#i cannot believe how long this has been sitting in my inbox

[flawseer]

Ok, these time rate me the Jade WInglets

I've been sitting on this work-in-progress picture for so many months now. Maybe if I post it here, I'll finally sit down and finish it.

Very long post incoming.

Discussing the Jade Winglet

Okay. So, you want me to rate the Jade Winglet group. That’s going to be very easy: I love all of them.

It’s also going to be extraordinarily hard because... well... I love all of them. How am I supposed to put them into an ordered list? It can’t be done. So I guess what I’m going to do is: First I will put them into a tier list, and then I’m going to just talk about each of them individually for a bit.

But on account of aforementioned adoration I have for all of these guys, said tier list is going to be very lopsided. The tiers are going to be “I adore them with the intensity of seven suns”, “I really like them”, and “I very much like them, but...”. You’re going to have to imagine that there are five or so more unused tiers below that.

Let’s unceremoniously get that ranking out of the way first. From top to bottom, the tiers are:

I adore Turtle, Qibli, and Winter.

I really like Moonwatcher, Kinkajou, and Peril.

I very much like Umber and Carnelian.

As for more in-depth commentary, here is a disclaimer: When I think about these guys I mostly consider books 6 (Moon Rising) to 9 (Talons of Power) and the first half of 10 (Darkness of Dragons). The second half of 10... if I’m being honest, I didn’t really enjoy it. I don’t want to go into it too much here, if you really want me to talk about my misgivings with the second arc finale, put a message about it in my inbox (it’s not just the obvious thing; it actually mostly pertains to Winter and the absolute nightmare ending he got saddled with, and some very unfortunate character implications).

Some of my musings are also going to be a bit critical. I just want it to be clear that I make these observations as a fan of the series. It’s a good practice to think critically even about media that you like. It helps you better understand why you like it in the first place. Also, I make no demands to be agreed with. This is just how I see it.

Anyway, enough stalling, let’s get into it. Not in order:

Turtle

CW: Parental abuse

Turtle is the most wonderful thing to ever happen in the history of the universe. I wake up every morning and the first thought in my head is “Ugh, another day in this backwards reality where Turtle is not real! No thanks!!” Then I go right back to sleep disappointed until the next day. Okay, maybe that’s a bit hyperbolic. But I do think that everyone’s lives would be greatly improved if Turtle was real.

Turtle is a very vibrant and insightful character who, much like Winter, is unfortunately cursed with a pair of malicious and incompetent "parents". Some of his scenes really hurt to get through if you’re a parent yourself or have ever had parental feelings. The first scene he is in, when Moon observes him arriving at the academy, his mother makes a passing comment about how Turtle has no value because he cannot inherit the throne. Turtle is within earshot when she does this. And he has no overt reaction to it, which to me hints that Coral asserts this about her male children so frequently that he has accepted her line of thinking and internalized it. He just accepts it as the truth. That is heartbreaking.

And then there is his father, mild-mannered and ostensibly gentle Gill, who killed Turtle’s budding interest in writing as well as the entirety of his self-confidence back when he was a kid, by assigning a little boy a task that was well beyond him (and only to him, even though there were more people present who could have helped), and then made him believe he killed his unborn sister when Turtle inevitably couldn’t do what he was asked. The narrative really tries to make Gill sympathetic in that moment by insisting he’s speaking in anger and doesn’t really mean it, but um, no. I don’t buy it, dude. You just gave a little kid a lifelong guilt complex because you couldn’t think of asking more people for help. Or taking the egg with you while you left the hatchery. Or telling Turtle to take a message to the palace guard so someone who didn’t still have their milk teeth could mount a proper, organized search while interim guards were posted in the hatchery. Or literally any of the thousands of other options that didn’t require traumatizing your own son.

As a result, Turtle became emotionally reclusive. He registers to others as dull, placid, unpassionate, and boring, like he cares about nothing and is content to never strive for or achieve anything in his life. He himself explains that writing used to be something he was into at some point, but then lost interest in. But I don’t think he has. He still loves literature and thinking about stories, he's still doing it in his internal monologue. He just denies it because he subconsciously feels the need to punish himself. I imagine he still gets that drive sometimes, to sit down and start writing again. But every time he thinks about it, or catches himself wanting anything, his father’s voice resurfaces in his mind, telling him that he killed his sister and doesn’t deserve it. And then he self-punishes by depriving himself of everything he loves doing and every positive emotion associated with it. Because he is convinced he is guilty for failing his father, when in actuality, the opposite is true.

The tragedy is that, if Gill had known how much damage he caused and wasn’t in a situation where he needed a flowchart to keep his 30+ sons apart, he probably would have apologized. He doesn’t strike me as malicious, just horribly, horribly incompetent as a parent. But as things played out, Gill is no longer able to fix his mistake. The only person who can now grant Turtle the forgiveness he needs is himself. I hope he will be able to do it.

Turtle truly is an endearing character and a wonderful son undeserved by his parents. If I could adopt him right now I would. In fact, I’m gonna do it. Hold on while I get the papers. Wait, I have to finish? Uh... okay.

Moonwatcher

In a sense, Moonwatcher may be the most interesting character in the entire cast. She certainly had the potential to be my favorite character period. But there are a few points holding her back.

The thing about Moonwatcher is that, more than any other character, she requires meticulous care and attention to detail to be written well. The reason for this is that, when you’re writing for Moon, you also technically write for every character she interacts with. She is written brilliantly in her own book, since the narrative is allowed to focus on her; Moon Rising may thus actually be my favorite book of the second arc. It’s very enrapturing, seeing her navigate the academy’s social dynamics after growing up as, essentially, a feral jungle child, and battling with her own feelings of loneliness and inadequacy.

The thing is though... Wings of Fire has a bit of an odd quirk. Something I’ve noticed with regards to its writing is that, whenever a character is not particularly in focus during a scene, they often get reduced to their most basic traits and will rigidly act according to them regardless of prior context or external factors. I call this phenomenon “Auto-pilot”. If you’ve read my Mail Call #3, this is what I think happened to Tsunami during the second arc—Tsunami’s basic traits are that she is bossy, emotional, and blunt, so she spends the entirety of her page time as a deep-sea-themed wrecking ball who yells at everyone and dismisses everything as “ugh, nightwing powers” and “Peril was bad in book 1 once, I hate her forever”, despite having other, more pressing matters to prioritize.

Whenever Moonwatcher gets set to auto-pilot, it is very depressing. She needs careful, attentive writing to shine, and whenever she doesn’t get it she turns from the most interesting character into a dull brick that recites exposition and occasionally exists to be fawned after by boys. Tragically, the auto-pilot hits her bad after Winter’s book is done, and she never manages to escape it afterwards, save for maybe one or two scenes. There is a particularly egregious example in book 10 that, in my opinion, does permanent, irreversible damage to her character. It’s all a bit soul-crushing if dwelt on.

So yeah, I like Moonwatcher. I really do. I just wish the strong way she was written could have carried through the entire arc.

Winter

CW: Parental abuse

I initially didn’t really know what to make of Winter when I read Moon’s book. He seemed kind of like a buttface who was needlessly hostile and unapproachable. But he really comes into his own in his book, and looking back at his earlier scenes with that new context makes it all make sense. He became one of my stand-out favorites after that.

Winter really has a lot in common with Turtle, so much so that I wish those two actually had some deeper interactions with each other. Like, at one point Turtle saves his life, you’d think they would want to talk about that some time. Where Turtle’s parents are one half malicious, one half incompetent, Winter’s are pure malice AND incompetence. Blessed with three children, they managed to completely ruin one of them, almost ruin the other, and then the third one is kind of out of focus so I don’t know how he is faring, but I doubt there is a lot of love there either.

In a way, you can draw a lot of parallels between Winter and Icicle, and Zuko and Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender—The unfavorite who tries to do right but constantly fails to live up to his father’s/parents' warped standards, and the prodigy who seemingly has her father’s/parents' approval but secretly suffers from the abusive parenting just as much, but in different ways. Hailstorm then tries to take on the role of Iroh, an older figure that acts as a source of positivity and genuine love, and offers a reprieve from the abuse. But where Iroh is an adult drawing from a lifetime of wisdom, Hailstorm is just the slightly older sibling who comes from the same abusive household battling the same demons, so his effectiveness in countering the toxicity is limited.

Where Zuko pursues honor, Winter strives to be strong. Both his parents and his sister perceive him as weak and label him irrelevant. While this hurts him deeply, I don’t think Winter fully surrendered to his inferiority complex until he heard his brother mirror the same sentiment at him. Winter is repressed and struggles with processing his emotions—Thus he heard the words Hailstorm only said to save his life and took them at face value. Even the person he loves the most, the only source of affection and affirmation in his life, thinks he is weak. This is what drives Winter to feverishly desire strength and thus adopt a persona of the strongest thing he knows: a stoic Icewing warrior.

This is why he acts the way he does in book 6: aloof, threatening, unapproachable, invincible. But all of these traits are diametrically opposed to his actual personality, which is warm, compassionate, and just wanting to be loved for who he is. So whenever Moon reads his mind, he comes across as a confused mess of conflicting emotions. Because he is pretending to be something he isn’t.

The interesting thing here is that Winter actually is genuinely strong. He is just unable to recognize his own worth, due to the toxic way royal Icewings are raised, warping his perception of what strength means. When he meets Foeslayer, who is said to be an ancient enemy of his people, his mind cuts through the veneer of tradition and old bullshit justifications and sees her imprisonment for the cruel injustice that it is. He then undoes that injustice and frees her. It takes an incomprehensible amount of personal integrity and willpower to just casually defy the will of your entire country like that. This is equivalent to treason; by aiding her, Winter risks becoming an enemy of his people on par with Foeslayer herself. And he does it anyway, because it is the right thing to do.

This dissonance in his perception of strength with regards to his Icewing upbringing, and the actual strength he embodies and has embodied all this time, is something I would have liked to see explored more in the finale or something. As it stands now, he got pressured into putting his life on the line in the battle for Jade Mountain, has sworn loyalty to a people that mistreated him and tried to ruin him from a young age, and then got saddled with an existential nightmare of an ending that leaves me baffled to this day.

In terms of personal misfortune, he certainly is the Starflight of his group.

Qibli

CW: Parental abuse

Qibli is a very charming and versatile character. It is easy to imagine him in a variety of different situations and the scenes almost write themselves, especially when there’s another person with him whom he can bounce off of (figuratively, though I wouldn’t put it past him to try to literally bounce off of someone too). The 10th book posits him as some kind of parallel to Darkstalker; the latter even overtly states this and tries to recruit him as a manner of apprentice. It’s interesting because I think they are actually pretty different.

Qibli excels in situations where his options are limited. He is great at thinking on his feet and coming up with solutions to problems within a restricted framework. He'd be great in an escape room. This ability of his is shown throughout the arc, but it is especially visible in Moon Rising, where his presence in a scene often makes Moon stronger, or more adept at solving problems, because his mind is breaking down the situation for her in a way she would be unable to see on her own.

The twist then comes in when you take Qibli out of that limited framework, by giving him power. His pronounced intellect is very peculiar; it needs limitation to be brilliant. When he has unhindered access to all-powerful magic (i.e. doesn’t have to clear his ideas with another person), he turns into a colossal idiot who buries cities in sand and almost blows up inhabited mountains.

It only follows that, if you were to give Qibli what he wants and make him an animus, it would absolutely ruin him. The great intellect he cultivated would wither and, unshackled from the limitations that forced him to think critically and be his most excellent self, he would end up destroying himself, and likely others too.

Another interesting facet of Qibli is how he works as a parallel to Winter and Turtle (and Peril to an extent). All of these characters come from broken homes and have suffered under abusive parental figures. Qibli’s case in particular is interesting because it showcases how your circumstances can make a difference in how well you handle that issue. Qibli suffered under a tyrannical mother and a pair of cruel siblings, but in contrast to his peers, someone from the outside noticed his suffering was able to intervene—Thorn saved him from his hell and became his rescue parent, restoring his confidence and sense of self-worth.

