#i think about how he would've adjusted to a new life so much too

[key-rk]

Do you have an idea for your own Darkwing Duck arc?

I love your artwork especially the one with Drake and LP fishing! It looks straight out of a watercolor graphic novel. You’ve got the facial expressions of Drake’s grumpy but endearing personality down to a T.

AHH THANKYOU SMM!!! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT :D

I had a lot of fun drawing that piece, I'm glad you enjoyed it (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

--

As for the question, that's interesting to think about. I don't often think about more potential stories for the Darkwing universe, aside little bits and pieces here and there (mainly a long overdue holiday for the mallard family that doesn't result in fighting crime–they deserve a little break, I think about that cruise Dw wanted to take Lp on in 'All's Fahrenheit in love and war' all the time )

BUT.

There is ONE potential thing I wish was explored and that's a final/ third showdown with Taurus Bulba. I've rambled on about it in a previous post, but Bulba is such an important villain in the show–having a genuine impact on the cast. Not to mention at the end of 'The Steerminator', Bulba says something along the lines of 'This isn't the last you'll see of me', INTENDING we'd get to see more, but that never happened.

I think it would've been very interesting to conclude the story of Taurus Bulba, especially with how 'The Steerminator' ended. We were shown that both Darkwing and Gosalyn struggled with his return, both having a moment of panic when seeing him (which is sososo interesting)

BUT ALSO. Before he became part robot, he was a lot more rational and calculated–which in some way made him a lot more dangerous than let's say megavolt. He's already a lot more threatening than any other villain of the show. But in 'The Steerminator', he's lost parts of himself, being a lot easier to anger, he acts more on impulse. But he's a lot stronger physically. Pairing that with Darkwing's fear of getting Gosalyn hurt or worse, (and kind of dying himself) + Gosalyn's trauma regarding him–it would be incredibly interesting to see just how'd they'd deal with him for a third time. To deal with Taurus Bulba whose only goal is to get to Darkwing and potentially succeed because of how much he knows about them; their fears and weaknesses.

I really do think it could have been such a cool way to end the show, or just have an episode regarding Bulba's final arc and explore Dw's and Gosalyn's characters further. (I know Bulba appears in the comics, but I'm not really counting those here.)

Mmmmmmm

Not much else, though I do wonder what the transition period looked like for Drake after the Darkly Dawns the Duck. He'd spent so long alone, lowk isolating himself (man didn't even have a house 😮‍💨) and suddenly he lived in a neighborhood with a family? I believe that would've been difficult, ESPECIALLY for him. He's shown throughout the show that he finds people to be difficult to be around, not to mention his tendencies to overwork and disconnectment from the identity of 'Drake Mallard' (a clash reunion reference to where he lost his mask. He doesn't particularly value himself without the costume due to years of being unimportant and hardly acknowledged) and in 'Water Way to Go' he claimed to "get manically depressed on the weekends" (do what u will with that)

I know cartoon wise, they wouldn't explore that aspect of Drake re-adjusting to civilian life again, but I still like to imagine it. I think Drake's character is soso interesting and that little period specifically could have been intriguing. I don't think I've come across any fic delving into that yet either 😞.

(bonus detail: Drake actually didn't have his temper as a child. In his backstory episodes, he doesn't really possess it. In clash reunion he is kinda full of himself, but he's not angry to the point of lashing out at someone. This flaw only develops after he'd become an adult and lived in the tower alone for who knows how long 💀)

RIGHT WELL THAT'S IT. I REALLY LIKE TALKING ABOUT THIS SHOW, APOLOGIES FOR HOW LONG THIS IS 🙏

[torukmaktoskxawng]

run away with me

Pairing: Nor/Sarentu!Reader

Warnings: Spoilers for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, fluff, angst, mentions of brainwashing and residential school trauma

Taglist: @mooniequeen

A/N: No one has requested me to write for AFoP so I decided to take matters into my own hands *cracks knuckles* Let's get to work.

This is basically my rendition of the cutscene you see when playing the game, after the title card. I made it lean more toward the angsty, romance play that we were robbed of when the game finally came out XD Enjoy!

Part 2

When So'lek told you that Nor had left Resistance HQ to have some time to think, you knew you needed to seek him out.

Using your new abilities and talents to track him down, it didn't shock you when you found Nor on one of the highest cliffs near the base of their new home. You remember he made a comment earlier about how there were more colors on Pandora than he remembered and how he had no names for them. You suspected he'd be all the way out here, admiring those colors and maybe trying to invent new names for them.

He didn't react when you approached the small fire he made, likely expecting you to come find him. He turned to face you with lowered ears and a forlorn look in his eyes, "What must our ancestors think of us? Do you think they pity us? Sad to see what we've become?"

"We're still Sarentu."

"Teylan barely speaks our tongue, but then... he always preferred human words."

"Alma says we all need time to adjust."

"Alma is not Na'vi." He growled lowly, turning away to kneel down in front of the fire.

You weren't deterred by his attitude, knowing Nor better than you sometimes knew yourself. He felt things stronger than most. He was passionate about what or how he felt and he wasn't afraid to admit it, hence why he didn't shy away when he proudly proclaimed his feelings toward you. It was years ago now, just the night before Alma snuck you and your friends into cryosleep to wait out the war. All that time you could've been with Nor... lost to cryosleep.

Nor felt the same loss as well, and that is why he wasn't wasting any more time. When neither of you are out on missions, you're with each other, safe at HQ, making up for lost time. Your relationship is technically still new and can easily be chalked up to young love, but Nor didn't see it that way. He claimed that was the way only Sky People saw it, but not the Na'vi. He wanted to do this right, and in his mind, the only right way was the Na'vi way.

So he asked So'lek for advice, on standard Na'vi customs and what the older man might know about the Sarentu ways to court someone. Nor was determined and straightforward about what he wanted to make sure you only got the best treatment. The Na'vi treatment, something that you deserved to have when you were younger but it was taken from you.

That's what you loved about him, growing up beside him. He reminded you so much of your sister at times with their shared determination as kids, though you refused to continue making that comparison after she died... afraid that if Nor acted too much like Aha'ri, then he would die just like her. You couldn't bear to lose him, too, not after everything Mercer and TAP have done to you.

Even now, as you two stood on top of that cliff, you were afraid of losing him, either to death or to life, should life and fate decide to tear you two apart. You wished you could vocalize your fear to him, but you were never as brave or as straightforward as Nor. You were grateful he had approached you about his feelings first, or else neither of you would've ever known.

Although you were not one with words, you were one with actions, and even Nor knew that you communicated with deeds.

Walking up to him, you slide your hand over his shoulder, and while he doesn't say a word, trapped with the demons in his head, he places his own hand on top of yours, a gesture of gratitude. He was thankful for your comfort, knowing that your way of communicating stems from being touch-starved and you would rather voice your thoughts through your actions instead of just saying them because, to you, that means so much more.

You keep your hand on his shoulder, the warmth of his palm bleeding into your skin while you look up and over the cliffside, admiring the scenery with a sad tone in your voice, "Why did the RDA come back?"

"They wanted more of Pandora," he responds with defeat, "They always do."

"Then we'll need to fight," you express with determination, squeezing his shoulder, "Aha'ri would have wanted us to fight."

You try to pull away, but Nor is suddenly too fast. He grasps your hand, gently, and you pause in your movement. He stands to his full height to gaze into your eyes, trying to relay what he's thinking without saying a word. But he wasn't like you. He wasn't good at sharing his thoughts through actions. He was better at it by talking, so that is what he did.

"Or we could run," he suggests and is quick to continue when the expression on your face falls, "Leave this place. Find somewhere else to call home."

"We've talked about this, Nor," you sigh tiredly, recalling not long ago when you, him, Ri'nela and Teylan were all sitting around a fire as Nor suggested they could all run away together. You express the same thing you said back then, too, "Alma brought us here for a reason. She believes in us."

He snarls, though there isn't much heat behind it, "Alma just wants to control us."

Not even you believed what he was saying, lowering your voice to a comforting whisper, "Alma is not Mercer. She actually cares about us as People."

"She left us."

"She thought we were gone."

He steps closer until he's nearly pressed against your chest, his hands sliding up to gently grasp both sides of your face, entwined in your hair. His voice wavered, desperate eyes staring back into yours, "If it were me instead of her, I would've clawed through the rubble of TAP, and I would've looked forever. Un... until I knew for sure if I lost you or not."

You wanted to be touched by the statement, your heart fluttering in your chest while Nor could no doubt feel your heartbeat, pumping through his hands as they rested near both sides of your neck. You shake your head slightly, "That is different. What Alma feels for us is not the same as... as what you feel for me. For all of us."

He shivered, almost proud that you managed to admit your confidence in his feelings toward you. He leans his forehead against yours, breathing in the same air as you while he matches the intimate moment with a whisper, "Exactly. I can't trust Alma with my family. I can only trust myself or you to take care of the four of us, to ensure we stick together."

You wet your lips when they felt dry, deciding to play into his dream for a little bit, "Suppose we did run away... where would we go?"

