#and i (genuinely not ironic) would love to think i’m the subject of a similar conversation not had directly in front of me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

min-jpg · 3 years

Note

may i request albedo , venti and kazuha with a bimbo reader?

Note: more bimbo gf lets goooOOOOO. It honestly surprises me how many people want to see more, but I appreciate the interesting idea. Enjoy!

---

Genshin Boys x Fem Bimbo!reader pt.3

Part 1 - Part 2

Characters: Albedo, Kazuha, Venti

Genre: fluff, established relationship, suggestive theme for Kazuha and Venti (sfw overall)

---

ALBEDO

seeing the both of you together will surely have people baffled. Albedo, the alchemist only fixated on his job that never projected interest on anything outside of it, now dating you?

you constantly receive inquiries on how did you even attract a prodigy like him. Not only that, but you have been criticized for not cultivating a level of intelligence or maturity on par with Albedo. "What am I supposed to do about that? My boyfriend's brain is out of this world."

Albedo usually overlooks topics regarding this when appointed towards him, unless they go too far with their judgments to the point of insulting you. "You better watch what you say. I'm not sure if you want to keep running your mouth like that." The tone of his voice is always perceived as serene and tame, but one would know if Albedo has any residing anger

he also loves your fascination over his experiments or whenever he wonders on and on about what he knows. Albedo wants someone to listen and engage in what he finds interesting, whether the latter possesses any knowledge on it or not. You always give a profound response because of how easily amused you are by the simplest things. He finds your reaction adorable and felt contentment in sharing more

his lab is off-limit because your clumsiness is a walking hazard. With many potions, fragile and brittle items in there, he admits he is not willing to take the risk for himself and also for your safety. But he always promises to tell you the result of his experiment or discovery by the end of the day

with your revealing garments, although Albedo would not react much, he likes to have you as a subject for his drawing. When going outdoors, he will ask you to stop by any scenic point of interest that inspires him to pull out a canvas. "It's a method for me to preserve a beautiful memory. I hope you don't mind, my muse." paint me like one of your french girls moment

KAZUHA

it was only a matter of time before the both of you got together. You get along with Kazuha because of how honest you are, vocalizing everything that comes to mind first. He can gauge you as a person with no ill-intention that way. Although others may view you as naive, your boyfriend loves your free spirit that rides along with the flow

he feels at ease around you, especially because he can also speak of anything. Whether you understand or not is another thing, but you always answer back frankly

Kazuha can get metaphorical with his string of words, leaving you confused most of the time. Other times, he speaks in a simple manner. He probably began picking up that habit and adjusting to it once he dated you, just to make better conversations with you

you follow Kazuha to sail out to the sea when you feel like it. He lost count of how many encounters there are of you nearly falling off the edge of the boat when the waves come crashing. You always laugh it off and give him a peck, "I wouldn't drown. You'll save me if I do, right?" To which he just sighs at you, but not refuting to the idea

being very in tune with the condition of the weather, Kazuha will take notice of a windy day. If you wear something revealing, like a miniskirt or a short dress, he will be very wary with how he positions his gaze. Kazuha refuses to stare at what he should not if it makes you uncomfortable

you do not bear such concern as he thought you would be, so whenever a breeze wanders by, some things may be exposed to the public a little too much, "If it's you, feel free to enjoy looking at it." Kazuha will be remarkably concerned about that, but he would not hinder you from wearing what you like. He only holds onto the sentiment that you will be extra careful and also trying not to glare at everyone gawking at you. Now, if he detects a windy day, it would be something Kazuha dreads. How ironic for the Anemo vision holder

VENTI

similar to Kazuha, you have great synergy with Venti and he welcomes your presence. Your attitude is recognized as the embodiment of freedom that Venti desires because of how you act based on your own accord without fretting what others may presume of you. You are oblivious of this yourself since it comes as natural to you, but Venti can discern it well. He feels at peace being by your side

your relationship can be described as the quote, "Prepare for trouble and make it double." Venti involves you a lot in his pranks. You tag along since the fun factor is there

sometimes the pranks end up with you being the victim because of your gullible nature. He finds your reactions just too hilarious and precious. You seldom doubt anything that comes from Venti, even if it sounds ludicrous. The two of you started dating in the first place because he asked you out as a harmless joke. Only it did not fall within his expectation that you would actually believe him and accept

still, he took the responsibility to explain he was not sincere, but you only replied, "You don't have to lie! You're just shy about having a crush on me, hmm?" Venti did eventually develop genuine feelings for you after some time as mentioned earlier how he feels at ease around you

one of the favorite things your boyfriend likes to do with you is when you sit on his lap when he performs in the tavern. It would not be strange for two eccentric people to clump up together. He just thinks your beauty should be exhibited by his side, "All of you can look at her, but not too much!"

wearing anything short around Venti is asking for trouble. That prankster who can command the wind at his convenience will send a heavy breeze your way, causing your dress or skirt to fly. He finds your outfit cute though, never neglecting to sing praises every time he sees you

#albedo x reader #albedo genshin impact #kazuha x reader #kazuha genshin impact #venti x reader #venti genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact headcanons

251 notes · View notes

atomicfilm · 3 years

Text

INTJ pairings

I'll make this into a fun short "put you in my pocket and take you `to my mom's Thanksgiving party" version too.

I'm not an INTJ, but I do converse with them (and by them, I mean maybe 3 total and 1 regularly) and I've been asked to talk about my thoughts on this, so for tonight only, I'm giving myself a really cool sash that says I'm an authority on the subject. I also think as an INTP I run into somewhat similar issues with certain types.

* means I like this pairing.

Typically, the INTJ's golden pair is the ENFP. I think that works for some people, but is probably a kind of short-lasting passionate fling rather than the ideal pairing. ENFPs are great people, they're lots of fun to be around, they care a great deal. They bring out the INTJ's soft side, which they may hate but they secretly quite admire. But ultimately, ENFPs can be flaky. They see something new and exciting and they move on. Novelty is the greatest motivator in a lot of ENFPs. New friends, new places, new things to do. And while the INTJ may deeply admire that and may find it quite exciting, it's not going to last forever. Eventually, the INTJ will become tired of playing games and want to settle into their ideal lifestyle pursuing their carefully strategized goals and the ENFP will become bored. The INTJ I speak to and I have the same issue, which is that ENFPs by nature are manipulative. It can be used for the good of inspiring people and bringing them together, but it can also become quite selfish and unstable. This leads to the ENFP saying things like "You try to apply logic to everything" or "you don't really respect me" or something like that when in reality, if someone loves an INTJ they'll love that they apply logic to everything and they'll love their snarky edges.

INFPs. I have not heard a lot of feedback about them as I think INTJs tend to be drawn more to extraverts. But as someone who spends quite a lot of time with INFPs, I would imagine that a lot of INTJs who can't make it work with ENFPs can also not make it work with INFPs. Once again, INFPs are great at engaging our minds but they are terrible at accepting that we live by rationality. INTJs use Fi a little bit, so to some extent they'll have similar engagements with their emotional side, but INFPs live by thinking "what can I do to nurture myself" and INTJs live more by "how can I best mold the world to fit my vision of efficiency". You'll see the commonality of Fi at the worst point possible when the INTJ is breaking down. INFPs kind of never stop using Fi and as someone who is thinking-dominant, that is almost impossible for communication. Ultimately, they'll eventually hit a point where their love languages and ways of interactions may be so disparate that they feel neglected.

ENTPs **. This is a golden pair that I can kind of get behind. The INxJs I know are obsessed with ENTPs and tend to think they're quite attractive. They're not only gregarious (when they're not arguing) but they're also quite intellectually stimulating and since they have opposite functions from the INTJ, there is still quite a bit of difference to make it fun. There shouldn't be too many emotional issues, aside from the fact that both these types tend to bottle up their emotions and resent vulnerabilities. The ENTP will probably be the more caring of the two in a conventional sense, but I would think both would have similar love languages of caring both through action and thought. ENTPs also tend to not be quite as flaky as a lot of xNxPs are, but, I would rate both of these types as highly likely to ghost. My best advice is that if you want to be around ENTPs, pick one who can be honest about their real values and whose values align with yours. If they make a lot of bigoted jokes, take that at face value, no matter how "ironic" it is. ENTPs can be a little fake in the sense that they will blend in just enough and hide behind so-called irony to be friends with a lot of different people.

INTPs. I don't really see it. I think INTPs are lovely as an INTP who likes other INTPs. Likewise, I enjoy a good conversation and friendship with an INTJ. But I find it not only difficult to tolerate relationships but also being told what to do. I make every decision in a relationship as a compromise and I think that would eventually quite interfere with the INTJ's ambitions because I wouldn't back down on mine...at least, not without resentment. So perhaps an INTJ and INTP with similar life goals could work out romantically, but personally, I view them as platonic and the one time I liked an INTJ it ended beyond poorly. I don't bring out their softness and they don't bring out mine. We're more like buddies who complain about other people when we do the entire group project by ourselves. Of course, romantic preference is a preference.

ENTJs. When has it ever worked out for someone to date their sister-type? Name one time! If someone names one time I'll update this. I think an ENTJ and an INTJ would be quite an argumentative couple even if they were on the same side about everything. Then again, INTJs do admire extraversion and it is always nice to be around people you don't have to explain yourself to every sentence.

INFJs ****. Oh, I like this pairing. I have not heard much about it, but I think it would be really cute. INTJs are complete badasses. They're very "I'm going to take over the world and you're just going to have to deal with it. And if you say no I will secretly cry". INFJs are very "I'm going to do everything in my power to heal everyone and the world and I am probably crying because I saw a baby bunny". INFJs are The Best! They have the softness of ENFPs but they're logical and they use Ni like INTJs but have Fe, which means they are thinking about harmony 24/7 and not that Fi-version of harmony. That genuine "I will make sure everyone is cared for at no social benefit to me" kind of harmony. They do socialize with a lot of people, but INTJs sometimes like to be social and party, they just aren't typically regarded that way. Do Fe and Fi mix that well? Maybe not. But as an Fe user who is quite fond of INFJs, I think they could potentially be a very cute power couple with the INTJ and there would be fewer issues with communication than other types as Ni-doms (but this also might be boring at the same time).

ENFJs. Similar to INFJs. They might work together a little less simply because of the change in function positions.

ESFPs *. Do I know for sure that this is a good pairing? No! But gosh, do I like it. INTJs become ESFP-like when they're sad. So, you know, maybe the ESFP will draw out the worst version of the INTJ and that could really suck. But this is the perfect little theatre kid dates total nerd trope and I like that. ESFPs have the social circle that the INTJ desires and the INTJ has the "got their shit together" vibes that ESFPs, despite being quite talented and successful, may lack. They both have skills one another can benefit strongly from, but it may come at the cost of a lot of arguments. Not sure. But I think this is actually my personal favorite since they have near-opposite strengths but a common reason to respect one another.

ISFPs: Pft. Idk. This is not the same as ESFPs. ISFPs are lovely but they sort of fill the same niche that INFPs do. Perfect for an INTP like me, but I don't think INTJs are looking for the quiet, artsy, weirdo so much because they already often fill that niche to some extent, even if it's more technical. I've noticed that INxJs really want to be around people who are the life of the party and very socially dominant (and ISFPs can fulfill that role, but there are other types who win via extraversion). The ISFP will likewise appreciate a little practicality, but I've noticed they're more likely to gravitate towards other xxFPs. Probably a better friendship and as a relationship would take more effort.

ESTPs: I think this one comes with its own difficulties and will work less than ENTP/ESFP pairings. This is because while they can have the same charisma that ENTP and ESFPs have, they can also have that same fakeness as a defense mechanism. Both will value action but the ESTP will probably drain out the INTJ more than ENTPs will (who are more ambiverts) and more than ESFPs too. With ESFPs, there's a good amount of the right kind of opposites. INTJs are action-driven, but they're strategic and take a while. ESFPs are action-driven, but they're more spontaneous. And ultimately, that leads to a lot of arguments about how to get things done. Whereas, the ESFP and ENTP might give the INTJ complete room to "manage", the ESTP seems less likely to do so.

ISTPs: This would be so stale. INTJs tend to show big emotions (to their own despise) when they're upset and ISTPs love to ghost at any sign of emotion. They would dip so fast. Top-tier friendship on an intellectual level but never particularly deep and unlikely, albeit not impossible to evolve into a relationship. Same issues as with INTPs, there's going to be a lot of admiration and probably not a lot of emotional attachment. I have witnessed an INTJ have a crush on an ISTP but that ISTP had a crush on me so that tells you how that went. Messy business.

ESTJ: Yeah, I guess. I don't like ESTJs as a general concept but I suppose INTJs aren't necessarily as opposed to capitalism and tradition. Sounds dry. Next.

ISTJ *: This is probably a really solid pairing for the INTJ. Very marriage material, have the same job, raise cool kids. But I think that sounds boring. So if you want the "perfect life", this is probably a good type for you but I couldn't do that. You would probably only have minor arguments and the INTJ would have to learn to trust that ISTJs are incredibly good at reading situations while the ISTJ would have to learn to love that the INTJ is more fantasy-oriented than they are. Odd, right? Ultimately, you have two people who can be very commitment-oriented, who care for people the same way, who want to fix society, who analyze everything. You just have two generally different ways of doing that, where the ISTJ is probably actually better at being in society and the INTJ wants to change it in more drastic ways (although, for moral reasons they both want to change it).

ISFJ: I don't imagine it working particularly well. I honestly can barely imagine it at all. An ISFJ is my best friend and he is THE MOST gentle buddy. You cannot make fun of him even playfully and keep the friendship. Probably a deal-breaker for a lot of INTJs as they tend to love a good tease. My ISFJ has dated an INTJ before and while they’re still friends, it was a bad experience to witness all around. INTJs are very competitive and ISFJs are very open with their affection so that ran into issues but also, the ISFJ is not as likely to stand up for itself in a way that INTJs easily respect, which is to say, when they do it it will be something like “hey, you hurt my feelings” and if you’re the kind of person to respond “then you’re too sensitive” you’ve got a whole ass toxic relationship on your hands.

ESFJ: I think this could work a little better than the ISFJ pairing and a little worse than with the ESFP. Of course, there are general grounds for arguing over emotion vs. logic, but both types can have quite a good bit of talent and practicality coexisting. ESFJs tend to be a little better with criticisms (although they are still sensitive and should be treated very gently too) and they're more likely to want to accomplish goals that the INTJ finds easier to respect. For a lot of ISFJs, their goals are sweet and simple like raising a family, working as a computer scientist. The ESFJ might be a little more oriented towards large goals similar to that of the ESFP, which is more of the category that INTJs tend to fall into. However, the INTJ is going to have to accept that ESFJs love a LOT which means throwing a LOT of parties, probably the most out of any type and its probably going to lead to some burnouts.

Overall, INTJs are great but need to learn to practice kindness and put their natural tendency for intellectual superiority aside. They shouldn't be with anyone that doesn't want to accomplish things they can respect. They shouldn't be with people who want them to compromise too much (they probably won't). They should be with people who bring out their nurturing capabilities and who they want to do things for, but not people that they see as incapable of taking care of themselves. They may prefer more social people and admire people who can network while being direct and genuine. Based on these criteria, INFJs and ENTPs are my highest recommendations while ESFPs (my favorite) and ISTJs also make the list for various reasons.

BUT, that being said, RELATIONSHIPS (including friendships) ARE A SKILL. They are most successful when someone becomes good at learning respect and compromise that doesn't cause resentment, regardless of type. All individuals will have different specific interests as well as red flags. And if you need me to tell you if your relationship works, it probably doesn't and you can DM me.

160 notes · View notes

junisfics · 3 years

Text

addressing this post — 06/08/21

tw: mentions of: eating disorders, "skinnyphobia", fatphobia, sexual assault, rape, racism.

note: it is very probable that i may add things onto this post as things progress, so please be patient with me. i'm going to open up my ask box to be open to criticism, but i will not be responding to any that aren't questions.

to provide context.

the origins of this post has come from an earlier thread found here. in this thread, said user created some sort of “blocklist” with a list of tagged users and what they’ve done wrong. in said post, it’s stated that i defend individuals who write noncon/dubcon, which is true. as a victim of sexual assault and rape i find rape fiction as a form of a way i gain my control back, but thats besides the point.

in response to this post, i created a list of things that ive also done that could be seen as problematic which you’ll be able to see if you scroll a little lower. in this list, i disclose a few things; some of which are sarcastic, and others which are not. it is my mistake that i did not include tone indicators to differentiate the sort.

i thought that it was okay to make a joke out of this situation, which i truly shouldnt have thought. my intention was to make the “victims” of that post feel better about their inclusion in it by joking about the subject. i didn’t intitally take this post as something serious, which is why i was so open about joking about it. i always saw block lists as something petty or something to joke about, which is why i joke about it.

racism.

