh vegetables? i love vegetables!" danielle says, you laugh but still have your eyes on the pan and nod at her. "yeah me too but minji hates them." you say, causing her to giggle too.

"i think it looks great and definitely tastes great too." you nod at her and smile, finally turning your head to look at her — it makes her heart flutter, something that feels nice but new, something she was happy to welcome with open arms.

"of course, i made sure it does." you tell her.

"come on minji, how are you almost 20 and still can't eat vegetables?" hanni grumbles as you all start to eat and you serve minji a plate of pasta without some of the vegetables. minji ignores hanni but earns a laughter from youngseo.

after eating dinner, you ask for all of them to leave as you were about to clean the table and plates but danielle insists on staying to help you out — this was a cue for the two of your friends to drag youngseo out of it. "oh come on! what are you doing you two!?" your sister complains as she was being dragged away.

"that was such a nice dinner, i loved it!" danielle says as she helps you take the plates out of the table, you smile at her and feel the way your blood runs hot to your cheeks, causing you to look down to avoid her gaze.

"thanks, i rarely cook here since our mom does most stuff but she's out with dad so — i kind of thought maybe i'll cook again." you tell danielle as you place the plates on the sink, she looks at you with glimmering eyes. "i did hear youngseo say the same thing before and she mentioned how she likes your cooking too."

"my sister is a little tsundere sometimes you know?" you laugh as you tell that to danielle, she giggles and nods her head. "she's so nice though and smart." danielle adds.

danielle helped you in washing the dishes, you talk about your experiences at the table tennis career of yours, what dreams you have for yourself as well as danielle's life as the chief editor of the HYBE chronicles journalism organization, how her journey started and what traits you share in common.

she's pretty spontaneous but likes to plan ahead cause it excites her, she likes vegetables and loves her family so much, she can get a little stubborn and she's always happy, she wants to bring positive vibes to everyone around her.

you tell her a lot about yourself too, your relationship with youngseo, how much your sport means to you and your friends too, how amazing they are even though you'd rather die than tell that to them cause hanni's gonna make fun of you.

"thanks for tonight." danielle gives her brightest smile, and it's almost like you were given the chance to take a peek of the milky way galaxy from her eyes the way her pupils shine bright lights. you couldn't help but smile too, you nod at her and try to keep looking at her eyes. "yeah, thanks too it's not much but i had so much fun." you stare at her for a while before looking away, both of you standing in the middle of the corridor where your room and your sister's room were located.

the lights were turned off already and the only source of lights were the window where the moonlight was present.

once again, danielle gives your shoulder a light tap to get your attention.

you steel yourself before turning around and you're greeted with her face close to yours. "don't tell this to anyone but — if you ever get the chance to compete in japan, let's go on a date, yeah?" danielle whispers and you feel yourself about to crumble to the floor with how close she was, you blink almost too many times to try and wake yourself up from what kind of dream this was but it wasn't working.

"ah, uhm... yeah, sure..." you mutter, still surprised but danielle couldn't help but giggle at your reaction, seeing how flustered you were.

you feel embarrassed but happy too, yes, you're definitely happy — who wouldn't right?

you began to laugh sheepishly and this had danielle laughing too.

"you're so cute," she pauses and reaches for your cheek to pinch it. "see you tomorrow." she continues before leaving and not even waiting for your response because she knows you wouldn't be able to function after what she did.

"i need to win and get to the nationals!" as soon as you enter inside your room you surprise your two friends with your shouting. "oh my god y/n! can you not do this tonight?" hanni grumbles before standing up and grabbing your shoulders. "what's gone into you?" she stares at your face.

"i need to train tomorrow!" you shake hanni's hands off of you. "18 hours practice, yes that's perfect!" you walk around your room whispering encouragement to yourself that had your two friends thinking you're possessed.

"you should cheer on your sister." danielle says as she enters your sister's room. youngseo sighs and rolls her eyes. "she's such a big baby." youngseo mutters before going back to reading her book, danielle laughs and sits next to youngseo, embracing the younger lee in a hug. "oh—! what's gotten into you? did her crazy friends possess you?" youngseo asks, trying to push danielle off of her.

danielle only smiles, not pulling away. "i just think your presence will help her win... i'll accompany you if you want." danielle looks at youngseo with a persuasive smile.

youngseo gives her a deadpan look before speaking. "you like her don't you?"

danielle laughs and shakes her head. "no!"

"really? danielle don't you dare lie to me!"

"i swear."

"dani...

did you really come here to see her?"

danielle pushes youngseo away.

"no!"

"i doubt it."

"well, yeah maybe a little."

"oh come on dani!" youngseo jumps on danielle on her bed, causing the girl to burst into laughters.

"sorry!"

that night made danielle realize that maybe it's not like something or someone has been missing in her life for a long time, it's just that maybe a part of her is looking for that something as an addition to her life — she needed a bit of color, she found that it might be that she have only realized it when she first saw you, it's not on that day you first saw her on the campus after you embarrassed yourself using your friend's account — but it's has been a long time since that fateful day when you handed her a copy of your textbook, you didn't even bother asking her name or telling yours, it's so funny because you don't even remember that day.

ever since then, danielle has been looking out for another day the gods above will tie your strings together again.

and when that time comes, she'll never let your strings go again.

she's been so patient, always cheering out for you from afar, hoping someday you'll eventually notice her and to her surprise — and to yours, that day brought you two together again as funny as it sounds, it was destined to her eyes, it was meant to be.

[beifongnation]

The Spirit of Change: Chapter Eight- Thawing Out

Description: "The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." —Harriet Ann Jacobs

Rating: T

Read it on AO3

Story:

The frigid morning air turned the apples of her cheeks red, stinging her throat with every inhale of breath. Each exhale was visible; the last vestiges of winter barely tangible before her face, disappearing in an instant. The ground beneath her bare feet was beginning to thaw- evidenced by how much easier it was to bend today than it had been the day before. Lin continued up the mountain trail at a steady clip as she did nearly every day at this time, watching as the dawn light spilled slowly over the peaks, spreading its warmth downhill into the city.

At the crest of the trail she paused, taking in the view of the Republic City skyline off in the distance. It was beautiful at this hour, as the bay began to sparkle in the morning light. She oriented herself by picking out Aang’s statue on Avatar Memorial Island, a speck on the horizon. Inland and to the right she spotted the Hangshan Hotel and smiled at the sight of it. Due to an unfortunate misalignment of their schedules it had been three consecutive nights since she visited Kazuo’s suite, but tonight they were set to be back on track- the thought of it did more to warm her than the sun ever could. A tiny voice in the back of her mind admonished her for her lapse in sensibility and she quickly straightened her back as she recalled the list of rules she had set. Admittedly, she’d been doing a terrible job keeping them up- when she did visit him, she slept over every time. Beyond that, their conversations went well into the wee hours most nights.

Lin sighed, one month out of six had already passed and nobody had caught onto them yet, perhaps bending some of her rules wouldn’t lead to the catastrophe she originally imagined. For over a decade, the moments in which she experienced anticipation were almost always of the ‘dread’ variety. Now, as she looked at the sun glinting off the high-rise hotel building her anticipation was a thrill, all excitement for what the day had in store.

Having satisfactorily rationalized her feelings on the matter, Lin turned back to the trail, catching sight of a bundle of small lavender crocus blooms poking out of a melting patch of snow- a sure sign that spring was on its way.

*****

Since Amon’s attempted coup, overnight bags had become a common sight at Police Headquarters. Cops of every rank could be seen toting their essentials into the locker rooms at the start of each shift, the mark of an overworked force. Luckily for Lin, it also meant that the small bag she carried was of no particular note to her officers. That wouldn’t be the case much longer she realized, as the unrest in the city was beginning to subside and the gaps in her staffing were finally being filled.

It was nice to feel as if she were getting the force back in order after all that had transpired. Song had taken to his new post of Captain like a turtleduck to water and while Lin had expected as much, she was relieved to see her faith in him borne out into reality. His precinct was no longer a secondary juggling act between Captain Hong and herself. Beyond that, she was in the final week of re-training all the ‘warm bodies’ Saikhan had brought on in his desperate bid to keep the city from crumbling. In a few days time these latest recruits would finally be ready for patrol.

