#the prompt would make more sense if you saw the picture i was basing it off from

[saey707]

I SEE YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN "HEARTSTEEL" I LOVE THEIR INTERACTIONS ON TWITTER AND EVERYTHING (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA) It's cool, just cool :') Well, the point is... could you do a Yone x fangirl!reader? (I've been thinking about an anonymous online friendship and then a BIG surprise when they just meet face to face) Anyway, have a good day <3 -🍄

✿ Prompt: You have a chance encounter with Yone ✿

♡ champion focus: yone ♡ tw: none! ♡ Gender-neutral reader

Author’s Note: YES HELLOOO! ૮₍´｡ᵔ ꈊ ᵔ｡`₎ა Thanks so much for requesting! I tried my best to get the premise of your idea in, but I did make some changes to improve the flow of the short and make it more authentic! Hope you enjoy! ૮₍˶ •. • ⑅₎ა ♡

You and Yone met through an online board long before he went off the grid- hell, you met long before Yone even became legendary!

While it wasn't the conventional way to meet someone, you couldn't help but become fascinated by him and all the discussions he participated in. It's not every day you meet a (kind) man so invested in the history of Japanese warriors, DJ'ing, cold brew, and meditating!

You've never met Yone in person, but you figured from his messages alone he was either an old man or a kind soul... Even both. Every email Yone sent you was well punctuated and wise. He always knew exactly what to say, to an extent where you didn't know if he was just researching everything he was telling you or was telling you something based on his life experiences!

The day Yone sent a photo to you was the day you were convinced he was an old man now. It was clear that the photo was printed when he took a picture of it. His long, black hair was neatly kept, and he stood tall and sharp in a suit... Not to mention, there were orbs on the edge of the photo, and his eyes were as red as a demon!

You knew, eventually, your anonymous pen pal would stop replying one day, but it still hurt all the same. For years, you wondered if Yone was okay. You wondered where he was now, what amazing things he was doing. You wondered if one day he would ever email you back again... You wondered if he was dead.

"Hey, Warrior! I know it's been a few years since we last spoke. I know you won't respond, and I don't carry any grudges against you for it. I just can't help but wonder: How have you been? Were you ever able to get that red motorcycle you wanted? Are you still DJ'ing?"

That was the first email in years you sent to him... And you couldn't help but find some comfort in having a one-sided conversation. In a way, it felt like it healed the past few years you were left wondering and waiting.

"Hi, Warrior! You won't believe what happened yesterday: I finally got myself to meditate for 30 minutes straight! I'm still not sure how you can do it for an hour, but maybe someday I can get just as good as you. Hope you respond soon. I miss you!"

It became a regular habit for you to email him, even knowing you would never get a response. But maybe someday he'll be able to see what's going on in your life. Maybe someday, he'll open up his emails and respond to you... It's just wishful thinking.

"Have you seen the new band going viral? They're called Heartsteel! Their producer has the same name as you and even rides a red motorcycle in the music video! Isn't that cool? I know it isn't you, but at the very least I can imagine that it is you. I can imagine it's you out there doing great things with great people. And maybe it makes sense to me now why you won't respond. But just know I'm proud of you. No matter what you're doing out there. I'll email you again in a few days. Bye, Yone."

You sent the email, shutting your laptop now.

Waiting in line for a cold brew, it came as a surprise to you when you saw a man in front of you looking down at his phone, not even realizing that the line had already cut down to his turn to order.

You waited a few seconds... Then another. Then another.

Soon enough, you were annoyed. "Uhh, hey?! It's your turn to order..!" You tapped the man's shoulder, watching as he turned his head to you, confused as he shook himself from the alternate dimension his head was just in.

Your eyes widened as you stared at him for a moment, taking in the intricate details of his face. You recognized the sharp look in his eyes. You were familiar with the shape of his jawline. From the moment you got a good look at him, you knew it was him.

And while it seemed as if he didn't recognize you, the moment you spoke, his eyes lit up. It was you.

"Warrior?"

"Deer..."

[jerzwriter]

Casey is having a rough day that keeps getting rougher. When home is not providing her with the solace and reassurance she needs, Tobias comes to the rescue and gets a big surprise.

Book: Open Heart (Post Series) Pairing: Tobias Carrick x F!MC (Casey Carrick) Others: Samantha & Brooke Carrick (children) Words: 1,700 Rating: Teen A/N: Thank you to @rafasgirl23415 for this prompt from this list. A kiss as a promise.

Casey sat on the edge of the bathtub. Hunched over with her head resting wearily on her hand, she was the very picture of defeat. While the bathroom door was ajar, her bedroom door was shut, providing a small barrier to the chaos that had been reigning downstairs.

She hadn’t felt well for days, perhaps even longer. The vision of a peaceful night at home was all that had gotten her through the day. But it took just one step into her foyer to realize her wish would not come true. Small puddles of water were scattered on the polished floor, and the sounds of Samantha and Brooke bickering echoed down the hall. The theatrics were high despite Tobias’s valiant attempts to quell them.

She walked in gingerly, careful to avoid the small ponds that had no business being inside her home, and tossed her purse on a table at the base of the stairs. Her head was already pounding, and whatever happened here was not going to make it better. No one knew she was home yet, and she could have made a run for it, but that didn’t feel right.

It took five more minutes before Tobias noticed his wife was home, and by then, the sounds of tears weren’t limited to the two guilty little girls; they now belonged to Casey, too.

He first saw her as he paraded down the hallway with a mop and paper towels in hand and their two little urchins trailing behind. He was immediately concerned. Sure, no one liked coming home to learn their kids decided to create a waterpark inside their home, but he and Casey were seasoned parents of six years now, parents of two for four. She was practically a veteran of the chaos and typically handled it with a sense of humor and the laid-back attitude they both tended to share.

“Baby,” he said, rushing to her side. “Are you OK?”

“No,” she sniffled as Samantha and Brooke looked on with tears in their eyes.

“Hon, it’s all right,” Tobias soothed. “The girls and I are going to clean this up; you don’t have to do a thing.”

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” Brooke cried.

“Me, too,” Samantha added. “Even though it was Brooke’s idea.”

“IT WAS NOT!” Brooke yelled.

Samantha began to retort, but one stern look from their father and both girls hushed at once.

“You two,” he said, handing them each a roll of paper towels. “Get cleaning. Once this mess is taken care of, we need to have a talk.”

He turned back to his wife, who was struggling to keep her own tears at bay.

“Babe, what’s going on? With the gruesome twosome in there, minor catastrophes can come on any day that ends with y.”

“I just don’t feel good,” she wept. “I have a pounding headache and haven’t felt right for days. I just really, really needed a peaceful night at home.”

Tobias placed his hand on her forehead, a worried look on his face. “No fever,” he said. “But if the headaches have been going on for days, you should have that checked out.”

“I will,” she smiled, placing her head on his chest. Being in his arms already made her feel slightly better.

“I can’t fix your headache, but I can give you a night of peace. Go upstairs and take a nice hot bath; lay down in our room when you’re done. I’ll take care of the gremlins. You’re officially off duty.”

“Tobias, you don’t have to, I can....”

“You can go rest! I’ll be up to check on you shortly.”

That was an hour ago, and while the warm bath had done wonders, Casey still didn’t feel right. She entered her bedroom to retrieve a bag surreptitiously hidden inside her purse. She insisted it wasn’t necessary when Sienna made the suggestion, but deep down, she knew that was just wishful thinking. Without telling a soul, she stopped into Walgreens on the way home. It only took a return to their bathroom and five minutes for her to get her answer... and that’s how she ended up numb, slouched on the edge of the tub without a clue about what she should do next, and that’s precisely how Tobias found her.

His brow furrowed, and he lovingly ran a hand through her still-damp hair. “Baby, I thought you were lying down. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” But his heart almost stopped when he saw the pink and white stick clenched inside Casey’s blanched fist.

“Oh, shit...” he muttered as his wife wearily gazed his way with a sigh. She handed him the stick without ceremony.

“Two lines,” she mumbled. “That explains why I haven’t been feeling well. That’s why I've been an emotional wreck today... two lines.”

As the shock wore off, conflicting emotions warred inside Tobias. It was no secret that he would have loved more children, but Casey made it clear that she was more than done after Brooke’s birth. He placed the test on the counter with a quiver.

“I’m in the fucking doghouse, aren’t I?”

Casey ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “You could be... but lucky for you, I'm a doctor. So, I know we both played a part in this.”

Tobias winced as guilt coursed through him. “But I was supposed to get a vasectomy. In fairness, I had legitimate reasons every time I had to cancel. The first time, I got the flu... the second time, you and the girls had the flu, and the third time, I got called to that conference in....”

Casey reached up and grasped his hand, an uncertain smile on her lips. “Tobias,” she whispered. “I know. I’m not mad at you."

“OK,” his voice trembled. “Should... should you test again? Just to be sure?”

Casey reached into the pocket of her robe and produced two more tests... both of them positive.

“I’m sure,” she confirmed.

“All right... this is a little odd,” he admitted. “Normally, this is news that would be met with excitement, but... I know you didn’t want to go through this again. I... I guess we should talk after I put the girls to bed. You know, we’re lucky enough to live in an area where you still have options.”  

“I know,” Casey nodded, pulling him to sit beside her on the tub’s edge. “And I’m so grateful for that, and damn glad those options exist... but there's no option for me... for us. We’re having baby number three, T.”

Tobias tried to keep his demeanor neutral, but he couldn't help but smile. Pulling Casey close, he placed a lingering kiss atop her head as she clutched onto him.

“Are you... OK... with this?” He asked.

“It's still settling in... I didn't expect this, and it certainly wasn’t planned... but neither was Sammy, and despite her aquatic adventures in our foyer today, she’s one of the best things to ever happen to us.”

“She sure is,” Tobias concurred, rubbing soothing circles on Casey’s back. “And I have a feeling this little one will be, too.”

“So do I,” she smiled nervously. “But Tobias, our lives are crazy as it is. We have two demanding jobs... two adorable but wild little girls... I didn't want any more children because being pregnant absolutely sucks, but I also, thought we had all we could handle. How are we going to cope with this?”

“Hey, we can handle this!” He insisted. “Trust me. We’re blessed, baby. We have my mother nearby... you know she’ll be over the moon that there's a new baby on the way and she'll help as much as possible.”

“Probably more than we want her to,” Casey chuckled.

“Exactly! And we’re lucky enough to have the resources to hire help.”

“But I don’t want a nanny raising our kids.”

“Neither do I, but I don't mind someone helping with the cooking, the cleaning, and all the other work around here. Look at me,” he said, holding her face in his hands. “We’ll have a ton of support, and you... you have me. I will do everything I can to get you through this. You have my word."

“Will you go through labor and delivery for me?”  

“If I could... I would.”

She playfully slapped his arm, though it did pack a bit of a punch. “You only say that because you know that you can’t.”

“If I could... I would,” he repeated. “Come on, you know I’d do anything for you, baby, and while I can’t do that... I'll do whatever you need. I mean it.”

Casey looked up at him, her face more relaxed than he had seen it all day; there was even the slightest hint of a smile in her eyes.

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

He lifted her chin and brought his lips to hers, gently offering a sign of affirmation. As their embrace tightened, the kiss turned more passionate, and Tobias placed a bevy of little pecks on her lips before pulling away.

“There,” he smiled. “That seals the deal. You've got me... whatever you need."

“Tobias?” Casey grinned.

“Yes?”

She reached over to grab the three sticks off of the counter and eagerly handed them to him; this time, her eyes were bright, and her face was lit with glee.

“We’re having another baby!”

With eyes glistening, his smile spread from ear to ear. He jumped to his feet, lifting his wife in his arms, and spun her around the bathroom, planting several more kisses all over her beaming face.

“I love you, Casey. And I'm so happy,” he whispered. He looked into her eyes and placed a hand on her lower stomach. “This little one is going to complete our family.”

“She will,” Casey beamed. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

Tobias took a step back, his eyes wide. “She? I’m the one who always said I only make girls... and you spent your first two pregnancies telling me I was crazy. Have you finally accepted the truth?”

“Well, thus far, your track record speaks for itself,” she laughed. “I love you, Tobias.”

“I love you, too.”

They were awash in the ethereal bliss of the tender moment, but that came screeching to a sudden halt.

“MOOOMMM! DAAAADDDD!”

“I didn’t do it! I swear, she did!”

Tobias's head dropped onto Casey's shoulder with a thud, as she laughed gently beneath him.

“Well, I don’t smell smoke," he noted. "That’s good, at least.”

Taking Casey’s hand, he led her to their bedroom and tucked her under a blanket on their bed. “You rest. I’ll handle the two of them. And when they get to sleep, we can celebrate some more.”

“T... are you sure we can handle three of them? We're going to be outnumbered."

“Oh, I'm 100% sure!” He grinned. “We're the dream team... together, you and I can handle anything.”

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[smedenn]

My final predictions: to then go back and look at after the Full Moon Episode and laugh at myself

I'm just going to compile everything I personally believe about the full moon, my predictions for things in it based on the trailer/past episodes, and just some miscellaneous other things.

Disclaimer: 1. these are all theories and this post is for fun 2. excuse all my screenshots bc I didn't feel like cropping them lol

Scenes in the trailer

Scenes I KNOW will be in The Full Moon

These three scenes are in the Stolitz Duet preview that we saw at the LVL UP panel - so they're confirmed :)

Scenes I'm CONFIDENT will be in there (but not confirmed)

They are using the book! and we are pretty sure Stolas is giving Blitzo the crystal in this episode. So this scene is pre-crystal :) Most likely the beginning of the Full Moon Episode.

