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shina913 · 1 year

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Flowerworks | KNJ

Flowerworks

Pairing: Namjoon x Fem!Reader

Rating: M (SFW)

Genre: Exes; pure angst; fluff

Warnings: a lot of angst; pining; meet-cute; suggestive language; missed opportunities; vague infidelity

Word count: 4,241 words

Summary: “The love you had in your past...unfinished, untested, lost love...seems so easy, so childish to those who chose to settle down. But it’s actually the purest, most concentrated stuff.”

A/N: This story was inspired by an anthology series that I had binged while I had Covid back in January this year. For a while, I've been wanting to do a rendition of that but I wasn't sure which member to 'cast.' But Indigo has such a great inspiration so I've revisited this draft and thought Namjoon would be the perfect angsty main character here. Also, Kelly Price's rendition of As We Lay was a good inspo for this as well, except it's got none of the spicy stuff and you're left with all angst!

A/N2: I've never been to the UK or Europe 🤡 so a lot of this is just talking out of my ass hoping it would make for an interesting backdrop. I apologize for any geographical inaccuracies. This isn't the first time I've mentioned Juan Luna in my fics--I just thought, wouldn't it be cool if Namjoon studied Filipino impressionists🤪. Anyway, hope the story still lands! 💙

“Thank you so much for the presentation, Dr. YLN. It was so refreshing to hear a new take on a subject that’s so rarely…uhm, what’s the word…”

“Discussed? Thought of?” You finish their sentence for them. You smile warmly at a young journalist who was covering your lecture as part of a feature piece they were doing for a magazine. After the program ended, they decided to come up for a side conversation.

“Yes, that’s right,” the journalist says. “Your perspective is so fascinating to me. I mean–when we were in grade school, these lessons were just so repetitive and boring. It’s practically a bird course,” they chuckled.

“Right, because you’re supposed to just fly right through it?” You joked. You, too, had that impression when you were much younger.

“Your research style is so much more interesting. I was elated to find out that you’re the historical consultant on that ‘Ilustrados’ series!”

You tried your best to stay humble but deep down, you were still pinching yourself about getting to work with a major studio and top-tier production team. “I saw it as a great opportunity for us history and literature majors to flex a little, you know?” Then you caught yourself and laughed. “Oh my god, that sounded so nerdy,” you flushed.

“Not at all! Don’t be too modest,” they giggled. “I think it’s great that we get to give stories like this a new angle.”

You smiled and mouthed your thanks.

“I’m curious, do you remember what or who inspired you to pursue history as one of your fields of expertise?”

You grew flustered then blew out a quick breath. “Wow, uhm…nobody’s ever asked me that!”

“I don’t have to include it,” the journalist adds.

Your brows furrowed. “Include what?”

“That story that’s written all over your face,” they say with a knowing look.

“Oh, well…I think I’ve always been on track to study literature in some shape or form. That was my chosen major in college. Pursuing a career in history, however…was a happy accident,” you recall fondly.

They smiled excitedly. “Please tell me more,” they urged.

You stifle a grin. It was one of, if not the most unforgettable time in your life. If you could ever capture lightning in a bottle–that was the moment to do it.

You began, “He was an art history major spending a year in France while I was a language and literature major spending a semester in London. I met him while on holiday at a cafe in Paris–”

“Hang on! I think I’ve heard this story before!” They interject.

You give them a confused look. Up until this moment, you’ve only spoken about him to your former flatmate and a couple of close friends. “Y-you have?” You ask slowly.

They let out a soft chuckle. “I’m sorry, I’m kidding! Is that real?”

You laughed. “Yes, yes it is!”

“You know, most people are like–we met in college, lost touch for a while, then ran into each other on the street years later and had coffee.”

“Well…it does sound like quite the Hallmark movie plot, huh? The place we were at was certainly the perfect backdrop for it,” you smiled at the memory. “But, as unbelievable as it sounds, if it weren’t for him sparking my…” You cleared your throat, “...Enthusiasm in the subject and history in general–I wouldn’t be in this position today.”

It was indeed a serendipitous time in Paris, which began as a casual encounter over drinks, then eventually led to hours of exploring historic art districts with him. The day trips around the city certainly brought your interest in history to a whole different level.

“W-what happened to him?”

You shrug your shoulders. “After my break, I had to return to London. He wanted to come with me but he had some travel commitments with his fellow students. We agreed to meet at my place but–it just…didn’t work out for some reason.”

The journalist listened intently, indulging you in your story.

“I don’t know what happened. I thought we had a great connection. I mean, wasn’t that as perfect an opening to a relationship that you can get? Back then, I would go back and forth trying to think about how different it felt for me than it did for him.”

For a moment, you felt yourself slip again. But as you had done for the past several years, you smiled and shook your head to brush the memory aside to lock it away. Then, at your most vulnerable, you can unpack it again. You wave them off, “Anyway, that was such a long time ago, though!”

“How long?” They ask curiously.

“10 years,” another voice answered.

For that fraction of a second, your heart drops to your stomach, and you’re afraid to look up. This has to be another figment of your imagination. Still, you couldn’t help thinking about the times you wished to hear that voice again.

The journalist steps aside to clear the path. You finally peer up, blinking a few times to assure yourself that this was real.

There he was, standing in front of you–your lightning in a bottle…Namjoon. He had the biggest smile on his face and it was just as warm and bright as you remember it.

Suddenly feeling that they’ve intruded in a special moment, the journalist excuses themself and thanks you for the lovely conversation, promising to send you the initial draft of their feature via email.

As stunned as you were, you managed to string some words together. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”

“Hello, YN,” Namjoon greeted you as he moved closer.

“H-hi.” You were shocked to hear how calm your voice sounded when all you wanted to do was melt into a puddle.

You both stand in front of each other not knowing whether to shake hands or hug. Before you knew it, you were throwing your arms around his neck to embrace him. You feel his warmth envelop you, hearing him sigh faintly into your hair.

“It’s been a long time,” you say after pulling away. “Weren’t we supposed to meet in London?”

//FLASHBACK

When you met in Paris, he was only one of the handful of patrons who spoke English at the cafe. You don’t know how exactly your conversation began, but he started spouting some facts about craft beer as opposed to wine–and tried to convince you that one was better than the other.

After a few spirited arguments, you agreed to settle things…back at his flat, which was a block away from the cafe. Your worked out your differences in opinions in bed, eventually agreeing to disagree after he made you orgasm.

He later confessed that the spontaneous debate was a pickup tactic from him. He thought he was being clever but never expected you to offer up some valid points. But you told him that you thought he was cute so you were all-too-willing to be reeled in anyway.

Though you were on break, he was in the middle of his school term and had to spend time traveling within the city to check out recommended sites to fulfill his course requirements.

He invited you to come with him on a day trip to check out the former studio of an artist who turned out to be instrumental in their home country's rebellion. You were apprehensive but came with an open mind--and you never regretted it.

You spent the evening at his place once more...and a few more times after that. Your favorite thing was waking up next him in the mornings, exchanging innocent kisses in bed that always escalated to the point where one or both of you would end up moaning each other's name.

But when you weren’t in bed, you spent many hours just talking. He was so passionate about his studies as much as you were about yours. The way he spoke about art, its origins, and inspirations was so reverent, it was fascinating to experience a drop of his enthusiasm.

The day you had to return to London was difficult, not just for you but for him, too. He and a few of his fellow students were supposed to travel to Rouen and spend a few days there to check out some impressionist exhibits recommended by their teacher. He planned to take the ferry to visit you right after.

When you arrived at the train station, he noticed that he lost his phone somewhere between the ride from his flat to this point. You dug into your bag and retrieved an old receipt where you wrote your number and address down. He took it and slid it in between his book that he carried with him. Then, on the week that you were supposed to meet, the borders shut down.

//END FLASHBACK

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Mm-hm…you better be,” you respond wryly.

He rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. “I, uh…missed my alarm then, got caught up in the border lockdown. Before I knew it, I was stranded in Normandy for a bit before the school managed to make arrangements to get us back to Paris then back home.”

You’ll never forget it, since you, too, were stuck in a foreign land so far away from family.

“How come you never called?” It was a question that niggled at you for years.

He chewed at his bottom lip helplessly. “In the midst of all the chaos, I misplaced my book–the one where I kept that receipt where you wrote down your information.”

That all sounded too easy and far-fetched. But in the week that you spent with him, it wasn’t that hard to believe. He nearly left his passport behind at the bar that first night before going back to his flat; Once, he got off at the wrong stop after mixing up north and southbound trains.

You sighed. “Well…you’re here now. That’s all that matters, right? How did you know I’d be here?”

He smiled wistfully. “I saw your picture in one of our e-newsletters I get at work,” he answers. “I normally send those straight to my trash but something told me that I needed to take a look at it and…I’m sure glad that I did.”

That made your heart flutter. You made a mental note to thank the university’s Communications team for convincing you to do a headshot to promote the lecture series.

“Do you live around the area? Are you local?”

He shook his head gently. “No. I made the trip out here because I wanted to come see you.”

Your mouth falls open at his confession. “O-oh.”

“I wondered if I could take you out for dinner? There’s a bistro that I passed not too far from here. U-unless…you’ve already eaten–”

You snorted loudly then interjected, “Oh, please–you know I could always eat!” He laughs hysterically.

******

“Have you ever gone back?”

His eyes flick up at your question but the look he gave told you that you didn’t need to clarify it further.

“Mm-hm,” he answered affirmatively before adding, “Not as often as I’d like, though. And you?”

“Yeah,” you reply. “Actually, a year after travel restrictions eased up, I went back right away.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Really?”

You nod and look at him enigmatically. “I went straight to Villa Dupont.”

Remembering the area so clearly, his lips twitch at the thought. “Luna’s atelier?”

You nodded again. He sat back on his chair then interlocked his fingers behind his neck before he tilted his head against them. “Wow. That’s…amazing!”

“What can I say? That’s where my career started,” you quipped.

“And here I was, thinking that I was such an idiot for taking this beautiful girl on the most boring, mind-numbing walking tour of Asian impressionist artists.”

You both laughed, but those walks with him were one of the best memories of your time there.

“Anyway, I came back a few more times after that for my doctoral dissertation. And now here I am, giving lectures on it.”

The look on his face showed pride and admiration. All those hours you spent talking, you both shared your dreams and hopes for the future. You both had your head in the clouds…just two kids trying to justify the relevance of your respective liberal arts programs.

“That’s amazing. Consider me envious,” he says in jest. “You’re traveling around the world…and living your dream.”

You wave him off. “It’s not so glamorous. These days, I’m happy if I get to squeeze in some personal time. Usually, I get to a place, spend most of my time working and…” Your eyes drift down to your left hand, picking up your drink, “...then I have to get back to my family.”

He follows your line of vision. It wasn’t the first time he’s clocked in the piece of jewelry you’ve worn for a number of years now. He noticed it when you took the menu from the host after they sat you down at your table.

He hadn’t asked about it then, nor did you ask him about the ring that he wore on his finger when he moved his wine glass to the edge of the table when the server returned to pour him a glass of red wine.

You cleared your throat. “So, what else have you been up to these days? Are you just calling up former lovers?” You teased him.

A low laugh rumbled within his chest. “I’ve only ever had one former lover,” he held up one finger and stared. It was so unnerving, you had to break eye contact first. “Then, I got married. Really quickly…to the first girl that I met a year after I got back from France.”

You couldn’t hide the shock written all over your face. “Wow,” you managed to say. “That’s…” You try to think of a word that didn’t sound too reproachful.

“Crazy? Impulsive? Yes. I was really young and I thought the world was ending. I just didn’t want to lose anybody again.” he trailed off.

You and your husband were together for five years before you even thought about getting married. Maybe you were unconsciously holding out hope that you’d run into Namjoon again.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and smiled sadly at the thought, but that was quickly interrupted by the server bringing your dinner to the table.

******

You go through the rest of dinner talking about your most recent work and him sharing some of his more recent projects. When the server returns to dish out your plates, they ask about dessert. Namjoon declined but immediately looked at you.

“Oh, no thank you,” you declined politely.

Namjoon’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Who are you? I could have sworn that moelleux au chocolat was calling your name,” he teases, remembering your favorite treat that you indulged in while you were together.

“Shut up,” you laughed. “We’re not 21 anymore. You can’t…eat chocolate cake just like that.”

“Not even in bed?” The soft crinkle in his eyes deepened as he smiled cheekily.

You try to put aside those memories of chocolate and him. You cock a serious eyebrow at him, his expression unchanging. “Nope, not even in bed.”

You fall silent for a bit. Then he asks, “How many kids do you have?”

“Two girls. You?”

“I have a son,” he answers.

“Must be blissful to just have one,” you commented, polishing off your wine.

“Oh, trust me,” he says, picking up the bottle to pour you another glass but you hold your hand up, feeling like you’ve had more than enough for the night. “He’s still a handful, though.” he laughs, proceeding to empty out the rest of the bottle’s contents into his glass.

“But he’s my handful, so…” he trailed off, setting the empty wine bottle on the table.

“Are you and your wife still together?” You thought maybe the question was out of line but curiosity was getting the best of you.

His expression turns wistful. “We live under the same roof, let’s put it that way. She’s a great woman, a good mother. And I don’t deserve her.”

You smiled sadly at him, then stared at him silently. You begin to question why you even decided to come with him. Perhaps it was all a big mistake.

And yet, even though it's been so long, your memories of him were so incredibly vivid that you could just reach your hand out and you'd feel them. Feel him.

“What are we doing here, Namjoon? Why did you show up at my lecture? What did you hope to achieve?”

“Honestly?” His eyes flicked downward and he began to fidget with a loose thread on the table cloth.

“When I found out that you’d be in town, I booked a room within five minutes.” He chuckled. “I didn’t even care if the rate was ridiculous…”

Then, his gaze lifted back to your face. “I was hoping that we could pick up where we left off."

Your hand instinctively clutches at your chest. Your heart was beating so fast, you were afraid that it would just burst out of it.

