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ink-perfect · 8 months ago

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under the stars.

## request!

─ about: animanga usopp x fem!reader ⋆. fluff, 2nd person ⋆. established relationship, late-night talks, reader insecurities, kisseskisseskisses!, playful banter, reassurance + communication 🥹 ─ synopsis: you're spending a night in the crows nest with your boyfriend usopp, like you always do. except tonight, there's something unfamiliar in the air, weighing on you both. as always, he senses this, leading to quite the cute conversation about the complexities of love, fear, and belonging, reminding each other that you’re never truly alone in this vast world.

the gentle sway of the thousand sunny on the calm sea cradled the ship like a lullaby. the moon hung high above, casting a soft silver glow through the windows of the crow’s nest. most of the crew had already gone to bed for the night, leaving the world outside peaceful, save for the occasional creak of the ship. and up in the highest point of the ship, the air was cooler, quieter, more intimate - the perfect spot for moments like this.

you sat between usopp’s legs, leaning back into his chest, your arms wrapped loosely around your knees. his chin rested on your shoulder, his wild hair tickling your cheek as the two of you watched the stars blink against the inky sky. usually, you’d be lost in conversation by now - talking about silly theories, laughing at one of his stories - but tonight, there was a heaviness hanging between you, unspoken but palpable.

usopp’s hands traced idle circles on your waist, the warmth of his body seeping into yours. you’d always found comfort in his presence. despite his grand tales of adventure, his insecurities, his bravado, with you, he was real. soft. and he always knew how to ease the anxiety that gnawed at you like a persistent ache. but tonight…even his touch couldn’t chase away the heaviness in the air.

he noticed, of course - he always did.

“you’re real quiet tonight,” usopp said, his voice a gentle murmur against your ear. his breath was warm and sweet, carrying a trace of the candy luffy had surprisingly shared with him earlier. “what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

you hesitated. you didn’t want to talk about it - not because you didn’t trust him, but because putting your thoughts into words would make them real. and real meant you couldn’t just push them aside and pretend everything was fine.

“i’m fine,” you mumbled back, knowing full well it was a lie.

usopp’s hand stilled on your arm, and you could feel him tense ever so slightly. he wasn’t stupid. he could see right through your facade, but he didn’t call you out on it. not yet, at least.

he let out a quiet sigh, his breath warm against the side of your neck. “if you say so…” his voice trailed off, a hint of uncertainty creeping in. he didn’t want to push, but there was always a part of him that worried, that wondered if he was doing enough for you.

you closed your eyes, the weight of his concern making your chest tighten. you hated how easy it was for him to read you, to sense when something was wrong even when you weren’t ready to face it yourself. but at the same time, you loved that about him. usopp had a way of making you feel seen in a way that no one else could.

“i’ve just…been in my head a lot lately,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “it’s nothing love, i promise.”

but it wasn’t nothing. it was everything - the weight of your own insecurities, the constant feeling that you weren’t enough, the nagging voice in the back of your mind that told you you didn’t belong on this crew, on this adventure. and despite the fact that usopp was always there for you, part of you still felt like you were too much: too talkative, too anxious, too needy, all at the same time. you always felt like a burden, someone who had to be taken care of, and that feeling was suffocating.

usopp stayed quiet for a moment, his arms tightening around you as if he was trying to shield you from your own thoughts. he rested his chin atop your head, his voice soft when he finally spoke. “y’know you can tell me anything, right?”

you nodded, but the lump in your throat made it hard to speak. “i know.”

but could you? could you really unload everything you were feeling on him? usopp already had enough on his plate, dealing with his own struggles to keep up with the rest of the crew. he was always pushing himself, trying to prove that he could stand alongside the likes of luffy, zoro, and sanji. and you saw it - the doubt in his eyes when he thought no one was looking, the way his smile faltered when he was reminded of how strong the others were. you didn’t want to add to that burden.

the silence between you stretched, heavy and thick, pressing down on your chest like an anchor. you could feel your boyfriend's heart beating against your back, steady and rhythmic, a quiet reminder that he was right here with you. and yet, despite his closeness, you felt so far away. so distant.

the stars overhead blurred as your eyes began to sting, but you bit your lip and held back the tears. you didn’t want him to see you like this - small, lost in the spiral of your own thoughts, and make him worry. but of course, usopp sensed this as well. shifting slightly, he moved so that he could see your face. his gaze was gentle, patient, as he studied you.

“hey…” he murmured, his thumb brushing against your cheek, wiping away the tears that had begun to form. “you can let it all out. i’m here.”

his words were like a crack in the dam, and before you could stop yourself, the flood of emotions came pouring out. you dropped your head into your hands, your voice breaking as you spoke. “i just…i feel like i don’t belong here, usopp.”

he blinked, startled, his hands freezing where they’d been holding you. “what? what do you mean?”

“i mean…” you took a shaky breath, trying to find the right words. “everyone else is so strong, so capable. you, and the rest of the crew - you guys are all these unstoppable forces. and me? i’m just…me. i’m scared all the time, and i can’t fight like you can. i feel like i’m always a step behind, like i’m not pulling my weight.”

usopp’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head almost immediately. “that’s not true. you-”

“no, just…let me finish,” you interrupted, your voice trembling. “i know i’m not useless. i try to help, i really do. but sometimes, it feels like no matter how hard i try, it’s never enough. i’m scared, usopp. i’m scared that one day… one day you’ll realise i’m not worth the trouble.”

the words hung in the air like a weight between you, and for a moment, all you could hear was the faint sound of the ocean lapping against the ship. usopp’s face twisted in disbelief, and a flash of pain crossed his eyes, as if he couldn’t believe you would ever think something like that. he took a moment to regain his composure, taking a deep breath in.

“hey, look at me,” he said softly, his hands finding yours and holding them gently. you turned your face toward him, reluctantly meeting his gaze, and what you saw in his eyes nearly broke you. there was no judgment, no disappointment - only a deep, unwavering affection.

“you seriously think you’re not enough?” usopp’s voice was frantic, tight, no matter how hard he tried to keep it steady. “you seriously think i would ever think you’re not worth it?”

tears welled up again, and you shook your head, hating that you’d let it come to this. “i don’t know,” you whispered. “sometimes i just…i feel like a burden.”

the sniper's eyes softened, and he pulled you into his arms with a soft force, cradling your head against his chest. his embrace was warm, comforting, and you could feel his heartbeat quickening slightly, a sign that your words had affected him more than you had presumed. he then suddenly pulled you back, holding your shoulders as he spoke.

“you’re not a burden,” his tone was firm, voice laced with emotion. “not to me, not to anyone. you know why?”

you didn’t answer, afraid that if you opened your mouth, you’d break down completely. instead, you buried your face into his chest, clutching at his shirt as if you could hold on to him and make the doubts disappear.

“because you belong here, ma.” usopp continued, his voice more tender now. “with the crew, with me. and i’m not just saying that to make you feel better - i need you. we all do. you make this crew better just by being here, by being you. and yeah, maybe you don’t punch things like luffy, but you…you make things lighter. you remind me that even in the middle of all the chaos, there’s something worth fighting for.”

he held you tighter, and for a moment, his own voice wavered. “and i…i feel like that too sometimes, y’know? like i’m not good enough. i’m scared almost every time we get into a fight. but then i think about you. and i think, if i can just be brave enough to protect you, then maybe i’m doing something right.”

his confession stunned you. you sat back just enough to look up at him, tears still clouding your vision. “you…you think about me?”

“baby, i don’t know if you’ve noticed,” he whispered, his thumb moving up to wipe away more tears that had escaped down your cheek. “but you’re my girlfriend. so yeah, i do think about you, y’know, now and then and all the damn time.”

you chuckled at that, pulling him in for a quick peck; it wasn’t quick enough though - usopp was all giddy from it, propelling him forward. “you give me a reason to be brave, even when i don’t feel like i am. and if i ever thought you didn’t feel like you belonged, i’d never forgive myself.” he blurted out, flustered.

the rawness of his words made your heart ache. how had you not realised how much you meant to him? you’d been so wrapped up in your own insecurities that you hadn’t seen the weight he carried as well - the doubt, the fear that he wasn’t good enough for you.

tears slipped from your eyes again, but this time, they weren’t from the same place of sadness. you reached up, cupping his face, your voice trembling. “usopp…you’re everything to me.”

his eyes searched yours, and for a moment, neither of you spoke. he leaned down, pressing his forehead against yours, and you could feel the soft tremor in his breath.

“i love you,” he whispered back, breathless. “i love you so goddamn much, angel.”

your heart surged, and you pulled him into a kiss, slow and tender, trying to pour every ounce of your love into the action. his lips were warm and familiar, a comforting balm to the ache in your chest.

“i love you too,” you pulled back, your hands still cradling his face. “and i’ll try to remember what you said. but you…you need to promise me the same thing, okay?”

he gave you a small, wry smile, his eyes shining. “deal.”

for a long while, neither of you said anything. you stayed there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the world outside forgotten. the quiet sound of the waves, the distant hum of the ship’s creaking timbers, and the warmth of usopp's embrace made everything feel a little more bearable. you were in silence, as you had been when the night started, except this time it was far more comfortable.

eventually, usopp broke it, his voice lightening with a hint of his usual humour. “y’know, if we keep having these heart-to-hearts, i’m gonna have to start charging you.”

you let out a soft laugh, the weight on your chest lifting just a little more. “and how much would that be?”

he grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “oh, i think a couple more kisses should cover it.”

you rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help but smile as you leaned in to meet his lips again, slow and sweet, his warmth making shivers shoot down your spine for the millionth time tonight. damn, that never got old.

and in that moment, as the two of you shared that quiet space between kisses, the worries and insecurities that had weighed so heavily on you seemed to dissolve, carried away by the gentle rocking of the ship. as the night wore on, you talked about your fears, your hopes, the things that made you anxious, and the things that made you smile. and through it all, you realised something important - something that made the weight of your insecurities feel a little lighter.

you didn’t have to face your fears alone. neither of you did.

as long as you had usopp, and he had you, you could face anything the world threw your way.

(even if it was just one kiss at a time.)

── ౨ৎ masterlist

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hightowerqueen · 1 month ago

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Thursday Bangers

thank you for the tag @serensama <3 i'll tag @no1lucanispegger, @rookamell and @corvus-frugilegus if you guys want to play!

Rules for your Copy and Paste: Free form a blurb or drawing based on the weekly lyrics prompt. It doesn't have to include the prompt just whatever you're inspired to write, write it! Then tag some friends so they can play as well. It doesn't have to be finished on Thursday just post it whenever you can (you have a whole week between Thursdays).