'Wherever we want! All of us,' he wanted to say the same thing he told Teylan down by the campfire, but he says it differently with you, "Anywhere, far away from here."

"Just the four of us?"

"The four of us," he confirms with a nod, thinking that he had you convinced, "We'll start our own clan. We'll renew the Sarentu."

"And what will happen when the war eventually finds us?"

Your question drives Nor to freeze, and so you continue, "Either Mercer, RDA, or TAP, it won't matter. They'll find us. You know they will."

He unfroze finally, huffing with determination, "Then we will fight."

"But if we fight now, and we win, then we can leave and we will never have to worry about the Sky People again," your hands moved until they were wrapped around Nor's waist, a bold move to match his own, his fingers still wrapped up in the hair on the back of your neck,

"We would never have to keep running or look over our shoulders ever again," you continue, "If we can end this sooner than later, I will go with you. I'll go wherever you want. But... But I can't leave now knowing what the Sky People are capable of. I can't leave knowing that there would be another child out there whose clan was wiped out and I wasn't brave enough to stop it from happening. I would never forgive myself."

Your words stun him into silence, and the intensity of his gaze causes you to feel shy and embarrassed, lowering your head to avoid him until his hands pause your movement. He gently uses his thumbs to push your chin to tilt back up, and when your eyes meet, he pauses for a moment, his intense eyes scanning your expression before his lips twitch up into a small, fond smile, "Heh."

"What?" You tilt your head, hesitant but smiling as well.

"Nothing. It's just... Aha'ri would be proud of you."

He says it so confidently that you know you believe him, and his words make your heart swell with pride and grief, missing your sister. Nor leans back and digs in the pocket of his pants, "I have something for you."

"What is it?"

He provides a carved stone, bearing the mark you both have on your face to signify your long-lost clan, "It's something to remind you of me, whenever you leave HQ and I cannot follow you. It's also a promise."

"What promise?"

"That if I ever leave, it will only be when you are ready to come with me," he leans back into your space, pressing your foreheads together once more as he closes his eyes, taking in your scent, "This time, my love, I go wherever you go."

You clutch the stone in your hand, wanting the carved mark to brand into your skin as you close your eyes as well. You already plan to tie Nor's stone into the songcord So'lek had given you, and you hope that in time, the songcord will grow, and there will be many more milestones to signify. Milestones that you hope that Nor and your friends will share with you, as Sarentu and as your family.

MASTERLIST

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[soupbabe]

Marrying La Squadra Headcanons

Anon asked: What would married life with la squadrons look like?❤️

Hihi!! Thank you for requesting, I had a lot of fun with these 😅😅 though I'll admit I lingered on the wedding back stories a bit too much lol

Formaggio

- Formaggio never in his life thought he'd be married, he always dreamed of living a bachelor lifestyle

- But y'know...sometimes couples get drunk on special anniversary trips and impulsively get married at a cheap, tourist trap chapel in Vegas

- Formaggio would've loved the stereotypical Elvis impersonator officiamt

- The morning after would've been a bit hectic on his end, but Formaggio is a man who can commit

- He's been thinking about taking the proper steps to marry you anyways, as long as you were fine with the night prior there's no harm done!

- The marriage is a secret for a while, to the team it's as if nothing changed. Your new husband was just as clingy and doting as ever

- I think if weddings are an important part of your culture and something you'd really want to do-over, I think Formaggio isn't opposed to something more formal and traditional

- Though I think he'll always prefer to tell people the story of the shotgun wedding in Vegas, definitely makes him feel cooler

Illuso

- I think Illuso is similar to Formaggio, he never thought to be "tied down" to anyone, but meeting you absolutely changed his mind

- One word to describe Illuso: Bridezilla. He wanted everything to be perfect for the wedding, he might've been the most strict during this era

- I'm sure you had to talk Illuso out of having the wedding in the mirror world because he could control everything. Though after the wedding, he started to come down to his normal self

- The clingiest and softest you've ever seen him was during the honeymoon

- Illuso wouldn't stop calling you his husband/wife/spouse, he wouldn't stop referring to himself with your last name

- Being married you was something he didn't know he needed

- Illuso wears his ring like a badge of honor, he enjoys seeing the silver band that decorates your finger that tells everyone that you belong to him

- Every time he wakes up and you both have to leave for work, he makes sure to kiss your ring before he says goodbye

Prosciutto

- To no one's surprise, Prosciutto easily adjusted to the idea of marriage and the married life

- He can be tender and affectionate, of course he wasn't scared of spending the rest of his life with you.

- Prosciutto would prefer something small, only wanting close family to attend

- Absolutely he would be open to having separate or fusion weddings if you come from a different background. He'd have a lot of enjoyment sharing your traditions with you

- There's so much more confidence within the relationship, Prosciutto smiles when you brag about your husband. A smirk graces his lips when he can hold you by the waist and introduce you as his spouse

- It's very natural for Prosciutto to fall into a house husband role, he loves unwinding in the kitchen and cooking dinners for you

- Even in the honeymoon, he'd scoff at restaurant food and insist he could provide you with something better

- He's an ideal husband if you want to get pampered and recreate the classy romance you see in the movies.

Pesci

- Getting married to you was the scariest and the happiest moment of his life

- Pesci stumbled through the novel that was his vows, when he was able to kiss you he couldn't help himself and pulled you in with anxious excitement

- Even when he proposed, Prosciutto slapped his face and told him to man up before he pulled out the ring

- Like his brother, he prefers something smaller. He wants the moment to be intimate, private

- He cried so much ever since you two married

- Half the honeymoon was spent hugging him and reassuring him that yes, you two really are married, and yes, you really do love him that much

- Marriage or not, he's still just as shy and flustered since you met him. Doesn't matter how tough he tries to act

Melone

- Melone never really thought about marriage before, but it's a welcomed surprise

- I just know that when he got to kiss you during the ceremony, it made everyone instantly uncomfortable/j. He does not care about what others think, he just likes to show you how much he loves

- He absolutely uses the title of husband to his advantage, especially for silly things like pda.

- The honeymoon phase never actually ended for him

- As you two are further in the marriage, the more Melone starts to think about kids

- No secret he's good with them, Babyface has given him more than enough practice

- But having an actual, human baby? Oh it has him all giddy and anxious

- For the first time, you actually see him take a situation seriously. Whether you're giving birth or having a baby through alternative means, he doesn't want to have kids unless you know you're ready too

Ghiaccio

- I don't think marriage ever crossed Ghiaccio's mind growing up. Meeting and falling in love with you opened up so many doors

- It definitely scared him, if you weren't on the other end of the aisle waiting for him, he would've become a runaway groom

- Ghiaccio would so go off and rant about how nothing much has changed ever since you two got married. To him it's just "some name change and extra paper work"

- He'd say that he doesn't feel any different, but that's so far from the truth

- Tease him by calling him your husband, call him by your last name, and watch how his face turns pink and he tries to hide a smile

- It takes the longest for Ghiaccio to settle into married life. I'm not sure it fully registered to him how long you and him have been together

- He never thought he would be loved the way you love him. No matter how hard he pushed people away, you stayed and warmed his heart <33

- That being said never joke about divorce it'd freak him out. He'd cry.

Risotto Nero

- The married life with Risotto is special, as it brings out a completely different side of the capo

- May be an unpopular opinion, but Risotto is right up there with Illuso when it comes to being a Bridezilla

- All he cares about is adhering to your plans. He'll go above and beyond for research to make sure you won't get scammed

- Like yeah. He may have threatened the florist behind your back, but like. What was he supposed to do? The florist was the one trying to pass off rhododendrons as hydrangeas.

- But once the wedding is over, he's exhausted and looking forward to the honeymoon

- Solidifying the marriage made Risotto fully let down his walls around you. He smiles more, he's more physically affectionate, he lets you know that he belongs to you too.

- While you two try to keep chores and tasks equal, swapping out who does what, it's hard to deny that Risotto loves it when it's your job to cook

- He thinks it's adorable when you tie an apron around your waist, roll up your sleeves and get to work.

[justwinginglife]

Part 2.5 of Three's A Crowd: Gen Narumi Ending

You never thought you'd see the day when Soshiro Hoshina would shut up but today was the day and you were devastatingly sorry that you had caused it. You had just told him that you had to stop seeing him because you were in love with Gen and he had fallen back into a chair in shock, his fists clenching and unclenching as they trembled.

"But why?" He demands finally.

You sigh. "I'm sorry, I know it's sudden. I just realized that I couldn't keep hurting the both of you by not picking, and I feel like Gen is the one for me."

He swallows, the feeling painful in his throat. "He's the one." He repeats. "And I'm... I'm not?"

You wince at his words. "I-I'm so sorry."

He rests his head in his hands, unable to look at you any further. Then he sighs, and the sound is deafening. "I guess some part of me knew it might turn out this way, but I just wanted you so badly I chased after you anyway. Still do want you. I... I love you." He says the 3 words he's been repeatedly saying to you for the last several months and for the first time, you wish he hadn't said it, hadn't made this all the more difficult. It's the way it sounds, it sounds so different from all the times he'd said it before, when it was brimming with his adoration and affection for you. But now, now it sounds pleading and desperate... and heartbroken.