"For 10 years, I imagined what our life would have been like. And if I ever saw you again, would I feel the same way about you? Would you feel the same way about me?”

You purse your lips and lean in closer. “You didn’t need to book a hotel room to find out if we still love each other…” You paused, then gave him a small smile. “Because clearly, we still do.”

His lips curved into a smile and the dimples in his cheeks grew deeper.

“For 10 years…Just the idea of you, knowing that you existed and that you were in my life…I held onto those memories and they got me through some tough times.” Your throat tightens but right before your tears fall, he reaches across the table, holding his hand out, beckoning you to put your hand in it.

After some hesitation, you acquiesce. He gives it a gentle squeeze, then brings it up to his lips to kiss it. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

******

You took a leisurely walk by the avenue and into a small pub a few blocks away. You shared a few more drinks and stories. For hours, you caught up with each other’s lives.

You excitedly talk to him about your new television project while he enthusiastically describes recently studying works by the late Yun Hyong Keun, even developing a friendship with his family.

Art was Namjoon’s pride and joy. His eyes, though the corners were now wrinkled with laugh lines several years later, still lit up the same way when he talked about his passions and the things that he loves.

When one pub closed, you moved into another. And when that closed, you moved your conversation to a park bench, right outside of your hotel by the waterfront.

It was a little after 5:30AM and daylight was breaking through the horizon. Most of the town’s commercial avenue was still asleep, save for the cafes that were gearing up for a new day for early-morning patrons.

When you sat down next to him, he lifted his arm up, inviting you to sidle up closer to him. And you did. You basked in his warmth and rested your head against his chest. You caught a whiff of him…cinnamon and coffee mixed in with faint traces of lavender-scented fabric softener. Even though you felt fatigue set in, you couldn’t close your eyes. You crane your neck up to find him sitting still with eyes closed while the sunrise kisses his face. Now, how could you possibly miss that?

******

You head back into the hotel and go up to your respective rooms only to retrieve your things so you could check out and head to the train station.

“You don’t have to take me, really–”

“I know I don’t have to but I want to,” he insisted.

You laugh at him. “You’ve gone and rented out a room that you didn’t even sleep in. Now you’re saying that you’re going to take the train with me, see me off at my stop, then transfer at a station that’s completely out of the way for you?”

He laughed in return. “It sounds so crazy when you put it that way but…yes, I want to do all that.”

You shook your head at how ridiculous that was. “Joon…”

“Please? Just let me do this,” he all but pleads.

You wanted to protest again but instead, when you open your mouth, a yawn escapes you.

“Look at you…that’s like, the fifth time in a row you’ve yawned,” he snickered.

“Spare me,” you chuckled with a slight eyeroll. “I know we barely slept when we were together. Now I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Dawn is for lovers…and bakers,” he adds with a grin while his eyes peered up at a bakery that had just turned over its ‘open’ sign on the front door.

Your cheeks flushed with warmth. “You always had a way with words.”

“Things haven’t changed much,” he replied as you made your way out of the hotel to catch a cab together.

******

Hours later, the train approaches your stop, and you begin to gather your things.

“Thank you,” you say to him.

He smiled wordlessly then dipped his head down. You didn’t stop him and instead, met his kiss halfway. Warmth bloomed within your chest when your lips brushed against each other’s. In an instant, you had traveled back in time…back into his embrace. It was like coming home.

The train comes to a halt, making you bump against each other. Pulling away, you stare at each other with half-lidded eyes. Both your pulses raced but ironically, there was a calm that washed over you.

Neither of you said anything for a few beats until a smile broke through his lips. It’s so infectious that you do the same. He leans in again and plants a soft, lingering kiss on your forehead. You find yourself squeezing your eyes shut.

When he lets go of you, he looks into your eyes again. “We should do this again.”

His invitation was so unexpected that it knocked the wind out of you. You give him a small smile and a nod. “Sure, just call me.”

“I definitely will. You know, since I have my phone with me now instead of an old receipt,” he says.

You gather your things and off-board the train hand-in-hand. You put your luggage down then faced each other on the platform.

“So…have a good life!”

Your comment tickles him. “‘Have a good life’?” he echoed. “That sounds like something people say when they won’t see each other again.”

You didn’t really mean anything by it. You thought it sounded better than saying, ‘That was fun,’ or ‘Take care.’

You chuckled at him and shrugged. “You never know what could happen between now and the next time we see each other again. I could die; you could hit your head and fall into a coma; another border lockdown could happen, or…maybe one of us decides that they want something else,” you reply casually.

He took a step to narrow the gap between you. “I’ve always loved your wild imagination,” he says, tucking a few strands of your hair behind your ear.

You grinned at him. “So you’ve told me.”

His expression turned serious. “Well, none of those things will happen. We’ll see each other again.” he promises, keeping his eyes locked with yours.

You nodded softly and gave him a small smile. “Alright.”

His smile grew wider and you tilt your chin up to kiss his lips again before his train home arrives on the other side of the platform. You watched him board and saw that he sat by the window seat, his eyes still on you.

True love in its absolute form has many purposes in life. It’s not just about bringing children into the world; or romance or soulmates or even lifelong companionship. The love you had in your past...unfinished, untested, lost love...seems so easy, so childish to those who chose to settle down. But it’s actually the purest, most concentrated stuff.

For years, you imagined what it would be like to see him again. To learn that things hadn’t changed and that spark between you was just as bright and electric as when you first made eye contact.

And while you were happy to learn that he still felt the same way, just like any spark, there’s a brightness for a few seconds…before the wind blows it out. Like a firework that shoots up into the sky, bursting into different colors, only to fall back down as smoke and ash. Like a bolt of lightning, crackling through the storm clouds, followed by a loud thunderclap and a burst of rain.

Up until the last few hours, you realized that something this good can only last for so long.

You had your beautiful moment with him. And that’s how it will always stay in your heart.

When the train rain pulls away from the station, you feel a twinge in your chest. You blew him a kiss and stood there silently until he was far enough away from you.

He waved at you through the window then turned to look straight ahead.

“Have a good life, YN,” he whispered to himself.

Crossposted on AO3 | Main Fic Masterlist

You’ve reached the end! Thank you so much for reading!

If you loved it, please comment, reblog, or send me feedback! 📩. I love hearing from readers! If you didn’t like it so much, I would still like to hear about it. Help me become a better writer! 💜

Tagging: @internetjunkdrawer @deepseavibez @itdoesntmatterwhy @joonschocochip @yu-justme @e-cm

#bts fanfiction #namjoon x reader #namjoon angst #namjoon fanfiction

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translationandbetrayals · 1 year

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The origin of strength and will power

To continue with the discussion I'll have to make some spoilers, but I' ll try not to give too many spoilers so the magic won't be lost if someone decides to read/watch this spokon.

What is the strength?

The literal translation would indicate that it is the physical ability to perform an action,but as far as this anime is concerned, the answer is not so easy.

What does it mean to be strong?

At the beginning, the protagonist was not clear about what it meant to be strong and along his story he met rivals who gave him their perspective on the matter, which won the protagonist's admiration.

His rivals Takeshi Sendo and Ryo Mashiba (the brother of his love interest) for example thought that strength implied facing boxers and in that battle decide who was the one who will rise as the winner and who is therefore stronger, however, this has a small detail in both characters.

Even if for them strength meant the ability to beat their opponents, there was something in common that motivated them, and that was that they had something to fight for, in particular, someone to fight for.

In Sendo's case it is his grandmother and the people who never stopped believing in him that motivates him to keep going, along with his insatiable thirst to fight people he considers strong, in what he calls a "man's fight" in which his fists do the talking.

On Mashiba's side is his sister, who was always his reason for living once his parents passed away, and he felt it was his duty as an older brother to give her whatever she needed, which led him to drop out of school at an early age to work and in turn led him to take up boxing, as he was good at it and began to see it as a way for him and his sister to get ahead.

Another case is that of the Russian character Volg Zangief, who was forced to box as the only way to pay for his mother's medical treatment, fighting not because he liked it, but because it was his only option, and in his development as a character we see the cruder and darker side of boxing.

What I want to get at with this, the meaning of strength in this piece is not only the ability to do something or in the case of boxing to beat your opponent, it is linked to the will to do something, and the key word is "will", and this is what moves a large part of the piece, and without going any further it could be the answer that the protagonist is looking for.

One of the greatest demonstrations of willpower is seen in Takamura's weight check before one of the most important fights of his life, which again shows that not everything in this sport is happiness, and that it takes a will of steel to keep going.

Now, what is the catalyst for this will is one of the big questions that arise, because when we enter into the psychology and philosophy of the characters in the play, we can see that there is a different background, which is far from what initially pushed them to boxing and made them love this sport in their own way.

Pd: In the next post I will try to analyse the "will" of some characters, which although it doesn't seem so, is different in each of them, although in a certain point they coincide.

Pd 2: in the anime/manga the representation of certain characteristics is seen in the eyes of the characters, in the case of the "will" in the anime it is represented with a green colour in the pupil.

-Rodrigo Luna

#Anime #Manga

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anythingforourmoonysstuff · 2 years

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Mayaneeeee! Hi, hello, hi, how are you?

So long since the last time I screamed around here. If I remember correctly you asked about my tag (hey, a tag ❤️!.. I'm still worthy of a tag 🤔?)?.. I call myself Luna so any version of that (Lu, Luna... someone used to use Lupina hahaha) is fine by me.

So, last time I was screaming about your participation in Into the fic of it... it took me so long to hear it, I'm sorry. I was attacked by work and the preparations of an international trip. I heard it little by little I pieces but hey, I TOOK NOTES 😂😂, so here are my notes (a summary actually hahaha).

1. Don't know exactly why but I wrote to recommend you my favorite teenage book but hey, past-me probably had a good idea but I don't remember anymore. It's called Ilse Janda, 14 oder Die Ilse ist weg (in Spanish is Por favor vuelve a casa -Please come back home-, don't know how it is in English). Perhaps I had this thought when you were talking about kids books... because this is a beautiful book for a teenager, written for teenagers (and from their perspective, which is not easy), with complex and painful topics but treated having said kids in mind. I love it so much, even now.

2. I think that JK wrote 3 books for children (first 3) and then she just wrote what she wanted, period. My mom has a fun theory: She read somewhere that JK wrote HP for his son and then she develops this theory in which JK started writing with love for his young child and then he grew and then she wrote the rest of the series in revenge lmao. According to her, JK's son was probably a teenage nightmare and that's why she started killing beloved characters 😂

3. That brings me to: YES YES I GET SO MAD EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT THE UNNECESSARY DEATHS. Why kill Colin?! And why Hedwing (I actually stoped reading the book there and only took it again months later)?!

4. Talking about JK wonderful (/derogatory) writing: To this day I don't understand how she totally took all the responsibility from the adult characters. I mean, Dumbledore formed not one...BUT TWO armies with child soldiers. And don't let me start talking about Snape and Dumbledore behavior with Draco in yea (he was sixteeeeeen). That's something I really like about fanfics: how they somehow questioned how those characters behave.

Aaaaaaand I'm going to leave it here for now because it's getting toooooo long (we're half way in my notes and in the podcast you haven't started talking about the main topic, oh god 😂).

Have a nice day! Sorry this took me so long! I really enjoyed hearing you lot 🤗

Hey, hi, hello!!!!! I have no idea why I’m just seeing this but anyway, here we are.

I’m doing ok uni is a bit of a struggle but I’m enjoying the modules so far :) how have you been??? And are you kidding me?? Of course you still get a tag <3

Ahhh I’m so glad you enjoyed the episode! I had so much fun taking part and met some incredible people thanks to it so it makes me so happy that it inspired some thoughts.

1. That book sounds so good I will definitely be checking it out! Thanks for the recommendation

2. Bahahahah your moms theory had me laughing so loud my friend came in from the other room to ask what was going on. But yeah, I think she definitely did not put any thought into the fact that not only the original kids who were reading it would read it. Like, I think her idea was that the characters and themes would grow up with the kids reading it which is a lovely idea in theory but that’s just not how it works. As soon as media is out there, it’s there for anyone to read and with it being a children’s book these themes needed to be handled with so much more care. I mean, this also applies to adult content but especially with kids who are extremely impressionable .

3. Yeah there were so many unnecessary deaths and I will also stand by the fact that having Sirius stay alive (and Remus for that matter) would have made for a much better and more in depth story. And I don’t just say that because I love them. There was just so much potential for growth that was thrown away

4. Oh completely she wrote obviously morally gray characters as good which is so problematic

Ahhh this was so fun! If you want I’d love to see more of your thoughts on it (you mentioned there were more notes) and once again I’m sorry I only now saw this . Have a great day!

#into the fic of it #Luna tag <3

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peonierose · 2 years

Text

”How were we ever strangers…“

Book: Open Heart

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x Luna Auclair

Rating: Fluff with a bit of angst

Words: 1.500+

Summary: A proposal is in the air, but things don’t go as planned. Can Bryce and Luna find their happy ever after?

Side note: I used the prompt Engagement from @choicesficwriterscreations for the April celebrations. Please enjoy 😊 (Another fic was inspired by a song by Maddie & Tae - Strangers)

Author‘s note: A special thank you goes out to these wonderful two ladies @a-crepusculo and @jerzwriter for spurring me on to write this piece in the first place. Your support and encouragement always means so much to me ❤️ You’re two wonderful people I had the pleasure to meet and connect over our love for choices and writing. Thank you for making me feel welcome here 💚 Also thank you to @annieruok94 for pre-reading 💙@mysticalgalaxysstuff @lilyoffandoms Thank you for your opinion for the moodboard ❤️ My main music inspiration can be found here.

You see the me no one else sees

And I see the you you don't show

You've read every page in my story

And I've read every chapter of your soul

There's no way I found you on my own

'Cause loving you's like breathing, don't you know?

How were we ever strangers?

Seems crazy to me now

Haven't I known you forever?

'Cause the thought of the days without

You and all your love

Have all but disappeared

I'll never be convinced, baby, that you weren't always here

How were we ever strangers?

