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archived-kin · 3 years

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caught in a twin courtship

note from kin: i’m going to be honest i only really wrote this because the title is fun to say, so it isn’t as cohesive as i normally would have wanted to make it

(this is an au where the twins aren’t separated by the unknown god! instead, just their world-hopping powers were stolen, and that’s why they’re journeying to find said god - to get their powers back so that they can go home. i’ve also excluded paimon since i kind of forgot about her while writing this haha)

(this doesn’t follow canon at all since reader and the twins just kind of start wandering about after the dvalin incident rather than heading straight for liyue oops)

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn!reader, lumine, aether, diluc, venti, jean

pairing(s): aether/reader/lumine

warning(s): i don’t think so??

genre: fluff with a little bit sprinkling of angst

you first meet the twins in the aftermath of the stormterror battle. it isn’t a glamorous introduction by any means - it’s pretty unflattering, actually - but it definitely makes a powerful first impression.

the group - aether, lumine, venti, diluc, and jean - are on their way back to mondstadt city, making small talk here and there, but mostly just walking in silence.

then they hear a yell in the distance.

jean and lumine both drop into a battle stances, venti leaps to hide behind aether with a very unmanly squeak of fear… but diluc, who arguably should have been the most alerted by this occurrence, just gives a resigned sigh and pauses.

a split second later, a figure comes speeding up to the group. you barrel up to diluc and immediately punch him square in the stomach, yelling “why didn’t you tell me you were going after stormterror?!”

aether and venti both give matching gasps of horror at the blatant disrespect, but diluc only shakes his head and catches your fist as it goes for another blow, this one aimed at his chest, and chastises, “calm down, i left a note.”

“i left a note,” you mimic, an absolutely awful impression that has you sounding more like a mosquito than the darknight hero, “fat lot of use that is when you aren’t even telling me where you’re going!”

diluc evades another jab at his arm and firmly sets his hands on both your shoulders, effectively anchoring you to the ground. you contemplate swinging your feet at his knees and knocking him over, or maybe shocking him with your electro vision, but ultimately decide that you might as well try to preserve what little dignity you have left in front of those three people you’ve never met before

so you stop with a defeated sigh and turn to face said three people to introduce yourself

it turns out that you’re diluc’s cousin and he’s been having to baby-sit you for the last few years after your own parents left on a ‘business trip’ to snezhnaya that they’re still not back from

you’re pretty sure they’re dead, killed by the fatui, and you say as much during your introduction without even the slightest sign of distress, which is a little unsettling

lumine’s first thought is that you’re quite the interesting character, what with the casual way you treat diluc, and how you don’t seem to question whatever situation lead you to meet in the first place

aether’s first thought is holy shit, they’re cute

one twin greets you in return with a lot more enthusiasm than the other, and venti the bard wastes no time in asking whether you have access to good master diluc’s wine storage

(you’d be shocked by the audacity if you weren’t just as bad as him when it came to shamelessness)

strangely enough, the fact that aether likes you so much actually makes lumine more wary of you than she was initially

aether trusts too easily, and from experience, that usually leads to disaster - and your flippancy regarding your parents’ apparent probable deaths rather inclines her to think that you might be a very dangerous person indeed

the three of you don’t see each other for a couple of days after that - you and diluc leave for dawn winery together, while the twins depart with venti to wrap their whole situation up, and jean returns to her duties in mondstadt city

all this time, apparently unbeknownst to even himself, aether keeps finding ways to bring you up in the middle of conversation

you’d only spoken to him for a few minutes and somehow that as enough to get him absolutely fascinated

lumine would be lying if she said she wasn’t still curious about you as well, but it gets annoying after aether somehow manages to mention how ‘mysterious’ your black cloak is in the middle of a conversation about why mitachurls are able to randomly set their axes on fire

luckily for these two, they happen to run into you the very next day!

you’re in the middle of taking out a ruin guard stomping around the thousand winds temple - a ruin guard that the twins had been meaning to take down themselves, which is why they’re here in the first place

at first they move to help you, only to stop short and watch in awe as you plunge down at the ruin guard from atop one of the enormous pillars, your polearm held steady in your grasp as your entire body seems to spark and glow with a deep purple electro energy

the sharp blade of your polearm goes clean through the top of the ruin guard’s head and shatters its core, and it sinks to the ground with a massive thud that echoes around the temple ruins, massive wooden limbs twitching and jerking as the last of your vision’s energy disperses from it

aether and lumine are basically star-struck

from there you spot them and call them over for a conversation, show them how to take apart a ruin guard’s circuits to get at the good parts, and somehow end up agreeing to journey with them across teyvat in their search for an unknown god who stole their abilities to hop from world to world as well as their apparent true power that allows them to wield all seven elements at once

the details are a little lost on you, but what you’re hearing is that you get to go on a cool adventure with a cool gal and a cool lad, so you’re pretty much all for it

diluc isn’t too happy about you up and leaving without so much as two week’s notice (partially because he has literally no friends apart from you and he’d get lonely without his little cousin bothering him all the time) but you simply tell him to deal with it and go anyway

(you do give him a big hug and promise to visit, you’re not heartless)

from then on you, aether and lumine become a dynamic trio like no other

it’s actually pretty damn spooky how well the three of you end of working together

aether and lumine had long since formed a style of fighting that meant they made up for each other’s weak spots and could attack in perfect sync, but then you come along and somehow manage to make their already pretty flawless formation even better

is it witchcraft? they honestly don’t know

considering you fit so well into their battle strategies, it follows that you’d also slot perfectly into their every day life

lumine is cautious at first, wondering if your presence would disrupt her and her brother’s long since pre-established routines, but you fit in so naturally that it’s as if you were there all long

maybe it it’s this that makes both twins slowly start falling for you - the comfort of being beside you and the familiarity that you bring are things that they struggled to find, being trapped in a world far from their own with no way to get out, and they unknowingly latch onto you like drowning men clutching lifebuoys

aether is the most obvious about his feelings - he starts waking up earlier just because he knows you do, sitting beside you as you stoke a campfire and keep watch for any approaching monsters, making quiet conversation as lumine continues sleeping. he tells you stories about his adventures in other worlds, including an encounter with a rather bigoted individual who is the reason that he keeps his hair so long while lumine’s has been cut short

he even starts taking his hair out of its braid before he goes to sleep so that he can ask you to braid it for him when he wakes up

lumine is a lot more subtle

she finds excuses to stand closer to you when, deliberately brushing her fingers against yours when handing you something. she listens far more attentively to you when you speak than anyone else, and she smiles far more in your presence, hanging onto your every word and gazing at you so intensely that it’s almost unsettling

of course, the twins notice each other’s feelings pretty easily

at first neither acknowledges it - it’d be far too messy for both to accept that they’d both fallen in love with the same person, let alone actually admit this to each other

but it gets to the point where it just isn’t ignorable anymore, and finally the twins decide to talk

it’s about as civil and sensible as they could hope for with the subject at hand, and they eventually decide to talk to you about it

and so, we come to an ultimatum. what will your choice be?

if you reject both, it’ll be hard to continue adventuring with twins who can’t look in your direction. neither resent you, of course, but the atmosphere has become so stifling that they can’t even make eye contact

it’s as if an enormous gap has opened up between the three of you. the twins are avoiding each other as well, unsure of how to handle the fact that they’re both in love with the same person and have now both been rejected by that same person. if anything, they should be becoming closer out of solidarity, but it seems that they can’t stand to be in each other’s presence as much as they can’t stand to be in yours.

the three of you still work together as seamlessly in battle as you did before, but once the final monster has been cut down and your weapons are sheathed, that connection seems to disappear again.

it’s aether who finally breaks the stalemate. he starts trying to start conversations as the three of you sit awkwardly apart from each other around a fire, and while the first few attempts end in stony silence and an awkward cough on his part, eventually you begin replying with some semblance of the humour you used to

from there things only improve - the three of you come to a silent mutual agreement to leave this behind you, and soon you’re all laughing and joking as you used to

lumine and aether both know that they cannot force you to love either of them, and they respect your choice. if anything, they’re the ones in the wrong for springing something like this on you so suddenly, and they start to feel a little guilty that they were essentially pressuring you into making a choice that you were never obligated to make

so they return to treating you as a dear friend, just as before. things are different now, of course, but they can only be grateful that you continue to travel with them and stay by their side; this situation doesn’t make them love you any less, even if you don’t love them in the same way.

if you choose lumine, aether will be understanding. the twins have been each other’s only support for longer than they can remember, and as the older brother, he’s well used to giving things up for his sister.

he’ll still be friendly and amicable, but he won’t seek you out as much as he did before. he starts braiding his hair by himself again, and stays in bed as late as he can every morning so that he doesn’t have to be face to face with you. just because he’s accepted this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt.

sometimes, when the sky grows dark and you and lumine have long since fallen asleep beside each other, he wonders to himself - why is it that he has to give everything to his sister? he’s given away so much, so why couldn’t the universe let him have this one thing?

but he knows, deep down, that this is nothing to do with the universe - you simply fell in love with someone that wasn’t him, his sister at that, and he’s struggling to come to terms with it.

he wants to hate you, hate lumine, hate the relationship that the two of you have formed, but he just can’t. he loves the both of you in different ways that are just as important as each other, and he can’t stand to lose either of you. he’d rather throw himself off of starsnatch cliff.

so he’ll smile and bear it, even if it’s a battle to keep himself from breaking down every time he sees the two of you lace your hands together, off in your own little word, so near and yet so far from him.

if you choose aether, lumine will become cold. at first, that is. she’s never been as empathetic as her brother, always holding grudges and developing dislike much more easily. it had taken a lot for her to open up to you in the first place, and now that you’ve rejected her, it’s going to take a while for her to return to the same camaderie with you that she had before.

lumine does not begrudge aether for being the one you chose. if anything, she’s glad - aether is always putting her first and himself second, and she’s happy that he has someone like you, who lights his eyes up in a way that she’s never seen before.

but our hearts often betray our mind, after all, and lumine can’t help but scowl and turn away every time she sees her brother wrap his arms around your waist or press a kiss to your cheek. despite her best efforts, all she can think is why? why did you have to choose him?

she can’t bring herself to hate you, though. as much as it feels like her heart is threatening to split down the middle when she sees you smile and is reminded of something that she cannot have, there is an equal joy in the fact that her brother can be with the person that he loves so dearly. if anything, the two of you deserve to be happy together.

lumine would never do anything that could take that away, and so she forces herself to accept it. it takes several days of tentative conversation and barely held back tears, but eventually the two of you seem to return to the way you were before - all friendly jabs and light-hearted banter and little jokes exchanged over crossed blades.

but lumine knows that your friendship can never be quite the same as it was before. she’ll forever be holding you at arm’s length, terrified to let you get too close lest you see how much your presence affects her. she can’t let you know how much she loves you because she will never be the one who links hands with you as you walk down a long, winding path, or the one who holds you close under a darkening sky filled with stars - because that person is aether, and she would sooner die before she takes her brother’s happiness away.

if you refuse to choose, the twins will be at a loss at what to do. they hadn’t considered this scenario - that you had somehow come to love both of them.

the confusion becomes joy soon enough, though. they realise what this means - they both love you, and you love both of them! isn’t this perfect?

neither are particularly thrilled at the concept of ‘sharing’ you with the other, so to speak, but in the end they both equally want each other to be happy as they want you to be, so the logical conclusion is that they both become your partners.

they’re not too sure how this should work, nor what sort of label to put on it, but they come to you tentatively with the idea anyway

to their joyous surprise, you agree!

and from then marks the point of no return…

aether is definitely the clingier of the two. once he realises that he’s allowed to show affection and be close to you for no particular reason, he won’t stop - it’s as if he absolutely has to be holding your hand or be standing or sitting as close to you as physically possible. he’s always buying you souvenirs at every place you stop by, scaling trees to pick apples for you when you mention a craving for fruit, presenting you little treasures that he’s found with all the pride of a golden retriever.

lumine is a more subdued kind of partner, preferring to demonstrate her feelings with little things like making your favourite food for dinner or bringing you sprigs of flowers that she’s secretly been collecting in order to present you with them. of course, that doesn’t mean she isn’t physically affectionate at all - she presses perhaps even closer to you than aether when you sleep beside her, and somehow her hand finds yours at every opportunity she has.

the twins clash every now and then, as siblings often do, except that you’re usually caught in the middle. their arguments are little more than playful squabbles, though - things like play-fighting over who gets to hug you first after a well-fought battle, or who gets to hold your hand on the way to the next village (you have to step in and remind them that you do, in fact, have two hands)

in conclusion: why choose one when you can have both and prevent the unchosen from having endless amounts of angst?

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin aether #genshin lumine #genshin traveller #aether x reader #lumine x reader #traveller x reader #fluff #love triangle #kinda??#just a little angst #as a treat #genshin diluc #genshin venti #unedited

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maliceinborderland · 3 years

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From Here, to the Moon, and Back

Summary: A collection of moments in Niragi’s journey raising his daughter alone.

Word Count: 7,066

Warnings: brief mentions of character death(reader is deceased), mentions of depression, bit of swearing

Genre: Single Dad Niragi AU, oofc Niragi, slight angst, slice of life, fluff, some crack ig?

**oofc : out of character

A/N: this took me FOREVER to post. I wanted to make this MUCH longer and go more into detail as well as provide more dialogue but this new post restrictions are killing me. I might turn this into a mini series in which y’all give me prompts and I write more extensive scenarios depicting those situations/prompts. ALSO: the depiction of Niragi in this fic is akin to what I believe his behavior outside of the borderlands. **spoiler** he is nothing like his borderlands self in the real world, and he doesn’t even remember his action that took place there nor did they actually happen as they occurred in a different plane of existence **end of spoiler**

A soft, whimper snapped Niragi out of his slumber. He slowly sat up in bed, strands of his unruly hair falling over his eyes. The whimpering continued as he got up and walked to the crib by the window.

He stared at Tsuki as she wriggled about, her cheeks bright pink and small droplets forming at the brims of her wide eyes. She stared up at him, her lip quivering, not yet crying.

“What gives?” he said, quietly, more to himself than to her.

Niragi checked her diaper to see if she needed changing. Clean and dry.

He went to the changing station next to the dresser, fetching a clean bottle, formula, and a bottle of water. Already second nature, he prepared a bottle for her. He made his way back to the crib, nudging the bottle’s nipple against Tsuki’s mouth, to no avail.

“Come on, kid.” he mumbled. “We both need to sleep and you’re not exactly helping me out here.” He sighed and found her pacifier somewhere by her feet. Oddly enough, she suckled on it no problem.

What a weird kid, he thought, shaking his head.

He let her lay there, hoping she’d end up falling asleep. He made his way back to his own bed, throwing himself face down onto the mattress, releasing a deep breath.

A few minutes later, having felt like seconds, Tsuki began to softly whimper again.

Niragi groaned into his pillow. Just one night of peace and quiet. That’s all he wanted.

He debated on letting Tsuki cry it out as he had been. Deep down he knew it was wrong, but he just didn’t know how to go about this parenting business.

Tsuki’s whimpers rose in volume, her whimpering becoming full fledged cries, and hopelessness began to overwhelm him.

Niragi crawled out of bed once again, and loomed over her crib, his breath heavy, teeth clenched. His fingers curled over the rails of the crib, his knuckles white. Tsuki’s cries continued, and Niragi felt himself starting to completely lose it. His breathing became shallow and heavy, and he felt lightheaded.

He sunk to the floor, his back against the railing of the crib, tired out of his mind. His eyes ached and throbbed from lack of sleep, eyelids heavy, and his body felt like it was being weighed down from exhaustion.

He just wanted to rest. Just a little bit.

He wanted to go numb.

He wanted to feel nothing.

He wanted everything to stop.

Just a few moments of peace and quiet was all he wanted. He just wanted to sleep and forget the reality he was condemned to live in.

He didn’t know what he did to deserve this, what sins he committed that he was atoning for now.

Stop… just stop… be quiet…. he thought.

He pressed the palms of his hands against his ears, covering them.

Be quiet, he begged silently. Please just be quiet.

Tears began to threaten to fall from his own eyes.

If she was here, she’d know what to do, he thought. She should be here.

Tsuki’s cries became piercing and impossible to drown out.

Niragi stood up almost too quickly, stumbling slightly over his own feet, and leaned over the crib railing.

“What? What?! WHAT?!” He asked, a little too loudly. “You’re not messy. You’re not hungry. You won’t sleep. Just what the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Tsuki’s cries hushed, and the baby girl looked up at him eyes wide, her lip quivering.

Whether she stopped crying to listen to him or because she was afraid of him, Niragi couldn’t tell.

Tears began to spill down his face.

“I’m trying. I’m fucking trying.” He cried. “I don’t know what to do. Do you think I wanted this? No! I wasn’t even ready for kids! But your mom…” his voice broke, “your mom wanted you so bad. And I went along with what she wanted. Mommy always got what she wanted, and now look! She’s not even here! How fucked is that?!” Sobs began to bubble up from his throat. “How could she leave like that?” He rested his head against the railing, allowing himself to let it all out. He didn’t care how loudly the sobs ripped out of his throat, he just couldn’t hold back.

