#''wow got a full set of artifacts''? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tommyarashikage · 1 year

Text

A Treasure To Keep

Pairing: Sam Drake x Paloma García (f!OC) Word Count: 3.8k Warnings: None

Summary: Young Sam pays his friend Paloma a late-night visit to look through the collection of artifacts stored in her family's house. Or so they thought.

A/N: Not beta read. It's been a while since I've written a full piece so this could be a little rough (and all over the place lol). Shoutout to muse by MisterWive. This song doesn't only catch the whole vibe of young Palo, but it also motivated me to finish this.

“Are you sure you know how to open a door?”

Third try. That one doesn’t fit either. “It’s not easy to see which one is the right one, especially when I have to hold the flashlight, too.”

“Give me the flashlight then.”

She stops fumbling with the keys and shines the flashlight directly into Sam’s face. He squints his eyes from the brightness.

“Are you sure you know how to hold a flashlight?”, she asks.

He snatches it out of her hand. At that moment a rumble sounds from behind the walls, though it’s hard to tell what direction it’s coming from. Paloma goes completely still while Sam scans the area with the flashlight.

“I don’t see anyone. Come on!”

She breathes out a shaky laugh, “Yeah, if you did, you’d be dead already.”

“Ha-ha”, Sam drags out both syllables, his tone slightly mocking.

Paloma’s eyes dart at him. They linger on him for a moment before her attention goes back to the keys in her hands. “I saw a gun in my dad’s desk when I got the keys.”

His silly grin drops, “Wait… for real now?”

The fifth key fits into the hole and unlocks the door with a click. “I got it.”

She frantically looks around to make sure they’re still alone and undetected. Then she grabs the boy’s sleeve and drags him inside.

With the use of both her hands, Paloma slowly closes the door, back turned to the room.

Even though he says it under his breath, she can still hear the ‘wow’ escaping his lips.

Paloma herself has never been in this room before. While she’s seen all of this before when it arrived at home, she was never allowed to examine it further. She understands her father’s worry, but it still hurts a little to know that he doesn’t trust her enough. But she isn’t in the mood to brood over it now. After all, she’s finally in here.

It’s filled with all kinds of different artefacts her father had found throughout their time in the USA. Endless parchment, old books, tiny figurines, gold coins, painted jars, statues, and a complete set of armour she can’t yet assign among many other things. Even the dust in here must be ancient.

It feels like opening a treasure chamber. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

“It’s cute”, Sam says as he looks around.

“Ah, nothing compared to your own collection, I take it?”

“Exactamente.”

She raises her eyebrows in fake surprise, teasing him, “Oh? How come I’ve never seen it before? Or even heard of it?”

“Top secret.” Sam doesn’t look at her and instead absentmindedly gazes around the room. His hands brush over anything he spots. At least he knows to be careful.

While he roams around, inspecting everything he can get his hands on, Paloma’s view follows him. The moonlight shimmering through the windows delicately rests on top of his head, coating the chestnut brown of his hair in shining white. The beam of the flashlight paints his face in faint yellow. The shadows cast on him highlight his facial features perfectly; the oval shape of his head and his seemingly perfect bone structure. She occasionally catches herself staring at his cheekbones for a little while too long whenever he isn’t paying attention. Sometimes even his handsome nose. And his pretty lips. If they actually feel as soft as they look?

When the realization hits, she bites her lips and averts her gaze, feeling her cheeks grow extremely hot. She grimaces at her own thoughts and swallows them together with the lump stuck in her throat.

Thanks to Sam’s fascination with everything else but her, he doesn’t seem to have noticed Paloma’s staring. He stops in front of a vitrine displaying a world map.

“You have all of this cool stuff just lying around here and you never cared to show me?”, he asks as he places his elbow on her shoulder, leaning onto her. His sudden touch sending her heart into a frenzy.

He doesn’t know the situation isn’t as simple as he thinks it is. She shrugs, “You never asked. Besides, you know my dad’s an archaeologist.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know he had his own personal collection.”

She furrows her brows, “This is no collection. All of this will find its way into museums at some point.”

He turns and shines the flashlight right into Paloma’s face. She squints her eyes at the sudden brightness. “Seriously?”

She yanks the flashlight out of Sam’s hand, turns it off, and puts it away. “Yes, what did you think he was going to do with all of this stuff?”

“Keep it”, he says matter-of-factly as if it’s the most logical answer.

“What for? This isn’t fancy decoration, Sam. This is history. And it deserves to be seen instead of catching dust.”

He grimaces, though she can’t tell whether he chuckles or scoffs, “Palo, have you never imagined what it would feel like? Going on a hunt for something so”, he flails his arms a little, trying to think of what to say, “special and priceless, most people don’t even know it exists. And then”, he draws closer and softly cups her face in both his hands, “holding it in your hands?”

Paloma must be looking like a deer caught in headlights with how big her eyes grow at the unforeseen gesture. Combined with the warmth of his hands, it shoots a tingle through her cheeks. Her pulse is racing. Looking into his deep brown eyes, even in this darkness, makes her stomach flutter. If he expected an actual answer to his question, she wouldn’t be able to give him one without her lips trembling.

Sam smiles as he continues, “When I’ll get my hands on treasure like this, I’m going to hold onto it. This feeling”, he stares into the distance, thoughts running wild in his mind, trying to find the right words, “it’s different.” His view jumps back to her, lips curling into a soft, barely there smile, “To have something that’s yours forever.”

Without the flashlight, the moonlight is allowed to roam around freely, illuminating the room better than the little device ever could.

“Never took you for a ‘forever’ type of guy”, she whispers. Her breath is shaking slightly. Hopefully, he doesn’t notice.

He gets even closer to her. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Paloma can barely form a coherent thought in her own mind. So, she lets the words escape her mouth as they come, without thinking them over. “Is that why you came here in the middle of the night? To tell me all your secrets?”

He hums, “Actually, I’m here to learn all bout your little secrets. Especially the dirty ones.”

“And I thought you came here to look at old artefacts.” It’s brief and very subtle, but she feels his thumb brush over her cheek.

The boy shrugs, “You caught me. All of this was an excuse to pay my best friend a late-night visit because she’s always complaining about how sad and lonely she is.”

She ignores the teasing remarks and emphasizes the first part instead, “Your friend?”

He removes his hands from her face and places them on her shoulder instead. “Last time I checked we were still friends. Unless you plan on ending our friendship.”

“I might consider it.” Sam tilts his head in confusion, though still playful in nature. “Because friends don’t look at each other like this.”

“What does that make us then?”, he asks with genuine curiosity. Does this boy really have no clue?

She takes the leap then. Her mouth dry as she opens it, “Why don’t you come a little closer and find out?”

Sam drops the grin, and his mouth falls open, but no words follow. His eyes frantically move around her face before he avoids eye contact completely. He only manages to stammer incoherent words.

Paloma knits her eyebrows together and huffs out a laugh, “The great Samuel Morgan is at a loss for words?”

All of the emotions that were going through her, nervousness, excitement, worry and yearning are gone with the moment they just shared. As Paloma takes a step back, Sam removes his hands from her.

“No, I lost my train of thought for a moment there.” Still a little overwhelmed with emotion, he scratches the back of his head. “That’s a difference.”

The girl crosses her arms over her chest, then raises her eyebrows expectantly.

Yet again, Sam opens his mouth without finding the right words to say. He lifts his arms in a shrug. Admittedly, Paloma enjoys seeing him as this awkward and blundering mess. It’s cute.

“Are you… asking me what I think you’re asking me?”, he finally manages to ask.

“You’re not exactly the brightest bulb in the box”, she says bluntly.

“Hey, I’m just making sure I’m getting your signals right.”

She sighs and rolls her eyes. In that same moment he takes her right hand, fully spins her around once and then pulls her close. Their bodies now pressed flush together. Her right arm and his left one outstretched, fingers intertwined. His other hand rests on the small of her back. Her heart should be racing, but the spark has yet to be reignited. His stupid smirk is back on his face, combined with his newfound confidence.

“So, Ms García”, while Sam is trying to lean in, Paloma is moving her head away from him, “you want us to share our first kiss together?”

She raises an eyebrow at the boy, “First? You’re telling me you’ve never kissed anyone before? You out of all people.”

His eyes scan her face for a moment and then his smile drops just as quickly as it formed, “Have you?”

She can’t help but snicker at his sudden panic. “No, but I’m also not as cocky and boastful as you are.” And she’s having none of it now. So, she pulls her hand away and pushes the boy off her. In hopes to get some distance between them, Paloma starts wandering around. To no avail.

“Really?”, Sam doesn’t allow her to get away. He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her back, knocking the air out of her lungs. Now her back is pressed against his chest. He uses his free hand to pinch and prick her sides, knowing full well those are her weak spots. “I’m- cocky? And”, he snorts, “what was that? Boastful?”

“No, stop”, she says in between breathy laughs, “Do you want my parents to hear us?”

“Sorry, Paca but you did this to yourself.” His grip around her waist gets tighter. Paloma wiggles around, trying to escape his grasp. He’s surprisingly stronger than he looks.

“And you know what you are, peaches?”, he asks quietly, his whispers brushing against her ears. She scoffs at the nickname. “Cheeky, brazen and a little bit of a brat.”

She hums, thinking his description over, “The word you’re looking for is ‘bold’. Also, confident and independent.”

“Impudent.”

“Are you sure you’re not describing yourself right now?”, she asks quietly. The closer they get, the faster her heart is beating. It really shouldn’t make her nervous again, he just ruined the moment. But she’s being betrayed by her own body. The silence of the night isn’t very helpful in covering up the loud thuds in her chest.

“Nah, I only have great qualities. Charming, clever, courageous, kind of a daredevil, and — dare I say — quite handsome. Overall, a pretty amazing guy.”

Paloma raises an eyebrow, though she fails to keep herself from smiling.

“And judging by your actions, extremely irresistible”, he continues, followed by a smile and a quick brush of his nose over hers.

She rolls her eyes as she blows a raspberry. Then she manages to break free. The distance between the two is so small, yet the missing warmth of his embrace makes her feel bare. As if the cold glow of the moon on her skin could freeze her on the spot. How badly would she like to run back into his arms, but she has already made one step towards him. Now it’s Sam’s turn.

She crosses her arms and turns back around, a playful glint in her eyes, “I haven’t seen much of your courage as of yet.”

He looks her up and down. Then his brown eyes meet hers, gazes lingering for a moment. His lips jump into a lopsided grin before he cups her face with both of his hands. Sam pulls her closer until their noses touch.

“Can I?”, he whispers, barely audible.

Paloma slightly tilts her head and moves even closer, feeling his hot breath on her face. Within a heartbeat, he presses his lips onto hers. They’re soft and warm. The sensation is unlike anything she’s ever felt before, sending heat and tingles through her.

They break the kiss, staring into each other’s eyes. His thumb finds its way to her bottom lip, tenderly brushing over it, while his eyes keep jumping between her eyes and lips. Bright smiles grow on both of their faces, Paloma can feel a slight stain in her cheeks.

Sam pulls her back in, sealing their lips in another kiss. While he moves an arm to wrap around her waist, the girl moves her own to wrap them around his neck, pulling him even closer. Their kisses are slow and tender, yet sensual. She could feel his breath softly prickling her skin. Her knees getting weaker with every new touch.

A loud thud outside the room catches Paloma’s attention. The two of them stop what they’re doing as the girl whips her head in direction of the door. “Did you hear that?”

“I’m sure that was just —”, he gets interrupted by another sound. The closing of a door.

A cold shiver runs down Paloma’s spine as she clutches Sam’s arm tightly. Heavy steps getting louder as they approach. She looks at him with widened eyes. “That’s my dad”, she whispers.

Any sign of his previous cheerfulness washes off his face in an instant. The boy whips around and goes for the windows after spotting them.

“Wait, they’re locked”, she says as she grabs his arm to stop him.

“Now what?”

A click indicates the opening of the door. Paloma frantically pushes Sam away from her. With light steps he shuffles towards the door, hidden behind it while it’s opened. The girl herself doesn’t move, unsure of what to do.

“¿Paquita?”, her father asks as he steps into the room.

She freezes at the spot, putting on the biggest fake smile possible. “Buenas noches, papa.”

“¿Que haces aqui?” (What are you doing here?) He turns on the light. “En la oscuridad.” (All in the dark?)

“No —”, she stammers, never having been good at lying to her parents, “No puedo dormir, por eso vine aqui.” (I couldn’t sleep, so I came here.)

“Y vos sabes la razón por la cual yo te lo prohibí.” (You know why prohibited you from coming here.)

“Si, ya se, pero —” (I know, but)

“O sea, estuviste en mi oficina y te llevaste las llaves.” (Which also means you were in my office and took my keys.)

“No tenia la intención de quedarmelas.” (I didn’t plan on keeping them.)

“Paloma. ¿Que te anda pasando últimamente? Te vas todas las noches sin siquiera decir a dónde y termino yendo a buscarte a la comisaria porque te encontraron trepándote a edificios. ¿Y ahora esto?” (What is going on with you lately? You disappear almost every night without telling us, let alone where you’re going. Then I have to pick you up from the police station because you climbed up some buildings and now this.)

“Como te decía, no pensaba quedarme con tus llaves.” (Like I’ve said, I didn’t plan to keep your keys.) She ignores everything else he mentioned, in hopes to brush it aside.

“¿Y cómo explicas tu comportamiento?” (Care to explain your behaviour?)

Truth is, she has no good explanation without mentioning Sam. She choses to stay quiet instead.

“Ok, entonces hablo yo ahora claramente. Esto va a tener consecuencias para vos." (Alright, I will talk then. This will have consequences for you.)

“Hey, Mister García!”, Sam calls out. He appears from behind the door, an awkward smile plastered on his face.

Paloma’s father frowns at the boy’s presence. He looks at his daughter and then back at Sam. After scanning his face for a moment, he finally speaks, “Morgan.”

“Sam”, the boy says and holds out his hand, “We’ve met before.”

Paloma’s father looks at Sam’s outstretched hand for a second before he crosses his arms instead, making him look even bigger than he already did. “Yes, I remember. You’re Cassandra’s boy.”

At the mention of his mother, Sam’s smile vanishes. It’s not very obvious, but Paloma can see the faint crease on his forehead, almost like a twitch. His nods slightly, then shakes the thought out of his head. “Listen”, Sam lifts his head to be face to face with Paloma’s father, “uh, sir, this whole thing was my idea. I was pestering her for weeks to show me around. And she told me you’d never allow it, so I suggested this little plan of coming here at night. To break in and steal the keys.”

“I’m also the one she’s secretly meeting up with in the middle of the night. And”, he chuckles, “I’m also the one who drags her up buildings. There was this one night where someone spotted us and called the police. We couldn’t get away fast enough, so she took the blame to keep me out of trouble.” He stops his confession for a moment to look at Paloma. She frowns and he smiles at her, though his eyes tell the opposite. As if pleading for forgiveness. “So, that one’s on me, too.”

“¿Fue asi?”, (Is that true?) her father asks.

In a way it is. Usually, Sam’s the one who comes up with the silly plans. And Paloma knows full well how stupid they are, but she never thinks twice about them. She enjoys her time with Sam, and they manage to avoid trouble most of the time. Her police station visit was very unfortunate, but ultimately nothing more than a slap on the wrist for her. She didn’t want Sam to get in trouble with the orphanage.

However, tonight’s plan wasn’t exclusively his idea. Obviously, the boy doesn’t know which rooms her father keeps locked. Sam simply stated his interest in seeing the artefacts. Since Paloma hasn’t been allowed to be in here, she was curious, too. He didn’t even know she stole the keys.

“Si fue asi.”, (It is) Sam says.

Her father eyes him from head to toe. Then his view wanders to his daughter.

Even though it’s not easy, Paloma keeps the eye contact. She folds her arms over her chest. Then she tries to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Her mouth slightly quivers as she opens it.

Sam steps in front of her. “Es mi culpa.” (It’s my fault.)

“She was in prison because of you”, her father says while taking a step closer towards Sam.

Paloma rushes to stand between them. Her father would never actually harm Sam, but this whole argument gets her agitated. “They let me go and told me not to do it again, that’s it. Nothing happened.”

“Nothing?”, her father asks. His tone getting slightly angrier, though there’s also some surprise in it.

“I’ll make sure that never happens again”, Sam says eagerly. His hand gripping Paloma’s arm.

Her father laughs dryly, “Yes, because you are never going to see her again. Now leave before I’ll call the police.”

Paloma’s breath hitches, “Papa, please. He would’ve gotten into bigger trouble than me.” She hesitates, not sure how she’d be able to change his mind. She inhales sharply before she speaks again, “Yo quise acompañarlo porque el no tiene a nadie que lo ayude si llegara a tener algún problema.” (I wanted to be with him because he has no one to help him when he gets into trouble.)

After this, her father stays quiet. He examines her for a moment, before looking at Sam again. He and Sam’s mother had worked together back when she was still alive. That’s how the tow kids met in the first place.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. Then he sighs, “You”, he points at Paloma, “go to your room. Now.” And you”, he points at Sam, “stay out of trouble from now on. I’ll keep an eye on you. If not”, he closes the distance between him and the boy, “be assured I’ll call the police on you.”

“Yes sir.”

“Let’s go then, boy”, her father says and leaves the room.

When he passes Paloma, he turns to look behind him. With no one in sight, Sam bends down to steal another kiss from her.

The two lovebirds hear Paloma’s father clear his throat and they stop immediately. He’s standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He jerks his head towards the hallway.