Maddie & Tae - Strangers

I woke up at noon and watched Bryce get ready for his late shift at Edenbrook. I watch him get ready just like every day. It’s just beautiful to have this daily routine and share it with him. It feels domestic.

It’s our last week here in Boston before we move to Hawaii.

He steals a kiss, smiling against my lips. He leaves with his coffee in hand. My arms wrapped around my knees I stare after him even when he‘s already out the door. I wish we could stay in bed longer.

Falling back into bed, the sheets surrounding me, smelling just like him, which makes me think back to the conversation I had with my grandma over the phone a few weeks ago.

We missed each other when Bryce and I visited Honolulu a couple weeks back.

“What would you do, Grangran?“ I asked into the phone, my voice full of doubt and uncertainty.

I can hear her rummaging in the kitchen. Where I spent most of my time growing up. Creating my own paint out of berries and making a total mess, covered in berry juice. Giggling like there’s no tomorrow.

“Well do you like him?“ she asked me and I was transported back to the conversation.

I laughed.

“I love him,“ I said, still surprised I can actually say the words to another person who isn’t part of my family.

“Well then the answer to your question is easy is it not?“

“Well it’s not that easy. I know B wants to get married, but I don’t feel ready yet,“ I hate that I’m still indecisive. Picking at my fingernails, some paint stuck to my cuticles.

My grandma huffed out a breath.

“If you don’t then you don’t Loonsie,“ she replied.

I sighed.

“But what if…“ I tried again but she interrupts me mid-sentence.

“There are no buts in this house Loonsie. You know what I learned by being married to your grandfather for this long?“ she asked me, catching me unaware by the question.

I shook my head as if she can actually see me through the phone. I smile feeling totally ridiculous.

“That there’s no time frame for when you have to get married. Even if you decide you don’t want to get married at all. Let me ask you this. Do you value your love to Bryce less by not being married to him?“

“Of course not Grangran,“ I said.

I’ve never even thought about it like that.

She’s really putting things into perspective for me.

“There you go, but if you’re still unsure go and talk to your man. He‘ll understand either way. If not send him to me. I haven’t done a proper spanking in a while,“ she continued by saying and made me burst out with laughter.

“Gran!“ I exclaimed.

“Loon-moon go with your heart,“ she said. We exchanged some pleasantries and then we hung up.

I let my fingers wander over the soft blanket.

My mind made up.

I’ll just propose to B to hell with what anyone else says or how unconventional it may sound.

I get up.

No definitive plan set in motion. I’ll just go with my heart as Grangran said.

While getting dressed I call Maxine. I need my best friend for this. There’s no one else I can think of who could help me out.

“Hey there Maxi,“ I say putting on a black long-sleeved shirt, and hop from foot to the other to get into my jeans.

“Speak fast babe I’m in the middle of tattooing,“ she says and I can hear the tattoo needle whirring in the background.

“I need your help. I want to propose to Bryce,“ I say before I can change my mind.

I can hear a loud clang, and then she’s on the phone again.

“Shit you made me drop the needle sugarplum,“ she curses some more before she’s on the phone again.

I snicker at her.

“Did I hear you correctly? You want to propose? To Bryce?“ she asks as if she’s too stunned to say anything else and just repeats my words.

I laugh out loud.

“Why are you repeating everything I say?“ I ask her, while buttoning my jacket and grabbing my hairbrush, so my hair doesn’t look like a bird called it home for the last couple of hours.

I can hear some voices, assuming it’s her customer. Hopefully she can reschedule her session. A door gets slammed and she’s on the phone again.

“Girl, talk. I need all the info,“ she asks me sounding intrigued.

“Like I said before I want to propose to Bryce,“ I say but she interrupts me again.

“Our Bryce?“ she asks.

“Do you know another Bryce?“ I laugh at her.

“Okay, what did you have in mind?“ she asks.

I sigh trying to catch my breath, while sprinting to the subway trying to catch my train. I need to get to the art gallery to get the rest of my things. Hopefully I’ll never have to see that place again.

Once inside I continue our conversation, while people give me weird looks not that I give a damn.

“I don’t know how to go about it,“ I tell her truly at a loss.

She thinks about that for a second.

“You would catch him by surprise that’s for sure. He wouldn’t see this coming. Not in a million years,“ she says in a serious tone.

“I know, but I want to make it perfect. What if he says no?“

It’s something I’m scared of, quite honestly. He could say no.

She scoffs “If I was standing next to you, I’d slap you,“ she says matter-of-factly.

“Why?“ I laugh caught by surprise by her answer.

“Because you’re being dumb. Why would he be this stupid? Do you know him at all?“ she asks me.

My shoulders slump, as if a weight was lifted. I guess I just needed someone to say it out loud for me. I know he loves me. Sometimes you have to take the leap. Knowing the other person will catch you, and I know Bryce will always catch me. No matter what.

“Hold that thought, I’ll add someone to the convo,“ she says and before I can say anything else I hear my mom’s voice through the phone.

“Luna is it true? Are you going to make an honest man out of Bryce?“ she sounds giddy and yells “Brian! Luna is on the phone and she’s trying to get ideas for how to propose to Bryce,“ and suddenly I can hear my dads rumbling voice coming to the phone

“Is that true Looney?“

I sigh.

“You act as if we lived in sin,“ I snort.

“Well you weren’t married,“ she says but I can hear the smile in her voice and she continues by saying.

“Never mind that. What’s the plan?“ sounding excited.

I grunt and exit at my stop and walk the short distance to the art gallery.

“That’s the problem I don’t know how to propose to him,“ I say getting frustrated within the minute.

They all laugh at me.

“I’m glad I can entertain you,“ I retort dryly.

“The when and where isn’t important. It’s you who counts,“ my mom says.

I think about that and that’s when it hits me.

It doesn’t need a fancy setting, or some fancy dinner to go with. All I need is myself and to ask him. He‘ll either say yes or no.

I’d be much happier with the first option of course.

I can’t wait until I’m done so I can finally see him and just ask him.

I talk a bit more to my family and then we hang up. I reach the art gallery doors and step inside.

My head full of sunshine. My heart dancing like it never did before. I can’t stop the smile spreading over my face. Doing a little dance in the hall not caring who sees me. Or how silly I might look in their eyes.

———————————————————

Hours later I’m finally done. As I leave the building I shoot B a text, asking him if he’s still at work. A couple of minutes later he says he’s finishing up. I decide to give him a call. He answers on the first ring.

“Stay put,“ I tell him instead of a greeting. I can hear clothes rustling and he laughs.

“Hello to you too. I’m doing good thank you for asking,“ he sounds sarcastic.

“Save your sarcasm for Keiki. Wait there so we can go home together.“

I walk towards the subway. Too lazy to walk the couple of blocks.

“What are you up to?“ he asks sounding suspicious, but also kind of excited, as if he can’t wait what I came up with.

“Me? I’m not up to anything, I just want us to go home together,“ I reply to his question.

He hums as if he knows I’m full of it, but he won’t call me out on my bullshit.

“I’ll be there in a few,“ I tell him all giddy and excited.

“I can’t wait Lunes,“ he says and we disconnect.

That’s when I hear a screeching sound. Before everything goes black all I can think of is that I didn’t tell Bryce that I love him. __________________________________

Bryce

I just tucked my phone into my jacket pocket, when I hear fast footsteps getting closer. When I look up I see Sienna who’s staring back at me with a panicked look on her face, her eyes wide. That’s when I know something is wrong.

“It’s Luna,“ is all she says and my heart nearly stops in my chest. My brain not connecting the dots fast enough.

“There’s been a subway accident and…“ she doesn’t get to finish her sentence as I’m already out the door and running with a heavy heart.

Praying I’m not too late. I’m getting to the entrance, just in time to see the EMTs are getting everyone rolled in.

I see Elijah and Jackie among the doctors and run towards them. Sienna comes to a halt next to me trying to catch her breath. I turn to her and my face must’ve said everything.

Jackie looks at us when we approach.

“I thought you went home with your girl,“ she says.

“Not now Jackie,“ I say curtly, while holding my eyes out for a glimpse of blond hair, but I can’t make her out anywhere. All I see are faces, but not the one I love seeing most of all.

“Did I miss something?“ she asks, while checking out the patients vitals to her right.

“Luna was on that subway Jackie,“ I say still looking around.

She whips her head towards me.

“Me and my big mouth. I’m sorry I didn’t know,“ she looks at me with a serious and concerned gaze in her dark brown eyes.

I rub my face. I’ve never felt like this. All I see are a blur of faces and doctors yelling things. This is usually the time I excel at but right now? I feel lost in a sea of faces.

I feel a warm but firm hand wrap around my arm and when I look up, it’s Ines. She gently pulls me aside from the working doctors.

“Luna wasn’t seriously hurt. She just had some minor cuts, no inner bleeding that we could attest. She refused to take any medication, but we put her in a room, because we want to make sure no injuries were left untreated,“ Ines smiles gently at me.

I hang my head and after a few seconds I pull Ines into a bone crushing hug and give her a kiss on her cheek. She blushes while our colleagues watch us with a curious look in their eyes. I know the rumor mill is going to be crazy later. But fuck I don’t care about any of that. All I needed to know is that Luna is safe and that she’s okay.

I start walking but realize I don’t know which room Lunes is in. I turn around and Ines says “Room 112,“ and turns around to get back to work.

I head into the direction of Room 112.

Before I can enter I stare at the door handle. My feet unsteady. I breathe out, trying to get a hold of myself, which is so damn hard.

Hesitating for a millisecond, before I push the door handle down. The metal feels cool to the touch. Something I’ve never paid attention to.

As I enter, I see Luna and I need to make sure she’s alright. Looking so damn small in that big hospital bed. Her blond hair spread out on the pillow. Making her look like a sleeping angel.

I close the door and pull a chair towards her bedside. Her chest rising slowly. Her breath coming out steady.

Taking a seat I stare at her, seeing the bandaged cuts. I hate that I wasn’t there. Feeling like I failed her.

I take her small hand into mine, placing a kiss on her soft skin. Breathing in the scent of vanilla and some paint. She probably didn’t get all the paint out when she was washing her hands.

Oh my god. What about her parents? Dreading the call I have to make.

What if they resent me? God I hate doing this over the phone. I’d rather be chewed out by them in person, but before I can make any calls I have to wipe away some tears that slipped out, and that’s how I fall asleep with my head on the bed. __________________________________

Luna

The next thing I see is bright sunlight seeping in through the blinds. My head thrums, like I ran into a wall, but thank god I’m in one piece.

I groan and try to move, realizing I’m lying in a hospital bed. Panicked I try to get out, until a beeping sound makes me aware of the heart monitor. Though the constant beeping sound doesn’t let up.

The door opens slowly and I see a familiar face. It’s Jackie and I relax in my bed, leaning back a bit. She smiles at me and I smile back at her, relieved to see someone I know.

“He hasn’t left your side, since last night,“ she says pointing to a figure next to my bed.

I realize for the first time that Bryce was here all night and must’ve fallen asleep on the bed. I gently stroke his soft hair. The sunlight hitting the recently added blond highlights. He slowly lifts his head, his brown eye sleepy. They get clearer as he realizes I’m awake.

He focuses his gaze on me and just stares at me as if he’s seeing me for the first time. He rests his head on the bed again. He breathes out a deep sigh like he can’t believe I’m here.

Jackie retreats back and whispers “I’ll come by later,“ I simply nod at her.

The soft click of the closing door, indicates we’re alone again.

“Hi there,“ I say sleepily to Bryce.

“Hi there?“ he echoes and I shrug.

“That’s the wittiest I can come up with right now,“ I smile, but wince at my splitting headache. Now that I’m awake I’m thinking that maybe I should’ve taken some pain meds when they were offered to me.

He gets a concerned look on his face.

”You have no idea how scared I was when Sienna said your name and that there’s been an accident…I though I’d lost you,“ his voice raw until it grows quiet.

I put my hand on his cheek

”I’m okay. Thank god it’s just a few bruises…“

“Are you okay?“ he asks his eyes taking on a worried look.

I try to nod but even that hurts me.

“Are you in pain?“ he checks me for anything and I catch his hand in mine and stop him from examining me further.

“It’s just a headache,“ I say and can’t contain the pain lacing my voice.

“I’ll get you some pain meds for your headache,“ he softly kisses my forehead. He lingers a few more seconds, before he gets up to get me some painkillers.

“There goes my plan of proposing,“ I mutter thinking that he already left, but I realized too late he’s still in the room with me.

“Your plan of doing what?“ he stops in his tracks, shock clearly written all over his face.

“Nothing,“ I reply trying to dial back, but he won’t let me have it.

“Nuh-uh repeat that please,“ he says.

I close my eyes.

“Well I came here with a plan of proposing to you, I wanted to do it after your shift, but then…“ I trail off.

He walks back to the bed the pills forgotten for the moment.

He’s completely speechless. He’s just looking at me as if he’s never seen me before.

I’m about to say something when we hear a commotion outside “Shh. Stop it I can’t hear what they’re saying,“ says a voice coming from the other side of the room.

”I would if you’d stop putting your elbow directly in my face,“ definitely a male voice.

”Well too bad,“ says someone else, female this time.

Bryce smiles and puts a finger on his lips and opens the door. That’s when Sienna, Jackie, Hayley, Rafael and Elijah tumble into the room.

Sienna smiles up at us.

“Congratulations,“ she says happily. While the others all talk at once, giving me an even bigger headache.

Which leaves only one option. I put my fingers between my teeth and whistle loudly. That gets everyones attention at once.

“That might’ve been louder then I anticipated,“ I say groaning.

“I’ll get you some pain killers,“ Jackie volunteers.

“I’ll help you,“ Elijah pipes in and together they walk out.

“So what we miss?“ asks Sienna in a conversational tone.

Rafael seems to hold in his laughter. Hayley is the first to break the silence.

“We listened at the door to get the information directly from the source,“ she says looking from Bryce to me.