Also Blitzo's suit jacket has blood on it! Which is important because that would prompt him to take it off (not wanting to see Stolas while covered in blood) and explain why in the rest of these scenes he's not wearing is jacket

So this scene would match up (Blitzo's outfit), which additionally goes along with all these scenes:

In all these scenes he is wearing the same outfit :) therefore part of the same episode <3

It's harder to say for Stolas, since it seems he's wearing the same outfit he wears a lot- but these are the scenes that I think are in the Full Moon based on 1. his outfit is the same 2. the scenes are simillar 3. the mood/theme of the scene would make sense

(this shot is the same as one posted earlier, where we see Blitz in his Full Moon outfit, therefore probs also apart of the Full Moon episode)

I believe this scene is in the Full Moon because it looks like it follows this gif that was posted on the Helluva Boss twitter:

ADDITIONALLY, at the beginning of the duet that was shown at the LVL UP panel, we hear Stolas "throw up" as he sings about "butterflies in his stomach". Therefore, we think that Gif is the beginning of the Stolitz duet, which is then followed by the scene in the trailer (pictured above), and then the rest of the Stolitz duet (shown at the LVL panel, you can find it on youtube).

Okay hear me out- it is MOST LIKELY in the full moon episode, for obvious reasons. (but.. what if its not... what if this is stolas sadly looking at the full moon in the apology tour or something... knowing he won't see blitz for the first time since they started seeing each other.... what if.....)

The only reason i'm pretty confident this is in the Full Moon episode is because... i want it to be? lmao. Like this could definitely be Blitzo sulking after things go wrong.

Scenes I think are definitely possible but i'm not confident

Notes: I was watching the trailer and realized theres most likely not a lot of scenes in it from Sinmas, since there's only a few from Mastermind (supposedly). They probably don't have a lot of animation done for the last two episodes. Therefore most scenes have to be ghostfuckers, apology tour, and the full moon.

I think it's pretty easy to see which scenes are confidently most likely from ghostfuckers and apology tour. So that leaves some scenes that might be from anything but are more likely from The Full Moon (since they probs don't have a lot of animation done for the last two).

ADDITIONALLY, they've been working on The Full Moon for what- 6? 7? Months? meaning it has to be a longer episode (at least 20 mins, most likely 30 mins). The crystal scene cannot be all of it.

Therefore I think these scenes have a good chance to be in The Full Moon, but i'm not confident and i don't really have any definite evidence for it.

(Stolas wearing the same fit therefore all the same scene) (could be a flash back?) (Could be after they breakup and Blitz is trying to make things better?) (Stella could have said something stupid which causes Stolas to get mad. Then she leaves, Blitz shows up, and they hang out???) (Maybe they don't break up, and agree to try to work things out/restart, and this is the beginning of that?) (So many options)

(could be apart of a song?) (I saw someone say we were maybe getting two songs this episode?)

(okay hear me out-) (Yes I agree this is most likely in an episode further down, like sinmas, after they develop their relationship further) (but what if-) (the idea here is that stolitz kinda breaks up/fights at the beginning of the episode, and then, and then this happens) (like i'm not certain what the context could be, like why Blitzo is there and why Andrealphus is attacking) ( but what if after their fight Blitzo saves Stolas's life, he shows up, shows he cares in this way-) (thus setting up the plot for apology tour) (where they decide hey- maybe we can work this out)

(Im including this because I DONT THINK it will be in The Full Moon, but I guess? it's possible) (because anything is possible) (but I think this is a court scene) (which is most likely going to be about the divorce?) (which btw, we think this is a court scene because of the trailer scene with mammon, he's obviously in the same room as these two, and he's wearing a suit? also Viv posted a video of Bryce Pinkham, who voices Stolas, saying a line that indicated he was in court, talking about Blitzo). (anyway) (I think this is A LOT of important plot) (and I think that would be too heavy to include in the Full Moon Episode) (I think it's more likely to be the B plot of another episode like Ghostfuckers or Mastermind)

Plot Predictions (theories?)

Okay so based on all the scenes we have, this is my official conclusion / prediction for how the episode will go (half based on my own wants and half based on evidence)

Starts with the Stolitz Duet.

Blitz goes to work with I.M.P and gets covered in blood. takes off his coat

Gives Moxxie the rest of the work for the day because he has "important business to attend too"

He goes to FIZZAROLLI'S HOUSE hehe

his important business was essentially asking FIZZAROLLI HOW TO SPICE UP THEIR DATE

bonus points if he asks for dating advice / confesses it might be more than it seems

Fizz shows him around, shows him some stuff (thus the scene where he's holding the uh....toy)

Thats where Blitz gets that big ass candle

Because he leaves here

and heads to Stolas' Palace

he shows up, either suspecting nothing and thinking it will go perfectly normal, or just pretending that everything's normal

he's excitedly showing Stolas the stuff he brought (like the candle and maybe other things that he got from Fizz)

Stolas interrupts him, suggests they should talk or something idk but theres some segue into him giving Blitz the crystal

They fight !! Thats when Blitz takes it badly, theres miscommunication, Blitz yells about how "You think you can just toy with our feelings because we are smaller"

At some point Blitzo reaches for Stolas' hand, maybe after saying something that crosses the line, and Stolas sends him through a portal (bc in that one scene, if you watch slow enough, you see blitz reaching for stolas' hand but ends up through a portal instead)

Cue: Sulking.

After this, is all really just headcanon? very loosely put together scenes that are pretty based on nothing, just assumptions. So take it as you will:

17. Maybe even cue: talking to m&m, talking to Loona, talking to someone and realizing he wants to try to fix this, or at least talk to Stolas again

18. Potentially returns to the palace, where Stolas is in the garden (and personally I think he fights with stella in that scene where he says "do you have any remorse for what you do" but I guess this could be to Blitzo aswell). Blitzo is half trying to act like things are normal, trying to kinda win him back, or talk to him or SOMETHING

19. Stolas catches an attitude bc wtf blitz pls be normal and communicate wtf

20. Idk what really happens here uhhhh

Or OR OR

22. He returns

23. and Andrealphus is attacking the palace

24. boom thats where he defends stolas

25. hahah please I just need NEED to know the context of that scene

26. so I hope its in The Full moon and I think thats what it would be.

27. They have a moment of mutual understanding, almost an unspoken "yes I love you too, idiot" and thus decide to work on things

28. setting the plot up for Apology Tour

lets out a breath anyway, that really concludes everything I think about The Full Moon and all the evidence/hints/peaks we've gotten for the episode.

Here is some links to some things I mentioned

the trailer incase you haven't seen it

LVL UP duet "when I see him"

Bryce Pinkman Voicing sneak peak

Helluva boss twitter

[lucienarcheron]

Butter My Muffin [Nessian]

Prompt: Based on a post I saw about how Nesta is very soft girlfriend in private with Cassian combined with how I picture Drunk!Nesta. | Originally posted on 01.02.2018 Genre: Fluff/Humor Rating: SFW

The smell of something baking in the kitchen had Cassian pausing in the doorway of his townhouse. With a raised brow, he quietly shut the door and made his way down the hall and towards the kitchen where Nesta was...humming?

Cassian leaned against the doorframe, watching as his beautiful mate and girlfriend stood in the middle of their kitchen, whipping something in a bowl and humming to herself.

Nesta didn’t cook.

She didn’t bake either.

She definitely didn’t do either of those things while humming.

The only reason she went into the kitchen was to eat the food that Cassian provided for her. He had attempted to teach her how to cook but Nesta usually distracted him enough that Cassian ended up doing everything himself.

Seeing her now, Cassian was very confused. Pleasantly surprised, but nonetheless confused.

“Nes?”

Her head shot up and Cassian bit back a grin at her expression. Flour was streaked on her cheeks, tongue sticking out in concentration and with the way she was holding the bowl, it seemed she was trying to tackle the mix rather than actually mix it.

Her hair was slowly coming out of the loose bun she had it in and she was dressed in tights and one of his shirts. She had never looked more beautiful.

“Cassian!” A smile blossomed on her face, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. “You’re home!”

He smiled back at her and made his way over to her, surveying the incredible mess she had made; pots and pans scattered around, mixing utensils thrown about, and flour on practically every surface. His eyes landed on the three bottles of wine toppled over in the corner and everything suddenly made sense.

“Hey, sweetness. Been busy?” he asked, concern flickering across his face as she started cursing at the bowl.

“I’m making muffins!” she answered brightly then frowned again. “But the mix stopped working.”

She shoved the bowl into his hands then reconsidered, taking it back to shove it on the counter and practically tackled him, throwing her arms around him instead.

“I missed you.” she said, nuzzling into his neck. “You were gone for soooo long.”

Cassian chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, fully aware that she had just covered him with flour. “It was only for a few hours at the camps...you uh, found the wine?”

Nesta pulled back and gave him another bright smile. “Yes! I don’t know why I didn’t like it at first. It’s really good. I opened a fourth one. It’s almost finished.”

His brows raised in surprise as he hoisted her up, seating her on the counter next to the momentarily forgotten bowl of mixing blob. “Four bottles of wine? Alone?”

“Mmm.” she said with a nod then smiled again. “And I’m making muffins!”

Cute was not a word anyone would generally use to describe Nesta. Breathtaking was one, devastating was another. Terrifying usually came up at times. Gorgeous, beautiful, and stunning were all words people could describe Nesta with but cute? Cute was not a common one. Neither was adorable but at this moment in time, Cassian thought she was absolutely fucken adorable.

Cassian wrapped his arms around her waist again and leaned against her, tilting his head up to look at her. Nesta immediately brought her hands up to run her fingers through his hair, shaking it out of the usual bun and spreading the flour further.

“Baking and wine generally aren’t a good combination, sweetheart.” he said amused. “Definitely not a safe one either.”

“Well. you’re home now so I’ll be safe with you.” she replied with a small smile and Cassian’s heart swelled.

“I love you.” he whispered and Nesta Archeron, the woman who had decapitated the head of the King of Hybren, giggled.

“I love you too.” she replied, kissing him on the nose then poking it. “Boop.”

Cassian laughed softly. “Boop? I like this side of you, Nesta. Drunk you is very adorable. Is this why no one has ever seen you drunk?”

“Mmm, it’s because I don’t like other people but I like you. I like your face. You’re like a puppy. I have to boop you.” she replied then poked his nose again. “Boop boop.”

Cassian laughed again then leaned up, claiming her lips and Nesta hummed happily, pulling him tightly against her. They kissed softly, sensually, as if they had all the time in the world. The way they always kissed in the early mornings when they woke up together and Cassian’s body heated at the way her scent intensified around him. Pulling away, he smiled, admiring how her cheeks were flushed and the way her lips always looked so damn kissable. How had he gotten so lucky?

“Do you need help cleaning up, love?”

“No. I’m not done making the muffins!” she replied, wiggling her nose. “I finished two batches. Go try one and get me one too!”

Cassian shot her an amused look then turned to find the two batches of mini muffins she was referring to.

Half of them were burnt causing Cassian to snort. As expected.

Picking off two that seemed edible, he brought one back to his mate who was innocently swinging her legs as she sat and he handed it to her. She beamed at him then promptly took a bite. Cassian watched her chew thoughtfully then lick her lips after she swallowed.

Cassian could watch her do the most mundane things all day and it would be utterly fascinating.

“The verdict?” he asked, his lips twitching.

“It needs...wine.” she replied with a drunken giggle and pointed to the open bottle across the counter. Cassian chuckled then obediently walked over, grabbed it and took a swing of it himself before handing it to her.

He watched her take another bite of the muffin then immediately drink from the bottle. She hummed happily and he grinned, watching her chew in this most absurdly childish way. Where were the others to witness this? Why was he the only one aware of the phenomenon that is drunk Nesta?

Probably because she’d murder everyone in sight if they did witness this. Gods, he loved her.

“Better?” he asked and she nodded with a grin then pointed with a delicate finger towards the finished batches of muffins again.

“Can I have another one, please?”

“Well aren’t you adorable using manners, Nes.” he teased, moving to bring the entire tray near her and she squinted at him, debating whether she should be offended or not. Instead, she crinkled her nose.

“I’m always adorable.”

“I agree.” he replied and watched with a satisfied grin as she tore into another muffin. “Is that one good then?”

She nodded then eyed the one he had left on the counter for himself. “Eat yours! Tell me what you think!” she urged him, waving her hands frantically in excitement as she chewed on hers. He chuckled and with a stupid smile on his face, popped his own muffin in his mouth, chewed, then immediately gagged.

It was disgusting.

Nesta blinked at him as he tried to swallow but dear gods, had she poured all the salt in the house into this one muffin?

Her face fell and her bottom lip immediately started to tremble as he coughed. He reached out and grabbed the bottle of wine to wash down the taste.

“Do you hate it? Is it awful? You hate it!” she immediately rambled and he shook his head.

“No, no sweetheart! It tastes perfect! It was just...so sweet for me. Almost too sweet!” he insisted even as his eyes watered slightly and Nesta looked at him suspiciously.

“So you like it?” she asked in a small voice that had him melting. He’d eat every single one of them if she insisted.

“I loved it, Nes. They taste so good.” he lied and attempted what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Satisfied with his answer, Nesta nodded with a sniffle and sat back, grabbing another muffin and popping it into her mouth. Cassian watched her, wondering if her tastebuds had ceased to function.

“What else did you do today, love?”

“I went with Feyre to the theater. Rhys came and they kept having eye sex so I cursed them out and left.” she replied, licking her lips. “I wanted you to be there so we can have eye sex and make them uncomfortable but you weren’t.”

Cassian snorted. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We can do that next time we have dinner with them.”

“Okay.” she replied and grinned at him widely, then wiggled her fingers for him to hand her another muffin. His brow raised in amusement but he handed her another one.

“Any particular reason you decided on muffin baking today?”

“Because they’re good.” she replied simply, taking another drink from the wine then pouted when she found it empty and held it out to him. “It’s empty.”

“Good.”

“No, I want another one.”

“I think that’s enough wine for today, Nes. You’re going to hate yourself tomorrow morning.”