Because of this, when his turn comes to confront his demons, while it is still difficult and painful (because trauma always is), he is able to navigate the confrontation with comparatively more grace and control than the others. The contrast really shows how difficult it is to escape a toxic relationship if you are still mired deeply within it, and how you need to put some distance between yourself and it before you can see where you are and what needs to be done with improved clarity. That is the path to healing.

I could probably keep talking about Qibli for 15 more paragraphs, but I’ll spare you.

Kinkajou

Every protagonist (and a good deal of side characters) in Wings of Fire is broken, usually has some kind of gut-wrenching past (often due to terrible parents), and struggles to find their place in the world. Luckily here is a pink-and-yellow Rainwing who is just happy and everything is fantastic and wholesome, right?

CW: Forced starvation

Nah, Kinkajou had it pretty rough too. The story plays it like it’s a humorous quip when she finds out Moonwatcher is her roommate and bemoans that nobody is taking her “trauma” seriously, but... yeah, it actually is legitimate trauma. She was captured, bound, and trapped on a hell island without sunlight for several weeks. While there, she was not fed, and she helplessly watched people whom she knew from early childhood starve and die. Death by starvation is not pretty, she likely had to witness her friends slowly being driven mad by hunger until they withered away, and couldn’t do anything about it. Then she was rescued and returned to a home that didn’t believe her pain was real, that claimed she made it up for attention, and that some people who she thought of as friends didn’t even notice she was gone. The only one who believed her was a stranger whom she had met maybe a few hours ago.

Personally, if that happened to me and I came home to that, I’d likely have pulled a Chameleon and said “Screw the Rainwings, I’m moving to the desert.”

That Kinkajou is still able to be positive and full of energy after that is a testament to her immense mental fortitude. She might actually be one of the most stable and resilient characters in the story. Some things shake her up for a bit, but nothing can crush her.

Still, I imagine there are some times, after a really bad day maybe, where she wakes up in the middle of the night. And there, for just a moment, she is scared to open her eyes... because she might be back on the Nightwing island and has to watch someone else die.

Peril

Peril is a bit of an odd case in arc 2. She gets grouped with the protagonists of that arc and the ending implies she is integrated into the Jade Winglet as their new Skywing. I have no real problem with that, in fact it’s good on her that she’s made a little less isolated. But to me, Peril always felt like an awkward appendix to that group. Her only real friend in there is Turtle; for the rest of them they feel more like vague acquaintances, like she's tolerated for being Turtle's friend.

To be fair though, that friendship with Turtle is really strong; it’s an exciting and deep character dynamic. But if I was forced to tie Peril to a group of protagonists, my first instinct would be to associate her with the first arc protagonists instead.

This poor girl has been through it. Everyone seems to hate her and wants her to leave, sometimes for understandable reasons and sometimes it just seems bizarre. I already went into Tsunami’s disdain for her in an earlier post, but I also vaguely remember a point in Escaping Peril where she meets Qibli and he gives her a withering glare for some reason. That confused me, to be honest. I thought “What’s YOUR problem with her? Have you ever even met??” Like, I guess the Outclaws were in direct conflict with Burn since they lived in the same country, and Peril was an infamous elite combatant under the command of one of Burn’s allies, so maybe Peril killed people he knew? But then he gets over his disdain really quickly and with no comment, so whatever happened can’t have been a big deal after all.

My favorite part in her book is when everyone--after having learned about Turtle’s powers--chews him out for not having helped his country during the war, and Peril cuts through the tripe by saying something along the lines of “So if he uses the power he was born with to serve his Queen it is honorable, but when I do the same for my Queen I’m a murderer and deserve to have things thrown at me?” I love all of these guys, but they really deserved to be called out for their double standard and feel stupid for a bit.

But yeah, I really enjoy her friendship with Turtle in the end. And since he accidentally made himself virtually indestructible, it means Peril can now get all the friendly hugs she craves.

Umber

Umber is cool. He has a potentially interesting relationship with Turtle, which is implied in the latter’s book when it is mentioned that they sleep with their backs touching to comfort each other about their respective siblings not being there.

Unfortunately he gets written out of the story arc very quickly. I wish I knew more about him.

Carnelian

I like Carnelian. I feel like she had a lot of potential that gets wasted by her death, for not much gain. It is used to give Queen Ruby a reason to come to Jade Mountain and kickstart the events of Peril’s book, but the same could have been accomplished by having her learn that the Academy is housing Peril and going there to demand the extradition of a (in her eyes) dangerous and murderous fugitive.