This time he stays and waits for Sam to leave the room first. Paloma follows closely behind. Her father stretches out his hand and she gives him the keys.

She doesn’t get the chance to say goodbye to the boy as their ways already part in the hallway. This was enough trouble for one night, so she heads straight to her bedroom, her whole body still shaking.

Just as she slips into her bed, now in her pyjamas, she hears a knock on her window and spots Sam.

“What are you —”, her question gets broken off as he leans close to catch her lips in a kiss again.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this”, he breathes against her lips.

“You’re crazy”, she whispers back.

He chuckles, “Crazy about you.”

She scoffs and playfully slaps him across the face.

“I’ve never seen you this sheepish before”, he says as he takes her hand into his. “It’s cute but it doesn’t suit you.”

Paloma frowns and tilts her head in confusion. “You shouldn’t have done that. You’re lucky you got away this easily.” After a few seconds of silence, she crosses her arms and pouts, “Idiot.”

“There”, he smiles, “that’s my girl.”

She feels her cheeks growing hotter by the second. She averts her gaze, letting her hair fall into her face. That creeping embarrassment gets washed away by the warm yet fluttery sensation coming from her stomach. She can’t help but to look back into his brown eyes again. “Get out of here before someone sees you, you silly duck.” Not even a bite on her tongue can keep her from smiling at the boy.

The feeling seems to be contagious. A smile spreads on Sam’s face following the little remark. “Sleep well, Paquita.” He winks at her.

She watches him climb back down and disappear in the distance.

Eventually, she melts into her bed, still in disbelief of what happened tonight.

#mywriting*#oc: paloma garcía #paloma x sam #x: where i want to stay #sorry for this extremely sloppy solution for the translations 🤡#it's almost 4 am and I just want to go to sleep lol #this feels like a rollercoaster idk what's going on here but yeah #started making it had a breakdown bon appetit

35 notes · View notes

thearchivistsjournal · 1 year

Text

Day 308,

Maiko’s back. Happy as I am to have her back, I’m growing weary of friends disappearing for extended periods of time and then showing back up in bad shape and sad at having failed to find what they set out to look for in the first place. Okay, wow, that came out way more bitter sounding than I meant it to. Let’s back this up and try again.

I was asleep when she arrived last night. Or maybe it had circled back around to being very early morning by that point. Either way, I had given up on her showing up that night and locked up before bed, so the sound of knocking on the door woke me. At first, in my bleary-eyed state I assumed it was the nature sprite, considered ignoring it, and then thought better of incentivizing it to escalate. Such were the thoughts on my still-half-asleep mind when I shambled over to the door and opened it to find my long-absent friend standing there, sodden and downcast.

In retrospect, I find myself wondering if all the water on her face was truly from the rain.

Too tired to have yet processed what was happening enough to be excited I greeted her with a simple “hey.”

She greeted me in kind.

I stepped aside to let her in.

A pause just long enough to be heart wrenching.

She entered, arms wrapped around herself. Cold? No, she’s never that. Uncomfortable, but not physically.

I wondered what happened to her but instead of asking I told her I’m getting a towel for her.

Silence save for the rain while I retrieve it.

She was still planted in the same spot, dripping on the floor just inside the door, when I returned. Her gaze was constantly in motion though.

I handed her the towel.

She thanked me and began drying off.

I asked if she wanted anything to eat.

She said she was fine.

There’s that word again. Does anyone ever really mean it?

No sound but the rain and the brushing of the towel.

I admitted that I didn’t know if I should be asking questions to show my interest in her well being and what’s happened to her or holding my tongue to respect her privacy until she wants to bring it up herself.

Pause enough to wonder if that had been a stupid thing to say.

She said that she was tired.

I let her know that I’d kept the couch made up as a bed for her.

She thanked me for that.

I told her it’s what I’m here for and asked if she’d like the blanket. I didn’t have to specify which one I meant.

She shook her head.

I bid her goodnight. Got to the door to my bedroom when she changed her mind. She was already lying down on the couch by the time I retrieved the artifact and brought it back to her.

I hope it helped.

As usual, she was up and about before I was the next morning. We didn’t say much other than “good morning” to one another until after breakfast.

Then she broke the silence by saying that she and Lin had had a fight.

She’d gone to Lin before coming to me last night. Waited until it was late enough that no one would see her in the street. Went around to Lin’s bedroom window instead of the front door so she wouldn’t wake her parents with knocking on the door. She’d expected… hoped… dreamt that Lin would be happy to see her again, but instead she was met with anger.

Through the half-opened window Lin had called her selfish and cowardly and… other things she couldn’t bring herself to repeat. She had tried to say things in her defense or to calm Lin down, but it all came out wrong. Eventually what had started as whispers grew loud enough to wake Lin’s father. At the sound of his voice Lin told her to leave. And so she did. And then she came to me.

I can’t recall if I’d seen Maiko cry before today, but if I had it hadn’t been like this. Voice quavering, whole body shaking, nose dripping. Not quite full on sobbing, but it was close. She may have been making an effort not to. Whatever her outward appearance, this was heartbreakingly human. How could anyone ever see her as anything else?

I wanted to take her hand. To put an arm around her. To hold her close and comfort her with the physical presence of a trusted person who cares.

I was sitting on the opposite side of the table and couldn’t reach.

I was too scared of doing the wrong thing when presented with a raw display of emotion that I didn’t know how to handle.

I stayed where I was and told her that I didn’t think she was any of those things that Lin said. That I didn’t think Lin really believed any of that either.

A pause in the words but not in the sounds. A slowing of the sounds though. A steadying. An attempt at reining in.

She asked why Lin would say that if she didn’t mean it. She didn’t look up when she asked, but then again, the two of us have never cared one way or the other about eye contact when it’s just us.

I said that we’d all been hurt that night in different ways. We’d all had to find different ways of dealing with it. Of processing it. Of working through it.

Maiko ran. Cass got angry. Vernon threw himself back into his work while still injured. I shut down. Lin ran herself ragged looking for Maiko.

I told Maiko about how Lin had gone off on Priscilla’s island on her own with no supplies hoping to find her again with Iole. How when Lin got back she seemed hollowed out and, while she’s doing better now, really hasn’t been the same since.

No, I don’t think Lin meant those things about Maiko, but… she’s still working through her hurt.

I wanted to add something about being sure that they’ll work through things and make up, but I fear being cruelly optimistic. The truth is Maiko’s running did cause problems for us and she did hurt Lin by doing that and staying away so long, whether she meant to or not. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t felt twinges of resentment myself in bad moments. But at the same time, I understand why she did it. I probably would have done the same if our positions were reversed.

But none of that is what she needs to hear right now so I won’t say it aloud. Maybe I never will.

What I did tell Maiko after the silence had stretched to the border of uncomfortable was that after that night everyone in the Village knows about her now and we’ve been telling them all since then what a great person she is. That no one is afraid of her. That some of them are even eager to meet her. That it’s safe to stop hiding.

Whenever she’s ready.

We’ll be there for her.

She said she’s not ready.

But thanked me for saying all that.

And then we slipped into our old routines from last rainy season as if she’d never left. Was it because we simply didn’t know what else to do with ourselves or were we seeking comfort in familiarity and playing at old times? Could be both I suppose.

But then afternoon began to slip toward evening and a new routine was calling me. I explained the weekly tellings at the inn to Maiko and mentioned that with class resuming for the week tomorrow morning I might not be back for several days or more.

She said she understood.

She walked alongside me on the road to the Village. We didn’t discuss it, she just did.

As we grew near the Village I stopped where we normally part ways and asked if she’d be joining me tonight.

She would not be.

I bid her a good evening then and asked if I should let Vernon and Cass know she was back. No one else, just them.

A pause to consider hurt.

She nodded. Said that was okay. Said that she’d like that.

Our parting ended with a smile and a wave. Mine with a practiced performance of energy, hers more honest and small.

No Cass at the library when I arrived to drop things off. She was already at a table with Vernon at the inn when I got there. I’d tarried with Maiko. No sign of Lin. Vernon and Cass hadn’t heard from her all day either. I wasn’t surprised and said as much. When asked why not I said I’d tell them back at the library later.

When the inevitable question of performance came up, I shook my head and smiled an apology. Not tonight unless my apprentice wants the practice. I think she did, and would have gone for it if she hadn’t figured out by then that something was up. An outsider’s curiosity, that child.

And so, one dinner of trying not to drop hints through my mixed emotions later we were back at the library. They were understandably excited when I told them the news. Vernon commented that Lin will be ecstatic when she hears. Cass made the connection that Lin must know already and that’s why she hadn’t been at the inn or been heard from all day. The assumption was that she was already with Maiko.

I felt sick having to tell them the other half of the news about how they were only partially right.

Cass thought it was a bad joke at first. Couldn’t understand why Lin would act that way. Vernon saved me from giving the explanation a second time today. He’s good like that.

I filled them in on her current (still the same) attitude to revealing herself as well. Now we’ll just have to wait and see if she gets up the courage to come out before someone else figures out she’s back. Objectively it’s not that different, but covering up her presence feels more like lying now.

Still, I’ll take that over her being gone.

<==Previous Next==>

1 note · View note

ground-zero-idiocies · 2 years

Note

imagine if you would, super soldier sole survivor. bullet proof shield that bounces around like a frisbee, taking the heads off 4 raiders at once.

oh hell yes.

Fallout 4 Companions React: Nora is (basically) Captain America

Nora and friends are trapped. Pinned down against a wall during a routine sweep of Monsignor Square. Raiders go there often, and ridding the Commonwealth of the raider scourge is a top priority for the savior of the wastes.

This time, though, things aren’t going so well. The remnants of the forged gang have somehow gotten ahold of full suits of power armor (don’t question it) and have fought Nora and friends into a corner. This looks like this is the end, until…

Almost like an inner awakening, a flame shines bright in Nora’s eyes. The flame of protective anger. Nora gazes at the pip-boy on her arm, pressing a few buttons in rapid succession. In her left hand appears a metal disc - a shield, tough enough to withstand bullets but light enough to be thrown like a frisbee.

In the blink of an eye, Nora begins charging. She runs straight at the lead raider, jumping up and kicking him straight in the chest plate. Using the momentum, she spins upwards, jumping onto the ceiling and pushing off the decaying wood. She lands on the ground, jumping off the wall and, with one perfect shield throw, decapitates four of the five raiders, their helmeted heads toppling to the floor with loud clanks.

As the last Raider starts to reload, she slams the shield into his back, forcing him into the ground. She turns him over, and pulls off the helmet.

“Run. Go and tell your little raider friends that my family is not to be fucked with.”

The last raider scampers away quickly, trying to grab his power armor helmet but having it crushed by Nora at the last second. He crawls out, sprinting away as soon as he gets outside. Nora throws the shield one more time, knocking the fusion core out of the raider’s power armor as he flees.

And just like that, it’s over. The fire dies down and Nora tries to proceed as if nothing happened. However, her friends have a little something to say…

Cait: “Am I high right now, or did you just pull an indestructible shield from a God-damn pocket dimension and crush those raiders like a Grognak comic? Good grief lass, you gotta tell us you can do this shit. Really coulda helped me get outta some jams!”

Codsworth: “Well mum, I’m glad to see that the dumbbell set Sir got you is finally paying off! Hahaha! Really though, thank you for saving me. Those raiders really ought to learn some manners, charging at us like that!”

Curie: “Madam, you never cease to amaze me! You know ever skill that could ever be needed in the wasteland and you can do them all perfectly. Truly incredible, what a human you are!”

Deacon: “Oh yeah, I can totally do that too. I also just choose to keep my anime protagonist superpowers a secret instead of using them all the time at every possible convenience.”

Danse: “Knight, I can say that I’ve never seen anything like that in my long tour of duty with the Brotherhood. Could this be related to your Institute visits? Have you been replaced by a synth? Abnormal feats of strength like that are usually only found with families protecting each oth…Knight, I…I don’t know what to say…”

Gage: “No wonder you beat Colter with a fucking squirt gun, you just beat 5 raiders in fucking POWER ARMOR with a metal pancake…damn, I really don’t know what to say…”

Hancock: “I just wrote that I need new Jet, so Im definitely not high or hallucinating - hell, even testosterone boy saw it. Look lady, I don’t know what the fuck your just did, but that is some mysterious stranger type o’ shit right there. Just…wow.”

Jack Cabot: “Oh no, I’m afraid my father’s artifact may have made an impact on you…this is a grave misfortune…”(He’s going to be like this for several hours. don’t try to talk to him).

Longfellow: “Y’know what? I’ve elected to pretend that that didn’t happen. Thank you Nora, but please don’t do that again. I swear, this old asshole’s gonna have a heart attack if you pull that superhero shit again.”

MacCready: “Ho…ly…fu…crap…What the actual crap! You could do that the whole time???? Man, Duncan’s gonna love it when I tell him about this! His dad’s hanging out with a Wasteland Captain Cosmos?? Incredible!”

Nick Valentine: “So, you picked up some of this ol’ fart’s little tricks, huh? Really though, that was some impressive fighting. Really sent lil’ curly hair for a spin, didn’t ya? Just don’t tell McDounough about all this, or he’ll think you’re some Institute spy with a magic kill raider subroutine. Man, why couldn’t I get one of those?”

Piper: “Oh. My. God. Blue! That was crazy! Straight up insane! Like those comics Nat likes to read…uh…Captain Boston! Just like that! Man, Diamond City is gonna flip when they hear about this! Breaking: Local Vault Popsicle turns out to be awesome Super-soldier!!”

Preston: (stunned silence)

Strong: “Little lady hit raider on head with big metal circle. Little raider man run like rad roach!! Strong like see little raider man crush with metal circle!! HAHAHA!”

X6-88: “Ma’am, forgive me for this, but I wasn’t made aware that next-gen Courser training involved the imitation of pre-war superheroes and myths. I ought to check my handbook.”

#little longer but i hope you guys like it!#fallout #fallout 4 #video games #fallout 4 companions #fallout new vegas #comedy #companion #superhero #superheroes #captain america

30 notes · View notes

theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 3 years

Note

After reading your opinion on Molly Weasley, i want to know: What are you're opinions on the Weasley family? Besides Ron & Molly that is.

Five characters? In one post? Well, alright, here we go.

The Weasleys as a Whole

I’ve mentioned this before but JKR writes the Weasleys to clearly be a believable but ideal family. They’re all fiercely loyal, progressive per wizarding world standards, love each other and Harry deeply, and have this wonderful off-kilter joyous house where there’s always some rambunctious thing going on.

Harry comes to associate the Weasleys with family and, personally, I believe a large part of him marrying Ginny boils down to it will make him a Weasley for real.

That said, they’ve got some major issues. They’re very righteous people who, as a whole, will ice you out the moment they even suspect you do something that disagrees with them. You don’t even have to do it, what you did or didn’t do doesn’t even have to be something terrible or something bad, but god help you if the family decides they’re done with you.

They’re very resentful of people like the Malfoys. This isn’t just because Lucius is a smarmy, pompous, ass (he is) or that he indirectly almost murdered Ginny but seems to mostly be because Lucius has so much money. All of their interactions seem to boil down to the money. More than this though, the Weasleys seem fully supportive of laws that... well, used against themselves would be a travesty but used against the likes of the Malfoys it’s about damn time.

They’re unquestioningly loyal to Dumbledore. Granted, most people we see in canon are, Dumbledore’s very very very good at convincing people he’s a saint. However, these guys are practically his cult member to the point where they do things like refuse to have Harry over the summer, even before Voldemort returned, because Dumbledore told them not to.

They also never really adopt Harry into the family. Oh they give him a nice sweater, he comes over every once in a while to the house, he’s very good friends with Ron but he’s mostly treated just like that, a good friend. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this, except the way JKR sets it up we’re supposed to believe this is the family Harry found. It’s just that the family Harry’s found let’s him stay in a house with bars on his window where twelve-year-old Ron tells them, “Harry’s muggle family is really really awful” in a way that should have been raising red flags. Hermione practically lives at the Weasleys, Harry never does.

Now, are the Weasleys evil? No, far from it, they’re ordinary people who act in ways I’d expect ordinary people too. Technically they didn’t have to do anything more for Harry than they did, they didn’t have to hate Lucius Malfoy for better reasons, and they don’t have to be even slightly less worshipful of Dumbledore. They’re people, and they’re fine characters, but the overwhelming worship and love of the Weasleys we see across fandom does get on my nerves.

But you asked for individuals, so here we go.

Arthur Weasley

Arthur is the epitome of “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” in the worst of ways and is, frankly, a giant awful joke to me. He’s the white kid you see going around with dread locks, a beanie the color of the Jamaican flag, smoking weed, and attempting to speak like Bob Marley

Only, because he does it with muggle things, we’re supposed to find him funny and progressive.

Arthur is absolutely, albeit unwittingly, condescending in his love of muggle knickknacks. He has no idea how any of it actually works, not limited to how muggles could possible survive without the gold standard, but ardently believes he does because he can enchant the car to fly. Seriously, that he believes he’s an expert on muggle culture, as a pureblood wizard who heads an office in the ministry on it, is the worst part. His love of toasters comes across as, “Wow, look how cool it is that these poor little muggles made all this neat stuff. We should absolutely love the muggles because of it!” And that he heads an office in the ministry called “The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts” which is all about catching down Jackass style pranksters who think it would be hilarious of they enchanted toasters to bludgeon muggles to death...

Goddammit Arthur, why do you exist?

