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ja3yun · 5 months

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The Sun That Always Burns | S.JY pt.5

sim jaeyun x afab!reader

warnings: smut(ish), mdni, cheating (i'm sorry), almost handjobs, heavy makeout, alcohol, serious longing, ynjake make stupid decisions, lmk if there is anything else.

wc: 4.7k+

synopsis: you and jake's high school relationship blossomed into a romance filled with hope and promise. However, as time went on, jake's long-term expectations began to weigh heavily on you, who struggled to meet them. your paths eventually lead you in separate directions, each experiencing different aspects of life and ultimately moving on from your past love. unexpectedly, fate intervened and you both reunite after years apart. the reunion allows you to rediscover your feelings for each other but also forces you to navigate the complexities of your past and present.

a/n: hey...hi...how we all doing. listen if you hate me after this chapter I get it </3. I did leave this on a cliffhanger but the next part is the finale! i love my little pookie yn she's trying her best she just can't handle her liquor (she's so real, so me). hope you all enjoy and see you for the finale next week!

masterlist

The shower hits off your skin as you finally have time to process everything that’s happened over the last few days; seeing Jaeyun again, coming to terms with his engagement, getting forgiveness from him, and his dad’s words. It’s a lot to process. The one thing you can’t seem to understand though is his and Yeoreum’s relationship. When you first arrived it was as if everything was sunshine and rainbows with the way she was talking. Her nonchalant way of saying he got over you quickly, how they’re soulmates, but that's not what his actions are saying and definitely not what they’re argument was eluding to. Your mind scrambles to piece it all together, like, maybe it’s different because you’re here and once the wedding is over and you leave they’ll go back to the way Yeoreum painted them.

But he kissed your hand. He made all those CDs of your old mixtapes. He told you he loved you.

The warm droplets act as a blanket around you providing comfort and warmth as you run your fingers through your wet and soapy hair. Thinking about him just made more memories rise to the surface. How when you got stressed with exams he would make you take a shower with him and he would innocently wash your hair for you. His fingers would rub your scalp as if to ease the pain your brain was in from cramming so many topics in it at once. With his chest flushed against your back, he raked his hands through your hair and made sure he didn’t miss a bit. “I’m practicing. For when we’re old and brittle and have to look after each other.” He would say so casually. That was the thing about Jaeyun, he always made you feel like no matter what happened, his love for you was eternal.

You turn the shower off and step carefully onto the mat, but as a chap sounds from the door you jump and almost lose your balance. Gripping tightly onto the counter to steady yourself you curse under your breath and wrap a towel around your body. “Yes?”

“Y/N! Hurry up, we’re going out tonight.” Eunseo’s pretty voice travels through the door. After confirming it was her you open the door and look at her confused. “Me, you, Heeseung, Jake, and Yeoreum are going out. Like a joint bachelor-bachelorette thingy.” She claps excitedly.

“Didn’t they already have their parties? You got really stressed when the inflatables you planned went to your elderly neighbour.” A chuckle leaves your lips as you recall the incident. The delivery of nonsensical blowup dicks and penis straws went to Mrs. Kim, a 87-year-old lady, who lives next door to Eunseo and she, unfortunately, opened it. Their relationship was never the same.

Eunseo scowls at the thought, “Please don’t remind me, she thinks I’m a sex pest or something now.” Her hand raised to stop you from saying any further as she carried on, “But this is just to let loose. After that walk and shit, I think they need it.” Nodding you agree and she smiles, “Then get ready! I’ve looked out your fit.” That could only mean one thing: you were going to be cold tonight.

After getting dressed you trail behind Eunseo you walk into the living room to find the rest waiting for you both which seems to be a theme this past week. Eunseo apologises like she always does and then hurries everyone as if she isn’t the reason the taxi fare is already up by £20.

Heeseung puts his hand on the small of your back, leaning down to whisper, “You look so good. If there wasn’t a bro code…” he trails off and leaves it there with a cheeky smile. To be honest you felt hot, probably the hottest you have in any of your best friend’s clothes. She had looked out a black corset top with lacey detailing at the side, a white mini skirt with perfectly placed black bows on either side of your hips, and black thigh-high boots that were not the easiest to get on. This outfit called for your hair to be curled and eyeliner so sharp that it could open envelopes.

Nudging him you laugh and keep walking, “You couldn’t handle it.” You playfully sway your hips and Heeseung pretends to fall to his knees, a hand clutching his chest. When little moments like this happen, the world suddenly feels like it’s aligned. Like you had your old life back.

The taxi drive is short, and full of chatter and excitement. Yeoreum and Jaeyun seem to have made up, or at least enough to fake it for the journey, her laughter and his hand on her thigh being your indications.

The club is busy, filled with people your age and younger just trying to get drunk. Thursdays are always the best day to go out; it’s cheaper and has a more student-based clientele than on a Saturday when creepy men in their 40s come out from the shadows. Eunseo flashes her signature smile and you guys are let in without any hesitation. You look at her skimpy outfit and think that might have helped the situation.

Music and heat hit you all at once and it’s overwhelming but in the best way possible. The musky smell of alcohol and smoke from the machines feels like a time machine back to your second year of college, a mixture of shame and fondness washing over you as you remember the many hook-ups and walks of shame you did.

Eunseo grabs your hand and raises it as she leads you to the bar to get the first of too many drinks tonight. She orders two double vodkas with lemonade and two baby guinnesses, they've become your favourites over the years. As the bartender goes to make them she turns to you, “Are you going to make your move on Heeseung tonight?” A loud sharp laugh leaves your mouth at her question, she really wasn’t letting this go.

“Eunseo, he isn’t my type I have told you this.” The shots come first and you clink it on the bar and shoot it down. “He’s hot but I’m not interested.”

“Those two sentences don’t go together, babe. And what’s one night? You’ve been with plenty of uglier men than him.” Her eyes are on Heeseung at the other side of the bar, buying drinks for him and the bride and groom.

“I don’t know,” You desperately try to come up with an excuse as to why you won’t fuck him. It’s a boundary you can’t cross but if you tell her that you need to tell her about you and Jaeyun’s history. Your drinks are now in front of you both and you use that as the perfect excuse, “Come on, let’s dance.”

One hand holding your drink and the other holding Eunseo’s hand you lead her to a spot and start to move your hips to the music, letting all the tension you’ve felt go. A genuine smile creeps on your face and you down your drink. And another. And another.

Shots. Doubles. Test tubes. Cocktails. You’re surprised you’re still standing.

The lights are blurred as you laugh at nothing, jumping around and splashing your drink on innocent bystanders along the way. Eunseo is off finding herself a suitor for the night so it leaves you on your own for a while. That is until familiar hands make their way to your hips and hold you still.

Your head slowly turns around, scared that if you go too fast you might vomit. A concerned look from Jaeyun is what you are met with as he speaks to you but with the music and your drunkenness you can’t hear him, instead, you wrap your arms around his neck and giggle like you’re in high school again after seeing his face. “Jaeyun.” His name comes out with a laugh, “Come to dance with me?” Your head tilts, your eyes shut, and your mouth pouts.

“Y/N, come on sit down with us.” His head nods to the booth his fiance and best man are sitting at, their eyes on you both. Sober you would agree and keep your distance, but drunk you is in charge and you know fine well how that goes. She doesn’t make your life that easy.

“Baby” you whine, “One dance? Pretty please?” Your bottom lip hides your top one and Jaeyun almost falls to his knees. You’re so cute like this he could eat you up, or eat you out if he was in different circumstances. His eyes dart to Heeseung in a pleading manner and he seems to catch the gist, pulling Yeoreum to the bar for another drink.

Jaeyun gives in. “One dance, and then you’re sitting down.” His hands gently squeeze your hips like he used to when he was warning you.

“On your lap?” A smirk slips onto your face and your free hand plays with his hair.

Jaeyun blows out air and looks up to the ceiling, trying to calm himself down. “No, Y/N.” He speaks to the sky before finding the courage to speak directly at you again, “On a seat.”

You were making this so difficult for him, if it wasn’t your outfit it was the reckless way you were behaving as if his fiance wasn’t just meters away. The skirt that was already short was now basically halfway up your ass and his hands longed to be placed there. You’re the bain of his existence and all his morals in this moment.

You bring your hands back to your chest, clutching the drink and downing it before throwing the plastic away and reaching up, doing some sort of dancing but to Jaeyun it’s more like one of those animal mating calls. You’re calling him to you and he’s seconds away from answering. His hands let go of your waist and hover over your arm, “Come on, let’s go sit dow-”

“You promised one dance and I have yet to see you dance Mr. Sim.” Your words slur but the tone is authoritative yet playful. Awkwardly, he grants your wish and dances with you, aware of where is appropriate to touch and what’s not but when you grab his hands to place them on your ass he squeezes impulsively, bringing you closer to him. “That’s it.” You say so innocently but it has his two heads fuzzy with need.

“Princess, we can’t dance like this.” Despite his words his hands never leave your backside. Here comes that pout again decorating your face and your eyes twinkle.

“But I’ve been a good girl.”

Oh fuck.

Jaeyun growls and squeezes your plump cheeks, the action pressing his cock against your lower abdomen. You jump a little asking for him to pick you up like you used to do and his mind is so overcome with desire for you his hands slide to the back of your thighs and hoist you up. Smiling proudly you look down at him, now slightly taller from the height he’s holding you, you lean into his neck and brush your glossy lips over his sensitive spot. Even after all these years and with more alcohol in your system than an aunt at Christmas you’re still aware of Jaeyun’s likes and wants.

Jaeyun carries you to the back of the club which was basically in pure darkness, the only light coming from the emergency exit sign and a passing strobe light. Every sensible fiber of his being is lost, the only coherent thought he has is to listen to his heart calling out for you.

He perches you up on the thin bar that’s screwed into the wall, the metal cold against your skin but at this moment you couldn’t care less. Your lips are now on his neck, kissing your way down to his shoulder and his chest rumbles with a moan. “Princess I’ve missed you so much.” His hands hold you steady, thumb rubbing against the lace on your corset.

“Missed you more.” You puff out, eyes locking onto his. “I love you”. The phrase slips out of your mouth purposefully for the first time in 4 years and Jaeyun’s eyes flash with something, something electric and his mouth is on yours quicker than lightning. His lips that you’ve craved finally find their way back home to you. “I love you so much.” You whisper, your lips always connected.

Grabbing his t-shirt you pull him in closer, scared that if you loosen your grip he’ll be gone forever. He feels your desperate touch and his tongue swipes against your bottom lip as he grinds his hips into your core. He uses your moaning as a gateway into your mouth, his tongue exploring around and coming into contact with your soft kitten licks. Just as before, a growl leaves him, kissing you so passionately and deeply. “Love you so fucking much, baby.”

His words fuel you to lose all sense of control and your hands slide down his torso to his jeans, pawing over his concealed cock. You missed Jaeyun more than anything, and god did you miss his dick and how it was tailor-made just for you.

As your hands slip into his jeans he stops kissing you and looks at you deep into your soul, begging for it, and then he really looks at you. You’re drunk, eyes glazed, you might not remember this, or worse, regret it. He's also doing the one thing he promised never to do to any woman. Cheat. His heart stops as he comes to terms with what he has to do.

“Princess, we can’t.” Reluctantly he grabs your arm and pulls it, the warmth of your palm gone, leaving his cock twitching and aching for you. You’re confused, looking between your hand and his face.

“Did I do something wrong?” The innocent question paired with your bambi eyes almost has him saying no and letting this continue but he shakes his head and holds your hand in his.

“Never. You’re such a good girl, yeah?” You smile and go to touch him again but he grabs your face with his hands, the action stopping you. “We just can’t.” You whisper a small ‘why?’ almost inaudible, “Because, baby, you’re drunk and this is complicated. I want you so much, please don’t think I don’t.” He assures you as he sees the tears fill your eyes. His lips kiss yours again and he’s playing with fire but if tomorrow you sober up and don’t speak to him again, he has to have one last kiss.

He picks you up and places you down so your feet are on the sticky club ground. “Let’s get you back to the house, okay Princess?” He whispers and turns around but your small hand is suddenly on his cheek, guiding it to face you. “What is it, love?” his hand lays over yours as he melts into your touch.

“Please don’t marry her.”

____________

A dull pain spreads across your forehead as the sun infiltrates the room rudely awakening you. There is a taste in your mouth but you can’t quite place it, it’s strange yet familiar. You don’t remember much, and what you do remember is blurry and without a timeline. There were shots, vodkas, and dancing, these are the only memories you have.

Looking around the room with squinted eyes you try to adjust to the light, it’s warm and you’re sweating which makes you feel disgusting and sticky. A groan leaves your lips and that’s when Eunseo turns to you, the first time you’ve noticed her since your sleep was disturbed. Her face is stern as her body swivels in the chair to face you.

“Good night?” She says bitterly. Oh, you’ve definitely done something wrong. Quick, think about everything, shots, too many more shots, dancing, a dark room? You shake your head to align your thoughts but nothing is coming. Eunseo scoffs and strides over to your bed, sitting down on the end of the bed. “You really don’t remember?” Her tone is accusatory with a glint of sass. Now you really had to think about what she was referring to.

“Um, I remember you going to hook up with that tall guy with the pretty lips?” Maybe you could get her to speak about that instead of whatever awful thing you had done.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as the hangxiety kicked in tenfold. “Think harder.” She demands, her whole body now facing you with her legs tucked under her, “When I was hooking up with the hottie?”