This week's prompt: I'm prepared to sacrifice my life I would gladly do it twice - Mercy by Shawn Mendes

i fear i may have stumbled my way into ANOTHER parallel universe for the De Rivas. Rafe belongs to @nonagesimus (hi bb, i love you) and i am extremely not normal about him or him and Bea or either of them and Illario so. here you go.

referenced m!rook/illario, rook/rook

"Just go. They'll need someone to string up over this, but it doesn't have to be you." Bea's jaw drops. There's no fucking way Rafe is saying what she thinks he's saying. "What do you mean, go? I'm the one who dragged you into this in the first place!" "Yes, Bea. But do you want to make me watch them kill you, too? Haven't you done enough?" He's mad, and of course he is, but it hurts all the same, proverbial knife slid between her ribs as easily as if it were real, sinking through the flesh like butter.

The wound stings, because this is her fault. She's the one who'd gone and played hero, dragging him behind her, only to find out they'd somehow blown a Crow operation's cover sky high.

Rafe sighs, anger replaced by something defeated in his expression. "Viago is going to come knocking soon. He won't argue if I tell him I was working alone. He'd rather that than the truth."

He's right, again. He's looking at her with those maker-forsaken beautiful eyes of his, and she hates the way it makes tears pool in hers. Hates everything about this, hates how she's fucked everything up again.

This time it can't be fixed, she's pretty sure.

"You need to go, Bea," he continues, more insistant, "He can't find you here. Let him believe the lie, please."

There'd always been a line between them, before, an electrified fence they both stayed a respectable distance away from. But that seems stupid now, because they might very well never see each other again. The thought makes her feel ill.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, she finally crosses that line. Grabs him by the cuirass, yanks him in close enough to crush him in the circle of her arms.

"I'm getting Illario. There's gotta be some strings he can pull, especially for you," she whispers into his ear.

And then she's chasing his mouth with hers, the kiss a desperate, pleading thing she hopes speaks years of ignored feelings into his mouth.

She thinks it works, because Rafe goes slack in her arms, tension bleeding out of him and kissing her back like he's clinging to her just as hard.

They should've done this earlier. So much wasted time, and now it's over before it ever really had a chance.

She can still taste him on her tongue when she leaves.

In the end, Illario's connections aren't necessary. Viago negotiates for Rafe to be sent on a contract with Varric Tethras, something absurd about gods the only thing Bea catches. It's not death, but it also is, a mission with a scope that's almost designed to kill him off away from her eyes. Mercy, and not. Guilt claws its' way up her throat and she retreats to the rooftops, settling there and hugging her knees to her chest.

That's where Illario finds her, and they share a bottle of red to mourn the departure of the man they both love in silence.

She wonders, briefly, what ghost is hitching a ride with Illario for him to be so understanding of the weight she's going to carry from now on.

#oc: beata de riva #oc: rafael de riva #illario dellamorte #illarook #implied #rook x rook #my writing #the antaam incident #bea/rafe #rafe/illario #rook de riva #thursday bangers

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creative-kny-fics · 9 months ago

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hi! I really enjoy reading your work! 🫧 if you are open for requests, may I please ask for lers!Zenitsu and Inosuke and lee!Muichiro? It's a bit of an unconventional ler/lee grouping 🙈 but I imagine they'd all become friends anyways, right?? So I was thinking about the upcoming new season, and it sucks that the manga doesn't show how Zenitsu and Inosuke fare during any of the hashira training... it only shows them for Gyomei's training, and I think Sanemi's a bit as well? So I was wondering how they would react to our adorable little shit, Tokito-kun! I was thinking how Mui would roast them so badly, with Zenitsu crying about how harsh he is while Inosuke gets furious at all of Mui's sassy remarks and can't stop challenging him to fight (which he always loses, I'm sorry Inosuke). Their pride and dignity would have definitely been destroyed by his sassiness, and Zenitsu's crying would definitely serve as fuel for more sassy comments 😭 even more so, getting beaten by a 14 year old would have not been easy to accept! But they suddenly remember Tanjiro mentioning how the Mist hashira is ticklish... So when its time for them to eventually move on to the next hashira, they decide to leave Muichiro a little parting gift: payback tickles! Inosuke especially is so happy that he can finally defeat Muichiro (not at fighting... but its at least something that he won against Mui!) And they run away before Muichiro can recover, but I'm sure he must be planning his revenge 🤣 Thats it, I hope you like it 🥹 but as always, there is absolutely no pressure to accept the request, please feel free to decline if need be ☺️ hope you have a good day/night! 🫧

Gentle reminder that Inosuke's crow is afraid of him because he tried to eat it jagsjagajsh

Lers: Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira

Lee: Muichiro Tokito

'Do you really think I believe that you were only training with a pillar for 5 days...? I think you're training so much that you're already hallucinating...', well, we couldn't blame Zenitsu.

A hashira training only for 5 days?! Impossible to believe! But let's remember that Tanjiro is not one of the people who lies, that Zenitsu not believing him was already his problem.

Anyway, was Tanjiro accompanying Zenitsu and Inosuke? Well, for the protection of Chuntaro and Matsuemon, who got scared when Inosuke started chasing them because he wanted to eat them.

'TOKITO-SAN!! GOOD MORNING!!' 'And now who bothers me in the middle of training? You guys don't move, while I attend to my visit I want you to stay training, is that clear to you?'

Eeeeem, I think Muichiro didn't learn that much from last time...

'Yes? Huh? Ooooh Tanjiro! How are you?! What brings you here?!'

'A quick visit, and also to show Zenitsu and Inosuke where your estate was. I asked Miss Kanroji for permission to leave her class for a moment and do so, so I should come back now. Take care of yourselves, I wish you luck! Try hard!', Tanjiro ran away

As soon as Tanjiro left, Muichiro's expression changed again, demanding that Inosuke and Zenitsu enter his estate to start training.

'Are you sure Tanjiro is your friend...?' 'WHY DO YOU SAID SO?!'

'I'm saying this because you guys aren't on his level... Tanjiro at least defended himself against my attacks and kept up with me, while you guys aren't even close to touching me, you're so fucking weak...', *sigh*, yes, Muichiro didn't understand anything at all.

Zenitsu had to hold Inosuke back, if there was something Inosuke hated, it was being told he was weak, and what right did he have?!

If it hadn't been bad enough for them before, it was now. Because they were friends with Tanjiro, Muichiro had some compassion, but now it was nothing like that, even the other slayers present were sad to see how both teenagers lowered themselves to the level of a child.

'THIS IS PATHETIC, THAT DAMN BRAT IS NOT GOING TO BEAT ME!! I AM THE GREAT GOD OF THE MOUNTAIN!! I BEAT AN UPPERMOON!!' 'He too, and he did it alone. Without help. He killed the UpperMoon 5, besides, we just helped, we didn't defeat them. Stop complaining, you're hurting my ears...', you can tell by Zenitsu's seriousness now that the training didn't go well at all.

How stupid, it was impossible for Tanjiro to have lasted those 5 days with that child, but up to this point in the training nothing surprised him anymore.

Tanjiro decided to pay a quick visit, he wanted to see how well his friends had done.

'I see, Tokito-Kun has been being rather bossy, huh?' 'HAH?! HE'S NOBODY TO GIVE ME ORDERS, I WILL DEFEAT HIM!!'

'Well, since I can't stay here for so long, may I ask you for something? This will also help Tokito-Kun be nicer to you', well, they were interested in that.

Zenitsu couldn't believe what Tanjiro was asking them, he wanted them to tickle the hashira?! They could barely get close to him during training.

That sounded more like a suicide attempt, if you asked Zenitsu, but on the other hand, Inosuke laughed and didn't wait another second and jumped right into the plan (there was no plan, so it's probably that the boar needs help).

'INOSUKE, YOU DAMN IDIOT!!'

'Mwahahaha!! Make way, here goes the great god-!!'

Ah-ah, Zenitsu wasn't going to risk another hit, if they were going to do it, they were going to do it with a plan.

They waited for all the slayers to leave, it was too late at night honestly, and it was finally time...

Did they have a plan? Of course not, they would improvise something

'Why haven't you two left yet?', it already started wrong, Muichiro wasn't supposed to see them.

Well, anyone who is afraid of dying should not be born, and with that, Inosuke started to try to make him fall, but he was the only one who crashed his face into the floor, great, another humiliation.

Zenitsu pulled at his eyes, he was wondering how Inosuke was still alive, or rather, how Inosuke was still his friend. 'And what about you? You two go away, I don't have time for your little games'

'It's a shame, I guess Inosuke and I will have to tell Tanjiro that you have been cruel to us...'

'To Tanjiro?! Hey, don't you dare-!?', tip of the day, if you want to get Muichiro's attention, mention Tanjiro.

Taking advantage of the fact that the mist hashira had his eyes fixed on Zenitsu, Inosuke took advantage (to get up) and finally managed to knock him to the ground.

'Mwahahaha!! I finally have you, coriander head boy!!' 'Inosuke, that boy has a name and you better not call him that or else...' 'OUCH!!'

Or else, Muichiro would kick. He wouldn't let himself be tickled, well there are a few exceptions, but if it wasn't those people, he REFUSED to let them touch him, so he would become aggressive.

'You have two 05 seconds to let me go or else you will come out here with more bruises than you already have...'

'Child, I have a good sense of hearing and I know that you are lying, you are scared and you want to provoke us to start , or not?'

'HUH?! I DON'T-!! PFFFFT!!', another point in Zenitsu's favor.

Another tip, if you keep Muichiro talking, or even better, if you make him scream, rest assured that he won't put up as much resistance as before, so it will be easier for him to laugh.

If Inosuke listened to Tanjiro, he knew that he had to go for the sides, his hips or his navel to get a good reaction, otherwise, yes, exactly, another kick

'Wow, it seems like he's not so brave now, is he?' 'S-SHUT UHUP!!'

'Mwahahaha! Monitsu, I bet I can make him scream louder than you!', typical Inosuke.

Zenitsu simply accepted, because fighting with Inosuke would lead nowhere, so it was better to accept it and he certainly accepted having done so.

The laughter that came from Muichiro was unmatched and if anyone had been nearby, they would have come to his aid because of how loud it was, Inosuke clearly wanted to see him beg. 'So, he's not so rude anymore, huh? I thought you were a hashira and couldn't be defeated so easily, am I wrong?'

'WA-WAHAHAHIT FOR M-ME GRRRR TO GET OU-OUT OF THIHIHIS!! I'LL KIHIHIHICK YO-YOHOUHOUR ASS, I D-DON'T CA-CARE IF YOHOHOHUHUHU AHAHARE MHMHMHMHM TA-TAHANJIHIHIRO'S FRI-FRIHEHENDS!!'

I think we all know where this will lead...

#demon slayer tickling #demon slayer tickle #ler!zenitsu #ler!inosuke #lee!muichiro

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6point5crows · 2 years ago

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Kuwei is a character often mischaracterized by the fandom, having been boiled down to just being “Wesper home wrecker” and the hurdle for Wesper to get over. People hate Kuwei because that’s all they seem him as, a tool to give Wesper issues. This shows a lack of understanding for his character as a whole and shows that people will not take the time to understand certain characters.