Right, otherwise, he’s got some pride issues going on. Part of the reason Percy is excommunicated is not so much that Percy doesn’t believe Harry, but because Percy dared to do better than Arthur in his own career. Arthur is stuck in his position as head of a joke of a department, he is an underling at its finest, and frankly likely only has that position because he’s a pureblood and the idea of putting a halfblood or even muggleborn at the head of a department dealing with muggles just made the higher ups shudder. (Don’t tell Arthur that though, he likes to think he’s not benefitting from nepotism).

Arthur goes so far to accuse Percy as Fudge’s secretary as spying on him. Arthur, the guy who heads “Misuse of Muggle Artifacts”. Yeah, Arthur, I’m sure Fudge is really wasting his time using his straight laced secretary to find out all your dirty secrets.

He also tends to see the world as very black and white. When Skeeter in book 4 writes an article after the Quidditch World Cup disaster complaining about the ministry’s lax security in enabling domestic terrorists to enter (something completely valid and true by the way) Arthur is so personally offended that both he and Percy go straight to the ministry to complain about Rita Skeeter and her daring to assume freedom of speech! HOW DARE SHE CALL THE MINISTRY’S NON-EXISTENT SECURITY AT THE WORLD CUP LAX! (To be fair, she also cited Arthur as having been in attendance at the event, a ministry employee, and having done nothing but, well, this is also true Arthur. You’re in a guerilla, underground, resistance movement. If I didn’t already think the Order was a joke this would kind of highlight it for me).

He’s also very resentful of Lucius Malfoy, and it seems to mostly be about the money. Arthur and Molly have a severe spending problem and actively resent that Lucius is swimming in money. That Arthur is ardently pleased about a law being passed in which the ministry without warrant can ransack Lucius Malfoy’s home...

Well, Arthur, imagine the slippery slope if the government decides that it would like to search the Weasley home without warrant? In fact, he doesn’t even have to imagine it, as the beloved government in a few short years turns against him and then it’s all about how corrupt the ministry is.

Arthur’s delightfully narrowminded, basically, and reminds us at nearly every opportunity.

Percy Weasley

Mostly, I just feel bad for Percy. Percy’s the son/brother that nobody likes and he’s painfully aware of that fact. He doesn’t fit in with the others, he has far too much ambition for the Gryffindor family and they resent him for it, and then he dares to say things like “I don’t know guys, Voldemort resurrecting from the dead after decades doesn’t sound plausible, we know Harry’s a little off kilter, and Dumbledore’s one shady dude”. Percy happens to be wrong about Voldemort resurrecting (and admits as much when the evidence is plainly visible), but he’s pretty on the money with the rest of it.

Regardless, growing up we see Ron constantly hating on Percy along with the rest of the siblings. I’m sure Percy is obnoxious, and certainly full of himself after making prefect and head boy, but he’s very clearly even before Order of the Phoenix the Least Favorite Brother (TM).

Then the Weasley family completely ices him out for a) getting a very high ranking position very quickly as Fudge’s secretary and b) not being gung ho about Dumbledore saying crazy things in the paper. Remember that to Percy Harry is Ron’s weird friend who seems to get into highly illegal activities every other week. From Percy’s point of view, it’s probably a matter of time before Harry becomes a crack head in Knockturn Alley (or given how behind the times wizards tend to be, an opium den).

He’s constantly getting Ron into not only trouble but life threatening situations, is erratic and apparently a parseltongue of all things, and now Harry’s flipped his lid and saying that Voldemort has been resurrected after having gone through a very traumatic experience of watching a classmate somehow die.

While we see Percy kind of (sort of) make up with the family it’s clear that for Percy to have any relation with these people he’s the one who will always, ALWAYS, have to come crawling back on his knees and begging for forgiveness. It’s the Weasley way or the highway and I imagine, at some point probably a little after/during that epilogue, Percy will just slowly drift away because it’s just not worth it anymore.

Percy’s very much the black sheep of the family.

Fred and George Weasley

You all are going to kill me, but I actually don’t care in the slightest about Fred and George Weasley. This is because they basically have no personality aside from “funny”.

They just have their weird, tandem, twin act and are either playing jokes on the school or else serving as Deus ex Machina in giving Harry magical items such as the Marauder’s Map for no apparent reason. The plot told them it was time, I guess.

Their jokes, while not as bad as Sirius and James’ “Let’s sexually harrass Severus Snape by pantsing and beating him at the edge of Hogwarts lake” or Sirius’ “Let’s get Snape eaten by a werewolf!” are still often needlessly cruel and... kind of pointless. They harass Slytherin house constantly just because they happen to be Slytherins, they’re acceptable victims (which of course makes house tension that much worse). Harry gets sent a toilet seat in the hospital because... that’s funny? Har de har?

They’re so indistinguishable from one another I routinely see people mistake which one got his ear chopped off and which one died. Because the point is, that we can’t tell the difference! It doesn’t matter who lived and who died because all we know is that Freorge is dead!

Similarly, you see tons of fics around where character of the day ends up in this weird twincestuous relationship with Fred and George and it’s not only for a) that delightful twincest but b) because they’re such a singular unit that any attempt to pair one with somebody else feels weird. So you just get these porn fics about Fred and George being weird rapey teenagers who seem like they’d be more interested dating each other.

Charlie Weasley

I really have no thoughts on Charlie. He raises dragons in Romania, the family loves him. Now, dragon raising feels like one of the most dangerous jobs in the Harry Potter universe, like Charlie had just gone and signed up to be a lumberjack but he seems to like it?

We really don’t see much of Charlie, he’s just the obligatory older Weasley son so that the Weasleys can be this ridiculously large family.

Bill Weasley

We see slightly more of Bill, but again, not enough to really leave an impression. We know that his marrying Fleur sent Molly into a complete state, and that they’re going to have awkward Christmas dinners forever because of it where Fleur just sits there and pretends not to loathe every second of Molly’s presence while Molly notes how bad it is that Victoire got stuck with that ugly pink hair instead of the Weasley red.

Bill doesn’t seem to really do anything about this. He still marries Fleur, but we don’t really see a major confrontation where he tells the family “Look, I’m marrying her, so grow up.” So, I imagine he just tries to smile pleasantly and tells Fleur to just endure it for another few hours. He loves his family, his family’s great, but they only have to see Fleur once a year at Christmas.

Ginny Weasley

Ginny is weird. She’s this weird, frankly, almost personality-less void whose sole obsession in life seems to be marrying Harry. She and Harry end up in the world’s weirdest relationship and I honestly have no idea how people ship it other than canon told them to.

Ginny’s... well, first off, she’s very much in love with an idea. She had always worshipped Harry Potter but then he personally saves her life in what was a horrifically traumatic year and so that feeling just grows even more. Despite being Ron’s sister, she barely seems to know Harry, and everything she seems to like about it are just things she made up.

I imagine her and Harry’s marriage will be littered with affairs on her end. Not divorce though, because Harry would never admit his wife is having affairs on him all the time even if someone directly confronted him. Harry also won’t admit he’s gay.

More than though we get hints of a personality. Ginny’s a fiery red-head tomboy with a temper. But... Well, it’s only ever hints. She never felt like a real person to me. She has I think one throwaway line about the Chamber of Secrets incident and how it personally affected her. We’re told she’s great at the bat boogey hex so we know she’s a fiery independent woman.

She feels more like a character sheet than an actual person.

Whenever she’s around I always had this nagging question in my head where I ask why Ginny’s here. She has a lot of potential but nothing’s ever done with her. And when something is, it’s to get her into this bizarre relationship with Harry where he imagines there’s a green rage monster in his chest that loves her skin.

Okay Harry, if you say so.

TL;DR: The Weasleys aren’t evil or anything, I’m not on Team Bash Them All, but they are shortsighted, ordinary, people who don’t deserve to be worshipped as all that is good in this world.

728 notes · View notes

lunmelia · 4 years

Text

Listen I know that Jack had to “grow up fast” because the world is a “dangerous place” or whatever but if he was born a baby?? I would’ve watched the hell out of that show. Just two dudes, their mum and an angel raising the devil’s baby. Because I say that they kicked Lucifer’s ass to the alternate world and everyone lives (except Kelly. Sorry.). Could you imagine?

You have Mary; the woman who has experience in raising two babies, even if one was only for six months.

You have Dean; the man who basically raised Sam and has vague memories of helping out when his brother was a baby. Helped Lisa with her son and baby niece. Took care of a shapeshifter baby for a day. Also had a daughter for a couple of days but didn’t interact with her much.

You have Sam; not much experience. Also took care of a shapeshifter baby for a day. Strong in research, might manage to find them at least a paragraph of how to raise a nephilim. Killed his niece. Not a great sign but he promises he won’t do that this time.

You have Castiel; the angel expert. Is a literal angel. Has no experience with babies apart from that one night he babysat for his co-worker. Kind-of-sort-of-not-really a dad to a teenage girl. Only times he’s had to interact with a nephilim is when he’s been ordered to kill one, so, not a good sign but he promises he won’t do that this time.

Together, they make do. But holy shit is raising Jack tough.

He may not have a true form like Castiel but he does have wings and a true voice. Which he can’t control. So the tantrums. The tantrums. When he was born he made their ears bleed from the crying, and the lights exploded. Cas was miraculously able to calm him down before further damage was done, but the humans always make sure to have earplugs on them from then on. They also had to buy a large supply of lightbulbs to replace the ones in the bunker every time he cries.

They had to baby proof the bunker. And I mean baby proof the hell out of the bunker. You think a normal house can be dangerous for a baby? The bunker is huge. And full of knives, guns, spellbooks, ancient artifacts, and just about a thousand other things that are not. good. to have around a baby. The baby proofing took a week. Two days of exploring the bunker and recording everything that needed to be baby-proofed, two shopping trips in a day to buy the things needed, and another three days of installing everything. Cas had to stay with Jack in his room while Mary, Sam and Dean did all the baby proofing.

(also yes this is an AU in which Dean and Cas get their shit together, confess their feelings, build a house and raise Jack as his dads. the build a house part comes in when Jack is like 3)

The absolute freakout Dean had when Jack flew the first time. It happened when he was five months old, and Dean was changing his diaper. He turned around for a second to throw out the wipes. Heard the flap of wings, turned back around with a greeting for Cas on his lips, and Jack was gone. It went like this: Dean, staring at the empty table: ... Jack? Jack- *realisation* Cas! Cas, the baby’s gone! Cas! The baby can fly! Baby’s flying- Cas, appearing in front of him with a giggling Jack in his arms: yes, I am well aware Dean: oh my god- Jack: *disappears again* Dean: *yelps in alarm* Cas: *simply reaches up and just. plucks Jack out of thin air. one moment there’s empty air and the next Jack is just in Cas’ hands* Cas: this may become... difficult Dean, leaning over with his hands on his knees: I’m gonna have a heart attack

Turns out, baby Jack can heal! Which is what Mary discovered when once she had held Jack after coming back from a hunt with a few scrapes, they miraculously disappeared.

You know when toddlers will get into the flour and leave a mess that you have to clean up for the next two hours? Yeah, well Jack got into a box of spellbooks and opened one which released monsters from fables. So that was a very panic-filled 6 hours that included Sam, Dean and Mary researching how to put them back / kill them while Cas held Jack close to make sure he didn’t fly away. Turns out, baby-proofing a bunker is pretty useless when said baby can fly through walls.

Apart from the many mishaps thathappened during raising Jack from infancy to toddlerhood, he’s just a weird kid. And kids are usually weird, but Jack is weird.

Sam basically sprinted back to the car with a five-year-old Jack in his arms after Jack had held a woman’s hand in his at a playground and gently told her, “the events that lead to your father’s death were never your fault. He is in his Heaven now and although he is at peace, he begs that you make room in your heart for forgiveness of his wrong doings.” Yeah, they were very close to moving town when that happened.

One day when he was 6, he walked outside into the back yard and just sat down in a random spot and stared at the ground. After a couple of minutes of glancing out the window to check on him, Dean walked up to him. Dean: whatchu up to, kid? Jack: there is a daisy that is going to grow and bloom here in 15 days. I’ve never seen a flower grow. I would like to watch it, if that’s okay? Dean: you want to sit here, in this exact spot, for 15 days so you can watch a flower grow? Jack, still not taking his eyes off the spot: yes Dean, who’s honestly used to this behaviour after witnessing it for the past two years: ... alright, sure. I’ll bring you dinner in a couple of hours, that sound good? Jack, finally looking up with a beaming smile: yes, thank you! (Cas and Dean did not let him sit in the same spot for 15 days. They did sit next to him for like two hours when the daisy did bloom, though. And despite the creak and buzzing ache in his knees and back, Dean can’t find it in himself to regret it.)

he had a phase when he was 7 where he would say hi to everyone he came across. Everyone. Dean and Cas cannot make one shopping trip with him without everyone in that store knowing Jack’s name. He says bye when they leave too. 100% every time they get at least 5 people saying bye back.

On the year he turned 8 they decided to enrol him in school. After weeks of telling him not be “weird” and teaching him to be as normal of a kid as he could be. When the 4 of them are confidant that he won’t go around using his powers, they enrol him. They did not anticipate the school calling him the first day, telling them that Jack had explained to the other kids that Santa isn’t real and they should “learn to not set themselves up for disappointment or believe what their parents say” which caused the entire class to burst out into tears. It was another “maybe we should move town” moment.

Another kid: my dad broke his leg. he has to walk with crutches now. sometimes he lets me use them! Jack: both my dads have died. one of them was torn to shreds by hellhounds who then dragged his soul down to hell where he was tortured for 40 years, but then father rescued him, that was how they met. but then father was blown to bits by my biological father. but then my grandfather resurrected him! they’re fine now. Their teacher: uh, wow... Jack. sure sounds like you have some very vivid dreams Jack, remembering he’s not supposed to talk about this kind of stuff: ah, yes, of course... dreams. I woke up... crying. a lot. the dreams... scared me.

I have... so many other little moments in my head, but this post is already so long so let me know if anyone wants more.

738 notes · View notes

yostresswritinggirl · 3 years

Note

Do you do poly ships? :0 if not feel free to do these two characters separately lol May I get some hcs of Zhongli and Venti on a picnic date with the reader? Just a quiet day in the sun where the Archons can relax for a moment and watch the world go by :D (if you wanna insert some angst maybe they suddenly realize this moment is fleeting bc reader is mortal and won't be with them forever?? Up to you lol 👀) thank you in advance!!!

I actually don't :D kidding ahahah

What I meant to say was that I haven't wrote anything related to poly relationship before so this a cool, first experience for me! And like the dumbass that I am, I took on this request and butchered the heck outta it. Welcome to "A Day In The Life Loving Two Broke Gods"-

Rendezvous with the Gods

Picnic Scenario with Poly!Venti, Zhongli, and You

Background!

It's pretty WACK how you got two of the seven archons to be interested in you in a romantic level.

But I can imagine that the thing that attracted them the most to you is your sense of humanity. As ex-archons, what they needed now is a sense of normalcy and a grasp on reality, and with your knowledge and presence they've come to realize the ways of the mortals fairly easily.

But like, you got the two oldest archons in existence. Even the Traveler is in disbelief at this turn of events.

I think you somehow ended up in this situation when the two of them had a reunion after their retirement, and the conversation went like this: "Have you heard of the fair maiden, (Y/N)? Their existence greatly reminds me of Celestia!" "I had the honor of meeting them yes, how tantalizing they are, even the slightest sight of them invigorates me through the whole day."

They'd shower you with praises among one another, and you're forced to sneeze for an hour straight somewhere in Teyvat.

Preparation!

*wheeze*

First thing I thought was "How probable is it that Venti drinks Dandelion Wine at 4 in the afternoon?"

The answer is yes.

You three have planned this picnic days ahead, maybe even a week. As all of you have your own work and errands to deal with, probably not Venti tho, a gathering of this magnitude that requires you three to be present for hours are not as common as you'd think.

First order of business: location! The most obvious answer would have been Starsnatch Cliff, Windrise or even Dihua Marsh.

While thinking, Venti and Zhongli ended up sharing a look, and suddenly the location was settled.

No, you don't know where it is, and they tell you that they'll handle it.

You don't have to worry.

You are very worried.

Next, the food! Being in a relationship with two broke Gods made you the alpha in terms of Mora, and on this occasion, you're once again forced to put your foot down and provide.

With that in mind, both of them could only offer a guilty smile and a nervous laugh.

The outcome of your meal depends on your cooking skills really: if you're good or decent, what a heart-warming picnic that would be.

They must have tasted your cooking before so they would ask for requests on your delicious home cooking —

something light that goes with tea, said Zhongli.

something meaty and heavy to pair with wine, said Venti.

It's a wonder how you deal with these two together.

If you're absolutely terrible at cooking, like Suspicious Dish™ rating, you're gonna have to rely on your Mora to get takeout for this date.

Everything else you've pretty much wrapped up quickly, all you have to do now is wait.

Picnic Time!

Venti was the one to pick you up from your housing to guide you to the location, greeting you with a chaste kiss on the cheek before aiming for the picnic basket hanging by your elbow.

You don't let him; he might eat it on the way there honestly

Cute boy is practically shaking with excitement as he hauls you up over a cliff face and carefully nyoom! over the sea

Where is he taking you?

You didn't dwell much longer when you saw a small island in the distance, a rock formation by the edge and most notably, you're tall lover standing next to an elegant patterned brown and gold blanket placed over the sea of flora.

Welcome to Heart Island!