“I bought black lacy lingerie when I went out today. You’ll like it.” she said, giving him a sly smile that wasn’t quite as sly with her eyes drunkenly glazed over and Cassian rolled his eyes.

“You can’t bribe me with lingerie when there’s a chance you’ll make yourself sick.” he replied, moving to grab a bottle of water instead and hand it to her.

“Mmm, maybe. You do prefer me naked.” she said, eyeing the bottle of water with disdain and handing it back.

“That I do.” He said with a kiss to her cheek, opening the bottle of water and giving her a stern look as he held it out to her again. She squinted at him then sighed, drinking half of it before handing it back to him.

“I prefer you naked too. You’re so hot.” she replied, pointing to another muffin. His eyes flickered between her face and the tray of muffins. Had her stomach turned into a black pit? Was this how she was balancing the wine?

“You sure you don’t want to pace yourself with the muffins, sweetheart?” he asked slowly, hesitantly handing her another one. She grabbed it out of his hand and popped it in her mouth with a shake of her head.

“I like muffins. I don’t eat them enough. They’re really good. I worked very hard on them.” she rattled off after swallowing, then gestured around wildly with her hands. “Look how hard I worked! Look at everything! I worked so hard on my muffins.”

Cassian’s lips twitched as he held back a laugh. Wine, he decided was a great drink for Nesta.

He smirked at her. “Can I butter your muffin, Nesta?” he asked, a question that would’ve surely gotten him punched had she been sober but drunk Nesta only looked at him funny. Her gaze went from his face to the muffin in her hand and she leaned back, cradling the muffin to her chest.

“Why would you want to butter my muffin? It’s mine! You can have your own.”

Cassian snorted. “Not the muffin I’m talking about, sweetheart.”

“That’s not nice, Cassian. You don’t have to be greedy, I made two batches. Go find your own muffin to butter.”

“But I would really like to butter yours.” he said, giving her his signature shit-eating grin and she paused. He wondered if she’d punch him then.

Instead, Nesta squinted at him and without breaking eye contact, casually moved the muffin tray behind her, away from him.

“If you touch my muffins, I’ll wax your chest while you sleep.” she deadpanned and Cassian blinked before doubling over in laughter.

Nesta stared at him in confusion as tears of laughter streamed down his face and he held onto the counter to stop himself from collapsing onto the floor. It took him longer than he expected to stop laughing.

“Oh Nesta.” he finally said breathlessly. “I think that’s enough muffins for tonight. Let’s get cleaned up, hm?”

She paused mid-chew and her eyes went to the tray behind her then met his eyes again. “You won’t eat my muffins?”

“Unless I want to wake up screaming in agony, I think not.” he replied and lifted her off the counter. Nesta popped the last muffin in her mouth and immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, settling her head on his shoulder as they made their way to the bathroom. “Tell you what, you can even have the muffins in the second batch too.”

“That’s really nice of you. You’re so nice, Cas.” she asked with a drunken smile, nuzzling into his neck and he chuckled.

“You do look really cute eating them.”

“I’m not cute, I’m powerful.” she mumbled, evidently exhausted from her baking.

“You can be both.” he mused, his lips twitching again.

“Mmmm, I could beat you up right now if I wanted to.” she said matter-of-factly, her eyes fluttering shut.

“I know.” He said with a laugh, kissing the top of her head.

As they finally reached the bathroom, Cassian realized why Nesta never got drunk in front of others. She rambled. She rambled a lot. An hour later, Cassian had scrubbed them both clean, braided Nesta’s hair and tucked her into bed and she had yet ceased telling her stories.

“I was reading this book the other day about a girl that’s an assassin and she kills people really well.”

“Oh yeah? That sounds interesting.” he said, kissing the top of her head as he pulled the blanket around her.

“I want to be an assassin. I could kill people.” she said and made stabbing gestures. “Thwup thwup!”

“You do remember the part you played in the war, right?” he asked, his brows raised but she ignored him.

“Another story I read was about a group of friends going on a dangerous heist together. Can we go on a heist? I want to go on a heist.”

“Sure, Nes. Whenever you want.”

“Okay. But Cassian?”

“Yes?”

“Can I have another muffin?”

“I love you, but no.” he replied and laughed when she pouted. “I’m going to go clean up and tomorrow morning, you can have all the muffins you want.”

“All of them?” she asked with an excited smile.

“Every single one of them.”

Nesta smiled sleepily at him and Cassian was overwhelmed by how much love he felt for her at that moment.

“Come here.” she whispered to him and he leaned forward. She gently cupped his face and kissed him softly on the lips then on his nose and then on both of his cheeks. “I love you. More than all the muffins in the world.”

He smiled at her softly, leaning in to kiss her lips. “I love you more than life itself, sweetheart.”

“And guess what?” She whispered again and he raised a brow.

“What?”

“You’re my favorite muffin.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, grinning. “Well, guess what?”

“Mm?”

“You’re my favorite muffin, too.”

[kooktrash]

Hi kooktrash, I would like to request ‘I - did - care about you, I just had no other choice’ with Jungkook, angst + fluff ending (with another member preferably)!

I doubt this is what you meant but idk the prompt was giving more fluff that angst so that’s what I did 😭 if u hate it it’s ok just don’t tell me lol

price of fame | jjk

idol au

Your relationship with Jungkook had never been a secret. Or well, correction, never a secret to those closest to you. The members knew about you, the producers and managers. They all knew about the nobody who’d managed to hook their line into the one and only Jeon Jungkook.

The youngest member of BTS had fallen for a waitress. It was a bittersweet relationship. When he was home you two were inseparable. He was always at your place or sneaking you to his. You called and texted all day when he was free. You couldn’t go on dates outside in the public eye but he did what he could. It usually meant romantic dinner dates on the rooftop of his penthouse or flying you out to whatever city they were in.

It was the small gestures he’d do to show you he loved you even if he couldn’t tell the world about. The matching jewelry pieces or random signs in interviews. The fidgeting with the chain you’d gifted him at interviews or the mention of a close friend he went to Paris with.

So it wasn’t a complete surprise when news started to circulate over a possible secret relationship—they all had partners anyway. It started with Dispatch first, which had easily been swept under the rug.

All the photo evidence they had of Jungkook meeting up with a stranger at the latest hours of night. The long private phone calls photographed in the parking garage. It was all stuff that could easily be covered up. He assured you that no matter what he loved you even if he couldn’t be up front about it.

It was the price of fame he says. You didn’t want to be in the spotlight anyway. Your anxiety was too high and with the large fan base ARMY was, you’re not sure you could handle it. You know there’d be support but with being as successful as BTS there’d be hate too. Jungkook knew you didn’t want that, he knows you liked your privacy.

You just hadn’t expected him to make the executive decision he did. It started to get serious when Seasangs started noticing signs of your relationship too. It was easier to defend though when his fans hated seasangs but they also knew the truth of what it meant. If even their crazed fan’s found evidence of a relationship they couldn’t write it off as Dispatch just being Dispatch again.

Bang PD came up with the idea when he went to Jungkook about it. He told him that there was no way they could just make it all go away when he’s been trending because of it for days now. He gave Jungkook an ultimatum, either come forward and force you into the limelight, or have a cover story.

What Jungkook failed to do though in the midst of his hectic comeback schedule was inform you of this ultimatum slash publicity stunt. How was he supposed to know HYBE would release the news without talking to his first?

‘Jeon Jungkook of BTS and member Kang Soo Ah of rookie group __ spotted together. HYBE confirms budding relationship between junior and senior idols.’

You hadn’t even paid attention when it first came out. It took you going to Twitter to find the article.

‘What started as a mentor/mentee relationship between two label mates has slowly blossom into a buzzing romance. When members of BTS scouted around the company at the newest debuted groups, Jeon Jungkook formed a connected with a rookie idol, Kang Soo Ah of __.

‘I saw my younger self in her. She was the same age as I was when she started training and I felt a sense of familiarity and sympathy when she debuted,’ Jeon told Dispatch, ‘She reminded me so much of myself it was easy to go to her about things that worried me and vise versa I tried being there for her. It happened over night and next thing I know we’re confessing our feelings to each other.’

Pictures released by the public have been verified to be of Jeon and Kang on secret dates. They’ve been dating for a few months now and agree to come forward about their relationship. Please provide them, and both their groups, with endless support for their courage to speak out on their romance.’

Jungkook’s head was in his hands. You were mad, no you were pissed and had every right to be. He knows this but still, did it really mean you two had to argue?

“I didn’t know,” Jungkook muttered, “I mean I know what the deal was but I didn’t know it’d come out today. I was gonna talk to you about it later.”

“Whatever Jungkook, I’m just gonna go home,” you said trying to gather your things. You were currently at his place hearing him make up all these excuses but in reality there were none.

You can understand him wanting to keep you and your concerns of the public eye in consideration. But he made the ultimate decision on his own and failed to inform you of it. Like can he imagine him what was running through your head when you read the news? Not only were you extremely confused but also slightly worried.

Being ditched for someone of his fame had always been an insecurity of yours. That he’d soon realize that your lives were too different and it wasn’t worth the hassle. That he’d rather be with someone who understand the fame.

“You could’ve told me,” you added in stalling your leave, “We could’ve worked something out. Do you know how this makes me feel? Like I was right. Like I knew you wouldn’t want to be with someone like me.”

“What are you talking about? I love you Y/n,” he rolled his eyes as he said the words, “I’m sorry I should’ve talked to about it first. You know I care about you.”

“Do you?” You know you’re being mean but come on. It’s not just him putting himself in Jeopardy with this relationship. You’re the one who’ll receive hate. You’re the one who lies low. You’re the one who has millions of fans and even celebrities all pining for your boyfriend. What does he have to worry about? The random senior citizen who regulars at your work?

“I do care about you, I just had no other choice,” he told you. You rolled your eyes. Of course he didn’t. You get that he was being considerate about your choice to stay out of the spotlight but still. He didn’t have to create an entire fake relationship for it. A simple, ‘Jeon Jungkook is currently in a relationship with a non-idol who wishes to remain unknown.’ would’ve done the trick.

He chose to help HYBE create publicity for a rookie group, he allowed them to get hate instead. He knew what would get headline news and now that rookie group is trending. Already ship edits have been of the two everywhere. All of a sudden everyone knew all along and there’s all these compilations of times they’ve looked at each other secretly portraying love in the eyes.

You took a deep breath, “I think I’m just gonna go home tonight.”

“I’ll come over then,” he said rushing to his feet in an attempt to keep you from leaving mad. You put a hand up, “No, no it’s okay. I’ll uh, call you later?”

He let out a discontent sigh as he nodded, “Alright. Well drive safe. If you don’t call me later I’m coming over.”

You got home a little later. You were overreacting. Or at least you think you were. You know for a fact your concerns are validated but sometimes you fail to understand his point of view. And you stayed mad until you got a call later on. Assuming it was Jungkook you answered it, ‘I was just about to call you.’

“Were you? I don’t think Jungkook would like that,” Namjoon chuckled through the phone. Immediately you sat up and fixed your appearance as it he was actually in front of you.

“Sorry I was not paying attention to who called,” you confessed awkwardly, “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

“Well I just wanted to see how you were doing,” Namjoon said simply, “I saw the article and I talked to Jungkook so I just wanted to see how you were handling things.”

“It’s a lot to deal with but I guess I knew what I was getting myself into.”

“Yeah…” Namjoon let out a sigh, “And well you’ve been with Jungkook for a while now so we’ve all grown to love you and none of us wanna see you upset. This is our job and Jungkook knows it’s hard for you too. He just sometimes doesn’t think things through all way.”

“Trust me I know,” you joked making him laugh a little.

“I don’t know if this means anything to you but for what it’s worth we can all tell how much Jungkook loves you Y/n,” Namjoon said, “Everyone knows how much he cares about you and the only way they got him to agree to this publicity stunt was because of all the rumors surrounding you. They’ve been begging him to do it but he’d always say no but now that people have proof of his relationship with you he finally gave in if it meant respecting your wishes of staying concealed.”

“Yeah I know, it’s just a lot sometimes I’m sorry,” you told the leader of BTS and one of Jungkook’s closest friends.

“I get it, but between you and I, Jungkook feels awful about not telling you sooner,” Namjoon said, “And also… a little birdy told me he’s currently booking tickets for a week long vacation with his real girlfriend.”

It took only a minute or so after for the call to end. With Namjoon’s reassurance you just wanted to hug your boyfriend. Maybe you were being too harsh on him.

You grabbed your things ready to run back to his place and apologize. The second you swung the door open you were pushed back inside. Jungkook wrapped his arms around you, “I’m sorry okay? I should’ve told you. I should’ve talked it over with you. I wasn’t thinking I just… I just—“

“Jungkook hey, it’s okay,” you hugged him back, “I’m sorry for overreacting. This is a lot and I should try and be more understanding.”

It was a back and forth argument in taking the blame but it’s how you two were. You genuinely cared for each other and wanted the other to know it.

His fame only complicated things but never took away how much he cares about you.

::.

a/n sooo idk if this is what you had in mind but I hadn’t written an idol au in a while so

Sorry 💀

[ask-the-good-creeps]

One word prompt: diameter

He couldn't believe his eyes. After all of the carefully made plans and detailed strategies that had only ended in disappointment and bitter failure, he'd accomplished what nobody had been able to - on accident.

Kagekao was almost tempted to lift his mask and rub his eyes, because the situation was just too ridiculous to be real. He looked down at the man who had unwittingly fallen into the pit he'd set up and was unable to find his way out. The captive's hat had fallen from his head, and every now and again his glass eye would catch a stray moonbeam and send the glint toward the masked demon that waited atop a large boulder. Dollmaker hadn't seemed to spot him yet, which was expected considering how well the branches of the nearby trees obscured his position.