Same as with Umber, really, I wish I knew more about her. I already said this during my Smaugust drawing session, but I like to pretend that she and Bigtail didn’t die, and instead had a mini arc about recovering from their injuries. It also has the side effect of averting some very unfortunate implications that come with Bigtail’s death.

~~~

I think that’s all of them. Good lord I talk too much. Please don’t throw crocodiles at my face for it. Tumblr is my queen, and--much like the Queen's former champion--I was made to do it.

[cartierre]

LE PETIT PRINCE | ms47

SOCIAL MEDIA!AU mick schumacher x fem!reader

side note: i'm so sorry the plot here is kind of non-existent and it's literally just mick being boyfriend of the month but the request has been sitting in my inbox for quite some time and i felt obligated to finally finish it because i felt bad for taking so long.

♡ liked by mickschumacher and 13,492 others

tagged: mickschumacher

yourusername mick keeps buying me french books and says "i can teach you french" but really he just wants to spend more time with me by translating them to me

view all 38 comments

user1 get yourself someone like mick who keeps buying you books ⤷ user2 you make it sound like as if books are actually expensive ⤷ user3 it's the thought that counts babes

mickschumacher you really cracked the code, meine liebe (my love) ⤷ yourusername it's because i've read sherlock

user4 i'm so jealous to my core

♡ liked by mickschumacher and 14,012 others

tagged: mickschumacher

yourusername livres et bisous (books and kisses)

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user5 the last picture is doing things to me ⤷ user6 y/n really won at love ⤷ user7 ik i'm so jealous of her

mickschumacher mon coeur (my heart) ⤷ yourusername mon ange (my angel)

user8 they're so in love i hate it here ⤷ user9 how can someone be as lucky as y/n fr

♡ liked by yourusername, felipedrugovich and 349,207 others

tagged: yourusername

mickschumacher back in switzerland before travelling up to belgium!

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user10 ugh he's so boyfriend ⤷ user11 i feel so painfully single rn

user12 legit every time i see a post of y/n there are books involved ⤷ user13 she's just like me fr ⤷ user14 our little hopeless romantic

yourusername i cannot believe you laughed at me when i cried at the book's ending ⤷ mickschumacher i'm sorry ⤷ yourusername you should be! at least bobby was there to comfort me

user15 y/n crying because she got emotionally invested in her book is so real of her ⤷ user16 I'm her, she is me

♡ liked by mickschumacher and 11,397 others

tagged: mickschumacher

yourusername i think i've packed enough books for the upcoming race week

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mickschumacher you think? ⤷ yourusername there's never enough to read

user17 maybe she could just watch mick race instead of reading her boring books? ⤷ user18 she's at like every fucking race, let her be if she wants a time out and just enjoy some reading ⤷ user19 also what if she has social anxiety and just doesn't want to talk to many people and therefore loves to read instead?

user20 i understand her struggle of never having enough books with me on vacation ⤷ user21 like at least 50% if my luggage is filled with books and then i always buy more

♡ liked by mickschumacher and 14,597 others

tagged: mickschumacher

yourusername mon petit prince (my little prince)

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user22 UGH I WANT THIS SO BAD

user23 y/n learning french with the help of mick and reading le petit prince is literally the most adorable thing i've seen all week ⤷ user24 i just know mick's really patient with teaching her french ⤷ user25 i didn't even know mick speaks french ⤷ user26 he grew up in switzerland, they get taught french there

mickschumacher your french is definitely getting somewhere! ⤷ yourusername i have the best teacher comment liked by mickschumacher

♡ liked by youruserame, dennis_hauger and 398,102 others

tagged: yourusername

mickschumacher ma rose🌹(my rose)

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user27 HIM CALLING HER HIS ROSE BECAUSE HE IS HER PETIT PRINCE i am deceased ⤷ user28 boyfriend of the decade

yourusername je t'aime mon petit prince (i love you my little prince) comment liked by mickschumacher ⤷ mickschumacher je t'aime aussi ma rose (i love you too my rose)

user29 this is it i'm dead, died of envy ⤷ user30 how can i live laugh love under these conditions

user31 biting my fist rn

[danieyells]

@mayoigotokurousagi TIME FOR OUR FAVORITE FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER INSPIRED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. I mean. Maybe there's another you're into. Idk. I like Jiro. He's so. . .blunt. I'm so curious about him, I really really cannot wait until we get the Mortkranken chapter.

also, uh, brief content warning for a mention of assisted suicide? It's under the 'Default' lines, if you feel the need to avoid that.

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Oh, there you are. I was about to go give you a health check. This saves time and effort." ああ、そこにいたんですか。今からあなたの健診に行こうと思ってたんです。手間が省けました

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Are those letters piling up over there? It's interesting that doesn't bother you.  Not that my opinion is relevant." そこに溜まってるのは手紙ですか？よく気になりませんね。 まあ、俺には関係ありませんけど

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"I don't like unproductive discussions. Like this one." 非生産的な議論は嫌いですね。例えば、今のような会話です

"They said they wanted to die, so I prescribed them what they needed. I don't see the point of discussing ethics after the fact." あちらさんが死にたいと言うので、必要な薬を処方したまでです。今更倫理を持ち出されても、困りますよ

Hey. Buddy. Jiro. That's fuckin' dark dude. This is why you don't joke about wanting to kill yourself. Someone will take it seriously. Jiro will just hand you cyanide pills, a bottle of water, and direct you to a hospital bed to die in. Like jesus christ.

"I save lives that can be saved. It's part of my job to decide the order of priority though." 救える命は救いますよ。まあ、そこに優先順位をつけるのがこちらの仕事なので

"part of my job is to decide if your life is worth saving" IS ALSO A VERY DARK THING TO SAY. I love that his default lines are all very dark and callous. It kind of drives home a dichotomy between how he feels about just anybody and how he feels about you. I also like that he's just. . .kind of dark and gloomy and like ASPECTS OF HIM ARE VERY UNPALATABLE. Like I'm sure there are a lot of people who see those lines and think "that's gross why would anyone like him he's the worst" and THAT'S A GOOD KIND OF CHARACTER TO HAVE ESPECIALLY AS A LOVE INTEREST okay moving on

"One of our patients is thrashing around again? That's inconvenient. I'll administer a shot." また患者が暴れてるんですか？ はあ……面倒くさいですね。１本打っておきますよ

jiro stabbing you with a sedative filled needle like 'stop moving. you are annoying.'

"You should—  Hurk... Hm, I let my guard down. I better go back to Mo— Orgh... Hurk...!" あなた、そろそろ…… うっ……まずいな、完全に油断してました。早く帰っえ、うっ……おえっ……

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Good morning. I'm going to take your pulse, so could you sit down?" おはようございます。脈拍測るんで、座ってもらえます？

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I was in a prolonged coma, so I haven't fully recovered yet. It's been a long time since I ate anything." 俺、長いこと昏睡状態だったんで、まだ本調子じゃないんですよ。飯なんて、しばらく食ってませんし

i wonder when he woke up. it must have been a few months ago at most.

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"What do you want? I'm conducting an incubation experiment. Please wait till I'm finished." なんですか？　今、培養実験中なので。話なら後にしてください

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I'm about to receive my medication. It should take approximately one hour. Are you going to wait for me?" ああ、今から投薬の時間なんです。多分１時間くらいかかると思いますけど、待ちますか？

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I attend classes every day since Yuri does, but sometimes they mark me as absent. I'm supposed to reply when they say my name? I didn't know that." 佑理に付き合って毎日授業に出てるんですけど、時々欠席扱いになってて。 返事が必要？　知らなかったな

"yeah you're supposed to let them know you're there." "i am one of the largest people in the room at any given time. that seems unnecessary." also it's cute that he only goes to class because Yuri does, but also he doesn't learn anything from it since he studied it all independently lol

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"The blood? I believe one of the wounds on my stomach tore. I'll have to get Yuri to suture it." ああ、この血ですか？　さっきから腹の傷が開いてるみたいなんです。佑理に縫ってもらわないとな

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"What's the purpose of educational facilities like this? You can learn everything you need through self-study." こういった教育施設って、なんのためにあるんでしょうね？　勉強なら自分ですればいいだけですし

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Who is that noisy blond person? He runs away whenever he sees me. That's rude, isn't it?" 時々見かける、うるさい黄色の人は何者なんです？　 俺の顔を見るといつも逃げるんです。失礼ですよね？

i love the 'isn't it?' like he doesn't know normal social convention but he's pretty sure you're not supposed to run from people like that.

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"You don't have to mind me. Go ahead and eat. Even in childhood I never really had an attachment to food, clothing, or shelter." 俺のことは気にせず、飯食ってください。元々、ガキの頃から衣食住にあまり執着がないので

hey jiro that's uh that's kinda fucking depressing you good?

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Yuri's holed up in the lab, so I'm going out. If he comes looking for me, tell him I went to bed." 佑理が研究室に籠ってるので、今のうちに出かけてきます。もし俺を探してたら、寝たと言ってください

Wouldn't Yuri just check your bed and not find you there though??? Also when will you sleep???? like i know he doesn't realize a week of allnighters isn't normal but jfc

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"Your face looks terrible. Come over here and inhale this. They're mild smelling salts. They'll wake you up." あなた、ひどい顔ですね。ちょっとこっち来て、これ嗅いでください。 軽い気付け薬です。目が覚めますよ

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hello. I'm here to pick up Yuri.  Hm, that's strange. I thought he would be here." こんにちは。佑理を迎えに来ました。 ……あれ？ここにいると思ったんですけど

. . .i wonder why he thought yuri would be with you? how often does he lose track of where yuri is? and why pick him up wouldn't yuri be able to get home himself? unless he figures yuri fell asleep somewhere lmao

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I can just manage to ingest water, so I brew herbal tea as an indulgence. Would you like some too?" 辛うじて水分なら取れるので、嗜好品としてハーブティーを淹れるんですよ。あなたも飲みます？

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"Yuri wouldn't get up, so I was about to give up on getting my morning medication. He got up after the ninth time he used the snooze button though." 佑理がなかなか起きないので、朝は投薬を諦めようかと思いましたよ。９回目のスヌーズで起きましたけど

Yuri and Jiro, like Rui and Haru, need healthy sleep schedules please.

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"What's this? A rice ball? I suppose I might be able to eat some of it." なんですか？　これ。 おにぎり？　まあ、少しくらいなら食べれるかもしれませんが……

can't you only eat fluids. . .are you gonna throw that up later. . . .

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You already had tea at Frostheim? The tea I make tastes better though, so please drink it anyway." フロストハイムで紅茶を飲んできたんですか？　 まあ、俺の方が美味く淹れられますから、飲んでください

lmao the mortkranken boys really do not appear to have a great opinion of frostheimers!!! "you had tea at--pfffff nah their tea sucks ass drink mine instead."

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I enjoy being alone. The noise doesn't really bother me when I'm reading though. Can I go now?" ひとりの時間は好きですよ。まあ、本を読んでいる時は、周囲の喧噪も気になりません。もういいですか？

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"What am I doing? I'm making confections. I'm used to making precise measurements when preparing medications, and it's quite similar to that." 今ですか？　製菓をしてるんです。 計量は薬の調合で慣れてるので、まあ、似たようなものです

jiro makes cupcakes and candies and stuff. . .he can't even enjoy them though. . . . .

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"See you tomorrow. ...What? You're the one who told me I should say that while smiling." また明日。 ……なんですか？こう言って笑えばいいと、あなたが言ってたんじゃないですか

i love lines where it's like 'you told me to do this so now i'm doing it.' especially when the pc is shocked when they actually do it lolol

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"We're doing a complete check up today, so please change into these. ... Do you need me to help you undress?" 今日は精密検査なので、この検査着に着替えてください。 ………… 脱げないなら、脱がしましょうか？

strip faster bitch

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You want to know why I started studying anomalous infectious diseases? I don't know. I just became knowledgeable about them at some point and kept going." なぜ怪異伝染病の研究を始めたか？さあ、気がついたら詳しくなってたので。何となく続けてるだけです

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"My wounds often tear so I've told Yuri deep dermal suturing would be more effective than simple interrupted, but he won't listen to me." よく傷口が開くんで、結節縫合ではなく真皮縫合の方がいいと言ってるのに、佑理が聞かないんですよね

I get the feeling Yuri doesn't listen to most people. . . .

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Yuri's combat skills are poor, so I have to protect him. If he dies, there won't be anyone left who can treat me." 佑理は戦闘が下手なので、俺が守るしかないんです。あの人が死ぬと、俺を治せる人がいなくなるんですよ

"if he dies i die so i'm just kinda protecting him because i have to." kind of an oof lmao

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"It's been a long time since I had a family, so I don't know what you're supposed to do in these situations. Could you teach me?" 俺には長いこと家族がいないので、こういう時、どうすればいいかわからないんです。教えてくれません？

GET FAM-ZONED HAHA aaaaAAAAAA HE SEES YOU AS FAMILY AND HE WANTS TO TREAT YOU THE WAY HE'S SUPPOSED TO TREAT FAMILY. . . . . . ;0; just be yourself jiro we love you as you are, dark and morbid and a little distant but actually quite sweet--

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"There's a high probability that your curse is related to my field of research. It's a problem for me if you die." あなたの呪いは、俺の研究分野に関係している可能性が高い。 あなたを死なせるわけにはいかないんですよ

the bluntness and distance in this one is so perfect for Jiro haha ESPECIALLY AFTER THE "I WANT TO TREAT YOU LIKE FAMILY" ONE BEFORE IT. . .he went from being kind of sweet to being like "if you die it'll be a problem." and not even in a tsundere way just 'it matters to me if you die for academic purposes.

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"I'm going to see some flowers on Yuri's orders. Do you want to come? I'll be harvesting mandrakes." 今から佑理の指示で花を見に行くんです。あなたも一緒に行きますか？ マンドラゴラの採取ですが

"Yuri told me to take a break so I'm gonna go work near some flowers i guess."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Cases of the infectious disease gastroenteritis explode at this time of year. It's boring prescribing the same thing all the time." この時期は感染症の胃腸炎が爆発的に増えるんですよ。次から次へと、同じ処方ばかりで飽きました

attention darkwick students: please catch more interesting illnesses. thank you -jiro

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Ha ha ha ha! I observed Yuri fighting the urge to fall asleep during class today. Would you like to see the photos?" はははは！ 今日は授業中、ずっと眠気と戦っている佑理を観察してたんですよ。この写真、見ますか？

i really wish it were during the hours this one can play because i wanna record it lolol Jiro smiling and laughing because Yuri's trying not to fall asleep is so precious. Tiny little humanization for our monster boy.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"There are rumors that pollen contains ephedrine, a central nervous system stimulant. They're false, though." 桜の花粉に、興奮を誘発するエフェドリンが含まれるという噂があるそうですね。 まあ、それデマですけど