I sink further into the bed.

“Before this whole subway accident happened I came here to propose to Bryce, but my plan kind of went to shit when I got stuck in this bed,“ I say sad about the fact that things didn’t go according to plan. Well I didn’t really have a plan. But oh well.

Nobody says anything.

“Have I shocked you into speechlessness? It’s not that weird of a thing to do. Women have proposed to guys before,“ I say getting angry, but it seems I misjudged their silence, because when I look up I see only smiling faces.

“What now? Why are you smiling at me like that?“ I ask around.

“I think it’s very cute, and for that reason we’re going to be outside,“ Sienna says and grabs Rafael and Hayley, but then Sienna turns back around and hands me a small thing. When I look down at my hand I see a plastic ring from one of those gumball machines.

Sienna winks at me and then the door closes. Leaving me and Bryce alone again.

“I even prepared a whole speech and everything,“ I say to Bryce who still isn’t saying anything.

Just looking at me as if he’s never seen me before.

“Please say something B,“ I implore him, while he sits down at the edge of the bed and tucks a strand of hair behind my left ear.

“You had a speech at the ready?“ he asks quietly.

I nod and am about to say something, when I see the look in his eyes.

“You don’t want to get married?“ I ask my voice wobbly.

“No it’s not that,“ he says and pushes his hair out of his face “I’m going about this all wrong,“ he says and shocks me with his next words “I was going to propose to you tonight you know,“ he admits blowing out a breath.

My eyebrows rise “Really?“

He laughs at my expression.

“Why is that such a surprise to you?“ he asks looking at me.

“I guess I never really thought about that last step. I never knew if I even wanted to get married,“ I mutter.

“That’s why I didn’t know how to propose to you,“ he says and goes on by saying “I thought despite us being together for this long, you decided you didn’t want us to take the next step after all, I…“ he’s running out of words to say.

I take his chin and turn it so he faces me directly.

“Loving you is like breathing. Do you honestly think I could love anyone else as much as I love you?“

He’s about to say something but I hold up my hand and he shuts his mouth again.

“I’m not always sure what I want, but when I know? There’s no holding me back, and I’m choosing you. Unless you don’t want me or what I have to offer,“ I say sounding uncertain again and hating myself for that.

“Oh Lunes. How could I choose someone else? My heart is set on you. No matter what you want. If you want to get married, I’m in. If not I’m in too. The same goes for kids. I don’t want to force you. If that’s what you want I’m with you all the way,“ he says and I’m realizing I’m crying, because his words moved me so much.

He tucks me into his side and I grab at pieces of his shirt and press my hand against his heart, which is beating wildly beneath my hand.

When I look up again I see him smiling.

“So that whole speech went out the window,“ he comments.

I smirk and reply “Speeches are overrated anyway,“ I say.

He looks at me and asks me

“So where’s my ring? I hope you went for the good stuff,“ he winks.

“I actually didn’t think that far ahead,“ I admit.

“I’m hurt Lunes. I really thought I meant something to you,“ he says trying to act all hurt and in pain.

I smack his shoulder playfully.

“Smarty pants. As for now here you go,“ I slip the ring Sienna gave me earlier on his finger.

He gets up and throws open the door and yells to anyone who’s close enough to hear him.

“I said yes people. That’s right. Luna is finally making an honest man out of me,“ he continues to say it over and over again doing a victory dance.

Scaring some of the patients walking by. Others are giving him dirty looks, but he doesn’t seem to care one bit.

I just lean back laughing, and think that I’m never going to hear the end of this, but you know what? I don’t care. I love him and everything else doesn’t really matter. As long as we’re together we’ll find a way.

I never knew he’s what I need in my life. Never was I more happy to have found him. To have met him that night at the beach in Maui.

He’s still outside in the hallway receiving congratulations. After some time he pops his head into the room and sees I’m still awake. Grinning from ear to ear.

“I’ve got your discharge papers. Wanna get home and celebrate the proper way. Now that we’re engaged? Keiki is not home. I told her to spend the night at a friends house and she was more than happy to,“ he says and I try to get out of bed but I’m still sore and wince in pain.

He’s instantly by my side and helps me get up.

“In sickness and health gets a whole new meaning,“ he mutters.

I laugh and with his help I get dressed in my a bit ruined clothes, but hey the shower is waiting for me, and I can’t wait to get home so we can as Bryce put it “celebrate properly“.

We leave the hospital hand in hand. Smiling all the way.

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#cfwc celebrations #open heart #Bryce x Luna #Engagement #Proposal #April Celebrations

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warlordgab · 4 years

Text

LuNa analysis: Emotional and Intellectual chemistry

This is a special edition meant to help a friend explain this aspect of Luffy and Nami's relationship as potrayed in Oda's works (excludes the anime adaptation). It's no something truly new, it's more like a summary of multiple analyses made in this blog and other places.

The first time we mentioned this particular subject in this blog, the idea was to showcase the difference between "sexual tension" and the concept of chemistry.

Shallow fans sometimes used both terms interchangeably as if they were the same thing. Well, they're not.

Chemistry refers to the natural connection between two persons, a common feeling between two characters that leaves a impact strong enough to move their hearts and stimulate their minds. Needless to say, it's something complex, sometimes subtle, but very appealing.

It's not something tied to sexual attraction, and it's definitively not a mere infatuation. It's something much deeper than that...

However, some popular newcomers to the One Piece community mistake this concept with "dynamic." They may focus on character(s) they grow fond with, and then claim their dynamic is a sign of "chemistry" because of how much they like it.

The "character dynamics" would refer to the way characters work with or against each other within the story. While chemistry is about how the characters bond with each other throughout the story.

But then, how does LuNa showcase actual chemistry? By relying on more than one kind of chemistry.

We've seen it before, the development of a bond that grows naturally through mutual trust/faith, with the most importat trait being the capability of regulating the partner's emotions.

This kind of chemistry is marked by emotional support producing a remarkable attachment. In such a relationship, the distressed person feels comfortable enough to express their anxiety, grief, and helplessness to their partner because said partner is capable of providing with relief, comfort, and/or hope.

It's probably starting to sound familiar, right? LuNa fans would certainly think of Arlong Park and the pass of the hat, a gesture that provided Nami with the relief and hope she needed to stand up and keep going.

But, we have the moments from Skypiea too:

When she was overwhelmed by fear and doubts, Luffy does something similar, but this time is to remind Nami that she's the companion of the future Pirate King, and as such, she has nothing to fear. It was so effective that it led to a remarkable character moment from Nami, and her brief skirmish with Enel, in which she drew courage from her captain. That creates enough confidence for Nami to open her heart when there's something troubling her. Remember Water 7? After learning the truth about Robin's desertion, and shortly after missing the train Robin got in, Nami didn't seem distressed at all. In fact, she got up determined and unwilling to give up. But, how did she act when she got the chance to explain the truth to Luffy?

She and displayed the helplessness, frustration, and sadness she truly felt when she got to Luffy.

A smilar scene plays out when we get to Zou. Sanji was taken away, and while Nami seemed ok and even elated at the fact Luffy and the rest are back, is when she's in Luffy's arms that she once again expresses how helpless and anguished she feels...

This is how emotional chemistry looks like! It's not about meaningless flattery, flowery words, nor a mere infatuation. It's about growing attached to one another through a strong companionship, mutual trust/faith, offering support/comfort when needed.

Now, true chemistry occurs when characters affect each other in meaningful ways. And Nami also has an effect on Luffy. When Oda wrote the Strong World movie, we get to see how she affects her captain. When Nami got no other choice but leave a message in which she seemingly doubts Luffy's strength and capabilities, Luffy reacts this way...

This shows how much Luffy values the perception Nami has of him.

Another perceptive reader explained the difference between this situation and Ennies Lobby. During that massive rescue mission "Luffy is angry at Robin for not worrying about her own safety." In Strong World, the idea of Nami not believing in him is something Luffy takes personal. And as explained in multiple posts, we later learn Nami never stopped believing in Luffy, and the idea of Luffy hearing about it was pretty embarrassing to her.

Well, what about Intellectual Chemistry?

This is a tricky one, because most people think is having a similar level of intelligence. But, even in real life, it's pretty likely potential partners have different degrees of education, so they're not always going to perfectly click or match in this regard.

Then, how people can develop this kind of chemistry under such circumstances? One of concepts of intellectual chemistry is the capability of challenging each other's perspective and beliefs on subjects and matters relevant to both persons.

LuNa fits the second bit, for the greatest challenge each character's perspective has is the other's...

...Nami’s character from the very beginning had a very clear distate for pirates and had trouble trusting others. Her perspective served as not only a contrast to Luffy's idealism, but also as a challenge Luffy and his ideals had to actively overcome. This kind of chemistry covers other aspects that, even people who are not fond of LuNa, could see and mention. For example:

Unlike Zoro, Robin, and others crewmates who, more often than not, go along with Luffy's course of action without questioning their captain, Nami is usually the one who challenges Luffy's decisions. It makes sense given Nami's role, as she herself explained in Weatheria...

While Luffy is the one who chooses where to go, Nami is the only one can get him where he wants to go. She seeks to provide Luffy with the guidance he needs to survive his journey. She’s the compass leading Luffy towards his adventures.

Now, Intellectual Chemistry not only consists of challenging each other’s perspectives, it’s also about openly discussing each other’s ideas with the right mindset, not because you’re trying to win an argument, but as a mean to learn more about your partner, and as a result, you get to better understand that significant person and both parts work together as a team.

In this regard, it's true Nami is one who questions Luffy the most, but she doesn't actively try to change his mind, instead she attempts to get Luffy to rationalize his choices. And once Luffy voices out his reasons and/or motivations for doing something, she offers her assitance and full support. We see one example in Skypiea:

At first, she questions why Luffy is making such a great effort to climb the beanstalk and fight Enel a second time, Nami even urges him to stop and flee with her. She keeps pushing until Luffy clearly states why he's not running away.

Nami could easily run away on her own, but as soon as she understands Luffy’s reasons, she stays, and they’re able to work together to ride the beanstalk so Luffy can finally defeat Enel.

This is not one-sided either. If we go to the Dressrosa arc, we got Nami communicating Luffy her plan of splitting into two teams to keep Ceasar and Momonosuke away from Doflamingo.

And Luffy not only fully supports her idea, he even follows it up with a mission for the team that stayed at Dressrosa.

Another possible example could be one particular scene from the Zou arc. Luffy’s original intent was going to rescue Sanji on his own...

...until Nami reminds him how much he needs her and her navigation skills to keep going. Luffy accepts the reasons she gave him, and alters his original plan accordingly.

We can find other moments to showcase this aspect of their relationship, but to make things short, we can sum it up like this: when their different perspectives clash, they challenge each other’s ideas to the point of gaining a better understanding of each other, and end up acting according to that understanding, they display Intellectual chemistry.

Bonus: Physical Chemistry?

I wasn't going to include this one, but given a japanese fan brought it up ages ago, I decided to leave a couple of scenes that may fit the concept.

That japanese fan based his comment on Strong World, the movie written by Oda. To make it short, physical chemistry doesn't necessarily means "sex" either, it really comes down to how comfortable a person feels with their partner. However, the details and quirks in this particular kind of chemistry vary from people to people. Just like it can vary from writer to writer.

We often mentioned in this blog certain moment in Fishman Island, where Nami had no problem with Luffy wrapping himself around her...

...she indeed bickered with Luffy, but it was about Luffy's wanting to venture through a dangerous route rather than their physical closeness. A nice way to show how comfortable she feels around him. In contrast, she doesn't pull any punches, or thunders, when punishing people for pervying around her. Something that remains consitent even in the Wano arc (at least in the original source: the manga) Regardless of whether or not these count as “physical chemistry,” we can still appreciate how Oda crafted a solid emotional chemistry, and intellectual chemistry as well, in the way he wrote Luffy and Nami.

#one piece #luffy x nami #LuNa #lunami #chemistry #analysis #ルナミ

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morvantmortuary · 2 years

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Man I want to ask everything but I think I will just go for these: ⛰💁

(I'm delighted you asked me anything! thank you, Nonny <3

this got long, but not as long as the last one, I promise!

⛰️- What was the hardest part?

this is probably pretty obvious for how fucking long it took me, but I'd say spellbound (reprise). I'd thought the Masquerade had been hard up until that point, but jesus, the idea of having to bring it all home and tie it off successfully terrified me. There were lots of things I wanted to make sure I set up for later, but then I wanted to make sure I closed all the things that needed closing in a way that didn't just feel like a cop-out. I think I rewrote the damn thing six times, each time adding a piece that I felt it needed if I wanted it to have any symmetry whatsoever. I have a Hector and Rora segment that I ended up having to cut entirely, as much as I loved it, because I didn't know what half it should go with when I realized I'd have to post it in two without totally wrecking the pace I was trying to keep. I'm planning on posting it separately later, just because I think it's a really interesting look through Hex's perspective, but I feel it's pretty emblematic of how difficult it felt at times to figure out what elements to bring forward and which ones I had to tie off as everyone shifts roles. I don't know how the fuck I thought I was going to have all of this done by Halloween, what the fuck self lmao.

I was also just exhausted from my semester, and kind of having to balance concluding my work for my students with just generally being at a point where everything but writing felt like it hurt because I was so burnt out. I was honestly really nervous when I was writing this at times, because I couldn't tell if I was happy with it before I posted it, or if I was just exhausted here too. And if even writing was starting to feel like it hurt, what was I going to have left?

I think I'm mostly pretty content with it - Maxi and Reader's conversations in that chapter are some of my favorites in the whole Arc - but I think if you gave it to me over again, I'm sure I'd find something I'd want to tweak, or do again slightly to the left. It might even look different when I try to tie it all together in the manuscript version for a pitch contest, we'll just have to see. But for now, I'm pretty okay with it, for it being my first Arc ending and all. :)

💁- Did readers influence change any part of this story?

