#i just had to recreate it because i accidentally deleted the old one | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hot-take-tournament · 1 year

Note

ngl kind of breaks my heart to see you used one of those ai bot things after the entire vocaloid debate. i really don't like that you did that and i'm a little disappointed. can you please not do that again?

I know - I do need to address this before anything else, because I fucked up

Please read the whole thing

If any of you don't know the context of this ask;

Basically, a while back I used the program AI Dungeon to generate a hot take for fun;

That's the program they use for those chaotic AI videos you find on youtube, like the ai ace attorney clown case and the sonic destruction scripts, which has some absolutely wild moments like these

I just put in a couple one-sentence questions to see what it would give me, not really expecting anything. But the take it did finally give me was not only completely depraved, but also felt like such a weirdly personal attack on me specifically that it left me genuinely speechless.

So, even though I didn't originally intend to do this, I decided to secretly make a poll for it claiming it was a submission, because I thought it might be fun to see if you guys could guess which one of the polls was the fake one, Blade Runner style.

I generated the take on the same day that submissions originally closed, but I only came clean about it last night because I started to feel super guilty about it after reading the vocaloid discourse - but the way I did it was vague, shitty and insincere.

I know it was 4 in the morning and I said I was going to get some sleep when I made the post last night, but after I saw the asks I immediately got about that post - like this one - I instead deleted it after like 2 minutes and spent the next 4-5 hours scouring the internet for as much information about this as I could find so I could get the full picture. This isn't the first time I fucked up on this blog because I didn't do my research, so I think I massively overcompensated - I really didn't want a repeat of that time the master post accidentally triggered multiple people's OCD; I still feel awful about that.

And as a result, I ended up passing out on my bathroom floor, which is why you haven't heard from me in a while.

I did genuinely read all the vocaloid discourse (asks, replies, notes, all of it) - but since I pulled this stunt ages ago, and the secret poll is already up, it was already too late. And it was because of that vocaloid discourse that I felt like it would just make me a hypocrite if I just swept it under the rug and kept quiet while everyone else was talking about the exact same subject, so I decided to just tell you guys as soon as possible because I'd feel shitty if I didn't - but I still phrased that post in a more light-hearted way because that was what I originally intended this whole thing to be, which was definitely a mistake, and I can't apologise enough for that.

And I know I didn't clarify this in that original post, but like I said, the program I used was AI Dungeon, which was something I remembered having fun with back in 2019/2020, spending hours generating unhinged Ace Attorney cases; and I remembered I still had an account from back then when it was still free to play, even though I hadn't touched it in 4 years - and I realised I would still be able to bypass the paywall using it.

I'd also just watched those snapcube Sonic Destruction videos that I linked above and it reminded me of that. And I dug up those old AI Dungeon Ace Attorney cases that I had generated and then recreated in objection i.o. back when I was 17/18, and had been sitting on my old computer's hard drive for ever since - and they still made me smile a little. So that's how I got the impulse to do this.

And that's also why, even though I knew about the writer's strike and do fully support it, it just didn't occur to me that the AI that gave us that same insane Sonic Destruction script that I'd just watched would be one of the programs the writers were striking over - I just assumed that it was only programs like ChatGPT, that can produce coherent scripts based on the accumulated information users feed into it; because those are programs that could definitely potentially be used to replace human writers. That's something AI Dungeon can't do, because it doesn't retain user input after you shut it down.

So I just saw AI Dungeon as that goofy ass confused AI that I loved as a kid, the one that provides insanely weird responses out of the blue as it desperately tries to cobble together a narrative, and it was used in videos that I still really like. And I thought it would be fine.

That was how I justified it at the time - but in hindsight, given how much I hate other GPT programs like ChatGPT, as well as AI art and all other generated content overall, it just makes me even more of a stupid hypocrite for making an exception for this one simply because I was blinded by nostalgia, and not bothering to look it up back then like I should've done. Because at the end of the day, a GPT program is a GPT program.

SO - Here's what I found online while reading up on it last night:

Because of the outdated GPT model AI Dungeon runs on, it isn't possible from a technical standpoint for it to learn like ChatGPT does. Even though it still uses a dataset, as far as I can tell it genuinely can't add to that dataset from user input except for when it explicitly asks for feedback (rarely, it will generate two responses instead of one, and ask you to pick the best one so it can learn - but you can turn that feature off.) And while it does try to learn while you're using it, it can't carry that information over between sessions. So even if you reload the same page again, it won't retain what it learned last time.

(Here's some information I found while combing ancient reddit threads that explains this better than I can)

But even if all of that is true, it doesn't matter.

Latitude, the developers of AI Dungeon, are super fucking scummy, and you shouldn't support them.

If you want to look up all of the many, many controversies surrounding AI Dungeon, you can - but I won't link them here, because serious content warnings apply.

Do not use this program.

I really hope the anon who sent this ask - and everyone else who called me out on this - stuck around, because I am so, so grateful that you all sent these, otherwise I probably would never have known.

I deleted the post almost instantly (because like I said, it was too light-hearted), and I'm really glad I did. And I swear I won't pull this shit again.

I know a lot of you hate the fact that I did this - that original post genuinely got me blocked by more of you guys than every single one of the polls combined - which is totally fair, and I wouldn't blame any of you for doing the same now.

I really just want to move on from this - but I can't just pretend that it didn't happen.

Support the writer's strike, don't use any AI programs.

I'm really sorry about this, and the fact that I didn't take it seriously enough - like I said, I promise it won't happen again.

</3

#asks #not a poll

46 notes · View notes

thaddeusthawne · 1 year

Text

Thank You

Snowells Week 2023: Day 7: Year 7 (Snowells Appreciation Day)

So this is going to be a little different from the other days I will post for this week. I still have more to post but I’ve been a bit delayed due to personal reasons but they will be put out soon! That being said, I wanted to say thank you to everyone in this fandom.

In different ways you guys have inspired me to start creating things that most fandoms haven’t. Maybe it’s because most fandoms are so big and intimidating to join but for me, the snowells fandom has always been this safe place to interact with. Whether it’s everyone’s collective excitement over snowells related scenes or funny joke posts this fandom felt easy to enjoy and participate in.

Funny enough I didn’t start shipping snowells until I ran into my first fanfic for this ship. I knew about it because I had followed some snowells peeps on my old blog (deleted it and recreated a new main & this side blog) but I never really understood the fascination for it. However one night I remember just scrolling on tumblr and accidentally clicking on the wrong ao3 link. For the life of me I can’t remember what fic it was but that’s only because I ended up reading pretty much everything that I could find. This was around the time that the beginning of season 2 was airing if that helps give an idea of what I walking into in terms of the fandom content. I stayed up that night just reading, clicking on fics randomly. I finally understood. And then a short time later Harry saved Caitlin from Grodd and then in the next episode she saved him from a bullet.

I was hooked and excited at the possibility on them getting together and started to silently enjoy them. I looked forward to every possible scene and over the years I kept thinking “Maybe it might finally happen!”. It never did of course but it did give me a lot of ideas.

Then in 2019 I finally found the courage to make my own stuff. It was nerve-racking but I had seen other people’s works and ideas met with so much positivity that I felt brave enough to try. Then I started to post some things and I was like “They’re reblogging it? And liking it? And leaving comments in the tags? 😳🥹🥰”. It meant a lot to me back then and it still means so much to me now. While I still have moments of self doubt, I look back on where I started and how far I’ve come. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to do that in any other fandom.

This community allowed me a space to grow as a writer/creator. I still have room to grow, but being able to participate and get even a few comments really helped build up my confidence and motivated me to learn to improve my skills. I went from writing maybe a few paragraphs to starting to flesh things out way more and planning out more extensive stories. Even though the show is over, I still plan to keep writing for this ship. I’m going to miss this show and these characters but I am hopeful that this fandom will still stay a source of comfort for me and anyone else who might feel the same way.

And while this ship may not have sailed, it was still fun to party on the boat.

#snowellsweek2023 #day 7 #thank you all so much!#and maybe one day we'll see these two in some other form of media #*looks at dc headquarters*

14 notes · View notes

talkethtothehandeth · 1 year

Text

I accidentally deleted someone’s ask about how I manage my chronic pain. I’m so sorry, I wasn’t ignoring you. Since someone took the time to ask me, maybe they’ll see this again

Drugs, anon.

I use drugs/hj

I take very warm/hot baths, heat helps expand blood vessels and relieves my stiffness (from my arthritis). I’m glued to my emotional support heating pad, which you can find here in my cripple recommended products/wishlist. Whenever my friend comes to visit me, they know which side of the bed to sit on because my heating pad has already claimed my seat

Next, ice. I have multiple ice packs, and have plenty of “one time” *whispers* I use them more than once, instant ice packs. Which can also be found in the aforementioned link. They help with my inflammation as well. I bought a large ice pack from my old physical therapist’s place, it covers my entire back, and I usually transition from heat to ice depending on the symptoms

I keep my room dark and quiet, which doesn’t always work when my birds are with me. But I am sensitive to extra noise and light because my pain has gone past the point of no return and has turned my body into an over sensitive ball of nerves, quite literally. My room is my space, and unless my nephew and I are playing video games, it stays mostly quiet and very much dark because of black out curtains

I trigger point using a tennis ball to help release my muscles that have atrophied, I stretch when I need to, to the best of my ability during any given day, I mostly lie in bed tbh, that’s the only thing that makes it tolerable most days is rotting

For medicine I take a lot of different things, celecoxib, gabapentin but mmj helps me the most I’ve found— and also pisses off doctors enough for them to just accuse me of using recreational drugs (I don’t, and that doesn’t make me superior, but damn they do not fully believe you after you share that information)

I use topical relief like diclofenac or lidocaine, tiger balm helps immensely but also burns my skin at times. I have a massage gun that I got for like 75% off with the right Amazon coupons

I wear braces when I absolutely need to, which isn’t often bc I’m stubborn but also know how to navigate brace-less bc I’ve been doing this for so long

I have to have distractions, I play video games— fast paced like Warframe and assassins creed, things where it’s from one thing to a next and you’re completely submersed in the game. I forget I’m in pain sometimes when I’m playing, and then the game pauses and I get the quick reminder

I used to do music therapy, but I’ve been in too much pain to pick it back up again, so much that I ugly cried after playing the piano for the first time in months. I draw on my bent second hand iPad (that person must have just planted their cheeks on it bc HOW does it bend like that?) because it gives me the most control with my hand than paper and pencil does

I am so thankful that I have access to two mobility aids, which I wouldn’t have had access to if it weren’t for my friend who paid for the whole chair, it was one from Amazon like $100, and someone cared about me enough to do to understand my pain and wanted to help me through it, and I cannot ever express how grateful I am. I recognize that having a walker and wheelchair are very much a privilege, but my wheelchair hurts me because it isn’t custom made

My fiancée helps a lot, they bring me medicine or do things for me that I can’t, my long distance best friend is about the same level of disabled as I am because they just hAD TO COPY ME/j and when they come over we just rot, watch shows and coexist in the same space because they get it, and I feel so comfortable with them because I know there isn’t judgement, I feel comfortable with my other friends for this same reason, but sometimes my anxiety still runs rampant banging a wooden spoon on pots and pans

Having a support system really does help, it really does, and I literally only have one physically abled “irl” friend who I love so very much because they take the time to understand and they accept me as me, not “despite” my disability

And there are support groups online, there are people who aren’t assholes and who do not play Sick Olympics ™️ and I promise you there are people who you will find to be such amazing friends through your pain and who won’t leave you, I promise it is possible

And I get myself treats when I can. Like a smoothie from the café I like going to, it’s like a reward

I’ve been doing a lot better mentally, though when my pain comes around in a flare, it feels permanent, and that makes everything just a bit lot worse. I still have a very high baseline of pain, this won’t go away and I’m not sure if I’ll ever return to where I was back when I was 15, before It Truly hit.

Pain might be forever, so the best thing we can do is manage it, and if that feels helpless right now then that is how it feels and you shouldn’t force yourself out of it, imo. It’s okay to sit with the Bad thoughts and feelings even though it’s the worst ever, but I think it’s healthier than “find the good!”

Bestie, my joints dislocating enough to leave me with permanent degeneration is not good, I won’t find the good in that unless my joints aren’t swollen to the point where they make me immobile, I’ll find the good when I have relief. But when I’m flaring up? Let me have my pity party and let me be a bitter cripple. I’ve been in pain forever, and I managed to stay alive every single time I considered or tried to make that not happen. But I’m not some sort of inspiration, I’m just someone whose body broke them enough to the point where I saw no return. And maybe there won’t be, but when you find the right pain management (which, unfortunately, will be the burden you mostly have to carry) you will feel better, maybe not Better, but better.

You’ve got this, we’ve got this.

TL;DR: I manage my pain with lots of drugs, coping skills, art, a support system, and plenty of outside help from mobility aids to literal tennis balls to help, *bear grylls voice* improvise, adapt, overcome

#personal #asks #anon #I do other things but I can’t think of them rn #cripple punk #disabled #chronic pain #chronic illness #arthritis #scoliosis #ehlers danlos syndrome #chronically ill #long post

11 notes · View notes

stellar-snz · 8 months

Text

OC: Asami

I posted this here before but deleted it for some reason I can't remember, but here's one of my OCs. All of my friends say that she acts and looks like a dommy mommy but in reality, she's a huge girlfailure

Name: Asami Nickname: She can be called Asa, Mimi, Sami, or Ami, but special people can call her “Salami”, “Pastrami” or “Nori” Age: 23 Eye color: Red Hair color: Silvery Blonde Pronouns: She/Her Sexual and Romantic orientation: Graysexual Demiromantic Relationships: Asami is in a polyamorous relationship with both RD and Ruolan

(snz stuff) ✦ Asami has a pollen intolerance. ✦ She hides, holds back or stifles her sneezes because she thinks it's one of her many glitches. ✦ RD and Ruolan scold her for stifling or holding back because in all honesty, it just makes her sneeze more. ✦ Speaking of glitches, one of her glitches is her faulty battery. It could appear to be at a high percentage, but she'd end up suddenly shutting down at a random place. ✦ Her sneezes, as described by Ruolan are high pitched" and "girly" ✦ Her sneezes end in "-iew!" sounds (example: hiH'schIEW!!) ✦ Since she sees most patrons in the library do it, it's always been a habit of hers to cover whenever she sneezes. ✦ She always brings around a handkerchief to sneeze into. She prefers them anyways since they feel much softer than tissues.

(Backstory) Asami was a prototype made by a company named Obscura. She was originally designed to be a robomaid for those of the elite class, having no purpose other than to just be shown off, pick up after, and fetch items for their master. However, due to her disposition, she was scrapped and abandoned after the scientists deemed her to be a failure.