“Good morning, Chief,” Khen greeted her, popping up from his desk as she passed it.

“Good morning.”

He followed her into her office, notepad in hand. He closed the door carefully, shutting them inside her office, “Board of Fire phoned and asked to move your meeting out to next week.”

“That’s fine,” Lin replied, rounding her desk and dropping her overnight bag into her chair. She lifted a stack of documents that lay waiting before her.

“Those were brought by courrier late last night from Council Chambers,” Khen informed, “amendments to the City charter.”

“Ah,” Lin nodded, scanning the papers in her hand. They looked like drafts, she took notice of Tenzin’s handwritten notes to her in the margins.

“The City Attorney’s Office said they also want to reschedule, they said they found “adequate predication”, but they don’t have anything more to report at this time…”

That caught Lin’s attention and she looked up at Khen finally. He shifted awkwardly, unwilling to acknowledge he understood the message to be directly related to investigating Saikhan. She could wring Raiko’s neck for being so careless to leave such a comment in a message. “Thank you, Khen,” Lin said after a prolonged moment, “anything else?”

Before he could answer there was a quick knock at her door. Hong poked his head into her office without waiting to be invited, “Got a minute?”

“Can it wait until hand-off?” Lin asked.

But Khen looked visibly relieved by the interruption and took a step back, “I don’t have anything more.”

Lin nodded, waving Hong into her office wordlessly. Hong moved forward dragging a chair before Lin’s desk out to take a seat, he sighed heavily. “I need a favor. I’ve got a time-on request for you.” “Time on?” Lin returned, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah,” he laughed, “Blue Dragon Festival is coming up and Binh is already talking about getting the kids to participate this year.” Lin rolled her eyes. The Blue Dragon Festival was not a holiday marked by big celebrations as far as Lin was aware, but instead by the cleaning out of one's house. It was a marker of spring; a new start. Hong continued, “if you could schedule me for some back-to-backs I would appreciate it. I don’t mind cleaning out the house if I can do it on my own, but if I have to manage the kids the whole time it’s a different story.”

Lin scoffed, removing her overnight bag from her chair to take a seat, “Why don’t you just tell your wife that instead of asking me to manufacture an excuse for you?”

“Come on, Lin,” Hong pleaded, “you could use the time off, right?” He motioned at the overnight bag as she placed it onto her desk, “sleep at home for once.” She bristled at his comment, snatching the bag and placing it on the floor behind her desk out of sight. He didn’t miss the change in her demeanor, but he didn’t comment on it either. “This is a win-win for you.”

She sighed. Blue Dragon was an official holiday, which meant the Council and Transitional Committees would surely have a three-day recess. It was the closest thing to a guarantee that her schedule would line up with Kazuo’s for once. “Fine,” she relented.

“Thank you,” he exhaled, sitting back in his chair finally, “you have no idea how much this means to me. Nothing has been done since New Year, Binh thinks it’s bad luck.”

Lin chuckled, “My grandmother had that superstition. Didn’t want to risk sweeping away the good luck of the new year too early… of course, that shouldn’t have been a problem, I don’t think she ever picked up a broom in her life.”

“She must have been really lucky in that case,” Hong joked.

Lin nodded, gathering a few more documents from her desk in preparation for their morning hand-off meeting. She straightened the stack of papers with one curt tap against her desktop, “Shall we?”

“We shall,” he agreed, standing to follow her back out of her office door.

******

Street lamps reflected little pools of light in the snow melt along the street before Hangshan Hotel, its stately visage distorting as satomobile tires rippled through, winding their way through Republic City. Lin hopped over one such puddle at the last minute, remembering suddenly that she wasn’t in her usual metal boots. Her uniform had been like a second skin for as long as she could remember, a physical barrier between her and the outside world, protecting her from harm. Her armor was left behind tonight as it also proved quite effective at staving off sexual advances; something she was not keen on at the moment. A brief twinkle of self-reflection about that was batted away, moved to the back of her mind to be pondered at a later date.

For now, she was focused on the elevator doors that carried her up toward Kazuo’s suite. The doors parted and Lin stepped off into the hallway, suppressing the twinge of anxiety that always preceded their meetings long enough to knock at his door. The door swung inward in short order, “Well, hello stranger.”

Lin’s attempt to stifle her smile was in vain, her grin so fulsome that the only hope of reigning it in was to bite her lip, “Hello.”

He stepped aside, holding his arm out to welcome her into his suite, “Feels like I haven’t seen you in a whole election cycle.”

Lin rolled her eyes, walking past him to deposit her overnight bag along the low wall that sectioned off his kitchenette. She didn’t dare admit that to her, the past three days had indeed dragged in the most tedious way. “Really? Seemed like three days to me,” she told him sarcastically as she undid the tie at the waist of her coat. She felt his lips plant a kiss along her neck, just below her ear and she leaned back into him, tilting her neck to offer as much of it as he liked.

The low timbre of voice against her skin created the loveliest sensation,“Oh, so you were counting the days then?”

Lin scoffed, turning her head finally to meet his eye in feigned annoyance. His response was another chuckle and a kiss to her cheek before he stepped back, helping her out of her coat finally. She gave him an approving look as he hung her coat on the rack. He turned his attention back to her, slipping his arms around her waist. Lin returned his gesture by settling her hands on his shoulders. “Now, where were we?” he asked, leaning in before stopping short of a kiss, “Ah- that’s right- you were counting the days…” Just inches away Lin gave him a withering look, “I can count higher if you’d prefer.” He laughed, shaking his head, “No, no. You’ve been through enough.” When their lips finally met they were both smiling, making the act of kissing a difficult task. That didn’t last long, however, as they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

*knock knock knock*

They broke apart, both sighing.

“Okay, three days and one more minute,” Kazuo quipped in a low voice, curling his fist in a show of solidarity, “Stay strong.”

He let go of Lin’s waist, stepping back just in time to catch another roll of her eyes before peeking through the peephole of the suite door. His expression turned to one of confusion and he motioned Lin forward to look for herself. She hesitated only a moment before squinting through the looking glass to see Governor Jie of the Earth Kingdom Province of Leong standing on the other side of the door.

Jie was a force to be reckoned with both inside and outside of the Earth Kingdom. She had been appointed to the Earth Kingdom’s transitional committee as a political act of self-preservation by Queen Hou-Ting. Jie was a vocal opponent of the monarchy, but her substantial support in the southern provinces had grown powerful enough that the Queen understood leaving them without representation as the United Republic severed its ties would have been an act of suicide, quite possibly in the literal sense.

Lin had only met Jie briefly at the welcoming party the previous month, where she made the grave mistake of leading with, “Chief Beifong, your sister is an invaluable friend and ally of mine.” Outside of that, they had no interaction. Lin only interfaced directly with the Council and the Transitional Committee Leaders in her work.

Kazuo, however, had reason to meet with her several times a week- though late in the evening at his hotel suite wasn’t exactly the usual setting.

*knock knock knock*

Lin and Kazuo exchanged a look and he shrugged, his face the picture of confusion. Lin shrugged back, motioning to the doorknob before stepping to the side into the kitchenette where she wouldn’t be visible once the door was opened. Lin folded her arms, leaning back against the counter as she watched Kazuo open the door to greet Jie.

“Governor, this is a surprise. What can I do for you?”

From the gap at the hinges Lin could barely make out her elbow, bouncing as she gestured, “Kaz, hi…I, uh, I was just going to head down to the lobby for a drink and I was thinking about what you said about import tax in our meeting with the Council this morning… I was hoping you might be free to join me. You know, give me some further insights.”

Lin was sure Kazuo could see the disgusted face she pulled out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t react. Instead he continued to look forward. “Unfortunately, I’m expecting the Palace to telephone me any minute,” he lied,“but I’d be happy to go over all of that sometime tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Jie agreed, “that would be great. If your phone call finishes early, I’ll probably be down there awhile.”

Kazuo nodded, giving her an earnest smile, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Kaz.”

As soon as the door closed, Lin lifted an eyebrow, “Did you double book yourself?”

Kazuo shook his head with an amused laugh, “I knew you were going to say that!” He pointed at the closed door, “I have no idea where that came from.”

“I’m sure she could give you some further insights.”

He shrugged, “Too bad because I already had plans to give you some further insights.”

“In regards to…?”