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"Good, today's temperature matches the forecast. I'll be starting a new experiment this afternoon, but the temperature regulation is difficult. It should be fun." 今日の気温は……予報通りですね。 午後から新しい実験の着手をするのに、温度管理が大変で。楽しみです

temperature regulation experiments are fun! i'm glad Jiro enjoys what he does.

(between 11am and 4pm)

ああ、また手足口病の患者でした。本来子供に多い感染症なんですが、免疫がない人は可哀想ですね "It was another case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease. It's an infectious disease usually more common in children. People without immunity are unfortunate."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"A dare? Okay, I'll do it with you. I've always wanted to try screaming in fear." へえ、肝試しですか。 いいですよ、付き合います。恐怖で叫ぶ経験を、一度くらいしてみたいので

"a dare" isn't really a good translation here--肝試し is a "test of courage", an activity usually done on summer evenings where you go someplace scary with your friends to overcome fear together! Or something like that. It's most often done in summer because that's when it's believed there are more like. . .supernatural occurrences? several other characters' summer lines mention more anomalies in Japan in the summer as a result of these beliefs. Either way it's cute that he's like 'oh. that sounds cool. i hope it'll make me experience fear.' I want him to scream in an exaggerated way, just SHRIEKING for the sake of it, not even because he's really that scared just "this feels like the appropriate situation for screaming :)" lmao

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh, sorry. I tried letting the stag beetles I caught for an experiment fight, and it was funnier than I expected." はははは！　ああ、すいません。 採取の時に捕まえたカブトムシ同士を戦わせたら、想像以上に面白くて

i feel like that's something that comes up now and then as like. a thing young japanese boys do. which makes jiro kind of childish in a way which is super charming? it sounds to me like he didn't have much of a childhood. so i'm happy he can explore it now and have fun.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"I don't understand why you would go somewhere without a purpose. Why would you go to a mountain if you didn't need to harvest something?" 行楽ですか？　いえ、単純に何が目的か理解できないんです。採取もせず、山を歩くんですか？

mods, show him the beauty of nature.

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I went to the botanical garden to get some ingredients and I was given these yams. Do you like candied yams?" さっき植物園に原料をもらいに行ったらサツマイモをもらったんです。スイートポテトは好きですか？

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"A lot of people in Mortkranken dislike exercise.The sporting clubs in Darkwick must be made up of people from other houses." うちの寮は、体を動かすことが嫌いな人が多いですね。学内でスポーツをしてるのも、他寮の人ですよね？

i am once again asking why i was put in fuckin frostheim--

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I read books every day, not just in the fall. I like medical journals best. I don't remember what made me start reading them." 秋に限らず、本は毎日読みますよ。特に医学の専門書は好きですね。 いつからなのかは……忘れました

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"Hurk...! Phew... I'm fine... The change in temperature between indoors and outdoors this time of year causes my physical condition to deteriorate more frequently." うっ……はあ……大丈夫です……この季節は室内外の寒暖差のせいで体調を崩しやすいので……

i remember someone i followed also gags when going from a cold place to a warm one lmao. . . .

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I found an anomalous plant that can only grow in extremely low temperatures and successfully created a medication with it. It was just a coincidence though." 極低温のみ自生する怪異植物を見つけたので、試しに原薬にしてみたら上手くいきました。まあ、偶然です

'i made a medical breakthrough but it was just an accident' is the medical equivalent of 'i'm not a model'. also Yuri has a line referencing this one!

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Streptococcal infections are on the rise. They're spread through droplet and contact infection. Have you been taking precautions?" 溶連菌の感染が増えてますね。飛沫感染と接触感染が経路になります。 あなた、ちゃんと予防してます？

jiro says WEAR YOUR FUCKIN' MASK.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"There are no merits to lowering your body temperature when you're not experiencing inflammation. I made some herbal tea that warms the body. Do you want some?" 炎症時以外、体を冷やすメリットはないですからね。体を温めるハーブティーを淹れたので、いかがです？

His birthday: (October 13th)

"Whose birthday? Oh, mine? I forgot. Did Yuri leak my medical records?" 誕生日？　誰のです？ ああ、俺のですか、忘れてました。カルテ、佑理が漏らしたんですか？

"did yuri fuckin dox me--"

Your birthday:

"Oh, it's your birthday today, isn't it? What should I do? I suppose I'll go to your room later." ああ、あなた今日、誕生日じゃないですか。何をすればいいんですか？ まあ、後でそちらの部屋に行きます

jiro no you don't have to do that you are moving so fast WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING FAMILY WAIT--

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year. Why are you looking at me like that? Even I celebrate New Years." 明けましておめでとうございます。 なんですか？　その顔。正月くらい俺だって祝いますけど

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"What's this packet? I can't eat solids. You made it? Oh. I can probably eat some of it then." なんですか？　この包み。俺、固形物は食べれませんけど…… なんだ。あなたの手作りなら少しはいけます

bby if you can't eat it don't make yourself sick with it. . . . Actually since the PC feeding him let him eat food, maybe if it's something the PC makes he can eat it???

White Day: (March 13th)

"Here. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, something handmade for something handmade. Eat it here and tell me what you think." どうぞ。目には目を、歯には歯を、手作りには手作りをと思いまして。ここで食べて評価を教えてください

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Yuri's kicking up a fuss and saying I deceived him? I don't remember doing it. It doesn't matter though." 佑理が、俺に騙されたって騒いでるんですか？　そんなことしましたっけ。 まあ、どっちでもいいですけど

i wonder if he actually pulled a prank and he's just hiding it really well. . .or if Yuri is just paranoid lol Yuri's for the record:

"Hmph, did you honestly think you could fool me? I won't fall for your cheap tricks. I've already been fooled by Jiro seven times today!" ふんッ。貴様も僕を騙すつもりで？その手には乗りません。今日はすでに、次郎くんに７回騙されたのでね

Halloween: (October 31st)

"I don't know much about Halloween. I can't eat candy though, so I have to play a trick on you, right?" ハロウィン？　よく知りませんが、俺、お菓子は食べれないので。 あなたに悪戯すればいいんですよね

Christmas: (December 25th)

"This tree? It's a fir tree. Yuri told me to get one, so I cut it down and carried it back here. My special artifact doesn't cut very well." この木ですか？　佑理に言われて、モミの木を切って持ってきました。俺の特質怪具、切れ味が悪いんです

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Are you dead? Oh, you're alive." ……死んでます？　ああ、なんだ。生きてたんですね

jiro poking you with a stick like 'you dead?'

(13 affinity and above)

"Oh, Yuri's calling me. It'll be annoying if I pick up, so I'll just ignore it until you're ready to go again." ……ああ、佑理から連絡です。出ると面倒なので、あなたが動けるようになるまで、無視しておきます

'yuri is the only reason i'm alive but he's gonna yell at me so i'll just wait to pick up the phone' why??? i guess he wants to go back with you if yuri's telling him to come home lol ALSO DON'T YOU THINK IGNORING YOUR PHONE RINGING WILL WORRY YURI. . . .

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"You've skipped too many appointments. It's been a long time since your last check up...  I suppose I'll have to re-examine you." あなた、受診サボりすぎです。前回からかなり間が空いてるな…… まあ、今から再検査すればいいです

time to fill out your whole chart again! examination from top to bottom!

THERE WE GO. sorry that one took so long!! He's actually a bit of a goof but his no-affinity lines make him come off as extra cold and cruel. He just has to get used to you!! But I think it has a very charming contrast. AFTER THIS IS JIN! Tomorrow night maybe? it's almost midnight and i have to wake up early again and my insomnia kicked my ass last night. . . .

[stomach-bugg09]

hi this is my first time requesting🫶🏼🫶🏼

how about reader getting taken by the sky people and just angst and fluff with neteyam trying to get her back from them

summary: [y/n] is with lo’ak, kiri, spider, and tuk when the avatars first attack. after saving the life of tuk, [y/n] is taken by quaritch along with the human boy, allowing an adventure that she never could have imagined. what happens when she is finally reunited with her love?

a/n: oh my goodness , this has been sitting in my inbox for what seems like a billion years—i am so so sorry for taking this long to get to it. i hope you enjoy !! it’s a little bit of angst in the beginning , but the original atwow plot has been changed because i cannot afford anymore tears over neteyam’s death. also , i literally do not remember how this scene goes , so if it’s inaccurate , whoopsies !! feedback + reblogs are always apprecaited !!

tags: @pinkhotdogsfr @wxnderingthoughts @liyahsocorro @bonnibuckets @itssiaaax @grierpilots @fleurbeass @hjkshshjkhklhkl

warnings: fighting , blood , guns , spider being a good person , being friends with spider , mentions of death

words: 2.4k

he is my home

[y/n] often wonders to herself, how long has it been? she’s seen the vast world of pandora, more of it than she could ever have imagined, and yet she cannot find any happiness within herself for the journey. the only thing she can focus on is whether or not the sully family is okay, specifically recalling the longing face of her love before she was grabbed by one of the avatars.

it’d been so long, she questioned whether or not the face that she remembered, the face that she dreamed about, was truly him. what details was she missing? was that truly his smile?

at first, she had hope. maybe she would be able to fact check sooner rather than later. but, she eventually got to a point where all faith dissipated. all she had was the desire of just being released from the hold of the avatars.

[y/n] could still feel the way her body trembled when she was first brought to the base. where was she? where was neteyam?

[y/n] could still feel the way her head spun and her stomach twisted as they tortured her for information. “ke omum oel teyngta,” she screamed. over and over again.

she owed her life to spider, as much as it pained her to say. just months ago, she would’ve hated the way she now adored the human boy. she used to hate him—the way that he acted like he was one of them. and now, he became the reason that she still breathed.

[y/n] was not an idiot. she knew that quaritch wanted to kill her once she was determined useless. but, spider socorro had leverage as his son, claiming that he would only help his father if and only if they kept [y/n] alive and allow her to accompany them.

despite their agreement, spider did not make it easy when attempting to help the humans. [y/n] followed along blindly, silent at all times. the only time she showed any sign of emotion was when they returned to the forest for the avatars’ ikrans.

spider often acted as a translator between the parties, [y/n] having not grown up knowing the sky-people language. when they demanded directions, spider was the one to relay that [y/n] had no idea, although they got to a point that each avatar was very familiar with the na’vi words, “ke omum oel teyngta” because of how often she said it.

now, [y/n] could not believe where she stood.

the ship beneath her feet rocked back and forth, the motion making her stomach sick. she clutched the rail desperately, stomach lurching as she held her head over the edge just in case.

spider grimaced. “are you okay?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“never been better.” [y/n]’s tone was dark, dry.

it only caused him to swallow in defeat, her new changed personality directly opposing the type of person that she used to be. he recalled the way her eyes lit up at the nature of eywa, the way her laugh echoed across a room, the way she smiled when she was with neteyam. the memories were harsh, and they stung more than anything. but, they also kept spider motivated to save [y/n], to get her back to neteyam wherever he may be.

[y/n] felt particularly wounded thanks to the events of the past week. the gruesome choices that the rda kept making… it was sickening. her stomach churned even more as she recalled the way the sea na’vi screamed as fire lit their homes. the way they looked at her, eyes desperate to help protect their families.

[y/n] cried, the avatars holding both her and spider back. she had never wanted to kill the socorro boy’s father more, but she could not. she no longer had any sense of advantage, especially not in a territory that she was unfamiliar with.

not only did they torture innocent na’vi, but they terrorized the entire sea. tears pricked her eyes once she remembered the image of the dead tulkun and her calf floating in the water, blood swirling with each wave.

and now she stood there, helpless in the middle of the sea. the only thing roaming her head were the questions, are the sullys here? are they alive? are they safe?

“do you think they’re on one of the islands?” she found herself asking spider after a few beats of silence, her voice hushed.

the human boy swallowed, shaking his head. “i guess we technically have no way of knowing, but based on the way that quaritch is so adamant…” he trailed, inhaling slowly. the silence spoke for itself.

“i wish we could warn them.” her voice was rough, clearly not used to speaking based on her depressed silence for the past few months.

spider backed away from the rail, hands going to his face in order to adjust his mask. “if there was a way…” he only shook his head.

“i know.”

it was the yelling of the sky-people that brought the two adolescents back to reality. [y/n]’s eyes wandered the ship, watching as humans run across the deck. their voices carried in the wind, another language ripped from their throats.

“what are they saying?” [y/n] demanded, falling back from the rail. “what is happening?” spider’s heart panged at the concern held in the na’vi’s eyes.

“i—” he stuttered, regaining his balance as the ship lurched—”i don’t know.”

both of them cried out in rage as avatar hands gripped them by the shoulders, immobilizing them from running. “you’re coming with us.”

although [y/n] didn’t understand, she was smart enough to recognize that tone, and that tone meant obey. that was the tone she’d been dealing with for months. obey or die.

[y/n] cried out as the avatar gripped her braid, tears filling her eyes at the sharp pain. her hands immediately attempted to go to his wrist, but another avatar was quick to grab her arms and shackle them behind her back.

“spider!” she yelled, unable to see the boy.

“i am here!” relief flooded her body. “i am right behind you, just—” he grunted—”just keep moving.”

unfortunately, she had to do just that. there was nothing that she could do after months of lacking food, lacking water, and lacking training to fight them off. not when they held guns in their hands.

a grunt left [y/n]’s throat as she was shoved into the room with humans. there was a mass amount of colorful buttons, glass windows allowing her to see out onto the water. she gasped at the impact that shocks her back when she was shoved into some sort of desk.

she immediately crumpled, unable to stay upright any longer. weakly, she lifted her head just in time to watch spider receive the same treatment.

the boy was quick to help her up, allowing her lean against him as she adjusted her body to the new bruise that was forming in the middle of her back. she groaned at the pain, but it was nothing she hadn’t dealt with before.