Think.

“I-” You had no answer for her, maybe after a couple of paracetamol and some coffee you could then hazard a guess but for now it was a distant memory buried under the alcohol that is admittedly still in your veins. “Eunseo what did I do?”

The question causes silence and the room has tension so thick not even a knife could slice through it. “Are you really sure you don’t remember?” She’s mad. Really mad.

Okay, so you got to the bar, had drinks, got drunk, danced with people, kissed Jaeyun, got in a tax-

Kissed Jaeyun.

That’s the taste in your mouth. It’s him. Dancing with him, kissing him, touching him, craving every inch of him, and Eunseo knows. She saw it.

Your rapid heartbeat is going so fast you think it’s stopped. Your face shifts from confusion to guilt and shock. “See! Now you remember! Please explain yourself.” You couldn’t. There was no excuse to be said without blurting out every detail of your life and more importantly, your life with Jaeyun.

Stuttering you look around wondering if there is any way to escape this conversation, maybe a secret passage that you can teleport from. Unfortunately for you, there wasn’t a way out. You had made your bed so now you have to lay in it. “Eunseo I-”

“No you know what, let me speak.” She stands up and clasps her hands together, “I can forgive you, just tell me you were so drunk you thought it was someone else, please.”

“It’s more complicated-” She cut you off again.

“I know he’s hot, okay? But to kiss my sister’s fiance like that, you don’t have any shame huh?” Her tone is spiteful as she spits at you trying to wrack up any rationality that you can muster.

“Eunseo please just listen to me.” I stand up and reach for her but she pulls away. Her demeanor is standoffish as she places her left hand on her hip. “It’s so much more than you think.”

“Oh, what? It was love at first sight? You thought it was Heeseung? Taking advantage of the fact they’re fighting?” A step forward from her has you stepping back, “Fucking tell me, Y/N because I am struggling deeply here.”

“He’s my ex.”

Her body stills, her hands laid flat in front of her as she processes your words. “Not your ex that…” she trails off thinking, her eyes following an invisible pattern on the ceiling as she tries to work it out, “Not that ex you spoke about? Surely not?”

Every inch of you wants to pretend it isn’t. Pretend that it's another fling and it means nothing to you but as you stare into your best friend's eyes you realise you can’t lie to her, not anymore.

“That ex.” You breathe out and sit down. “Eunseo, please hear me out.”

The thing about Eunseo is that she has always been understanding but as her gaze burns into yours you wonder if she’ll be so kind. Her weight sits next to you as she sighs and it’s your opportunity to speak. “When you invited me, I didn’t know. I didn’t know Jaeyun would walk in beside Yeoreum.” Your voice is pleading with her to believe you but her face remains the same so you continue, “I was so drunk last night I think instincts kicked in. I shouldn’t have kissed him.”

She scoffs, “What was your plan, hm? Did you see him and go ‘oh yeah I’ll get him back easy’”

“Never. It has never been on my radar. It was the drink. I-”

Eunseo interrupts you by sticking her hand in your face, “You still love him, don’t you?” You can’t even look at her, just the swirling mix of her words and the memory of Yeoreum during her argument with Jaeyun swirling in your mind.

You nod, “Listen, I am not trying to break them up, me and Jaeyun haven’t spoken much. We’ve reconciled and that’s about it.” It wasn’t completely a lie, you wouldn’t tell her about the whispered I love you he shared when you saw him on the first night, or the mixtapes and handholding, she didn’t have to know. “I’m not breaking up this marriage.”

“Wow, so kind of you,” Eunseo scoffs, “Listen, I love you but I need you out of here.” Her tone is less venomous but still pointed. “Your relationship with him, from what Yeoreum has told me about his ex, isn’t simple. It’s deep. It’s dangerous to my sister’s happiness, and she will always be my priority.” Your best friend’s face is hard yet holds a fondness in it.

“I understand that, I wanted to leave earlier I just didn’t know when the right time was.”

“Now.” She stands up and crosses her arms as she faces you, “Now is the right time, Y/N. The longer you’re here the longer I have to worry about Yeoreum being left at the alter.”

“Eunseo he won’t-”

“Of course he fucking will, Y/N. He would leave my sister for you. That has been made perfectly clear.”

Wait. The argument Mr. Sim tore you away from, that’s what she was meaning. “What are you talking about?” You feign ignorance hoping she knows more than you do which seemingly it does. “What did he say?”

“He said enough. Look, Y/N,” She pinches her eyebrows, “I love you, and I know deep within me this isn’t your fault but please, go home. For me. For Yeoreum.”

You suck in your bottom lip to stop you from crying. If you lose Eunseo you’ll be right back to where you used to be, alone because of your own stupid mistakes. You rub your hands on your thigh and breathe out slowly, gathering your thoughts and calculating your next moves. There is animosity and hurt in the air and it breaks you. “Eunseo I-”

“I know, Y/N. But please. Don’t take Jake away from my sister.”

“What Jaeyun and I had, it’s so…” Pausing you stand and look at her, “It’s so difficult to explain. I don’t need you to forgive me, but please don’t tell anyone.” Your voice is above a whisper as you plead with her, “If you’re the only one who knows please keep it that way. He loves your sister and he is so happy. That is all I’ve ever wanted.”

A sorrow flashes over Eunseo’s face as you sob. No one in this world will understand the love between you and Jaeyun, not until they’ve experienced it themselves. You make your way around the room and gather your things, ready to leave him once again.

____

Unbeknownst to you, two doors down Heeseung and Jaeyun are having a similar conversation. You seem to be the topic of conversation the day before the wedding, just like Heeseung had warned you of.

Jaeyun is sitting on the bed Yeoreum refused to sleep in last night, his eyes tired as he tells Heeseung the details of what transpired last night. “She asked me not to marry Reum.” He breathes out slowly.

Heeseung’s body turns slowly, his eyes wide and head at a slant. His flabber has been gasted and as he looks at his best friend’s sullen look he only has one question. “And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’?” Jaeyun’s voice is defensive like the answer should be obvious, but really he just wants to use this chance so Heeseung will tell him what to do. He loves you so much so that as soon as you asked him not to marry Yeoreum he almost instantly broke the wedding off. But he’s not that cruel, he knows there are too many people that will be hurt. If he really was going to call off this wedding he had to do it as respectfully as possible.

But did he even want to call off the wedding? Yeoreum needed him.

“I mean 'and' are you going to cancel the wedding?” Heeseung’s words prevent Jaeyun from answering internally. “Yeoreum isn’t exactly speaking with you right now, she was putting on a brave face in the club but look,” he gestures to the still-made bed, “She can’t even sleep in the same room as you. And you literally can’t see anything but Y/N when she’s around. I don't know what you said when you argued with her but it must have been bad.”

“I’m fucked, Hee.” Jaeyun plants his face into his hands and rubs vigorously into his eyes, trying to shake up his brain to make sense of it all. “Reum asked me yesterday after the walk if I would leave her for my ex.”

The sentence piqued Heeseung’s interest once again, and he wondered what his friend would have confessed. He doesn’t say a word, opting to slowly sit next to Jaeyun. “I-” Jaeyun starts to speak again, “I told her...” The pause is a cause of concern and Heeseung leans forward to try and make eye contact with Jaeyun.

“Jake do NOT tell me you told her you’d leave her high and dry for Y/N?” Heeseung’s hands are gripped to his knees as he holds his breath. The stillness and lack of response were enough of an indication of what happened for Heeseung to shut his eyes and sigh, “What the fuck are you thinking? That’s cold, mate.”

“I don’t fucking know, Hee. I love Yeoreum, she helped me over the past few years to finally get back to a state where I felt like part of myself again-”

“Do you love her?” Looking straight into Jaeyun’s eyes, Heeseung asks a question that has been on his mind since the moment he found out Jaeyun proposed. “Answer me this honestly, did you propose to her because you thought it would help you move on from Y/N? Or because you genuinely love her?”

Their eyes are communicating silently. That wasn’t true, he really loved Yeoreum and he wanted to marry her because they were in love, not because it felt like a fast-track way to get over you. Right? Jaeyun thinks hard.

“Let me tell you what I think.” The oldest speaks up again, “I think you asked her to marry you because you thought settling with her would make you forget about Y/N.” Jaeyun’s face scrunched up, confused by his best friend’s words.

“That’s no-”

“Answer me honestly, Jake.” Heeseung is trying his best to let Jaeyun see the truth, to finally put some sense into him. Jaeyun knows there has always been tension between his fiance and best friend, ever since they met it was like there was a wall between them no matter how many times Jaeyun tried to get them closer. But despite his quibble with Yeoreum, Heeseung wouldn’t say this for anything. And it’s not the first time he’s heard it either.

“You know I’ll support you, but you need to think about this. Think out what you truly want.”

He recalls a conversation he and his dad had with him a few weeks after he announced he was engaged.

“Son, this is pretty fast. Are you sure?” His dad kept a stoic expression and his tone of voice was stale. Jaeyun simply nodded and smiled before telling him ‘It’s what makes sense.’. With that, his dad heaved out a breath, “But is it what you want?”

“Of course it is!” Jaeyun’s voice was raised, “You don’t think I want to marry her? Why would I propose if I didn’t?” A knowing look from his father shut him up almost instantly.

“Jaeyun, listen to me seriously, marriage isn’t going to help you get over Y/N.” Jaeyun stands up. “Dad, I am over her.”

His dad shakes him by the shoulders, “You will never be over Y/N. And that’s okay, but that means this marriage to Yeoreum won’t make you forget, won’t help you the way you think it will. Seriously consider my words before this gets out of control.”

Heeseung waits for him to process his words, staying silent to give him time. He wanted nothing more than his best friend’s happiness. If you asked him a week ago, he would never have said anything, let Jaeyun go through with the marriage because at least he is somewhat content, finally living his life without you. But now that you’re back and he sees how obviously you and Jaeyun still crave one another, he needs Jaeyun to seriously think about tomorrow.

“Heeseung,” His breath catches in his throat before he utters the next words, “I need her.”

#aj writes #enha smut #enhypen smut #jake smut #jake sim smut #jake x reader #enhypen x reader #enha x reader #the next chapter is...#you're either gonna love it or hate it besties

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allsadnshit · 9 months

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I had so much fun today i painted all afternoon and made a big beanless chili with local grass fed beef, carrots, fennel, mini sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes in a lamb bone broth with raw goat cheddar cheese shredded on top and a big dollop of sour cream + hit the gym and added 5 minutes to my two toughest machines I use, and my husband bought me my favorite ice cream and I washed my hair and had a really meaningful heart to heart with him about things I struggle to do for myself now because of how I grew up and wrote it down to bring to therapy which makes me so happy to have somewhere I trust to process these things safely and with a specified time so I don't just think about it non stop and I ordered more of my favorite oolong tea and have just been super self immersed in the things I like and it feels like I am rediscovering a lot of things linked to not just my repressed femininity but also just things I loved as a kid and was made to feel like I should give up so I did and I am alive now and can do what I want and that's so beautiful wow

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lovelyelbowleech · 10 months

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HELLO!! HAIR ANON HERE!!! I’m SO SORRY this was delayed but I have been crazy busy. Mostly with good things (like graduating and getting my MA [🎉], and working out the details of starting my next MA program!!), but most recently with covid LOL. BUT THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS OF WAR GAMES HAVE BEEN KEEPING ME SANE. Or causing me to lose what’s left of my sanity (that last chapter especially). Honestly probably both at the same time 😂

Bc OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH my GOD that last chapter. I feel VINDICATED. I feel FEVERED (and not just because of the covid lmaooo). I feel YRIEIFOWHFOWHDOWUDOWHDUD. I don’t even know how to describe how I’m feeling other than CHAOTIC and OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE. My brain is fuzzy but I needed you to know this was the most hyped up I’ve been about something fandom related in over a decade. I’m glad my gf wasn’t home bc I’m not sure I would want to explain the multiple screams I let out, or the multiple honest-to-god flails that happened.

IN HONOR OF THAT some of my favorite lines:

“Zuko’s eyes were bright, even in the dim light. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to be normal. So I went with it.’” GOD. GOD. GOD. GOD. THE IMAGE THIS PAINTS. LIGHTING SOMETHING ON FIRE RN

“No, that wasn’t true. He had plenty in his head. Things like the fact that perhaps, just between him and himself, he could admit that maybe there was an attraction that he had been trying to convince himself was something else, like envy or admiration. He did maybe stare at Zuko’s muscles a little too much, and find the blushing and the way his hair was starting to flop very charming. Cute, even.” THIS…. INVENTED ROMANCE?? THE NOISE I MADE WHEN I READ THIS WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A SQUEAL AND A WAIL

"’The Avatar is not a baby,’ Zuko said faintly, his eyes a little wide. ‘Not all babies are bald.’ He looked like maybe his brain had stopped working.” THIS MADE ME GIGGLE SO HARD SJDKSJDIWID ALSO THE WHOLE SCENE WHERE THEY WERE FIXING THE TENT!!! Toph, Katara, and Zuko had me in HYSTERICS, also I’m SO PROUD of Zuko’s angry stitching, good job, buddy

ALSO!!! Tu’s section was so sad and so good and so beautifully written??? I’m so worried about what’s going to happen to him and the freedom fighters. But as someone who loves your writing I’m also VERY EXCITED to see what happens with them. 😂 And omg YAY SUKI AND SHEN SURVIVING! And Shen *GETTING SOME*! I think I actually said, “YEAH, GET SOME” out loud when Shen rediscovered his dick. Good for him, man. He fucking deserves it (pun only half intended). Now I’m just desperately curious about what Azula is going to be up to in the next chapter, and which of the four groups we’re following are going to meet first 👀 I’M SO EXCITED TO FIND OUT AHHH

Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU as always for sharing your amazing writing and story with us!! I am having the time of my life reading this and I am so grateful that I get to. I’m so excited and am waiting very patiently for the next chapter. I hope you’re feeling better, and thank you so much for sharing, again!!! 💖💖💖💖💖💖

Well done for graduation and getting your MA! Sorry about the covid though, that sucks. I hope you are feeling a bit better!