His expression shifted suddenly, dropping any hint of flirtation as if he’d remembered something. “Actually, I did have something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Lin felt her chest tighten, bracing herself for— well, she wasn’t sure. That was the problem. In the thirty seconds it took Kazuo to collect a brochure from the counter and hand it to her, Lin had spiraled into a thousand emotionally devastating scenarios. She looked down at the glossy card stock in her hands depicting two dragon boats side by side on a river.

“What’s this?”

“The Blue Dragon Regatta,” Kazuo returned plainly, as if that cleared up any confusion.

“What is that?” Lin asked again, glancing back at the brochure in her hands. She looked up to find Kazuo aghast.

“Are you joking?”

“No?”

“The Blue Dragon Regatta,” he repeated with an incredulous laugh, “it’s the most important boat race of the year and it happens to be just outside of Chenbao this year. On the Su Oku River.”

Some of the words he was saying made sense; she knew where Chenbao was- about a three hour train ride northeast of Republic City just over the mountains. She was aware of the Su Oku River- the surrounding villages were popular weekend retreats for the overworked citizens of Republic City. She knew what a boat race was, of course, but what she didn’t know was what any of this had to do with her.

“So?”

“So,” Kazuo led, “I was thinking you might be able to pull some strings with the boss at work and get some time off to join me.”

Of all the catastrophic scenarios Lin had imagined in her brief spiral, this was not one of them. Her chest tightened again, but in a different way. He wanted to go away with her, on a trip, just the two of them– on purpose. Had such an instance ever crossed her mind as a possibility she would have certainly added it to her list of rules: no romantic getaways. Then again, her list of rules had been wholly ignored by them both since the day they were instituted.

Her first instinct was to decline his offer, but she hesitated, opting instead to say simply, “Oh.”

His eyes scanned her face, searching her expression, “Not a fan of boat racing?”

Lin shook her head, “Are you?”

It was a silly thing to ask at the moment, he was clearly a fan, and come to think of it– the oar situated over the mantle in his apartment finally made sense, but she was buying herself time to weigh the pros and cons of spending an uninterrupted weekend together. What if they didn’t travel well together? What if they got sick of each other before they even arrived in Chenbao? What if he actually expected her to be excited about boats floating on a river? What if someone saw them together? What if she hated being stuck with him? Or worse– what if she loved it?

“I used to row in college and still follow it closely,” he explained, “I’ve never managed to get to the Blue Dragon regatta in person, I usually have to listen to it on the wireless.”

Lin looked up, “On the wireless?” He nodded. “How does one announce a boat race?”

“What do you mean?”

“Does the announcer break into a regular program with a bulletin update to report the boats are indeed on the water and roughly beside one another?”

Kazuo sighed heavily, “Oh, Lin. It’s an event. Especially the Blue Dragon- there are heats with every class of vessel you can imagine! Catamarans- all kinds of sails- skiffs and dinghies, yachts, rowing- single sculls, coxed eights, coxed fours- the whole nine yards. And the traditional dragon boat race, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Lin returned dryly.

“I can explain it all when we’re there,” he assured, leaning in to take her hands. He slid his thumb along the inside of the brochure she was holding, pushing two train tickets out the top. “And I hope you will come because otherwise I’ll have to sit next to a stranger on the train.”

Lin smiled, heart warmed by the realization that he had been so eager to take her along that he had gone out of his way to purchase a ticket on her behalf. She wasn’t an afterthought.

“You already bought me a ticket?”

He nodded.

“And you’re sure this wasn’t meant for Governor Jie?” she teased, reflexively compelled to temper her actual emotion with a little sarcasm. He laughed, thankfully.

“I’m sure.”

“Well, if you already went through all the trouble of getting a ticket for me I suppose I have to go.”

He leaned forward still, catching her lips for a kiss, “Great. I can pick you up after your shift on-”

“I’ll meet you at the train station,” Lin asserted firmly. The shift in her tone acted as a pin, deflating their flirtatious banter just as it was taking off. It was somewhat involuntary, this verbal wall she erected between them– a survival tactic she had honed over the years whenever someone got a little too familiar. Still, she regretted the way it came out. She was grateful when Kazuo didn’t seem to make any particular note of all this.

“Alright,” he agreed without missing a beat, “now that it’s decided I’ll give you a crash course in the basics of rowing.” The ease with which he breezed past some of her more prickly personality traits never failed to amuse her and she couldn’t help but chuckle, “that’s not what I came over here for.”

He shrugged, “I’m a great multitasker.”

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

The hollow sound of her drumming fingernails along the bank of filing cabinets snapped Lin out of her reverie and she clicked her tongue in disapproval. Despite her feelings to the contrary, there was no actual rule in the city charter that Lin must be working at all times. With a sigh, Lin pushed the drawer containing her personnel files closed. She would only be in Chenbao a few days after all, and it was meant to be a social getaway. Still, her eyes next landed on a drawer containing files her precinct detectives had finally determined to be “cold” and guilt gnawed at her.

Mercifully, a quick rapping of knuckles at her office door interrupted, “you ready for hand-off?” Hong asked, poking his head in.

Lin turned her head, hands still resting along the cabinet before her, “In a moment.”

Rather than departing, Hong pushed the door open further, stepping inside, “you looking for something?”

“Take home work,” she replied, turning to face him finally.

Her answer was met with a chuckle from her old friend, “You’re allowed to take time off.”

“Says the Captain who just requested three days worth of back-to-backs,” Lin retorted.

“Fair,” he conceded, “but I don’t take my work home with me…especially when I’m going out of town.”

Lin gave him a critical look, but was betrayed by the flush rising in her cheeks, “who said anything about going out of town?”

“The overnight bag you brought in,” Hong replied, looking satisfied with himself.

Lin turned back to her filing cabinet with a roll of her eyes, opening another drawer as casually as she could to begin thumbing through her files again, “every officer in this precinct has been bringing their overnight bags to work.”

“True,” Hong conceded, “but you brought a different one today.” When Lin didn’t reply he continued, “you want my advice? Don’t bring your work, it’d be rude.” Lin closed the drawer without retrieving a file and turned back to him with a defeated sigh; he had her dead to rights. “I was a detective before this, you know,” he chided.

“Alright, Detective,” she gestured toward the door, “shall we?”

“Yep,” Hong agreed with a clap of his hands and they exited her office for their shift change meeting.

*************************************** It had been years since Lin had cause to find herself on the platforms at Central Station. As an adult her vacations - especially inside the Earth Kingdom- were a rarity. As a child, however, Central Station was the jumping off point for her many visits to Gaoling. In some ways the ornate old train shed hadn’t changed much; the same brass railings she and Suyin used to stage their games of ‘slap-hands’ along were still there, covered in decades of smudged fingerprints that made Lin cringe at the memory of willingly placing her palms upon it. She recalled the mix of excitement and anxiety that preceded those trips; anticipating the adventure that went along with traversing the Earth Kingdom overland while simultaneously dreading the exhausting act of predicting which words and behaviors were appropriate in the presence of her grandparents.

Truth be told, she had the similar feeling now as she made her way toward the boarding platforms. Though she was sure that attending a boat race in Chenbao with Kazuo was likely to be less restrictive than an opera performance of The Heavenly Maids Scatter Blossoms with her grandfather, she was still fretting about how to conduct herself in this unfamiliar setting. She was also reasonably certain that weekend getaways were not a standard earmark of individuals engaging in casual sex, but anything remotely resembling a relationship was strictly out of the question, so where did that leave them? This nebulous space the two of them seemed to occupy as of late did vex her somewhat, but in her lighter moments she almost managed to convince herself that she might enjoy allowing life to happen to her if she simply let it. Unlike her files, her cabinets, her closets- not everything needed a label and a designated space- some things might even be better just existing without too much examination.

Lin sighed, checking her ticket against the platform sign; she didn’t believe that for a second. She was in the correct place at least, platform number six, and she managed to arrive a little early even. As she approached the steward she took a last look around the bustling crowd for any sign of Kazuo, though she didn’t know why- the whole point of arriving separately was so as not to be seen together. Either way, she didn’t find him and passed her luggage and a couple of yuans off to the rail porter. He had only made it a few steps toward the baggage car when Lin stopped him, beckoning him over so that she could retrieve a book out of her bag. She offered a few extra yuans for the trouble and the porter didn’t seem to mind the delay in the slightest.

