#or at least the first part was based off this otp prompt thing

[marshmellowtea]

willy clarke all prompts for the character ask thing?

YES MY BOY MY BABY BOY

there's a couple questions on here that were also on the last ask game i did with him so prepare for some repeats lmao. also prepare for a lot of rambling because jfc i could not shut up about him </3

1. Favorite food?

y’know favorite food headcanons are stupidly hard for me for no reason other than me overthinking things too hard lol so i’m just gonna steal some headcanons from the discord server and say that he really likes salty snacks like chips and pretzels, he’ll eat whole bags of them in one sitting if he’s not paying attention. i also think he has a soft spot for apples and vanilla ice cream (the latter occasionally with sprinkles, if he’s feeling feisty or regressed lmao).

2. Morning or night person?

i'm gonna lean toward night person, i can see him staying up way too late and finding peace in being up at midnight when the world feels still…..buuut i can also see a case for him being a morning person, like he's used to getting up early, so he tends to wake up before the sunrise most days....this question is weirdly hard to answer for him tbh i really can see him going either way hfgkljKLDF

3. Favorite color

idk if he has a specific fave but i get the vibe that he really likes soft colors, shades that are easy on the eyes. i'm particularly thinking about pastel/really gentle shades of blues, purples, greens and grays, buuut i was also talking to someone in the server (waves at purple if you're seeing this hi <3) about him liking the color pink and that's also a cute headcanon i hold close to my heart hglkdsajf :’)

4. Headcanon(s)?

once again gonna do five here!

i assign this headcanon to all my faves but.....transfem genderfluid will lives in my head and my heart rent free. william can have a little gender okay, as a treat <3

the poor kid is absolutely touch starved, after his mom dies he doesn't really have anyone around to just give him a damn hug (and i have uh. thoughts about the nature of touch in their relationship too but we're gonna put that aside for now ghlkdsajf). the first time tanya holds him he almost starts crying on her shoulder, it's a little overwhelming for him :')

he's autistic! everyone and their mother has this headcanon ik but that's only because it's a good one lmao. i also think he has cptsd (i have THOUGHTS about his childhood okay) and suffers from periods of depression because.....yeah. yeah

i mostly have this headcanon because projection and also i think it's kinda funny hgkljKLDSF but i really like the idea that to the surprise of fuckin everyone, will really likes intense music like industrial or noise music. he'll put it on his headphones and aggressively stim to it, it just scratches a part of his brain for some reason ghdslkjf

basing this off my brother's boyfriend here lol sorry man but while he wears a lot of dark colors, he doesn't actually like wearing them all the time, lmao. he'd like to wear other colors, he just buys a lot of gray and black clothes (when he does have the money to buy clothes at least) because they're comfortable and they match all the other dark clothes he doesn't enjoy wearing, ghkdjf. i'd like to think that in a fix-it au his friends would help him develop a wardrobe that's both comfortable AND more interesting/fun for him to wear <3

5. Sexuality?

asexual! whether his romantic attraction is bi/panromantic, aromantic, or lesbian is kind up in the air for me and/or depends on the au though ghlkadsjf

6. OTP?

i am so fucking weak for willtanya it's not even funny. i am in hell over them <3

7. NOTP?

as stated before i am not big on romantic willmartha.....they're cute and all but hglkdsjf. they just don't do it for me i like them more as friends RIP

8. One way I relate to them

socially awkward neurodivergents. he doesn't know how to talk to people and neither do i goddammit ghkdalsfjKJSD

9. Are they in my top 10?

YES god yes. he's easily top ten in characters in this game, and while my top ten characters of all time tends to shift around depending on my hyperfixations, currently he's definitely up there he's just. waugh. i adore him :")

10. Favorite thing about character?

he's literally just. genuinely a sweet kid. he makes some bad decisions, sure, but i swear basically every interaction we see the real him have with other people is just him being the kindest little guy and i'm hgngnfd ;_; he's fucking baby and he deserves the w o r l d

11. Do they roast their marshmallows until they’re black, or golden brown?

i think he tries to get them golden brown but he almost always drops them in the fire on accident instead RIP

12. Secret special talent?

not roasting marshmallows that's for sure LMAO uhh i think he's actually a fairly good creative writer, both prose and poetry. i also think he's really good with animals as well (something something farmwork in the lawrence fraternity), and he's a surprisingly good singer, though he doesn't sing often. and yes i did put three here i couldn't decide between them ghlkasdfjlk

13. Do they sleep with socks on?

depends on how cold it is, i can see him going either way

14. Are they the type that takes games to seriously?

not at all, no. i think he's mostly just happy to be included most of the time ahh :')

15. What are they like when they’re happy?

canonically he kinda struggles to express himself so i don’t think he’s too different from how he is normally, buuuut i do think he finds himself smiling absently and stimming more often when he’s genuinely happy and content 🥺

16. Excited?

STIMMY BOY!! think hands flapping, bouncing in place, pacing around the room, he just can't keep still and it's so cute 😭

17. Sad?

i think he gets really quiet, tends to shut down and collapse in on himself. i think it can be hard to tell for people who don’t know him well to tell when he’s sad or upset, but with people he’s close to or trusts they tend to pick up on it pretty quickly because he’s a bit clingier/seeks out physical affection with them more than he normally does in addition to him being quieter than usual okay that last bit is more self indulgent than canon based but i think it’s really cute okay ;_;

18. Angry?

mmm this one's a bit difficult but honestly i can like. see him not really being sure what to do with himself when he's angry. i think he gets a bit terse with people, and maybe even lashing out if he's pushed hard enough, but mostly i just see him just bottling it up and stewing in it, trying not to really let himself feel it, if that makes sense. i don't think he gets angry very often, but when he does, i feel like he gets really uncomfortable with himself over it, y'know? i do have some reasoning behind this headcanon but this post is long enough as it is and idk if i can really articulate it properly so ghlkdsjf

[callaxe]

taken from my dms bc i think the tetsubaku community deserves more content. @ray-the-witch if ur seeing this hi bro (N IF U WANT PLS GO AHEAD AND REBLOG WITH UR HCS BTW) 

whatever u do. don't imagine them cuddling in a hammock in their backyard. don't imagine them cuddling outside during the evening in summer because it's still hot out. don't imagine tetsu laying on top of katsuki, all battered and scratched skin and aching muscles from today's big villain fight, nuzzled comfortably under katsuki's chin and resting his forehead against the crook of his neck. don't imagine katsuki gently rocking the hammock with one leg to the side, with his arms curled around tetsu and playing with his hair, having fun softly mussing it all up further and lightly scratching him all the way down to the nape of his neck. don't imagine katsuki tracing his hand over tetsu's face, letting his knuckles brush against his jaw and cheek. 

don't imagine tetsu practically half asleep, all dead weight and sluggish limbs on top of katsuki while his husband murmurs about his day and other random things that happened, and tetsu finally drifts to sleep when katsuki begins quietly singing one of their favorite songs; fucking secret tunnel of all things, because they were binging all of avatar in one night and tetsu had just randomly proposed to him right there and then, right after katsuki had finished overanalyzing katara's character out loud. the song had been playing in the background when he looked over at tetsu, and just saw how he was looking at him, with a gaze full of love and adoration and fuck the moment was perfect, so tetsu had just blurted out the first thing that came to mind

don't imagine katsuki slowly rousing tetsu awake after an hour or two because it was starting to get cold out, a disorientated and sleepy tetsu clinging to katsuki's hand making their way back inside the house and all but falling down in their bed. don't think about tetsu immediately cuddling up to katsuki when he finally lays down beside him, resting his head against his shoulder and burying his face back into his husband's neck, immediately going back to sleep when a warm hand slides back into his hair

DO NOT THINK. ABOUT DOMESTIC MARRIED TETSUBAKU .

out in public they're absolute shitheads to each other- nobody knows that they're actually married, katsuki's ring is hidden beneath his glove and tetsu's blends in with the help of his quirk (he made sure that they were indestructible, too, or as close as it could get to it) on and off the battlefield they always tease and antagonize the other, and often end up fighting each other instead of the villain. partially they wanted to hide it for a while and partially they just.. forgot. they're not that big on pda, but tetsu also throws his arm around everyone else's shoulders and katsuki pokes everyone in the side when he starts getting annoyed

they accidentally expose themselves during an interview, or more like katsuki's. he was an honored guest on present mic's show, answering questions and being a little shit until he briefly mentions "the bastard at my house who conveniently keeps forgetting to wash the dishes. you know who you are" and he stares straight into the camera. tetsu ends up calling him and they argue on live television, until katsuki gets fed up, sticks his tongue out at the camera bc he knows tetsu is still watching and hangs up mic's like, "was that your roommate?" and katsuki just pinches the bridge of his nose, "my fucking husband" and the fans go ballistic

[marichild]

cute accent; wonki.

— "You—you can speak Korean?!" "Mhm, your Japanese accent is adorable."

—based on the prompt "person B of your OTP is a foreigner in A's country. A thinks B's cute and pretends not to speak B's native language so that they could hear them speak A's native language in their adorable accent."

—fluff, alternate universe, further explanation in a/n | word count: 1712

One of the perks of being a student at his parents' photography course is that Riki gets to meet cute people, a lot, which staves off his own loneliness and boredom, somehow. There's something about shy people coming in and getting lessons from his parents and himself (when he's not busy losing his mind in their dance studio, anyway).

Of course, all of them are Japanese—at least, the ones that Riki's met so far. His mom and dad mostly handle the students who come in when they're on vacation in Okayama, looking for something to kill the time. They know their fair share of languages, and it's through this that they've been improving their English.

Riki gets to sit back and relax (translated as: pour his energy into capturing the most beautiful sceneries that he can or as he most often does, dance his soul out in his parents' studio, less popular than the popular photography studio and course).

Then comes the day that his parents tell him: "Riki-chan, how would you feel about yet another photography lesson with a student?"

Riki pauses in the middle of NCT Dream's Boom, just because he felt like trying a little something harder than usual today, and turns to them.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" he says. "Though, why do you sound a little apprehensive?"

"He's around your age, he's here for the holidays with his family," his mother consults the papers in her hand. "Well, almost two years. February of the year before you were born, actually. He's from Korea, can't really speak Japanese."

"Sure, why not?" he says for a second time. "I know enough Korean to get by."

Here's the thing: Riki is a huge K-Pop fan, so naturally, he began to pick up the basics little by little. He doesn't get English as well as either Japanese and Korean, so having to wait for Japanese subtitles, which sometimes became an irritation, taking longer than even English, is rather annoying.

While he could have done the smarter thing and gone on to learn English, the global language, Riki's little fanboying heart chose to download the Duolingo app and more or less learn Korean.

He doesn't even have that much of an accent anymore, since he made a friend from the country, a twenty-year-old named Park Jongseong, the son of a travel agency owner, who did Riki the favor of popping by one lazy morning and removing his boredom.

Facetime sessions with Jongseong since that first photography lesson because they had hit it off so well has tremendously helped Riki. The two of them have basically been at a little game of exchanging each other's languages and see who learned the fastest.

Riki won, mostly because Jongseong is a college student now and has significantly less time than Riki to actually learn anything that useful. Riki's beginning to understand that feeling, now that he's started high school.

So, a Korean boy being his student for a couple of days? Doesn't sound too bad, really. It sounds fun, if anything. It'll be kind of like Jongseong and his facetiming.

Riki can hardly wait.

***

When Riki bounces into the room at the back of their house where students usually go through the first lesson before venturing out further, the first thing he thinks when he sees the Korean boy is: "oh, wow."

The boy is adorable. Big, sparkly eyes, fair skin, pretty pink, pillowy lips, button nose, a mop of messily styled dusty blue hair atop his head. Riki probably shouldn't be noticing this part, but still, he can't help but notice the way his blue shirt that compliments his hair shows off his toned arms and his blue denim jeans highlights his long legs.

Why he's dressed in so much blue, Riki can't tell, but he isn't complaining at all.

"Hello," the boy says in halting Japanese. His accent is adorable. "I'm Yang Jungwon."

Riki decides he can mess around a little, just because he wants to keep hearing the boy's accent. "Hello!" he replies in Japanese. He can't hide the shyness in his tone. He never takes meeting strangers that well. At least he isn't a blushing mess. Despite his cheerful demeanor, Riki is the type to shy away from strangers, though the whole photography thing has helped with that. "I'm Nishimura Riki. I'll be helping you today because my parents are busy—they're the ones who run this course."

Jungwon pauses for a moment, mentally picking apart Riki's words and processing them, it seems. Then he smiles, and says, "that's okay. It's nice to meet you."

The words are a little scrambled around and the pronunciation needs a little works, but it's a good, cute effort. Riki nods, deciding to keep it as simple as possible, "you as well. What brought you here?"

"I'm on vacation here," Jungwon manages, "and my older sister says it'll be fun."

"Well, I can't promise that," Riki laughs, "but I'll entertain you."

Jungwon blinks uncomprehendingly. Riki translates that into simpler terms that aren't all too grammatically correct, but Jungwon nods in understanding. One would think of all the difficulties that lie ahead and probably give up teasing poor Jungwon at this point, but Riki's got no intention of that right now. He still finds this entire thing entirely too adorable to give up. Never mind that Jungwon's almost two years older than him.

"Here," Riki picks up a camera from the table across the room and turns to hand it to Jungwon. "Your camera. Want to head outside? More scenery to work with."

Jungwon accepts it shyly, and follows Riki as he bounds outside and around the front of the house, leading Jungwon inside. The older squeaks out a protest of, "wait, why're we going inside?!" in Korean before switching to Japanese, "why inside?!" to which our oh-so-devilish Riki just laughs.

"Come upstairs with me!" he giggles. Jungwon's eyes become even bigger, whether out of shock or nerves, Riki doesn't know. Nevertheless, he follows Riki into the large and way-too-messy living room. Both of Riki's sisters look up and narrow their eyes at him, demanding silently to know what he's up to. Of course, Riki, being Riki, ignores them, and leads Jungwon up the staircase leading up to the top floor.

"Balcony," Riki says to Jungwon, who nods. They climb up past two floors (Riki doesn't like flexing...but his house is pretty big) and on the third floor, they walk past rows of doors to a balcony at the end of the hall. When they step out into it, Jungwon gasps in amazement and delight.

Riki smirks to himself. He's used to this sight, but it's still beautiful. Due to the location of their house, from the balcony, the ocean and the beach is visible from a distance and the sight of the glittering azure waves in the sunlight and the skyline of the buildings an entire world away, but really so close, makes for an amazing view. He's wanted to show it to someone who wasn't used to it for a while.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asks Jungwon, who nods, eyes drinking in the view. "Do you see such things in Korea?"

