#like I will die if my parents saw my fanfics and art posts but the rest of the world is fine

[sleepypandaarts]

I’ve thought about this but in dreamworld if you pee there do you pee in real life?

In which case, that must’ve been awkward for Silver if he went to pee in his dreams.

[cherubim-of-vvkastel]

💭 + well since you so politely asked me about Eret, I'll return the favor and ask about Foolish. What was he like before coming to the DSMP? How much does he remember? Does he regret what he's done? What was he like before he meet Eret? Before the Wither Cult? (also hello i'm quietly sneaking into your box :>)

// Oml you've been so friendly since the day I first posted. I'm gonna cry - literally, the main reason I'm shaking off my newbie jitters!!! Hello, hello, glad to be here <3 Also sorry for late reply, I've been at work!

Additional info for context: I headcanoned Foolish as going by any pronouns but referring to himself with zie/hir if ever talking in the third person - but that's a whole 'nother set of headcanons for another post, haha. If you see those neos in here, that's why!

Foolish is one of my muses that I seem to love bullying, in all honesty. How I picture his story going is incredibly tragic, and it would take me ages to get to the blood and bones of what he was like before DSMP. A long while ago, I wrote a cute little soulmates fanfic that touched on how Foolish acted, so I'll keep things similarly brief (unless, of course, you wanted to hear every detail I can muster up :P).

Foolish is immortal in every sense of the word. I've always seen Totems as ageless — able to grow and never stop until their lives were traded for others. It's touched upon in c!Foolish's lore where totem children are expected to die for their parents — he just happened to be one of the few who made it well past adulthood and is now perfectly capable of maintaining and protecting himself. Seeing as he can live for centuries, he's gone through several shifts in his behaviors. From quiet and curious about the ever-changing Overworld to restless and bold, he's had time to figure out how he feels and what he deems right and wrong. 

There was a long period during this self-discovery stage when he was known as the "Totem of Death." Quick to anger, baring rows of sharp shark-like teeth, demolishing cities as if they meant nothing, and carrying a torrential downpour wherever he walked like an ominous cloud. He had no regard for life nor the sanctity of nature. His sole purpose was to control what he deemed beneath him — little bugs that could be squashed if he so pleased (a sentiment that zie still holds into the SMP but far more concealed). Everything he loved was bound to dissolve in time, and he saw no purpose in trying if they would turn to dust in the end.

He did pause to consider other immortals, or those who had centuries to live — gods, deities, children born to rule, such as Eret herself. I like to think it was more of a curiosity that rose when Foolish befriended Eret all those centuries ago. He was swimming in red while she watched on with milky white eyes. Call it admiration and mutual companionship, but Foolish did become somewhat of a guard-dog to Eret all that time ago. If anyone spoke out of turn to her, lightning struck, and he was first to snarl that they treat her with respect. If anyone got too friendly, he was a looming threat behind her, bristling and poised to protect whom he deemed his only friend. 

Somewhere along the line, the Wither Cult grew, creating too much carnage for Foolish to feel safe with Eret leaving his sight. Sure, she could protect herself, but Foolish is nothing if not worrying over those he dares to hold dear. It's unclear what their last straw was, but zie and her eventually raised the cult to ashes; thus marking the beginning of Foolish's mellowing out. Traveling with someone with a taste for beauty led to Foolish beginning to find more time to stop and smell the roses. He began to take up hobbies of artwork, relishing in how art was timeless and he didn't need to worry about it crumbling when he could immortalize it through such a delicate process.

Somewhere along the line, the two separated, though Foolish would hardly sit around and mope. He met others, creating... well, his own version of a cult if you tilted your head and squinted to read. Villages he used to destroy began to offer up wealth in turn for protection or monuments built by a demigod. Building was so much easier than massacring the innocent. It held more beauty — it was soothing. With an eternity to hone his skills, Foolish was soon creating structures inconceivable to the average person with a smile and a much happier stance.

Of course, he kept this attitude when he came to the DSMP. It's a conscious choice, as I've always seen Foolish as the type to record his own history. It's all along the walls of his Summer Home, written in tattered tomes deep within his temple, expressed through the sculptures and paintings littering his halls. He remembers everyone who's meant something to him, their lives — if they've been revived, then where they are now, who they are now — zie even takes the time to tend to their portraits hidden in his horde of wealth as if careful hands didn't already protect them.

Sometimes he has brushes with his anger and resentment towards mortals, calling them ants under his shoes or warning them not to piss him off. Sometimes, he laughs off his knowing looks — playing it off as if he doesn't know something is wrong or as if you had duped him. He's smarter than he gets credit for; it's hard to tell when he's genuinely ignorant of something or if he's putting up a front not to pressure information from those who might never be ready to share.

That's why when he meets up again with people like Eret, Foolish insists they know each other. He brings up details that he vividly remembers despite the confusion... and then drops it—laughing and agreeing that he must be confused, too. Maybe they should get some rest. And then he never mentions it again. His memories are very much intact (rereading your own experiences repeatedly makes recall so much easier), and his feelings are still very much real... but he knows he doesn't have the luxury of connection. He will never last in another's mind for as long as they do his... and he's okay with that.

Does he regret what he's done? To an extent. He doesn't remember the faces of those he's hurt, nor does he try to recall those events with anything more than gritted teeth and a hard chuckle. He has grown and changed. He sees no beauty in morality, but rather in the immortality he can craft. It gives him everything he was missing back when he was wild and reckless. Besides... he can atone for what he's done by being a good person now. He can sacrifice for mortals, and he can offer a gentle thumb to rub against their cheeks in times of need. It's sort of like during Sam's Warden Arc, where everyone felt like they were turning their backs on Sam, blaming him for every wrong they could possibly get their hands on— Foolish was the only one to remind him that he wasn't alone. 

"Don't bear this burden alone, Sam."

"I'm here for you, friend."

Foolish has worn many faces: Totem of Death, Demigod of the Sky and the Sea, and Totem of Undying, yet none of them will ever be entirely accurate. He's grown too accustomed to being what is needed in the fleeting time he enjoys with companions and their lives. Foolish will always cherish the past, but he's come to adore the present just as much.

Did I ramble a lot more than I thought I would? Yes. But THEN AGAIN, it's been literal months since I've gotten to ramble senselessly about my goofy goober. It turns out that I have no sense of what the word "brief" means....

[tortilla-of-courage]

Yeah, kind of insane that the Adoption AU started with a 3am Taco Bell run.

I do actually have a few one shots already written for this AU! There's the Taco Bell story, the time Sky got arrested, the time Twilight got shot, a funny story I wrote based on real events with Twi, Wars and Wind trying to cook, and something based on that one picture of the boys playing the floor is lava by cherypaii(? I think that's the url?). And I have a half finished fic about Lullaby reacting to Time's increase in kids I call "Lullaby reacts to Time's Batman-Level Adoption Bullshit", and a half finished fic introducing Wild's twin. So if anyone is interested in reading some of the fun bits for the AU, since I'm still writing for the plot part (although this conversation has given me inspiration and motivation to write the bit where they find Twi after he was kidnapped, so,) then I'd be happy to post them.

And since you mentioned hoping more info would magically appear, consider this magic.

Midna is a mafia princess, and her family immigrated to get away from it. Zant is her cousin, and his parents followed to make sure Midna's parents didn't embarrass the family. She briefly had to move away after the incident where Twi got shot, but she's back before the plot happens.

Twi and Time both have their face markings in this AU. Time had his tattooed on after the FD incident as a reminder of what he's capable of and what he's lost (considering this plot beat's connection to his family and the Order), for better or worse. Twilight was gifted his by Midna after he fought Zant to try and protect her and Dusk from Zant. The markings are traditional Twili tattoos, painted on with some kind of something that acts as a mix of tattoing and henna, and have to be earned. Twilight's represent courage, boldness and sacrifice.

Warriors has a whole plot I've done nothing with involving Cia being, well, creepy as all get out. Basically I read somewhere that a victim of abuse is more likely to end up in other abusive relationships when looking at how Warriors' bio parents being abusive would effect him and then I remembered Cia and decided to be mean to him.

The underground hospital that took care of Wild after the wreck is called the Shrine of Resurrection because I thought that was a cool way to connect that.

I had this stupid idea once that Midna writes purposefully terrible fanfic and a few people suspected she wrote 'My Immortal' for a while, and when she comes back everyone is like "The Chaos Corner guy's brother is dating the lady who wrote My Immortal???" and Midna decides to set the record straight by doing a small livestream on like, Instagram or something where she explains she's actually dating Dusk. She's reapplying Twi's markings as she says this, and is basically in his lap. Twilight spends the whole thing looking like he wants the floor to swallow him.

Rottla is informed by a therapist that she should try and do something since her kids don't feel safe (which, considering Time got stabbed in their living room, not feeling safe is understandable), and decides the best way to fix this is to teach them how to fight. Time and Lullaby are both black belts in several martial arts and can use most weapons well as a result. To Rottla's credit, this does actually work.

The sorority Warriors befriends is made up of the fairies I saved in his game. Because I love those fairies. They're my favorite part of his game. Also, Proxi is here.

Navi lives! She's rescued by the Order, like how the rest of Deku's kids were. She plays the role of a Great Fairy for the order. Her fairies are actually Warriors' sorority. And Tatl, actually.

Saria is a strong contender to become leader of the Order eventually.

Majora is here and I can't tell based on my outline if I have Time kill Majora or not. So, Time potentially kills a man.

Wind has a boat with an old radio connected to a lighthouse where an old man lives. This old man is Daphnese Nohanssen, but Wind always calls him Red. They talk a lot, and Daphnese is glad he has someone who will talk to him because he is very lonely.

Wild has a motorbike (Master Cycle) that it is honestly a miracle he hasn't wrecked yet. He breaks himself but never the bike. Wars has an older car that he's put some elbow grease in and you'd never know it wasn't new. Twilight has a beat up old pickup truck everyone is just waiting to die, but it hasn't yet. This is impressive, considering Twi does drag racing.

Also, Warriors has a tendency to get in fist fights, and between them and Legend (who is never arrested for the same thing twice), Time happens to be on a first name basis with most of the police in the city. The chief has his number on speed dial for when he needs to go pick up a kid.

Wild's friends are all alive and they love him. Flora is laser focused on helping him with his memory issues. And feeding him weird things. For science.

Wild's twin, Knight, is mute. He speaks in sign. He's also a bit blindsided by how chaotic the house is, but he fits in very well. They buy a roomba that Knight tapes a knife to and blames Wild.

At some point I'll write the fic where someone modifies a nerf gun and things escalate until Time shows up with one of those machine gun nerf guns hooked up to a car battery (a modification he did with help from Sheik and Ruto). Who needs depth perception who you can shoot 60 darts per second? It's chaos and when Malon gets back from a trip she takes this week she finds the house in disarray and a hockey puck in the wall. Clean up takes three days, and they are still finding nerf darts in weird places.

This is off the top of my head. I am certain I am missing something.

Forgive the weird formatting, I don't know what happened there.

-Attllhak

honestly i’d love if you ever posted any of the one shots you have already - and i think i saw one or two other people say they wanted to read the story too in the post where you explained most of the plot, so i’m not alone on this aha

Can i say i love how you somehow connected a lot of their games’ original details and made them make sense in a modern setting???? like it can be a hard thing to accomplish but with wat you just told us here it sounds like you did it amazingly and it makes me all the more excited to see what other connections there are!!! 

[ackermansupremacy]

More marley kids headcanons because i’m still distraught

The sheer amount of content that i could write for them is a s t r o n o m i c a l

Gabi

•An animal lover!

•Has a really big intimidating dog like a rottweiler or mastiff that her friends are lowkey scared of

•But it has some headass name like ‘Fluffy’ or ‘Princess’

•Or something oddly human like Joe or Robert LMAO

•She drinks a lot of energy drinks so shes up until like 3am blasting music

•I saw another post saying that they could see her being a kpop stan and i SEE IT

•She would be a boygroup stan and would stan NCT

•She would really like Gorillaz too Rhinestone eyes would be her JAM

•When shes not playing roblox shes plays things like overwatch and league of legends until the sun rises

•Yet somehow shes still full of energy the next morning??

•Her deepest secret is that she has a wattpad account and randomly publishes stories and never updates them

•She also reads like,,,1D fanfic and would never admit it

•Her walls are covered in doodles in the spaces between her miscellaneous band posters

•Shes the kind of angsty kid that acts like she doesn’t like you

•But honestly? You’re her role model

•She really admires you :)

•Especially if you’re a single parent

•Whenever someone asks she always says

•“I wanna be just like my mom/dad when i get older” :)

•She’ll never admit it to you, but she just wants you to be proud of her

Zofia

•She strikes me as the daintier type but like at the same time not really??

•Shes definitely no stranger to fun

•She loves amusement parks and its one of her favorite places to go

•Surprise her with tickets to disneyland and she’ll cry

•She enjoys fashion but dislikes makeup so shes never really bothered trying to get good at it

•I think she has like, two different types of music she listens to

•She likes classical music when shes trying to focus on things like her hobbies or homework but indie music is her go to

•Mozart, Bach, Beach Bunny and Melanie Martinez being some of her favorites

•I think shes artistic too

•Her room always smells slightly of acrylic paint

•Her room is always really clean

•Other than that one single moldy coffee cup... iykyk

•it has a black and white minimalistic aesthetic

•But her walls have her favorite pieces that shes hand painted framed

•Along with a Van Gogh tapestry next to her bed

•A simple girl, she has a pink betta fish

•It probably has some fancy long name

•Like Elizabeth or Charlotte

•The tanks is perfectly matched to the aesthetic of her room

•She would take such good care of it it would live way past the life expectancy

•She probably takes some sort of martial arts class as well

•Like judo or karate and shes REALLY good at it

•Trophies and medals are all over your house because shes so proud of them

•She just keeps making you proud huh

Falco

•Oh this sweet child

•Hes so gullible

•Hes really smart but he just...believes everything Colt tells him

•And he always finds out its not true the hard way

•It would be dumb stuff that would send him into a crisis too

•Like Colt once told him that if he wasn’t asleep by midnight he would die or something and he actually believed it

•So when he couldn’t sleep he started saying his goodbyes to everyone LMAO

•After a teary eyed conversation you had to convince him it wasn’t true and made Colt apologize

•That gave him trust issues

•As i said in a previous headcanon, I think he would play a lot of instruments

•Piano, guitar and the cello are among his favorites

•He has the most diverse music taste out of all of them

•Its mostly mainstream music though

•He would just hear a song on the radio or on tik tok and would add it to his playlist if he liked it

•Resulting in the most random music

•From bands like coldplay, to doja cat, to cardi b to occasional kpop...

•His dirty secret is that he really likes boybands

•He loves backstreet boys, one direction and 5sos

•Gabi found out and made fun of him for it so he never told anyone after that

•His room is pretty bare and empty other than mass amounts of instruments

•Most of them he never even plays anymore

•He def has empty water bottles everywhere

•But the little bit that he does have in his room is organized chaos

•“Do you have a paperclip?” “to the left of my keyboard pedal on the floor” “Bro...” 

Udo

•B-Babie...

•One of his favorite things is watching a good mystery show or movie, especially the classics like Agatha Christie’s mysteries

•He loves writing them too!

•He takes it very seriously and probably has a mystery novel in the works that he plans to publish when he gets older

•Hes really passionate about it if you ask him about it he could talk about it for hours!

•He has a chameleon or a snake or some other reptile

•Gives it a cute name like Henry or a fandom name like Dobby

•Or something unique nature related like petrichor

•Its his lil buddy it always rides around on his shoulder :)

•His music taste is also diverse

•Zofia introduced him to indie music and he loves it

•He loves bands like The 1975, The Neighbourhood and Jack Stauber

•But his all time favorite band is The Beatles

•His favorite song is Beautiful Boy by John Lennon because it reminds him of when you used to sing to him when he was a little kid :)

•He collects The Beatles posters and vinyls and displays them on the walls in his room

•His room is pretty cluttered with things like clothes, books and school supplies strewn about but his desk is always spotless and organized

•Notebooks with story ideas, his laptop and a gaming controller being the only things on it

•His deepest secret is that he struggles with anxiety which makes him pretty clingy to you :(

•And he doesn’t want to keep sleeping in your bed like he did when he was little so he has a playlist of all the lullabies you sang to him when he was younger

•And he can’t sleep without it :(

•Hes not the most athletic, but I could see him joining the soccer team Falco and Gabi are on just for fun and tries to convince Zofia to join too

•Kinda sad but i think he cries himself to sleep a lot and doesn’t really know why

•Sometimes when he feels really really sad he comes into your room and you watch tv together until he falls asleep

•And hes v tiny so hes easy to carry into his room

•Hes my precious boy I love him so much :,(((((((((((

******

I have two more things I wanna publish for these absolute jelly beans before i take a break from writing for them unless y’all wanna request more hahahahaplzrequestthingshahaha

[sukunastoy]

hey, srry to be the one to rant in ur inbox but i saw u were open to anons and ur one of the few ppl ik in this fandom space thts around my age group and i was just wondering. how??

ive been on tumblr and in fandom/fanfic communities since i waz around 15, its basically my main hobby and pretty much the only social outlet i have, and ive just been so down and so lonely because ive been feeling shunned and excluded pretty much everywhere once i disclose my age and i absolutly completely understand WHY bc there r so many younger ppl in these places, but i dont know what else to do. it feels like nothing is fun anymore. the general consensus seems to b that i should just fck off and have some kids and pay bills until i die. how do u deal with it?? are u ever bothered by it? i feel likr a creep for even being here still, but it’s one of the only things i still have tht brings me joy. srry if that was a lot, i feel bad even compareing myself to u in any way because im nowhere near as talented as u are, absolutly delete this if it makes u uncomfortable whatsoever

hope u are doing well yourself 💙 ty for being u

First of all, NEVER be sorry to rant to my inbox!! And I truly feel appreciative for you to tell me all of this. This is a safe space and you're always welcome to it! My reply is a bit long, I didn't want to flood anyone with a super long post, so the rest is beneath the cut.

I completely understand how you feel, about the age thing and the ever present societal norms of "Must be an adult, must have kids, must do this, yada yada". Its depressing as fuck.

I've been into anime and manga since around 13-14 years old (apart from Pokemon which I've loved -And still do!- since the age of 5.)

I always wrote fanfics, always did fanart, even if I thought it was absolute garbage, I was still so happy just doing it. It has been something that got me through the toughest times in my life. I struggle with suicidal depression, always have for as long as I can remember, even back in my single digit days before even becoming a teenager. When I started to reach the age of "adulthood" I started to shy away from what I loved doing because I felt as an adult, I wasn't allowed to enjoy what I truly loved anymore, cause I needed to "grow up." And I did that. For a while. I rarely acknowledged anime. I sold all of my manga, my wall scrolls, my merch. I stopped drawing/writing it as much cause I needed to focus on being an adult, paying my bills, going to college, all that crap.

But, I got worse in my depression. I self harmed, had to go to therapy, had to start medication, and at one point I actually wrote that final goodbye note because I couldn't handle the norm of "being a mature adult" so I figured I must be useless otherwise. If I wasn't happy playing my adult role in society, what was the point of me even living?

During this time I went to college for 3 years, stressing, crying, working on a degree that I didn't even want because I thought it was expected of me. (I've always wanted to go to an art school and get a degree there. But my parents and everyone else in family told me, thats not a real degree. So I left it behind...) For 3 years I wasted my time and money and sanity to try to appease the people who don't pay my bills, don't put food in my mouth and certainly don't do shit for me otherwise, and I finally stopped and thought...

WHY?

WHY am I trying to impress and fit in with people who don't even really know me or provide for me?

I dropped out of the college that was stressing me out. I lost that money, but oh well, I was miserable, and my mental health is more important to me.

I don't want kids. I don't want that boring life of "just work til your dead". I don't want to have boring hobbies that I don't even like just to fit in with the people of my age range who I could care less about.

I'm turning 30 in a few months, and I regret wasting a few years of my life trying to fit into this norm of, bullshit. (And please note to whoever is reading this, if doing a lot of the 'norm' and having a family with kids and everything IS happiness for you, that is beautiful!! I am only referring to the people who don't want that life, and it should NOT be forced upon them.)

I love anime. I love drawing it, writing fics for it, interacting with other people over it, and I don't know why I ever tried to deny that.

I was afraid to return online in the fandoms because surely everyone must only be young teenagers right? Actually, not at all!

I've interacted with SO MANY people near my age range, and, it is truly amazing.

There are lots of people close in age, sometimes they're just a little difficult to find, but they are there, I promise, and they are amazing. I've enjoyed anime more in my adult life now than when I was younger tbh because I stopped caring about what others think and that my age is literally just a number. I'll be 30. So what, that doesn't change what I love. My body is getting older, that's all. I am still ME.

My fiance and I still go out and play Pokemon Go, collect Pokemon cards, like, I have BINDERS full of cards. The store we go to is ALWAYS packed with other people our age and way older who love Pokemon, Digimon, YuGiOh, and all sorts of other anime things they offer there.

These people are out there!

I started being more open with my likes and interests with strangers and coworkers, and I found out a lot of people really are into this, but felt they had to keep it hidden cause they didn't want anyone to think they were weird because of their age.