Strictly speaking, she had no intention of reading The Gold Murders on the train, but concluded that in her nervous state her hands needed something to do, even if it was only holding a book. Her cold case files would have been good for this too, she thought regretfully as she boarded railcar number two. Another steward stood just inside, offering to help her find the proper compartment, but Lin assured him that she was perfectly capable of following descending numbers down a singular pathway to compartment number eight. She was surprised to find Kazuo already seated at the table within, obscured behind a broadsheet copy of the Fountain Daily News touting the headline TENSIONS FLARE OVER EARTHBENDING INFLUX and a photograph of two groups of people shouting at one other across a deep fissure in the ground between them.

“You beat me here,” she observed and he folded the paper in his hands so that he could give her an enthusiastic smile.

“And you made it,” he returned, moving to stand, but Lin waved his gesture off and took a seat across the table from him.

“I thought for sure you’d be hung up with work,” she explained, settling in. He folded the paper in his hands again, setting it aside to reveal several stacks of files and a heap of unopened correspondence covered in Fire Nation postage on the table between them. “No, I brought it along instead,” he chuckled.

“Oh,” Lin replied, doing a poor job of disguising her disappointment in having left her own work back at Headquarters.

He must have misinterpreted her tone because he quickly began to clear the table, “I don’t have to do it now,” he explained, looking almost bashful. Lin didn’t previously think Kazuo was capable of looking bashful.

“No, no,” she interjected, “it’s alright. I brought a book.”

Kazuo shook his head, continuing to stack his files along the seat beside him before remarking, “I’m surprised you haven’t finished it yet.”

“Me too, actually,” she agreed, following his lead and putting her book aside. When the table was cleared they met eyes again, silence stretching.

“Hi,” Kazuo offered, laughing lightly.

“Hello,” Lin returned with a small laugh of her own.

In the years since they had met they shared plenty of awkward moments, but to Lin’s knowledge this may have been their first awkward silence, made even more awkward by the fact that Kazuo, who normally cannot stop talking to save his life, didn’t seem to be capable of breaking it. “How was work,” Lin blurted finally.

“It was productive,” Kazuo reported, “we finally agreed on an election date so that’s done.”

“Really?”

He nodded, “It’ll be in the papers tomorrow, but I’ll give you the scoop- it's scheduled for Harmony Week. Now, it’ll be down to the Council to codify the election laws, but at least the rest of us can start planning our return trips.”

“Oh. That’s great,” Lin replied, but her conviction was lacking.

Harmony Week was a yearly celebration at the close of each summer to celebrate the founding of the United Republic. It was a logical choice given the historically symbolic nature of the week itself and it aligned with the committee’s rough timeline of six months. Even so, having a tangible timeline for his exit from her life- quite possibly forever- left her with a hollow feeling. “It looks like you’ll have your hands full when you get back,” she continued, referencing the newspaper at his side.

“Oh this?” Kazuo asked, lifting the paper slightly. Lin nodded. “It’s been an ongoing issue. Fire Fountain is built on top of natural gas deposits and a lot of engineering has gone into directing that gas throughout the city safely. We have this sect,” he explained with noted disapproval, “that call themselves the ‘Spirit Warriors.’ They believe the gas should be allowed to seep out wherever they decide so they can have ‘visions’ of spirits or something so they’re always making attempts to sabotage the underground pipelines.”

“Lovely.”

He nodded, “we’ve had some luck curtailing their efforts in the last few years and there were even a few months it looked like they’d left Fire Fountain for good.”

“And?”

“No such luck- they were just on a mission in the southern Earth Kingdom proselytizing to benders so they could recruit them back to do this. Up to now they’ve been protected under religious exceptions, but now that they’re doing some real damage I’m having to draft legislation redefining what it means to be a domestic terrorist.”

Lin gave him a light shrug,“sounds pretty straightforward at least.”

He chuckled, “Ah, spoken like someone who enforces the law instead of legislates it. No,” he pat the stack of files on the seat beside him proudly, “this is going to be the most excessively pedantic set of addendums Fire Nation law has ever seen. I’m talking zero wiggle room.”

“Where in the southern Earth Kingdom?”

“Hm?”

“Do you know where in the southern Earth Kingdom they were picking up benders?”

Kazuo laughed knowingly, “Not Zaofu if that’s what you’re asking.” Lin felt a hint of relief at his answer. It was indeed what she had been asking. “Apparently they were in Yi and Leong.”

“Governor Jie’s province?”

“Leong? Yes,” Kazuo nodded, “I actually have to add her to my calendar next week come to think of it.”

Though Lin did not intend to react, her eyebrows were quicker than her intention and they lifted with significance. Kazuo noted her expression and laughed, “I do need some further insights into this situation, but not the kind she was talking about- don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Lin shot back compulsively, though something in her stomach did twist at the idea of Kazuo and Governor Jie meeting.

Kazuo reached into the breast pocket of his jacket then, where he normally kept his cigarettes and pulled out a deck of playing cards instead, “Up for a game?”

“Alright.”

Kaz opened the case, shuffling a crisp deck decorated with scenes of Republic City on the back, “Do you know Big Two?”

“Know it? I played it so much during triad stakeouts I would dream about it later.”

Kazuo cut the deck, dealing out the cards one by one, “Koji and I play this a lot when we’re on the campaign trail.”

Lin gathered up the cards she’d been dealt, shifting them into descending order in her hands, “Hm. I don’t think he likes me.”

Kazuo paused, “Who? Koji?”

She nodded, selecting out the three of diamonds and placing it between them, “Yes.”

“No,” he insisted, finally covering her card with a four of spades, “no, that’s not it at all. If anything he was just nervous about how much I like you.” It was Lin’s turn to pause then, cheeks coloring. In spite of the fact that they were headed for a weekend away together, statements like this still caught her off guard. In her moment of silence the train engine sighed, signaling their departure, almost as if it was her own response- the train was leaving the station. Lin selected the two of hearts, laying it on top of his card.

Kazuo’s eyes bugged at the site of it, “Spirits. Looks like you have control again.”

Lin swept their pile to the side, starting over with a seven-high straight, “I suppose so.”

Notes:

If you're still invested in this story I am so so grateful to you. An enormous thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story and pinged me on tumblr to ask for an update. I'm sorry this took so long! Believe it or not this was just the first half of the chapter 8 I have planned and the second half is nearly complete, so I hope the next update is a lot sooner than YEARS away. It was running long so I decided to just post this half to get it moving!

[destielmemenews]

Hello! I don't know who i should connect to about this.

You may be familiar with the general situation of trans and generally queer people in russia. Since the start of war in Ukraine, the law, that was in force for about 10 years and banned "LGBT propaganda" for minors (in fact, it banned any information to teenagers and any materials that are in any way related to queer people and potentially accessible to minors) was changed to a complete ban on “LGBT propaganda”.

In October of this year, russia completely banned documentary and medical transition for transgender people and significantly restricted their other rights. More specifically here: https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/25/vladimir-putin-trans-healthcare-ban-russia/ On November 30, the russian Supreme Court classified the “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist organization.” What this means exactly is explained in detail here: https://meduza.io/en/cards/russia-has-banned-the-so-called-international-lgbt-movement

The activist team “Quarteera” has started a petition calling for easier access to refugee status for trans* people from Russia in Germany (e.g. the possibility of applying for refugee status for people already in Germany without having to travel to russia to submit documents).

🟣 The petition can be read and signed here until December 18th: https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/content/petitionen/_2023/_08/_22/Petition_156274.html

Residents of other countries can sign too. I would be very grateful if you would sign the petition and help spread the word.

The petition is in German, but anyone can sign!

According to Wikipedia, the group behind the petition is involved in numerous educational activities and demonstrations that aim to help LGBT+ Russian migrants and their families in Germany.

"Quarteera is a Russian-speaking non-profit volunteer LGBT registered association in Berlin, Germany. The association was officially registered in April 2011 and calls itself the "Russian-speaking group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people and their friends in Germany"."

Quarteera's website (in Russian)

An informational Reddit post about the situation.

The petition

[fictionkinfessions]

"Anonymous asked: This isn’t a confession, it’s a warning about somebody in your community.

