#finally another art nerd to talk about art with. and he's so polite and such a gentleman | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aajjks · 5 months

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tattoos, eyebrow, lip, and TONGUE PIERCING?!! 🤤

BC!JK

you knew it. you knew he would sit next to you but part of you was hoping he wouldn’t notice your presence and would sit with someone else but here you are.

at first you don’t say much. you contemplate even helping your bully because he called you ugly, burnt you diary without apologizing, and even now he’s making fun of you by calling you a nerd and loser. why should you help this piece of shit?

you sigh. “we’re on this page” you point with your pencil and open the textbook but the next thing that comes from jungkook’s mouth leaves you disgusted. your mouth? he would know so much about mouths since he’s “been around.”

yeah, jungkook’s reputation isn’t the cleanest. he’s fucked around like any other and was the kind of guy good girls loved to have in their beds and to some, he obliged. it was gross to you because he probably takes pride in fucking around and is probably thinking he’ll get some from you.

never. never in life or any lifetime ever.

despite your repulsion, you try to get jungkook up to date with the new topic of the week being production in art. you show him your notes and explain the important points of the textbook and what you’ve written down.

you know jungkook isn’t paying attention to you and his eyes looked to be more focused on your face and growing red cheeks from his intense focus on you. you wish you could just tell him to pay attention and quit gawking at you but you’re nervous.

indeed you are shy. you’re like a mouse when all eyes are on you and before danielle, you always walked with your head down and sat alone. i mean, you still do but it’s not as bad as it used to be.

you go on and on and jungkook rudely interrupts you and asks for your number. finally, you look up and make eye contact with him. sure you glance everywhere so he doesn’t stare into your soul but you’re looking at him, somewhat.

“m-my number?” you whisper “no way. you bully me, make fun of me, call me ugly, and you burnt my journal” you say meekly while twirling your pencil in your hand.

even when you’re “fussing” at him, you’re still shy. you’re still a meek little mouse and it’s hard for jungkook to take you seriously when you look so cute? in his eyes, you’re surprisingly really cute and you’re so smart.

“go ask another loser for their number because i’m not gonna give you mine”

can this class let out already? you’re tired of his presence and you won’t let his pretty-boy charms distract you from your real love. at least eunwoo doesn’t call you ugly, well, you guys barely talk but you get the point!

you can’t even see yourself being friends with an asshole like him and you never will be.

Even your rejection is so polite.

He doesn’t mind this, you’re just so fun to talk with and tease. Jungkook scoffs and just leans his face closer to yours and he is so glad that he did this because the way your eyes widen and and you gasping in surprise has his heart beating so loud.

“If you won’t give me your number I’ll make sure to put all the blame on you so that the Professor won’t give you any extra credit- it will be because of you that I don’t catch up.” He shrugs.

You are a nerd, in the cutest way possible and he knows how important it is for you to have extra credit on your academic records. “So… just give me it.” He is playing the with his tongue piercing because he knows that you take some time to reply to him.

“Come on, little lamb.” He rolls his eyes, “I’ll text you or even better.. call you tonight.” He is looking straight into your eyes. “You will narrate all of this to me.” And with that he’s back to the side of his table again.

“Ha. Fix your glasses.” He points out.

You are annoyingly cute.

“Class, focus because I’m about to give you an essay. Write one on the importance of production.. and whoever will do the best. I’ll make sure to include it in the competition that’s gonna take place in a few days and it’s got a huge scope- so opportunities will come knocking.”

Jungkook watches you as he notices the way you bite your lower lip, you’re so focused on the information the teacher gave just now.

“ you can win.” He suddenly says. “You’ll probably take the first place.” of course he believes in you, because you are one of the most intelligent people in the school.

And he’s not exaggerating, of course.

“In 2 weeks. You can turn your essays in, so take your time and do your best.

“just use your nerdy little brain and charm.” of course you’re so lucky because he’s giving you his exclusive advice.

And before you can respond, the bell rings, and it’s of course his favorite time.

“Okey bye bye little lamb, I’ll visit you after school and you better give me your number.” He’s picking up his bag and woosh he’s out, but not before winking at you.

#ask: bc!jk

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little-lightning-lavellan · 2 years

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Hey, everyone! :D Its been a minute!

Thank you so much for the tags, @varric-tethras-editor & @palepinkycat, I’ve actually got something a little... possibly juicy to share? A little... spicy, but not in a hot way??

I DUNNO MAN, THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF UNCOMFY HAPPENING HERE HEEHEEHOOHOO...

Another owner of pointed ears had come shrieking from nearby, and Mellan tucked herself further into the gloom of a particularly shady parapet in order to avoid conversation with their owner. Their owner, who she soon learned, was not alone.

Interesting.

“Is this a trick?” Sera came hollering, the roll of her bright eyes hissing from her tongue as a much smoother voice attempted political civility. Or a compliment.

“Hardly. But, it is an opportunity,”

‘Solas,’ Mellan thought with a canoed brow. He was not one to converse with the infamous Red Jenny. At least, not by choice.

“You have already divided your group's membership. That is wise,” he continued as the pair paused in their walking. It seemed Sera had finally stopped in her carefree gait and was actually giving her elder a listen, maybe even consideration. “No one cell can betray all your secrets…”

Mellan knew full well that Solas knew a great deal about a great many things; now that was not exactly a secret. It was, after all, the original catalyst to their now blossomed friendship. Yet, now she could not help herself, and found her own ears tilted further towards this particular flavor of word that slipped forth off of the man’s honeyed tongue.

“Where d’you get all this, then?”

“Do you wish to be unnerved by another tale of my explorations of the Fade?”

‘Wherever indeed, ma falon,’ Their discussion’s stowaway mulled. If to be unnerved was to learn more than to be tsk’d away by simple explanations of ‘But the Fade!’ then unnerving Mellan would take with utter glee. She had another hand-waving from the advi--Aislin’s advisors, thank you, kindly. She needn’t more from him.

Not when he spoke so freely of ‘weakened aristocracy,’ and ‘removing others if necessary.’ Solas was now speaking to Sera of the possible ‘dirty work’ she and her Red Jenny organization may have to do if she truly wished to create lasting change, and he was talking to the woman as if he held experience.

She felt something bubbling from the bowls of her gut like an overflowing cauldron, and the concoction within her chest was not one she had truly felt before.

She looked at them, she looked at Solas fervently asking Sera if her goal was to change the political structure of her land, and Sera’s lackluster response of confusion at his supposed beratement… and Mellan felt ripened jealousy.

This next chapter is gonna be A TRIP... >:3

Tagging absolute A+++ nerds of my heart:

@pikapeppa @because-im-hap-hap @emerald-amidst-gold @oxygenforthewicked @the-dreadful-canine @smashingpigeons @blueheaded @best-of-the-vein @reonerra @dungeons-and-dragon-age @layalu @dreadfutures @darethshirl @fiadhaisteach @bogunicorn @ashalle-art @kantrips @rosella-writes @whataboutbugs-art @shift-shaping @noire-pandora @debgall @malewifezevran @1000generations @drag-on-age @siennamain @dalish-spectre @raflesia65 @katalyna-rose @thevikingwoman @kumaronoa @midorimaddie @sassyseeker @musetta3 @rivainisomniari @in-arlathan @melisusthewee @jellydishes @effelants @potatowitch

#dueteragony #solavellan #solas #sera dragon age #mellan #mellan lavellan #dragon age #dai #dragon age inquisition #sollan #writing #fanfic #fanficition #my writing #wip wednesday

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shadowsong26fic · 1 year

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A-Z OC meme N. (I think I might only recognize maybe one or two but please feel free to talk about aaall of 'em xD)

All right, then!

I had an AtLA OC named Nuying; she was the Earth King's aunt but basically just a sketch--she was a satellite to a main OC, her son.

Dr. Naar! I love Dr. Naar. He is a doctor, he is very firm in his ethics, he treats all comers regardless of allegiance (which is why he refuses to Officially join the Rebellion). Also it would be nice if he would. Like. Confirm his species for me??? (He's either a Human or a Besalisk but will not say one way or another. Sigh.)

Nikolai is another Star Wars OC. He's Kallus's nephew, the middle of three boys. He's an art history nerd, and runs away because his father is...well...Awful. And his mother (Kallus's sister) isn't all that much better. He and his brothers figure he might actually be better off with Uncle Alexsandr, even with the treason and the war and so on. He does eventually have some contact with his mother, but never speaks to his father again. He is very close to his brothers, though. He marries a guy who is just as nerdy as he is, in a related but not necessarily the same field.

For my original stuff--

Nolani is the princess Lonura is in love with (from the Ls answer). She's her mother's eldest child and therefore second in line to the throne for most of the main part of the story. She does have a husband, who over time becomes her best friend; they married to seal a treaty. There were some. Communication issues surrounding that, and she and Lonura briefly split up. She is a hopeless romantic; before she started seeing Lonura, she had a string of brief relationships, falling in and out of love pretty quickly. She's very devoted to her family, especially her brother and sister, but tends to be very aware of her position in her mother's shadow.

Nida is a posthumous character, the wife of the...for lack of a better term, Disc One Final Boss. Her family has ties to a resistance movement, she was sent in to hopefully seduce the King to manipulate and eventually murder him as soon as she had an heir and a spare, who would hopefully still be young enough for her to serve as their regent and raise them to effect real change. But she fell in love with her target along the way, and at the last minute, chose not to kill him, partly because of that and partly because she--not incorrectly--thought that the alternative would lead to a bloody civil war, with her children caught in the middle. She does what she can over the next couple of decades, dying about seven or eight years before the main storyline opens. Her oldest son is the actual Big Bad; her youngest son is one of the main heroes.

Neiali comes from the same universe as Larien and Landelye. Neiali is the youngest of the High Priest's three children; older brothers Ahnrel and Sefalin are the main characters (Sefalin being Del's lover). Neiali is offstage for most of what I've written, trying to track down the missing Prince Idan for reasons of Complicated Politics. Neiali is also possibly a trans woman? This has not been confirmed; the rest of Neiali's family is unaware and refers to Neiali using male pronouns/terms. (If Neiali doesn't pick an entirely new name, her name would be something along the lines of Neialyi, because Weird Ways Of Marking Gender In Names, lol. Feminine names in this universe have a glide/y in the last syllable (Landelye; Metanrye, Kahleny).

Neremyi is Larien's aunt, the mother of his rival king in Nandere. Her husband made no secret of his resentment, and after her sons were about ten, they didn't spend much time with her. She built her own network of support and political alliances within her husband's--now her son's--court; she's mostly an observer for now, but she has some long-term plans, including a few candidates for her son's consort.

Nahrenyi is the High Priest's secretary, and a quiet schemer. Not actually against him or for any other faction; she actually thinks Jemairin is the leader the Church needs right now. But she...manages things, makes sure he doesn't get too bogged down in one issue and forget the others. Quiet and subtle, she likens herself to a gardener.

[that particular story is currently known as 'Untitled Intrigues Story'; there is a Lot of Scheming, lol]

That's...pretty much everyone with an N name, I think! At least in terms of major or Significant Minor characters.

Ask me about my OCs!

#asked #answered #thinkingheron

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celepom · 2 years

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Accomplishments of The Duke’s Daughter

By Reia

(Iris - Book 1-5)

Iris Armelia, the daughter of a powerful duke, is arrested and forced to her knees in front of her fiancée. Her betrothed, Prince Edward, is rejecting her for another woman! As Iris's life flashes before her eyes, she suddenly realizes she knows exactly what's coming next--because she has been reincarnated into her favorite otome game as its villainess. Quick thinking saves her from exile, but Iris can't rest yet. If she wants to survive this world that sees her as wicked, she'll have to change the world itself.

---

This is one of my favourite currently-reading Isekai series. There’s a lot of interesting characters, world building and political intrigue. You have a protagonist who uses her skills as an accountant in her past life and her position of power within the kingdom to try and better the lives of people around her. There’s also some tragic overlap where you want to see this very driven woman take a step back and take care of herself for once. You see her overworking herself and remember she died young from overwork last time (a common isekai trope because it’s...sadly common in Japan that work/life balance sucks), but her companions find it difficult to talk her out of it because she feels like this time she has a purpose outside of corporate grind.