I surround myself with those who I know are supportive of me, or don't have a problem with my likes and interests and I stay away from those who try to shame me, and I kick them out of my life because I don't need that negativity in my circle. Some people my age who aren't into anime don't have a problem with me being into it at all. They've never shunned me for it. If anyone does, goodbye.

Life is short, its hard, its shitty. It doesn't need to be made worse by trying to appease those who aren't providing for you or feeling like you're not allowed to love what you love. So enjoy the things you love to enjoy. If there's something that you can latch onto that brings honest happiness into your life, cherish it.

I hope this helped in some way...even if just a tiny bit...

I know it was long, but I wanted to explain as much as I could so you don't feel like you're alone or left behind in the fandoms because of age. I tried to deny what brought me joy, and it only brought me more misery. I hated it.

I'm so much happier now, and I truly hope this type of peace comes for you soon as well.

Always feel free to drop in my inbox as anon, I would NEVER delete something like this.

Again, I hope this helped. If I didn't acknowledge something, or seemed to entirely misunderstand, I dearly apologize and please correct me if needed!!

💕 (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

(❁´◡`❁)~Stay shameless!

[fatrainbowmermaidunicorn]

Kindred Spirit (Taehyung X You) (ONESHOT)

A/N: The full version of the Taehyung fanfic, but I changed it a little from the preview I posted. Hope its okay 😘 also, im not sure whats an "er of their marriage" means exactly? But i take it their life after marriage? Ill make an epilogue of that soon! 😘

"Ive been an idol for years Y/N and you have never once come to see me perform? Dont you know people would die for all the free passes and tickets I left for you?!" Her bestfriend grumbles, hands crossed over his chest, his pout over an inch long.

Y/N laughs.

"Thats why I said you should give it to someone else thats actually have time to go watch you,"

"But you are my best friend. BESTFRIEND Y/N. How is is possible you never once saw me perform? And you dont even know any of my bandmates? How is that possible??" Yoongi keeps on grumbling in disbelief.

"Well.. Min Yoongi. I can give you an answer. Because I'm busy with real life okay. You know my appa wants me to take over soon. You know I dont do it on purpose right?" Y/N pouts, hoping if shes cute enough, or looks guilty enough Yoongi would actually forgive her.

"Nope. Your puppy face wont cut it this time,"

Damn.

"You are coming. And if I dont see you cheering your ass off tomorrow night, front row, our friendship is over. Over I say!"

And thats is why Y/N is running and pushing through the excited crowd of boys and girls in the stadium, trying to find her section. She made it! She almost didnt, but almost didnt matter. Shes here now. All dressed in her work clothes, with what is supposed to be called an Army Bomb in her hand,  something that her secretary shoved in her bag earlier, saying its a must have for an Army. She dont even know what an Army is!

As the show starts, Y/N jumps to the music, smiling proudly everytime Yoongi make an appearance. She has heard him rapped before, but she never seen him this charismatic. Its as if the man on stage is not even the dorky Yoongi she has known for years. And his band members... wow. All so talented, all so good looking.

As the concert ended, Y/N makes her way backstage, flashing the pass Yoongi gave her and make her way through series of dressing room, trying to find the one where the boys are in.

"Must be this one," she followed the door that has the most sound and lights to find the boys chatting, congratulating each other. "Uh, Yoongi?" Y/N calls out softly, feeling awkward. Is she even supposed to be here?

"Oh you are here. God, cant believe you actually made it!" Yoongi rushed over and gave her a tight hug. "Wait, I'll introduce you to the others, but I need to change my pants first. Wait here, dont move!" Before she could say anything, Yoongi has already ran off.

"Uh.. okay. Ill stay here I guess," she moved herself timidly to a corner and stands awkwardly, hoping no one would notice her. But wishes dont always come true.

"Hey, uh..." a guy, a very handsome guy, who Y/N recognizes as one of Yoongi's band members, but cant be sure who, approached her.

"Uh.. yes? A-am I not supposed to be here? Im sorry. Im just waiting for Y-"

"Oh, no. I just want to ask you. Wheres the bathroom?"

"Huh?" Y/N looks at the guy curiously. Is he for real? He had a three day back to back concert here and today is the third day. And he doesnt know where the bathroom is? And he is asking... her? Y/N laughs before answering. So weird.

"Uh.. I-"

Smack.

"You know very well where the bathroom is you idiot. What are you talking about?" Yoongi who just came back smacked the guy's head.

"Ouchhh, hyunggg," he pouted, rubbing his head.

"Serves you right. Thats the worse and most cringy pick up line ever!"

"Hyunggggg, shut upppp," the guy eyed Y/N shyly and glares at his hyung and turn his attention back on her. "S-sorry. I just wanted to talk to you but I dont want to scare you off," he grins sheepishly.

"Oh, its okay. Im not a stalker. I'm here because Yoongs invited me. I'm Y/N," she hands out her hand for a handshake. "And no, I dont know where the bathroom is," she giggles.

Yoongi rolls his eye and smacks his forehead at the lame attempt of flirting the younger man is doing.

"Hi Y/N. I'm Taehyung," he grips her hand and shakes it. "Kim Taehyung. And I'm the guy you will be having coffee with tonight," he grins.

/////

"Okay, so do you have a boyfriend?"

"No appa, I dont," Y/N sighs, frustrated.

"Then uh.... do you not like men? I mean, Im okay with that sweetheart, as long as you are happy..."

Y/N smile a little. Her appa is the most adorable man ever existed.

"Appa, no!" She giggles.

"Okay, okay. Im just asking. You know I will support you always princess," her appa smile and she can see a small sigh of relieve. "Then what is it sweetheart? Why are you so against this marriage with Hyun Dae?"

"Well, for one, I think arranged marriage is so old school appa," she pouts. "We are not living in the 60s or 20s or whatever year you and eomma are from,"

"How old do you think we are? The 20s?!" Her appa laughs. "Arranged marriage is not so bad you know,"

"Its not bad at all. I actually found the love of my life," her eomma gets up from the couch and link arms with her husband. "Although he is quite annoying at first," she laughs. Y/N's appa leans and kiss the top of her mothers head.

"Its the best decision ever," he smiles.

Y/N roll her eyes. It is well known between their family, friends and community that her parents are as in love as ever. They were from two wealthy family, arranged to be married, and lucky for them, they were each other soulmates.

"Appa, eomma, just because you two are lucky doesnt mean everyone is,"

"But sweetheart, Hyun Dae is everything a man can be. Hes very kind, smart, hes taking over his appa's business, he loves animals, arts, kids. Everything that you like. And plus, you two are quite close too. Why are you so against it?"

Y/N sighs.

"I dont know. Maybe a little part of me wants that traditional love story you know? To fall madly in love with someone and then get married?" She sighs and lays her head on her elbow. Her parents look at each other before her eomma approached her slowly, stroking her hair slowly.

"Sweetheart... are you in love with someone?"

"Well..." Y/N scratched her neck, avoiding their intrusive eyes. Her lips immediately curl into a small smile as an image immediately pops inside her head. Boxy smile, deep voice, always happy, positive outlook on everything. The one guy who made her deeply fall in love.

"Oh my dear, who is it? Why didnt you tell us?" Her eomma smile widely, clapping her hand in excitement.

"Well.. its uh.. because I dont know if he feels the same way..."

"Have you told him yet? Whoever this lucky person is?" Her appa take a step closer to her, smiling. His princess' happiness is everything to him.

"N-no. Not yet. I dont know. Should I?"

"You should sweetheart. Or how else would he know? And he most definitely feels the same way,"

"Do you think so appa?"

"I know so," he smiles. "Who in the world wouldnt fall in love with you sweetheart?"

Y/N smiles. Her parents are the best.

"Then I'll tell him. I'll tell him tomorrow,"

/////

"I like you Taehyung,"

A few moments past without either one saying anything. The air that pricks her skins feels colder. But nothing is colder that Taehyung's stare that is emotionless in front of her right now.

"Uh.. what? I heard you wrong I think," he laughs awkwardly.

"I... like you Taehyung,"

"Well, I like you too. Of course. You are one of my closest friends," Taehyung smiles. Y/N feels her heart suffocating but still puts on a brave face. Maybe he dont understand what she meant. Taehyung can be oblivious sometimes.

"I like you Taehyung," Y/N says it much clearer this time. "I.. love you. I love you Kim Taehyung. Like for real,"

"Listen..," he sighs after a few moment of silence. "I'm really flattered that you uh.. have feelings for me. And I know we have developed some degree of friendship, but... you thats what you are... just a friend," he looks at her with his deep gaze. "Yoongi's hyung friend to be exact,"

"Yoongi's friend?" Y/N looks at him, eyes filled with confusion. "After all this time. Is that all I am to you Tae? Your hyung's friend?"

"You know what I mean Y/N. You know how we met-"

"Yeah, I know how we met Tae.. but I though after all these time and moments we had..."

"That I would think of you as more? That I would fall in love with you?" Taehyung sighs. "I'm sorry if you felt like I lead you on. Thats just me. I'm just friendly. Im this way with everyone. But come on Y/N. Look at the facts. How can I be with you? I'm a worldstar, and you are well... you,"

Y/N felt like Taehyung just stabbed hee heart a million times. What does he mean that shes just.. her? Whats so wrong about being her?

"I enjoy our friendship, our interaction Y/N, but no more than that. And I am sorry to say that I am in a relationship. We havent gone public yet, but we are planning to, by this week,"

"I-in a relationship? With who Tae? A-and you didnt even bother to tell me? After all the time we spent together?" Y/N feels like screaming, but she knows she has no right to do so. All she can do is hold in her tears that can easily burst at any time.

"I think you know her," he smiles. Oblivious to the pain that Y/N is feeling.  "Oraia. The new idol,"

"Oraia?" Oh Y/N knows the girl perfectly well. Pretty, fashionable, great at singing, dancing. Any guy would kill to have her. Including Taehyung it seems.

"I-I have to know Tae. W-why her? H-how?" Y/N managed to choked out her question.

"Oraia is the perfect girl for me," Taehyung smile at the thoughts of her, proving how in love he is, making Y/N's heart breaks even more. "An idol, beautiful, talented, shes basically the female version of me. So I'm sorry, but you..." Taehyung stops, trying to find the right word to describe what hes saying. "You and me Y/N... we are just worlds apart,"

"You are not a worldstar when I met you. You are not that like this when I met you," Y/N said softly, holding in tears. "We are not that much different from each other Tae,"

Taehyung gave a sad smile, no, a pity smile, before standing up, ready to leave.

"You can think whatever you want Y/N. But if you ever think we can be together..." he sighs and looks at her and gave her another pity smile. "If only things were different. In another world, maybe we would have been together.Goodbye Y/N,"

/////

Y/N closes her eyes, tears rolling down both her cheeks, already mixed together with the pouring rain as she walks home. Maybe the rain will wash away her feelings for Taehyung. Her stupid feelings for Taehyung. Different world? Taehyung's world is what she wanted to avoid her whole life. Glitz, glamour, fame, riches... Y/N cries out as loud as her heart wanted, thankful no one can hear her in the heavy rain. Shes just not enough for him. Thats the real reason. And she will never be for Kim Taehyung.

Days passed and Y/N has been locked up in her room ever since that disasterous day. Her parents have given up trying to find out what happen and finally left her alone.

And this week is finally the week Y/N dread the most. All the entertainment news, magazines, gossip websites are buzzing with the announcement that has just been made all week.

Y/N looks at the glossy pictures of the scattered tabloids in front of her again. The intimate pictures getting blurry as her eyes gets wetter. Taehyung's voice replayed in her brain like a broken record.

"That I would think of you as more? That I would fall in love with you?" Taehyung sighs. "I'm sorry if you felt like I lead you on. Thats just me. I'm just friendly. Im this way with everyone. But come on Y/N. Look at the facts. How can I be with you? I'm a worldstar, and you are well... you,"

"An idol, beautiful, talented, shes basically the female version of me. So I'm sorry, but you..." Taehyung stops, trying to find the right word to describe what hes saying. "You and me Y/N... we are just worlds apart,"

With a deep breath, she crumples the pages that reflects the beautiful relationship that is Taehyung and Oraia, wipe her eyes and walked downstairs to where her parents are drinking tea, enjoying their evening in their luxurious lounge.

"Oh Y/N. You are finally out. How are you feeling honey? Want to join us sweetheart?" Her mother looked up from the magazine shes reading and smile, her father the same, offering her a seat besides them.

"N-no. Thanks though. And I feel better," she gave a small smile. "Eomma, appa, I have something to tell you guys," she said, heart beating fast.

"What is it honey?"

"Appa, eomma, I have thought it through. I agree to your proposal. I agree with the arranged marriage to Hyun Dae,"

Her parents looks at each other, surprised.

"Sweetheart, are you sure? You dont have to rush into this. You should take your time and think i-"

"No appa. I am sure this time," she gave a smile, hoping it would convince them. "I want to marry Hyun Dae. I think he and I will make a very happy marriage,"

"W-well.." her eomma looks unsure. "Okay.. then,"

"If you are sure sweetheart. Then we will start setting it up," her appa stood up and hugs her. "Just know that we both love you so much and want nothing but your happiness,"

Y/N nods slowly, tears brimming in her eyes, softly she whispers,

"Me too appa, me too..,"

/////

Tupp. Tupp.

Y/N looks over the sliding door that opens up to her huge balcony. What is that sound? Panicking, she grab the first thing she can reach, a hairbrush, and walk slowly to the glass sliding door.

Tupp. Tupp.

The sound continue. Taking a deep breath she bravely slides open the door.

"Ouchhh," she rubs her head. "What the hell?" She looks around to find what hit her. "A pebble?"

"Oh no, did I hit you?" A voice called out. Y/N looks over the balcony.

"Hyun Dae? What are you doing here? Its 2am!"

"I, uh.. I want to talk to you," he grins.

"Theres this thing call a telephone you know? Or a front door? Havent use one of those?" She glares and Hyun Dae laughs.

"Sorry. I just thought this Romeo and Juliet shit is romantic you know?" He laughs and Y/N rolls her eyes. "Can you come down? Lets take a walk in your garden,"

"Come down from here? Like Rapunzel?!"

Hyun Dae laughs. "Oh my god, how are you so adorable? Of course not! Use the front door silly,"

Y/N giggles. "Okay. Be right there,"

A few minutes later, they were strolling in Y/N's family flower garden, inhaling the fresh night air.

"So? What is it you want to talk about that cant wait until daylight?"

"Well," Hyun Dae stop walking and pull her hand, sitting her down on the stone bench. "I just want to do it properly and formally," he smiles and kneels down in front of her, holding her hand.

Y/N looks at him, both nervous and confused.

"Y/N, you dont know how truly happy, grateful, excited, speechless, ecstatic I am that you agreed to marry me. I have been in love with you since forever," he smiles and blush slightly. "And I know this is just an arranged marriage to you, and you dont love me. But right here, right now, I promise you, that I will make you the happiest girl alive, that I will love you despite everything and anything, and everything you wish for princess, is my command,"

Y/N feels her heart beats faster.

"L/N Y/N, will you marry me and make me the luckiest man ever lived?"

Without a doubt, without a single second of hesitation, she nodded.

"Yes, yes, definitely yes,"

/////

"You look distracted. Whats wrong?" Yoongi glance at Taehyung whos just staring blankly at his mirror as they are changing and cleaning up their makeup.

"Uh... nothing hyung," Taehyung quickly pretends to clean up his things.

"Its not nothing. You have been distracted for a few weeks now. I didnt want to say anything because I thought you would snap out of it but its just getting worse,"

"Its really nothing hyung!" Taehyung snaps and plop down on his chair, sighing. Yoongi shrugs and decide to give him some space. "Err.. hyung?"

"Yeah?"

"Why..uh... why doesnt Y/N come over to our shows anymore?" Taehyung finally open up his mouth to ask. Since that first time they met, she has always been around, cheering for them, right at the front row. But after her confession, he didnt see her anymore. Yeah, he felt bad about what he said and he tried calling, texting, video calling.. but nothing. Shes totally ignoring him. He wanted to meet her at her house, or her work place, until he realized he didnt know where to go. In fact, he didnt know anything about her. All the time they hung out, he only always talk about him. His life, his problems. Him. As if its that interesting. He sighs again.

Yoongi side eyed him.

"Is that what disturbing you? Y/N?"

"N-no. Im just curious,"

"Oh, okay then. Then the answer is, I dont want to tell you," Yoongi picks up his stuff and walk off.

Of course. Of course his hyung knows. Yoongi and Y/N are best friends afterall. Taehyung sighs. Well, maybe he deserves this. But still... he doesnt want to admit it to anybody, even himself, but deep down, he miss her. Really miss her.

/////

"Okay guys, lets go. We need to get ready," Namjoom clap his hands as a way to make his members make their way to the dressing room. Its awards season finally, and they need to get ready for their stage. Taehyung makes his way with his hyung to the back of the stage, wishing for all this to be over soon. He really wants to just rest his head.

As he was putting on the final touches he turns to the door and saw Y/N standing there, all dressed in a beautiful gown, fit for an award show. His first thought is, wow, and the second is that his eyes are playing tricks on him. But as Y/N makes her way inside and hugs Yoongi, he knows this is  reality. Taehyung smiles. He cant help it. Did Yoongi told her about what he said a few days back and now shes here to see him?

Taehyung walks over the moment he gets the chance to get her alone.

"Hey," Taehyung smiles.

"Um.. hey," Y/N smiles awkwardly.

"So, why are you here? You miss me or something? Or are you stalking me?" He laughs.

"No, I'm actually h-"

"Hey baby, there you are. The crew said you went in first," A handsome guy, and obviously a chaebol makes his way to them, giving Y/N a kiss on the cheek and hugging her waist.

"Hi babe," she smiles. "Yeah, I went in to see Yoongi. Its time you meet my mysterious bestie,"

Taehyung was silenced, eyeing the man up and down. Baby? Cheek kissing? Waist hugging? Who is this guy?

"Oh is this Yoongi?" He smiles and held out a hand. Taehyung took it reluctantly.

"Oh no no. This is Kim Taehyung. Hes uh... Yoongi's band member,"

Yoongi's band member? Thats all he is??

"Oh okay. Hi, I'm Hyun Dae," he smiles and shakes Taehyung's hand before hugging Y/N's waist again. Taehyung felt like pulling off his arm, and he dont know why he felt that way.

"Lets go meet Yoongi," Y/N smiles and bows to him and move over to Yoongi, leaving Taehyung still staring at them. Once Yoongi and Hyun Dae are caught up in a conversation, Taehyung immediatly grab Y/N by the elbow and drag her to the side.

"Ouchh. What the hell Tae?!"

"Are you seriously this petty?" Taehyung scoffs.

"Petty?? What are you even talking about?"

"Fine, I rejected you. So now you are bringing this... this... stuck up someone here for what? To show me that you have moved on? To make me jealous?" Taehyung scoffs again. "As if,"

"What?!" Y/N looks at him in disbelief. "God Taehyung, you are so full of yourself! Hes not stuck up! And I'm not here for you!"

"Yeah right," Taehyung smile sarcastically. "So, hyung told you I asked and the next show you brought a man over? Please Y/N, have some pride,"

"What are you even talking about? Yoongs never talked about you. At all! Im here becaus-"

"Oh Taehyung, you have already met," his manager interrupted the conversation and bows to Y/N as Hyun Dae join her side. "Okay guys, gather round. I think all of you must already know about The Empire. As you know, their company owns and organized all show events in Korea and is one of the biggest in the music industry, among others. The president cant make it, so his daughter is here instead. And she and her fiancee just wants to meet all the artists her tonight to express their gratitude,"

Y/N and Hyun Dae bows and smiles to everyone as Taehyung stands frozen in place, the only thing he can hear is 'fiance'. Y/N is... engaged?

And... shes an heir?

"You and me Y/N... we are just worlds apart,"

Yeah, they are worlds apart. He was right. But the truth is, Taehyung is the one whos way beneath her.

/////

"Lets go, lets go peopleeee," Namjoon clapped his hands a sign for them to get moving. Taehyung and the rest of the members climbed up their black van, still yawning from having to wake up early in the morning. They are off to another country for a month for their variety show shoot. A special content, the management said. Something to do with their new sponsors. Taehyung never really pay attention to all the boring details, all he knows is, he will do what he is asked to do, no question asked.

But as they land and making their way out from their private plane, Taehyung, still half asleep, need to take a double take when he saw Y/N and her fiance at the arrivals, standing atound with the crew, their luggage all around them.

"H-hyung?" He nervously tapped Yoongi's shoulder.

"What?" Yoongi grumbled, still cranky from being awaken from his beauty sleep on the plane.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is that uh... Y/N?" Taehyung really wished he has gone crazy. Thats he is seeing things. That Yoongi will look at him funny and tell him theres no Y/N. And Yoongi did look at him funny, but his answer is totally not what hes expecting.

"Dont you know? Her father's company is our new sponsor for the show and they are here to monitor the shoot,"

Taehyung stopped in his tracks. He dont know why the news startled him. It shouldnt be affecting him at all. Right? Even he dont understand what he is feeling as he looked over to Y/N and Hyun Dae smiling at each other. Anger? Sadness? Happy? He cant be sure. But one thing he knows for sure, its going to be one hell of a month.

/////

"So... you arent going to tell me that you are engaged?" Taehyung jogged lightly, to catch up with Y/N whom he saw is taking a morning walk from his hotel roon window. They have free schedule for the first day and what luck, the first thing he saw this morning is Y/N, alone. Without that stupid chaebol.