The whimpering began again, and he looked at the baby girl with his piercing eyes.

“What? What do you want?!” He yelled, and Tsuki became silent once more as she stared up at her father, their gazes connecting.

He looked over her. She’d grown quite a bit in the past few weeks. Her downy hair had thickened, and was nearly a full head of dark, raven colored hair. Her milky skin was tinged bright pink from her crying, especially near her eyes and cheeks. But his heartstrings tugged as he looked deep into her eyes. Your eyes. Sure, they resembled his eye shape more, but the gaze, color, lashes, and depth… that was all you.

She stared up at him so intently and after what seemed like an eternity, Niragi felt like he understood.

“You just want someone to hold you, huh?” A stray tear fell from his right eye. Carefully, he did his best to lift Tsuki out of the crib, her whimpers shushing altogether. “That’s all you wanted, huh? It’s what you needed?” He felt a knot form in his throat again, and more tears began to fall. “Me, too.” He gingerly caressed her cheek, his scarred hands a huge contrast compared to her soft, unblemished skin.

How could he have been so careless?

He hadn’t been the only one hurting.

He wasn’t the only one who missed you.

Slowly, Niragi began to softly rock her back and forth in his arms as he paced around the room.

“You wanna know how Mommy and I met? Hm?” He asked her. “We met at a support group. There was an accident a few years ago in Shibuya, and your mommy and I got caught in the middle of it. That’s how I got all these scars, you know? Your mommy had some, too, but she was still the most beautiful person in the room. Always.” He smiled down at Tsuki, who had begun to coo quietly. “She asked me out first, too. I thought she wasn’t serious, but she was. My scars aren’t so bad right now, but they were back then. She still saw something in me, though. Something worth loving. We loved each other a lot.” Tsuki took hold of Niragi’s finger, squeezing it tightly. Niragi went on to tell her several stories of how he and you started off your relationship, your milestones as a couple, and even your wedding. “When your mom told me she was pregnant, I was scared shitless, but you know what? We loved each other. And it’s because we loved each other that you exist. You were made out of love, Tsuki.” Niragi stood by Tsuki’s crib, where moonlight from the window began to pour in.

He shifted the curtain open a bit more, the moon coming more into view. “You see the moon? That’s where mommy is, along with all the stars in the sky. And you wanna know what else? There’s a famous quote about it. ‘月が綺麗ですね(Tsuki ga kirei desu ne?).’ You know what it means? It means ‘the moon is beautiful, isn’t it?’ But you know something really cool? It’s that some people use this phrase to tell each other they love each other. Like their love is so true and obvious just like how there’s no doubt in the moon being beautiful. That’s why we named you ‘Tsuki,’ you know?”

Tsuki cooed curiously at the repetition of her name, but her eyelids began to flutter with sleepiness.

“For us, your mom and I, nothing was more certain than our love for each other and our love for you.” He gave her a sad smile, shifting his weight as he lay himself on the bed, with her resting on his chest. Tsuki wriggled a bit as she settled into the unfamiliar position but ultimately sighed with content.

Niragi did his best to find a position ideal for the both of them without jostling her too much and being as gently as he could, so as to not disturb Tsuki. He looked down at her and he was met with her tired gaze. Tsuki sighed deeply, bewildering Niragi completely, because frankly, he didn’t know babies could make such deep gestures. The corner of his mouth lifted. She was a weird baby, indeed.

He felt her muzzle up against his chest, cooing quietly. He chuckled softly, his fingers twitched and he reached his hand up to place the palm of his hand over her small back, lightly patting. He’d seen people do it in movies to try and coax babies to sleep, but he’d only ever done this action when trying to burp her, so he figured he ought to give using it to put her to sleep a shot. Niragi watched Tsuki’s eyelids flutter shut with a deep exhale.

She had been tired, too.

Niragi felt his heart swell at how Tsuki looked as she slept. The way her lashes lay flat against her cheeks, how her lower lip pouted out in her sleep. If he focused hard enough, he could feel the light thrumming of heart against his chest.

This little girl was his world.

“I love you, you know? I love you so much, Tsuki.” he hummed, as he gently rubbed circles on her back. “From here, to the moon, and back.”

Niragi had done his best to figure out how to manage on his own, doing his best to limit the amount of phone calls he made to either Usagi or Arisu with panicked parenting questions.

Tsuki was a relatively easy baby to take care of. She was quiet for the most part, only becoming fussy when she was hungry or sleepy. Her sleep schedule seemed to have adjusted to Niragi’s, as he had found that the kid could only really fully fall asleep if she slept on his chest. Sometimes he took advantage of her midday nap to catch a few Zs himself.

Niragi also found that she didn’t particularly like not having him where she could see him. She was a clingy little freak. He didn’t mind having her around though, and would often sit her on his lap while he worked at his desk. Sometimes he’d offer commentary as to what he was doing to the games he was working on, or what he’d fixed to make them run smoother. He knew Tsuki didn’t understand, but when she’d gurgle or make baby noises while he talked, he almost felt like she was responding to his conversation. Whenever he’d play video games himself, he’d still keep her on his lap and he found it amusing how entranced she’d become by all the colors and flashing lights coming from the monitor. Cutely, she’d giggle and kick her feet whenever Niragi would voice his excitement in the games he was playing. Clearly she found him entertaining.

When it came to eating, there wasn’t anything Tsuki wouldn’t eat. Except peas. She really hated peas. The one time he tried feeding her pea Gerber, she ate it just fine, only to spit it all back up on one of his only white t shirts. He assumed the experience of having to eat such an atrocious mash traumatized the poor kid because when he tried feeding them to her again, she just about slapped the pack out of his hand and refused to open her mouth to accept the spoon, even if he made airplane noises. She usually got a kick out of those.

Still. Niragi learned quickly.

He had come across a baby book you had put together with spaces left blank for pictures and writing, meant to document Tsuki’s milestones. He’d made sure to keep it up to date as much as he could. He’d managed to capture pictures of the first time she tried solid food(which was really just a piece of fruit she tried sucking on), the stunned look on her face when she’d gone to get her vaccines and to his surprise she did not cry, he also captured the first time she sat up on her own, and another where she was midway to rolling on to her back, one where she was aggressively nibbling on her foot, he also included a few selfies in which he’d caught her tugging on his nose ring or one of his many ear rings. The kid liked shiny things. He knew that you’d have gone crazy trying to fill the book up, wanting to capture every moment.

At 9 months old, Tsuki learned how to crawl. The way Niragi found this out was rather unconventional.

He could have sworn he set her down in the living room. On the carpet right in front of the TV. He knew exactly. Why was there no baby there? All he’d done was leave her there for 5 minutes while he answered the door to receive and sign for a package and as soon as he’d come back she was gone. There was no one else in the house. She couldn’t have moved on her own.

Could she?

“Tsuki?” He began to call out.

Nearly tripping over his own feet, Niragi ran through the kitchen, checking under the table, inside the pantry, nothing. He continued to call out to her, staying quiet enough to try and listen for a response, but nothing ever came. His socks slid across the floor as he ran into the nursery. A few toys were laying on the floor but no baby in sight. He poked his head into the bathroom, checking behind the clothes hamper, and inside the bathtub, with no luck. He checked the laundry room, inside the clothes baskets, inside the washer and dryer, hoping she hadn’t crawled in there.

Thankfully, she did not, but still he had not found her.

“Listen, kid, your papa’s not really into hide and seek, so if you’re hiding, you best come on out before I totally lose my shit.”

He ran to his room, this time stumbling onto his knees before running into it only to see that it was perfectly empty. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and dialed.

“Hello? Niragi?” Her voice sounded tired, almost as if she was just waking up.

“KUINA! I NEED YOUR HELP!” He was beginning to panic.

“Sheesh! Not so loud, you’re gonna busy my eardrums!”

“It’s Tsuki! I can’t find her anywhere.”

“Where’d you leave her? Are you sure your mom or Yuzuha didn’t pick her up?” Her tone was a little too cavalier for his taste, especially in the situation he found himself in.

“I left her in the living room, and I left to answer the door, and when I came back she was gone! I looked everywhere! The kitchen, the bathroom, my bedroom, her bedroom, the laundry room, the fucking closets.”

“Did you leave your back door open? Could anyone have gone inside at any point?” Her voice sounded more awake, now assessing the situation.

“Yes! It’s locked and dead bolted. No one’s been in here other than me and her, so unless someone climbed through a fucking window-“

“Okay, smartass, just check the rooms again. UNDER the furniture this time. Maybe she crawled under somewhere.”

“I told you I checked everywhere!” He checked under his bed, just in case, to find nothing. He walked through the rooms again, looking under furniture, to no avail. “The kid’s gone! I’ve got to call the police and make a report-“ he got to the end of the hallway and noticed the door to his study was slightly ajar, a faint glow coming from the dark room. No...

“What are they gonna do? You said no one’s been in or out of your house. God, how irresponsible could you have been to leave a baby on her own, Niragi?”

“Kuina, I’ll call you right back.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOULL CALL ME BA-” he hung up, cutting her off.

He walked into his dimly lit office, the faint glow of the tv he kept in there lightly lighting up the room.“Tsuki?”

He heard a soft mumbling coming from the room, and as he moved further inside, he saw his daughter on standing while holding on to the couch. She turned her little head to face him, his game controller in her hands, before letting herself fall back on her behind to sit on the floor.

“Uhhuh banana pplllbt,” she mused in her baby speak. Without so much as a glance his way, she began to chomp down on the controller with her gums.

“God damn it, kid!” He groaned in frustration. And relief. He sunk to the floor, running his hands through his hair, breathing shakily. “Holy shit.”

This caught Tsuki’s attention, and she released the controller to crawl his way. Despite his racing heart and frustrations, Niragi watched in awe as his little girl crawled his way. She giggled and squealed as she did so, clearly excited that she had learned something new. As soon as she got to where his legs were, she sat up and outstretched her little arms up at him, asking to be picked up, to which Niragi obliged. He held his little girl close to him, gently combing down her unruly hair. “You really had me scared for a minute, kid.” Tsuki cooed up at him. “Yeah. How’d you learn to move around like that, huh?”

He knew she was around the right age to start moving around, but he hadn’t really mentally prepared for it to actually happen. He did his best to read all the books and guide her so that she stayed at the same pace as other babies, but he still found himself in awe when she succeeded. All of the reading in the world, however, didn’t prepare him for what she did next. She bounced on his lap, reaching up to touch her baby hands up to his face. “Paaa... paaa... baba..”

His eyes widened. She mumbled things all the time. Ma, ba, ga, goo, all sorts of noises. But that felt a little too... smart. She had looked right at him, pointed at him and everything, and said what sounded like papa. That was too much of a coincidence. “Kid, you can’t play with Papa’s emotions like that. I’m not ready.”

“Papapa?” She repeated, smacking her little hand on his face.

“Are you seriously saying what I think you’re saying? Or am I crazy? I’m crazy aren’t I?”

“Papa!” She called out, giggling.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” He held his little girl close, doing all he could to not cry.

Niragi learned that Tsuki didn’t like strangers. She wouldn’t get too fussy, but she hid in the crook of his neck whenever they were out and she didn’t recognize the people that approached them.

She also got visibly excited when she did recognize people. Especially Kuina, or “koo” as she managed to say. Y/N had told her early on in the pregnancy that she hoped Kuina would be the baby’s godmother, and this was a role she took very seriously, always coming to visit with tons of toys and clothes. Kuina’s mother also deeply grew to love Tsuki, often sending food and side dishes with Kuina for them. Tsuki wasn’t particularly fond of her doctor, Dr. Chishiya. Matter of fact, she often kicked or smacked his hands away whenever he tried checking her, and only really let him do anything if he bribed her with candy. One time, he tried carrying her to put her on the baby scale, and pulled on his hair right at the root, causing him hand her over back to Niragi and say “I don’t need to check. She’s healthy enough,” whilst rubbing at his head.” Niragi noticed that the doctors and nurses made a point of tying their hair up whenever Tsuki was around for an appointment.

“Serves him right for prancing around with that mane of his. He reminded you of one of your dolls, didn’t he, Tsuki?” Niragi didn’t quite like him either at first, but the doctor had understood their situation and made himself available 24/7, which led to Niragi considering him as a family friend, much to the doctor’s chagrin.

“She can call me Uncle Shuntaro.” He had said whilst visiting the Niragi home after Tsuki had a late night fever. Despite her little attitude, Dr. Chishiya had developed a sort of liking to the kid. She had character, he thought.

“She can barely say Papa, and you expect her to say that mouthful, Shuntaro?” Niragi asked, incredulously.

Chishiya eyed him coldly with his feline eyes. “I said SHE could call me that. Not you.”

As Tsuki’s first birthday approached, no one really knew how to ask Niragi on whether they’d be having a birthday party for her. After all, it wasn’t just Tsuki’s birthday. It also marked the first year anniversary of you being gone. He had done his best to not think about it, even with the lack of prompting from the others, but this was something he still kept in mind. Birthdays only came once in a lifetime, but then again, so did a love like the one you and he had shared. How could he celebrate one while ignoring the other, or have a service for you and not doing anything for his daughter. He loved you both more than life itself.

He came up with a plan to try and do both. He wanted to make it a day for you both. So, Niragi had packed a bag for Tsuki and taken her on a tour of all the places the two of you frequented as a couple.

He took her to the arcade the two of you had gone on your first date, telling her of how you’d kissed his cheek when he managed to get the high score on the Alien FPS game. He took her to the cafe the two of you had often gone to during your lunch hours, and even fed her a bit of the filling from the egg sandwich you used to like so much. He found that Tsuki liked it a lot too. He took her to the botanical gardens. You had absolutely loved flowers and the two of you had gone almost every weekend. He took her to the zoo and made a point to take her to the aquatic exhibits and tell her how much you loved water animals, especially how “mama loved how cute the seals looked when they bounced all over the place.” He made sure to buy Tsuki a white seal plush at the gift store. He took her to an old video store, where the two of you often found yourselves on boring nights without much to do and had filled the void with movies. He bought copies of a few of your favorites, along with a few of his, making a mental note to watch them with Tsuki when she was old enough. Lastly, he took her to the carnival. He didn’t play any games, but he walked by them and told Tsuki all about which ones the two of you would play together. He told her about how he couldn’t explain how, but the two of you had always been drawn to this place and how free you both felt being here, almost as if you’d been there together in another life. He showed her the old swinging pirate ship and he told Tsuki about how it was your favorite ride and how one time you rode it so many times that you ended up puking cherry icee all over the side of the ride. He’d never seen so many people run away screaming. Niragi took Tsuki to the photo booth, and told her about how you had both gotten the idea to kiss each other on the cheek at the same time and ended up kissing each other for the first time on accident. The second one that came after wasn’t. He took her on a ride on the Ferris wheel, doing his best to hold her tightly and show her the view. He told her about after 3 years of dating, he had asked you to marry him at the very top.

Tsuki had smiled a lot throughout the day, notably whenever he used the words “mama” and “papa,” this didn’t go unnoticed by Niragi, and he felt partially guilty. He felt like maybe he should be talking to her about you more, but some days it was too much.

The ride home was a quiet one, other than for Tsuki’s babbling in the backseat as she tried to sing along to the faint music from the radio. He peeked at her through the rear view mirror. She was really starting to look like you. As she grew, her hair had gotten longer, and aside from his hair color, the texture resembled yours. Her eyes, although the shape resembling his, were the same color as yours. She had his nose, but her lips were yours. She was the perfect combination of you both with just the right amount of your features to ease his mind that the image of you wasn’t totally lost. He missed you. A lot. You had blessed him with a daughter, and he knew she was not meant to fill the void he had in his heart, but having her around really eased some of his pain.

As he approached the dark house, he spoke. “You know,” he began, Tsuki’s face perking up to look at him. “Back when Mama was around... I used to come home and the lights would be on.” She gurgled in response. “I’d go in and tell her I was home, and she’d always be there to welcome me. She always had dinner just about done by the time I came home from the office.” Tsuki hummed. “This is a house. But your Mama made it feel like a home.” Niragi pulled into the driveway, and with a heavy sigh gathered Tsuki out of her car seat and her souvenirs. He fumbled with his keys only to find that the door was unlocked. “That’s fucking weird,” he thought out loud. “I could have sworn I locked it...” He stepped inside, feeling the wall for the light-switch, only for his hand to touch someone else’s. Before he could react, the lights came on.

“SURPRISE!”

Niragi jumped back in shock, holding Tsuki protectively.

The room was filled with all of your close friends, all of which were wearing ridiculous party hats, and the living room was decorated with pink balloons and a sign that read “Happy Birthday Tsuki.” Dr. Chishiya aka Uncle Shuntaro. Kuina and her mother. Yuzuha and Arisu. Mr. Aguni the landlord. A few of your workplace coworkers were there too.