Kagekao could hear the insanity in the other's voice as he whispered to himself. Even though his enhanced hearing could pick up every word, he having trouble making any sense of the ramblings.

He picked up little phrases that piqued his curiosity here and there, and wondered how much of it was based in reality...probably none of it. The demon stealthily left his hiding spot, and after confirming that Dollmaker had no way of escaping the pit he'd fallen into he ran silently into the surrounding wilderness.

The proxies were nearby specifically to hunt for Dollmaker, and as confident as Kagekao was in his abilities he didn't want to take the risk of another magical escape happening. It was best to get help. He chuckled to himself as he pictured the range of emotions the trio would express at this news. They'd set up multiple traps for this specific purpose to monitor for the next week, and someone else accomplishes their mission without even trying on the first night? All their efforts were made a waste by one chance happening, and Kagekao couldn't help but find it humourous.

He followed the scent of stale tobacco that always seemed to cling to Masky's coat and found him in no time at all. He was hidden well from the human eye on a sturdy tree branch, where he focused intently on the small clearing nearby. The man was still, almost inhumanely so; and like Dollmaker, the proxy was oblivious to Kagekao's presence there. The demon decided to have a little fun; he threw a large stone into the clearing and saw Masky's body tense at the sudden noise and movement. Another stone, another noise, Masky's head turning quickly to try and find the source of the airborne rocks. One more stone, and Kagekao set off the trap that had been laid there. He heard the proxy curse and looked back up at him; Masky was now staring straight at him as he came down from his perch.

"What the fuck did you do that for?!" He growled tersely.

"Entertainment," Kagekao answered, and the light joviality in his tone only frustrated Masky further. Before he could be further accosted, he continued, "You do not need it anymore anyway."

"Is he contained in one of the other traps?" Masky asked. It wouldn't make sense for that news to be coming from Kagekao – one of the other proxies would have told him.

"Yes, but not one of your traps. He has fallen into mine," the demon grinned, and his mask mimicked his expression of pride and joy.

"Do I even want to know what you were originally after out here?" The change in topic was a clear attempt at hiding his frustration with the circumstances.

"Most likely not," Kagekao's tone hadn't lost any joy. "Would you like to join me in completing your mission? There is less chance of error with a team approach." Masky sighed heavily to avoid acting on his frustration. It wasn't helping that Kagekao was really rubbing it in like that.

"Let me contact the others first."

"Of course, take your time. He will not be getting out without assistance." Kagekao could tell his smug tone was irritating Masky, and prankster inside him was enjoying every second of it. He gave the location of the occupied trap, which Masky telepathically communicated to the other two. They rushed through the trees toward the target location, with Kagekao occasionally calling back taunting remarks about Masky's slow speed (in comparison to his own supernatural pace). When they reached the pit, Kagekao was no longer laughing.

"This is not possible," he growled as his mask shifted to its scowling side. "I watched him before I came to you – he could not escape!" The empty pit before them begged to differ. Masky would have taunted him about making up the whole thing or hallucinating if not for the unique top hat partially crushed in the dirt at the bottom. Hoodie showed up moments later.

"Where'd he go?" he asked.

"That's what we need to find out," Masky replied. "He's probably going to leave this area now; our best shot is going to be fanning out and finding him before he goes off grid again...otherwise we just have to wait for another murder." Hoodie nodded slowly.

"Can you smell where he went?" He asked Kagekao.

"Do I look like a hound to you?" The demon snapped back. Normally Kagekao would have been glad to have an opportunity to flex another one of his skills, but he actually couldn't smell a trail anywhere in the immediate diameter of the pit. Considering how strong Dollmaker's odor was, that was very strange. He voiced this concern to the proxies.

"Wasn't there word that he may have a partner?"

"Yes, but there was no evidence to support it – everyone took that theory with a grain of salt."

"It may have more merit than we first suspected," Kagekao mused, "Dollmaker is not of sound enough mind to cover his tracks this well. Even if he was, he did not know his scent would need to be covered to avoid capture tonight."

"Whoever is helping him has advanced evasive skills, then; but why would they be helping? What do they get out of it?" Hoodie wondered.

"We won't know until we find them."

"Where is your third musketeer?" Kagekao asked suddenly. Silence hung between them as the other proxies took a moment to look around. Where was Toby?

"His position was closest to this location. He should have gotten here first." Masky finally answered.

"He hasn't responded to our communications since you gave the location. Do you think this mysterious partner got to him first?" Hoodie asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"There is another possible explanation." Kagekao offered. It took a few moments for the implications of that statement to sink in.

"No. No way; he wouldn't do that."

"When I had Dollmaker trapped here, he was talking to himself. He said something about 'being told this part of the woods was safe for the evening'. Did you tell anyone else where your traps would be set?"

"...Fuck."

[lord-of-geeks-and-subs]

I wanna give some feedback on your play instructions and I hope you'll be open to hearing it. Your personalized instructions are very one-sided and nondescript. As in, you describe the fantasy you want the reader to imagine with yourself at the center, you tell them how many times you want them to cum, sometimes including what to use. But about halfway through your instructions you stop actually giving instructions on how to be touching or playing, how much force to use, etc. and at that point, you seem to favor your own imagination and fantasy over the purpose of describing how the reader should play with themself.

Like when I saw personalized play instructions it seemed fun and cool, but your responses are lackluster. Like yes technically "make yourself cum while you think about me fucking you" ARE instructions, but that's not at all personalized. My suggestion would be to include more depth in your instructions and tie it more directly to the fantasy you're describing like "finger your ass slowly for 10 minutes, imagining me slowly stretching out your ass while i ask you if your lame bf has ever fucked this gorgeous ass before. Then speed up and finger your ass quickly for five minutes, picturing me starting to pound into your tight little asshole, telling you how good you're doing taking a cock in your ass for the first time." Don't favor the fantasy so much over the instruction.

As a sub I feel like a lot of times sexting and online play sessions go a lot like this, where its less about how do I make the person reading this feel good and great WITH me, and more like the writer just talking about what THEY want and what would make THEM feel good and great. Just be realistic, are you ACTUALLY providing personalized play instructions??? Orrr are you just telling anons a fantasy about how you would use them with some added instructions on how to masturbate to that fantasy?? Bc it feels a lot more like the latter which isn't very fair.

Hey. As much as I appreciate you jumping in to give feedback and I always appreciate people giving me genuine constructive feedback that makes sense. I didn’t really ask for it, and you are assuming a lot wrongly rn. First of all…I have over 200 posts with extremely detailed personalized masturbation instructions and posts where I do exactly what you described. (Which is basically giving step to step instructions, with the focus being more about the how to touch or play) Why are you acting as if I don’t how to write these instructions?😅

Second of all…The whole point of these anon “personalized instructions” is not about making this an in-depth step to step of how they should play or touch themselves at all, nor did I claim that. That’s not the fucking point of these..That’s just something you assumed. That is something you favoured. Something you found fair. Something you prefer.😇 And as much as that is a great preference of yours, that’s just not what this was meant to be. The whole point is people sharing some of their fantasies and me giving some short instructions based on their fantasies (or the prompt they gave me). The whole point of this is writing a short bit about peoples fantasies. Their fantasies. That’s the personalized part. It’s about people looking at this and going “yay, this blog wrote a little bit about one of my current fantasies and added how I should touch myself to them!” While also giving short guided little instructions so people feel like I’m more personally acknowledging their fantasies and desires. And giving them a tiny bit of play guidance for when they touch themselves while scrolling Tumblr. Thát is the point. You assumed yours. You assumed what you found fair. But with all due respect. That’s not what this is about.😅 You assumed wrong. And are now complaining about what you prefer to have received (or prefer others to have received..)

Now. As much as I completely understand your situation and respect your opinion. This is not about me or my writing, let’s just be real. This also not fully about something you expected from a very specific post or play. And felt frustrated about not receiving, especially due to your bad experiences with online “play moments”, sexting or whatnot. It’s about your frustration with online “doms” and lackluster sexting or focus on you/subs. But with all due respect don’t fucking compare the two. 😅 I’m not sexting with you. I’m not doing an online 1 on 1 session with you. This is not a sexting story. This is not an extremely detailed play instruction send to a partner. I focus on my partners and am not some sort of weird fake online dom that only focused on themselves. I’m writing content. And in this particular case very short little personalized stories. That people can enjoy because it’s about their fantasies. Just because you are frustrated with men or “online Doms” not focusing on your pleasure and fantasies, doesn’t mean you need to reflect that on my short little fantasy stories. That’s just bullshit anon. Honestly.

If this whole segment was about me or my fantasies I would have not asked for the interactions, but would have instead just written my stories from the get go about myself. 😅

(Also, let’s be real. I’ve been getting a fuck ton of these anon request that I havn’t even started writing on due to me being busy. I’m not going to write a huge in depth detailed step by step story for each and every one of those. That’s just too much.)

So as much as I understand your frustration. You are barking at the wrong tree and are really assuming a lot, while reflecting your personal desires and frustrations onto me and my writings. I do hope you get better play experiences in the future, because that’s not how things should go.

[safyresky]

19. Secret Santa

(25 Days of Christmas Prompts)

ehehehe, I think you'll like this one! Stuck a read more bc it got a lil long, haha. Sorry for the delay! Had to put my tinfoil hat on to get into Myles's head. It was. An experience. Enjoy!

Secret Santa

"What on the goddess given Earth is that," Olivia asked, stopping in the doorway to her stepbrother's room when she caught sight of his latest piece of art.

"It is my game plan to get Charlie as my Secret Santa."

"Why Charlie? Did you have a specific gift in mind for him?" Olivia asked, stepping into Myles's room (several crumpled up papers crunching under her feet as she made her way in).

"Hmm? What? Oh! No! No I mean, to make sure he gets me as his secret Santa."

"Why? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of it? It's supposed to be a secret, you're not supposed to know and you don't get to pick and ALSO, you can't pick FOR someone else."

"No, but hear me out. There is a way I can rig it, so that he naturally gets my name."

"But why?"

"Because they make the best sugar cookies at the North Pole and every time I'm there so is Dad and it's like he's got like, 'Myles is about to consume sugar' senses and it's like. Can't a fairy just have a cookie? As a treat? It's not like I don't brush and floss!"

Olivia laughed. "Well, your teeth will thank you later."

"My Teeth thank me every day!" Myles said, with an exasperated flutter of his wings, throwing his hands in the air. "Anyway, anyone else would get me like, a toy or new goggles which I don't want and I keep TELLING Spring that and she keeps SUGGESTING it EVERY secret Santa and it's very frustrating. We really ought a get her to NOT write out suggestions for everyone. I bet we'd win that by a landslide."

"She is a bit of a control freak," Olivia agreed, staring at Myles's latest convoluted pin board.

Photos of each Legate were pinned to it, with threads running all over the place. Olivia couldn't make heads or tails of the threads, even with the colour coding Myles was prone to doing. There were just...so many of them! The very top of the board had a selfie of Myles, throwing up a peace sign, his cracked goggles glinting in the light. Below his selfie was a rather unflattering one of Charlie mid-sneeze, and below THAT a picture of a fresh plate of sugar cookies from one of the cookbooks down in the kitchen, that Olivia was sure would perplex Roy and her Mom at some point this holiday season.

(They would simply stare at the cut out image, look at each other, both smile and say "Myles" and continue on their merry way, hoping the recipe on the flip side of the magazine wasn't one of the family favourites).

Olivia looked at the other photos, relieved when she saw hers was decent. "So. How does this one work?"

"Well," Myles said, his little wings fluttering excitedly. "Each Legate has a thread that's their colour. I've matched them all up with all possible scenarios. And the bright red thread is how I think, based on the last five years of Legate Secret Santas, this year's will go. Ready?"

"Yep! Hit me with it."

"Spring puts her name in first, then passes it over to Day on her right, then Night on her left. So their names are at the bottom of the thingy. From there, it goes to Jacqueline, who always passes it across from her to Charlie, who passes it to US. Then it goes down to Xander and Blossom and ends at Dite, who is beside Jacqueline, and Jacqueline picks first. That's why she almost always gets Dite. She never shakes it. And that's why she got Spring last year! Xander shook it."

"She was so mad," Olivia recalled with a laugh.

"But Spring really liked the fuzzy socks!" Myles said. "Anyway, Jacqueline passes it over to Day and Night and Spring, so they usually get Blossom, you, or me. Then it goes to CHARLIE. So here's how I sneak in. We mix the seats a little bit. It's not like they're assigned, anyway."

"Only at Summits."

"Right! So we sneak in and get our names in there after Jacqueline, and I think that should make it so that Charlie grabs my name!"

Olivia had some doubts about this plan.

"Oh, I know that look," Myles said. "Yeah, I know, there's lots of variables I haven't accounted for, like, someone shaking the basket or hat or whatever the thing is this year, or seat changes, but I think it could work! And if it doesn't, there's always next year! And the year after that, and after that, and after that..."

"Your tenaciousness is admirable," Olivia said.

---

Well, the holiday Legate meeting came and went. Myles managed to sit exactly where he thought he'd need to be to get Charlie to pick him as his secret Santa. He made sure to toss his name in there at the opportune moment as the cup went across the table.

Jacqueline grabbed it before Xander could shake it, and, based on her happy little smile, Myles guessed she had once again gotten Dite.

All according to plan, he thought, with a slightly maniacal grin and a little rub of his hands. It got him a weird look from Spring, and a giggle from Olivia.

Finally the hat came to Charlie. He pulled his name; he looked at it, surprised; then he briefly made eye contact with Myles.

Gotchya! Myles thought, as Olivia picked her name and snorted. She passed it over to Myles, who drew his secret Santa: Spring.

Easy peasy, he thought.

The meeting ended with Spring and Jacqueline almost throwing elements thanks to the seasonal transition coming up in the next few months. Which was a new record, actually. Usually a snowball went flying or petals swarmed Jacqueline's face. An almost boded well for the rest of the winter season, and was a great way to close out the meetings for the year.