(technically ethnicity, but mentions of me being white were also brought up)

in this list, i start with the fact that ive called my friend callie (who is mexican) a b*aner. which is a slur used against mexican people. i am mexican. im 75% mexican, as an estimate, for i do not know my full history due to the fact that im adopted. but also, even though i am mexican, i am decently white passing depending on context. on days where i straighten my hair, im white. but on days where i wear my hair naturally, its very hard to tell what race/ethnicity i am.

as a mexican person, i have faced discrimination both societally and systematically for being mexican. obviously, since im white majority of the time, societal prejudice towards me isnt as great as systematic prejudice is. but there have been moments where i have been called slurs for my appearence (whether or not those slurs applied to me)

given the fact that i have been derogatorily called a b*aner, i believed that i had every right to say this word given the fact that it has been used against me, and because i have been mexican.

im so incredibly sorry if my use of the slur has brought hurt to anyone. although that was not my intention to hurt anyone, i realize that i have hurt people in the process and im incredibly sorry for doing so.

also, the fact that ive brought race/ethnicity up has been heavily brought into question. the only reason i included the fact that ive said “racist” things towards my friend callie was to show that i was being sarcastic with my following statement that im “skinnyphobic”

“skinnyphobia”

this was one of the situations where i am at fault for not using a tone indicator. i am completely aware that skinnyphobia does not exist, i am also completely aware that hurt that skinny people may feel in society is no where near the oppression fat people feel.

the reason i included this as a bullet point was because me and my friend group have a running joke about being “skinnyphobic” due to the amount of hate my fat friends have recieved from skinny girls both online and in their pasts. we all know that skinnyphobia isnt real. this is similar to how we also joke that we are “racist to white people”. we also know that racism towards white people does not exist, the same way that “skinnyphobia” does not exist. our joking about this was purely satirical and ironic.

i realize that ive hurt many of my fat AND skinny followers by the inclusion of this poor joke and im incredibly sorry for doing so. it is completely my fault for not including a tone indicator, but it is also my fault for thinking that this would be an okay joke to make.

fatphobia.

next in the list of things was my inclusion that i used to run a thinspo blog. a while ago, before i wrote fanfiction, this blog used to be a thinspo blog. i have been very open about the fact that i used to be very mentally ill, had a very bad eating disorder, and that this blog used to be a thinspo blog. since then, this blog has been completely wiped of all content including any sort of thinspo or pro eating disorder content.

i believed that it was okay to joke about the fact that i formerly used to run a thinspo blog because of the fact that ive changed so much since then. im absolutely embarassed of the person i used to be and how pro-ed i used to be as well. although i am still healing, and i still have trouble with my eating habits, i am in no way near as unhealthy or mentally ill as i was then.

it came to my attention through this post that someone who was fat was deeply offended by my joking about how i used to run a thinspo blog. i addressed it in that post, which you can read if you want to.

that post and my response was taken as a joke, i never intended my response to come off as a joke, it was completely genuine. i believed that i had every right to joke about my traumatic past given the fact that it was mine, but given that, i had failed to take into consideration on how my jokes about my past may effect other people.

i am terribly sorry if me joking about a thinspo blog offended you. eating disorders arent funny, thinspo blogs arent funny, and using my own experience with an eating disorder shouldnt be used as an excuse to joke about one.

also, on the topic of eating disorders, the eating disorder i specifically had (anorexia) is heavily centered around fatphobia. societal desires to be skinny, as well as my own desire to be found pretty in the eyes of other people, drew me to developing an eating disorder that caused me to be severly underweight.

in my past, i see how my desire to be skinny was fatphobic. i absolutely understand that and im so incredibly sorry if my experience has brought anyone pain or harm.

since that time when i had anorexia, ive healed immensely. ive learned to love and accept all bodies and all people. even though my actions in the past have had fatphobic intentions, i can gurantee that i am not fatphobic now. ive tried my best to be an active advocate against fatphobia, to speak out against the biases towards skinny people in fanfiction.

i can claim everything i want, but claims can do nothing for you, and your opinion on me heavily relies on my actions. but my actions have shown otherwise, and in the process i have hurt many of my fat followers by the revelation of me previously owning a thinspo blog.

in the end, ive hurt many people today both intentionally and unintentionally and im truly sorry for my actions. i should have realized that my experiences with such topics should not be taken the same as others experiences, and my comfortability with jokes is not the same as others comfortability.

#tw: fatphobia #tw: discourse #tw: eating disorder #tw: rape #pinned post

62 notes · View notes

fishyfishxd · 4 years

Text

Jegulus: Home (Part Two of Runaway)

James woke up, feeling happy and warm. He opened his eyes slightly, and took in the view of his boyfriend sleeping soundly on his chest.

Boyfriend. God, he could get used to that word. He didn’t want to move, from fear of waking the younger boy up. He looked down at the familiar black hair that tickled his skin, and soon realised. What the hell were they going to tell Sirius?

James stayed silent, savouring the moment he was in, at that moment. He didn't want to think about what was going on outside, the war that was coming. The death eaters, that had just tried to recruit his boyfriend the night before, and his best friend the year before.

James simply looked down at his sleeping boyfriend and smiled. He heard Regulus start to stir, so he pretended to be asleep, to get those extra moments with him, not wanting to leave the warm of his bed, and his company.

Regulus woke, but similar to James, he didn't want to seem like he was awake, to savour the little time he had with his boyfriend before Sirius pulled them apart. They probably shouldn't be sleeping like that, because there was a huge chance that Sirius could come barging in any moment, and catch them.

Not wanting to wake his boyfriend, who he assumed was sleeping, Regulus stayed still. His head was on James' chest, and he could hear his heartbeat. It wasn't as slow as it would be for a sleeping person, no. It was racing; like Regulus lying on him like that raised his heart rate significantly.

At this point Regulus knew that James was just pretending to be sleeping, probably for the same reason Regulus wanted to, savouring the little time they had before Sirius found them. They didn't know that Sirius had already caught them, and that he was currently sitting at the dining room table with his Charms homework on the table in front of him, as he glanced up to the stairs, waiting for either one of them to walk down, so they could call them out.

Also, what James and Regulus hadn't realised, is that they'd been sleeping for almost 18 hours, which can't be good for them. They'd fallen asleep at almost two in the afternoon on the Saturday, and it was now the early morning of the Sunday.

And, what James had forgotten, was that his two other best friends were due to be coming to their house at around nine, which was less than an hour away.

Sirius was getting bored of waiting for the two to get up, and was debating whether or not just to barge in there and wake them up. He gripped his wand in his hand tighter. He was ready to hex James as soon as he saw him; not anything that couldn't be reversed, the was still his best friend, even if he was dating his brother.

Regulus had made a decision, perhaps to raise his boyfriend's heart rate even more than before. He groaned, as if he was waking up, before he moved his body so he was lying directly on top of his boyfriend, using his chest as a pillow.

James's eyes went wide, he definitely wasn't expecting this. Not like he minded, but it would be perhaps more awkward if Sirius were to walk in. Regulus could hear James' heart rate still, and smiled to himself as it sped up a bit.

There was then a loud noise coming from downstairs, which shook the two boys out of their 'pretending to sleep' phase.

"Oops." They heard Sirius say. James sighed. Sirius had broken something, which was actually a regular occurrence. As long as it wasn't anything of James', he wasn't bothered.

"Just ignore him." Regulus muttered. James looked down at where he was now on top of him, and Regulus moved his head to look up at James. "Hi."

"Hi." James smiled at him, and Regulus smiled back. They just stayed like that for a moment, looking at each other, trying to forget everything that was going on around them.

James thought about school, now. Would they have to hide their relationship from everyone? What would Remus and Peter say?

"Shit." James stated, as he realised. He collapsed onto his pillows, groaning.

"What?" Regulus asked him, genuinely concerned.

"Remus and Peter are coming to stay for the week." James answered, rubbing his eyes.

"What's wrong with that?" Regulus questioned. "They're your best friends." James sighed again, and gestured to the position they were in. Regulus realised too, and groaned, burying his face in James's shoulder.

"Y'know, we probably should get up." James stated. "Because it'll be kind of awkward if Sirius just walks in here and sees us. Or, even worse. All three of them." Regulus nodded, but didn't move. He didn't want to.

He was still sore from everything that had happened, despite having slept for almost an entire day straight, (ironic how he was sleeping with his boyfriend). He hadn't really gotten much sleep for the entire summer. He missed James, he missed Sirius. And he was afraid that if he fell asleep, his parents would come in and give him a dark mark while he was sleeping in his bed.

"If we have to get up, you do have to get off of me." James reminded him, chuckling.

"I don't want to. It's warm in here. And I don't want to have to stay away from you, until we actually tell all your friends." Regulus told him. "It would be easier if you didn't have any friends like me."

"Don't say that." James shook his head. "You have friends. I'm your friend, Sirius is your friend. And you can be friends with Moony and Wormtail."

"That doesn't count." Regulus told him. "Sirius is my brother, you're my boyfriend. And who the hell are Moony and Wormtail?" James hadn't gone so far to tell him about the Animagus thing, as he'd have to tell him about Remus's 'furry little problem' as they called it.

"Uh, Remus and Peter's nicknames." James answered, then decided to change the subject. "C'mon. Get off." Regulus frowned, and shook his head again.

James sighed, and looked over at the clock that was on his beside table. He then decided to freak out. They should be getting there in less than half an hour.

"You've actually got to get off now. They'll be here, very, very soon." James told him. Regulus groaned, before he rolled off of his boyfriend, annoyed. James turned to face him in the bed, and kissed him quickly. Something he hadn't done in a while.

Sirius, downstairs, had created a racket, just so the two would wake up and come downstairs. When they hadn't, he got a bit suspicious, then his mind wondered what they would be doing up there. Which he then definitely regretted thinking about.

He knew that Euphemia would be back soon with Remus and Peter, and he was also excited about that. Mainly, to see Remus, not so much Peter. And, get Remus Lupin in his bed, but don't tell James that.

Sirius then heard the sound of James' door opening, then two pairs of feet coming down the stairs. Sirius held his wand firmly in his hand, and had an angry look on his face. James, who didn't think Sirius knew anything, was smiling at his best friend, before he saw the look on his face.

"Pads, what's up-?" James began, but was cut off by Sirius.

"Flipendo!" Sirius shouted, pointing his wand at his best friend. James was immediately knocked to the ground, but got up quickly.

"What the hell, Sirius?!" James responded, even though he had a faint idea of why he was doing it.

"Have you got anything to say for yourselves?" Sirius demanded, looking between the two teenage boys that were standing in front of him. This wasn't good.

"Uh- What do you mean?" James asked, hesitantly.

"Well done, James." Regulus rolled his eyes at his boyfriend, sighing.

"You want to explain why I found the two of you asleep together?" Sirius asked them. James opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius cut him off once again. "And before you say that it was 'platonic' or whatever, what I saw definitely wasn't."

They both hesitated for a second, not knowing what they were supposed to say in response.

"Say something!" Sirius shouted, getting fed up with the two of them. He continued to point his wand at James, ready to curse or hex him.

"Okay, fine." Regulus was the one to speak up, and the two other boys turned to him. "James and I are dating."

"You what?" It wasn't Sirius's voice, it wasn't James's. It was Peter's. From where he and Remus stood in the doorway.

"Well, that wasn't how it was supposed to go." James stated. Sirius glared at his best friend, before shooting another spell in his direction. Lucky that he was seventeen, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do it.

"Stupefy!" James was shot backwards, unconscious.

"Sirius!" Regulus shouted, and ran over to James's side. He looked at the state he was in, then realised he couldn't do anything. He looked over at Remus and Peter. "I'm not of age, can one of you do something?"

Peter shrugged, as he didn't remember the spell. Remus nodded, and performed the counter spell, waking James up. James sat up, and looked over at the two boys that were still standing in his doorway.

"Where's my mum?" James asked the two.

"She, uh, got called into the hospital." Remus told him, and James nodded.

"Would like, none of you mention this to her, or my dad. They still kinda think that I'm in love with Evans, 'cause that's what Sirius told them." James admitted.

"We won't tell them, don't worry." Remus replied.

#jegulus #James potter #regulus x james #harry potter #wolfstar #young marauders #marauders era #sirius black #james x regulus #regulus black #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #marauders #marauders fic #jegulus fic

132 notes · View notes

therend · 3 years

Note

Hi! Two things: firstly, I read and saved your awesome posts about Farsi endearments, thank you so much for those they were so informative and awesome!! Secondly, I was just curious if there were any names you particularly like (in general) ? Or like headcanons for the newest Carstairs baby’s name? I ask because I’m writing an AU fic centered around Alastair and Cordelia when they have more siblings, and I have too many awesome options for potential names. Like damn linguistics is beautiful haha. thank you for sharing any knowledge or input!! Have a wonderful day😊🥰❤️

Hi! thank you for your ask, you don't understand the amount of happiness it gave me. And sorry for how terribly long it took me to answer, my exams just finished and now I'm finally back to Tumblr after a long time because school sucks.

When talking about what to call a new baby, there are not only lots of different names, but different categories to choose from, and everyone has their preferences. I would name my child something related to nature (i have reblogged an amazing post about nature names with an additional long list of Persian nature names. You can check it out here, if you want.) or a name rooted in the poems of people in love, like my own name – Negar. But well, we're not talking about my choice of name, but Sona's.

We already know her taste in names. All their Persian names – Sona's, Cordelia's and Alastair's – are rooted in Shāhnāme (or The Book of Kings), which as you might know, is a long epic, and the most important source of Persian mythology. Turan is a very important land in the book (It's weird that it's actually a name but it is. I don't know why anyone would name their child or their character Turan though. Uh.) The word Katāyoun means "the queen of the world", and in Shāhnāme Katāyoun was this very wise and cool and independent queen of Persia, and she was also the mother of Esfandiār (which, as a word, means "pure creation"), a clever and hot warriors prince with daddy issues. All their names being from that book makes a lot of sense, because look at this:

In Shāhnāme, Rostam is known as the most legendary hero of – well, the world. He is wise and strong and brave, and a great warrior, and a smart strategist and a really high functioning leader. He's kind and caring and soft-hearted and patient too, when he needs to be. He's also a very sarcastic bitch, and a dumbass (though I'm the only one you'd hear this from). when talking about Persian heroes, Rostam is the first who comes to mind. He's mostly praised for being a genuinely good person, having morals, not fighting against people weaker than him and stuff like that. Rostam is basically the heart of Shāhnāme and If Sona is a descendant of him, it's understandable that she's proud of it and wants to name her children things to show their heritage.

So, here are some names from Shāhnāme (i will put a * after the ones i particularly like slkaka). i will not be telling their story, because it will make the post unnecessarily long. Just what they were famous for and their personalities.

Rostam. Well, you know this one. No one actually names their child Rostam now, but i think it used to be pretty common back in the early 20th century. The word means tall and handsome (:|).

Tahmine. The word means brave and strong. She was a princess, beautiful as a feary, and Ferdowsi (the guy who wrote Shāhnāme) says that she had a lot of knowledge on every subject that was there. She was Rostam's wife.

Sohrāb*. He is Rostam and Tahmine's only child, and has his parents' traits; so he's admired and respected by everyone. His name means young and healthy and rosy-cheeked (these names have weird meanings It's not my fault). His life was kind of a tragedy, though.

Gordāfarid*. She is just. Chef's kiss. I love her so much and she's my wife. Her name means hero or something and she's this badass warrior with long black hair and a will of iron, and when none of the men of her army had the courage to face Sohrāb, she was the only one who volunteered to fight him and he actually considered her a challenge.

Ārash*. He's another one of my favorites. He was a legendary archer who put his life in an arrow to end a war and give back his nation's dignity and sense of home. He died a hero after shooting that arrow. His name, which is a pretty common name, means glamorous.

Homā*. Another favorite. her name means blessed, and she was a monarch, who ruled Persia for 32 years of happiness and peace for all the people. And Ferdowsi describes her as an artist, and a very wise and knowledgeable person (also very beautiful because this man can't write anyone ugly).

Bijan. Some young, rebellious and adventurous boy. His name means pure, and the story of him and Manije is one of the most important love stories of Shāhnāme.

Manije. The name means beautiful and modest. her personality is kind of similar to Shakespeare's Juliet. she's fine.

Siāvash*. The name means someone with curly black hair, or someone who has a black horse. This is Rostam's adoptive son who he loved with his whole being. He raised him away from the shittiness of the palace (Siāvash was a prince) and he taught him everything he knew; and he became handsome young man with a vast knowledge of things, a good heart and good personality, and Rostam's fighting skills. He is a symbol of innocence and virtue because he was falsely accused of sexual assault, and he was forced to walk through actual fire and step out of it unharmed to prove he hasn't done wrong – by his own father. It's mythology, so he did, in fact, walk through big fires and didn't burn.

Poorān*. Another cool female monarch who bought piece and happiness to the land with her work of wisdom. Fun thing about her is that she did exist outside of Shāhnāme and ruled Persia for a period of time (her name is written as Buran or Boran though).

#persian

37 notes · View notes

fenristheorem · 3 years

Note

Lance finding out that Gardienne killed herself? After a while of her being in the HQ again, he has fallen in love with her. She just couldn't bear those seven years, having lost that many people and being here just to save this world by suffering.

He wanted to tell her he loved her, he knocked her door, he worried bc no one answered, and he finds her hanged up.

I know this is really specific, it's just kind of my OC ending😅😅 anyway, I'd understand if you weren't comfortable with this.

So I’m going to talk about the boundaries of what I write for a moment, starting by saying that I will write this BUT I won’t write detailed suicide scenes due to the sensitive nature of it.

This ask isn’t asking for a detailed scene, it’s asking for the effects the decision has on Lance, and because it’s asking for the long-term effects and not a scenario I’m just fine with writing this.

Thank you for asking this, Anon, genuinely. Being this specific was probably what gave me the push to write this in the end because I know you were looking for the reaction and not the actual scene. This is a good example of a post that walks along the lines of what I will and won’t write so anyone requesting future asks with a similar subject gets a better idea of what to ask.

Also, I apologize for how long this took to write. This ask was, unfortunately, the one that spent the most time eaten in my drafts folder so I couldn’t work on it until about a week ago. Fortunately that gave me a lot of time to think over how to best write this, so I think this’ll be appropriately written considering the subject.