“What’s all of this?” He asked, stunned.

“We couldn’t let Tsuki’s birthday pass without a proper celebration.” Kuina explained. “No birthday is a birthday without a cake.”

“She’s right,” said Chishiya. “You celebrated the day your way, but we wanted to celebrate, too.”

“She’s such a precious baby, we just wanted to do something special for her.” Kuina’s mother chimed in.

“We know how much you’ve through...” Yuzuha began.

“We just wanted to show our support.” Arisu continued.

“For the both of you.” Yuzuha agreed.

“You’re both real fine kids, so all of us got together and put a little something together for ya.” said Aguni.

“I can’t... I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to you. All of you.” Niragi began, “the past year... really hasn’t been the easiest. With Y/N gone, and having to raise Tsuki on my own, trying to get my life together for the both of us... all of you have been such a big help to me. I can’t thank you enough. I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me and Tsuki.”

“There’s no need,” Aguni waved his hand, dismissively.

“He’s right.” Kuina smiled. “Everything we’ve done is because we wanted to.”

“You’re our friend.” nodded Yuzuha.

“You’re like family.” Arisu corrected.

And Niragi agreed. All these friends had become like an extended family of his. Always there.

His knees were shaking, a cold sweat formed on his brow. He felt queasy and on the brink of throwing up. He wasn’t ready for this. Quite frankly, he’d never be.

“You know, if you want to wait another year, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Papa, I’m five. I gotta go to school.”

They said the first day was the hardest. Niragi had held the slightest hope that Tsuki would throw a tantrum and outright refuse to go to school, but to his disappointment she had been rather excited. She was incredibly bright for her age, already knowing how to count to one hundred, knowing her colors, as well as all the letters of the alphabet. She even knew how to write her name in Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana.

“I know you do, but still, Papa will be lonely without you.”

“But you’ve got work stuff to do.”

“But you’re my little helper.”

“I’m a kid, papa.”

“Since when are you a little smartass?”

She shrugged. “If I’m smart, that means I gotta go to school.”

“I- Now where the fu-”

“Papa, hurry up! I’m gonna be late!” Tsuki grabbed on to his hand and dragged him away from the parking lot and closer to the school gates. He could feel the eyes of others burning holes into his figure. This was another reason he worried about her coming to school. The prying eyes of others. Even though the surgeries he’d gotten had managed to make him look relatively normal, upon closer inspection, there was still visible scarring. He’d never forgive himself if he became the cause of Tsuki being bullied.

He signed in at the front desk and gathered all the paperwork for Tsuki’s schedule, class directory, and list of school supplies.

“You’ve got art class.” He mused.

“Really?” The corners of her eyes perked up in curiosity.

“I didn’t think kids could learn art.”

“Aunt Yuzuha’s kids draw on the walls. Uncle Arisu calls that art.” She said. “I think it’s messy.”

“Well aren’t you a little critic.” He chuckled.

“It’s true. What kind of dummy makes grass red?”

“Tsuki, you can’t call other kids a dummy.”

“But you call other people things, too.”

“I’m a grown up.”

“Then can i call them dummy when I’m a grown up, too?”

“For sure.”

Tsuki nodded in understanding.

The two reached her classroom and while Tsuki was led to her seat by the teacher, Niragi stood to the side with all the other parents, most of them being moms. If he was being honest, he felt awkward and out of place. Compared to the other parents, he was sure he was the youngest parent there. Chills ran down his neck, as he looked around and saw the other parents throwing side glances at him, and a soft hum of whispers surrounded him. He tried to shrug it off and focus on Tsuki, who was now chatting away with her classmates. He noticed that the other kids say something and pointed in his direction, to which Tsuki would shrug and and answer like it was no big deal. Oh no, he thought. It’s starting.

“First time?” A voice said behind him.

Niragi turned to see an older man with shaggy black hair covered in a beige fedora, his eyes hidden behind big dark sunglasses. What kind of a freak wears a hat and shades indoors? Niragi thought, but nonetheless, he nodded. The older man patted him on the back. “It’s never easy.” He said with a smile. “Which ones yours?”

“Umm, the little girl over there. The one with the silver clips in her hair.” Niragi described. “Her name is Tsuki.”

“Oh, she’s absolutely precious!” The older man gushed.

“What about you?”

“Oh, I’ve got two. The boy and the girl on either side of your girl. Twins.” He said proudly. “Nara and Naoki. Little devils, those two.”

“Is this your first time here, too?”

“Me? No. I’m an old timer. My oldest, Nanase, is a second year at the middle school nearby.” He sighed with a smile. “But just looking at your face I can tell this is your first time.”

“Really? You can tell?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He wove his hand up and down, dismissively. “We’ve all been there. Ain’t that right, Mrs. Kobayashi?” He nudged the lady next to him, who gave him nothing more than an awkward side eye. “Don’t mind her. She’s a hoot at PTA meetings.”

The teacher interrupted the parents’ chatter and asked them to bid farewell to the children so that they could commence the first day of school. Niragi panicked and looked at Tsuki who flashed him a dimply grin. He took a deep breath. She’s fine. She wants to be here. The two shared one last look before he walked out of the classroom with the other parents.

“Hey, kid.” He heard the strange man call out, causing Niragi to look back at him once more. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Niragi. Suguru. I’m Niragi Suguru.” He bowed politely.

“Nice to meet you, Niragi.” He tipped his hat in acknowledgement. “I’m Danma Takeru.”

The two chatted for a bit more and exchanged numbers with Mr. Danma, or Hatter as he liked to be called due to his profession, saying the kids just had to get together for play dates sometime.

The day passed by horribly slow, with Niragi getting virtually no work done. His thoughts consumed with how Tsuki must be doing at school. 3 o clock couldn’t come soon enough and be just about sped to the school. Tsuki waited for him by the gate, holding several papers in her hands.

“Papa!” She exclaimed, running excitedly up to her dad.

“Hey, kid!” Niragi crouched to pick her up in his arms. “How’d it go?” He asked as he walked them back to his car.

“It was kind of boring.” She admitted. “But that’s cuz I already know all the stuff.”

“Really!”

“Uh huh.” She nodded.

“Whatcha got there?”

“Oh!” She held up the papers. “I made these! Ms. Nobuo let us use paints to draw shapes! And the art teacher lady Ms. Osaki let me use pastel thingies!” She held up her work for him to see.

“Wow! You did great, kiddo.” He took the papers from her hands as he ser her into her car seat and buckled her in. As he got into his own, he looked over the papers, smiling at her work. She really had a knack for creativity. Tsuki chatted away about her day on the ride home, and Niragi felt at slightly at ease that her school experience had gone better than his.

“Oh my goodness! Papa, I almost forgot!”

“What’s up?”

“Papa, all the kids kept asking me about you.”

His eyebrows shot up, a bit concerned. “Me?”

“Uh huh. All the kids said your hair and the shiny thingies on your face make you look like a rockstar.”

“Huh.” He chuckled, dryly. “They said that?”

“Uh huh! And then all the boys went all crazy cuz I told them you work on video games and that you and Mama helped make that Borderland game.”

He smiled at her through the rear view mirror. “You told them about Mama?” He felt his heart tug a bit. Kids always said what they thought, so he could imagine what kind of responses they might have at Tsuki’s... situation.

“Yup! They think you guys are so cool and that they wished their parents were like you guys.”

“Is that so, kid?” He chuckled, relieved she had managed to get positive attention. “Did you make friends?”

“Not really... all the kids were kinda noisy... I talked a lot with these kids... what were their names? Naka and Naori!”

“You mean Nara and Naoki?” Niragi laughed.

Tsuki gasped. “How did you know?!”

“I met their dad. He’s kind of...”

“Weird?” Tsuki answered. “They’re weird, too.” She giggled.

Tsuki’s school years came and went, and she had grown quite a lot. She had become taller, and her hair had become longer and fell down to her waist. Unfortunately, she’d inherited his eyesight and needed to wear glasses, but she didn’t seem to mind. Some time in her early teens she had asked him if she could get her ears pierced, to which he was a it stunned she felt she needed to ask, since he had gotten his without permission from anyone and just cuz he’d felt like it. He agreed, and went along with her. What he didn’t expect was her wanting to get four done on each ear on the first sitting, and had been slightly proud at his daughter’s determination. However... Niragi wasn’t too happy when he found out she’d gotten her belly button pierced while on a school trip to a beach resort.

She did well in school, she participated in school clubs, and never complained about doing her chores around the house. She even had a handful of friends, for which Niragi was thankful for. On one occasion, he’d overheard one of them refer to him as a dilf, which he didn’t understand, and when he asked Tsuki about it, she became flustered and urgently changed the subject, and when he asked Kuina, she laughed in his face. He didn’t dare look up the meaning online.

They say parents are never prepared for their children’s milestones, but when Tsuki graduated high school with honors, he really couldn’t believe it. 18 years had gone by quickly right before his eyes, and the little girl

25 years had passed in the blink of an eye. Tsuki had graduated from university, having pursued a degree as a software engineer specializing in AI development. During her internship, she’d met someone special and developed a friendship which blossomed into romance. Of all the things Niragi had never given much thought to doing, giving his daughter away was at the very top.

Tsuki had shook nervously as Niragi walked her down the aisle, whispering to him “Please, don’t let me fall, Papa.” To which he replied that even if she did, he’d be right there to pick her up. He was thankful her groom came from a large family, believing it to be a far less lonely atmosphere. Nonetheless, he was happy that he had been lucky enough to amass a good deal of close friends to accompany him on this journey.

At the reception, Kuina and Yuzuha had just about shoved Niragi on the dance floor for his father daughter dance with Tsuki, who had taken it upon herself to choose the song. With the lyrics of “When She Loved Me,” matched to the scene of Niragi and Tsuki, rest assured, there was not a single dry eye in the house.

During the dinner, somewhere within him, Niragi felt the courage to stand and tap his spoon against his champagne glass. “I’d like to say a few words. I didn’t prepare anything, but... I’d like to speak from the heart.” He announced, to which everyone in the hall suddenly hushed in respect. “The last time I went to a wedding,” Niragi began, “was about 26 years ago. And just like the bride and groom, I was marrying the love of my life.” He looked down at his glass of champagne, briefly, before continuing. “Love is a crazy thing, really. It’s having this connection with someone that you just can’t explain and you really don’t have to because they already understand. Love is scary. It’s finding someone that accepts you, flaws and all, whether they be physical, emotions, psychological, metaphorical, what have you. Love is pretending to lose at a video game you’ve cleared at least 20 times just so you can watch them be happy.” He chuckled as the crowd quietly laughed. “It’s about getting a call at three in the morning asking you if you want to go out and get donuts at the 24/7 donut shop downtown. Love is... not being able to hear anyone say your given name because no one else says it as beautifully as that one person. Love is hating rainy days all your life but learning to love them when they drag you under the rain to dance. It’s when you’re driving and she reaches out to hold your hand. It’s about holding each other after nightmares and reminding each other that none of it’s real, even when reality sometimes feels like it’s a nightmare. It’s about treasuring every single moment because you’ll never know when it will be the last.” At this point, everyone who wasn’t crying already was tearing up at the realization of Niragi’s words. “It’s about being scared together. When your plans change and suddenly you’re getting ready to bring another life into the world together. That look between the two of you when you feel your baby kick for the first time at the sound of you voice. Staying up until dawn figuring out baby names because your child deserves something totally unique. Love is when you hold your baby girl and you realize that you really can love someone just as much, if not more, than the love of your life because... she is your life. As some of you know, Y/N isn’t with us today, but I know better than anyone that she would have loved to be here, and even though we can’t see her, she’s still with us.” He smiled. “the love she and I had... I like to think of it as something that only happens once in a lifetime, because to me, there really was no one else I could see myself with that wasn’t Y/N. But the way I see you two kids with each other... this is YOUR once in a lifetime. Treasure it. Always.” He looked directly into his new son-in-law’s eyes. “My life is in your hands now.”

#ITS OUT #daddy niragi lives #alice in borderland #ima wa no kuni no alice #imawa no kuni no arisu #suguru niragi #niragi #niragi suguru #aib #arisu ryohei #arisu #chishiya #shuntaro chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #kuina #hikari kuina #kuina hikari

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drivingsideways · 3 years

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Hey talk to me about your top three favourite kdrama women. What makes them special? What's a fic you would like to write about any one of them?

Mystery anon! :D What a lovely ask.

I’m going to cheat a bit and divide my answer into characters I loved a lot, but do not want to write fic about, because I think the canon gives me what I need; and characters that I loved a lot but NEED TO BE RESCUED ZOMG. (My fic writing impulses are 50% spite and 50% fix-it )

Caveat being that I’ve still watched only maybe a dozen kdramas, so I’m pretty limited in my knowledge!

Characters that I love a lot, but have very zero fic impulses toward:

Han Yeo-jin from Stranger/Secret Forest: What a delight! What an iconique character! Is there anyone like her? NO. LSY-nim gives us a delightfully complex character, and Bae Doona knocks it out of the park in every single scene, so I’m just happy to be along for the ride. I think what makes Yeo-jin special for me is the intrinsic place of empathy that she operates from. I think “righteous” is a word that often comes with negative connotations (self-righteous, for eg), but I do think she’s one of the most righteous-in-the-good-way characters I’ve watched in kdrama or any drama. I’m tired of stories that portray goodness as “boring” , as unworthy of narrative breadth or depth, and I love that Han Yeo-jin comes to us like a breath of fresh air in our particular dystopian narratives hellscape. She’s good, but never naive. She’s righteous but never cruel in her moral certainties. I think that LSY nim, in the second season especially, gave Yeo-jin the kind of arc that character deserved when she’s forced to really dig deep into herself to figure out how she’s going to live in the world in the face of a deeply cutting, deeply personal disillusionment, and I’m really hoping for an S3 to see how that plays out further.

Goo Hae-ryung from Rookie Historian: Ok, I will admit this may be rose tinted glasses view due to this show being my gateway drug into kdrama, but c’mon! She’s a reader! and a Thinker! And loves her wine! She’s plucky! She’s cute! She’s got a wry sense of humour! She’s got principles! She’s got a solid common sense to her that somehow doesn’t get in the way of her dreaming BIG! Oh dear, doesn’t she sound like the Mary-est of Mary Sues? Good for her.gif, I say! Anyways, Shin Se-kyung is unutterably charming in this (AS IN EVERY SHOW OMG GIRL) and I just have a huge fondness for free-spirited heroines who get to tramp through the narrative changing the world as they do!

Lee Ji-an from My Ahjussi: I’ve never had my heart broken more OR restored by any single character. IU is *phenomenal * in this, I think she really stepped up to what the script demanded from her. Ji-an’s weariness, her fear and vulnerability, her prickliness, her anger and her bitterness, and how, despite everything, she fights : GOD. Just. Again, what I love about the writing in this show is that it’s deeply empathetic without being cloyingly sentimental. I think a less, hmm, imaginative writer/PD might have focused on the Lee Ji-an the victim, and while the show definitely tells you in no uncertain terms that she is one, of both circumstances and a cruel society, I think it refuses to take away her agency over her own life.(Lee Ji-an when we meet her is too busy hanging onto life by tooth and claw to indulge in self-pity, but we also see the toll it takes on her not to be able to say “this is too heavy a burden for me to carry myself and it isn’t my fault”; the show I think approaches Dong-hoon from the opposite side- his emotional isolation is partly a result of his own choices, but he doesn’t see it yet, and so his journey is also about letting people in and sharing the burden, but also recovering his own agency over his life. It’s an interestingly gender-bent arc, which is one of the things I love about this show. )

Ok, can I please add one more?

Hwang Han-joo from Melo is my Nature: She just felt SO real to me. She’s someone who doesn’t have the spectacular brilliance of either Jin-joo or Eun-jung, and struggles with accepting her limitations but not allowing herself to be defeated by them? I love her struggles as a mother, as a working woman in a sexist industry, a woman who’s perhaps having to rethink and reimagine what she wants from romance. I love that she’s a little silly, a lot kind, and an optimist, and just. I just think she’s the bravest of the three, tbh, and I LOVE HER AND I WOULD WATCH A SPIN OFF ABOUT JUST HER (i shouldn’t have faves among the three i know, BUT I DO, IT’S HER, IT’S HER.)

Ok! On to the next section! And I’m going to cheat again because I can’t stop at three. SORRY. NOT SORRY.

Characters I love and SHOULD write fic for if I weren’t such a tired and lazy bunny:

Song Sa-hui from Rookie Historian: Oh, girl, girl, GIRL. I love how she fights to snatch her freedom from the jaws of the patriarchy. I love that she unapologetically centers herself while doing that, because she knows that nobody else will. I love that she’s prickly and calculating. I love that she’s smart and knowledgeable. I am SO HAPPY that she got to carve out a little bit of freedom for herself, even if it also is exile to some degree. She *should * be Emperor Jin’s Prime Minister and steering the ship of state, while also carrying on a tumultous affair with Queen Min Woo-hee, while ALSO commiserating with Emperor Jin about his boyfriend Historian Min Woo-won’s regrettable tendency towards Principles (TM) and masochism-but-not-in-the-fun-way. (This takes up much of his time which is why Song Sa-hui is running the country, of course. It works out well for all concerned, well, except her dad, of course.)