Glad you enjoyed the chapter 😂😬

"also I’m SO PROUD of Zuko’s angry stitching" > I have such a strong image of what those stitches looked like, and all the rage and frustration that went into them. I might have been projecting a bit 😂

Poor Tu is really going through it, his sections are very short at the moment, but I always pack a lot of suffering into them (like Katara's were before she met back up with Sokka, lol)

Shen's been though a lot, he deserves a treat. Good thing Suki is also there to keep ragging on him and making sure he doesn't get ahead of himself 😂

Thank you once again for the amazing comment! I am glad you are still reading and enjoying! And I hope you are on the mend from the plague! ❤️❤️❤️

#wargames #allsfair #ficasks #hair!anon

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seesgood · 1 year

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@ghostofaformerself , continued from here .

IN HER LIFE, rayne has rarely felt so understood. caroline, though, is the first person to know her so thoroughly; she’s also the first person rayne has ever known so deeply that she can recall minute details even after this many years. as much as rayne loves gem, and always will, caroline is rayne’s first for so many things it can’t be ignored. she isn’t going to pretend there aren’t things rayne doesn’t know about this version of caroline, she’s not so full of hubris to think the blonde is exactly the same as when they were in high school, but rayne is willing to bet she still knows caroline’s innermost workings.

the restaurant is too stuffy. all of a sudden it’s such an uncomfortable space for this reunion. rayne’s never been much for the more upscale dining, preferring hole-in-the-wall diners, and similar places. like the food truck caroline suggests. this is their out. neither one of them wants to be in this restaurant anymore; it’s not not their place, not for how comfortable and casual their interactions have always been. homey.

painted lips curl at the corners the second the escape is suggested. ❝that sounds absolutely perfect.❞ she’s finishing her glass of wine and flagging down the waiter before either of them can change their mind. rayne gives him her credit card before caroline can even contemplate arguing. they’ve only had wine, it’s nothing horribly expensive. once the bill is covered and her card returned, she’s out of her chair ( smile never fading ) and grabbing her jacket. a food truck, fries, burgers—that’s her and caroline. light, simple, easy. comfortable. god, she hasn’t been this excited in ages.

this isn’t a date. maybe it’s supposed to be, but for rayne it’s more; it’s better. this is caroline. it’s rediscovering her first love even if they’re just a couple of old friends getting to know the parts of their lives that have changed. there isn’t a date in the world can can come anywhere close to this.

SHE EXHALES , once they’re standing , once the check has been paid . it’s strange , how much easier it is to breathe as they make their way out of the restaurant . an hour or so earlier , she was obsessing over her hair and makeup , seconds away from texting rapunzel that she was going to cancel . that as much as she loves ted , there’s no way in hell that his old friend ray from college could be that great . she was convinced that she couldn’t date . and how could she ? when she’s lost so much . when there’s a stefan-sized hole in her chest that she’ll never be able to fill .

they make it outside and caroline feels some of the tension slip out of her shoulders . rayne isn’t far behind her , and before she can think too much on it , caroline turns on her heel to face the brunette . ❝ i’m really bad at dating , and i’m really like , not interested in the whole game thing that comes along with dating , and i won’t say that this is like , fate or anything , because i’m pretty sure that somewhere , theodore wyatt is having a really good laugh about this and i’m definitely going to kick his ass for it --- but just because i’m bad at dating and i don’t have it in me to get my heartbroken again i just want to put all cards on the table and just...give it to you straight , okay ? ❞

she pauses long enough to breathe , and she’s pretty sure that somewhere , raps is pinching the bridge of her nose over how thoroughly she’s screwing this up . ❝ you’re the love of my life . one of them , anyway , and i know most people think you only get the one but i think that’s depressing and even before stefan , it was you , and i --- i don’t really have it in me to have you and lose you again , and i definitely don’t have it in me to lose someone else the way i lost stefan . ❞

she’s rambling , a tangle of frayed nerves and barely suppressed grief , but rayne has always gotten her . and right now , she’s selfishly hoping she’ll get her again . ❝ i wanna get burgers with you but if we’re getting burgers as old friends then you need to tell me before i get it all worked up in my head . because i do that . you know i do that . ❞

#ghostofaformerself #ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ϙᴜᴇᴜᴇ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ⸺ queue.

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cherry-valentine · 2 years

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Spring 2022 Anime

Here’s what I’ve been watching:

Tomodachi Game joins a fairly large, sprawling genre of anime about people forced to play some sort of twisted game, usually with high stakes (usually death, but in this case it’s destroyed relationships and financial ruin). Five high schoolers are kidnapped and taken to a secret location where they’re semi forced to play the Tomodachi Game (I say semi forced because they do get the option to refuse, but doing so would saddle someone with a ridiculous amount of debt). The games aren’t physically dangerous but they’re designed to encourage betrayal and reveal dirty secrets. Protagonist Yuichi elevates what could have been a boring, derivative series into something special. He’s not a helpless, innocent kid who gets by on the power of friendship, or a guy who just lucks into winning. He’s devious, cunning, and actually pretty brilliant. The rest of the kids are lucky that he actually does care about them, though he’s certainly not above using them or hurting them (emotionally at least) to reach his end goal of them beating the game together. He ultimately has their best interests at heart, but occasional glimpses of his ruthlessness scare even them. So the show becomes less “How will these characters possibly get out of this jam?” and more “What method will Yuichi use to utterly wreck this game?” It really gives a fresh coat of paint to a genre that’s otherwise growing stale. And yeah, lots of people were calling this “anime Squid Game” (the characters are forced to play children’s games, large sums of money are involved, betrayal is encouraged, etc.) and I really don’t know if the manga for this series came out first or not, but that’s irrelevant. I loved Squid Game but it’s very much derivative of this huge ass genre that’s been thriving in anime and manga for a very long time now. Squid Game as a whole felt very familiar to me, and followed a lot of story beats that I expected just because of the sheer number of similar series I’ve already seen in anime form. I know non-anime fans probably thought it was totally original but it really wasn’t. It was a good show. It took a concept that was already getting tired in anime and did something fresh with it, but it’s hilarious to me that anyone would accuse any anime of copying Squid Game. Anyway! Tomodachi Game has excellent opening and ending themes, with my favorite ending theme of the season (and it had some stiff competition!). The art is fine, with some interesting designs, but the animation quality overall isn’t super impressive. It does the job though. Recommended.

Dance Dance Danseur is a sports anime about ballet. More specifically, it’s about a young man who loved ballet as a child, was shamed into quitting almost immediately (because “ballet is for girls”), and rediscovers his love for it in high school. The series as a whole reminds me quite a lot of Welcome to the Ballroom from a few years back. Both shows feature a newbie with potential taking up a form of dance, partially because of their interest in a beautiful black-haired classmate who is involved in the hobby. Both also feature a quiet but near genius-level talented young man who has a history with the beautiful classmate and whom the protagonist is jealous of but also respects for their talent and sees as a rival. In fact, the dynamic between these three characters in both shows is almost identical (at least in the early episodes). DDD has a vaguely similar art style as well, with all of the characters being willowy, thin, and long-limbed (though DDD isn’t as aggressively weird with the proportions as Welcome to the Ballroom was). It makes sense for a series about ballet dancers though. The colors really pop, and the animation is gorgeous. Go watch the opening theme if you want to see some incredibly creative animation (and hear a very catchy song). DDD does do something I don’t remember Ballroom doing, which is tackle the stigma against dance as a hobby for boys head on. The protagonist, Junpei, at first tries to hide his renewed interest in ballet, but at some point he’s forced to reveal it and deal with the consequences. I feel like those consequences were a little too mild, but it was nice to see the series acknowledge that some people will have a problem with boys doing ballet, and that those people are wrong. Overall, it’s a fun, pretty anime. Definitely worth a watch, whether you’re into ballet or not (I’m totally not).

Kaguya-sama Love is War Season 3 is, as usual for this series, a ton of fun. The show has impeccable comic timing and wisely lets its lovable characters just exist in the story and do their own thing. The overarching plot is about two academic geniuses who are in love with each other but are both too socially inept to do anything about it. The comedy often comes from their attempts to trick each other into being the first to confess their feelings to the other or from hilarious misunderstandings that pop up when two people are this clueless about love. Despite the almost hostile way they try to manipulate each other, there’s a sweetness to their relationship that warms the heart. They really do love each other and will even occasionally set aside their pride or their schemes to help each other out when necessary. The supporting cast hasn’t grown much since season two, but that’s a good thing. I still don’t care much for season two’s additions and often wonder why they’re even there. But the core group that’s been there from the beginning includes some of the funniest characters I’ve seen in anime. If you’re looking for a silly romantic comedy, you really can’t go wrong with Kaguya-sama.

Gunjou no Fanfare is the second of three sports anime I’m following this season, this time about jockeys for horse racing. The plot follows Yu, an idol who quits his successful boy band to become a jockey in a move that leaves his fans and pretty much everyone else flabbergasted. He enrolls in a special school for jockeys and gets to know his new classmates, who all seem to have varying reactions to him. Some are annoyed by Yu’s fame and the attention he’s getting, while others seek to use his fame to bolster their own reputations. One of the ways I judge sports anime is by how interesting the supporting cast is. I’m not interested in sports, so that aspect is pretty much irrelevant to me, but if the “team” surrounding the protagonist is fun and well-written, I’m probably going to enjoy the show. That’s definitely the case here. All of Yu’s classmates have their own motivations and backstories, and they’re all characters I want to know more about. The animation is overall quite nice, though a couple of episodes have had noticeable dips in quality. The colors and backgrounds, as well as the horses themselves, look lovely. The music is a high point, with easily the best opening theme of the season (in a season full of excellent opening themes). The show is a delight, and I’m struggling to understand why it’s not more popular than it is.

Spy x Family is easily the most hyped show this season. I almost didn’t watch it, because the premise didn’t sound that interesting to me and a few bad examples have left me wary of shows featuring an adult man raising a young girl as his daughter who is not related to him by blood (they ended with the man marrying the girl when she grew up, which is just revolting on a primal level). However, I kept hearing very good things about the first episode so I gave it a try. Thankfully, the show is wholesome and adorable, and the presence of an adult lady love interest all but guarantees this series won’t go down a very gross path. For the very few people out there who haven’t heard of this series, it’s about a highly skilled spy code named Twilight who is tasked with his most difficult mission yet: putting together a fake family so that his fake child can get into a prestigious school and thereby make connections with very powerful people, including a specific target who is the father of one of the children at the school. Twilight, very much not a family man, starts by getting a child at the local orphanage, the so-cute-it-hurts Anya who is a telepath (unbeknownst to the rest of the characters). He then ends up with the lovely Yor as his fake wife, who is secretly a notorious assassin but is eager to make this fake family work. The real fun of this show is the fact that all three characters have lots of secrets and none of them know each other’s hidden identities (aside from Anya, who can read their minds, but is smart enough to not spill the beans). They each have different reasons for playing along with the ruse, but as you can imagine, the “fake” aspect of the situation slowly begins to shift into genuine care for each other. There’s very much a “found family” aspect to it, as Anya is an orphan and both “parents” are loners by nature and there are hints that their own childhoods were far from perfect. The show is, first and foremost, a comedy, but it’s a very sweet one with some touches of sadness here and there. The animation looks fantastic and the music is great. So far, it lives up to the hype.

Ao Ashi is the third sports series I’m following this season, this one about soccer. It’s by far the most traditional, straightforward sports anime of the three. Protagonist Ashito is a classic sports anime hero, a young man who is at the top of the game in his small, rural town and has genuine skill, but quickly finds out just how much he’s lacking when he joins a big city soccer club that seems to be a pipe line to going pro. Ashito is good natured but a little hot headed and alternates between being too cocky and being frustrated at his lack of skill when compared to some of the elites on the team. While this is standard behavior, he tends to alternate a little too much, to the point that his character feels a bit inconsistent. Even his skills seem inconsistent. His particular gift at soccer is in being able to notice and remember the positions of every player on the field, and execute cool plays by using that knowledge to predict where players will be going during the game. But later, when they explain his weakness, it sounds like basically the same thing (he’s not good at “tactics”, which they explain as situational awareness of the game and the field). It’s a little confusing to me as someone who knows nothing about soccer. Aside from that little issue, the show is a lot of fun and has some interesting supporting characters, decent animation quality, and music that just screams “sports anime”. It’s not breaking the mold anytime soon, but it’s definitely entertaining and worth a watch if you like sports anime at all.