Hello, a somewhat known user in etc fandom(s) (user @/blogurl , formerlly blogurl is a known supporter of blah blah blah. Regardless, we believe this community should be aware so they don’t interact with this individual.

For the full document explaining this, as well as proof, contact @user on Discord. We want nothing from you. We’re simply trying to warn this community.

If you’ve received this ask, you share a fandom or community with pronouns, even if it isn’t listed. You don’t have to post this publicly, we don’t care if you do or don’t."

I cant believe the people in charge of the MCU are now in charge or spreading call out posts. What a convoluted pile of bullshit. Do I need to give this discord person a secret code phrase too? This is ridiculous.

Hey if you bother to come back and check if I posted this, heres some pro tips.

Nobody's going to put in the effort of a telephone game.

nobody in their right mind is going to contact a random user on discord.

seriously is this a phishing attempt? You sound like you're going to send me to a fake google docs login page to steal my password.

just fucking make a tumblr side blog. post your proof there. It's way easier to reblog posts from that. this is so fucking questionable.

Do you know how many trans women on tumblr have been targeted by randomized multi origin point posts calling these women predators for being women in fandoms? Is that what you're doing here? Because otherwise people could check the notes of a single side blog to see refutation of your claims. See also black bloggers and bloggers of color this has happened to.

Maybe you mean this is good faith but I am not about to get involved with something as sketchy as this.

I hope everyone else reading this takes call outs like this one with a grain of salt. Proof is great when its offered freely, not hinted at. And that itd anonymous, leaving no recourse to contact whoever sent it? No.

[hoodedboy79]

"Next"/Inspector & Calensk

I still believe in Calensk supremacy 🛐

Also this isn't proof read so my bad for any mistakes.

=========

Repetitive.

That was the only word that came to the Inspector's mind as he continued checking passports, stamping documents, and listening to the same tired excuses, threats, and desperate pleas.

Some begged, others got too personal, spilling their misfortunes to a stranger who had neither the power nor the will to help them. A few tried intimidation, but most just pleaded, hoping he’d ignore the discrepancies that would have them detained.

It was a monotonous job.

"Good morning."

Startled, the Inspector looked up at the gruff voice.

Calensk stood at the booth’s entrance, his expression as hardened and indifferent as ever. A hastily rolled cigarette dangled between his fingers, but before stepping inside, he flicked it into the snow.

Before the Inspector could return the greeting, Calensk reached into his pocket and placed something on the counter.

A single 5-credit note.

"You detained five people. Well done," he said, nodding, his mouth curling up just slightly—almost impressed.

He promised 10 credits last time.

"This is not enough."

"Yes, I know."

Calensk sighed, hesitating for a moment before continuing.

"My wife sick now. Neighbor spreads the flu." He gestured toward the note. "This is what is left after medicine."

A pause.

"I give you rest next time. Maybe you detain more people to make it easier," he added with a listless shrug before stalking off back to his post.

The Inspector pocketed the note without a word.

"Next."

---

The snow thickened as the Inspector trudged to work, his boots sinking with each step. The cold wasn’t just biting—it seeped into his bones.

Arstotzka was always cold, but today felt worse.

His house wasn't much warmer. Thin blankets barely helped, and his family huddled together at night for warmth, but it was never enough. With winter rolling in, they would have to turn the heat on soon, but they couldn't afford it. His son had already spent too many nights shivering.

That was why he forced himself out the door every morning.

That, and the man leaning against his booth.

"Morning," the Inspector muttered as he unlocked the door, stepping inside.

Calensk followed, closing the door behind them.

"You look tired," he observed as the Inspector slumped into his chair.

"Son was sick again. Kept us up during the night."

Calensk hummed in acknowledgment, eyes scanning the Inspector’s weary face. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard about the boy’s illness.

"The cold gets to him easy. The lack of food doesn’t help." The Inspector exhaled sharply, looking away. "My wife and her mother try to keep him warm, try to keep him from catching anything from the neighbors, but it hasn’t worked."

Calensk didn’t respond right away. He knew medicine was expensive. Too expensive. It was why he’d turned to certain… alternatives to make extra money. And he could see the toll it was taking on the Inspector, too.

Before he could say anything, the checkpoint alarm blared, signaling the start of the workday.

"You should get to your post," the Inspector said, voice lighter now. "Boss will have your head if he notices you're not."

Calensk scoffed, unbothered by the thinly veiled threat. Without another word, he stepped outside.

The Inspector pressed the buzzer.

"Next."

"Entry is not guaranteed."

"Next."

"Please have your papers ready."

More people came through. More were turned away. As usual, curses and insults were hurled his way.

A typical day.

Another buzzer press. Another hopeful face.

This one was different.

A rough-looking man strode in, his posture skittish but his steps confident.

Before the Inspector could ask for his documents, something was shoved into his hands.

"DEATH TO ARSTOTZKA!"

The man bolted back into Kolechia.

The Inspector barely had time to process what had just happened.

Then he heard it.

Ticking.

His eyes snapped to the box on his desk. His breath caught in his throat.

"What is going on?"

Calensk’s voice cut through the moment.

The Inspector turned, panic barely concealed. Calensk followed his gaze—then scoffed.

"Oh. Hah."

"What is this amateur shit?"

He stepped closer, peering down at the bomb like it was an insult rather than a threat.

"Should we evacuate?" the Inspector asked.

"For that little thing? No, of course not."

"Just disable it. Open the cover."

The Inspector hesitated, but did as he was told. His hands trembled slightly as he removed the panel.

"Stupid fucking terrorists," Calensk muttered, unimpressed. "Could not even add a display."

The Inspector glanced at him. "How do you know so much about bombs?"

Calensk ignored the question.

"This is the poorest bomb I ever seen. A simple mind created this."

He pulled a pair of pliers from his coat and shoved them through the paper slot.

"Just cut the wires in order."

With unsteady hands, the Inspector followed his instructions. One by one, the wires snapped.

Then—silence.

The ticking stopped.

The Inspector let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Ok. All done—back to work."

"We should close the checkpoint."

"Bullshit. I need to earn money today."

The unspoken 'So do you' lingered between them.

"Give bomb to me."

The Inspector blinked. "What?"

"I sell materials and give you a cut."

A pause. Then, wordlessly, the Inspector slid the bomb forward. Calensk grabbed it, tucking it under his jacket.

"What a piece of shit," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Doubt it’s even worth much."

He turned to leave.

"Call the next immigrant."

"Next."

---

"Inspector."

Calensk always had a habit of appearing without warning.

The Inspector barely looked up from the disorganized stack of papers in front of him.

"What now, Calensk?"

A brown paper bag landed on his desk.

"Here."

The Inspector finally glanced up, eyes narrowing. "What is this?"

"Food. From my wife. Bread and lard. She made extra." Calensk hesitated, then added, "For your son. Good for colds."

The Inspector stared at the bag.

Gratitude felt foreign these days. Like a muscle he hadn’t used in years.

"Thank you." His voice was quiet. Sincere.

Calensk waved it off. "You look worse than usual."

The Inspector huffed a tired chuckle. "You’re full of advice today."

"Somebody has to be."

The radio crackled. A voice barked out orders: a Kolechian diplomat was expected soon.

Calensk scowled. "Diplomats. Pieces of shit. Always think they’re better than the rest of us."

The Inspector smirked faintly in agreement.

Calensk turned to leave, but the Inspector called after him.

"Be careful with that… thing you took earlier."

Calensk glanced back, smirking. "Don’t worry about me, Inspector. Worry about your lines."

Then he was gone, his boots crunching in the snow.

The Inspector shook his head, returning to his work.

As he pressed his stamp onto the next document, he realized something.

For the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel entirely alone.

"Next."

========

I'm starting to get writer's block again and just losing motivation in general, but I might write a part 2 to this if anyone wants it before I fall off the face of the earth for another 3 months 💀

Hope this was decent!

[our-queer-experience]

Hello! I don't know who i should connect to about this.

You may be familiar with the general situation of trans and generally queer people in russia. Since the start of war in Ukraine, the law, that was in force for about 10 years and banned "LGBT propaganda" for minors (in fact, it banned any information to teenagers and any materials that are in any way related to queer people and potentially accessible to minors) was changed to a complete ban on “LGBT propaganda”.