To begin, his whole life had been spent on the run and hiding. Running from the government due to being Grisha, running from Fjerda, being captured by Fjerdan, trapped in Fjerda, being captured by the Crows, running with the Crows, hiding the whole run of Crooked Kingdom, running from death itself, running away to Ravka, and now hiding out in Ravka. He lives in a constant state of holding onto what little self-preservation he must have left just to keep fleeing at a moments notice, never to turn back and face what chases him because everyone tells him to run and hide.

Why?

Because he’s just a prop to everyone. To Fjerda, to the story, to Ravka, and even to the Crows. He’s just a prop— a bargaining chip— a job. He’s hardly treated as human by anyone in the books, and is constantly spoken about as if he’s an item to be exchanged. Even the fandom speaks of Kuwei like this sometimes, or maybe they hardly take a moment to remember him at all.

Not to mention how much trauma he must have gone through? We don’t know what happened with his mother but we know Fjerda killed his father— Likely in front of Kuwei. Then they tortured him and tried to force him to recreate a drug that Kuwei didn’t even know how to make in the first place. Then he’s saved by kids his age only to discover their plan was just to trade him off to somebody else originally because to them… he’s just a prospect for money. And who knows what would have happened then? Would the Kerch government have gone to torture him too? Force him to do what the Fjerdans were doing? Maybe sell him off once more? What if it was back to Fjerda? Then he was put under constant fire and attacks, always in danger, tucked away somewhere without light and warmth for so long.

If he wasn’t friends with death before, he definitely was now.

Furthering on that, he had to watch as every single country became so after him, that the only solution was to fake his own death in front of them all— like a rabbit in front of wolves. Something which if done wrong, could literally end in his death (though maybe at this point, he was okay with that. It’s not like he’s really been living that whole time anyways). Or the plan could go wrong and somebody could make a grab at him. What if the Crows betray him and instead let him be sold off? What if they all fail? So they have a mock auction— which was real to everyone but Kuwei and the Crows— so Kuwei got to see just how much countries were willing to fight over him. Even if he knew the outcome of this auction, it would not be any less terrifying to hear as the price of yourself be called out. To hear you be auctioned off. To listen as you were reduced to nothing but money.

Then he was back on the run to Ravka, finally able to see the sun, finally able to relax. Right? But after all that, could he ever really relax? Could he ever exist as if any of this was normal? He’s still technically hiding in Ravka, without the freedom to go anywhere else. If he did, he would be killed, sold, used, tortured. And after all that… he’s still just a background character for all these stories. An item. A prop.

Yet he’s meant to represent a Phoenix— of rebirth and fire, to live even when all says he should be dead. To show that Grisha do not need to slouch in captivity or be used, to show that there is hope to fight back. He is meant to represent the fire in Grisha’s’ hearts, to build a better world and to use all of this attention he’s gained to help free the Grisha.

And yet he’s still on the run.

And yet he’s still traumatized.

And yet the fandom and characters still treat him like a prop.

Kuwei is more than just Wesper, Kuwei is more than just a prop, Kuwei is more than everything he’s been reduced to.

#six of crows #grishaverse #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #wesper #kuwei yul bo #Kuwei #crooked kingdom

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skeleton-mischief · 1 year ago

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Reaper Sans

He doesn't want much, just forever. I really love him, actually. I wish he was given a proper love. Headcanons for him below

Official Height: Varies but usually 7'2

Nihilist

Quiet, perceptive, reserved, responsible, weary, patient, curious, cautious, cynical, remorseful, distrustful, pessimistic, well mannered, reflective, and ruthless

A God of Death

His job is to reap souls that are persistent about avoiding death

Cannot touch anything that's alive, as it dies

It's implied that he hates his job

Keeps tabs on Killer and Nightmare

He is lonely, only visiting his brother sometimes since they're always so busy

I like to think he hums to himself a lot

Watches mundane activities or objects wistfully

Often found observing gardens but never touching anything

Found terrifying and ominous to others, I think he encourages it to avoid making connections

His weapon is a chain linked pair of two scythes. Uses the chain to bind runners

Has multiple wings, but often has two large ones at will

Usually has no eyelights unless using magic

Can transform into a crow to spy on others

He finds fate mostly stupid, especially since he hates that it's "fate" that he can't touch what is alive without killing it

He has an hourglass for each soul

Can float around and prefers to around others, especially since it makes him feel cool

Air and life grows cold in his presence

Candles often extinguish in his presence

Secretly, he is a romantic

Often wistfully looks at the moon, his love, for it never leaves him and is as cold as he is

Was once gifted a glass flower, it stays in his inventory

His magic is a light blue to white, whispy and milky to the color

Often visits souls who are close to their time, even going so far as to visit when they're toeing the line in moments they're unaware that their life is at risk

He hates those who waste their lives away, doing nothing with their gifts

His magic smells of rain over a garden

He hates that the other Gods make his job harder during battles, especially since most of those lives didn't deserve to die so quickly

Morally grey, he has done things that others find heartless

He can spend hours sniffing candles and perfumes, he just loves different scents

His magic weakens in life's presence

When the tree of emotions died, he mourned her death secretly while watching Nightmare mourn as well while Dream had visions of him while a statue

Sings during a hunt

He finds a thrill in chasing others when they're afraid, usually using banter despite their reluctance or fear

Closing Notes: i just think hes neat, he doesn't have a playlist I made for him that makes me insane or anything.

Me:

#undertale au #alternate universe #headcanon #reaper sans #reapertale #he is bbg #hes so silly #utmv #utmv au #utmv sans #small list

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sissytobitch10seconds · 1 year ago

Text

Farm Girls and Farm Boys

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows Summary: Jesper always loved coming to the market. Not only because he got to see all sorts of cultures selling their wares to each other, but because he gets to remeet the friend he's had since he was so little he couldn't be away from his parents for longer than a half hour. Warnings: Accidental misgendering and mentions of parental death Word Count: 7,052 Ship(s): Jesper Fahey/Kaz Brekker

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One of Zaye’s earliest memories is sitting on her father’s knee while she told him about the place that he lived.

She couldn’t have been more than three at the time, based on the way that his hand had fit on top of her head. She had just tripped and skinned her knee while chasing after one of the chickens, which she was only able to recognize as a way to keep her busy when she was old enough to understand the under-footedness of children. Her father had scooped her up out of the dirt and then walked them to the porch of their cabin, sitting her down and running his hand over her head as he told her all kinds of things. Her mother had just given her new braids and she absolutely adored them.

The stories of her father’s land were her favorites because they were so different to the ones from her own. She loved the place that she lived with her whole entire heart. Her mother had taught her to for as long as she could remember. She had been shown the little warrens that the rabbits made, though they always directed the critters away from the jurda fields and the garden so that it wouldn’t interfere with the growing of the plants. She had been shown the beautiful way that the birds moved through the air, free to everything but the force of the wind and their own strength.

As much as she loved the farm where she lived, the endless fields of places to hide and explore when she was trying to have some fun with her parents, the little cabin where she was able to hear her parents singing songs in a language that she didn’t know, the garden that produced the most wonderful food in the entire world, she did get bored of it. She was absolutely ecstatic when her mother sat her down one evening to tell her something very important.

“Zaye, we think that you’re finally old enough to accompany us to the market,” Aditi had said, one hand on the side of her daughter’s face and the other reaching out to hold her husband’s hand.

Zaye had reached over so that both of her little hands were resting on her father’s knee. That completed the circle and got a laugh from her family. Her Aunt Sedhi absolutely hated it when she did something like that instead of just responding to the question that had been asked of her. Zaye’s mother and father were never cross with her when her mind wandered onto something else, because they knew that eventually she would come back to what she had been asked. Even when she didn’t, they simply asked her again.

Like when her father said, “This is a very responsibility and it means that you’re going to have to be a big girl. You’ll have to stay with me or Ma the entire time that we’re there so that you don’t get lost.”

“You wouldn’t want a big hungry bear to come and devour you, would you?” Aditi asked, her voice light and playful. She had grabbed her daughter around the waist and swung her up in the air, around in a circle and then pretended to be biting at her neck.

Zaye had begged her to stop, telling her that her actions tickled and that she would be good. She had meant it at the time too, because she knew that coming with her parents meant that she might get the chance of seeing the homeland that her father had spoken about so emphatically. She was well aware that the market where they sold their jurda and the cloth that Aditi made whenever she didn’t have anything to teach Zaye only happened once a year and it usually took them about six weeks to go and come back.

She found that being on a boat made her incredibly bored. There were enough people and enough huge crates that she had to stay where she belonged no matter how boring it was. Her father had tried to make it better by playing with her, telling her stories, and even singing some of the songs that he usually saved for after she was already supposed to be asleep. Still, all she wanted to do was run around on the slick deck and giggle whenever she almost toppled over the side. She had promised that she would be good, and she was.

When they landed in Kerch, it was the most amazing thing that she had ever seen. Her father informed her that the city that they were in was called Ketterdam and it was far bigger than anything she had ever seen before. Granted, she had only been to the two small Zemini towns that they had to pass through to get to Shriftport, but the towering buildings around the canals seemed like they went on forever with no end in sight. They were painted extravagant colors and there were tiny planks on the rooves instead of the thatch that her father had attached to the top of their cabin after the last winter. People in strange clothing bustled out in the streets, speaking to each other in a language that she barely understood but was able to grasp when she really concentrated.

Her parents kept hold of her until they reached the edge of the city where the market was going to be held. They were staying in a big tent at the back of their stall, amongst all of the dried jurda blossoms and textiles that they had exported to sell. She was safely burrowed in between her parents each night before she went to bed and usually so sleepy that she couldn’t even force herself to stay awake so that she could listen to what they were saying.

The morning of the third day stretched low and long over the horizon and she was up within seconds of the first beams. She knew that when the sky was dark with night, only the moon and the stars allowing her to be able to see, she had to stay in bed. The only exception to that was when her mother came to wake her up during the long, cold winter months. But when the sun was up, she was allowed to be as well.

Back home that was only because her mother also rose with the sun. Her father wouldn’t be far behind because there was always work to be done in their fields and they couldn’t very well do it in the dark. Zaye was basically the copy of her mother, though, rising early in the morning to let out energy that had been building up overnight.

Now that they were at the festival, her parents had to stay up for a lot longer than they would if they were all back home in the safety of their cabin. That meant that they were far more tired than they usually would be. They had been sleeping late into the morning and then raising when the other sellers did. Aditi had stressed the importance of routine when they arrived and Zaye was still told to go to bed at the times that she did when they were back home, which meant that she didn’t have that problem.

So when she saw the streaks of sunlight coming through the gap in their tent where the wall was supposed to connect with the roof, she let out a small giggle. She wiggled down so that she was no longer being held by her mother and then climbed over her father because she knew that out of her parents, he slept deeper. She was very dutiful about removing her nightgown and then getting dressed in the outfit that her mother had chosen for her the day before. Every day since they had gotten on the boat, they had matched each other, displaying the vibrant textiles that Aditi had made on their own bodies.