Best of Season:

Best New Show: Tomodachi Game Best Opening Theme: Gunjou no Fanfare Best Ending Theme: Tomodachi Game Best New Male Character: Yuichi (Tomodachi Game) Best New Female Character: Anya (Spy x Family)

#Anime #Anime Reviews #Anime Recommendations #Seasonal Anime #Spring 2022 Anime #Text #Tomodachi Game #Gunjou no Fanfare #Spy x Family #Dance Dance Danseur #Kaguya sama Love is War

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howlinchickhowl · 3 years

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Happy List part 2!

This is making the rounds again, thanks to everyone who tagged me to spend some time pondering the things in life that make me smile (@sleepyfacetoughguy @whatwouldmickeydo @mickeyssleevelessflannel @southside-forever ), here are a few that I have come up with:

1) That moment in Pitch Perfect when Ben Platt comes out on stage to sing I’ve Got the Magic in Me and he goes from being super nervous and quiet to getting super into it and flirting with the crowd and singing harmonies with his best bud and generally killing it. (Special shoutout also to that scene/song for gratuitous UTK we love him and we love to see it) 🖤

2) When you arrive to meet a friend and they are early and have also stopped to get you coffee without asking because they know what coffee you like and want to do something nice for you.

3) Rediscovering old songs that you loved and hearing them in new ways now you’re grown (inspired by This American Life telling me what Saving All My Love For You was about all these years).

4) Finding a really good conditioner for your hair.

5) The early days of Autumn where it’s not too cold but you put a jumper on anyway because you just want to feel cosy.

6) When you order something pretty basic at a restaurant but they cook it so well that it’s the best version of that thing you’ve ever eaten (inspired by the three bites of pancake I had off my friend’s plate this morning after eating all of my own breakfast because it was the best damn pancake I’ve ever encountered)

7) Meeting up with a pal you haven’t seen in a while and jumping straight back into it no ‘how you been’ no ‘sorry it’s been a while’ just ‘hey you’re here, kettle’s just boiled you will NOT believe what Phil said to me last night’ like you’ve never spent a day apart.

8) TV shows creating roles for older women that are complex and lively and interesting to watch. I’m looking at you Ted Lasso, and you Sex Education. Rebecca Welton and Jean Milburn I worship you both!

9) Living in a country where they build towns so you can walk places.

10) Videos of capybaras because they are ridiculous

11) Lauryn Hill singing His Eye is on The Sparrow in Sister Act 2 (I stole this one from Leah but it deserves multiple entries because. Yes.)

12) Single purpose gadgets. I don’t buy them, but I do love to go into a kitchen store and look at them. A machine JUST for coring apples? One JUST for peeling garlic? Doesn’t crush the garlic, just peels it. You need another thing for crushing. Nothing makes me more overjoyed than a stupid expensive completely superfluous single purpose gadget.

13) Animals doing human things.

14) Gallacrafts. Such an amazing outpouring of creative energy and a great reminder not to try and make everything perfect. A brilliant concept from the beloveds, long may it reign.

15) Paperchase. It’s a shop. If you know you know.

16) When a Question Friday answer sparks a conversation between people that I am not a part of. It makes me feel like such a matchmaker! Like, ooh, my question helped create this moment right here and now maybe you two will be friends! I don’t know if that’s a little possessive or not? Like I’m taking credit? I never get involved, I just love to see it.

17) Painting my nails. I don’t get to do this often because I work with food and it’s a hygiene concern, but when I have extended breaks from work I love to sit down for a couple of hours and give myself a really good home manicure. #selfcare.

18) Figuring out a problem and how to fix it. My dad died 7 years ago this year and before that I was not very handy. And since I have become a much more practical person with a lot more knowledge about how things work and I love the feeling of having worked something out and fixed it. It’s an achievement/pride thing, but also I think it makes me feel a little more connected to him. He was very handy.

19) Dumb inside jokes with old friends that ceased to be funny a hundred years ago but still make those of you on the inside howl with laughter. Aroo.

20) Finding out you’re good at something! Who knew!?

21) Going to the big supermarket late at night and wandering around without a list just picking things up that seem interesting.

22) Woolly tights and the weather for wearing them.

23) The new starbucks drive-through at Thame services on the A418.

24) Finding the perfect gif to send in a conversation and managing to send it before the conversation moves on. I love gifs y’all. They are a gif-t (lol) to the modern text conversation.

25) Using a notebook, not just for best. I used to buy tonnes of notebooks and never use them because I didn’t want to ruin them and that was pretty dumb of me. So now I use them, and I feel great using them, and the fact that I am using them makes me happy.

26) I said this in the last one but it remains true. You guys. Every day I get to laugh with/laugh at/cry with/scream at/flail with or even just chat to some of the dumbest smartest funniest most observant least judgmental all around awesomest crowd of dinguses (gender-neutral, affectionate) I have ever found on the internet. And it is magic. So thanks.

I am late to make my list, I am working my way through all my mentions and trying to spread out the non-fandom stuff so as not to spam you, so I’m not sure who will have done this or not. But I’m tagging a bunch of you and you can do it or not, though I suggest you do because it is very nice and fun 😊

@tectonicduck @okaydays @messedwithmandy @jenatte @bazgallaghermilkovich @7x10mickey @keeloca @emsemotional @grabmyboner @dreamylyfe-x @xemi @mickeymilkovichapologist @mikhailonely @abundanceofnots @unbridgeabledistances

#ok that's a lot of y'all #SOZ #happy list #tagatha christie #personal i guess

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musicallisto · 3 years

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♕ — 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝; (anya x f!reader)

summary: “Well! What you need right now is a little bit of spirit-lifting. And I know exactly the medicine.”

prompt: “How long as it been since you’ve slept?” song: dodie - Would You Be So Kind | 𝄞

author notes: my entry for @locke-writes ’ 1.5k writing challenge, and also my first time writing for anastasia! I hope you all enjoy this <3 (i don’t know how to say this but anya is dani and reader is jamie from thobm i don’t know why it makes sense but it does). I wrote this in second person at first then changed my mind and switched everything to third, then changed my mind again so if you see inconsistencies in the pronouns, that’s why (lol i’m a mess)

word count: 1.6k features: a bit of sad Anya, but mostly fluff; singing and music. this is really not my best writing but i’m rusty and overworked so please don’t insult me

𝐎𝐇, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃.

“Who is your great-grandmother?”

“Queen Victoria...”

“Who is your great-great-grandmother?”

“Erm — Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coldburg-Saalfeld!”

Through the beaten mahogany doors, Anya’s attempts at ladyship have been reaching your ears all day. Enthusiastic in the beginning, they have grown progressively more frustrated as the night has swollen, and your friends’ demands with it. There’s little in courtly life, you imagine, that Anya hasn’t tried her hand at yet.

Oh, the poor child indeed.

“Your best friend is...”

“My little brother Alexei —”

“Wrong! Your best friend —”

“I know who my best friend is!”

The outrage in Anya’s voice is almost as palpable as the bitter cold in your room, adjacent to their rehearsals; you can’t help looking up from your book at the closed door, as if it could tell you how to avoid the collision threatening your group. You grit your teeth, both in empathy and apprehension.

“What a temper!”

“I don’t like being contradicted!”

“That makes two of us!”

“Continuing on —” Vlad tentatively interjects, but Anya and Dmitry’s exasperation, even muffled, is clear in their voices. A second more and one of them will snap; although you’re uncertain which of the two short fuses will go off first.

“I’ve had it!”

Ah, so Anya it is.

“I hate you both! I’m sorry that we ever met — I’m hungry, I’m frightened, and I’m only human, don’t forget! I don’t remember anything — get out and let me be!”

“Anya, darling...”

But Vlad’s soft tone, ever the cunning mediator, is not enough this time to alleviate the young woman’s turmoil; and before he’s finished his sentence, raging steps echo in the vast hall, and a door slams — your door, at the step of which Anya stares you down, blinks in confusion, frowns, then lets out a harrowing sound.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N, I didn’t know you were here —”

“It’s alright. You can stay here as long as you want.”

Anya lets out a long exhale, heavy as a storm cloud, and slumps down on the foot of your bed with a resounding thud. Her shoulders crumple over themselves like bruised wings, and silence falls on the vast house.

But you can’t keep your attention on your book for very long — not only because the living story before you, defeated and worn, is much more vibrant and bewitching; also due to the racing of your heart whenever Anya stands near you. From the moment you’ve laid eyes on her, and even through the dust and gloom of your night, she’s kept that same regal beauty to her — something neither tatters nor amnesia can erase. It’s not in a long-lost parentage, you think, but all in the way her soul rustles with excitement at anything new and beautiful... rare are the souls, in Saint Petersburg, that gray skies and red stars have not yet tattered.

“They’re making you go through everything, aren’t they?”

“Heavens, yes! It’s too much, and I just want to go home!”

You set your book aside, directing your full attention to Anya.

“How long has it been since you’ve slept?”

“Maybe before the horseriding lessons — I can’t even remember!”

“Horseriding? Was that before the mazurka?”

“Yes, and before ten in the morning! Do you know the order of arrival for each guest at an Imperial ball? First, the Great Princes who come through the entrance in the Saltykov lane, then the bearers of the Court Ranks...”

“Anya, I don’t think that’s neces —”

“And married women must wear diadems! Is that not idiotic? What if I’m unmarried but don’t want to wear flowers in my hair?”

“I think you have way more important problems than your Imperial headpiece, like breathing.”

As if on cue, she takes a sudden gulp of air, and her reddened face, constricted by irritation, somewhat relaxes; maybe from the oxygen, maybe from the slight, amused smile that has crept onto your lips.

“Why haven’t they trained you to be Anastasia?” she resumes, her mouth now curled in a pout.

“Have you seen me?” you chuckle, all holed clothes and creviced skin, but your eyes loving. “I couldn’t even pass for Anastasia’s dog keeper.” (She can’t tell you yet, but she thinks you would make a wonderful princess, gracious and intelligent; but she blushes at the direction her thoughts are taking.)

“Dmitry could be the dog.”

“What a lovely sight.”

You settle into a comfortable silence, cross-legged together on either end of the bed, as the biting wind howls and claws at the window outside; but neither of you feels the cold. December is long forgotten, glowing dim as an ember, as long as you keep your gaze on Anya’s appeased face, the blush on her cheeks, and the romantic delicacy of her features.

“Do you believe you might be the Grand Duchess?”

Your question is but a whisper, and you fear she might not have heard you, even more so since she doesn’t turn her head to face you; but rather her gaze clouds, immobile in the flickering white light. A mist of melancholy traverses her face. A second later, it is gone, save for the last specks of snow in her eyes that never seem to melt.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything,” she responds truly, her words equally as quiet as yours.

“Well, for starters,” you pick up, a little louder this time, “if Anastasia had the temper people say she had... you’ve got that covered.”

She chuckles, like the tinkling of snowflakes twirling in the wind.

“She does sound like she was a lot of trouble, doesn’t she?”

“I think she sounds pretty charming.”

But before you can let the silence stretch for too long, and worry to crease Anya’s porcelain skin again, you enthusiastically slap your thighs and jump from the bed.

“Well! What you need right now is a little bit of spirit-lifting. And I know exactly the medicine.”

After rummaging through the mountain of clutter piled in the corners of your room — what in the world are Vlad’s sketchbooks doing here anyw-- Christ, so that’s where that book was all this time! — you brandish in triumph a triangular-shaped instrument, the one you carved yourself in leftover logs, on a particularly freezing night, the one the three of you painted with care until the crack of dawn to keep you warm and joyful.

“Oh, play me something, please!” Anya’s childlike passion engulfs your heart as you clumsily test out the chords. The balalaika is worn and sanded off at the sides, and severely out of tune, but your hands find their familiar places without hesitation, and the sound of the instrument is clear enough for the both of you on an exhausting and windy night.

You pick up speed, falling into a melody you once knew; what fragments you can’t remember, you improvise, and try your best not to grimace; but Anya’s leaning over, eyes and smile wide as though she wants to drown in your music, and all of a sudden your chest has started to sing on its own.

“Would you be so kind as to fall in love with me? You see, I’m trying; I know you know that I like you, but that’s not enough, so if you will please fall in love, it’s only fair...”

Your eyes leave the strings as your voice rediscovers the words, your fingers the notes; Anya, in front of you, nods her head to the rhythm she savors for the first time, her foot keeping time unconsciously. If she ever had a childhood, this is surely what it was made of: soft, loving voices, gleaming eyes, a ray of light on her face, and the irrepressible urge to laugh.

"There’s gotta be some butterflies somewhere, wanna share? ‘Cause I like you, but that’s not enough, so if you will please fall in love with me...”

You’re grinning wide too, now, but unaware of it; all you see is Anya and her joyful brilliance, and you could swear that despite all the weariness in her body and the bruises on her soles, she’s ready to jump around in utter liberation. If only the music descended by itself from above your heads, you think, and you could drop the balalaika to dance with her — a dance she might enjoy, this time, a dance she doesn’t know the steps to!

Soon enough, you start giggling, without really knowing why; maybe from the silly wiggling of the shoulders Anya does, or maybe from the overflowing of light and sun in your chest; and it’s a pain to let out the last words between your uncontrollable laughter, even more after Anya starts laughing too.

“Oh, I like you, but that’s not enough... so if you will please fall in love with me...”