In October of this year, russia completely banned documentary and medical transition for transgender people and significantly restricted their other rights. More specifically here: https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/25/vladimir-putin-trans-healthcare-ban-russia/ On November 30, the russian Supreme Court classified the “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist organization.” What this means exactly is explained in detail here: https://meduza.io/en/cards/russia-has-banned-the-so-called-international-lgbt-movement

The activist team “Quarteera” has started a petition calling for easier access to refugee status for trans* people from Russia in Germany (e.g. the possibility of applying for refugee status for people already in Germany without having to travel to russia to submit documents).

🟣 The petition can be read and signed here until December 18th: https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/content/petitionen/_2023/_08/_22/Petition_156274.html

Residents of other countries can sign too. I would be very grateful if you would sign the petition and help spread the word.

!!!! anyone able to should sign the petition and pass it around!!!

[queenwille]

are you pro-israel/anti-palestine?

hi, first, i appreciate you asking very politely and not assuming things.

i’ll say i’m a zionist, which isn’t an offensive word. i believe in the right of the jewish people for self determination in the form of a jewish state in the land of israel, the promised land of the jewish people.

i find calling israel, the only jewish state in a sea of muslim/christian states, an “ethostate” and mocking the jews for feeling the need in one, as very antisemitic rude and offensive. that goes without mentioning how ignorant and rude it is to claim all jews are white europeans. literally cancelling the whole rich history of the jewish people in the arab countries (which they were mostly chased out of as well).

the need to live within your given or chosen community is such a natural thing, even animals do it. for some reason, when it comes to israel and the jews, it’s wrong. before anyone starts, please let me remind you that within this very large jewish community, there are 2.5 million arabs (mostly muslim, some christian). they share equal rights, a citizenship and an israeli ID/passport. yes, even the sister of the top hamas man (who was arrested this week for having documents and money linked to hamas, a terror organization).

that being said, i am in no shape or form, nor never was i, anti palestine. i think it’s just not as simple as some people who joined the hot trend across the world see it. the state of palestine was never established for many reasons that don’t involve the jewish people. i do mean this when i say i do wish the palestinian people a safe and established land, but it’s simply not that easy. it really isn’t no israel=yes palestine. they have so many other needs other than demolishing the land of israel. their inner conflicts are very much alive to this day (google fatah/hamas conflict), their lack of actual support from neighboring countries and other reasons they have there. they’re really not at a good starting point, but no one ever talks of that. it’s just easier to masturbate to the idea that protesting in favor of demolishing israel and sending +-7,000,000 jews to fuck knows where will be enough.

let me make it clear, the fact that civilians are being killed and hurt breaks my heart. i say this knowing fully well that many took part in the oct7 massacre. generations, on both sides, being brought up with nothing but hate and fear of each other boiled up to this disaster. which is why i find the whole western pro pal movement, spreading fake news and hate and deepening the conflict, as not just offensive, but also very dangerous. for both sides (+diaspora jews). calling hamas freedom fighters and not the terror organization that they are is as dangerous to the palestinians as as it is dangerous to israelis/jews. they are given actual legitimacy for actions that are considered extremist and terror on an international level. yes, they do hide in UN protected facilities, using inocentes as human shields. and when we say the west is next, it’s not just a spicy slogan, it’s not really about the jews, but the western culture.

i am very angry of the way the hostages are being ignored or bluntly canceled (ripping off their posters everywhere). it’s hypocritical and very upsetting. i will also mention that i seriously don’t appreciate using the jewish holocaust and appropriating it’s terms and the well known generational jewish trauma and mocking it.

lastly, i would like to mention that a lot of what’s happening right now around the world just proves the need in a jewish state. being close with an army that’s main goal is protecting its people literally feels safer for jews even under missiles and terror attacks. let me inform you that the main reason that israeli casualties are lower, is the invention of the Iron Dome, operated by the IDF. It has saved thousands of civilian lives since it’s first use. no, it wasn’t hamas’ more humane ways or idk what i read. israel literally spends every last dime to keep it’s people safe, while hamas won’t even let the palestinian people have a safe hospital. instead of mocking our worries and constant feeling of being persecuted and in danger, to the point that a jewish state feels like a life or death matter, maybe try to think what you can do to change that. saying we’re delusional or closing mouths when we claim for antisemitism isn’t helping, and it sure isn’t what’s currently happening in the world and social media.

again, thanks for asking. i have so much more to say and that’s before actually going into current antisemitism or even into october 7th, i just think i’ll stop here for now. i hope this somewhat answers your question.

[taswritesstuff]

things i've learned about writing (from writing essays)

this is an expanded version of a post originally posted to my instagram account. for the original post, click here.

1: get your ideas out in the first draft

your first draft isn't supposed to be good. in fact, it probably won't be good. that's not what it's for - it's there to give you a start on getting your story written down. write down all your ideas. absolutely brain dump onto your document. it won't, and doesn't have to, sound good. it just has to make enough sense that you can understand what's happening when you go back to edit your first draft later.

your second+ drafts can focus on removing unnecessary information, combining sentences, and making things flow better. for your first draft, don't focus on transition words. if you don't know how to write something, put brackets describing what should go there (i.e. [fight scene here]) and move on.

2: assume your reader doesn't care

your readers aren't going to care about your story unless you give them a reason. to make your readers care about your story, you need to care. if you ever find yourself getting bored while writing, your reader is going to get bored too. change the boring scene. remove it. change the parts of your story that will make your readers put your book down.

similarly, make sure your readers don't get confused. sure, everything about your story - the characters, the worldbuilding, the names of things - is obvious to you, but your reader is learning it as they read your book. make sure you don't confuse your readers with an overload of worldbuilding or too many unexplained name drops, because a confused reader can easily turn into an uninterested reader who doesn't finish your story.

now, that's not to say you can't have lots of worldbuilding or name drops in your story - just make sure everything is explained clearly or the explanations are spread out over time to keep them from being too much all at once. this way your reader can keep better track of the story and its world.

3: when in doubt, plot

if you ever get stuck somewhere, do some plotting - even if you usually don't. writing down what you want/intend to include in the next parts of your story are a great way to brainstorm and get yourself reinvested in the scene you're working on.

this is also a good way to be productive without writing. when you're outlining, you're still working on your story. sure, you may still have to heavily edit and remove parts of your story that were in the outline, but outlines aren't perfect. sometimes you may have to ignore them altogether. the important things are making progress and maintaining interest in your story.

4: write whenever you can

yes, even when you don't feel like writing. some days, writing doesn't go as smoothly. some days, you don't feel like writing. this can make the task feel daunting. if you can get into the shitty first draft mindset, it can be easier to let go of all your anxieties and just write. no matter how bad this writing is, you're still getting closer to finishing your book.

this can also apply to plotting - sometimes, your outline will suck. hey, it's still progress! just get something on that page.

5: set deadlines

did you know that people actually do their best work when on a deadline? this is because deadlines prevent people from overthinking their writing. sure, spend a lot of time writing and editing and perfecting your story, but don't spend too much time. overthinking your story and overediting are real problems that can make your story worse.

so, set deadlines to motivate yourself. make them as difficult or as easy to meet as you want - whether your goal relates to word count (ex. "i'm going to write 1000 words this week.") or some other type of end goal (ex. "i'm going to finish chapter 7 this month."), it's a push in the right direction.

finally, give yourself a reward for meeting your goal! over time, these rewards can motivate you enough that your deadlines develop into habits that help you write consistently!

thank you for reading!

if you found this helpful and want to support me, please head over to my instagram (@taslo.writes). i post writing advice, book reviews, oc/wip content, and more 3 times per week, and i've also started posting reels when i feel like it. thanks!

[mintytealfox]

I would love to get a run-down of all your nortalice AUs, if you don't mind 👀

OOOOO~ Yes of COURSE 👀🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Lets seeeee, I've got:

THAT au//Zentradi AU- this one is highly sci-fi and inspired by Macross kinda sorta (the only similarities are one is a large humanoid species, and humans fight them with mechs, and then they 'try' to live together) . Two species of humanoid now inhabit the same planet. One from another dead planet and seeking refuge and a new place to live (the humans). This was met with hostility from the original habitants (the larger one). A war broke out for 10 years, for the humans to come on top in the end. The larger species are now used as a sort of work horse in most cases. Some manual labor, others protecting the area and hunting, etc. there are still Nobels and high ups in politics but the less well-off tend to be put to difficult work and conditions. Even though the humans have the tech to make it easier, just don’t want to waste resources.  It’s a political way to keep them down, busy and obedient basically. 🙃 This is a Da Capo Au so Norton, Melly, and Frederick are all natives of this planet, while Alice and Orpheus are human. (all of them were too young to remember much of the initial war and have lived and grown up in the aftermath).