as she looks around at their surroundings, eyes gauging new exits, entrances, weaknesses, and flaws, her visual scan is cut short by the view outside the window. “spider.”

"what?” he panicked at her low tone.

“look.” his eyes followed her hand, only to be greeted with the sight of a fleet of na’vi. they arrived in all different forms, each riding their own creature through the waters except for a familiar female that reigned the skies.

“no way,” he muttered, jaw dropping just the slightest.

he took a step forward, but at the motion, every human went rigid, guns raised. he raised his eyebrows at that, arms going up in mock defense. “just taking a look, folks.” his voice was quiet and sarcastic, going on his toes to take a peek.

“is that..?” [y/n] trailed, now recognizing three familiar figures that are cuffed to the rail that they’d been standing by just minutes before.

“aw, shit.”

it didn’t take long for the scene to escalate. panic rose and fell in [y/n]’s chest as she watched jake sully nearly sacrifice himself, but the beautiful sight of a tulkun leads hope to flood her chest.

it was the attack of the creature that sent everything skyrocketing. while the na’vi of the sea attacked the ship, [y/n] and spider took it as a chance to attack from the inside out.

despite being in bonds, [y/n] could still recall enough training to beat the worst of the soldiers. afterall, they had all the important fighters trying to hold down the fort outside.

it was thanks to spider and his creative use of a fire extinguisher as a weapon that they were free of their captivity inside the room. as the tulkun and na’vi attack from outside, pride panged in [y/n]’s soul that she and spider were successful in attacking from the inside.

once they defeated the last human manning the controls, [y/n] stood there in silence, trying to catch her breath. her arms hung heavy, still tied together. blood leaked from a small wound on her forehead, but she had more of their opponents’ blood that crusted on her fists.

spider and her immediately repositioned themselves defensively at the sound of someone bursting through the door.

it is then that [y/n]’s heart stopped.

“neteyam?”

she could not breath, she could not think. suddenly, she had not a single clue of what was laying outside of their bubble. all she saw was him. for the first time in months, she felt at home again.

she barely recognized as he ran to her, his arms warm as they embraced her figure. the only thing she could remember was the way that she cried into his shoulder. “oh, neteyam.”

neteyam surveyed her body. she was thinner, paler. blood dripped from her forehead, and her wrists were quite rough from rubbing against her shackles. his eyes widened at the sight of the blood that covered her hands.

"it is not mine,” she relayed, voice soft. [y/n] felt his hands holding hers, softly turning them over, but she was not watching that. her eyes would not leave his beautiful face. not after the time it took to see him again.

he laughed. “oh, trust me. i can tell.”

it was lo’ak’s groan that brought them back to reality. “look, i totally understand how this is a really big moment and all, but if we don’t move now, we’ll all die, and you’ll have to finish your reunion in the afterlife.”

“hello to you too, lo’ak.”

they definitely could have made a better plan. you know, a plan that wouldn’t have risked their lives multiple times. but, that was way out of their style! if there was one constant when it came to the sully boys, it was that they were really good at winging it and hoping for the best.

[y/n] felt much better, much freer, now that her hands weren’t contained by a pair of handcuffs. she also felt much better as her fingers did not once leave neteyam’s. they were intertwined for as long as they ran across the deck, not even letting him go when he took the gun from lo’ak. he assured her that he could use his other hand perfectly fine.

she trailed behind him as they sprinted, the exit in sight. [y/n]’s eyes lit up at the image of the water they were about to dive into, longing for freedom from the rda. she could feel spider had the same emotions, especially considering he still had yet to reunite with kiri.

but, of course, despite their very dramatic exit, there would always be flaws. and this one, of course, was life threatening.

the group of kids were on the final sprint, the only goal in mind being to escape. there was nothing to hide behind, nothing to save themselves. oh, no. they were praying to eywa that they would make it out alive.

it was when she saw him, the familiar avatar of wainfleet, and the way he aimed his gun at them, that her heart jumped to her throat. she let every instinct kick in, her feet leaving the ground as she launched herself into neteyam. the couple stumbled behind some sort of metal container.

a gasp left her throat when a bullet pierced the wall right where neteyam would have been if he kept running. the sully boy’s eyes were wide, a prayer to eywa leaving his lips as he watched spider and lo’ak dive into the water where they’d originally been planning.

while neteyam was wrapped up in the problem, [y/n] did not have time to think. instead, she stopped thinking and let her hands work for themselves.

that was the moment she blacked out. neteyam told her that she’d grabbed a stray gun laying on the ground, told her that she’d merely peeked her eyes out before aiming and shooting, told her that she shot him right in the hole of his armor. she was still unsure whether or not she believed him.

[y/n] could only clearly remember the way she stared at the dead avatar, gun warm in her hands. she was wordless, her breathing heavy as she inhaled and exhaled. the loud sound of the gunshot still rung in her ears, neteyam’s words sounding like muffles of noise.

it was only his hand around her wrist that brought her attention back. she swallowed as he pointed to the water, and she only nodded.

the two dove through together, the shocking chill of the salty sea causing her to nearly choke on the water. she sputtered as she resurfaced.

“[y/n]!” neteyam yelled, her ears finally regulating themselves again. “[y/n]!”

she turned, looking at her love. her love. “neteyam!” she swam quickly, finally feeling his embrace once again, although they quickly pulled themselves onto a hard surface at the newfound difficulty of reuniting in water.

before another word could be exchanged, the two kissed. they kissed with more passion than any other kiss before, so much longing and sadness built up. so much worry. tears pricked [y/n]’s eyes.

when they broke apart, she held the back of his head. “neteyam, how i have missed you.”

“i am so happy that you’re alive.” she laughed at his words, leaning her forehead against his chest. “and i am never leaving you again.”

“oh, i wouldn’t dream of it.”

[something-tofightfor]

The Truth Is Out There: Unrequited

Pairing: Marcus Pike x Female Art Conservator/Restoration Specialist FBI Agent

Word Count: 3,260

Chapter Rating: M (language, mention of sexual situations, Marcus' past is brought up)

Series Warnings: Sex Pollen (with a twist), no use of Y/N, female reader insert, Reader works for the FBI in art restoration/conservation and has a nickname that is used often by Marcus. In this house we cannot stand Teresa and Jane and that is reflected in this story.

Summary:  You're not quite satisfied with your friendship with Marcus Pike - because you'd like it to be more, but you'll take what you can get. A middle of the night confession from him sets things that neither of you could have ever imagined into motion... will your friendship make it through unscathed?

Author’s Note: This is an idea that I had last month that I couldn't get out of my head. This chapter is mostly setup, but it's still important. Thank you to @myloveistoolittle and @lilipads for reading through some of this for me and giving me some feedback - I really appreciate you!

I'm challenging myself with this story in a few ways, so it'll be fun to see how people like it.

One chapter will be posted daily until the completion of the story. Smut chapters will be marked individually and on the masterlist.

Inbox is open, as always. Thank you for reading!

“Thought you were on a date, Scully.” 

The sound of his voice made you jump, but the startled feeling only lasted until you spun in your chair, facing him. “I was.” You gestured to your outfit. “Can’t you tell?” 

Marcus’ smile widened for a few seconds as he nodded, stepping away from the doorframe and into your office with his arms crossed over his chest. “I can. You look great. So why are you sitting in your office at 2 in the morning, and not …” He faltered briefly and then cleared his throat. Interesting. “...not tucked into bed with or without company?” 

There were a variety of ways that you could have answered. But they all stuck in your throat as you looked up at the way Marcus’ features softened under the glow of your desk lamp. “Wait, it’s 2? How the hell…” Looking away, you grabbed for your phone, gasping at the confirmation that it was actually that late. “Shit. I didn’t think I’d been here that long.” Groaning, you rubbed your temples with one hand, eyes closed. “I got here at like 9:30, I had no idea it got so late.” 

“You need to get up.” He said your name, the sound low, and then you felt his hand on your shoulder, squeezing gently. You fought the urge to lean into his touch, instead focusing on the paperwork in front of you. “C’mon, let me buy you breakfast. Whatever you’re doing can wait ‘til Monday.” 

“Nothing’s open.”  You sighed, pushing the papers away. “If it wasn’t so late, I’d say yes, but -”

“I know a place.” He squeezed your shoulder again and then let go, backing away to give you room to stand. “You’ll like it, I promise.” Turning to face him, you finally looked at Marcus, giving him a small - but conspiratorial smile.

“You’ve never steered me wrong before when it comes to food.” Smoothing your shirt down, you scoffed. “So if you say you’ve got somewhere good, I believe you. Am I following you?”

“It’s actually right by your apartment.” Marcus raised a brow, one hand going to his hip. “So I’ll follow you, and then we can walk over?” You had no idea where he was planning on taking you, but with a final look at the pile of papers on your desk, you agreed. Wherever we go has to be better than staying here.

After turning the lights off and locking your door, you followed Marcus down the hall toward the elevators. Neither of you spoke, but comfortable silences between the two of you were common. Even though I don’t know why he was at the office so late. 

You and Marcus said goodbye when you reached your cars, the question of why he’d been in the office so late left unasked.  Only a few moments later, you were pulling out of the garage and turning toward your apartment - hoping that at least one of the guest parking spaces were available at such a late hour. 

To your surprise, there were plenty. Leaning against your door while waited for Marcus to exit his car, you glanced up at the sky, focusing on the few stars that you could see through the clouds. “Ready?”  His voice startled you again - but so did the press of his hand against your lower back, warmth evident through the thin material of the shirt you wore. “This way.” 

As you made your way down 18th, you figured out where he was taking you, cutting the man off in the middle of a sentence to confirm. “Tacos, Pike? Just what I needed.” 

“You know, you’re really gonna need to tell me about this date once we order.” He elbowed you gently, the smile back on his lips. “If some greasy late night breakfast tacos are what you need, then it must have been really bad.” 

Not quite. You stayed quiet, keeping pace with the man. And when you’d joined the short line of people waiting to order, he put his arm around you, keeping you close. But this isn’t helping. 

You’d been to Surfside more than once, but for whatever reason, you always forgot that it was open 24/7  - and that after 11, they switched over to their breakfast menu. You’d only been there one other time with Marcus, though - for your second date. 

He’d put an arm around you that night, too, the man pressing a cautious but very welcome kiss to the side of your head as the two of you talked over the menu. You knew that there wasn’t going to be a repeat of the gesture that night, though. Because we decided it couldn’t. 

The two of you shuffled forward, placing your order at the window. Marcus swiped his card before you could even reach for yours - and you knew better than to question it. “Do you want to grab a table while I wait?” He spoke into your ear, breath warm. “That way when the food comes we’re not out of luck?” 

You agreed, stepping away from the comfort of one of your closest friends and toward an open table, taking a seat and pulling your phone out. There was a text message from Alec - sent hours earlier, and you hesitated before swiping it away without answering it. I don’t know what to say. 

Marcus wouldn’t pry, but you knew that he’d ask again about the date, as he had so many times before. And like I’ve asked about his dates. Biting down on a knuckle, you stared out at the street and the cars that were passing, but you didn’t get to zone out for long. 

“Good thing I’ve got these for you, otherwise you might chew off your own hand.” Marcus grinned as he slid a to-go box and a drink cup toward you. “Grabbed a bunch of extra napkins, too.” He lowered himself into the seat across from you, pushing his sleeves up to expose his forearms. 

For the first time, you noticed that Marcus was dressed like he’d spent the day lounging around his house, which was a stark difference from the way you usually saw him at the office.

It wasn’t that you’d never seen him in a casual outfit before - you had, plenty of times. But that night, the long sleeve t-shirt he had on had a faded logo on the front, and the neckline and sleeve hems were worn and slightly stretched. So why the hell was he in the office? “Now I feel overdressed.” Taking a bite of your taco, you smiled around it. “You asked why I was in the office so late tonight, but I should be asking you the same thing. You obviously came in later, and -”

“I’m taking tomorrow and Monday off.” He took a bite, too, shrugging. “So I wanted to wrap up as much as I could because I didn’t want to be swamped on Tuesday.” Marcus sipped his drink. “Last minute decision, but it was approved already, so…” He trailed off, eyes on you. “What about you? You said you got there at 9:30? How the hell did you work for five hours without realizing it? We’ve got nothing big right now, and your side of things could have definitely waited until Monday to finish.”

“I went out with Alec tonight. We’ve been talking for a while, and our schedules finally lined up.” You took a long drink and then wiped your fingers on a napkin, crossing your arms. “I let him plan it all. It was supposed to be dinner and then drinks somewhere, and he said that he was really excited to meet me. I was looking forward to it, too.” 

“You said that.” Marcus eyed you, a slight frown on his face. “So what happened?” 

“He was nice, and he was exactly what his pictures showed, so…” You shrugged. “I thought it was going to go well.” But I was wrong. “We went to dinner, and the restaurant was … really fancy, Marcus. One of those places where you’re hungry even after a ten course meal, and where if you talk over a whisper it’s too loud. And he never told me to expect that, so I showed up dressed like this, and it wasn’t … I looked so out of place.” 