She also was dealt a bad hand in romance and has resolved to spend her life “alone” (ie, unmarried). She’s surrounded by friends and family, and loves spending time incognito amongst her people and taking care of the orphans. So when she starts catching feelings for a man who can meet her at her level intellectually and in drive she starts to despair because she doesn’t want this. She doesn’t want to be hurt again. He’s also much the same about her; due to his position he declares that “the woman I love, I shall never marry” because he doesn’t want to see her stifled under the weight of his responsibilities. He wants to see her continue to grow and flourish in her freedom.

And in the background there’s what you could call a cold war going on. 30 years ago the countries of Tasmeria & Tweil signed and armistice to end the fighting, but it didn’t end the war. Tensions are rising from within and without and there are spies pulling the strings on both sides.

It’s kind of amazing ho much happens in these books? Like, I’ve only read 3 books in the series (4th came out in English last week, but my copy hasn’t arrived yet) and so many things have happened. Each book has it’s own focus, yes, but it’s very much an ongoing narrative. There’s no “hard stop” between books, it’s more like a “Life continues” sort of feel.

And by the way, there’s a manga adaptation that is pretty well done! It has lovely art and manages to capture the characters well. But, as I said, since SO MUCH HAPPENS IN THE LIGHT NOVELS the pace is much slower because there’s so many events to adapt. As such, it takes 3 volumes of manga just to get through the first book. So, while I prefer the novels, the manga is good too! It has very pretty art.

----

UPDATE July 4, 2022

With the final volume being released in regards to Iris’ story and arc I will now proceed to continue to shout and cry about how this is my absolute favourite Isesai series!

Seeing her change the world for the better and for herself was a very satisfying read. Especially because these changed were not made through force, but intellect and a sense of community! She inexplicably and unintentionally challenged the conventional gender norms of her world with her accomplishments and success. And up until this point, she had been ready to step down when it was expected, and continue doing good elsewhere, through her company and her own means. But, in the end, she’s able to keep the position she’s earned.

Love love love this story, and how it kept me enthralled with the accounting/economic through-line of the plot. Also Iris & Dean being two math nerds in love is just *chef’s kiss*

IN THIS HOUSE WE LOVE POWERFUL LADIES! WHETHER THEIR POWER LIES IN THEIR PHYSICAL, MENTAL, OR CREATIVE PROWESS!!

I’m excited to read the following volumes which will be about Iris’ mother’s childhood. Merellis was already a compelling character in the first arc and discovering in this 5th volume just how much she does behind the scenes makes me excited to know all the details of her youth.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 5/5 STARS!

LOVE IT! READ IT! SO YOU CAN LOVE IT TOO!!

#Book rec #light novel #isekai #manga #accomplishments of the duke's daughter

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uomo-accattivante · 3 years

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Excellent article about bringing a re-make of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage to fruition, and the twenty-year friendship that Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain share:

There were days on the shoot for “Scenes From a Marriage,” a five-episode limited series that premieres Sept. 12 on HBO, when Oscar Isaac resented the crew.

The problem wasn’t the crew members themselves, he told me on a video call in March. But the work required of him and his co-star, Jessica Chastain, was so unsparingly intimate — “And difficult!” Chastain added from a neighboring Zoom window — that every time a camera operator or a makeup artist appeared, it felt like an intrusion.

On his other projects, Isaac had felt comfortably distant from the characters and their circumstances — interplanetary intrigue, rogue A.I. But “Scenes” surveys monogamy and parenthood, familiar territory. Sometimes Isaac would film a bedtime scene with his onscreen child (Lily Jane) and then go home and tuck his own child into the same model of bed as the one used onset, accessorized with the same bunny lamp, and not know exactly where art ended and life began.

“It was just a lot,” he said.

Chastain agreed, though she put it more strongly. “I mean, I cried every day for four months,” she said.

Isaac, 42, and Chastain, 44, have known each other since their days at the Juilliard School. And they have channeled two decades of friendship, admiration and a shared and obsessional devotion to craft into what Michael Ellenberg, one of the series’s executive producers, called “five hours of naked, raw performance.” (That nudity is metaphorical, mostly.)

“For me it definitely felt incredibly personal,” Chastain said on the call in the spring, about a month after filming had ended. “That’s why I don’t know if I have another one like this in me. Yeah, I can’t decide that. I can’t even talk about it without. …” She turned away from the screen. (It was one of several times during the call that I felt as if I were intruding, too.)

The original “Scenes From a Marriage,” created by Ingmar Bergman, debuted on Swedish television in 1973. Bergman’s first television series, its six episodes trace the dissolution of a middle-class marriage. Starring Liv Ullmann, Bergman’s ex, it drew on his own past relationships, though not always directly.

“When it comes to Bergman, the relationship between autobiography and fiction is extremely complicated,” said Jan Holmberg, the chief executive of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation.

A sensation in Sweden, it was seen by most of the adult population. And yes, sure, correlation does not imply causation, but after its debut, Swedish divorce were rumored to have doubled. Holmberg remembers watching a rerun as a 10-year-old.

“It was a rude awakening to adult life,” he said.

The writer and director Hagai Levi saw it as a teenager, on Israeli public television, during a stint on a kibbutz. “I was shocked,” he said. The series taught him that a television series could be radical, that it could be art. When he created “BeTipul,” the Israeli precursor to “In Treatment,” he used “Scenes” as proof of the concept “that two people can talk for an hour and it can work,” Levi said. (Strangely, “Scenes” also inspired the prime-time soap “Dallas.”)

So when Daniel Bergman, Ingmar Bergman’s youngest son, approached Levi about a remake, he was immediately interested.

But the project languished, in part because loving a show isn’t reason enough to adapt it. Divorce is common now — in Sweden, and elsewhere — and the relationship politics of the original series, in which the male character deserts his wife and young children for an academic post, haven’t aged particularly well.

Then about two years ago, Levi had a revelation. He would swap the gender roles. A woman who leaves her marriage and child in pursuit of freedom (with a very hot Israeli entrepreneur in place of a visiting professorship) might still provoke conversation and interest.

So the Marianne and Johan of the original became Mira and Jonathan, with a Boston suburb (re-created in a warehouse just north of New York City), stepping in for the Stockholm of the original. Jonathan remains an academic though Mira, a lawyer in the original, is now a businesswoman who out-earns him.

Casting began in early 2020. After Isaac met with Levi, he wrote to Chastain to tell her about the project. She wasn’t available. The producers cast Michelle Williams. But the pandemic reshuffled everyone’s schedules. When production was ready to resume, Williams was no longer free. Chastain was. “That was for me the most amazing miracle,” Levi said.

Isaac and Chastain met in the early 2000s at Juilliard. He was in his first year; she, in her third. He first saw her in a scene from a classical tragedy, slapping men in the face as Helen of Troy. He was friendly with her then-boyfriend, and they soon became friends themselves, bonding through the shared trauma of an acting curriculum designed to break its students down and then build them back up again. Isaac remembered her as “a real force of nature and solid, completely solid, with an incredible amount of integrity,” he said.

In the next window, Chastain blushed. “He was super talented,” she said. “But talented in a way that wasn’t expected, that’s challenging and pushing against constructs and ideas.” She introduced him to her manager, and they celebrated each other’s early successes and went to each other’s premieres. (A few of those photos are used in “Scenes From a Marriage” as set dressing.)

In 2013, Chastain was cast in J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year,”opposite Javier Bardem. When Bardem dropped out, Chastain campaigned for Isaac to have the role. Weeks before shooting, they began to meet, fleshing out the back story of their characters — a husband and wife trying to corner the heating oil market in 1981 New York — the details of the marriage, business, life.

It was their first time working together, and each felt a bond that went deeper than a parallel education and approach. “Something connects us that’s stronger than any ideas of character or story or any of that,” Isaac said. “There’s something else that’s more about like, a shared existence.”

Chandor noticed how they would support each other on set, and challenge each other, too, giving each other the freedom to take the characters’ relationship to dark and dangerous places. “They have this innate trust with each other,” Chandor said.

That trust eliminated the need for actorly tricks or shortcuts, in part because they know each other’s tricks too well. Their motto, Isaac said, was, “Let’s figure this [expletive] out together and see what’s the most honest thing we can do.”

Moni Yakim, Juilliard’s celebrated movement instructor, has followed their careers closely and he noted what he called the “magnetism and spiritual connection” that they suggested onscreen in the film.

“It’s a kind of chemistry,” Yakim said. “They can read each other’s mind and you as an audience, you can sense it.”

Telepathy takes work. When they knew that shooting “Scenes From a Marriage” could begin, Chastain bought a copy of “All About Us,” a guided journal for couples, and filled in her sections in character as Mira. Isaac brought it home and showed it to his wife, the filmmaker Elvira Lind.

“She was like, ‘You finally found your match,’” Isaac recalled. “’Someone that is as big of a nerd as you are.’”

The actors rehearsed, with Levi and on their own, talking their way through each long scene, helping each other through the anguished parts. When production had to halt for two weeks, they rehearsed then, too.

Watching these actors work reminded Amy Herzog, a writer and executive producer on the series, of race horses in full gallop. “These are two people who have so much training and skill,” she said. “Because it’s an athletic feat, what they were being asked to do.”

But training and skill and the “All About Us” book hadn’t really prepared them for the emotional impact of actually shooting “Scenes From a Marriage.” Both actors normally compartmentalize when they work, putting up psychic partitions between their roles and themselves. But this time, the partitions weren’t up to code.

“I knew I was in trouble the very first week,” Chastain said.

She couldn’t hide how the scripts affected her, especially from someone who knows her as well as Isaac does. “I just felt so exposed,” she said. “This to me, more than anything I’ve ever worked on, was definitely the most open I’ve ever been.”

“It felt so dangerous,” she said.

I visited the set in February (after multiple Covid-19 tests and health screenings) during a final day of filming. It was the quietest set I had ever seen: The atmosphere was subdued, reverent almost, a crew and a studio space stripped down to only what two actors would need to do the most passionate and demanding work of their careers.

Isaac didn’t know if he would watch the completed series. “It really is the first time ever, where I’ve done something where I’m totally fine never seeing this thing,” he said. “Because I’ve really lived through it. And in some ways I don’t want whatever they decide to put together to change my experience of it, which was just so intense.”

The cameras captured that intensity. Though Chastain isn’t Mira and Isaac isn’t Jonathan, each drew on personal experience — their parents’ marriages, past relationships — in ways they never had. Sometimes work on the show felt like acting, and sometimes the work wasn’t even conscious. There’s a scene in the harrowing fourth episode in which they both lie crumpled on the floor, an identical stress vein bulging in each forehead.

“It’s my go-to move, the throbbing forehead vein,” Isaac said on a follow-up video call last month. Chastain riffed on the joke: “That was our third year at Juilliard, the throb.”

By then, it had been five months since the shoot wrapped. Life had returned to something like normal. Jokes were possible again. Both of them seemed looser, more relaxed. (Isaac had already poured himself one tequila shot and was ready for another.) No one cried.

Chastain had watched the show with her husband. And Isaac, despite his initial reluctance, had watched it, too. It didn’t seem to have changed his experience.

“I’ve never done anything like it,” he said. “And I can’t imagine doing anything like it again.”

###

#oscar isaac #jessica chastain #scenes from a marriage #hagai levi #michelle williams #elvira lind #behind the scenes #article

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griffintail · 3 years

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Could you do the dream smp (separately) realizing that their child is just really smart? It could be like they're a prodigy in a particular subject or they're just really smart in general. Can you also include these characters: (and any more you want to add) Wilbur, Dream, Tommy, Eret, Techno, and Ranboo. Ty in advance if you decide to do this!

Smartest in the Room

Pairings: Parental! Wilbur, Dream, Tommy, Eret, Technoblade, and Ranboo x F! Child! Reader

Warnings: None :)

A/N: (F/L) means the first letter of your first name.