And so, after your grand finale — holding the last note a little too long and a little too high, and stroking the strings a little too fast like a Russian bolero —, the song comes to an end, the notes hanging in the air like your suspended laughter and hitched breaths... and your sparkling eyes lost in the sea of each other dare to hope, for the first time, that something might happen...

... but it doesn’t.

“Thank you for cheering me up,” she pulls back with a sincere smile, and you can’t fight the cruel disappointment seeping in your chest. Of course — you’re still in Saint Petersburg, where dreams have died long ago, and she has a fate much larger than yours. Still, you return the kind smile. She deserves as much; she deserves everything.

“No, thank you. For letting yourself be cheered up.”

The wind is still howling outside the window, but it carries, like an effervescence, the distant music of a balalaika, and you remain hopeful, your hand resting next to Anya’s.

If she would be so kind...

tagging; @softeninglooks @fives-cup-of-coffee (all my writing) ; @bravelittlesunflower @lxncelot @amortensie (musicals)

#mywriting #anastasia #anastasia broadway #anastasia imagine #anastasia one-shot #anastasia x reader #anastasia fanfiction #anya x reader #anya imagine #anya one-shot

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infinitelytheheartexpands · 3 years

Note

Do you have any stories or figures, etc. (of your creation OR already existent) that you'd like to see adapted into an opera? Who'd the dream cast be and what would it look like, sound like?

I have two stories I wrote in high school that I'd love to see as operas:

For Every Spring--short story about a mother and daughter during the Reign of Terror

Madeleine: Ying Fang

The Mother: Joyce DiDonato

sparse unit set, cross between music of the time period and a quintessential French Romantic style

The Last Testament of a "Monstrous" Condemned Woman-- prison flashback story about rediscovering art, burglary, and murderous arson

The Woman: Marina Rebeka

The Investigator: Gerald Finley

not sure about who to play the smaller characters, it's set at an unspecified point in the mid-to-late 1800s, so look reflects that, sound kinda reflects that but I also envision it as Korngold/Expressionist-esque

(the full text of both stories is below. please keep in mind that these are both at least three and a half years old):

For Every Spring:

March 19, 1794, evening.

“Go on now. Do it.”

The woman’s voice filled her daughter’s ears with that simple command. The daughter was standing with a pair of scissors in one hand, staring into a mirror hung on the otherwise bare wooden wall. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

“Mama, how much more can this revolution take from me?”

Her mother could hear her daughter’s weariness and despair, and for a moment, felt pity for her, but steeled herself. “You must do it. There is nothing left for me. But perhaps you could still escape.”

“I don’t want to go without you.”

“You must. There is no way I could escape… the revolutionary leaders know me too well. But they wouldn’t recognize you if you dressed in an urchin boy’s rags and had a dirty face.” Mother glanced at her daughter’s shining blonde hair that went almost halfway down her back again and sighed. “The hair, though. In order to look like a boy, you have to cut off your hair. If they see long hair, they’d suspect you’re hiding something…” She shivered. “And they would investigate, and it wouldn’t end well for you.”

“But what if I pulled it back? Tucked it in under my hat?”

“It could fall down. And if they took your hat off and saw a bunch of pulled-back hair…”

“I know, but other than you, my hair is my one joy left.”

“It’ll grow back.”

The young woman paused. She fell into a swirl of memories: how her father had loved her long golden hair, how when she was little, he would toy with it and tell her it was more beautiful than any princess’s, and finally, how the Reign of Terror had brutally claimed him, just like it was about to claim her mother.

Her mother went on, “Your life is more important…” Knowing her daughter was still hesitant, she took the scissors out of her daughter’s hand. “Now hold up your hair so I can cut it.”

The daughter obliged, but at the same time, a single tear trickled down her pale cheek.

Snip.

The first cut, like a dagger to the heart.

Snip-snip-snip-snip-snip…

In just a few minutes, the deed was done. The girl’s long golden locks were scattered all over the bare floor.

Mother turned her around and gazed into the girl’s eyes. She slowly whispered, “You look just like Papa…”

The tears her daughter had tried to hold back burst forth in her grief, and she collapsed in the middle of the cut-off locks of hair, weeping.

“I lost Papa, and now I must lose you! Why must I lose everyone and everything that brings me any happiness?”

The woman took her daughter in her arms as outside in the streets, people cried, “Vive la révolution! Vive Robespierre!” She said, almost under her breath, “You haven’t lost your life like I will tomorrow. You can make it out of the country, and you will, I know. Don’t stay to see me die, or you will too. Remember the plan?”

“Wear the peasant rags. I’ve done that,” she broke off, gesturing at the clothes she was now wearing. She quickly continued, “Dirty your face in the soot. Take the sack of bread, cheese, and money and leave under cover of night. Tell the guards at the city gates that your name is Raoul, and you’re going to see your sick aunt in Calais. Go to Calais; tell the guards there that you’re going to London to see your uncle. Get to London somehow- stow away on a ship if you must, and start over again. Without your mother who cares for you and wants nothing more than-“ She stopped, momentarily unwilling to recite the last part of the instructions her mother had drilled into her head.

But she took a slow, deep breath and finished,“To go with you, but she must be with you from afar, not by your side.” Her body shook with her sobs.

“Yes,” her mother replied. Now she was crying too. “But take heart, my child, and remember I love you more than the sun and the moon and the stars and the whole world.” She sighed. “Madeleine…”

“Yes, Mama?”

“I wish it didn’t have to end this way.”

“Me too.”

Now it was raining outside, and it was dark. The only light came from the half-moon shimmering in the black sky. It was silent now except for their weeping.

At last, Madeleine said, “It’s raining. See? The sky is crying because of your death.”

“No,” her mother firmly replied, not wanting to hear of any pity. “The sky is not crying- not for me, not for you, not for anyone. It is merely raining, my child. Spring is coming, don’t you remember?”

“Yes, but for every spring…” Madeleine did not dare say the second part of the saying she had heard about spring.

Mama sighed and finished it for her, “A winter melts away.” She shivered and continued, “I am the winter. I have lived a long life, I am old, I am about to die.”

Madeleine wept.

“But you- you are the spring, so young, so beautiful, with such a bright future ahead. Go and live. Do not stay to see me die.”

Madeleine, still crying, sat by her mother, and her mother took her into her arms. They held on to each other, not wanting to ever let go, though they both knew inside that sometime, they would have to let go of each other- forever.

At last, Mother whispered, “Go, my child.” She let go.

Madeleine grabbed the sack and was almost out the window before she looked back at her mother for the last time. She whispered, “I love you, Mama.”

The response, softly spoken through quiet tears, was simple. “I love you too. Goodbye.”

Madeleine slipped out the window.

Some time later, a church bell chimed midnight. “The beginning of a new day, a new spring. Today is the first day of spring,” she thought.

At last, she whispered into the air, to her daughter, wherever she was now,

“For every spring, a winter melts away. But please, Madeleine, do not think about the winter melting… ”

The Last Testament of A "Monstrous" Condemned Woman:

“The Venetian government sent me here.”

The man faced me, with a look that could best be described as a mix of utter contempt and bewildered curiosity, but still managing to be very official, on his face.

“Why? Do they usually do this to prisoners awaiting their imminent execution?”

“No,” he replied very sharply. “They sent me here because even after the questioning and your trial, they still do not understand why you did everything that you did. And your crimes- they are sensational, to say the least. Your trial had the whole city in an uproar. And, mia piccina,” he added with disdain, “that is a very hard thing to do in such a city as Venice. So before you are executed at dawn, they want to know why-why you caused such destruction so heartlessly, why you took so many lives like a hardened assassin.”

“Heartless? A hardened assassin?” I just managed to get out the words. “No, no. You do not understand. The reason I did not talk is because they would not listen. They saw a monster. That is all they saw, just like I know you see me now.”

“Do you not want to preserve your own story before you die?”

His words startled me. And then I realized it: This is my only chance to show them that I am no monster.

“Very well, then,” I replied. “I will tell you everything.”

Without looking at me, he reached into his bag, pulling out a notepad and a pen and setting the pad on his lap. After that, with eyes still averted, he told me, “You talk, I take notes. Begin now, for dawn will come before long.”

“I was born in the English countryside, the only child of a scholar who had come into some wealth thanks to his marriage to the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in all England. Throughout my childhood, I was constantly exposed to all sorts of wonderful thoughts and books and ideas because many scholars would come and share their thoughts on every subject imaginable. My father was always one of the ones who talked the most- he knew so much, and he always wanted to learn more, to discover more-”

“Will you please stop wasting time and get to the point?”

“That was just what I was doing,” I snapped back. “Anyway, he was very ambitious. As time went on, I became more interested in art than anything else. I could not draw, paint, or sculpt to save my life, but I marveled at its beauty, the way some people were just able to recreate something out there in the world, and I wanted to understand how they did it. And there was another aspect of it, too, that fascinated me: there would be scholars that came from Paris, from Rome, from the Netherlands to share these great lost artworks that they had rediscovered, and to tell how they had become renowned for finding these artworks, how the art would be preserved for eternity and so would they, for the simple reason that after all these years, they had found these masterpieces and given them new life. And I? I wanted to do just that too.”

At that moment, I noticed him hurriedly writing, trying to keep up with everything I was saying.

“I can wait for you to finish writing,” I offered.

He nodded, and for several seconds, I said nothing as he finished his notes.

“So what does this have to do with you coming to Venice?” he eventually asked.

“Well, the time came when my father passed away. When he died, he left his entire estate to me, including all of the books in his library. I had never seen many of them- he never let me read them, because they were too precious. But he promised me that when I inherited the estate, I could read as many of the books as I wished.”

“Those books,” I continued, “became my way of healing from the grief. To read the same books that my father had studied from somehow felt like a way of being near him, and that eased the pain. I spent almost every waking hour exploring the library, reading and then reading some more.”

I paused, and a thought shot through me: This is the moment you set down this road of sorrow. I shook it off though, and went on:

“One night, I was browsing through the shelves when I came across a set of eight dusty old books. They were all about Italian artists from the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. I can hardly describe to you the effect of these books. They had a massive effect on me, but not for the reason you think.”

“Well then, what was the reason?”

“The front cover of each book had a most interesting thing written in it. Together, they seemed to make up a series of instructions for finding a lost artwork. And those instructions were thus:

‘The city of the winged lion has many secrets yet to give up,

Including one by one not older, but younger.

A fire blazing in the Palazzo Ducale

Took the lives of many masterpieces,

And this was thought to be one of them.

But a saint still lives, preserved in that palace,

Old but still preserved, and still preserving,

Francesco’s St. Jerome writes, though he is asleep, and does not die!’

Now I knew enough to know this: the city of the winged lion is Venice, and the fire was the great Doge’s Palace fire in the late 1500s. The “younger” was almost certainly Palma il Giovane, who was the great-nephew of Palma Vecchio, a good enough painter, and who painted extensively for a Francesco, Duke Francesco Maria II of Urbino. It was known that Palma had painted St. Jerome for Francesco, but everyone assumed that the painting had been lost. And as soon as I figured all of this out, I thought, ‘What if this could be the great discovery I have hoped to make?’ You understand, I was very ambitious, and at that moment I resolved to find it, no matter what.”

“Let me get this straight. You pieced together some handwritten sentences, thought overly hard about their implications, and decided to go and do whatever it took to get this precious painting?”

“Exactly.”

“You are British, yes? You are just like Lady Macbeth! You get a hint of an idea, and you murder anyone who stands in the way of you!”

“No. I never planned on murdering anyone, I swear! Now if you would just be quiet, I would get to that!”

Silence. I shook my head, and went on:

“The next day, with nothing but two hundred pounds, a sack of food and water, and the instructions copied onto a sheet- you see, I wasn’t planning on staying in Venice- I left home, and went to London. And from there I traveled on, first to Le Havre, then to Paris-”

“No one needs to know your travel itinerary.”

At that moment, a church bell chimed twice.

“It’s summer, and dawn will be here before too long,” the man advised. “Now I suggest you stop wasting your last hours and skip to you getting to Venice and exactly why you did what you did here. You don’t have much time left to tell your story, you know.” He seemed not so much impatient now as considerate, as if he were genuinely interested in what I was telling him.

“Fine. Anyway, I arrived in Venice, and I immediately set out for the Doge’s Palace. When I got there, it took me forever to find the painting, especially because I had no idea what it actually would look like. No one knew anything about the dimensions or the medium or what it looked like because it had been lost for so long. But everyone was saying that it had been called a masterpiece in its day, that it would be a major find. And that was what kept me going during those hard days and nights of searching. And at last, I found it inside one of the private rooms once used by the Doges of Venice.”

“So you found it. Congratulations. And how did you get here?”

“I wanted to return home, to my books, and bring the painting with me. I was planning to study the painting and only then reveal to the world what I found. But there was a problem, one I had not anticipated.”

“And what was that, mia piccina?” He no longer said it condescendingly, but as if he genuinely cared about everything I had gone through.

“I had no money left, no money to return home, and no way of getting any money, or at least, I did not think I had a way of getting any money.”

I shuddered with remorse now, thinking of where I had gotten the idea.

“Later on, I was roaming the streets, thinking about what I could do in order to get back home. At first, I was thinking of begging, but I thought that was weak. I am not a victim, and I would not allow myself to be weak like that. And then, I saw a jewelry house, with many fine jewels in the windows, the most and the finest diamonds by far I had ever seen! And the store- it was called the Salvadori Diamond Atelier, I believe- was not even guarded! Even though it had all these wonderful jewels worth thousands, thousands of pounds, I tell you!” I cried.