*Warning / Note: This post contains heavy depressive themes and suicidal mentions, as evident by the ask and what I wrote above. I’m aware that this is a very sensitive subject and I intend to treat it with appropriate seriousness. This is not a happy post, please only read this if you know this won’t lead you down a dark path. To me, writing is another form of art, meant to express and draw out emotions from the audience, so I won’t subside the intensity of my writing even with this being a sensitive subject. I don’t intend to drive anyone to harm themselves, but I do intend to write with the intensity that I always do because this is my artform; so please prepare for heavy themes or don’t read if you’re not comfortable with this. On a side note: I care about everyone, I really do, so please take care of yourselves. If you’re feeling depressive or suicidal, talk to someone, please. There is always someone who cares about you.

Technically Guardienne's death may have a major adverse effect on Eldarya due to her link with the crystal, but for the sake of this ask I'll ignore any possible effects like that.

~Under the cut~

Lance’s reaction to Guardienne’s suicide:

Lance had seen a lot of terrible things in life and had done many terrible things in his life, but this reached a new type of fucked up for him. Not because it's truly disturbing - although it is deeply disturbing - but because it fucked him up even more in a way that he neither thought could be possible nor that he could bear.

He’s convinced that he’s cursed; everything that’s happened to him has been his fault. He started the war within Eldarya, destroyed so many faeries’ lives, killed his own brother, and now the woman he loved is dead because of him as well. Sure, he wasn’t the one to tie the rope around her neck, but there are signs for these sorts of things. Was he truly that blind that he couldn’t see that she was in pain? Did he ever truly love her if he couldn’t see the pain? Would she have done anything differently if he wasn’t there to constantly remind her of everything that was lost?

Lance believes he deserves this. He’s caused so much pain and agony for everyone, it only makes sense that he should be the one in pain now. Lance won’t try to fight the agony he’s in, he’ll let himself drown in it for nights on end to wake up - or not even sleep to begin with - feeling exhausted, reckless, irritated and - overall - worthless. He’s sure to emerge from his room in the morning without the slightest hint that he’s been sobbing quietly with the feeling of a dagger twisting itself over and over within his chest all night, and he’ll refuse to answer any questions about if he’s alright after the recent events. He was the one to find her after all; it would make sense that he was hit the hardest...

In the daytime he’ll be rough and withholding, keeping the Obsidian guard in a tight hold to reflect how he needs to hold himself tightly to keep from falling apart. It’s one thing for him feel and express emotions, but this feeling is an entirely different thing; this is something that should not be released into Eldarya. He realizes it and knows that this feeling - something that he recognizes all too well from his past - threatens to destroy everything that he worked so hard to gain in the past seven years.

Mathieu will notice Lance’s change in temperament immediately, and being the kind man he is he’ll want to be there for the dragon, but Lance won’t be looking for comfort; he’ll be looking for something that will change the past and take back everything that happened. But that’s impossible - he knows that - and so he’ll be stuck in a state of limbo, deemed to mourn for his unknown, unrealized love until... something happens to change him.

Ice cold fear will wash over him some days as he recognizes the familiar feeling that haunted him in the past, and while he’ll be aching to reach out to lean on someone for support - afraid of this feeling overwhelming him again - he’ll feel that he can’t lean on anyone. He doesn’t deserve that support at this point after all he’s done, and there’s so many others who are busy grieving; the guard needs him to be strong now. However, on occasion - when he has a clear mind - he’ll grieve gently with someone who’s somewhat close to him, sharing kind memories of Guardienne and gently advising them to spend time around friends if his co-worker feels it’s needed. He’ll never completely break in front of anyone though, he can’t bring himself to.

However, Lance falls apart immediately when he’s alone, sometimes even lingering in the conference room for a few minutes after a meeting to allow himself the private time alone to recollect himself. Grief will randomly hit him throughout the day, constricting his throat, burning his chest, and glassing over his eyes - and every time he’ll excuse himself from his company to isolate himself until he regains control again. This, of course, is taken into notice by a few others around the guard, and slowly there’ll be people who realize that Lance is not fine.

This becomes a further issue over time as his grief slowly turns into anger and disgust, and this is when that familiar, ominous feeling from his past really rears it’s ugly face. He should have seen something. Was he really that terrible to her that she felt she couldn’t trust him? Was everyone really that blind to not see her hurting?

Lance finds that he begins to choose to isolate himself, mentally and physically. He’ll leave the guards members alone that have stated they need time off, but he won’t be very forgiving with those who have chosen to continue their work but seem to be slacking. His mentality is that if you can’t handle continuing on, then don’t offer your service as it’ll become a hindrance, and this quickly becomes a major issue.

Huang Hua - knowing how important Guardienne was to Eldarya, and the guard especially - has let it be known that if anyone needs a break from their responsibilities, then it’ll be allowed, but she will stress that those who feel they can continue to function please try to do so, and be lenient and take on a few responsibilities that aren’t usually asked of them if they feel they can. She can read other’s auras and sense intentions and emotions of sorts, so she can generally get a good read on how someone is doing, but she can’t consistently do that with everyone, so while she’ll use this ability when necessary to enforce that someone take a break so they don’t fall apart, not every unstable case is known to her. This is the main reason why she slightly overlooks Lance for a while. When he first found Guardienne, he panicked immediately, rushing her to Ewelein and not even truly believing her death until many days after the event. Huang Hua - having sensed his shock and panic blocking out any other emotions - let it go for a few days; everyone goes through their own grieving process, some immediately and some not until many years afterwards. There was nothing that anyone could do for him until Guardienne’s death hit him fully. However, she also knew from her abilities that Lance was in love with her, or at very least had a deep liking for Guardienne, so the instant a few members of the guard come to her expressing serious concerns regarding Lance’s recent aggression and distance, Huang Hua knows immediately that it needs to be dealt with. This grief was an unknown factor in Lance’s new life - but his past with this type of grief shows clearly that this can really fuck him up - so it needed to be discussed, otherwise he risks spiraling back into the same place he was seven years ago.

She’ll approach him when he’s alone, or if they’re in a relatively public space she’ll take him somewhere private, sensing all the while the breathtakingly painful feeling of agony, anger and distress that’s clouding his mentality. It was just the same as when he was Ashkore, how did he not yet break? He’ll refuse to follow her if he knows she wants to talk about his emotions - ironic since he’s always been open to sharing his perspective and thoughts - so she’ll just tell him that she needs to talk to him in private regarding a few anonymous tips from some guards members if he happens to ask why.

Being alone with an unstable, emotionally distraught dragon with a history of violence while under heavy states of grief does unsettle her a bit, but she knows the outcome of this will be much worse if he truly feels isolated. He’s not going to reach out for help by himself - he doesn’t know how to, nor does he probably want to - so she needs to be the one to reach out to him and help him stabilize himself before another situation like Valkyon’s death occurrs.

She’ll consider first talking alone with him in his room - where he’d likely feel most comfortable - but considering he’d likely be defensive, that could then translate into aggression in his own territory, and that may lead her to being forced out of his room for her own safety. Lance has certainly changed in temperament, but heavy grieving emotions can blind someone, so there’s really no promising that nothing... destructive may happen, no matter how much he’s changed in patience.

She then considers talking with him in the conference room, but there isn’t a whole lot of privacy there. The conference room is more for business, rather than personal, private, emotional conversations. The last thing Lance needed in this moment was for his emotions to be treated even slightly like a business confrontation and not as an important part of his being. Frankly, even on a day where he’s feeling just fine he would never accept anyone’s emotions to be treated like a business issue, so the last thing she wanted was to imply that by bringing him into a room that could do just that.

Huang Hua then thinks over the idea of talking to him in her room; it would likely be safer, after all. He probably won’t become territorial or aggressive as it’s not his territory, and it’ll be a gentle reminder that she’s happy to welcome him into her personal life to help comfort him (therefore defeating the concern that it could seem like a business confrontation), but since it’s her territory he might emotionally shut himself down. It can be uncomfortable to fall apart in someone else’s room, especially knowing they’re higher ranking and could be interrupted at any moment to deal with something else...

Then she wonders if she should bring him outside of the guard to speak with him - somewhere that’s private and on neutral ground. That way they’d both be in strange territory and may not be interrupted, and if they are they’d receive prior warning by noticing that someone was walking their way.

Of course, Huang Hua then realizes that - no matter how much she’d like to think that she understands what would make Lance most comfortable - she truly doesn’t know what would help him best, but she can be there to provide support at very least, regardless of where they are. At the end of the day, Lance would probably know where he’d feel most comfortable, so when she approaches him to talk, saying that it’s an important but private conversation, she’ll ask him where he would rather talk. He’ll be slightly hostile, especially when he picks up on the fact that she’s going out of her way to word things carefully and prioritize his comfort, but he’ll decide to talk somewhere private outside the guard, where no one is around.

And that’s how Huang Hua finds herself in the middle of the open plains, far away from the guard to talk to a dragon who might as well be stabbing himself with his own dagger with how he’s been allowing himself to feel as of late. She’ll start off gently, telling him the recent concerns of a few anonymous guard’s members and Lance will stand a few feet away and listen coldly with a blank expression until she suggests that he take a few days off. He’ll debate things with her then, and it’ll escalate slowly until Lance is clearly distressed but still unmoving in his decision to remain active, and Huang Hua will know then that she can’t be gentle anymore...

“Lance, take a few days off, for your sake.”

“No.” His tone is harsh and cold as he snaps at her. “The guard needs me, there’s so much I need to do - so much I need to repay-” He didn’t mean to let that last statement slip - after all, his actions certainly couldn’t be made up for, right? - but emotions can be a powerful thing, can’t they?

“You won’t be able to do any of that if you’re destroying everything you’ve helped rebuild in the process.” Lance is pacing, keeping his eyes trained to the ground. Huang Hua - despite her anxiousness at the dragon being so stubborn on decisions made under heavy negative emotions - tries to keep a comforting, open atmosphere to avoid furthering any issues. “You know the pain you’ve cast upon on others, you’ve felt that same sort of pain now and you need to take time to be able to recover from that.”

“I can’t take time, it’s not something I can just accept! Everyone I’ve hurt before never had time to accept the situation before I made it worse, but they still pushed forward! There’s no reason for me to have it any easier!”

“And where would we be if we treated you the same way you used to treat the world? Would we be any better than how you used to be?”

Lance stops pacing but his eyes remain on the ground, his throat constricting as his thoughts run rampant. Would they be the same as how he used to be if they allowed him to keep running himself this way? He’s done terrible things, but he’s spent many years trying to keep that from happening again. Certainly he’s an asset to the guard now, so would it be cruel of them to ignore his distress? Or would it be justified payback for everything he’s done?

“Lance, you’ve done wonderful things the past seven years, and we want you to continue that and I know you want to continue that as well. Take some time off so you can do that without destroying yourself or your environment. Don’t ignore your pain like it’s nothing - it’s not nothing, and you have the resources to deal with it in a better way now. Use those resources, Lance, it’ll help you work your way through this.” Huang Hua’s tone is gentle and soft as she pleads with him, hoping that her blunt words will reach his common sense.

He tries to argue this, stuttering the beginning of sentences to try and disprove her point, grasping for any reason as to why his pain is invalid. However, Lance finds that there’s no sound argument against Huang Hua’s words, and constricting panic, horror, and then heavy tides of grief will hit him as he realizes that he is, in fact, dragging himself into his own downfall. He is his own worst enemy, once again.

In any manner, this is all his fault - his past actions, Guardienne’s distress of what’s changed that lead to her death, his emotional isolation, and disruption of the guard is all because he doesn’t know how to deal with himself and his abyss of emotions. How did this happen to him? He was never the type of person to deny and hide away his emotions, so how is it he ended up caging himself like this when under personal grief? Is it because the situation is so personal to him that he has a hard time allowing himself to seek comfort in others who likely couldn’t understand?

Lance will fall apart at this, closing his eyes and turning towards the ground to keep himself together, but falling apart all the same as grief overwhelms him one final time in a push that throws him over the edge. He’ll clench his fist and bow his head, bringing it over his mouth as he desperately tries to steady his breathing, to no avail as tears find their way from his eyes and his chest heaves in quieted sobs.

Huang Hua will lurch forward to comfort him, but stops as Lance whirls around to step back and snap at her - he didn’t want comfort, he wanted her back!

“Where were you for her!? Why didn’t anyone else see her pain!?” His eyes are tragedy and desperation underneath the weakened cold anger of ice blue, a faint few tears streaking down his face as his voice - thunderous and howling - cracks and breaks alongside his crumbling rage. If he couldn’t have fixed this, then someone else could have - why didn’t anyone fix this!?

“You know it’s not morally correct to monitor everyone’s private emotions all the time. What kind of leader would I be if I didn’t allow my people their privacy?” Huang Hua stills and clasps her hands together at her waist, understanding Lance’s outward anger. However, she realized his statement signaled something else as well; Lance could no longer fight why he should allow himself to grieve, so he was desperately clinging onto some semblance of needing to be distant by turning it to be someone’s fault - someone that he could hate. “You are right in a way; of the many people who knew her, someone might have been able to catch how torn up she felt, but people who wish to hide their pain, or spend so long hiding their pain that it becomes a part of who they are, learn how to hide their pain in ways too complex for others to realize. And, Lance, if she didn’t want anyone to know about her grief, there wouldn’t have been much that I could have done anyways.”

“You could have helped her!” The dragon’s voice was weakening as he spoke, distant anger being replaced by a cold, hollow emptiness as he realized the truth in Huang Hua’s words.

“Only if she was ready for that help. You can’t force someone to accept help, you can only wait for them to allow themselves to be helped.”

“She wouldn’t want me to find relief during this time...” He looked away toward the ground and hung his head, blinking rapidly as he began to heave for breath. There must be a reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to feel this way .

“Do you think she would have wanted everything good you did - whether she knows what you did or not - to be destroyed because of your grief for her?” Lance’s eyes squinted closed and he tilted his head a bit further away from the phoenix. It seemed as though every reminder of everything good he’s done continues to leave him with a hollow chest. “I think if she witnessed firsthand everything you’ve done the past seven years she would have thought very differently about you now than what she did when first having woken up from the crystal.”

Lance turns to face his back towards her, resting a palm on his forehead before brushing his fingers back through his hair as a tremble rolls through him. He could feel pressure rising from his throat as he bared his teeth in an agonized snarl before parting his mouth to silently gasp for air. His head tilted back to look at the sky, only for a few tears to fall from his eyes when he releases a shaky breath.

“Lance, your situation with her was very unique - no one else could begin to understand exactly what you’re feeling from your history with her. Take some time so you can understand it - and fix, or do, or feel whatever you need to - so you can carry forward knowing yourself better.”

He wanted to fight her statement, but his moral compass argued with his resistance on this as well. If anything, of whatever terrible things came as a result of her death, there should be some good sought from it as well. What’s the point of accepting a tragedy if not to learn something from it as well, even if it’s something quiet that no one else knows you learned?

For the first time in a long while - if not ever - Lance allows himself to break and be comforted. He lets himself embrace the burning, stinging pain that rises in his chest as he turns his head back to the ground and collapses on his knees. Huang Hua immediately reacts and is by his side in moments, on her knees and laying a gentle hand on his shoulder as she leans against him slightly. Sobs escape his throat as his body tenses and curls forward slightly, bracing a hand on the ground to steady himself as tremulous waves of emotions - any and all emotions that could possibly be named - wash over him and leave him gasping for air.

“I miss her, too.” Huang Hua’s voice shakes now as she leans further against the dragon, bringing her arms as far around him as she can while her head rests against his shoulder, away from the spines on his pauldrons. Lance brings his other hand up and tightly grasps the forearm reaching across his chest.

Huang Hua had spent so much time trying to help others through this that she had completely forgotten to make sure she was alright as well, and seeing Lance - the man she least expected to be torn apart by this situation - completely break and fall apart before her eyes reminded her of the true depth of their loss. They didn’t just lose Eldarya’s savior, they had lost a friend, a great warrior, one of the last angels, someone who was pure at heart and wasn’t afraid to face the darkness of life without so much as a blink of hesitation. They had lost someone who gave everything for the world, and suffered because of it.

Minutes merged until they were unsure of how long they spent in the fields, but in time both of them calmed down. Lance - now able to think clearer on the subject - began to reflect on the situation.

“This wasn’t her fault... the blame is on all of us, for not having seen anything... but she must have known that someone would have been there for her if they knew how much she was hurting...” He murmured this quietly, waves of shame washing over him again as he realized he was perhaps pinning some of the blame on Guardienne. Was there really anyone to blame here? She must have known that someone would have been there for her if she sought help, but it’s not right for others to pry into the personal life of another if the intrusion is unwelcomed, and who was to say she wanted help in the first place? Had she given up? Would anyone have been able to stop her to begin with? Who was to blame, if there was anyone?

“There’s nothing we can do now except honor her and move forward.” Huang Hua whispered back with a shaky voice and Lance faintly nodded his head. There were many things that worked together to lead to this happening, and in between there also were moments where something could have helped deter it, both by her doing and by others. At the root core, everyone and anyone could have helped stop this in some way, even if it was by giving her a small passing smile that could have helped remind her that there is good and hope in the world, but there’s also no guarantee that anyone could have stopped it. Regardless, this is how things happened. They can’t change the past, but they can move forward with her in mind and learn from this.