"Oh, uh hi Taehyung," Y/N, startled at his presence, give a small smile and a polite bow.

"Hi Y/N," he smile. Honestly, he missed her. Well, they were pretty close before. As friends. Yes, of course as friends and nothing more! Taehyung reminded himself. "But seriously, you are never going to tell me you are engaged?"

"Do I have to?" Y/N raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not even sure if I'm your friend or yoongis friend or whatever, you know? And I dont think you be interested to know anyway," she picked up her pace but Taehyung managed to catch up.

"What do you mean?! Of course I wanna know! And of course we are friends! And you didnt think to tell me that you father own half of Korea's music industry?" He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, you never ask. And I'm not one to go around telling people my family history Tae," she shrugged. "Afterall, why would a worldstar want to know about someone who is from a different world than him, right?"

Okay, he deserved that.

"Okay, Y/N, look," he pull her hand, stopping her from walking. "I am sorry about what I said that day. I dont know what I was thinking. I was startled by your confession. To be honest, the months I spent without seeing you at all, well... I missed you. I miss you, okay?"

Y/N sighed. Why is he doing this to her? Her heart is still recovering. Still trying to erased every love she felt for him.

"We are going to spend a whole month working together. Stuck in a small island. Why dont we be friends again? Hmm?" He made his famous puppy eyes, blinking his eyes rapidly, lips pouting. "Pleaaaase? Taetae is sorrryy,"

Y/N tried to keep a sttaight face but burst out laughing. She can never say no to that face.

"Fine Tae. You know I cant resist that stupid face," she laughs.

"So, friends?" Taehyung held out a hand and Y/N shakes it.

"Of course, friends,"

As he shakes her hand, smiling ear to ear, Taehyung realized, he had never felt this happy, and it scared him.

/////

They might have rekindled their friendship, but Taehyung couldnt get even 10 minutes alone with her without being disturbed by Yoongi or Hyun Dae, and its pissing him off. Worse, he have to watch all the romantic moments between the two love birds, and trust him, Hyun Dae is really not afraid to show his affection, its making him wants to throw up.

Suprising Y/N with flowers on set, setting up a special candle light dinner when the whole crew is eating, suddenly gets on stage in the middle of dinner and sing her a song. And that motherfucker can even play a guitar and he look damn good playing it too. Taehyung swore all the girls there are swooning over him. But what he hates most is all the admiring whispers.

"Y/N is so lucky"

"Hyun Dae is the perfect guy"

"I wish I was Y/N"

Urghhh. Annoying.

It also doesnt help that his relationship with Oraia has gone stale. Yeah, they text everyday, call each other every night. But nothing she says interest him. Taehyung mostly tune out whatever shes saying during their phone calls, eyes focusing on what Y/N is doing. The way she laughs when she talks to someone, her clusmy ways of doing things, her passion while working. All that is more interesting to him than his own girlfriend. His supppsedly perfect, beautiful, girlfriend.

It must be the island. He hasnt seen Oraia for almost a month now, and hes stuck here for all that time. Of course it will put a strain on his relationship. Yes, that must be it.

But as his heart bubbles with jealousy as he watches Y/N and Hyun Dae running around the beach, Hyun Dae catching Y/N by the waist and lift her up to kiss her, Taehyung knows for sure, that it is definitely not it.

/////

Taehyung tossed and turned for hours and after eventually still failing to fall asleep, he decide to take a walk by the beach. The moon is out and the breeze is welcoming. Its a good night to walk and collect his thoughts.

As he walked slowly along the beach, the cool air blowing his hair, he saw a figure sitting alone by the beach, eyes closed, enjoying the midnight breeze. Taehyung immediately smile.

Y/N.

"Hey," he approached her slowly and smile.

"Oh, Tae. Hi," she smiled back. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I cant sleep. What about you? Isnt it dangerous for a pretty girl to be alone so late at night?" He smile.

Y/N laughs.

"Its a private island Tae. I think its kinda safe. And you know I usually cant sleep and the sound of the ocean calms me down,"

Taehyung does know that. Back to the days when they use to spend so much time together, they always sit by the beach and talked. Well, usually, he will be the one who do the talking, because all he cares about is himself. And his problems. And Y/N always listen. To all his weird ramblings, his peculiar thoughts that people usually laugh at. Even Oraia sometimes makes fun of him. But Y/N listen to them all. Understand him even. Why didnt he realized that before?

"Well... can I join you?"

"Of course. Have a seat," she patted down the spot besides her and Taehyung makes himself comfortable. They talked and talked, laughter filled up the night air and Taehyung cant seem to care about anything else other than that moment.

"Oh god, my tummy is hurting from laughing so much," Y/N said, still giggling from what Taehyung said. "I forgot how funny and weird you are Taetaeee,"

Taehyung smile and looked at her, staring deeply at her laughing face.

"Its nice,"

"What is?" Y/N who has stopped laughing, asked him, confused.

"Hearing you call me Taetae again," he smile, making Y/N blushed.

"W-well, that is your name,"

"Yeah, yeah. It is," Taehyung smile, still staring at her. "Y/N? Are you happy?"

"Right now? Yeah I am. We have been laughing for hours Tae. Of course Im happy. Whats wrong with you?" Y/N giggles, trying to toned down the awkwardness shes starting to feel.

"No. I mean, are you happy? Like really happy? With Hyun Dae? Does he makes you happy?"

"H-hyun Dae?" Y/N was taken aback from the sudden question. "Uhh, of course I am, hes my fiance, of course he makes me happy Tae,"

"Really? Then why did you stutter?" Taehyung still looks at her, straight into her eyes with his sharp gaze.

"I- I did not stutter! Whats wrong with you Tae? You are being weird. But not normal weird," Y/N starts to dust off the sand off her, preparing to get up. "Its getting late. We should go in,"

Taehyung grab her hands, standing up with her.

"Do you love him? Do you love Hyun Dae?"

"Why are you asking me that Tae? You are being weird!" Y/N tries to shake off his grip but he held on tighter.

"Answer the question Y/N. Do you love him?"

"Hyun Dae is amazing! He cares for me. He loves me. He knows what I like, sweet, romantic, p-"

"But do you love him?"

"I-I," Y/N stuttered. "I dont need to answer that!" Y/N tries to pull her hand again but to no avail.

"You cant answer it because you dont love him. And you cant lie to me," Taehyung smile.

"You are crazy. Let my hand go Tae," Y/N insisted. "It has nothing to do with you!"

"But it does Y/N. It does, because you dont love him. Because you love me," Taehyung state matter of factly. "You always did and you always will Y/N,"

Y/N was speechless, shocked, surprised, that Taehyung would bring it up again. Tears starts to sting her eyes. She has never felt more hummiliated. Is Taehyung making fun of her? Of her feelings? She thought they were friends again. Why is he doing this to her?

"Just let me go!"

"I cant, and I wont,"

"Why?!" Y/N is crying now. She dont understand why Taehyung is being this way. "To hummiliate me even more? To make fun of my feelings for you?"

"What? No!" Taehyung cant believe Y/N would think of him to be that cruel. But maybe he deserved it. "Because I love you Y/N!" Taehyung pull her hands, making her fall into his arms and he immediately cup her face and captured her lips with hers. The kiss has never felt more electricfying. Taehyung felt goosebump all over his body, he hears fireworks went off everywhere. And right at that moment, he knows that hes in love.

But the moment only last for a split second when Y/N, tears already spilled down her cheeks pushed him away hard and slapped him across the face.

"Get away from me Kim Taehyung!"

Was the last word she screamed out before she ran away into the darkness.

/////

Taehyung almost went crazy trying to finish the rest of the shooting. After that fateful night, Y/N took the earliest flight home the next morning, leaving Taehyung with no way to contact her at all. No reply to his texts or his calls and he cant even get away from his stupid schedule to find her at home. He was lost.

Its the very first time in his life that he has seen things so clearly. He is in love with Y/N. And she left him being so lost.

It also doesnt help that after Taehyung told Oraia that he wants to break up, his crazy ex girlfriend bombared his calls, his texts, his friends, even his manager with texts begging to take her back. She even went so far as to include the media, giving sad interviews, crying her eyes out. Taehyung wondered how he didnt notice how crazy Oraia is. Maybe its true what they said, love is blind. But what they had isnt love. It never was. They both know they got together just because they seemed to look perfect for each other. Thats not love, and Oraia is just mad that shes no longer one half of the industry perfect couple.

/////

"Hey Tae?" Yoongi knocks on his hotel room, peeking his head. Theres still a week left of shooting, but Taehyung's heart is no where in it. All he wanted to do is to go back home, find Y/N and begged for her forgiveness until she takes her back. Hes going to convince her that he loves her. He really do. And not because he pity her, or because hes jealous of her relationship with Hyun Dae, but because he just realized it now. That from that moment he asked her where the bathroom is, hes already in love. Y/N has already caught his eyes, and heart from that first night at the concert, but he is too busy chasing his fame and title to realized it.

And now it might be too late.

Taehyung might have already lost the love of his life, forever.

"Yeah hyung?" Yoongi make his way in and sit on Taehyung's bed.

"Did something happen between you and Y/N? Did she going back home early has anything to do with you?"

Taehyung looked at his hyung with tired eyes. No longer bother to pretend or curious why his hyung us asking.

I told her I love her...." Taehyung said, tears stinging his eyes at the memory. "And she thinks I'm just playing her,"

Yoongi sighed.

"Are you?"

Taehyung sits up and hugs a pillow, looking at Yoongi with teary eyes.

"No hyung. Of course not. I really do love her. I love her so much. Im just too stupid to realized it then," he sniffles. "And now, I have to wait until this stupid shoot is over to win her back hyung, because shes not answering my calls or my texts. And I swear hyung, I will do everything to win her back from that Hyun Dae,"

Yoongi sighs again, looking away before looking back at the younger man.

"Tae... Y/N is getting married today. She suddenly said she wants to get married as soon as possible, doesnt matter if its a small wedding. She just wants to get married. Today,"

Taehyung looked at his hyung, eyes widen, not believing what hes hearing.

"I-I have to go hyung," he suddenly gets up.

"Go where Tae? What are you doing?"

Taehyung grabs his bag, not thinking anymore.

"To stop the wedding hyung, to win back the love of my life,"

/////

Y/N looks at her reflection in the mirror. Even with last minute preparations, her mother managed to do everything perfectly. Her dress, her makeup, her hair, her flowers, even her dressing room is perfect. Y/N smile to her reflection. But she knows its only superficial. Its a smile she puts on to convince everyone, to convince herself, that shes making the right decision. The right choice.

That shes happy.

And she know Hyun Dae will make her happy.

He have to.

"Dont marry him,"

Y/N turns around to find Kim Taehyung by the door. His hair a mess, shirt crumpled, eyes bloodshot from crying.

"T-Tae..."

"Dont marry him Y/N," he move closer to her. "Dont do it. Please. Please Y/N,"

"Taehyung, what are you doing here?" Y/N feel tears prickling her eyes. Why is he here. Why now? Why today?

"To tell you I love you Y/N," Taehyung sniffles and take her hand. "T-to tell you to not marry him. Dont marry him Y/N,"

"I-I cant Tae," Y/N shakes her head. "Hyun Dae deserves all the happiness in the world. He treats me so good Tae,"

"Then what about you? You deserve happiness too. Happiness with me Y/N,"

Y/N close her eyes and shakes her head. Why is Taehyung telling her all the things shes dying to hear before? But its all too late now. Too late.

"Marry me Y/N. Marry me. And I'll make you the happiest woman in the world. Marry me," Taehyung sobs and kneel down on his knees, begging, hand still holding hers.

Y/N starts to shake, trying to hold in her tears but it rolled out anyway, flooding her face.

"D-dont do this to me Tae. You dont love me. You dont. You dont!"

"I love you Y/N. I love you I love you I love you! I know I realized it too late. And thats my mistake. But I swear to you, that I'll spend forever making it up to you," Taehyung begs desperately. He cant lose her. He cant! "Please. Please, dont marry him Y/N. Please..."

Y/N closes her eyes. Tears rolling down her face, no intention of stopping. She wanted to say yes. God, how she wanted to say yes. How easy it would be. To be with the man he love. The man he had dreamed of. But she cant. Its not fair to Hyun Dae. And its not fair to her. To her heart that Taehyung has broken to pieces.

"Im sorry Taehyung... I cant," Y/N let go of his hand, tears dropping on the floor, wetting her beautiful white dress.

Taehyung felt like his whole world shattered to pieces. Thats it. Just two words. "I cant" and he lost her. He lost the love of his life.

After felt like an eternity, he stood up, face still wet with tears but a smile on his face.

"You look beautiful Y/N," he smile. "You always do.

Y/N sobs hard, her whole body shakes.

"Be happy Y/N. Hes an idiot if he dont take care of you. If he hurt you like I do. Hes an absolute idiot," Taehyung smile and carressed her face softly. "Be happy my princess. And when the time comes, come back to me. I'll always be waiting Y/N, because you are my true love, and we will always find our way back to each other,"

Taehyung placed a long, deep kiss on her forehead, eyes closed as tears flows down, knowing he has lost the love of his life, trying to savor the feel of her in his memories.

"I love you Y/N. And I'll wait for you, forever," he smile one last time as he turns around and walk away, leaving Y/N drenched in her tears.

/////

5 YEARS LATER

"Woohoooo, last concert for this tour guys, good job!" The members high five each other as they make their way into the dressing room backstage. Taehyung laughs and make his way into his own personal room, exhausted from a show well done.

"Hi, do you know where the bathroom is?"

Taehyung stopped in his track at the sound of the voice. A voice so familiar. A voice that haunts his dream for years. A voice that he never forgets.

He looks up, and there she is. Smiling at him.

"Y-Y/N?"

Y/N nods, giggling.

"Y/N?!" Taehyung runs to her and engulf her in a hug. "I am not dreaming am I? A-are you really here?"

Y/N giggles again.

"Its me Tae. Real life me. Im real,"

"W-why? H-how?"

"Well, if Im not mistaken, 5 years ago, someone told me that we will always find our way back to each other. And that he will wait for me, forever. Im just checking if he still keeps his promise," Y/N grins.

Taehyung hugs her tight.

"You dont know how I dream of this day every single day Y/N. How I waited to see you again. To feel you again. To hear your voice again," Taehyung hugs her, not letting go.

"Ive come back Taehyung. Ive come back to you,"

Taehyung cant believe this is happening. Then he remembered something. And although its something hes dreading to ask, he knows he has to know.

"H-Hyun Dae?"

Y/N smile at his nervous state. She has never seen someone so adorable. God, shes just so in love with him.

"We were never married Tae. When you came that day... everything changed. I didnt marry him. I couldnt. Not when I know my heart belongs to you. And Hyun Dae... he knows it too. And he loves me enough to let me find my own happiness,"

"W-what?"

"Im sorry it took so long. But I need to find myself. To really understand my feelings, your feelings... but Im here now, Taehyung... if you still want me..."

Taehyung grins.

"Is that even a question my love?"

Y/N giggles at the way he calls her.

"I love you Y/N. Since that first night we met. I have been yours. Im sorry for hurting you. Im sorry for my mistakes. Im sorry fo-"

"Shhhh," she puts a finger on his lips. "It doesnt matter anymore Tae. All of it doesnt matter anymore," she smile. "Im here now. You are here now. And I, I love you Kim Taehyung,"

Taehyung grins. Such word has never felt so sweet. He felt happiness bubbling inside his chest. And in the first time in 5 years, he really mean it.

"I love you Y/N, my love, my soulmate,"

"I love you Taehyung. You really had me at bathroom," she giggles.

"Oh shut up," Taehyung laughs and lifts her up, wrapping her legs around him. "Just shut up and kiss me. Just kiss me baby,"

And she really did.

[thesunnyshow]

Name: Li

Age: 15

Writing Blog URL(s): @meraki-mark​

What fandom(s) do you write for? NCT! Formerly EXO.

Nationality: Chinese-American 

Languages: English and basic Chinese 

Star Sign: Virgo

MBTI: ISTJ

Favorite color: Black and blue

Favorite food: Ramen 

Favorite movie: Thoroughbreds or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate!

Favorite animal: Owls 

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? 

Coffee and a Mocha Frappuccino 

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)

A realistic choice would be something to do with biochemistry writing/research, but something unconventional in my situation would be a fiction writer or a music producer.

Go-to karaoke song

Can’t sing, but if I do I usually sing anything from musicals with my friends. 

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? 

Invisibility or time/space jumping. 

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? 

I would choose the Renaissance Era because of the explosion of creativity that occurred. 

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you? 

Maybe parts of it. I would find more creative outlets and grow as a musician and I would appreciate the effort my parents put into making sure I could learn guitar. 

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? Um, I think I would rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses, because a big chicken could poke my eyes out. 

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been?

I would be a side character that had a strangely specific backstory that the movie doesn’t get into but it is clearly implied. I would probably be there to be the total cynic and judge everyone.

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? Of course! How could there just be us? Anything is possible in my mind. 

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? 

I have owned an assorted collection of musical instruments. Currently I have three guitars. I used to have a keyboard, clarinet, and steel drum (of course a recorder since I feel like most people had one from elementary school.)

When did you post your first piece? 

End of December back in 2018.

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why?

I write a combo of lots of different genres (fluff/angst/humor). For shorter works it’s usually only fluff or angst, but I find it hard to confine a work to one genre. If there are multiple genres it adds layers to a story and I like to try to make stories as dimensional as possible.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? 

Currently only member x reader.

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? 

I loved writing and I didn’t really have a “thing” to write about so fanfiction would combine writing and the groups/people I loved. I was on Quotev for a while and I figured there would be a wider audience on Tumblr.

What inspires you to write? 

I’m inspired by everyday things that happen to me, friends, or family. Movies and music also come in handy. I actually have two works that I’m working on based off of movies. 

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? 

I like writing angst the most and I swear I’m addicted to best friends and high school au’s probably because I can relate the most to it. 

What do you hope your readers take away from your work?

I hope they can feel something. I hope they can see the underlying themes of joy and heartache that some of my works have. As long as they feel like they got something out of the work then that is enough for me. 

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? 

I take a break to clear my brain and just get away from it. I play guitar or read a book. If it lasts for more than a few days I just let it sit and come back to it when I feel like I have some good material to add to it, or if it’s just that one work I try to work on another one.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? 

I like either “goodbye” or “too fast too slow” they’re both Mark works. I like “goodbye” since it was a concept of telling a story backwards and it was fun for me to write. I liked “too fast too slow” because I feel like I got the mutual feeling of love and caring between the characters right. My most successful is “catch me if i fall” another Mark work with the Spider-Man concept. The people love goofy Spider-Man!Mark. 

Who is your favorite person to write about? 

I like writing for all of them equally. Some come easier than others, but I enjoy writing for all of them since they all have different personalities I can try to portray. 

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose?

I think there are very minor differences because I know some writers write members exactly as they portray their personalities in public. So for fanfiction I guess you already have a personality to build off of while for originals you have to make your own personality from scratch. I personally like changing up the personalities, but I do have that blueprint if I wanted it. When I write original pieces the point of view is usually different and not in second person. Otherwise it’s still writing and building a story. 

What do you think makes a good story? 

I think it really depends on what the writer wants to get across to the reader. Whether it’s the emotional rollercoaster they wrote, character development throughout the work, the pacing to keep the reader interested, or even just the dialogue or descriptions keeping the reader engaged. Good is subjective and if the writer can get the right message or the message they wanted across to the reader I think that’s a “good” story. 

What is your writing process like? 

Spontaneous and sporadic. I can come up with ten ideas all at once and just let them sit there for ages. When I get into writing I do write in scene order. I don’t write down an outline, I just usually have one mapped out in my head beforehand. I do bare minimum proofreading, oops, but other than that very simple steps. 

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? 

I have thought about it. I’m not sure though. I wouldn’t know which one to build upon.

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? 

I like most tropes if you hand me a work and it has some random trope I would probably read it. I’m not a fan of yandere, but other than that I would read any. 

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? 

I used to think it didn’t mean much, but when a couple of my works flopped (oof) I felt bad and missed the little tags in reblogs or at least a like or two. I saw a post about writers writing for them, but writers post it for others to enjoy reading it as much as they did writing it. I stand by that. I will always love writing, but I want to hear what others think of it and that’s why I post them.If someone just comments or reblogs and puts something in the tags saying that they loved it, that’s enough for me. I’m a minimalist that way. 

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? 

Just hearing people say they liked it or general encouragement from my mutuals. I love talking to other writers and getting to know them. 

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? 

Yes! Just because it’s about someone who is 2D in comic books or in real life like actors or singers doesn’t mean it’s any less of a piece of written work.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? 

Of course. Art, let it be music, paintings, dance, writings, so on and so forth, can open a person’s eyes to all the possibilities of the world. The way someone perceives a work of art can be different from another and I think that causes great discussions. Art will always expose people to new ways of thinking and new ways to see the world.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? 

I used to. I’ve started a series, got through two chapters and then put it on hold and then discontinued it. While it was in limbo I felt bad because I knew people really liked it so I wanted to write it. Now, that same series is sitting discontinued until I can find motivation and feel like I’m writing it for me. So currently no, not anymore. 

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? 

Well, maybe. I’m not sure. My works aren’t really that cryptic. Maybe with emotions that characters are feeling because I’m not very good at descriptions. Otherwise, I don’t think so. 