Hector was supposed to be so awful! He really was supposed to be my main antagonist as the would-be golden boy of They Who Decide, as some of y'all probably guessed when I wrote the Voicemail chapter. Before that, he'd already shifted in my notes from an ER trauma surgeon who maimed and mangled his patients internally on purpose, to a crime scene photographer who was caught meddling with scenes because he couldn't help himself around blood, to finally just being a spirit/Remembrance photographer who also moved around a lot from place to place bc he kept fucking up and attracting attention to himself. I was originally going to have him kidnap the Reader from their house after Maxi told them the truth about the Curse, which was going to lead to a showdown between the two and Rora in a location I wound up cutting from this Arc bc it took too much moving around. But around the same time I was deciding the Reader needed to be the one to have a showdown with Maxi (playing with the Final Girl tradition), I was getting a lot of feedback that people really liked Hector. I mean, I'm sure his fc being Diego Luna helped lmao, but also people just seemed to dig him in a way I hadn't expected! I didn't want to set people up to like him only to have him turn out to be a total fucking monster (although, I dunno, I guess that could have made for an interesting plot twist??), so I started slowly walking him back a bit as I got to know his backstory/figured out his arc for later. Then the longer he kept talking, the more I realized he was just a big space cadet with rage issues and a murder problem, and here we are. :'D Congrats, you guys, you got him an arc!

He and Rora were also supposed to be in a really toxic co-dependent relationship, when I first started planning for them. They're definitely still very close, as we'll see in some flashbacks down the line, but now they're more like mutually exasperated siblings than what I had planned originally. Which is maybe for the best, bc I wasn't even sure how I was going to post some of the things I had planned lmao.

He and Maxi also turned out to be way more dependent on each other than I thought, rather than the original total break-up aftermath I had planned for them. We'll get a look at their relationship too as we go on - they're close in a different way than Hector and Rora or Maxi and Rora, and the way they've been constantly pitted against each other through their childhoods as the two only/oldest sons of twin brothers who both wanted to secure their legacy with They Who Provide has a lot to do with how they see themselves and each other now.

thanks for your interest, nonny, I super appreciate it and I hope this answered your questions! <3)

#nice people #nonny!!#ask memes #ask games

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just2bubbly · 3 years

Text

Celebrity Crush

Masterlist

Summary

“Did Mom have a celebrity crush on Dad?“

This revolves around Kaider but from Torin's POV and Peony here refers to Kai and Cinder's child.

When Peony (gen 2) comes up with a very strange question to Torin!

Ship: Kaider

Words: 1590 words

Torin’ perspective-

"Torin-da, did Mom have a celebrity crush on Dad?" The six-year-old asked the royal advisor with wonder-waiting eyes.

The Advisor on the other hand was very much panicked, wondering how the young princess got to know about the word 'crush'. He suspected she had picked on this word from one of her visit to Carswell Thorne. He wanted to rub the fact that 'Sending his daughter to Mr Thorne was not the best decision' in Emperor Kaito's face- but he would do no such thing.

"Where did you learn the word 'crush' Peony?" he asked dodging her previous question.

"Uh-.. Actually, Uncle Thorne said that Aunt Cress had a crush on him, so I just searched what the word meant." She said avoiding eye contact, just like any child caught red-handedly stealing from the jar of cookies would do.

"I don't think you should look into words like 'crush' as the age of 6" he warned, collecting his stuff to leave.

"But Torin-da, I am about to turn 7 next month" she swore, running off to block him from leaving away.

"Well, that does not make you any older to know about the word, young lady." He said with a bit of grand-fatherly authority to his voice. Not necessarily that he was scolding the curious child; she was hardly the one being scolded because of her cute actions and sweet voice.

"Torin-da but what of my earlier question?" she asked her voice full of determination.

"Why don't you go and ask Kaito?" he suggested, obviously playing the child around. He remembered how even Kai had taken up liking to the word 'shit' when he had heard President Vargas saying it. He had pestered Torin with his questions for weeks but due to royal protocol, Torin faced his curiousness with nothing but an emotionless face. At last, he had gone to former Emperor Rikan, who had laughed at Kai and explained a few things to the young prince, years ago.

"Torin-da!" she shouted in his face to get his attention, "Did Mommy have a celebrity crush on Dad?" she continued.

"Why do you think that?" he cross-questioned the little princess who was set on a mission to know if Cinder had a crush on Kai.

"Well, you see Mommy was a mechanic before she became the Queen and Dad- well he was THE PRINCE, so he was a celebrity" she explained slowly as if explaining two plus two equals four to a child. Even though little Peony looked like Cinder, she had taken after Kai in all ways possible. She had picked up her parent's sarcasm like she would not. However, her speaking style, her small conquests in the Palace reminded Torin too much of little Kai.

"Your Mommy was the Princess of Luna too, Peony. Why would she have a crush on Kai?"

She stared at him with a look of confusion upon that remark, another one of Kai's speciality again. After what felt like a few minutes of silence, she blamed, "Torin-da you are fooling me around. I can see through it. Tell me did Mom have a celebrity crush on Dad? "

He sighed realizing that it was going to be one interesting afternoon with little Peony. Hence, he decided to keep his work aside for some time and sat down with the little child on the nearby sofa.

"You see Peony darling, I think it was the other way around." He stated.

"Meaning?" she asked, her curiosity perked up, now that Torin was giving her his full attention.

"I mean that Daddy had a celebrity crush on Mommy!" he exclaimed to the very confused child.

"Really?" she asked with her eyes full of doubt, she was only believing it because the royal advisor was saying things.

"Yeah," he said with the same wondrous tone as that of the six- soon-to-be seven-year-old.

"You are saying that Mommy was Daddy's celebrity crush growing up?" she asked to confirm with her wide brown eyes.

Torin nodded. He waited to continue till she had digested this new piece of information.

"Actually Kai idolized your Mom for some amount of time and he was so in love with her." He said, wondering if Peony was interested to hear about her parents or for that matter, her parent's love life or was he over-stepping some of his boundaries-

"Continue Torin-da! And what do you mean by idolizing?" she crowed, cutting short his train of thought.

"Idolize means someone who they want to be like-as in worship or admiring Peony" he explained to the child who had yet time to master the vast oceans of the English language.

This unknown information seemed to increase her curiosity ten folds. The little child had no idea how Kai had a crush the size of Luna on the young princess Selene and later on mechanic Cinder, who turned out to be the same person. He internally smiled- wondering what a calamity it would have been if Selene and Cinder would not be the same person!

She subtly asked, "But why would The Emperor idolize a mechanic?"

"Peony," he said somewhat scolding the child, "all jobs are important, just because the emperor is famous does not mean that the mechanic is not an important part of the society. Your mother was the best one in the entire New Beijing. I am not sure but I think she is yet the Best Mechanic in the city."

"Sorry", she muttered under her breath while he continued with his narration. The six-year-old had no idea what her parents had gone through. They had yet decided against telling her about their hardships, so he decided to keep the descriptions at the minimum.

"Your Mom was a Hero for the world. You might not know it, but she saved the world even while being a mechanic- She was brave. Your Dad liked her for that, he admired her bravery. Later, when your mom was fighting against evil, your dad could not help her but that did not stop him from thinking of her every single second."

"Torin-da, are you saying Dad liked Mom before her?" she asked now seeing the entire scenario in an entirely different light.

"I guess yes." He confirmed, smilingly at the little child's innocence to understanding her parent's life.

"As far as I remember, Kai was completely blinded by his love for the scrawny mechanic he had seen in a garage, which would be your Mom, Peony"

"Did he talk about Mom to you, when she was being a hero?" she blurted.

"Not exactly, he just thought about her. I was not very fond of your Mom back then." He confessed.

"Why? Mom is so lovely!" she exclaimed, already defending The Empress.

"We had different thoughts and I did not know her back then but it would be a story for another day, Peony."

She nodded, obviously not liking things being kept hidden from her. She was a born seeker for information- especially her parents. Why everyone adored them was much of a mystery to her until recently!

"Torin-da, I want to confirm so Dad liked Mom as a mechanic and not as a Lunar Queen?" she asked.

"Absolutely! He had that-"

"Celebrity crush!" she provided, clapping her hands.

Laughing at the child's antics, he said, "Yeah, your Dad had a 'Celebrity crush' on Mom."

"I am going to tell Mom this- Bye Torin-da!" She said running off to find Cinder. Peony looked like someone who had just learned a dear secret and was about to break it off to their best friend. She had no idea how her mom already knew that. The Emperor might still have a celebrity crush on his wife, he will never know.

Collecting his things, he was ready to walk out of the chamber. Until, the Emperor walked on him, a look of amusement on his face.

"Torin, "

"Your Majesty-" he said out of habit, doubting that Kai might have heard the entire conversation between the two.

"-I had a celebrity crush on Cinder?"

"Oh! Please Kaito, the child insisted to know the truth. Besides you do have a crush on Cinder."

"Stop telling my daughter that, Torin," he said, the tip of his ears slightly turning red.

"Well Peony might have guessed it sooner rather than later, Your Majesty-' he said, grinning at the Emperor.

"And if I were you I would stop her before she goes to The Empress," he advised.

"There's nothing to hide about what Cinder already knows of. However, if she comes to me lecturing about morals and values that Peony should learn, I am definitely sending her to you, Torin"

It was another interesting afternoon for the royal advisor with his new student. Only God knew how many more were to come yet!

A/N: This was not actually Kaider fluff but Kaider fluff at the same time and I also wanted to write something from Torin's perspective so here's my take. I think it turned out pretty good. I had to actually ask my cousin if he knew meanings of words like 'admire' or 'idolize' to figure out if Peony would know them. Torin-da was supposed to mean like ‘dada’ used in the sense of grandfather in many Asian countries. Phew! things I have to do for imagining things!

Be sure to like, reblog and comment, if you like it!

#kaider fanfiction #kaider #peony linh #peony #linh cinder #gen 2 #kaito #emperor kaito #konn torin #celebrity crush #the royal advisor and the young princess #just2bubbly fics #lunar chronicles #marrisa meyer #all characters belong to the author #cinder #fluff #just talks #parenting

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digitalta · 3 years

Note

( you probably get these a lot but...here i am)

i've read antithesis about 3 times, i always stopped reading around chapter 66 because it was too painful, but it's one of my favorite works in fanfiction. i convinced my sister to read it (it's like...the second fanfiction she's ever read) and she's absolutely engrossed, and today is the day i finally finished reading this tragic masterpiece. (now there's a void in my heart).

what i mean to say is...thank you (for the angst, for the drama, for the comedy, for everything). i don't know what to say or even how to say it, this is such a humane and tragic story that touched me so much that i can't even formulate a semblance of what i really want to say and what it means to me. so, thank you.

oftentimes i found myself so entranced in your writing that i feel like i didn't register the best pieces of writing and identified what could be some quotes to add to my all time favorites.

by chance, do you have a compilation of antithesis's best quotes or poetic tidbits you can share with us please?

and thank you, really ♡

So, I got this Ask a few days ago, and I’ve been sitting on it and looking at it constantly.

First- no. The number of messages never EVER take away from the meaning behind them. I could receive four messages, or four hundred, and I treasure each and every one. You are an individual with completely unique experiences and views. You deserve to be treated with kindness and respect, not thrown into a list of messages from nameless people.

Reading the story isn’t easy for some people. It’s all a matter of perspective, and how we can connect with it and how we can hurt from it. I am so proud of you for finishing it, and finding meaning at the end.

There are...sections? Of the story that I am incredibly proud of. Pointing out quotes from memory is impossible based on the insane length of the fic.

So I tried to find individual portions that meant a lot to me, as an author and writer. I have a style of writing that I started to refine much further in the story, which appears often in the end. Surrealism and lyrical twist that is more akin to poetry than standard literature. Those lines are the ones I’m most proud of.

A few more popular quotes are those I still enjoy.

Truth be told, moments I actually enjoy appear in the middle and towards the end.

Ch. 36: "I could have been raised to kill Potter." Adrian tried again, desperate in his attempt to scare the man.

"You could have been," Remus agreed, with the faintest glimmer of sympathy, "And if you were, I would give you freedom to live away from expectations or requirements. I would give you an opportunity to follow what you want to do, and not what you were raised to do."

"It wasn't your fault Adrian," He repeated carefully, "and I'll tell you that every day for however long it takes for you to realize that. You weren't abandoned because of who you are. It wasn't your fault."

Ch. 37: He had never thought of her as someone with individual dreams and desires, an individual life that everyone would mourn and miss and remember.

She hadn't...she hadn't (or had she always been?) a person, in his eye. She was just an object, a possession of the wrong side…He had left her behind, left her lying in a pool of water too weak to stand or speak. He had turned his back on her and left her on the floor.

Ch. 38: The man's eyes were bulging, his hands were gasping against his torn and butchered chest.

"He is prey," Nagini simplified, "Prey are eaten."The man gasped something wetly, it sounded faintly like a plea.

What had he done. What had he done?

Ch. 40: "I know, I just...I do things on my own." Adrian paused, trying to elaborate but struggling with the words.

"Ah, I know how you feel." Remus smiled slightly, something nostalgic and yet so terribly pained, "We all have our own burdens to carry."

Ch. 40: Luna noticed, and she smiled something soft and sad."You know, I think you'd be a wonderful thestral.”

Ch. 44: She turned, opening her mouth and displaying saliva and venom soaked teeth, as long as dinner plates, "And do you, Cerastes, have anything to your name that make others cower? Or are you a hatchling child who dreams of prey far too large for his teeth."

"That's not true," Adrian shook his head in denial, knowing his face was flushing ugly with his anger. His scars itched and his eyes were burning and his nose was filled with disgusting snot.

"Are you crying?" Barty asked, sounding like he was going to burst out laughing, "as if the Dark Lord would find you useful!"

"Master," Lutain unhooked from Barty's leg, slithering across the distance, "Master that is not true,"

"It is," Adrian swallowed, a lump the size of a walnut was lodged in his throat.