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Eret

(Y/N) was young when she started studying the politics of the SMP and L'Manberg.

Naturally, she picked up on it with ease and rather mature with issues that arose.

Eret was very proud of her when she asked to sit and listen to the meetings to understand them even better.

There had even been a few times that (Y/N) could hold her own in a debate despite being ten years old.

"That does not justify your acts in this courtroom!" (Y/N) argued with Big Law, Eret sweating slightly as he had taken her to a case going on today for broken laws in L'Manberg.

"It does I'm a lawyer! You shouldn't even be here!"

"Name a law I don't know!" (Y/N) challenged.

---

"Yes, he did take your things first." (Y/N) stuck out her tongue slightly trying to balance in heels, Tommy crossing his arms as he watched her. "But you stealing in a return is still a wrong action and punishable. It will simply mean nobody wins."

Eret was very proud to see his little girl prosper and knew she'd only excel further when he came into her room to find her writing in a book.

"What are you doing princess?"

She looked up and smiled, showing him the book. "My policies when I can finally run for president."

Yeah, he was very proud of his kid. He wouldn't be surprised when she finally would manage to become president of L'Manberg.

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Dream

(Y/N) was all-around smart and Dream knew it every day.

She could come up with excellent tactics and be quick to change them if need be when she played Manhunt with Dream, Sapnap, and George.

She could read some pretty advanced books and understand them with little difficulty.

She also learned how to be a pretty good liar with the help of her friends but Dream didn't know that one.

She learned a lot of different things and worked to master them every day.

Though, the thing she took the most pride in was her swordsmanship. She wanted to be just her father.

George screamed as he fell and (Y/N) pointed her sword tip to his neck, taking quick breaths. Sapnap laughed at George as (Y/N) grinned taking the sword away and helping George up. As she did, she looked up at the sound of clapping, grinning wider as she saw Dream, home early.

"You're pretty good, sweetheart. Why don't we go against each other?" Dream offered to her.

Dream was very proud to see her hold her own for a while against him and knew she'd one day become the master.

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Ranboo

It was a surprise to Ranboo when (Y/N) excelled in reading and writing.

She could read rather fast and could comprehend what she just read.

Her calligraphy was also rather elegant for someone so young as she often wanted to write down what happened, just like Ranboo.

"You don't need to write everything down little enderman. You remember everything." Ranboo told her as they were sitting and she was writing in her own journal.

"I know, but I want my own memory book to make sure I never forget, just like you." (Y/N) smiled and Ranbo smiled as well, gently ruffling her hair.

Ranboo didn't know about her excellent reading until Phil called him over to Techno's where Phil was currently babysitting her.

"So, Techno gave her a book." Phil started off and Ranboo nodded, frowning slightly confused.

What was so bad about a book?

"...It was the Art of War and she read all of it and Techno quizzed her on it and she got every question correct."

"WHAT?!" Ranboo exclaimed.

"Techno's making her read Greek myths now."

"Techno!" Ranboo went to go talk to the other man.

Techno had another friend at least.

---------------------------

Technoblade

Many thought that Techno's child would be the most skilled swordsman in the land.

And they'd be correct but she didn't show it off. Instead, she became just as knowledgeable as her father, with his help.

She knew just as much about things from Greek myths to The Art of War as Technoblade.

Tommy would make fun of her for being a nerd occasionally but would quickly take it back when Techno would glare over her head at him.

She wasn't as much of a fighter like Techno, even though she was practically a master at most weapons other than axes but Techno was fine to encourage her with her smarts instead.

"Why doesn't she fight? She's a Blade! You call her little blade!" Tommy questioned his brother as (Y/N) was across the room reading next to Steve.

"She doesn't need to, I got that covered," Techno told him.

---------------------------

Tommy

A lot of people are quick to dismiss (Y/N) to be just like Tommy but people underestimate both of them.

She was rather well-rounded. With the help of her father, Tubbo, and Wilbur, she was rather smart and a pretty damn good fighter.

It tended to frustrate Tommy that many people would simply brush off her smarts and he would furiously call them back.

"Hey, shithead! Listen to what my amazing kid has to say!" He called to Fundy and (Y/N) grinned.

Tommy was very proud of her and also tended to show off her smarts to others. Though she tended to act just like Tommy.

She kept what she could really do away until she actually needed to do it.

"How the hell do we do this puzzle?" Tubbo motioned to the floor in front of them as Tommy and (Y/N) were exploring temples with him.

"That's easy, like this." (Y/N) simply walked over and completed the puzzle, like it was nothing. "Done!"

"Good job little (F/L)!" Tommy grinned.

---------------------------

Wilbur

Wilbur taught (Y/N) all about music from the moment she could start remembering. He took great pride in it.

He was very delighted when she started to pick up on things and gladly taught her more when she showed actual interest in it.

He taught her to play guitar and piano and even helped her practice her vocals. She picked up on all of it so quick and he was so delighted to share his art with her.

She wasn't a master yet, but Wilbur knew his little star would be one, one day.

Wilbur hummed as he strummed his guitar, staring at his journal with lyrics inside. What could the second verse be?

"Are we playing today?" (Y/N) peeked in.

Wilbur smiled. "We can be if you want. I'm working on a new song, like to hear it?"

She nodded eagerly as she sat in front of him. He strummed before singing for her.

"I heard there was a special place, where men could go emancipate. The brutality and tyranny of their rulers. Well, this place is real you needn’t fret, with Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, (Y/N), fuck Eret. It's a very big and not blown up L’Manberg. My L'Manberg. My L'Manberg. My L'Manberg. My L'Manberg."

(Y/N) grinned widely as Wilbur sang before he stopped and looked at her.

"Sound good?" He asked.

"Wonderful! Is there more?"

"I need to write more little star." He chuckled. "I'm having trouble thinking up a second verse."

"Well, it's about L'Manberg, right? What...what about, for freedom and for liberty, our nation sought to build on these." She sang the words similar to how he had been singing earlier.

He grinned brightly. "I love it."

His little star was most certainly going to be talented.

#mcyt reader insert #mcyt oneshots #mcyt fanfiction #mcyt imagine #mcyt x reader #tommyinnit x reader #wilbur soot x reader #eret x reader #dream x reader #dreamsmp x reader #technoblade x reader #ranboo x reader

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januarymoreau · 3 years

Text

alright so I know literally no one cares about this but it’s my social media I’m doing what I want /lh

I’ve been seeing a lot of slander about justin russo on the internet lately and I’m currently hyperfixated on wizards of waverly place so here’s why justin is an awesome character/doesn’t deserve the hate he gets

He’s kind and treats those he loves well. Justin is canonically really good at comforting people. Although he argues with Alex a lot, at the end of the day, he’s also her older brother and genuinely cares about her. When Professor Crumbs threatens to take Alex’s magic away because she doesn’t turn her report card in, Justin says that Crumbs will also have to take his magic away. Justin is ultimately selfless. We see again and again the sacrifices he makes for Alex and I think we mainly see his kindness in that relationship. Despite that, I think he’s also notably kind to Juliet. When he finds out that he made the mistake of reporting Juliet and her parents, he instantly tries to fix it. Not only does he try to fix it, but he puts his job as Monster Hunter in jeopardy for Juliet and her parents - her parents haven’t even been that nice to him. Justin is ultimately selfless and at the end of the day, he sacrifices himself or what he wants for others. When Rosie turns back into a good angel, instead of selfishly continuing to date her and keeping her in the mortal world (which he could have done - she literally offers to stay with him), he gives her up because he realizes the world needs a guardian angel more than he needs a girlfriend. Even though it hurts because he loved her, he gives her up. There’s no “award” for doing this - he won’t move up a level in the wizard competition, he really won’t get any recognition for giving Rosie up. He doesn’t even get any recognition for turning the moral compass back to good. He does it because it’s the right thing to do. Although later I’ll argue that Justin is constantly seeking validation, I also think that the heroic/good things he does are often done with no expectation of being praised for it. He does them because he has a strong sense of morals. He’s also kind to Harper, Zeke, his parents, and even Max, who people rarely ever show kindness to in the show.

He’s in touch with his emotions. When the show starts, Justin is very against anything that will show him as feminine or emotional. In fact, he even says he’s allergic to emotions (or something like that) to cover for the fact that he’s crying over his missing dog. As the show goes on, we see Justin start to embrace and accept his emotions more and to lose touch with his toxic masculinity. I think dating Juliet changed him in a lot of ways (making him more relaxed, etc), and I think one was encouraging him to be more emotional. After Wizards vs. Vampires, Justin is pretty emotional and open about his emotions in the show. He’s even open with talking about them. In the movie, he opens up to Alex about how he feels like Jerry & Theresa wouldn’t love him as much if he were less “perfect,” which brings me to my next point.

At the end of the day, Justin is a sad character. I know it’s a kid’s show but they really do cover a lot of issues so bear w me. I’m hyperfixated and I like to over analyze shows so I’ve thought about this a lot. Justin is the oldest, which means he already deals with pressure to be perfect. Then, add in the fact that his parents are constantly describing him as the “perfect child” and putting him on a pedestal, while pitting the kids against each other as a result of the wizard culture bc of the family competition (I love Jerry & Theresa but they’re not perfect). He’s also a high achiever and we know he puts extreme pressure on himself to do well - they always make a joke about it but it’s actually quite sad. He literally feels poorly about himself when he gets a B and bases his entire self worth on his grades and skills as a wizard. In fact, in the movie he voices doubt about whether or not he’s good at anything other than magic. I have a few things I want to say about all of this. First of all, I think Justin is constantly seeking validation. I think as the oldest and “best” child, he feels the need to be perfect all the time, but he also does many of the things he does because he just wants validation. When Harper decides to run a marathon, Justin does too, and sadly his accomplishment of finishing it is overshadowed by Harper “winning.” I also think Justin feels threatened by the success of others because he thinks it invalidates his. When he opens up to Alex in the movie, he says that he’s jealous of her because it seems like everything comes naturally to her. Justin feels as if his parents loving his siblings takes away from their love from his. It’s irrational, but very real. Which brings me to my next point - Justin has generalized anxiety disorder. It makes sense - the overthinking, the outbursts he has (Alex refers to it as a conniption once) of panic or frustration, the overachieving, etc. As someone who probably has autism, I also think he’s autistic (which would explain his troubles with tone, struggle making friends, obsessions with things like Captain Jim Bob Sherwood and science, being better w robots than people, and so much more).

Ultimately, Justin has a strong moral backbone. Although he’s a stickler for the rules and this oftentimes leads him to do bad things initially, he always does the right thing in the end. For example, when Justin and Alex go to court and Justin duplicates himself to be his lawyer, his lawyer ultimately proves that Justin is guilty; he even says something along the lines of “We’re Justin Russo. We always do what’s moral and just.” Justin has a strong sense of justice (which could also be from being autistic but I could do a whole other post about neurodivergency coding in WOWP and Disney & Nick shows overall bc there’s a ton of coding) and does what he thinks is right, most of the time. Sure, sometimes he does bad things, but he’s also a teenager at the end of the day and he’s highly competitive.

Finally, Justin Russo is super progressive - in fact, he’s probably the most progressive characters of the show. He acknowledges climate change and actively tries to create a solution for it. In fact, for his science fair project he makes a water powered engine, which would reduce carbon emissions. He also wears a shirt at one point that says “Make art not war.” I will admit that his biases against the werewolf he dated were problematic, but he clearly grew from that because he never held any of that against Mason. He’s also into science and is a nerd and although this is a stereotype, most young people who are into science and are nerds are progressive. I’m pretty sure he also is well aware of current events and would probably read the newspaper. Also I myself headcanon Justin as trans and bi (again could make another post about characters in wowp that are queer)

Little note even tho probably no one will see this - this is all just for fun. If you disagree with anything I said, just say it politely hahsh. Also please don’t make fun of me for this WOWP is a huge hyperfixation and comfort thing for me rn and I just wanted to make a silly little post where I analyze one of my comfort characters. Also I kin Justin so pls don’t like hate on him in the comments.