Today they were wearing something made up of tiny green and pink triangles. It curved around her body and hung down low over her knees, but not enough that she had to worry about it while she played. She knew the rules about what she was allowed to do in the morning and that she wasn’t allowed to leave the stall unless one of her parents was with her, so she carefully wove her way around the crates of jurda that had gotten substantially smaller over the last couple of days.

Zaye let out a small hum as she crawled underneath the table that her father sat at when he was doing deals with some of the other people that were at the festival. She lay down on her belly so that she could feel the already squashed grass leach the morning dew through her outfit. Kerch was far damper than Novyi Zem was, even after the rains had come. She thought that it was fascinating that there was a place so different from the one that she had always known, and it made her wonder about the place where her father had come from again.

She continued to play with herself under the table as she had every other morning until she heard quite a bit of noise from the place next to them, which had been reserved yet empty since they had arrived. She figured that it wouldn’t really be breaking the rules if she were to just peak out of the tent but kept the rest of her body inside. She just had to know what was going on, even if finding out would likely make her father very cross with her.

So she crawled to the edge of the tent where the noise was and then opened the flap just enough that she could poke her head through. Another family had arrived, late but prepared. They were setting up their own tent, made of canvas the same as hers but colored blue instead of the orange of her own. That must have meant that they came from Kerch, like the family two rows down that had a little boy she liked to play with. There were tents of every color in the circular rows of merchants selling their wares and farmers trying to secure deals with each other.

She noticed that there was a father with tanned skin, covered in freckles the same way that her own father was. There was a boy that was about seven years older than her helping him put up the tent. He had a flop of long brown hair and almost-black eyes. The most interesting thing about them was the fact that they had a little girl with them, exactly the same age that she was based on the way that she was sitting.

“Hi,” Zaye whispered, waving her hand nervously at the new potential friend.

The girl startled. She had been perched on top of one of the huge crates full of what looked to be chickens. She turned towards where she had heard the noise and then waved her hand. “Good morning!”

“Valerie, who are you talking to?” the brother asked when he finished helping the father with the first part of the tent set up. “I thought that we told you to be good and quiet.”

“No, you told me that I wasn’t allowed to distract you! Talking to my new friend isn’t distracting you,” Valerie protested, a pout already forming on her face.

“Jordie, let her play with someone new. If she has a friend her own age then it means she isn’t going to be underfoot,” the father said. He paused for a moment while walking around the tent and brushed his hand over the top of the girl’s head. She smiled happily at him before she held her hands up. He reached down and picked her up, setting her down on the dewy grass.

“Thank you, Papa,” she chirped. She turned towards the new person that she had just met and Zaye waved her hand excitedly.

“Do you really get to come and play?” she asked curiously.

“Yeah! I don’t wanna be in the way while Jordie and Papa are setting up the stand. Do you wanna move over so I can come in?” she asked. Her Kerch was a lot more refined than Zaye’s was, but it made sense since the other girl had lived in that country around other people that fluently spoke that language. Zaye had a combination of a Zemini and Kerch accent, according to the little boy that she had been playing with the day before.

She wondered for a moment if her parents were going to be upset at her for what she was doing. She couldn’t remember them asking her not to bring anyone into the front of their stall even if they didn’t want her playing with strangers in the back where they kept all of their things. She figured that it should be fine for Valerie to come into the tent and play with her, at least until her family was done setting up their own tent.

Carefully, she pulled her head back through the doorway of the canvas tent. She reached up and tugged at the inside bows that her mother had done when they had locked everything up. She only undid the lower two, leaving just enough space for her new friend to crawl in so that they were sitting together.

“Where are you from?” Valerie asked, turning her head left and right so that she could make out everything about their new play-spot.

The back of the tent held nothing but the three bags that they had packed containing their clothing and other personal belongings, the huge bedroom that Zaye slept on with her parents, and the crates with the things that they were selling. The front of the tent was separated from the back with another piece of canvas, that one decorated by Zaye and her mother with colorful paints that had bled into the fabric when they had washed it. They had a table that had two adult sized chairs and one that was more fitting for Zaye, though it didn’t let her see what the grown ups were doing on the table when she was sitting on it. There was nothing to cover the floor and block them away from the patches of dirt left by the grass being matted down flat, with the exception of the bamboo mat they had bought when they arrived from a seller from Shu Han when they had arrived.

“Novyi Zem!” Zaye chirped.

“What’s your name?” Valerie asked, seemingly unfazed by that bit of information.

Zaye didn’t get a lot of opportunities to play with other kids her own age, or any age at all. The closest that she got was when she helped the grandmothers watch over the babies whenever she came into town. Usually kids her age that lived in town were ushered off to the school, but her parents had chosen to educate her at home since their farm was so far away from the nearest town. She had the chance to play with her cousins when she stayed with her uncles near the winter festival, but none of them acted at all like Valerie did.

The other girl was quiet and reserved but also very excited and open, somehow combining them into one mind-swimming nightmare. It was new and exhilarating and so different than Zaye felt like she was vibrating out of her skin. “My name is Zaye. Your name is Valerie, right?”

“Yes,” the other girl replied with a nod. “What are your parents here to sell?”

“Jurda and fabric! My da grows the jurda and my ma makes the fabric. You should see the way that she does it, it’s like she can just speak to them and then they do whatever she wants,” Zaye grinned. She knew that her father didn’t approve of her mother doing things in a certain way. It was the only argument she had ever heard them get into and she hadn’t even understood half of it. She just knew that her mother was speaking in that stern tone of voice that she did whenever Zaye did something she had just been told specifically not to do.

“We’re selling chicks!” Valerie grinned. I helped hatch them because I’m the only person that’s able to go into the coops to check to see if the eggs have the crack or not.”

“Crack?” Zaye asked. She knew a little bit about chickens since her mother kept them for eggs and meat, but they had never had a rooster so there was no chance that they would get any chicks.

“Yeah! They have this special little tooth before they come out of the egg and then when they’re ready, they use it to break the shell so that they can come out all the way,” Valerie explained. She seemed to be opening up more than she had been before, like all she had to do was get more comfortable before her shyness disappeared entirely.

Zaye wished desperately that she could see what her friend was talking about. She was so excited that she couldn’t stop the wiggles that her body was making, squirming about as she moved to the table. “Do you wanna play castles?”

“I thought that we were talking about chicks and eggs?” Valerie asked. She didn’t look like she was necessarily against it, but she was very confused. Zaye always forgot that other people couldn’t follow the thoughts that she had because her mother had the same kind of mind and her father had been married to her mother longer than she had even been alive.

“We were, but now I want to play, please,” Zaye said. She tacked on the last word as an afterthought, almost hearing her mother telling her to mind her manners.

Valerie took a moment to think about it. She seemed to be wary about any kind of change or movement in what she had assumed that they were going to do. After a long while, long enough that Zaye felt like the energy inside of her was going to explode, she finally gave a nod. “What are we playing and how do we play it?”

Zaye reached out so that she could grab her new friend’s arm. She tugged the other girl underneath the wooden table so that it was like they were hiding out in their own personal fort. It would have been better if they had a tablecloth like Zaye did back home, but she was excited enough about her new playmate that she didn’t really care. “Castles! I heard about these big huge buildings that they have in Ravka where the King and Queen live,” she explained.

“I think that those are called mansions, we rode by some when we were coming here,” Valerie argued with a little shake of her head.

“No, there’re huge big buildings out in Ravka filled with servants and carvings and Grisha,” she said.

Neither of them had the chance to continue to argue because the flap into the back of the tent opened to reveal Zaye’s mother. She was already dressed and her hair was in the day-wrap that she wore instead of the one that she slept in. “Where’s my little girl?” she asked, the Zemini natural and lovely over her tongue.

“Here, Ma!” Zaye chirped in the same language. She wiggled out from under the table.

Aditi reached down and swooped her child up in the air, whirling them around while peppering happy kisses all over Zaye’s face. In response, the five-year-old pushed at her mother to try and get away from the attack while giggling like mad. “I heard you speaking with someone else, little rabbit,” she said once she had finished, settling her daughter easily onto her hip.

“How do you know that it wasn’t an imaginary friend, Ma?” she asked. She wasn’t trying to lie, but she was a bit nervous that she was going to get in trouble now. Her parents hadn’t explicitly said that she wasn’t allowed to bring someone into the tent, just that she wasn’t allowed to leave.

“Because I heard you speaking Kerch and a voice that did not belong to you,” she replied with a chuckle. “You don’t have to be scared, just tell me who it is.”

Zaye wiggled out of her hold and back down onto the ground. She leaned under the table and offered her hand to Valerie. The other little girl seemed pleased to not be yanked around again and took it. They stood next to each other, hands clasped together and both of them looking nervously towards Aditi. “What’s your name?” she asked, kneeling in front of the girls and speaking in Kerch.

“Valerie Rietveld,” she answered nervously. “Is it okay that we’re playing? My papa and brother wanted me out of the way while they set up.”

“Of course it’s okay that you’re playing! But if you’re going to be in here this early in the morning then you have to be willing to help us set up,” Aditi said lightly.

Both girls seemed excited about getting to spend more time together and easily helped with what they were asked. They held the canvas in place while Aditi tied the opening on either side of the wall so that they could open their stall for the day. They then helped bring the textiles and a few of the smaller boxes of jurda out of the back to be sold. Once all the word had been complete, they were allowed to sit under the table again and ate little pieces of apple that Colm prepared for them. Zaye was sure that she had never had a friend she liked as much as Valerie and convinced that she never would again.

---

Dreams of when his parents brought him to the festival in Kerch weren’t exactly rare for Jesper. It was one of his happiest memories and one of the most fundamental parts of his childhood. It was the first and last time that he had been outside of Novyi Zem and the last time that he had gotten to go on a trip with his mother.

The rain hadn’t come during their next season and it meant that they couldn’t be away from their farm for even a moment. They wouldn’t have the money to hire on farmhands so they were doing all of the work themselves, which exhausted even Aditi and Jesper. Their family had come to visit them for the summer solstice, to try and bless their lands so that they would be able to thrive the next year.

Jesper wouldn’t have cared about the fact that they didn’t go visit his grandparents like they always did if he had known what would happen the year after that. Only a single short month after he had turned seven and admitted to his mother the secret that he had been chewing on for half the year like dried jurda, she had died.

His coming out was something that he also vividly remembered. His father had gone out to town so that he could pick up some of the things that they would need for the next few months. That meant that Aditi had taken him out in the fields so that she could show him to gather up the pre-dried jurda blossoms with the blessing that they shared. He had been sitting up against a fencepost with his head tilted down towards his hands before he said, “Ma, I think that I’m a boy.”

All she had done was tilt his head up so that he had to meet those intense, dark eyes of hers and then had kissed him on the nose. She had helped him start dressing more like his father and less like her. All of the children dressed in the same way in their culture, but he didn’t like people thinking that he was still a girl, so he got to wear pants before all of the other children in their town. She had even helped him learn how to wrap his hair in the male style despite the fact that she had never done that before.