Lance - despite his heavy grief and complex emotions on everything - begins to soften himself to the situation. He’s not the only one grieving. His situation may have been the most complicated, but he’s still in the same boat as everyone else. He doesn’t feel the need to sob alongside the others anymore, but he does find that whenever the group he’s in begins to fall apart into wailing, he’ll bow his head and won’t hide the obvious pain that he’s in at the reminder of his lost love. His feelings for Guardienne will be kept quiet, and he won’t openly say how he felt about her - it could still be seen as wrong in the opinion of some people for him to have fallen in love with the same woman he hurt so much, especially knowing her pain is what led to her death - but he won’t deny the truth of his feelings to those who caught on somehow. Lance will find that he’ll slowly begin to mend after this death, many months after of course, but it’ll happen, and in some ways this will help him move past his brother’s death as well. After all, in the end both Guardienne and Valkyon came to accept their final moments in life before allowing Lance’s past actions to bring about their end, and although one chose to die to help mend him and the other chose to die to help relieve herself, the root issue of the situation that led to their death was still very similar. He’ll have a hard time allowing himself to move past the fact that his actions played a major part in both deaths, but he realizes in time that that’s what happens when someone has a violent past. It’ll haunt for many years, and the effects of it can never be reversed, but in the end this only inspires him to work harder to provide a better world. Maybe he can’t erase what he did, but he can make sure it doesn’t happen again and work to provide Eldarya with as much good as he can provide now.

Without a doubt Guardienne’s death hits him hard, but he’ll be sure to come back twice as strong from this.

I hope you like this, Anon! I feel Guardienne’s suicide would definitely hit Lance hard and remind him subtly of Valkyon’s death, but I don’t see Lance being held down by this for too long. He’d heavily grieve for her for a good while before he eventually finds himself standing on two feet again and powering his way through life, if not for his own sake then for the sake of others, both alive and dead.

Have a request? Ask them here!

But first, please read the rules list for asks!

#Eldarya ANE #eldarya lance #fenristheorem writing #askfenris

42 notes · View notes

noaltbruh · 4 years

Text

Bucci gang comforting a reader having a panic attack

GIORNO:

-Giorno probably had one or two panic attacks himself when he was very young, his parents' constant neglect didn't exactly have a good influence on his mental health

-Because of that, Giorno is surprisingly calm during the whole thing, like he knows exactly what to do, and low-key, he does

-he'd hold your hands tight and look at you right in the eyes, saying that whatever is bothering you, the two of you can figure it out together later

-"Breath in, breath out. I'm not going anywhere, Y/n, I'm here for you"

-his tone of voice makes you feel safe, you know you can trust him to help you in this situation.

-he would even let you play with his hair, if it makes you feel better. Touching his soft, blonde curls gives you a strange sense of peace

-it doesn't take long for you to calm down, and you're once again left to wonder how Giorno seems so perfect in everything he does

BUCCIARATI:

-while Bucciarati has never experienced a panic attack personally, he knows quite a lot about the subject

-at first, he would be more distressed than Giorno, but it doesn't take long for him to catch up and look for a way to help you feel better

-He'd cook your favorite comfort food, hoping to distract you a little from whatever caused you to feel this way

-He'd want you to stay by his side the whole time, obviously. He'd never leave you alone in such a delicate state

-after the first time, he would always keep some chocolate bars for emergency, in case something like that were to happen again

-However, now he would be twice as careful to make sure not to put you in any situation that may cause a similar reaction in you

MISTA:

-Let's be honest: Mista is a really chill dude, there's no way he has ever had a panic attack

-he doesn't know almost anything about it, and the first time it happened to you, he thought you would have just stopped after a minute or two

-but when he realized you had no intention to stop, his expression immediately turned into one of concern, he almost looked more scared than you

-he isn't as good as Bruno or Giorno when it comes to comforting someone, but he'd still try to help you, he would even try to make you laugh, hoping you would have stopped crying

-"W-wanna hear a joke?" 'Mista, what the hell are you doing? Does it look like the time to joke around? Think about something, you idiot!'

-Needless to say, the pistols were going crazy too, they all have you little kisses hoping to cheer you up a little. Number 5 even started crying, he was so worried for you

-Eventually, somehow, you calmed down; Mista doesn't know how he managed to survive through all this himself

-But he learned his lesson, and made sure to consult A LOT of articles online to be prepared in case there was a second time

NARANCIA:

-Narancia's situation is...kind of weird, to say the last

-he's probably experienced a panic attack AT LEAST 3 times before joining the gang, but he wouldn't really know that's an actual thing

-when he saw you curled up on yourself, breathing heavily and with tears in your eyes, Narancia genuinely thought you were going to die

-he tried to call an ambulance for you, but you stopped him an ad managed to tell him among your sobs that you didn't need it

-he tried to ask you what to do to help, but he soon realized that he had to figure this out on his own

-he took all the snacks he could find in the kitchen and wrapped you in a blanked, hoping to calm you down even a little

-"See Y/n, n-no reason to be scared! I-I'm here, it's okay!"

-desperate, Narancia held you tight to himself, if this didn't work, he would have probably started crying too

-but, thank Goodness, your breathing started to go back to be more regular and eventually you stopped shivering

-you immediately explained to Narancia what a panic attack was, of course. You don't want to make best boy worry even more about you, do you?

FUGO:

-Due to all the pressure everyone put on Fugo during his childhood, it's safe to assume that he isn't new to the subject

-However, he doesn't exactly have a good way to handle the problem, to the point where he would just wait for it to pass naturally, acting like it was nothing serious

-but that wasn't something he was allowed to do when he realized you were going through the same exact thing as him

-even though he perfectly knows what's happening, he's just as clueless as Narancia when it comes to help you feel better

-he's too scared to even touch you, he thinks he's going to make you feel worse if he doesn't take 200 precautions

-he'd try with a simple "it's okay", but, of course, it didn't work

-like the situation wasn't bad enough, the amount of stress Fugo was feeling in that moment made him lose control over his stand, causing it to materialize into the room next to the boy

-ironically, Purple Haze was the one that saved the situation, disobeying his master's orders and hugging you tight from behind

-you didn't care if the virus could have potentially killed you if one of the stand's little spheres were to break, all you needed was some comfort, and that's what Purple haze was giving you

-Just like Mista, Fugo also searched for... ahem, more 'healthy ways' to handle the problem, relying on his Stand all the time probably wasn't the best option

ABBACCHIO:

-being the least "touchy-feeling" one out of the entire gang, he would probably just think that the concept of "panic attack" is simply stupid, even though I'm 100% sure he's had at least one in his life

-when it happened for the first time, Abbacchio almost tried to shrug it off like it was nothing serious, saying that you have no reason to be "that scared"

-but then...5, 10, heck, even 15 minutes later you were still there, drowning your head between your knees, shaking like a leaf in autumn

-That's when he finally understood that he couldn't keep on being a d**k about it and it was time to do something useful

-"O-oi...what the hell, Y/N? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

-he'd awkwardly try to pet you on the head, he genuinely has no idea of what is going on right now

-in the end, he just waits until the worst part ends and you're able to speak again

-well, that's definitely something the two of you will have to work on...

TRISH:

-Trish probably has never had a real panic attack, but she was extremely worried when she was about to meet with Diavolo in Venezia

-in the moment she realizes what's happening to you, she immediately calls out Spice Girl, hoping she would help her trying to think about something to resolve the situation

-there isn't really much she can do though, she's still a stand, a reflection of the user's soul, and if Trish has no idea what to do (especially since this doesn't involve fighting), Spice Girl is just as clueless

-she'd offer to cuddle with you a little, hoping that physical contact will make you feel better

-she doesn't get an answer, but it's still worth a shot, right?

-it...doesn't work out perfectly, but it obviously helped you feel better, even a little; you even managed to call out your own stand, so that Spice girl could participate too

-around half an hour later, it all went back to normal, and Trish promised to learn more about the subject to be more prepared for the next time

Yes, I know I could potentially write headcanons about characters from all the parts, but I just love the Bucci gang so much eheh.

Also, I have a wattpad profile where I'm currently writing my own Giorno x reader fanfic, I'd really appreciate it if you could check it out :)

#anime #manga #jojo part 5 #vento aureo #golden wind #jojo's bizzare adventure x reader #giorno x reader #bucciarati x reader #team bucciarati #bucci gang #mista x reader #narancia x reader #fugo x reader #abbacchio x reader #trish x reader

199 notes · View notes

athenasbloodyspear · 4 years

Text

The Viper: Chapter One

What happens when an agent of the Red Room falls into the hands of Hydra? What happens when Hydra puts out a hit on their favorite assassin? Who is the mysterious woman with a twisted history and an even more twisted mind?

The team wants to know. They want to know what you know. Nat and Bucky want to know if there’s any light left in you.

They want to know you.

Bucky x Female Reader

The Viper Master List | My Writing Master List

The sounds of car horns are loud around you. The blaring, beeping and bustle of pedestrians creating layers and layers of sound. You’re trained well enough to sift through the sounds, listening to pieces of conversation and various sounds of your environment to orient yourself.

You can feel the smallest shift of every person who’s moving in the space around you. Your senses are so focused you can practically hear the blood rushing through the people closest to you. Your prey is about a block up, completely oblivious to where you followed.

The streets around you were loud and the sounds were strong, but nothing could keep your focus off your mission.

Underneath your hood and the rim of your baseball hat, your face was hidden in shadow. If anyone would have seen or marked it, they would have seen the wicked gleam of a grin.

“What’s got you all in a tizzy, Tony?” Nat asks from Bucky’s right. The whole team was gathered around a conference table in Avengers tower looking kinda bored. Tony had called everyone here this morning, much to everyone’s chagrin because he had promised a week off and then apparently changed his mind a mere three days later.

Bucky sighed and rolled his shoulders, leaning back in the office chair he currently sat in, lifting the two front feet off the floor. All he really wanted was to go back downstairs and into the city with Nat and finish looking for a birthday gift for Steve. That’s what they were doing this morning before they were quickly called back to the tower. He’d procrastinated too long and really had zero idea of what to get the man.

“I’m confused about something and I don’t like being confused.” Tony retorted.

“Oooo” Sam piped up from across the table. “The great Tony Stark admits to not knowing something. I’m surprised there isn’t steam coming out of those ears.”

Bucky smirks at his friend. God he loved Sam and his remarks. He would say something similar, but his relationship with Tony still wasn’t perfect and he didn’t want to push his luck at the moment.

“What is so confusing, Iron Man? Don’t know what to get Pepper for your anniversary? Or did you say something stupid again and your giant brain can’t figure out exactly which asshole statement pushed her over the edge this time?” Nat chimed in with a mocking smirk.

Tony pointed a single finger at Nat. “I have had our anniversary present for two months already and I’m actually getting better at figuring out which one of my snarky comments goes too far, just so you know.” He sighs and presses a few buttons on the large screen under the glass conference table, whipping up a bundle of information to appear on the screen behind him. “What I’m confused about is why Hydra put out a public hit on one of their top agents.”

At that, Bucky’s chair drops back to all four legs abruptly. The confusing piece of information startled him into finally giving his full attention to the conversation. His heart rate picked up a bit.

“They did what ?” Steve asks from the end of the conference table opposite Tony, voicing the question on all their minds.

“This morning Hydra posted a bounty on a known dark web forum. It’s not unheard of for them to post some of their lower enemies on this anonymously for unaffiliated assassins and bounty hunters to take down. What’s different this time is they made it very clear that Hydra was posting.” He whipped up what looked eerily similar to a reddit post up on the screen. “And what makes even less sense is I know for a fact that the person they called a hit on has been their little secret weapon for over ten years.”

Bucky scanned the post up on the screen. Sure enough, it said that Hydra had a hit out on a well known assassin and was offering 50 million along with diplomatic immunity in a country of their choosing for the head of the operative.

“Who’s the target?” Nat murmured.

“So, this is the fun part. Especially for you two.” Tony continued, pointing at Nat and Bucky.

“What?” Bucky grumbled. Fun for him? What the hell? What could possibly be in Tony’s twisted brain to think anything to do with Hydra would be fun for him?

“Here’s the mark.” Tony pulled up a blurry photo of a figure wrapped in muted colors clearly captured on some sort of security camera somewhere on a bustling street. If Bucky was tracking the cobblestones and architecture of the buildings correctly he’d guess it was taken somewhere in Cairo.

“Is that the best fucking picture you can get us, Stark? You can barely see their face.” Sam quipped, leaning forward in his seat to squint at the screen.

“This is the clearest photo of her face, yes.”

“Her?” Nat snapped, popping her eyes to Tony.

“Yes. Her. The Viper .” He smirked back at Nat. Bucky heard a quick intake of breath from his right. Nat.

“No…” She whispered, and trailed off.

“Oh yes, Natasha. Oh yes.” Tony flicked his fingers across the table again and all the known stats on the Viper pulled up on the screen. “This is where the fun begins for us. This is what we know about the Viper. She was “found” at a young age somewhere in middle America. It’s a little unclear where, but from where I tracked it must have been somewhere in the Midwest.”

“They stole a kid from Wisconsin? Why would Hydra bother when they had their fingers in so many other countries?” This was from Steve.

“It wasn’t Hydra…” Nat murmured.

“ What? ” Bucky piped up again. He felt like his brain was spinning. A top Hydra assassin? Did he know her? He would have to spiral into his memory to find out if he ever met this Viper…

“It was the Red Room.” Nat whispered then. Her eyes staring directly at the table.

“Yes indeed!” Tony quipped. “Remind me Nat, were you still there when they dragged in the little girl kicking and screaming or not?”

“Tony!” Steve seethed from his end of the table.

“I wasn’t living there anymore, no. I had just graduated. She was a couple years younger than me. They said she caused quite a nuisance during the assassination of a target. Instead of killing her they decided to bring her back. I saw her maybe twice. They had always referred to her as the snake. She was less refined than the other girls, she started her training a little too old, but she was… desperate to make up the difference.” Nat shuddered a bit then and Bucky felt compelled to reach out and place a hand on her shoulder. “She reminded me of… me.”

There was a small moment of pause before Tony started again. “So our little snake graduated from The Red Room and spent a few years as an agent for them before falling in with our buddies at Hydra.” Tony looked at Bucky then, “Where she was trained and conditioned to fill a missing position in their ranks after they unfortunately lost control of a very important asset. ”

“You’re a prick Tony.” Steve muttered, his eyes falling on Bucky. Bucky waved him off. He was fine, really. He’d started making peace with his history when he was on Wakanda and though he still had a long way to go, he wasn’t going to fall to pieces at the mere mention of the Winter Soldier.

“You’re telling me that they…” He trailed off, his mind spinning in circles. This poor woman he didn’t even know subjected to what he went through, simply because he had left. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but he still felt responsible that someone else had to fill a hole he had created.

“Yes they trained this little spitfire to be their top assassin and she has been in their top ranks since about 2010, only stepping into the role of top assassin after the events in 2016 finally severed you completely from the organization. She’s been racking up kills ever since. Much like you my dear metal armed friend, she’s nearly impossible to catch on camera, let alone see with your own eyes.”

From the corner of the room, where he sat in a chair separate from the table, Bruce finally spoke. “I always thought The Viper was a myth.”

“Yeah and you thought the Winter Soldier was a myth. Hell I always thought Thor and Loki were just some folklore.” Sam remarked. “I believe almost everything nowadays.”

“Wait so, this woman was a trained Red Room assassin, then a top Hydra operative and now they’re asking the internet to kill her? Why didn’t they just take care of her themselves? Surely they had her locked up or brainwashed somehow.” Bruce said.

“You guys are seriously just assholes sometimes.” Steve murmurs.

“I’m fine, Steve.” Bucky says. “It’s a valid question. Even when they wanted me eliminated, they only worked with people inside.”

“Exactly.” Tony said. “My theory is, they want us to know that they want her dead. In fact, my more specific theory is that this is bait in order to get us to hunt and eliminate her. I want to know why.”

“She must have slipped away from them.” Nat said then. “Even if no average internet bounty hunter could ever touch her, surely they’d at least keep her a little busy. Busy enough that we might be able to get a jump on her. She must know something.”

“Exactly. What does she know? And why don’t they want her to utilize whatever information she knows?”

“So we’re going to find her then.” Steve said. “What if this is a trap? Specifically set up to intrigue us into bringing their very own top operative into our facilities.”

“It could be.” Nat responded. “But it seems a little weird to send a bunch of people they don’t control after her unless they genuinely didn’t care about what happened to her. It seems unlikely she’s still an asset to them if they’re willing to risk her actually being caught off guard, no matter how unlikely that is.”

“See, this is what I meant by being confused.” Tony quips then, heading for the door. “I’ve sent everything I know about the woman to each of you. Study it. See what conclusions you come to on your own. We’ll reconvene here tonight to discuss an action plan.”

You sat in a corner booth at a tiny cafe, facing the door. There was a swinging door into the kitchen to your left, which led to three back exits. Directly in front of you was the only door facing a main street. The whole front of the coffee shop was glass, giving you a clear view of the two targets you’d been tracking all morning, who had stopped to grab breakfast at a restaurant across the street.

You were twirling a long since lukewarm cup of coffee in your hands, your eyes flicking back and forth between your marks and the swinging kitchen door at your shoulder.

You watched as your marks both stretched and stood up. The woman hailed a cab. They seemed disgruntled.

Interesting.

While the woman tried to snag the attention of a cabbie, you threw a few crumpled bills on the counter of your table and slipped through the swinging kitchen door. There were a few shouts of alarm as a stranger wandered into the bustling diner kitchen, but you quickly weaved through the crowded kitchen and out a back door. You jumped on the sleek black Kawasaki bike you’d stashed behind a dumpster in an alley.

You pushed the bike out and around the corner before turning it on, waiting to confirm that they had both piled into a cab. You revved the engine and punched the accelerator, weaving quickly between the piled up traffic, causing lots of horn honking and a few near rear-end accidents.