“He didn’t warn you?” Shaking your head, you finished a taco, using your thumb to wipe sauce from your lower lip. “Was the food good at least?”

“Oh, everyone else’s food looked amazing.” At that, you grinned, though it was to hide your annoyance. “But I didn’t get to order.” He questioned you wordlessly, the man’s mouth full as he chewed. “When we sat, he told me he’d already taken care of the meal, and that he put our order in early.” 

“A preset menu? That can be a lot of fun.”

“No. He just decided what we should have before we even got there.” The man’s eyes widened, both of his hands flattening against the tabletop. Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. “Including drinks. I never even saw a menu.” 

“What the fuck?” You snorted at the shocked expression on his face but only nodded, sipping through your straw. “Who does that? Did you even eat?” He took another bite and your eyes followed the movement of his tongue as it swept over his lower lip, his gaze locked with yours. “I know how you get about things like that.” 

“I did. And the food was alright, but it wasn’t what I wanted.” You gestured to the remnants of your meal. “This is way better, double the amount and it was like a quarter of the cost.” He grinned at that, Marcus’ nose wrinkling. “But the longer we sat there, the more I realized that I didn’t really want to be there. I also didn’t want to go and drink with him and give him any false hope, so …” You drummed your fingertips on the tabletop. “So I faked a call from work and said that they needed me immediately, and as soon as dinner was over, I left.’

“That’s cold, Scully.” He winked at you. “But I get it.”

“It was.” Dropping your napkin into your empty box, you closed it and then leaned back in your seat. “I definitely don’t think we’re on the same page, especially when I asked him what he’d do on a second date…. And he said that he already had one planned.” 

“Some women like that, though.” Marcus shrugged. “Not having to plan things themselves, and having a guy that takes initiative.”

“Marcus, there’s a difference between the way our second date went where you said you had some ideas and then let me pick what I wanted to do, and with him where he said he wouldn’t even give me a hint because he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. I get that he’s probably got good intentions, but it’s just not … what I’m looking for.” 

Swallowing the last of your drink, you eyed Marcus, waiting to see what he’d say and hoping that bringing up your date with him hadn’t been the wrong call. “I guess there is a difference.” He cleared his throat. “I never really thought of myself as a good date planner, but coming from you, it … makes me feel a little less like a failure.” 

“It should. People would be lucky to date you, Pike. I know we only went out a few times, but I definitely felt that way.” You hadn’t talked much about the end of your unestablished and completely undefined relationship after the initial decision. In fact, the two of you often actively avoided it in an attempt to keep your friendship intact. And it has to be that way because I’m not losing him. 

“Thanks for saying that.” He rubbed at his cheek slowly. “If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t had much luck dating here, either.” 

“It doesn’t. I know why you’re hesitant, Marcus, but I really hope that you keep looking. You’ll find someone eventually.” And I’ll hate watching it happen. 

“So will you.” He leaned in, lips parted, and you saw in his expression that there was something that he wasn’t saying. What is it? Spit it out, Pike. “There’s… another reason I’m taking the next couple days off.” Oh? Cocking your head to the side, you rested your cheek on one hand, waiting. “Teresa’s going to be in DC tomorrow night, and she asked to see me.” 

“What?” You spat the word out, sitting straight up. “What, Marcus?” Your heartbeat quickened as the man nodded, closing his eyes. It’s been a year and a half since they last saw each other, what the fuck does she want with him now. “Isn’t she … didn’t she marry the -”

“She is. She did. She’s coming here for a seminar, but it doesn’t start until Tuesday, so she said we should get lunch on Monday, and I agreed.” Of course you did. Despite the fact that he’d just bought you a meal and flirted with you in the way you’d come to expect from Marcus Pike when it was just the two of you, he was sitting across from you and telling you that he’d taken time off of work to meet with his married ex. I can’t believe this.

“Why’d you even stop in my office then, Marcus?” Biting down on your lip, you shook your head in annoyance. “To bring me here, to a place where I have a happy memory with you to talk about her? Do you think I’m going to be excited for you? Do you think I’m going to look you in the eye and say ‘yeah, Marcus, that’s a great idea to spend time alone with the woman that fucked you over so hard by using you to make a coworker jealous that you nearly quit your job?’” You pointed one finger at him, letting the hurt into your voice. “You told me that you and I couldn’t be anything more than friends because you needed to get over her for good first and you didn’t want me to be a ‘learning experience’ while you tried to do that.”

“I meant it. You deserve more than that.” 

“And you don’t?” You stood then, holding your hands out in front of you. “Marcus, I understand the need for closure, I really do. She was important to you, and I get it, but she made it very clear where she stands. She married another man. She broke up with you over a voicemail after she agreed to marry you and move here with you. She mailed your ring back to you. She doesn’t deserve a single second more of your time, and I know that you know it. You’ve come so far since you got to DC, and if she sets you back by showing up and summoning you, I’m going to be pissed.” 

“It isn’t your decision to make.” He straightened his shoulders, a little bit of anger in his eyes as he locked them with yours. “I -”

“It’s not my decision, no. But as your friend? I’m still telling you that it’s a shit decision, and all it’s going to do is hurt you even more than this has for the last two years.” You pointed in the direction of your apartment. “Thank you for the tacos. I’m going home now. Please don’t follow me.” 

His expression changed from anger to shock, and when you stepped past the table and toward the sidewalk, he reached out, his fingers closing around your wrist as he said your name. “Wait.”

“No. I’m going home. I have nothing else to say to you right now, because if I do, I’ll regret it later. It’s only a few blocks, I -” Your skin burned where he touched you, the simple gesture making you angry as well as sad, but you forced yourself to look at him again. “Let me go, Marcus.”

He did - moments later, after squeezing gently. And then nodded, closing his eyes. “Will you at least let me know you made it home? Just a text or a -” Goddamn you for being so genuinely concerned. 

“Yes. I can do that.” You waited a beat, trying to figure out something else to say - but when you couldn’t come up with anything that wasn��t mean, you kept moving toward the sidewalk and away from where he sat, eyes straight ahead as tears gathered in the corners of them. 

Marcus had been the one to suggest that the two of you put a halt on the romantic aspects of your relationship, and because you’d understood how hurt he still was over Teresa, you’d agreed. Not happily, but I did it. 

Friendship between you had been fast once he’d arrived in DC, even before the few dates you’d gone on - casual dinners both in the office and out, seeing movies together, binging TV shows when you both had a completely free day, or needed to unwind after a particularly hard case. 

He’d given you the nickname Scully after you’d made it through three seasons of The X-Files, a show that Marcus had never seen more than an episode or two of prior to watching it with you. 

He compared your no-nonsense approach to the type of work you did and the matter of fact way you approached even the most puzzling of cases to the agent’s behavior in the show. He’d mentioned more than a few times that in a lot of ways he was like Mulder - wanting to believe in the unexplained, especially the causes behind the behavior of others like the criminals you chased down and the cases you worked on a daily basis. 

But if we really were like them, we’d end up together. You waited to cross the street, eyes on the traffic signal. And I don’t think that’s going to happen. Not as long as he was still hung up on Teresa, and even less likely after you’d gone off on him in front of a crowd of people because he’d caught you off guard by saying she was going to be back in his life, even for a short time. I shouldn’t have done that. 

You crossed the street and tried to calm yourself down, taking deep breaths to steady your thoughts. When you rounded the corner to your street, you caught movement out of the corner of one eye, a familiar man’s shape following about a half block behind you. Of course it’s you, Marcus. 

Passing his car, you unlocked your front door and stepped into the lobby, the heavy glass closing behind you with a definitive click. You waited until you were inside of your actual apartment to pull your phone out, sending him a quick text - as promised. 

I’m inside. I know you already know that though.

You peeked out from behind your curtains, catching a glimpse of Marcus as he stared up at your window. The man caught your eye briefly and nodded once before he looked away, disappearing into the shadows. Goodnight, Marcus.

He wouldn’t reply to the message. And he’d give you your space, too, even though you hadn’t explicitly asked for it. Because he’s a good man. 

And Marcus being such a good man was only one of the many reasons you’d fallen so hard for him - and why being unable to do anything about it hurt so much . 

—

tag list reblog coming soon!

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

I don’t care about his haters I want to hear about buggy’s qualities 😭😭😭

i let this one sit in my inbox for a while because your phrasing kept making me laugh. i hope you don’t mind the delayed response.

buggy’s qualities! (note i did not specify good qualities or bad qualities.) let’s get into them.

already established in that post:

greedy (obviously)

selfish (obviously)

two-faced (very obviously)

loyal (limited applications)

self-preserving (a strong instinct)

untrustworthy (almost comically obviously so)

trusting (to the point of naïveté)

an interesting, contradictory lineup. what else is there to buggy?

he has very romantic notions of piracy.

despite saying the only thing that matters to him is treasure & the acquisition thereof, the way he acts says otherwise. he parties at the drop of a hat (improving crew morale). when his crew, thinking he’s dead, has moved on, even going so far as to adopt a new captain and flag (after… how long have they been apart, exactly? weeks? days?), he rescues them, no questions asked. he weeps to hear how badly he was missed after his arrest, how proud his crew was to hear of his involvement at the paramount war, and he returns both sentiments instantly. the captain-crew bond means something to him. (small wonder why.)

he turns up his nose at crocodile’s deeply unromantic “piracy is a business” mindset—buggy doesn’t care about building capital, he wants to find the one piece! who needs a five-year plan when you can just find the biggest, best treasure that ever existed right now?!

oh, hey, related to that:

he’s impulsive.

why make a plan when you can just do things?! who needs to learn anything from these soft-hearted pirates—buggy’s got a treasure map and a devil fruit worth more money than he’s ever seen in his life! he’s gonna head out on his own ASAP! that should be no problem at all… for this pre-teen… on the grand line. mm hm.

he wants to get back on the grand line and find the one piece—or captain john’s treasure—or any other treasure he finds a map for, really. how? well, he’ll follow the map, obviously! …and when that leads him into danger?

he can be inattentive.

more specifically, he gets fixated on his goal—treasure, killing luffy, silently panicking, yelling at shanks, whatever—to the point that he somehow misses everything else going on around him. does not notice shanks walking up behind him—twice. does not notice smoker or his officers surrounding his men until it’s too late. walks into a cave that’s actively being mined because he thinks treasure might be there. walks into a well-appointed navy garrison because he thinks treasure might be there!

he doesn’t notice he’s standing next to whitebeard—you know, the nearly twenty-two foot tall man—until he hears the guy call him by an insulting name.

buggy makes rash decisions and has a short temper—a dangerous combination.

he hears insults where none are intended, and lashes out violently—maybe lethally?—and sometimes when insults are intended, he doesn’t bother to wonder who’s offered the insult until after he’s fired one back. at which point he may wilt like a daisy, if the person he’s insulted turns out to be, say, whitebeard.

(why yes, i do think that moment is hysterical. not least because i suspect whitebeard cannot remember buggy’s name, and calls him red-nose because that’s all he does remember about him.)

but even at his most weak-kneed, fawn response, pathetic little guy, we have to keep in mind:

he’s charismatic and inspirational.

and i’m not just talking about the impel down guys! his original crew were just as impressed by him—though maybe impressed and terrified in equal measure?—at the start of the orange town arc. they were confident in his victory over these three weirdos to the point of cockiness, just laughing when zoro cut buggy down. they’re really shaken when luffy, after a few minutes of devil fruit v devil fruit combat, totally curb-stomps buggy. they prefer to believe he’s just not taking the fight seriously yet.

they’re fully convinced of his strength, cleverness, and power!

…now i’m not saying their impression of him is based in reality.

buggy’s an excellent bullshitter.

but it’s not enough to just tell a good lie, you also have to be convincing about it. (usopp, early on, is more entertaining than convincing—a good liar of a different flavor. storyteller, not self-promoter.) and while there are plenty of characters who can see through buggy’s act (to name a few: alvida, galdino, luffy (sometimes), most of luffy’s crew, most of the named characters who broke out of impel down…), there are plenty who can’t.

buggy’s “who am i?!”/“captain buggy!” chanting with his crew is not super original, maybe, but it sure gets his men pumped up. his “let’s go after the one piece!” rant in ch 1082 doesn’t impress crocodile or mihawk, but when he airs it to cross guild as a whole it sets things in motion such that the two of them can’t do shit to stop it.

…and that’s buggy as i see him, more or less! let me know if you think i’ve forgotten something! i certainly may have, or i may have lumped the trait you’re thinking of in under one of these other headings, but you won’t know unless you ask.

[carissimipaixao]

Hello,

Can I ask for 'mistletoe' or 'surprise' with Shay Cormac for your Christmas Inbox?

─ SURPRISE