The hardest thing about his transition had been picking out his name, especially since his mother and told his father for him instead of forcing him to be brave. Both of his parents were supportive of him being who he was, but his father was more worried about him than he had been before because he had heard stories of what happened to people like Jesper. He had been the one to come up with his brand new son’s name, though, being the only parent that could remember back to when they had been discussing names for him pre-birth.

Jesper had always assumed that the most difficult part of his life would be when he left home to go seek his own way in the world. He was scared of what lay for him on the horizon, what the universe was planning for him when he was finally old and wise enough to take his own steps without the guidance of his parents. Something that he had always taken solace in was that his mother would be there for him to fall back on. His father had always been adamant that he learn how to be independent so that he could take care of himself, because that was the Kaelish way, but his mother was always leaning more towards the idea that they would never have to separate.

Of course, that had been before the family down the road had come to ask for her help. That had been before she had been too scared of the little girl on that bed dying from the poisoned water of the well too close to the mines. That had been before she was too distracted and eager to get the job done to be careful. That had been before Jesper had sat by her bedside, holding her hand and begging her to come back. He had offered up everything that he had held dear to anyone who would listen just to bring his mother back. He had offered his favorite toys, his deserts, a portion of every meal he ate for the rest of his life, all the way until he was offering up the new name that he adored so much. The last thing that he got from his mother before she and the rest of his life was upended was her whispering that very name, cementing that he could never take another name as long as he lived.

Things had changed after that and he supposed that he wasn’t going to end up leaving anywhere. The farm was still going strong, though they had better and worse years. His father wasn’t able to maintain the house and the farm like he had when there were two adults. Jesper had to learn how to do the steps of the chores that his mother had always done on his own. He learned how to cook by burning things and adding far too much sage. He learned how to clean by spilling an entire bottle of perfume into the mop bucket and washing a wrap in too-warm water. He learned how to care for the chickens with his fingers bloodied and aching and how to mend a fence by putting the posts in upside down.

He made mistakes, but he continued to learn and grow. He got books from the neighboring homesteads so that he could learn the way that his mother wove to make textiles. He also learned finances from his father when he finally broached teenagerhood and was able to prepare to take over. There was no way that he was going to leave after that, not even to follow the longing call of his heart. The frontier was quiet and Jesper was restless, but he couldn’t leave the cherry tree that his mother’s spirit helped feed or his father when they both needed him.

The restlessness was going to kill him if he didn’t have the chance to make at least a single trip bigger than the one to his relatives for the holidays, though. He had been thinking about it since he was fifteen and had decided that he was old enough to do it when he was seventeen. He had been able to trade his services at the next farm over for a share of their linen, so he had some beautiful dyed textiles that almost rivaled his mother that needed to be sold. They had also had pelting rain almost for the entire spring, which meant that they had more jurda than the companies had purchased that year.

He had stood nervously by the doorway for almost ten minutes before he was able to ask his father, “Do you think that I could go to the faire in Ketterdam like you and Ma used to?” He had spent the next ten minutes after that rambling about all of the plans that he had made. Jesper loved odds and math, which meant that he had already rationed out almost every single thing that could happen if they did or didn’t make sales. He wanted to make sure that he came to his father with every bit of evidence that he could scrounge up about why going to the faire would be a good idea just in case Colm had decided against it.

Much to his surprise, his father had agreed. The week after that felt like a whirlwind that was barely real. He had helped pack up the extra jurda that they weren’t shipping with the company that had bought their share of produce. He had also wrapped up all of the fabrics and rugs that he had made, though he did that on his own so that his father wouldn’t see the clear markings where he had fixed things using his powers.

He had expected his father to come with him so that they could spend some time together the way that they had when he was a child, but he also knew that Colm was hesitant to leave the farm when they still had so much work to do and less people to do it. He was disappointed that he was going to be out on his own, but it was also reassuring to be returned back to the world that he had always seen for himself in the future. He was looking forward to rediscovering the world that he had known in his dreams and as a child, now as the person that he had grown up to be.

He made friends with the crew of the boat who loved the way that he talked. They introduced him to card games that they gambled on with bits of rations, which was how Jesper had ended up with one less rug and two extra bits of kruge that he was going to spend for a souvenir when he got to Ketterdam. He liked being on a boat less than he did when he was a child even if it was easier for him to make friends because he was an adult. The massive, gangly size of his body made it hard for him to walk around and he wasn’t able to bind his chest because he was slightly seasick.

Needless to say, he was relieved when they finally touched down in Kerch and he knew that he would have another task to keep him occupied. The city was everything that he remembered, but the sizes and people were so different. The rooves were still gabled with tiles that slipped and slid against each other from the near-constant pelting rains. The plaster was beginning to chip off the bricks of some of the buildings but they were all still painted, bright interesting colors. The people were different because of the world politics and the ability that certain citizens of certain countries had to travel away from their homes, but the natives still dressed very differently than Jesper did.

He found the festival to be the thing that tugged at his heart the most. He and his father had specifically written in to request the spot that they had gotten when Jesper had been first brought to the festival, which meant that he saw his mother almost everywhere.

They had put up the tent the day before he left to make sure that there were no holes and he knew where every rope went, which he did. He was able to get it up where it belonged, without a single stake infringing on the land that the others had given. He laid his pallet in the back, burrowed in between the textiles and his own hands had made and the boxes of dried jurda that his father had helped him pack before he left. He set the table up in the front of the stall and tied the opening just like he remembered his mother doing all those years ago.

The first couple of days were dreadfully lonely. The stall next to him was empty to his left and had a rather crotchety old woman that didn’t appreciate his attempts to start a conversation to the right. He was able to chat with the other vendors that came over to see if his wares were worth buying, but they always left after they had made their transaction. He was one of the only people that had come on their own and he was deeply regretting it.

It wasn’t until the third day that the stall to the left of him finally got the occupant that it had been promised. A girl with a long black braid and a sparkly costume that matched that of the acrobats that had come to work with the festival walked over with a basket of what appeared to be chicks.

Jesper was in the middle of a sale with another customer while the other tent was being erected, so he wasn’t able to go out and greet them like he wanted to. That didn’t stop him from craning his neck over when he saw the man that obviously owned the tent walking over.

He had short black hair that was shaved around the sides and the back of his head but was left long at the top so that it hung down into coffee-colored eyes. He wore a black pair of pressed slacks and a white button down shirt with a heavy woolen overcoat that obscured his entire frame. He was clasping a cane in his hand, though it was peculiarly carved with the head of a crow. Given the ware that he was selling, Jesper would have assumed it to be a chicken had it not been the size that it was.

Jesper finished up the sale that he was doing then stepped out of his stall. By that point, the tent was finished and the man was sitting in his chair in front of a coup on the ground where the chicks were running around with each other. He bypassed the owner of the tent and walked over to the coup so that he could spy on the tiny birds for a moment.

“Did you know that they have a tooth that helps them break the shell?” Jesper asked when he remembered the conversation that he had with that little girl. It was one of the only things that he remembered about her, other than her name.

“They actually use their feet more than they use the egg tooth,” the man replied. His voice was deep and had a rasp to it, like his vocal cords had been damaged just a little bit.

“Oh,” he replied as he felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I only learned about that when I was a kid,” he explained with an awkward shrug.

“Not many people pay attention to the actual way that chickens are born. They’re only interested in the unfertilized eggs and the meat that they can produce,” the man replied.

“Right,” Jesper nodded. “Where are you from? I mean, based on the color of your tent I would assume that you’re a Kerch native.”

“I have a small farm outside of Ketterdam that I run,” the other teenager replied.

“And where would that be?”

“Lij,” came the short reply.

“I have a jurda farm on the frontier of Novyi Zem. We had a good year, so you’re probably going to see a lot of them if you go perusing through some of the other stalls. I also have textiles that I made myself,” he gestured down to the outfit that he was wearing. He had chosen something that was a mix of the clothing that his father and mother wore, which was where he was usually the most comfortable. He had a white button up covering his front and then a skirt made out of a fabric with triangle designs and a pink base.

“It’s well made,” the other teenager replied with a nod of approval. It didn’t seem like he wanted Jesper to just go away and leave him alone, at least not like it had when he had tried to speak with the old woman on the other side. That meant that he was going to keep trying to talk to him.

“Do you run your farm all on your own? I’m only staying at mine to help my Da,” he said.

“No, my brother and I run it together. He’s tending to the rest of the flock so that I can come here, like he does every year,” he explained.

The silence hanging over them felt like it was going to kill him. He had never done well with things being still, which was why he had been so adamant about the fact that he could go to the festival and actually experience sights and noises that weren’t common to him. “I’m Jesper, by the way. I’m going to be staying in the stall next to you for the remainder of the festival.”

The other man pursed his lips together like it was actually paining him to bring the words out of his body. He was twisting his hands around the head of his cane for a long while before he relaxed into his chair and finally said, “Kaz Reitveld.”

That name shot through Jesper like an arrow through the night. He knew that the first name was unknown to him, not even a very common Kerch name that he would have heard spoken while accidentally eavesdropping. It was the last name that was able to pull the memory of a little girl with black hair and chicken facts galore to the forefront of his mind. “Do you have a little sister?” he asked.

Kaz’s face screwed up in confusion as he asked, “What kind of a question is that?”

“Sorry, I know that it’s weird,” Jesper tried to brush it off. He felt more awkward than he had in a long time and he was trying so hard not to blame it on his father’s reluctance to have him around other kids after he came out. “I just came here with my parents a long time ago, I would have been around four or five. I met a little girl with that same name, we got along really well.”

When the other didn’t say anything, he just kept going. “I always kind of wondered what happened to her because we were basically inseparable the entire time that we were here. I think that my ma probably had something to do with that because she loved having guests and other kids to take care of.”

“That was me,” Kaz interrupted the nervous ramblings with a single, short sentence.

“What?” Jesper asked.

Kaz’s entire face flushed rest, but his ears were burning almost purple with the blush. “I used to be a girl. I’m not anymore. And if you call me by that old name then you won’t be walking out of here on your own.”

“No need to get so hostile, if you remember me then you’ll know that I also used to be a girl,” Jesper laughed.

The tension that had been hanging off of the other dripped off of him like butter into a warm pan. It was reassuring and unnerving to see the way that he could shift from being to being. Jesper desperately wanted to know him more. He made a grand bow and then offer his hand out to the other teenager, “It’s nice to re-meet you, Kaz.”

Kaz hesitated for only a second before he reached out and took the offered hand, “Same goes for you, Jesper.”

---

They spent the entire festival together. Jesper found out, very late on the last night that they were going to be there, that Kaz had lost his father two years after Jesper had lost his mother. Jordia, Kaz’s brother, had been tempted to sell the farm but had decided against it when he saw the way that Kaz had grown attached to it. The two of them ran it together without any adult help but were making a very good life for themselves.

The duo met up several times after that, each time at the faire. They would spend hours and hours talking to each other about every topic that they possibly could. They discussed the differences in their languages and Kaz eagerly learned Zemini. They talked about their transitions and the troubles they faced because of it. Kaz ended up being the first person that Jesper had ever told outside of his own family that he was zowa. Kaz told Jesper that he was the only person other than Jordie that he felt comfortable, and that was the first time that they had kissed.