Your heart was hammering in your chest, the adrenaline coursing through your veins as you tore after that cab.

The grin still plastered on your face.

Bucky’s head was reeling as he read through the intel, albeit a small amount, that Tony had managed to dig up.

There were a total of 3 videos captured on a security camera of the Viper on a job. He watched them all multiple times.

The Viper was ruthless and unnervingly calm. It reminded him of himself, what he saw in the footage of the Winter Soldier. It made the bile in his stomach churn. He knew that feeling of uncontrollable calm very well and it made him break out in a cold sweat.

The first video showed her walking calmly up to a high security warehouse, putting bullets between the brows of every operative in sight, barely even looking in their direction before pulling the trigger. She walked directly with purpose toward the door that was clearly her mission. Once every operative in view of the camera had fallen she reached for the door handle. Before she slipped inside, she lifted her pistol without looking and fired one round into the camera, cutting the feed. With the hood on her jacket, there was no clear footage of her face. Bucky wondered how they were even sure it was her. Her murderous calm must have been enough evidence.

The second was a terribly grainy video taken in some basement somewhere. There was someone strapped to a chair and he watched as the Vipers fists slammed into the man repeatedly. A choppy, distorted, and heavily accented voice spoke about 40 seconds in. “Good, Viper. You may play now. Make sure there’s something left of him to interview tomorrow.” Bucky flinched as he saw the woman stride toward a table, likely filled with instruments of torture. The man strapped to the chair began to scream, pleading in Russian that he’d say anything they wanted him to. He heard a low woman’s voice come through the video, murmuring “Too late.”

The third was a more recent video according to the time stamp. It was less than six months ago off a security cam in Maracaibo. It was about a 9 second video, just watching the woman cross a bustling street in Venezuela. Bucky remembered that some hot shot Hydra agent had been found dead in Venezuela this year. Could it have been the Viper taking down one of their own? Is that why they were mad?

There were about 5 other attachments of images. The only photographs that Friday could find of this enigma apparently. 4 were blurry security camera footage from various places. The one Tony had shown this morning was truly the only one that even sort of showed the woman’s face. Well, except the 5th.

The 5th made Bucky even more sick than the footage of brutal violence. It was a Polaroid image of what appeared to be a 16 or 17 year old girl in ballet clothes, standing in the middle of what he assumed was a dance studio. It would have been normal, a young woman after a dance class, if it wasn’t for the red blood splattered up her pink tights, dripping off her knuckles and smeared on her jaw. The subject wasn’t looking at the camera, but rather seemed to be standing at attention with her focus to the right of the photographer. Written in sloppy Russian at the bottom corner of the Polaroid was “Option 4.”

What does that mean? Bucky thought to himself. Option for what?

It made him sick staring at that photo. If the blood wasn’t there, it would just look like a young woman preparing for a ballet class, or perhaps being photographed so a costume designer could see her figure while they created dazzling outfits for a production. It was so wrong for someone so young, whose face was filled with innocence, to be covered in blood. He felt so protective over her, this young woman he didn’t even know. This young woman who he knew grew up to be a murderer with a kill list almost as long as his.

He knew, looking at that photo, that this woman had never wanted this. He didn’t know how he got such a gut reaction to the image, but he saw himself in it. A young person who was given the worst hand of cards to ever be dealt, and was simply trying to stay alive. He stared at her thin frame, the hollow look in her eyes and nearly wept.

He needed to find her. He needed it more than he’d needed anything in a long time. He needed to find out how far she had fallen from this image, and if he could pull her back.

He needed to do it, because he’d always be grateful that someone did it for him.

Your marks had gone into the tall skyscraper a few hours ago. You were too antsy to sit around and wait to see if they’d venture back out into the city.

You prowled the sidewalk like a caged animal. Tracing patterns through the busiest blocks. Keeping track of nearby cameras.

Everything smelled like garbage and piss. You hated it. You loved it. It was such an easy city to get lost in.

An even easier city to be found in.

When Bucky finally dragged himself back to the conference room that evening, he felt like a wreck. He had worked himself up considerably throughout the afternoon. He was antsy and apprehensive.

He really didn’t know what was wrong with him. It was just some random assassin, why was he so worked up?

Steve noticed his touchy mood as soon as he walked in and raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m fine.” Bucky grumbled. “Just want to figure this out. It’s bothering me for some reason.”

“Maybe because it’s a little too personal, Buck.” Steve said quietly.

“Yeah maybe.” Bucky coughed out. His chest felt tight with someone who knew him so well staring at him like this.

Before Steve could rib Bucky more, Tony sauntered into the room with Nat behind him. “So what’s everyone’s thoughts on our little snake in the grass?”

“I think the woman is damn fucking scary.” Sam piped up from the same chair he’d been in this morning. “And really good at her job. Reminds me of robocop over there a little too much if you know what I mean.”

“That’s what I find so interesting.” Steve says. “Because obviously we know that Bucky wanted out, and was not the person that the camera showed. I wanna know what’s really going on in her brain.”

“Banner, question for you, if we managed to set a little trap for our snake and actually got her in here, would you be able to scan her brain and see how much of it was under her actual control?” Tony said as he dropped into a chair at the head of the table.

Banner responded from where he sat in his normal chair in the corner. “I could compare a brain scan to early scans of Barnes’s brain. See how similar they look. Then compare to his post-Wakanda scans. In a sense, yes. But the brain is complicated as you know.”

“Can’t we just talk to her?” Bucky pipes up. “I mean, if it makes you feel more comfortable to hook her up to a lie detector whatever, but I just… I know what they do to people there and let me tell you there’s no way she’s in control.”

“What makes you so sure?” Tony questions. “I mean, I was wrong about you. I’ll admit that. I’m a bigger man now. But not everyone is Cap's former BFF brought back from the dead with a heart of gold trapped in a twisted hydra web. She could have gone willingly. In fact, I have a hard time believing that a Red Room agent was accidentally captured by Hydra. What if she went to them willingly?”

“But then why did she leave?” Natasha counters. “Who’s to say that she ended up in all this willingly. I don’t know the whole story of how the Red Room got her, but it’s rare that people join without coercion. There’s more to this story, I can feel it.”

“Me too.” Bucky whispered. There had to be so much more to that 17 year old girl than a brutal murderer.

“Nat, can you explain this image to me?” Tony says, pulling up the very polaroid that was going to haunt Bucky for weeks. “This looks like a pretty willing agent to me.”

Bucky cringed at Tony’s short sighted assessment. Sure, the subject looked relaxed but that didn’t mean willing. Nat sneered.

“Well Tony, when every week your instructors challenge two students to spar and the loser is killed however the classmate prefers, you too would willingly fight back, to the death if necessary.”

Steve flinched, and looked at Nat with eyes full of grief. “They made you kill each other?”

“Kept us from attaching to each other.” Nat said simply.

Steve just shook his head, placing his face in his palms. This was one of the reasons Bucky and Nat had gotten along pretty quickly. They’d come to terms with their trauma, and the others sometimes had a hard time brushing past the torture that the two of them had simply moved on from.

“Touche.” Tony shrugged. “So why does this image say option 4?”

“That I don’t know.” Nat sighs. “No photos were ever allowed to be taken of us, but the fact that this was clearly taken by an instructor confuses me.”

“So we have no answers.” Sam quips. “Do I need to go stand on the street with a sign that says “Viper take a crack at me” so we can maybe get a glimpse of her? I’m only doing it if I can wear the suit Tony.”

“That’s the thing, there have been no sightings of the woman for years, and the one tiny glimpse in that surveillance shot from Venezuela 6 months ago was a blip. There was no record of anyone matching that description entering or leaving that country or any near it. We have no idea where she is.” Tony muttered. “I have Friday combing every single camera we can get access to, and hacking into those we don’t. The tip line on that forum is blank. No one seems to have seen her.”

There was silence for a moment, as everyone sunk into their own minds. Letting the gears turn.

“Mr. Stark.” Friday’s voice came lilting out of the ceiling. “I have a hit.”

Everyone jumped a bit, leaning forward in their seats.

“Put it on the screen.” Tony snapped. Suddenly the whole blank wall of the room was filled with various camera angles showing crowds of people wandering on the sidewalk. In the middle of a cluster of pedestrians was a figure draped in black, a baseball hat on their head and a hood pulled up over it. As the person moves, the different security camera’s flip past on the screen, keeping up with their movement.

Instantly, Bucky’s blood ran cold.

“Where is this?” Sam whispers.

“Queens.” Bucky, Steve and Tony answer in unison.

“Very close to Parker’s apartment…” Tony whispers.

“It’s empty.” Steve mentions. “Happy and May are on vacation and Peter is staying with his friend. That Ned kid.”

“I know.” Tony says. “Doesn’t mean I like her being around the corner from his place regardless.”

The room goes quiet for a few moments as they all watch the Vipers progress through the streets of Queens. She never picks up her head, seeming to be watching the sidewalk in front of her. She slips easily between groups of people, never bumping into anyone even though she doesn’t seem to be looking at anyone.

“What are we doing?” Sam says then. “We know exactly where she is. She’s so close. Let’s go suit up.”

“There’s no way she’s here by accident.” Nat says quietly. “It’s like she wants us to find her…”

“Another layer of intrigue.” Tony snarks.

“She wouldn’t be stupid enough to show up in this city unless she actually wants us to find her.” Nat continues. “Either they sent her here as a trap and finally had her look into a security camera long enough for us to track her, or she’s doing this on her own. Either way, I don’t understand the motive.”

There’s another moment of silence as they all watch the cameras track the target.

Abruptly, the Viper stops in the middle of the sidewalk. The pedestrians continue to flow around her, many seem to be grumbling and some throw rude gestures in her direction.

There’s now only a single security camera in the area able to capture her image, she stands right in the center of the frame.

“What is she doing?” Steve whispers.

Through the grainy camera footage, the whole team watches as it looks almost like her shoulders shake slightly. She seems to be looking at her feet.

No one breathes as the woman in the center of the video lifts her head slowly. Her eyes land directly on the lens, as if she’s peering straight through the shitty security camera and into Avengers tower.

There’s a huge grin on her face.

Then, from the pocket of her hoodie, she pulls a pistol and calmly points the barrel at the camera.

The last thing the camera sees in her head dropping back as she begins to cackle. Then she pulls the trigger, ending the feed.

“Holy shit.” Sam whispers.

Bucky is speechless. His heart is pounding in his chest. He felt like her eyes seared through the camera and right into his chest. He can barely breathe.

“Friday, show us the other cameras in the area.” Tony barks.

Friday pulls up tons of camera angles of the street the Viper was just standing on. The crowds are screaming, attempting to run away from the spot that the Viper had clearly just been standing. However, there are no further gun shots and no one looks injured.

“What the hell? ” Bucky says under his breath. She just shot out a camera in the middle of a busy street in Queens? For what?

“Are there any figures matching her description on any of these feeds?” Tony snaps again.

“No sir.” Friday replies. “I’ve scanned every camera in the borough and I can’t see her on any of them.”

Everyone sits in shocked silence as the security footage continues to roll. The NYPD show up, helping to calm the pedestrians. They watch quietly as they start to tape off the area. Everyone knows however that if no one was hurt, it’s unlikely that the cops will pursue the incident further. They have much bigger fish to fry in this town.

“Well goddamn.” Sam finally breaks the silence. “That was quite a little performance.”

“She really wants us to find her then.” Nat mutters.

Around the room everyone mutters their agreement.

Bucky finds his voice finally.

“So let’s find her.”

There’s unending adrenaline in you now. It was reckless you knew that. It was also so obvious what game you were playing with them at this point, but you didn’t care.

They clearly weren’t going to make a move, so you had to play your hand first.

For better or worse, it was their move now.

#Bucky Barnes #bucky fic #bucky x reader #bucky #bucky barnes x you #Bucky Barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x female oc #Female reader

64 notes · View notes

interstellarre · 3 years

Text

Delve In The Depths. Chapter V.

Word Count. 5k

a/n. My apologies for this chapter taking so long. I'm not going to be writing for the next week so the next chapter will take a while due to it's length and my week long hiatus. I hope you all can understand.

Trigger Warnings. none

Series Masterlist

Chapter V.

“The ironic liveliness of Wangsheng funeral parlor always seemed amusing.” It was one of the lines that stuck out to Signora in your most recent letter.

To my dear Mother,

Mr. Zhongli is as young and engaging as ever (Though he still forgets his wallet almost like an old man), he went on and on the other day about adepti capability after his shift at the funeral parlor over a cup of jasmine tea. The ironic liveliness of Wangsheng funeral parlor always seemed amusing. Did you know that adepti can compress houses in portable objects? He called it “Sub-Space creation.” Talking about Sub-Space creation, the traveler, Aether, I think I mentioned him in my preceding letter? He invited me to explore his own home, in a teapot no less. What a strange object to choose to make your home. I’m not protesting against the choice though, I in fact think it’s rather endearing. I merely hope one doesn’t misjudge it for a genuine one lest the house gets flooded with boiling water. Aether’s floating fairy would prefer a torrent of cuisine rather than beverage, though. I don’t think she would like to be referred to as a fairy though now that I think about it.

Actually thinking of Paimon reminds me of a question I wanted to ask you. She’s capable of disappearing and reappearing at will. Have you ever recognized that ability before? It’s a bit similar to the agents, but she doesn’t leave any trace behind her. How are Macula & Piperis faring? If you’re going to head here anyways, definitely bring them here. There’s an extensive amount of animals, especially dogs, here on Liyue’s bridges. If you come here we can sit by the edges of the river to dip our feet in while petting the dogs! Furthermore, tell Alexy hello for me as I know he’ll be with you.

Onto the subject of my worsening illness though which I know you’ll want to hear about. I received the usual symptoms, and you know they usually don’t bother me all that much besides the few times in the past. The dreams seem to be getting more vivid, though. I’ll go in more detail about them when I get home. Please don’t disrupt your work for me. I’ll be fine.

Take care,

[Name]

[Postscriptum: I met a strange person, well not exactly a “person”, on Wangshu Inn’s balcony.]

You had left the segment discussing your condition irritably short. Focusing back on her current bearings, Signora withdrew her attention off of the window facing Mount Tianheng. "I daresay I haven't broken any contracts," La Signora paced around the edges around the table, snowy crystals cascading off of her figure as she turned the corner. Despite her poker face, he could tell that she was terribly worried or angry by the shaking of her clenched fist, both if he had to guess. It didn’t take a mind as great as Zhongli’s to figure out which emotions were assigned to whom. Zhongli's ever so stoic face didn't so much as flinch at the harbinger's interruption to his morning tea while his hair tucked elegantly behind his ear blew to the side, leaving part of his cheek vulnerable to the subzero temperature. Her frigid powers matching her own frosty personality he thought, though you might disagree. She would be partial to her own daughter though, a mother’s love still prevails. He had undoubtedly noted it throughout the centuries, despite the revision of Liyue’s people. "It might not have been a contract by itself, but I hoped that you would keep your word. I would hope that your failure to keep my daughter from her," Signora but her lip, "issues isn't an attempt to punish me out of malice?"

"I can confirm that you haven't broken your word, but I assure you that I haven't happened to broken mine either," The archon paused his affirmation to blow the steam rising off of his morning tea."I have in fact maintained my side of the bargain, so in exchange you will answer questions of my own."

Signora's face was unreadable as her heels stop clinking against the floor to turn to look at Zhongli. "Very well."

"-And I expect these answers to hold legitimacy," Signora did not act in response to that. Zhongli sighed and brought the tea cup to his lips, having deemed the beverage cool enough to sip. "I won't be inquiring about your angle to taking in her into your custody as I already possess a picture of what you intended to do with her." chimed as the chair to his right squeaked in protest of being dragged against the floor. His morning tea companion took a seat.

"Which of your subordinates was the one that commenced the operation to discover her?"

"Dottore." admitted La Signora with absolutely no hesitation, tapping her fingernails against the table.

"Dottore..." replied Zhongli, "I'm not surprised with all the labs he's left around Liyue. We commenced a funeral a few weeks ago for the adolescent son of a fisherman lost in the woods, found days later with ruin guard footprints around his body.”

“I suppose this not being the standard parts of history you customarily find yourself echoing about, this piece of information has some value?

“Not necessarily, just spouting the work, a proper funeral consultant should find themselves knowing.”

“I don’t find why you concern yourself about the safety of Liyue because of the ruin guards after Osial, and despite my criticisms of both the Qixing and the adepti they have been able to put a closure to that case. Undoubtedly they will be fit to eradicate the presence of a few ruin guards.”

Zhongli again reached for the handle of the teapot, “Old habits die hard I suppose.”

"I believe we nevertheless have a few questions. Well?” Signora probed, Zhongli poured her a cup of tea.

"What's your current endgame for her? Seeing as you've gotten attached to her, I'd doubt you will be carrying out your previous plans."

"Is it so hard to believe that I would like to see her happy?" spat Signora, rejecting the sugar the former archon he offered him.

"I recall you being more polite when we last interacted." interjected Zhongli.

"And I remember that you agreed to give your gnosis up, the fatui have no need for you now neither do I." she looked down at the tea with a wrinkled nose. "I suppose you have a preference for your own country's beverages?"

"Naturally. Is that all?"

Zhongli sets aside his now emptied tea cup, “Unless you plan on telling me more.”

Signora pursed her lips simultaneously, inclining her head to the side without his presence as in disagreement as Zhongli sighed, “It is as I thought then.”

“That and you do have the patience to wait for the answers. I’m surprised that you’ve been managing to keep from detailing your memories of Liyue’s history.” she directed at the now gnosis-less archon.