Song Ga-gyeong from Search:WWW: What’s NOT to love about our brilliant, beautiful, emotionally tortured gay icon? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I loved how the show allowed her to be flawed and make bad decisions, and then allowed her to make better decisions and regain control of her life. What I do need to do, of course, is see the CANON LOVE STORY between her and Cha Hyeon through to the end. It must, of course, include at least one baseball game, a lot of tequila and messy beach kisses.

Oh Ji-hwa from Beyond Evil: Oh boy, this year’s runaway hit cleared the extremely low bar for standard crime/ thriller shows by leaving more than one of its female characters breathing and with all limbs intact, and got called feminist for it BUT it didn’t do justice to any of them in any meaningful way and that never hurt more than in the way they sidelined Kim Shin-rok’s talent by not giving Oh Ji-hwa anything much to do. She’s a tough as nails cop, a loving sister, a devoted but unsentimental friend-and by rights SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HEROINE OF THIS SHOW. My secret fic fantasy is to rewrite the show entirely by making her , and the two other female characters in non-antagonist roles- Yoo Jae-yi and Im Sun-nyeo- as the central characters, as they investigate a serial killer who targets women. It’s the only acceptable version of this done-to-death (ha!) genre, I have no idea what the Baeksang jury and tumblr fandom is smoking when they hype the show so much, I want none of it.

Jung Sun-ah from The Devil Judge: I love her rage, her spite, her passionate defense of women, her style, her sexiness, her rage, her rage, her brilliance, her tenaciousness, her smartness, her clothes, her refusal to hate herself for everything she is and chooses to be, her ambition, her comfort wielding power, her EVERYTHING. Dead, her? NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT. Here’s what *really * happened at the end of canon- she gets out of the building by planting that lady-like but still deadly gun against Kang Yo-han’s temple and making him lead her through his own “secret escape route” or whatever the fuck it was the show wanted us to believe. From there on out, it’s all sunshine and beaches, and scheming and waiting for the right moment to strike again-though of course, this time around, she also has to reckon with vigilant, tenacious cop Soo-hyun -another character who REALLY didn’t die for manpain reasons and had the good sense to leave her gay best friend to follow his psychopath boyfriend to Switzerland or wherever it is that star crossed lovers in kdrama land meet up on the regs these days- anyways, Soo-hyun and her are in this catch-me-if-you-can epic transnational honest and cute cop-and-beautiful sexy villain chase and yes, they WILL kiss (and more) AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS.

*whew *

Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.

#kdrama #thank you for this ask OMG #[fiona apple voice] ladies ladies ladies ladies

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nhi-theuserof-this · 3 years

Text

@sharpie-chen I said I’d write a oneshot

@give-grian-rights I have come to feed your brain ideas

TW// depictions of blood(vague), fighting, almost drowning(vague)

All kept vague but are described in detail in the version linked at the very bottom of the post

—

Technoblade.

Blood God. Merciless. Undefeated. The second worst thing to happen to the orphans.

His iconic crown was freshly polished and sitting back at his camp site because he didn’t want it to smudge while raiding a pillager outpost. For a little extra supplies on his journey.

Technoblade would’ve gotten back sooner if it weren’t for the screetching of an endedmen in the distance. Endermen were only aggrivated when attacked or if you made eye contact with them, and Technoblade had done neither meaning someone was nearby.

By the time Technoblade had gotten there, the fight was already over. Blood spattered across a small campsite and a single ender pearl hovering above the ground, a bloody mass slowly moving down the river somewhat covered by a cloak that twisted around it. Whatever had happened simply wasn’t of interest to techno as he snatched up the pearl on the edge of the river and turned back towards his own campsite.

A hand shot out of the mass and yanked on Techno’s cloak, causing Techno to drop his loosely held axe as he fell into the river. Technoblade felt two hands grab him tightly as they pulled him closely to themself.

Technoblade twisted around and kicked off of the figure and immediately began swimming towards the surface, the attacker following closely behind as they were just out of eachothers reach. Technoblade had pulled himself out of the river and the figure had closely followed. Just as they started climbing up, Techno looked back and kicked them back into the river.

After closer examination, Techno had been stabbed by a concealed weapon and he was not in range of any healing potions, having used them when raiding the pillagers. Bleeding at a steady rate without bandages, Techno trudged back towards his very far away camp.

Techno was barely consious as he reached his campsite, not registering the fact that things were out of place and how his crown was not there. All he did was collapse onto the ground and frowned as he saw a small figure approach. “Didn’t your parents teach you not to get near strangers?”

The kid mumbled something as Techno’s eyesight blurred. “Sorry kid, you’re gonna need to repeat that for me.”

“None.” Said a distorted voice, as the kid nervously looked away from Techno’s gaze. He would later put two and two together and figure out his parents were the ones that he found the remains of back at the other site, but Techno could barely think and almost didn’t register that this kid was an orphan now.

“I guess you’ve peaked in luckieness then,” Techno mumbled as his eyes slowly drooped and became half lidded. “B’cause if I wasn’t bleedn’ out right now I’d totally slay you.”

The small kid took a step back and Techno grinned, finding happiness in the fact that even on the verge of being forced to respawn, he could still terrorize small children.

Technoblade had woken up to the godawful smell of healing potions and dried blood. This should not be possible. He had passed out infront of an orphan hybrid and was supposed to bleed until Minecraft took pity on him and put him in the respawn menu. Instead, he is currently lying in his makeshift tent, splash potions staining his pants, partially undressed with poorly tied bandages around his wound.

He abruptly sat up, startling the orphan child from before into teleporting away. After an akward moment, the child came walking back with another potion as if he wasn’t startled into teleporting away, making it seem like he didn’t even remember it happening as he just waved when he saw Technoblade was awake.

Technoblade was suffeing a moral dilemma, and that never happens.

It’s completely against his own character to not slay an orphan, but it just feels.. wrong, wanting to slay the orphan that saved him from the pain that is respawning.

“Hey kid.” Techno mumbled as he dug into one of his many hidden pockets. “Come here for a second.”

The small hybrid teleported within arms reach as Techno took a string of measuring tape out of his pocket and wrapped it around the kid’s head. “Let’s go on a journey.” Techno grinned as he took note of the size the measurement was.

Technoblade had taught this orphan many things.

“Make sure you always have full hunger.” After the orphan had run out of sprint as the two were running from several pillagers.

“Keep something to reduce or minimize fall damage in your inventory, preferably a water bucket, but I know you don’t like water.” After the orphan tripped and fell off a particularly tall tree while trying to look for a lava pool.

“Keep a close eye on your surroundings.” After the orphan got caught between a ghast an two skeleton.

The lessons kept up until the two were in the blacksmith of an abandoned village as Techno measured the orphan’s head one more time as he set to work on something made of gold. He kept most of the larger peices locked in a chest.

“Here.” Techno said, opening the door to the blacksmith signaling that the orphan could come inside to see what Techno had been working on.

Lined up on a dusty table were several different sized crowns. On the inside of each one were different small messages written for the orphan. “I have elected that as a small orphan child, you shouldn’t be allowed to see the things I do, and I can’t have the enemy mistake you for someone they can use as a hostage. Become greater then all the rest.”

Techno scribbled a messy note onto a paper and stuck it into his pocket. “Kid.” Techno said turning towards a crafting bench motioning towards it as the orphan followed. “This is how you craft an ender chest.” Techno said as he crafted two of them and passed one to the orphan. “Place one down on the other side of the room.” And the orphan did so.

“Try putting a stick in there.” Techno said placing the other chest beside himself. “Now try looking into this chest.” Techno explained how enderchests worked and how they were only universal to worlds but existed everywhere. He told the orphan that he should keep the crowns in the server hub to maximize accessibility. “Once you grow out of it you can go to the next one, and that one’ll fit you.”

Technoblade and the boyorphan were in front of a portal to a place Technoblade knew quite well. Techno turned to the boy and pressed the messy note he wrote into his hands. “Read it once you go through, and don’t forget to listen to the crown, ‘Make sure you have a signature so the people remember who crushed them.’”

“Goodbye.” Technoblade said as his boy walked through the portal.

“Ranboo.”

——

Graphic edition: https://nhi-theuserof-this.tumblr.com/post/636290875226570752/tw-depictions-of-blood-gore-fighting-almost

——

Bruhhh so how’d I do mcyt tumblr?

Very quick edit: I’m finna be offline for the next 6-8 hours as of this edit because this is a school night :shrugs: btw how do people make custom tags??? I’m limited to mobile so that might be it

—

Edit(8 hours later)

I SAID HOW’D I DO MCYT TUMBLR?

Edit: saw a post of techno saying some stuff about the ranboo and him relationship thing so I might take this down depending on where this goes because I don’t wanna make technoblade uncomfortable

#mcyt #dream smp #mcytau #technoblade #ranboo #nhiwrotehere

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emletish-fish · 3 years

Note

7. what is you favorite sentence/paragraph? read it to us! (asker can choose what fic) (x)

I chose three! One from each of my 'big fics'. No Zombies, Worst Prisoners and Good Boys under the cut:

NO ZOMBIES:

No Zombies was a delight to write. I had pretty much the whole idea from the get-go, (of a returned style AU with Hector coming to spend time with the family in the modern world). I finished it quick - and it's not too long (side-eyeing Good Boy and Worst Prisoner). It was the first fic where I felt like I really "stuck" the landing. I was quite flexible with my original outline, but I still knew where the journey ended. It ended exactly how I wanted it too - happily but with a bitter-sweet note.

The emotional core of this story is how Elena, family matriach, who is so gruff and no-nonsense, who despises Hector in the films, and who has such a warm heart under such a grumpy exterior would slowly soften and come to love Hector, (and how she grows as a person because of this and becomes more comfortable showing love/emotions to her family). It was like a platonic slow-burn as she learns to understand Hector better - which is why this bit is my favourite because it's where she starts to really feel fond of him for the first time:

“Well, I'm just glad I'm a better teacher for him than watching old Ernesto De La Cruz movies.” Héctor had replied with a wry smile. “It's probably because I'm so much more handsome than that butt-chinned, over-the-top ham.”

“Because you're a pointy-chinned, over-the-top ham?” Elena replied, feeling surprising witty. She never made teasing jokes like this normally, but it was so easy with Héctor.

He looked mock-offended. “I'll have you know, my chin is wonderful and I've given it to several of your grandchildren, so there.”

If Elena was a different person, she probably would have pulled Héctor into a warm, laughing hug then. She might have told him seriously that Miguel had always been difficult for her. He felt things so strongly and got so upset and emotional – she'd always struggled with how to help him, how to calm him. Miguel was so happy now. She knew that was because of Héctor.

She might have told Héctor that he was at least six thousand times the musician, eight thousand times the teacher, and ten thousand times the man that Ernesto De La Cruz was.

But Elena was who she was.

Instead she said “Idiot,” and ruffled his stupidly messy hair rather fondly.

She told herself she wasn't warming to the fool musician, but she knew it was a lie.

GOOD BOY:

My current work. It's another platonic slow-burn, but this time set in the Cobra Kai universe with son and father pair - Robby Keene and Johnny Lawrence. In the show, these two characters have such a dysfunctional relationship that is so full of miscommunications and missed chances, and they genuinely want a better relationship (and it would be so healing for both of them! Do not get me started!) I lean much more into the magical realism in this story, as I turned Robby into a dog (Animal transformation - PIXAR's Brave style), so that he could immediately get the cuddles and easy affection he so clearly needs.... because I have never seen a more touch/affection-starved character aside from Zuko in ATLA.

This also gave Robby a chance to really understand, not only his father, but the other people in his cicrcle. He discovered he had a support network. He got to know he was loved by many. he got to witness the actions people would take as they searched for human-him (not knowing that he'd been turned into a dog). And it gave Johnny a chance to learn how to take care of something, feel needed, and express his love for his son without the weight of their complicated history/his own trauma hanging over him. It was hard to pick a favourite, but I will say the Johnny-stream-of-conciousness chapters are definitely the easiest/most fun to write. One of my favourite bits is in the first one, The queen of ice-cream runaway when Johnny tells Robby about when Laura (his grandmother) found out Shannon was pregnant and she was going to be a grandmother.

It's the first inkling Robby gets that while his father wasn't there for him and he was neglected a lot, Johnny did his best to keep the bad shit from his own childhood away from Robby as his own way of showing care. It hints at the deep and damaging abuse Johnny endured. When he finally had a say with his own kid, he would have done anything to protect Robby from feeling the same. I'd say here is where Robby really begins to warm to his Dad;

Then I told her our chosen name and she said I was a dumbass and Swayze was a terrible middle name, and we had to change it to some shit like Alastair or something. She thought he should have a rich sounding middle name. And I say Mom, Alastair sounds like some lame-ass insurance broker who upskirts his secretary and then cries as he jerks off to the pictures, what else you got? She thought Sebastian, and that was worse! What a pussy name. Sebastian is going to be sitting in the little french patisserie cafe drinking the tiny-ass coffee for dolls and eating the éclair with his prissy finger tips. I already want to kick Sebastian's ass. Who wouldn’t? I’m not going to give my kid a name that is going to get his ass kicked.

And she couldn't talk, cause she named me after Johnny Cash, just cause she liked his music. And she couldn't think of a middle name at the time, so I didn't get one. Thank goodness. I could have ended up Johnny Alastair and had to kick my own ass.

So Swayze stayed.

Then she mentions how she and Sid can help out, so I didn't need to do the two jobs, stupidly long hours thing. And we need the money. I know we need the money. But my whole body froze and I just went No. None of that for little Robby Swayze. ...

... She’s going on about spending Sid’s money on Robby and I just...I can’t. I can't allow it. Cause I knew how he would be, and the way he would treat that kid. So I tell her, no thank you. Not a fucking cent mom. Sid’s not getting to feel like he owns a hair on Robby’s head. That motherfucker can go jump. You thought we needed Sid’s money when I was a kid. You decided it was better for me, and that was your choice. I did not get a vote in that. But this is my kid, and this time it is my call, and I am choosing no. I’m not going to have Sid make my kid feel like he has to apologise for existing every day. I'm not going to have Sid treat my kid the way he treated me. I will never need money that badly. I will never put my kid through that. I'll work myself to the bone doing 20 hour days before that. I'll work on the 40th floor without a harness before that. I will sell my fucking organs before it comes to that. Not a cent mom.

WORST PRISONER:

My 'what if Zuko made friends with the Gaang early on?" AU that then turned into a three-book long saga (and I will return to it, Worst Prisoner readers - Thank you for you patience). It does have evenutal Zutara, but the focus is really on the Gaang + Zuko as a whole, and all the interpersonal relationships. I'd say there is more gen-shipping around Zuko as a central character, as Iroh & Zuko, and Sokka & Zuko are both given equal prominence. in fact, all the friendships and familial relationships were equally important to me. (the book 3 Zuko & Azula stuff is so interesting, but it is ...less funny I guess.)

This fic is such a joy to write, and I really try and balance the humour with the bittersweet/sad parts, and one of the main sources of humor was the Sokka-Aang-Zuko -Katara qudrangle of dumbassery. I love the four of them together in book 1, and so many of their interactions were a hoot to write. But if I'd have to pick a favourite moment, it would be the moment in the deserter chapter in book 1, where they all decide to 'officially' be friends:

“Well, you can figure that out and find someone while I'm up in the Northern Water Tribe. Then when we finish up there, we'll come find you,” Aang offered.

“Really?” Zuko’s eyes were shining optimistically. It was a strange expression for him. Aang was so used to seeing him with a grumpy face.

“Really, I promise,” Aang said, feeling so glad that he could help Zuko go home.

“Yeah, I second that. If this means we won’t have to put up with you chasing us, I am in!” Sokka said. “Sheesh, you could have just asked ages ago!”

“You know, this means I was right,” Aang started to say, feeling very vindicated. The others looked at him curiously. “If we had just talked about friendship in the forest, we could have sorted this out weeks ago!”

“Boo, forest friendship!” Sokka said.

“Don't boo him,” Katara admonished, elbowing her brother.

“I agree with Sokka. There's no way I would have appreciated that speech weeks ago, Aang,” Zuko said.

Sokka smiled at Zuko for saying he agreed with him. It actually wasn't that rare of an occurrence, but it still seemed to surprise Sokka every time.

“See, Aang, forest friendship is bullshit,” Sokka said.

“I didn't say that!” Zuko cut in. “I just meant, maybe … I had to be dragged all over the Earth Kingdom by you guys ... and shot ... and taken to nonsense fortune tellers ... and I had to be forced to eat Sokka's truly terrible and disgusting cooking—”

“Oi!”