Eventually Kaz let Jordie sell the farm. He ended up traveling to Novyi Zem with a new ring on his finger and the promise of jurda farming coming from his husband’s lips.

#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #ao3 #archive of our own #soc #six of crows #sab #shadow and bone #kaz brekker #jesper fahey #kazper #kaz x jesper #jesper x kaz #t4t #trans jesper fahey #trans kaz brekker

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spitefulcrepechan · 9 months ago

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Well, I gots the main cast of this bloody swap au all set and done HEHEHEHE

And now to introduce you to them one by one

Telliberry Cookie - A thief that was born in a poverish town. In order to support her home and family, she began going into neighboring towns and cities in an attempt to gather materials needed for survival. Eventually, though, she became hateful towards the rich and luxurious who pawned off the suffering of those like her, and so took to stealing their wealth and pride to give to her struggling town. One day, she stole something from the wrong guy, who arranged for her to be kidnapped and then imprisoned for god knows how long, enduring torture near constantly to the point where they tore one of her arms off all because of one item. While there, she formed a friendship with the nearby crows that would come and slip through the bars, offering them the small amounts of food she was given despite starving to death, which eventually paid off as they managed to free her from her prison and helped her escape. Now with her new corvid companions, she could be able to find all the resources she wanted for her struggling town, hoping to one day give the friends and family she grew up with the paradise they deserve.

Crepe Yasan Cookie - The result of an inventor attempting to create a cookie robot with a heart. They lived most of their life sheltered and when they eventually convinced their parental figure to allow them social interaction with others, they were outcasted and made fun of for their robotic nature. It got to a point where they accidentally activated a self-defense mechanism and nearly crumbled somebody. This very action caused them to be hunted down, not for their violent act, but for the raw and unique power they wielded, and for their safety, their inventor had to abandon them far away in the woods. Now living as a loner, they managed to make a living off of being a wandering mechanics, visiting places and making repairs before leaving onto the next area. They hope to one day be able to finally settle down in a place that could accept them.

Long Hu Feng Cookie - LHF was once comprised of three animals, a snake, a chicken, and a cat. These three animals were the beloved familiars of a witch who was still practicing in making living cookies. One by one, though, the familiars died of natural causes and the witch was devastated, so much that she decided to try and bring her beloved companions back with the baking magic she was given. She did something wrong, however, instead of managing to create 3 individual cookies, she managed to create one singular cookie, made with the remnants of her feral familiars. Even moreso, the cookie did not at all recognize the witch and had its own consciousness. Rather then being upset though, the witch decided to keep the cookie as her own familiar, one that managed to excel in terms of her late friends from the magical prowess it showed. Eventually, it wished to go and explore the world, see what other kinds of magic existed there, and so the witch allowed it, granting it a single silver spoon to use as a magic wand so that they could always be together. With the promise of returning after it has discovered everything Earthbread could offer, Long Hu Feng ventured out in search of new wonders.

Ginger Cake Cookie - He was a creation of a witch much like LHF. Unlike it, however, he was made to be eaten, being forced to run and flee from his creator in order to increase his tastiness. After countless days of trying to survive, he would end up soon rebelling against his tormentor, managing to convince the cakehounds that were made to chase him into fighting the witch, not only earning his but their freedom as well. Wielding a cake knife, he and his pack managed to successfully escape the witch and escape out into Earthbread. Now with the whole world to discover, Ginger Cake journeys with his army of Cakehounds for a place to call home, where they never have to fear being eaten ever again.

Cream Tea Cookie - The current president of the Creme Republic, who's currently on leave due to being on a very specific mission. That mission being to seek out the Five Auspicious Beasts and their Soul Jams in order face against a dabger to the entirety of Earthbread. Accompanied by his soldiers and equipped with his trusty compass, he hopes to accomplish his goal and save his homeland from the sovereign light that threatens everyone he knows and loves.

Due to fateful encounters that tied these five together, these cookies will band together on a journey across Beast-Yeast. With all their skills combine, they will be able to conquer any obstacles that gets in their way of obtaining their goals.

That Goal being to one day find a Kingdom. A Kingdom of Hope.

#cookie run #cookie run au #swap au #kingdom of hope au #decided to maybe call this au that so that it wont be confused with other aus #me art lol #black raisin cookie #telliberry cookie #strawberry crepe cookie #crepe yasan cookie #witchberry cookie #long hu feng cookie #red velvet cookie #ginger cake cookie #clotted cream cookie #cream tea cookie

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bonefall · 2 years ago

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Hello! I’m trying to translate my character Roosterflame’s name into clanmew, but I can’t seem to find a translation for his suffix. What would Roosterflame be in clanmew? And what nicknames would be possible?

Base Clanmew currently doesn't have a word for chickens! Clan cats avoid farms as much as possible. The word in Townmew for chicken is Igi, which itself comes from a word for 'delicious.' They tend to experience chicken as a meat more often than an animal.

So this is a situation where you can make your own word if you'd like! But TWO different characters in BB created their own words for chickens, if you'd like to take any.

Crookedstar's Phrases

Hens = Brrch Mostly because they were usually growling at him, they didn't like how close he came or how he didn't respect their space. The chickens did not like poor Stormpaw, no sir, even though he did save them in the end.

Rooster = Gawkaroo The rooster at the time was ALWAYS crowing at him because he stressed the hens out. These men HATED each other. Mr. Gawkaroo chased him up the coop more than once.

He never made a word for chicks, he never really got close enough to them.

Ravenpaw's Phrases

Hens = Bok Ravenpaw, meanwhile, cozied up to them right away. They didn't tend to growl at him, just happily going about their business. He had a way of getting animals comfortable around him.

Chicks = Shi Unlike Crookedstar when he stayed at the barn, Ravenpaw did get close enough to chicks to need a good word for them.

Rooster = Urkaroona Ravenpaw does NOT like this man though, because he wakes him up in the morning. They're chill... but if there's any chicken who's on thin ice, it's the Urkaroona. The Barleys insist his name is "Hasem" but Ravenpaw calls him (and the one who replaces him later) Urkaroona.

("Hasen" is "Hanson" passed through an accent.)

So! Take your pick! Also pick a word for fire you'd like from the Lexicon. The direct translation of flame is "fyn," which refers to a cooking fire. I think that's morbidly hilarious honestly.

#Clanmew

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thecooldownroom · 5 months ago

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Hi!! A little about me page so you can get to know me, feel free to DM me about yourself or anything really :)

General:

My name is Eloise, I'm 15, bi and I live in England. My dream is to be a motorsports journalist so I wanted to start writing about racing even if it's nothing particularly professional as of right now. I plan to write race reviews and also crack posts about news and updates and anything related to the sport. Currently I'm focusing on Formula 1 with a bit of Formula 2 and F1 Academy but I'd like to get into other forms or motorsports like MotoGP and Formula E at some point in the future!

I love to read and write and I'm very much an English/History > Maths/Science person. Speaking of, I adore history and my backup career option is to teach history at higher education! Music gives me life and I'm also on tiktok too much for my own good. I love autumn, the colour pink, Sylvia Plath, true crime and obviously racing.

Music: (bipolar asf)

Arctic Monkeys, Beabadoobee, The Crane Wives, Hozier, Tv Girl, Chase Atlantic, Cigarettes After Sex, Lana Del Rey, MCR, The Smiths, The Neighbourhood, Chappell Roan, David Bowie, Olivia Rodrigo, Alexa Valentino, Hozier, Phoebe Bridgers & more

Movies/Tv Shows:

Little Women, Anything Marvel, Harry Potter, Hercules, Tangled, Encanto, Criminal Minds, Greys Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, Alice in Borderland, Glee, Derry Girls, Anne with an E, B-99, Friends, Outerbanks, 500 days of summer, Superstore, Bridgerton, 10 things I hate about you & way more

Books:

Cruel Prince series, They both die at the end, A good girls guide to murder series, The fault in our stars, The song of Achilles, You said I was your favourite, Six Of Crows/Crooked Kingdom & so many more

Top Teams:

1. McLaren

2. Aston Martin

3. Williams

Top drivers:

LN4, AA23, YT22, GR63, OP81

OB87, KA12, PA17

Disikes:

BUGS. The FIA, Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Trump etc etc

Warning:

I overuse the same emojis like crazy so there'll be a lot of '😭💀🙏😋' in here, will block any hate to me or anyone else, be respectful and I will be too,

safe space to give opinions so if you disagree let's debate it!!

Always looking for more moots and friends so follow me if you'd like and feel free to DM me, I also have a tiktok for this:

I'm completely new to this so if anyone has any constructive criticism or advice, please let me know!

And if you have any questions about whatever but if you're here I'm guessing primarily F1 based, ask away, either in DMs or on the anonymous send ins, I'll do my best to answer!

ANYWAYS LOVE YOU ALL,

BYEEEE 👋👋👋

#formula 1 #girl blogger #blog #williams #mercedes #aston martin #alpine #redbull #haas #sauber #vcarb #mclaren #ferrari #Spotify

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lanterns-and-daydreams · 1 year ago

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Random post. Because I currently have no one to talk to. You can scroll. It's just me ranting about the most mundane things and talking to myself :)

Okay, now I dunno what to say. I'm not texting anyone cause I'm not gonna bother anyone in my DMs with this

MY FAVOURITE THING EVER IS SO MANY THINGS

That's so vague HAHAHAHA

I like cats SO much. OH MY GOD-

Like, if you do not like cats, I do not trust you.

Theres a cat near where I live, but she won't let me pet her babies :(

I used to call kittens 'cat babies'. I still do. It sounds cuter. But like, cats are so cute, if I get one, I'm gonna love it forever and give it lots of kisses and hugs and treats and everything it could ever want and a little cat bed and a tiny blanket and a scratchy thingy, idk what it's called, and dedicate most of my life to it and love it so so sosososososososoooooo much and they're so cute and lovable and huggable and kissable and if my future partner doesn't like cats I'm kicking them out cause I want a cat, and I'm gonna love it so much and show it off to everyone cause it's mine and I love it and I also reallllyyyyyyyy love flowers

Like, flowers are so cool. How could you NOT like flowers???? And i can name so many flowers and I told my best friend about soooooo many flowers like lotuses and sunflowers and peonies and lobelias and Cordelias and bleeding hearts and foxgloves and poppies and and and-

Anyway

OH MY GOD CAKEEEEEEEEE

I love cake SO much. Red velvet is my FAVOURITE. Maybe thats why i have memory issues. Oh oh! Did you know that if you consume too much sugar, it gives you memory issues

And diabetes

Reminds me of the time I used to sometimes eat sugar because why not? And ice. I liked chewing on ice. And I used to read so much as a baby. And zooooooooooom everywhere. I used to have a cycle and it was pink and white and so cute and I used to take it everywhere

Sometimes I feel like rapunzel. Cause ivory tower, yk? Like, my dad never let's me leave the house after 10 and says I'm not allowed to exit the apartment floor n stuff, and I used to make up little songs about leaving and seeing the world n stuff, I don't so that anymore though. I gave up on that dream. But I still wanna leave yk?