She was out of comission for quite some time, but was rescued by a girl named Ruolan and a fellow bot named RD when they accidentally discovered her despite their initial plan to practice their craft by spray painting the walls. Because of looters, she had to be brought into parts-and-services to get replacements for the parts she was missing.

After getting back up on her feet again, Asami found a job at a local library and assists the sweet old woman there with returning books to their shelves, helping people find books, cataloguing the library's resources, and brewing tea for the old lady

(Appearance) Asami is a robot that stands at 5 feet and 4 inches. She has a pale complexion but enhances it with red-colored cosmetics. Most notably overly dramatic eye-shadow that reaches up and spreads towards her temples. She also has a little heart shaped mole on her right breast.

(Personality) Since she lacks friends and is unwilling to go to places outside of Ruolan's apartment and the library she works at, she's socially inept and comes across as someone who is uptight, cold, and aloof. She also retains her original quick-tempered personality from her creation and is rather opinionated, unable to hold her tongue when someone makes rude or lewd remarks towards her or her loved ones.

However, Asami also has an insecure side to her, herself, believing that her worth is based on how much people like her. She also believes that her mismatched and "scary" appearance is unsightly and gets reasonably upset and refuses to talk when someone points out a flaw or makes fun of her. When it comes to relationships, Asami instantly latches onto the first person to treat her nicely, hence why she is very protective of Ruolan and RD. She doesn't have too much friends either, so she gets upset if the two blow off her invitations to go out, giving into jealousy and paranoiac thoughts easily.

When it comes to her likes, Asami is very much into fashion and make up, often spending her free time watching tutorials and practicing on either herself or Ruolan. She also likes to recreate outfits she sees online by looking for and purchasing clothing with similar styles and colors at the thrift store. Due to her love of this stuff, RD has dubbed her the "fashionista" of the their group.

In terms of dislikes, she doesn't like crowds, tight spaces, rain, loud sounds, and the goose in the park that keeps trying to bite her or steal her leg.

(heehee pics of my lil robot daughter) FRONT, BACK, SIDES

CLOSEUP ON THE FRONT AND BACK

HAIRSTYLES (She usually wears her hair down, but ties it up into a ponytail or bun if she really wants to)

BATTERY (Blue means "optimal" (100%-60%), yellow means "satisfactory" (59% to 16%) and red means "low battery" (15% and lower)

Credits HERE because I still can't draw for shit and I ain't using AI

#dendro.post #snz oc #dendro.txt #snz #dendrocs #A/sami

4 notes · View notes

burningthegallows · 2 years

Text

ok so I accidentally deleted that one lltg history post I wrote. I genuinely can’t be assed to recreate it because screenshots and evidence and …

anyway. one of the first things that grabbed my attention in lltg were the beautiful sets and costumes — they’re all so well put together. right down to shanjian’s feathered fan.

that led me to a question: western han (202 BCE - 9 CE) or eastern Han (25-220 CE)??

what I found was that lltg uses a mix of both to make it too ambiguous to place. it’s a fun way to do a period piece I think, cause all the history nerds get to go on scavenger hunts, you can play with historical paragons, and there are so many tropes.

Despite one story being lifted pretty much directly from the eastern Han (emperor guangwu, his 1st and 2nd empresses, and his heaps of children), most of it seems to be more western Han.

{as an aside, it bums me out that they took all these details from these three real people, and the one thing they changed was ex-empress’s end. In history she and her son just go on about their lives as consort and prince, and then they’re given a new province to rule over.}

the imperial city in the show is luoyang (true to eastern han; in han 1.0 western han, it was in xi’an), but I think it’s a bit more thrown together than that. And in fact, I think wendi is actually the Emperor Wen of Han.

And I think that because of the 1) emphasis on thriftiness, 2) the fact that Wen of Han was the one to end the policy of wholesale clan slaughter for particularly egregious crimes (does actually make css kneeling in the rain hit different) and 3) other reasons.

The most interesting of which i think is the 7-states rebellion, a rebellion shut down by Zhou Yafu (paragon of military virtue, known for his integrity), who’s father, Zhou Bo, is a Huo Chong-esque archetype.

(In my original post I had an argument about the xiongnu too, but I can’t remember it now. probably something about the length of the war)

The struggle that takes place 15 years before the series could be the pseudo-coup of Dowager Lü (Empress Gao of Han), or it could be the chu-han contention (ending with first han emperor). Honestly though, then beginning of the eastern han does make sense here. wendi tells 3rd princess (I think) that the dynasty is barely ten years old.

(The period between western and eastern han is short and dominated by warlords)

So the world is more familiar to the western han (2nd-1st century BCE) but it def a hodge-podge — which makes it into a fun (for history nerds) scavenger hunt. Spot the trope: history edition!

#I’m still irritated by empress’s death fullstop #love like the galaxy #history ramblings #what did she die of anyway #if she’s depressed put her in the sun #or get her a puppy

29 notes · View notes

patheticbatman · 1 year

Text

June 2019 Story

I accidentally deleted the original post, so this was my recreation. i originally wrote this when I was 16, and posted it when I was 18.

Once upon a time, a rich man's wife became sick, and when she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear Ashley, remain clever and good, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you." With this she closed her eyes and died.

The girl went out to her mother's grave every day and wept, and she remained clever and good. When winter came the snow spread a white cloth over the grave, and when the spring sun had removed it again, the man took himself another wife.

This wife brought two daughters into the house with her. They were beautiful, with fair faces, but evil and dark hearts. Times soon grew very bad for poor Ashley. "Why should that stupid goose sit in the parlor with us?" they said. "If she wants to eat bread, then she will have to earn it. Out with this kitchen maid!" They took her beautiful clothes away from her, dressed her in an old gray smock, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess! How decked out she is!" they shouted and laughed as they led her into the kitchen. There Ashley had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides this, the stepsisters did everything imaginable to hurt her. They made fun of her, and scattered peas and lentils into the ashes for her, so that she had to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked herself weary, there was no bed for her. Instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes. And because she always looked dusty and dirty, they took away her name and called her Cinderella.

The girl never really let her awful circumstances get her down, however. She always was very friendly and kept up her education by spending her free time in the manor’s library.

The father, who was rarely home, didn’t know this had happened to his daughter. He assumed she still had her rooms and that Cinderella was just some odd but cute nickname. The stepsisters and their mother threatened Cinderella into acting like nothing was different when the father was home, hiring a temporary maid in her place.

One day it happened that the father was going to the fair, and he asked his two stepdaughters what he should bring back for them.

"Beautiful dresses," said the one.

"Pearls and jewels," said the other.

"And you, Cinderella," he said, "what do you want?"

"Father, break off for me the first twig that brushes against your hat on your way home." So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls, and jewels for his two stepdaughters. On his way home, as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the twig and took it with him. Arriving home, he gave his stepdaughters the things that they had asked for, and he gave Cinderella the twig from the hazel bush.

Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave, and planted a seed from the branch on it, and she wept so much that her tears fell upon it and watered it. It grew and became a beautiful tree, to her great surprise.

Cinderella went to this tree three times every day, and beneath it she wept and prayed. Two turtle doves came to the tree every time, and whenever she expressed a physical wish, the birds would throw down to her what she had wished for. The girl had wished many times that her stepfamily would be kinder to her, but as that was not a thing, the birds were unable to help.

Now it happened that the king proclaimed a festival that was to last three days. All the young people in the land were invited, so that his son Henry and all those eligible could select a spouse for themselves. When the two stepsisters heard that they too had been invited, they were in high spirits.

They called Cinderella, saying, "Comb our hair for us. Brush our shoes and fasten our buckles. We are going to the festival at the king's castle."

Cinderella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go to the dance with them. She begged her stepmother to allow her to go.

"You, Cinderella?" she said. "You, all covered with dust and dirt, and you want to go to the festival? You have neither clothes nor shoes, and yet you want to dance!?" However, because Cinderella kept asking, the stepmother finally said, "I have scattered a bowl of lentils into the ashes for you. If you can pick them out again in two hours, then you may go with us."

The girl went through the back door into the garden, and called out, "You pigeons, you turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to gather: The good ones go into the pot,

The bad ones go into your crop."

Some turtledoves came in through the kitchen window, and then the doves, and finally all the birds beneath the sky came whirring and swarming in, and lit around the ashes. The pigeons nodded their heads and began to pick, pick, pick, pick. And the others also began to pick, pick, pick, pick. They gathered all the good grains into the bowl. Hardly one hour had passed before they were finished, and they all flew out again.

The girl took the bowl to her stepmother, and was happy, thinking that now she would be allowed to go to the festival with them.

said, "No, Cinderella, you have no fine clothes, and you don't know how to dance. Everyone would only laugh at you." Cinderella began to cry, and then the stepmother said, "You may go if you are able to pick two bowls of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour," thinking to herself, "She will never be able to do that."

The girl went through the back door into the garden, and called out, "You pigeons, you turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to gather:

The good ones go into the pot,

The bad ones go into your crop."

Again, some pigeons came in through the kitchen window, and then the doves, and finally all the birds beneath the sky came whirring and swarming in, and lit around the ashes. The pigeons nodded their heads and began to pick, pick, pick, pick. And the others also began to pick, pick, pick, pick. They gathered all the good grains into the bowls. Before a half hour had passed they were finished, and they all flew out again.

The girl took the bowls to her stepmother, and was happy, thinking that now she would be allowed to go to the festival with them.

But the stepmother said, "It's no use. You are not coming with us, for you have no clothes, and you don't know how to dance. We would be ashamed of you." With this she turned her back on Cinderella, and hurried away with her two proud daughters.

Cinderella shrugged. Now that no one else was at home, Cinderella went to her mother's grave beneath the hazel tree, and cried out:

Shake and quiver, little tree,

Throw the sun down to me.

The birds knew what she meant, and then the two turtledoves threw a gold dress as bright as the sun to her, and slippers of satin. She quickly put on the dress and went to the festival, the birds flying her there.

Her stepsisters and her stepmother did not recognize her. They thought she must be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden dress. They never once thought it was Cinderella, for they thought that she was sitting at home in the dirt, looking for lentils.

No one approached her, those near her silent and blatantly watching, for they were afraid to talk to such a beautiful woman. But Prince Henry, who had been blinded as a child, had no such qualms. Alone, he eventually drifted over to her, most people uneasy with dancing with someone who cannot see their efforts to impress and settling for romancing a duchess or count. He knew that a current of quiet in an ocean of noise would lead him to someone … interesting.

Cinderella, noticing him, said, “I know what it’s like to be invisible.”

Impressed, he asked her to dance, and Cinderella said yes. They never switched partners, occasionally stepping on each other’s toes but otherwise having a riveting conversation on everything, from cabbages to kings.

They danced until evening, and then she wanted to go home. But Henry said, "I will go along and escort you," for he wanted to find out what her real name was, being given only the name, ‘Cinderella’. However, she eluded him by running into the palace pigeon coop and then locking it behind her.

Henry, unsure of how to get through the lock on the pigeon coop, went away to look for a key to open it. By the time he found a key, she was long gone. Cinderella’s pigeon friends had flown her out of the coop and back home, gripping her by her dress. There she had taken off her beautiful golden clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away again. Then, dressed in her gray smock, she had returned to her cinder-covered slab in the kitchen.

When the stepfamily got home, Cinderella was lying in the ashes, dressed in her dirty clothes. A dim little oil-lamp was burning in the fireplace.

The next day when the festival began anew, and her stepmother and her stepsisters had gone again, Cinderella went to the hazel tree and said:

Shake and quiver, little tree,

Throw the moon down to me.

The birds knew what she meant, and then the two turtledoves threw down an even more magnificent dress than on the preceding day. It made her look like she was made of moonlight, the silver shimmering gently with white sparkles. Her grey slippers were made of the finest silk. When Cinderella appeared at the festival in this dress, everyone was astonished at her beauty, and again were too scared to ask her out. Henry had waited in their corner until she came, then immediately took her by the hand, and danced only with her. Again, they had an extremely pleasant time, their discussions completely distracting them from their bruised toes.

When evening came she wanted to leave, and Henry followed her, wanting to know where she went. But she ran away from him and into the garden behind the palace. A magnificently tall but dead tree stood there. She somehow climbed as nimbly as a squirrel into the branches, and Henry did not know where she had gone.

He eventually managed to scale the tree, but no one was in it after he discovered the only one making noise was him, and that Cinderella had gone.

When they came to the kitchen, Cinderella was lying there in the ashes as usual, for she had called for her pigeon friends again and had flown from the other side of the tree. She then had taken the beautiful moonlit dress back to the bird in the hazel tree, and had put on her gray smock.

On the third day, when her stepmother and stepsisters had gone away, Cinderella went again to her mother's grave and said to the tree:

Shake and quiver, little tree, Throw the sky down to me.

This time the birds threw down to her an azure dress that was more splendid and magnificent than any she had yet had, and the slippers were of pure clouded glass. She looked as though she wore a sunny sky, with her glass shoes making it as though she walked on clouds. When she arrived at the festival in the dress, everyone was so astonished that they did not know what to say.

Henry, once she had reached their corner, immediately questioned Cinderella as to where she had gone. She explained that she wished to keep her identity secret for a little while, but if he managed to give her a month and then went to go find her she’d be fine. “I just need time to fix some affairs of mine.” she finished. She didn’t tell him that the affairs were mostly going to be cooking and cleaning. He amiably agreed after he extracted a promise of one clue, and once again they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, aching feet and all. When evening came Cinderella wanted to leave, and Henry bid her goodbye.

She handed him one of her shoes, and then ran home, her other shoe in her hand. Henry rejoiced, knowing only his mysterious dance partner to be able to fit it perfectly. The next month, he began to traverse the kingdom, and decreed, "No one shall be my wife except for the one whose foot fits this glass shoe." He was a pretty confident guy.

The two stepsisters were happy to hear this, for they had pretty feet. When the prince and his entourage arrived, he handed the sisters the shoe. With her mother standing by, the older one, Drizella, took the shoe into her bedroom (because she claimed she didn’t want to show her ankles in public) to try it on. She could not get her big toe into it, for the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut off your toe. When you are queen you will no longer have to go on foot."

Drizella cut off her toe, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the prince. She did not speak, and all he said was, “I’ll send some servants to grab your things tomorrow, my dear.” He took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. However, they had to ride past the grave, and there, on the hazel tree, sat two turtle doves, crying out:

Rook di goo, rook di goo!

There's blood in the shoe.

The shoe is too tight,

This bride is not right!

Then he grabbed her foot and felt how the sticky heat of blood was running from it. He turned his horse around and took the false bride home again, saying that she was not the right one, and that the other sister, Zidrella, should try on the shoe. She went into her bedroom, and got her toes into the shoe all right, but her heel was too large.