You want to apologize again, want to explain yourself better, want to tell him that if Gen wasn't in the picture it would've been him for life, want to tell him how much you've cherished the time you've spent with him. But he's known you since you were kids. He always knows what you want to say. And even though he's hurting so badly, he wants to save you the pain of having to apologize again for feelings you can't help. So he musters up his best smile for you, kisses the top of your head -his lips lingering for as long as he feels is appropriate- and then he says, "See you around, I guess."

You watch his fading figure and you hope to god that you really will see him around. That he doesn't spend his entire life avoiding you even though you feel you deserve it. You'd understand if he did disappear from your life for good.

Then, after taking a moment to collect yourself, you head to Gen's place. He doesn't know you've picked already and you desperately need to tell him.

He's gaming like usual but when he hears your voice calling to him through the front door, you swear you hear him actually chuck the controller to the side and rush to the door. Then when he opens it, he leans on the frame all casual like he didn't just burst a lung running to you.

"Hey, angel. What's up?"

"Can I come in?"

He didn't realize he was blocking the door and when you ask, he quickly steps aside, gesturing for you to come in. You take a look around his place, having only been here once before, and a smile tugs at the corner of your lips as you see the roughly discarded controller on the floor. You pick it up.

"Room for another player?"

His eyes light up and he nods his head enthusiastically as he jumps onto the couch next to you, cozying up to you before adjusting the game settings so it's two player.

You start to engage in combat against him (honestly, you're just button mashing at this point) in the game when you decide that now would be the best time to drop the news on him. You think it'll be funny.

He starts to kick your butt brutally and right when you both think he's about to win, you say casually, "So I ended things with Soshiro, told him I'm too in love with you."

He drops his controller and when it hits the floor so does his jaw.

You take advantage of the moment and defeat his character in game, grinning smugly at him when the victory screen comes up, and blowing him a sly kiss.

He groans, slapping his forehead with his palm. "Babe! You're such a cheater, ya know that??"

You giggle and he rolls his eyes but he smiles at the sight of you laughing.

"So you're all mine, huh?"

You blush and nod slowly.

He smirks and then leans back against the couch. "Fuck yeah you are."

You roll your eyes at his smug confidence but then you snuggle up against him on the couch, wanting to be closer to him.

He sighs happily and wraps his arms around you tighter than he's ever held you before.

You think he might never talk again, just keep sighing and humming to himself but then he pulls away, much to your dismay.

You pout and it makes him chuckle.

"It's for a good reason, angel."

"And what could be so good about you being away from me, huh?"

He laughs again. "You would make this extremely difficult, that's so like you. You know I'm not good at this type of stuff, just let me do my thing and sit still damnit."

"Do wha- OH."

You shut up immediately as you see him getting down on one knee, your breath quivering in your throat.

"I know you had other plans when you met me, marry rich, marry someone from a respectable clan, yada yada. I know I don't fit the bill. I'm cranky sometimes and I'm quick to react, some would even say I'm lazy but you never say any of those things about me. You never say anything but the sweetest things. And I find myself wanting to see myself the way you see me. And I find myself wanting to make you see yourself the way I see you. So let me take care of you the way you take care of me, marry me angel?"

You've never heard him say so many wonderful things in one sitting and it makes your heart rapidly thud in your chest.

"This is the part where you say something, baby."

You clear your throat, embarrassed. "Sorry, sorry. You know my answer is yes, just shut up and kiss me already."

He smirks and yanks you off of the couch onto his lap as he settles onto the floor and presses his lips to yours.

"Oh I skipped a step, my bad." He pulls away and slides the ring onto your finger.

"By the way, how did you just happen to have a ring in your pocket when you didn't know I was going to come over?"

He looks away, scratching his head.

You blink. "Baby. Have you been carrying it around with you everywhere in case you wanted to propose to me?"

He coughs, still not meeting your gaze.

You shower him in kisses, not needing his response.

[forgeofthenine]

Jumping on the transmogrification bandwagon.

How would the three bachelors react when they find out their s/o is a dragon? Maybe their draconic s/o can let them experience flight in the form of their s/o letting them ride on their back? (Go with whatever you think works best in terms of what kind of dragon they have as an s/o!)

I have to admit, I spent so much time reading about dragons on the wiki and I couldn't decide on just one type of dragon 👀

Believe it or not, I'm low-key obsessed with dragons, I have so many more ideas for the bachelors' and their dragon lovers too. Thank you for the request!

The bachelors finding out their lover is a dragon

Dammon

Getting closer to Dammon is something that happened naturally

As with many other steel dragons, you'd made a successful life living among humanoids within baldurs gate

After years of building your own personal treasure hoard, a collection of buildings and businesses, you were approched by a tiefling refugee

He'd come to you with the proposal of using your long abandoned forge, a home you'd always had trouble keeping filled

It was an easy decision to rent the building to the charasmatic tiefling, even offering him a small discount

You'd find yourself at the property much more often now, popping in on your way past to check in on your new favourite blacksmith

Dammon himself was always excited to see you, happy to set down his tools and keep you in conversation for an hour or two

However, it was only when you and the tiefling were in that uncertain position between friends and dating that you decided it was time to reveal your true nature to him

It was out in the mountains near baldurs gate, where you'd originally grown up, that you spread your wings again and showed Dammon who you really were

It would be a lie to say he wasn't surprised, Dammon was close to a heart attack when he saw your wings and tail unfurl as you grew to tower above him

You both had a very in-depth conversation after the revelation, discussing the lifestyle and expectations a dragon has compared to a 'mere' tiefling

It doesn't scare the blacksmith away though, if anything he's excited to learn more about you

Dammon will definitely gift you lots of pretty jewellery he's made, including pieces that fit you while in your true dragon form

Zevlor

You first met Zevlor when he was still a general within the hellrider ranks

Like many bronze dragons, you never knew when to leave well enough alone, so joining a humanoid army seemed a good idea

You had been with the hellriders for years with them being none the wiser, you and Zevlor bonding over shared ideals

You both had a strong sense of camaraderie and justice, often finding yourself in each others company and soon in a romantic relationship

When Elturel fell however, you had been in your lair, only able to hope and pray that your darling paladin would be returned to you safe

And he was returned, but you'd hardly been able to reunite with him before the tieflings were driven from the city

It only made sense in your mind to join them, despite appearing very human to the naked eye

It was honestly hard to hide your true form as the group travelled

The water tempted you to swim or make a new lair, the endless fighting would've been easier if you'd let yourself spread your wings

It was when you'd reached the grove you also made it to your breaking point

Soon, Zevlor found himself standing on the sand of the Sword Coast watching as a bronze dragon appeared before him in your stead

He really has no words, hardly believing his own eyes as his lover reveals something from his wildest dreams

Zevlors also seen many things and met many people within his life, but this takes him some adjustment

There's also a few discussions that happen between you, and you greatly flustered the poor man when you revealed bronze dragons mate for life

It's certainly a self esteem boost for the older tiefling to know such a noble and loyal being has chosen him out of any possible suitors

Zevlor is also the type to insist on helping you clean and polish your scales, taking care of you even when you're ten times his size

Rolan

A small part of Rolan had always been surprised by your interest in him

The two of you meeting when he and his siblings were in their teens, despite you being seemingly the same age you'd always come across more intelligent and poised than others

He'd always found himself drawn to your company, the two of you easily engaging in conversation for hours at a time

The fact you always smelled like a fresh, rainy morning didn't hurt either

When Rolan and his siblings were driven from Elturel, you were all too happy to join them

Anyone who dared to try and harm the trio instead found a furious silver dragon in human form

The group of you were inseparable, and you'd spent so much time together that you were almost scared to reveal your true self to Rolan

It'd been so long, and anyone could tell that the fledgling wizard was a fussy man

It was only when your group had reached the Shadowlands that Rolan discovered your true form

The mere thought of the three tieflings being taken from you was enough to enrage you to the point of stretching your wings and desperately taking hold of the closest one to you, Rolan

He himself was in absolute shock, between the giant dragon fighting against the ambushers that managed to make off with Lia and Cal

The wizard was distraught, and spent much of his time in the last light inn drunk and angry, even you were a victim of his temper

He was hardly pleased at the secrets you'd been keeping from him

It was only when Cal and Lia were returned, the two fawning over the fact you're a dragon, that Rolan actually pays proper attention to his best friend and crush being a dragon

He has endless questions, knowing you're a long lived species with a great array of knowledge, it's like a neverending interview

He appreciates having a study partner, and then later lover, that can keep up with and even surpass him

Having you around keeps things interesting for Rolan, and you provide him with a sense of security little else can

[flowerslut]

what are your headcanons in regards to when alice and jasper first met the cullens? what was the cullen’s reactions? were they intimidated by jasper, confused by alice? how long did it take for jasper to get comfortable?