Anyway

SPIDERS

SPIDERS ARE SOSOSOSO CUTE. LIKE ONE TIME I SAW A SPIDER ON MY MED KIT (I CAN WRAP BANDAGES DID YA KNOW THAT???) AND I LOOKED IN ITS TINY EYES AND WE HAD A STARING CONTEST AND THEN IT JUMPED AWAY AND I SAID BYE BYE

And the one time I was sitting on a sofa and looked at the arm of the sofa and saw a tiny spider there and we maintained eye contact for like 4 seconds before it jumped off the arm and onto the floor and lay there unmoving and I laughed while crying. Reminded me of the time when I tried to climb a tree in muree that was on a mountain and nearly fell off both the tree and mountain.

MY FRIEND JUST TEXTED ME TEHEHEHEHEHE

Shes bullying me with uwus. I'm not gonna open her chat >:(

My best friend is actually sososososo cool and I love her sm. I've known her for 3 years and she can actually make me laugh genuinely. Props to her. That's hard to do. And shes sososososo pretty and bossy makes me giggle and I feel so happy, she reminds me of Sunflowers. I tell her so many stories like the time I ate something I shouldn't have and almost got lost in the woods at the dead of night behind the farmhouse we were visiting. And she's a doctor and she's sososososo cool

AND SHE KNOWS MY FAVOURITE SONG AND COLOR AND FOOD AND SHE LIKES MY DESSERT

You say you love me. You say I'm your friend. WHAT'S MY FAVOURITE SONG, YOU WEENIE.

Weenie

Hehe

I gave her a watch and she wore it. I almost cried

I saw a bird yesterday. My best friend hates crows. So I always chase them off for her.

I miss the humming birds near our house. They were pretty. I'm sleepy. And I'm also thinking. Well, not really. Thinking is wierd. Because when you start thinking you start thinking about everything. Like, how do we know the big bang happened when none of us were alive when it happened and how do we know an alternate reality doesn't exist, because maybe it exists, and maybe aliens exist too, because who are we to conclude that aliens don't exist? Because we are literally smaller than specks as compared to this entire universe and mermaids could exist too, because we've py explored 5% of the entirety of the oceans and yeye

You ever think about how 'crises' sounds like 'cry sis'? Because I do, because I cry. Now im thinking about Lobelias and how to murder my English teacher. I want to experiment on her. What will happen if I inject glitter into her veins? Or glue? Or glitter glue? Maybe give her tiny heart attacks by injecting small doses of air into her veins. Would that work?

Maybe i can cook up her remains and shit and give it to the other people I hate

Assign me a Taylor Swift song

I like The Prophecy from TTPD. I relate

Im so selfish it's funny

I like bows. Especially blood red ones. Did you know my favourite color is blood red?

This talk post is longer than most fics you've read hehehehe

I still don't know what a loubtine is. How do you spell it? Louboutine? Lobetine? WHAT IS IT

Louboutine.

Idk I give up.

Alina thinks I'm cute. I am so not. I am evil. Safa (my best friend) agrees with Alina (the music girl) and I have to defend myself everytime. I am not cute. I am evil. I ONCE STOLE BACK MY ERASER FROM A GIRL WHO STOLE MY PINK ERASER IS THAT NOT EVIL ENOUGH FOR YOU????

I STOLE A FLOWER TOO. AND CANDY. AND NOODLES FROM MY BROTHER.

Safa's younger sister once gave me a flower and a sketchbook. I drew stuff in it. I want to draw Edinburgh. Paint it, I mean. This post is very messy.

Cosmo Sheldrake by Come Along is stuck in my head rn

And chase altantic songs.

Idk the name of that one song that goes in a way I can't describe

I just noticed I wrote the cosmo Sheldrake song wrong

But im not gonna go back to fix it cause this is a messy post and I like it

I meant Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake

Cool song.

Reminds me of the fae.

Now im thinking about Cassian. Why not? He's my blorbo. He's also my favourite. And his cousin Zinnia is sososososo pretty and theyre as close as siblings. I'm gonna draw them when I get an iPad (even tho I'm a Samsung girlie but I need procreate)

I just remembered my cult. It was called the Cat Cult. I was the leader. It was all just cats except me and one of my friends. We plotted to take over the world. I wonder how that fat orange cat is doing now

Fuck math, do meth.

Sometimes I wonder if there's someone out there who's gonna listen to me yap for hours on end and love it. A girl can only dream.

Ngl I'd rock an enemies to lovers trope. That or I'd completely flop. No in between. Cause I'd call him the weirdest names that he wouldn't even understand like 'frostingless cupcake' or 'dry ass oatmeal' or a weenie.

Weenie

Hehe

Did i say that before?

I have brown eyes.

I wanna be pretty so bad

Am i pretty? Kind of

Im not gonna call myself ugly. I'm not ugly >:(

Calling people darling or love is so fun

How are you darling?

I am good

I am a good babie

I gave chicken to a cat today

And saw a birb

And a tree

And a cloud

And i ate icecream

I am sleppy

Goodnight, ma belle

This is not even a rant

It's just me rambling

#It is very late #Random rant #Might not make sense #Who cares #Hamnah rambles

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dawnthefox24 · 1 year ago

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*Jack is outside drinking his feelings away, he didn't want to be stuck inside for some stupid party. For what reason doesn't even know, but soon enough even though he wanted to be alone he felt someone near him.*

76/Jack: You know I've always disliked the fact how you can be quiet on you're feet Cassidy.

Cole:*chuckles softly and leaned against the banister a bit looking up at the moon* Sorry bout that.

76/Jack: *sighs* What do you want kid?

Cole: Nothin really, honestly I just wanted to be outside since I'm not fond of crowed rooms but mainly parties...

76/Jack: I can agree with that....

Cole:....

76/Jack:...

Cole: *breaking the silence* Why do you hate me?

76/Jack:*has his full attention on Cole* Excuse me? Cole what are you talking about I don't hate you whatever gave you that-

Cole: look you can be in the denial river all you want but....Look I don't want too fight....I know...

76/Jack:*looks down knowing what he means*

Cole: *hugs himself a bit* I know I act like Gabe...I just....I'm sorry...

76/Jack: Sorry for what?

Cole: *looks at him* for actin like him...

76/Jack: *sighs softly and sets his drink down* Don't apologise I just...Cole I......I didn't save him...

Cole: What do you mean?...

76/Jack: *sighs softly as he looks at the moon* the explosion in Swiss HQ I....I didn't save him...when the bomb went off we blacked out and I woke up..

Cole:*is listening*

76/Jack:...H-He wasn't breathing or anything I just....I didn't know what else to do.....So I left....I mourned him Cole and than he's back....Ana won't tell what she saw and....

76/Jack: *looks at Cole as he fights back the tears* Why does it hurt?....Why do I miss him and yet I'm scared of you....you've proven time and time that you're not like him...

Cole:*Sighs softly * Look Jack I...This shit gets messy...I was close to Gabe didn't have a choice but that doesn't mean you and Ana did train me....The reason why you're hurting is the fact you didn't know he was alive....I didn't know he was alive.....Things happen Jack...I...

Cole:*Takes a deep breath and exhaled slowly* I lost everything....You,Ana and Gabe....you guys were my guardians but than you...."died"...

76/Jack:*looks down knowing that Cole air quoted died* I'm sorry Cole...I abandoned you...

Cole: I forgive you...I forgave Ana and Reyes....but you need to stop....

76/Jack:*looks at him* Stop what?

Cole:...Chasing him....

76/Jack:*laughs softly*....I know...Everyone keeps telling me that but I... Cole: *knows what he was going to say* You want too help him, but you need to take care of yourself Jack....Look I understand how you feel... 76/Jack:....You couldn't understand how I feel....Cole I...I loved him you know...I just failed him.... Cole: *sighs softly and looked at the moon* Jack...what happened happened, there's nothing that can changed what happened. The explosion I was there....Y-You don't even know what I've said too him.... 76/Jack: You... got into a fight with Reyes? Cole:....I said things I wasn't proud of and honestly I was going too apologise but before anything could happened....You know I didn't know what too do so I left without saying goodbye nor did I got too anyone's funeral.....Maybe Ana's but not you nor Gabe's funeral...we'll fake funeral but not the point....I just....He never got too hear my apology.... 76/Jack:*looks at the moon too before sighing* What was the fight about? Cole: I...I honestly don't remember....It was something stupid with the old Overwatch or some shit. The thing I do remember was wishing him that he never took me in and that....We'll I can't say it too much cause it hurts... 76/Jack:*nods understanding what he meant but noticed that Cole pulled out his cigar from underneath her serape* You know you keep pissing Angela off with that. Cole: *lights it and smokes it calmly before chuckling* Yeah I know but we all die anyways and I ain't getting younger you know, besides if this doesn't kill me a bullet will. 76/Jack: *looks down a bit and sighs* I know kid.... Cole: I ain't a kid Jack you know that 76/Jack: Yeah we'll you we're a kid when you first came to Overwatch and still a kid now cause I'm you're elder. Cole:*snorts a laughter* Ana and Rein are older than you Jack but yeah sure whatever you think...Just promise me something. 76/Jack:...Promise what? Cole: *exhaled the the smoke and looks at him tiredly but a but worried about him* To take care of yourself, okay please that's is what is going to get you killed for real this time. 76/Jack:*looks a bit hesitant but nods* Alright, I promise. Cole:* knows that's a lie* I hope you keep that promise but in the end it's you're choice Jack, good night. 76/Jack:*watched cole snuff out his cigar and head back inside* 76/Jack:*sighs softly rubbing his face clearly stressed* I have the worst fucking luck.....

#overwatch shitposts #overwatch #overwatch 2 #cole cassidy #overwatch cole #overwatch cole cassidy #cole cassidy overwatch #overwatch cassidy #overwatch jack morrsion #jack morrison #overwatch soldier 76 #solider 76 #solider 76 angst #cole cassidy angst #overwatch angst #everyone has trauma

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not-his-sheila · 1 day ago

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He used to call me an Albatross, and I am sure he thinks of me as a vulture too.... but I am necessary.