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? 

Oh no. I would rather die than them find out. They know I write, just not for Tumblr.

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? 

Thank you for putting up with my sporadic updates and random works. I’m very inconsistent so thank you for sticking around and having enough faith in my writing to follow me.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? 

Just start writing whatever! It doesn’t have to be the next Charles Dickinson novel, as long as you like it then that’s enough! You may think it sounds corny or awkward at first but as you write more you’ll find a style and become comfortable. There are so many writers and most of them are always willing to help if you just ask! 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? 

So far no. I’ve met some pretty great people and I haven’t come across any problems yet. 

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? 

Well there’s @jaemericano​​, Gigi, who was my first mutual and has stuck around for such a long time. @neowrld​​ who gives killer reviews of my works. Now I’ve met @jensungf​​, Leyna, the best person in the world to talk to. She reached out when I was struggling with tumblr tags and then the conversation picked up from there about everything and anything. @ohnoyoonoh​​, Cayla, for starting our own personal foreign swaggers and being so nice to me when you first reached out, and always being so understanding about everything. @neocitybynight​​, sunny, who I can yell about Meteor Garden about with and I love it when she bounces ideas off of me and then we discuss our favorite types of noodles. Then to the rest of my mutuals who I have met on servers and nets.

Pick a quote to end your interview with

“In a time of destruction, create something” - Maxime Hong Kingston 

BONUS: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL

[theprodigypenguin]

Fanfic Masterlist

 In an attempt to boost my confidence I decided to make a masterlist of the fics I’ve managed to complete, because somehow seeing them all like this makes me feel super accomplished :3 and more motivated to write more!

Link to theprodigypenguin Ao3 Dashboard

King and Lionheart

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: M

Words: 6.3k (ongoing)

Summary: No summary, we die like men who can't write summaries.

Ao3 Link

should i have known that you would take hold (and never let go)

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: E

Words: 70k

Summary: James Potter likes to play the field when it comes to matters of the heart, inviting home men he hardly knows just to feel less lonely for a moment. As the oldest son and heir to his father's company, expectations and scrutiny are unavoidable. Giving himself up to someone, even under the guise of a lie, is his only escape. Yet his desire for acceptance leads to unpredicted circumstances that call for him to open his home and his heart for his own protection. Teddy Lupin lost his job two years ago, leading him down a path with no direction. Left with scars and trauma, all he truly wants is his old job back. The last thing he expected was for the richest man in London to offer him a job protecting his oldest son. Less expected than that, was how charming and irresistible he was. Though it was the last thing Teddy planned, in the end maybe a kindhearted heir with a protective heart of gold was exactly what he needed to move on.

Ao3 Link

Bad Liar 

Ship: James Sirius Potter/Craig Bowker Jr

Rating: M

Words: 33k

Summary: Truth or dare was supposed to be a stupid game for kids to play just to kill time. It was never meant to start something serious with someone whom Craig never would have been interested in otherwise.

Ao3 Link

Venom

Ship: Scorbus

Rating: G

Words: 1.8k 

Summary: A minor incident at Albus' Magizoology internship with the Scamanders ends with him bedridden at St Mungos with his unamused boyfriend as his caretaker.

Ao3 Link

Chances

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: E

Words: 78.7k

Summary: "There was just something about this man, though they’d never met before, never seen or spoken to each other before tonight. Maybe it was the bass of the music vibrating down to his bone marrow, the buzz from the whiskey or the crushing loneliness of having no one left. He was cold, and even after twenty-seven years of living, dating, breaking up, Teddy had never seen anything that could rival the honest warmth in Jamie’s eyes."

Ao3 Link

Recovery

Ship: none

Rating: G

Words: 5k 

Summary: Post Half-Blood Prince: Bill is dealing with the recovery and repercussions of Greyback's attack, confined to bed and miserable but desperate to reassure his worried family he's fine, when a surprise visit from his favorite brother finally lifts his spirits.

Ao3 Link

Love me Tender

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 4.5k

Summary: Teddy loved James. Tender and true; and James loved Teddy back.

Ao3 Link

Memory, Memory

Ship: minor Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 3k 

Summary: Teddy visits his parents grave every year on the same day, but he always goes alone. This year turns out a bit different.

Ao3 Link

Damages

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: M

Words: 27.8k 

Summary: James wasn't one to hide things about himself from the people around him. He was brought up to be proud of who he was, every piece of himself. He wasn't ashamed of his sexuality or his preferences, the gender he was attracted to or otherwise, and his family wasn't ashamed of it either. No, in the end he was ashamed not for who he was, but for who he loved, and the fear that everyone else would be ashamed and would hate him for the same thing.

Ao3 Link 

Stargazing

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 2.6k

Summary: The lack of lighting made his eyes look like glass covering shadows, mirrors that had no discernible color but reflected all the stars that he seemed so entirely enthralled with. He looked like a charcoal oil painting on canvas, and Teddy was starting to become an avid art lover.

Ao3 Link

Woke the F*ck Up

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 10.8k 

Summary: When an ex who broke it off because James wouldn't put out re-enters his life and asks to have lunch together, James reaches out to Auror partner Teddy Lupin, who's all too happy to help scare away the little bastard, no matter how he has to do it.

Ao3 Link

OK

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: M

Words: 13.9k 

Summary: An Auror mission gone awry proves just how essential having a specialized clinic for Lycanthrope-Afflicted witches and wizards is.

Ao3 Link

Bones

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: E

Words: 15.3k 

Summary: The Potter's and Weasley's had always been Teddy's unofficial family, he'd grown up with them after all, but in the past he never would have imagined actually joining their family. Till now that is, and there was no one else Teddy would have wanted to share this day with.

Ao3 Link

Slow Down Time

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 6.3k

Summary: It was so domestic, Teddy always found himself in awe of it. That he'd grown up almost entirely alone, and somehow was blessed with this family. There had always been an empty space in his heart that could never be filled by those he grew up with.It was an empty space that ached unimaginably whenever he looked at pictures of his parents, whenever he visited their grave or saw it was May second on the calendar, because what he longed for the most was family of his own, his parents, shared blood, and now he had that.

Ao3 Link

Creation Out of Nothing

Ship: Lilyander

Rating: G

Words: 4.8k 

Summary: In retrospect, Lily and Lysander don't have much in common, but if you can't bond over feelings of self doubt and the concept of not being good enough for your family, then what else are you supposed to bond over?

Ao3 Link

Just a Scary Dream

Ship: none

Rating: G

Words: 5k 

Summary: When they were younger, Albus always went to James when he had a particularly bad dream. He grew out of it, but in light of recent events, the murders of Craig and his grandparents and his involvement with Delphini, the bad dreams had just gotten worse, and only one person was ever able to help him through those nightmares.

Ao3 Link

Moon Sick

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 9.5k

Summary: James is in his final year at Hogwarts, seventeen and thriving, but no matter how long he'd spent in Slughorn's class over the past few years, he still didn't much see the point of potions, and he was running out of time to finally get motivated about it. His seventeenth Christmas at The Burrow, however, proves a better teacher and motivator than Slughorn or his father ever were, as a dear friend becomes ill, where the only method of healing and relief is through the brewing of a special tonic. Though James has little to no interest in such things, if it's to help relieve the pain of someone he truly cares for, he would do just about anything.

Ao3 Link 

Thicker Than Water

Ship: none

Rating: G

Words: 15.5k 

Summary: James Sirius Potter loves his family, and he isn't shy about announcing it. He'll say it to their faces and say it to whoever is listening, that he loves his parents and his amazing sister, his cousins, aunts and uncles, even his ever frustrating younger brother, Albus. Difficult he may be to talk to sometimes, James still loves him, even if he struggles to make Albus understand that; but when Albus disappears not once, but three times, before the first term back at school is even halfway over, James starts to wonder, maybe he didn't tell Albus he loved him nearly enough, and worries if he didn't start saying it sooner, he'd lose his chance to entirely.

Ao3 Link

Holiday Dysfunction

Ship: Scorbus

Rating: G

Words: 26.3k

Summary: People say that if you have a confession to tell, the best thing to do would be to simply rip it off like a Band-aid, but for Albus that metaphorical Band-aid has been stuck in place for the past six years, and it's hard enough talking to your dad when he happens to be Harry Potter, so it makes things a little more complicated when you're also in love and married to the son of your father's former school rival and ex-death-eater. Throw a new kid into the blend and the Holiday Season just gets more festive.

Ao3 Link 

Stupid Deep

Ship: Jegulus

Rating: E

Words: 24.2k (ongoing)

Summary: October of 1981 came and went, Halloween night left James Potter with lasting mental and physical scars, his wife lost to him and his son marked by a madman who had the audacity to disappear before James could get his revenge. He'd lost so much in so short a time: his loving parents, his beloved wife, his long time friend; a betrayal that stung more than the curse to his chest ever could. He struggled to live, he regretted every breath, only living because he had to, because he had Harry to look after, but he ached in ways that shouldn't ever be endured by any human. James thought for sure everything was lost, even the things he still had seemed too far away and easy to lose. He doubted anything in the world could make it less painful. Until a chance miracle is brought to light, a former infatuation rekindled into burning flames, and the Gryffindor bravery James thought was long lost roars back to life inside of him. He'd lost so much, but if he could help it, he would not lose this. Not again.

Ao3 Link 

[apehome]

So I wasn’t satisfied with the moodboard idea (I’ll still submit them sometime but maybe not use them to introduce OC’s. I was (originally) going to make pages for them on this blog but one of the pictures wouldn’t load on the page and (for some reason) it doesn’t save my text edits so, incase I can’t figure it out, I’m just going to post them publically. 

And, for the sake of not having to repost pre-existing art work of these OC’s, I’m going to just post new pictures of them here.

You may recognise this description format from a post I did back in November on my MackDreamer blog-it’s the same one but with some minor edits (keep in mind, some OC’s will have backgrounds (as they appear in fanfics such as my Before The Storm) but others might not-that is due to me not using them in fanfics and/or not knowing what to do them XD).

Name: Dolly (signed: ‘D’ thumped over right side of chest)

Age: 16 (Rise), 26 (Dawn), 28 (War)

Species: Bonobo

Gender: Female

Relatives:

Parents: Carlos (father and ‘Tina’ (mother-made up the name)

Siblings: Koba (younger twin brother), Nemo (younger brother), Gavin (youngest brother) and Rose (younger sister)

Mate: Ishmael (formally, deceased) Maurice

Children: Nova (adoptive daughter)

Friends: Caesar, Cornelia, Rocket, Luca, Bad Ape, Malcolm, Ellie

Enemies: Colonel McCullough, AO Army, humans

Loyalty: Caesar’s Colony

Appears in: Before The Storm 

Role: Main Character

Personality:

Despite being Koba’s twin sister, Dolly doesn’t share the same resentment towards humans as her brother. Contrary to Koba, Dolly is calm, loving, protective, wise and generally a more benevolent ape than him however, the years of abuse from humans were no kinder to her. 

Rise/Firestorm: 

In Rise and Firestorm, Dolly was focused on one thing only. Survival, her own and Koba’s. She was very confused and uncomfortable around so many apes and the effects from the A113, making her remember things about her and Koba’s past, overwhelmed her. Dolly’s worst fears were of losing Koba or being taken back to the labs by the humans and Caesar, the forest and their freedom turning out to be just a dream.

Dawn:

After ten years of freedom, Dolly fully considered the Muir Woods her home and the colony her friends and family. Due to Koba being honorary brothers with Caesar, Maurice, Rocket and Luca, and Dolly being close friends with Red’s mother, she was like an aunt to Blue Eyes, Cornelius, Ash and Red. 

Dolly felt she had put the dark days of cages and labs behind her but she struggled to understand why the humans mistreated her and Koba and felt sad and anxious when thinking about it. 

When the apes encounter Malcolm and the other humans in the woods and realize that the humans are still around, it reinforces Dolly’s crippling fear of losing Koba and her fear of being hurt and abused by humans again. 

But her fear of humans quickly turns to fearing Koba when she see’s the monster he had become and when she learns of Ash’s death, she realizes she could no longer protect her brother. That she has to keep her honorary nephews and the rest of the colony safe. 

War/Revelations:

Dolly grieves her brother’s death for the most part in Revelations as she constantly thinks back to the days leading up to Koba’s betrayal and feeling like his actions were somehow her fault. That, as his sister, Doll should have been the first one to notice something was wrong.

It isn’t until later that she realizes her brother’s darkness has spread to other apes-including Red, who she tries to reason with when he attempts to kill Cornelia-only to watch in horror as he fights and kills Grey and gets chased away by the other females. 

In War, Dolly feels as though her world is crumbling all around her with more and more of her friends being killed and injured in battle every day. By the time Blue Eyes and Cornelia were murdered, Dolly found herself feeling anger and hatred towards humans for the first time-she had always feared them, but never actually hated them or felt resentment towards them. 

Her newfound hatred and rage makes themselves known in the base, when the AO army imprisons the colony and separates them from the children and she manages to bite a soldier’s neck before being subdued by Red. Both apes give each other the cold shoulder for the most part, with Dolly only saying: “My brother would die before serving humans.” in response to Red’s loyalty to the Colonel as a donkey. 

Dolly is one of the few apes (aside from Lake and Percy) to not resent Caesar for leaving the colony and she makes it clear to Caesar that she doesn’t blame him for what has happened to the colony or for her brother’s death.

(I would like to think that, during the final battle, Dolly would see Red saving Caesar’s life and, just before the soldier could shoot him, she grabs Rocket’s gun and shoots the soldier instead. Saving Red’s life and yelling at him to run and then being reunited with him after the avalanche. Rekindling their relationship as aunt and nephew. I don’t know if I would officially add that here or if it would be better suited in a one-shot or role-play but still!) 

After the apes arrive at their new home in the desert, Dolly is happy and content and feels well and truly safe again. She later goes on to marry Maurice, as the two have had feelings for each other for years, and becomes adoptive mother to Nova-which fills her with joy as, due to being neutered by humans from a failed experiment, she thought she’d never have children.

Like the rest of the colony, Dolly was saddened by Caesar’s death and would always remember him for his compassion and all he stood for.

Background: 

Koba and Dolly were born in a primate research facility where they were taught Sing Language by their caregiver Mary. The twins loved playing together and were very close to their mother and to Mary.

After their mother was killed by Roger, the twins were sold to Tommy (as they were a bonded pair and had to be adopted together), Dolly became protective over Koba and often tried bit or fought back when Tommy abused her brother. 

In the few times they weren’t abused, Dolly and Koba would play and interact with their only friend-Milo.

After their escape from Tommy’s house, Koba and Dolly were both used as lab apes (presumably because Tommy kept their adoption papers and the animal control people kept them on file-which were eventually put in their lab records). Despite being put in separate cages, Dolly and Koba would hoot if they saw each other. The separation and isolation making the need to be together more stronger. 

When they are freed, Dolly immediately runs to Koba’s side before joining Caesar. Their liberation and rescue sparks a loyalty to Caesar that stays with Dolly ever since.

If this were a real life person, what would they be doing right now?: Hmm…If Dolly were human…I could see her working as a waitress at a coffee shop and having a scrapbooking and/or journalling hobby. 

Some Extra Notes: 

Dolly is the first Planet of The Apes OC I ever created (both first OC ever, and first ape OC).

Dolly was given her name by Mary (as she loved to play dress up when she was younger).

Ishmael is a male bonobo who Dolly married sometime before Dawn but Ishmael would eventually reject her when it became clear she could not have children.

Dolly’s fear of losing Koba (and people she loves) comes from hearing her and Koba’s mother take her final breath when she was younger. 

While Dolly does fear humans, she doesn’t actually wish harm or death on them and would likely befriend them if they were friendly-unlike her brother.

Dolly, Carlos, Rose, Gavin, Nemo and Ishmael are (c) Me

Everyone else mentioned here are (c) Penated of The Apes

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

Reliving An Old Nightmare - Chapter 12

<= Chapter 11

Summary : Snatcher and Vanessa have a conversation, featuring someone else. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/22337299/chapters/55902100

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SORRY FOR POSTING LATE. I was *so* stuck with this chapter that it gave me a writing block and an art block for 2 weeks! Of all the chapters that I had to write and plan to write in the future, it definitely was one of the hardest.

Thinking about writing Vanessa's and Snatcher's conversation was really stressful to me, and, well... I procrastinated on Animal Crossing.

Then I started another AHIT fanfic which helped me to regain my inspiration, but, well, I'll keep this one as a secret for now until I write more of it :)

Please don't hesitate to leave a like or reblog this chapter, as it really has been hard for me to write, more than any I've written until now for this fanfic I think. Thank you in advance !!

Also, no drawing for this chapter, because, well... You know how I have this habit of splitting chapters into several parts when I end up writing too much for a single chapter? Welp, this happened here. So the drawing I had made for this chapter will eventually be used for the 13th chapter, sorry ! I really wish I could have drawn something, but... I didn't know what to draw and I didn't want to make you wait longer, so... Have a drawing-less chapter !

Happy reading !!

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Chapter 12

Snatcher had come to think that humans were fragile little creatures. They were so weak, so easily afraid… Animals with a conscience, driven by instincts and stupid emotions. With shaking knees, they would beg him to spare them, to let them go, but the ghost always killed them afterwards. Listening to their pleas, to their death screams… Sure, the first souls he had snatched hadn’t been for pleasure, though he eventually got used to it. He even got to find it fun! As they always say: time and trauma really do change people!

Humans had distinct signs of fear: rapid breathing, heart pounding inside their chest, sweat all over their face, muscles completely frozen, shaky limbs… He had seen all kinds of reactions from his victims! At this point, one could say he was an expert on that topic. After all, not only had he killed many people after having stolen their souls, but he also murdered them using various and imaginative methods! Thrown into the swamps, blown up by his lasers, drown, hanged, split in two (that one was always fun), and many, many other types of death. Well, he did have to occupy himself during his long and boring afterlife!

But, for the very first time, at that precise moment, he felt exactly like the people he used to kill.

Panic had engulfed him whole, as Vanessa was leading him by the hand through the corridors of the manor. She was in front of him, pulling him faster and faster as seconds passed. Or maybe it was his imagination? If it was, the coldness of her hand certainly wasn’t. Vanessa was clearly mad at him and even his dumb old self would be able to see it. It was obvious: her body was tensed and she was using more strength, as if she was pulling a child somewhere to punish him. Well, it wasn’t very far from the truth, really.

They went through the different floors, and Snatcher could only be relieved not to be taken to the cellar again. Maybe he was going to have a bad time, but at least, it wouldn’t be down there. Every cloud had a silver lining!  He was being positive, here!

The ghost’s fear was soon replaced by confusion, as Vanessa stopped in front of his own bedroom. Why? The shade was almost expecting to be locked up in the attic at this point! Would she really just let him go back to his room without doing anything else than actually talking? He couldn’t believe it. There had to be something.

The Queen opened the door with a smile and pushed herself on the side to let him come in first. With great suspicion, Snatcher complied and entered the room, still staying very much vigilant. Vanessa was vicious, he knew that very well. He couldn’t take the risk of underestimating her or whatever she had planned for him now. His movements were slow and careful and his ex followed him into the room before closing the door behind her. Instinctively, Snatcher stepped away from her, not liking the idea of being alone in the same room as her. It made him feel rightfully quite nervous.

Vanessa dusted her dress a little bit as silence settled between the ex-couple. The ghost gulped down with difficulty, as he could only wait for her to decide what to do next. Eventually, she pointed to his bed, still smiling. However, Snatcher knew her well enough to understand that she wasn’t sincere.

-“Why don’t you sit down, dear?” she asked, in the nicest voice possible. But her eyes weren’t smiling and the sound of her words burnt like poison entering the shade’s ears. It sounded fake.

The ghost’s stance remained defensive as he slowly shook his head, frowning. He really didn’t like where this was going. It was way better than being shackled on the cellar’s wall, obviously, but that didn’t mean he would accept everything in comparison.

-“I’m fine standing up, thank you,” he replied, in a much harsher tone than what he first intended. He was still afraid -who wouldn’t be in his shoes?- but he had a lot of unfinished business with that awful woman.

The Queen’s smile wavered for an instant and Snatcher didn’t need to see more to know that he had annoyed her. Well, retorting always upset her in the past: it wasn’t much different now. Vanessa had always been hot-blooded, anything could get her angry or upset. Not being given what she wanted irritated her, not being able to do something exasperated her, and not being obeyed to made her mad. Especially if her Prince was the one to disagree with her.

-“I wasn’t asking,” replied Vanessa coldly. It contrasted even more with the fake smile on her face.

Snatcher understood quite fast the threat hidden in her answer: if he wasn’t going to sit down, she would make him. And honestly, he didn’t want to try and test her patience, even more when he knew how irritable she could be when things didn’t go her way. Silently and reluctantly, the shade complied once again, not without glaring at her in the process.

He hated her so much. He hated how selfish she was and had always been to him. He hated the very idea of having been in love with her in the past. And he loathed the fact that he could die a second time because of her.

He waited, knowing quite well that Vanessa wouldn’t appreciate him interrupting her one more time. Usually, Snatcher didn’t care about people’s feelings, especially Vanessa’s, but since he was now a mere mortal against someone who had mastered ice magic… He didn’t feel confident enough to put up a big fight.