I mean, alice timing her and jasper's arrival so that emmett and edward weren't around has always been suuuper telling. because like, yeah. I fucking BET that if alice and jasper showed up out of nowhere with everyone home, between emmett's 'act now think later' tendencies and edward being able to see into jasper's head (which I'm sure was full of tense, uncomfortable "if it comes down to it I can just kill them and we can dip" thoughts), in combination with the entire family just taking one LOOK at jasper, it would not have gone smoothly in any way 💀

I mean, in breaking dawn even BELLA perceives jasper as a scary/dangerous threat on an instinctual level that she hardly understands!! and he's her best friend's husband! who she's known for over a year!!! no matter how much he's chilling out the atmosphere there's no way esme, rosalie, and carlisle aren't at least a liiiittle nervous about him. alice could have shown up nude and covered head-to-toe in human blood and i'm confident they would have still been more uneasy about jasper. (don't mind me linking more of g's posts. she's the only person I know who would have all this evidence documented lmfaooo ♡)

but thankfully, because of alice's and jasper's gifts, those two should be able to nail introductions 10 out of 10 times with a 100% success rate! if alice can pick the best possible route to take and jasper can keep the atmosphere light and relaxing, then they could probably charm their way through any 1950s entryway! I highly doubt jasper did the same midnight sun baseball scene camouflage, but I'm sure he did plenty of tension-smoothing.

I personally enjoy that they planned to show up when it was only carlisle, esme, and rosalie home. in midnight sun, alice fucking glomps edward (no, I won't apologize for using this word because I swear to god it's literally what she does) which he only responds positively towards because of their weird, instant psychic connection that lets her bombard him with LOOK-I-SWEAR-WE'RE-GONNA-BE-BEST-FRIENDS-I-LOVE-YOU-ALREADY visions. tbh, I think it's edward's absence specifically that alice probably needed. sure, emmett would've automatically perceived jasper as a threat alongside the rest of the family, but I bet that alice knew that if she could just get jasper through the door, and get carlisle to hear them out, then dealing with edward (and his ability to see what goes on in that nightmare's jasper's brain) would be muuuuch easier.

to answer your more specific questions: rosalie was definitely the very last person to be "okay" with their presence, but I'm sure she was fine with alice first, and that it took emmett to get her to be okay with jasper, too. it probably took jasper ages to adjust to living peacefully alongside 5 strangers—I'm sure these difficulties were probably exacerbated by alice being comfortable and happy right off the bat. and i'm sure the reason that jasper finally calmed down and relaxed into his new life with the cullens had to do with a combination of his trust in alice, his respect for carlisle, and the improvements that vegetarianism had on his mental health (we, as a fandom, forget too quickly that this war criminal has a canonical eating disorder and that's so INTERESTING AND FUNNN)

[kairiscorner]

my ambiverted ahh couldn't help myself huhu, so imagine:

the atsv babes with an ambiverted partner

miles probably would have thought you were introverted ngl, you two would have gotten close for your shared love of art, whether you create it or just admire it. he'd've thought you would appreciate it if he did the first move for you because you came off as a little reserved to him, but nah, when he got to know you more, he learned you had a more outgoing and sociable side to you--he was the extra push you needed to get out there. though occasionally, you would like some time alone; miles wholly respects that. he wouldn't force you to talk if you didn't want to, he loves talking to you and hearing you speak, even if you would sometimes prefer to be on your own or with others. i think miles' favorite thing to do with you would be to just draw together, or teach you how to draw if you didn't know how. he loves it when you're so focused on something, when you're in your element; you look so at peace, so happy with what you're doing that he wants to capture that moment forever, keep you happy forever.

"if you need to talk to me or ramble or for me to leave you be for alil while, i gotchu ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )"

"ty, i love you : ) also did you know (goes on rambling for hours on end while miles smiles at every message you send his way thinking how cute you are)"

gwen would've met you when you seemed extroverted. you'd probably have met when the mary janes had a gig near your area, and you in your extroverted bout somehow had the courage to tell her how awesome she was on the drums. you'd go on and on about how much she carried the performance, and you joked how you wished you could be everywhere all at once so you could watch her play. it warmed her heart, really. when she told you she doesn't do friends anymore, which was a lot for her to say honestly, poor girl, you'd've smiled at her and told her you'd wait for the day she's ready to make new friends, hoping you'll be one of her very first new friends you and miles would get along for that fr. now i don't think gwen would do very well with small talk, so you being an ambivert and knowing how that feels, you adjust to what she's comfortable with and talk to her about things she likes, too. she loves when you guys are just hanging out together, not really talking or doing anything, just being next to each other or in the same room, enjoying being in each other's presence; because, if anything, gwen loves the quiet when you're around--it gives her a break from all the chaos in her life and makes her remember there are people who care about her just as much as she cares about them.

"i know you said you don't do friends anymore... but i'm really glad you never hesitated to be mine the moment you were feeling like things can get better from here."

"that's because of you, my... ray of sunshine. was that too cheesy? sorry, i just, you really brighten up my life."

now pav would bare with both sides of you, honestly. he's bright, bubbly, and extroverted; but he knows when to back off and let you breathe for a bit. he'd encourage you to talk to others when you're feeling anxious, but he wouldn't force you to, of course. he'd do things for you when you feel like wanting to be on your own for a bit because he doesn't want to bother you. you'd've been his classmate at school, and at first, you found him... kinda quirky, but he was super cute, you couldn't deny it. you felt like he outshined you sometimes, so you kinda hid in your shell for the first few days of knowing him. but when pav noticed how quiet you were, he'd tell you not to be scared of him or anything, and you weren't! you were honestly just feeling a little worn out from talking to people for a bit, he did that mainly for you, and he always did it with your best interests in mind. but when it's just you two together, boy, you were both chaotic and bright. your extroverted side was kind of only really known to him, and he felt so freaking lucky to be that sole person who knew that other side of you. but he'd encourage you to get out there, too, and he'd help you every step of the way if you wanted him to.

"if you want to make new friends, go for it! i've already seen how amazing you are when it's just us two, everybody would love you as you are now and with that chaotic side of you."

"alright, just don't outshine me, pretty boy, i'm playing the chaotic one today."

hobie would actually be really fond of you, he likes having an explosive firecracker yet calm and unshakeable partner all at once. he doesn't believe in consistency, and if you didn't really have a consistent side to you wanting to talk to people or wanting to be on your own for a bit, hobie would be more intrigued with you. he loves that you have a heart for nearly everything, being with people, being alone--wanting to make friends, wanting to focus on yourself. he loves how thoughtful you can be, as well. you two would've probably met when hobie would be doing his rounds as spider man, and he caught you defacing a wall. he'd check it out, and instead of reprimanding you, he'd've complimented your work since it commented well on your stance on how society was so... chaotic. he liked you a whole lot after that, and his initial impression of you was someone who was kind of a lone wolf, someone who spoke up for their freedom without relying on other people--but lo and behold, you were someone who spoke up for their freedom, but loved making friends and going to parties, too, sometimes. he loved how nuanced you were, how every day, he finds something new about you. he really wants to make you feel comfortable around him, so every time, he asks if you're okay with whatever you two would plan to do, because he understands what it's like to be misunderstood. he just wants you to be free to be happy and to express yourself, never uncomfortable about being who you are, especially when you were with him.

"you're so inconsistent, so chaotic, so thoughtful, you're... you're a keeper."

"are you gonna be consistent and want to love just me, hobart? that's sweet of you, love."

[thefiery-phoenix]

MY SLEEPING BEAUTY PART 2 (YANDERE PETER PARKER X READER)

Part 1

You woke up the next day feeling really fresh and energetic and you couldn't help but feel that during the night most of the times, something would hold you. But you had no idea that it was your friendly neighborhood spiderman Peter Parker who would hold you and fantasize about both of your lives together

Speaking of Peter Parker, he already started planning to kidnap you so he can have you all for himself. Finally all the days where he protected you and watched over you from the shadows were gone, you can be right in front of him where he'll always love you and smother you with his love. He knows it might take lot of time for you to adjust and get used to your new surroundings and life with him but it's for your own good darling! He's just trying to protect you from all the dangers in the world, and he as an Avenger and as Spiderman knows how dangerous and bad the world is for a pure kind innocent angel like yourself. He decided to take you the next night in your sleep so he won't get caught of kidnapping someone in broad daylight 

You couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling as the day passed while you were in school. You were really close friends with Peter and you told him about how you felt and how something warm was on your bed the other night and you actually had a good night's sleep for once. Oh yes, Peter DOES know about that and it's a good thing he held you in his protective arms and embrace otherwise you wouldn't go to sleep and you would've stayed up watching shows on Netflix and anime and reading fanfiction and whatnot. And Peter couldn't have that, what sort of boyfriend would he be if the love of his life couldn't go to sleep and gets tired the next day? He told you that he'd make sure nothing happens to you and you didn't think too much about his words. You thought he said them as a kind concerned friend but in reality, boi here is literally freaking obsessed with you 