Expedition AU- was an AU idea proposed by an Anon~ 👀🙏Quote: "A strange meteor falls to earth, and not only turn the surrounding area into an eldritch location but also transforming both the minds and bodies of the people in that area." But the FIRST expedition team compiled of the DA CAPO members are sent in there to collect data etc. -Norton: The group survivalist and guide -Alice: The data collector -Melly: There to protect the wildlife, and document behaviors, etc -Frederick: is the sniper and there to shoot stuff and protect the team -Orpheus: is the NERD of the group who knows the most about this place and what is going on. There is a PART 2 to this AU that includes a Second Team that is sent in to 'find the remains of the first Team' only to find them transformed and very much alive and EXTREMELY unhinged! The second expedition team is compiled of, -Naib: the leader of the group -Emily: the medic of the group and needs to collect blood samples of any wildlife that is found and is tasked with gathering the bones from the last expedition -Luca: He is the only one familiar with this place from his studies and fascination with the theories of what happened to the first crew that entered this place, and is there to find any electromagnetic readings and see if there is a way to start reversing the effects or just keep the barrier from spreading -Martha: Is playing the part that Frederick did. The sharp shooter that keeps the group safe

There was a ying Dragon AU and a yang Dragon AU- One is cutesy and fun with Alice being a lady knight and Norton a dragon who has learned that humans suck after being used as a gem sniffer, for Benny and his 'friends' in the deep underground, and hides as a human when Alice comes into town to 'slay him', after he ran from Benny and started 'terrorizing' the town pff. The OTHER version is more of a progressing curse. Where Norton gets infected and loosing himself and Frederick had the same thing but was able to cure himself before it got too late. But Frederick thinks it is too late for Norton and saying Norton needs to be gotten rid of before it becomes a problem beyond the group, but Alice keeps fighting Frederick on this claim there is still time and surely there is a cure out there.

There is the AU where Infernal Sin and Eternity create a partnership, which sets Infernal free from his volcano, and Alice now has an enforcer of her judgment. Wins all around for the both of them pff

There was the Mythology AU- Norton is Hades, Melly is Persephone and more like a roommate who brings her bugs from spring and summer, much to Norton's annoyance -WHEEZE- then Alice as Eurydice and Orpheus as Orpheus. So Orpheus is trying to get Alice out of the underworld, but she has become fond of the place, and well, Norton pff, so when the time comes she has to make a choice to follow Orpheus or look back and Norton can break the deal and take her back heh~

Anastasia AU popped off for a while at first 👀 with Alice as 'Anya', Norton as Dimitri, Frederick as Sophie, Melly as Vladimir, and Orpheus as The Dowager Empress Marie (only not gonna be please about Alice leaving again with Norton and gonna make that extremely difficult lol)

and THEN the BIG ol Eternal Mansion AU, where Orpheus dragged Da Capo back to the mansion to re-live that time but the way it was SUPPOSED to go, and so many other players as well. This ends up with Norton stuck as Fool's Gold and Alice stuck as Miss Nightingale, loosing their memories but when they have their flashes of clarity they continue trying to figure out how to free themselves. A lot of '1 step forward, 5 steps back' sort of story ;;

(I am sure there are others but I am drawing a blank LOL 7 is my favorite number so this works out XD)

[prismonautic]

IVALIEM - SPELL TO REVEAL TRUTH IN DREAMS

NOTATIONS BEFORE USE.

read the document in its entirety and make a decision if you want any spiritual information to be discovered in your sleep / astral travels.

once you have chosen to have truths revealed to you in your dream, repeat the incantation - “ivaliem” (ee-val-ee-ehm) before you go to sleep. when you repeat this incantation, you agree to having the astral energies surrounding you read + translated into symbolism that your conscious mind will understand within your dreams. your dreams are a window to the astrals, and what’s happening astrally is bound to happen in your physical reality. instead of being blindsided by stealthy attacks, get some intel with this spell and stop them in their tracks.

ivaliem is a one-word-spell. when you activate it via chanting it intentionally (whether it be inside your head or out loud), all of the commands i’ve embedded into “ivaliem” will be embedded into your subconscious, manifesting into your reality. i like to call my one word spells “.exes,” since they’re comparable to executable programs that your computer (your subconscious) will open and run in your reality.

this clarity spell is good for people seeking confirmation regarding people/environments/energies that they’ve been feeling suspicious about lately. the dream that follows after casting this clarity spell will be the confirmation message of your inquiry.

the spell is designed to get the energy signature of who you’re dealing with EVEN if they intentionally cloak themselves energetically + give you a clear and direct link to them and their workings against you. this makes it easier for you to accurately target them in your shielding/protection/return to sender rituals.

from experience, i’ve learned that the more that this one word spell is repeated, the stronger its energy becomes in your life. if you really want to have one-word-spells pack a punch, repeat it more than 20 times. i’ve found 10 to be the bare minimum to get some effects from the spell.

if you want the spell to be stronger, affirm it in your head until you completely fall asleep — AVOID THIS IF YOU’RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH VERY VIVID DREAMS, ESPECIALLY WITH HEAVIER TOPICS!

IF YOU ARE INJURED IN A DREAM / HAVE DESTROYED VALUABLES IN YOUR DREAM / EAT ANYTHING IN YOUR DREAM: make sure to establish protection against this person and prioritize healing any damage you’ve experienced from this person’s works.

the symbolism below is what ivaliem will show you if applicable entities are connected to you astrally (e.g best friend talking shit? ivaliem will show them with black lipstick on in your dreams — and whatever else happens in the dream is additional context on top of that symbolism).

the list of correspondences below will be updated periodically. for those who want to regularly use ivaliem in your protection spell routines, it’s a good idea to check back here for updates every once in a while :)

———————————————————————

☆ a person with black lipstick / a black mask over their mouth / a black mask covering their entire face.

black lipstick indicates that the person is spreading gossip against you in the dark, and it’s strong enough to affect anything revolving around your energy. if it’s black lipstick, it’s rooted in pure prejudice, malice, and/or envy that makes them act out against you. it’s a THEM issue, and you haven’t done anything to justify anything they’ve done to you so far.

if you’re getting a person in black lipstick as opposed to a black mask, you’ve already had some doubts regarding their position in your life. this dream is also telling you that you need to trust your intuition regarding how people feel about you in life — if you have a bad feeling about someone and something is telling you to distance from them, DO IT! it will later be revealed to you why you felt that in the first place. listen the first time in order to avoid finding out the hard way.

when you perceive an opponent in your dream realm who has black lipstick, the best course of action == a transmutation, return to sender, and truth spell bundled together to

A) stop the gossip and its effects in its tracks

B) remove any damage inflicted upon you towards the caster

C) have your name cleared of any slander if applicable to your situation.

a black mask around the mouth indicates that someone you wouldn’t expect to go against you is speaking against/looking down on your goals in silence.

for a lot of you, this is a long-term relationship in your life — whether it be a partner, colleague, friend, or family that you believed would support you no matter what. if this applies to you, it’s likely that you’re being blinded to the true character of this person by all the history you have with them.

just because someone has been around you for a long time, DOESN’T mean that they have your best interests in mind. just because someone has been in proximity for you for a long time, DOESN’T mean that they have the quality characteristics they need to even deserve being connected to you.

this correspondence will be most common for people who have big dreams that people would naturally cast doubt on / project their limiting beliefs onto you.

for those who get a person with a black mouth mask, you might wake up from this dream feeling betrayed and in disbelief, and possibly even guilty — you might end up in denial about their status in your life too. questioning their character is a wake-up call.

the best course of action for a person who has a black mouth mask in your dream:

A) a return to sender spell that transmutes all the negativity that they sent towards you in the dark into a situation that exposes their true feelings and intentions for you.