Ch. 45: "That's why you wore this dress." he realized, speaking out loud as the epiphany struck him. "So people would stare at you. Instead of staring at me."

"People always stare at me," Luna offered dismissively, "I'm different and people don't like that. I think it scares them, like thestrals do."

Ch. 46: Luna smiled enchantingly, "Adrian you're good at spells."

"I'm really not," he automatically blurted.

Luna's eyes searched his, flickering from one back to the other, "Why are you arguing? Why do you think you're so...mediocre?"

"Because I am!" Adrian blurted, face feeling warm as he flushed against his will. Luna's spell faded out. She whispered it once more, squinting into his face as if looking for something in particular.

"I don't think you are," She confided, "I think you're brilliant."

Ch. 46: Adrian's throat moved three times as he nervously swallowed, "I...I'm not good enough n-"

"I'm afraid you're going to do something stupid for the approval of someone that doesn't matter."

Ch 50: "I tried, but the little demon went savage on Mundungus again, stabbed him with a fork and looked right happy with it." Sirius grimaced.

Ch. 50: "How was your summer?" Luna asked curiously. "You look terrible."

"You know, most times you're supposed to compliment me first." Adrian dryly commented, "It's wonderful to know you're so sweet."

Luna shrugged, "You look like something's eating you."

Ch. 50: Skylar's jaw flexed, twitching as he refused to look away from the window, "Cedric really...I saw Cedric die. I saw him die, and you saw someone die, right in front of you, years ago."

"I was young," Adrian swallowed, his throat felt dry, "I barely remember it."

Skylar gave a single bark of laughter, bitter and sharp, "You don't- you don't just...just forget about it."

"Yes you do." Adrian blurted, not even hearing the slightly pained whine in his voice.

Skylar looked haunted, "I...I remember his eyes. They...Merlin, his eyes."

"I don't think I'll ever forget it," Skylar admitted quietly, "What Cedric looked like. Laying there, on the grass. He, he was just...alive, and then… and then he wasn't."

"It wasn't your fault." Adrian spoke, his voice a hoarse whisper.

Ch. 54: “You’re not unlovable, silly.”

Ch. 56: “I could set this entire room on fire,” Adrian mused quietly. “I could burn this entire house down and kill you. burning people smell a lot like burning meat.”

Sirius realized, that he was afraid. He was quite afraid actually.

Ch 57.: Adrian stilled, pausing as if in thought. He looked at Remus with half lidded eyes, the yellow far too bright to be anything but alarming. "Do you like me, Remus?"

Remus felt as if he was mourning for the loss of something gone, which was impossible. Adrian was right there, but he felt so far away. He felt as if he had changed truly, as if something hideous had condemned him to something so foul, he had accepted it.

"Of course I do," Remus spoke, voice strained and distorted through his distress, "Adrian, you know I do. Why would you ever think I wouldn't?"

Ch. 58: "I thought I was insane." Adrian mused without much emotion, "Disturbed. Psycho. Spastic. Mad. Mental. Thick. Freak." Adrian's body twitched in a small spasm, "Loony." he practically hissed out.

Remus breathed through his nose carefully, "Who called that to you?"

"Nobody," Adrian murmured quietly, "Everyone. They think it, everyone does. Selwyn has a few screws loose. Selwyn is a freak."

Remus gently set aside the comb and scissors. He ignored the few scraps of hair, and instead slid forward slightly so that his weight was a nearby presence for Adrian.

"That isn't even my name," Adrian whined, shaking across his shoulders, "I- I just want to be good."

"You are good, Adrian." Remus assured him, "You're exceptional."

Ch. 60: "Oh I know," Adrian hummed back, carefree as if truly it was barely of importance, "my life is a tragedy. I think I hadn't cared to truly involve myself to my full capabilities. Now...now with a deadline, I think that It's time for me to step forward."

Ch 60.: "You love me," Adrian whined out like a dying animal. (Which, he supposed, he was).

Ch. 63: I know what it is like, to be unmade.I know what it is like, to be nothing.And through that, I know I am not.

Ch 64.: "I'm surprised you never noticed, in all honesty." Adrian mentioned with a wry smile, "after all, professor. I have my mother's eyes."

Ch 65.: For now, all Adrian had was himself.In the sweet smelling heather and deep earthy peat bogs out of sight, in the moonlit shadow of a moss covered mountain which towered over an isolated cobblestone road cut from the mountain itself; Adrian found peace.

Past Chapter 65...honestly, each chapter is filled with absolutely gorgeous one liners. I pulled out small quotes above that I found really stuck out to me, or had some sort of important meaning. It would be impossible to pull out every single quote, basically because it would take so much time.

What’s your favourite?

#antithesis #shadowed malice #harry potter fanfiction #oceanbreeze7 #adrian selwyn #man what a tragedy #ask me anything

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lunarsaga · 3 years

Text

Chapter 6: The Poison Master

Here it is, Chapter 6!

Chapter 7 is in the works, and will be going up on patreon soon! Stay tuned and follow me on Twitter for updates!

Don't forget that this is meant to read like a graphic novel, meaning the art pieces are part of the story and aren't meant to be skipped!

Also trying a new thing! "========" <- Lines like this are scene breaks "// ~ ~ ~ \\" <- and these are perspective changes!

ENJOY, MY LOVES! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

===========================================

“I’m going after Jakotsu.”

It was said with such confidence—the confidence of a man who had not just been struggling to keep himself from getting sliced to pieces by an undead murderer that kept trying to flirt with him—that Luna just had to wonder if it was really Inuyasha saying it. (It was, of course. She was just being sarcastic.)

“That’s funny, I thought I just heard you say you were going after that psychopath.” Luna said to the half-demon. She idly pulled her hair down from her ponytail and began to weave it into a loose braid.

“I am!” Inuyasha said, indignant. “He couldn’t have gotten far.”

“Yes, but Inuyasha,” Miroku interjected, “aren’t you worried about that poisonous gas?”

“Whaddya mean?”

Thoughtful, Miroku glanced off in the direction where they’d encountered the first of the Band of Seven. The cloud had almost entirely dispersed, but if you looked hard enough, you could still see wisps of the toxic smoke drifting into the sky. “Well, Jakotsu seemed to know something about it.”

“You’re right…” Inuyasha said, “You think it’s another member of the Band of Seven?”

“Could be…” Sango mused, “but didn’t Jakotsu seem to be in danger himself? Why would a member of his own team endanger him?”

“Infighting?” Luna guessed, running her fingers through the tangles in her hair. “They’re ruthless mercenaries, I wouldn’t expect them to be one big bloodthirsty family… Unless…” She tilted her head, trailing off in thought.

“Unless what…?” Kagome asked, looking at her sister in concern.

Luna paused another second, still deep in thought as she began to weave her hair into a loose braid. “I mean… If Jakotsu knows the guy? He probably knew that there was still time to avoid the poison. He did tell Inuyasha to get out of the way, remember.” Only Inuyasha, but still.

Inuyasha turned away from the rest of them, uncrossing his arms. “Whatever the case, I’m not letting him get away. You all stay here, and stay safe.”

“Don’t do anything stupid!” Luna called after him as he ran off.

“You’re one to talk.” Ai snorted, earning her a gentle kick from the Hunter sitting next to her.

Kagome stood from where she’d been rifling through her bag, holding a nearly-empty plastic bottle. “Ah, we’re almost out of water… I think I saw a well on our way over here, I’m gonna go fill this up.”

Luna arched an eyebrow at her sister. “Is going off on your own a good idea when there’s a bunch of killer zombies in the area?”

Kagome sighed, smiling back at her. “I’ll be fine, it’s not far. Shippo, why don’t you come with me?” Shippo grinned and jumped into Kagome’s bike basket as she got it on the road. “You should show Sango your crossbow, Luna.”

“Crossbow?” Sango asked.

“Ah, yes, I’m actually interested in seeing how it works up close,” Miroku said, “I saw you use it on Jakotsu, it was impressive.”

Luna smiled and shook her head. “Alright, be safe, Kagome.” She hoisted up the crossbow to show her friends how the arms unfolded, getting a little chuckle out of it when the two of them jumped.

“It does that all on its own?” Sango asked as Luna handed it over to her. She was unsure where to hold it for a second, but Luna showed her how.

“Yep, they’re spring-loaded, so they just pop out,” Luna explained.

Luna went on to answer all sorts of questions about it, and while Sango and Miroku (and even Kilala) seemed interested in the strange contraption, Ai had heard it all before, when Luna had first returned to this world with it. She stretched herself out, her tail fluffing itself out as she curled up against a warm rock. Mmm… warm… Her eyelids began to droop as she got comfortable there; it had been such an exhausting day already…

But as she was about to drift off, she took a deep breath, and a rancid smell hit her nose. She jolted upright with a disgusted hiss, trying to find where the smell was coming from.

“Ai?” Luna asked, “What’s up?”

Kilala seemed to pick up on the scent too—something foul was drifting in the air. The elder cat demon transformed into her full form, and Ai stood, hair bristling.

“Something doesn’t smell right.”

Luna picked up on the tension right away, and her thoughts immediately went to her sister. “God damnit, Kagome...” She hissed, going to her backpack and rifling through it.

“Kagome’s in trouble?” Miroku stood, worried.

“The smell’s coming from the same direction she went,” Ai said.

“And the smell could be that person with the poison,” Sango had already grabbed Hiraikotsu and was putting on her Slayer’s mask. “We don’t wanna take any chances—it’s too bad I only have one of these…”

“No worries, I’ve got these. Here, Miroku.” Luna pulled a medical mask out of her kit to hand it to her friend. “It won’t do much, but it’ll at least keep you from inhaling anything.”

“Thank you, Luna—what about you?”

Luna held up something from her bag: her own mask. It was a military-grade gas mask with a clear face shield, modified to fit a Hunter’s needs. “This one’s mine. It’s made specifically for Hunters like me,” She said as she slipped it over her head. She was well aware that to the locals she might look like a demon, but fuck if she cared; her sister was in danger. The first thing in hand was her crossbow, and she grabbed her ammo bag as she was taking off running.

As it turned out, they were right to call the masks, but Luna certainly didn’t expect to find an entire village choked with poison like a deadly mist. It was barely past lunchtime, and they’d already seen so much death—it was disheartening to see bodies strewn everywhere. But through the mist, they could see Shippo rolling on the ground and coughing, Kagome crouched on her hands and knees, and some weird little figure looming over her. (Well, maybe looming was a strong word. The guy was like three feet tall.)

Sango didn’t hesitate to swing Hiraikotsu; the first swing shattered the poison bottle in the creep’s hand.

“Stay back!” Shouted the little toad of a man.

“Like hell I will,” Luna snarled, aiming her crossbow at the poison master. “Step away from my sister. Now.”

Shippo was finally able to scramble to his feet, and, unsure of what else to do, proclaimed: “I’ll go get Inuyasha!” and took off running.

“Ai, go with him!” Luna said to her friend. The Bakeneko hesitated a moment, worried, but then shifted into her full form and took off after the young fox demon.

“He had to be the one behind the smoke,” Miroku said, of the poison master, “Which means he must be another member of the Band of Seven!”

The laugh that exited the little man made Luna want to vomit. “Yes! I am Mukotsu, Poison Master!”

“Then tell me, Mukotsu, someone must have resurrected you all,” Miroku continued. “Is Naraku behind all this?”

“Hehehehehe, couldn’t tell you! You’ll have to ask the Captain…” He trailed off, reaching back into the little box he was carrying on his back and quickly retrieving another bottle of poison. “Should you survive, that is!”

Luna wasn’t about to give him another second to unplug the bottle. She tried to step toward her sister again, but she only got to fire once before her vision was blocked by powerful black smoke that ejected towards them. Kilala—completely unaffected by the poison, it seemed—jumped in front of Luna to block the bulk of it.

“NO!” Luna shouted, trying to see around the giant Nekomata, “Kagome!”

Luna felt the crushing weight of helplessness almost immediately. That was her sister, helpless and about to pass out, and she couldn’t help. She couldn’t see, couldn’t move, couldn’t do… anything.

It was less than a minute until the smoke cleared, but it felt like an eternity. When she could see again, it only confirmed what she already knew: her sister had been taken. She knew her mask would’ve filtered out whatever the poison was made of, but her legs were still shaking. Not with pain, not with shock… but with pure, unbridled anger. Her lungs could only draw in sharp, furious breaths.

Lock it up, she told herself. She focused the energy buzzing around in her head on keeping herself contained—as best she could. Her face was solid as stone, and she snapped into work mode. She needed to make sure Sango and Miroku were okay—she could just see them again through the dissipating smoke. She looked them both over quickly, trying to make sure they hadn’t been affected.

“We’re alright, are you okay?” Sango asked her, “Where’s Kagome?”

“Gone.” Luna said flatly. “Let’s move. That little freak couldn’t have taken her far.”

“We should go back to where we were first,” Miroku suggested. “I have a feeling we are going to need the rest of both of your supplies.”

==============================================

When Kagome regained consciousness, she was in a completely different place. Her vision was still blurry—all she could make out was a wooden floor beneath her, and a hearth a few feet away. She tried to reach up to rub her eyes, but her arm wouldn’t move. She blinked, but her eyelids were so heavy. That was the only movement she could manage, and it was like trying to lift blocks of concrete.

My body… I can’t move…! She could feel her heart pounding in terror. She was trapped, in the worst way possible.

That guy—the “Poison Master” guy—he was a member of the Band of Seven. He’d done something… She could hear him, a few feet away from her, cackling in a way that made her stomach turn.

“We’re surrounded by a barrier of poisonous gas,” He uttered as he moved closer to her, “no one can disturb us!”

If she could move her face, she would have winced in disgust. This guy was creepy to the extreme—she knew in the back of her mind that if Luna were here, she would’ve kicked the absolute crap out of him. Kagome wanted to, too, but…

The Poison Master—Mukotsu, that’s what his name was, wasn’t it?—he kept chuckling as he grabbed Kagome’s chin. “Such a rare beauty—I’m so fortunate getting married to such a pretty girl~”

MARRIED? Kagome felt sick.

