#like the clouds are moving and the little flags are waving | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bitchsister · 8 days

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LISTEN TO ME. FIRE FIGHTER / PARAMEDIC BUCKY AND SASSY DIVA DAMSEL IN DISTRESS CURTIE. DO SOMETHING WITH THEM YOYO PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU ON MY HANDS AND KNEES

I love this!!!!! It was fun and cute!!!!!!

Curt was trying to be a good son — and this, he said as he’s lying in the grass, is the last time he ever does that.

He’s writhing by the time sirens come blaring down their little street, his body numb but filled with excruciating embarrassment as Ruth flagged them down from the house, “By god, Curtie. I hate you’re in pain, but these boys are somethin’.”

Tunnel vision had swept him away into a limbo, darkness invading his vision until it cleared again and he was face to face with a paramedic taking his vitals. “Hi, Curtis.” He said, and Curt momentarily wondered how on earth this stranger knew his name — and why was he here?

“Hi.”

Bucky was squatting in the garden with Curt, eyeing his leg that he’d broken badly. “My name’s Bucky, I’m a paramedic with the FDNY EMS, my partner Rosie and I are here to help ya.” Rosie waved from where he stood behind Bucky but Curt could hardly look away.

Ruth was right.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Curt tried to move but Bucky held him in place, using a light hand to move his gaze back toward him and not at the bone sticking out of his leg. “Should I not look?” Curt murmured, his lips tugged into a frown.

“Think it’s better if ya don’t.” Bucky focused on him, blue eyes staring directly into his as Rosie worked on stabilizing Curt’s leg enough for a ride in an ambulance. “Tell me what happened, hm? How’d you get down here?”

Curt sighed heavily and wiped the sweat from his brow, “Hell if I know.” He grumbled, hissing when Rosie touched a particularly tender spot on his shin. “Ma needed the gutters cleaned — I ain’t ever done that shit before. Clearly.”

Bucky chuckled, realizing he’d been totally enamored by whoever this little stranger was in the grass with a compound fracture and more than likely a rather gnarly concussion, “Tryin’ to be a good boy, huh?”

Jesus.

“Y-yeah.”

Pain shot straight from his leg to his brain, causing everything around him except for Bucky to go buzzy and floaty, the grass suddenly feeling like a wet cloud and the man in front of him an angel. “You got pretty eyes.” He whispered to Bucky who grinned down at him.

“Was just gonna tell you the same thing, Curtis.” Bucky took a quick look down at Curt’s leg and tried to keep his poker face locked in, showing no reaction to the gore of it. “You ‘member my name?” He asked mostly because it was his job to assess Curt for any memory loss or brain damage, but also because he needed to know if Curt would remember him at all.

“Yeah. Your name’s Bucky.” Curt reached up to touch his face, his expression that of someone who’d just entered the gates of heaven. “Bucky.”

“Good job.” Bucky didn’t move away from the hands that touched his nose and his cheeks and then the little loose ringlets of brown hair that fell over his forehead. “Do you know what day it is, Curt?”

“Judgement day?”

Bucky snorted, “C’mon,” he felt his own heart flutter in his chest — c’mon, Egan. Be a goddamn professional. “You gotta give me a good answer, darlin’.”

Curt was giving Bucky these soft looking heart eyes despite his vision tunneling on him again. “It’s Mother’s Day.” He said confidently, “Ah, hell. It’s uh — it’s Sunday. Yeah. Sunday.”

“We got ‘em stable for the ride, partner.” Rosie clapped Bucky’s shoulder, giving him a look that told him he needed to reel himself in and get a grip. It wasn’t often he witnessed Bucky on this side of things since usually it was Rosie falling in love back to back.

Curt was put into the ambulance that Rosie drove, because Bucky had forced him to while he sat with Curt in the back. “How’s your pain right now, Curt? On a scale of one to ten. Ten being the worst imaginable?”

He thought for a moment, tried to move his leg.

He yelped.

“Nine?”

Bucky nodded slowly and hooked Curt up to a drip, hitting him with a little morphine that made him look even more out of it as he yanked the ears of the teddy bear he demanded. He didn’t care they were for the kids.

He wanted one.

“What’s his name.” Bucky asked carefully, making sure Curt was still alert. They didn’t need him falling asleep until they assessed him for further damages to anything internal. “Gotta have a name.”

“Cucky.” Curt blurted but immediately scrunched his nose, realizing it didn’t sound like the most pleasant thing to be named but it hardly mattered. “Curt and Bucky. Or — or maybe Burt.”