His brows had furrowed, and I knew what he was thinking now.

“Sir, sir, I feel so much remorse for this, it’s true, but when I saw all those lovely diamonds, I could not help but think, ‘This is my way to get money, to go home at last and someday show the world what I have accomplished, and fulfill my ambition.’ And I resolved to steal as many diamonds as I could that very night, so I could sell them for money.”

No, no, no. I cannot bear to tell this… but all of Venice already knows this…and I must tell this…oh God, but it haunts me so much…

My face must have gone pale, because the man asked, “Are you ill? Do you need to rest?”

“No, I just feel so, so guilty and horrified by what I am about to tell you…” I took a deep breath. “But I must tell you anyway.”

“That night, it happened to be a new moon, and the full darkness of the sky covered me. I felt so confident that everything would go according to plan. I would get in, take some diamonds, and leave Venice at once.”

“And indeed,” I continued, “at first, everything went according to plan. There was a door in the back, a very small door, that had been left unlocked. I slipped inside and slowly felt my way into the shop until I found the glass cases. And that was the point when things started going awry: I had found a pin, and since I had been taught how to trick a lock using a pin, I thought that I could simply use the pin, unlock the case, and stuff the jewels inside my bag. But the pin did not work- I don’t know whether the lock was very special or whether I just performed the trick wrong. It wouldn’t open though, so I had to resort to smashing the glass.”

“Let me guess,” he said, looking up from his notes. “Someone heard, and started shouting for the police?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know, because of how concentrated I was on my work, although that is probably it. But in any case, the police arrived, and in that moment, I realized that if I was caught, then I would be arrested and likely never return to England again. And I also realized that there was no way for me to make it to that small door unseen. But there was still another option.”

“What was it?” Now he was leaning forward.

I panicked inside. Please, I want to go back in time somehow, make it so I never did this, so that I never caused so much pain, which I never wanted to do…

“There was a small oil lamp with a flame inside the case, some wood that had broken off the case frame, and a jar of oil. And I realized that a fire would cause confusion, during which I could possibly escape. So,” I shut my eyes and said as fast as possible, “I poured the oil onto the wood, dropped the lamp on top, yelled ‘You will die before you discover me!’, and ran out of the shop, to the streets, and as I ran, I saw the whole building burst into flames and I heard screams, screams of officers burning, burning to death. Those screams, they haunt me still, even after all these weeks in prison and in court. And I smelled their flesh burning, and I relished it at first, knowing I had made it out.” And I realized I was shaking, and yes, starting to feel sick.

“But you seem so full of pain and remorse now,” the man said, confused.

“Just a few minutes later, I ran into another officer. The sight of him made me realize what I had done- I had killed innocent men just for money…” I was crying now, but I knew I still had to finish. So I continued, “At that moment, my conscience overwhelmed me for the first time ever, and I started weeping, just as I am now, and started screaming about how I had burned a group of officers in the Salvadori Diamond Atelier to death. The officer was confused, but I led him there, and showed him- the burning building, the people screaming, the firemen bringing out the bodies of dead officers. And then he arrested me right then and there.”

I fell silent. I have nothing left to say.

The man looked at me. “Do you have anything else you want to tell me?”

Through my tears, I choked out, “No, the rest of the story, you already know it…the trial, my sentencing to death…I just want it all to end. I never wanted any of this, and now I just want it to end, to spare the world any more horror I could cause…You see, the world is right- I am a monster…” Again, I fell silent.

“It is a strange thing, life,” he observed. “So many times, good people are driven to do unspeakable things which they never would have dreamed of doing except in the moment they did them. And for that, they are unjustly called monsters, for that one black blemish in an otherwise good life, and they are condemned to eternal damnation in the minds of the world, to be forever called a monster. Most of the time, the condemned do not speak.”

The cell door opened.

“Dawn breaks,” the jailer said. “And with it, your monstrous life ends.”

“-But you have broken the silence. You are very brave and strong to do that. That man will soon realize, like the rest of the world will, like I already know, that you are not a monster.”

“Now I must leave, for the hour of your death has come. Remember, you might die to expiate what the world has labeled you a monster for, but soon, your legacy will be realized for what it actually is. Go. Hold your head high. You have suffered much, but you do not deserve to suffer forever, and you will not suffer forever. Goodbye, mia piccina.”

And with that, he left. I rose, and surrendered to the jailer.

That black blemish he spoke of, I thought to myself as I walked with the jailer, will never be excusable. But it is not everything I am. And the world will know it is not everything I am.

Suddenly emboldened by this thought, I raised my head and held it high.

I know that I will find redemption somehow, for the world cannot truthfully say now that this is all I am. For I have said otherwise.

Now I am ready to die.

#opera #opera tag #stories #notyouraveragejulie writes

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armallo-and-roul · 2 years

Text

I posted 1,998 times in 2021

177 posts created (9%)

1821 posts reblogged (91%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 10.3 posts.

I added 428 tags in 2021

#roul - 72 posts

#mine - 55 posts

#asks - 45 posts

#answered - 44 posts

#armie - 42 posts

#ia - 40 posts

#armallo - 38 posts

Gone for reasons

#important - 30 posts

#julian - 26 posts

Longest Tag: 89 characters

Gone for same reason

My Top Posts in 2021

Giving digital another try! Deciding on colors is so hard though.

31 notes • Posted 2021-03-02 01:08:12 GMT

Happy Birthday, Julian!!!

Reposting this magician role swap artwork from last year, because it still really makes me smile ÚwÙ

35 notes • Posted 2021-03-12 14:49:54 GMT

Okay I am still trying to understand how to use my new markers and to get them blended. But here’s a colored in Armie from yesterday!

39 notes • Posted 2021-01-12 14:43:09 GMT

The face you make when you go through the McDonald’s drive thru and don’t realize until you’re home that they didn’t give you your sweet n sour sauce @thearcanagame

46 notes • Posted 2021-02-01 03:14:07 GMT

Armallo Masterpost

Armallo Sairo DePaolo (Ar-mall-oh)

Nickname: Armie

The cheerful apprentice intent on figuring out his past...

Zodiac: Cancer 6/22

Patron Arcana: The Fool (an otter)

Favorite food: Laulau

Favorite drink: honey green tea

Favorite flower: white orchid

Favorite color: pale blue

Age: 26

Gender: male (he/him)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Familiar: Neró the gecko

Alignment: neutral good

Personality Type: ENFP

Race: human

Ethnicity: Hawaiian

Voice claim: Moe Keale

Appearance:

Height: 6’-0” (183 cm)

Weight: 320 lbs

Physical: He’s obese, but he still has muscle underneath and can easily do things. He is from a fictional Hawaii, so he has a deep tan complexion. He has curly teal hair that is shoulder length. Most of the times he has it styled in a half down half top knot. He has somft cheeks with dimples, plump lips, and kind eyes that are almost always squinting from smiling. His eye color is a vibrant green.

He wears sleeveless shirts mainly, and shorts/traditional Hawaiian sarongs(skirts). Most of his clothes are adorned with floral patterns. His favorite color is blue, which he wears a lot of.

Personality:

Armie is extremely extroverted. He’s the person to greet the new kid at school, give you his seat, and make you feel welcome and loved. He’s the one to make sure every voice is heard. If someone is trying to speak, he will make sure the others stop so they can. The smile on his face is 100% genuine. He’s consistently putting out good vibes for people to use if needed. He’s your shoulder to cry on, a friend talk to, a teddy bear to cuddle, someone to always lean on. He makes no hesitation to call someone a friend. Can’t afford lunch? Armie’s got you. Need a safe place to live? Armie’s got you. He’s the person you meet and think “Yeah, there’s still good people in the world.” There’s no secret agenda behind him, he just is that nice.

Random Facts:

Armie’s very close with Water. He loves to do water dancing. He also loves singing and dancing in general. He’s the first person out on the dance floor. He rarely feels embarrassed or shamed. He always wears a painted pink kukui bead bracelet in memory of his homeland. He LOVES to go to the coliseum and watch wrestling, getting drunk off beer. Summertime is his absolute favorite, he goes to the beach a lot and lays out.

Family:

Mother: Lahela

Father: Kaimana

Older Brother: Abrec | Wife: Lani | Son: Makaio | Daughter: Makana

Younger sister: Arapha

Aunt: Lekika

Ships:

Nadia, Julian, Asra

Lake @sephet

A whole array of @cinnella’s ocs

(Open to any oc ships!)

Prologue:

Armie was a gifted magician in his homeland. He inherited the magic shop from his aunt when she decided to retire. He took a boat to Vesuvia, where he met his friend, Roul. After arriving in Vesuvia, he met another of his friends, Awanata. Soon after the main story of the Arcana follows.

Epilogue:

Armie returns to his homeland with his LI to rediscover his lost memories. His family is shocked to find him alive and well. He goes to a special cove and prays to the water spirits there to return his memories.

NSFW Headcannons: MINORS DNI

https://armallo-and-roul.tumblr.com/post/641865000639692800/armallos-nsfw-headcannons

52 notes • Posted 2021-01-11 19:22:55 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #fuck you viking #ruining my life #she’s the reason the two parts are removed

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maries-gallery · 3 years

Note

Hey there! I hope you have had a great day/night. ♡♡ I would like to request a matchup in ikemen vampire. My pronouns are she/her, Pisces, INFP, and I'm bisexual. (recently came out, yay!) People tell me that I'm shy, sweet and kind but have a biting wit and sarcasm to match. The mostly compare me to a golden retriever or a very lovable cat. Im very cuddly and love showing my love to others. As you can probably assume, im not afraid to show tlc and pda. ^_^ I do struggle with mental health here and there but I do my best to work on myself whilst helping others. I'm the mom friend/grandma of the group, usually tasked with giving advice and perspectives on situations. I love anything to with art like painting, singing, and writing. I read books and currently am in the process of starting and sketching the outline of one. Astrology and witchy stuff are very interesting to me and I love talking about with my mother (she's been doing this for a while now). I adore cats and animals, even more so now because I have a beautiful siamese boy. I play the cello and currently am in an orchestra. I strive to become a nurse and help others with their mental health as well. I'm 5'3, have long brown hair, and green eyes.

When I think of what I would like in a partner, I immediately think of their personality. I would like my partner to be kind and loving, open minded, intelligent and witty and respectful. I would like for should for our interests and personalities to overlap a bit. I don't really care about height since it's not hard to be taller then me lmao.

If you can, I would love the matchup to be both sfw and NSFW. ♡♡ Blessed be!

Match ups are closed

First congrats on your coming out ! This is amazing :)) It's truly life changing (for me it was at least, seriously, I rediscovered myself).

Now, I match you with Theo !

SFW :

- The older Van Gogh would have been the first to approach you, eager to make you feel safe and at home in this den of wolves. And without much surprise you immediately got along with Vincent, the both of you being very similar. And although Theo didn’t really like it at first, he could indeed see why his brother would enjoy your company and the slightest of warmth would blossom in his chest whenever he saw the two of you interact. You were sweet, maybe too sweet for your own good. Kind, too kind. And this only caused Theo to worry about this new Knabbeltje. He saw a part of Vincent in you, someone to protect and fight for. And could you blame him ? Boy has seen so many gentle souls being taken advantage of in his lifetime, including his sibling, and he just doesn’t want the same to happen again under his very eyes, even if to a girl he just barely met.

- But let’s be honest the constant frown etched on his features would probably intimidate you at first and you’d stick close to Vincent. And this works for Theo, although he would still try to have you warm up to him a bit. But he is clumsy in his ways and ends up teasing you and angering you more than anything. Which leads to the following situation : You showing your snarky as you wittily answer to all his words. And let’s be honest, although really taken aback, he loves it. Not only are you sweet but you in fact also know how to bite ? His heart swells in his chest. Okay, maybe you weren’t as defenseless as you seemed, which is good. But now Theo wants to get to know you and that is when he starts looking at you as an individual rather than the human girl he has to watch over.

- He starts to approach you more, actually showing you his true self and from then on he falls in love fast. he just loves how caring you are when it comes to the Mansion’s residents, how passion flickers in your eyes whenever you talk about something you like (and although he was very skeptical of astrology and witchcraft he loves to see you ramble on and on about those subjects), loves how the brightest of smiles crosses your features when he brings you with him to an Art exhibit. But most of all he finds himself entranced by your music and the pure serenity flowing through his veins whenever you play a piece. He also really enjoys seeing you interact with Arthur... Well he enjoys it to a certain extent. He loves the fact you have his best friend to talk with about your passion for writing and reading, but he quite despises it when the flirt of the house makes not so subtle moves on you... That is why Theo always makes sure to be in a corner of the room when you’re with the writer, ready to take his Hondje away in case of flirting. Arthur teases him so much for that too.

- Theo is the most supportive of boyfriends. He fully supports your desire to become a nurse and pushes you to do your best, he lifts you up when you’re down and is ready to give you motivational speeches if you need them. But he is also very attentive and considerate of your needs, gently scolding you, tucking you in bed to cuddle whenever you work too much or if he senses you’re overworking yourself. You won’t harm yourself in any way under his watch. He knows you want to take care of others but you need to take care of yourself too ! And he’ll make sure you do just that. Even if he has to tie you to the bed to rest.