You finally finished your day at school and went home and Peter followed you secretly without knowing. He kept an eye on you 'for your safety of course' and watched you through your window. He was mesmerized by whatever you did, everything you did drove him crazy. He loved the way you danced and hummed to the tunes of your favorite songs but he felt upset and wanted to hold you and comfort you again when you whined and grumbled in frustration while doing something difficult for homework. 'It won't be too long my love, I'll give you the life you deserve' he thought and watched you for some more time. Your mother called you for dinner later and you went down. While you were having your dinner Peter took the chance to look at your room in a more detailed manner and he loved the way you organized eveything so perfectly. He made a mental note to design a same room like this one when he takes you and he collected some little souvenirs for himself

When he heard you come back he quickly leaped out of the window. You saw the window open and you thought 'Strange... I thought it was closed. Meh, I probably left it open again or something' and you closed it. As you were getting ready for bed Peter got ready to take you for himself. It was now or never. He slowly snuck into your room after he changed into his Spiderman suit and picked you up carefully and gently bridal style. He brushed a few strands off from your face, gently kissed your lips and pulled back red faced and unable to believe he finally had you for himself. He'd finally take you to your new home where you don't have to get worried about school anymore. He was finally going to give you the life you deserved, of love and affection

[sunlightwoo]

when you used to stay (philophobia) teaser

pairing: demigod!jake x demigod!g.n reader

genre: enemies/exes to ??, slight angst, demigod/percy jackson au | rated: pg-13 warnings of death and monsters

wc: <500 | rated: pg-13

a/n: based off of tate mcrae's want that too, but maybe i'll make this into a full oneshot if there's enough interest? i was talking about this idea to @sungbeam and now im like hehehehe, but anyways my permanent taglist will be linked here cause i think i might start to write for enhypen hyung line (pending) but send me an ask or comment below if you'd like to be on the taglist for this fic if it becomes a full oneshot!!

In the past three years or so, you'd like to think that you adjusted well to Camp Half-Blood. Despite being a child of Aphrodite, you had been able to prove yourself worthy of handling quests that were supposedly too tough, too dirty.

Too much.

You had missed your aunt and uncle terribly, of course, but of course there were visitation days and letters. They believed that you were off abroad, like you had originally planned all these years ago, at a beautiful arts school somewhere off in the states.

Little did they know that your journey to traveling to New York for your orientation would've led you to where you were today, fighting monsters and battling between life and meeting the doors of Death.

You had only been curious as to how someone knew about your deceased father, only to realize that that very being was the reason for his passing. If it weren't for your mother stepping in, then you would've never stumbled onto the camp in the first place.

Today was just another day where there were new demigods that had found their way into the campgrounds and you were curious as to who they were, wondering if you'd get new siblings today.

The moment that you walk outside your cabin, however, is when you feel a chilling sensation of water being splashed from above you, making you drenched from head to toe. There was no sound of a bucket being dropped and you knew that it was done by a child of Poseidon.

You could hear howls of laughter and chatter from all around you, but what you couldn't believe from the moment that you were able to wipe the water from your eyes was the culprit at hand.

Standing in all his might with a mischievous expression that suddenly turned into shock towards you was someone you had least expected to arrive.

"Jake Sim."

Those two words immediately made your blood boil once they left your quivering lips, and what made it even worse was the trident that glowed above his head. You couldn't believe that he was associated with one of the greatest demigods known to the camp, along with the fact that he had found his way here.

He was the last person you wanted to see, and if it meant that you had to get rid of him...

Then so be it.

[freakwiththeknifecollection]

how do you think dean feels about aging? obviously we know he never expected to live very long, so when he does i’m sure he’s thankful as hell!! but things like wrinkles, hearing loss, bad eyes, other disabilities that come with age ��� how do you think he takes it? especially when he was such a physical POWERHOUSE in his prime.

AHH GOOD QUESTION THANK YOU!!!

In general, yeah, every day is a gift because he never would've thought he'd live this long, especially not to see retirement. It wouldn't hit him until his birthday, when he's now in his forties, mid-forties, his fifties, mid-fifties, and so on. Watching his kids get older too would really make him feel old.

But looks-wise, Dean is largely in denial, as we see here

(courtesy of arcanespillo)

I don't think that would change lmao. I think it would take someone else pointing something out to make him feel conscious about it. Like the "What's a dad bod?" moment that one episode (it's escaping me rn I can picture it clear as day). But I think generally he's confident enough in his looks that it doesn't bother him. Especially since he's in a loving, committed relationship.

His body degrading would be much more disheartening (as you've seen in my ficlet about his bad knees) Like, he loves his new quiet retirement life. He still works out regularly and stays in shape in case he does need to fight, so he definitely could be worse-off if he wasn't exercising, but he still lived a really hardcore lifestyle and that did some damage. I think losing his hearing and eyesight would be difficult but losing his mobility would hit him like a truck. At first, he just powers through (to his own detriment later on when he's sore for the next day or two) and he learns the hard way he's better off taking it easier in the first place. But that takes a mental toll as well. It's hard, adjusting to this new normal and letting go of things he used to do, letting go of how his body used to be. He really beats himself up for it. But he has a good support system in his partner who accommodates his needs and they figure everything out together 💖

[tokkishouse]

If requests are closed ignore this but can you do xiao x reader?

The reader is an adeptus as well one xiao wasnt aware existed till the chasm incident when he saw a small crystal fly coming towards him before zhongli saved him.

How would he react and fall for the reader?

Fluff please? I've read too much angst

Requests are not closed! I was a little confused about what specifically you were looking for so if I need to adjust, by all means, let me know ❤️ I tried to make this fluffy but I think. I made it too solemn. Also, thank you all for 300+ followers. I'm so glad you all enjoy my writing. It really motivates me to keep at it 😊

(Sfw) Falling for You

Characters: Xiao x GN!Reader

Warnings: Spoilers for the 2.7 archon quest, reader is an adeptus with a pyro vision, it's fluffy?? To an extent? A bit of a somber end but no one necessarily dies

WC: 1.6k Words

Check out Pt. 2 Here! (nsfw)

Xiao felt his body grow weaker as he fell deeper down into The Chasm, the panicked voices of his allies but a distant sound. He had put all his energy and power into sending them back home-- he had done his duty faithfully. There was no need to feel regret or fear for the inevitable.

Just as his eyes slowly fall shut, a small red crystal fly flutters towards him. Only for a moment, a glimpse of life before his eyes. Before he can focus too hard, a glimmer of yellow shines, and geo-energy shoots right at him. Warmth encases him and as he closes his eyes, the crystal fly disappears.

Soon after, he appears outside The Chasm with the others, who hurriedly run over to check on him. His mind is racing and the residual energy is buzzing off of him. The words of concern from his allies fall on deaf ears-- all he could focus on was what he saw as he was falling.

That crystal fly...why is its energy so familiar...

✦✧✦✧

The next time Xiao feels that familiar energy, he's out patrolling the beaches near Wangshu Inn. One of the renters at the inn mentioned a hilichurl camp that was giving trouble to passersby and he wanted to investigate for himself. When he arrived, he saw you standing there, back facing towards him, in the center of what he can assume is the remains of the camp.

Smoke and water vapor rise around you and the smell of burnt wood and flesh floods his nostrils. You made quick work of the camp, as there was barely a mask left behind in the wreckage.

"I'm glad to see you are able to be up and moving fairly quickly, Alatus."

Xiao tensed a little-- you never turned around and yet you knew who was behind you.

"I'm an adeptus. It is not easy to take me down," he replies, tightening the grip on his spear. "Who are you?"

You finally look back at him, wearing a smile that does not quite reach your eyes.

"I am Y/N. Nice to meet you."

Xiao's breath hitches as he meets your eyes. There are speckles of red in your iris, reminding him of embers flittering off a flame. The longer he holds eye contact with you, the more intense the feeling of his heartbeat gets. It's loud and rumbles like thunder. He was sure there were no other adepti, and he definitely did not sense your presence in the chasm before. So how...

"I'm quite new actually. Only a few hundred years old-- nothing compared to your age I'd imagine," your voice pierces through his head, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I signed a contract with Morax and was spending my time in Natlan. However, when he told me what you were up to, I made my way back here."

Xiao studies your face, looking for any trace of deception. But your smile, while ingenuine, revealed no such thing.

"Then, you were the crystal fly?" He questions, and you nod, your smile widening.

"Ding ding ding-- we have a winner! I help Morax figure out where you were so he could rescue you. Although, I'm sure he would've found you all on his own eventually. He is the Geo Archon."

You pull out a pocketwatch from your bag, clicking your tongue when you see the time.

"It appears that I'm running behind on another errand. You'll have to forgive me, Alatus," you apologize, putting the pocket watch away. Just as you're about to run off, he stops you.

"Xiao. Call me Xiao," he insists. "That name carries memories and a history that is no longer relevant."

You look back at him, eyes scanning over his features properly. After a bit, the warmth from your smile reaches your eyes, and you nod.

"I'll see you around, Xiao."