Then her mother gave her a knife, and said, "Cut a piece off your heel. When you are queen you will no longer have to go on foot."

Zidrella cut a piece off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the prince. She did not speak, and all he said was, “I’ll send some servants to grab your things tomorrow, my dear.” He took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. When they passed the hazel tree, two turtledoves still were sitting in it, and they cried out:

Rook di goo, rook di goo!

There's blood in the shoe.

The shoe is too tight,

This bride is not right!

He grabbed the foot and felt the blood smear across his hands as it was running out of her shoe. Then he turned his horse around and took the false bride home again. "This is not the right one, either," he said. "Do you have another daughter?" "No," said the stepmother, and without thinking she added. "There is only that disgusting little snot Cinderella from my husband’s first wife, but she cannot possibly be the bride." Henry, recognizing the name, told her to send Cinderella to him, but the stepmother answered, "Oh, no, she is much too dirty."

But the prince insisted on it, and they had to call Cinderella. She first washed her hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before Henry, who gave her the shoe. She sat down on a stool, pulled her foot out of her clogs, and put it into the slipper, and it fitted her perfectly. “Here, feel it, dear Henry, it fits.”

He knew the voice, but felt the shoe to be sure. It was dry, and the foot fit perfectly. And so he leapt for joy, for he recognized the wonderful girl who had danced with him. He cried out, "She is the true owner of the shoe!" and embraced her.

The stepmother and the two stepsisters were horrified and turned pale with anger. The prince, however, took Cinderella onto his horse and rode away with her. As they passed by the hazel tree, the two turtle doves cried out:

IMAGE

Rook di goo, rook di goo!

No blood's in the shoe.

The shoe's not too tight,

This bride is right!

After they had cried this out, they both flew down and lit on Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there for the rest of the journey. As soon as they arrived at the castle, Henry got down on one knee, grasped her hand, and said, “Ashley,” (for she had told him her name on the ride back) “You are the one for me. I can’t imagine having anyone else as a wife. Please, marry me?”

Ashley laughed, not unkindly, asking, “Is that the best you can come up with? You haven’t even a ring! You had a whole month!” At Henry’s sheepish expression, she continued, “I’m not going to say yes yet. We’ve barely know each other. Try courting me first.”

And so they did, for a couple years. Henry never once wavered in his conviction that they were meant to be together (he was a total romantic), and eventually Ashley said yes. When the wedding was to be held, the father and the stepfamily came, wanting to gain favor with Ashley and to share her good fortune. When the bridal couple walked into the church, Drizella walked on their right side and Zidrella on their left side, and the pigeons ruptured one ear drum from each of them. Afterwards, as they came out of the church, the Drizella was on the left side, and the Zidrella on the right side, and then the pigeons ruptured the other ear drum from each of them. Then they both treated the father and stepmother to the same punishment, flying away once they were done. The father and stepfamily could no even cry out, for they knew if they ruined royal wedding the guards had orders to throw them into the dungeon. And thus, for their wickedness and stupidity, they were punished with deafness as long as they lived.

Ashley and Henry learned to properly dance, and then went on to their happy endings.

The End

Cinderella Explanation

So again, this story was old-fashioned and a little silly. And I’ll admit, I did change a lot of the details. But in the end, it is still a lot like the Grimm version, with beautiful prose and the whole ‘Three festivals instead of one party until midnight deal’. A lot of the other parts just didn’t make sense to me. So, they were changed.

For example, not once is Cinderella actually named. All of a sudden, she is nicknamed Cinderella!!! So I gave her a similar-sounding name, though they don’t mean the same thing. Ashley means ‘Lives in the ash tree grove’, not ‘Beautiful ashes/cinders’ like Cinderella. Perrault, a sort of French version of the Grimm brothers, popularised the name Cinderella. She was originally named Ashputtel, which means chamberpot-cleaner in German.

I had Prince Henry not hold her hand when kissing her knuckles because he didn’t want to appear possessive, a fact that Cinderella can probably appreciate considering that her stepmother is so possessive she can’t even let a little girl who isn’t hers live happily in ‘her’ house. However, when proposing, he holds her hands to show how serious he feels. Also, I just didn’t want to draw more hands.

Now for more serious notes; As basically Queen of the household, the stepmother could have thrown Cinderella out, unless her father was there. But since the father still came around, they all had to keep up the pretense of a normal family when he came back home.

You may wonder why Cinderella didn’t just try to tell her father what happened. But as she was raised like this since she was a little girl, and her father was never there to really build a relationship with her, Cinderella probably didn’t even think of her father helping her. She couldn’t even trust him to stick around, why should she trust him with this? In the original story, it was even worse. He actually did stay at home a lot and didn’t mind that his daughter was used as a slave. It just boggles my mind that no one questioned that part of the story for centuries.

Why didn’t she just run away? Simple. She had no money, and probably would’ve starved. Back when this was first written, all the way up to today, you needed references (compliments from former bosses or non-family members) to get a job. By the time she was old enough to survive on her own (because while you could run away as a little kid, it was extremely dangerous to live by yourself at that age) the prospective bosses would have wondered why Cinderella hadn’t had a job before, as she wouldn’t have been able to use her stepfamily’s credentials. And if she hadn’t had a job before, by the time she was a teenager, the prospective bosses would’ve thought she was some sort of lazy girl who lied at interviews, and would never hire her. So, as it was hard to receive charity, she wouldn’t have survived without a job for very long, and would’ve had to go back to her house.

The sad thing was, she couldn’t even take what was rightfully hers (like jewelry or a horse) without being accused of stealing by her stepmother and getting arrested. And if someone saw a young girl like her, with a ton of money (she COULD have wished for some from the hazel tree) and no family, they probably would have thought she was a criminal of some sort and imprisoned her. Besides, as she kept on (foolishly) hoping the stepfamily would suddenly become nicer to her, she wouldn’t have thought of running away like that.

The hazel-twig present from her father; this is also never explained. I think it’s probably because Cinderella actually wanted something that her stepsisters wouldn’t take from her; I doubt she ever expected it to turn into a magic tree.

The physical-wish-tree-thing; it’s never explained, in the Grimm story, why the mother’s tree would suddenly start helping her after years of Cinderella’s suffering. So I just made it so that Cinderella always had the ability to magically get things, like educational books and food. The fairy godmother only replaced the tree when Perrault wrote his version of the story down.

Unlike in the Disney version, instead of having her little friends help her make a dress, Cinderella has her little friends help her clean up a bunch of lentils (they’re similar to rice). I guess Disney needed more run-time for their movie and a better thing to sing about.

Cinderella sings that little ditty to summon her animal friends because she likes to sing. ‘Nuff said.

Sun, moon and sky dresses: In the original version, Cinderella gets a different dress for every night, each one more beautiful than the last. They usually do moon, sun, and then something else, but as I wanted to do the iconic blue dress (which was apparently originally silver!) so the third dress became the sky.

Prince Henry, I changed a bit. Of course, in the original he doesn’t have a name, so I gave him the Disney name. I also made him blind because I think it’s very silly he couldn’t recognize Cinderella’s face, and not once is the ball/party/festival ever called a masquerade. So, I needed a reason why no one else bothered to come and ask to dance with him. Also, I wanted to make him less shallow than being just attracted to Cinderella’s looks; he enjoys talking to her.

The pigeon coop; its from the original story, it worked for me. So did the tree. Not even going to question it.

Cinderella gives the dresses back to the tree because she has no place to hide them. She didn’t need proof.

I decided to make Cinderella ask Prince Henry to wait because I figured she needed some alone time to figure out her feelings for the guy.

The dismemberment of the stepsister’s feet with the bird’s having to TELL the prince, who could originally see perfectly fine, that the shoe is leaking blood, is from the original story. But unlike the original story, I decided the stepfamily would lose their hearing instead of their sight, as they never listened anyway. Also, originally, the father was NOT included in the punishment, but as he wasn’t a good dad anyway, I decided he should be punished as well.

Henry and Cinderella don’t get married right away because you shouldn’t do that. To be honest, they barely knew each other! Besides, it’s fun to date and both deserved to have fun. [Funny side story: I found out your parents were getting engaged when I was about six. Before then, I didn’t know that your mom was even dating anybody. When I heard they had been dating for longer than three months, I was astonished. Back then, three months was a REALLY long time and I thought they were silly for waiting so long. But I was wrong. Time stretches out when you’re older.]

I decided to make everyone (everyone being two people, because I literally just realized I only drew Cinderella and Henry for this [Wow I’m silly]) have 1950’s style clothing to give homage to the original Disney version.

If you enjoyed this story, read Ella Enchanted. It has a movie (it’s alright) and a sequel called Fairest, about Snow White.

Sorry about this one being so long!!!

Link to original

#cinderella #wac #wac repost

0 notes

drabbles-of-writing · 4 years

Text

Reverse Au! Dump

Don’t mind my idea dumping here. Brain decided to have fun while I was at work and I have too many wips as it is, so… Thought I’d ask before I dumped, experience. Used morningmark’s comics as a base, so if you want reference. Now this isn’t all that well compiled, but here it goes.

Magic in the Other World is varied as it is crazy. So many styles over the generations and not a lot of organization. There are some that try to categorize it all, but that works as well as you’d expect. Some were lost, some erased, some weren’t passed down/recorded because “the power is all mine! Ahahaha!” It took a lot of time and collaboration, but eventually a sort of system was installed to help out. Still a lot of work to do, but its a step forward. Nowadays the term Wild Magic is generally reserved for those that aren’t all that well documented and understood.

Some Magics are very powerful and desirable, but also tend to be very high risk/high reward, kinda pass/fail, pretty literally Do or Die most times. So not a lot of people can use those or are even willing to. Story says this one guy named Odin hung himself on a massive tree by his own spear for nine days, no food water or rest in constant pain before he could unlock the secret of Runes. But it’s also said he gouged out his own eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom so…

There are lots of different ways to channel magic too: wands, staves, jewelry, certain gems, familiars, potions, enchanted armaments, chants, scripts, etc. Each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages and play into a Witches�� style. Every Witch has at least two methods of spellcasting. Only children have one. Haven’t thought of how Luz gets her Palisman though. Maybe its one of those magic Artifacts like Dr. Strange’s cloak, Elder Wand, Thor’s hammer, or a Green Lantern’s Ring. Something that can’t be recreated because the secret is lost, materials no longer exist, too hard/dangerous to make, accident that can’t be recreated, etc. Happens more often than people like.

Camilla is sometimes called the Blue Witch. She’s a healer by heart and trade, but push her and she will become a one Witch Battleship. Bismark who? Aaaaand she just deleted a whole battalion. And the fortress behind them. Hide me. There are the very rare occasions, like count on one hand rare, when someone near and dear to her heart is in trouble that she takes up her other job. She’s especially terrifying when she decides to torture, those who know how to heal the body know best how to break it. Many shades of Blue, some are very close to Black. She doesn’t necessarily hate Humans exactly, but doesn’t have the highest of regard from past experiences.

Luz has training and is a proficient Witch for her age. Camilla and her father were adamant about having a general knowledge/skillset alongside her specialized skill. Jack of all trades and a master of none, still better than a master of one. She has gone through the system for her magic with varying success. Oracle magic? Zero talent. Bard classes? She can play an instrument, but can’t sing at the same time. When she does sing she tires too hard and messes up. It’s only when she doesn’t try, like absently singing along with a song or playing by her heart, that she’s good at it. Beasts? Can use them, but would rather play with them. Bleeding heart and all that. She does have a good handle on healing magic partly due to Camilla drilling necessary skills into her and partly osmosis. Her father arranged for some CQC lessons from an old friend of his which the girl loved. You get the idea. It wasn’t until she discovered Glyphs that she found her niche and her skills took off. Glyphs are one of those ‘eccentric’ or 'archaic’ styles since they haven’t been used in so long after being lost and are barely understood. She still has a long way to go, but she is on her way.

Luz never really had much in the way of friends, partly cuz of high profile parents which leads to certain pressures and a target on her head, partly because of her magic style and personality, and partly because of the trouble been going on. Luz grew up her whole life with this tension of a group of anarchists trying to burn society that’s just trying to do the right thing. The anarchists started small, but have been a growing problem the past few decades with talk how to 'reshape the world’ in not a good way. Anyone with critical thinking skills can tell this is a bad idea, but they are too brainwashed to notice. They harass anyone who doesn’t follow their rhetoric and attack anyone who even questions them. Luz’s parents put a real kink in a lot of their plans for years, which makes Luz guilty by association.

Luz got caught in one of those sudden larger scuffles and was accidentally chucked/blown through a portal created by an attempted tactical retreat that went off course. Hence why she can’t go home because she hasn’t learned how to do portals yet. Those are high level anyway so how did these guys pull it off so easily? Luz has a hard time blending in obviously. Learning how to use a phone was a fun endeavor. Internet was a trip. Luz is amazed how these people can do all this cool stuff without magic. Keep a low profile sure, she can pass off as a weird out of town kid. Keep the beanie on, underperform in gym and stuff because some things don’t change, like genetics. Someone sharp eyed will see discrepancies. The Beanie has a small Glamor spell built in that covers her witchy traits but she forgot the ears which is why it sits like it does. Luz can erase memories in case she has an accident, but it’s less of a 'remove my face from this picture with a scalpel’, and more of a 'lemme just hack off the past hour or three from your brain with an axe.’ If she tries to take any more then she starts burning into some more dangerous territory and those Wiped are groggy and disoriented for a while after already. Then the magic attacks start happening and her heroic instinct/anti-bystander complex kicks in and there goes that. It runs in the family so Camilla isn’t surprised in the slightest when she finds out.

“Oh titan, why did you curse me with another me?” “I’m right here Mami!”

Eda has a shack very akin to Grunkle Stan. Lots of junk that Lilith can’t believe that people are dumb enough to buy. She’s also involved in some not so legal dealings on the side. Well, Eda isn’t actually hurting anybody and the tax dollars she should be paying would only go towards some politicians’ next yacht or another pointless overseas 'investment’ instead of where it’s supposed to go so. Eda does give some good intel on occasion and a place to vent so Lillith overlooks her. Lil’s more of the secret police for witches and a petty crook isn’t part of her job anyway. Eda understands Luz’s predicament and is willing to help. The cover story is that Camilla work in hospitals and has to work crazy hours while her dad passed away so is living with Eda for a while. King is that kind of critter that grew up weird and acts like ten different animals all the time.

Gus is the nerdy kid who infodumps on everybody, even if they’re not listening. Loves anything fantasy/sci-fi related and plays Minecraft too. A good kid at heart, but needs some social skills. Keep him away from anything more sugary than tea. Luz learned a lot listening to him. Not all of it is entirely useful, but still. Some of his ramblings give her some good ideas for magic and stuff, like putting Glyphs on cards.