Very cheesy

The Geo archon greets you with a kiss on the hand before being tackled to the ground by a buzzing Venti.

How that was physically possible was beyond you-

You set up and laid down all the food you got for today's picnic: Fresh apples, 'Breakfast' Sandwich, Chicken and Mushroom Skewers!

You've also noticed a picnic basket to the side that wasn't yours. Noticing your stare, Zhongli pulled out his contributions: Mora Meat, a pitcher of Iced Tea, and a bowl of Mushroom Stew.

Out of nowhere, Venti manifests his own offerings to the table: Apples, Dandelion Wine and Mondstadt Hash Browns.

You have no idea how these two managed to prepare or afford such meals but you appreciate it nonetheless.

They had the whole week to save up Mora just for this picnic, how cute aww

The first to take a bite is Venti, defo. You and Zhongli would be prepping the utensils while the Anemo boy sneaks some food into his mouth, even if you smack his hand multiple times, he's not gonna relent.

A lot of catching up happens in this picnic: your wild commissions, Venti's recent performances, Zhongli's uh consultant stuff.

These are the rare moments where Zhongli isn't the one filling up the conversation more, satisfied with hearing the voices of his lovers and listening to their joys or woes.

The whole picnic is accompanied by Venti's lyre, strumming softly, unrelenting, to make sure all of you are enjoying the serenity of the island.

You and Zhongli take turns spoon feeding him cuz he just won't stop PLAYING

Zhongli made the Iced Tea

Very refreshing, right amount of sweet, would honestly be a good alternative for Venti's alcoholism

Speaking of, he's tipsy now

He's on a full-blown performance now, serenading and urging you two into a dance after eating "to digest the food faster"

Not really believable but you danced anyways.

Zhongli would decline first as he starts cleaning up

But give him a little more nudge, pull on his hand, he'll crave eventually

Rex Lapis is actually a pretty decent dancer

HAVE YOU SEEN HOW GRACEFUL HE DROP KICKS HIS SPEAR

Such a relaxing day off the three of you deserve

By the time the sun already dipped the horizon and you guys still had time to spare, you and Venti would be dozing off on the blanket while leaving the few remaining clean up to Zhongli. It was a tiring yet enjoyable day that's deserving of a nice and dreamy nap.

"Morax..." He'd hear an uncharacteristically somber voice as he makes his way over to where you both lay. Your back resting on the Anemo archon's chest as he spoons you. His teal eyes stare unmoving at your open palm of which the Geo archon takes into his as he sits down.

Little cuts litter your rough hands, from your adventures, some fresh from today to prepare your dishes. How frail and sensitive mortal hands are.

"I'll miss them, so so much." Venti confessed as his grip around you tightens, free-flowing tears erupt from his eyes that are unfocused, as if he was years away with that thousand yards stare that the other God had familiarized himself with.

For the second time in his whole lifetime, Rex Lapis found himself at a loss for words.

------

"Ohhh, a luxurious chest! What's it doing so far out here?" The Traveler lets the floating companion ramble as they pull the chest open, excited for the new artifacts they'll come by.

A teal goblet with gold accents worn out through the years from disuse as parts of its paint are chipped off as gray splotches, laid perfectly in the middle of a brown wool blanket with intricate gold and silver geometric patterns. On each side lays an Anemoculus and Geoculus, softly glowing yet dimming in pulses.

They pick it up with utmost care for safe-keeping, to ask for their archon friends in the future. Who knows, it might be the closure they needed.

This took some time and a lot of pondering wow! This is even more chaotic than the Albedo one ahahah I've made myself sad just thinking about this— anyways thank you so much for requesting and your lovely support! Please let our archon bbs be happy ywy

549 notes · View notes

randomrosewrites · 3 years

Text

From the beginning to the very end.

Seeing the one you love fall for someone else hurts.

Pairing: Diluc X GN reader (unrequited), mentioned Kaeya x reader (not focused on) Words: 3.3K Warnings/ tags: Alcohol/ drinking mention, unrequited love, reader drinks to cope at one point, general angst. a/n: This was requested by anon. I’ve taken the prompt and altered it a bit, Kaeya and Diluc are both emotionally complicated men *sigh* Someone help them.

Your arrival into Diluc’s life is with all the grace of a baby fawn attempting to stand. Choppy. Awkward. A tad pitiable.

It’s a Friday night at Angel’s Share. The worst ones to be bartender, and precisely why Diluc always drags himself into town to suffer for a few hours. It’s the days where the knights, both seniors and new recruits, gather to spend their weekly wages of mora. He knows the tradition well, after his time with the knights. He used to always sit in the back corner with Kaeya, the two giggling as they drank non-alcoholic cider.

…but the past is the past, and he refuses to dwell on it any further.

They trickle in sometime around 9pm. They’re easy to spot. Uniforms too pristine, armor too shiny. He watches as wide-eyed recruits alongside experienced knights file into the reserved table at the back.

The brave one is sent from the flock to the bar, to order drinks for the table. Diluc gives you his best intimidating stare, arms crossed over his chest. You fiddle with the front of your uniform as you approach the bar, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

“Hello Sir, uh, could I have uhm…” you take a second to count on your fingers. “Ten drinks, please?”

Well, at least you can get your sentence out. (Sawyer, one of the new recruits from a few months back, mumbled everything. It took Diluc ten minutes to figure out what he wanted.) “What kind?”

“Oh…the regular kind?”

He could make this easier on you, but he decidedly doesn’t. “There is no regular kind. Dandelion wine? Lamp-Grass cider?”

“Uh, ten glasses of dandelion wine, please.”

He raises a brow. “Everyone is of age, even the recruits?”

“Oh, yes, the younger ones’ curfew ended an hour ago.”

One quick glance over proves your truth. Fine. He gets the drinks ready quite easily. It’s just pouring wine from the barrels into their tankers. Once he has them on a tray, he says, “Ten thousand Mora.”

“Oh…uh…” you stare at your feet in embarrassment, apparently just realizing that yes drinks cost mora. “I-“

“If you can’t pay,” he starts, annoyance seeping into his voice. “Then I suggest you get out.”

Maybe that was a bit too harsh. Your jaw clenches. Your hands tighten into fists. Diluc thinks you’re about to burst into tears or run out the front door when a hand lands on your shoulder.

“Not to worry, I’ll cover the costs for this.”

Of course. He’d be here, of all nights.

You look to your saviour, lighting up. “Oh, thank you, Captain Kaeya.”

Kaeya smiles amicably, patting your shoulder. “My pleasure. Join the others, I’ll carry the drinks there shortly.”

You hurry off to the table, not one to disobey your superior’s orders. Diluc and Kaeya are left alone at the bar, the former frowning, the later smiling.

Kaeya places a sack of mora on the counter. “Feel free to count it, every coin is in there.”

Diluc snatches it, tossing it under the cabinet. (Kaeya always pays in full. Either that or he purposely omits a single coin, just to fuck with him. But it’s not worth it for Diluc to count ten thousand coins individually.)

“Corrupting fresh recruits already, aren’t you?” Diluc says.

Kaeya chuckles dryly. “Why, Master Diluc, I’d never do such an atrocious thing.”

Kaeya picks up the tray before Diluc can make some sort of witty retort. “Now, I’ve got to amuse myself. Enjoy your night, Master Diluc.”

Kaeya remains out of his hair for the rest of the night. By all accounts, it’s a good thing, but tonight, it only makes Diluc moodier. Especially when he glances over at the knights table, spotting the captain’s arm strung over the back of your chair.

---

“What on earth are you doing?”

You jump, turning to face Diluc, leaning against the nearby tree. He’d been patrolling the area for threats when he’d noticed you, swinging your sword about in the middle of Windrise. The fact that he’d managed to catch you by surprise unnerved him. (You were a knight; you’d need to learn to be alert.)

“Practicing, Master Diluc.” You wipe the sweat from your face with your shirt and Diluc quickly averts his eyes to a group of slimes slugging around the Anemo Arcon Statue. He’d have to deal with them later.

“Don’t the knights have a dedicated training area?” They do. He knows this, outside the city walls or on the northern shores of Cider Lake, he used to go there and take recruits when he was a captain, make them run up and down the sloping hills all afternoon in full armour.

“Ah, they do, yes, but I mostly prefer to train alone.”

Diluc chews on your words for a moment, before pushing off from the tree and striding towards you. “Hold your sword again.”

You hesitate, drawing your sword and holding it like you were doing previously.

Diluc covers his hands with yours, moving them along the sword. “Adjust your hands like this. You’ll have more force when you swing and you’re less likely to hurt yourself if you hit something solid.”

He steps back, allowing you to swing a few times in the air. “Use your chest more, not just your arms – good. Again.”

About an hour passes, with Diluc giving instructions, doing a very bad job of hiding his stares, and with you doing as he says. He doesn’t realize how long it’s been until you sheath your sword, and the sun has set over the horizon.

“I apologize, Master Diluc, but I’ve got to get back to the headquarters now.”

“Oh.” He says, stupidly. Of course, you’d have to leave, to go back to the knights, but that thought hadn’t crossed his mind. “I see, yes. I suppose you should.”

You bow respectfully. “Thank you for your help, you really are as sweet as Captain Kaeya says.”

He suppresses the growl that rises from his throat. Figures, Kaeya would call him that. “Mhm.”

You salute him, the standard knight’s salute. He nods his head as you start back towards Mondstadt, pondering why he decided to help you, until you fade from sight.

---

He swears, he doesn’t mean to keep meeting you like this.

He had been exploring an abandoned domain north of Wolvendom, looking for any members of the abyss order. Fortunately – or unfortunately, there hadn’t been anything but slimes and old artifacts inside, and he’d come out soaked head to toe with water.

He was starting up the path when he saw you huddled by an electro crystal, poking it with your sword and jolting back when it shocked you.

“…you can’t break those with normal attacks,” he says. “They’re elemental crystals.”

You turn around, not surprised by his sudden presence (good, you’re learning.) “You can break them?”

Arcons, do they not teach the knights anything anymore?

Instead of arguing, he simply demonstrates, calling flames to his claymore and slicing the rock. An explosion of pyro and electro occurs, shattering the crystal into purple chunks.

You gape at the crystals. “Wow, you’re amazing, Master Diluc.”

He flushes at your praise, coughing and adjusting his tie. “It’s nothing. What are you interested in with the crystals anyways?”

“Captain Albedo requested them. I guess I’ll have to get outrider amber to gather them, or klee, perhaps…'' you collect the chunks into a small bag, standing up and brushing the dust from your pants. “Thank you again, Master Diluc. You always seem to be helping me out a lot.”

“It’s no trouble,” he says, swallowing for a moment. His throat feels tight and his palms are sweating in his gloves.

You salute him. He nods. They’re your usual goodbyes, nowadays. He watches you march off, the crystals clinking around in your bag.

“Wait,” he splutters, the objection coming from his throat without thinking.

You turn around, waiting expectantly. Diluc swallows, again. (When did he get so warm?)

“Next time, please just call me Diluc.”

You blink carefully, then smile. “Alright, Diluc.”

The sound of his name on your tongue makes his heart race and sends electricity through his stomach.

(And not just because of the nearby electro crystals.)

---

Two days later, a bag of purple electro crystals appears at your doorstep in the Knight’s headquarters. There is no name from the sender, but you suspect who it is from the emblem of the dawn winery logo upon the bag.

You smile to yourself, then hurry to deliver the goods to Captain Albedo.

---

“Do you have a crush on someone, Master Diluc?”

He nearly drops his teacup in his lap, sputtering into his drink. Adeline doesn’t even flinch, handing him a handkerchief to wipe his mouth with. His owl preens herself on its stand, indifferent to her master’s squabbling.

“P-pardon?”

“I asked if you had a crush on anyone.”

“…what would make you consider that?”

She clears the table swiftly, shrugging. “You seem to be in good spirits. You’ve been smiling more, and you’re more pleasant.”

He frowns. “Are you suggesting I’m usually moody?”

Adelinde’s face remains blank. “Not at all, sir.”

She bows and leaves him to his thoughts and paperwork.

A crush. Ridiculous…he’s not a schoolboy. And besides, he hasn’t been acting differently. Sure, he’s taken more shifts on Friday night, and he’s been visiting Windrise more often in hopes of maybe running into a certain knight, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s all justifiable.

…

His owl cocks her head at him, even she knows when he’s lying to himself.

“…don’t look at me like that.” He huffs, turning around in his desk, back facing the owl.

---

Once the thought is in Diluc’s head, he can’t get it out. It doesn’t help that over the next few months, your presence around him only amplifies his feelings.

Every breath you take, every little movement you make - it transfixes him. He feels drawn to you naturally, wanting to be closer to you, coming up with more and more ridiculous topic ideas just so he can hear you speak.

He feels happy. He begins looking forward to the next day and the next week, not apprehensive about what new problems might arise.

And just as soon as he’s settled into the norm, the world decides to rip it away from him.

---

The knights file into their usual spots on a friday night. Diluc greets them with the same, stiff nods, except this time, his scowl isn’t as deep, and the furrow in his brows is loose. For the knights coming to celebrate means that he might have a chance to see you.

And he does. Diluc can’t stop the way his lips turn upwards when the door swings open and you file in. You give a wave, he nods back.

He does his best to not stare as you socialize with the other knights - (there really are a lot of them here tonight. Even Captain Albedo is among them) - but he fails miserably. So much so that he forgets to serve the other patrons up front.

It’s a relief when you eventually wander over to the bar. You don’t even need to tell him your order anymore - he just gets to doing it immediately.

“Big celebration?” he asks.

You slide into the seat and smile. “I suppose you could say that.”

He raises a brow and pushes the drinks towards you, leaning on the bar. “Oh? Is it a knights secret I’m not privy to know about?”

You swat at him harmlessly and his breathing hitches at your chuckle. “No, not a secret. It’s just nice to celebrate for celebration's sake, you know?”

He does not, but nods anyways. “I suppose it is. In any case, you seem very happy.”

You cover your growing smile with your hand. “Do I?”

“Yes, did you get a promotion? Replace Kaeya as Cavalry Captain?”

“No! No, nothing like that…” you laugh and shake your head. “But Kaeya…”

He hadn’t expected his joke to actually hold some truth. He presses, “Kaeya?”

“Well, we -” you avert your gaze, eyes softening in bliss. “We’re um - a thing. Now.”

Diluc pales, nearly falling off the bar.

“Oh.”

“Yes...please keep it a secret, we don’t want anyone knowing just yet.”

Diluc’s head spins. It feels like a lump of coal is stuck in his throat. He swallows and tries to stop his breaths from becoming erratic.

“Congratulations… I hope-” his voice cracks and he clears his throat. “I wish the best for the both of you.”

“Thank you, Diluc.” you reach over and pat his hand. He barely conceals a flinch, wanting to rip it away. “

You walk back to the knights, and for the rest of the night, he operates on autopilot, picking at the remaining shattered pieces of his heart.

---

It hurts.

Rain and sweat get in his eyes. He ducks to avoid a swing of a club, swinging his fiery claymore in retaliation. He doesn’t know how long he’s been here, only that his hands are numb from gripping his weapon for so long. A long gash runs up his side, stinging each time he moves.

The ache in his chest hurts more.

How naive, how silly, to entertain the idea that you’d ever like him back.

Diluc closes his eyes, and consumes himself in violence once more.

---

He doesn’t frequent the bar for the next week. Enough to collect his thoughts. Enough to smother the pang of hurt he feels whenever he gazes at you.

He’s above this, above being debilitated by his emotions.

(He knows he is not.)

---

Things get better, as they always do. Things always go back to a level of normal. He returns to work at the bar. He returns to looking forward to your visits.

The front door swings open. He expectantly turns, smile dying on his face when he sees who’s entered.

“Jeez. You think I’ve just murdered someone how you’re looking at me,” Kaeya sighs.

“What do you want?” Kaeya’s the last person he wants to see. Especially since - since -

“Can’t I just drop by for a drink?” Kaeya takes his seat at the corner of the bar. Diluc resists the urge to throw the glass in his hand. He never gets to the point, always meandering about the issue, chatting about this or that until the other party is exhausted trying to humour him.

Not Diluc.

“You’re never here to just drink. Out with it.”

“…I was just wondering how you feel about our newest knight.”

He inhales through his teeth and sets the glass he was polishing down. Fine, if that’s the game Kaeya was going to play, he’d play along. “I think it’s improper for you to be engaged in a relationship with your subordinates.”

Kaeya grimaces, keeping his eye on the wood counter. “Do you say that because you care for workplace standards, or are you perhaps-”

“No.”

“ - jealous?”

The towl ignites in his hands. “Fuck off. Get out of my bar. Now.”

Kaeya sighs, but gets up from his seat, hands raised. “Alright, fine...but If it’s any consultation, I understand how you feel.”

“You don’t get to know where I’m coming from,” each word feels like acid down Diluc’s throat. “You don’t ever get to understand how I feel.”

Kaeya smiles sadly. “I know. And because of that, I’m not gonna come in the way between you two.”

Kaeya opens the door and waves before Diluc can question him. “Good night, master Diluc.”

The door shuts behind him as he leaves. Diluc tosses the towel in the trash, blood boiling underneath his skin.

---

He doesn’t see much of you or Kaeya for a week. (Which he supposes is good. If he saw Kaeya now, Barbados wouldn’t be able to stop him from getting into a fight.)

The next time he sees you is late one night, when most of the patrons have left. You look a mess, hair disheveled, feet dragging against the floor. You mumble your order to him before dragging yourself upstairs, one foot at a time.