“—and I had listen to Aang lecture me about friendship and vegetarianism in the forest just so I could come here.” He looked around at the deserters’ camp site. “I dunno, maybe it was meant to be this way.”

“What are you saying? You want to be forest friends with Aang now?” Sokka asked accusingly.

“I mean, sure. If Aang will have me, we can be friends,” Zuko said, and looked uncertain.

“Yay! I knew you'd want to be my friend,” Aang said, feeling delighted.

He was so happy he had a Fire Nation friend again. Kuzon had been an amazing friend, even though he'd gotten Aang into so many sticky situations. He had already thought Zuko was his friend, but it was nice to make it official. Aang always knew the Fire Nation had good people in it too, and now he had been proven right. He jumped up and gave Zuko a huge hug.

#Emletish answers #Emletish writes #Fic: No Zombies #Fic: Good Boy #Fic: Worst Prisoner

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feathersandblue · 3 years

Text

Dean Winchester, Character Death, and Frodo’s Return to the Shire

This will be a LOOONG post that has been stuck in my head for a while in bits and pieces - about Dean’s death, what it was and what it wasn’t, and incidentally, the Lord of the Rings has found its way in here too.

It’s pretty clear that Dabb always meant for Dean to die.

And while I strongly disagree with that, on so many levels, I think it might have been more palatable if framed in a different way, and so I’ve been trying to figure out what the ending might have looked like in a world that wasn’t quite as shitty as ours. Still shitty, but marginally less so.

Dean is notoriously bad at letting bad things happen if he can prevent them. I find it difficult to believe that Dean would ever quit hunting entirely, and for as long as he kept hunting, the danger of dying would always be present. It’s not unrealistic at all for him to die on a routine hunt. Life is unpredictable; life as a hunter, even more so. I understand that the writers might want to make that point. And it might have been valid if – and that’s the real problem – Dean’s death hadn’t otherwise been devoid of meaning.

The thing about character death – any sort of character death – is that it needs to have purpose.

And there are different ways that it can have purpose, but it depends on what sort of character we’re talking about.

Minor, often unnamed characters – the redshirts in every narrative – die to illustrate injustice or to highlight evil. Their death is a catalyst or a consequence of the events as they unfold, part of the conflict the heros have to solve. An army led into battle by a tyrant. Refugees in a camp dying of malnutrition. Murder victims of a serial killer. In all these cases, death fuels the plot but has little meaning beyond that.

There are minor characters whose death both fuels the plot and gives the hero a more personal motive to act. Supernatural is full of these. Mary and Jessica burning at the ceiling; Charlie dumped in a bathtub. Minor characters can have their own arcs, but ultimately their deaths are only important for the impact they have on the main characters.

The death of a protagonist is markedly different. Protagonists need to have agency even in death to maintain their status.

Their death has to be the reflection of their character development up to that point but it also has to tell us something about them that we did not already know – show us how they make a final decision or draw a final conclusion that marks the end of an inner conflict – which is what all storytelling is about. Character death has to serve a purpose to have meaning, and for a protagonist, the purpose must be personal.

And If it fails to do that, then that’s either a sign that we’re no longer dealing with a protagonist, or that something weng very, very wrong in the writers’ room. There is no inherent value in tragedy. In storytelling, tragedy is justified when it achieves something, otherwise, it’s just capriciousness.

Buffy’s death at the end of season 5 of BTVS is a classic example for the death of a protagonist. Harry’s decision to go and face Voldemort in the forbidden forest, even though it doesn’t ultimately kill him, is another. When Sam jumps into the abyss in Swan Song, that is his heroic sacrifice, but if he’d permanently died in season 2, that would have been bizarre and nonsensical because it was entirely beyond his control – it did not reflect his decisions, gave him no agency, and reduced him from a protagonist to a side character. In that moment, his death was something that happened to Dean. It worked because his death didn’t stick – he regained his agency after resurrection. But as an ending to his hero’s journey, it would have been singularly unsatisfying.

Dean is our protagonist, and he has been for 15 seasons. What does his death tell us about him that we didn’t know – what decisions did he make, what inner struggle got resolved, what meaning did his death have for him, personally, and then, in extension, for us?

The problem is that the finale, as is so often the case in Supernatural, tells two stories at once.

Whe the episode starts, it appears that Dean moves on with his life just fine, a well-adjusted model citizen. He’s ready to get a job, seems to be moderately happy. He even has dog. The decision to keep hunting is his, and death just accidentally happens, which of course is not unrealistic in his line of work. On the forefront, his death is brought about by the fact that he exercises free will. It tells us that he is a hunter and will always be one, that he keeps protecting people because that’s just who he is.

None of that, however, is new. It is just more of the same. All of Dean’s decisions in the finale tell us nothing about him that we did not already know. He’s trying to move on from the death of the people closest to him, as he’s always done. He chooses the hamster wheel, as he has always done. He follows in his father’s footsteps, as he has always done.

As he gets impaled, he has no choices left to make. There is no agency in his death, no inner struggle. His death furthers neither his character development nor the plot. That Dean simply accepts his death is as unsurprising as the fact that his final moments are spent reassuring Sam and telling him that he has to keep fighting.

The conclusion? Dean ceases to be a protagonist.

He dies not as the hero of his story. His death just happens to him.

After Sam and Dean had presumably freed themselves from the constraints of Chuck’s narrative, the final episode should have emphasized their agency, their freedom of choice, through change. But in the end, it only led them both to making the same choices as always, the unsurprising ones. And even the choices that did indicate a change (like Dean’s job application) were not shown to bear fruits.

What meaning does free will have when it doesn’t change the outcome? All the finale does is tell a bleak story about humanity and how we are incapable of making meaningful, consequential changes in our lives.

It’s almost like Lucifer is talking to us all the way from the Endverse of 5.04: “Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up – here.”

Devastating as that is, there is another interpretation of the finale that is arguably worse, a different reading strongly suggested by both text and subtext.

Dean, as mentioned before, is trying to move on with his life but ultimately fails. The situation is different from the way he behaved when he lost Cas and Mary in season 13 where he was outright suicidal – his desperation is more quiet but also more profound. He seems determined to honor Cas’ and Jack’s sacrifice. But determination is not enough. Dean only goes through the motions, and it shows. He clings to the dog in the morning; the dog sticks to him closely throughout the day as dogs tend to do when they feel that their owner is in distress, almost like a therapy dog. His room looks messy, he makes an attempt to fix it but then abandons it as it requires too muh effort. Ultimately, he can’t be bothered. There are alcohol bottles standing around, a sign that he’s drinking, though not as heavily as in the past. All the while, he sems very laid-back, presumably relaxed and at peace and coping well with the loss but also weirdly detached.

When Sam mentions Cas and Jack at the pie festival, he says, “Yeah, I’m thinking about them too. You know that pain’s not going to go away. Right? But if we don’t keep living, then all that … sacrifice is gonna be for nothing.”

He feels an obligation. And he’s trying. It’s just not working very well.

He barely reacts when Sams pies him in the face.

When impaled on the rebar, Dean actively prevents Sam from calling for help. He tells Sam not to bring him back. And in the end, he asks Sam to tell him it’s okay to go. Which isn’t something he would do if he was simply dying – it strongly indicates that he wants to be allowed to die.

Prompting the conclusion that Dean is giving up on life the first opportunity he gets, not even knowing whether he’ll end up in heaven.

In this reading, Dean does have a little bit of agency. He makes a decision, sort of. His death marks the resolution of an inner struggle: He gives up.

He dies as a protagonist.

In the worst way possible.

In all honesty, I can’t decide which interpretation I hate more.

But what could the writers have done differently, if Dean was meant to die all along?

Back when the SPN finale had freshly aired, I was describing it like this:

Imagine that the One Ring is destroyed. But Merry died in the battle and Pippin went missing and was never found again. Frodo and Sam return to the Shire; Pippin and Merry are mentioned once in passing. Upon their arrival, Frodo is attacked by Wormtongue and slowly bleeds out over the span of thirty pages. Sam marries someone else than Rosie; Rosie is never mentioned again. Somehow, both Frodo and Sam are teleported to Valinor, where we are told that the real fun begins.

At the time, I only used this as an example to illustrate what a mess the finale had been. But in the weeks that have passed since, then, I’ve started thinking about the LOTR comparison some more, and it got me thinking about Dean’s death in a different way.

And it has everything to do with the difference between running from and walking toward.

As mentioned before, it’s not unrealistic that Dean would die on a random hunt. Would the Dean Winchester we know ever stop hunting? Maybe. We might want him to. Then again, would be still be Dean Winchester if he did? We know that Dean can’t help but feel responsible. He is someone who is incapable of staying hands-off.

Dean, as we see him in the finale, is trying to honor Cas’s and Jack’s memory by living, although he’s not very good at it – not outright suicidal but worn-out. Exhausted. And still he makes the decisions to keep hunting because he can do nothing else.

When Frodo and Sam returned to the Shire in LOTR, they had earned their happy ending. But Frodo, who had carried such a heavy burden that he was permanently altered by it, could no longer find happiness in Middleearth, and ultimately decided to depart for Valinor along with Gandalf and Bilbo with the promise of later being reunited with Sam. The journey had changed both of them, but it had changed Frodo to a greater degree, his responsibility had been greater, the weight on his shoulders heavier.

And I started to wonder whether the intention had initially been to show Dean in much the same state – and to frame his death as a decision to move on, the same way that LOTR has Frodo move on to the West.

Imagine the following: Cas is pulled into the Empty. His happiness and love change the Empty; he merges with it or otherwise changes it so that it’s now a more demon-friendly environment. Everyone there is at peace. Cas, in whatever form, moves on to Heaven – or maybe his soul does as it’s now mostly human.

Dean goes on a hunt and dies. Jack, or some other entity, shows up where you would expect the curiously absent reaper in order to give him a choice. Learning that Cas is in Heaven, and knowing that he will never be able to stop hunting if he remains on earth, Dean makes the conscious decision to move on. For the first time, Dean prioritizes his own happiness over his perceived duty. His death is no longer suicide by proxy, and neither is its sole purpose to illustrate the inherent meaningless of free will by turning him into a hamster-by-choice. Instead, it becomes a decision because he’s given back agency. He resolves an inner conflict and there’s even a final bit of character development as he breaks the chain of mutual co-dependency that ties him to Sam and allows himself to be with Cas. He remains a protagonist throughout the end.

And because he acknowledges his love for Cas and decides to be with him, he no longer just runs from, he walks toward.

The parallels to The Lord of the Rings get even more obvious when you take Sam into the equation because much like Samwise, Sam remains on earth in order to have a life that, for him, still holds meaning and the chance of happiness – whereas Dean can no longer be happy on earth as long as Cas isn’t there.

To be completely clear: I’d still think that such an ending would suck because it puts too much emphasis on an afterlife, and it would still send the message that characters like Dean could only find peace in death, and unless some adjustments were made to Sam’s arc as well, the ending would still suck for him.

But seeing as SPN plays in a universe where an afterlife exists, I could probably learn to live with Dean’s death if it had any sort of meaning, for him, besides dying and waiting for Sam to arrive, if it allowed for that final bit of character development. If he got to choose.

While I’ll never be able to see the finale that we actually got as anything but a complete atrocity.

#spn #supernatural #meta #dean winchester #destiel

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mnictasbcl · 3 years

Text

October 11th

For #dbhcolorsofdeviancy, prompt:

June 2nd: Sober android- drunk human. @connor-sent-by-cyberlife

Rating: Teen

Characters: Connor, Hank Anderson

Relationships: Connor & Hank Anderson

Additional Tags: Angst, Death, (mention of), Swearing, Grief/Mourning, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Hurt/Comfort, Guilt, Crying

Summary: It’s the anniversary of Cole’s death. Hank slips back into old habits, but Connor won’t let him suffer alone.

TW: Alcoholism

Story below! Or, read it on AO3

OCT 11TH, 2038

TIME PM 20:32:07

It had been a long day, Connor noted, as they arrived back home from the DPD. A hard day of working, dragged on by a late case they couldn’t delay investigating. A strange day, as well. The android had noted a change in Hank, and somehow, something within him corelated it to that specific day. He’d thought over it in the morning, trying to figure out why he’d left a reminder on this date in his internal calendar, but what with being late to work, he hadn’t had a chance to deduce a conclusion.

Hopefully, he’d be able to chat to the man once they got inside, after he’d made a warm meal and put on some mindless TV. But first, he had to take a shower. It wasn’t that androids required them as regularly as humans, but since he’d examined a crime scene that had been rather messy, and had also still had the suspect there, who’d fought with him, smearing thirium over his front during the confrontation, he needed one.

Still, he felt like he should talk with the Lieutenant before he showered, his concerns only reaching higher levels as Hank remained silent on their trip from the car to the house. He simply gave Sumo a light pat before heading into the kitchen, pulling back a wooden chair and sitting down.

“Is…” Connor paused at the threshold to the room, thumbs twiddling, “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

The man glanced him over. “Get that blood off of you.” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the bathroom.

Connor nodded, noting that Hank may have usually made a joke about this. Perhaps it had just been a long day. “I will get to that presently. But—”

“Go on, Connor.” Hank interrupted, casting his gaze back onto the kitchen table.

The android pursed his lips, hovering awkwardly for a few more moments before deciding it would be safe to go and do the task at hand, briskly. It was likely distressing to see the blue blood coating the front of his clothes also, he thought, even if it wasn’t his own.

He made quick work of undressing and getting into the shower, turning on the water and letting it run over his body. His clothes would probably need to be taken to a cleaner’s, as thirium was regrettably a hard stain to scrub out, Connor mused, as he reached for the shampoo.

But that wouldn’t need to be an issue he brought up tonight. Hank definitely seemed to have a lot on his mind. It was then that Connor realised he had a moment to think back to his neglected task of researching the date. October the eleventh. It wasn’t a significant date from the last few years past, he noted. There was nothing monumental worldwide that had happened to affect life so drastically in the 2030’s. Maybe he needed to look closer.

LED whirring yellow, Connor put his inner detective skills to work. His shower was now fully forgotten, and the shampoo he’d lathered up in his hair was starting to drip down his forehead. He didn’t notice.

October. October 11th. It had to be something to do with Hank. Nothing last year, although he managed to find that the man had missed a day of work then also. Nothing in 2037 either. Or 2036. In 2035—

His LED flashing a bright, warning red, and his eyes flew open. He groaned, shampoo burning in his eyes, and he quickly rinsed water over his face.

After this was done, however, Connor switched off the shower and made quick work of getting dried off and into some clean clothes. Shit, how hadn’t he realised? Made a clearer note of this?

October 11th, 2035, was the day Cole had died.

And today marked the third anniversary of his death. No wonder Hank had been so different today, he was grieving. And Connor hadn’t even known.

But there was no time to dwell on what he could have done. What was important was what he would do now. Research over grief briefly gave him tips that he shouldn’t be too pushy, too close, but he should provide comfort, and support, and—

He blinked away the tabs opened in his mind. That wasn’t the way to go about things. Not like he would have done as a machine, looking up step-by-step guides on how to respond to grief in a human.

Pushing open the bathroom door, he took a few breaths, forcing his LED to cycle back to blue.

“Hank?” He called, glancing around him as he made his way down the hallway. “Are you—”

He frowned when the chair Hank had been sitting at was empty. Instead, the table now had an empty bottle of whiskey laying on its side, no contents left to spill out. He looked frantically about, before meeting eyes with Sumo, and then with the Lieutenant, who was laying sprawled out on the floor.

It was almost exactly like how he’d found Hank on the evening of November the 6th. That was only a month ago but yet it felt like years had passed between now and that moment. He’d been a machine, back then, focused only on accomplishing his mission. In that moment, his mission had been to locate Lieutenant Anderson and get him ready to investigate the scene at the Eden Club. He’d simply roused the man sharply from the ethylic coma he’d fallen into. He’d only cared about getting him ready for the mission.

Connor blinked. Right. Back to the matter at hand. He wasn’t that machine anymore. This was Hank. His best friend, his… He cared. A quick scan of his vitals told him that Hank wasn’t in dangerous levels of intoxication, simply numbing ones.

But he couldn’t leave the man lying on the floor. Instead of sharply slapping him back to consciousness, he brought his arms around him to carefully lift him from the floor, making sure to support his head. The couch was the closest place to bring him, but come the morning, the light coming from the front door and the windows would be bright and painful for his hangover. Therefore, Connor decided it was best to bring him into his bedroom.

Hank mumbled incoherently as he walked, words slurring, eyes half open at times. The android simply smiled at him; in case he was awake in any way. The journey wasn’t too long, and soon he was able to lay the man onto the bed. Connor made quick work of pulling the covers over him.

What next, he pondered, this time allowing himself to do some research. He pulled the curtains shut, fetched an empty bin with a liner in it and placed it beside the bed. After placing a glass of water beside the bed, Connor saw that he had everything ready for when Hank would wake up.

He doubted the man would be up until the morning, however, as the evening drew on, he seemed to be semi-conscious. At first, it was simply more incoherent mutterings. But when he placed his hand over Hank’s, in an attempt to calm him, he began to speak more coherently.