#justin russo #wizards of waverly place #wowp #alex russo #harper finkle #juliet van heusen #max russo #theresa russo #jerry russo #russo siblings #disney channel #character analysis

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zodiyack · 4 years

Text

Promises

Requested by anon: Omg hi again may I request a Sherlock Holmes x reader were they get married and have kids! Thank you <3

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x Female!Reader

Warnings: One smut-indication?, funny angst, fluffity fluff, no proof-reading

Words: 1,953

Summary: (See Request)

Note: I’m making this a continuation of Reminders if that’s ok with you-

Taglist: @matth1w, @redspaceace-writes, @fandom-puff, @darling-i-read-it, @simonsbluee, @thewarriorprincessxo, @sebastianstanslefteyebrow, @missihart23, @beckster07890, @maan24

Masterlist | Henry Cavill Masterlist

Tears were shed, laughs were scattered, cheers were shouted. Sherlock had made good on his promise and married the lovely beautiful artist. He couldn’t stray his eyes from hers the entire wedding. It was difficult to even form words with how breathtaking the angel in front of him looked. Did they really expect him to say vows with this gift from the heavens standing right before him?!

Although Sherlock found it hard, he managed to spit out the words that caught in his throat. You’d hardly be able to tell he was a nervous wreck; the loving words that should bind them in mere moments came from his lips like poetry.

As soon as they were wed, Sherlock was eager to have his wife to himself. The entire after-party, he sat beside her with his leg bouncing impatiently, and that night he’d made love to her more times than they’d ever done in a week. A new record. He made it known that his promise was good.

What was to come after, though, was surely to be expected.

“Rin, stop moving sweetie.” She begged calmly for what felt like the thousandth time. Her youngest daughter fidgeted in the chair. She looked like a baby-doll propped up in an adults’ chair with how small she was. Painting her children was not uncommon for Y/n. They loved to model for their mother but most of the time her children could just barely stay still.

Their oldest, Eddie, a nickname for Edward, was goofy and had a heart like his aunt’s, both Enola and Eddie more child-like than times would prefer. Second oldest, Will Claud, short for William Claud, was determined, like his father, but had a habit of over doing it. He was the strict and ...well, the nerd brother. Will Claud just wanted to impress his father and mother, but he seemed to listen to his uncle Mycroft too much.

Next born was Alice. She had her mother’s skill in art as well as her father’s skill in mystery. She and Will Claud were born not too long from each other, so it was no surprise that they were constantly wrestling for the spotlight. Alice didn’t try to outwit her brother as much as he did her, but she wasn’t new to winning.

Finally, the twins; Clayton and Catherine. Clayton was mischievous and didn’t hesitate to make it known, but Catherine, sitting in that chair across her mother as her soft skin is replicated by paint onto a canvas of color, was practically an angel.

While the other children would hurdle over each other to get to their father every time he stepped through the front doors, Cathy would wait beside her mother politely before walking to her father slowly. Her siblings would part, forming a walkway in the middle as if she were royalty.

So then the joke was made and the chair painting was currently underway. They had to find the right chair, and they did. It looked so elegant, so royally distinguished. It looked perfect. Fit for a queen.

And that was what the joke was. That Catherine was the “queen”. Not a very funny one without context, Cathy’s siblings later found out, but a good one to tease her with. However, queen Cathy didn’t mind it. In fact, she was quick to drop into character, the smoothest transition known to man-kind.

While, yes, Catherine’s character was rather humorous, it still held some concerns. Would she become the lordly queen her siblings tried to paint her as? Would she ever realize it was all a joke her siblings made up? Growing up was never something she forced on her children, but she didn’t want to have them growing too used to a title like that. Y/n joked to her husband one night in bed as they held the sleeping majesty, whom had crawled into their bed without reason.

“I’m highly aware she’s ‘the queen’ and all, but I really hope she doesn’t decide she’d like to adopt the complete role. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if my baby became my nightmare. The other four are already so much work.” She chuckled as she brushed some of Catherine’s hair behind her ear.

Sherlock looked at his sleeping daughter. She looked so at peace, just as she always did, and he nodded yet noted his disagreement. “I doubt she’d ever become such a hassle. She’s been so patient and kind, I can’t see her actually devolving a bad side. Clayton, sure, but his sister?” Their eyes flicked up to meet each others. A beat later and they were in hushed snickers.

“Mummy?”

“Yes?”

“When will daddy be returning home?” She had relaxed her facial muscles, if only she’d done so with her limbs- make it easier for her mother, and held a casual tone of voice. Another thing with Catherine; she was harder to read than most.

“I’m not sure, my dear. He should be back before supper...” Y/n lifted her head to peak over the easel and watch her three older kids as they played with Clayton. He was a tough kid, but always overestimated how tough he really was. Y/n felt concern fill her gut when he first begged to play with his older siblings, but she let him anyways, Sherlock being the one to thank for that decision.

“Good. I want to sit next to him tonight. And you. I want to sit next to both of you, mummy.” She gave her mother a small smile, which she returned, before adjusting to her original pose.

Y/n paused after she finished the details involving the chair and Cathy. “Catherine, you do realize that I sit next to your father at dinner, right? And Eddie sits on his other side...that is, if Willy loses their fight tonight...I wonder why they don’t just take turns...” She muttered the last few sentences to herself in heavy contemplation.

“Mhm! You can sit next to him too!” The little girl watched her mother process her question with wide eyes of anticipation. She realized Y/n still didn’t quite understand and was quick to explain. “I can sit on your lap, mummy! Like when I was this big!” Catherine held up her hands to show an overexaggerated space between her small hands that supposedly represented her only one or two years ago.

“Well... Daddy and I can talk about it when he gets home. Is that alright with you?”

“Mhm! But I don’t want to crush the new me, so don’t be afraid to tell me no, mummy, okay?!” Her innocence was adorable, but not more than the grin that sat upon her lips.

Clayton rushed in, causing Y/n to instinctively reach for her easel protectively. He chortled to himself before announcing what was on his mind. “It’s not a new you, Cathy, it’s a new me! I’ll bet you on it, I’m shore I have the funs!”

“Clayton Luther Holmes!” Y/n’s eyes doubled in size. “Who taught you about betting?”

Her son ignored her question and continued, “Besides, what if I want to sit on mother’s lap?!”

“We can’t both sit on mummy- what about the baby?”

“Uhh, it can move, no doy?! It can move just like Will Claud tells me to. It doesn’t need to be shell-fish!” Clayton muttered bitterly. “If Will Claud really wants to call someone his funny names, he should call the baby them.” His time with the older kids was undoubtfully the reasoning behind the failed attempts of words he didn’t fully understand.

“Do you mean ‘selfish?’“

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Don’t you agree, mummy? See, she agrees!” Clayton tried to argue with his twin, but his words had no effect on her. Catherine stared at him blankly, confused like her mother.

“Mummy didn’t say anything, Clayton. She said we can talk about it when daddy gets home, so you can wait here with me.” She scooted over a bit in the chair and pat beside her. Clayton shot her a look of distaste and ran back out into the yard.

“That was...odd.” Y/n blinked.

“He did remind me though, mummy... The baby can’t move... maybe I could sit with daddy instead?” Catherine sounded reassuring, her feathery voice calming her mother.

Which she really needed. She could hardly focus on her painting now. Her heart was begging for Sherlock to walk through the front doors already, spare her from another interruption that would throw her off-course for the fifth time that evening.

Like magic, her wish was granted and a knock sounded on the study door. Both Catherine and Y/n’s heads snapped toward Sherlock entering the room. “How’s her-majesty doing?” He smirked at Cathy as he set down his case. “I heard from two little competitive detectives that mummy is creating a masterpiece of her masterpiece! Are the rumors true?”

“That they are, detective. Seems you’ve found out the surprise before it could surprise you.” Catherine giggled as her father lifted her from the soft red chair and spun her around before planting a kiss on her forehead.

“So, my little queen, how are you?”

“Good.” She smiled brightly. “How are you? Did mummy ask you yet?”

Sherlock turned to face Y/n, who looked away as fast as she could- wide eyes and all. “Did mummy ask me what, Rin?”

“If I could sit with you or her during supper? I would sit on mummy’s lap, but I don’t want to hurt the baby, and even if I could, Clay wants to sit on her too. I don’t want to make it unfair!” Catherine frowned. “I told him he could wait with me until you were here to talk about it but he didn’t want to.”

“I’ll tell you what. Since mummy has the baby, you can sit with her and I’ll have Clayton sit with me.”

“Yeah! He moves around a lot and we want to be extra careful with mummy and mini-baby, right?” Sherlock nodded, Y/n still trying to figure out what her daughter was saying, and sent Cathy off to play with her siblings until Alice finished supper. It wasn’t intended for Y/n’s pregnancy, but it certainly helped. A system in which the kids could claim nights to help out with meals. Alice loved to make dinners while Edward loved to bake. The smell of a delicious homecooked meal was never lacking in the Holmes house.

“Hear that? Mini-baby gets to sit next to the queen tonight.”

“I’m jealous, quite frankly.” Sherlock’s grin never ceased to bring Y/n’s to her face. Though she was exhausted, her husband made her feel calm and peaceful. “So, our five little reminders never cease to remind you, do they?”

“No...and don’t forget the sixth, Mr. Holmes.”

“Believe me, I haven’t, Mrs. Holmes. I’m simply awaiting their arrival. Perhaps a few more before I needn’t anymore reminders?”

“Mayhaps...however- Let’s talk about it when I’m no longer expecting, please. I’m already resisting the urge to collapse.” Sherlock chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he watched his wife struggle to the doors before helping her. His arms scoop her up and carry her to their room. They passed the paintings that hung upon the walls, portraits of Sherlock, portraits of their children, a portrait by her mother in law of their wedding day. The wall was home to their present and past, providing room for their future as well.

They were in their room for only a few minutes before a loud chatter followed them. Both adults closed their eyes and prepared themselves for their little ones who would burst through their doors at any moment. His promise was good, and they had five, almost six, reminders to show for proof.

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mothandpidgeon · 3 years

Note

Ok but since you are writing a Regency piece...could you imagine having Din Djarin and Marcus Pike fighting over you? Each of them is so different and you can't help it because you're attracted to both of them because Din is the brooding yet kind introverted man that quotes to you poetry and takes you on long boat rides (with someone else of course because he cares about your image) and you're head over heels in love but then Marcus comes along and he's dashing and sweet and a little introverted but mostly talkative whenever he has to be and although he doesn't read to you poetry, he does gush about how none of the Greek and Roman and Etruscan sculptures and Italian works of art come close to your beauty and he takes you on long walks in gardens and even invites you to go to Versailles one time with him and then the three of you run into each other during one of the balls and the two are begging just for a moment with you and you're dancing with no one else but them during the entire night and when you try to go to the garden to get some fresh air, you're bombarded by the two men and they get into a heated argument to the point where they say that they will duel for you but you stop them both because you don't want either of them to get hurt and then...oh my sweet lord...and then, you take each of their hands and kiss their knuckles and fuck you shouldn't be doing this because what if someone sees and your reputation and no no no...but they both grow even more shy and you smile at them and-

"How about you invite us over to your estate Captain Djarin? I'm sure we can all...come to an agreement. Right?"

And the two are so confused but when they look at each other and return their gaze to you, they finally realize what it is you're talking about and they're both appalled by your offer but their shock slowly subsides because they fucking crave you and they nod and you throw each one of them a wink and-

"I'm looking forward to the invitation, good evening gentlemen."

And AHHHHHHHHHHH I DIE!!!!!!!!

Ok, Maggie, you went SO HARD on this one. Phew. You really know how to torment me!!! You are always welcome in my inbox. Considering the tale you wove, I really hope this lives up to it and you’ll have to forgive me I could go on but I was already approaching 1.5k words!!

Also I hope you don’t mind (and apologies to Regency!Din) but the mention of Versailles just screamed late 18th century (an important distinction in my nerd brain) so…

A/N: 18+! This ribbon bit comes from Barry Lyndon so apologies to the ghost of Stanley Kubrick.