The Blights are the cool rich kids obviously, and have some discipline and social issues. Big family name makes them intimidating for normies and a meal ticket for the unsavory. These kids need real friends. They decided to act out to get some attention from the parents who then decided to ignore them. “If you’re going to act like a child tantrum, get treated like one.” Ed is perfect for Drama classes, if he were allowed to partake. Can’t decide what Em is great at, hacking perhaps? Amity’s car is an inheritance from the only family to treat her as such Twins aside, even if she’s too young to remember it. She only remembers that she has feelings surrounding the car. All three of them were pretty impressed with Luz for standing up to them, calling them out on their shit, and not giving a crap about their family name. Being treated like a normal person is pretty weird. Can we get her to do that again?

Amity tried dating Boscha once, didn’t work out very well. Boscha is still hurting over Amity’s comment of “I’d rather go date the new weird kid (Luz) than go back to you.” It’s one of the reasons she goes after Luz. She has that kind of Bud personality from Spider Man, feels lesser and so acts out so much.

“Wow, this new Witch is amazing. Not as cool as the original Witch.”

“What is it with the Witch with you?”

“Oh, she’s a hero. Looks out for the city and the little guy. She inspires me. Makes me want to be a bigger person. *sees Luz* What’s up Luz-er?”

And that’s what I got right now. I know there was more, but it’s lost to the void right now. Might come back later, maybe not. Lemme know what you think.

............

DAMN you weren’t lying when you said you had an info-dump this is *chefs kiss* you got me intrigued now

79 notes · View notes

gohyuck · 4 years

Note

5+9+23 ? With Jaemin.

originally requested by @heyyyun ! my tumblr kept glitching so i copy/pasted your ask into my askbox lol.

based on this post

this was a fun combo of requests lol... and the freaky friday things definitely threw me for a loop. it got lowkey nsfw really fast, too, so there’s that. outright female reader

ft. a horny jeno lmfao

5) roommates

9) freaky friday

23) i thought you hated me but i just accidentally sent you a booty text and you accepted and i am seriously considering it

you aren’t living with jaemin because you want to.

it’s something you make very clear to any and everyone you know - jaemin is your roommate out of your necessity, not out of your choice. he was the first and only person to answer the desperate ad you’d placed in the newspaper when you’d realized you wouldn’t make rent without a roommate, and, before you could find any other option, you were stuck with him.

now, you refuse to be gotten wrong: it isn’t like he’s the worst roommate ever. he can cook, and he cleans up well enough, and he’s never made a late payment. hell, he’s even courteous and about as well-mannered as any guy in his early twenties can get, so you can’t really complain on that front. he’s nice to your friends and always lets you know before having company over, and he doesn’t hesitate to ask if you need anything before he goes shopping for himself. he isn’t a bad guy, by any means.

what he is is an incorrigible and unstoppable flirt.

for his part, he isn’t too thrilled with you either - ‘my little prude’ seems to be his favorite go to nickname for you as of late, and you’d be lying if it didn’t bother you. still, you suppose, you aren’t too gentle in calling him a manwhore to his face. he only ever laughs, seemingly delighted to wear the title like a badge.

even now, you can hear the girl in your living room giggling at something your roommate has said, his own voice just a little too low for you to hear from the confines of your bedroom. he’d texted you during lunch to tell you he’d have a date over, and you’d sent him back four successive eyeroll emojis. he’d taken your annoyance as a ‘yes, please eyefuck your newest fling for two hours while sitting on the couch i paid for’ and now you’re stuck, crosslegged on your bed with your laptop at half mast and one earphone in, other ear listening to jaemin turn his charisma up to the highest it can go for what will culminate in, at most, yet another one night stand that’ll have you wishing for soundproof walls.

you sigh as she laughs again, followed by jaemin saying something along the lines of ‘let me pour you some more’. there’s a faint clink of glasses and a sudden lowering of their voices, and you decide it’s best if you put your other earphone in.

some things aren’t worth the mental scarring.

it’s almost two hours later when you finish with the essay you’re working on, pull your earphones out of your ears and place the case gingerly on your nightstand, and shut your laptop down for the night. you can’t hear anything from out in the living room, and, surprisingly, there’s no unsavory sounds coming in from jaemin’s room down the hall, either. maybe they’ve already had their fun, you ponder.

she’ll slink out of your apartment in the morning, you guess. maybe you’ll be nice and offer her pancakes on her way out.

you grab your phone from where you’d thrown it haphazardly onto your bed earlier. there’s plenty of text messages lighting up your screen, most of which you ignore. one catches your eye immediately, though.

from: jeno ;)

i’ve been thinking about you.

his text has you quirking an eyebrow, but as you scroll up to find the picture that accompanies it, you take a sharp breath, your teeth sinking into your lower lip on impulse.

you’ve been fucking jeno for weeks, but even now the sight of his prominent bulge covered only by thin gray sweatpants has your mouth watering. the two of you are good friends - surprising, considering he’s jaemin’s best friend - and you know what you have will never amount to a real relationship. it’s the healthiest you can imagine a friends-with-benefits relationship to be, and you’re grateful for it.

and for the sex. god, are you grateful for the sex.

you rush to change out of the ratty old band shirt and boy shorts you’re wearing, opting to switch them out for a lace set you’d bought recently that you’ve been dying to show off. you clasp the bra easily before you pull on the matching light pink underwear.

as you settle in front of the floor length mirror that leans against your closet door, you can’t help but let your thoughts wander to jaemin. his little prude, huh? you laugh to yourself, wondering how he’d react if he knew you got dicked down semi-regularly by jeno. just because you aren’t as obvious as he is doesn’t mean you aren’t getting any.

you switch positions until you find a pose that’s just right, capturing your bitten bottom lip, the swell of your breasts, and how the lace hugs your hips. before you can second guess yourself, you snap a picture.

if only jaemin could see you now.

you type out a short message - see something you like? maybe you should come over and look closer - and hit send, staring at your reflection for a bit longer before pushing yourself off the floor and back up onto your bed. it’s late, far too late for jeno to take you up on your offer, but it can’t hurt to ask. hell, maybe he’ll come over anyways. maybe you can make jaemin wish his walls were soundproof for once.

your phone vibrates in your hand, pulling you out of your thoughts of revenge against your roommate. you glance down, ready to respond cheekily to whatever jeno has said, and -

oh.

from: jaemin :/

fuck

yes

i wouldn’t mind, sweetheart. still, you could’ve asked in person. i’m only a door away, you know

your eyes widen in panic as you realize that, because you’d been thinking of jaemin earlier, you’d typed his name in and not jeno’s, resulting in you sending your honest-to-god nudes to your roommate. you rush to rectify your mistake, your fingers flying as you type a frantic response.

even as you hurry to tell him not to show up to your room naked, which you’re very afraid of him doing whether he has a girl over or not, a voice in the back of your mind can’t help but perk up.

i mean, jaemin is kind of hot, it says, actively laughing at your predicament. you wouldn’t mind being underneath him as he-

"shit!” you hiss out loud, acting as if swearing will distract you for your own thoughts. you press send, cursing the universe for causing your life to lead up to this moment as you do.

to: jaemin :/

FUCK they weren’t meant for you

please delete and pretend this never happened

+ don’t you have someone over????

his response comes quickly, and you brace yourself to read them.

from: jaemin

lol PLEASE as if you have someone to sends nudes to

but yes i’ll delete :(

she left like an hour ago, not really my type

for the sake of your sanity you choose not to respond, only liking his message about deleting the picture you’d sent. you switch out your lace set for the clothes you’d had on earlier, not even bothering to respond to jeno as you’d meant to earlier. as you put your phone on charge and turn out your light for the night, you do your best to force yourself to sleep.

hopefully, this whole ordeal will have blown over in the morning.

♕ ♕ ♕

the first thing you notice when you wake up is how insanely bright the sun is. the white curtains on your window do nothing to stop the light from pouring into the room, and you - wait.

white curtains?

you look around, taking in the beat up ryan plushie on top of the bookshelf in the corner of the room and the gaming chair at the desk. as you become more and more awake, your setting makes itself obvious.

once you realize it, you bolt upright, wondering what the hell you’re doing in jaemin’s room, especially when jaemin is nowhere to be found. you know you don’t sleepwalk, and you know for a fact that you’d fallen asleep in your own bed.

it’s only as you swing your legs out of bed and happen to glance down at them that you realize what has happened.

before you can say anything, however, you hear a voice - your own voice exclaim a loud ‘what the hell?’ from down the hall. you rush out of your - jaemin’s - room, only to immediately run into what looks to be your own body.

“(name)?” it says, and you gulp before nodding.

“jaemin?”

♕ ♕ ♕

“look,” you say, pinching your - jaemin’s - nose bridge. “we’ve been arguing for like an hour, now. it’s obvious that neither of us know why this happened, so we might as well try to figure out what we can do to make it un-happen!”

“it’s because you sent me that nude,” he says, running a hand through his - your - hair. “the universe reset itself out of shock at seeing you do something remotely sexual.”

“if i was in my own body, i’d kick your ass right now,” you swear, pushing yourself up off of the dining table which you’d been leaning against. you take a threatening step towards jaemin. he laughs.

“if i was in my own body, i’d... i’d probably be jerking off right now, to be honest. i miss my dick.”

you wince in disgust, staring down at his - your - face. “better not be to my picture.”

he shakes his - your - head at this, though not without raising his eyebrow at you. “i’m not a complete asshole - i deleted when you asked me to.”

“thank you,” you respond, not sure what else is to say. jaemin nods sagely before a grin starts spreading across his face.

“you know, maybe we have to recreate last night to fix it. do the same things, you know? who was the message meant for last night? maybe i’ll send them another one today.”

the thought of jaemin taking nudes of your body makes you feel dizzy in both bad and good ways. you realize he actually expects you to tell him, and you find yourself shaking your head no in response.

he quirks an eyebrow of yours.

“what, don’t want me to know? it’s not like i’ll tell anyone, you know. i mean-”

“it’s not that,” you hurry to tell him, and he smirks at you in return.

“no? then what is it?”

before you can respond, jaemin continues speaking, and you realize his question had been rhetorical. “oh, i know!” he says, sounding as if he’s had the realization of a lifetime. “you meant to send it to me, didn’t you? you just lied and got cold feet, after. i knew it! there’s no way you’re actually-”

in your haste to get jaemin to shut the hell up and your current inability to think straight, you cross the space between you two in one stride before pressing your mouth against his (or, you guess, his mouth against yours), desperate to get him to stop talking. your eyes are screwed shut anyways, so you don’t see his slide shut.

the two of you stay like that for what feels like an eternity before you pull away.

“i’m so sorry-” you start, opening your eyes to peer sheepishly up at jaemin.

wait.

up?

you blink once, twice, before bursting out into laughter. jaemin, after overcoming his own befuddlement does the same.

“oh my god, i can’t believe that fixed it,” you say once you get over the shock of being back in your own body. “holy shit.”

“i can’t believe any of that happened in the first place,” jaemin says, and you nod in agreement. a silence falls between the two of you almost immediately as you both try to figure out what to say to each other now.

you glance around the room, searching for something to fixate your gaze on. you know jaemin is doing the same beside you. before you can say something embarrassing - you’re seriously considering patting him on the back and going ‘good work out there’ - jaemin rests his hands lightly against your waist, forcing you to meet his eyes with yours.

“i kind of wish i’d experienced our kiss from inside my own body,” he says, and you search his face for an iota of a joke, something that says he’s messing with you.

there’s none to be found. you reach a hand up to rest against the back of his neck and, before you know it, you’re cupping the back of his head and pulling his lips to yours once again, though this one is much more passionate than the last. his hands tighten their grips on your waist as he pulls you flush against him, and you tangle your fingers in his hair.

once you pull away, you can’t bring yourself to leave his grasp. instead, you ask him the question that’s burning on your mind.

“do you want to see the lace set in person?”

your roommate nods, his excited actions directly contrasting his dark, hooded gaze. he lets you take his hand in yours, allowing you to drag him to your room. just as you shove open your bedroom door, however, jaemin speaks again.

“out of curiosity, who was the picture meant for?”

you stare at him for one, two beats before sighing, wincing right after. he gazes back at you both steadily and expectantly, and you figure you may as well say it.

“it ... it was meant for jeno.”

"what?”

506 notes · View notes

neshabeingchildish · 4 years

Text

Road to Dystopia Pt. 3

@sunbeameyes @kiddangers @bitchmilsky @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel @daintyurbanprincess @ciara-knightly @famousflowermagazine @imma-sensitive-btch @junknstu1f @grymrayven @supercasperprincesslove-blog

The author’s notes were cute the first time. Idk if I can recreate it. Smh. Accidentally deleted the first time. I know that I wanted to thank everyone who read, those who reviewed and those who enjoyed this fic. I’m sorry to anybody to didn’t enjoy, or anybody mad that this is the end, because you enjoyed it that much. And now the conclusion.

Goodbye Swellview

Ray was exhausted, but knew that he needed to address the public and also work on damage control for the incidents that Drex created and there no longer was a line to the Man Cave for the concerned citizens. He had to let them know that the system would return soon, that all of the known criminals were locked away, that jobs would be created in order to fix all of the various damages all over the city, from the majestic mountain of Mount Swellview, to the lowly old junk store, caught up in the wake of destruction. He had to assure the parents of at least four missing children that their children were probably going on Goonies-like adventures to try to search for Kid Danger and would each be returned home as soon as they were found… He had a lot of responsibilities to handle that the Kid would’ve smoothed over. So, he would do it for him.

Getting Henry into the new space and immediately tending to his medical needs, Charlotte and Schwoz worked to make sure that he was stable, giving the others instructions whenever they needed, until he was settled. Once he was hooked up to an IV and resting, Charlotte addressed all of his other injuries as he slept, and Schwoz and Piper went to retrieve the helicopter. Jasper wondered, “Is there anything that I can help with?”

“You can keep me company, if you want.”

He smiled, “Just try and get rid of me.” She smiled and continued. Henry had gotten pretty beaten up by Drex before the crash, because she knew that none of these injuries were likely related to that. Those would have been more serious, but these were pretty ugly, still. “Honestly, I may eff around and just blow off Harberd for a minute to roam Dystopia with you,” he said nonchalantly, but when she looked up at him, he seemed completely serious and pretty expectant.

“Well, a lot of people cancelled their flights after Drex attacked Swellview, so I’ll bet there’s an empty seat on mine, if you’re serious.”

He clenched his fists in excitement and wondered, “You’d really take me with you?”

She looked at him like she immediately regretted it, but he could tell that she was purposefully making that face. There was a little smile in her eyes as she furrowed her eyebrows at him. “I can’t believe that we all have superpowers,” Jasper said. Now, her facial expression was genuinely judgmental. “Don’t look at me like that! You said it yourself that I’m a superhero.”