“Oh?“ Zhongli raised his eyebrows, “You’re handing me the opportunity?”

“No.” was Signora’s swift answer, perhaps too quick guessing on Zhongli’s subdued laughter in the background of her mind.

She rises from her seat turning to the exit, closely followed by another agent, formly listening into the conversation, leaning by the divider. The employees, particularly an employee called “Meng” by a passing member, shaking as he passed the Fatui, avoided the duo courtesy of the Fatui’s sinking reputation in Liyue as they wandered the winding halls.

“Aiya! Lady Fatui!”

Both the agent and Signora tossed back their heads to find a young woman, dressed in appropriately black clothing topped off with a black hat.

“Are you here for business? We have coffins 30% off!”

The fatui agent took it upon himself to answer as Signora walked away, not finding this worth her time, “This isn’t appropriate timing. Perhaps another time.”

With that said he turned his back on her only to be disrupted again.

“Hey! But!”

Meng clasped her aside, “Director please! The Milleith was enough! Perhaps we shouldn’t get into another conflict,” he lowered his voice, “Especially the

Fatui.” Hu Tao produces an exasperated look, “But we should talk about business deals! The Fatui remain the ideal demographic for our business after all!” Meng tugged on her sleeve, reminiscent of a young child dragging on a mother’s sleeve to lug them from danger. The young funeral director’s mouth slanted downwards to form a lopsided frown. “Okay, okay, but make sure to find us later. We can talk then!”

The agent trailed the haughty harbinger outside, dirty glares following their path.

Changshun abruptly decided that mouthing consumer psychology suddenly wasn’t worth her time with Yi Zhan. Xingxi hushed her voice nearby, side eyeing the foreigner diplomats while negotiating prices. Qiming started wandering up the stairs.

“The key here is consumer psycholo- You know what? Suddenly I don’t feel all that interested in that all. Haha.” Changshun awkwardly laughed while scratching the back of her head.

Heading down the wooden bridge, the pigeons below startled by the footsteps took flight.

The security at Yansheng Teahouse didn’t seem to have a problem with following the silent pattern put forth by the rest either, ceasing their quibbling. Well except when Childe stopped by of course, being a Fatui harbinger ensured that his deep pockets of mora were never to run out.

Alexy taps you on the shoulders.

“Young master, your mother would desire a word with you.”

“Right, of course, thanks Alexy,” you look back to see your mother strutting behind a quieted atmosphere.“Hey guys, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I need to step aside for a minute.”

Xingqiu beckons you off, “We’ll be sure to summon you when we require your assistance my liege,” he looks back at Chongyun ready to run into Qingce village, “On second thought, we’ll wait for you so you can enjoy the theatrics.” he snickers, desperately attempting to cover his grin, Cheshire cat style.

You stifle a chuckle and head the other way, heading into an uninhabited room.

“Mama,” Your mother clasped your cheeks between her hands as she’d customarily done when you had been sick as a child sending you into waves of nostalgia.

“You’re going to pinch my cheeks off,” you groan as she lets go, “Are you planning to rip my cheeks off to add to your wall of trophies?”

“Everyone in Liyue seems to be in quite a joking mood today.” Mother remarked in a horribly disguised agitated tone.

You can see Chongyun and Xingqiu’s shadows pacing around behind what you assume is a bamboo-created screen door. “Come again?”

“No, nothing of note, why didn’t you send a letter when you fell ill?" diverting your attention, making you attempt to explain your situation.

“I couldn’t, I felt sick shortly before I passed out. I don’t know what happened... It’s never happened that fast before. It is possible it’s the change in climate, Liyue is far more humid than home after all.”

“No, that couldn’t be it,” Suddenly, you’re grabbed by the shoulders, sharp fingernails dig in your skin. ‘Ow! What was that?”

“We’re heading back home after this. We can’t risk your health much more.” the impatience in the air wasn't escaping you at all. Releasing her cat like claws out of your arms at the realization of the fact that she’s hurting you.

“I think I can stomach it until-”

“[Name]” she squeezes your arm, giving you that glare. You internally wince at the motherly glare.

“You don’t know that, besides what if this is just a one-time thing?”

“What if this isn’t just a one-time thing, huh?” she asks, nudging you against a wall, securing you with her arms, now being unable to move. You gaze up to her towering figure.

“Therefore, if this gets worse-, do I have to-?”

“You know I have to watch over you one way or another. You’ll be safer this way. Besides you’ll be old enough to be required for military conscription in a few years? Wouldn’t it be more suitable to join now?”

Your throat goes parched and you respond, “I’m not saying I don’t want to join, I just would rather do it later than now.”

She releases you from her hold.

“This can’t become “maybe” anymore,” tone as rigid as you’d ever heard it, “We’ll discuss your position when we return home this afternoon when we’re in a private environment.” she scowled at being able to hear the rowdy shouts of Liyuean merchants outside of your current dwelling. There’s no point in arguing anymore.

The silence engulfed you two, until you asked, “How are Macula & Piperis? I imagine they’ve found a way to escape you already. I would have brought them along, but I don’t think the temperature change too well considering it’s mid summer here.”

“You’ll see your pet rats soon enough.” she says scowling, she wasn’t too eager to take on a pet. Especially rats, though you thought a snow fox would fit her chilly personality.

“Shame you didn’t bring them on the boat, besides what did you call the anemo archon? Rodent ruler? I’d imagine they’d remind you of them.”

“Of all the times you listen to me, it has to be this comment.”

“Oh right! I’m going with my friends to Wuwang hill after this.” nervously fiddling with your hands, expecting her to veto your plans.

She slides open the door, Chongyun and Xingqui discussing the details of this hypothetical ghost at the table you were until now at.

“Go.”

Chongyun, still in the haze in the fabricated tales Xingqui was spinning, was practically jumping up and down, like a child in a candy store. Chongyun being the kid and the ghost, the candy. He peered at you at the sound of the door sliding open.

“Oh, [Name]!” he waves at you, “Are you ready to head out to Wuwang Hill with us?

“Yeah, give me a second,” you clamor back, turning back at your mother, also looking at you, “I’ll see you later, I guess.” stiffly, considering the conversation the both of you had a few moments ago. She narrows her eyes at you, but beckons you in for a side hug. Considering her height you’re squished between her fleecy garments and her chest.

“Mhmp, I’ll see you soon.”

You widen the gap between yourselves, running towards your new companions.

“I was thinking of heading to the front of the Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula since the ghost was spotted near the entrance.'' You drown out Chongyun’s voice, your thoughts running to your mother’s words. You? Joining the Fatui?

“Young master.” you snap out of your trance, thanks to the voice you recognize as Alexey. Figures that he would be the first to figure out your thoughts, he had always been unfairly observant. “I’ll be accompanying you on your brief journey.”

As you should have expected.

“Right, let's head out shall we?”

“By all means.” replied an eager hydro user.

Heading out the gates of Liyue to adventure, as you always wanted to do as a child seemed all too joyless now. When would be the next time you came here? On a mission for Northland Bank? Chongyun and Xingqiu gleefully chatting away ahead of you deeply contrasted with your current mournful nature. Would they despise you if you became a Fatui agent? They didn’t scarcely know about your personal ties to them.

“Hey comrades!”

You don’t turn around to the voice calling out, thinking it must be for a passerby.

“Hey slow down, don’t clear out Liyue without me. Did you think I would leave all the fun to you?” that phrase struck out, who would be the type to casually suggest wiping out Liyue? Wait.

You experienced a slight chill as a familiar redhead stepped to your side.

Alexey stiffened, as if on guard.

“Aw, did you not recognize my voice? I’m wounded that you would overlook me that quickly.” Childe, 11th of the Fatui harbingers, his reputation for chaos precedes him. Archons, he almost wiped the people of Liyue Harbor off the map a few weeks ago.

“Childe-, you debate whether you should call him lord Childe considering he may be your superior one day. It sounds too formal for your taste, though. “My apologies, I was nothing but lost in my thoughts.”

“Oh? Care to exchange?”

At this point Alexy has stepped in, “Master Childe.” with a bow of his head.

“Alexy! I recognize you. You were with Signora at the last meeting I attended. And the last and the one before that… Well, I suppose Signora always liked to play favorites. Especially with,” he turns to eye you, “Ah, nevermind.”

“Is there something going on at Northland Bank you require my presence for?” Alexy diverts the subject.

“No, no! I just wanted to catch up with you [Name].” Despite his summery cheery smile, you couldn’t help but get a shiver down your spine, which you should be used to at this point considering your vision.

“Looks like you’re planning on embarking on an adventure. Mind if I come along?”

At this point Chongyun and Xingqui have noticed that you’re not behind them.

“Ah, [Name], have you encountered these men?” asks Xingqiu inspecting the agent behind you. He had assumed that he could leave after the meal. Alongside the fact that the Fatui agents were indistinguishable with their outfits on reminding him of a certain Javert…

“We only just met,” Childe answers for you, “I was just asking if I could accompany you on your trip?

They both very well couldn’t refuse a harbinger.

Something that he was acutely aware of. Sensing the nervous glances from Chongyun and Xingqiu’s less than happy attitude, he inquired, “I’d take it that I’m not invited to the party?”

You promptly intervened.“No, it’s not that at all. We’re just astonished that you would be interested in these types of affairs.” That was a lie. Your mother had frequently complained that Childe was more focused on blood spot than focusing on his duties as a harbinger. But she was still grateful that he was far from Snezhnaya to cause it’s destruction.

“So, is your presence necessary or...? Chongyun anxiously enquired to Alexy, glancing between Childe and the agent who he supposed wasn’t under the harbinger flouncing on the side of the group. He’d imagine Xingqiu wouldn’t be overly impressed with this revelation considering his recent hijinks with the Fatui agent named Javert. You’d never had given him the impression of being associated with the Fatui, but then again, Xingqiu did often forewarn him that things went under his nose. They had arrived at Stone Gate, planning to use the path, then to scale one of the lower rugged mountains to reach Wuwang Hill.

“I came to ensure the young master’s safety.” replied Alexy, all emotion in his face veiled by the hood of his uniform.

“Young master huh? I never knew The Fair Lady had a daughter even after all these years? How come no one ever mentioned it to me?” grinned Childe, scanning Alexy in particular.

Chongyun and Xingqiu stayed extraordinarily quiet throughout the exchange, Xingqiu’s trickster side momentarily quieted and Chongyun in thought.

“The Fair Lady?” Chongyun asked, he was licking at one of his popsicles, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

“La Signora, The 8th Harbinger. I read about it in a book containing information about Snezhnaya.” Xingqiu answered, now taking in another look at you. As luck would have it Xingqiu was hardly one to criticize another based on birth, despite his heritage and stayed silent deciding to honor your silence and not probing you any further. Thankfully Chongyun, as charmingly oblivious as he was at times, took the hint and stayed quiet.

Childe had an ominous aura around him during the period of silence after when reaching the mountain and preparing to climb. Like a shark after blood. You would have to hope that he would follow in your friends’ footsteps.

When you near the top, you’re offered a hand by none other than Mr. Ginger himself, already a few steps ahead of you at the top. “Well?”

You clasp his hand, lifting yourself up, with Chongyun and Xingqiu slightly behind. Childe and Alexy already at the top.

“Hey look behind you!,” Chongyun starts once he’s reached the top. A few hilichurls have snuck behind you. Well you specially, Childe and Chongyun remain the solitary ones facing the Hilichurls.

You reach for your bow, only to be greeted by hilichurls with black smoke drifting off of their bodies. “Isn’t this new?” you hear Childe mutter in the background. You don’t have time to dwell on this however, reaching for an arrow in your quiver, you effortlessly shoot the three of them down.

“Impressive,” Tartaglia grins down at you, “I suppose I’ll have to ask you for shooting tips.”

“Uhm, thanks.” not expecting him of all people to not be adequate with a bow, especially thanks to the hydro bow he was holding in his left hand, as if he was expecting an enemy to attack soon. Well that or he would be able to find something if no one showed up.

You offer your hand to Chongyun right behind you, who was attempting to climb faster to the rest of you at the mention of the stray hilichurls. Xingqiu eased himself up without any help however. By this point Chongyun and Xingqiu had found each other by your side at this point.

“Shall we?” Childe asks

You all advance deeper in the woods, Chongyun leading at the front, Alexy tailing you at the back.

The rest of the hilichurl camp must have realised the rest of their companions had disappeared causing them to follow after you all. Before anyone volunteered to fight the disturbance, you extended your arm out pushing your comrades back. Grinning, you voiced, “I’ll take care of it.”

Clutching your dagger, you rush forward slashing the nearest hilichurl, stabbing the next. The next hilichurl swings a club at you, to which you duck under, avoiding. You slash the knees of that one. The rear one is at a distance having run back and hesitated for a bit seeing the damage you inflicted on his tribe, only for you to draw your bow, shooting an arrow at his heart, freezing his body before he disintegrated.

Clapping awaits you when you turn around.

“Well done!” exclaims the thrilled harbinger.

“Thank you.” you accept his praise, sliding your weapon back into its holder.

The wind blowing at your face made you feel so able. So adventurous. It was as the Mondstadians must have felt with the wind blowing at every corner. The sights of the windmills invoking what must have been an unrestricted life. No Fatui guards stalking the streets, just amiable knights patrolling through dangerous parts. You weren’t supposed to experience this, but the rush of adrenaline with the previous battle made you feel alive.

The creaks and callings of the forest seemed to grow louder. Well that, but different in a way. It sounded comparable to... laughter? A creature flew by your ear, causing most of the group to step back.

“I know that sound.” murmured Childe. So did you.

A branch on the floor cracked, Alexy pulled his dagger out, Chongyun walked forward, Xingyun didn’t move.

A Fatui cicin mage stepped out of the shadow.

“Something’s amiss with her, Chongyun whispered, “It’s as if she’s possessed.”

He was right, her movement was aimless and she had blood staining her attire, as if she didn’t have a specific target, but was a machine designed to maim and kill. Like a ruin guard. The same black vapor or smoke clouded her body.

She sashayed back and forth, her lamp almost crashing into the pine tree to her right. Forget the ruin guard reference, it was almost like a puppet being stringed along by it’s puppetmaster. She waved her hand, summoning cicins after all of you.

“I’ve never known a part of the fatui to look like this.” Childe readied his hydro blades.

“I’ll help out.” drawing your own blade.

The cicin mage sent a bolt of purple lightning raining down from the sky to which you both dodge. Before you can blink, she’s down on the ground. Blood moistening the soil on the ground. You’re surprised Alexy hasn’t restricted you from fighting, but with Childe raring to see your ability, and you all too happy to oblige, he can’t exactly refuse.

You’re surprised that Chongyun hasn’t mentioned the similar black smoke trailing the Fatui cicin mage and hilichurls and the fact that they were so easily drawn to you, but then you realise than Chongyun was still climbing up while you were fighting the hilichurls.

“Oh, Chongyun!” Chongyun shifts his head at the sound of his name, “I think I saw a trace of a ghost over there!” Chongyun perks up at both the sound of her name and of a mention of a ghost. They both run off deeper into the forest together.

“Seems like we’ve failed to keep them,” you remark with a slight giggle, “They’re like children with their toys.” to which Childe conspicuously perks up at.

“Well what should we do now?”

Sounds of complex machinery could be heard through the clearing of trees. Alexey instinctively pulled you back. A familiar clink and huff. Almost like...Ruin hunters. God knows why there were so many here gathered at one place. They came out of the disguise of the pine branches. They had the same smoke coming off of them as the hilichurls and cicin mage.

Childe stepped forward, “Well isn’t this a party?” clearly in his element, “Well?” his gaze lands on you, “Aren’t I receiving some aid?”

Alexy rearranged your position so you were now standing besides him and out of Childe’s view. With him being so tall and all. “I’ll aid you instead master Childe.” Childe’s happy facade dropped for a sliver of a second.

“It’s a shame, I was hoping to see your full fighting capabilities, unless,” he cocks his head towards you, “You would like to show me?”

You must have been out of your mind. But the atmosphere and power you felt made you giddy. Lusting after strength you suppose. Instead, you push past Alexy, “No, I can handle this.” much to Childe’s delight.

Alexy steps forward to protest, but realises he can’t do much with Childe’s presence. Signora always said that Childe was an unbearable nuisance.

You hadn’t expected to be able to take care of the ruin guards as quickly as you did. There was blood dripping down your leg, the stench of electricity in the air from the broken-down machinery.

The fatui members behind you, well you couldn’t tell with Alexey, but Childe seemed impressed. To be fair you’d imagine most people would be astonished by that feat.

He hasn’t questioned why so many monsters seemed to find your path yet.

“Miss.”

“Huh? Alexy?”

“I believe there’s something on your face.” you reach up expecting a blood stain, only to observe nothing.

“What do you suggest by that?” he looks at you again, sizing you up.

“...No, nothing, I believed I observed something that wasn’t there. Apologies.”

“It’s fine, let’s go deeper to find Chongyun and Xingqiu with their mystery ghost shall we?” freely skipping towards the direction, your friends headed off to.

“Well what did you both find?” you questioned an exasperated Chongyun and a snickering Xingqiu.

“Nothing of note. Yet,” replied Xingqiu, wheezing throughout his sentence, “We’ll head back there to search more.”

“No,” stepped up Alexy, “The young master is injured, we will have to head back now especially to be back on time.”

“On time?” Chongyun asked ever so innocently.

“For the boat.” the chaotic duo turns their eyes on you.

“I’m, uh,” stuttering with your words, “Leaving for home this afternoon.”

“I was aware that you were staying for another day due to your sudden bout of illness.” lipped Xingqiu.