Diluc brings what you requested up – one of his strongest liquors – to find you staring off into space. He sets your glass down gently, and you snap from your reprieve.

“Here’s your order. If you need anything…just let me know.”

You nod, keeping your eyes focused downwards. “Thank you, Diluc.”

His heart breaks at how defeated you sound. He returns to his post for the remainder of the night.

Never once does the cavalry captain come in. Diluc has a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It’s many hours later when the tavern closes for the night. Diluc shucks on his coat and goes upstairs, finding you half-asleep on the table, empty glass clutched tight in your grasp.

He shakes you gently and you stir with a moan. “It’s closing time. Do you need help getting home?”

You laugh bitterly. “Where is ‘home’?”

Diluc wordlessly slips the glass from your hands. “Come on, let’s get you back to the knights headquarters.”

Exhausted, you relent, leaning on Diluc heavily as he escorts you out of Angel’s Share. The smell of alcohol is strong on both your breath and clothes. It makes Diluc’s nose wrinkle.

You stumble over stones and steps. The walk back to the knights headquarters takes twice as long as it normally would. Diluc doesn’t mind, instinctively activating his vision when he feels you shiver from the cold.

“I thought Kaeya loved me,” you say suddenly, resting your head on his shoulder. “He said he…”

Diluc doesn’t – can’t – say anything, not when the lump of guilt in his stomach threatens to tear him apart from the inside out.

---

Truthfully, he’d thought you would have left the Knights after that incident. It must have been beyond difficult - having to see the person who broke your heart every day.

But you don’t. Diluc already knew how determined and strong you are, and you prove to be stronger than he could have ever foresaw.

It’s rough. There are nights where you show up to the tavern, barely coherent and full of grief. But there are others where you show up with Albedo, or Amber, and he gets to see you smile again.

He observes you from afar, at windrise, training with Noelle, getting quicker and quicker with your sword each day.

The seasons come and go, snow falls and melts, and when the dandelions grow again, before he ever knows it, you’re a Captain yourself.

The tavern is full for your celebration. Wine flows freely - free of charge thanks to Diluc - and the air is abuzz with joyous conversation.

“My highest congratulations, Captain,” Diluc says, raising his own glass (non-alcoholic) in toast.

You clink cups with him, smiling in your new uniform. (You’re radiant, he thinks to himself). “I can’t thank you enough, Diluc...for everything. I’ve always seen you as one of my closest friends.”

Friends. The word cuts deeply into his heart. Yes, friends. But being friends is something that he is ok with. He can watch you thrive, watch you live your life, he can keep your presence in his life, a small candle flickering in the dead of winter.

He knows your heart is elsewhere, he sees it in your eyes whenever you see the colour blue, or whenever the scent of death-after-noon waffs through the air. Your grief isn’t as prominent, but still there.

He doesn’t know if your feelings for Kaeya, if you even have any after the breakup, will ever go away. Perhaps they’ll stay over you like a looming shadow for the rest of your life.

If only – he’ll think, on nights when you’ve fallen asleep on his couch, bottle of wine beside you – if only he hadn’t said anything, maybe you’d be happy with Kaeya.

But the past is the path, and he must look to the future. The future where he can stand by your side, in whatever way you’ll accept him.

(Alone from the beginning, alone in the end. Fitting, for someone like him.)

#i can't beleive this is 3.3k #*falls over*#diluc x reader #diluc ragnivindr x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #diluc imagines #diluc fic #diluc fanfic #genshin impact fiction #diluc x y/n #diluc x you #my writing

113 notes · View notes

a-edgar-allan-hoe · 3 years

Text

The Last Chthonian

Bucky x Reader, Sam x Reader, Zemo x Reader

Part 12

A/N: Here is Chapter 12 lovelies! Let me know if you would like to get added to the tag list! 🖤🔮🖤

Summary: Imagine being Hekate, the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft, the night and the moon, doorways and crossroads, creatures of the night, and ghosts and necromancy. You stumbled upon Earth many centuries ago and since then have resided on the foreign planet. During the recent years you created an alias for yourself to hide your true identity, and after the war against Thanos you chose to live out your days in the Scottish countryside, until a certain trio appear at your doorstep one day.

Warnings: language, scars

“Logan?” You stared at him wide eyed and as he turned around to face you, you rushed in for a hug like a child, wrapping your arms around his frame as he returned the gesture, rubbing your back.

It had been so long since you had seen him. Logan had always been like a father figure to you, the father you never had, even though you surpassed him by thousands of years. He always had a paternal aura about him despite his rough appearance, and he was the one person you always turned to and shared all your secrets with. You had first met him back in 1861 during the Civil War when you disguised yourself as a young man so that you could join the Union. But he had seen right through your act when you refused to change or use the restroom in front of the men, always coming up with excuses that all the soldiers fell for, well except for him. You two still liked to laugh about the story till this day. And since the day you first met him, you two had formed an inseparable bond.

“Good to see you too kid.” Logan chuckled at your reaction to seeing him.

You pulled back from the hug, looking up at him with a scowl on your face before punching him in the arm.

“Ow. The hell was that for?”

“What the hell are you doing here? And why did you have to man handle me like that? You made me drop my phone.” You snapped at him, going over to pick your phone off the floor, glancing around to make sure no one was near before going back into the hallway.

“I’m here on business. Got some punk who’s ass I gotta catch.” Logan answered your question. “And if you ask me, you seemed to be the one doing most of the man handling.”

“Only because you had to grab me like some kind of creep.” You remarked. “So what, you’re following me now?”

“Like I said, I’m huntin down this criminal, or a couple criminals you could say. Just like you got your ring of demons huntin down human traffickers and the worst of mankind, I got my work too. So, what do I see when I’m about to slice up some punk? I see your ass here, running down the middle of the streets in a stupid dress and getting shot at by bounty hunters and criminals. The hell are you doing in a place like this? It’s dangerous.” Logan lectured you before pulling out his cigar.

“No shit Sherlock. I know it’s dangerous.”

“Hey, watch your attitude.”

“Says the one who taught me that attitude in the first place.” You put your arms across your chest in a defensive stance as you argued with him. “And you’re not the only one here on a mission, alright? I’m helping out a friend.”

“Yeah? Your friend drag you into this?”

“No, I came here on my choice.”

“I thought you were laying low but fair enough.” He nodded as he lit up his cigar. “How’s Athena?”

“Oh she’s doing great. She does miss you though, won’t stop talking about how she wants to see gramps.”

“Heh, she’s a good kid, you raised her well.”

“I did the best I could as a mother.” You sighed before punching him the arm again, this time lighter. “I’m starving and you delayed me from getting my pizza by the way, you remember that and you remember it well. Let the guilt haunt you for the remainder of your days.”

“Yeah yeah, I didn’t know you were on one of those psycho food missions. C’mon, I know a spot.” Logan ruffled your hair as you followed him out of the building, walking down the night lit street as you two caught up on recent events. You noticed that you had become more comfortable with the scar on your face. You stopped turning your face away in conversations and now even looked the person you were speaking with in the eye, allowing them to get a full view. And though you still received many looks, it didn’t bother you as much as it used too and you were now less ashamed of it. After putting in effort to hide your scars for so long because you couldn’t stand the sight of them, here you were putting them on display. After all, scars told stories. But part of you wondered if it had anything to do with what Zemo had told you. The way he looked right at you when he suggested you keep them visible because he thought it suited you.

“How’s everyone at the school?” You asked Logan.

“They miss you, the students as well, especially Rogue. They’ve been begging Charles to try to convince you to come back and teach Mythology and Classic Literature again.”

“I do miss the place.” You sighed as you walked the streets with your hands in the pockets of your jacket. “But I need some time. I promise I’ll be back soon though.”

“Hey, take your time. Just don’t take a hundred years.” Logan teased.

“I won’t.”

“Hey, this is the pizza place I was talking about.” Logan patted your back before gesturing to the little pizza shop. It was a little mom-and-pop place but the aroma that came through the doors made you salivate and your stomach let out a loud growl that sounded like a monster was trapped in there.

“Finally. I’m starving.” You groaned as you went up to the counter and ordered three boxes of pizzas.

“Geez, you gonna eat all that?” Logan looked at you after the wait as you went up to the counter to pick up your three boxes of cheese pizzas.

“Nah. One of them is for me. The rest is for you and the guys.”

“What guys? The ones who were running behind you when you were getting shot at?”

“Ya.”

“You need help with those?”

“Nah I got it.” You shook your head as you stepped out of the shop, you couldn’t wait to go back to the gallery and scarf down the whole pizza by yourself. You were hoping tonight you would pass out from a food coma so you could get a decent night’s sleep.

“Y/n?” You saw Sam step out of the entrance of the building once he saw you approach. “Where have you been? You said you were making a call. And what are you doing with those pizzas?”

“Yeah well I got hungry.”

“Who’s this?” Sam asked you as he eyed Logan.

“A friend.”

“What kind of friend?”

“A good friend Sam.” You replied as you walked back in to the building, the loud music and flashing lights filling your senses annoyingly once more.

Sam carefully watched the mysterious new man you had just brought in, following behind you as you went over to where Bucky was standing by the bar, dropping the pizzas down on the counter. “Pizza time!”

“What’s this?” Bucky looked at you, questioning why you had just brought in three full boxes of pizzas.

“This is Pizza. Don’t tell me you’ve never had pizza Barnes.” You remarked as you opened up the box you brought for yourself, pulling it up in front of you as you sat down on the barstool.

“I’ve had pizza before. I’m not that uncultured.” Bucky sighed at your statement. Why did everyone assume he didn’t have a clue about most things in the world.

“I’m kidding Bucky. You’re the one who asked the question ‘what’s this?’. Those two boxes are for you guys by the way.” You nodded as you took a large bite of the warm cheesy pizza, your mouth watering from finally having what you craved and not being able to resist the satisfied moan that came out of your mouth. “Wow. You were right Logan. This shit is good.”

“Told you so.” Logan smirked as he took a slice for himself, Sam and Bucky watching with caution at who this burly man with the leather jacket was that set his cigar down on the ashtray. “Hey slow down kid, keep eating that fast and you’ll choke.”

“Fucks sake Logan. Let me enjoy my food.”

“Yeah well don’t scarf it down. And watch your mouth.”

“You watch yours old man.” You laughed.

“Old? Look who’s talking artifact.”

Sam and Bucky stood in silence as they watched the two of you bickering amongst each other. Who was this and how were you so comfortable around him? They had never seen you this much at ease and it was as if you two were close for a very long time.

Logan caught them staring at him, glowering as he got up from his seat. “Got a problem bub?”

“Who the hell are you supposed to be?” Bucky questioned as took a step towards him, he didn’t like the aura this man had about him. He looked like an asshole.

“Why do you need to know?” Logan stared him down with a scowl as he stood inches apart from him.

You watched the confrontation between Bucky and Logan and nearly choked on your pizza as you saw Logan’s admantium claws come out of his knuckles, forcing you to jump between them. Bucky and Sam noticed this and raised their brows in surprise at him. They were trying to figure out what the hell it was that just came out of his knuckles.

“Woah woah woah! Enough of the testosterone. This is just Logan you two, I’ve known him for a really long time and he’s like a father to me so you can quit the glaring. Bucky, I said quit staring. Logan, this is Sam and Bucky.”

“Hang on.” Sam realized once he recognized Logan. “You’re that one guy, Wolverine right? From the X-Men?”

“Yeah.” Logan grumbled as he sat back down to finish his slice, not wanting to converse any more though you were always an exception for him.

“Hey where’s Zemo by the way?” You brought up as you noticed he wasn’t there and you couldn’t find sight of him.

“He’s dancing.” Bucky answered your question with a look that meant unbelievable as he nodded towards the dance floor.

And as you looked, there you saw none other than Zemo himself, in the middle of the dance floor, paying no mind to others and grooving along to the bass music with movements of his hands.

“No fucking way.” You gaped with your mouth open, your pizza slice hovering inches from your lips since you were too engrossed in the scene before you. Since when did he dance? You couldn’t believe your eyes at what you saw, here was this criminal, in the middle of the dance floor pumping his fists to the beat.

“I know right.” Sam scoffed as he watched with you. “I had to look twice to make sure of what I was seeing.”

“Did he? Did he just do a finger twirl?” You squinted your eyes and scrunched your nose in disbelief.

“Yup. Yes he did.” Sam confirmed.

“Wow.” You shook your head. “Unbelievable. I could never do that.”

“I thought you were a ballerina.” Bucky asked.

“I was. But that’s different. Anyways, I’m going to retire for the night. I think I’ve seen enough.” You got up from your seat, crushing up your empty pizza box and tossing it away. You bid the men goodnight and told them to leave a few slices for Zemo if he wanted any, adding how you didn’t care if he wanted them or not, it didn’t matter to you. You bid Logan a teary farewell and hugged him, he had to head back to his place and had some matters to attend to. You were heartbroken to see him leave so soon but hoped to see him again.

After conversing a little with Sharon, you went upstairs to one of the rooms she had reserved for the four of you. It was a comfortably spacious bedroom with a modern touch, matching Sharon’s personality perfectly. You closed the door behind you and took out your bag, setting it on the table that was in the corner as you slipped out of your current clothes and into your silk nightgown. After you were done cleaning up in the bathroom, you sat down on the bed under the covers and pulled out your phone, dialing Maze’s number.

“Hey Hekate. What’s up?” You heard her voice on the other line.

“Hey Maze. How’s everything going?”

“Everything is great. Nothing bad happened today and Athena and I did finger paintings. It was so much fun.”

“That’s great! I’m happy you guys are spending quality time together.”

“Yeah, I’m happy too. How are you doing? You sound exhausted.”

“Yeah, I’m ready to knock out.” You chuckled. “Everything is running smoothly so far though.” You thought about telling her the incident involving your powers from earlier but decided against it. You didn’t need her to start worrying about you. “Hey is Athena awake?”

“I was just about done getting her ready for bed. I’ll hand her the phone.” You heard Maze say before there was the sound of rustling.

“Hi Mommy!” You heard your daughter’s voice.

“Hi sweetie! How are you?” You smiled upon hearing her voice, which was something that had always lifted your spirits.

“I’m fine mommy! Maze and I did paintings today!”

“I heard! That’s wonderful! You’ll have to show them to me when I come back. I just wanted to talk to you and make sure you were okay. I’ll let you go to sleep now. Goodnight koukouvágia, I love you.”

“I love you too mommy!” You heard Athena hand over the phone to Maze.

“Thanks again for all this Maze.” You smiled.

“Anytime girl. No need to thank me.”

“Alright.” You had let out a yawn, tears of exhaustion forming at the ends of your eyes as your lids started to get heavy while you tried to keep them open, causing your vision to get blurry in the process. “I’m going to let you sleep and I should do the same.”

“Yeah. You definitely sound like you need it. Goodnight Hekate.”

“Goodnight Maze.” You hung up the phone and set it on the nightstand. Pulling up the soft covers, you laid down on the bed with one of your arms tucked under the pillow while the other was rested on top of your stomach. You had left the curtains open to allow the bit of moonlight in the room. You stared up at the ceiling, feeling your body become numb from fatigue and it’s desperate need for sleep. You don’t remember being this tired.

As you slowly shifted to unconsciousness, your thoughts drifted off to what was to happen tomorrow before shifting to what had happened earlier between you and Zemo at the bar. The way Zemo’s gloved fingers danced patterns on your bare back and thigh still somehow managed to leave goosebumps and chills on your skin, and you felt ashamed to feel that way. Part of you pondered on whether he could have felt the scars lining your back, and you prayed he didn’t. You didn’t want to have to explain to him the story behind the scars that still haunted you till this day. As these thoughts ran through your mind, your eyes slowly fluttered closed and your body finally succumbed to what would have been the power of Hypnos, sleep.

Tag List: @girl-obsessed-with-things @aerynchromie @sunshinepower17 @viviace @kakimakiloh @thebivirgin @gambitsqueen @spookycereal-s @lulu-yuming @mochminnie @Gabitanaka47 @s00nhi @vanteguccir @tomhollandsslilslut @dracoxxyoflam @suchababie @uhhhcrypticbastard @on-my-way-to-erebor @thewinterrbucky @mylifeispainandiloveit @fillechatoyante @padmoonyfeorge @montypythonsholysnail @pollynx @aziraslowlylosestheirshit @roundbrownlover @awesomeowlbook @bookloverfilmoholic

#bucky fluff #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky fic #bucky x you #bucky x female reader #bucky fanfic #bucky imagine #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x y/n #sam wilson fanfiction #sam wilson imagine #zemo fluff #zemo x you #zemo fanfic #zemo x oc #zemo imagine #zemo x reader #zemo x y/n

78 notes · View notes

gladerwolfstarkimagines · 3 years

Text

Huan x female airbender Part Three (last part)

Part one here

Part two here

Tagged: @feitansrisingsun @sirkekselord @sillytimetravelcomputer @linrailme I tagged people who asked for a part three :)

----

You and Huan travel to the firelord’s palace for his appointment with firelord Izumi but another firelord decides to crash your appointment...following the meeting you and Huan get into an argument that ends the trip in a way you did not expect

You and Huan arrived in the firenation a week later and you grinned as Huan stared at everything like a tourist. Wanting to impress him you took the flashy route home to where your mother was waiting. It was the first time Huan had met her and you knew he was nervous given your dad’s attitude to him but he needn’t have been. Your mom had heard all your stories about Huan and greeted him with a large hug as if he was already family, sincerely congratulated him on his appointment with the firelord and enquired after his favourite meal so she could make it for him all within a minute of meeting him. Huan saw where you got your kindness from.