Myles waited for Olivia, most of the Legates mingling with one another before heading off for the rest of the day. She was chatting with Charlie. He grinned; he had so done it. Blossom tapped Olivia's shoulder, distracting the pixie. She held up a finger in Myles's general direction. He nodded, stretching his arms and back, only to come up and bonk heads with Charlie.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Myles! I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"That's alright. Dad says I need to work on my spatial awareness and I think he's onto something," Myles said with a frown, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, hi! What's up!"

"I wanted to ask you something," Charlie said, pulling the teen closer. "I got your sister as my secret Santa."

Myles's heart plummeted. "Oh, you did? Cool! Nice! Great! Awesome!"

"Thanks?" Charlie said, confused. He blinked. "Anyway, I know what she wants, but I was wondering if you think there's anything she'd like! Like, appreciate? Something thoughtful, you know? Dad'll probably get her the switch, anyway. And that's like, a huge gift for a secret Santa, you know?"

"She wants a switch?"

"Yeah, to share with you, actually!"

"Oh. That's really sweet," Myles said with a little smiley pout.

"I thought so too! So, what do you think she'd like?"

"Definitely something thoughtful," Myles said, glancing over Charlie's shoulder. Olivia was making her way back. "I'll message you later, but thoughtful trinkets are very up her alley! Pixies like trinkets, especially healers like Olivia," he said with a small smile, as the aforementioned pixie joined them.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing," Charlie said with a grin. "I'll remember what you said. Both of you!" he added with a wink. "See you guys in a few weeks!" he shouted, rushing off and waving over his shoulder at them.

"So I guess that didn't go according to plan?" Olivia asked.

"I didn't even get to suggest the cookies because he told me who his was, and it wasn't me!" He sighed, looking droopy for a brief moment.

"There there," Olivia said, patting his shoulder. "There's always next year!"

Myles perked up at that.

---

The best part about the Legate's Secret Santa, was giving the gifts! Every Legate tried their best to very sneakily drop their gift off with their secret Santa during the year-end bash, without being noticed.

It made for a lot of fun moments, like Charlie getting whacked by a space-time present in the back of his head, for instance (which may have hurt, but Jacqueline had laughed so hard when she witnessed it, her laughter was contagious. Even Charlie was laughing as he rubbed the back of his head, eager to open his gift).

There wasn't a prize; it was just a fun challenge for a bunch of overpowered Legendary Beings to attempt! Especially during quiet years, or low work hours (COVID had done a number to their own retrieval rate, Myles had noticed. Turns out a lot less ordibeings lost teeth when sports were cancelled cross country due to pandemics).

So, Myles spent most of the party, well, enjoying the deserts and socializing and such, as you do at parties. BUT he was also ON ALERT to see who his gift giver was! He himself had managed to sneak Spring's gift into some of the vines on her skirt. That had been a very fun use of Tooth Fairy prowess. He smirked as Night poked it with his staff, Spring gasping and pulling the new flowery garden hat out of the vines.

"Nice one," Olivia said, landing beside her brother with her fist outstretched.

"I didn't even bonk into anyone," Myles replied, fist bumping her back.

"Doubly nice!"

"I know!"

"Charlie pulled mine out from behind my ear."

"Impressive given your headscarf."

"Right?! Look what he got me!" She said, holding up an ornament. It was shaped like a switch and had her name on one of the joycons, and Myles's on the other.

"Oh, that's so sweet!"

"I know! Did you tell him?"

Myles chuckled. "Well, I may have given him a bit of a pointer," he said, scratching his head under his pilot cap.

Olivia laughed. "Well, thank you, Myles. I figured I'd return the favour for you," she said, laying her palms flat in front of his face. With a small tink sound, a colourful Christmas tin appeared in a poof of pixie dust, sitting comfortably in her hands. "Ta-da!"

"You're my Secret Santa?!" Myles nearly yelled, his wings fluttering excitedly.

"Yup! And these are fresh from up North, thanks to Charlie," she said with a grin, waving at him. He waved and grinned back, his mouth full of marshmallows.

Myles was floating a bit. "Ah! Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!" he said with a grin, hugging her tightly.

Olivia, who was not prepared for a sudden death hug from Myles, found herself pulled in tightly to the side. She gasped, watching helplessly as the cookie tin fell and landed on the floor with a clatter, the lid flying, the cookies spilling out and breaking up.

Myles looked down at it, aghast; the sugar cookies lay in pieces on the floor. He sunk down to his knees, putting the broken pieces in his hands. His lips quavered; he looked like he was ready to cry.

"Oh, Myles, don't worry, it's—"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Myles yelled out, throwing his head back, eyes closed tightly. The party went quiet; every Legate had turned their attention to Myles, some gasping, some making their way to comfort, others choking on their marshmallows to start this year's edition of 'who really IS the chubby bunny champion' discourse.

Olivia sighed, shaking her head with a fond smile. She'd tell him it would magically refill after the theatrics. He'd appreciate the hugs coming his way, after all.

[pappydaddy]

🌵 congrats on 500!! could i be shipped with a teen character from stranger things, and maybe one from harry potter too? im an entj, ravenclaw, sagittarius, and enneagram 3w4. i'm a writer and want to become an author & screenwriter for tv. im 5'3, with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. i'm impatient, strongwilled, ambitious, perfectionistic, and blunt. i love reading fantasy books, listening to jeff buckley & fiona apple & the cure, rainy days, and being in nature <3

hi lovely! thank you so much, it's very exciting!! i love this underrated prompt as well so you picked wisely! it's been a few events since i've done one of these, so hopefully i've still got the magic shipping quality! i stalked your blog (a little, not in a creepy way - love the theme btw, the shade of green is perfection!) but i couldn't find any pronouns or anything to specify what you are comfortable being referred to so i left it as gender neutral, i hope you are okay with that!

i hope i did some good match making and you enjoy the little snippets of the relationships i've created!

for stranger things i ship you with:

jonathan byers (non-creepy au - or now current universe since duffer brothers changed the scene we all saw👀)

and/or steve harrington (post-king steve)

for jonathan, i think he is drawn to a strong person when it comes to romantic interest. he is definitely more withdrawn, quiet, and stand-off-ish. he also likes smart people (i feel) who know what they want. he is very go-with-the-flow as long as you respect him. i also feel like he would love to read fantasy books if introduced to it (i don't think he had time to allow will to introduce him into the world of fantasy as he had to work from a young age and help his mother). i feel like you two would have roughly the same taste in music. you two would have a lot of dates where you just enjoyed each others company while listening to the rain as you sat on the byers porch. you two would have dates where joanthan took one of the thing you wrote and took pictures of things he thought went with the story/play/screenplay you wrote and you would choose one of his already developed photos and write a story/(quick)play/(quick)screenplay based on that. on the flipside of that, i feel like you would bring out jonathan's more social side. he's an introvert so you two would probably bring out different sides for each other.

for steve, i think he would definitely fall for you when you come into family video. he probably would make a fool out of himself, but you two would strike up a conversation. since i picture steve as an extrovert, he would have no issue doing anything with you. you two would click like a puzzle piece. while you are both extroverts, you both are in tune with your domestic/calm selves so you two will have a healthy balance of chaos and calm in your lives. you can have a nice, calm date, but then you can also have an exciting, adventurous date. you could also bring out the outdoorsy part of steve who has probably never had the chance to really experience nature until you. steve would absolutely love reading what you write and would brag to anyone who came into family video that one day, his partner will write a tv show that would put whatever movie they are buying to shame.

for harry potter i ship you with:

oliver wood (circa 1990s - teen Oliver, but y'all would last)

oliver shares a lot of traits as you. he is incredibly competitive so i am sensing a little enemies to lovers troupe. you two would definitely banter, bicker, and have your own little competition of wits, but love swirls beneath the surface and it eventually it will come to the surface. there will be fights, there will be arguments - you two are similar in many ways. but, since you also enjoy the calmness of life, you can show oliver that there is more to life than the go-go-go. once the love starts to come to the surface, i think both you and oliver would open up more to each other. sharing vulnerabilities, worries, fears, etc. through it all, you guys wouldn't lose the spark that brought you two together. you will never lose the light-hearted banter/competitiveness. you two will never be bored or not know what to do. your relationship would be built with adventure woven into the seams. it's you and oliver! showing that sometimes opposites attract does not apply to love.

feel free to send in more prompts for my 700 follower celebration lovelies! it's my pinned post (until it closes)!

[amarantine-amirite]

Busy

"I need help with something," I said as I entered the kitchen.

Mom sat at the computer with her eyebrows down and her mouth hanging open. Five minutes later, she said, "Can't, I'm busy."

I walked up to the computer and pointed at it. "If they asked for help, you'd drop everything in a second," I said, referring to the people she works with.

Mom didn't even look at me when she said, "Yes, but you're not them. I have work to do, and so do you."

By work, she means my college essay. I haven't been able to do anything with it because the prompt makes no sense to me.

This year, the Common App assigns the prompt you get for your college essay based on your zodiac sign. I'm a Taurus, so my prompt was why does tomorrow mean to you?

The contents of your essay dictate your major. I hope to major in physics, so I have no idea how to answer the question in a way that the AI scraping my essay will sort me into physics. How can I market myself as a physicist if I can't figure out what the prompt is supposed to mean?

I asked her for help with this college essay multiple times. She says yes, but always blows me off.

It occurred to me that she does this on purpose. She'd pretend to be too busy to do something she felt she didn't need to do. If anybody says to her, "Hey, can you do this because I don't know how", she responds, "Can't, busy, figure it out yourself". She does this even if she has an empty schedule. It gets the idiots at work to leave her alone. She figured if it works with them, it should work with me.

It doesn't, or at least I don't think it does. Mom never noticed that I'd do my own thing if I didn't know what to do. Today, that would change.

How? Well, it's a bit of a long story.

Years ago, I saw a blog post about a song cut from the edutainment game Pajama Sam. The blog post referred to it as "Everybody Knows The Rules". They mentioned the song was a reproduction of something that already existed, not written specifically for the game. Also, "Everybody Knows The Rules" wasn't even the correct title, somebody had mislabeled the audio file. It very likely got mixed in with a copy of the game that was relentlessly copied and sold as a bootleg, not unlike the infamous "here lies Andy, peperony and chease" headstone from Oregon Trail. Nobody could identify it because the lyrics sounded like nonsense due to the singer slurring their words.

Sometime between the blog post going up and now, somebody posted fanart of the web-footed wild thing from Where The Wild Things Are in formal attire. Somebody in the comments noted that she looked like the woman in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal". Enough people clicked on the link for the video that comments suggesting that "Crystal" was "Everybody Knows The Rules" surfaced relatively quickly.

Two weeks ago, something remarkable happened. Somebody trying to get a job in data science wrote a piece of code that confirmed that "Everybody Knows The Rules" was indeed "Crystal" by New Order. They mentioned in the write-up that the song had likely been downloaded from the Internet, wound up on the wrong disk, and proliferated as more bootleg copies of the game were made.

In my mind, there was only one thing I could do: write a Where the Wild Things Are fanfiction about the picture that helped solve the mystery of "Everybody Knows The Rules". I poked away at this story whenever I had time.

Now, I didn't have much of a story set up for my fanfic, but I have so far established the following: all the wild things are female and have alphabetical names. The web-footed wild thing with the webbed feet is named Adelaide O'Keefe. This last detail is important because it is the source of a ton of commotion.

Enter my pathetic excuse of a college essay. I decided to send it to Mom to see if she can help me figure out what the hell is up with this prompt. Unfortunately, instead of sending my mom my college essay, I sent my Where The Wild Things Are fanfiction to Gracie, one of her co-workers. I didn't realize my mistake until I saw her response:

OK, I have no idea who you are or what you're doing, but you need to think about others a little bit. 

Two years ago, I got pregnant and went to great lengths to keep the pregnancy a secret lest I lose my job. What did I get for my efforts? A fuckin' stillbirth!

I was going to call my daughter Adelaide. Please pick a different name for this character. 

I've been calling that thing Adelaide O'Keefe for long enough that calling her anything else seems wrong. That said, maybe I crossed a line using the name of her secret stillbirth in my story. Stillbirths on their own are traumatic, but Gracie's situation was trickier still. She had to keep the pregnancy secret under pain of being fired. By using the name she planned to use for her ultimately stillborn child, I had effectively exposed her. Now she's at risk of getting canned for dishonesty.

I considered the following options. I could either give her a name similar to Adelaide, like Adela or Addison. I could spell it differently. I could even double-barrel her name to include Adelaide and something else, but to be honest, the result would be kind of a mouthful. It'd be better to either do a nickname or change the spelling.

Without warning, Mom's boss's boss chimed in.

Hey, Midge's kid (whatever your name is),

I read everything you said. Just pick a completely different name, hopefully not a geographic one. 

Adelaide is a city in Australia which has been linked to a lot of high-profile murder cases. The city was referred to as the "murder capital" of the country for a long time. 

Using the name Adelaide if you have no links to Australia or the name is deeply disrespectful to the victims (and even if you do have ties to Australia, it's still a bit iffy). 

Just pick something else.

(Also, I just realized Grace Danvers is on this chain. Keep everything I said to Midge's teenage rugrat in mind when you name your next baby)

My jaw dropped as I realized I now had a problem. I had emailed my fledging idea of a story to every single person in my mom's department at work.

Once the panic from my mistake washed away, I soon realized just how dumb her take was. Avoiding geographic names entirely isn't feasible because there are a lot of places named after people. Besides, this comment came from a persistent urban legend that refuses to die. Adelaide is not the murder capital of Australia, nor the world. It never was. Not only that, she had also hit "reply all" and sent this to everybody in the group.

Mom emailed me. If you have time to write bullshit Maurice Sendak fanfic that inadvertently exposes my coworkers' secret pregnancies, you have time to work on your college essay.