✦✧✦✧

You and Xiao meet up more after that day. At first, you'd make bi-weekly trips to Wangshuu Inn, relaxing on the rooftop under the shining moon with Xiao as you recount your adventures to him. You remind him of Ganyu or even Yanfei, with you all having closer proximity to humans and even the mannerisms you've managed to adopt.

On one particular evening, you both exchange your favorite meals: he lets you try almond tofu, and you offer him a delicacy from Natlan. Neither dishes are to the other's taste, and you laugh it off as a result of "different environments." Nonetheless, you always bring him something to try and he does grow fond of the spicy and sweet candies that come from the land of pyro, along with the adeptus that guards the nation.

It wasn't until you had been coming for about 4 months that the yaksha finally realized his feelings for you. It was during the Lantern Rite Festival-- everyone was coming together to celebrate the memories of those who had passed. The streets were bustling with life and joy-- a sight that he knew you would not want to miss

Currently, Xiao is walking around the streets, searching for you. You promised that you would be there to release a lantern with him.

"Where are they?" He ponders to himself as he watches festivalgoers walk past and interact with the merchants.

A sudden warmth fills his chest, startling him a bit. He looks up and sees you standing on the roof of one of the buildings, holding a lantern. You flash him a grin and leap off. Catch me if you can, your actions read. Xiao grunts and he leaps after you, not wasting time.

You two race across the city toward the harbor, jumping over congested roads and excited patrons. It's not long before you land at the edge of the dock, Xiao landing right behind you.

"You're a tad too slow, Alatus," you tease, turning to face the yaksha. He grunts, looking away.

"You had a head start."

"Is that what we're going with? The 'head start' excuse?" You laugh, and Xiao is reminded of the bells that ring as merchants push their carts down the streets, selling their wares. A familiar and welcoming sound.

"You already have a lantern," he comments, deciding the change the subject.

You look down at the object in your hand, the heat from the candle inside warming your palms. It was carefully crafted, with a fire-breathing dragon painted outside. The way the flames danced inside made it look like the dragon's fire was alive and moving.

His, on the other hand, had a large peng bird painted on the outside, its wings spread to wrap around lantern. As the fire danced, it gave off the illusion of the wings flapping.

"Shall we release them together?" You ask, and he nods, stepping closer to the edge of the harbor.

You both stand there, waiting for the people in the city to release their lanterns first. You enjoy the environment around you-- a cool sea breeze blows past and you can hear the soft creaking of the nearby boats. The waves crash against the harbor walls and if you listen really closely, you can hear the slow breathing of you and Xiao as you stare out to the sea.

"You confuse me," Xiao states, earning an amused look from you.

"Oh? How so?"

He swallows thickly, his gaze focused on the ground and his mind racing as he searches for the right words to say. How does he explain the unnatural feelings he's felt all this time.

"You leave me wanting to see you daily. The time spent away from you has me feeling more irritable than usual. When you are here, it's like my karmic debt doesn't exist and I am allowed to simply be," he starts, slowly looking up to meet your gaze.

"I find needless chatter about everyday occurrences needless, and yet every time you're near I wish to hear you speak more. My head hurts and my chest aches, but they pain me more when you're gone...How does that work? Is it an adeptus ability you have trained to weaken me?"

You stare at him, gaze unwavering. It's overwhelming-- it's suffocating. You don't react or respond right away, and it's making Xiao feel like you're tearing everything he said apart, piece by piece. Why won't you look away? Why do you keep staring at me with such firey passion? Why oh why do I still want you to look on, to only keep your eyes on me?

"Alatus."

He gasps at your sudden proximity and nearly stumbles back. Your voice is light-- if the wind blew harder he'd have an issue hearing what you have to say. The embers in your eyes burn brightly.

"Do you want to know what those feelings mean?"

Amber eyes stare back at you, revealing millions of thoughts scrolling by. You can feel his breath against your lips, and your heartbeats are like drums beating in synch. Time seems to slow down and it's just you two in the harbor. You both wait with bated breath for his response.

"Yes," he breathes out finally.

Your lantern is released, floating up into the sky to join the hundreds of others that spread across the starry night, and warmth spreads across Xiao's lips. You taste of jueyun chillis and sugary rice pudding, and it's all he can taste. All he can feel is your body against his and the inviting movements of your lips on his. He releases his lantern next and wraps his arms around your body, the firm grip a reminder of his desire to not let you go. Not yet at least.

Under the sea of golden light, you two share a lover's embrace. Duties are but a second thought-- the first being entirely devoted to each other.

Requests (both sfw and nsfw) are open~!

[corishadowfang]

Fallen Stars Fic Notes

So, Fallen Stars has officially come to a close. It's been a pretty wild ride, haha; as per usual, it spiraled out of my control, length-wise (surpassing Dandelion Seeds...remember how I said I hoped I'd never write anything that long again? Yeah. That worked out.), but I'm happy (and pleasantly surprised) that so many people came on the journey with me.

So! As seems to be tradition now, I have some notes for the fic. Some behind-the-scenes stuff, some thoughts about post-canon--stuff like that! Putting it under a read more, because these tend to get long.

So as usual, we'll start with the playlist! This one I ended up doing a lot of playing around with, haha; there were several songs where it's like, "The vibes are right...but do they fit this moment/this character in the story? Does the order work? Should I use song x or song y?" I eventually ended up with something I'm relatively happy with, haha, even if not every song fits perfectly. There are actually a lot of honorable mentions for this one (since I, you know...played around with it so much) but probably the biggest are: Guilt by Nathan Wagner, Monster from Epic the Musical, Fight the Tide by Jonathan Young and Colm McGuinness, and Southern Star by Gregory Alan Isakov.

(Seriously, Fight the Tide was put on and taken off the playlist so many times--)

I know I've mentioned this places before, but: sometime circa summer 2021, I was thinking about doing a story following Brain through his time in Scala ad Caelum. Basically, it'd be a short (like--nine-ish chapters) series that explored Brain's grief and guilt and how he eventually adjusted to being in Scala. The story would've been called "May We Find Our Happiness," and was planned to be worked on once both On the Edge of Daybreak and Dandelion Seeds were finished. ...And then Missing Link was announced, and I went, "Oh! That's going to be explored in canon! I don't have to write it myself!" and the idea was shelved.

And THEN. Fast forward to winter 2023. It's...without going into too much detail, my mental state was Not Great. And I tend to process/cope with things by...well, writing. And...well, what better way to work out things than by using two of my favorite characters? The thought for this "proto-Fallen Stars" was that it would be a what-if AU for what would've happened if Skuld had ended up in Scala, and that it would follow Brain's and Skuld's entire lives through that time period. Despite the premise, this was also intended to be a relatively short series--roughly four to five chapters. It was intended to explore the idea that like--sometimes you don't heal fully from things, and your life doesn't turn out the way you wanted it to, but that doesn't mean you can't find happiness despite everything. ...And then I started writing the first chapter. And ran face first into Plot (i.e. the corrupt council). And very abruptly realized, "Oh, no. Oh, no, this is going to be LONG. And...probably not focus entirely on the time period I want it to." And so I shelved it. Again.

AND THEN. The Missing Link impatience was getting to me, haha. And there were a lot of ideas from both of the "proto" versions of the story that were genuinely very interesting to me from a writing perspective. And then I made this post (and a couple of follow-ups) with the hopes that it could satisfy the writing demons. ...It did not. So I went back, finished (and revamped) the original first chapter, and posted it. And, well--here we are!

The current iteration of Fallen Stars really does take a lot of inspiration from its predecessors. Darkling!Brain was actually the planned end for "May We Find Our Happiness" (though he wouldn't have died in that version; his new-found friends would've pulled him out of it, though he'd keep the gold eyes, like in Fallen Stars), the corrupt council's been a staple since the beginning, and obviously, the AU takes the same basic premise as proto-Fallen Stars.

I knew Fallen Stars was going to be longer than the initial ideas I had, but like...I still didn't expect it to be this long. Like--roughly 30 chapters, and about half the word count. Let it be known that I cannot accurately estimate a story (or chapter's) length, ever.

While there were certain Big Things that I had planned since the beginning (ex. Brain's death and resurrection), there were also things that ended up getting made up on the fly and/or cut because it seemed like it'd work better for the story. One of the big things is that, originally, Master's Defender was going to be used to help create the Land of Departure; essentially, during Darkness's attack, one of the abandoned islands would've split off from the world, and Brain would've used Master's Defender to chain it back together, so to speak, and give the Scalan refugees somewhere to go. That was cut because it felt like it would make Brain a little less desperate to make his sacrifice, and after that, it ended up feeling...kind of out of place? Plus, I felt like I hadn't done a good enough job foreshadowing that (though you can find some hints, if you're looking).

(The world they end up does still end up becoming the Land of Departure, though.)

Also, Luxu was originally going to be possessing Lodur. (Which is why time seems to slow down around him whenever things get intense! And also plays into the "narrator" thing--Lodur is a storykeeper, after all.) I'll leave it up to all of you guys to decide whether you want Lodur to be Sigurd's deceased brother, Sigurd to have been wrong about Luxu taking his brother's body, or for "Lodur is Luxu's vessel" to be non-canon.