“Cole…” Hank’s eyes met his. “I’m so sorry.”

Connor froze. LED swirling, mind racing. Was Hank mistaking him in his state of impaired lucidity? Or was it something else? Was he recalling the event, was—

Calm down, Connor, he told himself firmly, there was an important situation he needed to be present for.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Hank. It wasn’t your fault.”

Hank blinked, eyes seeming to come a little more into focus. “I just… it was… you should have lived.”

He noticed the tears starting to slip from the lieutenant’s eyes, and so he took a tissue from the bedside table, dabbing it gently under his eyes. There was little he could say to contend against what he was saying, so Connor instead patted his hand lightly, making what he hoped were soothing noises.

The minutes ticked by, and, as he began to calm a little, Hank seemed to recognise him. “I’m not going to lose you too, Connor.”

His heart (or thirium pump- technicalities didn’t matter) jumped into his throat. Of course, with the fight today with the suspect at the crime scene, must have been stressful, and particularly upsetting for Hank on a day like today. What with seeing the thirium staining his shirt. It’d freaked him out too when he’d looked in the bathroom mirror at his reflection.

“You won’t, Hank.” He answered, tone a little wavering but confident. That fight today might have been close, but he was nothing if not good at his job. And with his deviancy, this newfound sense of being alive… with having someone to be alive for, as well as himself, he would never put himself in unnecessary risk.

Hank reached out with his other hand, shaking a little, grasping the collar of Connor’s shirt. “I can’t—I can’t lose another son.”

He wasn’t supplied immediately with a confident answer, this time. Connor’s LED cut to yellow as he processed this information. Another son—son. Hank thought of him as a son. That—why did it both break and mend his heart at the same time?

Connor dipped his head briefly, blinking away the tears that were pooling in his eyes. It hurt because it was true. In the short time he’d known Hank, in the time he’d been alive and truly known him, their relationship… it had been warm. It had been fond, filled with bad jokes and nights spent on the couch together watching crummy movies, working as partners at the DPD—behind me, Connor, as they came into every new crime scene with its unknown and looming threats… It had been finding himself, finding themselves in each other, finding family.

“You won’t.” He repeated, tone softer this time, eyes darting back up to meet Hank’s.

The man nodded. Once, twice, hand falling down from where it had been clutching his shirt and onto the bed covers.

“You better not.” Hank replied, and at that, Connor chuckled. He noticed then that Hank’s eyes were beginning to slip back shut again, and he smiled, reaching across to readjust the covers with his free hand, the other never letting go of Hank’s.

It hadn’t been perfect. He knew he could have done better, could have started with making a clear note of the day—but that was life, he was beginning to notice. Nothing was perfect. There would be grief and mourning, joy and sorrow, days where he wouldn’t be able to predict the demons lurking in Hank’s mind, where he would find the man passed out, drunk on the floor. But he would show him he’d never lose another son. He’d always be there to scoop him back off the floor, and tuck him into bed with comfort, like he knew the man would do for him. It was messy, but it was real.

“I promise, dad. I promise.”

#dbhcolorsofdeviancy #dbh #detroit become human #dbh fanfic #fanfic #dbh connor #dbh hank #dbh connor and hank #tw alcoholosim #tw alcohol

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

Note

Hey I said this in the notes of one of your posts but you said something about the Hound reforming after Ruby's blast. Okay but wouldn't that have been a much cooler explanation for why it was a SEW? Maybe using SEW makes Grimm that are more resistant to the instant KO. There's really no reason why the Hound was a SEW aside from adding plotless shock value. It could have been a regular human and nothing would change. We'd still get the fear of "oh what if this happened to Summer?"

Long response incoming! 😅

It definitely would have been a better way to handle things: give the group a means of fighting back against the grimm, but thus far silver eyes aren’t a perfect solution. They damage the Hound, but don’t kill it, creating a situation where the group must grow and discover new ways of defeating their enemy. That’s what I’m looking for in Salem too, that sweet spot between “We have good reason to believe that the group’s fight isn’t hopeless because they have a means of attack” and “But they don’t know how to win just yet.”

However, I think the SEW reveal is even more complicated than “plotless shock value.” I might be in the minority, but I interpreted the reveal as a SEW being necessary to create a Hound (or another experimentation). It’s not that Salem could have made a Hound out of anyone and the SEW exists because it’s ~shocking~, but rather, he exists because you can only get a mutant grimm of this caliber out of a SEW. You’re right that the ease of the Hound’s death implies that a SEW wasn’t chosen because that’s some huge advantage, which for me makes it a potential requirement instead.

Obviously we don’t have confirmation of that yet, but if it turns out to be the case, that throws an entirely different wrench into this “The Hound is just Stage 1 of Salem’s experimentation” theory. If a SEW is necessary, then the Hound is basically a one time deal, or at least something that came about due to an incredibly rare set of circumstances (a SEW exists, Salem captures them alive, she does whatever else was needed to create this thing). We do indeed have this terror that, since it was a SEW, Ruby may be in danger of becoming a Hound herself... but to be frank, that’s not new information. It’s just a new detail. Salem has been trying to kidnap Ruby since Volume 4. We’ve always known that, now we just (potentially) know why. That’s information we could have gotten without killing the Hound itself.

Even if we do get more Hounds/experiments in the future - either due to SEWs not being a requirement, or Salem getting her hands on another - the group hasn’t entered a false sense of security when they did defeat it. Easily and instantly once Ruby activated her eyes (and there’s no reason to think her eyes won’t work again in the future, not when they’ve worked every time she’s needed them to). Even if we do get more Hounds — or something like them — why wouldn’t Ruby just one-shot them again? In another story I’d argue that the character with the convenient kill shot needs to be removed somehow, but Ruby is our protagonist and, thus, will always be at the center of the action. In order to make these future experiments a threat again, the show would need to blind Ruby or introduce a whole arc about why her eyes will no longer work. Because that’s what killing the Hound in this manner did: removed its status as a threat to the group, provided Ruby is with them. They know how to kill them now and were able to implement that knowledge with great ease. Ruby blinks and someone lands a blow! Problem solved.

In addition, all of this further complicates Salem’s already unpersuasive character/motivation. The concept of her only being able to get stronger from here on out via her experiments seems not only unlikely to me (SEW component), but also strange given that she’s been doing this for thousands of years. Why is this experimentation happening now? Especially when she hasn’t shown any interest in SEW experimentation before? (Tok is sent to kill Maria, not kidnap her, and that was just a generation ago). If SEWs aren’t required, why hasn’t Salem made a whole army of Hounds by now with random humans? Why does she even need mutant grimm when she has a number of other incredibly powerful weapons at her disposal? Is all that really necessary for the end goal of dying, not conquering the world? The concept of our villain taking her first step on a long journey of gaining power when her journey is already generations in and her power already astronomical doesn’t work.

Finally, the prevailing theory is that the Hound is merely setup for a Summer!grimm reveal, which is its own, slightly messy thing. Summer has been a non-character for eight years. More importantly, she’s been a dead character. At no point has the show ever crafted a world and characters that implied otherwise. If Summer had simply disappeared on a mission one day — no body to be found, no real evidence of her death — then any one of her four family members should have grappled with that: a Yang who wants to find both her mothers, a Ruby who holds out hope that Summer might still be alive, a Qrow who angrily insists that she’s dead, let her go, etc. But she’s just been presented as dead-dead, background dead, someone who exists solely to give Ruby a vague figure to aspire to. To erase all of that for a sudden, “She was alive this whole time as a grimm!” feels like a cheap twist that doesn’t fit into the rest of RWBY. Nor does Salem’s decision to use a no-name faunus dude for her first experiment rather than the mother of the SEW she is currently hunting. And who she’s taunting about said mother’s death. This is by no means the biggest issue of the lot, the iffy way a Summer!grimm fits into the rest of the series is, comparatively, easy to overlook. Just shrug and accept the cool twist... but combined with all the above problems? It really doesn’t feel like RWBY knows where they’re going with this, let alone that it was planned in any meaningful capacity. I was excited for the Hound because it was presented as unique. Here’s a minor antagonist that the group will have to figure out how to defeat, allowing them to grow in the process, getting them closer to a point where they’re ready to face off against Salem herself... but the concept of the Hound being disposable erases it. And if we get more Hounds we have to question how and why. If we get a Summer!grimm we have to look at the series as a whole and ask why a character we’ve learned basically nothing about — have no emotional connection to — is supposed to function as this meaningful reveal.

There are pieces of a very cool story here about SEWs being both Remnant’s saviors and the catalyst for one of its greatest enemies... but that’s not the story RWBY wrote for eight years. It’s not even a concept we’ve yet to confirm (if we ever do). Frankly, the characters have enough to deal with without adding this into the mix. Your enemy is immortal and currently attacking you! You’ve just changed the whole world by revealing this information! Your last ally is now your enemy! There are magical relics to find and use! How about we deal with any of that rather than introducing another iffily constructed conflict?

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #thewhitehairedwitchgirl

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amara-scott · 3 years

Text

Unexpected Journey

Movie: Triple Frontier Characters: Tom "Redfly" Davis x Reader Categories: some Angst, yelling, a lil fluff (good ending?)

"Could you pass me the salt?" I ask, stirring the sauce while keeping my eyes on the recipe that is written in this old book my mom gave me last month. She said even her grandma used it for cooking. Definitely looks and smells like that. I sigh, glancing up and see Tom staring down at his phone. "Earth to Tom?" I swing the tea cloth over my shoulder and lower the heat of the stove, seeing as the sauce is done anyway.

I take a couple careful steps toward his figure, him leaning against the countertop a few feet away. He is chewing his lower lip, deep in thought. His fingers moving across the screen as he types away.

"Hey there." I say, tilting my head slightly, trying to take a better look at his face. He finally meets my eyes but only shortly, looking back down onto the screen.

"Hey." He replies. At least. I throw the towel onto the counter next to him and stroke his upper arms.

"What's up?" I ask, not trying to come off as too nosey. He sighs, locking his phone and placing it onto the counter beside him before fully paying attention to me. He sends me a small smile. A tight one that doesn't reach his eyes.

"Nothing, all good." I hum at his reply, raising a brow, not believing him. He wipes at his face, gulping and turns to the side, my hands falling off his forearms I kept stroking with my thumbs.

He walks over to the pot, stirring and tasting with a spoon, his eyes squinting. "Needs salt." He holds out his hand to me and I grin, shaking my head as I see his smirk growing.

___

"-And I told her, you can't just walk up to him and say that! He'll think you're insane!" I giggle as I tell him about last weekend where I went out to drink cocktails with my best friends from high school. It's been way too long since I've seen them, us all having lives but all kept living in the same town we grew up in together.

He chuckles along and takes another bite of his potatoes, dipping them in the sauce. He seemed distant all day. Especially after that text conversation earlier.

"So, what's going on, Tom?" I try again, gently.

"Nothing, why?" He looks up, sitting up straight and takes the napkin to wipe his mouth before taking a sip of his beer.

"Just- you seem distant and like something is bugging you or someone-"

"-(Y/N), everything is good. Don't worry, okay?" He tries again but I don't get that reassuring feeling whenever he says 'it's all good'. Quite the opposite actually. The more I hear it, the less I believe it.

I place down my fork and clear my throat, drinking my wine. I place the nearly empty glass back down on the table and sit back, crossing my arms. Eyes boring holes into the table cloth.

"It just doesn't seem that way, is what I'm saying-"

"Seriously, let's drop this, okay? Nothing is the matter, you're about to make a big fuss over nothing. Just- don't." I look up at him as he uses his stern voice, like he's scolding me. I frown at him, rubbing my thighs, the topic really itching me and he knows it.

"But if something was the matter, you know you can talk to me, right?"

He sighs, closing his eyes, jaw tight. He stands up then, taking our plates and walking into the kitchen. I look after him and regret saying anything. My eyes back on the table, the rain outside catching my attention next. Loud, whistling wind and hard droplets coming down on the windows.

What a great date night. I stand up with a heavy sigh and take our glasses, following him into the kitchen. He's loading the dish washer as I walk up next to him to empty our drinks and he steps aside, giving me room to add the glasses to the dish washer. I close it and when I turn around he is gone. Way to avoid me now. After grabbing two bottles of water for us I head up as well.

I enter the bedroom but he's not here, neither in the bathroom. So he's in the study. I roll my eyes and place the bottles onto our night stands, getting ready for bed. I thought we'd have a romantic dinner and maybe even have sex but- I guess not. I am mad at myself for ruining this. But also disappointed, he clearly keeps something from me that is bugging him. But I realise it's probably for the better to just give him space.

I pull my dress over my head and glance at myself in the mirror as I take one of his shirts from the drawer. My new lingerie set. I huff, pulling off the black lace bra and throw it into the corner, missing the chair but I don't care right now.

"Tom, you coming to bed?" I ask down the hall as I enter the bathroom.

"Yeah, in a few." So, no. He won't. He will wait until I'm asleep.

Once between our comfy sheets I lie there, staring at the ceiling and listening to the rain. Soon my eyes drop closed and I drift off.

Light kisses to my neck stir me half-awake but I don't move, nor do I open my eyes. I feel him cuddling up to me, arm around my waist as he pulls me a bit tighter against him, breathing down my neck. I shift my hand up, placing it above his' and lacing our fingers. His thumb running across my hand as he leaves a kiss on my shoulder.

"I love you." He whispers, his beard tickling my neck. He told me one day that he hates going to bed without telling me at least once. I smile into my pillow but don't answer. Hoping he believes I fell back asleep already.

___

The next couple days we don't talk as much. Silent smiles and quick kisses. That's all. But I want to give him space. I remind myself every day. I know I would want the same.

We sit at the table, eating breakfast in silence. I choose to make his favourite for him while I eat cereal. Not really in the mood for anything fancy. The radio is playing in the background softly. The window open, allowing fresh air to enter our kitchen and the morning sun warming my skin.

"Santiago wants to come over later." He says and keeps his eyes glued to the newspaper beside his plate. I take a sip of my orange juice and nod.

"Does he want to stay for dinner? I wanted to make fresh homemade pizza." He nods, sending me a small smile.

"Sounds good." Conversation over. I hold back a sigh and stand up, clearing the table off dirty dishes and grab a few bags from under the sink.

"I'll go get some groceries, I'll be back later." I kiss his cheek, leaning over his shoulder and he places his hand on mine that rests there. His lips brush against my knuckles.

"I love you." He says, glancing at me over his shoulder as he lets go of my hand. I smile and kiss his cheek again.

"Love you more." I walk into the hallway and put on my shoes, grabbing my keys and phone, throwing both into my bag.

"Do you need anything else, Tom?" I call out but he says no, so I walk out the door, taking the silver pick up to get shopping.

Once I'm done I make my way back, parking in the driveway, another car already there. Santiagos. I smile, finally someone else to maybe get Tom back to his usual self.

I step outside and open the backseat door, taking a glance at the five bags and deciding I only want to walk once. I got this. Once I have all of them in my hands and arms I turn to the side, kicking the door shut with my hip, but it didn't close fully. I roll my eyes, sighing. Can't change that now.

"Need any help?" I nearly drop a bag at Santiago's voice but turn carefully, smiling at him through the paper bags.

"Hey you! How are you?" I say but slowly feel my arms getting heavy. He jogs over and takes the bags easily.

"Gimme those- I'm good, what about you? You look good." I wave him off, smiling and close the truck again. Walking toward the front door with him.

"You charmer, I'm good- you're staying for dinner?" I ask and he nods, grinning.

"Wouldn't miss (y/n)'s famous homemade pizza for anything." I open the door for him and take my shoes off after closing the front door once he's inside.

"Oh, you're in for a treat mister." I joke and follow him into the kitchen.

"Yeah? I sure hope so."

I see Tom outside in the backyard, drinking a beer and tell Santiago to go back to his playdate. He pinches my side and I flinch, playfully glaring at him as he exits, taking a couple cool beers with him on the way.

I store everything away and prepare the dough already, prepping all toppings and making the sauce. Once I'm done the men both walk back inside, Tom walking up behind me and kissing my cheek.

"How was the store?" I sigh thinking back.

"Damn crowded. For whatever reason. It's a sunny Friday afternoon."

"I feel like grocery stores are always crowded. No matter the day or time." I agree with Santiago as I pop a strawberry into my mouth, I offer them some after washing them and they happily start munching.

"So, what's the occasion for your visit? Just stopping by?" I ask as I sit down with them at the table. Must be torching outside.

"Yeah, something like that." I nod, not pressing the subject.

"Actually-" He starts again, glancing at Tom who shakes his head at him. "-come on man, you have to tell her eventually." He sighs, rubbing at his face.

"What's going on?" I ask, folding my arms and looking between them both.

"Nothing, it's-"

'-no, Tom, I'm actually tired of hearing that."

He looks up at me, hard face. "Let's not do this right now."