- Golden retriever you say ? He is the embodiment of one too and the two of you would just be so cute together. You’re both fiercely loyal and protective of your loved ones, energetic and loving. Without forgetting that the both of you love cuddles. He might not seem like it but Theo is actually a huge teddy bear, he loves these late nights and early mornings you spend together in bed, tangling together and talking about your day. Although if you were to hug him in public he’d probably act annoyed and lightly scold or tease you. But you can see the burning love in his eyes and the light blush coating his cheeks.

- He always turns to you for advice, he loves hearing your take on things and always considers your point of view. You can be sure that your voice will be listened to and that your words matter to him. This would often lead to long conversations and debates between the two of you, which you love. And on the other hand you love asking him for advice too since he often has a very interesting view on things. These conversations can also turn into witty and sarcastic banters, both of you having fun in that.

- Dates with him would consist of long strolls in art galleries, running around town to eat pancakes and find new artists, painting and drawing together (he also loves the dynamic between Vincent and you and loves to see the two of you paint). But it could also be just sitting down and talking about your day, or simply listening to you sing or play the violin. Honestly as long as he is with you, Theo is happy.

Song :

Sweet Creature, Harry Styles

Scenario :

The wind picked up, gently ruffling the tree leaves, the colourful flowers dancing in the field. The Sun hung bright in the sky, fluffy clouds like cotton balls in the blue immensity.

Theo inhaled deeply, fresh air and the floral scent filling his lungs to the brim. He didn’t mind though. He crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back on the steady bark of a wide tree, enjoying the shades provided by its branches. His pale blue eyes squinted against the glare of the Sun as he gazed at the two people in front of him.

Theo and you had found this flower field a few days back while exploring the fringes of Paris. You had laid a blanket there and a basket of tasty foods you had prepared with the help of Sebastian. The two of you had enjoyed a nice picnic before both laying down and looking up at the sky, observing the clouds and giving them shapes and stories. Then, to Theo’s amazement, you had proposed to bring Vincent here, the perfect landscape for your artist friend.

And so here you were now, Vincent and you sat in front of easels, putting to live beautiful flowers and colours on your canvas. And Theo observed peacefully, enjoying the silent whisper of Nature and brushes on canvas. A rare gentle smile adorning his lips, one solely reserved for the two most important people in his life.

The two paintings, even though depictions of the same landscape, were fundamentally different, each carrying a piece of its creator. He loved looking and analysing your works, picking them apart piece by piece, each a shard of your mind and of what inhabited your brain. The most beautiful part of you in his opinion. He loved how gentle your movements were, how distinguishable and unique your takes on the world around you were. He loved how your views could differ and how you always spoke your mind when around him.

His eyes flitted from the painting taking life under your hands to your features, calm and concentrated, brows lightly scrunched up in a cute pout.

How cute.

He got up, slow steps muffled by the grass approaching you, the same soft glint in his eyes. He stopped behind you, observing the painting from up close.

“It’s not done yet.” You explained, looking up at him colourful paint on your nose and cheeks, probably from you scratching yourself mindlessly.

Theo’s heart swelled dangerously in his chest, a deep laugh spilling out from his lips, body hunching over as he held his stomach.

A frown settled on your features, eyes wide as you lightly glared at him. “What is it ? Is it that bad ?” You were obviously talking about the painting. Unaware of the art work on your own skin.

“Your painting is fine, Hondje. Both of them.” He explained with a grin, booping your nose with his finger. You looked down at the tip of your nose, a smear of yellow paint catching your attention. Your features softened, a light chuckle tumbling from your lips too, music to your boyfriend’s ears.

What had he done to deserve you ? Although sharp and bright, this was a question he couldn’t seem to find an answer to. But one thing was sure, his heart burned for you, a fire from Hell and a love from Heaven. And when he gazed into these beautiful eyes of yours, when you held his cheek on early mornings and clung to him on late nights, he knew you loved him too.

NSFW :

- Theo is a dominant, no question asked and good luck to get him into a submissive position. He just loves having control of your pleasure, marvels at the sight of your body shaking under his ministrations, moans and pleads falling from your lips as he takes care of you. His go to is obviously doggy style, but he also loves a good old missionary when he feels more romantic.

- Yes, I can see Theo going both ways. He can be both the biggest of teases and go for a rough and intense pace, a shit eating grin on his face as he pushes you to your very limits. But he can also be very romantic and soft on certain occasions, if you feel insecure or if one of you needs some love. In this case he’d lock eyes with you, setting a languid and passionate pace, head nuzzled in the crook of your neck as he nibbles on the skin and whispers words of affection and praises. He can be very very soft.

- He is pretty kinky and knows what he wants. He wants you. He obviously has a pet kink, loves the sight of a collar around your neck, a sign that you”re his and such a good girl for him too. He also has a thing for food play and he loves eating off of your skin. Speaking of which, he is probably the best at eating you out, spending hours between your legs and lapping at your clit and entrance like a man starved. He also has a thing for edging and overstimulation, he just loves for you to beg, loves to know that he gets you to unravel and reach heights of pleasures only he can give you. Finally he probably has a thing for choking too, though he wouldn’t do it if you’re not comfortable with it. Your comfort and pleasure comes first and he’ll always make sure that his kinks are okay for you before giving place to his fantasies. He is also very open minded in the bedroom and doesn’t mind trying anything you have in mind, in fact he’d be pretty eager to please and comply.

- Theo bites you and sucks on your skin, expect lots of hickeys, from the tip of your toes to the top of your head. Blame it on his inner playful golden retriever spirit. He just loves it when you squirm and moan as he paints flowers on your skin. And he also loves it when you scold him the next morning for leaving one in a very visible place.

- Theo doesn’t moan a whole lot, he is more of a groaner and prefers to keep his voice for dirty talk. Seriously he’d whisper the most salacious things in your ear with such a straight face you wonder if you actually heard him right. But if you ever drag your nails or fingers down his back as he thrusts into you you may get a low moan out of him, same goes if you hold onto his hair and pull on the locks.

I hope you liked it ! Take care and have a nice day :))

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp #Matchups

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fanwright · 3 years

Text

Gladiator: 200th Chapter Celebration

Tagging: @kigozula @seyaryminamoto

---

Seyary, this is a great milestone for you. Just want to let you know that I’m happy for you and impressed by the work that you have done over the long years of writing this story. You’ve inspired others to get into Sokkla as well as to have fun with the ship. Its been a great pleasure!

When I first picked up this story, I was still in college and rediscovering ATLA. Gladiator, as well as your other stories (which I recommend that others read as well) really cemented my liking for this ship. Years later, I’m still here, though all the ups and downs.

Now, despite me liking Gladiator a whole lot, I’ve admittedly fallen behind on catching up with it, chapter by chapter. That said, I do want to read it at my own pace and as I read more I still find myself loving the story, as there is much to enjoy.

So, to that end, I’ll be commenting on the parts of the story I have been caught up with, Chapters 1 to 100. I hope that’s okay.

---

1.) Favorite Character: Sokka

Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t like Azula. Of course not. And choosing one over the other is such a hard call to make that I would rather have them both occupy the same spot. But I decided Sokka in this case for a number of reasons. Others have commented on Azula in their own posts, so I thought giving my reasons for Sokka seemed only fair.

We’ve seen Sokka change a lot over the course of the story and I seeing him morph into the character he is now is such a stark contrast to the one we saw at the very beginning. He hated the Fire Nation and was unwilling to cooperate with Azula. And yet, after trial and error and harsh circumstance, we have seen become a great warrior in his own right and the closest companion Azula has ever had, being her secret lover. It has been such a treat seeing him change and adapt and grow in this story. And as someone who really does like him as much as Azula, it was (and still is) a thill to see him get an all-star treatment in a story.

And yet there are lingering complexities within him in this story, as far as I have gotten in it. There is still that awareness within him of who he serves and what he is doing, along with a nagging feeling of inadequacy that has hounded him at every turn. Bit by bit, either by his own efforts or with a little help, he is clawing his way forward internally to find some reconciliation. And I find that very compelling.

And also its fun to see him thrash gladiators.

2.) Least Favorite Most Dreaded Character: Ozai

Well, that’s not true really. I don’t dislike any of the reoccurring characters actually.

The best way to describe this particular choice is “Most Dreaded Character”. I chose Ozai for this one because I dread the moment in when he finds out Azula and Sokka’s little affair. Now, again, I’m only on Chapter 100, so things could have changed by now. Yet, I believe still that if Ozai finds about about all this... a lot is going to change for Azula, Sokka, and even the Fire Nation. He will be a consequential character in the chapters to come and dread to see the his wrath and what that will mean for everyone else. It will not be pretty.

3.) Favorite “Antagonist”: Toph

When I first picked up this story and saw Toph introduced as an adversary, I was hyped. Like, you have no idea how hyped and pumped up I was for them to brawl. And I was not disappointed.

See, for me, Toph represented more than just a metaphorical torn in both Sokka’s and Azula’s side for a good chunk of this story. She is at times a very compelling mini-villain, as if she is straight out of a Disney movie. She loves what she does and enjoys it, and knows just how powerful she is. And flaunts it in spectacular display. She has such a simple yet understandable motivation and was a very real threat to Sokka’s own life in the very first fight they were in. And despite both Sokka and Toph eventually learning to respect and even befriend each other, there was always the nagging thought that they would eventually fight again, and each one knew they wanted to win that rematch. Toph provided Sokka and Azula a reoccurring adversary to strive toward beating. Even as other gladiators came and went, they always knew Toph would be their biggest obstacle. So much build up was focused on training for that eventuality. And all of it was compelling enough to paint Toph as this great rival to them. Her being a part-time ally in some cases and even being a friend didn’t really change that until after they had fought a second time.

Its because of this that I now believe firmly that Toph should be used as an antagonist more, if a story needs one. She is just so fun and so good as villain that hope others come to use her as one in AUs.

As I read more, I’m sure this might change in time. But, even with all the fights Sokka has had, I firmly maintain that Toph was his greatest adversary on many levels.

4.) Favorite OC: Rui Shi

Honestly, I think this guy is a sprit animal to someone out there. He’s just a guard trying to do his job right and the person he protects consistently makes that job harder for him in the most ridiculous ways. “Oh great, my princess is in an affair with her Gladiator and that won’t stop fucking like rabbits. Joy.”

Honestly, this man needs a vacation. A long one. And Seyary hasn’t given it to him, because she likes to make his life hard. Rude.

For the longest time, I actually thought Rui Shi was much older than he actually is in the story. So until a picture of him was finally made, I pictured him as a 40 year old veteran with a graying mustache and beard. Even with how he actually looks, I wouldn’t be surprised if his job made him grow gray hair from all the stress.

Good OC, one of a few I like.

5.) Favorite Suitor: Zhao

Should probably be no surprise. Where I am at right now, he’s essentially the suitor to beat as well as having the ultimate Gladiator for Sokka and Azula to defeat. Azula even admired him at some point. Though that has changed, I feel that Zhao has his eyes set on courting Azula further. Its a move that Ozai would likely not object to, provided Zhao pulls off something grand to earn that honor. And although every suitor has made Sokka angry, I feel Zhao would anger him on a deeper level as his interest in Azula grows.

I look forward to seeing him more.

6.) Favorite Gladiator(s): Jet and Suki (For Chapters 1-100)

Jet being a brainwashed Gladiator highlighted a dark aspect to the games. He was also a brutal berserker when in the ring and one of Sokka’s most bitter adversaries. Suki to me was an interesting contrast to Sokka his situation with Azula. She was to me a kind of noble gladiator, an Amazon in the ring put gentle when out of it. Putting the canon characters in as Gladiators was always a treat for me and actually lends itself to some world-building.

7.) Favorite Gladiator-Canon Pairing: Sokka/Azula

This should not be a surprise :P

I could go on and on about it, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll keep things short. This should not be surprise because the driving force and the very soul of this entire story is about a warrior-princess falling in love with a tribal gladiator. Their differences and how they reconcile them, their fears and pain, their passion and drive, all propel this story forward. Things have changed in this story because of them and they themselves have changed because fate brought them together.

If that isn’t enough to make them my favorite, then I’m sorry I don’t know what else to say to convince you XD

8.) Favorite Arc(s): Rough Rhinos Arcs

Two arcs hit me hard on an emotional level - The end of the introductory arc and the Rough Rhino’s arc. They literally crawl out of quagmire, find a dragon in the process, and have one of the most touching and sincere heart-to-hearts in the story thus far. It was one of my favorite arcs to read and the emotional stakes were high. As I read more and continue, this might change, but for now I maintain this is one of my favorite arcs.

9.) Favorite Places/Locations: To Be Determine

This is the down side of having to catch up. There are a lot of locations in the story and in the ATLA universe that I like, and its always a hard choice for me to decide. I am a big fan of settings for a story and when I find a setting I like I usually latch onto it in all its locations. So for now, I will not decide on a solid choice.

... however, in any AU it might show up in, Bs Sing Se is my first choice by biased default. I just love that city and I always appreciate when a story fleshes it out in little ways. Gladiator being set for a fraction of its time in the city was great for me as I got to read more about the city I like so much.