“I said hero,” she corrected.

“Exactly, and now I’ve joined the ranks of the supers, along with Henry and Ray… and I guess you too, with your… roboticizing brain chip, but turning into a robot isn’t really the same thing as having a superpower.”

“I didn’t turn into a robot. The nanotechnology just goes through my body to where it’s needed to make the chip work properly with my brain. The chip isn’t even in my brain, it’s just in my head, and the technology can travel through my blood stream because there is organic material in the…” She saw from his face that he had no idea what she was talking about, so she concluded, “I’m not a robot. I’m still Charlotte, just… like a Super Charlotte.”

“Super Charlotte,” he repeated. She nodded. “But, not a robot.” She nodded. “Can you control other machines?”

“I can… communicate with other technology. Not so much control as to kind of get in tune with them, maybe jump on their network and sometimes hack effortlessly. I’ve still got a lot of testing out to do with this thing.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t just take it out, now. We’ve found Henry. That’s what you told me that you put it in for.” She didn’t respond to that and when she glanced at him she realized that he was waiting for a response. She still didn’t. He continued, “It’s just dangerous and it’s scary.”

“It’ll be really helpful when I get to Dystopia. It’ll be like a computer that nobody can steal from me on the train! You know that I got one of those robot hand gloves for protection? You can like attach it to the sleeve of your coat and it makes for someone stealing out of your hand very difficult. I was gonna wear it AND latch my computer to it while traveling. This is way safer!”

“For your computer, I guess,” he mumbled. She sighed. In too loud of a voice, he asked, “Well, what about that super strength, then? If you aren’t a robot now?”

Henry’s eyes blinked and she gave Jasper a look. They waited a moment, then she quietly said, “Some years ago, before you were on the team, I was kidnapped and altered to exterminate Ray and Henry.”

“I’ve heard this story. They turned you into a little, tiny Terminator, with a rap song.”

“Right. Well, Schwoz changed the signal and undid the mind control, but apparently there was still some kind of mechanism in me that could still be that way and the cyberchip was able to tap into it because the nanotechnology goes through my bloodstream. Simple explanation.” He opened his mouth and she said, “Still not a robot.”

“But robot enough,” he said.

She rolled her eyes and touched Henry’s hand, “All set.” Charlotte began to go put away the medical supplies and Jasper kept an eye on her. “This new lair is horribly positioned. It’s out in the open, like… everybody who passes by will be able to see it…”

“That’s a power move!” Jasper said. “It’s like, Yeah, I’m Captain Man and this is where I be. And what you gonna do about it?”

She sighed and said, “Captain Man didn’t make the move, but I guess. Of course, that’s awful risky for those of us who are NOT Captain Man. At least with the Man Cave, it was… hidden.”

Jasper shrugged his shoulders, “Is your assignment in Dystopia gonna be hidden?” It was a fair point. She shook her head, then he looked worried. “What exactly is your charity work? I forgot to ask.”

“Well, I actually told you a few times, but I guess it wasn’t that important to you,” she said, semi playfully. It was really frustrating to have to repeat stuff to her friends because they didn’t care enough about her life to retain anything.

“One more time, please, and I promise it won’t happen again,” Jasper said.

She nodded. He’d been pretty attentive all day, so she believed that promise from him. “In Dystopia, there are a lot of oppressive laws. The charity that I’m going to be working with is one that moves to try to educate little girls, in order to help them to not have to be child brides, or be obtained for human trafficking by Dystopia’s crime lords. There is a base of operations, which is kind of like a camp, and there is a settlement nearby - it has a shelter for some of the girls that they don’t necessarily have the resources to teach, but still have had to rescue from one of the terrible fates that happen to little girls there.”

“It is complete and utter bullshit that I didn’t remember you telling me this!” Jasper said, disgusted with himself.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

“Well… I mean… I’m not good at teaching, so is there other stuff I can do? Like… I don’t know… punch somebody if they try to steal our girls and sell them?”

“Yes, you can do that… OR… You know, you’ve got that fancy camera that I bought you for Christmas last year… You could document some of the conditions to share with the world.” She felt pretty bad for sicking a swarm of moths on him, so she made sure that she got him a really good gift. It killed her guilt whenever he opened it up.

“See? You are really great with ideas!” Jasper cheered. “Man, I’m gonna definitely start listening to you again.”

She was going to ask him when did he ever listen to her, but someone cut into their conversation with, “And what the heck am I gonna do in Dystopia?” Charlotte and Jasper both gasped and rushed to give Henry a triple hug. They both spoke at the same time about how they thought he was dead and they couldn’t believe he was alive, they were so glad, etc. He smiled in their arms and they all stayed there for a long time, eventually quieting down and just… resting, for the first time in the past few days, really.

After they were able to finally let go, Henry noted that Jasper and Charlotte were holding hands. He was just about to ask what was up with that, but each of them took one of his free hands and they sort of… were just chilling, just like that. “Are we friends that hold hands, now?” Henry asked, laughing a little.

“SUPER friends that hold hands!” Jasper corrected him. “We’ve got superpowers! I can fight and speak Spanish, ‘That’s not a-’(Henry tried, but Jasper kept going), Charlotte turns into a robot, ‘Not a robot…’ (She also attempted), and YOU HAVE A FORCEFIELD!”

Henry nodded, “Yeah, I DO have a forcefield… Wait, Charlotte, you turned into a robot? How long was I trapped in that crash site?”

“I am not a robot,” she said. They were quiet for a little bit longer and then she wondered, “Do… do you really wanna come with us to Dystopia?”

“Like he has a choice!” Jasper said.

“He does. He has plenty of choices. He could go to Neighborville as their hero. He could stay in Swellview with Ray and help him with the fallout of what happened. He could resign from hero life, hide his power and finish his high school education…” She listed.

Henry nodded at all of those unsavory ideas. Well, they were okay, but… they would include him being too far away from his two best friends, who he didn’t even want to leave before he had a severely traumatic near death experience. “Yeah… But… What could I do in Dystopia?” He asked her. He and Jasper looked at her attentively, actually waiting for her advice.

“You… could… work on your GED online, or even probably sit in on some higher level classes at the charity base, work in the community garden, maybe even do security for the shelter… You could… be a hero there. Rebrand yourself and become a new hero and a new kind of hope for Dystopia…”

“Can… I do all of that, or I gotta choose one? Because the community garden sounds awesome, but I feel like with a superpower, I should probably say that last one, or at least security…”

“You can do whatever you want, Henry. You’ll have backup,” she said and she and Jasper smiled at each other and then at him.

“I want to take a shower. I am super musty.” They all acknowledged the same. Nobody had washed up. But, also… Nobody knew where a shower might be in this place, either.

After they found it, Charlotte told them that they could go first, she was going to try to get them something to change into. She’d seen the gumball maker and she knew how to work it. Hell, she knew how to make an Omega weapon.. She looked up and Jasper was in the doorway while Henry showered, but keeping an eye on her. “Jasper, what are you…?”

“I’m just… leery about leaving either of you alone right now. Is that dumb?” he asked.

She shook her head. It wasn’t. She got it.

Captain Man announced that Kid Danger died saving a baby hospital, and if Henry wanted to remain a hero, he could always just be someone else. He had a different power, and everything. But… also… He knew that Henry didn’t want to stick around. While he was out working on getting the city calmed down, Schwoz made sure that the kids got home. And, he didn’t really hear from them while they were recovering. He could guess why.

To keep up appearances, they kept their social media active. Charlotte and Jasper replaced their phones and were posting hella photos of them mourning Kid Danger, but grateful for the chance to graduate and move on. Henry was with Piper a lot, showing up in her social media - mostly because SHE was so grateful that he actually wasn’t dead, but she was never going to admit that. Instead, she said stuff like, “Spending my last Swellview days with my biggest fan, my reckless brother” or some other version. “This idiot” and so on.

But, they were together, mostly. Piper had several graduation parties to attend and was requested at every Kid Danger memorial, as President of the Man Fans, so whenever she did those things, she left Henry at Charlotte’s. Jasper had only been home to grab his things and spent the rest of the time there, too. Charlotte was working on building a portable gumball maker, because it would be so much easier for them if they DIDN’T have to pack a lot of clothes, and also, Henry would need something for hero stuff. Then, Jasper wondered if she could make him something for hero stuff too, “Since I have superpowers now,” he said. She put it on her list.

Henry came in while she was working on that and Jasper was playing on his phone with his head in her lap. “Yo, yo, yiggety yo yo yo!” Henry cheered.

Jasper gasped and said, “BOOK CHECK!” He picked up one of Charlotte’s books from the workstation and threw it at Henry, who reflexively and defensively blocked it with a forcefield. “Amazing,” Jasper observed.

While Charlotte yelled, “Hey!” Because he threw one of her books. Henry picked it up and set it back where it went. “Hey, how are you, Hen?” Charlotte asked.

“Not as good as Jasper, with the best seat in the house,” he teased, then took his own seat, next to Jasper and leaned back onto Charlotte’s lap, as well.

“I’m not furniture,” she reminded them.

“We’re idiot doggies. We don’t know the difference,” Henry said. She rolled her eyes and continued working. “Are we sitting together at the city wide service?”

“Don’t you think you should sit with your family, after what happened to you and what almost happened to you?” Charlotte asked.

“You… two… are my family,” Henry said. Jasper reached over and took his hand. Charlotte strummed his hair. They continued with their plan of action for attending the service and making it to the airport…

Henry was confused whenever the bird hurt itself flying into him, but that was short lived. It was short lived, because the moment that he saw the blimp connecting with the mountain, and he watched in slow motion as what he believed to be his last few moments alive took place, he wished for something else. He tried to focus on why he did this. It was because he loved Ray, but also… because Swellview did need Captain Man. But Kid Danger?

Swellview couldn’t have needed him. His friends didn’t even need him. They had planned futures. They had decided to move on without him. But… Charlotte’s last cry. Hearing her scream his name, then all of the noise of the Man Cave crumbling… Did they make it out? Would they be free to leave Swellview? Would they… still want to… after this? Because the fire, the wreckage and the explosions that he was witnessing… there was no way that he was going to be alive for much longer. He jumped off of the blimp, hoping that at least if he wasn’t incinerated in the explosion, they would have something to confirm what happened to him. The babies were safe, so he no longer had to steer the blimp. A Swellview block was safe. Swellview was safe, thanks to him. Ray was safe. Knowing how dedicated Jasper was to doing what he said, Jasper and Charlotte were safe. He could die, knowing that the people that he loved were able to live on.

Whenever he landed, back first, he braced himself, but he bounced, then stopped moving. Was it so painful that he couldn’t feel it? Was it so bad that he had dissociated? He checked himself. He was still glowing green and he appeared unharmed… But… wreckage from the mountain and the blimp soon came tumbling down and he braced himself yet again to be killed… He wasn’t, though. Just… trapped. “Okay, so it’s slow starvation instead of instantaneous impact or at least a torturous few moments of burning?” He sighed and tried to shove the flaming wreckage off of himself. Not only was it not working, but more and more kept falling onto him. “Or suffocation?” He said, noting that it was very difficult to breathe under all of this. He started to try to see if this… protective glow could maybe push off some of this stuff like it deflected that bird and like it padded his fall. He was able to get himself a little more breathing room, but he was pretty buried. All that was left to do now was wait - either for this forcefield to fail and these rocks to crush him to death, to succumb to hunger, or maybe something else horrific could happen.

He tried to see if his phone was still on him. Maybe he could call someone. Maybe he could call Charlotte or Jasper… He recalled her voice screaming his name as presumably, she got out of the Man Cave? But… what if she didn’t? What if she and Jasper only made it as far as the elevator and everything collapsed, making it plunge right back down into the explosions? He shouldn’t think like that! He should try to have some hope… But… that was enough to scare him away from trying to call either of them. He tried to press the buttons by memory. Maybe he could contact Piper. She was out of dodge, so she was definitely safe and sound, somewhere… But his phone must’ve had bad coverage, because nothing happened. No connection… He was on his own, just the way that he figured he’d be whenever Team Danger left him in Swellview. “I’m gonna die here, in this place,” he announced miserably, to himself. “Alone…” He whispered and shut his eyes. Nobody was around, so it was okay for him to cry.

Time was lost on him. He almost passed out a few times, but immediately jumped awake whenever he felt the force field slip and the wreckage get heavier against him. His jump scare wake ups always push it out a little more, but not enough to free himself.

He thought about Jasper. The way he used to always try to be affectionate and it would make Henry slightly uncomfortable and try to avoid him for a moment… If he had Jasper here right now, he would hug him so tightly and apologize and tell him that he loved him and kiss him right on the lips. As friends, or whatever. It didn’t matter. He didn’t tell Jasper how much he appreciated him and his love and now, he was going to die alone and Jasper was going to maybe light a candle before he left for college, hopefully mourn accordingly and then move on with his life.

Charlotte… she was gonna go… what was she doing out there? Dystopia… was she working in one of their food deserts? If he had Charlotte here right now, he’d tell her to start from the beginning and tell him EVERYTHING on her mind. He wouldn’t cut her off, or tune her out, or make fun of her for how boring or nerdy whatever she was talking about was… Had he been that person? A person that doesn’t show his friends that he cared? A person who didn’t let his best friend love him? Didn’t listen to his other best friend? Would they even care to lose him? Kid Danger, sure… but… had he been a good enough Henry to them?

His brain was exhausted. His muscles hurt from the strain of staying alive inside of that force field, and his heart was broken by all of the regrets of being the kind of friend that friends and even his sister could just move on and leave behind. Maybe they were somewhere beating themselves up too. I mean… they WERE just gonna graduate and leave me… He felt bad for even thinking that way about them. They shouldn’t put their lives on hold just because HE had wasted his, and now, he had sacrificed it. He was probably always meant to be here. To fall, a hero, but die alone. He hated his mindset right now. He had been so sure whenever he sent Ray away. He had been so sure when the babies were safe. But, now, in this aftermath… He just wanted the death he deserved, a hero’s death… not this hell that he was putting himself through while he fought to stay alive, for what? Because starving, dehydration, and exhaustion were better than rock crushing?

He heard helicopters nearby and he tried to move. Maybe if he shifted a rock and knocked some down, they’d at least check this pile of rubbish. Rubbish? Weird. I must be delirious… One thing he wasn’t… moving those rocks. And it was hours before they began to move. He was about ready to throw in the towel. He was so out of it, he could’ve sworn that he heard Ray’s voice ask where he was. He answered. He’d been talking to himself and his ghosts all of this time. Might as well continue… Then, the rocks began to move and he saw their faces. Charlotte and Jasper! FINALLY. The death he deserved. Peaceful, with images that brought him joy and not anguish. He dropped the forcefield and he let himself find rest.