It was a shame that Misters Djarin and Pike detested one another so when they had so many similarities. Both of them were kind and sweet and terribly handsome.

Mr. Pike accompanied you to the opera on more than one occasion. In the privacy of your box, he would whisper sweet words into your ear and nudge the soft skin of your neck with his nose. Mr. Djarin was more of an outdoorsman. He took you riding on his estate. When you were far enough on the grounds, he would help you down from the saddle and recite poetry to you beneath a shady tree.

And yet seeing them side by side now in Mr. Djarin’s parlor where you’d just shared a very awkward tea, tension straining the air between them, they couldn’t be more different. Mr. Djarin, so reserved, dark and modest. Mr. Pike, flirtatious and warm, cheek always dimpled with a smile.

You knew it wasn't going to be easy to break the wall between them but you’d been wise enough to plan for it.

“It seems I cannot force an accord between you but I know how men like their sport. I propose a wager. Nothing like a friendly competition to encourage affection,” you said.

Marcus cocked his eyebrow. He had wanted to win you since he’d met you last summer, pursuing you endlessly and yet this other man still stood in his way.

“I wonder which of you is a better hunter,” you said.

“And how would we prove that?” Mr. Pike asked. Din’s brow creased. He didn’t know how hunting had anything to do with your ludacris proposal, the one that they had both scoffed at at the ball. He wouldn’t have agreed to contemplate the thought if he hadn’t been so afraid of losing you.

You rose from your seat and both pairs of brown eyes watched you intently.

“I have devised a test. I’ve hidden a white ribbon somewhere on my person,” you said, trying to bite back your smile. “The better man finds it first.”

Both men looked at you in a stunned silence. Your heart was racing nervously but you were savoring their expressions. Mr. Djarin collected himself first.

“You’ll forgive me for being unfamiliar with the ways in which women amuse themselves but I hardly find such a suggestion to be entertaining,” Mr. Djarin said, his cheeks turning pink.

He couldn’t pretend that the idea of undressing you didn’t make his heart pound but he hated how easily you would give yourself over to Mr. Pike. He disliked the way Pike flirted with you so openly. Of course, he knew some of it was envy— he had never been a charmer.

“I do not speak in jest, sir,” you told him.

“That is what you want?” Mr. Pike asked, his soft eyes already slipping lower. He was already thinking of places to explore.

You watched Mr. Djarin look away from you when he nodded.

“And the better man, does he win something?” Pike asked, enjoying how flustered the other man had become.

“My highest regard,” you answered coyly.

Marcus chuckled.

“Then the lady should get what she wants, don’t you agree?” he asked Mr. Djarin.

Din cleared his throat.

“Very well,” he said.

Pike came to your side and took your hand to escort you to the couch where you sat between him and Mr. Djarin.

“Perhaps you should take the first turn,” you suggested to Mr. Djarin who was looking at you with a mix of fear and yearning in his eye.

He’d been so careful with you, always so cautious not to overstep or do anything at all that might invite scandal save a few soft kisses. And here you were laying yourself out for him. He swallowed dryly and met your eye with a shrug of surrender.

“Is it in your hair?” he asked, eyes darting up to your coiffure.

You smiled at him, nearly reached out to put your hand on his cheek. That protective nature was what drew you to Mr. Djarin in the first place. You knew what he really wanted, you could see it in his eyes, but he was too polite to take what was being offered. Not without convincing.

“I believe this requires a more thorough search, Djarin,” Pike said from over your shoulder.

He cupped your hands and turned them over as in a playful inspection, then lifted both of your arms. “No. Not there.”

You laughed and the noise made his heart jump. He’d found that he would make himself a fool if it put a smile on your face. Marcus was happy to take the opportunity to move in closer, to claim you with his touch. He brushed your neck so gently, his fingers tracing a ljne from your jaw to your shoulder where the bodice of your dress began. Goose pimples broke out on your skin and Marcus put his lips against your earlobe.

“I wonder,” he mused, leaning your back into his chest.

He hooked a finger under the fabric and followed the line down from your shoulder to the swell of your breast and you gasped. He had so often admired the rise and fall of your chest, Marcus couldn’t help but caress your skin with his thumb. Din felt himself stiffen as he listened to the soft moans Pike was drawing from you as he put a kiss on your skin. Watching your lips part, Din was frozen in place.

Marcus moved his hand down the straight front of your bodice and you felt yourself pulsing beneath your skirts.

“Perhaps under here?” he asked.

You allowed him to work the front of your gown open, the silk parting to reveal the creamy ivory stays below. Din felt twin aches in his chest and his groin as he saw the other man slide the bodice off of your shoulders.

Neither had seen you in such a state of undress before. Marcus took a moment to steady himself, admiring the figure below and sliding his hand across your middle. You were hardly naked, still clad in your stays, shift, and skirts but your underthings made his cock twitch.

“Now you see how the game is played and that Mr. Pike has been so far unsuccessful,” you said to Mr. Djarin, your voice more breathless than before. “Would you care to try, Mr. Djarin?”

You encouraged him by bringing your foot to rest beside his knee, leaning back into Mr. Pike. Din licked his lips, staring at the floral pattern on your delicate shoe for what felt like a century. Finally, he gave in to his longing.

He ran his fingers up your ankle over your silk stocking, revealing the smooth line of your leg. His large hands encircled your calf as he inched your skirt up further. You let out a shaking breath, squeezing your thighs together. You could hear Mr. Pike’s jagged breaths in your ear as he watched with anticipation. He had half a mind to release himself from his breeches to relieve the torment building there.

Din was careful not to reveal any of your skin, stopping just above the spot at your knee where your stockings were tied with thick ribbons.

“These are blue,” he said, running his thumb over the bow.

You were looking down at him flushed and breathing heavy and it took everything in his power to stop from taking you then and there.

You leaned to him, putting your lips against his and letting your mouth fall open to invite him in. You heard him whimper and he clutched onto your leg. Then you turned to Mr. Pike who kissed you hungrily, his wide palm kneading at your breasts.

“I’m quite disappointed in the both of you,” you said once you could speak again. Your whole body was thrumming with arousal.

You raised your skirts up around your hips and felt both pairs of eyes lustily watching. There, tied around the thickest part of your thigh was the white ribbon. But they only noticed the slick shining between your thighs.

“We shall call it a draw. But I’m afraid that means you’ll have to share me, gentlemen,” you said.

And from their twin growls, it was clear that they didn’t mind.

#Maggie the magnificent #I’m not sure what this is but I hope it was fun #historical au #regency au #regency!din #din djarin x reader #marcus pike x reader #ask the moth

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solar-yatagarasu · 3 years

Text

Yoru HCs by a Japanese American Pt. 2 (these get extremely specific, and disorganized)

Yoru’s favorite late night snack is tamago kake gohan. it reminds him of home. cracking a raw egg and dashing some soysauce over rice is ingrained in his routine. it’s nothing too heavy, which is perfect.

though if he’s in a country where the eggs aren’t always safe to consume raw, someone’s going to have to hold him back. Yoru likes it too much and will be all dramatic if he can’t eat it.

Yoru doesn’t actually really like going to the gym. he used to go purely so he didn’t lose breath while running, but unfortunately, he has to go more now because he’s an agent, which he’s not exactly happy about.

he reminds himself that he looks hot with abs, which finally gets him to the gym.

but honestly, Yoru would much rather spend his free time researching his lost ancestor, playing games, shopping, or reading books.

Yoru is a history nerd, specifically for Japanese history. ask him anything about the Edo period and he’ll light up like a Christmas tree, scrambling to explain things in the most coherent way possible. it’s one of the few subjects that you can really engage him in.

he’s also super knowledgeable about traditional Japanese forms of art and culture, and will listen raptly in turn if anyone explains their own. his own culture means a lot to him, so he’ll show the same respect he gives his own background to others.

in contrast, he pretty much shuts down in front of STEM related topics. computer science, mathematics and chemistry bore him to death. you can see his eyes glazing over, as well as his body language becoming restless. even if (on a rare occasion) he is trying to be polite, he somehow always communicates that he’s disinterested.

he’s the first one that leaves the room when the attention is on killjoy and she starts to talk about her tech shenanigans. he doesn’t understand, nor does he care to.

Yoru likes to blow off steam by heading to arcades in Tokyo, and he knows all the best spots. which ones are more for tourists, the ones that are more local, the ones that are the most updated, and the ones that have more old school games. he is incredibly good at driving games and (of course) shooters. he sucks at rhythm games, though.

he doesn’t enjoy PC games (ironically) and sticks more to consoles, because of all his time spent in arcades. and he’s more of a lone wolf, so he takes to singleplayer games pretty well, like Pokémon. he’s a huge fan of Gengar, by the way. if you ask him, he’ll say “we have a spiritual connection because we’re both cool and do cool shit.”

Phoenix agrees that Yoru and Gengar are similar but for a different reason, his being “both of them are mischievous little fuckers.”

he’s just bitter that Yoru’s better than him at smash. Yoru utterly decimates the Valorant agents when using Isabelle and Pichu, and it pisses them off because they know he’s doing it on purpose.

I mean, if a tiny dog and mouse beat the crap out of me every game, I’d be pretty mad too.

Yoru also likes reading, and will pick up books related to history and mythology. he’s bad at finishing them though, because he leaves a book halfway finished to start another one.

he’s watched some anime growing up, like Pokémon and Detective Conan, and doesn’t really care all that much for anime now that he’s older. he’s slightly confused and weirded out that people overseas are so into it in general, and that they keep asking him about what he’s watched since he’s Japanese.

he’s picked up death note recently though because everyone kept recommending it to him, and got hooked. his hatred for Light compels him to finish the series.

he casually reads manga, one of his favorites being Slam Dunk for the art.

Yoru is pretty interested in art in general. he enjoys calligraphy and graffiti, and he likes to go to museums and art galleries to check out both historical pieces and the newest upcoming artists.

his jacket and gloves are custom-made, and he designed the big logo on his back by himself.

Yoru HCs by a Japanese American Pt. 1

Yoru HCs by a Japanese American Pt. 3

Yoru HCs by a Japanese American Pt. 4

#valorant #valorant hcs #valorant headcanons #valorant yoru #valorant yoru x reader #yoru x reader #valorant yoru hcs #valorant yoru headcanons #I really like this boy I can’t explain why #he just switches a flip in my damn brain

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thedragonnerd · 3 years

Text

my soul may be damned, but my heart is still yours

(Concept Art AU 1/2)

Raya meets Namaari when she is seven years old, at her first Council of the Five meeting. Her Ma has recently passed, and Ba is reluctant to let her out of his sight, so he decides last-minute that she will accompany him to Fang on their diplomatic mission.

‘The lands of Kumandra may have been divided for 500 years,’ he tells her as they set out for their neighbour’s land, a large group of Royal soldiers surrounding them. ‘But the Council of the Five has ensured for centuries that trade and diplomatic discussions are still carried out, so that our lands do not fall into war and our people are protected. You are Heart’s Princess, and one day, these meetings will be yours to attend.’

To her disgust, Raya is provided a bodyguard for protection; this may be a mission of peace, but clearly Ba does not trust those no-good binturis in Fang even so. She resigns herself to an incredibly boring three days, where her father will talk with other adults for endless hours, and she is sat alone in a corner…But then, when they arrive in Fang and are greeted by the host delegation, she spies another small girl around her own age, peering out from around Chief Virana’s legs.

‘I’m Raya,’ she says, as soon as the adults are distracted. The girl gives her a small wave.

‘Namaari, Princess of Fang,’ she introduces herself. Around her neck lies a pendant in the shape of a dragon – Sisu, to be precise. Raya decides in that instant that her and Namaari will be best friends.

Indeed, they spend the first hours of the day in deep discussion. Namaari has been attending these Council meetings since she was five years old, and she’s a useful source of information, such as when the best food is brought out, or when the adults are too busy to notice small children sneaking away. At dinner later that evening, Raya slips handfuls of sweet desserts into her pockets, and grabs Namaari’s hand, ducking through the legs of everyone around them in order to lose her bodyguard. They sit in a dark corner and eat their stolen treats, laughing over silly jokes and their combined love of Sisu and all things dragons.