10.) I wish to see Sokkla in...: More tender, couple-like moments

Surprising, I know. But I what I mean is this - moments where they refrain from arguing, don’t bicker, and just enjoy being around each other, doing small things together. And its hard for them, they have to train they, have to keep their relationship a secret, they can only be a true couple for fleeting moments because of how dangerous and vulnerable it will leave them. And it claws at my heart every time. So I cherish the moments they have when they can be themselves around one another, fleeting as they sometimes are.

11.) I believe Sokka and Azula’s relationship will be revealed when/like/because of...:

... when they get careless. When they feel that they are safe in their secrecy, complacaent in their routines for keeping their relationship hidden, that’s when it will be revealed. Its a kind of Hubris of sorts.

And when its revealed, it will lead to something bad and irreversible for the both of them. You can only hide something like this for so long. Even historical royal affairs were never as secret as theirs. And they have taken painful precautions to keep it all under wraps.

So when it finally does, it will change everything. And that’s going to be quite the wild ride.

12.) I believe at the end of Part 3...:

... that a sacrifice will be made. A death or a relinquishment of something. Sokka and Azula will be together, but something will have to be given up, and it will test them for the final time.

I can’t say what it will be, but I’m going to enjoy finding out.

#Sokkla #Sokka #Azula #Gladiator Chapter Celebration

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kingreywrites · 4 years

Text

Golden Strings

Fandom: Tangled

Words count: 2684

New Dream Appreciation Week Day One: Sun and Moon

Summary: If he hadn't been in love before - and he had been - he would have certainly fallen for her all over again that night, when the light of the moon made her smile so much brighter.

Read on ao3

Note: Happy birthday to @tangledbea , @theofficialkai517 , @alrightginger and @tangledaddict !! (and to me :P) It’s quite a day for the tangled fandom, between the start of the NDAW and all of those birthdays <3

@our-newdream

Eugene woke up feeling like death warmed over. His head was smushed against the side of an armchair, he knew he was in for a mean crick in his neck, and he was pretty sure he had been drooling in his sleep - despite his dashing good looks, that was never a beautiful sight. Cracking one eye open, his only hope that no one had seen him like this disappeared as soon as he noticed the note someone had placed on the table in front of him. Rapunzel, to be precise - he could recognize her handwriting and her doodles anywhere.

Ah, and someone had tucked a blanket around him and had taken the time to bookmark the page he had fallen asleep reading. Definitely Rapunzel, Eugene thought with a smile, still exhausted after his untimely nap in the library. He summoned all the bravery he had and finally stretched, thus feeling the full extent of his bad decision. Living in a castle had ruined him - he wasn't made for sleeping in armchairs anymore.

Although, when he first arrived here, he remembered spending a lot of time in the library to calm down when he felt lost. It had been a weird time, for Rapunzel mostly, who was only discovering life after eighteen years - but it had been weird for him too. Communication didn't come easy for him and, even if he made efforts to be honest with her, he had often sought the comfort of the library - there, alone with his thoughts, Eugene felt like he could breathe.

That was, until Rapunzel discovered about it - until he realised that for this to work, they both needed to be open with each other. They had talked a long time that night, about their new lives, their fears, their boundaries, and stuff in general, and that was when Eugene realized that being alone wasn't the way he could finally breathe. Being alone helped him be calmer - being with Rapunzel gave him a peace and an happiness he had never achieved before.

If he hadn't been in love before - and he had been - he would have certainly fallen for her all over again that night, when the light of the moon made her smile so much brighter. He knew he was the first one to compare her to the sun, not only because of the pun but, above all, because she made his life brighter and warmer; however, Rapunzel was more than that. She wasn't just his sun, she was his whole universe - the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets, but also the darkness in between, which made everything more vivid and alive. And he wanted to be there with her, for the good and the bad, the light and the dark. He knew she wanted the same - the good, the bad, and even the drooling.

Eugene scrubbed his eyes blearily, noticing that the sun wasn't even set quite yet. He had been reading some old book about laws for his Captain duties, but had clearly lost that battle. When he straightened up, he took care of folding the blanket that Rapunzel had put over him - it smelled like her, and he knew she kept it in her bedroom, so she must have seen him, gone all the way up to her closet just to keep him warm. And warm he felt, he smiled, love blooming in his chest in a familiar way. The first thing he saw on the note she had left was a doodle of him sleeping quite unattractively, which drew a groan from him - and a grin, but he wouldn't admit it, instead starting to read.

Hi Eugene!

I wasn't sure if you wanted to be woken up but you looked so tired and so cute that I didn't have the heart to do it!

I love you!

Rapunzel

He folded the paper too, carefully putting it in his pocket - he could never throw them away. His neck was still protesting loudly the position it had been in, so Eugene stretched once again, yawning. He never took naps because he thought they were scam, since you often woke up more tired than before, but he had apparently been more exhausted than he realised. Thankfully, he hadn't been expected anywhere, and if he was lucky, only Rapunzel had seen him. The other guards wouldn't let him live it down otherwise, Captain or not. Blanket in hand, he decided to go put it back in Rapunzel's room so he could then try to find her - and he hoped it would be before she had doodled his drooling face somewhere everyone could see. He had a reputation to maintain.

The trek to her room was quick, and he thought it would be an in and out trip to put the blanket back where it belonged, but when he opened the door, he immediately saw Rapunzel painting high up on her ceiling. Thanks to Varian, she had now a complex pulley system to get to the higher spots of her room, and the kid had even added an automatic safety net that could deploy if Rapunzel fell - a suggestion that Eugene made and that he was forever grateful to Varian for.

Rapunzel hadn't heard him open the door, too focused on her painting and, even from down there, Eugene could see her poke a tongue out in concentration. He could feel himself melt at the sight, because he knew he had the cutest wife in the world - and he would never hesitate to brag about it. Then, he saw what she was currently painting, and felt affection swell in his heart.

It was them, sitting together on her windowsill. But, what touched him the most was how much care she had put into painting him specifically - his hair, his eyes, his expression… It seemed like he was glowing. Like he was the only thing painting Rapunzel could see, like he was the centre of her world. To say that Eugene once thought he wasn't an emotional man; Rapunzel had sure proved him wrong every day since he met her.

"Eugene!" she exclaimed, startling him a little. He hadn't noticed that she had seen him. Before he could say anything, she grabbed a rope near her and slided down easily. "Did you have a good nap?" she asked cheekily.

Eugene wanted to joke back, but nothing came to him. She was so beautiful, as always, but he felt like he rediscovered it everytime - rediscovered just how much he was able to love her, because each time it felt more than the precedent, more than he could ever conceive. Rapunzel was his light, his sunshine, the warmth and the brightness in his life - but she was also his moon, the softness and the tenderness in his life, the gravitational pull that made his love rise like an unstoppable tide. She was his everything, and he was the luckiest man in the universe.

"Yes," he finally smiled, putting the blanket in one arm, "my nap was nice, thank you."

He opened his arms and Rapunzel immediately to hug him, her body fitting into his like nothing else ever could.

------

At times, it seemed like Rapunzel's entire life had resolved around the sun. Her birth, the first eighteen years of her life, and the next four too - the power of the sundrop inside her body had regulated most of the big events she lived through. She had been kidnapped for it, yes, but had saved the love of her life and two of her best friends thanks to it so, overall, she couldn't help but be grateful. For all the pain these magical powers had caused, Rapunzel thought she received five time the happiness. She was the girl who had everything, and she knew it.

Today, though, she kept thinking about the sun comparisons.

It wasn’t rare that her friends told her she was the living embodiment of the sun and, in a way, she loved what they meant by it. It was just another way for them to compliment her kindness, or to tell her that she lightened up their days - and she was grateful to be able to do these things for them. They were a source of joy for her, and if being compared to the sun meant that she was a source of joy for them too, then she’ll accept it gladly. In the end, it was always Eugene who managed to make her heart beat faster with a simple word. Sunshine. She loved that nickname, loved how it sounded on his lips, loved what shined through his eyes when he said it - loved him, simply. The first time he used that nickname, she had felt her stomach flutter by the sheer emotion it provoked in her. She felt so lucky to be the woman he considered to be his sun, and she always knew his mind was the furthest thing away from the flower when called her sunshine - he was talking about her, Rapunzel, and only her. He never cared much about the whole destiny thing, except for what it meant to her. Today, though, it was bothering her. Not because of Eugene - it would never bother her coming from him - but because of what Sarah, an handmaiden, had told Rapunzel earlier, when they got a glimpse of the guards training by one of the castle’s window.

“The Captain is very impressive,” she had stated, and Rapunzel had nodded with a smile, indulging in a few more seconds of watching her husband being all competent and beautiful before they started walking again. “Still, I can’t believe how much you changed him!”

“What do you mean?” Rapunzel frowned.

“Well, you know, the whole thief turned good guy story! He told some of us about it again three days ago, but I’ll never get over how romantic it is,” Sarah gushed. “He’s very lucky to have met you, your Highness, because he said you were the sunshine that put the light back in his life!”

That was it, but Rapunzel mulled over it all through the meeting she was attending this afternoon. And now that she was back in her bedroom, with nothing important to do until at least an hour, she could ponder to her heart content.

It was strange, because she had heard the same sentiment before, often from Eugene himself, but it had never sounded as wrong as in Sarah’s mouth. Perhaps Eugene was lucky, but she was at least as lucky as him - and she didn’t like the idea that, without her, he would have been condemned to darkness. Eugene was much more than what she could give him. And she was much more than what he could give her, because together, they were everything. And she knew he thought as such, knew that he called her his sun he saw how brightly she shined, but did he know she thought the same of him? Did he know that she never thought he needed her to be the best thing in her life? They both changed together, they both were more together, but Eugene was already all she could dream of and more - not just a reflection of her light.

“Sunshine?” Eugene called, opening the door to pass his head through. “Ah, guess what I have for you!” he beamed once he saw her, officially interrupting her train of thoughts.

Before she could really try to guess, he got two cupcakes from behind his back, and went to sit next to her on the window sill.

“You read my mind,” she grinned, grabbing the cake out of his hand and drawing a laugh from him. “Training was okay?” she asked, her mouth full of sweet vanilla flavor.

“Pete only nearly fainted today, so there was a definite progress.” He winked and she smiled, her heart full.

They chatted about their days - nothing particularly exciting had happened but, today, Rapunzel couldn’t even remember how she could have been scared of being too comfortable and bored if she was married. Not only Eugene could talk to her all day about the rain, and she would be happy to listen and watch him talk; but she also knew that her husband would always, even unconsciously, try to make sure that she was interested in what he had to say. That was without counting on the fact that she fell a little bit more in love with him everyday, and that marriage hadn’t changed that at all - it only heightened her feelings, if anything.

Which was also why she didn’t like the idea that she was his sun, and that he was nothing that great without her. Because that was how it had sounded earlier, when Sarah said it, and that was what had bothered her so much. Eugene was… incredible. Demanitus last words to them had seemed, at the time, really sweet, but she caught herself doubting them today.

The moon can't be seen without the sun's light. She gives you light. Did she? Was Eugene really the moon that only shone under her light? And what about her, was she really that perfect sunshine that made everyone better only by having contact with them? Now that this seed of thought had taken residence in her head, she couldn’t help but feel that it was a complete misinterpretation. Or, at least, it wasn’t the full metaphor - if she was the sun, she certainly remembered burning too bright and too quickly, until Eugene cooled her down. She remembered discovering the real world for the first time in eighteen years, and she remembered wishing she could do it all at once, until Eugene helped her realise that she wouldn’t enjoy anything if she was exhausted. He was her anchor just like she was his, her savior just like she was his, her light just like she was his. She might give him light, but he gave her so much love in return that she refused to believe that he would only know darkness without her. He had too good of a soul.

“You okay? You seem deep in thought,” Eugene smiled, his brown eyes shining gold under the sunset light.

Rapunzel tried to form an answer but, before she could, he got closer to her face and, gently, stroked his thumb over the corner of her mouth - and she realised that, married or not, she still felt butterflies in her stomach because of the warmth of his smile and still shivered at the softness of his touch.

“Sorry,” he said cheekily, not sounding sorry at all, “you had frost on your cheek.”

Well, the only correct answer to that was to kiss him - so she did. She put her arms behind his shoulders to press even closer to him, feeling his own warm hand going to her back to stabilise them. Her hands were colder, though, and she didn't hesitate to slip one in his collar to draw a startled gasp out of him, just enough for her to slip her tongue between his lips. (He was happy to reciprocate.)

“Wow,” he breathed when they finally separated, Rapunzel still in his lap and her hands still around his neck, “I'm not saying that I'm not loving this, but what brought it on?”

Their breaths were still mingling together, and Rapunzel, from her position, could see every details of his face. The sky outside the window was orange now, and it only highlighted the blush she had brought to his cheeks, and the disarray of his hair, and the softness of his skin. Most of all, it highlighted his eyes, highlighted it until it seemed to hold tiny specks of gold in them - until it made his love shine through brighter than any star.

“You're my sun, Eugene,” she finally answered - it puzzled him, but then she kissed him again, and he forgot about it. Rapunzel didn't forget, though. She couldn't forget what she had finally understood, because he gave her light too - he made her world a brighter and better place everyday, and she loved him for it.

#really not sure about this one but hey when will i ever be #to say that this has a plot would clearly be an exaggeration #they just... love each other... and think about each other #love the sun and moon comparisons but the truth is they are each other UNIVERSE #New Dream Appreciation Week #Tangled #New Dream #Eugene Fitzherbert #Rapunzel

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