"Not much in Seoul," Jungwon says in that cute accent. "Maybe other places."

"Come on, hold your camera like this," Riki demonstrates by bringing Jungwon's hands into the correct places and position. Jungwon's ears tint red. Riki finds that adorable, in a weird way, knowing he has this effect on this cute older boy who's actually almost an entire half-foot shorter than him. "Adjust the viewfinder like this..."

Coupled with his verbal instructions, his physical demonstrations seem to help Jungwon know what to do. He seems like the type of person who always has even a vague idea of what to do. Riki also likes that, the way his face scrunches up in concentration.

He also likes the way Jungwon tries his best to hide his blush by avoiding looking at Riki for too long. "Curse cute Japanese boys," he hears Jungwon mutter in Korean and does his level best to stifle his giggles. This is too amusing. The cute boy thinks he's cute too, it's like a bad joke, but one he's enjoying nonetheless.

Jungwon clicks a few pictures, handing the camera to Riki when he asks for it.

"Hey, not bad!" Riki smiles, flicking through the few pictures that Jungwon has taken so far. "You've got an eye for things like this, don't you?"

Jungwon doesn't really understand that, Riki can tell, but he blushes and nods anyway. "Thank you," he says with an excited gleam in his eye.

Riki opens his mouth to ask him to take another but without his help this time, and he's promptly cut off when his phone rings in his pocket. He shoots Jungwon an apologetic look and reaches into his pocket for it.

It's Jongseong. Riki smiles—he's missed the older boy. It's been a while since they last talked to each other. But, alas, he's in the middle of a session and he can't exactly push it off for Jongseong. He accepts the call to tell him just that.

"Riki-yah, it's been too long!" Jongseong's sharp-eyed face comes into view on the dim screen. Riki quickly adjusts the brightness. "What're you up to?"

"Hey, Jongseong hyung, just taking a session for someone," Riki replies, startling at the gasp Jungwon gives. "He's actually Korean."

"You can speak Korean?!" Jungwon squawks, offended and embarrassed.

"Mhm, your Japanese accent is adorable," Riki bursts out laughing, feeling a little guilty at the way Jungwon turns bright red. "Oh my god, that was too good. I apologize very sincerely, Jungwon-ssi. I thought your accent was too cute to not hear a little more."

"Is that Jungwonie?" Jongseong questions. "Riki, what did you do?"

"Jongseong hyung?" Jungwon blinks, sidling forward and peering at Riki's phone. "Hi! How do you know this kid?"

"Jungwonie!" Jongseong's smile brightens. "I met him the same as you, actually. Except he didn't try to trick me the way he tricked you, so..."

Riki shrugs sheepishly. "What can I say? I met a cute boy. I took the chance."

He takes no small pleasure in the way Jungwon turns even redder at that.

===

listen, after mix & max, you can't expect to not write something for wonki. although it isn't as cute as this, more like heart stopping...but yes, expect more wonki from me lol

[davyjoneslockr]

Ohh I wonder what you say about Giorno :0

I have So Many Thoughts about him and none of them are coherent let's go

favorite thing about them: Moral ambiguity in a main protagonist is always very cool and epic. I like that he's so thoroughly a combination of his dads, like he's a gentleman who aspires to make his country safer for kids, but he also. Y'know. Murders people a lot and doesn't bat an eye if it's for a greater cause. Very Machiavellian for a 15 year old lol. He's also just super weird and I really like that. My boy literally went to meet with Polpo and was like "yeah my only skill is I can put my entire ear into my head. watch this" and then proceeded to kill him. "Ohhh instead of stealing one car, I'm gonna ruin a hundred peoples' days by turning all these cars into frogs." "Yeah I'm gonna drive the car into a large body of water to escape an enemy who turns everything into ice. This is a good and sound decision." Literally impeccable

least favorite thing about them: Okay so maybe this will come as a surprise. But based on Vento Aureo alone, he is my least favorite JoJo by far. I found him really boring and overshadowed by the rest of the cast, mainly because he rarely had a real struggle. Like, in nearly every fight, I had no doubts that Giorno was going to sweep in and kill the enemy easily. Everyone in the main cast was constantly singing his praises except for Abbacchio, and even his disdain was clearly out of his own insecurities rather than actually disliking him. And like, even by JJBA standards, he just seemed a liiiittle too overpowered in general without much to balance it out. I think it's cool that he's essentially a catalyst for everyone else's lives to get overturned and for them to change as people, but at times, he really seemed like no more than a narrative device. It wasn't until I read PHF and started writing my own Vento Aureo fics that I started liking him and developing him as a character in my brain and now I can't stop thinking about him help

favorite line: Everything he says in the Solider in Love chapter in PHF. Holy shit. Everything from the stupid chicken rant to the "half a step" speech is just so interesting, and (to me at least) it all feels so deliberate characterization-wise. Like, Giorno in the PHF-verse is kind of a terrible person at times, and a lot of it has to do with him being so closed-off from everyone as a coping mechanism, but him being just like. A little silly and awkward with Fugo by complaining about chicken (and then proceeding to stuff his face with it, which is also just supremely funny), and admitting that he's grieving too, and offering to share in that grief with him, essentially prompting both of them to turn a new leaf together, etc etc I love it so much.

brOTP: Him and Mista. I love their platonic dynamic so much, even in canon/PHF timeline where they have a falling out, because that dynamic is still super super interesting to me. Just. Mista taking him under his wing and becoming the first genuine friend Giorno's ever had, Giorno looking up to him for guidance because, even though he's hyper-competent and definitely has his shit together more than Mista does, he's still an awkward teenage boy who's never really had any kind of social outlet, and he thinks Mista is cool in the way a kid thinks their older sibling is. Giorno goes to him for advice on talking to his crush and making new friends, and Mista takes him out to do silly teenager things he never got to try, and idk. Their friendship is so fun. And when shit goes down in canon and Mista hates him, I still think that a part of Giorno still looks up to him, and one of his biggest regrets is how he treated Mista because of his own inclinations to push away any potential bonds in the fear of being abandoned. Anyhow

OTP: Fugio!! Talked about them a lot already on my Fugo post, but. Man. From Giorno's end, I like to think that his feelings sort of stemmed from Fugo completely overturning his whole worldview just by existing. Like, Giorno has gone his whole life believing that suppressing emotions makes him strong and will keep him safe, and then in walks Hyper-Emotional Pannacotta Fugo and his Feelings-Based Killing Machine and he's like. What the fuck. How does he just. What. And cue Giorno Giovanna's extreme distress over this walking contradiction who can feel things and gains power through emotions and has just torn everything he believed to shreds and now he won't leave his brain what is happening??? (It's okay he just has a crush but he's really dramatic about it.) Also Fugo is a massive simp but Giorno is, too, he's just more subtle about it. 1000% he writes melodramatic love poems for him and decorates them with pressed flowers and sprays them with perfume and the whole time he's like. "Love my pathetic emo bf so very very much :) <333"

nOTP: Uhhh Giomis and that's all I'm gonna say on the matter. Also stuff like Brugio/Abbagio/whatever obviously.

random headcanon: When he was a kid, his mom and stepdad sort of left him to fend for himself, so he got really good at making like. Kraft mac and cheese and kid cuisines. On the other hand, he can't cook a meal from scratch to save his life. He has like no idea how the individual ingredients work, so, if left to his own devices, he just makes horrible 50s housewife jello salad type meals. He's definitely tried making alfredo sauce with melted ice cream because "ice cream is just frozen cream, isn't it? By that logic, I can melt it, and it should work." It did not. He was banned from cooking in the Bucci Gang house after that.

unpopular opinion: The fandom does him dirty just as much as Kakyoin. Seriously, I know I'm not the best Giorno writer either, but some of the stuff I've seen on AO3 is just. Yeah. Stop writing him as a sex object please thanks <3

song i associate with them: Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall by Simon and Garfunkel is more or less how I like characterizing him. I also have a little playlist for him here.

favorite picture of them: Classic image but he looks so very cool :]

[noirangel626]

Aliens’ first snow day

Based on Otp prompt generator:

Willa and A-Spen walking through town, holding hands while it snows.

Months have passed since the aliens’ arrival and things were normal in Seabrook. New and exciting types of monsters have started showing up and making their homes. However, despite being here for months, there was something that the aliens had yet to experience. Snow. They all know of the concept of snow and every part of its creation through the water cycle but they haven’t felt it or seen it.

It first started on the early morning of a random Saturday. Some people were starting to wake up ready to start the day and go to work, some people were even just going to sleep. But, on this early morning, the first snowflakes of the winter start to fall. Normally, the wintertime is a cold and miserable time for werewolves due to having no insulation. This year, however, the werewolves weren’t in their cold den, at least not at night. Due to their expansive technology, the aliens have managed to develop tardis-like advancements like being able to hide a large space in a small room. So, the werewolf pack was camping in A-Lan, A-Li, and A-Spen’s house until it starts to get warm enough for them to stay in their den at night.

It was still snowing at mid-day, at which the aliens started to wake up. After they all finish getting ready, each of them looked out of their windows. “What is that falling?” A-Li says to herself curiously before leaving her room and knocking on A-Lan’s door, “I think the clouds are falling apart.” He says once he opens the door, “I mean, what else could it be? Is A-Spen up? Maybe they have an idea?” They both nod and knock on their door, “A-Spen something’s wrong!” Their door quickly opened and A-Spen appeared looking panicked, “What’s wrong? Is Mothership damaged? Is Z-patrol here to take us away again?” They ask, thinking of when they first came to Seabrook for “the cheer competition”, “A-Lan thinks the clouds are falling apart, there’s white stuff falling from the sky.”

A-Li says then brings them over to the window, “Interesting…I doubt the clouds are falling apart but let’s go touch it!” A-Spen says happily. The trio go to their front door and gasp at the snow on the ground, “It’s definitely not cloud, it’s too solid-looking.” A-Lan sighs in relief yet slight disappointment, touching a cloud would be so cool, “What if we touch it? Is it toxic?” A-Li slowly puts her finger into the snow and immediately recoils, “It’s cold! Like freezing cold! She puts her hand into it again, “It’s not toxic, just cold…and wet.”

“It’s freezing, why do you three have the front door wide open?” Willa says, having just woken up from the warmth of her room turning into freezing cold air so she came to investigate. “Willa! There’s something cold and wet on the ground and we can’t seem to figure it out.” A-Spen lights up when she sees Willa and points to the snow on the ground. “You mean the snow? It normally comes around this time of year.” She goes over to the shoe rack and puts on some shoes and a coat, “Put your shoes on and come out.” A-Spen immediately goes over to put their shoes on while the other 2 do it slower than them yet still putting their shoes on. Once they all have their shoes on, they step into the snow and look around in wonder, “So this is snow?” A-Li picks some up in her hand and throws it at A-Lan, “It’s much different than what we’ve learned about it.” She laughs and dodges the snow that A-Lan throws back at her. The 2 delve into a mini snow fight, not yet a snowball fight since they’re just throwing snow and not shaping it into balls.

While the 2 are distracted, Willa and A-Spen sneak off and start walking past the houses, no set destination in mind, “Snow is pretty fun! I haven’t seen them have so much fun since before our mission. We tried to have fun on the mothership but there wasn’t much to do.” A-Spen smiles at their memories of their home planet, “They’re really special to me.” “I know how you feel, my pack is very special to me too. We’ve managed to create games that keep us entertained for a while and since we’ve been accepted, we’ve created more.” “I’d love to come and try some of your game, they seem fun.” “Yeah! I’ll ask my pack if you can come, A-Li and A-Lan too of course.”

They keep walking but eventually A-Spen started to regret not bringing gloves or a coat as they started to get cold, but not wanting this moment to end they didn’t say anything until Willa noticed, “Are you cold? You should’ve brought a coat but here.” She takes off her coat and wraps it around their shoulders. They put the coat on, “Thanks Willa but my hands are still cold.” Willa smiles and takes A-aspen’s closest hand, “Put the other one in the coat pocket.” A-Spen blushes slightly at Willa holding her hand and the two keep walking. Occasionally they bump into friends like Zed and Addison, “Aww I’m glad you found someone, you’re perfect for each other.” Addison gushed when they bumped into them, and Bree and Bonzo, “So cute! Like us!” “Zarble dooba dag.”

A-Li and A-Lan were very worried when they noticed A-Spen had disappeared but when they noticed Willa gone too, they figured they had gone together so they went back inside to warm up before the werewolves woke up and started to look for Willa. Obviously, once the two returned, they each got a lecture on how worried they were (Mainly Wyatt and Wynter asking for at least a note if Willa is going off somewhere, A-Li and A-Spen lecturing A-Spen on disappearing).

But everything was good in the end.

[sullustangin]

Fictober Prompt #16:  “Not this again.”/Flufftober #16: Falling Asleep Together

Fandom: SWTOR

Pairing:  Theron Shan/Smuggler

Rating: PG-13

A/N:  One of those ‘through the years’ fics that happens when you have competing scenes from different part of your OTP’s lives.

3637 BBY/15 ATC

“Oh, kriff me.”

Eva must have been in dreamland, as she said, “Finally.”

Theron made an annoyed sound, and he rolled away from her side.  That startled Eva into true wakefulness.  As her eyes stuttered open, she found herself looking up at one of the other moons of Yavin.  Oh, wow, it was really, really late, judging late by where Yavin 2 was in the sky. “They do bedcheck over in Pub camp?”

Her companion was hastily brushing off the grass from the clearing and shrugging his jacket on. “No, but if there’s an emergency, and if Marr or Satele come banging on my shuttle, and if I’m not in there at 0230, they’re going to get worried that the man with all the intel is missing.”

“And you’d get embarrassed about being caught with me.  Even if we aren’t --” She pushed herself up into a sitting position, part of her ponytail already having broken loose. 

Theron shook his head, his expression unreadable in the moonlight.  “I’m not embarrassed.  It would appear that we are -- “ 

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Now he looked at her, sternly.  “We agreed to being discreet --”

“And unfortunately being good. Because something something, your internal ethical crisis.”  Eva looked up at him, giving him a mock innocent look, as if daring him to correct her.  “And it’s your mom.”

That broke his hastily thrown on professionalism.  “Eva!”

“I know, I know, I know.”  Eva shoved herself to her feet, still bleary-eyed.  “You get going before they send out a search party and reach the wrong side of the tracks over here.  I’ll see you in the morning.”  The temperature had dipped considerably since they‘d fallen asleep under the stars hours ago.

She heard a sigh, and then he was surrounding her in a hug.  “Don’t -- don’t say that.  I’m not embarrassed about this.”

“But me being what I am doesn’t make it easier.  Won’t make it easier, even after we get back to civilization.”

For a long, terrifying few moments, he was silent.  Then:  “We’ll talk about it once this op is over with.”