B) once this exposing situation manifests, you will know how to go about this connection. however you go about it, make sure that you are prioritizing having genuine MUTUAL connections in your life that respect you for who will stick with you with REAL love through thick and thin. you need to surround yourself with more integral people.

C) until that situation manifests, be watchful towards that person’s character, not just how they operate around you. just because they do things for you don’t mean they someone of upstanding character. look for where their authenticity lies, and if they’re someone who really stands on their values, or just goes to people based no how much someone’s presence benefits them. are they here for you through the thick and thin, or do they disappear the moment things start to get hard?

when you’re working against someone with a black face mask that covers their entire face, it’s a severe and intentional version of having a black mask cover their mouth.

this person knows their negative feelings towards you and still intentionally acting on their malice towards you. THIS IS NOT YOUR ALLY. they’re only seeking to get something out of you then discard/betray you. this dream will be more common for the people who are very giving, even to the point of being over-giving and stretching yourself thin for others — often for the sake of approval.

the best course of action for a fully masked person:

A) cast a general banishing of people who are actively working against you and your goals / leeching off of your energy for their own selfish purposes.

B) after the banishing, look at who falls away from your life. note that it’s a good thing they’ve fallen away, because their presence would end up being damaging to your path in the future.

C) whatever voids they have left in your current life after being banished, fill the voids by planting the seed of attracting more integral and authentic people into your community.

NOTE: your social circles will experience a heavy purge if there’s a lot of people just using you and keeping you around for the sake of convenience. walk into the dark fearlessly - you’ll come out of it a newly healed person.

—

☆ UPCOMING SYMBOLISM THAT WILL BE ADDED TO IVALIEM’S IDENTIFICATION DATABASE:

• someone spreading a disease to you that affects your appearance / sense of sight, hearing, and balance

• an ambush against your home

• you getting put in prison

stay tuned!

if you have any questions, please message me.

if you like this work, access my other works through my linktree!

linktr.ee/prismonautic

last updated: 2/5/2024

[ddollys]

“YOU’RE PROMOTED, BABY.”

˙ . ꒷ 💻. 𖦹˙—

:: IN WHICH :: it’s an alternate universe, and you have an undeniably handsome boss who seems to think that you’re quite pretty too. let’s see what he makes you do to get a promotion. maybe this awfully boring office job is becoming more thrilling.

:: soft smut :: (gojo is aged up) — afab reader! (sorry, i write mostly for females), making out, grinding, pet names, praises, reader is in early twenties and gojo is late twenties . (if any of these trigger you, do not read! <3) also not proofread so, there may be some spelling or grammar mistakes, i apologize

satoru gojo was drop dead gorgeous, and you mean it. the way his icy cerulean eyes would stare at you through his pretty white eyelashes—and that look he always gave you, it was a gift. though, those thoughts would be confined in your mind for you only.

but—who knew that satoru thought the same for you? he kept replaying the times where you would ask for help, or when he caught you stealing glances at him occasionally when he walked by sent him to the edge.

groggily dragging your fingers over the keyboard, you let out a fatigued sigh. you’ve been held back, and for what? you shifted your gaze to the stacks of paperwork, sorting out some papers would be easier—and it would also refresh your strained eyes that have been glued onto the computer for hours on end.

you removed your hands from the computer and traveled to the jumbled pieces of documents, but moments later your ears perked up from the sound of that oh, so familiar voice. your boss. you already knew that it was him by your nickname—but his smooth, sweet, sugary voice was also a sign.

“dolly, get off that computer. i have a surprise for youuuu!” an excited satoru chirped, his large frame towered over yours as he spun your chair to face him. leaning down, he whispered, “come on, it’s a very urgent surprise!” he grinned, tugging on your wrist and yanking you out of your chair.

“w…what?” you stammer before getting dragged to his office. your eyes were wide, and your lips were parted. you swallow, easing the burning sensation that was buried deep in the back of your throat. you step into his office, the air was cool and there was many, many pictures of him framed… yes, he was handsome but he was also definitely conceited.

satoru let go of his death grip on your wrist and walked over to his chair. his grin turned into a soft smirk as he shuffled around in his chair, before spreading his legs wide open and patting his thigh. “mm, doll, come here.” satoru cooed, his hand that bulged out veins still tapping his palm on the body part.

“are you sure this is work appropriate-” you say, but satoru’s voice cut you off sternly.

“princess—do you want a work promotion? now, come, sit on my lap.” satoru’s voice rang out, his eyes looking at you from across the table. you swallow again, a series of mixed feelings swirled in you; hesitation, and need. yes, your boss was hot, but this wasn’t work appropriate. though, it was a promotion and you could sit on his lap. guess which option you took?

of course the second one. you go to him and straddle his thighs, his already hard cock nestled between your warm, plush thighs. a low groan emerged from his lips as he stared at you, darting his tongue out and licking his lips.

“good girl.” he praised, his face leaning into yours. for a moment, he stared at your pretty eyes before suddenly smashing his lips onto yours. you kiss back, a pathetic whimper coming out of you. his hands snakes around your waist before pulling you flush against his torso. his tongue forced itself into your warm mouth and tangled itself with yours.

you wanted- no, needed this. it was so good. he was delicious.

you rub your thighs against his cock, making his hands loosen it’s grip on you. you never imagined this—but, satoru was such a whimperer. his little moans were so cute coming from a dominant man like him. you grind against his cock, the friction making your clit puff up with desire.

you pull away, a string of saliva connected you and satoru’s lightly puffy lips. “…so good for me.”

and after a moment of comfortable silence, “you’re promoted, baby.”

—

goshhhhh this have been on my MINDD for a while

[godricked]

hi, i've noticed tarot cards in your latest post. i'm a beginner with cards, and still tryna figure out how to "learn" them the best way. can you suggest some techniques, or maybe some good sources? the sticky notes on your cards made me really intrigued

have a blessed day!

hiii!! thank you for the ask!

honestly i would consider myself a newbie too (i don't use them nearly enough). still, i do know my way around the cards a lil bit, so i'll explain what i do and some tips/tricks/sources.

this is the yughostlavia technique (bc i am inconsistent and don't really dedicate my time to studying the tarot as much as i should... it's like an 'on the go' way to learn).

do a daily reading - this is pretty basic yet effective, do a daily draw in the morning (or if you can't do one in the AM, any time during the day is fine) and learn the meaning of that card. depending on the deck, the cards may have slight meaning variations, but all have the same "core/archetypal" meaning. i suggest beginning with the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, because the meanings are much easier to read.

learn the basic symbols of the cards - what does each suit mean, what are the most common motives (water, far away mountains, where are the people looking, what is the colour of the background?)

do basic readings - easy readings are past - present - future, situation - action - outcome... here's a list and take NOTES! these are the little papers i stuck onto my cards, i find it easier to retain information when i write.

once you have the basics down - try to interpret them on your own and THEN check google/the booklet that comes with your tarot. it will make you learn the meanings quicker (especially if you have bad memory and are more of a visual learner) as well as develop your OWN intuition.

watch youtube tarot readings! watch how others read the cards and how they weave them into a story, because rarely does one read the cards alone, independently from each other. i recommend the white feather tarot.

try to weave them into a story - you don't have to do a literal reading every time. pick out some cards at random and do practice readings - imagine you are starting a new job/getting married/moving abroad - and see what advice you can pull from the cards. this is great if you don't have other people to practice on and don't feel like reading for yourself

download a tarot app - i recommend labrynthos since they have all the meanings, cheat sheets and more (also the art is sooo pretty) and use it daily, while commuting, waiting in line, wherever you can.

where are the figures looking? what does the number of the card mean? what is my life path number and do i resonate with this number, etc. all of these things can help you learn to interpret the cards easier and more intuitively.

keep a tarot journal - draw the cards, the symbols, the spreads, everything. keep notes, but also do some free writing - keeping a daily journal will definitely help. take photos of your spreads, print them out, stick them in the journal. document the process. this is something i wish i had done when i got my first deck, so i'm compensating by sticking stuff into my regular bullet journal!

some other free resources i recommend are:

learntarot free tarot course

biddy tarot tarot card meanings

this article about how cards are connected

this subreddit has some advice!

i hope this is somewhat helpful! have a lovely day too!