You were slightly worried your small fire nation home would seem quaint in comparison to Huan’s mansion but he seemed oddly entranced by it. You saw him examining everything curiosly, from the handprints on the wall from when you decided to paint the wall when you were 3 and your dad joined in to the bizarre overgrown flower maze your dad called a garden. As Huan was looking around the *kitchen* that was really more of a culinary laboratory for you mom to experiment with new recipes you worried compared to his efficient home this would all be odd to him. You watched his face for any sign of confusion or dislike but couldn’t read his expression. When Huan held up a cup you’d made out of clay when you were 8 you burst “so what do you think?”. “Honestly I think your clay modelling needs work” he joked and you smiled “no of my home...will it be okay for you? I know it’s not Zafou but...”. “Not Zafou? y/n your homes lovely!”. “But you don’t think it’s....” you hit your head on plans your father had hung from the ceiling and frowned “messy and disorganised?”. You knew Huan’s father kept all his research in his laboratory, not on the living room ceiling. Huan smirked and shook his head “no i like all this because it’s so you” he smiled “the warm colours! The personal touches crammed everywhere! The fancy artifacts used as vases” Huan smirked noticing the firenation vase your father had been given which your mom used to hold cooking utensils “it’s the exact embodiment of you I love it” Huan finished and you blushed. “Well that’s...not what I was expecting” you commented and Huan smiled “I can tell by how red you’ve gone, I like when I make you blush”. You blushed even deeper and Huan laughed making you roll your eyes. “Come on i’ll show you your room” you said attempting to distract him but Huan continued chuckling as he followed you upstairs.

Given the fact the meeting was early tomorrow morning you ate and got an early night before setting out for the palace. You and Huan gave your names and were taken through so many coridoors you lost count before eventually being shown into a room with a desk and some sofas. "Wow this place is...". "I know, i thought you were rich" you smirked and Huan smiled but you could tell he was nervous. "Don’t worry it'll be fine, if Iroh recommended it i bet the firelord's all for it". "Have you ever met her before?" Huan asked and you shrugged "a few times at fire nation parties, my dad and her were friends as kids, then he mentored her son Iroh when he joined the army. Iroh was always around our home, he actually babysat me as a kid". Huan paused "the future firelord was your babysitter?". You paused before nodding "i guess, he was always just Iroh to us...his parents wanted him to live as much like a normal teenager as possible so he'd babysit me once a month, kind of hard to think of someone as a prince when they make you food and play doll houses with you". Huan smirked and you smiled "but i’ve met firelord Izumi quiet a few times, and firelord Zuko and Mai once or twice at really formal events". Huan nodded slightly reassured and you touched his arm "it'll be okay i promise". Huan wanted to point out how you had no way of knowing for sure but he didn’t, he just smiled and put a hand over your hand on his arm.

The door opened and you both tensed. You jumped up turned to the leader of the fire nation "Firelord izumi" you said bowing low and Huan followed your lead. "Thank you but there is no need for that" she called "you are my guests" she said showing you a warm smile. You smiled back and she stepped closer to you both "y/n it is so lovely to see you again, how are you parents?". "They are well thank you ma’m" you smiled. “Your father an airbender...I bet he’s making a unique mark on the air nation”. “He is” you laughed “my uncle Tenzin is not too pleased with him”. Izumi smiled fondly "That sounds just like your father” before she turned to Huan “and how are you Huan? We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting before but my son was very impressed with you, how is your mother?". "My mother?" Huan asked "you know her?". "Well i haven’t see Su since we were children but i am fond of her" she smiled "you know my parents and your grandparents were close friends don’t you". You and Huan nodded "of course". Izumi smiled "that is why when my son told me about you Huan I knew I had to meet you. I've been wanting to freshen up the place and who better than such close friends?". You and Huan were slightly speechless but Izumi smiled "so please sit and we will discuss what i have planned". You had just gotten into the plans and areas Izumi wanted art work for when the door opened. Deespite neither of you having been around him much you both recognised the former firelord on sight. "Firelord Zuko" you and Huan gasped and you both rushed to stand and bow. "No no! You are my oldest friends children" he smiled "you do not bow to me". You and Huan blushed and smiled. "It is so nice to see you both here" he smiled coming to stand right in front of you. He searched your faces and smiled "y/n you look just like Aang but I see the hint of Sokka and Katara in you too and Huan....well you just eminate Toph energy" he grinned "it is so nice to see you both, it’s like having a mini Aang and Toph in the palace again..i am so pleased our bloodlines are still linked together". You and Huan smiled glancing at one another "it seems they always have a having of intertwining" you commented and Zuko laughed. "That they do! Now Izumi please continue" Zuko said taking a seat “pretend i’m not even here”. You and Huan smirked at the very idea and Izumi smiled fondly before turning back to your both “so the question isn’t if we want you but when can you start Huan?”.

---

You walked down the palace steps an hour later a buzz about what had just happened. Huan had been hired to comission the palace! The palace! Izumi had given him almost full artistic freedom and a mass amount of money and resources. She had set him no time limit, her only condition was she wanted to announce him as her royal artist and keep him in her books for future works. It was an amazing first job as an artist and more than many got in a lifetime. You were chatting away about how proud of Huan you were when he stopped walking and grabbed your hands. You looked at him confused as Huan grabbed you and kissed you. Huan never liked PDA or being overly affectionate but here he was kissing you infront of the whole fire nation. It wasn’t a quick kiss either, it was the longest kiss you’d ever had and Huan had initiated it. You finally seperated for breath and Huan looked at you "thank you" he smiled "for getting me here, for being my girlfriend, for coming into my life" he smiled stroking your cheek "i...you..". You smiled Huan’s energy running low and took his hand "i know". Huan smiled at you gratefully and pulled you into his chest hugging you. You wrapped your arms around him slotting into him and smiled. You looked up and noticed huan was bright red which was hard with his tanned skin but none the less adorable. "Come on" you smiled seperating from him and tugging his hand "my mom will want to hear the good news!".

Your mom was thrilled and said you should celebrate. You agreed and took Huan to one of the best resturants in the capital. You covered the bill, despite the fact Huan was filthy rich, and just enjoyed treating yourselves ordering everything and anything you wanted. You’d both dressed nicely and you were determined to make this a special occasion and it became one...but for reasons you weren’t expecting.

Huan loved when you dressed up but also couldn’t help but feel nervous or lesser beside you. He knew he was punching dating you but that was most apparent when you went places looking stunning and Huan wore all black or dark green floor length outfits. It was more noticable you were an odd match in moments like this and although you never seemed to notice Huan knew that couldn't be said for other people. Case in point, on your way home you were walking hand in hand back to your house and passed some men. Huan saw their eyes fall on you in that dress and sure enough their heads turned. They were so busy staring at you they didn’t even notice Huan’s glares for a few seconds. When they noticed him they did a double take at your joint hands, clearly thinking the two of you didn’t match. Huan glared at them his muscles tightening and you felt his arm contract. "Huan?" you asked glancing at where he was looking and saw he was staring at some men. "Huan?" You repeated "are you okay?". Huan nodded snapping his head back around "i’m fine". You frowned seeing Huan was angry but didn’t want to press it out in the open.

You got home and found your mom was out meaning you had the house to yourself. You and Huan settled in your room and you took off your jewellery and shoes while watching Huan worriedly. He hadn’t said a word since those men and was just sat staring into space as he expanded his metal bracelet and back again. You frowned and now in private decided to approach the topic. "Huan?" you asked laying a hand on his arm "are you okay?". Huan sighed but nodded "i’m fine". "Because you seem kinda...". "It’s nothing" he said but he’d raised his voice and you frowned "what did those men do?". Huan sighed "it’s not just them it’s everyone". You frowned "but those men must’ve done something to make...". "Yes they did but they’re not the only ones" Huan sighed "everyone does what those guys do when they see us together". You paused sensing this wouldn’t be good but still had to ask "and what’s that?". "They stare, mainly at you first and then they notice me there too and do a double take that you’re even with someone like me, i see them question it on their face, how is he with her?". You touched Huan’s arm again but he shook his head turning away from you "no i get it, i don’t need pity y/n i ask myself that too". “Huan but i...”. “Yeah you like me” Huan sighed “but that doesn’t change the fact you shouldn’t, we just don’t match! We’re complete opposites and it makes me wonder how long before you’ll find someone better and...”. “Huan!”. “No it’s okay honestly I’m just pleased we had this much time together”. "That’s enough" you snapped and Huan’s gaze shot back around confused to hear you raise your voice "what?". "I usually don't say anything because i know you’re just a realist but i won’t let you talk about yourself this way Huan!". Huan paused "but it’s true". "No you think it’s true because of what we’ve been taught but it’s not! Looks don’t count for shit Huan! Some people might think we look odd together but i don’t care, why would i care? I think you’re amazing, smart, funny, hot and care about me...why would i care what anyone else says or thinks? All i care about is what you think of us and I don't want you ever feeling like you have something to prove to me Huan, ever! In my eyes you’re amazing and i see you that way, i see how lucky i am to have you and when i look at you i just want to..." you trailed off and seeing the way Huan was looking at you just kissed him. Huan kissed you back but you could tell he was still hesitant. "You really don’t see how out of my league you are?". You shook your head not moving your face away from his "not at all, were equal you and i, i like you and you like me, what else matters?". "Nothing" Huan agreed and kissed you again. You smiled and kissed him again "you're incredible Huan, you need more confidence, if you could only see yourself how i see you" you sighed and Huan stared up at you "you're just perfection" and kissed him again. Usually you’d break away pretty early on but you didn’t want to this time and neither did Huan. Things progressed further than they ever had but Huan hesitated as you didn't show a sign of wanting to stop. "Y/n are you sure you want to...with me?' you paused but nodded blushing "yes but if you aren’t ready then that’s okay..." you started when Huan kissed you pushing you back down "no i just wanted to make sure you weren’t just doing this for...". You flipped Huan and pushed his shoulders down "i’m doing this because i want to, not because i want to make you feel better or because i feel bad, but because i find you incredibly attractive and i want this". Huan redenned but his eyes sparked “okay”.

***

"Do you believe me?" you asked Huan afterwards and he nodded "yes". You smiled against his chest as his arms tightenned around you. "Good" you smiled kissing his neck, the only part of him you could reach without having to move. "You’re brilliant Huan and i am completely infatuated with you". Huan nuzzled his head against yours and sighed happily “I am too”.

The next morning

You woke up with a jolt and Huan woke up too feeling you jump. "What’s wrong?" he asked and you smiled "nothing...i just wondered where we were". Huan smiled seeing how good you looked beside him and for once thought you fit. He kissed your forehead and smiled "we’re in heaven". You laughed and relaxed back against him "no but we did have an undistrubed night which is odd, my mother must’ve assumed you were in your room and luckily didn’t check". Haun nodded "lucky, very lucky". You grinned and pulled the covers over you two. "Are you cold?" Huan asked and you shook your head "no this way i can forget where we are, it’s just us". Huan smiled and nodded "that’s all i need".

When you finally couldn’t hide anymore you sauntered downstairs for breakfast while Huan went to shower. You mother was sat at the table and greeted you warmly. You ate together chatting happily before your mother smiled “ow i have news! Your father’s coming home tomorrow". You smiled pleased and went to ask when his ship was getting in when your mom continued. "So make sure Huan stays in the guest room tomorrow night". You almost chocked on your breakfast and swallowed with some effort "i’m sorry?". "I’m not stupid y/n" your mother said raising an eyebrow "i know Huan didn’t sleep in his own bed last night". You paled "we...we were...". "It’s okay, you’re both adults just be safe, i trust both of you". "You do?" you asked and your mother nodded "i’ve seen the way he is around you, he’s a sweet boy and i trust him with you, i like him for you". Huan walked into the room and saw the way you and your mother stopped as he entered. "What?" he asked startled and you smiled shaking your head "nothing" and just smiled up at him. You took a moment to just admire Huan in your kitchen, his long dark hair still damp moving as he talked. His goregous green eyes watching you as he pulled a signature frown at your behaviour. Huan was obviously very confused but ignored it and sat down next to you. You entwined your hands and Huan smiled "what’s gotten you so happy?". You sighed and shook your head "nothing in particular". Huan raised an eyebrow but smiled and held your hand tighter.

Epilogue

Huan stayed in the fire nation with you for many years to complete the palace renovation and afterwards decided to settle down in the fire nation permanently. He found the fire nation a perfect place for his modern art and was soon one of the biggests influences of your generation. You carried on your air bending, working as a representative of the air nation for the fire nation along side your father. You and Huan rented an excellently furnished and decorated apartment in the city and later when your duties reduced moved out to the colonies. Neither of you wanted children and instead invested in many cats and dogs, which you loved as dearly as children. Your home was constantly bustling with your and Huan’s family, your father was always popping, your cousins visiting whenever they got annoyed by one another and atleast one of Huan’s siblings was always around. You loved feeling like part of a big family but also love the quiet days where it was just you and Huan curled up infront of the fire. Huan never questioned your match again because he couldn’t. He knew something that felt this perfect had to be just that, perfect.

____

So this is my last part of this Huan series! Thanks for all your support, I never intended to do a part two let alone a whole series so thanks for encouraging me! I hope you like it :)

177 notes · View notes

hellonoblesky · 3 years

Text

I just realized that I don’t nerd out about Genshin lore that much on Tumblr so here’s a list of My Favorite Teyvat Historical Figures And Why, followed by my Least Favorite Teyvat Historical Figures And Why:

Favorites:

Kunwu: Literally found the sundial (in the petra set) and went “wow Rex Lapis sure is a good craftsman, I’m literally going to be as good as him” and he. He was. Solar Pearl literally got a Devine blessing or something when it was finished?? He’s cool, what a guy

Parsifal: Literally Eula’s ancestor and I think this is where she gets it from ngl. Dude literally stole a Sword, a Catalyst, and Bow, left the Aristocracy, and be came such an icon for the revolution that the Favonius set is styled after his weapons?? Also he was in love with the spear witch and after Eberheart killed her and then orchestrated his funky trap thing on Dragonspine, he left for Liyue and joined a ship. He also owned Iron Sting and the Heart of Depths artifact set belonged to him. He’s kinda like a historical Kazuha imo

Skipper: If Parsifal is a historical Kazuha, Skipper is his historical Beidou. The guy literally slayed sea monsters as a hobby and commandeered a ship with ease, both feared and adored. 10/10 very cool, his weapon was Serpent Spine, I think he’s neat :)

Vennessa: If you’ve seen any of my The Falcon and the Peacock stuff you know. I simply find her story very interesting and love her dearly <3. Actually though I would like more content for her please and thank you I love her

Guha: A favorite more for lore intrest to be honest? I think he’s neat and he’s the second record of a Celestia ascensio, so. Lore :)

Durin: I love him ver much and he makes me sad :(. In all the weapons where we get lore of his thoughts he’s just a little guy,,, he just wanted to see the world and fly with Dvalin and Venti and tell them about his homeland,, :( mad at Gold/Rhinedottir for corrupting him via some sort of dreamstate. He was just a little guy,,,, :’(

Rhinedottier: I know I just said I was mad at them but oh my goodness the lore this person carries on their shoulders? Immaculate please tell me everything they are so interesting to me <3

Rostam: Also makes me sad but he may have been secretly running an unnamed secret organization that I very much would like to know more about also I think he’s neat </3

Bloodstained Knight: Went from monster slaying to defending post-cataclysm Khaenri’ah, and if that isn’t An Arc I don’t know what is

Dawn Knight Ragnvinder: Literally what is up with that library, I’ve read Favonius Codex Lore buddy what was up with that fire??? Overall only a favorite because he and that one Ragnvinder (who was in the Venti cutscene, you know the one, the one with Decabrian and the Unnamed Bard) really interest me, especially with Freedom-Sworn lore and such

Blue Spear Witch: She didn’t deserve to die Eberheart what the hell, she was good :(. Her story makes me sad and I love her dearly

Pervases: He also makes me sad :(. I had one of my mains using the Fillet Blade for a while and I swear, every time I get bored and start looking through weapon lore this one Hurts. He just wanted Grilled Ticker Fish for one last time :(

Boacious: Yea the trend here is that the Yaksha make me sad, I did not expect their world quest when I stumbled upon it, and it kinda hurt man :(

The Chi: Funky snake dragon dude? Idk what’s up with ’em but I hope we can learn more some day, also the fact that they had a whole little section of Liyue and then Zhongl just killed him makes me kindaa sad,

Crimson Witch of Flames: Does she count as a historical figure if she did actually end up being a Harbinge? I think yes

Pierro: Jester man of the Cataclysm :)

Least Favorites:

Eberheart: I hate this man. The peak of Lawrence Tyranny is this man right here. He learned the spear from the Spear Witch, then killed her. He lured his half brother and friends out onto Drgaonspine with the full intent of killing them. Literally if you want to get mad about Lawrence tyranny, don’t yell about Eula, yell about this guy. Because Eula takes after Parcifal. Eberheart is terrible and I hope he rots for eternity.