They didn’t.

And Eva was right.

**

3632 BBY/21 ATC

“Oh, kriff me.”

“Again?  Already?”

Theron made an amused sound and hastily pressed a messy kiss to the side of her head.  Eva woke as all the warmth in the universe left her bed.  “Not this again,” she grumped, wrapping herself up in her bedding and forcing her eyes open as she sat up.

Moonlight, check.  Stars, check. A cool night, check. Theron putting on clothes, check ---

except this time, he was starting from nothing, and they were far from being good.  Moonlight skimmed over his skin through the Thief’s viewports.  He bent at the waist to grab at the clothes scattered all over her floor.  “I need to not get caught in here at an indecently early hour. Someone is eventually going to see me sneaking back into base after dawn.” 

“Who the hell says you have to do that?” She watched from her warm nest on her bed as he gathered up his clothes and piled them on the edge of the bed.

“First, I want some time before Lana finds out and scolds us about security issues.  Which, second of all, is valid; I don’t want to be a liability to you or become a regularly scheduled hostage for someone trying to get to you.  Third....your image --”

“-- is something you and Lana care waaaaay more about than I do.  You’re trying to pitch me as some sort of... saintly icon or something.”  Eva drew her knees up to her chest as she watched Theron’s briefs slide over his hips.  “Or at least something concerned with greater things in the universe than having her boyfriend sleep over.  Acts of wrath are fine, but being caught snuggling with someone -- stars forbid.” 

Theron sighed and sat at the edge of the bed next to his clothes, reaching for her.  “It keeps others -- and their opinions -- out of this.  Keeps you safe -- and you know that’s my top priority right now... and not just for the good of the galaxy.”  His voice caught on the last syllable, almost imperceptibly.  But she heard it.

Eva was still for a moment, then she launched herself and all of her bedding into him, causing him to laugh in surprise.  “Eva--!”

“How can you be so smart and dumb at the same time?” At his attempt at an indignant response, she continued as she tried to wrap him up with her.  “Leave clothes over here, and pretend you met me for caf early in the morning.  Nobody’s gonna go looking for you in your quarters -- if you’re not in the war room, you’re scrounging for caf somewhere.  Everybody already knows that.”

Somehow, despite some half-effort by Theron, she pressed her bare skin against his.  There was a momentary flicker in his eyes, and then he gave up all intent of leaving.

**

3628 BBY/25 ATC

A scream bounced off the interior hull of the ship.

Then...

“Oh, kriff me.”

Eva jolted awake at the sound, then let her heart rate come down a bit as she felt shaking through her mattress.  She checked the chrono.  “Not this again.”  Then she realized how mean that sounded.  “Sorry.  I’m just --   Nightmare?”

“Yeah.  Same one. Sorry.”

He was.

He would always be...

She pulled herself across the mattress to curl into him, wrapping her arms around his middle.  “Just a dream now.  Never gonna happen again.”

“No.” He said it with strength and conviction.  And then, again, quieter, as he pulled her arms tighter around him, “No.”

**

3624 BBY/29 ATC

“Oh, kriff me.  Did I forget the baby monitor in the cockpit?”

“Ugh... not this again... no, you didn’t.  It’s here -- someone is just sleeping through the night, again.”

“Oh, that thing we never do.  But we do fall asleep together.”

“And wake up together.”

“That’s even better.”

[sorry-rosie]

lol i'm dumb. I didn't realize when you posts that otp ask, it meant that people can ask you about the pairings depending based on the numbers LOL. I'm really new to the tumblr trend. Now that's out of the way, let me pick some numbers. 8, 15, 21(this one especially) 28

Oh no worries! It takes some getting used to. With these things you can send however many numbers or prompts in as you want and I'll get cracking, by the way. 

I’ll do #28 in another post soon because I got another sent in for it and keeping the naughtier ones separate means this safer post can get discovered in tumblr searches easier. ^^’

➼ [8] What were their first impressions of each other?

Ethan was a complete nerd, that’s what Mia knew just from seeing him. Not that she has anything against nerds, but he was just adorable in how geeky he was with technology and a bit awkward, endearingly so. Plus it didn’t help that he was sporting his rather large glasses when she first laid eyes on him. And khakis. In addition, he had a cute face and voice that drew her to him. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything, just another potential relationship of many that Mia gave a fair shot in a few dates, but thankfully those dinner dates ended up selling her on the idea of being with him. 

Mia was a complete bundle of sunshine, that’s what Ethan took away from her. Something about her drew his gaze instinctively, impulsively. He had already seen her occasionally on campus of their college in cafes, but he doubted she noticed him. Not until he grew enough courage to take the first move at least. But from what he could tell, either observing her and her friends or talking to her for the first time, she was optimistic and hard-working. The type that filled a day with work and still ended up smelling like roses at the end of it all, somehow. Boundless energy. He felt a little intimidated simply talking to her since she outpaced him, so it took time on their dates for their energy to match and sync up better. 

➼ [15] What are traits they dislike in one another?

Mia thinks Ethan is lost in his head a lot; she'd be fair in thinking that. He's a quiet person, so sometimes it's hard for her to know exactly what he's thinking when he perhaps incorrectly assumes they're on the same page. They do that for each other often, actually, what with Mia’s secretive side. They’re prone to some miscommunications that could easily be avoided.

Mia also sort of dislikes Ethan's naiveté and rashness. It is more complicated since his idealistic views of the world at times are quite uplifting for someone who has seen the darker parts of that world first hand, and his impulsive nature was what ultimately saved her in the Baker estate (and later Rose). But he is so rash and naïve that it is his own downfall, with foolishly believing that there’s someone better in Mia and deciding to still forgive her countless times. Sometimes, she wants him to put himself first, just for once, because no one person can be that selfless. She just wants him to be safe, even if it means a life without her. But he’ll always put her and Rose first. If anything, it makes her wonder ruefully what she did to deserve him. Despite Mia’s somewhat dislike of his idealism, she’ll do anything to protect it, him, from the truth.

Ethan is rather over-protective and could be prone to being obsessive, which Mia grew rather annoyed with when she was still working for the Connections. It felt like nothing escaped his notice, as much as Mia tried to lie to him. He certainly didn’t make things easy, but at least he cared that much for her to go to such lengths. But he’s at least learned from then to slack off with it, but it kicked in a bit once again as he entered into parenthood. This is true for them both.

As much as Ethan dislikes Mia’s secretive side and feels hurt since he feels like they’re leading separate lives at times, he at least grew to understand her better. Why she does it. How to better get her to open up. But still, when she was working for the Connections, he couldn’t help but have an over-active mind. When she leaves him in the dark, it’s hard not to think the worst. It’s the not knowing part of it all that for him hurts him far more than the truth. At times, he feels like she doesn’t trust him enough to tell him.

Mia, even more so after the Baker incident and giving birth, never lets go of grudges. She’s often justified or true in feeling very conclusively about people, like her distrust of Chris and the BSAA particularly, what with the events in Europe. She’s seen corrupt organizations first hand and she could pinpoint one when it’s right in front of her face. However, Ethan is far too forgiving and kind to hold such grudges. They don’t butt heads on it often, since Ethan understands why she is this way. But still, he only wants her to be happy and holding onto these grudges, even ones she has against herself, only leads to more resentment.

Overall however Ethan just adores her too much to seriously dislike much about her, if anything. Unconditionally so. Or perhaps a love of all aspects of her, flaws and all.

➼ [21] How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

Mia often gets lost thinking about how better Ethan’s life would be if he never met her. Never left to go get her in Louisiana, at least. In those three years he could’ve already moved on like she told him to do in the video. There were widowers, she was sure, that were remarried in far less time. What use was it though? She knew he was different, he’d never want to move on without her. He’d never even consider leaving her. But a bigger part of her selfishly still wants to be by his side, even if she was, is, still a negative force in his life, as much as his nightmares are caused by her. He could never go back to his old life.

But Ethan saw the best in people. He loved her anyways, in spite of everything. Mia wants to be better, for him at least, the man who still looked at her with those unblinking, silently worshiping eyes. She hated to see her reflection in them, but his undoubtable adoration for her still prevailed. They both vowed, promised, to start over and that’s what they were going to do. As much as their new lives were interrupted occasionally by the BSAA poking and prodding them, dictating many parts of their day-to-day, they could confidently be assured still that they were together in the end, peaceful, to an extent. Life would never be easy now, they both agreed, but at least they would be safe in each others’ arms.

The ultimate proof of their love, the one that still survived despite everything, came in the form of Rose. Mia almost didn’t believe she could get pregnant, but the tests stared back at her, all positive. At first, she was terrified, that she’d ruin another life like she always did. But perhaps this was her chance at redemption, finally, and as she felt her move around she felt all the more terrified of herself. That she’d fail her, just as she did Eveline. That she was screwed up in the head to even be able to have a child with her husband, whose only life support was the mold. But those fears eventually subsided and the pregnancy brought them both joy as she obsessively eyed her ultrasounds, looking for defects only to find none. Finding happiness in talking over baby names and buying things for her.

Then, a psychotic woman she used to work with targeted them to get to Rose. Separating the child into crystalized little pieces. With every step they took towards normalcy, towards peace, they were dragged back into hell by Mia’s choices years ago. The past would follow them everywhere. And just like that, he was gone. A man who already defied death many times, invincible, dead. The life he couldn’t have, in his final moments, flashed before his eyes. Sure, he had regrets. But he was at least content in his wife and child’s safety. The years he did have with his family, with all their hitches... He didn’t regret it. He’d still do it all over again. Mia knew he was that foolish, as Chris later told her that Ethan apologized and said that he loved her in his last words. 

Only he would be sorry for dying on her. After everything she’s done, she could only feel sickened by everything that’s happened. It would take a long time for her to get past him, if it was even humanly possible. The answer is complicated. While they’ve both definitely changed each other for the worse through years of heartache and turmoil, they both also gave each other true happiness, satisfaction, if only for a little while. Shown each other that they could be changed, complicated people, but still want to crawl back to each other. And while Mia, newly widowed, looks down upon the freshly settled wasteland of the explosion weeks later out of curiosity, she thinks that Ethan teased things out of her no one else could. She was a better person now, wasn’t she? More mature. Less selfish. Maybe his good nature had snuck up on her over the years. He had that way about him of making even the most stubborn of people change.

[alice-beaumont-ravenclaw]

A Wonderful Surprise

A/N #1: This is fic #2 of the Brazil series. It was inpired by the ! prompt of the 30 days OTP alphabet challenge as well as Prompt #2 of Fictober 2020 by @hphm-fictober​ . You can find Alice’s outfit HERE, and the suggested music HERE. (Here are Part 1 & Part 2 of the first fic of the series.)

“Alanza told me she would join us here.”

Alice and her friends were standing near the bronze statue of Floriano Peixoto, the second Brazilian president, in the neighbourhood known as Cinelândia. They were surrounded by buildings built in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, which gave the area a certain European cachet with their columns, symmetry, and highly decorative façades. 

“Are you sure about the time?” asked Diego.

“Noon seems like an odd time to meet up,” said Penny, who was wearing a large sunhat.

“That’s what she told me. She said she knew of this place where we could eat lunch close to here, and that it would be simpler to visit the area after,” explained Alice, fanning herself with her map of Rio.

“Olá!” they heard from behind them.

“Alanza!” they exclaimed, running to her.

“How are you? I hope you didn’t wait too long,” she said beaming.

“No, not at all,” said Barnaby, blushing.

“Long enough for us to overheat,” mumbled Tonks and Tulip.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! Come, come. Let’s go and eat. I know this boteco that’s been around since 1921.”

“What kind of food do they serve?” asked Alice.

“Various stuff. You can get pizza, fish, churrasco, feijoada…”

“What are the last two things?” asked Penny.

“Well, churrasco is basically meat barbecued on skewers, while feijoada has black beans, some pork or beef product, and at least two types of smoked sausage and jerked beef,” explained Alanza.

“Black beans, you say?” said Alice. “Well, as I do not want to spend the afternoon passing wind, and that I don’t want to eat something too heavy, I think I’ll stick to pizza.”

“The meat on skewers sounds great,” said Barnaby as they sat at a table under the yellow awning. 

After a hearty meal, they headed to the Theatro Municipal, a theatre that borrowed from the Parisian Opéra Garnier’s architectural style. The roof was a vibrant shade of turquoise, and the central dome was adorned with a majestic golden eagle.

“Can we go inside?” asked Andre, using his hand to shade his eyes from the sun.

“Unfortunately, no. We can only go in to see a performance or if we are part of a tour, which were all full when I checked,” replied Alanza.

“Too bad. It looks really nice from the outside, would have loved to see the inside,” said Alice.

“Oh, I doubt it compares to the Paris Opera,” said Alanza. 

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been inside the Opéra Garnier.”

“What? But don’t you have family in Paris?” asked Tulip.

“I do, but it’s not like the law mandates us to go inside the Opera every time we’re in town. I walked past it when I’ve been to the Galeries as a kid, but until last summer, I hadn’t been to Paris after Jacob’s disappearance.”

“I wonder if this one has a ghost, like the one in Paris,” said Penny.

“A ghost?” asked Barnaby and Charlie as they started to walk past the theatre.

“A phantom, actually. This French author wrote a story at the beginning of the century about a Phantom haunting the Opéra. It turns out that the Phantom is a deformed man named Erik. An excellent musical was made based on this story. I honestly could listen to the soundtrack over and over again,” said Alice, softly sighing.

“So, where are we heading next?” asked Tonks as they strolled through Largo da Carioca.

“Igreja São Francisco de Penitência. It’s a church. The interior is really impressive,” said Alanza.

“Where is it?” asked Diego.

“Right there,” replied Alanza, pointing to a building up a small hill.

“Doesn’t look super impressive from the outside,” said Andre.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Andre,” said Alice, nudging her friend on the shoulder.

“Oh, sweetheart, everyone judges books by their cover. Why do you think I put so much importance in my outfits, as well as yours?”

“Believe me, the exterior doesn’t do justice to the interior,” said their Carioca friend as they made their way up the stairs to reach the church.

When they finally made it inside the church, they were greeted by exquisite gilded carvings on the walls and altars, as well as magnificent paintings on the ceiling depicting the glorification of Saint Francis in a Baroque illusionist style.

“Wow,” simply said Andre, his mouth ajar.

“So much gold,” said Tulip.

“Good thing we didn’t bring Jae. He’d be salivating,” said Tonks.

“He’d probably try to take something to sell it,” said Penny as she removed her hat.

“Come on. He’s not that bad,” said Alice as she looked at the ceiling.

“Are you so sure of that?” asked Charlie, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Alice.