Plus… He needed all possible chances to find that Time Piece, and creating problems wouldn’t help him in the least. If he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, he had to put his pride aside. Yet, he absolutely loathed the idea of submitting to Vanessa, even just for a while. After everything she did to him… And kept doing, considering the position he was in at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to strangle her and kill her for good. Twice.

-“Now…” The Queen’s voice cut his inner monologue short and he got his attention back on her: “Where were you today?” was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Snatcher felt all the muscles of his body turn cold as soon as the words came to his ears. He had expected that question, yes, but it was always different to imagine a situation and actually experiencing it. As for where he was, well… He definitely had no intention of mentioning the kid nor her spaceship in any way. So he could only come up with excuses and hope for the best. But, deep down, he was worried and rightfully so: Vanessa always knew how to tell if he was lying or not. Sure, Snatcher had become better at it with years of being dead, but so did she.

He really was nervous, and keeping a straight face in front of his murderer was far from easy:

-“I went for a walk after the argument with my parents,” he answered with the most neutral voice he could make: “Am I not allowed to do that?”

His ex’s smile widened in return, though Snatcher could tell that it certainly wasn’t a good thing. The way she was looking at him was enough to inform him that she was growing impatient and exasperated with him. She probably saw through his lies right away, just like he feared. But it didn’t change the fact that he absolutely could not talk about the kid. Not to her.

-“Oh, you are, you are!” she replied with a sweet voice, joining both hands together as she continued: “But I have to admit that I have some doubts.”

There it was. Snatcher gulped down in a way he hoped to be discreet, but he knew better.

-“With your broken leg, and the other one being quite injured as well… I have trouble imagining you going very far, especially for a whole day! Don’t you find it strange as well, Alistel?”

It was indeed very strange. Finding a reason for such a long absence, especially with how painful walking was to him… He had to admit that his excuse wasn’t a good one, to begin with. However, that didn’t prevent him from retorting, lifting his hands as he spoke again:

-“Well, it’s the truth. What do you want me to say?”

His attitude must have annoyed the Queen a bit too much, as the smile finally disappeared from her face. It was replaced by a much more serious expression that didn’t reassure Snatcher at all. She stepped closer to him, shortening the distance between them.

-“I know you’re aware of what’s going on,” she murmured, her eyes fixed on his. She stopped just in front of him, while the ghost’s breath got stuck in his throat. He didn’t like where this was going and he disliked the look on her face even more. Before he was able to move, she gently put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to remain where he was. Snatcher’s entire body froze from the contact and his heart skipped a beat. He felt like a bucket full of cold water had just been dumped right on him.

He was terrified. As much as he wanted to scream at her, doing so while she was so close to him, when she was much more powerful than him… His mind wanted to fight, but his body turned a deaf ear. Snatcher wanted to tell her to let go of him, to go away… But he couldn’t. No sound came out of his opened mouth.

All he could do was to listen, as she continued, this time with a nicer tone that felt strangely more sincere than before:

-“I know you…‌Remember,” she started again, lightly digging her fingers in the shade’s shoulders, who was completely unable to move at that point: “And I know you might still be mad at me for what happened… But you left me no choice!”

Snatcher frowned: what did she just say?

He didn’t have the time to ask her that as she kept going, not letting him the time to interrupt:

-“I may have overdone it, yes… But you were the one who cheated on me in the first place!”

Snatcher couldn’t believe what he was hearing at that moment. Was she seriously trying to defend herself for having murdered him? She couldn’t be that stupid, could she? Though, the sincere expression painted on her face was enough of an answer to him. She was convinced that everything that had happened was his fault, not hers.

She was exactly the same as before. She had never changed in all those years. She was still the same old Queen that never wanted to admit being responsible for a problem. She had never regretted what she had one to him or to all the Subcon villagers, even the children. All that mattered to her was her own happiness, no matter what she had to break or destroy to obtain it.

The ghost had never wanted to kill her so badly in his entire life and afterlife combined.

-“Are you being serious right now?” he finally replied, with a very dangerous tone.

Vanessa remained stunned for a while, probably not expecting that kind of response from him.

-“What do you mean?” she asked, confused. She then placed both of her hands over her heart and continued, offended: “Of course I am! You can’t have forgotten what you did to me! You broke my heart and flirted with… With that woman!”

Snatcher’s brows rose as his anger was becoming more and more palpable as time passed. So she was being serious, and he wasn’t even surprised. A dense feeling of hatred engulfed him as he glared at her.

-“I broke your heart? Excuse me? You broke mine!” He was so outraged by what she had just told him that he couldn’t help but stand up, forcing her to step back. Words were leaving his mouth on their own, as if finally, he had the chance of getting everything out of his chest: “I was buying you flowers! Because I was in love with you! And what did you do when I came back with them? You locked me up in a cellar and left me to die! And I’m the one who broke your heart? Please, stop, you’re making things worse for yourself, here.”

He stopped, catching his breath. In front of him, Vanessa was silent, unmoving, as if she was still processing what he had just screamed at her. She seemed astonished and Snatcher quickly understood why: he had never raised his voice against her like this. She did. That was certainly why she was so surprised. But soon, her bewilderment was replaced by fury, as her brows frowned and her face became redder and redder with anger. The air around her suddenly became much colder and the ghost could see the tip of her hair turning black. Her eyes were turning red and she was glaring at him in a way she had never done before. She was livid.

-“You’re lying! You never loved me! You played with me!” She suddenly pointed an accusing finger at him: “You went to see her today, didn’t you?”

Snatcher’s face grew pale. Did she know about the kid? He gulped down with difficulty.

-“What are you talking about?” he questioned, trying to look ignorant enough. But his ex wasn’t buying it and the ghost jumped when she screamed once again:

-“That florist!” Ice spread on the ground around her as her voice resonated in the room and probably in the entire manor too. “Anger” wasn’t enough to describe her state of mind at the moment. Her hair was becoming blacker as seconds went by and she seemed out of breath, as if, just like him, she was getting something out of her chest: “I’m giving us the chance to get things right, to erase your past mistakes, and that’s how you’re thanking me? You ingrate!”

Snatcher was well past simple “anger” as well the second she pronounced those last sentences. She couldn’t have said that, she couldn’t be that stupid… But here she was, telling him how she was doing the right thing, like she was the mature adult in this story!

What a joke.

-“You? Doing the right thing?” He stepped forward, making her back away once again: “Don’t make me laugh,” he responded, in the most spiteful tone he could manage.

The shade then pointed to their surroundings:

-“You think this is real, Vanessa? You think you’re doing me, us, a favour by doing this? Well, newsflash! You’re not! And you know why?” Vanessa remained silent, though returned him his glare, as he kept going: “All of this is fake! It doesn’t exist! It’s an imitation of the past! Don’t tell me you actually believe this is real.”

-“You’re lying,” she simply answered, as serious as he was a few moments ago. She was clearly displeased and in denial. She always has been, in the end. This was what had led him to his first death and what would lead to their second one if she continued to remain so stubborn.

-“Oh, I’m lying! I’m always lying, that’s what you think, isn’t it? Well, guess what? I never was! And what I just said? It’s true! Not only everything here is fake, but it’ll be gone in a few days, and so will we! Great way to make things right, Vanessa!”

He clapped his hands sarcastically to emphasize his last sentence. The movement seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Vanessa snapped once again. She came back right before him and grabbed his hands to stop him from clapping again. The contact of her gloves against his skin was awful to Snatcher. Her icy hands were a clear sign of her fury. It was so cold that it hurt.

-“You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying!” yelled Vanessa, as her hair was now almost completely black and getting sharper, the same way Snatcher’s spectral form became when he was extremely furious: “How would you know?! I did this, not you!”

Because of the pain on his wrists, Snatcher had to clench his teeth not to whine. He still managed to let out a few words, trying his best not to show himself weaker than he already was:

-“Don’t… Don’t tell me you haven’t seen those white cracks appearing out of nowhere!”

As if the words had a special meaning to Vanessa, she suddenly loosened her grip on his wrists. Her enraged expression changed in a blink, replaced by something akin to realization. Her face grew almost as pale as Snatcher’s and she let go of his hands, still keeping them in the air, shocked.

She had seen them. That was what it meant.

-“Those are not… That’s not what he-” she stuttered, looking elsewhere as an inner fight seemed to be going on in her mind. Snatcher, however, didn’t miss the very important blunder she just made in her attempt to retort something.

She had just said “he”. For the first time in days, he had a concrete clue about the mastermind behind what was happening.

Apparently, she noticed her own mistake and immediately put her hand over her mouth, as if she wanted to silence herself. But it was too late. Snatcher needed to know who that “he” was to her, and also to him.

-“Vanessa. Who’s ‘he’?” he interrogated her, feeling that this was definitely a trail he needed more details on.

The woman simply shook her head silently, refusing to answer him. Though, it really wasn’t enough to stop the shade from wanting to know more. What did stop him, however, was a knock on the door. Both he and Vanessa turned in its direction.

“Well, what a lucky interruption…” thought Snatcher, while glaring at the door. With a quick “come in!”, he allowed the person behind the door to enter the room. Unsurprisingly, Simeon was the one to come in, closing the door behind him. The butler was standing up straight, as usual. In comparison, what was weird was the way Vanessa’s face became paler than it already was. She instantly looked the other way, like a child caught in the act.

“Wait…” Was she reacting this way because of Simeon’s apparition in the room?

Snatcher didn’t have much time to wonder any more on the question, as his inner monologue was cut short by the older man:

-“My apologies, your majesty,” he started, bowing slightly in front of the ex-couple: “I needed to tell you that the doctor is on his way. If you’d like, Prince Alistel, I had someone prepare a bath for you. You must be really tired.”

The man was smiling, but contrary to all the other times the ghost had seen him smile… Something felt wrong. His happiness seemed just as fake as Vanessa’s one a few minutes earlier. Then, there was her reaction to him… It was extremely suspect and Snatcher started to think again about his previous hypothesis. Was the mastermind Simeon? Could it be possible?

But why? It didn’t make any sense! Simeon was dead even before the rift was made! And the hat-wearing child had been very clear: Vanessa couldn’t have been the one to make this time rift. But then… How?

Snatcher didn’t understand, yet… He definitely had the impression that there was something he wasn’t seeing. But it was there, and his ex’s reaction was one of his biggest clues, along with her previous blunder.

Simeon’s stare made the ghost strangely ill-at-ease and, for a reason he couldn’t explain yet, he felt the need to run. But why? Simeon had been the family’s loyal butler! Though, then again, he had been the butler of Vanessa’s family. Not his. And if his hypothesis was right, no matter how far-fetched it was to him… Well, it was best to be extremely careful. Especially if the mastermind was clearly more powerful than the Queen herself.

Snatcher finally nodded and put a fake smile on his lips.

-“Yes, you’re right. I am quite tired,” he declared, moving towards the door. As he passed next to Simeon, he thanked him for the bath. The butler’s smile widened as he replied:

-“Oh, you’re welcome, my Prince. If you need anything else, please tell me, I will do everything in my power to help you.”

-“I will, thank you.”

Snatcher left the room and closed the door behind him. Once he was alone in the hallway, he felt like a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders. He couldn’t tell why exactly, yet he knew that this had to do with what had just happened. Why did he felt this way? Why did Vanessa have reacted so badly? He hated to be in the dark like this, especially knowing that he and the kid had a countdown problem. He didn’t know exactly how much time they had left. The brat had told him “a few days”, but it wasn’t very precise.

Plus, if Vanessa had also witnessed time anomalies… Then, it meant the rift was probably more unstable than what they first thought. They needed to find that Time Piece, fast, and preferably without being caught first.

Instead of leaving to the bathroom like he should have done, he kneeled in front of the door, sticking his ear on the door. If he wanted to be sure about his hypothesis, there weren’t many other possibilities. It’s not like he could ask Vanessa, or even ask Simeon directly! He wasn’t a moron and definitely didn’t have a death wish.

Silence greeted him for a few seconds. At first, he believed that the door was too thick to let sounds go through. However, just as he was about to stand up, he caught up a muffled voice through the wood:

-“You really do not understand, do you?”

Snatcher’s body froze, as he realized that this voice wasn’t Simeon’s nor Vanessa’s. Then who was talking? It was masculine and its intonation had been disapproving. The voice was peculiarly soft and not really deep. In any case, it was a voice the ghost didn’t know. Who was in the room with them? Everything was so much more confusing now!

He frowned and kept listening, trying to find other clues useful to him. Vanessa’s voice was quick to reply to the stranger:

-“I-I’m sorry, I tried to stay calm!” His ex sounded really distressed. The shade never heard her sound like this before and it actually made him feel nervous. If someone was scaring Vanessa, while he did not… Well, this was not good for him and the kid.

Who was that guy?

-“I find it quite weird that you choose to use that excuse again,” retorted the voice, threatening.

Silence ensued and Snatcher remained completely unmoving as he waited for the others to talk again. It didn’t last very long but it truly felt like hours to him.

-“You know,” continued the stranger, “after I decided to help you, I think I made you promise to keep your anger under control. Tell me, do you remember that?”

The spirit could tell very easily from the tone of the voice that it wasn’t really a question.

-“Yes… Yes, I did.”

-“So… May I ask you what you do not understand in that simple request? Because I would gladly explain it to you again.”

The threats were absolutely not hidden anymore now. Damn, that guy truly had threatening potential! In any other situation, Snatcher would have felt something akin to jealousy or admiration, depending on the person speaking, but in the present… He felt as much threatened as Vanessa, perhaps more, since she had powers to defend herself while he did not.

He forced his mind to focus on reality when he heard Vanessa apologize:

-“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be more careful.”

-“This is exactly what you promised me this morning and yet, you still managed to reveal my existence to him just now. What a shame.”

Snatcher’s eyebrows rose: did that guy just got Vanessa to apologize to him? What was he using, witchcraft? Both in his life and afterlife, Snatcher never managed to get a sincere “I’m sorry” from her! And that stranger got her to say those words just like this? Seriously, who was that guy?

-“Please do not make me regret helping you. We still have much to do for your dream to come true. Do not waste the chance I am offering you.”

-“But…!”

Snatcher stuck his ear to the door even more, extremely curious about what Vanessa was about to say after that kind of threat.

-“He- Alistel told me that this isn’t real. That this world will disappear in a few days…”

-“Oh please, are you believing him more than me?” answered the voice, outraged: “I offered you a way to go back in time, to erase what went wrong, and you would rather believe him? The man who cheated on you? Vanessa, dear, you really are hurting my feelings.” He paused before continuing: “If there is anyone to trust here, it is me. You should know that by now.”

Snatcher was instantly filled with absolute fury at the stranger’s affirmations.

“This guy…!” The spirit had never cheated on Vanessa! She was the one who went crazy and murdered an entire village! How dared he-

The ghost suddenly realized that if he stayed here any longer, he would be found out very soon. The conversation seemed almost over now, and this was his chance to leave before being caught. He did get all the information he needed to prove that Simeon was implied. Though… Did that mean that “Simeon” wasn’t really him? That someone was impersonating him? This was all Snatcher could think of.

He quickly stood up, as silently as possible, and walked away fast until he hid behind a corner. He waited for a bit and, after a few minutes, finally saw Simeon walking out of the room. Vanessa was coming right after him, looking at her own feet. This was really a weird sight to Snatcher. Normally, it would make him laugh, but now… It only meant that whoever was working with Vanessa was much, much more dangerous than her.

“Who are you…?” he wondered to himself, as he stared at the back of “Simeon”, who was walking towards the stairs, followed by Vanessa. Once the ghost was completely alone, he tried to relax his body, which had been tensed for quite a while.

Whoever was that guy… He and the kid would have to be really careful from now on. The sooner they left, the better.

Snatcher frowned and finally looked away from the staircase. Well… Now, he had a bath to take. Maybe it would help him to understand better what was happening in the dark.

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WHO THIS STRANGER MIGHT BE, HUM....

I hoped you liked this chapter ! Please tell me if you did, it really helps me a lot, you have no idea. I work a lot with motivation and I get writing blocks when I become hesitant about my stories. Even comments with a single emoji help, I assure you.

I hope everyone is doing well with everything that is happening around the world right now. Please stay safe, don't take risks. Good luck to everyone, I think we all need it with the sanitary crisis going on.

See you in the next chapter !

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Chapter 13 =>

[doodling-doodler]

                              THE LOUDEST SHOW FANFIC 

(PLEASE READ THROUGH THE WHOLE POST)

Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for (woah)

Doodling Doodler here with a special message for all you guys! I. AM. BACK!!! I also have exciting news. Remember that little project I got? What was it… ah! The Loudest Show! Well guess what! The first chapter is out now!!! What are you waiting for? Looking at the art? Thank you by the way. Part of the first chapter is just down here. Oh wait before you do I give you ivanthestoryteller who wants to give you all 2 special messages. One just down here and the other all the way at the end of this post.

1vanth30s0m3/ivanthestoryteller: I’m not going to take up your time too much here. It’s been awhile since my last story wrapped up and here I am again. I’d like to thank doodler for the opportunity to work on this story. I understand that someone else has also been writing about this AU from doodler and I want it to be known that I’m not trying to steal ideas or even ride that person’s coattails. I simply wish to tell a good story. Hopefully you’ll stick around for the ending notes since I want to use that space for a more productive reason and will try to stick to those when I write out any more notes. Please enjoy the first chapter. 

(Please come down and visit)

Story: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8482143/

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 Chapter 1             What is a man?

               A young Lincoln waited on the couch in the reading room, just as his mother had instructed him. He tugged at the collar on his shirt, trying to loosen it so he wouldn’t feel strangled. The day was warm and the manor was just as such. He finally heard the clacking of shoes on the wood floor and turned to see his parents leading a girl who appeared two, maybe three years older than him. They all stopped in front of the couch, the girl standing in front of them. She had buckteeth and her hair was drawn into a braid. Lincoln didn’t know why she was there and eagerly awaited.

               “Lincoln, as you know,” his father began, “we have considered how to go about your education. We finally have decided that a private tutor is the best option for you. However, we also know that you need other children to play with,” his father looked down and gestured towards the girl, “so we also decided to hire an apprentice to the maids. She will live here with the rest of the staff and fulfill her duties, but she will also be here to help keep you from feeling lonely.” The girl was wide-eyed, looking very nervous at the prospect of the future that awaited her. Lincoln only looked curious, stuck in a state of wonderment.

               “Go on, Lincoln, say hello,” his mother instructed.

               “Hi, I’m Lincoln,” he said.

               “Hello, my name is Luan,” the girl said with a curtsy.

               “Now, I do think it best for the two of you to get to know each other, so would you kindly show her around, Lincoln?” his father requested. Lincoln got off the couch and began an impromptu tour of the manor. He showed her every room, asking bits and pieces, not sure of what to really say. She was just as quiet, unsure of herself when responding. She noticed he was developing buck teeth, even if it was early, much like her. That was something they at least had in common.

               “Why did you want to become a maid?” Lincoln asked. It was the only thing that felt right to say when he exhausted what little small talk he knew. She waited for a moment.

               “My mom made me,” she replied, saddened. Lincoln only grew more curious to the answer.

               “Why did she make you?” They had stopped in the middle of the hallway on the way to the north wing.

               “She wanted to see me in a better place that would help take care of me,” Luan said. Lincoln was sure that he didn’t want to press that issue too much.

               “Do you want to be with her?”

               “Yes.” Luan looked at the floor. Lincoln thought quickly.

               “Where are you from?” She looked up, her face reverting back to nervous.

               “Royal Woods,” she spoke quietly, her voice distracted from her mother.

               “Oh, that’s a quick train ride away,” he stated with realization.

               “Have you been there?” Luan asked.

               “No. I haven’t been able to go many places and my parents won’t let me visit places with them. But that’ll change in a few months.” He was jovial with the date for then.

               “Do you want me to tell you about it?” He nodded fervently. They began their tour again, with her describing her hometown to him. He listened, marveling at her stories. She looked comfortable, as if she were in her own home and they were lifelong friends. Her voice was nice, as if he could listen to it for hours on end.

               Lincoln enjoyed this memory, as he loved to remember meeting his best friend for the first time at the age of five. He enjoyed the games they played, although he enjoyed her company always, particularly when ditching their responsibilities. Though it had been a month on from when they met, they hid in a den that was rarely used by his family and just as touched by the staff. He didn’t like the schoolwork he had to do and she was trying to buy time before she had to do anything. She wore a white frilled cap, a simple gray dress, and the apron was not too far off from the cap in design. He was wearing an orange suit that was more to impress the tutor than to be comfortable.

               “I don’t know why I ever have to wear this stupid suit. It does nothing but choke me,” Lincoln complained. Luan giggled a little.

               “I like it. Orange seems to be your color.” He looked at her with an empty warning in his eyes.

               “If you like it, then why don’t you wear it?” he jested. She laughed a little.

               “I would but I’m afraid I would be mistaken for a savage, much like you,” she delivered with a wide grin. He laughed, knowing her words were meant only for tickling him.

               “I’m still wondering who took the pies from the kitchen,” he rhetorically declared.

               “I don’t know, but three butlers certainly found them.” Lincoln laughed harder, remembering how all three were covered in the varying pie fillings. She joined him in laughter, enjoying her handiwork. “I wish everyone could laugh like this all the time,” she said in between giggles. He looked over at her, coming down from the giddiness.

               “You want to see the world happy all the time?”