“You see, believe it or not,” Mukotsu reached up to remove the cloth mask covering most of his face, “there are some that find me unattractive.”

And no wonder, she thought as she was able to take in his full visage. He looks like a toad!

Kagome had no option but to physically abide by the “bridal preparations”; she felt like a ragdoll. It was humiliating. Surely her friends were coming—lord knows Luna would tear the countryside apart just by herself to find her, and if Shippo went to get Inuyasha? Kagome knew she was going to be okay, eventually, but she wasn’t about to just sit here and let this creep treat her like an object.

I have to find a way out of here, she thought, resolute. But how…?

She couldn’t move her head more than a little, but as Mukotsu was trying to dance her around for a “Marriage Ceremony” (gross), she caught sight of something glinting in his neck.

That has to be a Jewel Shard! If I can just get it somehow… Now she had to figure out how she was going to do that. Thankfully, the Universe provides. Mukotsu returned her to the floor after their “marriage dance”, this time directly facing the hearth, and she saw her opportunity: sticking upright out of the ashes was the fire poker. Now if I can just grab it...

Then, like a miracle, help finally arrived. “Arrived”, meaning “crashed through the roof”, but her friends and her sister arrived all the same.

“Kagome!” She heard Sango’s voice first, right next to her. Her friend helped her roll over, and from there Kagome could see her sister and Miroku: Luna had her crossbow ready to fire, pointed at Mukotsu—and she had on this odd-looking mask. Something from her arsenal, no doubt.

“Kagome, are you alright?!” That was Miroku.

There was a click as Luna drew back the crossbow’s string, ready to fire. “Get the fuck away from my sister.” Her voice was gravely steady—she almost didn’t sound like herself.

“How dare you interrupt our wedding ceremony!” Mukotsu grabbed one of his poison jars.

“Oh, so you wanna die, then!” Luna snarled.

Sango stood, quickly drawing her katana and brandishing Hiraikotsu like a shield. “Luna, leave him to me! Get Kagome away!”

No time to argue. Luna growled and stooped to grab her sister, just as Mukotsu unleashed the contents of the jar. Kagome watched Sango and Miroku stagger back, before Luna rolled her out of the way.

As the poison billowed around the room, Kagome felt her fingers regain some motor control. As her sister pulled up the hood of her flannel shirt to try to shield them from the cloud, Kagome managed to tug on it.

“The Shard…” Kagome managed to utter. “In… his neck…”

She saw the realization in Luna’s face, and the older girl nodded. “Got it, aim for the throat. Try to hold your breath, sis, I’ll have everyone out of here in a sec.”

“Those masks of yours won’t help!” Gloated the Poison Master, “This poison enters through the eyes and skin!”

“God damnit!” Kagome could only watch as her sister swore and staggered. Sango and Miroku had already fallen to the floor, and Luna was clearly not going to last much longer, either.

I have to help! Steeling her resolve, Kagome forced her hands to move. Come on, body… move! She pushed herself up just enough to grab the poker from the fireplace.

// ~ ~ ~ \\

Luna refused to crumble. She stood between her sister and Mukotsu, stumbling and shaking but still able to raise her crossbow. But with her arms getting weaker by the second, aiming steadily was getting pretty damn hard. Still, if she could just hit the bastard…

She was only able to let off one bolt, and the force of it sent her staggering backwards, until she stumbled into the wall and hit the floor. She felt sick; she doubled over onto her hands and knees, her vision drifting between blurry and straight up red. She was not going to be defeated by this lowlife.

You keep fighting, kid. No matter what happens, you keep fighting.

The voice echoed in the back of her mind, a voice she knew all too well. Her arms couldn’t hold her up anymore, but as she watched Mukotsu get closer to her sister again, she pushed herself away from the wall. Tears in her eyes, she struggled a few feet across the floor on her stomach to grab her crossbow again. She saw her sister, finally getting her strength back, stab the motherfucker in the throat. She wanted to cheer for her, but that would have to wait.

Mukotsu smacked Kagome back to the floor, which only fueled Luna’s rage. Her crossbow was ready to fire—but damn, she couldn’t see through the cloud of poison! It was starting to fog up the face shield on her mask, making it even harder to aim. But with the fucking creep trying to choke her baby sister out, she had to fight.

Dammit!

Luna took a deep breath, ripped the mask off, and got in position to aim—which was a tall order. Everything was fuzzy and she was mere seconds from passing out. She saw the light of the jewel shard (was that what that weird glow was?) and aimed for it. She only had one shot, it had to be enough. She hoped it would be enough. She let the bolt loose… and heard Mukotsu cry out.

She could barely see, barely breathe, barely move—but… wait… that glow wasn’t the Jewel Shard after all, was it? This glow was a sickly sort of green. And there was a lot of white behind it. Was she… was she seeing things? Was that….

“Kags…” Her voice was weak as she tried to crawl toward her.

“Luna…!” Kagome was still just as weak, but managed to shift toward her sister.

“Tell me, is Inuyasha here?”

Kagome turned back toward the powerful demon who stood over them, completely unaffected by the cloud of poison. Luna followed her gaze, and for a second she thought she was hallucinating; she could’ve sworn, even in her delirium, that she saw the bolt she fired buried deep in Sesshomaru’s shoulder. The end of it was letting off little sparks of purple light that quickly faded—but Luna’s vision was finally going out. She could hear her sister calling her name one more time before she fully passed out and crumpled to the wood floor.

#fanfic #inuyasha fanart #inuyasha #inuyasha oc #the lunar saga #inuyasha au #my ocs #fanart #my art #oc #inuyasha fanfic #sesshomaru #kagome higurashi #sango #miro #shippo

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karmotrinedreams91 · 4 years

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Nine Legacies: The Balefire Rekindled Masterpost

Prelude: Magic’s resurgence has changed almost every aspect of life. The “mundane” world cannot deny magic’s existence, and is both fearful and all too curious about its capabilities. Despite public and private pushback against the forces of Olde and Arcane, society must come to accept the presence of Fae and other magical phenomena as something “normal,” just as it did during the golden age of magic. But with the benefits of magic’s return comes the many horrors fueled by it: Vengeful dead have begun to rise, monsters stalk the lands, and legends of old reveal their long denied truths to the “modern” world. Luna Nova itself faces one these emboldened threats now, as a shadowy coven that has plagued the legacies left behind by The Nine Old Witches for centuries plots their destruction yet again. The New Nine and their companions stand firm against the darkness, but it will be the dare-devil firebrand Amanda O'Neill, and the reserved and calculating Constanze Amalie Von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger who must first answer the call of Olde Legacies. When fate calls them to action, they waste no time in taking up the torch, and light Luna Nova’s way to a brighter tomorrow.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429150/chapters/62068246

Author’s Note: Hello, and thank you, first off, for reading this post! I hope that I’ve piqued interest! To explain further though, Nine Legacies: The Balefire Rekindled, is the first installment in a series of fanfiction I plan to write, titled under the series name Nine Legacies, as one might expect. This fic, and all of the fics that follow it in the series, are/will be a deep expansion and exploration of the Little Witch Academia world. The main focus of the OG series/ovas was never world building. It was focused on Akko and her journey, and that’s amazing. The original series is possibly one of my favorite and most beloved pieces of media. But it leaves much for the viewer to ponder on, doesn’t it? Who were the Nine Olde Witches? As in, who were they as people? What were they like? What was life really like during the golden age of magic? Where do the Fae come from? How did magical societies organize themselves? How will they do so again now that magic is returned, and how will non-magical, or “mundane” society, as I call it, react to such a sudden paradigm shift? These questions and more are what drove me to write this fic/series. It’s not just an exercise in world building, of course. While that may be one of my great loves when it comes to writing, Nine Legacies is primarily a story about Found Families, love (for the self and others), and how those two things are tested by a world around us that, at times, feels wholly uncaring and apathetic to your very existence. It deals in the above themes as well as in political struggle, fighting for the right to live as you are, with trauma and how to overcome/live with trauma, and especially with the first installment, Balefire, with Vengeance.

It features some horror elements, lots of action, and cosmic horror elements (IE Lovecraftian horror elements; think Cthuluhu, if you’re not aware).

(Credit for above image goes to Alexis Kennedy, and all of the artists who worked on the Weather Factory game named: Cultist Simulator)

It’s not all gloom and doom though; I’m not here to write an unsatisfying story. It may be gritty and grim at times, but I try to balance that out with humor and fluff, both dark humor, and much more light hearted fair that you’d expect from LWA. And yes, it is VERY gay (I’m a trans lesbian woman, if this wasn’t extremely gay then I would have failed myself). This might sound like quite the departure from what you usually read for LWA, and it probably is, but I hope that this is an enjoying and stimulating experience! While it is very much my own canon, I’ve based just about everything I’ve done with the setting on the original series’ material, as well as materials adjacent to the canon, such as mangas, light novels, and the OVAS.

This series will be a four-five part installment of novel length fics. Nine Legacies: The Balefire rekindled, is currently, as of August second 8/2/2020, unfinished, as I write chapter 20 of what will like be 27-28 chapters in total, and it is already the third longest LWA fic on AO3 (archive of our own) at 442,068 words. I began properly writing this fic in full in January, for reference, and started planning out the whole story/what I wanted out of it in november of 2019. I try to update every other week, or every week if possible, and do weekly/two weekly updates on my progress, all posted to this tumblr.

Lastly, and most importantly, there are two things to note about Balefire, and about Nine Legacies as a whole: I give antagonists their own scenes and perspectives quite a bit. I feel it is imperative to my story that the antagonists all get screen time to help better flesh them out. And secondly, each installment in the series will focus on 2-3 of the “New Nine” witches (The New Nine in this case being Red, Green, and Blue teams. Chariot and Croix are NOT New Nine in this, but will play important roles for various characters throughout. Think of them more as mentors for the New Nine). Balefire specifically focuses on Constanze and Amanda, but it also sets up the plots and development for just about every other New Nine witch, and you can expect to see other OC characters in important side roles that will develop and enhance the story, as well as lesser used characters from LWA, such as Wangari making appearances as important side characters. I can’t say much more on the specifics, but I’ll leave this section off with something to entice you: ALL of the Nine Olde Witches (as written by my own canon, essentially) will be fleshed out in full. Their origin, who they were, why they were important, all of that is crucial to the story, hence the series title, Nine Legacies.

“Perhaps they, the new blood.... Perhaps they hold the strength to rekindle our flame.”

I hope all of this has you interested and ready to read! ITS FINISHED NOW! All the main chapters are done, but I intend to go back and do a FULL re-edit, with criticisms, suggestions, and corrections in mind from YOU GUYS, the readers. PLEASE: Never hesitate to send me asks, comment, leave kudos, etc. ALL of that stuff shows me whether or not I’ve done good work, and even if I haven't, telling me HOW I may have failed will always be helpful. I want to make this the best fic it possibly can be, but I can’t do that without reader participation.

Without further adieu: Nine Legacies: The Balefire Rekindled

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429150/chapters/53589904

#lwa #Balefire LWA #Nine Legacies LWA #Little Witch Academia #fic #fanfic #au #read on ao3 #long reads

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kentonwrites · 3 years

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“Anamnesis” - Project Update

Look, I know I only have 40 followers and like 38 of them are bots, but writing these updates is my only source of joy. If someone happens upon this, please enjoy.

My projects/writing life since 2017 have been utter chaos. I’ve started and abandoned probably over a dozen projects, had nightmarish problems in my personal life, and pretty much put writing as my last priority. For some odd reason though, returning to it now has given me a better perspective on the craft. I feel like taking a couple of years to simply live and observe and consume other media and suffer has actually strengthened my writing.

A summary of my current projects:

1. Mispacha (Untitled): I used the placeholder title Mispacha because it’s the Hebrew term for “family,” which is what this novel revolves around. It’s about a dysfunctional family in the early 2010′s who simply live in constant disorder and end up degrading themselves. I love the characters and the plot points I have planned, but I’m only 16k words in and am not happy with what I’ve written. The dialogue feels awkward, the writing extremely sparse, etc. I want to see it through, but it’s hard to persist at it when 16k words worth of dead weight is just...hovering there on the page.

2. Blight 117 (formerly titled Potent). This was my last start-to-finish project, and the piece that I first introduced to @breefrankelwriting when we were CPs like 4 years ago. I recently reopened that document and read through a few scenes and was absolutely APPALLED at how atrocious it was (Bree I’m so sorry please forgive me), but I also feel like I’m somehow meant to tell this story and I eventually, someday, want to make it work. It was my first ever idea for a “real” novel--I’ve had the idea and characters with me since 7th grade. I feel like it’s supposed to be my magnum opus, but if I ever go back and re-attempt it, it’ll need an overhaul the likes of which have never been seen since the dawn of time.

3. Short Story Collection: Literally last night I was just standing around and then suddenly got the inspiration to start writing short stories. I know, it’s literally so spontaneous and quirky of me. I’d attempted a few during the absolute deadzone of 2018-2020, but none of them truly worked out. Since I evidently suck at writing longer pieces (see Mispacha) I figured, maybe my strengths could be suited to a shorter medium.

So I decided to randomly draft a short story last night that played directly to my weaknesses!!!

This story is what the bulk of this update is about.

It’s called “Anamnesis” and I literally came up with the idea, wrote the first draft, and made revision notes all in a span of 5 hours last night, from 9 PM - 2 AM. It was exhilarating honestly--I hadn’t written like that in years. The first draft ended up being 5200 words (!!!) but I want to eventually buff it to around 6k since I think I majorly underwrote the final scene due to fatigue.

“Anamnesis”

TITLE: The title, “Anamnesis,” literally fits the story in so many ways I could cry. It operates on every level. All I can do is bow down to the person who created this word and thank them for its relevance to my story.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Sexual abuse, violence toward elderly

SYNOPSIS: A home health worker is assigned to an elderly woman whose memory resets each morning. He begins to take advantage of her illness, using her inability to remember the previous day in order to mistreat and abuse her. But when she is prescribed a new, promising treatment, she begins to remember more than just the abuse.