“Well… Ok, maybe not, but he mostly deals in magical contraband, so I don’t think he would see anything here worth selling,” admitted Alice.

“I wouldn’t put it past him to still try and make a quick buck from something here,” whispered Diego.

“Is it common for Muggle churches to be covered in gold?” asked Barnaby.

“Can’t say I’ve ever seen a Catholic church with so much gold. Russian Orthodox churches have their fair share, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this amount of gold in a church,” said Alice, looking around. 

“How do you know so much about churches?” asked Diego.

“I’ve seen some when I travelled with my parents when I was a kid. Even if you aren’t religious, churches can be of cultural interest, as artists were often commissioned to paint and decorate them to show how grand and powerful the Church was,” explained Alice.

“And if you didn’t already know, Alice is in Ravenclaw,” said Tonks, Alice sticking out her tongue at her.

“Hey, where did Charlie go?” asked Andre.

“He’s right…” started saying Alice as she looked beside her, only to see no one was standing there. She turned on herself trying to spot her boyfriend, to no avail.

“Hum, I think he went outside,” said Diego. “He found it stuffy in here.”

“Why didn’t he tell me? I should go with him,” said Alice. 

Before she could turn around, Diego wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her further inside the church. “Come on; I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to miss all the art in here.”

Alice gave Diego a suspicious look, furrowing her brows, before glancing behind her. She figured that if Charlie had wanted her to be with him, he would have told her. She shook Diego’s arms off of her shoulders and joined the girls at the altar, where Tulip was busy imagining Dennis getting married to the love of his life. Once they were done visiting the church, they went back outside, where Charlie was waiting for them in the shade.

“Are you ok?” asked Alice as she ran up to him.

“What do you mean?”

“Diego told us you went out because you felt it was stuffy in the church…”

“Oh! Yeah, I just needed some air, but I’m perfectly fine now.”

“Glad to hear you’re feeling better, mate,” said Andre as they made their way down the stairs.

“Ok, next up is a sweet treat: pastéis de nata. And it will give us the chance to relax a bit and step away from the heat,” said Alanza.

“Hum, actually, you guys can go ahead. We’ll join you later. There’s something I want to show Alice,” said Charlie, taking Alice’s hand.

She looked up at him, her cheeks turning pink.

“Ok, you two have fun!” said Diego as he guided the rest of the group away from the couple.

“We’ll be at the Confeitaria Colombo!” shouted Alanza as Alice and Charlie walked away.

They left the street they were on, taking a narrow road to lead them to the larger Rua Sete de Setembro.

“Where are you taking me?” asked Alice as she let Charlie lead the way.

“You’ll see,” simply replied Charlie.

“Is it what you and Diego were talking about yesterday?” asked Alice.

Charlie stopped in his tracks and looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Diego was looking for you yesterday before lunch, and he went straight to talk to you when I told him where you were. Also, you two looked like you were cooking up some plan last night at dinner,” said Alice as they started walking again.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” replied Charlie, avoiding Alice’s gaze.

“Ah! I knew it! You were planning something with Diego!” said Alice as they turned into a small deserted street next to an old theatre. “Seriously, where are you taking me?” she said, looking worriedly around.

They crossed a plaza and stopped in front of a building built in limestone that looked like a church. Four statues were on the façade: one on each side of the building, and the other two were on each side of the door. Before she had time to read what was written at the top of the building, Charlie took both of her hands and made her look at him. 

“Close your eyes,” he said, smiling.

Alice looked at him, skeptically.

“Please,” he pleaded.

She furrowed her brows, smiling lightly as she closed her eyes after removing her sunglasses. He waved a hand in front of her closed eyes to make sure she wasn’t looking. He gently took her hand and guided her inside the building.

“You can open your eyes now,” said Charlie as he stood behind her.

Alice opened her eyes and what she saw rendered her speechless. Three floors of walls covered in books. A magnificent chandelier dangled from the ceiling, which also had a skylight in iron structure. The intricate details of the wooden frame of the library’s galleries were sublime. Alice felt like she was in a dream. Sure, Hogwarts’ library was big, but it was dark, a little gloomy, and unwelcoming; Madam Pince having a lot to do with that last impression. This library was luminous. The blue walls contrasting with the wood’s darkness and the touches of gold on the wood contributed to Alice’s warm feeling as she stood in this great library.

“Oh, Charlie,” whispered Alice, turning around, the skirt of her dress twirling as she did so. 

“You like it?” asked Charlie as Alice wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Like it? I love it!” she said before kissing him on the lips, her straw hat falling backward.

Charlie placed his hands on her waist, closing his eyes as he leaned into the kiss until he realized something. He opened his eyes and cleared his throat.

“What?” asked Alice as she took a step back.

“Hum… there are people around…” whispered Charlie, looking around the room.

Alice turned her head, noticing some people looking at them as her face grew hot.

“Sorry,” she mouthed before looking back at Charlie. “Let’s take a look around,” she whispered as she grabbed her hat from the floor.

They walked around the bookcases on the ground floor, looking at all the old books’ spines. They didn’t dare touch any, as they felt the gaze of the librarian on their back.

“I guess every library comes with a Madam Pince,” whispered Alice.

“I guess kissing in a library won’t get you on the librarian’s good books,” said Charlie, looking behind him. “Anyway, it’s not like we can read anything here. Everything seems to be in Portuguese. We should go back to the others… Alice! What are you doing?”

Alice held a book in her hand while holding her wand over a page with the other. “Shhh, be quiet. It’s just this book had ‘Contos de fadas brasileiros’ written on it.”

“But it’s in Portuguese! And your wand…”

“I need it to use a translation spell Rowan taught me.”

“Taught you? When?”

“Well, she didn’t actually teach it to me in person. I just found it on a note in a book she read,” explained Alice as she read the page her wand was hovering over.

“Quick,” said Charlie, as he looked behind them, “the librarian is coming.”

Alice closed the book and promptly replaced it on the shelf as she surreptitiously slid her wand back into her crossbody handbag. “Obrigada,” said Alice, turning to face the librarian with a sweet smile, her angelic face seemingly calming any worries the librarian had as the couple swiftly left the library.

“That was a close call,” said Charlie once they were outside. “Anyway, what did you say to the librarian?”

“I simply said ‘thank you.’”

“Why?”

“Because it’s polite and one of the few things I can say in Portuguese,” explained Alice as they made their way back to the Rua Sete de Setembro. “Figured something polite, and my sweet face would get her off our backs.”

They leisurely made their way to the Confeitaria Colombo, holding hands and talking about their vacation so far. As they approached it, they saw their friends leaving the restaurant.

“Here are the two lovebirds!” exclaimed Tulip.

“We got some custard tarts to go when we figured you wouldn’t be back in time,” said Penny, holding up a small plastic bag.

“They were delicious!” said Barnaby, rubbing his stomach as he smiled.

“Mate, you have some coloured lip balm on your lips,” pointed out Andre, smirking.

“So I guess Alice liked her surprise,” said Diego, grinning.

Charlie used the back of his hand to wipe off the lip balm as he and Alice blushed.

“Wait, did you two abandon us just to make out somewhere?” asked Tonks.

“What? No! We visited a library!” exclaimed Alice.

“A library? Why would you visit a library instead of eating custard tarts? Are you trying to cover up for the fact that you did spend all that time making out?” asked Tulip, her face inches from Alice’s as she looked at her suspiciously.

“No, they did go to a library: The Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, or Royal Portuguese Reading Room,” explained Diego, making Alanza wince at his Portuguese pronunciation. “The two Argentinian girls I spoke to yesterday said it was a really nice place to see, so I told Charlie he should take Alice there.”

“Wait, when you left the church…” started saying Alanza.

“I went to locate the library, make sure I had the right directions,” completed Charlie.

“Aw, all that for Alice… Makes me sick,” said Tonks, sticking out her tongue in fake disgust.

“Jealous,” said Alice, lightly nudging her friend.

“You wish,” replied Tonks, linking her arm with her friend’s. “Now, come on. We’re supposed to go see a royal palace.”

“Actually, it is the Imperial Palace,” explained Alanza as they made their way down the street. “It became the prince regent of Portugal’s residence when he moved here with his family to escape Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal. It is at that time that Rio became the royal seat of power.”

“Bloody French,” said Tonks, smirking as she glanced at Alice. 

“He wasn’t French, he was Corsican, and his ancestors were Italian,” said Alice.

“But he was the emperor of France, no?”

“For, like, ten years.”

“His army was French?”

“Yes…”

“Therefore, I reiterate what I said: Bloody French,” said Tonks, sticking out her tongue.

“Stop bickering, you two,” said Andre. “As long as I get to see a palace, I’m happy.”

“We are not bickering. We are having a friendly conversation,” said Tonks and Alice in unison, making Alanza raise her eyebrows and look around in confusion.

“Don’t ask. That’s how they are,” explained Penny to Alanza, rolling her eyes.

When they finally arrived at the Imperial Palace, what stood in front of them was a white three-storey building in a simple baroque style with a tiled roof. 

“That’s it?” asked Tulip.

“Well, it has its charms,” said Alice.

“There are some details around the windows,” said Penny.

“It is not what Europeans think of when they hear ‘Imperial Palace,’” pointed out Alanza.

“Thank Merlin, you see it too! I mean, it’s lovely, sure, but it’s no Versaille or Buckingham. Please tell me it’s like that golden church, and the interior is grand,” said Andre with pleading eyes.

“Unfortunately, no. It was stripped at the end of the 19th century and became a central mail office. It mostly serves as a cultural center nowadays, with temporary art exhibitions.”

“Then why is it called the Imperial Palace?” asked Barnaby.

“Because when Brasil became independent, it became the Império do Brasil, or Empire of Brasil,” explained Alanza. “When it was the Portuguese royal family’s residence, it was known as the Royal Palace. Before that, it was the house of the Governor.”

“How come you know so much?” asked Tulip.

“She’s from around here,” said Diego.

“Alice, you live in London. Do you know who first lived in Buckingham Palace?”

“Hum, no?”

“See! I live in London as well, and I don’t know the history of any buildings, except the Tower of London because executions,” pointed out Tulip. 

“Alright, when Alice told me you wanted to visit the historic part of Centro, I may have studied up on my Trouxa history. The map I have with me is full of my notes,” she said, showing the scribbles on her map.

“Trouxa?” asked Barnaby.

“People who can’t do magic.”

“Ah! We call them Muggles,” said Charlie.

“So, as much as standing in the sun learning about cultural differences is fun, what is next?” asked Penny.

“Well, that’s pretty much it. Next up for you is to head back to the hotel to relax, so you are ready for tomorrow’s hike,” said Alanza.

“Hike?!” said Alice and Penny.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any outfits that are intended for nature,” said Andre.

“I was actually planning to go to the National History Museum tomorrow, since it’s free on Sundays,” said Alice.

“Says the rich girl,” said Tonks.

“Rich people are notoriously cheap,” replied Alice.

“But I don’t want to go to a stuffy museum,” complained Tulip.

“We can separate for the day. You guys can go hike in nature, while Penny, Andre, and I go to the museum.”

“Will there be dragons on that hike?” asked Charlie.

“Charlie. Always asking the important questions,” said Diego.

“Hum, no, sorry,” replied Alanza.

“Meh, then I’ll go to the museum with Alice.”

“Are you sure? There won’t be any dragons in the museum either,” said Alice.

“No, but you’ll be there,” replied Charlie, making Alice blush.

“Ok! I think this is our cue to head back to the hotel before those two start snogging in front of the palace,” said Tulip as she ran towards the street to hail two cabs.

“Well, see you tomorrow then! Tchau!” said Alanza waiving to the group as they joined Tulip.

A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed it! Next up: the museum, where I will describe every single exhibit they see... Joking. Anyway, just wanted to let you know something regarding the Imperial Palace. So, in the fic, Alanza said they interior is rather ordinary, it’s mostly based on pictures of the interior. According to Culture Trip, “in 1980 it was restored to its former glory with the interior replicated to how it was in the 19th century.” Unfortunately couldn’t find any information regarding the current state of the interior.

[third-rail-vip]

fic writer interview

Tagged by @adventuresofmeghatron

I’m late so you’ve probably already done this but tagging:  @laurelsofhighever  @tanaleth  @asaara-writes  @allisondraste  @pchberrytea  @red-hot-chili-tiefling

Thank you for tagging me!  Sorry it’s taken me forever, my imposter syndrome has been laughing loudly in my face at the idea of being considered a ‘writer’.  Please, come in, sit down and have a look see at my complete lack of process or general idea of what’s going on :) 

Name:  Ginger

Fandoms:  Fallout 4 currently.  Dragon Age a while back.

Where you post:  I put all my full fics on AO3 and if it’s a shorter one then I post the whole thing here on tumblr too.  If it’s giant then I post a snippet here with a link to AO3.

Most Popular One-shot:  Based on kudos The Wanderers - yeah i’m surprised too.  It was my first venture back into writing after taking time out and it was a whole new fandom and a game I was new to.  It was a fun silly little exercise in me learning my new otp and working out their fairly early days dynamic.

By comments, it’s Complicated.  I’d had that one in mind for a while before writing it (probably why it took 4 rewrites before it felt how I wanted it to).  It’s a good bit of post-feral encounter wound tending and hurt/comfort with some feels starting up (or becoming harder to deny).

Most Popular Multichap:  I don’t have any multichapter fics any more.  Once upon a time I had a Dragon Age Origins one.  I’m not good at the commitment of multichapter.  I made it 14 chapters into that one and it took me so long to drag myself out of Lothering I took it out back and shot it.

My Fallout one shots are part of an ongoing series - Then I Met You - which is a series of snapshots of Ivy and MacCready relationship (it’s still in pre-relationship stages right now).  It’s mostly character driven rather than main plot driven, but it does fit within the fallout 4 canon with some backstory and timeline canon divergence.

Favourite story you’ve written so far:  You know what, it’s my least popular Fallout one, but I have a soft spot for Blood & Rain.  It’s the second one I wrote and it’s Ivy’s pov with a hint at her pre-war life (she’s a non-canon origin sole survivor).  I got to indulge myself in writing descriptions and some action - my old faves from when I used to write (pew pew is way harder to write than stab stab).  It’s also got a really important bonding moment between Ivy and MacCready.

Fic you were nervous to post:  Every damn one.  Sharing anything you’ve made really is putting a little piece of your heart out on a platter for everyone to see and waiting to see what will happen to it.   I guess The Wanderers was extra nerve wracking because it was the first thing I wrote after telling myself I’d never go back to writing, it was kind of a make or break experiment.  Blood & Rain because of the potentially triggering material, hoping I’d touched personal subjects with enough sensitivity but also still telling the story I needed to.  