First and foremost, my fanfiction did nothing to expose Gracie's pregnancy. She did that on her own. Had she not thrown a fit about my character names, the pregnancy would still be secret.

Mom was pretty pissed about this email chain clogging her feed, as was everybody. A quick look at the most recent message in that email chain would reveal that both executives who presided over that group warned everyone that if one more dope hits "reply all" for any reason, even if it's telling others not to hit "reply all", they're going to shut off the email servers for the next 48 hours.

It took me 15 minutes to generate the words I still don't know wtf the prompt for my college essay is supposed to mean and sent Mom my college essay. And yes, I hit "reply all".

After that, it probably occurred to me that each person in the department would chime in one sentence and I would have my essay. I will have to wait 48 hours to see if that pans out.

@casualwriter

[clarktooncrossing]

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

Xena hears of an upcoming pumpkin carving contest being held in Downtown Clarksburg and eagerly enlists Bumper’s aid. Combining her twisted sense of ambition with his childlike creativity practically guarantees their victory, right? Wrong! That very same childlike creativity is what’s preventing the floating marshmallow from tearing the fruit’s flesh apart. After all, how could he hurt an innocent? How could he bring himself to do such an awful thing?

How could I bring myself not to draw Bumper and Xena for Halloween this year? For crying out loud, Croc’s entire family face the supernatural every other day of the year, so of course Halloween would feel naked without’m. Even if that wasn’t the case, this idea was too funny not to draw. It came to me while watching It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, laughing at Linus’s dismay when Lucy carves up the pumpkin they brought home. There was something so sweet and wholesome about the boy’s reaction that I knew would also work for Bumper, especially if Xena got involved. Unlike Lucy, who struggled to draw a basic face onto a pumpkin, Xena’s imagination is a lot more interesting to say the least. Needless to say it made drawing her Jack-O-Lantern fun to sketch. Another fun aspect were the kid’s costumes, Xena dressed as Ellen Ripley from Aliens and Bumper dressed up as a Ghostbuster. Much like Pizzabeard, I was dying for an excuse to draw these two in these outfits again after doing so back in 2021. It all comes together for an adorably funny DUDEL that I hope you all enjoy!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

[peininging]

Assignment 1: Abstraction

Prompt: Take a picture with your mobile phone – this could be an object, a scenery, etc. You are to present a visual abstraction for this chosen image to best articulate the image in its most stripped- down version.

The subject:

When I think of abstraction, I immediately thought of logos. One logo I thought of was Apple, and its simple apple logo.

To my surprise, the original logo was an apple tree. It was interesting that a tree could eventually be abstracted to an apple and provided inspiration for what to abstract.

I also saw this tree abstraction on an architecture website, seeing a tree be reduced to a circle and a few lines was also inspiration.

Design Process:

I took a photo of a tree and wanted to break it down into its simplest forms. First, I used Illustrator to try to vectorize the image. I tried using the “Image Trace” tool to automatically vectorize the tree. However, after trying to ungroup the finished coloured shapes, I soon realized that the subject was too complicated, and it would be too difficult to move on with the method.

I decided to manually create the vectorized image of the tree using the “Pen” tool and filling them with appropriate shades of black, white, and grey.

First creating the tree outline, then creating the different shades of green leaves, from dark to light colour. For the tree itself, I decided to use black so it could be easily differentiated from the background white. I then used a dark grey for the darker leaves, mid-tone grey for the mid-tone green leaves, and a light grey for the lighter green leaves. Finally, I used white to create the holes in the tree.

Creating the tree outline in black

Creating the white “holes” of the tree

Light and dark leaves of the tree

I also wanted to capture the stray branches that showed through the “hole” of the tree, so I decided to create black shapes on top of the white to create the branches, and then add white for finishing touches.

For all stages, this became the general workflow of how I went about arranging the layers and creating the tree.

Altogether, this became STAGE 1:

Stage 1 limitations, initial feedback

It was difficult to get the exact details of the tree, especially the branches and the leaves as I realized that my photo was unable to capture the tree in its highest resolution. Although I had this limitation, I tried to convey the details as best as I could.

I also asked my friends for feedback, and they all agreed that it looked very similar to the existing tree photo. Glad that it was an accurate base to start with, I proceeded to continue to Stage 2.

I got a sensing that the general form of the tree and leaves were circular or rounded. With this insight, I decided to proceed with abstracting the tree and its different coloured leaves into rounder formless shapes.

Formless blobs of the leaves

After adding it altogether, STAGE 2:

In Stage 3, I decided to proceed by making all the different coloured leaves into 1 shape instead of many different shapes. The 3 different coloured shapes represent the mass of the differnet colored leaves.

I also further abstracted the tree outline, removing the tree roots and simplifying the bottom leaves.

STAGE 3:

In Stage 4, I decided to simplify all shapes into rounder forms. I had difficulty deciding how much to simplify.

My first iteration of trying to simplify the midtone leaves.

I felt that it could be further simplified, deciding to keep the leaves within the confines of the tree outline.

STAGE 4:

For Stage 5, I decided to make the whole tree 1 color. I did this because:

The different colours added no meaning to the abstraction, other than the white which was the outline of the hole.

An abstraction that only relied on 1 colour and negative space would be a more effective abstraction than using multiple colours.

I also created different variations of Stage 5 and explored colours, and did a quick guerrilla test with my friends, asking them “Which one looks most like a tree?”, without showing the original tree.

In the end, number 4 had the most votes (by a small margin), so I decided to proceed with it for Stage 5.

STAGE 5:

Critique Session:

+ One of my classmates said they liked how stylized the end abstraction was, and could see it being used in Branding, and that my process was interesting.

- A popular mention was that the leaf cut out from the iterations were better, and that I should make the trunk longer or look more like a tree trunk, as the tree looks like a mushroom.

- A classmate mentioned they liked the multiple colours of Stage 4, suggesting keeping it. As for making the tree green or grey, my classmates had differing opinions.

My tutor Merlin asked me why I made the tree that shade of grey. Initially, I chose a mid-tone grey because I felt that it best encapsulates the feeling of a tree, one that is not too strong or too weak, because a tree is both nurturing and strong.

In my after-critique iterations, I first tried to keep the different colours of Stage 4 but continue with the abstraction. I explored other color and trunk variations. Since the leaf was unanimous, I used it.

For color variations, I tried making the trunk a different color than the leaves. I felt that this exploration was great, and really encapsulated what I thought about the tree being strong (in a darker trunk), and nurturing (in the lightweight leaves). I really appreciated Merlin’s question, because it pushed me to think deeper about my color choice and my design rationale. For the trunk, I also agreed that the trunk was too thin, so I adjusted it to be thicker and more curved, resembling a stronger foundation as a trunk.

In the end, I decided my final iteration to be the tree that had a darker trunk and lighter leaves, and a thicker trunk.

[renhanacore]

This Is Friendship.

(you can find the photo that inspired this prompt by clicking the title in the tags.)

Meeting up with Lawrence was easier than it probably should've been. Ren had to admit to himself, he was nervous to meet up someone on the internet. Thats how he ended up in his past situation with- Nevermind that now.

It was too easy to drug Lawrence's drink. Ren just wanted the upper hand. He just smiled up at the dirty blonde and did most of the talking while they were at the bar. He was quiet. Was he nervous too? Ren deeply wanted to know. Even before the drink he was quiet. Although he did get nervous when the drugs were slow to kick in. He was relieved when they did, and before he Lawrence fell asleep fully, Ren offered to take him home.

When the tall blonde man's body finally went limp, the animal didnt realize how heavy he would be. The size difference didnt help either. It was going to be quiet the long walk. Ren wasnt going to take Lawrence back to where he lived, he was going to take him back to his own humble abode.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ •••♡🦊♡•••

When they had finally arrived at house, he took Lawrence's body to the basement, and tied him up on a chair and waited for him to wake up. Ren could be patient.

He jumped up excitedly when Lawrence woke up, and smiled a bit slyly. "You're finally awake!" His fox ears and tail were visable now. He pat the blonde's face gently when he saw the panic on him.

"Whats the matter, grave robber?" It was a lucky guess. He pieced what Lawrence had said together. Ren straddled himself on the others legs, and placed a hand on his chin. He wanted the tall male's full attention on him rather than the situation.

[iguana-braces]

I Heard From the Heavens (Rooster x Reader)

Based on this request (and also the iconic “Hold My Hand”) – Masterlist

Description: “You can cry every last tear

I won't leave 'til I understand

Promise me, just hold my hand”

Warnings: death, like, lots of talk about death, there’s a funeral, Rooster definitely has some things to work through, it’s 95% sad as shit and 5% not?

Word Count: 2.9k

Note: I’m sure this is way more sad than the original prompt and I am virtually hugging each and every one of you readers in apology. The total number of times I cried writing this: 19. But hey, we finally get a Rooster POV so that's fun 

Also, we’ve got some OC side characters here, so they get randomly generated names because I don’t want to do Y/F/N, Y/F/H/N, Y/M/C/A, etc. Feel free to mentally change the names as you’d like, I’m not a telepath, I cannot stop you.

Spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick (in case you still haven't seen it but are reading fanfic for it for some reason?)

You thought you'd be able to make it through the day, even as you dressed in all black.

Even when you saw Bradley in his dress uniform. Even as the two of you drove in near silence to the church. Right up until you stood at the door and tightly hugged your friend, Iris, who looked like she hadn’t slept in a month. While you knew she was a strong woman, it was like a simple gust of wind would blow her away at any time.

“It’s good to see you,” she said quietly. It didn’t feel like you could find any words that meant the right thing. I’m sorry for your loss didn’t feel like enough. My condolences. Is there anything I can do to help? You’d wanted to ask that on an hourly basis ever since you heard. All you could do was hold her hands and try to smile and hope that she knew what it meant. That was when the cracks in your façade started to show.

Then inside, there was the casket covered with an American flag, next to a picture of Wes in his dress uniform. The same one he was wearing now. Inside the casket. Funerals were always strange. How were you supposed to reconcile the memories of someone, their laugh, their smile, their shitty sense of humor, with the fact that what remained of them was now lying cold and eternally immobile just a few meters away from you? That was the most infuriating part of it all, the permanence. It's death. It's final, forever fixed and there's nothing anyone can do to change it. You don't even get the chance to try.

Throughout the service, you could feel Bradley’s eyes on you, but you couldn’t bear to meet his gaze. You bowed your head when they ordered prayers, you laughed at the anecdotes of Wes’ bumbling proposal to Iris, his love for rescuing animals, and so on. But something else kept your teeth clenched painfully tight through it all.

This was the church where Wes and Iris had been married, just two years earlier. A wedding you’d been a bridesmaid for, wishing them nothing but happiness and joy in their future together. But two years was all they got. And suddenly, the engagement ring around your finger felt ice cold against your skin.

Then there was the internment. They fired rifles and handed Iris that folded up flag and now you were really crying. There was so much ceremony involved in saying goodbye, summing up the entirety of one person’s life in a matter of a few hours. Celebrating them, honoring them, and mourning their absence all at once. Where were you even supposed to start?

You couldn’t help but think just how easily it could be you holding that flag. Even though Rooster was beside you now, he couldn't stay there forever. He’d have to leave again, and maybe one day he’d be coming back in pieces like Wes. But you had known this, you had known this from the start. And you knew it when you accepted his proposal, what was supposed to be the beginning of your future together. Still, the reality of it all had never seemed to hit you until just now.

You finally let yourself glance over at him. His lashes were wet with tears, but he remained strong, stoic, silent, saluting rigidly as Wes’ coffin was lowered into the ground.

Then there was the wake and laughter and more tears and all you wanted to do when you got home was collapse. Instead, you put on a movie in bed and let yourselves fall asleep to it. Anything to take your mind off it all.

But you couldn’t sleep. Lying there, staring at Bradley in the dark, trying to memorize every inch of his face, the curl of his hair, the temperature of the warmth radiating from his living, breathing body. Closing your eyes felt like a betrayal of the highest degree, you didn't dare miss out on a single second of existence with him.

But the longer you were awake, the worse you felt. There had been times, especially during long deployments, where you woke up in a cold sweat, thinking you’d heard a knock at the door or the ringtone for a call from a voice you never wanted to hear. And sometimes there was no way of talking to Bradley, no way of knowing if your fears were valid or not. All you could do is sit and wait and hope with everything you had.

Even now, it felt like that knock might come at any moment, waking you up from the dream that he was there with you. That was just exhaustion and trauma playing with your mind, but you couldn’t lie there any longer. Even sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea, you felt yourself itching to walk past the bedroom again, just to make sure he was still there.

Taking only your keys and a jacket, you left. These streets were familiar enough that you didn’t mind being out so late on your own, letting your mind wander as your feet carried you aimlessly forward.

Anybody you married could leave you a widow, Rooster wasn't the exception. Car accidents were common enough, so were undetected diseases and random acts of violence, natural disasters, animal attacks. But Rooster chose to put himself in the line of fire. He was a target in the air, a threat, while piloting a delicate aircraft going hundreds of miles per hour, thousands of feet off the ground. A lot could go wrong up there, as you were both well aware.

For the most part, he never really talked about what happened on missions and of course, it had to have been classified to some degree. But there was something more than just state secrets that he was hiding in his silence. Sometimes you could just tell something had gone wrong, he'd been in some kind of danger but he never wanted you to worry about what could've happened. What was important was that he made it back in one piece and that’s all there was to say about it.

At the same time, you had stopped telling him about your nightmares. They didn’t mean anything. They were just the result of your neurons randomly firing as your unconscious mind processed information, or something like that. Just a passing feeling, nothing to waste your time worrying about and nothing to cause him to worry about. But sometimes it felt like you were too busy keeping things from each other that you ran out of material for a real conversation.