#genshin impact #genshin lore #I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m Bored #And lemme tell you when I say Genshin lore is giving me life I mean it #if you’re one of my friends irl I am so sorry i keep spamming the ramble chat with wiki screenshots #tw death mention #Turtledove thinks

46 notes · View notes

tsunflowers · 3 years

Text

this is the sewer freak romance novel we have all been waiting for but that I will never actually write

Ok so the setting is in what used to be America in the aftermath of what was probably a nuclear war but no one ever goes into it and they just call it The Blight. Humanity rode it out by living in underground bunkers but within living memory they’ve finally been able to build habitat bubbles on the surface and fill them with breathable air so they can at least see sun again. There are several bunkers which maintained digital contact the entire time and while they were underground they built tunnels to each other so they could trade but they’ve had to seal off the tunnels and now you have to travel the blighted landscape to reach other habitats. Bc years back a bunch of people were like “we’re not waiting for your pussy habitat bubbles we can hack it on the surface right now” so they went out and got irradiated and the bunker people wouldn’t let them back in. So they started living in the tunnels and became sewer freaks. The sewer freaks are known to eat people and everyone is convinced they’re just biding their time until they can storm the bunkers and take over the habitats so they have to take the overland path even though it’s objectively more dangerous. The habitats are largely self-sufficient but there are some specialty parts that can only be produced in one habitat… and they just ran out. Enter our heroine

She’s named Ticonderoga bc lots of people are named after silly things from the old world but she goes by Ty. She has pcos or another condition that makes it very unlikely that she’ll ever be able to give birth which makes her uniquely expendable among the young women of the habitat. There’s this huge push in the community to expand the population now that they have the habitat bubbles but she knows she can’t be a part of that and people actually warn the boys her age away from her bc she won’t be able to have kids. Bc in a closed society like this everyone’s medical status is everyone’s business. This combined with the fact that she doesn’t have a job lined up for when she turns 18 bc her mentor died and The Council silently got rid of the job completely means that she’s selected to join the expedition to the other habitat. Btw the job is the storage and maintenance of physical artifacts and documents from the habitats history and from before The Blight. Everyone else has relied on technology for so long that they’ve forgotten the value of Real items and they’re like “didn’t we digitize that ages ago? who give a shit” but ty is Retro and she knows that holding something in your hands gives it a totally different feeling. She also likes to draw by hand. I kind of want her mentor to be a cool lesbian but she does die. Wait I had a great idea I’ll get back to this later

The rest of the expedition team is like older guys who’ve done this before and they’re kind of hazing her and telling her scary stories about sewer freaks. The general vibe is like “if you can’t keep up why are you even here :/" and she’s like it’s not like I asked to be here fuckers. But she’s actually kind of enjoying it in a weird way bc there are all these mutant plants that she’s never seen records of before bc the habitat bubble people ignore the outside world as much as possible. One morning while the guys are breaking camp (she tried to help at first but they were like “don’t chip a fingernail girlie”) she sits down to sketch a mutant flower. Which is hard bc she’s in a hazmat suit but she wants to record it somehow. And when she looks up she realizes the guys left without her. It’s not like they left her for dead bc she has a gps and radio communication. She could call them up and be like “hey fuck you guys.” But it was seriously a dick move and she’s really upset about it. She turns off her comms to kind of process and figure out what to do to catch up/how she’s going to confront them when she does and then suddenly….:.. a sewer monster appears on the surface!!!

We get like two full pages describing the sewer freak’s physicality at this point so as a reader you’re like ok she seriously wants to get hot and heavy with this sewer monster. He has, you know, smooth translucent skin and huge dark eyes and delicate long-fingered hands and he might be bioluminescent although she probably can’t tell that during the day. And he is definitely like cut also. He is one ripped sewer freak

Ty has this emergency signal she’s supposed to set off if she’s separated from the group and something happens to her but she’s not exactly in the mood to get rescued by a bunch of guys who just ditched her for fun. And besides her analytical brain is whirring at the chance to see and interact with a real sewer freak. So she tries to greet him. They have some trouble interacting bc sewerspeak (the language of the sewer freaks) diverged from English some time ago but they manage to communicate that he thought she was hurt but it’s only her feelings that are hurt. Btw sewer people can sense radio waves or some shit so he got concerned about her when he noticed hers cut off bc he knows habitat people always have radios on. So he thought maybe her suit stopped working. He acts like he’s gonna leave and she’s like “no wait!!” bc she wants to make a tangible connection with him bc that’s her thing. So she gets him to stay long enough for her to sketch him. He’s clearly super impressed by the sketch so she hands it to him and he indicates that he wants to borrow her pencil. He adds his own sketch on the corner of the page, a stylized drawing of the flower she was just drawing. She’s like “oh you draw too?” but he points to the flower drawing and then to himself and she understands that it’s a glyph representing him and he’s named after the flower. (This means the habitat people are named after relics from the old world while sewer people are named after things from the current world. Do you get it) They trade names and then he leaves. She’s like wow! Maybe everything everyone said about sewer freaks was wrong, bc clearly some of them are kind of sexy and intriguing. So she heads off to meet up with her party with a spring in her step. The party actually felt guilty and turned around for her bc they saw her gps signal didn’t move at all and she disappeared from comms but when they see her they’re like wtf why is she is such a good mood?? but something tells her she should not brag to them about her freak encounter so she pretends she encountered mutant wildlife and scared it off and they’re a little bit impressed

I just realized if they’re so paranoid and their technology’s so good they could probably invent some vehicles to go between habitats so they wouldn’t have to walk it. Pretend I have an explanation for that one

She gets to the habitat with the group. It has the exact same layout as her home but she can’t stop noticing all the things that are subtly different. They have different slang, and the food they grow and cook is different bc of the backgrounds of the people in this one, and stuff. Also the pregnancy thing is probably more intense compared to her home. Like in her habitat there’s social pressure but here it’s a civic duty. She sees a lot of really young moms and people who clearly don’t want children. She realizes that her infertility actually gives her more choice and autonomy than most women in her society and it’s an uncomfortable realization. Can I have uhhh, unsubtle grappling with conflicting feelings about motherhood as a prerequisite for adulthood using a sci-fi setting for 600, Alex?

Ty wants to get Out Of There and maybe see that spicy little sewer freak on the return trip but there are all these protocols and rituals they have to observe. They have to formally trade. They have to spend the night. They have to accept a meal and travel provisions. Since I guess this is the shitty evangelical Christian habitat the meal is probably like, unseasoned chicken and green bean casserole or something

Idk if Ty has any friends back in her home habitat. I kind of want her to have a gay guy friend who shares her reproduction related struggles bc he’s like “can I live openly as a gay man knowing that people will judge me for not Doing My Duty? even if I go to the medical center and donate sperm am I comfortable fathering children I will never actually be a father to?” so in that way her mentor could be a mentor to him as well since she’s an example of an adult lesbian in their society, and maybe that’s how they met. So she’s also like "man I wanna get back home and hang out with my bff again"

when shes home her parents are like omg we were so worried about you out in the Blighted landscape. while you were gone The Council gave us some of your mentor's stuff that she wanted you to have. and it's like a very tender handwritten note about how much she meant to her mentor that makes her cry and also some blueprints of the now-sealed tunnel opening?? basically her mentor left a coded message telling her to go down to the tunnel opening. she and her bff figure it out together and he's like Uhhh I dont want to go down to the tunnel with the sewer freaks??? but she tells him she met a sewer freak and not only did he not eat her he was smokin hot. if the sewer freaks are like cave dwellers they probably shouldn't have hair but I can't. I need them to have hair. sorry it's not Scientifically Accurate. so anyway she's like "listen it's not like we're going into the tunnels. we're just going Next to them. it's fine"

so they sneak down into the tunnels. it's kind of sad down there. ty's been down there before to cross-reference documents and just to see where her ancestors lived but it's totally different to be down there with just one other person and confront the reality of living in cramped quarters underground. kind of makes her empathize with the sewer freaks as well. when they get to the location the mentor marked they realize that there's a sealed hatch with a broken lock and inside it are mysterious items that were deposited by the sewer freaks! their mentor must have been in contact with the sewer freaks all along and she knew they weren't evil monsters! some weird shit she said starts to make a lot more sense. if ty kept the drawing she puts it in the hatch to try to make contact and if she gave it to him she sees it in the hatch as an attempt at contact

so ty and the sexy sewer guy strike up a gift cache based friendship. they don't meet in person but every time she manages to sneak away to the tunnel he's taken her gift and left something new. she's having to train in a new job that she's not that interested in but knowing that she'll have sewer presents makes her everyday life exciting. this goes on for a while and then one day she receives a drawing of a person crawling through the hatch and she's like omg. I could crawl through the hatch. there's also a drawing of a sunrise so she's like does that mean I should do it at sunrise...? will he be there....? and she decides to fucking go for it. her friend stays behind bc he's scared and also she needs him to cover for her but she has a radio. she wiggles through the hatch as early as possible in the morning and who is waiting for her but the handsome sewer freak!!

he brought a light bc he knows habitat people need them but he personally can see in the dark. she sees his bioluminescence for the first time and is like Wow.... and on his side he’s like amazed and totally hot for her once he sees her out of the hazmat suit bc he wasn’t 100% sure she was human until then. All the adults say habitat people are like humans under the suits but he had never seen one in real life so in the back of his mind he kind of doubted it. Both sides have the thing where they’re like “we’re the only People.” But actually he knew she was a People the moment she drew for him bc spontaneously creating art and then freely giving it away is such a uniquely human gesture

he takes her down through the tunnels and she sees that they've been decorated and added to and the sewer people have a whole civilization down there. they can also go onto the surface freely but they get sunburned real fast so they try to limit it. but the tunnels are now dotted with surface exits and that's how he seemed to appear and disappear when she was on the surface. they just kind of explore for a while bc she's so curious but he clearly wants to lead her somewhere. they get to a large but cozy room full of bioluminescent moss and mushrooms and a ton of sewer freaks just hanging out and who is there but... her dead mentor?!

It turns out The Council actually tried to kill her mentor for being pro-freak!!! They were like “see how much you like those sewer freaks when they’re eating you!” and left her for dead in the tunnels. but since she was friends with the freaks they did not eat her, they took her in and healed her using sewer freak blood and now she has some powers and she’s married to a lady sewer freak

The eating people thing IS true but listen. It’s hard to get protein as a sewer freak ok?? So they’ve been practicing endocannibalism all along (eating the dead members of their community). And they’ve eaten some habitat people who they killed in self defense, and maybe way back in the first few generations of sewer people they did kill and eat habitat people for no reason. But they don’t do that anymore and they feel really bad about. Actually they don’t even do endocannibalism anymore bc they raise cave fish and hunt surface animals but it’s ceremonial

so ty is like whoa i can't believe it, but I do believe it, and her mentor is like "you can't tell the habitat people. they're not ready to accept it. but you can change that. your generation needs to be open minded and accept the new earth and the new people and I think that you are a special girl and if anyone can change minds you can" and she returns to the habitat bubble with the gears in her mind turning over and over wondering how she can possibly accomplish this mission...

I said she would my fair lady the sewer freak but maybe thats book two. and I decided while writing this that the sewer freaks do have their own culture so it's not like he needs to be taught to be human. but I still want her to dress him up in normal clothes and take him home to her parents

#sewer freak romance

16 notes · View notes

cyclesprefectpress · 3 years

Text

[image description: a proof of a font of handset type for letterpress printing, displaying every letter, symbol, and special character in the font. it's called "Sixteenth Century Roman," 24 pt., and is a rough-edged serif font with a deliberately worn look. end description.]

hello hello i am return from a deep dive into several reference materials that assumed a little bit more knowledge about how Medieval Latin works than i actually have, but, it was all exTREMEly inch resting to me. i am absolutely not a historian but here we are, a speedrun of my pinballing around trying to ensure that I know what the fuck im storing in my type corridor:

so 16th Cent. Roman, i already knew, was a font Paul Duensing designed based on this incomplete set of old Italian punches he acquired (punches, the first step of old school typecasting, where you carve the relief letter shape into the end of a stick of steel, and you uuuh punch that into the copper matrix, which is then the negative mould-shape you use to cast multiple copies of the lead sorts with hot metal; surviving punches are precious artifacts not the least because they are. they’re hand-carved!! often by the type designer themselves. historical and also wildly cool craftsmanship). these punches were all beat up and probably water damaged, fucky and rough-edged, so he re-did and filled in the gaps in the alphabet with similarly styled letters of his own. very cool. an extremely nerdy lil passion project of a typecaster in the 1960s, very typical of type people. we all find a Thing to obsess over, and sometimes it's reviving an incomplete set of punches from the 1500s that you found in, idk, it's usually a bucket in somebody's basement.

anyway it's got a bunch of ligatures and the long s, sure sure sure, but WHAT are all these gibberish characters with tildas and lines thru the stems of ps and qs and such—

Duensing's full font is in Mac McGrew's specimen book, great, i have that, except McGrew's book has complete proofs and a little bit of history for each font but doesn't always cover what each symbol in a unique alphabet is for, and i knew just enough about Latin to guess that they were abbreviations but not what each of them stood for. a little bit of searching got me this far, which is to say, "Abbreviation in Medieval Latin Paleography," a translation of an Italian essay on the subject from 1929. It is prefaced by the translators with gems like: "Take a foreign language, write it in an unfamiliar script, abbreviating every third word, and you have the compound puzzle that is the medieval Latin manuscript." Scribes writing in medieval Latin just tossed out letters they didn't care to deal with, constantly, and had stand-in special characters and abbreviations for syllables/words/particles and there were intuitive rules but way too many variations in time and place and person to make a reasonably-sized, static lexicon. amazing. hope all u paleographers are having fun over there.

the essay has a great big glossary of truncations and abbreviations and so on which clearly cover most of the figures in Duensing's font:

[image description: screenshots of the essay, with various symbols and the Latin syllables they abbreviated. an m with a bar over it, ex., stood in for men or mun. end description.]

ok! BUT this q with a little swoop off the end kept bugging me!! for all these dead-use symbols this essay is using handwritten samples, obviously, and there's clearly variation in execution and also typographers take liberties, and i just thought, sure my piece of type looks a lot like the quod here but it does link the staff to the swoop where the handwritten sample doesn't, and it could just as well be a fanciful ligature for qn which apparently can stand in for quando, and i have no idea which is a more common-use syllable likely to be cast in the font if you're only going to pick your top 14, and i just like to be sure about things.

SO. i went to double-check with Johnson’s Typographia. Johnson made like a thousand pages of printing manuals set in tiny tiny type in the 1820s which are rad as hell and tell you all sorts of things about how to run a shop and build your own press and cast type and going rates for work and employment and also, the alphabets/type case layout for whatever language or symbol set you might have to set type in, when handsetting type was mostly the only way to get stuff printed—English, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, musical notation, astronomical signs, aaaand it’s got a section for "Marks & characters used in the Domesday Book & other ancient records.”

[image description: a photo of a page of the manual, with similar but not always identical symbols for abbreviated use. many of these abbreviations are described as "a Domesday contraction." end description.]

and WHAT is a Domesday contraction, WELL, it's a contraction specifically from/prevalent in the Domesday book, a deeply boring and historically important tome about property distribution in England. It’s literally a survey. who owned what, in 1086. presumably mind-numbing. enormous, handwritten in Medieval Latin, EXTREMELY cool, go look at some images of it at least, very important to historians, economists, linguists, and a complete pain in the ass to set in type when that technology became available, having to cast any significant proportion of these variant characters in an alphabet. Johnson says, (in 1824) “It is an improvement of latter years only*, to have type cast to resemble the abbreviations used in the more ancient manuscripts; they being formerly rudely imitated, either from a common fount, or else were cut in wood for the purposes of any particular work.” wow that sucks. but in 1773 the government really wanted to be able to reproduce the Domesday Book in type, so a couple people tried to cut a set of punches for Domesday abbreviations and Joseph Jackson got it done and it only took 10 years to print an edited version of the manuscript. and then apparently all the type was destroyed in a fire in 1808. WOW that sucks.

but the point is, Johnson has a great big glossary of characters as they were translated into type in the making of the printed Domesday Book, and the Domesday punches were used or refrenced in the printing of other medieval latin works, which consequences a degree of standardization in the abbreviations used in those versions of the text that handwritten manuscripts never had or needed.

notably the Domesday quod looks even more different from my piece of type here which was pretty annoying, so what are the chances this thing is a quando, and anyway that's when my sister texted me back with better computer skills and a different search engine and found me a perfect match on the first try. it’s a quod. this National Diet Library digital exhibition has several different sample fonts, both black letter and roman, with quite consistent letter forms, if not choices about which abbreviations to bother casting.

*I don’t……exactly know what he means by this, since Gutenberg and contemporaries absolutely did cast many Medieval Latin abbreviations for their fonts nearly 400 years before this. His dismissal of “from a common fount” might be fair, since i think what he means by it is that you’d have a generic set of abbreviation characters which you would have to use in conjunction with whatever font was the main body of your text, and it’s messy to mix things that weren’t designed specifically to match. he may just mean that it’s new for his contemporary foundries to be casting all these expanded alphabets of abbreviations; Gutenberg didn’t have foundries to buy from and made his own type. he could include as many characters as he had the patience for. maybe Johnson is just a guy from the 1800s that didn’t have the internet and i shouldn’t jump down his throat for not knowing something. idk!! i have homework.

anyway that was my Friday!! feel free to correct me and/or suggest further reading if early typecasting is your Thing or. again. you just have better googling than me.

#letterpress #letterpress printing #handset type #lead type #typography #long post #:(( sorry #omitted: Johnson's scathing opinions on Almanacks and the people who read them #and ask you to typeset them #'''''the credulity of the vulgar''''''' alRIGHT bud #i guess if he was willing to set that whole paragraph in 8 pt.#or pay for it #it was at least an opinion he believed in very strongly.