He hadn’t expected to wake up to find them there. He hadn’t expected to wake up at all, but he heard chatter about Dystopia and he knew those voices and he simply followed them until he was conscious again… and there they were - his friends. His loves. Of course, he wanted to be with them. He never wanted to have to be alone again, hero or not…

After a little bit, it became clear that they were going to have to do a little more than just help and watch after the girls in the program - people were always in need of help in Dystopia. They would wake up in the morning. Charlotte, wrapped up in two dudes and squirm her way out of them. She got better and better at putting their arms on each other so that she could stretch and have some tea before they got up. If Henry woke up first, he left a paper flower that he folded and a note that he went for a jog - he could do that, because he had a force field. Whenever Jasper woke up first, he would either stay where he was until somebody else got up, just cuddled up and watching them sleep.

No matter the order, they got up, took the train to the base. Charlotte taught classes, Jasper took photos and did maintenance work, and Henry helped with the community garden and security.

Any time that there was an alert for them to spring into action, Jasper and Henry were able to go more easily than she was, but the times when she DID get to go, those criminals had better watch out. She had a tap on mask programmed into her cyberchip, so she didn’t need to blow a bubble… she wasn’t big on gum, anyway, and she made sure that she kept Henry and Jasper’s gum supplied. Jasper needed two, they soon found out, after watching him be thrown around like a ragdoll, because he had not been able to sleep as easily with a pill. Charlotte’s sleeping gum recipe though? Put him right out and he was up and fighting in no time.

Henry had a hero complex with them. He still jumped in front of them and potential danger with his force fields, despite that they probably would be fine 9 times out of 10 if he hadn’t. He still asked Charlotte if she was going to go back to the base. He still felt like he was the one who had to protect them, sometimes. They were slowly getting him out of that habit every time they had to get out there and fight. Charlotte with her extensive gifts from the cyberchip. Jasper with his unique fighting style. And now, for however long they wanted to, the three of them would be as close… no… they were definitely already closer, than he and Ray had been when they were a team. Things worked out just as they were meant to! He wasn’t going to die alone. He smiled to himself as he popped the gumball into his mouth and rushed to catch up with his friends.

#Road to Dystopia #Nesha HD Fics #Dystopia #HD Dystopia #henry danger #hd ot3 #ot3 #Chensper

58 notes · View notes

nihilnovisubsole · 4 years

Note

Do you ever completely drop old unfinished projects or do you still have them sitting somewhere in your brain, sometimes mulling them over again?

depends on what you mean!

i do have a handful of projects, ideas, and characters that i look back at and go, “i don’t think this has a future.” it happens for a lot of different reasons. not all of them are bad. on the contrary. sometimes it’s healthy for me to move on from them. there’s a lot of stuff sitting on either a USB drive, a backup CD, or a gdocs folder that i shouldn’t mess with again. some of my edgy story ideas from ten or fifteen years ago came out of me being a really hurt teenager and trying to express that somehow. other times i realize i wanted to play around with an aesthetic, but it didn’t come with a meaty enough plot to sustain itself. a couple of old stories relied on worldbuilding that made no sense, and to twist it into making sense would be more trouble than payoff. and, yes, some of them came from creative partnerships that i don’t have anymore - it happens, it’s part of growing up - and the loss outweighs what could’ve been.

do i think about them sometimes? sure! i don’t, you know, intentionally forget them or anything. but i have to be realistic about them. i only have 24 hours a day and get new ideas all the time. i have to ask myself which things from yesterday are worth today’s elbow grease.

also, i think the question hinges on something else, which is “does the project survive exactly as it was back then?” vs. “does driftwood from the project find its way into other works?” just because you see that a project or character had fatal design flaws doesn’t mean you’re not still interested in the things that inspired them. and i’ve talked before about how i often see old ideas accidentally resurface in new characters. i’ve had a couple of characters with a monastic dedication to justice. i’ve had a few warriors who struggled to find a purpose outside of war. a while ago i ended up recreating the premise of a fanfic i had plotted but never finished when i was like, twelve. it’s not The Same Thing, exactly. the old project isn’t coming back. but it’s nice to think that the good parts, in a way, aren’t going to waste.

hell, a lot of the authors we consider literary greats spent their entire careers harping on like, one or two themes. i think that when people talk about creative types “leaving their mark” on something, this must be what they mean. you will keep finding a way back to the ideas that interest you. you can’t help it, so why resist it? it’s what makes your writing yours.

if you’re asking because you feel like you’re at a death junction with a writing project, whatever you decide, i hope you don’t delete anything. you can move it into an “old stuff” folder and ignore it if you want, but you never know. there may come a day when you wish you still had it. you may rediscover the doc in a few years and go, “god, that’s gross.” or you may laugh at it. i love reading my ridiculous writing from middle school. i’m sad about the stuff that i can’t find because it disappeared somewhere in the 2000s tango of having to virus-wipe PCs. [what can i say? people used a lot of limewire back then. i’m people.] if you did the work, it was worthwhile, even if all it does is eventually lead you to something else.

#writing #anon #asks #long post

12 notes · View notes

jay-art-blog · 4 years

Photo

The crew is here!

As a bit of a nostalgia run I decided to jump on my Webkinz accounts after forever.

Sadly, I learned that after 7 years accounts are automatically deleted so I lost my main, which contained like 30+ webkinz and my second one, which had at least 20. All that remained was my third generation, created May 15th, 2011.

Front: Cream, Taco

Middle: Peach, Cotton cuddles, Princess

Back: Ronnie, Chacha

I had so many Webkinz(not enough to be considered impressive in the Webkinz community as I only got one for my birthday or Christmas) that I made new accounts as a “new start”.

Considering how many children played Webkinz at the time, I’m surprised the mall/outlet Santas have never heard of them, or at least the ones I’ve interacted with.

All I remember about this account is both of my friends accidentally got me a Shih Tzu so I have two. I didn’t ask for anything specific, they just happened to get me the same thing and I named them “Princess” and “Peach”. I’m great with names!

Around Christmas 2012 I wanted to draw a story for these guys. I only drew one page...

Nostalgia is such a weird feeling, sadly the website has changed so I can’t recreate everything I did.

____________________________________________________________

My childhood is a massive blur, but I remember what got me into it was my step-sister’s friend playing Polar Plunge and decorating her pet’s room with a princess bed. I wanted to play sooo bad, but they never let me. On my 8th birthday I received a Lil Kinz White Poodle. I named her Sweety plus my 2nd grade teacher’s name(and accidentally made it my username). I took her everywhere with me and always had her whenever I logged on, hugging her close.

It may be size, but I designated every Lil Kinz I received as children and Big Kinz as adults who looked after them, even educating them.

After jumping back in years later, I noticed some major changes!

Some changes I disliked for personal reasons were

-Doctor Quack is retired so your Webkinz can’t get sick anymore. Long story short, he invented a max potion that made them never get sick anymore. I enjoyed giving my Webkinz a healthy lifestyle so they won’t get sick(e.g. candy lowered their health and swimming raised it), while giving them the occasional treat.

Or, in the case to add to my age- A marshmallow ceremony for my Total Drama Island thing on my second account, run by my kangaroo and her joey. Loved that show!

-Following that up, the replacement is a Happiness and a “give me attention” meter. It’s fine, but a certain thing bothers me. Your Webkinz will ask you for stuff. Swimming, apples, playing a game, etc. If you do what they ask they get happy, saying things like “You really do care!”(as if I didn’t before??) and “I’m so lucky to have you, (name here)!” If you don’t for any reason, you walked away from your computer, you physically can’t fulfill it(e.g. a job because you just did it and you have to wait 8 hours), or you accidentally tap another pet, they say things, like “I guess we can do something else, then...” or “*sigh* Nevermind, then...” or “*sigh* Oh well...” and it sucks! I feel like my Webkinz are guilt tripping me and that’s not fun because I feel bad that I couldn’t help them out. Every time I can’t help them, I look away from the screen so I don’t see their message. Their disappointment.

-Plants are also immortal now! You can set them and forget them. I liked the responsibility of watering them and removing weeds so they don’t die(it was a lot on my main bc kid me decided to fill a whole yard with as many as possible)

-New Ms. Birdy. I learned that there are people who found old Ms. Birdy creepy. Still don’t see it and prefer it over her new design. That was the face that greeted me with every adoption. Fight me.

-Dunno if it was the computers I used at the time or they updated that, too, but she also sounds clearer. She doesn’t give the ASMR vibe she gave me as a kid.

-YOU HAVE TO BE A DELUXE MEMBER TO PLAY IN THE MAGICAL FOREST NOW. WHY???

-I did look at my account like in 2015, or something, only to never touch it after that bc of the ads, crazy lag, and everything suddenly becoming Deluxe only. Even Polar Plunge was one of many Deluxe only games at the time. They changed it back, but not without changing the layout and throwing snowflakes everywhere.

-I can’t make a wall of bubbles or squeak the ducky in my pet’s face in the bathtub anymore...

-The TVs don’t work anymore. How am I supposed to watch the Monkey and Monkey Show!?

Wowwww, I had a lot to say about that!

Good Stuff!

I like that there are tasks now. I love doing those, though some I’m stuck on as some require me to buy certain things I can only get if I’m a full member, but that’s fine! I like designating certain tasks, like the Spree! one to Peach, since she loves shopping.

I remember during the quick scope in 2015, or something, free play became a thing and you had limited choices(a floppy eared bunny, and something else). Now you have a choice of 8. I tested it with a Leonberger(his name is Wuf Wuf!) and you get a taste of the Deluxe life for a day and then you get as much as you’d expect a free membership, but it’s still enough to have some fun. Ms. Birdy also gives your Webkinz a whole celebration. It’s creepy when she looks right at you, thooo.

-This was kind of funny. I did it at the same time as the 7 day Deluxe preview thing and where you were limited in some areas, like you can’t buy a room or yard, it double stacked, I guess, and I was unstoppable... for a day. I made a bathroom!

Sorry for the wall!

tl;dr I jumped back into my surviving Webkinz account. Webkinz was great, now it kinda sucks. Old Ms. Birdy is best Ms. Birdy. Change my mind.

Unrelated nostalgia note: Does anyone remember Rainbow Monkeys?

#art #Webkinz #Shih Tzu #Rooster #Chihuahua #Canary #Gold and White Cat #Dreamy Sheep #dog #cat #sheep #bird #Nostalgia

17 notes · View notes

be-ready-when-i-say-go · 4 years

Text

Falling From Grace- Part 2: Deleted Scenes

Calum, Ashton, Luke, and Michael have a prophecy to fulfill. They might not have always been Calum, Ashton, Luke, and Michael but they have always been brothers in the fight. Mythology!sos. Each guy is a God reincarnated from various mythologies.

See the full story.

Enjoy my masterlist

Support me on ko-fi

_____________________________

He’s known the museum sitting there for years now. He’s just never step foot into it. Felt way too close to home knowing that statues of people he actually knows sit about. But Ashton walts in this time. It could be fun he figures. It’s not like anyone knows him, knows his connection. So with his hair tied back for the moment, Ashton pays admission and starts about the exhibits. Most of the place is way too pristine. The white walls look more like a hospital and it feels like one too but much less sorrowful. He keeps his hands tucked into the pocket of his pants, restricting the yearning to touch some of the frames.

He misses the frill, the extravagant gold accents on his usual robes. The frames are the closet he’s going to get right now. Ashton follows the line down before rounding the corner and finding him at the door of another exhibit. Busts line the walls and he grins to himself. He recognizes these faces, knows them all too well, even if they are in white marble. Some are chipped, the wear and tear of time never being the most merciful force in the universe.

Ashton poses in front of the first statue, mimicking the facial expression. He sends the photo to the group chat. This guy was a dick. Or is a dick, still, I guess is more correct. He moves down to the second bust, pulling a face similar to the one sculpted. Less of a dick, he types, grinning to himself. He takes a photo with the last bust, furrowing his brows, and pulling down the corner of his lips. Less of a dick than the first two. Guy’s still not my favorite.

A couple of minutes later his phone buzzes. Michael’s replied, I’m saving these for evidence. You’ve been warned.

They hate me anyway, so good luck with that.

Damn it. Why do all the Greek Gods hate each other so fucking much?

Because we do. It’s our Brand™.

Alright Meme Lord.

Ashton chuckles, pocketing his phone. As he walks through the rest of the museum he ponders what else to do with the photos? Should they just sit forever in the groupchat? What’s the real harm in posting them? He doesn’t have to put a caption. If he’s going to live in this life then he’s going to live it to its fullest.

As Ashton settles back onto the cushions of his house, he hovers over the post button. He’s had the pictures sitting for ages in the post. Nothing’s going to happen to him. The Gods aren’t going to smite him, for all their seriousness, humor is not lost on them. Just post it, he thinks to himself. It is not the end of the world. He’s all acquainted with how that goes. His thumb twitches, the posts loads before the screen changes. There, staring back up at him, is his own face next to faces he’s always seen in the flesh.

Maybe it’s a bad idea. Panic starts to hits his chest. His phone buzzes. It’s Calum. I know you, mate. Saw the photos. They’re funny. Don’t worry. Ashton starts to draft his response, tell them how he needs to delete the photos before another messages comes in. If you delete them, it’s more suspicious. Leave them be. We are human right now. What’s the point of having this humanity and not using it.

Calum is right. Ashton exhales, deleting all the panicked message and replacing it with a simple, Thanks.

_________

Michael finds himself as the next one in a museum. This time not as accidental as Ashton’s trip. He decided to go out for the day, see some sights, to get away. They need a break. Recording and writing, more writing, more recording. He just wants to shut his brain off for a moment, just enjoy his time while it’s still mostly his. As he’s walking through the exhibits, awestruck by the use of colors and the line work that’s still incorporated into the final details of the piece, he jokingly poses in front of some pieces. He’s only doing it for the jokes, the giggle behind the camera.

But at the conclusion of his journey through art, he realizes that some of those poses were pretty spot on. He posts the set of recreations with the caption, Immerse yourself. Become art. He wants to add more. You are art. Everyone is art. Everything is art. There’s an art in just existing, in just breathing when everything feels like it’s telling you not to breathe, to not exist. However he figures it best to stay positive, to keep it light and funny. He’s becoming art and that reminds him, even in all the struggle of making this album he still has a duty to himself.

So he leaves it at just that. Become art. Becoming is the best part of existence. He can become anyone. He can become anything, even if in some ways he is still restricted by another’s diction. He will always becoming something in this human form. He hopes he never stops becoming either, even in the old age when bones are more brittle.