“The Vulture Who Cried for the Ones Still Breathing” ⸻ In the wide plains of Oba Oloko, where the grass rose tall and yellow and the sun never seemed to sleep, there lived a vulture named Eshe. She flew high. Alone. Always alone. The other birds kept their distance. Even the jackals whispered behind her wings. “Here comes death,” they muttered. “She must bring bad omens,” said the doves. “She never laughs,” said the monkeys. “She watches too much.” But Eshe was not cruel. She was just…quiet. She saw things others didn’t want to see. And she flew where others were too afraid to go—over battlefields, drought lands, and forgotten places where silence screamed louder than thunder. She did not kill. She only came after. And that made her hated. ⸻ One season, a great sickness spread through the southern forest. Animals died in numbers not seen before. The jackals and hyenas feasted. The crows cawed with wild joy. But not Eshe. She did what she always did cleaned what was left behind. Took the rot. Took the smell. Took the burden. And flew away. But this time, the forest animals had had enough. The antelope stood tall. “Vulture!” he shouted. “Why do you follow death?” “You are the shadow that chases sorrow!” yelled the hare. “You are the curse!” cried the leopard. They gathered and banned her from flying above their trees. From perching on their rocks. From being seen in the daylight. “You are not one of us,” they said. “You belong to the dead.” Eshe said nothing. She turned her head once, then flew away. ⸻ Up high in the lonely air, she wept. But not for herself. She wept for them. For their fear. For their misunderstanding. For the way they judged her by her feathers and her silence, and not the work she did for them in return. She wept because she knew someone had to carry the burden no one wanted. Someone had to clean what was broken. ⸻ Weeks passed. Then came the Great Fire. No one knew how it started. But it spread fast—fast enough that even the fastest animals couldn’t outrun it. Smoke filled the air. Nests burned. The trees cried. And the ground turned to ash. The birds fled. The animals scattered. The forest fell silent. When it was over, all that remained was charred earth and frightened hearts. But high above, a shadow circled. Eshe. She returned not to feast. But to clean. To carry the smell of death away. To help restore what could be saved. She gathered scorched feathers and dropped them into the river. She cleared dead carcasses so flies wouldn’t breed disease. She flew from hill to hill, checking where help was needed. And she did not stop. Not for praise. Not for forgiveness. Just because it had to be done. ⸻ The animals watched. Ash-covered and humbled. They had seen the truth. She was not a curse. She was a keeper. A quiet healer. A reminder that sometimes, the ugliest roles are the most necessary. They approached her slowly. “We judged you,” said the tortoise. “But we did not understand you.” Eshe blinked. “I do not need your apology,” she said. “But I accept your sight.” And with that, she flew off again. Back into the sun. Back into the wind. Not for recognition. Just to carry what others couldn’t. ⸻ Moral Lessons: 1. Do not judge those who carry burdens you do not understand. 2. Sometimes, the quietest work is the most important. 3. It is easy to condemn what you do not see clearly. Compassion begins with understanding.

The story uses the vulture to symbolize someone who is misunderstood and judged for taking on necessary but unpleasant tasks. The vulture represents:

Acceptance and understanding: It highlights the need to look beyond appearances and consider the true nature of someone's actions.

Necessary roles: Roles that are seen as undesirable or unclean are important for the well-being of the community or environment.

Compassion and empathy: The vulture's tears for the living symbolize compassion and the ability to feel for others, even when they are not understood or appreciated.

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saratogaroadwrites · 2 years ago

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For King and Country (41/122)

For King and Country | saratogaroad rating: T total wordcount: 280,466 characters: Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Roland Crane, Aranella, Batu, Tani, Lofty, Leander Aristidies, Bracken Meadows relationships: Roland Crane & Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Aranella & Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Roland Crane & Aranella, Batu & Tani, Batu & Evan, Tani & Evan, Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum & Lofty, Rolander other tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Mother-Son Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Place Slowly Becomes Home People Slowly Become Family, Found Family, For Want of A Nail warnings: this chapter contains off-handed mentions of vomiting in the context of seasickness (Batu)

Pulled from his world by mysterious powers, former president Roland Crane finds himself caught in the middle of a coup meant to take the life of the young King Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum. Joining forces with Aranella, the pair of them set out to aid Evan in making his dream of a kingdom where everyone can live happily ever after a reality.

But the road to peace is a long and treacherous one and there is no promise of success in a world where darkness spreads ever thicker with each passing day. If they are to stand a chance, they must stand together, for king and for country.

(A retelling.)

“Has he always been like this?” Aranella asked incredulously, watching as Batu clung to the railing and groaned miserably. Tani, tying off a sturdy knot of rope that hitched her father to the mast so he wouldn’t go overboard, nodded.

“Yep,” She said with a sigh. Leaning back against the mast, she eyed his back and said, “Far back as I can remember, he’s always hated the water.”

“Guess it comes with living in the desert like you did,” Roland said. Under the cloudless blue sky, he had abandoned his coat and pulled his hair up. It was a good look for him, Aranella thought idly, though he was a bit flushed. “But there’s not much we can do for him now. At least he doesn't get airsick."

"Be a right lousy sky pirate if he did, eh?" Lofty said with a snort. He waved a hand through the air and said, “Just leave ‘im be. Either he gets better or he don’t. ‘En’t a thing we can do for him now.”

“Yeah,” Tani shook her head, “Not like Wyvern Stew’s going to fix this.”

A shudder ran through the others. One of Batu’s tried and trusted remedies was a big bowl of Wyvern Stew; it wasn’t actually made of Wyvern meat, he had said, but the fatty meat and chewy tendons were just as hard to swallow as actual Wyvern would have been. Eying Batu as he moaned miserably, Aranella was glad they didn’t have what they needed to make that.

He probably was, too.

Shaking off her shudder, Tani pushed off the mast.

“Come on!” Tani snatched Evan by the wrist, “I wanna show you the view from the crows nest!”

Barely giving him time to realize what she had said, Tani scampered up into the rigging. From the helm, Ketch’s laughter echoed back towards them as Evan had to scramble to keep up, his tail a banner in the sea air behind him.

“Tani!” He shouted, “Slow down!”

“Last one to the top’s a Bad Egg!”

“I am not!”

Tani’s laughter carried back down to those who had remained on deck, and soon they were almost out of sight. With a laugh, Roland turned away.

“I think I preferred it when they were chasing each other around the castle,” he said, leaving Batu be and walking to another stretch of railing. Aranella watched him go for a moment; would she have another time to ask this question? Was now even a good time? She peered up at where Evan’s top nearly blended in with the sky, then sighed quietly.

There wouldn’t be another good time. This wasn’t a good question. Padding after him, Aranella came to stand at the bow. The wind tugged at her as she eyed him sidelong. He seemed so peaceful that she was loathe to have to ask this. As she warred with herself about actually needing to, he caught her eye.

“Alright,” Roland sighed around what looked like a smile. “What’s going on?”

Cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Aranella looked out to sea. Were those storm clouds on the horizon? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on.” He nudged her gently with one bare elbow. “Don’t think I haven’t caught you looking at me. You’ve been doing it since I got sick.”

“Maybe I’m just keeping an eye on you,” she retorted primly. “Making sure you don’t overwork yourself again.”

“Pass out one time and everyone watches you like you’re made of glass,” Roland said with a chuckle. Shaking his head, he glanced over at her. His eyes were almost honey in the sun, amused and open. “Did I pass inspection?”

“Almost.”

She had been sitting on this for weeks, turning his few words over and over in her mind. There had been so much to do after his recovery, and then Jack had reared his ugly head…spirits. Taking a deep breath of the salty sea air, she leaned on the rail and pitched her voice low.

“I have to ask you what is likely a very personal question, Roland,” She said slowly. He leaned in to catch her voice as she continued, “Honestly it’s something I should have asked you some time ago, but…”

She worried the inside of her lip. Jack’s presence in the castle had been a stark reminder that even those closest to them could be a danger. Given the way Roland had appeared out of nowhere, she knew it wasn’t the same thing but…

Evan laughed at something, the joyful sound bouncing through the air.

Spirits, forgive her.

“I’m no stranger to background checks,” Roland said. “Ask what you need.”

Aranella took another breath. She turned to look him straight in the eye and asked, “Who is Alex?”

All traces of light and amusement drained away from Roland’s face. He stared at her, skin going pale; she could almost hear the rush of his heart and held his gaze.

“When you were ill,” She clarified as gently as she could, “You called out in your sleep. You were dreaming, or…” She paused, remembering the tears that had spilled down his cheeks, the apologies, “Having a nightmare, perhaps. You called out for this Alex and asked where a Trevor was.” Carefully, she reached out and rested her hand on his. “You were crying.”

That had been explanation enough that, whoever they were, they were important to him. Idly she wondered what sort of important; siblings, perhaps? A partner and child? She didn’t dare ask him that, not yet.

Pulling his hand away he took a step back, only to stop as he saw Batu still leaning over the rail. He looked back at her with a pained expression, then looked out out to sea. A twinge of guilt tugged at her heart, but she swallowed it back and waited. It took him a few minutes, but eventually Roland settled his hands back on the railing.

“I…” The words didn’t seem to come. He ducked his head, chin nearly touching his chest. “It’s…complicated, Aranella.”

“I gathered as much.” She said quietly. Stepping closer, she stood shoulder to shoulder with him. “Were they your family?”

Roland nodded slowly. He worked his jaw open and closed, clearly struggling with the words, but nothing came. Her heart ached for him, for the usually calm and collected man she had come to know was nowhere in sight.

“Something happened to them before you arrived in Dell, didn’t it?” She asked. The heartbroken look that passed across his face was answer enough. She sighed heavily. There was no need to ask if they could be used against him now. “I’m sorry, Roland. I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s okay.” He said hoarsely, scrubbing a hand over his face. His eyes were still tight as he took a deep breath, held it, then let it go. When he turned to her again, his smile was a tired, washed out little thing. “I would have done the same in your shoes.”

“Still.” Once again, she reached out and laid her hand overtop of his. This time, he didn’t pull away. She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. “I won’t ask you anything more, but if you…would like to talk,” She met his eyes. “I will listen. I know a thing or two about remembering those gone before.”

“I’m sure you do,” Roland cleared his throat. When he spoke again, his voice was much closer to even. “Maybe someday. Just…”

“Not today.” Aranella nodded. Giving his hand a squeeze, she turned her attention back to the horizon. Those were storm clouds brewing ahead of them. Blast. No doubt Ketch had already seen them, but it would be best to warn him anyway. And it would give Roland a bit of space to compose himself. She stepped away.

“Aranella—” He reached out and caught her arm, then looked up to the mast. Evan and Tani were bright spots of color against the richly painted red wood, Lofty a spot of sunlight against a sail. He didn’t take his eyes off of them as he said, “Can you…not mention this to Evan? I don’t want to worry him.”

Any lingering doubts of Roland’s character disappeared with a gust of sea air. Truthfully, she’d had no reason to worry about him for some time. Now she was doubly sure of that, and so she nodded.

“He’ll worry anyway if he sees you like this,” She said, and he snorted quietly. He dashed his free hand across his face as she said, “But yes. I won’t mention this conversation to Evan.” She reached up and squeezed his arm. “You’re a good man, Roland. I would say try not to let the past pull you down, but.”

She knew too well how it could pull you to the bottom even if you were trying to stay afloat. Roland had only been here for a season. Perhaps, with time, it would become easier. Perhaps it wouldn’t. She shrugged one shoulder.

“We’re here if you need us,” She said instead. A little flicker of warmth returned to his eyes. It was a welcome sight. “I hope you know that by now.”

“Yeah,” He said, and turned his face to the sun. “I know.”

#nnk2 #ni no kuni 2 #nnk2 fic #!fic #fic: for king and country

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