"When? Later? Tomorrow? In a week? Tom, I've been waiting for at least two weeks now. Giving you space, not pressing the subject- but I'm drained. I'm constantly worrying, my head is full of scenarios and none of them are any good. You either tell me or I will squeeze this out of Santiago."

There's a moment of silence before Santiago stands up. "I'm gonna be outside guys, Tom should be the one telling you." He pats my shoulder on the way out and closes the door to the backyard once he's outside.

My eyes are glued to Tom but he is just staring at the table, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"It's a bit more complicated." He starts and I sigh, relieved. He's finally telling me. At least that's what it feels like.

"I don't care how long you need or if you have to start over and over again. I'm right here, right beside you." I take his hand from his head and hold it in mine on the table. I send him a small smile, hoping I could encourage him to tell me everything that's been resting on his big heart.

He gulps, nodding. "You know that Santiago and I used to work together. Back in my military days." He pauses, looking at me. I nod, remembering him telling me on one of our first dates because I mentioned that a man in a uniform is instantly more attractive. He wanted to brag. But I also admired him. His bravery. I still do.

"Him and a few others I served with are going on a mission again." He continues, eyes not meeting mine. I stop stroking his hand but don't pull it off. I gulp.

I also remember telling him no matter how hot a guy is in a uniform, I could probably never be with a soldier, the constant worry, the goodbye. Not knowing what might happen.

I slowly nod, glancing over to the backyard, watching Santiago talking on the phone. I look back at Tom who finally meets my eyes.

"And you're joining them?" I state, even though I wanted it to be a question. He sighs, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

"I'm not sure." I pull my hand away and rub my eyes, standing up and walking toward the sink, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. I gulp it all down, setting the glass back down on the counter, hanging my head a bit. I close my eyes, then feel him behind me, running his hands up and down my arms.

"That's why you've been ignoring me?" I ask, turning back around, his hands falling to his sides.

"I needed to think. I had to weigh my options."

"What conclusion did you come to?" I ask, trying not to sound disappointed or sad. But it's hard.

"That I have to do this-" I want to interrupt him but he holds up a hand. "-I have to. If I want to be able to give you what you deserve. Provide for you. Have a good future with you. I can't even fucking afford a new fucking truck right now. How am I supposed to offer you a good, happy, carefree life if I can't even do something as simple as that?" He stops, seeming frustrated with himself and shaking his head at himself. He's avoiding my eyes now. "I fucked up my first try at a family. I don't want to loose you too."

I wait for a moment. Watching and waiting. But when he doesn't add anything I step closer and hug him, pulling his head down to my neck. I stroke his scalp and his arms go around my middle, pulling me even tighter. I feel a warm and wet sensation on the shoulder where his head is laying on.

"It's okay, you're okay." I whisper and can't hold back my own tears anymore. Seeing him break down like this was never something I'd want to witness. But I'm glad he opened up to me. Finally. The shows me he trusts me enough to let me in.

"You don't have to do any job for me, earn any money for me, dress a specific way for me- hell I don't even mind the truck. I love him. I call him Chuck the truck sometimes. You refused to name him, so- I had to get creative." He chuckles into my shoulder before lifting his head, shaking his head at me.

"I don't deserve you." He says, cupping the right side of my face and running his thumb across my cheek.

"Wrong. You deserve everything, Tom." He sighs, looking down between us before finding my eyes again.

"I don't." He argues but I can't respond before he kisses me, holding my face with both hands now. I melt against him and my fingers wrap around his wrists.

"I can come back another day-" We pull apart and look over at Santiago, holding up an empty beer bottle while grinning.

"No, you'll suffer for what you started."

With that Tom kisses me again, grinning against my lips as I giggle, hearing Santiago groaning and walking back out.

#imagine #tom davis x reader #tom davis imagine #triple frontier #triple frontier imagine

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rohirric-hunter · 3 years

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Hathellang of Bree-Land (Léonys of Rohan Pt. 4)

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Part 10

I was originally going to have the whole story from Léonys’ point of view, with no other POV characters, but I figured that A) I needed to explain how this story diverges from canon within the story and the original part 4 doesn’t really have room for that and B) I needed to explore Hathellang and his relationship to Léonys a bit more. He turned out to be a bigger motivating force for her than originally intended.

Drof is another of my alts. Most of my alts exist in the same “universe” if you will.

***

This is how it is to be Hathellang of Bree-Land:

Drof idly stirs the bean-and-bacon mess in her tin plate as she glares at you over the cooking fire, one of several puddles of light fending off the cold dark of the Mines of Moria. There are safe passages through now, from one end to the other, but evil still lurks in the shadows, and everyone resting at the Dolven-View huddles close around the fires that shelter them from it.

“You’re telling me you can’t cook? At all?” she demands.

“I can,” you say. “But you probably wouldn’t want to risk eating the results.”

“And this Léonys you’re always on about. Can she?”

“Not exactly.” In truth, Léonys cannot cook any more than you can. It was Lady Hackberry and a hobbit-lad named Gareth who did the cooking at home. You take a bite of your meal. It’s not especially tasty, but Drof has shown her usual cunning with spices and an uncanny knowledge of just how long to simmer something and it’s far from bland. If she were to add some young leeks, perhaps a couple of small potatoes, it would almost be the first meal you ever ate at Lady Hackberry’s, after you were unceremoniously herded there with Léonys one night by two hunters who drunkenly mistook you for one of the good lady’s wards and a town guard who absolutely had not, but thought it might be a convenient way to curb some of your more criminal habits without filling out any paperwork.

“Then what do you want to marry her for, then?” Drof asks, horrified, “If neither of you can cook?”

Goat-hooves clop against stone as a fairly large group of the beasts arrive, bringing an additional pool of light with them in the form of gleaming lanterns that cast long shadows across the floor. The Dolven-View is one of the central waystations that the Iron Garrison has set up, and people are always coming and going on their way to somewhere or other. There is no consistent day-cycle this far beneath the earth; people sleep when they are tired, and wake when wakefulness finds them.

“Well, there is this thing she does sometimes with bear intestines,” you say teasingly. “I haven’t tried it myself. Haven’t been desperate enough yet, but she says it’s decent.” She does not, in point of fact, say any such thing. On your journeys as you stood against Angmar, Léonys provided a great deal of sustenance for the pair of you through talented foraging, informed by a childhood love of gardening that she rarely pursues these days. But raw carrots and plain boiled potatoes irk after a time, and eventually the harsh ground in the north defeated her ability to collect anything she could identify as edible beyond doubt. Some of the hunters who congregate in the Prancing Pony speak of bear intestines and worse things, but Léonys does not, and you suspect that they are merely lying to goad a reaction from their audience -- much as you are. The lie is worth it for the look of disgust and disbelief that flits across Drof’s face before she cottons on to the fact that you are joking.

“I’m sure you’ll be very happy eating slop together,” she says very seriously, the words not so much directed at you as grumbled into her beard.

You laugh. “We’ll learn,” you say. “We have time.” Neither of you know your exact ages, but you are both young, twenty-five at the most, and have many years before you. You do not speak, or allow yourself to think too hard, of the darkness of Dol Guldur, or the webs of the Scuttledells, or the evil yet slipping through cracks in the stone not too far from where you sit now, or any of the close brushes with death or worse that you and Léonys have survived over the past several months.

“Hathellang?” a new voice says.

You turn to see the owner of the voice is not a dwarf, but a human woman, sun-reddened skin offsetting deep blue tattoos snaking over her limbs and face, matching her shirt and some of the threads in a thick plaid cloth belted about her waist. She wears a long sword at her side that seems different in make from the trinkets braided into her armbands, or the brass hoop earrings, or any of her other metal adornments. You encountered a few Dunlendings in the south of Eregion, before you joined with the dwarves on their quest into Moria. She bears some similarity to these, though you mark that her manner of dress is distinct from theirs. She steps toward you, eyes combing across you consideringly.

“That’s me,” you say, standing to face her.

She nods, apparently having satisfied some silent question. “I have been seeking you,” she says. “Léonys suggested that I might find you in Eregion, and the elves there said you had entered this mine.”

“You have seen Léonys?” you ask. “Where?” The last you had heard of her she had been in Rivendell, and while Lord Elrond’s borders lay open to all free people, you do not recognize the woman before you.

“In Dunland,” she says. “She travels with a band of North-men, the Grey Company, they call themselves.” The name means nothing to you, and you comb through your knowledge of the Men of Eriador in an effort to place the group. “I thought it strange; the other horse-lords do not seem to trust them, but she rides as one of them.”

“What is she doing in Dunland?” you ask, and then years of Lady Hackberry correcting you on your manners constrain you to quickly speak again before she can reply. “My apologies. I am Hathellang. But you knew that. This is Drof of the Stout-Axe Dwarves.” Drof stands and offers a nod of greeting.

The woman stands straighter. “I am Nona of the Uch-Lûth. I am short on time. I have found Hathellang, and now I seek the Golden Wood, and an Elf-queen who lives there. The dwarves tell me it lies beyond these caves.”

“It does,” you say. “What is your business there?”

Dark eyes narrow in thought. “I do not know,” she says. She accepts a plate of stew from Drof and settles down across from the two of you. “I know that I must go there, and that you must come with me.”

You shift uncomfortably. You’ve never quite outgrown your mistrust of strangers who want you to come with them; a street urchin in Bree-town is an easy target for certain individuals, and you had to learn early how to evade such dangers. Still, she aims for Lothlórien, and there are few safer places you could travel to with any companion. “Why me?” you ask, fighting to keep the suspicion out of your voice.

Her eyes narrow as she spoons some beans and bacon into her mouth, chews, and swallows. “Léonys said you would say that,” she says. “She gave me a token to bring to you.” She sets her plate aside and draws from somewhere about her waist an arrow, which she hands to you.

You take it and examine it by the light of the fire. It is Léonys’ craftsmanship, that much is clear, a straight shaft of black ash wood fletched with crow feathers. In Bree she tipped all of her arrows with iron tips provided by Helena Twobarrow, but this one sports only a sharpened fire-hardened point, and you can make out scores along its length and faint bloodstains, and one spot where it has splintered and the wood shifts minutely in your hands. This arrow has seen battle already.

A scrap of light grey fabric is wrapped around it just below the fletching, and your hands tremble as you undo the thin string that keeps it there. The handwriting is messy and difficult to make out in places, ink bleeding across the fine linen threads, but clearly Léonys’.

Hathellang,

You can trust Nona. (The name is crossed out several times, with variations in spelling, and in parenthesis another hand has added a word spelled out in letters you do not recognize.) I am travelling south with our unlikely friends, to meet Strider in my country and offer him aid. Nona (she has settled upon the second spelling) has a different mission, one I do not completely understand. She will tell you of a dream she had. She dreamed of you. I believe her, for she described you to me with great accuracy, and others. I fear Strider and his companions face some unlooked-for danger. Aid her (here there is a large inkstain, nearly engulfing the last word, and the message begins again after it in a different ink) if you can. I am needed here, and dare not write of the nature of my mission, for fear this message should fall into evil hands. I hope it finds you safe.

Léonys

It hits you harder than you expected, to, after everything, hold in your hands something that she made, and a hastily scribbled note on what looks for all the world like the ripped edge of a cloak. She has not written Léonys of Rohan, which is how she has insisted upon signing letters since you have known her, but it is easy to see why; such a signature would give away her destination, which she clearly hopes to keep secret for a while yet. Still, the oddity stands out to you and you slowly crumple the note in a fist.

“I will take you to the Golden Wood,” you say, quietly. “You wouldn’t get in alone, anyway. The elves don’t like strangers.”

There is a pause. Nona looks at you with sharp, understanding eyes. “Then they are not unlike my people, Hathellang of Bree-land,” she says. “But we have welcomed many duvodiad into our midst in these evil times, and if these elves are wise they will do likewise.”

Drof snorts, and you roll your eyes as you pocket Léonys’ note. “Well, Drof?” you ask. “Do you want to --”

“No!” she cuts you off. “I’m quite content with what I’ve seen of it.”

“You’ve seen the fringes,” you accuse, frowning.

“And that’s more than enough.” Her demeanor softens. “I must stay with my people. Mazog’s death is a blow to the orcs of Moria, but there is much to be done here still. I wish you luck on your journey, wherever it takes you.”

You look to Nona and she spreads her hands. “To the Golden Wood,” she says. “My dream meant little to me. Perhaps once we arrive there we will know more.”

“Perhaps,” you say, and you hold up the arrow, black against the firelight, and turn it in your fingers. The light gleams around it, red and gold against black and grey. Then you look up, and despite yourself you grin. You are excited for this new adventure, there is no lie there. “Whatever it is, we will find it together, Nona of the Uch-Lûth.”

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Part 10

#lotr #lotro #lord of the rings #lord of the rings online #lord of the rings online fanfiction #lotr oc #leonys of rohan

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dailyhealthynews · 3 years

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11 Best Lesbian Movies On Netflix You Have To Watch ASAP

Christine Giordano

There is nothing better than a movie night. The atmosphere is incomparable – the popcorn, the drinks, the company. But entertainment has to rival all of these standout add-ons. Better yet, it should have an effect. And what better way to do that than with films that show lesbian characters who reflect the real world but don’t make it to the big screen often enough. I’m talking about films that celebrate queer life and love, be it a drama, a novel com or a documentary. Whichever genre of lesbian film you choose, it’s time to bring the much-needed rendering into your next cozy night with Netflix.

For this part of the LGBTQ community, representation is key. But it’s also important for allies who have had the privilege of seeing themselves in mainstream film to see other people’s stories. “Media is uniquely positioned to be both entertaining and a creative force for democracy,” said Julia Himberg, associate professor of film and media studies at Arizona State University. “That means that even if we’re just looking for entertainment, seeing the lives of other people whose identity is not our own broadens our perspective on our culture.”

Whether you identify yourself as a lesbian or not, these films with lesbian romances and queer characters will make your next movie night much more than a typical Netflix and chill session. Would you like a documentation? Check out Tig, about comedian Tig Notaro and her journey through cancer. Or maybe you want to try (a very colorful) musical set in high school? Check out The Prom with Meryl Streep and James Corden.

Prepare your popcorn, make sure your couch is comfortable, and enjoy the 11 best lesbian movies on Netflix.

Advertising – Read below

Half of it

High school student Ellie makes extra money to write for the other kids in school. But when a football player asks them to write a love letter to their crush instead, the rest plays out like the messy high school love story you were hoping for when reading this description. 😉

Look now

Ma Rainey’s black bottom

Tig

In 2012, Tig Notaro announced that she had cancer during her standup set. Needless to say, it went viral. The film tracks what happened after that night, how she dealt with her diagnosis, how her relationship with her current wife, Stephanie Allynne, developed, and how her humor helped with it.

Look now

4th

The prom

Prom is supposed to be a special night, but what if you’re not even allowed to bring your SO? In this Ryan Murphy musical comedy, the PTA cancels prom because Emma wants to go with her friend. As soon as some Broadway stars (including Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman) hear of the news on Twitter, they travel to Indiana to save the event.

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pariah

Alike is a 17-year-old in Brooklyn who explores her sexuality and identity. Her mother does not like her preference for baggy clothes or her close friendship with her lesbian friend. Alike struggles to meet the expectations of family and friends while they figure out who she really is.

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6th

Duck butter

Always wanted to spend 24 hours with someone you just met? After meeting in a club, Naima (Search Party’s Alia Shawkat) and Sergio try it as an experiment to see if it could bring authentic intimacy to a new relationship.

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7th

The outliers

This film tells the story of the rock band of the same name and explores the attraction between its leading actresses, played by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. The road to legend is not easy for this all-female rock band when the singers’ relationship threatens the group’s chances of success.

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8th

It feels

It’s Andi and Lu’s big bachelorette weekend. Things go as planned until one of them reveals that they have never had an orgasm … huh. This hinders the fun and leads all of her friends to discuss love, trust, and first things.

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drive or die

Rei has been in love with a married woman for years. Now she has to help her escape from her abusive husband. On the run, the relationship between women heats up in this psychological thriller.

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A secret love

Pat Henschel and former All American Girl Professional Baseball League player Terry Donahue have been in love for 65 years. They had to keep it a secret for most of their lives.

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So my grandma is a lesbian

A young woman is already struggling to find acceptance in the conservative and traditional family of her fiancé. Now her grandma is jeopardizing the whole engagement by announcing her decision to marry her friend.

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Josey Murray Josey Murray is an Editorial Fellow at Women’s Health.

This content is created and maintained by a third party and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may find more information on this and similar content at piano.io

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source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/11-best-lesbian-movies-on-netflix-you-have-to-watch-asap/

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may8344 · 4 years

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The Journey of a Forgotten Soldier (Levi x OC)

This is a story I’m in the process of posting on both AO3 and Wattpad, though I decided to add it to Tumblr as well. However, since I’ll be behind on Tumblr comparing to AO3 and Wattpad, this may remain behind or I might bulk post.