__ Everyone’s buzzing about Marvel. It’s always somewhere in the corners of the internet the correct way to watch the movies. Calum’s never been one to delve head first into this. But Michael enjoys it and rather than tune out his friend’s interest, he suspends all he knows and finds the action scenes and the comradery admirable. Even if people are robots made out of blue scraps, and someone’s a purple giant, and there’s two green people. But only one’s technically the alien and the other deems himself an abomination.

It’s not very amusing when the interviewer jokes about potentially spoiling the movie. Calum can tell Michael’s a little on edge. So he jokes, “Is Spiderman in it?”

“Yeah, I haven’t even watched the trailer because I don’t wanna spoil it,” Michael replies, looking down at the slight furrowed brow of the brown man slouched, picking at his nails.

“Is Spiderman in it?” Ashton echoes.

Calum speaks up again, “Is it Toby?” HIs face in deadpanned. He knows Michael will think he is serious.

Michael for a second is shocked, voice dripping with disbelief. “What? No.” He watches the very faint smile that overtakes Calum’s face and then laughs. Of course Calum would ask that. He knows it’s not Toby but it got a chuckle out of Michael.

Calum faces forward, staring directly into the camera, like in The Office. Not too many people will catch onto the joke, the play that just happened. But it’s fine. It’s for Michael anyway. The stab about spoilers wasn’t funny to anyone and rather than let that tension grow, Calum knew he had to break it somehow. This then spurs Ashton onto a rant about how Toby is better.

Calum interjects, mostly at Michael, “I like Tom, but I like Toby more.”

Later on, after all the interviews are done, they settle into the dark of the theater. They laugh, they gasp, they admittedly cry. Though it only maybe only a couple of tears and no one would admit it, it’s still a shock. Calum pulls out his phone, Why is Gamora? He decides to focus on the positive, on the laughs. Though the question itself is still a very valid one. Why is anyone? Why the question purpose, and sometimes the most difficult one to ask. Why anything? Why the four of them? Why is it so humid in Singapore? The t-shirt, that Calum figured would be thin enough, does not provide much circulation. His pits feel like a swamp, the leather to the couch they’ve been sat on for the last two days takes no prisoners either.

Calum has learned, however, that he can question why until he turns blue in the face? He could analyze every interaction, every word in existence and it would still only lead him to more questions. He doesn’t let that stop him from question some things but he tries not to question too many things. There is some, while it is scary, serenity in knowing that one does not have all the answers. He is allowed to question Why is Gamora and it is nothing more than a funny piece of dialogue from a widely accepted heart wrenching movie and it will provide answers of its own accord, at its own pace. All he simply must do is walk into a dark theater.

________

“So we can see, Calum out there has had a long day,” Luke starts, shirtless, watching out onto the balcony where Calum, “on the treacherous waters.”

“He was fishing for Tilapia,” Ashton interjects.

“Catch Calum on the newest season of Deadliest Catch,” Luke concludes. He doesn’t find himself to be the funniest guy, but every so often he likes to get in a joke.

Ashton opens the door, “You okay, buddy?” Calum’s earnest glance back makes all three men laugh on camera, including a small chuckle from Andy, who’s behind the camera. It makes Luke happy, that just for a moment, they aren’t too serious. Even though this is work, steaming his voice before a show, and he’s currently unsure of what he’s going to wear tonight, there is some play.

Later on, after the adventure in Cream Soda, venturing down the dark streets, Luke pulls Michael to the back of the group for an ‘interview’. It quickly goes down south. They continue on down the street. The saying all work and no play makes Jack dull is right. So they make sure to have fun, even if it’s in the backseat of the car, shakily hitting a falsetto about Shake Shack. It reminds them all, but Luke especially to try and shake the bad times off.

The whole year creating the album broke, and maybe in some ways, created chains and burdens. Expectations is the worst thing they’ve ever faced. They’re always expected to restore balance to the cosmos. That is an old cross they bear. But it is strange now to be so far into the limelight, to be told that they are expected to work almost endlessly day in and day out without allowing themselves the truth of the situation. They grow tired. They grow weary.

They sing in falsetto though. They make sure to have these small moments to be strange and to be weird to remind themselves they are bound to humanness. They are not exempt from doubt even with the expectation to be superheros in the eye of the music world, even though they know normally they are able in deity form do miracles things, that are incredibly human right now. And it’s okay to have this tender moments. They’ve earned them.

#calum hood #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #michael cliffford #calum hood fanfic #calum hood fic #calum hood imagine #luke hemmings fanfic #luke hemmings fic #luke hemmings imagine #ashton irwin fanfic #ashton irwin fic #michael clifford fanfic #michael clifford fic #5sos #5sos fanfic #5sos fic #5 seconds of summer #h writes

3 notes · View notes

core-of-frisk · 5 years

Note

It’s been a long while but hey. In case you ever come back (it’s been almost 4 years as I’m typing this but one can hope), I just want you to know that I really enjoyed this au and then time you put into it. Ciao.

I’m not sure when this was sent, but oh man I didn’t expect to get any asks after all this time! I decided to take a look through all my old roleplay accounts on facebook and tumblr just to reminisce so I probably won’t come back for another few years unless the Frisk muse suddenly hits me again.

I’m so glad you enjoyed my interpretation of this au! I fell in love with it the first time I saw it :) The original creator is the lovely @dokudoki who I remember talking with quite a bit back in the day. I regret abandoning this blog sometimes and think about coming back, but I know the people I used to talk to have since outgrown me. And, as I’m typing this, I remember the main reason why it fizzled out was because I had accidentally deleted this blog after getting over 1000 followers and was only able to get 122 back after recreating it lmao so I was mad butthurt.

Tell me how life has been treating you for the past few years and how you’ve grown! :)

All the best

#ooc #Anonymous

3 notes · View notes

dawud-abdulhameed-mcintosh · 6 years

Text

Re-posted Question: Marriage process question

The following was asked but I accidentally deleted it. So I’m reposting it again:

Asalamu3alaykum ive gotten to a point where a lot of my friends are getting married and they are all going about it in different ways, i never know how strict or layed back i should be about these things one of my closest just had his first in real life meet up with his potential wife alone. i have another that is going into to it blind, what i wanted to ask is how would you go about things and also please can you write a list of questions you would ask before marrying said person jazakallah khr

Wa Alayk Assalaam

So it isn’t about what the people do, its about what Allah جل جلاله has legislated. We have a set means about how we go about finding a spouse today. Now, the modern world has made it a bit more difficult to go enact these means but we should try to within the bounds of the shari’ah in everything we do.

So how would *I* go about it?

Try to do things as much as possible, offline, and in your own country. Why? As I mentioned in prior questions using the internet and/or trying to marry abroad is a major headache. I’m not saying it’s wrong. I’m saying that for me, at almost 30 years old, I have no patience for it anymore. Now if I knew there was a way to go about it that it would NOT be as strenuous as it has been in the past then I might consider it, but for right now this is my stance on this. At least, for myself. So if you can go to families and friends you already know and put “feelers” out there ie. let them know you’re looking and see if anyone would have a lead for you.

I would then make clear to whomever I’m making the intent of marriage known to(ie the sister and her walee/wakeel) what I am looking for and what I have to offer. That would include my age, my ethnicity(because this is often what will turn the conversation very quickly), what I do for a living and general physical, and financial situation. IF she is not down with any of this it’s a done deal. There’s nothing more to ever talk about.

I’d also list my interests, recreational hobbies(eg lifting weights, mma, etc.)

As for what I’m looking for or what to ask it would be something like:

What do you believe is the correct way to understand and implement Islaam? (No leading questions, so that she will answer honestly and not seeking to say what she thinks will please me)

Who do you listen to from the du’aat, speakers, and scholars of this ummah?

What books do you read both Islaamically and secular(within the bounds of the religion), if any?

What are you ambitions, if any, for future education and/.or work?

What about family? History of sickness, mental or physical?

Outside of general seeking of knowledge or listening to lectures, what do you like to do for recreation or leisure?(NO human being outside of the best of the scholars and Muslims throughout history can say they don’t have some hobbies that they enjoy. I’m not looking for “Oh all I do all day is pray”. NO. Be honest and real and say what you like to do. You want a wife. Not a character.)

How do you feel about polygyny? Is it something you can deal with or not? I fully intend to marry more than one if Allah grants me the means to do so. (Anything other than “I would still be jealous but I acknowledge it as your right and will do my best to be patient” is not acceptable. Reason being anything other than this response(or what is similar to it) means she’s saying what will please me and she is NOT being real with herself. Allah knows best what we hide.)

How would you and your family describe your disposition or general mood?

Are you ok with no having children until a year passes?(For me a big deal because I need to know this person who will be the mother of my children front and back before I bring a child into this world with her. No doubt Allah decrees what he wills regardless of what I want or don’t want)

etc etc etc

There’s alot I’d like to ask but I believe in putting it all on the table. More than anything I’m about being as real as humanly possible before making any intent to sit down and sign the contract. IF things seem to fit here, it would be up to her wali and I, obviously with her already consenting, to awkwardly(because its ALWAYS awkward. Like “Ok Im ready to see her now” thats a major yikes from me dawg).schedule when I can see her as she usually is amongst her family without her knowing I am there.

^ This is hard because many Muslims do NOT do this. They give out pictures or do facetime where the woman has beautified herself for the occasion but that is not correct and it is NOT REAL. That is NOT what she looks like on a regular day and little do we seem to understand is that, if a man sees someone completely different every morning he wakes up than this beautiful pearl he was sold during the common “sit downs” it is a turn off. NO ONE wants that. Alhamduliah for the wisdom of the shari’ah and its boundaries.

After ALL this(see how much ALREADY goes into this? You want to make it MORE complicated? lol) and everything checks out. We’re both pleased with one another as much as two interested strangers could be, then I’d sit down sign the contract, understand the conditions of both parties, etc and its all done.

Thats how I would attempt to go about it and what I think is permissible according to the Quran and Sunnah. May Allah forgive me if I have said anything wrong.

I hope this makes sense.

4 notes · View notes

thewildheroine · 6 years

Text

Fly Away |Nineteen|

Warnings: Language, abuse mentions

Word Count: 4284

Pairing: Peter Parker x Magic!Reader

A/N: This part had to be recreated sadly because the original was deleted. This is basically so new readers can find it. Sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused by accidentally deleting Part Nineteen and thank you to the anon who pointed it out ; ). Part 23 will be out today

|Masterlist|

Peter and I sit aimlessly on the wooden floor. I’ve tinted the window completely, preferring the darkness to read over my old spell book with. I read the language my father forced me to learn when I was so, so much younger. Then, I read to impress. To earn my father’s praise so I wouldn’t feel so hopeless. Now, I read to comprehend what is happening.

Strange explained to me that my father had cut the stone into me only moments after I was born, or rather used a weapon laced with the time stone’s dust. While Stephen hadn’t gone into detail he told me that it is why I have such a powerful inclination to magic. Tony came to my room next and sat in the dark room with me until Peter arrived.

“I know this doesn’t make sense,” he told me reassuringly. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, not looking away from the book I transported from my old apartment.

“Doesn’t make sense?” I laughed. “It’s not even in the fucking book Tony. Magic like this shouldn’t exist. How the hell would Strange have found out about it if that’s the case?” I don’t expect Tony to answer me. It doesn’t matter anyway. I already know that Kamar Taj has thousands of texts explaining every type of magic in our known universe.

“We’re going to figure something out. That’s what the others want at least.” My eyes hallowed at the way he said that. Like he was lamenting.

“What does that mean?” I wondered. Somewhere inside of me I already knew what Tony was getting at, but I needed some sort of confirmation. Stark measured his words for a few seconds, really doing his best to figure out the best way of telling me what is happening.

“They want to know if there’s any way to take it out of you,” he replied. The words left his mouth and for some odd reason, I felt betrayed. Betrayed by everyone I had lived with for the past month and a half because I thought they didn’t fear my magic as much as I did. They do though. It made my insides ache and my heart crack along the seams I had just glued back together. Tony, taking it as his time to leave wrapped his hand around the door handle.

“Are you all going to talk about it?” I whispered quietly. I feared that if my words came out too loud Tony would be able to hear the emotion bleeding from them.

“Yes,” he said. “Cap, Bruce, and Strange think that it may not be a good idea for you to get involved in the meeting.”

I chuckle sadly, remembering the whole conversation. Peter looks up from the only book I was able to recover from the apartment that’s in English. My eyes look up at him for a moment before I drop them back down to the complex writing in front of me, detailing what exactly the “infinity stones” are. Of course, they wouldn’t want me to get involved because they believe that I would fight for what’s inside of me. The thing is I don’t even know what that is. I know it enhanced my magical abilities from a young age which allowed me to excel when it came to sorcery. It actually would explain why I retain all knowledge so easily. The only thing I seem to lack is the patience of time.

My mind wanders back to the last words I said to Tony. We had hit pause for a few moments as though the hero had some sort of premonition that I wanted to speak up. Finally, I bowed my head and glanced behind me and at him. He had just started to open the door when I grabbed his hand.

There were so many words that wanted to flood out of my mouth. I wanted to beg him to fight to let me keep my magic because as much as I hate it it is apart of me. It flows eloquently through every vein and capillary and nerve ending, constantly pushing me to hone my skills more and more. I want my magic not because it has given me abilities some people can only dream of but because it is me. It always has been.

“I know you’ll make the right decision, Tony.”

That’s what I said. I didn’t cry to him on my hands and knees or pray to God that he doesn’t tear this piece of me away. There were no lies or excuses either. I said what I knew and what I believed because I trust Tony to act as my representative during the coming debate.

Being stuck in my room fucking sucks though.

Tiredly, I drop my head into the book, stuffing my nose right into the worn pages. Their scent reminds me of home. I force myself away from the text and laugh again, this time more amused than upset.

“You okay?” Peter asks. I look up at him and shrug, making him frown even more than before.

“Just annoyed,” I answer and place the book down on the ground. The enchanted bookmark I made to keep track of my reading when I was young automatically flies over to mark my page before I can even begin to close my book.

“I’m sorry,” he tells me shyly, not knowing how he can fix the situation. I just shrug and lean towards him. The moment I’m close enough to keep from hurting the both of us I limply drop my head against his chest. Instinctively, Peter wraps his arms around my waist and discards the book. He pulls me against him so that I can be snug against his body. Peter’s chin drops onto the top of my head as I sigh, feeling calmed by his warm touch.

As I embrace Peter back my eyes fall to the book he had set down only moments earlier. I eye the pages before gasping and pushing away from Peter dramatically. My hands pick up the book and read the paragraph that mentioned the time stone. The further I go though the more and more I realize that it isn’t giving me any useful information. I’m relieved when I find one fact that actually explains something but once I reach the end of where it describes the stone my joy is canceled out.

I toss the book to the side of me carelessly and groan. “How can there be nothing?” I growl to myself and drop my head to my hands again.