How do you choose your titles:  hahahaha WELL, I finish faffing with the main story in AO3 and then am outraged that I’m expected to have a name ready before I can post it.  Honestly though, I’ve no formula.  They all have working titles in google docs which tend to be either a vague description of what’s happening, or a song title/lyric that’s running through my head while I write.  Like, the current fic I’m working on is ‘mass pike pt 2’ which is a useless title since the part 1 was actually called Gunners & Grudges.  And I won’t know until posting day what I’m going to call it.  

I did put some serious thought into a title for my series - Then I Met You.  I was cycling through song lyrics or things that might be a general vibe for them but settled back on one line from MacCready’s final affinity chat, “then I met you”. And it just fit so well.  Meeting each other is a turning point for both of them; whether you just look at it as making a friend in the wasteland, or finding some direction after drifting for too long, or there finally being a glimmer of hope after a long time in the dark (this all counts for both of them), something changed when they met.  

Do you outline:  Sort of.  I have a massive ‘fallout notes’ document where i just jot down whenever i have an idea of something i want to write, or just random bits of dialogue that spring into my mind (that may never see the light of day again).  From there, if I want to expand them I tend to bullet point with plot ideas, more dialogue, key backstory or important things I want to cover.  I tend to have multiple fics I’m doing this with at once and I bounce between them depending on where my mind has drifted off to that day.  By the time I actually come to write something, I tend to have a lot of notes to work from, in fact quite often I have to cut back on all the ideas I wanted to cram in and some things get slotted back into the giant fallout doc for future reference.

Complete:  I only have one shots, so technically they’re all complete and can be read, for the most part, individually without you needing to have read the others.  They will make sense, there might just be some context from previous one shots in there.

In progress:  Then I Met You is an ongoing series for my Mac x Ivy one shots.

Prompts?:  I do put prompt list out there for Mac x Ivy when my brain isn’t cooperating and I feel like a need a little extra inspiration.  For the current series I’m hoarding them and working them into the context one shots I have planned.  Pretty much all my Dragon Age Origins one shots over on AO3 were prompt fills.

Upcoming work you’re most excited about:  Ugh guys we’re getting close to them getting together territory and boy do I wish my brain was being cooperative so I could get these couple of stories in between down on the page and could start working in earnest on those ones.  There’s a lazy morning in bed after a big party fic I’m really looking forward to writing (I’m looking forward to both tbh) - any excuse to explore stories behind scars and tattoos and I’m there for it.  I’m even getting a commission from the amazing @tarberrymentats  for it *discord wiggle*, so yeah, I’m excited about getting to that one!

Anyway thank you for reading my ramblings x

[wichols]

Angst/Fluff Writing Prompt Fun Wrap Up!

Now that I have finally finished all the submitted prompts I thought it would be fun to do a cute little wrap up in case you might have missed any of the stories along the way, along with some background/thoughts/feels about each one! Duration May 13th - July 15th (that was longer than I expected but cool!) 1.  Rain and Confessions (Kyoya X Haruhi WC: 1,662)  Prompt: “And yet, you’re still not enough.”  Summary: After her graduation from law school, Haruhi and Kyoya pack up her apartment in preparation of Haruhi moving back to Japan. Kyoya has been waiting years for this moment and he is going to let Haruhi know exactly how he feels about Haruhi and isn't going to let a little rain ruin his plans for them. AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net Thoughts: This prompt is a canon insecurity for Kyoya and so it was easy for me to write- considering I posted the prompt list on the 13th and uploaded it on the 14th. But also it was so hard to write because they are my OTP!! It pained me to make them suffer like this. To make Kyoya vulnerable is tough. To bring down his walls in front of someone is a struggle. Upon reading back through it I dare say there is a peep of inspiration from Pride and Prejudice (can you spot the hidden Mr. Darcy-like quote?). Favorite Line:  “You say that you will do all these things out of your love for me but it is because of my love for you that I cannot accept your offer because you become less of who you are and more of the person you think I need.”  2. Public Masks for Private Matters (Takashi x Haruhi WC: 1,269) Prompt:  “Being alone would be better than being married to you.” 

Summary: Haruhi has finally reached her breaking point. After winning her career-defining case her world comes crashing down. Blame has been assigned and trust has been broken between Haruhi and Takashi. 

AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net Thoughts: The TakaHaru ship is by far one of the hardest ships to use with angsty writing because of the nature of Takashi. The hurt he could inflict on Haruhi isn’t something so obvious like physical/mental/emotional abuse. I think in my mind that it is his lack of response is the most believable response to causing conflict between them- his inability/insecurity to say the right thing at the right time. At least that is what it would come off to others. Takashi is an introvert/observer. If he was experiencing emotional distress he would probably cave in and bottle things up, holding the burden alone.  (Spoliers!!) The real secret behind this fic is that Takashi only ever told her the truth. Haruhi busted a major company for the terrible working conditions of their low income employees. A week after the close of the trial she was jumped by a group of people and was sent to the hospital. They had know she was pregnant for a short while and wanted to keep it a secret because of the high profile nature of the case- not even telling friends or family. They lost the baby and it broke them. To this day they still have not mentioned the loss of their child. So naturally they suffer alone, putting on masks for the public. I honestly thought about writing something more with this background information but it just seemed a little difficult to set up the scene. Favorite Line:  “The love I held for you is what blinded me.“ 3. Cameras and Questions (Kyoya x Haruhi WC: 1,181) Prompt:  An almost kiss Summary:  Yet again Kyoya convinces Haruhi to be his date to another gala event. Haruhi asks a question that gets answered in the most unusual way. Is there more going on between a young no-name lawyer and one of Japan's Top 5 Eligible Bachelors than the public is aware? AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net

Thoughts: This was so fun to write! I love writing snarky Haruhi. I also love writing the back and forth between them. I mean they are my OTP I love the chase. XD I feel like they both can be very up front with each other but that they enjoy the subtleties of their conversations. I love the challenge between them, and how they push and test each other. I think in the beginning I didn’t quite know how to put them in a situation where there was an almost kiss, mostly because I still couldn’t get myself to fully commit to a fluffy piece of writing. But I think with what I did I could classify it as fluff defined by my standards (nobody died and everyone is happy). Favorite Line:  “I don’t know any Ootori man to half-ass anything.” 4. Disgust and Devotion (Hikaru x Haruhi WC:1,083) Prompt:  “Please don’t cry.” & “It’s three in the morning. What could you possibly want?” Summary:  They said that it wouldn't work between them. Are their worlds so far apart that it is impossible? Hikaru is caught up in another scandal and Haruhi has reached her limit. Does she love him enough to stay or is she just too weak to leave? AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net Thoughts: I think at this point in the prompts I still couldn’t get myself to write fluff and this ask was a fluff/angst mix with the two prompts provided. I do enjoy writing the HikaHaru ship even if there is not much out there. Originally when I was working on brainstorming ideas the end game was for them to have angry makeup sex. But I just couldn’t twist what I had in a way that would flow naturally with the base plot. I think I like writing Hikaru slightly drunk. It curves his temper and makes him more mellow. But he is still our impulsive little boy and he still has a ways to grow up. This wasn’t the first time that something like this has come up. Though both times he was not at fault (though in the original idea he totally did cheat one drunk night but couldn’t really remember). If anything the fluff is implied at the end.... Favorite Line:  “The media can make it look like anything they want to with a well-timed photo.” 5. Love Over Reason (Takashi x Haruhi WC: 2,102) Prompt: “Are you blushing?” Summary: Loving someone is complicated. Sometimes we feel as though the ones we love deserve more than we can give. Does spending six months apart change Takashi and Haruhi's feelings for the better or for worse? AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net Thoughts: There was about 5 days between this fic and Disgust and Devotion and I still couldn’t really bring myself to write straight fluff... But this turned into quite a piece. I think I was hitting a stride of coffee shop AUs and I just couldn’t help myself. Ever love someone so much you push them away because you think it will be better than dragging them through your mess? Well same. I think the fluff in this fic is subtle. They care so deeply for one another that they don’t want to hurt each other more. And just to be kind I added more fluff at the end. I’m not sure I really like how I used the prompt for this one but what’s posted is posted. Favorite Line:  “All I have ever wanted from you is you.” - This line still gets me all sorts of choked up when I read it.

6. Brutality Mixed With Intimacy (Takashi x Haruhi WC: 1,455)

Prompt:  'Please don't cry' or 'You know I have feelings for you, right?'

Summary:  After months of following dead ends, the Ouran Association finally has a solid lead to obtaining useful information on the ring leader of a major underground human trafficking organization in Japan. All other hits had gone to plan for Takashi but this one hit too close to home. With Haruhi as their next target, he couldn't handle the risk of possibly losing her.

AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net

Thoughts: Cue the beginning evidence of my current obsession with Mafia AU’s... The mafia au is just the perfect setting for my dark angsty heart! I just couldn’t resist. Especially when fluff was so far down the list of things I still wanted to write. I won’t name names but a certain TakaHaru shipper threatened me that they were going to write a fix it fic so that Haruhi actually ended up with Takashi instead of Tamaki. And of course she would end up with Tamaki, he of all of them would have the least blood on his hands.

Favorite Line:  “You were never going to make it to the drop off location.”

7. Fashion and Feelings (Hikaru x Haruhi WC: 2,691)

Prompt: “You know I have feelings for you right?”

Summary: After years of silently watching and pining for Haruhi from afar, Hikaru finally gets the courage to reveal his true feelings for her. With his new spring line debuting in a few short days Hikaru is going to lay his fashion reputation and love all on the line in hopes of having his feelings reciprocated.

AO3, Tumblr, FF.Net

Thoughts: Finally, FINALLY, finally I was able to pull out just the most fluffy fluff I could write! Like it took everything I had to put no angst in this one at all. This prompt sat for weeks and weeks without progress. I didn’t have a clue with what I was going to do with it. Like, it laughed at me with it’s blank doc. I wanted this final prompt to be just fluff so I left it to sit until I finally had a spark of fluff. This can be read alone or as part of the back story for Disgust and Devotion.  

Favorite Line:  “Most people would be creeped out by someone other than a significant other who bought them lingerie.” Final Thoughts:

Shortest- Cameras and Questions Longest- Fashion and Feelings Combined Total Word Count: 11,443 Title Themes- I really wanted to give this round of prompts a slightly longer title theme. My favorite is probably Brutality Mixed With Intimacy but a close runner up is Public Masks for Private Matters.

Favorite- Fashion and Feelings Least Favorite- Love Over Reason Thanks to everyone who submitted requests! It is always a pleasure writing for you!

[miraculouscontent]

How do you write your stories. I know it sounds like a broad question, but I have been inspired to write because you make it so fun! The problem is... well I have a lot of problems. For example how to start a chapter and/or outline, making dialogue correctly, how not to make the plot/chapter feel rushed, etc... Do you have links, process, or tutorials on how to write and get started and all that good stuff? Thanks in advance!

KGJGKFDS THANKS

Though, I’ll be completely honest in saying that I've never looked up tutorials or processes for how to write better. Everything I’ve done is self-taught and based on my own experiences reading/writing.

In terms of how to start a chapter/outline... I feel like that’s something one has to figure out themself. If it’s too hard to process ideas, then maybe it’s not meant to be. What you want to do is have a basic beginning/middle/end at LEAST (i.e: what you want to happen in the chapter, how you want to get there, and how you want it to affect the rest of the plot/story). Some people do best with really detailed outlines while others work better with something more vague so they can improvise on the fly. As long as you know how you’re going to get from A to B to C, your outline is probably good enough.

Concerning dialog (presuming that this is a fanfiction and not an original story), that’s something that has to be analyzed and picked up. Keep track of a character’s quirks.

Marinette, for example, tends to ramble when nervous or just generally thinking too much. Luka, meanwhile, is much calmer and tends to relate things back to music if it helps a point he’s making.

When in doubt, try to look up a character's quotes on the wiki and take note of how they talk.

Rushing a chapter is obviously bad, but the reasons for why it happens can be varied. If you rush a chapter because there was one part you just REALLY wanted to write, consider writing that part first and then going back and writing the lead-up to it, because you’re more likely to rush if you get too excited about that one part you were hyped about.

Also, consider why the plot/chapter feels rushed in the first place. The build-up might not be there, or maybe there isn’t enough detail. Think about how the scene plays out in your head and if that feels rushed; if the answer is “no,” then think about what the difference is between the scene in your head and the scene that you wrote; maybe there are more beats of silence, or more hand gestures that help fill out the dialog.

As for links... I mean, I guess I have a bunch of bookmarks for writing assistance (that I’ve never used, rip) which I can offer:

Programs

FocusWriter (simple text writer/editor, providing a distraction-free environment)

Writefull App (word choice assistant)

Websites/Tips

Tip of My Tongue (for help finding THAT word)

Writing Craft Archives (various posts from different people about writing advice; there are categories off to the side for specific stuff like “dialog”)

Ideas/Help

OTP Fluff Idea Generator

Writing Prompt Generator

[addictedtostorytelling]

Part 1- Hi! (Feel free to ignore I don’t want to bother you) your lost answer to anon got me thinking about an old headcanon I could never get str8 (Jate’s my lost otp & I love suliet to pieces). In “LaFleur”, sawyer says Kate’s face is gone from his memory, 3y’s enough to get over someone. But as soon as she’s back, he keeps glancing @ her as to figure out if he believes his own words. Except from the obvious writers’ ambiguous trick to keep the “square” alive for a bit longer,

Part 2- I thought it was some sort of leftover tenderness they shared toward each other (that Jack/Juliet didn’t get) cause despite their incompatibility, I believe they genuinely loved each other. So my question really is: do you think, post “the end” S & K find à way to accept that they care about each other, help each other get over their losses, learn to belong even if it’s just in each other’s lives (as friends or more) ? Sorry for this novel and thanks.

hey @clarissemcc!

so my headcanon for how things turn out with kate and sawyer post-island is definitely on the angsty side.

i’ll tuck it after the “keep reading,” just to be safe.