16 notes · View notes

mycatshuman · 3 years

Text

Wrapped Up In A Romcom

Chapter 2: A Gay Spell

Warnings: I don think there are any, but let me know if I missed any

Pairings: Prinxiety

Last | Next | More

🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️

Virgil stared at the man before him in disbelief. "Oh my god, this can't be happening!" Virgil exclaimed as he dropped to the ground and covered his ears. He stared at the ground as if it would give him answers. The mummy frowned at the man panicking before him.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No!" Virgil squeaked. "You were- you're a mummy! You're dead! You're supposed to be dead!"

The mummy chuckled. "Ah yes. That, I'm sorry to have frightened you. I should probably explain." The mummy sat down facing Virgil who was barely keeping himself from having a complete mental breakdown. "My last wish was to come back to life when a handsome young fellow like yourself found me on the night of a full moon."

Virgil blinked. "Magic isn't real."

The other laughed. "You're in denial. It's understandable. Especially after having seen my gorgeous face."

Virgil sputtered. "What!?!" He yelled. "No!" Was this thousand of years old mummy fucking flirting with him?!?!? "I-" Virgil ran his hands through his hair, his arms shaking as he tried to process everything.

Roman, the mummy, if he could even be considered that anymore considering that he was brought back to life per the conditions of his spell, stared at the other for a moment before looking around his tomb. Not too bad. He turned back to the other male and noticed a light coming from a small stick on the floor. He gasped and reached forward to poke at the object. "It's like a mini torch!" He exclaimed. He gently picked it up and inspected it. "Where's the fire?" He moved to look into the lens of the flashlight only to yelp as he was blinded.

Virgil's head jolted up to look at Roman. "Hey! Don't do that. You could blind yourself." Virgil reached forward and the other dropped it into his hand.

"What is it?" Roman asked as he leaned forward a little to watch what Virgil did with it.

"It's a flashlight. I guess it would be something like a torch except it takes these things called batteries that give it energy."

"Where's the fire?"

Virgil laughed breathlessly. I'm really sitting here talking to a mummy. He shook his head. "There is no fire, there's like this tiny bulb of glass in there and some other stuff that makes it light up. Those bulbs are called lightbulbs. We use them to light buildings at night."

Roman stared at the object in the archeologist's hands with glittering eyes. Virgil looked up and froze. The ancient king before him looked absolutely enchanting as he looked upon the flashlight in awe. Virgil blinked rapidly as he shook the thoughts out of his head. Of course, more thoughts came in to replace those. Some slightly troubling thoughts. What now? How are we going to get out of here? What does Roman want to do? What about his things? All Virgil could do was ask, so that's what he did. "So...what do we do now?"

Roman looked up from the flashlight. "What do you mean?"

"I mean like, what are you going to do now that you're alive again? The world is different from what it was back than. It's been thousands of years. And your stuff, I don't think you'd want to leave it behind. And how are we getting out of here?"

Roman blinked. "You can't get out?" He cocked his head looking adorably confused.

"No, I fell through the ceiling in the passageway."

"Let us go look at the hole. Maybe there's something that can help us climb out." Roman held a hand out to Virgil.

Virgil looked at the hand for a few moments before grabbing it and allowing the other to pull him to his feet. During the time he had explored the tomb and met Roman, Virgil had briefly forgotten about his injured ankle. But as he stood, the pain returned with a vengeance. He let out a yelp and nearly dropped to the floor.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Roman asked as he leapt forward to catch Virgil. The mummy's arm wrapped around his waist and held him up as he leaned heavily on his right leg. After Roman helped him to lean back against the wall, he asked, "What happened?"

Virgil winced. He looked down at his ankles. He hissed as he noticed the swelling had gotten worse. "My ankled," he began. "I think I sprained it when I fell through the hole."

Roman kneeled before Virgil to get a closer look at the ankle. The archaeologist's slid down the wall as he held his ankle out at an odd angle. He leaned forward and untied his boot before yanking it off and letting out a sigh. "Sorry," he apologized. "I had to take it off, it was really hurting."

"Are you going to be able to get out of here?" Roman asked.

Virgil bit his lip. He was trying not to think about that. "I-" he focused on his ankle and gently poked at it and clenched his teeth. He let out a huff. "I don't know." He leaned forward and pulled off his pack and dropped it in his lap. "I'm going to wrap my ankle up and then we can try to climb out."

Roman frowned. "Should you really be on that ankle?"

Virgil grimaced as he pulled gauze out of his first aid kit. "Not really, but we don't really have much of a choice." He grabbed the ice pack from his kit and placed it on his ankle and then wrapped it up against his ankle with the gauze. He grabbed his boot and pulled it back on. "Alright, let's work on getting out of here."

"Wait! Can I borrow the torch?"

"The flashlight? Yeah." Virgil handed the light over to Roman slightly confused. The mummy took the light and left the burial chamber and entered the antechamber. Virgil limped behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Roman grabbed a deep basket and began filling it with jewelry and other items that could fit into the basket. "I'm just grabbing a few things that I want to keep."

"Oh."

Virgil watched as the other grabbed mostly jewelry. It amazed him that none of them broke when Roman picked them up. Maybe when the spell revived Roman, it returned all the items in his tomb to their former glory, as if they were just made moments ago.

"Wait!" Virgil shouted as Roman went to grab his makeup.

Roman paused and turned to the other. "What?"

"I don't think you should take the makeup."

A frown. "Why?"

"It might have stuff that can make you really sick. And we have better makeup now. All sorts of colors."

Roman's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Well in that case! Let's go!" He raced off to the passageway with Virgil struggling to keep up. When he got to the hole he set his basket down and glanced up at the hole. Virgil leaned against the wall with a huff as his ankle throbbed.

"I think-" Roman started. "-that I might have a ladder among my treasures." With that, he ran back to the antechamber. Virgil watched as most of the light disappeared from the room along with Roman. His anxious thoughts came rushing back as he stood waiting for Roman to get back. How am I going to explain this? Is anyone really going to believe I just happened to come across someone dressed like a mummy in the middle of the desert?

"Found it!" Roman exclaimed as he ran back into the passageway holding the ladder in triumph. Virgil smiled softly. Gosh he's adorable.

Roman propped the ladder up against the wall opposite Virgil. "That should work." He quickly climbed up and disappeared over the edge.

----------

Roman laughed. He couldn't believe it, he really was here. Thousands of years after his death having just been resurrected and saving an incredibly handsome man. He went to climb back down to grab his basket and help the other only to pause. Above him, the moon shone brightly illuminating the sands around him. He let out a gasp of awe. "Wow.." he was breathless.

"Uh...King Roman are you alright?"

The mummy whirled around to find the archeologist behind him with his basket.

Roman let out a yelp and rushed forward to take the basket. "You shouldn't have done that! I was going to go back down to get it." He led the other away from the hole and towards more solid ground.

Virgil limped along as fast as he could before stumbling. "Ouch!"

"I'm sorry!" Roman exclaimed and helped Virgil to sit up.

Virgil hissed as he held his ankle. "It's okay. We should hurry. I'm not sure how the others will take this."

"Others?" Roman asked as he cocked his head like an adorable puppy.

"Yeah, I'm an archaeologist. We dig for artifacts and stuff."

"What are artifacts?"

"They're like really old objects? So things you used when you were alive, likes plates and stuff. We also look for ancient places and tombs."

"Is that how you found my tomb?"

Virgil shook his head. "No, I was going for a walk to make myself sleepy but I ended up falling through the ceiling of your tomb."

Roman hummed, thoughtful. "What kind of find would my tomb be?"

Virgil let out a breathless laugh. "It would be a huge find! A mostly intact tomb practically untouched since it's owner had been sealed inside is a huge deal. You should have seen what happened when they found Tutankhamun's tomb. He is incredibly famous."

"Famous!" Roman's eyes glittered brightly. "I could be famous!"

Virgil winced. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell the world that you're a mummy come back to life. They might freak out. Governments would want to do tests on you and who knows that else would happen." Roman's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I mean, if your tomb is found, your name could become famous."

"Why wouldn't it be found?"

Virgil shrugged. "If you don't want it to be found I could help you try to hide it."

Roman hesitated for a moment. "Would...would you like to discover it?"

Virgil paused. "What?" He stayed silent for a few moments. "How?"

"Well, we go back and you tell the others about the tomb you found."

Virgil winced. "I-I don't know. We'd have to get you into some modern clothes and-" he paused and looked at Roman's basket. "Hide your stuff and- oh my god, all those things in your tomb look brand new! How the hell would I explain that?"

Roman winced. "Okay. Maybe we should just get you back and off that ankle."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, that-that sounds good." He pushed himself up onto his knees and tried to pull himself up onto feet without putting too much weight on his left ankle.

"Here, let me help you." Roman pushed his basket to the crook of his arm and wrapped an arm around the other's waist and allowed him to support the others left side. "Alright now, let's go."

Slowly, the pair traversed through the desert as the moon lowered lazily, a sign of the morning creeping ever closer. "I don't think you ever gave me your name," Roman commented after a long stretch of silence.

Virgil stumbled slightly in his walking. He blinked. "Oh." He paused as he tried to go over his memories of the last hour. "I guess I haven't."

"I think it would only be fair that you share your name considering you already know mine."

Virgil laughed. "Yeah, uh…" of course he was nervous. His name was a bit of an odd one after all but Roman grew up in a time when people had names like Tutankhamun and Cleopatra and Ramses. So, maybe it wouldn't be that bad. "Its Virgil."

He drew out Virgil's name. "Vir-gil," Roman was quiet for a few moments before he smiled. "I like it." Virgil returned the smile. Then they continued on their way back to Virgil's camp. He was just a little nervous to think of what his boss would think.

🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️🔺️

WUIARC Taglist: @underestimatemethatwillbefun @existentialeggdogg @espepspes @meowthefluffy

Everything Taglist: @misery-killed-me @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce @lyditist @little-euro-girl @unicornofdarknessstuff @alias290 @odette-ssbu @ray-does-stuff

#ts virgil #virgil sanders #roman sanders #ts roman #thomas sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides au #mummy roman #wrapped up in a rom com #WUIARC #mycatshuman fics #mycatshuman writing #no read more #sanders sides fic #ts prinxiety #prinxiety

80 notes · View notes

dappersheep · 3 years

Text

Food Fantasy: An Analysis on what killed a Golden Goose (1/3)

So first things first, disclaimers! I do not claim nor pretend to know every nook and cranny, ins and outs of the history of FooFan's conception, existence and uncertain future. I do not own the game nor its characters, only the opinions and thoughts stated hereon out.

This was born to vent out my frustrations with how a game like this was abused poorly by its own developer and publisher instead of being nurtured to become its full potential that could have overshadowed and remained better than the likes of Tencent's Tales of Food --I could dream, but it honestly had the potential to be.

Out of respect for the main tag, I personally will not be tagging this post and the following two with the main tag. If you want to tag it yourself with it, that's your choice. Only followers of my blog will see this.

This analysis is divided into three parts: Funtoy, Elex, and the Community. It starts under the cut. Well let's get started.

Funtoy

Ah yes, the creator. The developer. You'd think that with their sudden rise to fame during their global launch, they'd have used the massive profits they earned within the first quarter of 2018 to improve certain things about the game and then trickled it down as quickly as possible towards Global, right? Yeah, I thought so too.

After playing the game since launch, I've seen and experienced way too many things that just hammer in the fact that this is one of the most unfair gacha I've played in years. Some reasons being the following:

(Note: These are experiences ONLY on Global's version, it may also apply to CN being the original server)

⦁ The game's gacha model is aimed towards maximum predation on its players. F2p are forced to either spend some money (and thus tempt them to keep spending after getting a taste of it), or risk not even getting a good ascension of the unit to be useful at all. Paying for the event packs also doesn't guarantee that you would be able to secure a spot in the ranks. In fact, if you can't comprehend how the battle mechanics work, you could even de-rank. Fun way to burn that 800$, huh? At least you have the skin from rebates.

⦁ A little less known thing and probably theoretical at worst, the long joked about spaghetti coding of the game along with an outdated spine technology for the sprites could very well be the reason why a 2D game like this experiences the shittiest lags. Also how easy it is to hack this game with the right know-how.

⦁ Speaking of bad gameplay mechanics, did you know you could spend over fifty Mirrors and not get that final enhancement from +9 to +10 simply because there's absolutely no tangible safety net before +10?

⦁ If you're F2P, this game is terrible in giving you resources to stockpile. Because Funtoy certainly doesn't have a lot of weekly/monthly or even friendly events wherein you can get resources without spending another kind of resource. The Hawthorne event's rewards are lackluster at best, Bingo is severely limited in what it gives, and Recall also doesn't give much for a big event that only happens (supposedly) every 6 months. Did I also mention that daily resource rewards also kinda suck compared to how much you burn in just one event?

⦁ Monthly subs are a scam. Yes, you heard that right. My point of comparison here is Arknights. A monthly in AK allows you to have enough to 10-pull after 30 days, on top of a bit of stamina to help you. In FooFan? You have two monthly subs that do different things and even then, you won't have enough to 10-pull by the end of 30 days, nor is the stamina you get enough to even stockpile and ease the pressure of your need to save for the Gates or that stamina event that suddenly popped up.

⦁ A conga line of 'Must procure this unit at a high ascension to do well in the following events!'. You missed the first Pizza event? Missed the first Turkey event? God forbid, you weren't able to 5* your Beer on his debut? Well sorry, that 5* Black Tea of yours isn't gonna do squat to give you good damage. No, your 2* B-52 also isn't going to do much of anything with his lackluster damage capabilities. If you want a chance to get those event URs again, you have to wait for their pool with laughably limited pulls... and a bloated price to even pull.

⦁ The events starting after the first iteration of Turkey event get even more paywalled. As far as I remember, by the time Minestrone rolled around, an F2P with ample crystal resources can only get 2* at best. 3* and above are paywalled.

⦁ The game has incompetent balancing. The devs themselves likely have little experience in gameplay design and balancing, especially for a game with a growing roster of characters . A prime example of them launching a character not knowing it would pretty much unbalance the game? Look no further than Beer. The guy had to have a couple of nerfs done to him because he was just too meta. You know what's sadder? Before the 'switch' to Brave meta, almost all meta units was built to benefit off the Beer meta.

⦁ Artifacts. Do I even have to explain how the introduction of such a game feature so early into the lifespan of this game essentially fucked over the balance even more? Not to mention, all the more reason you'd be crying with the Gates of Trials demanding so much out of your stamina and crystal resources. F2Ps are again, the ones that suffer in this part. What's their reason? Profit, of course.

⦁ The nerf of resto chests. This was the primary source for people who were saving up stamina for the Gates... until Funtoy decided they were being too generous to their playerbase and dropped the stamina probability rate to 1% or less.

⦁ Terrible UI layout and design. Come on, be honest now, you've lost several thousand of your hard earned crystals buying screws in the fishing shop because you didn't notice that shiny warning in small text and a green button with the crystal image slapped on it, didn't you?

⦁ Look at all these SRs! All of them! Wow, they even outnumber the Rs by at least 80! What's that? There's more URs now too compared to Rs and Ms combined? That can't be real. But seriously, you'd think Funtoy could make some of these SRs into Rs and add them to the perm pool/shard fusion so people aren't stuck pulling Macaron or Dorayaki every time. They could have also populated the Team Up rewards with SRs instead of Rs. But you know... that won't bring them profit. Haha... haha.... Oh and I haven't even told you about the SP class...!

⦁ Lore. Yes, I'm sure by now you're aware that the in-game lore is different from the ones in the non-SP Food Soul bios, in the SP Food Soul bios that sort of ties in with the New World story (that global will never be getting btw). At this point, Funtoy handwaves the confusion away by saying, 'they're all different timelines'. Yes yes, an easy and cliche move to explain how shitty the writing direction went after a while. I don't know what happened, all I know is that lore got weird(er) when they introduced SP Rice.

⦁ They. Keep. Adding. More. Characters! They fail to see that a lot of their earlier players have imprinted on the first few waves of Food Souls and they sadly also fail to properly give some of them more story expansion... or skins. At the moment, they're shelling out so many JP-centric Food Souls because... as I see it? They're pandering to the last bastion of whales they have.

⦁ Merchandise. And I mean a variety of merchandise that isn't using the same official art every time. Like they couldn't afford to commission a couple of artists one or two times to make unique merchandise that would sell. They started too late on that train, and they even made it too hard for anyone not in CN or JP to even procure what already exists. Not to mention, they keep using the same 'popular' set of characters for their merchandise and never really expanding out to making merch for other characters.

These are all the things I can list off at the top of my head why Funtoy as a developer sucks ass. They could sweeten their words all they want, it won't change the fact that they've certainly made way too many bad decisions and found out about it too late, and now they're desperate to keep Food Fantasy alive to keep their profits coming in to make whatever that cat girl game they have and that supposedly 'side-game' FF2 they announced.

There may have been problems out of their control that I or you do not see, but one thing is for sure, they were blinded by greed for the money they were raking in on all their servers at the start, and never actually bothered to invest in more manpower in the right places to improve the game, both gameplay-wise and worldbuilding wise. It's actually saddening that this game could have been so much more with several QoLs and a more fleshed out lore, perhaps even spacing out the number of new units they keep introducing while going back to giving their old units more attention.

That's it for Funtoy. We're moving onto Elex in the next part and boy is that also a trip.

#ravings of a madman #food fantasy but not tagged right

31 notes · View notes