Relationships:

Alana Frey (OC)Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)Levi Ackerman/Alana FreyFurlan Church/Original Character(s)Furlan Church/Alana Frey

Characters:

Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)Furlan ChurchIsabel MagnoliaAlana Frey (OC) - CharacterErwin SmithHange ZoëPetra RalGunther SchultzEld JinnOluo BozadoKeith ShadisSpecial Operations Squad | Squad Levi

Additional Tags:

Graphic Description of CorpsesBlood and InjuryViolenceMurder

Summary:

Alana Frey, a girl born in the Underground City, longed to see the true sunlight every morning that she would wake up. Alongside her comrades: Furlan Church, Isabel Magnolia, and Levi, Alana’s life as a thug continued with no way around it; until the sudden day she and her companions were offered the deal of a lifetime.

“Once you complete this job, not only will you be generously compensated for your work,

but you will also earn the right to live above ground.”

Word Count: 2.2k

---

CHAPTER 2: Omni-Directional Maneuver Gear

With soft, and expertly maneuvering hands, the wings of the bird were soon wrapped in bandages handled by the smiling blond. As he finished up, he cradled the small creature in his hand, admiring his own work.

“You’re something else.” With pure emerald eyes, the redhead looked up to the blond. “Oh, right. What’s your name? I’m Isabel.”

“I’m Furlan and that’s Levi,” he responded, tilting his head towards the scowling raven haired boy, who sat back on his wooden chair. His gaze moved to the short, braided haired girl who was cleaning out an empty pot in the open kitchen area. “And that’s Alana.”

“Furlan, Alana, and… Big Bro?” She repeated their respective names while stealing a glance at each. However, when her eyes landed on Levi, she beamed at his new nickname.

That caught Levi's attention, and he turned to the excited redhead. His gaze hardened as he looked at her, a bit creeped out. “Big bro?”

At first, Isabel had looked discouraged. Even so, she spoke quickly and with determination, “Please let me join you!”

“Huh?”

“You guys use ODM Gears, right? I’ve seen you in action. Seeing you guys fly free like birds made me jealous.” Courage replaced her earlier discouragement as she begged, “I want to try out a Gear too!”

Furlan’s eyes turned to Levi’s—the obvious leader of the group—while he wondered out loud. “What should we do?”

Levi’s line of sight shifted to the floor, but instead of answering, he stood up from his chair. His heavy footsteps were the only noise in the room, suspension growing. Isabel kept her gaze forward, not sparing the moving boy a glance. She was obviously nervous, but refused to show it.

Tap, tap, tap.

Once Isabel had had enough, she turned to her right—where Levi was standing—, and pried for an answer. “Hey!”

“If you’re going to stay here, learn how to clean first before learning the ODM Gear.”

This had caught the attention of the remaining three immediately. Especially Isabel. “Huh?” She turned towards Levi, whose figure left the residence with a quiet click of the door. Swiveling her head back towards Furlan, she gave a questioning look for whether or not she had gotten approval.

Furlan gave a soft smile to the girl and nodded. That simple movement brightened up Isabel’s face immensely. She turned over on her chair, looking to where Levi had left, and gripped onto the top of the piece of furniture while a large smile covered the most of her face.

“Thank you, Big Bro!”

[~]

Die Stühle liegen sehr eng

Wir reden die ganze Nacht lang

With Alana’s help, Isabel learned how to correctly buckle the leather straps to the gray gear around her waist. Already finished tying them around her legs and upper body, she had no problem staring Isabel directly in the eyes. “Remember, Izzy, the key to Omni-Directional Maneuver Gear is to be able to balance. Otherwise, you can fall and get hurt, so be careful,” The ravenette scolded. She was already aware that Isabel was probably too excited to listen to any of the words that left her mouth.

“I know, I know!” And with that, Isabel hurried over to the two men awaiting her arrival. They decided to teach Isabel how to balance herself inside of a little cavern area known only to them.

The quartet had agreed to help Isabel learn how to use the gear, but Furlan had been a little worried. Even if it was just a practice, he did not want the energetic girl to get too hyper and injure herself. They had only known each other for a short period of time, but that didn’t change the caring boy’s attitude.

Without glancing at the anxious blond, Levi grumbled under his breath. “She’ll be fine. If she can’t do it, then she can’t.”

Suddenly, Isabel’s voice cut through their conversation with a tone of pride, “I can do it, Big Bro! I know I can!”

“Then show me.”

She was taken aback by his sudden command, but readily agreed. Holding the two handles on the gear in her strong grip, she aimed and launched the wires, with the pull-down triggers that were centered on the handles, to the top of the cavern. As the piston-shot grappling-hooks on the ends latched onto the rocks, she knew that she was steady. Slowly inching herself off of the ground by activating the gas mechanism on her backside with the second trigger, she focused hard on keeping upright between the two wires.

“Look! I’m doing it, Big Bro!” Unfortunately, she had celebrated a bit too early. Isabel’s weight shifted too far to the right, which caused her to lose her balance. The poor ginger ended up hanging upside down with her arms and legs sprawled out.

Dieser niedrige Raum ist nicht schlecht

Wir können uns gut verstehen

While Furlan and Alana rushed over to the struggling girl, Levi stood his ground, almost smirking. He was well aware that ODM Gear was difficult to work with. Nobody, no matter how talented, was able to pick it up right away; not even him.

“I told you to be careful, Izzy!” Alana frowned as she helped untangle the dangling mess in front of her. “You could’ve hurt your head, or broke something.” Not once had the blue eyed girl’s motherly side disappeared during situations like this. Once she finally got the younger down from the air, she checked for any bruises or cuts.

“I’m fine, Lana! Besides, I was doing fine, so I know I can do it again!”

“If you say so…”

[~]

So ist es immer, unser Licht ist nur das Trinken und singen wir, begrüßen morgen

After a couple of long hours of practicing, just as every other day before, the group arrived back at their home. Alana had no problem heading towards the kitchen area—her favorite—to prep their small dinner. It was quite difficult to have anything exotic for food, so she worked with the small portions she had. Furlan layed out the dishes, but not before he made sure to clean off his shoes well. He didn’t want to get on Levi’s bad side by making the house a mess.

Isabel, on the other hand, collapsed on the couch, happy to be back. It had been a month since the others had allowed her to stay with them. Glancing at the small bird she had carried that first day, who sat on the chair next to her, she was reassured by it’s content look.

“Hey, take off your dirty boots. You’ll make the couch filthy.” Levi had no issue speaking up with a clear annoyance in his voice. Though he had a harsh tone—and terrifying face at times—he wasn’t as bad once he showed his caring side.

“Yeah, yeah.” She replied in a sing-song voice while taking off her muddy, ankle high boots and tossing them onto the floor.

The clean-freak’s eyes immediately twitched as he grabbed a broom that leaned on the side of the wall. Stomping over, he shoved it in front of her face. “Clean it, brat.”

“C’mon, guys,” Furlan whined, “let’s not fight before we eat.”

There was an obvious glare between Levi and Isabel, but they grumbled and sat down at the set table. It was not new for them to get into small arguments that either Alana or Furlan would have to resolve. As Furlan took his spot at the table, Alana came with four dishes balanced on her hands and arms.

“You know, Lana, if we get to the surface, you should become a waitress. You’d be good at it,” the blond commented.

“Oh shush, you.” She playfully nudged him and laid out the plates in front of each person before taking her spot next to the blue eyed boy. “Even if we get out of here, there’s no guarantee I could do something like that.”

So ist es immer, unterm riesigen Himmel

Leben wir zusammen, die Nacht ist lang

Isabel was quick to start eating her portion, not caring for the mess she made on her face. If you could get food in the first place, you were considered lucky; if you could get time to eat it in peace, you were even luckier. Though no one had asked her, it was evident that Isabel hadn’t had the luxury of the time on her side.

What she did next surprised everyone.

Taking the small loaf of bread she had, she handed it to Levi. Whether that was considered a peace offering or plain bribing to get out of cleaning, nobody knew. Maybe she had done it just out of kindness.

However, Levi didn’t accept the food. Instead, he ruffled Isabel’s hair and turned his face away. “I don’t need it. Besides, your face looks like shit.” Pulling out one of his white cleaning cloths from his pockets, he started rubbing down the messy girl’s face.

At the opposite side of the table, Furlan and Alana tried to hide their smiles at the sweet act from their cold looking friend.

[~]

Da die Sterne nicht leuchten

Kann der Mond auf diese Stadt nicht scheinen

“And then the guy came out of nowhere! It was as if he was watching me the entire time and trailing me. But no worries. I wouldn’t let someone who is all bark and no bite kill me.” Furlan explained his recent experience from on the streets. He sat down and positioned himself next to Alana, who laid down on her torn mattress happily listening.

Almost every night, Furlan kept Alana company as she fell asleep. Sometimes he’d tell his past stories, new stories, or just anything. She would be attentive, even though she was slowly falling asleep. The pair would normally fall asleep together in the same room while Levi had his own until Isabel arrived.

Tonight was different. Levi sat on the opposite side of the mattress from Furlan, cleaning off his knife once more. Even though this wasn’t his respective room, he decided to listen in on the conversation as he kept his hands busy. Due to him being on guard constantly, the ravenette had suffered heavy insomnia—unlike Isabel, who often fell asleep instantly. He had left the redhead to sleep in their room.

“Ah, right, Lana. I wanted to give you this.” Furlan smiled as he held out a small piece of jewelry. It was a black, leather cord necklace with a blue raindrop shaped charm in the middle. “It’s not much, but I was able to buy it.”

Alana sat up quickly. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she looked at the necklace with awe. “It’s so beautiful!” Her face turned a bit somber as she remembered their situation. “But wouldn’t it have been better if we saved the money to go to the surface?”

“Nah. I want you to have it. Besides, it’s your twenty-fourth birthday today, isn’t it?” Furlan asked with a grin. Careful not to hurt her, he calmly hooked the jewelry around her neck. “There you go.”

A soft, visible blush painted Alana’s face as she looked down in embarrassment. “Thank you,” she mumbled quietly. She lightly touched the charm, smiling softly.

A soft pattering echoed in the next room, and then, seconds later, light flowed into the dimly-lit bedroom. The silhouette outlined the younger ginger, who tiredly rubbed at her eyes. “Where’s Big Bro?”

“I’m right here, brat.”

“Oh… why are you in here?” She made her way over and sat in between Levi and Alana. “Couldn’t sleep?”

He only grumbled in response.

“Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we all sleep together in one room?” Isabel offered happily, seeming completely awake at this point.

The other three looked at her with shock. Though they had lived together for years, it wasn’t common for them to sleep together. Before Levi could blatantly reject, Furlan gave her a happy smile. “That sounds like a great idea.”

After an hour of convincing the two raven haired roommates, Isabel nuzzled up on her back between Levi and Alana on the extra mattress she brought in. Almost instantly, she was asleep and snoring away. Alana took out her braid and let her hair fall down onto her lower back. Then, she placed the large blanket on top of Isabel.

“Let’s get some sleep, you two.” Furlan spoke up as he made himself comfortable on Alana’s right side. She complied, but Levi sat just as stubborn as before. He didn’t want anything to do with sleeping so close to any of them.

“C’mon... Big… Bro,” Isabel mumbled in her sleep. It was almost as if she listened to the entire conversation.

With one more grumble, Levi slid himself across the floor to Isabel’s left side and laid down. Putting his head on his toned arm, he rested on his side, facing away from the rest. While he looked distant, he was secretly smiling to himself.

The quiet air around them was filled with the snores of Isabel, the hushed whispers and chuckling between Alana and Furlan, and even the faint strumming of a guitar playing outside.

Schauten wir das Licht selbst an

Singen wir unter dem Sternenmeer

---

(A/N) This was a very fun fluff chapter to write. Hopefully, it's easier to bond with the characters by having scenes such as these. As I write more and more, the characters really grew on me as their personalities differ, but they all end up getting along like a family. Isabel is like the energetic little sister who is the opposite of the quiet, stoic Levi. Their bickering has to be handled by the caring, motherly Alana and the calm, level-headed Furlan.

Thank you for reading. And once again, thank you to Brianna for editing.

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

#shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #levi #levi ackerman #fanfic #levi x oc #OC #attack on titan fanfiction #levi ackerman x oc #furlan church #isabel magnolia #alana frey

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nhi-theuserof-this · 3 years

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TW// depictions of blood, gore, fighting, almost drowning

Vague/censored version linked before the story begins

Link to lesser detailed version

https://nhi-theuserof-this.tumblr.com/post/636291051201626112/tw-depictions-of-bloodvague-fighting-almost

Technoblade.

Blood God. Merciless. Undefeated. The second worst thing to happen to the orphans.

His iconic crown was freshly polished and sitting back at his camp site because he didn’t want it to smudge while raiding a pillager outpost. For a little extra supplies on his journey.

By the time Technoblade had gotten there, the fight was already over. Blood spattered across a small campsite, some of which bellonged to a player and another shade, purple borderline blue, had been practically painted across the site. A single ender pearl washovering above the ground just an inch away from being in a river. A bloody and almost mangled body was in the river, stuck because of a part of a cloak that was caught on a bloody patch of rocks on the edge of the river. Whatever had happened simply wasn’t of much interest to techno as he snatched up the pearl and turned back towards the direction of his own campsite.

A hand shot out of the river and yanked on Techno’s cloak after gripping it, causing Techno to drop his loosely held axe as he fell in. Techno felt two hands grab his shoulders from behind, quickly moving up his body to grab at his neck. Before Techno could process this, the hands had already gripped around his neck and they squeezed. Technoblade choked as the hands around his neck tightened. Technoblade reached behind himself and grabbed the pair of arms, pulling the body connected to it towards himself in an effort to get them to losen or let go of him.

The figure’s grip loosened as Technoblade twisted around and kicked them in the stomach as hard as he could. Swiming as quickly as he could, Technoblade reached the surface as he took in a large breath of air before getting quickly pulled back under the water and used as a booster for the figure to reach the surface themself.

Both Technoblade and the figure had crawled onto the land and out of the river and were coughing out the water that had accumulated in both their lungs.

Technoblade struggled to breathe as he silently shook, not noticing that the figure had took his axe and was now standing behind him. The blade of his own axe had been brought down and was barely blocked with his forearm as the figure let out a shout. “Fucking hybrids!” Their voice was scratchy and hoarse as they scream once again. “I’ll kill you monsters!” They threw Technoblade’s axe in his direction as it skidded across the ground. The figure lunged at Technoblade and clawed at his head, the biggest sign he was a hybrid as it was that of a piglin.

Technoblade frantically crawled back before the figure landed on him and took out a switchblade from his pocket, now aiming to stab Technoblade. He raised his hand up and angles the weapon at his head. Technoblade used his uninjured arm to cover his face as the figure brought their weapon down, changing the destination of the blade last second landing it in Technoblades chest area. Technoblade let out a surprised squeal as the figure roughly pulled the switchblade and stabbed him twice more before being kicked off.

Technoblade scooted back just a smidge as he gripped his axe before the figure lunged at him once again. Swinging his axe at full force, it cleanly cut across the figure’s stomach as it opened up a little, blood pouring out and onto Technoblade as he swung again. The figures guts spilt out and onto Technoblade and the ground. Falling onto the ground beside him, Technoblade scrambled away not bothering to note the other body obscured from his vision when he entered as it was too close a call to linger without being in immediate range of a healing potion.

The kid mumbled something as Techno’s eyesight blurred. “Sorry kid, you’re gonna need to repeat that for me.”

“None.” Said a distorted voice, as the kid neevously looked away from Techno’s gaze. He would later put two and two together and figure out his parents were the ones that he found the remains of back at the other site, but Techno could barely think and almost didn’t register that this kid was an orphan now.

“I guess you’ve peaked in luckieness then,” Techno mumbled as his eyes slowly drooped and became half lidded. “B’cause if I wasn’t bleedn’ out right now I’d totally slay you.”

The small kid took a step back and Techno grinned, finding happiness in the fact that even on the verge of being forced to respawn, he could still terrorize small children.

Technoblade was suffeing a moral dilemma, and that never happens.

It’s completely against his own character to not slay an orphan, but it just feels.. wrong, wanting to slay the orphan that saved him from the pain that is respawning.

“Hey kid.” Techno mumbled as he dug into one of his many hidden pockets. “Come here for a second.”

Technoblade had taught this orphan many things.

“Make sure you always have full hunger.” After the orphan had run out of sprint as the two were running from several pillagers.

“Keep a close eye on your surroundings.” After the orphan got caught between a ghast an two skeleton.

“Here.” Techno said, opening the door to the blacksmith signaling that the orphan could come inside to see what Techno had been working on.

Lined up on a dusty table were several different sized crowns. On the inside of each one was a new message written for the orphan. “I have elected that as a small orphan child, you shouldn’t be allowed to see the things I do, and I can’t have the enemy mistake you for someone they can use as a hostage. Become greater then all the rest.”

“Goodbye.” Technoblade said as his boy walked through the portal.

“Ranboo.”

#mcyt #dream smp #mcytau #technoblade #ranboo #nhiwrotehere

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