While I finally decided to leave it out, I did think about doing an epilogue. I played around with a lot of different ideas for how that'd go, but it generally fell into three basic ideas: 1) Skuld, Brain, and the rest of the crew roughly a decade after the end of Fallen Stars, 2) Xehanort and Eraqus (as like...five-year-olds) interacting with the remaining crew, or 3) Ven and Lauriam finding stories about Skuld and Brain in the distant future. I do like all of these, but I ended up feeling like it kind of...glossed over how much time it'd take for them to repair Scala and heal, so I ended up going with the current ending instead--which is hopeful, but still leaves room for the struggles that may follow.

THAT SAID. There's a non-zero chance some of those epilogues may show up as one-shots. I like the idea of exploring some post-canon scenarios in the Fallen Stars-verse (in particular, the first year after everything, since there's...a lot that the main crew go through). That said, I'm also not going to promise anything on that front, since it'll largely depend on my time/energy levels/inspiration.

(Also, feel free to ask me about post-canon stuff, in case I never get around to writing things; a lot of stuff changes around, haha, but I do have Ideas.)

"Do you want to hear a story?" has been planned as the final lines for a long time, haha. One, because it acts as a nice book-end for the story. Two, because it's kind of like...symbolic. Skuld is the one who said it, and is the only character besides Luxu to (kind of) break the fourth wall, so this was like...representative of her taking control of her own story. (This is also, for the record, why the "Do you want to hear a story?" narrator parts don't show up again after chapter 40; Skuld is the narrator now.)

The title was actually going to be the name of the first chapter. I was struggling to find a title I liked (I didn't want to use "May We Find Our Happiness" since, uh...that ended up as a chapter title for On the Edge of Daybreak, when I still thought I wouldn't do a story in Scala), and ended up brainstorming ideas for the chapter title instead. I'd landed on "Fallen Stars" because like--Brain and Skuld were "fallen stars" in the sense that a lot of people who are displaced from fallen worlds in the KH series tend to, uh...fall out of the sky, but also in the sense that they were legends who were, very suddenly, being made human in the eyes of Scala. And then it hit me that, "Wait...that'd work great for a fic name." And then it was repurposed, haha.

And...I will probably cut off the notes there, haha. Fallen Stars has been fun to work on, and it's weird to think that it's finished (unless, of course, I end up doing those one-shots). Thank you for coming on this ride with me; I hope you've enjoyed it!

[cowgurrrl]

This is incredibly random but it made me think of you; Oh, how I want my rockstar husband Joel to sing Tennessee Whiskey to me..🫠

Saphy, thank you for your patience and your beautiful brain

Tennessee Whiskey

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Author’s note: PS sorry this took so long to finish

Summary: A (somewhat) quiet night as you and Joel adjust to sharing life again [1.2k]

Warnings: the tiniest reference to spice, regret, longing, oh they’re so in love and sweet

Since your temporary break from accepting new projects, you and Joel have been together as much as humanely possible. You have a whole year to catch up on, and he's taken every opportunity to spend time with you. Movie nights with Ellie and Sarah (even though she has her own dorm), beautiful, candle-lit dinners at some of LA's best restaurants, walks with Daisy, sleepovers, all of it. But tonight, Sarah is studying for a midterm, and Ellie is seeing a movie with her friends Dina and Jesse, leaving you and Joel alone in the house. Well, Daisy's there too, but she's much quieter than the girls. 

He promised to make you a homemade meal but refused your help, delegating you to sit on the island and drink wine while he cooked. The gold necklace he's taken to wearing since you've been gone peeks out from his collar, and a flush of heat rushes through you as you remember the way it swung in your face earlier in the day. He catches you staring and smirks as he tosses a towel over his shoulder. "See somethin' you like?" He asks, and you shake your head, hiding your blush as you sip wine.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" He parrots. You roll your eyes and rest your hands on the counter. He raises his eyebrows like he's waiting for an answer, and you smile.

"Yes, Joel, you're very nice to look at." You say, and he hums. He leans across the island to kiss you sweetly before turning back to the food. He seems very in his element in the kitchen and getting to add his own spin on the dishes. Watching him cook feels like you're getting to know another part of him. A very welcome part. Many of the people you've dated in the past haven't even owned a kitchen big enough to cook in, so you're perfectly fine being spoiled. 

"Now, I'm not a fancy chef or anythin' like that, but I think you'll like this." He says as he puts the salmon in the oven, and you smile.

"I'm sure it'll be great." You reassure him, and he smiles before turning on the stove and filling a pan with vegetables you watched him cut earlier. You're about two glasses of wine in (on an empty stomach), and the room is spinning pleasantly. 

These nights are your favorite— devoid of watchful eyes and high-speed cameras. He smells like aftershave, and your body wash when you come up behind him while he cooks, wrapping your arms around his middle and kissing the curve of his spine. His hand covers yours as he sautés the vegetables and hums a familiar tune. You put your wine glass on the counter and let yourself fully rest against Joel. The vibration of his humming thrums through your chest, and you rest your chin on his shoulder. 

"You still owe me a song, Miller." You mumble, and he laughs. 

"I wrote you a whole album of songs." He says, and you roll your eyes. 

"Yeah, but I haven't gotten a real-life Joel Miller serenade yet."

"I was just on tour."

"I was in Ireland, remember?" You ask, and he takes a deep breath like he doesn't want to be reminded of that time. The tour was only in North America, and you weren't in a space, in your work or emotions, to come back to see him. You wish you would've. He wishes he would've come to Europe. You wish you would've gotten to this place of reconciliation and forgiveness sooner. There's no lingering frustration on either side of how things ended, but there's a lot of grief. The air shifts between you, and he swallows thickly. He squeezes your hand a little harder, and you kiss his jaw. "'M here. I'm here now."

"I know." He says as he turns off the knob and moves the sautéed vegetables to a cooler part of the stove. You open your mouth to say something about the ridiculously high heat he had the burner on, but he cups your face and kisses you before you can. "You're here." He whispers, pulling back just enough to kiss you again and again and again. He hums against you, and your hands rest on his waist as he slowly sways with you in the kitchen.

Then, slowly and quietly, he starts singing to you. You were never one for Chris Stapleton or most modern country music, but Tennessee Whiskey sounds so good when he sings it to you like this. He gives each note his full attention and spreads his breath perfectly across each lyric. You don't think many people were born to do many things, but you believe, deep in your soul, that Joel was born to be a singer. You bury your head in his neck to hide the tears pricking in your eyes. You're not sure why you're crying. It could be the wine, or how he's holding you, or the year you spent apart finally catching up to you. 

He kisses your temple and rubs your back as he sings. A tear falls down your cheek, and a wet nose nudges your knee as if she could hear the water trickling down your face. You laugh and see Daisy sitting at your feet, whining as she stares at you. You make a sympathetic noise and reach out to scratch her head to tell her you're okay. She doesn't seem satisfied with that, though. Without breaking focus, Joel bends down, scoops all forty pounds of Daisy into his arms, and lets her join in the slow circle you're dancing around the kitchen. She licks your tears away, and you giggle when she rests her head against Joel's chest, too, perfectly content to be babied. You and Daisy each get a kiss, and you take a deep breath to calm yourself down. He carefully places all four of Daisy's paws on the ground again before wrapping you in the biggest, most Joel Miller hug possible. 

"'M here. 'M not goin' anywhere." He says, and you nod into his shirt. "I love you." 

You've avoided saying the L word since you rekindled your relationship. Not because it wasn't still there but because you were afraid of rushing into anything too fast. The unspoken rule seems stupid now that the words are reverberating across your skull with a scarily easy acceptance. He loves you, and you love him. Enjoy it, dammit. 

"I love you, too," you whisper. "Thank you for singing to me."

"I'll sing to you whenever you want, honey."

"Whenever I want?" You ask, pulling back to look at him with a mischievous look. You expect him to try to rescind his statement and launch into a lighter conversation, but he doesn't. He cradles your face in his hands and nods.

"Whenever you want." He says with a kind of finality that makes your heart sing. You won't admit it for two more years, but in that moment, you both know he means forever, and for once, that doesn't scare the ever-loving shit out of you. You stare at him, searching his eyes for any signs of uncertainty or doubt but find none. All you see is love and total adoration. 

So, you nod in agreement, the closest you would get to promising yourself to him until your engagement, and say, "I could get used to whenever." 