               “Yeah. I only wish to make the world happy,” she spoke with a bittersweet tone.

               “That’s what you’d love to do, huh?” He never knew before now.

               “Yep.” She pulled out something small from her pocket. He saw it had many sides, all of which were yellow, dangling from a small string. “I’ve got my wish right here: to see everyone happy and to bring it to them.” She was smiling grandly. He saw her conviction of wanting to carry out the dream and saw the item go back into her pocket. He looked on at her, wondering if her dream could ever be fulfilled.

               He stared, still, his face solemn and stony. He saw the caskets, ready to be lowered after some final words. He held the hand of Lily, his newborn sister. Lincoln wanted her to be able to see their parents one last time before interment, helping to build a chair for her carriage so she could look at them. His mother’s words were always fresh whenever he saw Lily. Promise me you’ll look after Lily, he heard her say with a voice growing weaker and weaker, all happening right after her delivery of her daughter. He promised her and she gave one final breath, smiling as she heard his words. He made sure he would keep his promise, always checking on her and tending to her if he heard her.

               Luan was right beside him, looking worse than he was, tearing up but not sobbing, unlike some of the staff who were. He told them it wasn’t mandatory to attend and he would understand if they wished not to, but all of them came. The mourners at the funeral were clothed in black garb. The crowd heard the pastor clear his throat and begin the last step of his job for the event.

               “These poor souls were taken from us, beginning with the passing of Lynn Loud, of whom had passed away on the twelfth of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen-hundred and eighty-two. On the nineteenth of April, in the same year, Rita Loud passed away and has joined her husband. They were kind souls in life and so shall be in Heaven.” The sky was gray but no other sign of rain coming was present. “I do believe that the book of Ecclesiastes has some important words for all of us and are most fitting for any occasion. I shall now recite chapter three, verses one through eight.” He cleared his throat again. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance...”

               Lincoln listened to the pastor. He waited for the man to be done, carefully observing each word he spoke. The words brought some comfort, but he wished not for comfort. He wished he could carry on with his parents being there for when he needed them most. And now he needed to be there when they needed him most. The pastor finished his services and approached Lincoln.

               “My condolences, Mr. Loud,” he spoke, voice filled with the same solemnity he kept from before.

               “Thank you, Pastor Mannard,” Lincoln replied. His voice was low.

               “I’ll go ahead and retrieve the gravediggers for their burial. Are you sure you wish to stay around?” the pastor asked.

               “I wish to see things through and give them the first shovelful of dirt,” he replied, still low with his voice.

               “Then I shall be back in a moment.” The pastor left, going to where the diggers were. Luan put a hand on his shoulder.

               “Do you want me to take Lily back to the mansion?” Her voice sounded broken, trying hard to keep itself together. She noticed the staff heading back and wondered what Lincoln would like to do.

               “No, let her be until I head back myself.” He moved toward their gravestones, Luan pulling her hand away. She moved closer to Lily, staying within arm’s reach of her. Lincoln stood before the deceased, looking over their gravestones to check for any imperfection.

               A good wife and perfect mother, letting no one else say otherwise, he read on the stone for his mother. He made sure the words were perfect, wanting to never disrespect her memory.

               A kind husband and an even greater father, he read on the stone for his father. The same case could made here. The pastor returned with his two assistants, spades in hand. They lowered the couple into the holes, taking extreme care with doing so. True to his word, Lincoln gave the first portion of dirt to his mother and the next portion to his father, handing back the spade. He walked away, Luan and Lily in tow. He could hear the movement of dirt until he could hear no more, mostly since a set of walls blocked the sounds.

               “Take Lily to her wet-nurse and please tell the staff that I don’t wish to disturbed for the rest of the day,” he told Luan after entering the foyer, the door barely being closed behind them. She nodded and he went to the den his father used almost all the time. Luan did precisely as instructed, informing those who needed to know and ensuring that Lily was to be taken care of before leaving her to see Lincoln. She opened the door with no warning and stepped in.

               “May I come in?” she asked, unsure if he would entertain the thought of having her there at this time. He turned to see that it was indeed her before turning back and giving his response.

               “Please do,” he spoke quietly from his seat. She moved in farther after shutting the door with a soft thunk. “It’s quite surreal, sitting here,” he spoke again.

               “How so?” she indulged the pleasantry, sure of what the answer might be.

               “He would always sit there,” Lincoln gestured at the giant, empty seat on the other side of the desk in front of him, “tending to any and all matters that were for business. I never saw him within this room without his presence on that side.” He rested his head in one hand as he looked at the floor. “I’ll never see him standing there again. He filled that seat, but now...” He turned to Luan and she saw his facade slowly breaking down. “But now… I’m not even sure I can fill it. Not even sure I want to fill it.” She stood behind him and clasped a hand upon his shoulder.

               “I’m sure you’ll figure this out in due time,” she said, trying her best to comfort him.         “Maybe so, but… there’s just so much to do,” he voiced with grave concern. “I have to assume control over my father’s business ventures, I have to make sure the estate isn’t just suddenly taken away, I have to make sure Lily is taken care of, all the while with me needing to put bread on the table for everyone here.” He looked back down. “Luan, I’m ill-prepared to be Master of the Estate.”

               “We all have faith in you, Lincoln,” she said to soothe his woes. “You might not be prepared but I know you’ll succeed. You always do.” She finished with a giant smile showing off her buckteeth. He returned one that was weak, but it was still a smile nonetheless.

               “Thank you, Luan, for your kind words,” he said. “However, I must ask you follow suit with the other staff and allow me to be alone for the rest of the day. I apologize if I sound unreasonable.”

               “Not at all. I’ll let you know if an emergency arises and requires your attention,” she said and gave truth to her words by letting him be. With the door closed behind her, she set off for her normal rounds, checking to see if anyone was in need of company or wished to check on their employer’s emotional state. She left each room since not one spec of dust or dirt could found and everyone was given the same information when she encountered them. Finally, she walked into Lily’s room, sure there was something to pass the time there.

               “How is Master Lincoln fairing?” the woman holding Lily as she herself sat in the rocking chair asked. Her age was certainly not large in number, though it was possible for her to be a grandmother (albeit, a young one at that), her hair reflecting this slightly and the formation of wrinkles barely taking root.

               “He seems to be doing better than yesterday but the toll is still plain to see,” Luan responded from a chair stationed near the door. “I’m assuming that tomorrow, Lincoln will wish to be left alone in his room.”

               “That’s Master Lincoln. He’s the head of the estate now; you must show him the proper respect his position carries,” the woman scolded her.

               “I am showing him respect. He had the title thrust upon him and is still trying to get used to holding it. He wishes that his father still held it,” Luan said, defending her choice in words. The woman sighed.

               “I suppose your words have merit, but that does not mean you should be used to speaking with a lack of title in your address of him.” Luan couldn’t argue her words. For as much as Lincoln was her friend, it was inevitable that he would simply become less so and then she would either have to leave or deal with it as her only paths.

               “Fair enough,” Luan submitted. “But for now, it’s reasonable.” The older woman chuckled.

               “That stubbornness will either put you on the streets or take you to the top of society,” the woman said as she stifled her laughing.

               “And I’ll gladly accept such a fate, Ms. Agnis,” Luan spoke with confidence. With the time passing by quickly the more she conversed, night soon fell and she, along with all other members of the manor (to her knowledge), turned in so as to rise in the morning.

               However, the next day was still as dreary as the previous one. Lincoln refused to have her as company, something she had expected and so she waited for the next day, and then the next day. And the one after that. It was at long last on the fourth day that she set her mind to disturbing her good friend in his time away from it all.

               “Lincoln?” she called from her side of a large door after a quick rap. There was nothing. She repeated her actions, calling a second time, still gaining no response. “I’m coming in,” she warned as she tried the knob. It gave no resistance to her entrance. She entered and saw Lincoln slumped in a chair, his clothes still surrounding him as if he had been productive through the night. He had severe bags under his eyes and the occasional snore let her know he was still breathing. “Wake up, Lincoln.”

               “What’s the time?” he asked as he roused at her hand’s behest.

               “Time for breakfast,” she answered. He rubbed his eyes to rid them of sleep.

               “Send it up then,” he responded, beginning to sit up and get some life into his limbs.

               “Everyone’s worried about you,” she informed him. He paused and looked at her, his eyes barely focused.

               “I’ll be down in a few minutes, then,” he conceded, slumping forward in the seat. She began to make her way out of the room so as to give him the space for his own needs but was stopped just before the door. “Tell everyone they’re more than welcome to join me, though I suspect I won’t be down there for long,” he added on. She nodded and went to spread the news. Almost all of the staff declined such an offer, the only one willing to accept being Ms. Agnis, on the conditions that she not be served anything.

               Enough time passed to cause Luan to wonder if she would have to go back to retrieve her friend when he showed up. His clothes were more put together and fresher looking, but he still had a disheveled look to his head. She knew better than to point it out, seeing how him arriving was an achievement in and of itself. He took his seat and bowed his head so as to stare at the table. Luan delivered his breakfast directly to him.

               “How’s the meal, Lincoln?” she asked after a few bites were taken. It was a simple testing of the waters, meant mostly to be done in stealth behind kind words.

               “Quite good. Thank you,” he replied with little life in his words. She had taken a seat beside him, something she was rarely afforded a chance to do.

               “That’s good to hear,” Luan said, unsure what else to truly do. He continued to eat the meal in peace, leaving with barely a word at the end of it. Luan followed him, even after he ducked into his room and tried to shut the door behind himself.

               “I wish to be in peace,” he spoke with slight annoyance, turning around and seeing who he had given such a command to. “My apologies. I didn’t see you there.”

               “There’s no need to be sorry. I completely understand,” she replied. He turned back to sit in his chair once more.

               “I do wish to be alone,” he said in a much calmer tone. She ignored this and went directly to him, standing by his side as he sat at his desk.

               “I’m worried about you,” she said, her tone showing it. “I haven’t seen you smile in an eternity.”

               “Luan, now is not the right time–”

               “I’m not leaving until I see a smile on your face, Lincoln.” She delivered the ultimatum and he knew that he was in for a fight to be rid of her. “Did you hear about the man wandering a police station? Apparently when he was stopped and asked why he was there, he said he didn’t have the faintest clue.” She saw the twinges of a smile touch the edges of his mouth and used this as a hope to keep pressing on. “Did you hear about the other man wandering the police station? He was trying to find someone to talk to about his pole’s lease”, she delivered, allowing a smile to touch her lips. Lincoln was trying quite hard to suppress the smile he was developing.

               “Please, Luan,” he begged. She ignored him.

               “Three men and a dwarf walk into a bar,” she began. A knock at the door to the room interrupted her. They both looked toward the door.

               “Enter,” Lincoln called. The door opened to reveal a member of staff, a butler by the name of Drewson.

               “There’s someone here who requests to meet you, sir,” he spoke, his very voice unsure if he should have even alerted the Master of the Estate to this guest and instead to have sent the person packing at the door.

(Go see the other half of the story at https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8482143/)

1vanth30s0m3/ivanthestoryteller: That was quite something. If you enjoyed it, then hopefully you’ll stick around for the rest of the story. I’ve never written an AU nor have I ever dreamed I would. I’d like to take this time to say that I’m probably going to get these chapters released very slowly, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep to a schedule of no more than every three months (I’m not joking). At least until I finish everything and then I’ll up the releases. I’d also like to take this time to recommend stories to you, dear reader. The first two stories go against my personal criteria for this section, but I’ll also be putting in two instead of one, so nothing will be as I want it to be in the future as I have it now. The first story is “Loud Like Love” by ThisAccountKillsFascists. I think I forgot to mention them in the last story I wrote and so I’m just being safe here. The second story I want to recommend is “A Sister’s Love” by (current name) Outsider316. Both can be found on fanfiction.net and are great stories. I really think you should check them out. In the future, I’ll be aiming for stories with under 50 favorites and 50 follows as well as less than 100 reviews from the same site. Other than that, tell me or doodler what you think about this story either here or on fanfiction.net. Reviews and/or pm’s are greatly appreciated.

Doodler here, now many of you fine ladies and gents know I had been absent for a while well that’s because recently I have been out of a job and had been struggling to make ends meet which is not a good thing when you are the constant whipping boy of that jerk called depression. I apologized for the delay and what I am about to do. I will be setting up some of the old fundraising sites like patreon. Not looking for much nor do I have a plan. All I will ask is just some small amount like a dollar, not even per month just a one time donation to help keep the lights on. 

But have no fear! I will still be producing more content regardless!

The Loudest Show is a go!!!

[iamnotbrianmay]

in the arms of life and death

Hi, its me, since I couldn't physically stop myself from writing another fanfic when this idea came to life I was forced by my brain to write and post this chapter. Now I'm writing two fanfics, which is great if you ask me. Less time to do homework, more time to write!

I hope you like this one, its a very weird concept I have had for three days, now its written down and I am shaking with terror about your reactions.

Description: Roger Meddows Taylor is born with blood in his hands and death in his heart. An unbreakable curse with the lamest silver lining he had ever heard of— he had a soulmate. A single soul made just for him to love, cherish, and be happy with.

What a load of bullshit. How could he be happy with anyone if anything he touches will surely die?

Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there; I do not sleep.

Roger Meddows Taylor is born with blood in his hands and death in his heart.

The doctors treat him with utmost care, making sure that his head is held upright, his skin is cleaned from all blood, and he is wrapped tightly in a bundle of warm blankets. However, they type his birthmark into the system with anger, because people start pitying and being angry in Roger's behalf from the moment he is born.

His mother cries once he is taken into his father's arms and she is sure she won't drop him. The Hemlock which adorns his skin is nearly a death sentence, and ironically it's the most beautiful flower mark anyone had ever seen. It blooms right above Roger's heart, a bunch of delicate and elegant buds which looked as if the most talented painter in the world had taken hours to draw.

Of course, it's only right that the most terrible curses get the most beautiful flowers.

His father holds him tight against his chest, cooing at the newly born and blinking back the tears. The five-leaved clover that covered Michael's heart burning; taunting him with his never-ending bad luck. Luck that had passed down to his baby.

The blond boy gurgled, and Michael let out a soft sob. A single tear fell onto the boy's cheek, and the doctors left the trio to grieve alone. It was then that Michael Taylor started begging for his son's forgiveness, even if the boy was too small to even understand what was being said to him.

I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow,

In the beginning, and for a long time, Roger remained giftless.

He is still branded as a Cursed, though, and forced to go to a school meant for Cursed children only, until his gift shows. At first, he has dozens of friends, his toothless grin and charismatic personality does wonders for him. He goes around charming students and teachers alike, and by the end of the first semester, there is barely a Friday afternoon in which he finds himself at home.

But things inevitably change, and the first one to go is a little girl called Rosa. She had a mane of red hair, and a grin that makes every boy and girl fall in love with her. They are all sitting in a classroom, attentively listening as their teacher reads a book about a lost bird trying to find his family when Rosa asks the question that changes everything.

"Miss Pearl?"

"Yes, Rosa?"

"Can I sit in your lap?"

"Of course, Rosa. Anything for my favourite girl."

It's a simple request, something that shouldn't have sent alarms ringing, but suddenly the class is buzzing with anger. Shouts and complains ring all over the room and poor Rosa is left in the middle of the chaos, with fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

Roger is the only one unaffected by the gift, he has never been and will never be a jealous person. He looks around the room as children jeered and insulted Rosa until his head feels like it's about to explode and his ears are ringing. He grabs Rosa's hand and runs out of the classroom, ignoring the screams from their teacher.

Once they are alone, sitting on the lid of one of the boy's bathrooms, Roger urges Rosa to show him her flower. All of their flowers are well-kept secrets, only meant to be spoken out loud once their time comes, intended to warn or guide people once their gift showed.

Hesitantly she lowered the hem of her yellow, cotton, dress and Roger let out a soft 'oh' once he saw the mark.

"Hyacinth bloom." She whispered, lisp making it hard to pronounce the name correctly.

"Jealousy."

She nodded and let the hem settle back to its original state. He gathered a little bit of toilet paper and dried her tears, the ones that were still falling after the stressful event.

"My mom says it's not our fault when our gift makes people act differently." He tried to comfort her, but her bright eyes look weary.

"Is it because your flower is similar to mine?"

Roger freezes. He is barely six years old, barely over his toddler-age; he should be innocent and believe that maybe his flower wasn't as bad as people thought it would be. But he had stubbornly learned how to read to find out more about his condition, and had heard his mother crying through the thin walls of the house.

He looked at her in the eyes and shook his head, trusting the little girl with the only piece of information he was allowed to give at that moment, "No. It's much worse."

The next morning Rosa had already been transferred to a school for the gifted, and people had come to explain that every single one of them was going to be transferred unless their gifts proved too dangerous to be around other children. The lecturer's eyes zeroed in on Roger, even if he had no idea of what Roger's gift might be, it felt like a premonition of the years to come.

I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain.

He is the last one to get his gift.

The classrooms became smaller, the lectures more private, and soon only he and three other people were left out of a class of nearly seventy children.

They are trying to complete a science experiment, and Roger doesn't fail to notice how he is the only one in the classroom that doesn't need to wear thick leather gloves. The other three people had been cursed with the gift of Bellwort, Holy, and Marigold, and therefore had been deemed too dangerous to be around other children until they were at least fourteen years old.

The day starts like any other, he laughs with Khandra, makes fun of Luis, and nearly gets into a row with Anthony, before his gift gets revealed.

He sticks his hand into the fish tank, trying to catch one of the slowpokes to test their experiment, but when he puts the fish back into the water, it dies immediately.

Roger frowns and pokes at the floating fish with one of his slender fingers, then watches horrified as the meat rots under his touch and falls away, leaving only the skeleton. The other children jump back, trying to put as much distance between Roger and themselves, and he doesn't blame them.

The teacher watches as the chaos unfolds and locks the door. He manages to calm down the three other children in the room and then zeroes in on Roger, who is holding his hands as far away from his body as he can.

The teacher, a balding man with soft brown eyes, kneels in front of Roger and talks him into a state of faux calm that is bound to break at any moment.

"Roger, can you show me your flower?"

The blond shakes his head, as fat tears roll down his cheeks.

"Can you tell me what the flower is, then?"

Another shake of his head, and more tears rolling down his face. He looks back at the fish tank, watching as the remaining flesh drifted to the bottom of the tank.

"Can I call your parents?"

Roger is hesitant, seemingly speechless for the first time since he learned how to talk, but then he nods. The man takes out his phone and dials his mother's number. The conversation is short and grim, and once his teacher is turned back to Roger the older man is looking at him with pity in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Roger."

The tears won't stop coming, and his teacher's eyes are misty.

"I'm so sorry, sweet boy."

He braces himself for the hug that he knows his teacher is prone to giving, but instead, Mr Amourne takes a step back and runs towards the door, screaming at his colleagues for help. He is left standing in the middle of the classroom, alone, terrified, and confused, waiting for something that would never come.

When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight.

Roger Meddows Taylor never gets to leave the school for the Cursed.

He grows into a beautiful young man, and his teachers do everything to the best of their abilities to make him as smart as he is good-looking. He teaches some classes for the younger children in his spare time, takes music lessons to drown out his boredom— and grows talented at the art of not touching people.

His gloves help him in unavoidable situations, as does his thick clothing. But for the most part, Roger Meddows Taylor hasn't touched a single living human for more than a fleeting moment since he was nine and a half years old. In fact, he can't even remember what it felt like.

His mother hasn't combed his long blond hair in years, his parents' lips haven't peppered his face with kisses since the morning before the accident, and he has had to sleep alone in cold winters for ten years and counting.

The gloves help with almost everything, including things like his passion for banging the shit out of drums and his ironic talent of gardening. What they don't help with is with his parents' near-constant pity party of their first born.

They only served to worsen it.

They watched with sad eyes as Clare, their beautiful Crocus blessed Clare, took the mantle of the charismatic child. They observed as day after day as she bloomed and he withered.

And when the time came for him to leave school, they had to watch Roger, their Roggie, fall apart.

His already brittle soul chipping away as each of the people he had grown used too wished him the best in life, bowing before him like he was something holy, worthy of admiration. Which in his mother's eyes he was.

Roger, however, hated it when people bowed to him. It was a constant reminder of the fear he had placed in all of their hearts, of the terror they had of what lived inside his veins and was tattooed upon his chest.

But he accepted it, nonetheless, knowing that was the most he was ever going to get, and bowed back.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

The day he meets Freddie is the happiest day of Roger's life.

It's the first day he has ever been out of his house in months, and he is headed to one of his teacher's art exposition. An extravagant event hosted by the same woman who had once taught him how to draw people with their hands entwined, or in the middle of a passionate kiss. He wouldn't miss it for the world.

He walks into the gallery with his best suit, thickest long coat, stunning sapphire tie, and his trusty black, leather, gloves. He fits right into the scene for the first time in a while, and he even allows himself to loosen up. He drinks one flute of champagne, knowing precisely what would happen if he drank more and walks around the gallery, engaging in conversation with whoever is brave enough to get close to the Child of Death,as they had nicknamed him a few years prior.

He still didn't allow himself to brush with people, expertly dodging and slithering between crowds to avoid contact. And people, upon seeing his face made way.

But something was inevitably bound to happen.

And while he weaved his way through the crowd, twirling and ducking to avoid contact, he ended up crashing into someone.