published on: february 19, 2023 requested by: anon pairing: shay cormac & reader word count: 1.1k+ note: submitted during the christmas inbox! additional note: i decided to follow along with @sunsetagain's "timeline", in her amazing comic "a ship without a rudder", which i had the pleasure to translate for years ago, where shay arrives in lisbon the day prior to the earthquake. i definitely suggest you check out her content, be it for assassin's creed or even detroit: become human, because, oh my goodness isn't she the most talented person i know 😭🥰

The last few years have been nothing but work, work, work and work. You hardly have time for distractions, nor do you allow yourself the luxury of having a break. You are not the highest-ranking Assassin in the Brotherhood, but your Mentor has always entrusted you to solve the most challenging mysteries. Your family has long been part of the Brotherhood and, along with your skills, you assume you earn that trust.

Lisbon has always been the untangling cobweb for the Templars, and, no matter how hard the Brotherhood pushes forward and undoes their business, someone comes from the shadows and destroys everything you have done. Yet, when His Magnanimous Majesty passed, your Mentor and other Master Assassins from the various corners of the city, as well as the countryside, believed that having his son on the throne might provide an opportunity to fight back.

But, just as before, something twisted all of your plans. In a matter of days, a new threat loomed on the horizon.

You are sitting on top of the rooftops, looking down at the city — as both commoners and nobles walk on the streets — when you hear the tiles move behind you. You turn swiftly, hand in your precious dagger. It is no one other than one of your friends, and you relax immediately, heaving a long sigh. ‘Haven’t I told you not to creep up behind me like that?’ 

‘Guilty as charged,’ the Assassin snickers, raising his hands. ‘But the Mentor has called for you. He said there is someone here who you might want to see.’ He gestures for you to follow him, and you do, almost reluctantly. You are not sure whoever it is that you would like to meet, considering everyone you have ever cared for lives within the city. But, perhaps you have nothing else in mind except getting rid of the Minister’s iron fist and liberating Lisbon.

It does shock you, however, when you enter the den and faintly recognize the face of the stranger in the middle of the hall, who has turned to stare at you. There is a glimpse of caution and, dare you say, betrayal in those eyes, but you cannot tell why. Your friend looks between the two of you curiously and disappears back onto the rooftops. The Mentor puts a hand on the stranger’s shoulder, smiling.

‘The Colonial Brotherhood has sent one of their Assassins to accomplish a mission here,’ he tells you, speaking in English for the sake of the stranger. ‘But, I’m still surprised to know that you are one of us now!’ He glances at the man, looking at him up and down.

‘Mentor,’ you begin, ‘who is he?’

His eyes glint in mischief. ‘I believe you knew this young man a long time ago. Anyway, this is Shay.’

You freeze, remembering younger days when you used to chase around a sailor’s son in the docks and downtown. You didn’t speak his language at the time and he couldn’t speak yours, either. Instead, if there is something that unites all children and remains a global idiom, it is mischief. You were very lonely back then, with your parents working nonstop for the Brotherhood. Besides, it’s not like you were part of a higher society and had a maid looking after you at home.

‘Shay Cormac,’ the man finishes for your Mentor, his face now morphing into a wide smile. ‘Nice to meet you, lass.’

‘I don’t—... you’re an Assassin,’ you shake your head. Trying to ignore the unsubtle way your Mentor is walking away, you cross your arms, narrowing your eyes. ‘I don’t remember you being one.’ You raise a hand, almost asking for permission for a second chance, to reform your words. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about this right now. You want to see the city first, for your mission, right?’

Shay chuckles. ‘I see not much has changed.’ It sounds like it was just a note for himself. ‘No need, lass, I know where I need to go. It’s not too far from here, anyway.’ He walks up to you and, in that short distance, you take the chance to look over his face. Indeed, not much has changed; you can still recognize that devious gaze and that mischievous grin. He easily towers over you, which is amusing, considering it used to be the other way around when you two were mere children. ‘You sound like my friends back home, too. All serious.’

‘Things are difficult here,’ you murmur.

‘So I hear.’ He looks at you up and down, and you try not to do so much as a twitch. You have never liked being the center of attention. ‘I’ve been tasked by my own Mentor to get an artifact from the Carmo Convent, but I will follow through with the mission tomorrow. I’ve just arrived from a very long trip.’

You nod. The workaholic — and extremely stressed out — side of you wants to complain; a good Assassin continues through with their work, no matter what, but you don’t know for just how long he was at sea. Besides, something tells you that he is somewhat new in the Assassin Brotherhood. ‘I understand,’ you say. ‘Let me show you to the chambers. You can rest here for the night, unless you have anywhere else to stay.’

‘Much obliged,’ the Irishman grins. ‘Perhaps you will accompany me, and tell me what you have been up to since the last time we met.’

As you begin to lead the way to the chambers within the den, you snort. You are very quick to dodge intimacy or anything that may stray you from your path. You have placed your work in front of everything else, really. It has been an inside joke amongst your friends that, indeed, you would become like those grumpy old ladies that want nothing from gentlemen callers or from anyone that might cross their sight, preferring solitude, peace and quiet. You can now tell that being flirtatious is also a new trait to Shay, but it still aligns with the playful nature that you know to be uniquely his.

‘Perhaps tomorrow, after your mission?’ You suggest, however. Even though you want nothing from Shay — at least, you know you don’t seek what he had implied —, you cannot help the curiosity. It has been years, and you would not mind reconnecting with someone you used to consider your friend. Besides, if he is a fellow Assassin, you might be able to gain insight into the American colonies from him. You shake off the slight shame that has creeped into your bones.

As you hold the door open for him, you turn. Shay appears to be thinking about your offer. After a beat of silence, he sighs. ‘Well, if you say so. Even if I do reckon you should have a break, I understand if you have things to get back to.’ He gives you a wink as he passes, holding the door instead — and you ignore how your hands briefly brushed against one another, the spark that rushes up your arm. ‘Let us meet tomorrow, then, after my mission.’

‘Sounds like a promise,’ you smile.

[apprenticestanheight]

Kind of similar to that last platonic request but could you do something where apprentice reader comes out as transmasc to the other apprentices? Thank you!

Coming out to the various apprentices hcs

Hi!! This has been sitting in my inbox for more than a month, which I am SO SORRY ABOUT! Stuff has been all over the place and trying to find work in the past week or so has been a freaking NIGHTMARE so a lot is on my plate in the mental area right now but realistically that's not much of an excuse so again, I am so sorry it's taken me this long!

I'm not the greatest at writing coming out scenes (I can't think of one of my characters who, even if they've been in a straight presenting relationship, has not been queer in some way since I started writing, which makes that sentence ironic) but I did my best with the several I've written/explained here! As is evident by the title, I wrote this out as headcanons, which I hope is okay! Also didn't include logan (watched like, an hour of jigsaw?? maybe?? hated it. hated him. respectfully) which I hope is all right.

Fic type- this is very fluffy!

warnings- none other than the fact that this wasn’t edited before posting (oops)

ALLLLLLL RIGHT!!

You probably just like--I feel like coming out to them individually is the way to go because if you do it with all of them present it'll kind of be like--it'll--something will feel a little bit off because there's some animosity between Amanda and Mark and their reactions will have some variation. Plus, it's just easier anyway because, while you are with them individually a lot of the time, the four of you are together very, very rarely, and typically only when John asks you all to be somewhere at the same time.

So you come out to Amanda first and she takes it REALLY, REALLY WELL!!

The first thing that she does is offer you one of the guys sweaters she keeps in the back of her closet--they're baggy, warm and typically what she'll wear in winter because jersey gets cold during the season.

She also asks you what your preferred name and pronouns are and then takes to them like she's snapped her fingers and your birth name and previous pronouns have left her memory. She is really, really sweet about it and so understanding--as far as the apprentices go, I feel like she reacts the best and handles it the best because she IS queer and has queer friends so she gets it to an extent.

Lawrence and Amandas reactions are similar! He mentions he has a couple of shirts and sweaters and stuff that he doesn't really wear anymore and offers them to you while also asking if you want coffee or tea because you decided to come out while he was just at home (you're working in--idk,, pharmaceuticals?? and so you work close by anyway and Lawrence also wants your opinion on trap stuff so hey! Your meeting has two purposes!)

and then he asks you what your preferred name and pronouns are and takes to them pretty quickly! Once you've left with coffee in a to-go mug and several shirts, sweatpants, hoodies and cardigans and just--clothes that Lawrence doesn't wear anymore that either already fit or can be altered so that they do, Lawrence practices so that he makes sure not to fuck it up because he knows that you're having told him about how you identify is really important and a really special kind of thing and the idea of messing up by calling you the name you used to go by or using the pronouns that make you dysphoric makes him feel terrible right out the gate.

Hoffman has the attitude of someone who's like,, super chill about that kind of thing! again, queer himself (you cannot tell me that he and strahm were not fucking on the DL. I refuse to believe otherwise) and very understanding about how difficult coming out can be.

He asks you what your preferred name and pronouns are and takes to them fairly quickly! He messes up like, once?? twice maybe before he's like "I need to practice using the name and pronouns because fucking it up is not needed--dysphoria seems like it sucks and I don't want him to be dysphoric because of me." so then he practices it mentally while he's working and kind of like,, under his breath while he sets traps up and has it down within that week.

Also gets you a checkerboard cake that has three layers and has the trans flag colors because he feels bad about the times he messed your pronouns up. You absolutely devoured that cake after a really tough day and it was delicious (he got strahm to bake it because as much as I love him, I do not think he could bake a cake without burning it)

All in all, their reactions are different but they do love you and they make sure that you know that.

[mollish-art]

I do really love how the unperson au kinda deals with the dehumanization and entitlement to the flesh of artists and all that but also is just like. What if. Creatures

I cannot believe this has been sitting in my inbox for so long omg - sorry!

but yeEEEEEEsssss >:) creatures creatures creatures creatures creatures

[daydadahlias]

Can I pitch you:

Firefighter Ashton and EMT Calum

Real Estate Ashton and looking-for-sex-dungeon Calum

Tattoo Apprentice Calum and keeps-getting-shitty-tattoos-to-see-him Ashton

i literally cannot believe i never answered this ask. idk how long this has been sitting in my inbox for but anon you are ENLIGHTENED!!! the second one specifically is calling to me in ways i can't truly describe. like that would be literally so fun. imagining ashton walking Calum through a dungeon and being like "AND THEN! here's the Saint Andrew's Cross <3 absolutely no dungeon would be complete without it <3" and calum would be like yeahhh but ?? where's the spanking bench??? where is the sex swing??? and ashton would be like what the fuck you didn't list sex swing as one of your requirements now i have to completely change the list of houses i was taking you to!

also i love the last one but I think I'd flip-flop it and make Ashton the tattoo artist so we could have him give Calum that chest tattoo and find out he has a thing for nipples <3

[intersex-support]

sometimes I badly want to send asks to these kinds of blogs or reach out to ppl who know more abt specific intersex variations than me and try to figure out if theres any name for what I specifically experience. I know I'm intersex, but I'm also so terrified of bein told I'm "normal" and then no longer have a word to describe my experiences and existence I *know* is right, even my gender I describe best as intersex as my experience w bein intersex heavily impacts my gender. my brother is also #confirmed intersex with medical diagnosis and I know some variations can run in families but I also know I probably don't have what he has or at least not to the degree he does as his variation causes wayyy more trouble than what I believe to be the slightly similar symptoms of whatever intersex flavour I am. my main fear I guess lies in that all my intersex traits ppl have listed as seperate things that can be a sign of intersexuality, but I have never met another person who checked all the boxes in the same way- always seemed to be some thing that debunked a variation... but I know there's a lot I don't know about. but fear. and it'd also be a slap in the face too if a more knowledgeable person didn't agree I was intersex as I literally have gender dysphoria from my intersex traits. also I'm terrified to try to bring this up to a doctor cause invasive tests I know would happen, and my variation isn't dangerous, and my issues are still be talked about in other ways. but also. do I even need to know a specific variation?? I don't know. this ask has no point. I am just frettin in your inbox hi. there is some relief though and that when I speak more of intersex experiences, no one seems to question and even agree it be like that sometimes? I am just terrified to talk abt specifcs to any1 in fear of Not Bein Valid. ack.

Hey anon I'm sorry for how long this has been sitting in our inbox, I think you're totally fair in feeling this way. It's honestly really hard sitting between the "I know my experience is this" and "my experience could also be seen differently by others" spaces.

I've seen a lot of us experience this kind of feeling to some degree, even with a diagnosis, because we're made to be so hyper-critical of the labels we use, and intersex is often misused, fetishized, or not taken seriously. I also know that there are people out there with bodies that do not fit within the sex binary, that cannot find a reason for why, but still share their stories in intersex spaces.