And what kind of life was that? Is this what it was like for everyone else? For Iris and Wes? For Rooster’s parents? God, what you would’ve given to know them. For what felt like the fiftieth time that day, your sore eyes started tearing up again.

Letting your head fall back towards the sky, you stared up at the stars. Beautiful as always, but who knows how many of them were long-dead already, blinked out of existence, and you just couldn’t see it yet. We’re only ever witnessing the pasts of the stars, what they used to be, beams of light traveling through space long after the source has destroyed itself. Memories, that’s all they were. Nothing but blazing, brilliant memories.

~~~~

Rooster had woken up before the sun, as always. Noting your absence next to him, he let himself assume you were in the bathroom and rolled over, closing his eyes again. After the events of yesterday, a little sleeping in could be considered acceptable.

But when he woke an hour later and you were still gone, that was when he knew something was wrong. The house was empty and your phone was still on the nightstand, your wallet still in your purse. Only your keys and sandals were missing.

You weren’t anywhere outside, and none of your friends seemed to have woken up yet, despite his repeated attempts to reach them. None of this would’ve made sense if it weren’t for the context of the situation.

He'd held your shaking hands at the funeral, seen the hollowness of your eyes as they fixed on the casket, probably imagining him lying within it. That’s why he’d always hated funerals. Not only was he starting to feel like he’d been to a few too many of them, but they just felt too much like a mirror, a solemn reminder of his own mortality. Yes, they were a way to help people grieve and to pay your respects and you were supposed to celebrate the deceased’s life, but all he could ever hear was a silent clock ticking down the minutes until it was his turn.

Even though he barely remembered the specifics of what happened, and he was much too young to understand it anyway at the time, he remembered that his dad had been there one minute, and then he was gone forever the next. And then his mom was gone too, and he'd lost friends in the service. He'd even come close to death's door on his own a few times. Loss had been such a huge part of his life, he had forgotten what it was like to fear it.

Until he met you. The thought of losing you was one thing, but the thought of you losing him was worse. That pain had always been a part of him, that gnawing ache of what if. What if they weren't gone, what if I had done more with them while they were here? Losing you was assured to split him in two for the umpteenth time, but he could learn to carry that pain again. The problem was that he refused to be the one who’d inflict that pain upon you. That's why he'd waited so long to let you in. It was a lot to ask of you, expecting you to make peace with the fact that he's willingly putting himself into dangerous situations. And how could he possibly promise to spend his life with you while continually gambling with it on each and every mission?

A familiar voice started to speak in the back of his mind, saying, Just let her go.

No, he couldn’t. If something really was wrong, if you were in danger and he gave up, he’d never be able to live with himself.

Wearing down the tires on his truck, he drove down every city street searching for you, stopping by all of your favorite places even though most weren’t even open yet. But place after place was devoid of all life, and that only made him want to tear the steering wheel in half.

Stopped at a red light near the beach, his foot tapping impatiently on the gas pedal, that was when he heard it.

"Rooster!"

He thought he imagined it, he couldn’t see anyone nearby.

“Rooster!”

Something in the rearview mirror caught his eye, a figure waving their arms some distance behind him. He almost jumped out of the car then and there, leaving it idling at the stoplight, but rationality told him to make a U-turn and park at a lot nearby.

Stumbling over the sand dunes, holding your shoes in your hand, you met him at the top of the beach. He wanted to scream at you because where the fuck had you been and what the fuck were you thinking, but you looked unharmed and really, the most important thing was that he had found you. Besides, what was he supposed to say, Glad you’re okay and by the way, I think we should break up because I’m terrified of what might happen?

Sighing, you spoke first, explaining, “I went for a walk but then I was too tired to walk home so I fell asleep on a bench until a cop woke me up. Sorry.”

All he could do was nod, as if that explanation instantly placated the wasp's nest of anxiety buzzing inside him.

“Can we talk?” he finally asked.

You nodded tiredly. “Can we sit though? I shouldn’t have walked two miles in these shoes.”

Sinking into the sand, he wrapped his arms around his knees, kicking up sand as one of his feet jittered uncontrollably. You sat next to him, picking at the stray grasses that grew in the dune. He’d been the one to initiate this talk, but now his mind was as blank as the cloudless, sunrise-streaked sky.

Don’t think, just do. Just say it.

“On that mission with Mav, he got shot down,” Rooster started, his throat dry from calling out your name for so long. “They told us not to go back for him, but I did. And they shot me down too.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw you shake your head. I know, he wanted to say, I’m sorry.

“There’s more.”

“Go on,” you nodded.

“We found a plane and got out of there, but on the way back to the ship, they were on us again. We didn’t have any weapons, couldn’t eject, they had missile lock on us and…” He could still feel the shuddering of the ancient F-14 around him, the dull clicks of the ejection handles as he pulled on them futilely. “There was nothing we could do. If it weren’t for Hangman, then–”

“Hangman is the only reason you’re not dead right now?”

“Yeah." Rooster never thought he’d be indebted to that cocky bastard for anything, but without Hangman, he’d never have come home.

"Huh." It seemed you were just as surprised at this turn of events as he was. The events of that day remained an adrenaline-filled blur in his mind, but the aftermath was painfully clear to him.

"You don’t even have time to think about it, really. My life didn’t flash before my eyes. It was just one second that passed right by and that was it, we were back on the carrier. Like nothing happened. But then yesterday and today…” Despite being firmly seated on the ground, it felt like he was pulling seven Gs, his chest crushing under the weight of his own words before he spoke them. “Dying, if it’s quick, it’s easy. You blink and you’re just gone. But for everyone else, everyone you leave behind, it lasts a lifetime. You die over and over for them, every time they think of you. And I don’t want to do that to you.”

~~~~~~~~~

The strand of grass you’d been wrapping around your finger split, pulled too tightly.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Bradshaw,” you whispered. “Don’t you dare.”

“I’m sorry–”

“I love you, but you don’t get to decide what I can and can’t handle. I decide that.”

You could tell he wanted to argue, to force you out and rebuild his defenses so impossibly high he’d never see the sun again. But you’d made your decision hours ago, before your siesta on that splintery bench.

Staring up at the stars, it was as if something clicked into place inside you. Ancient memories, that was all you had. The present was nothing but a second, over and done with and gone before you knew it. The future was uncontrollable and terrifying. But he was right, memories are with us forever, the good and the bad.

“Your parents. You don’t hate them, do you?”

Rooster almost looked offended at the question. “...No.”

“You don’t curse the fact that you’re their son just because they’re gone, do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you think your mom ever regretted the day she met your dad?” Rooster went still at this for a few moments, staring into the waves on the shore. As he shook his head, tears welled over his eyes and he dropped his head to his knees.

“No, she didn’t, because they loved each other,” you answered for him, sniffling, your voice wavering more and more. “And you love them and they loved you and that’s the point of this whole thing. We love each other for as long as we can, even though it might hurt in the end because– Because it lasts a lifetime. It gives us something to hold onto. I’d never regret loving you, Rooster. Not a single moment of it.”

There was more you wanted to say, but your tears were too heavy now. You felt Bradley’s arms around you and you clung to him, his body shaking against yours as you both finally let yourselves cry.

“Just promise me the same,” you said softly.

"I do,” Bradley sighed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[zoe-oneesama]

I'm interested in the Lila exposed au about your akumasona. What's that?

For those who don’t know my OC (self insert) akumasona Zoe Rapporte (The Enchanted Florist), but her family owns a flower shop that is pretty successful - think “This florist does the arrangements at the Grand Paris and for High Profile Events” - so she’s mildly acquainted with Adrien from some of those events. Maybe not friends, but like when you frequent a coffee shop so much that you learn all the staff’s name and they all remember you.

So Lila is not above dropping lots of money to sell her lies (hello Gabriel Collection Fox Necklace) and one of her lies to her mother is that Adrien is her boyfriend. And what boyfriend doesn’t send his lovely girlfriend flowers, especially one as well off as Adrien Agreste? And really, as long as his name is on the card when her mother accepts them at the door, that’s all that matters, right?

So Zoe takes note that once a week this prissy girl with a bizarre hairstyle comes in to place a rather pricey bouquet order under Adrien’s name and has it delivered to the same address that’s on the credit card bill - doesn’t take a genius to figure out this delusional weirdo is pretending a celebrity is sending her flowers weekly. It’s a little strange because Zoe could’ve sworn she saw on TV that this chick had done photo shoots with Adrien before and based on his Instagram she was his classmate, so it’s kinda concerning that she’s going this far to burrow her way into his life. Still, she’s dropping quite a bit of coin and it’s really none of Zoe’s business, yeah?

But then imagine there’s a class event - maybe a dance, maybe a teacher’s appreciation week, maybe an alumni reunion - that needs our favorite class representative and her deputy to order a large amount of flowers. And Adrien, ever desperate to do his part, takes it upon himself to help with the budget. And maybe Nino decides to come for no particular reason lol.

So the four walk into the Rapporte Flower Shop and Adrien is so excited to introduce his friends to one of the familiar faces from his VIP world. And he’s just so exuberant as he brags about his friends and is so wholesome and different from the put together boy Zoe would briefly meet at those stuffy events that this surge of sisterly affection makes her completely forget her usual “none of my business” attitude. She’s got to let him know what it going on behind his back, especially if there’s a chance that he has no idea what kind of girl “Mlle. Rossi at the fifth story walk up” was.

And who knows? Maybe this was a misunderstanding, a weird arrangement Adrien had with his secret girlfriend to make sure she gets exactly the type of bouquet she wants? Zoe recons she’s had stranger requests. Welp, no better way to clear the air than to just ask.

“Hey Adrien, you know there’s this weird girl that comes in once a week and has flowers delivered to herself under your name?”

Adrien paused in his rant about Nino’s music mixing skills (having already left Alya puffing her chest in pride and Marinette a red puddle of embarrassed goo) to stare blankly at Zoe. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh yeah.” Zoe leaned into her palm, looking way too relaxed considering what she’d just dropped on him. “For, like, the two months at least. Always has us address her card ‘Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder, Ma Belle, from Your Loving Boyfriend Adrien Agreste’.”

“What the heck?!” Alya exclaimed from beside Nino who’s jaw was dropped in disbelief. “That’s crazy messed up. Adrien doesn’t even have a girlfriend, what does this psycho think she’s doing?!”

“Right? I don’t know who she thinks she fooling. What kind of boyfriend needs to sign his full name?”

“It is pretty weird.” Adrien said, rubbing his neck in discomfort. “But it’s not the strangest thing a fan has done. It’s not that big a deal, right?”

“Dude.” Nino started, staring at his best friend in mild horror. “Just because you don’t know this girl doesn’t make it ‘no big deal’.”

“Oh no.” Zoe pipes up again. “He knows her.”

“What?!” All of Adrien’s friend’s exclaimed. Even Adrien looked a bit shook by her admission.

Alya zipped over to the counter, leaning dangerously close to Zoe’s remarkably unfazed face. “What do you mean ‘he knows her’?! How do you know that?! This sounds like a creepy fangirl but you’re telling me she’s actually in Adrien’s life?!”

“I should say so. I mean, it was even on TV that she was modeling with Adrien and she’s made a few appearances on his instagram.” Zoe brought out her phone, casually thumbing open Instagram. “I would’ve just ignored it, but if she’s going around pretending she’s dating Adrien then he has the right to know.”

“Modeling with....and you said on his instagram...?”

“Are...” Marinette piped up, voice dripping with trepidation. “Are you talking about Lila?”

“Marinette,” Alya gave her friend a withering look. “Just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean you can just accuse her of-”

Zoe cut her off, flashing her phone screen at the group to present a photo, having found the image she was looking for: a brunette with a straight fringe and her forelocks in twin tails leaning possessively over an uncomfortably smiling Adrien.

“Yes, Mlle. Rossi! I’d recognize that crazy hairstyle anywhere.” She turned the phone back to look at it herself. “Pft, Adrien, what’s with this caption? ‘Lila insisted I take post this picture?’ Yikes, man, learn to say no.”

Alya waved her hands in front of her, eyes scrunched closed in disbelief. “Hold up, hold up, hold up. You have GOT to be getting this twisted. Lila wouldn’t do something that like this, that’s just...wrong!”

“I mean, this is definitely the girl I was talking about.” Zoe said slowly, raising one eyebrow at Alya’s response. “And Rossi is the name on the bill. What exactly am I ‘getting twisted?’“

“Because!..Because Lila just wouldn’t!”

“Yeah!” Nino shouted from behind her, shaking himself out of the stupor this whole situation left him in. “She said she wasn’t into Adrien like that!”

Zoe snorted. “And you believed her?”

“W-well yeah, why would she lie about that...?”

“You guys are so cute. And definitely need to watch more True Crime shows.”

“What-?”

“Sorry Adrien.” Zoe lofted over Alya’s shoulder, cutting off another defensive quip. “I know she was your friend. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

“Ah, no, she’s not really- I mean, I’m not that surprised to be honest.” Adrien offered weakly.

“It sounds right up her alley.” Marinette growled, fingers digging into her crossed arms.

“What...” Nino and Alya turned to their friends, confused and anxious. “What are you talking about? This..this is Lila we’re talking about!”

“The same Lila who got Marinette expelled?” Adrien stated, face grim and tired.

“That was rescinded, it wasn’t her fault-”

“The same Lila who sent everyone in Adrien’s contact list picture of her kissing Adrien?” Marinette ground out, aggravated.

“I mean, that was weird, but I’m sure she didn’t mean-”

“The same Lila who got my bodyguard and Natalie in trouble with my dad?”

“Or maybe the same Lila who stole Adrien’s dad’s book and threw it in the trash?”

“She did WHAT-?!”

“I-I fished it out for you!”

“Wait is that how you knew about Lila-”

“Wow.” Zoe whistled, again cutting the group off. “What a class act. Sounds like a great friend you got there, Adrien.”