___________

as the final on-screen events of the original timeline in the series finale take place, jack has made the decision to remain behind on the island (where he soon dies), and juliet is already dead, meaning that both kate and sawyer return to civilization faced with the prospect of going through the rest of their lives bereft of their respective soulmates.

both of them undoubtedly mourn.

both of them undoubtedly suffer. 

but, ultimately, kate is better equipped to cope with her loss than sawyer is his.

that’s not to say that things are easy for kate, of course.

when she is finally reunited with jack in the flash-sideways universe, the sheer yearning in her “i’ve missed you so much” admission implies that she has likely spent years on years---a full lifetime---in the ot grieving him. 

losing jack after just having reconciled with him for the first time since their falling out in the wake of their broken engagement and after everything that they had been through together both on and off of the island most certainly leaves her heartbroken and reeling. 

she probably never really gets over mourning him and wondering “what if---?”

i honestly don’t see her ever getting in another long-term relationship or marrying after him; if she was going to “settle down” in that way, he was the one person she was going to do so with.

that said, i do think that, overall, she is able to face that grief (however long she has to) because she has a sense of purpose in leaving the island. 

she’s going to help claire raise aaron.

and i tend to believe that having someplace to go and something important to do helps her endure a life without jack.

that’s where she encounters whatever healing is available to her and “learns to belong,” like you talk about.

before crashing on the island, she is a fugitive runaway with nothing good or lasting in her life, but afterward she has two people who are looking to her to provide stability for them; she has a family, a home, and, most significantly, a reason to stick around.

not so with sawyer.

before the island, he is placeless---a traveling con man, in and out of prison, lacking a solid identity, much less a sense of purpose.

on the island, and particularly during the 70s in dharmaville, he finally gains grounding, becoming a super competent leader under the guise of jim lafleur and finding a partner---in every sense of the word---in juliet.

and had he been able to leave the island with juliet and marry her, as per his plan, i think he would have continued in the upward trajectory we see from him in s5 and s6. he would have listened to his better angels.

but in the wake of losing juliet, i’m not sure he can---and not just because she’s gone but because he blames himself for her death.

for as gut-wrenching as leaving jack behind on the island is for kate---and particularly knowing that he is badly wounded and possibly close to death---she can at least take solace in the fact that jack makes a choice for himself, and she can honor his willing sacrifice by taking care of his sister and nephew.

sawyer knows no such comfort.

he blames himself for juliet’s death on multiple levels: because he asked juliet to stay with him on the island for “two weeks” which turned into three years (see episode 05x08 “lafleur”); because his behavior around kate after she returned to the island eventually prompted juliet to sign on for jack’s plan to blow up the jughead (see episode 05x16 “the incident” pt. i); and because he literally couldn’t hold onto juliet and dropped her down the shaft (see episode 05x17 “the incident” pt. ii). 

though one could try to argue with him that juliet exercised personal agency both in remaining on the island with him AND detonating the bomb, his guilt and self-loathing would never accept such appeals.

in his mind, he killed the only person he ever truly loved.

and without her, not only does he have nowhere to go and nothing to do post-island, but he also carries with him the sense that he doesn’t deserve to get to go anywhere or do anything.

he doesn’t want to carry on in her absence.

he wants to suffer for his sins.

he wants to experience every moment of agony rightly owed him for his actions.

filled with guilt, pain, and the impulse to self-castigate, i just can’t imagine him faring well.

though kate might try to convince him to not give up, i don’t think he’d listen to her or accept any attempts by her to take care of him---and particularly not because he knows that part of what persuaded juliet to blow up the warhead was her assumption, however erroneous, that he would eventually choose kate over her (“i changed my mind when i saw you look at her”).

even just being around kate as a friend would trigger his guilt in the extreme.

and while he wouldn’t blame kate---as he says he doesn’t, per the scene on the pier---he would still blame himself.

he would always blame himself.

hate himself, even.

and a self-hating sawyer is a dangerous one.

i mean, self-hatred is what underlies his jerky, bullying, posturing behavior during the early seasons of the show, right? and, by comparison, that self-hatred is of a more “garden variety,” rooted in his sense that he has become someone despicable, rather than an extremely personal sense of loss (and fault).

so much more extreme will be his bent over juliet---and so much the worse his self-sabotaging behavior as a consequence.

the pre-show sawyer is an outlaw who lives dangerously, but he ultimately possesses a self-preservative instinct; he is a consummate survivor.

that’s part of what makes him and kate so similar.

and him and juliet, for that matter.  

but this sawyer---the one who feels responsible for getting the woman he loves killed---won’t care what happens to him anymore.

so he won’t do himself in all at once---not when he has a very strong sense that he deserves to suffer for what he has done for as long as possible---but he will drink and smoke himself sick and pick barfights with guys twice his size and run cons where he’s almost sure to get caught and then pull his gun on the cops who show up to arrest him; he’ll be a fucking mess, the likes of which would make even bearded, pill-popping, oceanic-six, los angeles jack go, “oh shit.”

and without any sense of grander purpose, i don’t know that sawyer would be able to pull himself out of the spiral.

kate might try to argue that he has an obligation to take care of himself if not for his own sake than for clementine’s, but he’d probably say that his daughter’s only interaction with him being by way of the trust fund he left for her is for the best.

honestly, i don’t think his story in the ot has any kind of happy ending.

and i don’t think he lasts as long as kate does.

just based on the way i understand his character, i doubt that sawyer allows himself to find any sort of refuge with kate post-island in the ot, either friendly or romantic, even if she tries to offer it to him. he also probably eschews company of any kind from anyone, including their other friends from the island. 

for my money, there is just too much hurt and guilt in him, for which he cannot permit himself any sort of peace, so he strikes out on his own (“some of us are meant to be alone”) to disastrous effect.

while kate undoubtedly worries about him, i think that at some point, probably sooner rather than later, she makes the conscious decision to focus her energies on claire and aaron, resigning herself to the fact that sawyer doesn’t want to be saved, and particularly not by her. 

ultimately, i think their paths diverge.

she learns to live again after the island, and he doesn’t.

all of this postulation given, i’m certainly not harshing on your headcanon! it’s way happier than mine and, frankly, a whole lot nicer to think about.

lest i end on a super negative note here, i’ll finish up by saying that i find it highly significant that in the flash-sideways, kate once again finds purpose in helping claire with aaron, while sawyer is searching---not only as a detective for his parents’ killer but literally walking around with a big, yellow sunflower (his bloom of choice for juliet), trying to find where (or rather to whom) he belongs, hopeful for the life he has always wanted to lead with her. 

though he doesn’t get any kind of happy ending in the ot, at least by my estimation, he does eventually find what he’s looking for in the flash-sideways, and that reunion with juliet is so healing for him. 

anyway, i’m rambling here.

thanks for the question! feel welcome to send another any time. 

[flyswhumpcenter]

Bad Things Happen Bingo! The event where you send me requests according to this marvelous card! (Red cross is the completed prompt, character headshots are prompts I’ve already filled. I don’t have any request left, so feel free to send in suggestions for this card!).

I have no idea what I'm doing and I must scream about my friend's OTP

*bangs pots together* I HEARD THIS FANDOM NEEDED MORE SICKFIC SO I CAME HERE TO PROVIDE With angst too! It's simple, even simplistic to a fault in fact, but I'm kind of happy with it? The beginning especially, man I love writing the literal equivalent of suffering. The ending may be a letdown, but I hope it's decent anyway.

also yeah can we all stan my good pal @chess-of-flowering-kingdom's writing in the chat because she's much better than me at this FE3H thing, she’s like an icon or something in this fandom

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Thanatophobia

Summary: [thanatophobia: noun. Literally, “fear of death”; a feeling of dread, anxiety or sollicitude when thinking of or faced by death or the process of dying. Derivated fromthe Ancient Greek "θάνατος", death, and "φόβος", fear or anxiety.] Ingrid almost loses someone again. 

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses (post-timeskip) Ships: Ingrid/Sylvain (pre-relationship)

Wordcount: 2.8K words

Event hosted by @badthingshappenbingo

AO3 version available here.

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Her vision was blurry from the water flooding in her eyes, her hearing by the sobs she was trying to keep inside, her thoughts from the swirling concerns and confusion hitting it at once. Her head ached, so did her heart, and her stomach was hardly able to keep up with the nauseating worry she was finding herself to be the victim of.

Yet, and it only hurt further to admit it, even the best training in the world couldn’t have prevented this, so all she could do was not let herself get eaten away by her sorrow, as looking like a mourning widow would do nothing to improve the absolutely abhorrent situation that was unfolding right before her helpless eyes.

 It wasn’t like it was her fault, she knew that. She couldn’t have prevented it even if she had tried her hardest: in a way, this was bound to happen, but that train of thought only made it worse. What, was she supposed to just stay here and do nothing because this was always going to end in some tragedy one way or the other? Was she supposed to believe there was fate above all of their heads menacingly staring at them and waiting for the first opportunity to cause them misery to happen?

As it stood, Ingrid hated being unable to do anything, always wanted to do something and be of some use whenever things turned sour; yet reality was forcing itself on her, itself and its terrible sides and toll. It was telling her that no matter what she did, no matter what she was trying to do, no matter where she went, no matter how or why, it was a superior face on her soul bound to its realm by her flesh and blood.

If reality wanted to pain her again and make someone die on her for a second time, it could, and it wanted very desperately to show her this without any possible contestation on her part.

 Perhaps it hurt her even more to know this would eventually happen, no matter what she said or did. Ingrid had always watched over Sylvain ever since they had known each other, had gotten to know every side of his personality to the point she could predict every single thing he was about to go through with. He was a free spirit, someone who took his life lightly, a true skirt-chaser, someone who listened to her and stared into her eyes without ever considering if her words could have an impact on his life.

Ingrid had always found him to take his existence too much on the light side of things, and Glenn’s demise had only enforced his feeling, but she could only confirm that to a whole new extent she had never wished to behold today.

 They were fighting alongside on the battlefield, the two of them, against the enemy forces. She was the prideful knight, he was the free-thinking monk, and they worked better than she’d have expected coming him and his seemingly lack of seriousness about anything that involved life-or-death stakes. Both on the battlefield, sharing a portion of land as decided by their strategist, weapons out and senses sharp, focus undefeatable as she defeated her foes one by one on her fierce mount.

At least, it was in her case, because Ingrid couldn’t stop spotting in the corner of her how sloppy her battle partner was. Usually, and that was one of the qualities she could give him, he was more than competent when fighting, He’d usually slipped in a couple teases and flirtatious lines of banter between two battles, yet all she heard are pants and wheezes coming from his side, her moves slow and unprecise, the absolute opposite of what a warrior was supposed to be standing for in her eyes.

 But the battle was raging on, so she ignored it at first and just made it out to be a minor thing. Must have been because he had been chasing skirts all night again, without thinking of tomorrow’s battle (even if that seemed too easy of an explanation). It was a day like any other, even if the taste of blood wasn’t as strong as it’d have usually been. Nothing wrong to report on, truly, or so she thought (or tried convincing herself of? It wasn’t clear, not even in the heat of the moment where lucidity of the mind was key). And, in her point of view, it all looked fine and usual until she noticed she was alone killing off the last of the enemy’s forces.

As it stood, meddling with the dried leaves of the early autumn metamorphosis, crimson poking out from the light browns and oranges, was the unconscious body of a childhood friend.

 The assault had stopped for them, in the far-end part of the battlefield; yet the feeling of dread wetting her back in cold sweats didn’t give in, nourishing itself from the misery plaguing her mind. Ingrid got off her mount, her stallion’s reins firmly enclosed between her fingers, approaching the suddenly shapeless form of who could have only been Sylvain if she squinted enough with heavy steps and a heavier breath.

She slowly crouched, feet trying to avoid stepping on the leftovers of the battle, until her available hand could touch him, the other gripping harder on the reins as soon she realized what was wrong. A clump formed in her throat, her stomach twirled, she felt like she was about to get sick from the sudden rush of worry nausea taking a hold of her system like a demon possessing her body. Without uttering a word, she put him on his back, finally able to see his dirtied face and harsh breathing, skin paler than the corpses around them, red splattered across his cheeks like blood on a soldier’s attire.

 Ingrid didn’t waste words trying to wake him up, but her hands burned when she let go of the rein to put him on her mount and escort him back to safety, back to their base while she walked, in silent, with a troubling vision and sobs threatening to exit her chest if she wasn’t careful to them even for a moment. Her feet crushing the dirt and leaves, three breathes of different intensities and faraway cries were the only things she accepted hearing for the time being, careful that none of these breathings stopped all of a sudden and forever.

She was sniffling worry in. This was happening, under her eyes, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She was no healer, no priestess of any kind. She didn’t know how to beg a deity for someone’s wellbeing, all she knew was fighting and court codes, in the end. Despite the toll of the battle on the enemy’s forces and her army’s victory, her heart couldn’t scream any cry of war, couldn’t sing a hymn, because it was busy crying while her mind was busy not to let herself do the same.

 And, in this time of great mental distress, sorrowful Ingrid realized something: for the first time in her life, no matter what had happened before since they had been children, no matter what she could say or even think of uttering, she couldn’t do anything for Sylvain.

 The rest of things was a blur from then on. She brought her horse back to the base, couldn’t explain what had happened aside from the idea that he had collapsed while she was looking elsewhere to fend against the enemy, and watched events unfold while her hands went unoccupied and her legs restless. Her entire body turned into lead jelly, stiff like metal yet tender from her weaknesses striking at once. Healers tried their best, but only words of apology came out from them: they had spells for injuries, not illnesses, and they were as helpless as she was.

When she was invited to see him after a more formal exam, shortly before the battle ended with her army’s flawless and stainless victory, Ingrid turned down the offer. She wasn’t ready to face the situation, not at first at last, and went for a walk outside instead to calm down the nausea and stop her thoughts from becoming a tornado inside her skull.

 The air had gone cold since the battle had ended, the warmth of her companions and blood pouring on the floor having given stead to night’s silence and comfortable judgement. Nobody could see her now, all inside either celebrating or getting concerned, maybe both; but even her hunger had gone missing, buried under the thick layers of concern she kept putting on because of her own uselessness.

Her hands rubbed against her arms, her breath emitted clear smoke against the black backdrop of the night embracing her, her feverish skin finally calming down to a point where she felt like she could face her friend again, even if this entire fiasco made her doubt her own feelings’ nature. Perhaps staying for too long in the dark quietness of the deserted paths only accelerated her uncertainties, so she went back inside, the warmth of a group reaching back to her right as her skin was shivering.

 Her heart was wavering with the intensity of a typhoon, even as her footsteps echoed in the corridors as she made her way to the infirmary. She knocked once and entered without waiting for a reply, not expecting any considering it was already fairly late in the evening. The silence of the room reminded her of the outsides, which eased her heart into entering the room, even if immediately the sight of Sylvain in this bed, left to devilish devices, stung her deeper than she’d have thought.

Her hands were fiddling together by themselves as she sat on the chair that was already there, eyes unable to face it. She wanted to weep at last, let her sorrow run free; but that’d have been disgracing Sylvain, disgracing all the cautious words she had ever told him and all the messages she had tried to drill through his skull as much as possible so he wouldn’t ridicule himself again, so she wouldn’t suffer second-hand embarrassment from him.