Fear gripped his heart in a vice grip as he landed on the floor. He scrambled to his elbows as fast as possible and saw that the person he had crashed into, a thin boy with raven black hair, was looking at him with wide eyes. They stared at each other, waiting for the worst to happen, before the other boy spoke.

"Jump up and down and twirl around."

The body-numbing fear was instantly replaced by endless amounts of confusion. Roger made a face, shook his head as if trying to see if the boy was real, and then rubbed his eyes for good measure. "What?"

The relief that rolled of the other man was palpable, "Oh thank God, I thought I had touched you."

It was only then that Roger noticed the thick leather gloves on the man's hands, and the Wax plant pin attached to his coat.

"Sorry for the weird first impression, by the way, I'm Freddie Bulsara, Susceptibility."

Roger raised his eyebrows, "Not scared flaunt your curse, I see."

Freddie shrugged, "Better to warn people before they get a nasty surprise. My gift is something you can't quite shake off."

Roger eyed the boy with curiosity, taking in his white tuxedo and silver coat. He scanned the flawlessly applied makeup, the hundreds of necklaces and chokers he was sporting, and the gorgeous Wax plant pin made out of crystals. He also admired the way that he was laying on the floor, talking with a random stranger about the bane of their existence while looking like he did just that every single day.

"Roger Taylor, Death," he said while fiddling with the cuff of his coat, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Do not stand at my grave and cry,   I am not there; I did not die.

         - Mary Elizabeth Frye

Okay so the flowers mentioned in this chapter (and their meanings) are:

Hemlock - You will cause my death Five-leaved clover - Bad Luck Hyacinth - Jealousy, sorrow Bellwort - Hopelessness Holly - Am I forgotten? Marigold - Cruelty Crocus - Cheerfulness Wax Plant - Susceptibility

Comments and Feedback are highly appreciated! In fact, I am a slut for comments! If you want to be added to the tag list, just send me a small message! I love you all, hope you enjoyed it! 

[runningwolf62]

SURPRISE IT’S UPDATE TIME! It’s so bizarre being writing this at the same time Larry is because there’s like this weird overlap, we’re like ships passing in the night he’s finally caught up to my time and now is about to pass me.

Anyway, there’s some lovely art in here and a reference to a blog that actually exists, @ask-potoo-firestar. Art belongs to @lavendersongs, thank you for your amazing contribution to the Warrior Cats fandom and for giving me permission to include references to it in this fanfic.

Beep.

Larry curls up deeper under his blankets.

Beep.

He covers his head with his pillow.

Beep.

Fine, he’ll crawl out of his nest and see what had happened, maybe Nick was in trouble again, that Godot guy seemed to have a grudge against him for something.

u ok?

Only Nick texts like that.

haven’t seen u in few days

u alive?

Larry almost fires something back before thinking better of it, Nick had far too many people around him die to joke about that.

Yeah I’m fine, and you usually don’t see me for awhile.

yeah but u had a rough time

Larry hesitates before deciding to just call Nick. The phone rings a few times before Nick answers.

“Hey Larry,” he greets him, Larry can hear voices in the background, he thinks one is Maya, the other is young and high so probably Pearl.

“Hey Nick,” Larry runs a hand over his jaw, aw gross he’d ended up with that scraggly beard, he never looked good with that, he needed to go shave, “you in a crisis?”

“No?” Nick has the gall to sound offended, “I do not only call you during crisises!”

“Mmm might wanna check you phone bill there Nicky Boy,” Larry teases him, his voice is rough, he should haul himself out of bed and start putting himself back together.

“You want to talk about having a crisis you sound like you’ve been on a bender,” Nick fires back, Larry frowned and groused at him.

“Don’t be an ass Nick, I’ve been taking a week off, chilling and relaxing before I remake myself! You called while I’m still in the cocoon man!”

“That metaphor started strong but you took it somewhere very weird,” Nick replies, Larry laughs roughly.

“Alright, alright, you’re the one who texted me,” Larry points out, wrapping his blanket around him like a cloak to hide his shame from the world and stay warm from the chillier October day. He crossed to his laptop to open his resume, he’d need to update it and he might as well do that while chatting with Nick rather than sit around feeling shitty about it.

He chats with Nick, and Maya and Pearl when they demand a chance to chat with him. He interrogate Nick, or tries, but he doesn’t know what’s up with Godot either, other than he’s got one hell of a caffeine addiction, came out of nowhere and claims to be from hell.

Given half the stories Larry’s heard about Nick’s cases he’s tempted to believe it.

“Maybe you ought to have an exorcism performed,” he teases, he’s on speaker phone now and he’s sure they can hear him typing away as he adds his latest job to the long master list of jobs he’s held, “Maya, Pearl, can you do that?”

“I’d have to exorcise the entire Prosocution’s office!” Maya bemoans, Larry grins as she outlines everything she’d need to do to Nick.

“Maybe you should, it sounds like it has a few too many demons over there even before this guy,” Larry muses, saving his resume and opening Fanfiction.net. His stomach drops and his jokes trail off. There’s several messages from XxWolfDragonxX. Shit, he’d just dropped off the map after talking to the guy daily.

He immediately types a response, assuring the guy some stuff just came up, he got fired from work, etc. but he’s doing alright. He misses a question Nick asked him until he repeats his name.

“Larry.”

“Sorry, what?” He tosses the message to WolfDragon off, his friend is probably off work it’s well after six for him.

“I asked what were you typing?”

Larry glances at his messages and then at his minimized programs. “My resume.”

He refreshed FF.net and got a message from WolfDragon.

Man it’s fine, life happens! It’s just good to hear from you again. I’m sorry for all the shit that keeps happening to you.

Again I’m so sorry, and yeah, it’s just been that kind of year.

Do you have a discord? I have something to show you but I don’t think ff.net will send it.

Oh? Uh yeah actually, one second let me find my ID number.

It takes him longer than he should be tosses the information to Wolfdragon. After a moment he gets a friend request on Discord, from a XxWolfDrgonxX surprising absolutely no one. The avatar is a gray anime wolf with yellow eyes snarling, which also doesn’t surprise Larry though he wonders where it’s from.

However he’s still on the phone with Nick, so he accepts it and turns away from the computer, “so what are you all up to asides from calling me?” He hears Pearl giggle and Maya’s voice in the background, they’re moving away, “how are they Nick?”

“They’re good,” Nick sounds happy and Larry can’t help but hurt even as he’s happy for him.

“We’re probably going to do a few things today before they have to head back,” Nick’s chair creaks audibly, “do you have plans for Halloween?”

“Uh, not really?”

“Do you want to come over to the office and hand out candy with me?”

“People come to your office for candy?”

“Surprisingly yes,” Nick sounds equally baffled by this fact, “so, are you in?”

“Do you want me to bring anything?” Larry asks, glancing at his Discord occasionally, where he can see WolfDragon typing. “Beer, Soda, popcorn and terrible horror movies?”

“Popcorn and let’s go with lighthearted movies,” Nick suggests, and Larry wonders if Pearl will be there. He’ll bring soda then, just in case. That or Nick’s gotten to be more of a scaredy-cat since their last Halloween movie festival.

“Have you seen that one cartoon thing that everyone raves about?” Larry’s seen so much art for it for Inktober so he needs to actually sit down and watch the show obviously is what that means.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, I’ll find it, it’s some kids show but everyone who’s seen it loved it,” Larry sends a quick message to WolfDragon while Nick talks.

You sure are dedicated to your brand.

It’s who I am

Furry.

WHAT IN GOD’S NAME IS THAT?!?

That’s Potoo Firestar you fool

I want to hate it but I’m laughing too hard, it’s amazing.

“Larry are you okay?” Nick asks, and Larry can’t answer, he’s wheezing at the damn Potoo Firestar, he cannot believe WolfDragon got his discord just to send him this, and that it’s somehow made him feel so much better.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he wheezes, and clicks the link that WolfDragon sends him to this person’s blog, “just saw something funny.”

He hops off the phone with Nick promising to see him on Halloween and bring candy and popcorn and the cartoon he’s seen everyone drawing if he could just remember the name.

He spends the next hour teasing WolfDragon on Discord for his avatar and username, all the while scrolling through this blog, which WolfDragon has dubbed “the only pure Warrior Cats blog”.

It doesn’t take long for him to agree though he does have a few questions.

So I miss all the discourse but I also miss blogs like this?

Listen man, some people are still stuck in the can cats be gay discourse?

Seriously?

Yeah, like sure the Erins just made a mistake making some tortoiseshell cats toms. OR they made several trans icons.

I can’t believe Tigerstar was transphobic.

Firestar made the first call out post

“OP is literally a Transphobe and murderer but go off I guess.”

Scourge: *goes the fuck off *

Listen, he wear dog teeth on his collar he can do what he likes, I’m not gonna be the guy to try and stop him.

Oh you do know they made Scourge and Firestar half-brothers right?

THEY WHAT

Yeah they have the same Dad

Oh shit I’d heard that theory but I thought it was just a fan theory

Nah they confirmed it. Also Tallstar was super gay for him

Like canonly gay or the fandom has shipping goggles glued on

Like so canonly gay that the publisher calls them good friends

What?

One of the authors says Tallstar’s heart always belonged to his Jake, but the publishers say they’re just good friends

What’s better than this, guys being dudes.

You’d probably like Tallstar’s Revenge actually, there’s a lot of your fic in it

Seriously?

Yeah man, like leaving the Clans to discover yourself the themes of forgiveness and parents and family there’s a lot of good stuff in there

I guess I’ll have to read it then.

Yeah, that blog I linked you even did fanart of Jake and Tallstar

Oh my god.

Did you find it?

Not yet, but I’m looking.

FOUND IT!

THAT’S IT

Okay that is gay.

Much like my fic.

Now I gotta man.

He did just lose his job but Larry’s got some money saved from his last paycheck and the commissions. What the hell. He makes a note to buy Tallstar’s Revenge next time he’s at the book store, and gets up.

Thanks for this.

Of course!

Is this the best way to contact you, or should I howl out the window?

Haha

FF.net or Discord works I’ll probably review your fics on FF.net still but we can chat here

Larry grins and tells him he hopes he has a good evening. He needs to clean himself up and try and rejoin society.

He showers, shaves, and pulls himself together. He also draws Wolf as a Potoo and sends that back to WolfDragon which is obviously loved, if the fact he turns his avatar into it was any indication.

-

Larry spends Halloween crashing on Nick’s couch, Maya and Nick fighting over candy while he snags some and occasionally slips a piece or two to Pearl. The kid’s clever and smiles shyly at him every time he does so.

They do settle down to watch the cartoon though Maya grumbles at points about how she wanted to watch the Steel Samurai Halloween Special.

They enjoy Over the Garden Wall though, even if it sends the girls diving to hide behind Nick at one point from the Beast. He lets Nick comfort, while he cleans up some of the trash into the popcorn bowl which he sets to the side, making sure it will not be grabbed by mistake by someone hurrying to give candy to trick-or-treaters.

He’s honestly astonished at the number that turn up at the office, until Nick says he thinks Mia used to hand the candy out, which makes sense. It’s tradition now. And Nick must’ve gotten paid because he’s got the good candy and he’s letting kids take handfuls.

He doesn’t touch that stuff only the bag Nick bought for them to share and the stuff he traded Pearl for because she didn’t like nuts in her candy. Said they got stuck in her teeth which Larry felt was a valid reason to not like them.

He tells himself that means they have protein as he pops a handful in his mouth. While Nick’s busy with some teens at the door and Maya’s tucking Pearl in on the couch he sends a message to WolfDragon.

Happy Halloween.

Technically it’s November, and I didn’t grow up in America

Spoilsport.

WHY ARE YOU AWAKE?

Work

Work can suck my dick, it’s what- oh

It’s six in the morning

You’re going to work

Yup

Listen, I don’t need your sass

It’s not sass I just woke up Writer boy

Don’t you sass Wolfman

Tell me you at least watched terrible werewolf movies in my honor

I did not.

Watched kids cartoons instead.

Warrior Cats Authors

There was an actual child in the room!

Ah what’s being introduced to fear at a young age?

Trauma I believe, and the kid’s had enough of that

You’re a good guy you know that, don’t let people tell you otherwise

“Texting a girlfriend?” Maya’s teasing voice made him jump, she wasn’t peering over his shoulder yet but she might’ve been. She might’ve seen the teasing and… no, she was looking at his face.

“Nah, just a friend,” he shoves his phone back into his pocket, she and Nick are both staring at him intensely now, he’s not sure why but they are.

He swears he sees Nick counting to three but he’s not sure why that happens either. He and Maya share a look, and Larry feels himself tense more.

He looks to Nick, whose eyes pierce him as he looks at Larry, “I thought you said you were taking a break from dating.”

“I am!” Larry insists, careful to keep his voice low, glancing to Pearl because however much they want to interrogate him he knows they’ll kill him if he wakes her.

Nick and Maya look confused again but it’s not his fault they can’t accept that he’s just friends with some people. He’s not even into guys anyway!

He shakes his head and grins at them, “glad to hear you think I have that much game though Nick.”

Maya smothers a laugh, while the edge flows out of Nick’s eyes and a smile takes its place, “you keep getting girls to date you somehow.”

“It’s that I have an artist’s soul,” Larry pulls himself up and rests his hand over his chest, grinning at the two of them.

“I went to art school too you know,” Nick points out, relaxing and smiling.

“And who taught you all those tricks for backgrounds?” Larry fires back, he’s always been the better artist for backgrounds and forms, Nick just had more practice with human anatomy. Nick huffs and shakes his head.

“I showed you how to draw men’s jawlines, ‘cause you only paid attention when the model was female-”

“Nick I’ve accepted my heterosexuality and horndog ways will be my downfall,” he fires back which obviously takes his friend by surprise, Maya too, “hey, I can have some self-awareness you know.” He glances over at Maya, “Nick, Edgey and I are allowed the common sense of one person but we have to share and Edgey came back and took it all from Nick.”

“Excuse me?” Nick looks so genuinely offended and Larry laughs, shoulders shaking.

“You took some back, TSA wouldn’t let him take it all with him.”

Maya’s grinning and apparently not taking sides as he and Nick begin to playfully jab at each other about who has more common sense, and it’s nice to be able to talk about Edgey again without Nick’s anger, to have him laugh as he talks and recounts stories from elementary school to Maya is worth the few bits of his dirty laundry that Nick airs.

They end up on the other couch, Maya curled up on Nick’s one side, Larry on the other; with jackets draped over themselves as make shift blankets.

“Larry?”

“Yeah Nick?”

“Who were you texting earlier,” Nick’s not judgmental now but he is obviously curious, maybe hoping that in his exhaustion Larry will let something slip.

And he does.

“He’s a guy I met online, we talk about like books and stuff. You wouldn’t understand, you nerdy lawyer.”

Nick laughs softly as Larry slumps against him, “that so?”

“It is,” Larry lays his head back against Nick’s shoulder, “very so.”

-

They wake up in various states of aching and trying to hide it, all of them trying to deny they’re getting old while Pearl buzzes around the office. Larry wonders briefly if she’s gotten into the Halloween candy for breakfast.

He checks his phone and there’s a few messages from WolfDragon.

You still there?

Don’t eat too much candy, aren’t you doing NaNoWriMo this year?

Larry only barely manages not to curse in front of Pearl as he realizes that he’s going to have to write his first 1667 words with one hell of a crick in his neck.

[lbigreyhound13]

How I got into Tangled and the Fandom

So, I just saw the 12th podcast of Tangled Talk (awesome job, @tangledbea, @kelseyfitzherbert, and @forever-tangledup!) today and listened to how they all got into Tangled and the fandom, and it got me thinking about how I got into Tangled. Then, I read @mazda-321‘s post about how they got into the fandom, and of course, I decided to jump on that bandwagon! 

So, strap in, boys and girls! This is how I got into Tangled and the Fandom! 

As you all know, Tangled came out in November 2010, and I was actually in my senior year of high school. I saw the trailers on TV, and I actually thought that the movie looked stupid. Like Team Awesome, I saw how Eugene was talking in the trailer, and it felt like it was one of those movies where the characters talked in modern “slang” and did not look like something to be taken seriously. I was hesitant to go see it not only because of the trailers but because I was always under the impression that liking anything Disney related was considered “childish.” I mean, I was a senior in high school looking forward to going to college, why would I see a Disney movie?

Finally, around the time the movie was released, my mom and one of my sisters went to see the movie, and they both said that they liked it. After hearing my mom and sister talking about it, my other sister expressed an interest in seeing it, and then my dad actually suggested that he, my other sister, and I go see it for ourselves. Of course, I agreed, but I was still a little hesitant. 

So, we went to the theater about a couple weeks after the movie was released (sadly, I don’t really remember the date, but I think it was when I started my Thanksgiving break at school), and as the movie kept going on, I was slowly but surely getting sucked in! Eugene was hilarious and lovable! Maximus was freaking hilarious! Gothel was a great villain! And of course, my girl Rapunzel was amazing! I even remember thinking that she was probably the first Disney Princess to be around my age when her movie was released, and I love how cute, lovable, and amazing she was during the movie!

Not only that, but the story was amazing! I was blown away with the changes they made from the original fairytale. Rapunzel actually had a legit reason to not cut her hair, and Gothel had motivation to keep Rapunzel in the tower instead of her parents just giving her away. Plus, I loved how they used magic with the sundrop flower! I felt so drawn in the entire time and slowly came to love it, but also, I was really interested to see how things were going to wrap up. It’s actually pretty funny, but when Eugene opened with “This is the story of how I died,” I was actually thinking, “Oh crap, Flynn Rider is going to die? Disney is going to kill off this guy? How? What?” And the whole movie, I just kept waiting for that moment to happen when Flynn/Eugene would die, and then finally...the final battle came. 

This scene in the tower is still to this day one of the reasons why I love the movie as much as I do! The fact that Eugene sacrificed himself to save Rapunzel just blew my mind, and when he finally died in Rapunzel’s arms, I was actually tearing up. I myself could not think of a way for Disney to bring Eugene back, but Disney totally took care of that, lol! By the time the movie was over, I was SOLD! I came to love the characters, the story, and New Dream! I loved everything about the movie, and it is because of that love that I was drawn to the fandom. 

I didn’t join Tumblr until 2013, so during the years of 2010 to 2013, I was merely using fanfiction and deviantart as a way to silently be a part of the fandom. One of the first Tangled fanfics I read was “This is the Story” by Garvin Mark on fanfiction, which was basically Eugene telling his and Rapunzel’s kids the story, and it continued from there with me reading fanfics and drawing and finding art for the movie. 

In 2013, I joined Tumblr mostly for Rise of the Guardians, HTTYD, and the RP that a few friends and I did (Battle of the Grounded Dungeon in 2014), but I peaked into the Tangled Fandom from time to time and caught glimpses of the observations and the Tangled Fandom Resurrection. I think it was around the time the show was being hinted at that I finally became immersed in the Tangled fandom, and the rest was history! 

So, yeah, there you have it, boys and girls! I’m so grateful that I gave this movie a chance and that it helped bring me even further into the world of the Tangled fandom. Currently, I place Tangled in my Top 3 Favorite Disney movies with Lion King and Beauty and the Beast! Here’s to more Tangled, guys!  

[jwisdomhheartmmoon]

OMG, I got tagged by @belyndaocha XD Hahahahha thank you for the tags! It might be interesting answers I’ll give to or not :) So, here it goes!:

rules: choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better

Warning: I write the lengths a lot than I thought ^^” If you don’t want to see mini-spoiler of V3, don’t read it. 

i choose:

Big Hero 6 (my former fandom, I still love that movie in my heart, but I really completely lost interested in BH6 now. I’d love to try to watch BH6 tv series, but my television won’t work anymore in my college :()

Danganronpa (Thanks to V3, I really love the cast of characters, intriguing story, the theme, twist impact, and etc).

About, the third fandom, I’d normally involved in a single fandom so I haven’t officially joined in another fandom yet. However, I’d recently started to get crazy (possibly join in or not) about:

Ookami(Wolf) Game (it’s mobile game apps)

By StudioWasabi 

Before I tell you, I have to warn you, I don’t know that story well yet because it’s release in only Japan in March so I have the limit of Japanese ^^”.  I’d recommend you try to play that game if you understand Japanese! I feel it’s similar to DR, but different game, characters, story, and etc on own. I’m currently read fan translate on that game now! (Tumblr and Wordpress by separate different group).

I’ll continue to tell: 

the first character you loved:

-I haven’t had the first character I loved, but Gogo caught my attention, she’s been so cool for her attitude and her idea about motorcycle wheel! Yay Korean girl!!!!

-Ouma Kokichi: I first got interested in him by his design and personality in the first trailer video. I watched only chapter one in fan translated, I’d never thought he’s been so difficult character to figure it out since he kept to lie a lot. And then, I watched the whole video in Japanese, I really wanted to understand why he did something like his thoughts, behavior, character traits, intentions, and etc. I'm so impressed with how intelligence he was on everything he did to! Thank god, someone analyzed about him well that would be me get understand either know him better (of course, it’s not %100!) He’s the first grey and gray morality character I got interested in.