Being the Princess of the land, Namaari also knows amazing places to visit, and even better places to hide from the adults. Instead of three dull days, Raya spends them all with her new friend, talking, playing with serlot kittens, or getting into all sorts of mischief.

She can’t help but feel upset when it is time to return home.

‘See you next year in Heart?’ Namaari asks shyly, when Raya’s delegation is about to leave. Raya beams at her, scooping her into a hug before running after Ba.

They don’t speak in the interim year. Although Raya feels like Fang is now the land of new friends rather than binturis, the political situation is far more complicated than two young girls wanting to talk.

Raya thinks about Namaari often though, and when the first Council parties begin to arrive at Heart’s palace, she half leans out the window to see if she can catch sight of the other girl. Her frustration mounts as Spine and Talon are greeted by Ba, and then she sees in the distance the shining white of Fang’s uniforms, and almost falls out the window in her haste to go down to meet them.

She’s worried that Namaari might not remember her, or that their brief friendship didn’t mean the same thing. But as soon as she enters the courtyard, Namaari is already waving her over to say hello.

Later on, they are sat in Raya’s bedroom, talking non-stop until their voices start to crack, when Namaari pulls a small package out of a pocket, and thrusts it towards Raya.

‘A gift for the Heart Princess,’ she says, a light dusting of red across her cheeks. Raya takes it reverentially, and opens it to find a golden dragon pendant, with a shining blue stone in its center.

‘I love it,’ she clutches it in her hand for a moment, and then eagerly hangs it around her neck.

‘It’s so we can be matching forever,’ Namaari reminds her, holding up her own pendant.

Raya wears the pendant always. After the last Council meeting, her Ba and Chief Virana had agreed to allow letters to be passed back and forth between their daughters, and so Raya writes diligently to Namaari at least once a week, telling her of her lessons and training, of tasty food she’s enjoyed, of silly things Ba has said or done. It’s difficult to make friends as Princess, and the other children are wary of her when she wants to join their games, too concerned about causing offence by mistake. It seems to be similar for Namaari, from what Raya can glean from her own letters, and so they share their thoughts with each other instead, pouring out their young hearts in their correspondence.

Their meetings in Spine, Talon and Tail are similar as before. Raya is annoyed to see that Namaari is growing at a much faster pace, but besides that, it is wonderful to be able to hug her friend and hear her voice. And in the months between the Council meetings, they continue their letter writing, sharing their thoughts, their fears, and their hopes for the future.

‘I hope Kumandra can be reunited again,’ Raya writes when she is eleven, and frustrated with the amount of time left before she can see Namaari again.

‘When we are both leaders of our land, we will be the first to take that step, dep la,’ Namaari promises in her reply.

When Raya is twelve years old, the Council meeting should be hosted in Fang once more. But a week before the gathering, Raya finds Ba rushing around, throwing out orders to everyone in his vicinity.

‘Is there a problem, Ba?’ she asks, surprised at how stressed he seems.

‘Fang can no longer host the Council of the Five this year, so we are instead,’ he replies, before rushing away to organize more details.

‘Food is scarce, this season,’ Namaari had written in her last letter, and Raya re-reads it with more understanding this time.

She resolves to ask her friend more details when the Fang delegation arrives, but when she first catches sight of Namaari, there are no smiles sent her way. Namaari instead stands staring straight ahead, adorned in more formal clothing than Raya is used to seeing. As soon as the diplomatic greetings are held, the parties start to walk back to the palace together, and Raya deliberately falls back so she can walk with Namaari.

‘Alright?’ she asks her friend. She sees Virana grip her daughter’s shoulder tightly, and then Namaari is sending a fake smile in her direction.

‘All is well,’ she tells Raya, but her eyes say differently. Raya wants to question her there and then, but first comes the large feast where everyone must attend. At her age, she knows Ba will notice if she misses it, but she is almost tempted to forgo manners and drag Namaari away.

‘I must speak to you,’ Namaari whispers at her when they are finally sat with their food. ‘But in private.’

The meal feels the longest Raya has ever had to sit through, so when the food ends and people start to split off into groups for discussions, she gestures to Namaari and they run out the side door.

‘Let me take you somewhere private,’ Raya says, hooking her arm with Namaari’s and pulling her up the pathway. ‘I’ve been waiting to show you this place for ages anyway.’

It is forbidden to take outsiders to see the Dragon Gem, and as its newly-appointed Guardian, Raya knows she should act in a more sensible way. But this is Namaari, her dragon-nerd-in-arms, and she’s been wanting to share this special place with her for several years now.

When they cross the threshold and enter into the glowing chamber, Raya can see her friend’s eyes growing wide at the Dragon Gem shining brightly before her.

‘It’s beautiful,’ Namaari breathes, and then her expression turns serious. ‘Raya, this is what I needed to talk to you about. I need to warn you…I think Ma has something planned in regards to the Gem – I heard her speaking to-’

She stops speaking abruptly. The hairs on the back of Raya’s neck prickle, and she knows before she turns what she will see. The sounds of weapons being drawn confirms her fears.

‘Leave her alone!’ Namaari calls out to the Fang warriors, trying to step in front of Raya. But Raya is a Guardian of the Dragon Gem, and she steps into fighting stance, determined to protect both the Gem and her home.

She is only a child, however, and no match for a group of seasoned Fang warriors. She takes one strong hit, and falls to the ground winded, struggling to stand again. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Namaari pull out a flare and shoot it into the sky, and in what feels like the next instant, Ba is beside her, followed by a large crowd of Fang, Spine, Talon and Tail delegates.

Yelling ensues, and then there is nothing but chaos. The only thing Raya can focus on is the fight for her life.

‘The Gem!’ she hears someone cry suddenly, and time seems to slow down as she watches the Dragon Gem topple to the ground. The crash echoes through the chamber, and everyone pauses in their fighting.

‘It’s alright, it’s alright,’ Ba is saying, on his knees and with his hands hovering over the Gem. For a split second, Raya believes him; then there is a *crack* and a small fracture starts to run up the side of the Gem. The room’s glow turns from a serene blue to a sickly shade of green, and people start to scream and run away as the ground begins to tremor.

The Gem is now alit with green flames, which grow larger and wilder as something tears open the ground beneath their feet, and Raya sees a large mechanical arm reaching out of the darkness, attached to a monstrous body. The movement dislodges the Gem, and it rolls towards her, a flaming ball of now corrupted magic. Raya tries to scramble away, but the ground is still trembling and she falls backwards, watching in horror as it comes closer.

‘Raya!’ Ba cries in the distance, and she closes her eyes.

Then there is a warm weight on top of her, and a terrible, terrible sound fills her ears. Raya drags herself forward with her hands, her fingers getting scratched and bleeding in the dirt, and she pulls her legs out from under whatever is pinning her down. Twisting around, she finds Namaari lying on the ground next to her, screaming in pain. Namaari’s left hand is clutching the Dragon Gem, and Raya watches as the green flames dance across her fingers, a green glow emanating from her veins.

‘Raya, we have to go!’ Ba says, just as she is reaching out to help Namaari. He scoops her up by her waist, and starts to run in the opposite direction.

‘’Maari!’ Raya screams, trying to fight him off and get back to her friend. Ba’s grip is too tight however, and she watches helplessly as she’s carried away.

The last thing she sees before being dragged from the chamber is Namaari, writhing on the ground in pain as several mechanical Druuns crawl closer to her prone form.

Her Ba does not make it that night either. Instead, she watches as he is touched by one of the cursed Druun, a green light flaring in his eyes before he is turned to stone, frozen in his last moment of pain and terror.

It takes Raya two years before she can bring herself to return home. The Druun have moved on, searching for more populated areas, but she can’t shake the trauma witnessed that night. She wouldn’t go back at all, but her supplies are running low, and of all the places she knows that should be filled still with well-preserved food, it will be the kitchens at the palace.

She aims for a quick in-and-out mission, but once she has collected the food and packed her bags back onto Tuk Tuk’s saddle, she can’t help but hesitate and glance over her shoulder.

‘I’ll just be a moment,’ she tells Tuk Tuk, patting his nose when he grunts at her in concern.

Her first visit is to her father, still suspended in time leaning over the bridge’s wall, his face contorted into one final call of her name, and his arms reaching out. She still remembers seeing his face as she fell into the water, and she hopes she was the last thing on his mind also in those final moments, rather than the fear of the Druun.

After she sits with him for a while, she takes a deep breath, and turns to go to the very location where it all started. Her feet drag as she nears the entrance of the chamber, but she steels her nerves, and ventures inside.

The image before her is even worse than she recalls. Debris is littered across the floor, tossed aside when the Druun emerged back into the world, whilst every corner of the room is full of stone people – all those who were too slow to escape, or too stubborn to back down from a fight.

And there, in the middle of the room, on her knees with one arm reaching out, she finds Virana. The fear etched onto the Fang Chief’s face sends a shiver down Raya’s spine, but when she turns to follow Virana’s eyeline, she sees nothing. Namaari isn’t there.

‘I didn’t expect to find you here, dep la,’ comes a voice from behind her.

Raya whirls around, her hand flying to her father’s sword. There is a subtle movement from within the shadows, and then a figure steps out into the open.

‘Namaari?’ Raya whispers, shocked at the sight in front of her. ‘I thought…When did you…How did you..?’

She can’t even finish a question, and Namaari chuckles bitterly at her surprise.

‘How did I avoid turning to stone?’ she asks, her gaze drifting from Raya and towards her mother instead. ‘It would have been better if I had done so.’

And then Raya sees it – her left arm, no longer human but metal and shining with the same sickly green of the Druun’s magic.

‘What happened to you, ‘Maari?’ Raya asks, taking a step forward and holding out her hands. She pauses when Namaari backs away, shaking her head.

‘Don’t come any closer, Raya,’ she warns. ‘I’m not safe to be around. I’ve…I’ve been cursed.’

‘The Druun cursed you?’ Raya demands, confusion in her voice. ‘Why would they do that? HOW did they do that?’

‘Not the Druun – the Dragons,’ Namaari thrusts up her left arm, and shakes it twice towards Raya. ‘This is what I get for touching the Dragon Gem. I guess being a traitor from Fang would do that…even the Dragons didn’t like us.’

‘I don’t believe that,’ Raya says softly, and she inches forward slowly. Namaari’s eyes are unfocused as she stares into the distance, and so she doesn’t notice Raya until their fingers brush. She flinches away.

‘You saved me,’ Raya continues, ignoring her reaction. ‘That shouldn’t mean you’re cursed for it…the Dragons wouldn’t have judged you so.’

‘Well, there’s no longer any dragon magic to place judgement anyway,’ Namaari informs her, and their eyes meet for the first time in years. ‘It’s inside me, Raya…I can feel the power of the Gem burning. And they’re in here too.’

‘The dragons?’

‘The Druun…I can hear them calling. They’re looking for me.’

At this, Namaari suddenly grabs Raya’s shoulder with her human hand, opening her mouth to say another warning, and Raya can see the moment she is distracted by something.

‘You kept it?’ she asks instead, and her hand goes to cover the pendant around Raya’s neck.

‘We said forever,’ Raya jokes feebly, fingers rising to hold Namaari’s wrist in support. ‘Namaari, let me help you, please. You saved me once, let me save you now.’

They pause for a moment, staring at each other, and then an unearthly shriek pierces the air.

‘They’re here,’ Namaari breathes instead. ‘Run.’

Namaari disappears into the shadows in a split second, almost as if she were a ghost. And for the second time in her life, Raya finds herself fleeing from Heart’s palace without Namaari beside her.

PART TWO tomorrow...

OK, so this was meant to merely be a Concept Art headcanon list as suggested by an anon, but it kinda ran away with me, and I found myself writing endless 'childhood friends' points to build up to the moment Namaari even got cursed, let alone to the point that everyone wants to actually read where they have a showdown later on. Woopsie. It then went from ficlet to...sorta fic, so I will have to post the rest tomorrow since it is late in my timezone. I know lots of other people have been doing amazing fics, headcanons and art for this concept, so this is just my lil contribution.