AESTHETIC: This story has the most unpleasant aesthetic known to man. I’m talking old people, pills, mold, dust, stray cats, oatmeal, etc. I’ve been in a few hospice patient homes before and I wanted to capture just how uncomfortable and depressing it can be.

CHARACTERS:

Luna Lemin - the protagonist, an elderly woman with dementia whose memory resets every morning. Always confused. Pitiful. Sad. Dark secrets in her past???

Alex - the patient care technician assigned to look after Luna. An absolute piece of trash. A spectacular liar. Malicious yet curious.

PROCESS: Like I said, this story played directly to my weaknesses. How? Because I simply cannot create compelling characters or pace a story to save my LIFE, and this story DEPENDS on the characters and the pace at which their relationship progresses. Furthermore, the setting in this is somewhat bland (literally just an old woman’s middle/lower-class house) which is a sin in terms of my writing. I thrive off of having a strong sense of setting and being able to describe specific, interesting details of that setting. In this piece I largely deprived myself of that. But it also helped me balance my flowery, poetic, overly-quirky writing style with a cohesive story and effective characters. Lately I had been putting my work on the crutch of having good writing, but it didn’t work because 1) my writing is not at a good enough level for that, and 2) sacrificing effectiveness is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s better to choose the clear, effective verb over the never-before-seen exotic one found in the depths of the Thesaurus under “archaic.”

I’m going to begin editing the story and might soon post excerpts/more updates! Though I literally wrote it in one long sprint and haven’t looked back at it since so I am PRAYING it’s not garbage. Thanks for reading!

#writing #writers on tumblr #writing update #short story #anamnesis

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theagentnerd · 3 years

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writing tag game

Thanks for the tag @adaliak!

how many works do you have on AO3?

27 fics

1 artwork

what’s your total A03 word count?

152291

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Five Times Peter Said "Sorry" to Tony Stark - ...and the one time he didn't have to.

Without Deeds - Peter survives a vicious kidnapping after having a huge argument with Tony. Now, more than ever, Tony knows he has to be there for him. They have a lot to work out, but Tony isn't walking away so easily this time. He vowed to never abandon the kid again, and he's going to keep that vow even if it kills him (or at the very least, makes him go grey). Sequel to "Five Times Peter Said Sorry to Tony Stark".

Never Letting Go - After two months of silence from the Parker family, May frantically calls Tony Stark with the news that Peter is missing. At first, he's angry. Then afraid. Then guilty. But he'll tear the whole world apart if that's what it takes to find the kid. ---The Butcher, from Tony's point of view. Companion piece to "Five Times Peter Said "Sorry" to Tony Stark"

Under His Wing - “Iowa? No way!” Peter protested. "I can’t go to Iowa!” Tony waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, “Sure you can. It’ll be great. Just like all those Lifetime movies where the city girl goes to the country, makes new friends, learns life lessons…" --Peter needs to take a break. Clint Barton has a farm. They may have more to offer each other than they realize.

Loved - When the Dursleys find out Harry is in love with a boy, he thinks he has nowhere to go. He couldn't be more wrong.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do! Though I'm not as consistent with it as I'd like. It always means so much to me that someone would take time out of their day to leave a comment on my writing, so I want to express my appreciation!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

My fics usually don't have sad endings, but I write a lot of h/c, so they can be a bit bittersweet. Probably Huzzah! where the Avengers visit a Ren Faire. It ends with them rushing to leave after Clint vomits on someone's lap, but they have a great time up until then!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Probably Just a Pinch (and It's Over). An Umbrella Academy fic, it ends with the canonical event of Diego deactivating his mom and running away, but with more feels.

Do you write crossovers?

My first fic...that I wrote 11 years ago...is a Pokemon/Maximum Ride crossover. It's very bad, I never finished it, and you won't find it on my ao3...but it's still out there...

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Of a sort. Some people really didn't like an MCU AU I was writing. I got a few bad comments, enough to really throw me, and the fic is currently on hiatus while I rewrite. Still actively rewriting it, but now I'm too scared to post until the whole thing is complete.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yeah...at least one of my fics ended up on one of those Russian websites I think? But idk, what can you do?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A Story About Love and Loss, one of my Doctor Who fics, was translated into French, and one of my HP fics, Looney Luna Lovegood's Boggart, was translated into Italian!

Have you ever co-written a fic?

Nope. Might be fun to do someday though. At one point, my sibling and I wanted to write something together, but it never happened.

What is your all time favorite ship?

I don't know if I really have one. I like some ships, but no singular one really stands out for me.

What is a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

Hmmm...I have a young orphan Clint Barton fic I've been working on on-and-off for years that I'd love to finish someday, but afraid I won't. It gives off 2012 Avengers fic vibes, it's very near and dear to my heart.

What are your writing strengths?

I can be pretty good with descriptive language when I slow down enough to actually write it. I've also been told I'm not bad at characterization, and I hope that's true.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Endings. I feel like I'm horrible at endings. Also, sometimes I get really strong concepts for a fic, but my justifications for how those concepts come about can sometimes be weak. The lead-in, if you will.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Never done it! But from a reading perspective, to me, it only makes sense if the character is bilingual in canon, and you shouldn't overdo it to the point where the reader is really, really lost without google translate.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

See above to my Pokemon/Maximum Ride crossover XD

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

It's really so hard, they're all my babies! But my default answer is probably "Five Times Peter Said "Sorry" to Tony Stark". That fic was so easy to write, and the warm response it got was unprecedented for me. I just remember being so elated every time I updated the stats page, and I'll still go back and reread it myself sometimes.

#fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 #writing #me

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chuchiotaku · 3 years

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Ok, first of all

HOW DARE YOU MAKING ME THINK I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL JANUARY FOR THE NEW CHAPTER!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE HEART ATTACK I HAD THIS MORNING WHEN I SAW THE UPDATE!?!?

Ok, now that, ehm... I'm calmed down, let me gush on your art piece once again.

I loved everything. I said last time that I wanted some shocking dose of angst, but I didn't knew how heart clenching would have been seeing Ron saying goodbye to... his friends, again, and for the last time. How many things not said, how many plans that will never see the light, how many... apologies, never to be make...

I'm happy that the mirror made him see (and hear) what his loved one truly thought of him, but I'm still bitter for the fact that he had to DIE before he actually got some vocal recognition.

But moving on from depressing topics, I loved seeing the sibling so tight with each other and Harry! I felt almost as if you anticipated Harry's second year summer, and now they get to see Sirius too? Original Harry would be terribly proud of his Ron and terribly jealous of that little Harry...

I really liked Pettigrew's breakdown at the end of the process. And I loved (and hated too, of course) his threats: making 'regret to be born' the same guy that fought and gained the upper hand on Bellatrix? Twice!? Ok buddy, whatever makes you feel better... But if in order to hurt Ron you target one of his brothers or Ginny... well, it has never been a pleasure meet you.

And it's also good seeing Pandora alive! Another Truespartan's Fateverse character added in the rooster, I can't wait to see her in action!

And at least this time Albus is actually ackwnoledging Ron, wonder if he's already planning a role for him in his chessplay againts Tom. I hope he will grow to love him as he'll love Harry.

And I know tastes are subjective but... I think the anon was just short sighted, Ron is totally the person that for his loved ones is ready to move mountains and seas (Buckbeak's trial proved it. How he started searching for past trials in his free time is proof how much is ready to invest himself if it means to help his friend) and I don't expect that everything is going to be all fine and dandy the whole time. Peter's threats scream 'FORESHADOWING' for an ipotetical plot in the third year (way less traumatazing regarding what happened with him in Fate... brrr). Ron is just... trying to sow the best he can, and only at the reaping time we'll see what he did right or wrong.

Keep it going! You are an increadible writer! See you next time, and happy new year!

(And give me some Daphne showtime damn it!!)

First off, anon, happy New Year! 🎉🎉🎉

Ahaha, sorry about the mini-heart attack. I was aiming to post chapters 14 and 15 relatively close together because they’re initially planned to be one chapter but I hit some snags so yeah, chapter 15 got delayed. But at least it’s up now, right? :)

[Warning: Long response ahead. ]

I said last time that I wanted some shocking dose of angst, but I didn't knew how heart clenching would have been seeing Ron saying goodbye to... his friends, again, and for the last time.

That part at the mirror was very relatable, I think. There are things we will always want, but deep down, we know they can never be. In order for Ron to move forward, he had to acknowledge that and let go, something he learned he had to do after that Owlery scene with Harry.

Not that he entirely has, mind you. But it’s a good step forward.

I'm happy that the mirror made him see (and hear) what his loved one truly thought of him

It’s a comforting interpretation, but I feel the need to remind my readers that the Mirror of Erised shows only the deepest desires of its viewer. The scene where the new life versions of Ron’s loved ones take over the older ones, telling Ron that they accept and love him, is Ron’s true deepest desire now that he time travelled. Not that it is what’s real. That’s why Ron broke down, because he knows deep down it’s just a fantasy. Weell, we know that’s not entirely true, but to him it is.

(The Deluminator souvenir from Death and its visions, on the other hand...)

but I'm still bitter for the fact that he had to DIE before he actually got some vocal recognition.

You know what they say: you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. :shrugs: Honestly, Ron is such a taken-for-granted character both in the books and in the fandom, it’s so frustrating...

Anyway, getting off the angst train!

I loved seeing the sibling so tight with each other and Harry! I felt almost as if you anticipated Harry's second year summer, and now they get to see Sirius too?

I wanted to show the tight knit Weasley dynamic JK claims they have but never really showed because we are limited to Harry’s narrative (which is understandable). And as what I have planned for second year summer: safe to say, it will start off like what happened in the books before it veers off canon course. Because Sirius and Remus are there, and Ron knows it. :)

Original Harry would be terribly proud of his Ron and terribly jealous of that little Harry...

But of course! I’d like to think that Ron is one of the, if not THE, characters in his age group that Harry holds such high regard for.

And who’s to say jealous Harry won’t make an appearance? When Ron’s making more friends outside the Gryffindor house, and a certain someone may get close enough to threaten the best friend position? 😉😉😉

Pettigrew doesn’t know who he’s messing with, but Ron too is underestimating the rat a little too much. Good thing that won’t cause him any problems in the future. 😒

But if in order to hurt Ron you target one of his brothers or Ginny... well, it has never been a pleasure meet you.

Now that would make Pettigrew wish he was never born. Haha!

And it's also good seeing Pandora alive! Another Truespartan's Fateverse character added in the rooster, I can't wait to see her in action!

Pandora is Luna’s mother’s canon name, but yes I did get the inspiration from Fate, as well as The Red Knight. But she won’t be around until Book 2. Don’t worry, it will come. I hope. :sweatdrop:

And at least this time Albus is actually ackwnoledging Ron, wonder if he's already planning a role for him in his chessplay againts Tom.

Of course Albus will notice a smart and wise beyond his years eleven year old who became best friends with Harry Potter, managed to take on a troll then get involved in the reveal and arrest of a mass murderer who may have something more in common with him than he originally thought (coughmirroroferisedcough). How Ron will benefit from this attention (if he ever will) or how he’ll deal with this new complication will be part of the story’s fun. And we’re just getting started.

I hope he will grow to love him as he'll love Harry.

I think many can already tell where I’m planning to go with Albus and Ron’s relationship. The specifics, however, are the ones I can leave you guys guessing. It will be good! Hopefully! 🤞

I saw it as Guest being too fixated at what happened in the books that they didn’t take into account that the second I changed something in the fic, the butterfly effect is bound to occur. In fact, Ron’s very presence in a world that isn’t what he left behind is already creating many ripples. I honestly also saw it as them underestimating Ron a bit. He’s a typical boy during most of the books: lazy with his studies because he is unmotivated. Give him purpose and you’ll get to see him really shine, exactly like what you said about the Buckbeak thing.

It’s canon that Ron is smarter than he appears. I mean, can a normal eleven year old remember the exact names of the laws on dragons, even if their brother is a dragon tamer?

(It’s also another good basis on how much Ron admires Charlie that he can remember that much! Sorry, Solstice Muse turned me into a Charlie/Ron bro fluff fangirl after Ickle Ronniekins)

I don't expect that everything is going to be all fine and dandy the whole time. Peter's threats scream 'FORESHADOWING' for an ipotetical plot in the third year (way less traumatazing regarding what happened with him in Fate... brrr).

Fate is a very heavy read, combining some of my favorite Ron-centric tropes while taking their fic to a newer, darker spin. Truespartan has done a wonderful with it so far (I haven’t finished it yet,). But as most of you can already tell, my story will be fart different from theirs.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be some dark moments in TBA. And I’m so thrilled that you got the idea behind Pettigrew’s threats. They ARE foreshadowing what is to come starting Year 3. But what exactly? Care to take a guess?

Ron is just... trying to sow the best he can, and only at the reaping time we'll see what he did right or wrong.

Very true. Although to me, it’s not a matter of whether it’s just “right or wrong”, and more of “can Ron deal with the consequences of the changes he made, and whether those consequences are worth the changes?”

Example: from a strictly moral standpoint, revealing Pettigrew and clearing Sirius’ name is the best good and what Ron should do from that thematic perspective. However, these actions will cause some events to change from what he knew, and even cause entirely new ones (i.e. the plot of Year 3). Is it worth the possibility of rendering Ron’s future knowledge almost useless? Who knows?

Keep it going! You are an increadible writer! See you next time, and happy new year!

Thank you so much for your kind words! You guys are the reason TBA is still running even after all these years and me taking long breaks. I hope to finish TBA Year 1 within 2021 so please be patient with me. I’ll do my best!

(And give me some Daphne showtime damn it!!)

Oh, trust me, I have big plans for Daphne and Astoria. Might get flak for it in the future, but for this, I’ll have to stick with my guns. Oh dear...

💖 Happy New Year to you too, anon! And thanks for the ask. 💖

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