 Her heart was pounding. In truth, she wasn’t confused about her feelings, more than she wanted to deny them: really, falling for her childhood friend wasn’t something she wanted. It was even worse if she considered how he was such a skirt-chaser, flirting with everything that moved or had a pulse, from her grandmother to their female colleagues: it was going to end badly for her if she truly stopped lying to herself about it, if something made her stop rejecting what she shouldn’t have felt in the first place.

The problem was that this something had already come around. No matter how much she told herself this, seeing Sylvain in this bed was like watching herself lose Glenn all over again: it started small, it always ended terribly, this much she had been taught and she had learnt over the years, throughout her experiences and connections with people. She was afraid of losing someone else, so she denied their value to her and tried keeping her tears inside, even if she knew it was all a lie, even if she was fully aware it had been nothing but a charade of refusal and unhealthy denial.

 Yet, even with all of her efforts, Ingrid was crying, tears rolling down her face and sorrow finally making its way out of her airways, pouring in thoughts and tears. How ungraceful, how weak coming from the woman who had wanted to become Dimitri’s most fellow knight, the one who grief and death shouldn’t have scared like a little girl whom the world had deemed to forever be lost in the eternal penumbra whose last beacon of light had been engulfed by the shadows.

At least, she was alone, unseen from the world, with the only witness being an unconscious man. It was the only consolation she had, the one thing fate had decided to keep her away from being shame and dishonour, but it was minor compared to the pain raging in her chest.

 Until she felt a trembling finger stroking her cheek, stealing a tear away.

 With her vision now restored, Ingrid saw the impossible: Sylvain, awake, the faintest smile he had given her on his face, whose finger was indeed against her cheek despite the weakness she could tell came from it. For a moment, a short moment, time stopped, until he broke down coughing and her heart started stinging again.

“’nice to see you, Ing,” he slurred as he looked at her, breathing still as heavy as it used to, glass-eyed and disgraceful all around. Yet, even in this moment of vulnerability on his part…

“…nice to see you too, Sylvain,” she tried to ignore that fact and hide her relief to see him conscious enough.

 It meant that, in another sense, she could finally do the one thing she should have done all along.

“Never, ever do that again. I don’t want to escort you out of the battlefield after harvesting your body like rotting wealth.”

“That’s not a… nice thing to say…”

“Do you think worrying me was a nice thing to do?”

If she couldn’t have hidden the tears forever, she surely couldn’t have pretended like she wasn’t blushing from embarrassment after dropping such a line. In fact, like a foolush beginner, she had stolen her own speech away from herself. Talk about a bad move on her part.

 “I… I made you worry…?” His voice was unnaturally groggy and low, as if gravel had infected his airways. It was like speaking to someone else altogether if she didn’t focus on his face.

“…of course you did. We’re friends.”

“Ah…” His expression was genuine, this much she could tell, but his sudden solemnity weirded out in some measure. “Sorry… I thought it’d do the opposite, but…” He coughed, yet smiled, and it confused her even further. “’was wrong.”

“You sure were…”

 They fell into some kind of constantly broken silence, wordless moments interrupted by coughing fits she had never wanted to hear and desired to see gone for the rest of their existences. Her heart continued aching against her bones, fatigue never truly coming to her senses, until Sylvain put her hand away from her face and she missed his undesired hotness.

“Y’know, I’ve always l’ved you, Ing…” He slurred, his face’s flushing making her unable to tell if it was genuine, just a delirium kind of side effect, or a plain joke. Considering the context, she scratched the last theory out on her quick mental list.

Not like she’d have possibly had the wittiness to reply to that in her usual fashion, not when she had feared for his life merely an hour ago all evening.

  “I…”

He’d forget that by the time morning rolled around, right? Someone like him wouldn’t have normally laid down his feelings like that. She could, maybe just this once, maybe because he was alive and she was more than happy about this fact, allow herself a confession of her own.

“It may have been reciprocal for a longer time that I thought.”

 Her response must have rendered him speechless, because all she saw him do was blush even further and almost faint on her.

“Hey, are you alright?!” She yelled without really realizing about it. “You should rest, that’s the only way you’ll win against this thing.”

She still didn’t know what the nature of the illness was exactly, but for now, she’d do without that piece of information. It wasn’t like she had dared asking or even thinking about it, it could have sent her into another wave of choked sobs if she had.

“I… s’pose you’re right… See ya later, Ing…”

“See you. Take care.”

 She waited for him to completely fall asleep before leaving the room, her heart still heavy from the concern, exhaustion of the day and sudden revelations that had showered on her out of the blue. It really hadn’t been the right moment to have those, this much was for sure.

Yet, tomorrow seemed a bit more promising now. She still felt helpless, useless on the surface, and her chest ached from seeing such a dear friend (this, she couldn’t deny anymore) in such a pitiful condition. Nonetheless, she left his room before she could give him the one thing he didn’t quite want in her opinion, her pity, and thought sleep would clear everyone’s minds out of whatever had bothered them during the day and made them endlessly stir.

Yeah, she just needed a good night of sleep and for him to be alright. It was a lot to ask for, but she’d be caught red-handed trying to get that to happen nonetheless.

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By the time day rolled around, even if the fever was still clogging his brain, Sylvain hadn’t forgotten about their conversation.

Ingrid didn’t quite know what to make out of that realization.

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jokes on everyone (that includes me, a clown) I know very little about the game, it was just to make my good friend Azure smile and write even more angst

As such, I want to formally apologize if anyone is OOC beyond recognition.

[apollo-justice-for-all]

Justicykes Fic - Scars

A/N: Alright, so as promised, here’s that cute little Justicykes prompt I said I’d post. It’s based on an OTP prompt which you can find here: https://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/170933905969/person-a-has-scars-on-their-backshoulders-can-be

Fair warning, the original prompt does contain trigger warnings for self-harm and injuries. This one only has injury warnings as well as major spoilers for Dual Destinies (specifically The Cosmic Turnabout, Turnabout Countdown and Turnabout for Tomorrow) and minor spoilers for Spirit of Justice. If you haven’t played either game, I recommend holding off on reading this until you’ve played through them both.

Anyways, without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Every scar told a story.

That was what Apollo was led to believe as he glanced over his shoulder at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, taking in the numerous marks, scratches, cuts and bruises that adorned his back. Though some of the scars had faded over time, they were still a reminder of the hardships he had endured in his life.

First, there were the burn scars, standing out like large red continents over an olive ocean. While they didn’t hurt very much compared to when they did before, they served as a permanent reminder of the disaster that had struck when he was only a baby, crying for his father as the fire proceeded to consume them both. Of course, Dhurke had been able to save Apollo in the nick of time, but it left him with a trauma that would scar him for life, and a deathly fear of fire that would forever haunt his nightmares.

Next was a medium-sized tattoo, located right between his shoulder blades. The tattoo was shaped like a dragon, a ferocious beast that circled around to form the shape of a spirit - a mitama. It was a mark that Apollo knew all too well, one that he had been so determined to hide at all costs. It was a mark that told him that he was Dhurke’s adopted son...and a member of the Defiant Dragons, a rebel group located within Khura’in, fighting for a revolution to bring down a corrupt regime.

Apollo sighed, feeling the heavy burden weighing down heavily in his heart. He had always been self-conscious about his body, but whenever someone asked him about the tattoo on his back, he would tell them that it was simply for show and that it held no real meaning. It was his way of trying to forget about Dhurke, about the Dragons, about his entire childhood back in Khura’in (save for a few incidents). It was better that way, he believed.

Yet, the dragon tattoo had remained the only one unaffected by the newest residents of Apollo’s back: the scars from the courtroom bombing incident. Apollo winced as his eyes strained to glance over at every last wound he had received on that very day. The bluish-black bruises from where the debris had struck his spine (though it was a miracle that his spine didn’t break in two), the cuts that worsened some of the burn scars...and the stitches.

Oh God, the stitches!

There were only a few along his sides, and thankfully away from the sensitive areas of his body...yet, they still remained as a reminder of what had happened. Apollo remembered how he had shielded Juniper from the falling debris, his entire body screaming out as he took the blow that was meant for the young girl. He remembered being taken to the hospital, where the doctors had to restrain him while they dressed his wounds. The worst of them, they had to stitch together. He remembered shrieking in pain as the needle entered his wounds until his voice gave out, and even then he could only manage to choke out a sob. Apollo wasn’t afraid of needles, but they did tend to make him a little anxious, not to mention they were painful.

He remembered, when night fell, having to lie perfectly still so that his body could take the time to heal. He remembered quietly crying in his sleep until his pillows were soaked and his eyes turned red from the tears that ran down his cheeks. He remembered crying as he thought of Juniper, who had been arrested for supposedly being responsible for the courtroom bombing. Of Athena, whom he had to protect from his suspicions. And most of all, of Clay, his oldest and dearest friend whose death had planted a seed of grief in Apollo’s heart. He remembered hearing the nurses quietly murmuring to each other about whether or not he was trying to compete with Prosecutor Blackquill for having the darkest tear streaks. By morning, the doctors had bandaged him up and warned him not to push himself too hard. If he had listened then, he wouldn’t have been rushed to the hospital a second time for blunt force trauma to the head.

Yet, despite it all, Athena and Phoenix were able to clear Juniper’s name and indict the true culprit behind the bombing, and then of Clay’s murder. Apollo remembered Mr. Wright having to help clear up the doubt that lingered within him, and how the two of them - with help from Athena, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, and even Prosecutor Blackquill - brought the true culprit to justice. While a part of Apollo was relieved that the nightmare had finally passed, another part of him would never be able to overcome the grief over Clay’s death. Even after Phoenix suggested that Athena spend the night with Apollo after the trial, Apollo wasn’t sure if he would ever fully recover as quickly as Athena did.

Then again, he was Apollo Justice, the Clarion of Revelations. Of course he’d recover. It would just take time, that’s all.

A knock on the door pulled Apollo out of his thoughts as the present engulfed him once more. “Apollo, are you done yet?” Athena’s voice sounded through the wood. Her tone carried an annoyed expression, making it clear that Apollo had already spent too much time in the bathroom. Whoops.

“Y-yeah, I’ll be right out,” he replied as he hastily threw his bathrobe back over his shoulders, covering up his back once more. There was no way he was letting Athena walk in on him while he was standing in the bathroom half-naked. No freakin' way!

* * *

Apollo found it incredibly hard to fall asleep that night. He knew that it wasn’t because of the fact that he was sharing the same bed as his female co-worker - in fact, if anything, he was grateful to have some form of company, especially if said company happened to be Athena. It also didn’t have to do anything with the fact that he had to be wearing a crop top. He hated wearing crop tops, since he always felt like he was being exposed, even if they did manage to cover up his tattoo. Yet, his decision to wear one was to try and let his back breathe a little while his body repaired itself.

No, the reason he couldn’t sleep...was simply because of the ordeal that had happened, all in the span of several days. The HAT-2 sabotage that led to Clay’s death, the bombing of Courtroom No. 4, Juniper’s trial, Mr. Starbuck’s trial, the re-trial of the UR-1 incident, and finally the phantom being brought to justice. Not to mention the seed of doubt towards Athena that got the better of him. It was all too much for him to bear, and he knew that he would forever bear the physical and psychological scars of those events for as long as he lived.

Apollo’s mind was so deep into the past that he didn’t notice a pair of arms wrapping themselves around him from behind. Nor was he aware of a warm presence pressing itself against him. It was only when he felt someone kissing his back did he jolt in surprise. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed a mound of orange hair brushing itself against him as Athena gently planted one kiss after another on the scars. He felt his heart racing beneath his chest as he found himself breathless for several minutes.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally found the guts to speak. “What are you doing?” he whispered, making sure his voice was loud enough for Athena to hear. Of course, she could already hear him fine, but just in case...

Athena stopped kissing his back to nuzzle her face against it, taking in his scent as she took several deep breaths. Apollo’s breath caught in his throat as his cheeks turned red like roses. He felt her trace her fingers along one particularly ugly stitch that stretched from his waistline to near the base of his spine, causing his face to turn even redder. Yet he found the touch soothing, and he unconsciously found himself relaxing.

“Nobody’s ever kissed them better before,” he heard Athena murmur. “So I’ve decided to take it upon myself to do it now.”

An awkward silence fell upon the two of them, a silence that only lasted for about half a minute before Athena piped up again. “Is...there something wrong, Apollo? Should I stop?”

Apollo hesitated. Throughout the time they’d spent together (which started on the day Athena threw a cop at Apollo), he had always considered Athena to be little more than just a friend, not once even trying to develop a crush on her. He had little to no experience with girls; his first, last, and only crush was back in high school, but she was a transfer student, and she had already flown back home before he could confess his feelings for her. Apollo wasn’t heartbroken by this, but he regretted ever trying to woo her. Although he pushed his lone crush to the back of his mind, it never stopped Clay from trying to get him to date another girl.

...At least, up until his death, that is.

Besides, Athena was his co-worker and his junior partner, not the love of his life. No matter how much he wanted to admit it, he would not make the same mistakes he did back then. Yet, deep in his heart, he partially regretted not listening to Clay's advice, and missed his teasing over Apollo’s lack of a love life.

Apollo took a deep breath, picking the right words to use carefully. “No,” he said, keeping his voice steady. “It’s fine.”

Athena simply responded with a light smooch over a bruise from the falling debris before nuzzling her cheek against his back. “You sound pretty hesitant,” she mumbled. “I can hear a bit of discord.”

“You’re...probably just imagining things,” Apollo whispered quickly and breathlessly, though it was only the half-truth. To be completely honest, this was really the first time he had shared a bed with a girl. But he didn’t want to admit it to Athena. Not yet, anyway.

To his relief, Athena didn’t respond as she continued kissing his back. This time, Apollo gently nestled himself between her arms, positioning himself in a way that she could get access to most of his scars. He felt the soft cotton of the golden-yellow tank top she wore brush against his back, causing his heart to fill with a warmth that he couldn’t exactly put into words. His breathing became steadier now as he found her touch welcoming.

Slowly, his eyes began to close as a murmur of thanks slipped out of his throat. Before long, he was fast asleep, allowing his mind to wander off into dream land at last.

[moonlightoverthehorizon]

compilation of my favorite otp prompts 7

tag

imagine your otp [x]

Picking strawberries or wild blackberries together during the summer when they’re in season

Relaxing at night on the grass, gazing up at the sky and marveling at, not the stars, but a summer lightning storm

Frolicking in the warm summer rain together after being caught in a storm after realizing playing in it is more fun than fleeing from it

Going to the farmer’s market or flea market together

Attending a local summer carnival and basking in the cliche of the romantic Ferris wheel ride and the cheesy carnival game prizes

Supporting one of their younger siblings by going to one of their little league games and cheering them on

Accidentally (or purposefully) dozing off in a hammock together as the sun sets and the air cools down

Playing with sidewalk chalk like they’re kids again

Imagine Your OTP As Kids [x]

Person A keeps trying to give Person B a pretty flower, but Person B doesn’t understand why.