#rayaari #raya and namaari #raya and the last dragon #ratld #raya #namaari #rayaari fic #concept art au #once i started writing i couldn't stoooop #also i want to give proper attention to the cursed years #so part two tomorrow i'm afraid #i have work i have to wake up for #woe #no beta we suffer like the druun versus the dragon gem

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drawlfoy · 3 years

Text

Wonders of Ohio P.9

masterlist

requests are closed, but please read this first :)

if you want to be tagged, send an ask or message me!

pairing: draco x reader

request: nope, my original shameless self insert idea lmao

summary: american high school senior y/n y/l/n is in for the ride of her life when their exchange student is...a bit strange (but very hot). NOT a nonmagic AU, though you already knew that if you’ve read part 8 ;)

warnings: swearing, mentions of a break in, concerns about a home intruder, objectively the most fluffy scene we’ve gotten so far in this series (hehe), draco being fucking obnoxious and moody (did i mention swearing?)

a/n: ayoooooo so here’s part 9, as promised. i’ve started getting back into the hp universe more and more, so i should probably be picking up my writing soon. i’ve been feeling more myself again!! which is super awesome. i don’t think many people read this series anymore (or my author notes in general but i don’t blame yall) but i’m having a lot of fun writing it, so i’m going to keep going :)

music recs:

puppy princess -- hot freaks

loverboy -- A-wall

linger -- the cranberries

tags tags tags: @gruffle1 @missmulti @cleopatera @hahaboop @accio-rogers @geeksareunique @eltanin-malfoy @war-sword @cams-lynn @itsivyberry @ayo-cowbelly @nerd-domland @yesnerdsblog @shizarianathania @evanstanfanatic @strawberriesonsummer @hariosborn @night-ving @straightzoinked @imintoodeeptostop @naiomimoonshard @jejegu @ophelia-enthusiast @alwaysbeanunknownfan @nearly-memories @litty-dumb @callieclearwater @malfoy-wife15 @charlenasaxen @belladaises @fiantomartell @writeandtranslate @erisdogwood @loveissupernatural @sycathorn-slush @big-galaxy-chaos

word count: 3.8k :)

Y/N couldn’t help but wonder if Draco deliberately waited until the last minute to tell her family that he was leaving so he could evade her questioning. She tried to talk to him later that evening by knocking on his door, but she was met with complete silence.

Draco was ignoring her, and she didn’t get why. She’d promised to not tell anyone--even begged for him to trust her and essentially swore on her life--but he still wasn’t acting normal. Perhaps he didn’t want her to badger him with questions about the magical world.

Or maybe this was an excuse to get away from her.

Y/N swallowed the second possibility and locked it away somewhere out of sight. He’d left without a single word more to her (not even a congratulations for getting into a top 20 school, that loser) and never even bothered telling her when he’d return. And maybe that was the nicest part of it--she could pretend like he was never coming back.

As attractive as that option was, she had to admit that there was a Draco-shaped hole in her passenger car seat every time she drove to school. And in the kitchen when she was studying. And everywhere else he’d once touched.

“Why do you think he went back?”

Y/N took a break from reviewing her Art History final exam notes to look up at Lizzy. “Maybe something happened with his dad or he wanted to spend his holidays with his family? It’s probably not that serious.”

“Speaking of his dad, I tried to look up his name and see if anything came up,” Lizzy began. Y/N felt her heart jump into her throat. “Don’t you think it’s kinda sus? I haven’t found anything for him. It’s like he’s been completely wiped off the face of the earth. Do you know anything about it?”

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s any of my business.” Draco’s franticness when she found out lingered in the back of her mind as she chose her words carefully. “I’m sure if he’s a genuine political target, they’ve just scrubbed the web clean of him, being a minor and all.”

“But don’t you think it’s funny that he’s apparently so important but there’s no evidence of him or his father ever existing?”

“Lizzy.” Her voice was firm. “It’s entirely possible that his real name is different. And either way, it’s not our story to uncover. He’s entitled to his own privacy, and if he doesn’t reveal his true identity then we need to respect that.”

“Oooookaaayyyyy, Mother,” said Lizzy. “You’re so fun. You know that, right?”

“It’s my job.”

After the close brush with Lizzy, Y/N avoided the topic of Draco with her friends like wildfire. At the back of her mind, she registered that that was probably more suspicious, but when Sylvia asked her about him during lunch, she finally spun up a story.

“I told him I liked him,” she told everyone, the words stinging her throat. “He doesn’t feel the same way. I just would feel better if we dropped it.”

Her friends reacted immediately with sympathy, telling her that it wasn’t her fault that he couldn’t see her for what she was worth. Somehow, this made her feel worse. She didn’t even need to tell him her feelings to know his thoughts--he didn’t see her as anything but a “muggle”, or whatever he called them. She never stood a chance.

Y/N spent an embarrassing amount of time wondering how things would’ve been different if she was a witch. She didn’t know anything about his world (apart from the fact that they really had a stick up their asses about people knowing of them) but she somehow craved a place in it. Would Draco feel differently towards her if she was magic?

It was probably better if she didn’t pay too much mind to it, but she couldn’t let the thought go. Every time she shut her eyes at night, the memory of waking up next to Draco replayed in her head, over and over. She would’ve sold her soul to have gone back to that. Would things have been different if she had just...not found the letters? She was driving herself crazy digging through all her interactions with him. There’s no way she was imagining things, and judging by the surprised reactions of her friends when she told them he didn’t reciprocate feelings, she wasn’t the only one who thought something was there. If he was really so disgusted by her and her people, he wouldn’t have let her sleep in his room, in his bed no less.

As December wore on, her mind began to be occupied by another feverish stream of thoughts. If she didn’t already feel like she was going crazy over the Draco problem, she was going completely insane over the fact that she was misplacing things like crazy and forgetting the most basic of things. It seemed like it was almost every day that she was forgetting where she put her keys (even though she could’ve sworn she’d hung them up by the door) or getting home to find the door already unlocked even though she was sure that she’d locked it behind her. It would’ve creeped her out, but she was really off kilter. It just wasn’t right having Draco away, and the sense of dread she got every time she went by her room just threw her off balance. What if she still had lingering sickness from whatever magical infliction she suffered?

He really should’ve stuck around to watch after me. Just in case.

Another thing was bothering her--a name she saw pop up in the pouch from when she went through his letters. It was a small portion of his collection, and she didn’t even think to examine it until after he took them back from her, but she noticed that the name “Pansy Parkinson” came up more than once as a return address.

Her mind immediately jumped to the worst--Draco was madly in love with another girl, a magical girl, and traveled back home with the express purpose of declaring his neverending devotion for her and complaining about that rat Ohioan muggle that he had to spend his days with.

Y/N knew it wasn’t healthy, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t quite shake it. The fact that he’d no doubt grown up around girls that would be suitable for him to date was making her physically ill with jealousy, which was probably the most embarrassing part of her feelings for him. Nevermind how much time she spent fantasizing about how soft his hair felt or how his stupidly pretty fingers would feel grazing her skin--she couldn’t even cope with the idea of him existing with other women that were honestly a better choice to him.

That Christmas was surprisingly bleak. Being an only child always made for a quiet house during the holidays, but the expectation she held of having Draco there set her up for disappointment. Her house felt empty.

“Do you think he’s coming back?” Y/N asked her mother as they did the morning dishes together.

“Well, I assume so. Why wouldn’t he? He was scheduled to spend the entire year with us. I think that if he’s changed his mind we would at least know by now.”

“What if he’s still deciding?”

“Why, miss him already?” Mrs. Y/L/N’s tone was teasing, but she felt her cheeks grow hot.

“Quite the contrary. I’m just wondering if I’m about to become the pampered only child again or if I’m going to need to go back into the unglamorous life of sharing the spotlight.”

“Y/N,” her mother tutted. She’d stopped doing the dishes.

Y/N made a point to evade her knowing look. “Mom.”

Her mother took a breath before answering. “Nothing. As a matter of fact, I did get a letter from him a few days ago. He’s scheduled to return the second week of January, right before school goes back.”

“Oh,” said Y/N. No matter how hard she tried, there’s no way her relief wasn’t visible.

“How’s that for your Christmas gift, hm?”

“Mom!”

“Hey! Hey, it was a joke,” Mrs. Y/L/N said, throwing her hands up in a “no can do” sort of gesture. “I know that you’re good friends with him is all. Unless…”

“Mom!” Her cheeks were all shades of red.

“All I’m saying is that he seems to enjoy your company.”

“Stockholm syndrome, I’m telling you.” Her explanation of what that meant was on the tip of her tongue before she stopped herself. There was no reason to--the only person who would need that explained to them was no longer on the same continent as her.

“Whatever you’d like to think.”

The snowstorm hit them without warning, two days after Christmas. Her parents had left for the night to attend a charity auction, but unfortunately for Y/N, by the time that they realized that their daughter would be snowed in, the roads were too dangerous to drive on. Y/N begrudgingly agreed to do all of the things they told her to--get the generator ready, make sure the fireplace was prepared, and locate all the candles in the house.

On any normal day, she wouldn’t have been concerned in the slightest, but she’d felt uneasy in her house ever since the night of the break-in, and now that this was the first night she’d have to spend alone, her heart was pounding at the thought of having to sleep in an empty house. Especially if the power was out. Especially when whoever broke in was still on the loose.

She locked up at dusk, making sure that every entry to her home was completely sealed shut. The generator was in the basement, all set up in the case that the lights went out. She’d located all the bottled water in her house in case the pipes froze, and she finally retired to her room to relax.

The sense of dread that hovered around Draco’s room was gone, thankfully. The overall feeling of creepiness was just beginning to lose its jarring sting, but she’d never quite been able to shake how many things she misplaced in the beginning of the month.

She busied herself with mundane activities--she cleaned out her closet, organized her drawers, read, changed her sheets, and finished the last of her homework--but nothing could distract her from the gnawing inside of her. The hairs on the back of her neck constantly stood up, even when she was tucked away in the corner of her room, nestled into her blankets. The tingling was akin to what she felt when she walked into that antique shop on homecoming night--the same night when Draco helped her off her feet and narrowly kept her from throwing up all over Heather.

Looking back on it, she realized that when he grabbed her wrist, he must’ve done something to quell her nausea, something magical. There was no way her carsickness could’ve been able to disappear so quickly.

Her soliloquy was interrupted by what sounded like footsteps outside. Before she could assess the situation and decide what she was going to do, a boom sounded off in the distance and she was all of a sudden bathed in darkness.

Y/N froze.

Someone was most definitely outside her house, but thankfully she’d locked all the doors. And, thankfully, the boom told her that her fuse box hadn’t been messed with. A tree had probably just fallen on a transformer.

But those small comforts still didn’t change the fact that she was no longer alone--and not only that, but no longer alone without power.

Her thoughts were interrupted once again by banging on her front door. Y/N jumped, just barely managing to clap her hand over her mouth to muffle her shriek. She’d seen enough horror movies to know that alerting someone that you were home wasn’t the smartest move. She’d have to be strategic.

Heart pounding out of her chest, she crept out of her room and down the stairs. The power outage was quite lucky, she realized, as whoever was outside couldn’t see in. The moon only cast a slight light as it reflected off of the snow, so she was going to be able to see the person outside before they would see her.

She squinted from her perch by the base of the staircase. She could make out a silhouette, a tall and lanky one. The weak moonlight reflected off a very light head of hair, and Y/N was struck with a feeling of familiarity.

No way...

Y/N stood frozen for a few seconds as she heard the person knock on the door again. A muffled version of a familiar British voice said, “Is anyone there?”

Throwing all caution to the wind and praying to any higher power that was listening to her that her suspicion was correct, she pushed down on the doorknob and swung it open.

Her heart stopped.