“Hey,” Peter coaxes while using his index finger to push my chin up so he can look right into my eyes. “It’s okay. I mean you had to have found something, right?” I close my eyes to hide my anguish and raise my hand. On command, the gold bangle around my wrist releases the tip of my needle. Peter’s fingers go up to the base so he can pull it towards him to get a closer look.

“When they inhabit a human vessel the stones come up with a protective measure,” I whisper in an attempt to keep my boiling rage stuffed inside. “The more volatile stones act on their own but the time stone… it gave me this.” My eyes open to look at Peter’s stunned ones.

Since I was young I had my needle. I hadn’t known why it had come when I was so young but now I do. The night before was the first night my father fought me in our own home, not the mirror dimension. It was the very first punishment I had where I was hurt both mentally and physically. That next morning the needle was produced to protect me from my father and I realize now that the stone has always been keeping me safe.

“I need to listen to what they’re saying Peter,” I say shortly and stand. Right away Peter grabs onto my hand to keep me from wandering out there.

“Y/N, you and I both know that is a horrible, horrible-”

“I need to know what they’re going to do Peter,” I beg, not bothering to cover up the crack in my voice. “They’re deciding my life out there and I can’t not be apart of that decision.” Peter stays on his knees, looking up at me with his warm, soft brown eyes. He sighs and stands with me. I smile triumphantly as he pulls my face towards his and presses our foreheads together.

“We get caught I’m blaming you Y/N Y/L/N,” he asserts to me, though I can tell he doesn’t really mean it because of the wide smile covering the majority of his face. I smirk and press a kiss to his cheek in response.

“Good thing we’re not going to.” I wave my hand through the air simultaneously and in the next second, we’ve appeared at the very end of the hall. Immediately, I put a shield around Peter and I that keeps us unable to be detected while listening to the conversation. We separate our bodies from each other but keep our hands connected no matter what. Peter squeezes my fingers to remind me he’s right next to me while I’m crouching down to the ground.

“Is this the reason people are coming after her Strange?” I grumble to myself when I hear Bruce’s question which means I’m probably jumping in mid-argument.

“That could be a major explanation. All of the infinity stones are very desirable items in the black market of all planetary systems. Even simple remnants of one. The other could also be her dad,” Stephen informs the group from his corner of the room. “I and the other Masters can find absolutely nothing about who he is.”

“And her mother?” Thor buds in. “Y/N is descended from Valkyrie which automatically makes her a threat and possible ally to many in this realm and the next. Despite her powers being diluted by your human blood, she is still a born warrior who could compare to your Buck friend there.” Thor lazily motions to James who is leaning on the couch next to where Steve sits.

“It’s Bucky,” the super soldier responds monotonously. Thor takes a pause to look at him blankly.

“Yes,” he replies quickly. “Bucky.” I have to shove my hand into Peter’s face when he chuckles at the interaction.

“Strange,” Steve begins, ignoring the comments shared only moments earlier. “You’re our point man here. What do you think we should do?” Stephen’s eyes widen a bit at the simplicity of the question. His hands raise up in a shrug and the corners of the cloak follow suit.

“I’m here as a proctor,” he corrects. “You guys debate on a decision with the information I give you and I’ll say if it’s good or bad.” There’s a mutual sigh between all of the superheroes.

“Well that’s helpful Stephen,” Natasha slumps into the cushioned chair so much that I feel like the material may swallow her petite body. She turns to someone out of my sight suddenly. “Tony, you’re being worryingly quiet about this entire situation.” Finally, Stark steps into view so I can see him talk. His hands clap together before he snaps and turns towards the assassin.

“That’s because I know you won’t like what I say,” he chuckles nervously.

“And that is?” Sam asks and I scowl at the fact that even he was allowed to this secret debate but I, the person who it’s about, wasn’t. At least Loki isn’t listening in as well to decide my fate. Tony thinks about his question for a second and while I can tell he has an answer in mind he is trying to figure how it should be phrased. A worried expression crosses my calm facade as he prepares to answer.

“I think the kid should keep it,” he finally admits, causing a few surprised expression among the Avengers. Even I’m confused. My curiosity shows through when a smile appears on my face though. “She deserves to keep the time stone. Y/N’s earned the right to keep it in fact.” Tony is confident in his response but the others aren’t.

“We know this Tony, but we need to know that the remnants are safe and the safest hands are-”

“They’re her’s Steve,” Tony snaps before Cap has a chance to finish. “They’ll always be Y/N’s. She grew up with pieces of the time stone in her. It is apart of her as much as her skin and blood and bones. It makes her up. It’s the finishing piece of what she is and I don’t think Y/N is the same without it.” I beam at Tony, but the smile falters a bit on the last sentence.

“Is?” Sam asks.

“Yeah,” Bucky drags out the word. “Are you speaking from experience?” Both Tony and Bruce share a knowing that definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the group. Stark groans finally and rubs his temple. I grimace and look back at Peter who reflects my expression, knowing just as much as me that what he says next may make things more complicated.

“I was there with Bruce and Peter that day when we extracted it from her.” All eyes widen at Tony’s frightening comment. Peter holds my hand a little tighter to remind me he is still with me, but little does he know that I’m depending on that fact.

“You took the time stone remnants out of her?” Strange interrogates accusingly, even making me shrink away. Tony only rolls his eyes though and turns to the powerful sorcerer all while waving his hands around.

“Nope, no, shut up. I will finish what I was saying.” At Tony’s statement Strange groans and emphasizes the actions by turning his head up to the ceiling. “Anyways, we took it out of Y/N, and mind you it wasn’t even all of the remnants, and it was like she was a dead body. She was pale and stumbled when she walked and when she was talking to the cloud thing even her words were slurred and I shouldn’t have been able to tell because she was speaking an entirely different language. God, even when she was sitting Peter had to hold her.” Tony speaks with a passion I’ve never really seen in him but when I peek back at Peter I see a sort of familiarity in his eyes.

“She spoke a foreign language to a green cloud?” Clint wonders.

“Don’t ask me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” Tony waves his hand at the question limply. “What I was saying though is that if we extract it out of her whole body like Thor did with Jane she may not survive it.” Peter and I turn to each other, curious as to who they hell Jane is. Realizing neither of us knows the answer we both shrug and look back at the heroes.

“Why not?” Steve wonders. Tony shakes his head and stares at Cap, knowing he will be the hardest one to convince.

“You ever had withdrawals, Cap? Maybe from your super drugs?” I narrow my eyes, confused by his wording. Everyone seems just as appalled that he chose “withdrawals” as a comparison of what happened to me.

“What does this have to do with drugs Tony?” Natasha questions sharply. “We’re talking about an all-powerful infinity stone in Y/N, not about the meth epidemic.” Everyone, including Peter and I, look at Tony expectantly.

“Because that is what it might as well be,” he retorts and I furrow my brows. “She’s had this thing running through her veins for sixteen years now. It enhances her in ways she doesn’t even understand yet. She doesn’t get fatigued when she uses her magic that often, she does magic enchantments without even knowing what she’s doing, Y/N has the capability of leveling whole cities with a thought if she had that sort of control. That is if what Strange said earlier is the truth,” Stark’s eyes flash to Stephens and the sorcerer nods in confirmation.

“This seems like the exact reason we need to take it out of her Tony,” Bruce chimes finally. “I think Doctor Strange would agree as well.” Automatically, all sets of eyes in the vicinity shift over to the sorcerer.

“That’s actually the exact reason Y/N should to keep it.” Much to my relief, Strange gives his genuine opinion on the topic. “We, as sorcerers and the protectors of this domain have many protections over this Earth but they fall far too easily to really be defended anymore. A few zelics were able to topple all three sanctums in a matter of days. After that Earth only has the sorcerers and Earth’s mightiest heroes to protect it.” Stephen finally steps out of his corner of the living room once he reached the middle of the speech and something that was etched into his words called out to me.

“So you’re saying Y/N is a glimmer of hope if that ever happens?” Clint asks. Strange smiles and I see his eyes barely flicker towards me, sending a shiver up my spine.

“I’m saying Y/N would be our only hope.” I watch him closely, making sure that Strange really does mean what he’s saying. As I’m studying the sorcerer the sun dips into sight, creating an orange haze in the whole room so that we all know that twilight is on its way.

Tony cuts through the light abruptly and pats Stephen’s shoulder. “Thanks, doc,” he remarks as he passes. The both of them have been made into darkening silhouettes because of sun’s continuous descent.

“My question is why can’t we just extract the time stone from her system until the time comes?” Bruce suggests, earning a murmur of agreement from about half of the heroes.

“May I bring us back to my whole drug withdrawal thing?” Tony proclaims his question to the whole base.

“Here we go,” Sam whispers. Suddenly I see something in Tony snap and in response Peter squeezes my hand, startling me before I remember I dragged him here with me.

“No, no. You don’t just get to go here we go,” he hisses at the Falcon, losing his composure and not even bothering to regain it for the first time from what I’ve seen. “Wanna know why? Y/N’s life may literally depend on having the stone remnants in her.” All the air is suddenly sucked up when we hear his weirds. Tony doesn’t speak for a few seconds, letting what he just said resonate with all of us. Peter instinctively pulls me closer to him and I oblige. When no one interjects Tony wipes his face with his palms, probably thinking it might rub off his emotions.

“Sixteen years. Sixteen years she has been living as one with that stupid fucking stone her father sliced into her body when she was a baby and I don’t think she can survive not having it in her. Seizures are one of the worst cases when it comes to withdrawals. Hallucinations too. That’s for drugs you find teens selling on the streets though. Xanny or whatever. This though? This is an infinity stone and I-I just can’t stop thinking about what could happen if we take that piece of her away.” Both Peter and I still when Tony stutters on his words. There is a desire in me to go to Stark and assure him that I won’t be losing anything. I still cling to the shadows as dusk nears though.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Steve tells Tony from his spot on the couch.

“And the stone isn’t Y/N Tony. Y/N is Y/N,” Natasha murmurs in response. Lucky for me Tony is persistent with his opinion on the topic though.

“It is though. Y/N grew up with that in her. It has always been apart of her and we have absolutely no right to remove it from her without her wanting it too.” Finally, Tony finishes his speech, leaving it up to everyone else to figure out what to do.

“Tony’s right you guys,” Clint breaks in randomly. “I’ve never been one for imposing on a kid’s life-”

“Yeah. We know,” Natasha smirks from the couch. “You let Wanda disappear with Vision the moment they got the chance.” Clint disperses the comment from the air with a flick of his wrist.

“That’s beside the point right now,” he chides. “Y/N may be young but this is a piece of her that only she can decide if it can be taken away or not. No one else here can do it for her.” Everyone in the room considers his point.

“Y/N has proven that she can handle the time stone remnants repeatedly,” Bruce adds. “Her skills are stunningly honed with the stone and we’ve seen that proof during her fights. If anyone should be allowed to keep it it’s her.” A smile I hadn’t even noticed on my face begins to grow as I listen to each of their agreements. Next, everyone looks at Natasha who is still positioned casually on the couch.

“Fuck it,” she begins. “Y/N should keep it like Tony said. I can’t think of anyone better to hold onto the time stone. No offense Strange.

“None taken,” Stephen shrugs.

“Woah woah,” Tony stalls the rest of the confessions. “Is this the second time you’re agreeing with me, Nat?” Natasha rolls her eyes aggravatedly.

“Don’t make it the last Stark,” she hisses. Tony puts up his hands defensively, allowing the original conversation to continue.

“I think Y/N should keep the stone,” Bucky comments his belief on the topic for the very first time. “If I could figure out how to control what’s inside of me even after having my brains stirred up then she can too.” A look of surprise settles on Tony’s face but he doesn’t speak on the surprise that comes from getting Bucky’s support.

“Buck is right,” Thor announces from his spot, making Bucky groan. “Y/N has a strength in her that doesn’t just come from her heritage. That is a rare trait.”

“I may not know Y/N very well,” Sam chuckles lightly as he reminisces about something. “The first time we met she told me she was Tony’s kid and I believed her because she was just so fucking sarcastic.” Everyone nods in mutual agreement except for Tony who just stands in the middle of the living room, hilariously confused. “From what I’ve seen though she uses her abilities for good and that’s something we could really use.”

Finally, everyone glances at Steve very blatantly. He looks up at Tony curiously, possibly wondering why he feels so passionate about the subject just like I am. Steve looks away all of the sudden and stares out of the window where the sun drops below the horizon theatrically.

“Y/N deserves the stone,” he agrees quietly before looking back at Tony and nodding. “Her and the stone are one in the same.”

Without my consent tears begin to spill from my eyes that are wide open. They’re definitely not like the tears I usually have though. Those ones are painful to shed and leave my eyes stinging in the worst way for hours. These are pure and relieving. I finally feel like I can take a breath of fresh air when they are released. They drop to the floor sweetly and with them the veil around Peter and I falls as well.

Immediately, all eyes in the room land on us as I laugh through my sobbing. A high hiccup escapes my throat, making my laughter all the more genuine.

“Thank you,” I cry to them joyfully. My eyes move to Tony and Stephen who are watching me with a straight faces. “Thank you,” I repeat and I know that they understand it is meant for them. From behind Peter hugs me protectively and I close my eyes, shamelessly sobbing the entire time. After a few seconds another pair of arms wrap around me. My eyes snap open to see the back of Strange’s cloak. The collar of it reaches towards my face and rubs away a tear, causing me to giggle harder before nestling my face into the stiff fabric.

As more seconds pass I see Tony approach out of the corner of my eye. He crouches next to me, not wanting to interrupt on the hug I’m receiving. Somehow, I manage to remove my hand from the tangle of bodies and grab onto Stark’s. He grins at me proudly and I choke on another happy sob.

“I knew you’d do the right thing,” I repeat to him and peacefully shut my eyes so that I can feel every ounce of love radiating off my limbs.

“We’re all with you kid,” I hear Steve assure me. Though he isn’t as close to me as Peter, Strange or Tony, I still feel the security of his presence just like I feel it from the rest of the heroes who gape at the scene unfolding in front of them. I nod and hide my tears further into the cloak of levitation, which still kindly wipes them away.

“I know that now,” I reply even though the sound of my voice is too muffled for them to hear. The orange light of the setting sun seeps in through my eyelashes to tint my little bit of vision the warm sunset color. “And I promise I won’t forget it anymore.”

A/N: As always I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Fly Away!!!!! For this particular story, I will only be posting on Wednesdays from now on since I have finals approaching really quickly. (Quicker than I’m honestly prepared for.) Tomorrow I will be doing as many requests as possible but I’m always willing to take any new prompts you guys may have!!

If you would like to be tagged in this series from now on please just comment or send me a message via ask/chat box!

Tag List

56 notes · View notes