“Let’s head out now.” Alexy cut off Xingqiu’s questioning.

“...Right.” agreed both Chongyun and Xingqiu after a tense silence.

You wondered what Childe thought of all this. Did he think you were a coward for hiding your relans with the Fatui? Why did you even mind what he supposed about you, you internally groaned.

Heading back to the harbor turned out to be quite the situation. As the adrenaline ran out, the pain in your left leg increased. At a step, you were barely paying any attention to your surroundings causing you to trip.

“Gah!”

Alexy gripped you by the arm, heaving you up and carrying you bridal style. “Allow me.”

Your blush at the gesture, fiddling with your hands as a result.

“What happened here?” your mother immediately questioned at the second of your arrival at the dock, “And what are you doing here?” she looks at her coworker.

Chongyun and Xingqiu left earlier though Xingqiu was less than comfortable with leaving you with the Fatui assuring that he’d deliver you a letter in his signature handwriting later to ensure your safety. How he would manage to find you though, that was the question.

“I accompanied her on her journey.”

“No wonder why she’s injured,” Signora grumbled, “I can’t believe we’re going to be forced on the same boat back to the Motherland with you.”

“Well this happened to be the last boat home for today, head back home later if you can’t stand me that much. Believe me, I would if I hadn’t been ordered to head back so soon.”

Signora withdraws you from Alexy, carrying you on the ship, “There’s a healer in the lower decks, I’ll escort her there. And you,” she glares at Childe, “Watch your step around her.”

“As my fair lady commands.” Childe mocks.

Signora tsks as she escorts you down.

“Oh and before I forget!” Childe shouts behind you, “We’re long overdue for a fight girlie!” winking at you specifically.

“In your wildest dreams, fuckboy.” (“Language fair lady!” Childe shouts back) Signora glares back at him.

#genshin x reader #genshin impact #genshin imagines #xiao #xiao x reader #childe x reader #genshin impact x reader #Delve In the Depths

18 notes · View notes

astrovian · 3 years

Text

the official ranking of RA photoshoot outfits (pt. 1)

as @dykethorin said when I first proposed doing this particular ranking, “Some real Decisions™️ were made” with these shoots y’all

all photoshoot outfits (for part one) under the cut

the official ranking of Daniel Miller outfits here

the official ranking of Adam Price outfits here

the official ranking of Claude Becker outfits here

guys, I’m crying with laughter

hey quick question: what the fuck was this photoshoot??? (and also I need current RA in these poses)

it’s real nice to see a fun, loosey-goosey RA (before he established himself in the broody-character archetype) but there are so many questionable fashion choices here

when I started this list I had two options:

1) allow some leeway to the older photoshoots because, let’s be real, the early 2000s were an atrocious time for fashion that a lot of us would most rather forget we participated in

2) judge them by today’s standards, which is harsh but some of these outfits deserve it

naturally, I chose option #2

It’s so hard to even pick where to start. the too-loose pants? the ill-fitting suit jacket? The untucked dress shirt that is for some god-forsaken reason undone in two separate directions??

I have chosen one thing that sums the outfit up as a whole: what monster decided to put the shirt collar over the suit jacket????

the jazz hands scream “hey I’m a FUN guy” but the suit screams “I’m the yo-pro asshole at the office who is so unreliable you’re pretty sure some nepotism must surely have had an influence during the hiring process”

I originally said ‘I guess we should be glad there’s no surfer necklace’ but then I had the horrifying realisation that it’s a 50/50 shot as to whether that would improve this outfit or make it worse. and you know when there’s even slimmest chance a surfer necklace could improve an outfit somehow that it’s time to take a good hard look at yourself

1/10 just because this photoshoot made me genuinely laugh out loud

wait I’m sorry, what-

how on god’s green earth is this the same photoshoot (?) as guys, I’m crying with laughter????

the great thing about these lists is that you are getting my genuine reactions as I progress down the images. I had no idea this was the same photoshoot (?) until approximately 10 seconds after writing guys, I’m crying with laughter

this perfectly encapsulates the duality of man – one moment it’s all goofy jazz hands and the next it’s a hunk-of-the-week moment

this man and guys, I’m crying with laughter are the equivalent of looking at pictures of yourself in high school vs. in your 20s/30s/at your prime. the whiplash is insane

and why is he in front of barred windows?? it appears they were afraid of what would happen if this hunk escaped into the general population

I still can’t believe they kept the collar over the suit jacket though

I’m so conflicted guys, the urge to numerically rank this terrible outfit is strong but uh… as per usual shirtless ones aren’t fair/10

revenge of the killer surfer necklace

do you ever look back at a specific moment in time and are so thankful that someone took one tiny action? one small thing they did in the heat of the moment that probably seemed innocuous at the time but had far-reaching consequences? for example, it might something as simple as deciding to take a umbrella on a bright sunny day only for it to be extremely useful on the way home when the weather turns

this is how I feel about the person who decided RA could leave that top button closed for this shoot

if you squint, you can see the surfer necklace under that top button. and thank god you have to squint

this is such an early 2000s look though. that shirt by itself is fine and would actually look killer with a properly fitted suit nowadays. it’s the shirt dress and loose denim look with makes no sense to me

2/10 for a pretty uninspiring early 2000s outfit

revenge of the uh…

from the same shoot as revenge of the killer surfer necklace this loses .1 of a mark for adding a jacket, while pretty innocuous, to an already busy outfit

1.9/10

were we really that afraid of legs?

why were we, as a society, so obsessed with loose, ill-fitting pants? why were we so desperate to conceal legs from the general population? what secrets were we trying to hide? I understand the comfort factor on the hand, but on the other did anyone actually have eyes

the sneakers/suit combo I can definitely live with. but those pants (that I’m convinced must be pyjama pants in another life) turns it all into a sloppy, blurry mess

2.7/10

is it a bird? is it a plane? no, it’s… a floating RA?

what is it about photoshoots in the early 2000s where they just make no damn sense. it’s my opinion that the theme/concept of a shoot should not overshadow the subject, and that’s the correct opinion (as well as being the exact opposite as to what’s happening here)

maybe there was a hint or reason as to why floating wizard RA exists in the article that this shoot presumably came with, but I don’t get it. clearly I’m far too literal of a person and need to embrace my inner artist

looks pretty, still weird

moving on the entire point of this post, the outfit, I uh,… oh god

I’m pretty sure this the same (and similar, if not) outfit RA wore in the North & South behind-the-scenes, and how we as a society went from John Thornton’s stiff collar and top hat to this is amazing

maybe we were so obsessed with period dramas back then because it was a nice alternative to indulge our eyes in when we had to face the harsh, cold reality of modern fashion at the time

anyway – trust me, while I am all for a man in a necklace, let’s pray surfer necklaces never come back 2.9/10

I genuinely was looking up “pinstriped jacket jokes” because I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head but then I realised I don’t need a joke here because pinstriped jackets are a joke all by themselves

I feel like there may be a situation where pinstriped suit jackets might grow on me, but this is not that situation

also I don’t really know where I stand on the belt, but I certainly think I’m leaning towards the ‘why’ part of the scale. if you’re gonna make a belt that prominent in a photoshoot, at least make it a fun belt

3/10

I’m noticing a trend in these photoshoots and it’s these horrific backgrounds

I will admit that the non-patterned suit jacket is going with the jeans a lot better here. but now that my attention isn’t focused on that, all I can see are the dress shoes. WHY DID YOU PUT DRESS SHOES WITH STRAIGHT-LEGGED JEANS???

please someone I am begging you, can we as a society get to tapered jeans already

3.3/10

did RA genuinely ever get put into any clothes that actually fitted him properly at this point in time?

look, I know I’ve been picking on the bootcut jeans & loose attire that plagued us in the early 2000s (or 2006, to be specific to this photoshoot). what can I say, it’s the low-hanging fruit. or loose-hanging, as the case may be

I do appreciate that rich brown leather jacket and that smile. but that’s where it stops. someone take dress shirts and dress shoes away from bootcut denim PLEASE

3.5/10

this is the bad-boy from your hometown in every rom-com ever

as with well this in an interesting development that I can’t say I disapprove of below, the lower rating is simply because from what we can see, it’s just a plain shirt. however, that dipped v-neck? mm-mmm

look at that smirk. this man knows what he’s doing to us, dammit.

why do you persist in hurting us this way 4/10

well this in an interesting development that I can’t say I disapprove of

god bless the person who said we need this shirt wet and clinging and only half-soaked

I’m so sad that I have to give this such a low ranking because uh… we’ve established I have a weakness for those biceps

this does also get bonus points for the creativity of “only this portion of your shirt needs to be wet for your close-up” but at the end of the day it is a solitary grey t-shirt even if it is floating in an attractive sea of muscles

4.5/10

the photographer really said ‘who gives a crap about the clothes’, huh?

an interesting shirt! but as much as I love RA’s face, we should be able to see more of the shirt (and the outfit) because uh… it’s hard to make a judgement call on a photoshoot outfit without that

also, it’s just so hard to concentrate on some of these with RA staring into my soul like that

*sigh* 4.6/10

hello sir, are you as kinky as your shirt?

this is one of the few occasions on which I will give the bootleg baggy jeans a pass. interesting choice to go shoeless for all outfits in this shoot – but the way the shirt is all crumpled is annoying me an incessant amount. I am begging you, someone pass this stylist an ironing board PLEASE

4.7/10 for a crinkle-cut RA

all that’s missing is the beer cans

I’m not sure of the short sleeves here. I think with the shirt open as well my brain doesn’t know where to look

HOWEVER, this is an RA from the early 2000s that I can get behind – largely because he’s not drowning in his denim

the nice, plain belt which matches with the shirt? excellent

interesting choice to go with the bare feet – this entire look (and the quality of that concrete floor) screams ‘we’re chilling at a summer party in your parent’s basement in the early 2000s’ if not for one thing – that couch is way too nice looking. am I being too pedantic about this? no. If you’re gonna go for the whole basement party look, you need a couch that’s falling apart and has at least one questionable stain on it

that being said, I would hang out in this man’s basement

it’s a shirtless one so once again, I cannot give a numerical answer/10

I’m not sure if this man is dangerous or is just an idiot

they may have been wanting RA to embrace his inner Daniel Miller here but that is NOT a jacket that should have its collar popped or if it is, it definitely should not be popped that much. just turn the intensity of that pop down by… at least 35%

this look is telling me to embrace my inner lacy, ruffled collar that men in England used to wear around the 1500 - 1600s. I hate it and refute it with every part of my soul

this is what happens when you embrace your inner Daniel a little bit too much 5.6/10

the return of the leg monster

not much to say about this except once again we are terrified to put RA’s legs into well-fitted pants. what secrets are hiding underneath those voluminous billows? will we ever know?

5.8/10

the one that crushed my hopes and dreams and then spat on my corpse

so I admit it, I got really excited because I thought that this was a leopard print shirt and I was like “this is something I did NOT know that I needed until right now”, even if I would argue that it could have been nice in a little bit of a brighter colour. no matter, I thought it was a nice subtle addition to this plain suit and was just very excited at the prospect of RA rocking leopard print even though I almost always hate leopard print in single every form it comes in

and then. upon zooming. a disappointing paisley. sorry, paisley lovers. I hate it

I would also argue here that the pocket square would have been nice in a plain, bright colour rather than another patterned item thrown into the mix. come on stylists, stop letting me down with your pocket squares

also if there is a point where a suit can be too shiny, I think we’ve found it. I could wax floors with that fabric and I’d rather be thinking about RA’s talent & good looks rather than imagining him being used as a human mop

the hand porn is uh… strong with this one 6/10

the hand porn one

the ring is a nice subtle touch but I can’t decide where I stand on this tie. for me, the checks are just a *wee* tad too small. so small that it I’m scared it will turn into one of those optical illusions with a number in it if I stare at it the tie for too long

the pocket square could also have not tried so hard to blend in with the rest of the suit jacket. give me some colour, baby!

Richard really needs to put his hand down so I can actually concentrate on the clothes 6.5/10

I’m just dotty for this one (I’m so sorry y’all)

so suave. so shiny. I wanna stroke that fabric so bad, it looks so soft

the dots bring a nice yet understated touch to a monotone outfit and GOOD LORD those thighs

they just had to pose him like this to torture us, I’m convinced. also they call him a “commanding gentleman” in the subtitle which is really just unnecessary to verbalise when he’s sitting like this

Someone put me in a rom-com with this man 7.2/10

the modern magician (at least he ain’t floating this time)

I know that the hat should be the focus of this shoot but I can’t get over those shoes

tangentially related, I have never understood why they make men’s dress shoes so excessively long and pointed. these certainly aren’t a good example of this but uh… I don’t understand why men’s dress shoes are clown shoes

I think part of what’s throwing me off is the sockless look. normally I can handle (and even love) it with some shoes but there’s something about the hem of those jeans and those shoes that turn them into slippers when worn sockless

I love the two-tone scarf but what really excites me is the plaid shirt that we can barely see. I’m eternally sad that they had RA hid it in this pose. and also, come one. you could’ve at least gotten a chair with an actual back to it. that can’t be good for his back at all

the one bonus of this outfit is the hat because when do we ever get RA in hats?? and hats that aren’t baseball caps?? a nice, rare touch. but also one which hides most of that face so…

can we talk about the fact that my gut tells me those jean cuffs have been deliberately turned up at the front and all I want in life is to reach into this image and flip them down 7.5/10

*pterodactyl noises*

holy macaroni. that demin shirt. and this shirt’s even a nice lighter denim colour??? and the v-neck?? SIR

I know he’s worn some faux-denim shirts in the last few years (see: Uncle Vanya rehearsal pics) but as outerwear? knocked it out of the park in this one

also I know this is a shirt not a jacket, but this shirt made me think about how I never realised how much I needed RA in jean jackets until today

It could be argued that a nice crew neck cut would work slightly better than the v-neck but that’s really a personal choice

a lovely respite for my weary eyes 7.7/10

a truly, truly blessed image. the sort of image that would bring you endless good luck

I know I’ve given a lot of pants crap on this list but these. these are the ones. these are doing the lord’s work for sure. and god bless the person who decided to shoot from this particular side angle.

and then the shirt?? I’m honestly afraid it may rip if he moves. I could leave or take the tie though. it’s not adding a whole lot to this outfit and I would much rather that shirt be uh… open at the top for a glimpse of uh… well. you know.

this RA outfit laughs in the face of all those early 2000s RA outfits 8.1/10

me running to open my phone every time an RA-related notification pops up

my only sadness is that this shoot was in black & white. we need more action-shot RA shoots!

also the subtle plaid?? *chef’s kiss*

well, I said ‘my only sadness’ but is it also me or are both ends of that tie strangely square? that is throwing me off from an otherwise spectacular photoshoot outfit, I won’t lie

8.5/10 for a man of action

this is what we all like to think we look on the way to work. hate to break it to ya - we don’t

god, that wind-ruffled hair. the rustic look provided by both the suit material & the photo editing. that stare over the top of that coffee mug. the casual ‘I just picked up the paper on my way out this morning’

words fail me

would it be weird if I said I would pay money to be able to run my hands through anyone’s hair that looks as soft and wind-swept as that 8.9/10

the comfiest RA

I love. love. love this outfit, especially the sweater. the pant colour goes extremely well with this one and I’m so glad they didn’t just stick him in jeans. the is the softest, comfiest RA and I love it. this is an RA who you can simultaneously share a beer and takeaway with at home, cuddling up on the sofa while you watch a film, as well as an RA who will take you out to eat fancy pasta at an upscale restaurant.

the choice of sitting on a stool is also great. my only real gripe here is the watch (and even that’s a minor one, really). the watch isn’t THAT bad, but it’s chunky face reminds me slightly of the watches boys in my class would wear in middle school. the watch could be a *wee wee tad* slicker, but really, I’m nitpicking here (and this is the only time I will admit to it)

the more I look at it, the more this becomes one of my fav RA pics. the slight smile. the relaxed pose. the hint of hand porn

weirdly, for some reason this picture gives me the exact same comfy and ‘just chilling out’ feeling as when I hear the song “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer 9.5/10

#richard armitage #yes this is a multi-part one because uh... there's a lot of photoshoots guys #also yes most of the early 2000s ones ended up at the bottom and I refuse to apologise for that

34 notes · View notes

handonhaven · 3 years

Note

You know I see people come with any and all reasons to try to call Handon "toxic" but yet no one seems to be talking about toxic their "friends" actually are to them. I mean the way Lizzie treats, talks about/to Landon is almost like she believes he's beneath her. Or with Hope when they only go to her when they need or want something from her. Or not even really letting her grieve and getting mad at her the one time she picks herself. It honestly feels like the only good friend they might have right now is Cleo. You know minus the time she tried to get Hope to move on faster than she was ready to.

Yes! Seriously, my thoughts exactly! If there are any toxic relationships going on, it’s with Handon and their “friends.” The way they treat Hope and Landon is really not okay, yet no one talks about it. Yep, Lizzie does treat Landon as if he’s beneath her, which is something that’s bothered me for a long time. Honestly, she treats him like crap majority of the time, and the writers sugarcoat it with “humor” to make it seem okay when it’s not. I mean, when it first started, I thought some of the nicknames were kinda funny and I didn’t think too much of it. But it’s gone on for so long and is so constant whenever they have scenes together, I got sick of it a long time ago. Plus most of the time the insults involve his looks, which is no longer about just Landon, but also Aria, which is a whole other subject... But yeah, Lizzie doesn’t treat him like a friend at all. She’s had a few moments when she’s been nicer to him, but most of the time she’s very condescending towards him. And especially in the last few episodes, she’s treated both him and Hope badly. Basically, the only people I’d consider an actual friend to Landon at some point (besides Raf obviously, the only true friend to him who is gone now, ironically) would be Josie and Wade. But even then, Landon and Josie have barely spent any time together after they broke up, she didn’t seem to care at all when he was “dead,” and neither did Wade. He seems to mostly just want Landon around to play D&D with. None of these people seem to care much about Landon at all. Like, if Landon’s death wasn’t enough to get them to care about him, what would?? That alone is concerning and if I were Landon or Hope, I’d be running tbh...