“Draco? What are you--”

Before she could get another word out of her mouth, she was pulled into the tightest (and snowiest) hug of her life. One of his arms wrapped solidly around her waist, the other reaching further up to her shoulders to hold her closer. He was tall enough in comparison that he could rest his chin on the top of her head while she cautiously clasped her hands around him, breathing in the same soft pine scent that she knew so well.

When he finally let go of her, she noticed that his face was decidedly less pale than what it had been when she first opened the door. At a loss for words, Y/N just made her way behind him and shut the door to keep the storm from blowing any more snowflakes in. She noted that Draco was shaking.

“You’re okay,” he said, his voice low and quiet.

She grinned. “Yeah. Believe it or not, I’m not that scared of the dark.”

He didn’t look nearly as amused, wringing his hands out in front of him instead of meeting her eyes.

“You’re going to freeze to death if you’re gonna just stand there in soaking clothes,” she chided. “And what are you doing back half a month early? I know you must’ve missed me, but I didn’t expect you to miss me THAT much.”

He rolled his eyes, bringing Y/N the comfort that the sarcastic asshole was still in there. “We need to talk.”

“No, what you need to do is get changed into dry clothes,” she said. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but until we get our generator working, there’s no heat...and I’m not sure if the Ministry is going to like it if I let you die on my watch.”

Even though he didn’t normally laugh at her jokes, he seemed especially solemn when she said this. It became very clear to her then that he regretted his brief display of affection.

“What are you doing, just standing here? Shoo! I don’t want to see you dripping snow all over the rug.” She waved him off until he made his way up the stairs, still eerily silent.

Once she was sure he was actually getting dressed, she made her way to the kitchen where she started heating up the water. She’d never been more thankful for the fact that they had a gas stove instead of an electric one.

The tea was almost finished brewing by the time that Draco was back downstairs, perched awkwardly on the couch. She’d never seen his sweater before--it was in a rich forest green with a silver crest of a snake.

“Are you going to tell me whatever is going on? I’ve never seen you like this before,” asked Y/N as she handed him the mug that she knew to be his favorite.

He took a sip and waited a bit before responding. “I found out some things while I was away.”

“Is that it? Must’ve been something pretty interesting for you to come in here and act like I’m your long lost love or whatever.” She took careful note of how his cheeks were especially pink, but it must’ve been because of the cold.

“I shouldn’t tell you everything, but I think you should probably know the gist of things,” he began. “First of all, I figured out why I couldn’t use the Obliviation cube on you. Also, you have to consent to an Unbreakable Vow.”

“A...what? Care to elaborate? Like, at least a little? Why didn’t it work on me?”

He sighed, a sharp breath of air that left his lungs in a huff. “Because you stumbled upon a very important box that can bestow the gift of magic onto anyone. And since you did something in your dream to try and open it, it permanently took root in you. I tried to reverse it, but there’s always going to be an imprint of magic on you.”

“Sick. So I’m a witch now? Like you?”

“No.” His tone was sour. “No, you’re not. For that to work, there needs to be a ritual actually completed by someone magical. That’s why you got so sick--because you would’ve needed me to help you through your dream sequence and open up the box. So, now that you’ve essentially pushed yourself into the magical world uninvited, I can’t use anything on you that’s catered towards Muggles.”

“Rats,” said Y/N. “That’s no fun. What about the whole part about my safety? And what’s that vow thing?”

“Apparently someone really, really wants that box,” Draco told her. “It doesn’t just give muggles the gift of magic--it can also give current wizards powers that are otherwise completely unavailable to the rest of the population. In the wrong hands, they could wreak havoc on the world. And I’m almost positive they think you have it.”

“Oh…” Everything started falling into place. “So, the break in? That probably was them right? And, uh, let’s say if you feel like maybe someone has been in your house while you’ve been gone? Like, that’s something I should be worried about, right?”

“Is that happening to you?” His face looked significantly more pale.

Y/N was tempted to tell him no--just to ease his nerves--but something in his look told her that she needed to be truthful. “Um, kind of. You know how I can be forgetful, though. It’s just little things, like sometimes I come home to find that the front door is unlocked when I’m sure I locked it, or I can’t find little things like my car keys and my phone, but it’s all easily explained.”

“I never should’ve left,” he said, tucked his knees up to his chest. “I should’ve known that that was Merlin’s Box.” He swallowed, meeting her eyes with a gaze that looked so forlorn that her heart ached. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, hey, all we have to do is tell them I don’t have the box, right? And then they’ll leave me alone.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I assume so, but if they didn’t find the box when they originally ransacked your room and they’re still hanging around, I don’t know what to do. That’s why I can’t obliviate you, the proper way that we use on wizards, because I can’t always be there to save you. Once I’m gone, you’re going to have to manage on your own.”

“Please, Draco,” said Y/N. “People will always talk a big game, but once I pull out my pepper spray it’s over. I can take care of myself! I didn’t need protection while you’re away.”

He smiled then, a small one that seemed more sad than anything. “You sound like me. When I was younger.”

“You probably don’t even know what pepper spray is. What’s that vow thing?”

“You have to promise that you won’t say anything that would reveal what you know about me and my world,” said Draco. “I need to find a wizard to say the incantations, but it shouldn’t be too hard. I ended up telling the Ministry what happened--I’m not going to get sent away as they have a clear record of me at least attempting to wipe your memory and they agree that you need to be able to protect yourself. Unbreakable Vows are just really intense promises. If you break it, you die.”

“Is that your way of saying you don’t really trust my word?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s required by the Ministry. If you don’t comply, then you’re going to be completely obliviated and then you can have as much fun as you’d like trying to run from whoever that criminal is without even knowing why they’re after you. Oh, and without me.”

“Then why are you even offering the vow? Don’t you want to go home?”

Draco took a long drink from his mug. “I still have a sentence to carry out. If I go back home, I’ll get sent to the same prison that my father is being held at right now.”

“A...sentence?” Y/N stared at him. “I know you mentioned a punishment, but a sentence?”

He remained silent and refused to meet her eyes.

“Draco, what exactly did you have to do?”

“It’s none of your business,” he snapped. The sudden switch of tone made Y/N start, but he was unwavering in his scowl. “I’d prefer to not think about it.”

“But...Draco…” Y/N cast her gaze to the ground so she didn’t have to see the no doubt furious look in his eyes when she continued to push. “How bad? Do you think that maybe whoever is after me might know that I don’t have the box anymore? And that they might be trying to seek revenge against you for whatever it was that you did instead?”

He didn’t respond.

“Think about it. That would explain why I was untouched this whole time that you were away when they were still keeping tabs on me.”

With a pronounced bonk, he set his mug down on the coffee table. “I’m going to bed.”

She managed to get one more look at his face before he spun around to head up the stairs and was shocked to see what was etched into his face--anger, yes, frustration...and also shame. Unmistakable shame.

final a/n: weeoooooooo i’m like 3 minutes early...this is a monumental moment for my blog. let me know what you guys think (if there’s still people sticking with this series fjkds;al). i am going to go back into my hole and work on some math hw (wonders of ohio y/n vibes...i have low key become her trying to roleplay as a stem girl). the plot is going to thicken and hopefully there will be more fluff soon. i honestly didn’t want to add the hug bc i do want this to be slow burn but it has come to my attention that this is now about 30k words long and i haven’t given y’all so much as an inkling that draco has feelings/anything will happen between them so i gotta give you something to hold you over fjdska;

#draco x reader #draco imagine #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy imagine #draco x you #draco malfoy x you #draco x oc #draco malfoy x oc #draco malfoy #draco #dracotok #draco x y/n #draco malfoy x y/n

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nevermindirah · 4 years

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To take the Nile Marine Discourse veering off in another direction,

Why did Greg Rucka make her a Marine? Because his characters' only superpower is that they can heal and revive from any wound or injury or illness or whatever. They don't have superhuman strength or speed, they're regular people whose only superpower is healing, and they happen to be nearly-superhumanly-skilled warriors because they've been warriors for centuries and millennia.

This dude made Nile a Marine because she'd have to be a trained warrior to hang with such experienced doers of violence, right?

This dude got from point A, my creations' only superpower is healing, to point K, therefore they're exceptional warriors, because Greg Rucka assumes that before a certain time in The Past, pretty much all people were violent. I too was raised on Lord of the Rings and Arthurian legend and all that shit where those who don't live by the sword can still die from it. But, like, was the past really all like that, or is that just Western myth to make modern white people feel civilized by comparison?

Was Yusuf actually a skilled swordsman from go, or was he just a poet-accountant starting to take over the family merchanting business when a terribly timed business trip to Jerusalem forced him into pretty extreme fight or flight mode? Maybe Nicolo killed Yusuf many times before Yusuf figured his way around a sword enough to kill him back, because Nicolo got trained in invadering and Yusuf was doing the 10th century version of me sitting on my couch writing essays on the internet.

I have a lot of empathy for Nile the character who chose to become a Marine because that's how the US economy works and because if she lets herself really think about the lie of American exceptionalism that means her dad died for a lie and that will break her and she could probably put herself back together eventually but OUCH NO THAT WOULD HURT THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE GOTTA GO ENLIST NOW.

And I have a lot of empathy for Gina Prince-Bythewood who is so talented and has a platform but is still a Black woman in Hollywood and you can only rock so many boats at once before they throw you overboard so she went with Rucka's Marines as neutral framing and rocked other boats instead. Or maybe that's me giving her too much credit. I fucking love her work, but does she have a decolonial analysis? Does it enrage her what our country's military does to people in other countries and especially the people who live in Afghanistan? Maybe. But maybe not.

My appreciation for Greg Rucka as creator of characters who now live rent-free in my brain is non-zero, but my skepticism of his politics is very high.

Let's go back to that point A to point K math. The starting concept: regular human people with one superpower, healing. What are all the possible ways a person, a group of people could spend centuries of their time devoted to? What would make an interesting story for these characters' creator to tell? What would make the world a better place for these characters and the world of their narrative?

Shot in the dark here, what if, instead of regular human people with superhuman healing become superhumanly experienced warriors, what if they spend their centuries and millennia becoming superhumanly experienced historians, storytellers, sages.

Like, can you IMAGINE having a group of people who have spent hundreds and thousands of years listening to people talk about their experiences, learning how to get people to trust them with their stories, learning how to share their own stories and other people's stories with skill and care? By the time Nile, the art history grad student whose father died in Afghanistan but then the US government finally passed reparations for slavery so she got to go to college instead of joining the Marines, becomes an immortal these people are internationally respected and beloved holders of human history. Nobody's going to capture them and lock them in cages because people would RIOT and every restorative justice collective on the planet would be Holding Those Captors Accountable. (If Nile lives in a world where reparations and restorative justice are public policy in her country and many others, where the Old Guardians didn’t let colonizers get away with writing all the history books, would she have grown up in a world where the Afghanistan war even happened? Would the United States even exist? Would countries exist? Would slavery have been abolished globally and for all time even before that piece of shit Columbus was born? I’m gonna stop myself before I write another meta post within this already-way-long meta post but holy shit y’all this could change EVERYTHING)

The real world isn't always as violent as fiction makes it out to be, and fictional worlds could be way, way, like staggeringly way less violent than the real world if their creators chose for them to be.

Anyway Andy the paleo-zoologist (she was alone for at least a thousand years she befriends a lot of animals ok), Quynh the spinner of tales (romance! mysteries! comedies! the occasional tragedy but not too many because why be sad if you don't have to be! and also spinner of the most stunning cloth any human being has ever seen in their entire life holy fashion historian batman), Joe the poet with such kind eyes no one can resist telling him their secrets, Nicky the quiet and watchful man who notices what others don't even notice about their own lives, Booker the publications technology nerd (inks! printing presses! handwriting! forgery is a science y'all!), and now Nile the 21st century art history nerd who holy shit has somehow won the lottery because she gets to join this group of people who hold a vast trove of knowledge from so many times and places across human history in their forever-regenerating bones.

#the old guard #tog meta #nile freeman #nile marine discourse #us imperialism #slavery cw #what is even happening #i meta'ed again #i can't stop myself #mine

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