[at-secret-gardens-in-my-mind]

i didn't know who i was supposed to be at fifteen -> well i was sixteen when suddenly, i wasn't that little girl you used to see -> don't you think i was too young to be messed with/don't you think nineteen's too young to be played by your dark twisted games when i loved you so? -> and i damn sure never would've danced with the devil at nineteen -> we embroidered the memories of the time i was away, stitching "we were just kids, babe" -> oh, i don't wanna grow up, wish i'd never grown up-> and you throw your head back laughing like a little kid/i watched it begin again -> you said if we had been closer in age maybe it would've been fine/i'd like to be my old self again but i'm still trying to find it/and i was never good at telling jokes but the punchline goes "i'll get older but your lovers stay my age" -> what will become of me once i've lost my novelty/how can a person know everything at eighteen but nothing at twenty two -> ten months older i won't give in, now that i'm clean i'm never gonna risk it -> and why i've spent my whole life trying to put it into words -> hold on to the memories, they will hold onto you -> i never grew up, it's getting so old -> i've been sleeping so long in a twenty year dark night, but now i see daylight -> and if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow -> when you are young, they assume you know nothing/cause i knew everything when i was young -> i know they said the end is near/shining just for you/cause i'm a mirrorball -> i hit my peak at seven/i used to scream ferociously anytime i wanted/though i can't recall your face, i still got love for you -> back when i was living for the hope of it all -> i've been having a hard time adjusting, i had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting -> time, curious time, cutting me open, then healing me fine -> i'm only seventeen, i don't know anything -> our coming of age has come and gone -> i never was ready so i watch you go -> what must it be like to grow up that beautiful -> time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tire -> you're so much older and wiser and i wait by the door like i'm just a kid -> dear reader, burn all the files, desert all your past lives, and if you don't recognize yourself, that means you did it right -> i haven't met the new me yet -> do you ever stop and think about me when we were younger, down in the park, honey, making a lark of the misery -> will you forgive my soul when you're too wise to trust me and too old to care -> forever is the sweetest con -> nothing lasts forever -> it was real enough to get me through the violence of the dog days -> she's still twenty three inside her fantasy -> i have this thing where i get older but just never wiser -> you're on your own kid, you always have been -> no one wanted to play with me as a little kid, so i've been scheming like a criminal ever since -> and if i was a child did it matter if you got to wash your hands/i miss who i used to be, the tomb won't close/give me back my girlhood, it was mine first -> i'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free -> you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me -> only when your girlish glow flickers just so do they let you know: it's hell on earth to be heavenly/the future's bright, dazzling -> too impaired by my youth to know what to do -> i feel so high school every time i look at you -> i read about it in a book when i was a precocious child -> growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all -> and i sound like an infant, feeling like the very last drops of an ink pen -> you said you were gonna grow up, then you were gonna come find me/you said you'd come get me but you were twenty five/lost to the lost boys chapter of your life -> oh, twenty five years old, oh, how was i to know? -> in the age of him she wished she was thirty/he said since she was so wise beyond her years, everything had been above board, she wasn't sure/and the years passed like scenes of a show/looking backwards might be the only way to move forward -> long story short, it was a bad time, long story short, i survived

taylor swift and the passing of time/getting older in her discography

[moonmoonthecrabking]

okay so as i have learnt from @undescribed1mage in this post uranium city is a real town, and now i'm wondering how many people live in the town in the musical's canon. long post under the cut!!!

i either interpret the show as being set in 2009 (closest monday 14th of september to the show's creation) or the present day, kind of simultaneously. according to wikipedia, there are no statistics on the population in exactly 2009 or 2022, but it had a population of 105 in 2011 and 91 in 2021. according to the uranium suite in the citadel theatre version, "the town was broke by '99", so we can assume the same population between 2009 and 2011. so i'll average it to 98. before going further, i want to clarify that i'm not viewing the real life uranium city as the same place as the musical uranium city, more that the statistics are a structural basis that can form my opinions and interpretations about their society in the musical!!!

the ben mcintyre school is the only one in the town, and it only runs for kindergarten to ninth grade (which doesn't exactly comply with 'algebra 12 kiss my ass' but the writers were taking creative liberties and it was more about uranium being a ghost town and an element representative of decay etc etc), which as of 2005 had *10 students*. as a result, it is entirely possible that the aforementioned "algebra 12" line was more a case of all the high school students really being given the same content level regardless of age or ability. the 2016 data is a little confusing, but again it suggests there are ~15 people between the ages of 5-19. so, if we adapt st cassian's as loosely based on the ben mcintyre school, but k-12, we can make it so there are 14-15 people in school, about 5 of high school age (plus penny, who moved there right before kiwani's).

it makes parts of canon more heartbreaking, or heartwarming. ocean was school president, and i doubt she would've won without the choir's votes. she may have been expecting to come back to life because, well, she's gotten a unanimous vote as a leader before. constance's yearbook pages, however, "you seemed nice", "you seemed friendly". i like to think that those were written by little kids who didn't get to talk to her, thanks to ocean dragging her to every online extracurricular between cafe shifts. but it could've been from the choir, before it was formed. i also now assume that ocean created the choir in sophmore/junior year (before mischa came) with noel and constance joining, and because i like to think the best of her, she invited ricky so all the senior half of the school was included. "mischa was there for a punishment" oR he wanted to get caught but didn't know how to start talking to these nerds. perhaps??

from people who we know live in town from canon, we have everyone's family and father markus. that's 18 people, since constance and penny are the only people we know to have siblings, one younger brother each. there are probably a couple more staff members at the school, one of them possibly also serving as the priest for the town (since there's a catholic school, but no public school). again according to the census data, there are only 10 people above the age of 65, with the biggest age group being 45-49 years (with 10 people) and 15 people between 20-34 years.

personally, my biggest model of a variety of ages to this size is church, so i just imagine the choir having intergenerational friends!!! noel talking to an older woman who never dated in the town despite living there her whole life, ocean getting guidance from someone who was better adjusted than her parents, a gentleman who once shared ricky's dreams of a place like zolar.

everyone would attend their funerals. keep their memory alive. tell constance's little brother stories of the girl who had so much wonder for the world when her parents got too choked up. grieve with the young ukrainian woman who thought she would be the one bearing bad news. and welcoming penny, the one teenager who survived the accident. the week the carnival used to visit became a memorial, a time to watch french films, pet the potts' cats, visit the blackwood cafe, look at the badegg youtube channel, and plan for the future. homemade tattoos of "democracy rocks" in cursive. french pastries. dolls with paintings of space.

they thought no one knew them, no one saw them. but they were seen. they were loved. they just didn't see each other.

[etherealyoni]

888 PORTAL MESSAGES 🦁✨💛

Aries, Leo, Sagittarius Out with the old and end with the new feels like your mantra. You're letting go of many things that have been keeping you stagnant. You were probably afraid to let go because you weren't sure if you could move forward without these things. But you'll see in time that you never needed these things to be great because you already are. Always stay true to yourself even when it's hard. No one is entitled to you and people may have felt this way for some time. But you know who you are, these people aren't even familiar. If people really took the time out to get to know you, they'd see how fucking dope you really are. If you still feel like you're having a identity crisis then remove the mask and step into what truly makes you happy. Don't live for anyone else's amusement if you're not having a good time.

Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn There's something you're looking to learn right now. You've probably been contemplating if you're actually meant to take that step but here is your confirmation. If you've been thinking about expanding your knowledge and skill set there's an opportunity for you. Don't doubt your abilities, you are more than capable. Learn as much as you can because whatever this is, I see it as fulfilling. Explore all your interests too, don't stop here, make sure you allow yourself to learn as much as possible. I see you may feel you didn't take your education seriously in the past. You may even feel like you would've gone farther if you started earlier but Earth signs, you were focused on surviving, and working through things no one knew about. Don't be so hard on yourself for trying to work through a mess you did not create. You are on the right track to success, this new mentality is everything, just remain intentional! Gemini, Libra, Aquarius You are no one's sacrificial lamb. People may have tried to tear you down, block your blessings, and make you hate yourself. They will never succeed. Their hatred and bitterness towards you isn't a reflection of your character no matter how they try to diminish it. You may have felt like giving up at some point. I know you're feeling so many things right now. Take a moment to acknowledge the power it would take to overcome everything you've been through. You are a fucking star and you deserve to know it even when the world wants you to forget. You are abundant, cosmic, and intelligent. You need to be reminded. Your mistakes and insecurities do not make you. There is much more to you than that. So allow yourself to beam brighter than ever before. If they tell you you're too bright, tell them to close their damn eyes cause you're gonna shine anyways! Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces Transitions are hard and you may be adjusting to a new lifestyle. I see you're getting a lot more familiar with your surroundings. Use this time to explore more to gain more clarity on what path best suits you. Also, know that you are not being rushed to figure things out. You have time to decide so think thoroughly. Whoever is rushing you or making you feel rushed isn't steering your life, you are in control. You may have felt limited in the past. It could've felt as if your life was in someone else's hands but that's not the case in present day. You are aligning with the version of yourself that knows your worth, has a vision, and always sees it through. Stand your ground Water signs, because you deserve to live a life that's fulfilling for you. You deserve to be pleased with yourself and your decisions. You are expecting miracles all you need to do is release yourself from what was. I'm thinking of the Ancient One speaking to Doctor Strange, she told him he would have to forget everything he THINKS knows (Amazing movie, check it out if you haven't seen it already). There's so much more for you to learn so don't assume you know it all. Be willing to learn and even see things from others perspectives even if you don't agree. There's so much to learn from those around you.

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