Person A gives Person B a ring-pop, and when B takes it, A declares that they’re married now.

Person A kisses Person B on the cheek. Person B starts squealing about cooties.

Person A forgot to bring cookies, so Person B shares.

Light Based Prompts [x]

Sunlight: Person A and Person B waking up to see the light shining in the window while they’re cuddled up together.

Moonlight: Person A and Person B sitting outside together late at night and as the temperature begins to drop they snuggle up together.

Starlight: Person A has always lived in big cities so they haven’t been able to see the stars well so Person B drives them out, far away from the city, to show them what the stars really look like.

Streetlight: Person A always wanted to go on late night walks but was to nervous to do so alone, Person B then decides to make a date out of it and they go on a midnight walk holding hands.

Christmas prompts! [x]

Christmas cookies, bonus points for badly building gingerbread houses.

Cuddling together in front of a fire and reading (Better if one person is reading to the other!).

One giving the other their scarf or jacket because they looked cold.

Cooking dinner together.

Flirting while cooking dinner together.

Traveling for Christmas. Home or wherever. Just the chaos and fluff with traveling.

First time spending Christmas living together.

Introducing them to their family.

Old Christmas movie marathons.

School AU Prompts [x]

“I have no one to sit with at lunch so I sat at your table and now your friends are not-so subtly kicking you under the table. Now they’re very loudly whispering that your crush has shown up and oh my god. I have never seen you this red by the way.” AU

“The substitute legit doesn’t care about this class so we’re doing increasingly worse and weirder things to see if he calls us out. And now you’re basically straddling me while a group of kids is singing happy birthday and honestly this is the most romantic thing to ever happen to me.” AU

Aquarium Date Prompts [x]

- “Aww, look at the cute dolphin.” “That’s a manatee.”

- “Are we allowed to touch the fish?” “No.” “What about this one?” “No.” “Ok, what about th-” “No.”

10 AUs [x]

“My dog absolutely adores you, and you absolutely adore my dog. Whenever we see each other, the two of you play for a good half-hour, at least. That’s great and all, but what’s your name?”

“I’m an actor, and part of my costume is a wedding ring, but I totally forgot I was wearing it. Now you’re yelling at me for flirting with you, and I have no clue how to get a word in edgewise to explain.”

OTP AU Ideas [x]

The ice cream truck is giving away free samples to couples; I’m dead broke and single, but you’re just standing there, so, “yes sir, this is my boyfriend of five years; I’ll take the chocolate waffle cone” and “stop asking questions, do you want ice cream or not?”

I got caught robbing McDonald’s on a dare (honestly, it was three quarters and a milkshake, are the handcuffs really necessary, officer?) and now I’m stuck in the back of a police cruiser. The officer picks you up on the way to the station, and you slide in with a smirk and a Wendy’s frosty and say, “You too, huh?”

I go jogging every morning and you’re the asshole who tapes motivational messages on my route, like, Stop running and have a donut at the bakery! and That candy shop sure smells better than running shoes, right? Eventually I get fed up and storm into the coffee shop you work at (A coffee a day keeps exercise away), ready to give you a piece of my mind, and wait…all this time, you were asking me on a date? How the hell does a slogan count as a dating invitation?

OTP AU Ideas: How They Met [x]

Taking refuge from the rain at a gas station

Waiting in line for an amusement park ride/both on the single rider line and get seated together

At a museum, admiring the same artist

Person A has a friend who’s close to one of Person B’s friends, and they set Person A and Person B up on a blind date with each other

Person A goes to the college cafeteria late when there’s an event going on there and it’s packed and there’s literally nowhere to sit, and hey, that kid (Person B) looks lonely, I’ll go sit with them

[whyareyoulikethis1d]

What do you think about Zigi situation and the talks going on about it from the media as well as online?

Oh anon why are you making me do this… Well I have time today.

When it comes to online/ fandom let me go by categories.

1- The Ziams & anti-zigis:

These people from the start have been atrocious. Not only have they harassed Gigi & her family but same with Zayn & his family. They have been intrusive and have spread lies online (those so called “exposing accounts”) Whether it’s on IG or Twitter. In my opinion they are tinthats and just mad weird. They keep on saying everything is fake, is a stunt, TPTB, etc… 

It’s repetitive, predictable, pathetic & boring.

 Guess what tinhats ZAYN & LIAM WILL NEVER BE TOGETHER ROMANTICALLY!!! 

For someone that they claim to love & stan they sure have a low opinion of Zayn and what he is willing to do for his status. Not only that but their false rumors and stuff is at times picked up by tabloids. So kudos to you for helping your fave dummies…

So when it comes to them I am just like:

2- Zigis:

I never really liked real couple shipping or should I say being a “stan” of a couple. I find it cringy and they also do go overboard and cross boundaries. Just because one is supportive doesn’t mean that they are not just as invasive or annoying as tinhats. (You can check my blog and how I was annoyed with the “Freddies”). 

So when it come to Zigis they were to me just like that. Anything that either Zayn and or Gigi did they were linking it together. Any like, comment, follow is or was being reported online. They even had/have update accounts. 

The ugly side of it is when the couple breaks up and they can’t let go or accept it. Think the Jelena (Justin & Selena), the Robsten (Rob & Kristen Stewart) or even the Zerrie (Zayn & Perrie) shippers/stan. Look at how ugly they got towards one or the other person especially when one of their OTP has moved on to a new partner (ex: Justin with Hailey, Rob with FKA Twigs & Zayn with Gigi). They actually become conspiracy theorists because they cannot accept that their OTP is over.  

Now when it comes to Zigis, they have actually turned into the Zerries that they were complaining and making fun of back in the day. LET IT GO!! Stop making connections and thinking that any follow, like or comment means something more. Don’t go harassing their possible new partners. Stop sending family DMs to find out the status of Zayn & Gigi’s relationship because you want some type of reassurance that your OTP are still together. BUTT OUT…. Last year during their first break up, the Zigis went on to attack Sofia & Iskra Lawrence because they thought something was maybe going on between them and Zayn. They said some pretty misogynistic things (feminist/girl power 101 my ass). They also went after (although to a lesser degree) they were being nasty and shady towards Lewis Hamilton when rumors were going around that him & Gigi were maybe going out. They are cringy…….

So when it comes to them, I am like:

3- Zstans & Gigi stans:

Both side have shown their true colors or their true feelings once it has been said that they are no longer together. 

On the Zstans side, some were sad others were happy (that is excluding the ziams & antis), others were relieved but for the most part at least from what I saw they were chill up until the first US weekly article. Then the ugliness started. Some even sided with conspiracy theorists out of all people.. Like eww… I get wanting to defend your fave (and at times you were damn right to defend him) but come on now do better…. 

You gleefully were rejoicing when you assumed that Zayn was shading Gigi with his tweets and thought that he was proving you right when you were calling her manipulative, disgusting and all that jazz. Nevertheless, Zayn himself went off on all of you and set you guys straight pretty quickly.

You doing all of that, made things worst for the person that you claim to stan & love because guess what tabloids picked up on it and it created negative press towards Zayn. So kudos to you for helping your fave dummies…  

As for the Gigi stans I don’t follow many of them to be quite honest but the impression that I always got is that while Zayn & Gigi were together they kept quiet but there were some indirects here and there and then they just let loose when the break up happened. They 100% believed what tabloids were saying and were now overtly being nasty towards Zayn online. I get wanting to defend your fave (and at times you were damn right to defend her against the nastiness said about her) but come on now do better…. 

They always seemed to think that Zayn was the one preventing Gigi from going out, partying  and being seen or being super active & interactive on social media like back in the day when she was besties with Kendall. They don’t think big bad Zayn is good enough for their queen Gigi.. Well guess what Gigi stans to my knowledge she’s still not yet doing the stuff you expected her to do. So sucks to be you….

You don’t know Zayn or Gigi personnaly. You are not part of their inner circle. You don’t know what their relationship is or was like except from what they have chosen to share or from what the media/tabloids have decided to spin for clicks. It’s their life, their relationship and their choices. PERIOD!!!!!!! 

So when it comes to them, I am like:

4- The media/tabloids + Zayn + Gigi

The media has been atrocious but more so towards Zayn than Gigi. Not surprised. Tabloids have rarely ever been on Zayn’s side. Most likely because he doesn’t curate his image as much as Gigi does. Zayn definitely hasn’t helped himself with some of the things he has said, done or tweeted online. I have said so in my tags. I don’t know what has prompted him to remember Twitter but it wasn’t a good idea at all. As a celebrity, social media is not a place to vent especially the cesspool that is Twitter. Also the vague tweets are open to interpretation and people will run with it and assume the worst automatically. I get it Zayn is still a human being like any of us but still…Be smart about how you use your platform you are not just anybody.

The media, loves to kick someone when they are down or bring up stuff. That’s what they do. They gossip, they speculate, they look for drama, they make up stuff. Anything to drive traffic on their site. Most of the articles have been basically about how Zayn is a deeply troubled young man (his anxiety issues, he is seen as a recluse, his tweets or some of his IG posts that would be 2018, his weed smoking..)  who is at an all time low (his management has allegedly dumped him, his second album did not do well commercially, still not touring, his gf has left him..) and was holding the super successful supermodel Gigi back from her full potential because she was always trying to help him. Basically that Zayn was dead weight. Then they brought in what Louis said about Zayn… You know all around just gross stuff.

It’s an easy narrative to paint for tabloids and quickly believed based on the bias people already have of Zayn that has been solidified by his reputation and the years of bad press that he hasn’t deemed worthy enough to respond to. 

That to me has always been a mistake but then again even when he does try to correct stuff or tell his side of the story, his words are ignored or not believed. He’s fucked either way. Even when he’s silent minding his own business there are still articles popping up. If my memory is correct, Zayn was pretty much silent online other than selfies up until March when he tweeted the Love You Gigi and yet since January Zayn was being mentioned in articles that were either about Gigi or about the status of their relationship (ex: the first US Weekly article).

 Nonetheless, I do think he needs an image overall and should hire a publicist to change that narrative. Zayn call Scooter Braun and ask him to give you the name of the pr people that were involved in cleaning up JB’s image just before his Purpose album…

I don’t know Zayn nor do I know what is going on in his personal life. I hope that he is doing well. If he is going through something, I hope that whatever is going on bts that he is dealing with it properly, that he has a strong & supportive system and will come on top of it. Whenever he is ready, if he wants to, he can open up about that time period in his life. (LOL who am I kidding my noisy self would love for him to write another book or do an in depth filmed interview where he talks about the Z2 era and what has been going on up until now.)

As for Gigi, she cares about her image and reputation. Gigi is smart and savvy. She’s very mindful of how she is seen and perceived in the media. She knows the game and plays along. That’s smart because she is in an industry where it does matter. Zayn should have learned that from her. Her IG is curated to showcase happiness & serenity as well as her achievements & projects. She’s photographed/papped with her friends or family, attending events, on a photoshoot or going to the gym. Break up, what break up? what heartbreak? She doesn’t need a man. She’s a strong independent woman. Girl power! Her career is going extremely well and keeps on going stronger and stronger. Kudos to her. You can’t hate her or criticize her for that. She has every right to do so.

However, what I will say is at times there are things that she has done that I was like girl wtf are you doing. For example responding to things that are not even necessary to respond to which then creates press that puts her in a good light and by default directly or indirectly throws Zayn under the bus. That tweet calling out the media about linking her to a guy..Sweetie there were no articles. Nothing had been written. No outlets had picked up the pap pics of her and her friends. It was her own fans at first that had shared the pictures on their update accounts. Or that time she responded/clapped back at a Zayn stan that hadn’t mentioned her name or tagged her but shared what was deemed an unflattering  picture of her and people in the comments were making fun of her… I was like girl how did you even find this???? Are you lurking???? Anyway both times, it made the press and Zayn was dragged into it. 

Or back in January when she was papped 2 days in a row at Zayn’s apartment. For that though, I won’t blame her in the sense of she called the paps on herself like tinhats or antis would. Being seen at his apartment, led to articles..

Gigi is still a human being like any of us and has her moments but still…

I would also like to remind people that Gigi is not in any way obligated to come to Zayn’s defense when it comes to what has been said about him by the media or online from her stans or anyone else. However, in my opinion, I do think if she has the time to tweet/call out the media about articles that hadn’t yet been written, she could tweet about some disturbing articles that have been written about someone with whom she had an on/off relationship for 3 years or so. Same thing for Zayn. Zayn has come to her defense when he tweeted for people to leave her alone. Just saying….

Finally, as for the 2 US Weekly articles, in light to what Zayn has tweeted recently, I choose to think that Gigi and her camp had no part in it. 

I know that many including mutuals of mine have entertained the theory that these articles were Gigi’s doing because of Yolanda’s connection to US Weekly. 

So for arguments sake:

As I’ve said in previous conversations, prior to even Zayn tweeting, I hope that she had no part in it. If she did, then yep I would side-eye her and call this tactic sneaky & cowardly. Why go that route? Own up to it. Why use a tabloid with “sources” instead of making a proper statement via your social media or at least via your “rep” so that it’s clear that it comes from you? 

That first US Weekly article was written after she was papped at his appartement twice. Zayn had not been seen out, he hadn’t tweeted or done anything. That article went up and was picked up by many outlets. In it, they said Zayn had issues that Gigi couldn’t help him with. She tried everything, she was no longer hanging out with her friends, etc.. etc… 

The timing of the 2nd US Weekly article was mid-March two weeks or more after Zayn tweeted the “Love you” tweet to which Gigi had not responded to (she wasn’t obligated to do it either). In that article, it mainly said that Gigi has love for Zayn but he has MAJOR ISSUES (yep this time around they added major. last time it was just issues) and it’s over for good because they are not compatible. Again it was “sources”.. I was like why wait two weeks or more to write this? Why not write that article immediately after Zayn had tweeted it. The story had died down. That article was again picked up by many other news outlet.

But like I said anon, I choose to believe or at least hope that Gigi & her camp had no part in it. I would think she’s better than that to go that low and from my knowledge, it wasn’t/ or isn’t her MO. If she doesn’t address things directly usually it’s via a rep.

So when it comes to the media, I am like:

As for my thoughts on the status of Zayn & Gigi’s relationship:

Zayn and Gigi are two young good looking rich adults. Aesthetically/visually, Zigi was a stunning couple. Bottom line, It’s their lives, their choices. Whatever happens, happens. They are two celebrities that I don’t know personally. At the end of the day it doesn’t affect my life or livelihood.

So those are all my thoughts. Have fun reading anon!!!