-To be honest, I really love designs characters although I don’t know them well yet, but most character capture my attention is Ilda Rintarou. I’d aware he’s been so popular character in Japanese fandom I could see, but I love everything about Rintarou of his design, “fluffy” personality, so adorable, and etc (especially rainbow hair and piercings <3). I feel he’s been so cool, mysterious, and fun character :) I read his backstory on the video, I was like “HECK!!! OH SHIT!!!!! I LOVE HIS FACIL EXPRESSION!!! OMG, I STARTED TO GET CRAZY ABOUT HIM!!!” XD, it had angst a lot, and I’m very curious what’ll be his POV in English. I feel so painful about how did he get through his life :( I can’t say it much because of spoiler.

By StudioWasabi

the character you never expected to love so much:

- Tadashi Hamada: I didn’t interest in him at the first when I first watched, but he must be so important to the protagonist of the story. When I saw many fanarts make him being so hot, I started to love him! I love how caring and supportive he was! He did his best to take care of his younger brother, Hiro (the protagonist) since their parents died and they only have Aunt Cass. I also love that he encouraged to Hiro to choosing the right path for the best future and his quotes, “I'm not giving up on you”. I was crying so much when Tadashi died like “why did he have to die?!!?!” However, I have to accept the fact because it’s the key to how did Hiro get through with loss of an important person. He’s been sort of reminded me of my older brother and it’s similar to my sibling relationship too.

-Saihara Shuichi: I first love Ouma, but Saihara won everything in my heart when I started to learn more about him. When I first watched the trailer video in the Japanese version, Saihara look so interesting character in the character design. I wonder what he’d do his detective skill is different from Kirigirl Kyoko. I was like “I hope he will be survival in killing game”. Someone also made a good point and gave the reason for a weakness character like Saihara have the potential of good character or protagonist and keep to be himself about his depression and admitted he’s a weakness. Saihara chose the truth over hope because it can show how they handle the reality situation. I feel relate to him much and I praise him for overcome on his fear by developing on himself and got support from his friends. I’m really proud of him! It’s very rare kind of protagonist (emo, sad) like him that would need to the story. I really love him much!

-Shimotsuki Yukinari: he’s been the protagonist in the game, but his appearance didn’t reveal in the main story at the first. His design character finally to be revealed when his backstory released. I really like aspects of the color in him design character and he has so beautiful color eyes! <3. I read his backstory on the video too, I was like “Why he did something like that?!?!??!” and it’s really so sad! I can’t say it much because of spoiler again. I can’t wait to read about what’s kind of person, Yukinari in the main story in fan translation either English version. And Kamiki Ritsu gets my attention too and her backstory really so dark twist O.O.

Both by StudioWasabi 

the character you relate to the most:

-Tadashi for being kindness, caring, “won’t give up”, and supportive

-Saihara for being a weakness, lack of confidence, introvert personality, and side of brave

-Again, I don’t know characters well yet, but bit relate to Rinatarou for being a happy person

the character you’d slap:

None of the characters I’d slap, but Professor Callaghan. I believe he’s been a good person, but he has to learn his lesson so hard. I know he’s very mad at someone about lost his daughter, but revenge is not an answer.

Teruteru Hanamura and Angie Yonaga:

Teruteru- I feel so creepy about him and he disrespects toward women.

Angie- she’s not bad person and it’s nothing wrong with believing in God, but she’s been too depending on God like “God tell me or that’s what God said”. Not always reply on God can help, I hope she has to know about humanity too.

None of the characters I’d slap yet, again, I still don’t know characters well yet

three favorite characters (in order of preference):

Tadashi Hamada, Hiro Hamada, Gogo

Saihara Shuichi, Ouma Kokichi, and Pekoyama Peko

Ilda Rintarou, Shimotsuki Yukinari, and Kamiki Ritsu (maybe I will change my mind)

a character you liked at first but don’t anymore:

None of the characters I didn’t like anymore

Byakuya Togami and Chisa Yukizome

Again, none of the characters I didn’t like anymore yet, you know what I do mean

three otps:

-I want to tell who’s my OTP, but I decide to keep my secret because that ship got so strongly hate by many anti-shippers.

-Oumasai and Amamatsu <3 I really fell in love with Oumasai since an inform Ouma hint to have a crush on Saihara and then fanarts XD It would be nice they have a more potential with each other if they start to warm up with each other. I started to love Amamatsu when I write some short fanfic about them since they have a good chemistry with each other. My BROTP can be Amani and Saihara and Hinata and Fuyuhiko

I love that scene <3 They seem to enjoy their companies with each other. 

-I started to sort of ship RinYuki (RintarouXYukinari), I’d blame my irl friend for joking gays thing when I explained her about Wolf’s Game that causes me to hunt for fanarts of them XD I feel they might have an interesting relationship, but I want to have considered of that ship at the first because I want to see what’s the potential of interaction and dynamic between them in the game when the post fan translation or release in English version future. And I don’t mind KouXRitsu too. 

I tag @ouma--kokichis @anima-art-posts @isuckatthisdonti @thalassa-caelum @linalinanaa-moved (Feel to do it for fun or you don’t need to if you don’t want to)

[tundrainafrica]

Somewhere Between Life and Death (Chapter 7)

Summary: Dia de los Muertos isn’t the only day the dead can visit the living. Miguel is reunited with Hector, Imelda and his other relatives from the other side but in one of the worst ways possible and he finds himself caught in a struggle between life and death.

Note: Reposted from ao3 and fanfic, same name, same author. I just needed to post some coco content I made on my own on Tumblr because  I will definitely not be able to contribute in the arts side.Post canon, sickfic, expect hurt comfort, loads of angst, kidnappings. Miguel has a very long and very fatal near death experience basically.

You can follow this fic on tumblr under the tag TundrainAfrica

Link to: Chapter 1- Chapter 2- Chapter 3-Chapter 4-Chapter 5-Chapter 6

Chapter 7: Crossings

Maybe it was because of the shock. Maybe it was because of the pain. Maybe it was because of the disappointment.

He couldn't tell exactly why but as he listened to Hector and Imelda stories about their everyday life in the Land of the Dead, he knew he wasn't feeling as excited or interested as he had expected to be when he did finally meet them again.

He had dreamt of seeing Hector, Imelda, Mama Coco and everyone else for a long time and silently scolded himself for not being genuinely interested when Imelda told him about how everyone requested Hector played Remember Me during that years sunrise spectacular, how they had stolen to some private space and Hector played it for his daughter Coco instead. He felt guilty for not feeling relieved when they told him that Mama Coco was doing fine and she was actually very happy being able to once again dance after having spent years in a wheelchair and more years, hiding the urge to dance from her family.

Maybe if he was a bit more into the conversation he would have asked questions like why Mama Coco wasn't there as well or what they were doing there in the first place. His replies to their many stories though felt and sounded automatic. The laugh he made when Imelda told Miguel  about when they performed together in the plaza was robotic, even when she told him about Tia Victoria who had tried to dance along but having grown up with no music and sense of rhythm had spectacularly failed or about the crash course on dancing Mama Coco had given Tia Victoria during the Sunrise Spectacular.

Imelda and Hector had noticed that he wasn't as excited to see them and Miguel knew that. He wasn't asking the questions he himself  thought he would have asked if he saw them again. They had asked him about his life, how was the family, how was everyone coping with the lifting of the music ban, more importantly, how was everyone after Mama Coco died. He had tried his best to sound enthusiastic but in the end, his replies  were one worded and half hearted. They had tried to ask follow up questions but his lack  of enthusiasm had become infectious.

His ancestors had subdued their gestures and tones. There was a point where Hector was talking about how he had given Coco the biggest hug when she finally arrived in the land of the dead. Miguel had expected him to hold his hands outstretched but he had limited himself to moving his hands in tune with his words. What made him feel a little worse was the gradual yet apparent loss of enthusiasm in his voice. Imelda as well had refrained from holding Miguel and the latter could see it in the way that every now and then she would put her hands in front of him as if she wanted to place them on his shoulders or his head only to pull back as if she sensed the discomfort and the tension and realized it.

Miguel had noticed those small movements and knew he had to brush away his discomfort, ask questions, cherish this time he had with them but how he felt wasn't something he could easily brush away, it felt like an elephant in the room that has been there from the start, impossible to kick out.

There was one way though. It took Miguel a few minutes and some more time half heartedly listening to Hector's stories to realize that there was one question that he wanted to ask. It may kick the elephant out but it felt risky.

Why can't you take me now? He really wanted to ask. It sounded inappropriate though. He remembered the week after Mama Coco had just died. He had wanted to ask Mama Elena what they were going to do with her rocking chair or her things but it sounded insensitive. That time, there was no reason to be insensitive, no one was mourning, no one was dying yet but that one question felt almost taboo.

“Miguel, you’ve been quiet.” Imelda commented. The wording may have been wrong but the timing was definitely wrong. Miguel was in the middle of ransacking his brain for the right words and dealing with the guilt of not feeling happy to see them. When Imelda had finally commented on his discomfort, the feelings he had denied since a while ago became real and Miguel felt like he was at fault, he was a bad person for not being happy to see them.

It felt like she was blaming him. It was almost instinct how his mind had decided to play victim. Hector and Imelda were selfish. They wanted him to stay, even when his life wouldn't amount to anything, when he could live his whole life only half the human he was. They wanted to deprive them of that painless nirvana in the land of the dead and were only mocking him through the stories they were telling him. You're going to have to go through hell before you get to join us.

“Hey, are you okay?” Hector asked, stopping his story midway. “I thought you’d be happy to see us.” He joked, a horrible attempt to mask his worry.

“No. I'm not.” He managed to say. For some reason, admitting just that felt even just a bit liberating but what else could he say after that?

“I know what happened is a bit stressful for you. This in between dimension is scary but this isn’t how…”Imelda had tried to put her arm around Miguel. That only helped to agitate the boy a little more.

This isn’t how it's supposed to go? This isn’t how I'm supposed to die? What was supposed to happen then? You won't help me get out of this?

Imelda’s tone was comforting, consoling. It was as if he was helpless as if there was nothing else she could do to help him. Or she didn't want to. They didn't want to.

“Do you even want to help me?” Miguel violently brushed his great great grandmother's comforting hand away from his shoulder. “All you two have been talking about since a while ago is how good you've been having it in the Land of the Dead.  No progress. No help. You haven't even tried to get me out of this.”

“Believe me Miguel. We’re trying. It’s not as easy as---” She pressed.

“Take me back to the land of the dead.  I don't wanna go back to Santa Cecilia… I want to die.”

Imelda instinctively widened her eyes surprised  then narrowed her eyes soon after. In most cases, he would have cowered at seeing his great great grandmother narrow her eyes like that. With his whole body shaking in anger, all it was doing was making him more angry. She looked accusing as if it was his fault he didn't want to go back.  She looked like she was going to disagree with him, maybe even gang up on him with Hector. “Do you understand what you're saying?”

“Hey hey… Mijo… what are you thinking? You said it during Dia de los Muertos that you wanted to be a musician and perform in many places. You can't do it dead.” Hector said, straining to keep his tone lively. He handed the guitar to Miguel.

“I can be a musician in the land of the dead. I don't have to do it in Santa Cecilia. No body to limit me, I won't be tired, I won't need to sleep, go to the bathroom. I'll just be playing music.” Miguel explained as he grabbed the guitar and played a few random tabs for emphasis.

Hector flinched and Miguel realized that he had plucked the strings on the guitar too hard.

“Miguel… Dying and being in the land of the dead isn't just playing music all the day long. You lose things when you cross. When you go there, there's no turning back.” Hector explained patiently. “There are people you'll leave behind, opportunities you could have had. Also It's not like this is a once in a lifetime choice. Eventually you're all going to end up in the land of the dead anyway. You should enjoy your life on earth for what it is first.”

“How can you enjoy life stuck in a body that needs to eat, sleep. That gets sick, feels pain…” Miguel argued. “When you're in the land of the dead, you never get sick… when you fall, you can get back together within seconds.

“Because life isn’t all about that mijo, there are experienced, challenges, there are people to meet, a family to live for. Your parents must be worried about you. Baby Coco is going to need her big brother.” Imelda added. She put her hands on Miguel's shoulders.

I survived without a big brother. Miguel thought  to himself as he twisted away from Imelda’s grip. Coco had Prima Abel, prima Rosa, Benny and Manny. She had a mother and a father. What would one less brother do?. “Mama and papa can always make another child if they're feeling lonely. It's not too hard.” Miguel echoed Rodrigo’s words.  He looked at Mama Imelda as he said it. He watched as her jaws dropped. She looked like she was just punched in the face.

Hector was the one who went in between them with that comment. “I can't believe I'm hearing this from you. Only a few months ago, you wrote a song about how much you love your family and now you're comparing having a child to working some sort of factory job?”

“What do you know?” Don't tell me you believed that when you're the one who left your family just like that. He wanted to add but he stopped himself at the last minute.

“Making and raising a child is not at all like making another pair of shoes!” He said without stopping to acknowledge  Miguel's question.Hector had bent over as if he wanted to listen closely to whatever explanation,  Miguel had about how he felt that way. Miguel did not see good intentions though. At that moment, the bending of his body and the fact that he had slowed his speech down, felt almost demeaning and Miguel's anger only grew.   They're thinking I'm  stupid. They wouldn't listen to me because to them, I'm  a kid, I don't know better. It wasn't anything new. Prima Abel and Prima Rosa were the same when he was growing up. They always made fun of him for being slow when they played in the forest. When they started working in the shoe shop, they thought they were better and smarter, demeaning him for being too young to work in the workshop. As he thought about it, he realized that his cousins were only the tip of the iceberg. His parents had kept him out of many conversations because they were having “adult talks.” For a long time, his family had scolded him for hanging out in the mariachi plaza or even just listening to simple music maybe because they were smarter, naturally better people and according to them, he didn't know better. The worst though was the way his parents had stood in silence, no, his whole family had stood in silence as he was shamed by his abuelita and she had destroyed the guitar that he spent months putting together. Things had gotten better since the music ban but his heart still  ached as he recalled that last scene and it only fed the anger inside him. Why would he want to go back to a family like that, a family who destroyed things he worked hard to create, a family who watched silently as he was tormented?  He almost felt stupid for writing a love song for a family like that, what was he thinking. Papa Hector was no better or he may have even been worse. He was getting mad at Miguel for treating his family like that yet, long ago he had the gall to leave his own family. The hypocrisy of it all only fueled the anger inside him.

That one comment which he had stopped himself from saying was at the tip of his tongue and before he could stop himself, he had blurted it out.“What do you know about raising children? You didn't even raise your own!”

“Miguel!” Imelda’s voice rang out and Miguel jumped in surprise. That was the first time he had heard her voice like that, a distinct mix of hurt, stress, anger and surprise.

Miguel was trembling in anger. He watched Hector's face change from one for anger to shame. If he wasn't a skeleton, Miguel could have sworn he would have seen tears in his eyes.

“You’re right, I don't know anything about raising children. Coco was very young when I left, I didn't see her grow up, wasn't with her when she turned 15, when she got married.I tried to go home but ended up trapped in the land of the dead against my will. I was alone. I missed my wife, I missed my daughter. I was wandering while my family must have thought I abandoned them. You know , compared to me, you have a choice. A choice I was never given. You have a choice not to wander through the streets in the land of the dead like I did, a choice to be with your family, the people you love and you're taking it for granted because you don't want to live within the limits of a life and a body. When I first died. The last thing I was thinking about was how good it felt to not get sick. That's nothing Miguel. I can't even describe how much I regretted even leaving in the first place, how lonely I felt. How the regret, sadness---”Hector stopped, as if he ran out of words. I don't know how it feels to raise a child but I know how painful it is to abandon  and to be abandoned by your family… That’s why, I may not know how it feels to raise a child and for the longest time, I may have known how it felt to have a family but I’ve experienced enough to know what you’re thinking is wrong. Hate me if you want Miguel but I won’t take you back.” Hector looked like he wanted to say more but stopped himself. “I need some time to think.” He walked out of the room, dragging his legs as if they were weights

Imelda followed him silently with her gaze before looking back at Miguel, her face a mixture of hurt and anger. “Say what you want, I won’t take you back either.  You have no idea what you’re asking for mijo.”

“He’s right. You guys are selfish. You don’t know how it feels to be lying there in a hospital bed, not being able to breathe, to move. I haven’t felt this good in so long and you want to take that away from me?” As he imagined what he said, he couldn’t help but feel more adamant about returning to his body. He felt good, he could move freely, play the guitar, talk without running out of breath, without feeling a pounding pain but it’s going to all change if he goes back. He’s going to be in pain. Why would anyone make a decision to hurt themselves? It just wasn’t natural.

“Because they want someone else to be happy. Humans do this for the people they love all the time mijo.”

Miguel looked up in surprise when he realized he had accidentally said his thoughts out loud.

“Why do you think mothers give birth? Why do you think I gave up music?” Why do---”

As his family started to gang up on him though, he knew he had to be strong for himself  “Well when you banned music, it didn’t just hurt yourself. You hurt me and Mama Coco too. How can you say you did it for love, when your decision just hurt us anyway?”

Miguel had looked away even before he finished his sentence. There was a part of him screaming at the back of his mind as he fought with his great great grandparents, telling him to apologize, to listen and then and there that part was taking over. He didn’t think it was possible but he felt a quiver in his lips, a sign of vulnerability and that wasn’t something he wanted to show. That might even spell the difference between them forcing him back into his body or not. He ran out of the room.

Rodrigo, wherever you are, please help me. I don’t wanna go back. He had said that last part with so much conviction. Maybe, he was trying to convince himself that he did not want to go back. He brushed that thought away and focused on the task at hand. He had to find Rodrigo. He remembered that Hector had left and might still be around. He still found himself running carelessly in the hallways, a part of him hoping Hector would run into him and talk him out of it. He didn’t run into him. He didn’t even remember his Mama Imelda calling out to him as he ran out of the room. Those two things he noted, only gave him motivation to run faster. Maybe it was out of spite. Maybe it was determination to still run into Hector.

He continued running, the hospital doors started to go by faster and faster. He went down a few stairs and up a few. How do I cross? Miguel was utterly lost. The word echoed inside his head and that reminded him. He had ran too fast that it was only after running countless corridors and staircases did he realize he had lost his guitar too. He must have dropped it somewhere.

He slowed down, ready to retrace his steps only to be pulled into one of the many rooms by something or someone.

“I was worried about you.”

It wasn’t Hector’s voice.

“You just disappeared and I woke up…” Miguel said, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.

He could make out the familiar shape of the Rodrigo’s head and the tiny movement of its contours as he shook his head.

“Thank god you’re safe though. I thought you would have fallen for an illusion.”

“Illusion?” Miguel frowned. The only notable thing he had seen was Papa Hector and Mama Imelda.  Meeting those two had looked real. The music Hector played sounded real. The guitar he had plucked had felt real.

“I didn’t mean to leave you alone but I ended up caught in my own illusion as well. This dimension between life and death is dangerous.”

“Wait, how is it dangerous?” Miguel asked. He had imagined monsters and rogue alebrijes when Rodrigo said the word dangerous. As he recalled his whole experience though, he knew he didn’t see any.

Rodrigo shook his head. “You know, the most dangerous things are the ones that don’t even look dangerous. I don’t want you falling for anything so I’ll tell you now. There are people who embrace death and there are people who embrace life. The unlucky souls who want to go back to their body and continuing living their life, even when their body is to sick, reject death’s invitation. They become angry spirits, go insane from trying to hold on to their body, to their life. They get jealous of those who can still go back to their body and those who can still cross after missing their own chance and create illusions to keep them here in this in between because you know, misery loves company. Unless they’ve been here for a long time like me, people tend to fall for these many illusions.”

That’s what it was… Miguel thought to himself. They had wanted him to stay, made him feel guilty for wanting to leave and for a while it had worked. He shivered as he remembered how realistic that illusion was and silently thanked his own pride and convictions for giving himself the courage to reject it.   Of course, the real Mama Imelda and Papa Hector would have gladly welcomed me to the Land of the Dead.

“Don’t worry, usually someone  from the land of the dead is sent here to guide the lost spirits.”

“Like an alebrije?” Miguel remembered Dante and only then did he realized how much he missed Dante and how much he needed him then and there.

“Alebrijes can’t enter this in between, but you can say they’re something like that… In America, they’re called the Grim reaper. In Mexico, they’re called Santa Muerte. Universally, they’re called Death. It’s the same job, they’re assigned to an area where lost spirits usually sprout up, war zones, car pile ups, hospitals and make sure the souls are able to cross safely. Funny though, the one here disappeared a few days ago.  We got along well, he wasn’t authorized to let me cross but he said he’d keep me company until I can.”

“Wait, so how can we cross without him? ”

“The truth is,  I knew how to cross. I just needed to find the right companion.”  He held Miguel’s hands in between his. “Close your eyes. Are you ready?”

“Wait, what do you mean right companion?” Miguel asked. If he knew death, he must have met many other people who could have crossed with him. Why did he need Miguel in particular?

“I’ll explain everything once we cross. Trust me Miguel. I just want what’s best for you. I mean, what’s better than the painless embrace of death?”

Anything could sound good with the right tone. Even something as ominous as death could sound good with the a combination of the right choice of words and tones. With how Rodrigo said it, his former notions about death, the commitment, the loss, the goodbye was completely gone and all he could see was the painlessness, the embrace and the liberation.

“I’ll ask you again. Are you ready to cross?”

Crossing meant he won’t end up a lost soul. Crossing meant no more pain, Crossing meant understanding everything.  

Crossing was good.

“I'm ready.”