And for Hope as well, she doesn’t seem that close with any of them. And like you said, they mostly just go to her when they need something. Yeah, they weren’t there for her at all when she was grieving, showed no compassion or support, expected her to help them, wouldn’t even let her grieve and wanted her to move on immediately. And yes, the one time she chooses her own happiness, they resent her for it, even though it was shown that some of them would have a similar mindset if it came down to taking risks to save someone they love. And they’re allowed to, but Hope is not. I just... how is this okay? And also, most of the time, Hope is the one making the effort. I thought that the first half of season 2 with Hope and Lizzie was good, I thought Lizzie was a very good friend to her, was supportive, and I have no idea what happened to that? It feels like they went backwards, but I’d say that was the only time any of them made a real effort to be there for Hope. But besides that, it’s usually her doing the work in her friendships. And she has been there for them constantly, and they’ve often seemed pretty ungrateful for it. They seem to expect everything from her while giving very little back. They expect her to always put herself and/or Landon at risk, drop everything she cares about and her own happiness and wellbeing for them. And if she doesn’t do that just one time, they get angry and don’t seem to care or understand how she feels.

And yet Hope and Landon are still friends to them and try to be there for them after everything. Landon still considers them his friends when they don’t even show concern for him or treat him right. Hope continues to feel like she has to be there for them all the time after they abandoned her while she was mourning and didn’t care about her. And the writers almost never let Hope or Landon stand up for themselves anymore or acknowledge when they’re not being treated right. Landon used to speak up for himself, like in 1x04 he was done putting up with how everyone was treating him, he called Hope out after how she had acted. Even in 1x11 when Josie welcomed him back he responded with, “didn’t you vote me out?” And they’ve all done a whole lot worse to him at this point, but now he just takes it. After what they all did when he was trapped in the prison world, instead of saying anything about it, he tries to get Hope to apologize and fix things. And both of them feel responsible for resolving things even though their friends contributed to what happened and did nothing to apologize. They both just put up with how everyone treats them, while also being expected to be perfect, and it’s so tiring to watch. And sorry to go off about this, and I hate to be so negative, but it’s disappointing. I really liked how the friendships were starting to develop in season 1 and into season 2, but everything has gotten so bad before they even developed into true friendships, and it’s kinda ruined it for me. I just don’t even feel like they’re their friends, it really just feels like they’re classmates pretending to be friends at this point because they’re all stuck at the school together. And it’s funny how they said this show was about friendship when practically none of the friendships feel genuine to me, they mostly feel obligatory, especially regarding Handon and the others.

And exactly, it seems like Cleo could be the only real friend they have at this point. And yeah, I have to ignore how she acted in 3x07 because that was just bizarre. It was clearly inserted by the writers because it didn’t even fit with her behavior from what we’ve seen in the other episodes. But besides that, she does seem like a good friend, so at least there’s that. And that shows that the writers are capable of writing good friendships and are just choosing not to with a lot of the characters. Even MG and Ethan seem closer friends after just a few episodes than a lot of the “squad” are after 3 seasons, so it’s pretty strange. But anyway, yeah, the way they treat Hope and Landon is toxic imo, and everyone ignores it. And after all this time and all that’s happened, I’m not sure what it would take for them to be good friends to Hope and Landon, so I feel like it will all most likely continue and go unaddressed, unfortunately. While Hope and Landon will surely continue to be criticized and problems that don’t even exist between them will keep being brought up.

#answered #dang that got long sorry

19 notes · View notes

heartslogos · 3 years

Text

newfragile yellws [1213]

Ellana had always known that she and the Iron Bull were going to fight. She didn't know what over, or when it would hapen, or how bad it would get. But from the very beginning she knew it was inevitable. No matter how amiable the Iron Bull is, normally, and how easy going she is, mostly, they would clash over something. Couples fight. Friends fight. People, when they’re important to each other, fight. And then they work it out because they’re couples, friends, important to each other. That’s the way of things. If you don’t have at least one argument or disagreement — of any degree — with someone then there’s one person who’s too afraid or there’s one person who’s not paying attention or both.

So Ellana knew this fight was going to come. This disagreement, really. Well.

She’s will to take this disagreement, this difference in opinions, and turn it into a full fight. She didn’t think she’d be advocating for such a thing but here she is.

Ellana also didn’t think that the subject of the fight would be her own brother.

“Are you dating me or my brother?” Ellana demands, fists on her hips as she attempts to stare the Iron Bull down.

“Neither of you,” Bull replies instantly.

“But you want to date me,” Ellana stresses.

“Definitely," Bull agrees.

“Not my brother.”

Bull makes a face at her as though she’s said something incredibly terrible.

“Then why,” Ellana seethes, completely taken off guard by the complete ridiculousness of this unexpected conversation that she now has to somehow bully her way through, “Do you need my brother’s permission to date me? Why do you need to tell my brother first before you tell me?”

“I’m not dating you without his permission and that’s final.”

“I’m a grown woman. I don’t need a permission slip from my own brother to date who I want. And you’re a grown man! I thought you knew better than to do this sort of thing. It’s so archaic! Why should I need anyone’s permission to do anything with my life? What’s gotten into you? You had no problems when I told you how I feel. You even said you liked me back, in a similar vein.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” Ellana feels like they’ve been going in circles for the past half hour. She’s getting frustrated. She’s getting tired. A terrible combination. It’ll make her careless. This is one argument, one debate, she cannot lose. A possible boyfriend is on the line here. Granted, if he keeps going at it like this she’ll probably not care about losing him — no, that’s a lie. For all that the Iron Bull has suddenly and without warning developed a strange outdated sense of chauvinistic chivalry, Ellana would still be very, very displeased at having their mutual feelings wither away on the vine like unclaimed fruit. “How is this different?”

“That was us talking out feelings. Neither of us need permission to talk about feelings,” Bull explains. “We can talk about feelings until we’re blue in the face. It’s the acting on the feelings part that needs the permission. Or at least, acknowledgement.”

“Why? Use little words. Break this down for me so it’s easy to swallow and digest. My ability to comprehend you right now is about the same as someone with severe food poisoning’s ability to stomach spice and grease.”

“If your brother finds out either of us acted on actual romantic feelings for each other — never mind how mild, how exploratory this is for the both of us — and neither of us are the ones who told him, he would skin me alive,” the Iron Bull answers. “Listen. I do like you. And I do want to explore this with you. It's not often that I genuinely just like people and want to spend a lot of time with them as myself. I think I could turn this like into something deeper, something different. And I think I want to do that with you. But your brother scares the absolute fucking shit out of me. And I’m not going to cross him.”

“So what it comes down it is you’re more afraid of my brother than you are willing to invest your time into finding out if you could love me,” Ellana repeats flatly.

Bull stares at her, unrepentant of what he’s just admitted. “I have no doubt in my mind that your brother wants what’s best for you. And, frankly, I have a lot of doubts as to whether or not I could claw my way out of the top ten worst things he could envision for you.”

“So you’re giving up.”

“No, I’m not giving up, I’m taking the long way around,” Bull replies. “I’m coming up with a strategy to wear him down before approaching him with my intentions.”

“I’m asking you out for brunch at our favorite cafe, not to march you down the aisle and file taxes jointly with me,” Ellana grouses. She wants to stay upset. She wants to stay irritated. But she’s no match for this man. Really.

“You think your brother is going to let me within a ten foot radius of you if I approach you with anything less than life-long intentions of the good kind?” Bull points out. “Doesn’t matter if neither of us is sure if this is what we want. If we go into this half-assed he’s going to flay me alive. And then after he’s done wiping my blood off of his hands he’s going to nag you into an early grave.”

The Iron Bull does, actually, have a point. Ellana scowls and Bull nods, seeing his point finally come across and worm it’s way into Ellana’s acknowledgement.

“I don’t like it,” Ellana says. “This is outrageous. We don’t need to tell him just yet, do we? I mean. We go out together all the time and no one’s ever said anything.”

“If we start going out with romantic intent and come clean to Mahanon later, he’s going to be like a bloodhound on fresh tracks. He’ll probably be able to pinpoint the exact time the two of us started to figure stuff out and then he’s going to get retribution with interest.”

“Why are you acting like you know my own brother better than I do?”

“Because you know your brother as your brother. I know your brother as the man he is when you aren’t making him behave.” Bull takes her hand in his. “I want to try this. I do. But we’ve got to be careful about it. I’m going to come up with a game plan. Can you trust me to handle this?”

“Fine,” Ellana concedes. “Don’t take too long. And this better not be a tricky way of you trying to let me down easy. You think my brother’s terrifying? See what happens if you cross me. I dare you.”

#heartsfic #gather your party and venture forth

2 notes · View notes

yukipri · 4 years

Text

On the Baratie, Prologue - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

Thanks to everyone who sent in their opinion on the East Blue stories poll! I think Sanji’s had the most, so we’re starting off with more Baratie!

While there’ll be a continuation, here’s a bit of prelude, because they need a different reason to go to the Baratie. The ASL Pirates already have a cook after all!

Like a prologue to On the Baratie, Part 1

When Thatch makes up his mind to accompany Ace back to East Blue, he knows that there's one place he wants to visit no matter what.

He's only been to East Blue once, and it was honestly ages ago, and he doubts there'll be another chance in the near future. Not many opportunities to visit the weakest Blue as a commander in an Emperor's crew, after all.

And while Thatch doubts he'd travel halfway around the world for the sole purpose of visiting this spot, he's lucky. Because on this particular trip, it's practically along the way. They're passing right by the area on their way back to re-entering the Grand Line, so there's no way in hell he's letting this slip by.

It's the only request Thatch has made on this journey, and Ace and Luffy, who are the Captains and therefore technically get to decide where they go, have no objections. Luffy's already bobbing up and down in excitement, despite their guides estimating that they still have a ways to go.

"The Baratie, huh," Ace grins. "Never heard of it, we didn't pass by our first time through, did we Deuce?"

"You've never heard of it because you lived in the middle of nowhere, in a jungle with barely any contact with human civilization," Deuce says pointedly. "Most people in East Blue at least know of it, it's kinda famous."

Ace just shrugs, and Luffy whoops as the movement of his shoulders momentarily boosts her higher. Ace indulges her and repeats the movement more aggressively until she's bouncing, and Deuce sighs. The two captains' attentions have shifted, and now they're preoccupied by the most important topic of all: food.

"Food~!" Luffy sings, hopping from one arm to the other as Ace switches to spinning her around, and Deuce has to duck to avoid her tail. "Yummy yummy food at a restaurant! It's gonna be amazing!"

"It really will be amazing, if Zeff hasn't lost his touch," Thatch agrees, and Luffy and Ace cheer. "I've never eaten at this restaurant of his, but I was a fan of the Cook Pirates when I was a kid."

His expression darkens, and Ace stills, recalling that Thatch mentioned they all died or something.

"Sucks what happened to them," Ace offers.

But Thatch just shrugs. It was around a decade ago, and shit happens out at sea. "I'm just glad Zeff survived. He'll have trained the new cooks well, and it'll be funny to see the old man actually settled down as a civilian."

Thatch was still a teen the last time he saw Zeff, who was Captain of the infamous Cook Pirates back in the day. They were always picking fights, and picked the wrong one with Pops, and predictably lost. Pops let them live, and they had a grand party, and Thatch remembers being captivated by their culinary expertise.

Thatch chuckles to himself, and the two brothers look at him curiously, blinking with adorably similar expressions.

"I just remembered, Zeff tried to scout me. Pops wasn't thrilled."

Ace barks a laugh, hefting Luffy into a more comfortable position before she suddenly squirms out of his arms. Luffy makes a grabby motion towards Thatch, and Ace obligingly if reluctantly moves closer to let her swing up onto the taller man's shoulders.

Thatch perks up at the sudden attention, because it's not every day that the little mermaid chooses to climb someone other than her brother. Thatch knows she doesn't need it, but offers her a hand to get settled more comfortably, which she takes with a pleased little purring sound that makes his heart skip a beat. Thatch pointedly doesn't look at Ace, but he can still feel his burning gaze.

He's not sure what prompted the sudden transport transfer, but suddenly Luffy's leaning forward over his shoulder to peer directly into his face, and she's close. Thatch tries very hard not to blush.

"But if the Zeff-dude cooks are that good, are they better than you, Thatch?" Luffy asks, eyes wide. "That can't be right, because Thatch's food is the best in the world! Better than even Makino's!"

Those words do make Thatch flush crimson, and Ace snorts. Thatch ignores him, too busy trying to control the warmth bubbling up inside his chest.

Thatch doesn't think he's arrogant, but he also isn't unused to his food being praised. As ungrateful as most of his brothers back aboard the Moby usually are, he's still the head chef who leads the culinary division of their entire fleet, and it's a position he's earned. He's personally trained and assigned all of the cooks on every Whitebeard ship. He knows he cooks well.

But there's something special about Luffy's unique brand of painfully genuine praise. Even though they've been traveling together for a few weeks now, she never gets bored of singing her appreciation at every mealtime with, if anything, increasing enthusiasm. It's like every time is her first time trying his food. Thatch in no way needs her compliments to adore her, he was besotted far before she even knew he was a cook, but boy does he appreciate them, and he doubts he'll ever really get used to them.

Thatch has been called the "Best Cook in the World" by many, and he'd accepted their words politely. But to hear them from Luffy feels like the highest honor he can ever attain.

Thatch feels unbearably fond as he reaches up to fluff Luffy's hair, and she leans into his hand, eyes curving up into slits like a happy kitten, her tail curling back and forth at his back.

Ace cheerfully ruins their moment.

"We'll just have to see, Lu, and maybe if you like their cooking better, we can ditch Thatch and kidnap one of their cooks." Ace leers like the evil little shit he is, and Thatch gasps with exaggerated indignation.

"No, no!" Luffy boos her brother, clinging to Thatch like he's the embodiment of all the meals Ace had threatened she'd lose, before she swings her tail around to smack at Ace none too gently until he grudgingly raises his arms in surrender.

"If we like their cooking, then we can keep Thatch AND kidnap one of their cooks!"

"Lil Seastar, you're not satisfied with just me, even if my food is the best in the world?" Thatch teases, and sticks his tongue out at Ace when he scowls. The young Captain isn't so thrilled with Thatch's new nickname for his baby brother, and Thatch thinks it's fair revenge for him being mean.

"Thatch's food is the best!" Luffy cries again, and Thatch glows. "But if we steal a Zeff, then we have two cooks, which means more food!" She nods, pleased with her conclusion. "More food is always good!"

Well, she's a little confused, but her point is made. They hopefully won't steal Zeff himself, as Thatch doubts he'll be happy to part with his beloved restaurant, but perhaps nabbing one of his assistants isn't a terrible idea.

While handling even Ace and Luffy's appetites is no problem for Thatch, who's used to feeding the entire Moby Dick, some company in the kitchen might not be bad.

(And, a voice whispers in his head, that they'll need a cook that Thatch approves of when he inevitably has to leave to return to Pops. It's a voice Thatch ignores, so that he can enjoy this moment, for now.)

I don't think it's actually ever officially stated whether Thatch's Division is actually in charge of dining, but there are other divisions that are specified, so I thought it would be interesting, so I made it that way ^ ^;

(Edit: Actually it IS explicitly stated that the 4th Division is in charge of dining, this is canon and not just a headcanon whee~!)

And if Thatch as the head of the cooking division, then to me it makes sense that he'd be insanely good at it, not just your average chef. Because I mean, they're the Whitebeard pirates. And sure, they're not as food-centric as the Big Mom Pirates, but the WBs always have quality. Cooking, I feel, is a lot more subjective than say, "Strongest Swordsman in the World" but I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that Thatch is Up There.

This isn't at all to shit on canon!Sanji or his cooking which is probably also insanely good, but Sanji's a lot younger, and the places he's been, the people he's learned from, and the people he's cooked for are far more limited. He, like everyone else, is learning rapidly by stepping out into a far larger world.

Thatch, in comparison, has been on the Grand Line for a loooooong time, traveling with the most infamous crew currently in existence, and probably has picked up a LOT of things from a lot of people. While he doesn't have an official canon age, given the ages of the other Commanders (Marco 45; Jozu 42; Vista 47), I'm putting him at 41 here. That's decades of difference in experience.

It's one of the reasons why I think exploring Thatch and Sanji's mentor-rival relationship in this AU could be so much fun, because think of how much Sanji could grow with someone like Thatch in the crew.

Luckily, Sanji's dream is to find All Blue, not to defeat the cooking equivalent of Mihawk in Iron Chef Grand Line, so outside of fighting for the heart of the love of their lives, I think they can get along quite well ^ ^;

(also do u like his nickname for Lu. I had to consult a friend. But I think it's beginning to stick for me ^ ^;)

As always, any thoughts or comments make my day! Thanks for reading <3

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

Read the next part: 👒🐟On the Baratie, Part 1

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

#OnePieceMermaidAU #One Piece Mermaid Au #Thatch #ThatchLu #AceLu #Portgas D. Ace #Monkey D. Luffy #One Piece #text headcanons #longpost #long post #YukiPri replies

124 notes · View notes