There are also so many variations that are under-studied, there's variations that are just being found, just being understood, or considered so rare that they just get lumped into other groups because there just is not the investment in study about these things- not to mention the bias in those who might be researching.

It sounds like you experience a lot of distress over this, on top of what you consider to be your intersex experience. I know people "more knowledgeable" telling you different things can be extremely disheartening, but those people should be knowledgeable enough to understand you are a person who has struggled and needs support and acceptance, whether or not you'll ever be diagnosed, some of us never are.

I hope you're able to come to an understanding of yourself that makes you feel alright, that you don't compare yourself to others in order to feel valid, that you find a way to talk about your experiences so you don't feel afraid and isolated.

[writingwife-83]

Hi, do you want to play Desert Island Fics?

If not, then no worries!

But if yes, then imagine you've been marooned on a desert island. You have to choose which 8 fics you will save from the waves. They can be your own or written by other authors, they just have to be important or meaningful to you. Please explain why you selected them, include your favourite quotes if you like.

Out of the 8, choose your absolute favourite.

And on this desert island you also get to choose a luxury item to have with you, just as long as it has no practical use; and a book to read.

Finally, as you are castaway to your desert island, you get to select who will be the next Castaway.

Good luck!

I’ve had this sitting in my inbox for way too long lol. I knew it would take some time to answer, so I kept being slow about getting to it. But here goes, I’m gonna do my best! And I figured I’d break the first part up and do half fics by others and half fics by me. Also, heads up this is a multi ship list…

The Full House by @strawberrypatty (Emcee) This post s2 canonverse fic has a special place in my heart since it was not only my intro into sherlolly fan works, but also the first fanfic I ever read. It inspired me to try writing fanfic myself. ❤️

Blind Ambition by @opalskylovedivine This sherlolly canonverse fic is just so lovely in general, but it’s also special to me because I was privileged to be the beta reader for it. Good memories!

Repairer of the Fences by @englishable is just one of the best reylo au fics I’ve read. It’s so beautifully and emotionally written. It’s deeply moving but in the softest of ways.

The Green Rushes by darthsydious is absolutely one of the sweetest sherlolly aus. Choice world building and feels all around!

I Told You So. Listen, writing and sharing this fic was an experience like no other has been, and probably ever will be lol. So you best believe I’d want to save that one.

Zephyr. The fact that this is a multi chapter, it has art by @thisisartbylexie , and it became a pod fic? Yep, definitely worthy of being saved.

Half Agony, Half Hope by @thisisartbylexie and myself must be saved because it was such a fun project and the first time we collaborated on actually writing a fic together. I’m proud of how we made a modern Persuasion inspired sherlolly au work with Sherlock in the role of Anne. For similar reasons, my next and last one is…

Alliance also written by both me and @thisisartbylexie . This arranged marriage canon divergent fic was absolutely epic and just everything I could ever want the story of Reylo to be. If I do say so myself. 😂

I know I said I’d do my best but I refuse to choose a favorite. You cannot make me. 😝

As for the other luxury item question, I’m not sure if this is meant to be a book or not. The wording tripped me up a bit lol. If a book, I’ll say the Bible, but if it’s not supposed to be a book I’ll go with shampoo. I’m a grease ball and can’t stand not being able to wash my hair!

Thanks for sending the ask, and for the next castaway (if you want but no pressure!) I’ll tag @musicprincess1990 😉

[madamhatter]

lays down here n. low key rots. because as someone who has struggled to gain consciousness and self awareness of ones own mind. the way you describe sophies childhood and feelings about herself brings me to tears. relief. peace? I'd never thought that the feeling of being understood would be so immense. haha. I hate being vulnerable you can delete this if you like. thank you for listening.

(REGARDING THIS POST)

Anon, I am so sorry for how long it took to respond. You said it was okay to delete the ask, but I wanted to reach out to you. 

Thank you for sharing this with me. I cannot express how much this means to be as I have been sitting on this ask like a hen on an egg. 

You are doing so much in wanting to get to know who you are and understanding a large part that may only make sense sometimes. There are many reasons and circumstances that prevent us from actually getting to know what we are really like - and even getting comfortable in one's head. There are points we feel like we are not the ones in control of our mind, and our mind goes against us. There are moments when we are not the leading voice, but we are the ones drowned out by invasive swarms of a choir. 

One of the most challenging things is coming to this realization and then pursuing the want to feel whole. People can describe it in many ways; I use "unlearning" for Sophie, and even before, I used it for myself. Facing one's mind is facing a horror like no other; there are so many things that can sprout of it - being your own worst enemy, the unspeakable you are afraid is real turns out to be real, and pulling apart aspects you thought you were over with.

Feeling recognized, understood, and a connection to something we rarely ever express is an overwhelming storm. It is hard to feel it and harder when you believe you are the only one alone in it. In a way, yes, we are alone because it is our minds we are dealing with, and you can see other people and wonder how they can get by and, hell, maybe even ask why I can't work like them. But then you see something that rattles you in some way. 

So it's this downpour of every little thing we never thought about is now thought about; it washes over and can flood, but at least it comes out. 

Admittedly, and how glaring it is as I reread everything, I don't know how to express "I understand you" without entirely writing this whole thing up. It hits differently when you can piece together things with language that almost resembles it. 

As a writer, I am happy that someone can read her and connect with her. As a person, I am proud that you can see something you've gone through and better know yourself. 

If you ever need it, I can always lend an ear. My inbox/DMs are always open for you and anyone who needs someone to read their feelings and thoughts. The most comforting thing we can get is being with someone, or somewhere we feel safe and can be vulnerable without any fear. 

Again, thank you for sending this to me. I hope you have a lovely remainder of the weekend and that you can sink your head into a pillow and sleep well tonight.

[corrodedcoughin]

hello! i was taking a gander at your posts and noticed lots of people giving you steddie / eddie / steve songs and I would like to offer up:

Old Man by Neil Young. I heard this on the radio last week and my brain has been revolving around it since. This makes me think of Steve

Desperado by The Eagles. i cannot for the life of me remember the fic i read where this was Eddie's favorite song but now I heavily associate it with him

If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell and the 400 unit. Steddie

Annnnndddd last but not least, Curse of the Blackened Eye by Orville Peck. Steddie. Just makes me feel so damn much

how dare you come into my inbox and make me think of old man in relation to steve because now i have to go sit in the dark and WEEP! honestly it fits him so well I can't believe i never made the connection before. wowowooww!!! DESPERADO!!! I'VE BEEN THINKING THIS FOR SO LONG!!!! If you fnd the fic PLEASE let me know because it is PERFECT for eddie!!! i've not heard if we were vampires but the title alone has me adding it to the list. im excted to listen and MR ORVILLE!!!!! MY LOVE!!! god orville related steddie is peak brain soup. that man makes my heart ache and in relation to steddie. you've actually changed my life. god this COMBINATION!!! any of his songs....this song in particular? i have no words oh christ alive

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

Hi Anon. You also get an "essay style" response from yours truly. (The other one is sitting in the inbox somewhere, along with other things).

if you don't write for readers or socialization through interests.

I feel like it has been made abundantly clear that is actually why Nisha/Sunny writes and shares fics. Those two things are in fact intertwined too. The point is to talk and have conversations. Except people don't comment so that's very limited.

do not expect notoriety and admiration for this anymore

What? Now correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what being asked for. At all. In fact, I believe Nisha doesn't like notoriety at all. Fics getting popular are anxiety inducing for her. She's asking for camaraderie, not notoriety.

if you can’t complete something you’ve committed to already to a multitude of people, don’t do it? don’t say you will with schedules and promises just to fall short?

I don't know if you know this but a lot of things happen. Especially when you have chronic illnesses/disorders. Even without that lots of things happen and writers don't update or write for various reasons.

you cannot demand every reader and follower to comment on your eloquent authoring, reblogging every thing you write when it’s your interest, and interacting with you.

Yeah. But the ratio from likes to reblogs, even blank reblogs is astounding, and it's not just on this blog. And reminder, every time Nisha brings this up it's about all writers because she's noticed it happen to others too. So yeah, not everyone has to, but more people should.

not when you don’t respect the people who have given you a platform and the opportunity to spout ignorance.

I also feel like it's been made abundantly clear that Nisha does respect and love the people who interact with her. Do I agree with every single thing she says ever? No. And that's great. I don't need to be in an echo chamber. And for the record I don't really think any of it is ignorance.

don’t expect more than what you give.

I don't even think you realize what is being given. I'm a writer. I'm a slow writer. Because it's so hard. Nisha writes long, beautiful fics. And even the ones that aren't that long have so much in them. There's so much work into saying what's needs to be said through the chosen way.

maybe ask for critique and commentary AFTER you COMPLETE something and not with a bunch of unfinished work and not fall short on promises. AFTER you have respectful conversations. we’re done lol.

Commentary can happen during something. It's called a reaction. And some things are completed. Is the entire fic finished? No. But that chapter is. Critique and commentate on that chapter. That's actually how you get more sometimes! Also I don't get why you need to be respectful after something is done? That should usually be the default. And not being respectful about this, in these settings, won't really get you a conversation. That'll just be an argument, which isn't really the thing that should be happening.

-Rotten Anon

waking up to what that anon said literally turned my brain into (mentally ill) mush for the day, so you have responded to this really well.

like - one of the biggest reasons I write primarily oneshots instead of having active multichapter series is because people love to act as if I am unreliable and flaking out on a promise when I don't finish a series. people act like I'm villainous and doing it on purpose to hold their favourite story hostage? when there is so much more going on in my life that means I don't have the time or energy to write that story

and that person was talking about me not responding to asks or comments - over the past few days, I haven't been responding to asks or comments about Careful, because I am so emotionally exhausted when it comes to that fic, and I don't want to come off as rude when responding to people who are very enthusiastic about the fic when I am not feeling enthusiastic about it right now. I am upset about it - I am worn out and frustrated. so I would rather leave those comments unanswered instead of making rude, short comments just to say something to people

I responded to that anon in a sarcastic way, but they managed to summarize all of my insecurities about my writing in one post, and tbh, now that I have posted the last chapter of Careful, I may take a hiatus. because I can't stand it anymore

(I am probably never gonna write for CM ever again because the fandom reception is like this.)

anyway - thank you Rotten Anon. you are eloquent and smart as always

[dailyrandomwriter]

Day 563

Something in my brain clicked in the past two weeks.

A good portion of it was because of the ADHD medication, but not in the way most people would assume.

Here is the thing about taking ADHD medication, and having it work for you, after years of thinking you’re just kind of hopeless.

First, is that you realize that the long periods of time it had taken you to do fucking anything is not normal. Sitting like a bump on a log for 30 minutes, one hour… two hours… an ungodly amount of hours isn’t something most people do.

Second, this explains why my co-workers can have a job and have kids. I still think having both for myself is an overwhelming idea, but I now have a better idea of how they can manage it, because there is more time in the day than I realize.

Third, I am not as hopeless as I thought I was, and I’m slowly learning I am also not as lazy as I was led to believe.

Finally, having the medication work so starkly has given me permission to say, yes I have ADHD and I should email/text myself a reminder before I forget (you dumbass). Yes, I will call myself a dumbass, because for the past 20+ years I have unconsciously lived my life like I wouldn’t forget something the moment it left my brain matter. 

To be fair, for the most part, my memory has always been relatively good even outside of my fixations. There is a reason why I can do my job, because I have a good recall memory, however, I have a bad short term memory. If I get interrupted in the middle of doing something or I get told to do something but cannot do it right away there is less than 50% chance I will remember to do the thing.

Which was why, coming back to work, after a second week of being on the medication I decided, fuck this, I am emailing myself so I won’t forget. At least a dozen of those emails in my work inbox are probably from me. Either because I got interrupted and wanted to remember where I was at, or because I said I would do a thing but not doing it right that second.

It took a load off my brain I didn’t know existed, and it’s a practice I really need to learn to do more in my personal life.

(I also should maybe warn my co-workers to stop messaging me with tasks and email me instead as a default.)