“Oh trust me.” Adrien growled, eyes never leaving Marinette who steadfastedly refused to look at him. “After this we’re NOT friends.”

Alya held her head with one hand, staring at the ground. “Wait, wait, this...this can’t be right, Lila isn’t...she wouldn’t do this, she wouldn’t, she’s...cool! And nice! And-! She just can’t!”

Zoe cocked her head toward’s Alya, leveling her with a patient stare. “Well, then what is she doing?” Alya looked up blankly at her, prompting her further. “The truth of the matter is that Lila Rossi comes in once a week, and has been for at least two months, buying flowers to be delivered to her own address (which I know because it matches up to the address on the card with her last name on it), but dictates that the card say it was sent by Adrien. If she’s not faking that Adrien is sending her flowers, what is she doing?”

“I...I don’t...” Alya floundered. They were just supposed to order some flowers, how did the day turn like this?!

“You’re an investigative reporter, right? What’s that old Sherlock Holmes saying? ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth’?”

Alya leaned into Nino, staring out at the shop, searching for something to make some sense. She thought Lila was nice, was her friend, was everyone’s friend! But this stunt with Adrien...what does it even mean...?

Everyone looked towards the employee door as footsteps could be heard approaching. A moment later Tama, Zoe’s younger sister, stepped into the shop, pausing at the door when she realized five pairs of eyes were staring at her. She looked over the customers, taking in Marinette’s slight glower, Adrien’s tight jaw, and Nino and Alya’s devastated posture.

“Soooo, are you here to buy some bouquets?”

[lily-drake]

Photograph

Based on

Thank you @johannaiii for letting me write this!!!! It was so much fun and it was a really good prompt!

Talia didn’t like the process of giving birth, in fact she loathed it.  She swore she would never, and she meant never do it again.  But when she was giving birth, and she found out that she was having twins, and she got to hold her children that she sacrificed and suffered for, she loved them.  When she learned that one of them was a girl, she knew that her father would be furious and demand her death.  So she immediately summoned one of the monks from the Tibetan temple that her father was allying with and gave them the girl.  She demanded that they train her and protect, and that she would never, ever be mentioned to Ra’s.  She even killed the nurses who helped her give birth to make sure that there was no one left who would know.  It wouldn’t be hard to find replacements for them anyways, it’s not like their lives were significant.  They had served out their use, now there was no need for them.  When it was time she presented her son, Damian, to her father claiming him to be the only child and heir to the Demon’s Head.  Ra’s was very pleased with her and she felt pride at being able to carry out her task properly that her father was very much pleased with her and her child.

Even though Marinette, as she had named the child before she had given her up, was no longer in the league, she made sure she was still in her daughter’s life.  Once every year she left for “training” purposes with Damian and went to the ancient temple in Tibet to visit her daughter and make sure that the two siblings got to spend time with each other.  Marinette was growing up so fast and the monks would report to her of her daughter’s progress.  They told her that Marinette was destined for greatness and to be a powerful leader, and that pleased Talia greatly.  The man in charge of her daughter's training, Master Wang Fu, would show her photos of her daughter and her accomplishments; she wished that she would be allowed to do the same for Damian.  But the League and the Temple of Order, while partners, were two separate entities when it came to how they were trained and taught.  She smiled as she saw her children sparing on the temple’s grounds, each assessing how strong the other had become since their last meeting a year ago.

They were both 6-years-old now, and Marinette had lost one of her top baby teeth.  She wore the traditional light blue training robes the monks wore while Damian wore his traditional black and red armor with his katana sheathed on his back.  She watched her children and a small smile graced her lips as she watched the two.  They were opposites in almost everything, yet they were still so similar.  Damian’s fighting was aggressive and forceful while Marinette’s focussed on out maneuvering and tiring out the opponent from a distance before striking where it hurt the most.  Their personalities were like fire and ice with Damian being aggressive and mighty while Marinette was soft and humble.  Damian was assertive and forceful in the way he spoke, while Marinette was gentle and descriptive.  Though, like she said before they had many similarities that helped to cement their relationship.  They both were very artistic, in battle they both would get up and personal with their challenger if given the opportunity, both were very intelligent and soaked everything up like a sponge, and both were highly competitive.  The sound of metal being hit together sounded from the training grounds as Damian and Marinette fought with their respective weapons; Damian with his katana and Marinette with her two daggers.

“You’ve definitely improved since the last visit, 'ukht, but so have I.”

Damian announced as he went in to sweep his sister’s legs all while bringing his blade down towards her.  Marinette used her daggers to lift Damian’s blade and flipped backwards as Damian tried to perform his strike.  She was very flexible and graceful when she was in the air.  It sometimes looked as if she were flying when she performed some of her stunts.

“Maybe you have, Xiōngdì, but I seem to still have the upper hand.”

Marinette replied with smugness dripping from her voice as her brother glared at her.  Marinette carefully crafted her words to manipulate while Damian spoke his mind and used his to order and command.  They were opposites, but they completed each other in a way few will ever know.

The day Damian and Talia were to begin their trek back down the mountain Fu ran up to Damian and placed a piece of paper in his hands.  He bowed respectfully to the old man and looked at the picture.  It was a picture the old man had taken a few days ago.  Marinette was smiling brightly and had her arm around his shoulder while he had his arms crossed in front of him and leaned into his sister’s touch with a small smirk.  They were both in their training clothes and stood in front of the mountains that hid and protected the Temple of Order.  He smiled at it and glanced at his sister who was waving goodbye with a big sad smile.  He simply nodded and left not knowing that this would be the last time he would for many years that he would lay eyes on her once again.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Order, it was gone, destroyed!  Marinette felt tears rush down her face as she watched her friends and mentors perish in the flames of miraculous magic gone astray.  She could feel the cold wind passing by her as Master Fu dragged her away, but she couldn’t remove her gaze from her home that was falling into pieces.  What would Damian think, she had to leave something for him to let him know she was okay!  But she was never given the chance because she couldn’t pull away from her master.  They were the last ones left, and Marinette couldn’t wrap her mind around it at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

Damian and Talia hiked the trial many months later, and as they neared the top they could sense something was definitely off.  The top of the temple would usually be in view by now. When they finally reached the top they froze as they saw the ruins of the burned and destroyed temple in front of them.  Talia was the first to break from her daze and ran to the ruins searching through them to find any remains of her daughter.  Damian soon joined his mother, but it was no use.  Damian and Talia believed the worst had happened to her, and with silent tears flowing down his face he stabbed his sword into the ground in front of the burnt remains and fell onto his knees in front of it.  The sword would serve as a gravestone for the fallen warriors here, but it specifically would serve as Marinette’s grave marker.  She was a brave warrior, one of the best, and she was gone now.  Talia stood by her son’s side and soon kneeled in front of it as well with her hand placed on her son’s shoulder.  As they traveled down the mountain Damian swore that he would never be vulnerable again, he would never care about anyone ever again, because the pain he felt was too intense and never wanted to feel it ever again.

So both He and Talia took on more missions, Talia was rarely at the base, always gone doing whatever her father needed.  The training in Tibet never happened again, and Damian grew closer to his grandfather.  He trained harder, attacked ruthlessly, and channeled all his pain and rage into his strikes.  He held onto the photo that Fu had given him of the two of them so many years ago.  He had it tucked away in a secret place in his room where no one would ever find it, because he wanted to keep her with him in some way.  Never again, he wouldn’t be hurt like before ever again.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette lived with Master Fu in a tea parlor under the guise of Marin Fu.  She helped him run his parlor and distribute his charms to the people through the teas she brewed while he placed charms on people through the massage therapy he did.  Fu let her be home schooled as she already knew way more than any normal school could teach her.  She would just be repeating things when she could be learning more new material.  She was also taught how to better practice her magic and use the miraculous.  She was going to be the new guardian one day, she was going to be the last guardian one day, and that thought scared her and brought back all of the nightmares.  She locked that night and anything before the fire back up in her mind only remembering what she needed to when she needed to.

Fu wanted her to interact with people though, so with the money he made he sent her to a gymnastics class where she could still retain her skills and get better at them.  She honestly loved the classes and she felt so free when she did them.  Nobody could beat her, in fact she advanced to level 10 quickly and was well on her way to the elite by the time she was 13.  And that’s when Hawkmoth struck Paris.

Lady Rouge and her partner Chat Noir made a decent team, but he was nowhere near her skill level which often annoyed her.  He wasn’t a true black cat, her brother was.  He was her balanced counterpart, and this cat was just a stand in.  And as time went on the imbalance continued the boy became corrupted by the destructive energy of the ring.  She had continually told Master Fu about it, but he would not listen.  And then it was time for him to pass, and she became the grand guardian, the last grand guardian.  Tears fell down the young 15-year-olds face as she watched her mentor's spirit leave him in his peaceful slumber.  He was so old, and it was just his time for him to go, but now she had nowhere to go, but she knew what she had to do.

“Hello, M’lady.”

Chat Noir said in a flirty tone as he spun his staff as if the speed he was doing it at would impress her.

“Hello, Chat.”

She replied terse with her arms crossed in front of her as she leaned on the railing of the Eiffel Tower and gazed at the sky that held little stars due to all of the lights of the city below them.

“Are you not excited to see your soulmate?  Come on M’lady,”

He said grabbing one of her hands with a large smile and deep voice,

“let me take you out somewhere, just the two of us.”

It took everything in Marinette not to break his wrist in that moment, but she had to play along.

“Okay.”

Chat’s eyes widened and his leather tail began to move side to side in an excited manner.

“W-wait, really?!”

“You know what, ya.  This week has been really tough and I could use it.”

Chat’s smile turned into a smirk and a dark twinkle lit up his eyes.  He took a step back and held his hand, his ringed hand, out for her to take.  SHe smiled at him gently and innocently and took his hand, and as he was about to pull her forward she took hold of the rings and ripped her hand off, taking the ring with her.  There was a blonde boy with green eyes staring at her with shock and hurt written all over his face, then eventually anger.

“I am revoking you from being able to wield the Black Cat Miraculous.  You are not compatible to wield this power as you are not my balanced counterpart.  The ring has been corrupting and harming you after all of your exposure to it when you are not the right one to wear it while I hold the earrings.  Thank you for the help you have given me in the past, but I’m afraid that I can not risk hurting you any longer.”

The boy stared at her with wide shocked eyes and nodded.  She could see that he too had now noticed the change as with the ring it didn’t feel like he changed at all.  She helped him get to his house and left after shaking his hand and thanking him one last time for his help.  And as she was about to leave the property she heard the sound of something above her opening and through the now open window she saw an akuma flying out of it.

She quickly caught the akuma and crashed through the glass window into the dark room.  Before Hawkmoth could even realize what had happened she had tied him up in her yo-yo and he was pinned in place with the tight cord.  If she pulled it any tighter it would cut into his skin and draw blood.  She grabbed the broach from the middle of the suit --which was as hideous as his akuma designs, if not worse-- and watched the man detransform making sure the camera on her yo-yo recorded the whole thing.

“You will be subject to the curse of whatever your abused kwami sees fit for you, and then the people of Paris will have you.”

Was all she said as she brought the man onto his knees so he could properly respect the kwami and the God’s they are.  Nooroo appeared and stared down at the man in front of him with an angered fiery glare.

“Gabriel Agreste, you have abused me and my miraculous for too long!  I bring upon a curse upon you, that no one will ever believe a word you say, and that your craft of manipulation will only work against you!”

And with that, pain courses through Gabriel and the wings of a butterfly were branded on the left side of his chest just above his heart.  She left soon after that and sent the footage for the police.  She watched from a distance as the police took him in, and told one of the officers that Adrien was innocent and had no connection to his father’s scheme.  Once she was sure Gabriel would not be able to escape his justice she pulled the horse miraculous from her yo-yo and summoned a portal to wherever she needed to be next.

~~~~~~~~~~

Damian was in the cave training when Todd burst in and began to run towards him with a stupid smug grin on his face.  Damian rolled his eyes and watched Todd stop in front of him holding something small and flimsy in his hand.

“Demon Spawn,”

He breathed out, his smug smile growing wider,

“Did you have a girlfriend in the league?”

Damian was….confused.  He had no such thing, but as Todd showed him the thing in his hand his blood froze.  It was the photo of him and Marinette.  How did he find it?!  Why did he even have it?!

“Give it back, Todd.”

Damian growled lowly hands gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

“She is!  Guys, Damian had a-“

He tackled Jason after that and wrestled the photo out of his grip and held it close to him.  He glared daggers at Todd and made absolutely sure that the old photo was still intact.  Once he was sure.  Todd was back on his feet and Damian had the urge to run him through with his sword for daring to rummage through his belongings and to dare touch his picture.  He opened his mouth to spit out fiery words of anger, when a portal opened right in front of Damian.  A girl walked out of it and the portal immediately closed.  It was absolutely silent in the cave as the other occupants who were also there stared at the person.  The girl was rigid as she stared Damian directly in the eyes, and he felt a familiar pull to her.

“Kaalki, Tikki separate.  Tikki spots off.”

She spoke quickly, and her voice, and those words, and he knew who she was.  But that was impossible, because she had died, hadn’t she?!  Arms wrapped around him and he could hear sniffles and he felt his arms wrap robotically around the small frame of his sister.

“Xiōngdì, I missed you so much!  I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner!  Th-the Order was destroyed and Fu woul-wouldn’t let me leave a message, and-and someone was misusing the Butterfly in France (sniff).  And-and…..”

She took a long shaky breath in and sighed,

“I missed you so much.”

It took a while to realize that silent tears were falling down his face, and he hugged her even tighter against his chest.  Because his sister, his twin sister was alive, and she hadn’t died in the fire and destruction of the temple.

“It’s okay, 'ukht.  I’ve got you.”

They stayed like that for a few precious moments before Todd yelled,

“What the f*!”

———————

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