Bucky tried not to snort, his head hung as he laughed into his hands. “Let’s go with Burt.” He gleamed, and so did Curtis who had long forgotten about the bone he’d obliterated to pieces. “Cucky might have a hard time findin’ a job when it comes time for it.”

It was a whirlwind once Curt was rushed into the emergency room, everyone around him acting with the urgency that Bucky had suppressed just to keep him calm but the reality was that he had a bone sticking clean out of his leg, and he needed to have surgery before it was too late.

After a successful but very long surgery, Curt emerged from a slumber that sent him on an intensive journey of healing. Physical therapy, motor skill tests, hospital food, a lot of reality television, texts to friends, FaceTime calls, but just when he’d absolutely ran out of things to do, a knock came tapping at his door who he had assumed was his nurse, Becca.

“You ain’t gotta knock, Becks.” Curt sat up slowly and groaned, “You seen it all at this point.”

Bucky cleared his throat before he stepped in, closing the heavy wooden door behind him carefully before he plopped down in the chair beside Curt’s bed, still in his uniform. “Hey.” He grinned, “‘Member me?”

Curt couldn’t help but grin right back at him, looking at something new for the first time in a week that he’d yet to grow tired of. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about Bucky, and if he’d ever see him again. Though, “I kinda thought I imagined you.”

“Imagined me?”

“Yeah,” Curtis nodded slowly, “or hallucinated, you know? I was bleedin’ all over and everything was just so swirly and weird —“ he shrugged, his cheeks red because he realized he’d been rambling. “Anyway. Did you come back for Burt?”

Burt had been Curt’s only real reminder that Bucky was real, and that the whole thing had really happened. “No,” Bucky couldn’t help but laugh, “I just came to check in on ya.”

“You do that with everybody you throw into a three-thousand dollar ambulance ride?” He cocked an eyebrow, having grown tired of listening to Ruthie spout off about how expensive one was, not to mention the surgery to put Curt’s leg back together.

I was tryin’ to be a good son, ma!

Well you oughta just stay on the ground for that next time.

“No.” Bucky said again, but softer that time.

“Ahh,” Curt rose his brows and nodded, like he was understanding something but he was so very far from understanding why Bucky had come here at all — he was busy, Curt assumed. Where did he find the time to swoop in here?

Bucky’s radio pinged, a noise that reminded Curtis of the ambulance ride that grew less and less foggy as the days went by, “I gotta go,” He stood slowly and held his hand out. “Give me your phone.”

Curt’s brows furrowed as he clutched his phone, the only sense of entertainment or connection the outside world he’s gotten in the last week, to his chest. “No — wait - why?”

“To put my number in it, Curt.”

“Oh.”

Bucky typed away into Curt’s phone, sending himself a text from it so he didn’t leave the room without getting Curt’s in return. “I’m off Tuesdays and Wednesdays.” He handed Curt’s phone back to him, resisting every urge he had to violate that precious mouth that hung open with his own. “Let me know when they get you up outta this joint.”

Curt had looked astonished, but nodded his head slowly as he stared at the phone in his hand, the text he’d sent to his own phone from Curt’s staring right back at him.

Bucky ;)

#💌#these two are cute #ask me more stuff about them

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ixiot-ghostrebel · 9 months

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Yk Back At The Random Ghost Rebel Stuff

A straight up ramble but does anyone feels this retching feeling in their hearts whenever they think about the High Cloud Quintet and its lore and go like "Dang, if only we COULD change what had happened bc this crap is dark and sad as hell" because that's what I feel like right now

And lemme tell you: It's not a good feeling bc I don't even want to think about how they're all just old and tired grannies and grandpas. The only person that has proper solace in the High Cloud Quintet is flipping Baiheng bro—poor Yingxing got turned into Blade bc yk—he's the beloved of that one relic set story.

Dan Flipping Feng becomes Dan Heng and even as Dan Heng he doesn't get a single drop of solace bc now the former-artisan-now-maniac dude is chasing him all across the universe bc of the sins of the past and it's just so heartbreaking bc Dan Heng isn't Dan Feng and Blade is only the shadow of Yingxing (this concept with Yingxing and Blade heavily reminds me of Makoto and Ei—Ei was the shadow of Makato and the shadow of the light is all that remains ykyk)

And then there's Jingliu who just straight up asks her student to kill her if she ever becomes mara-struck and in the end she still lives somehow and then she decides to go full-traumatizer with Blade back when he was the Unnamed that wandered the place—as if he needed MORE trauma and honestly her weak grasp over the mara which in turn makes her insane is so upsetting bc in the end she ends up having beef with a 14 year-old lieutenant who's trying to do his job and protect the Luofu (though, I have to admit it: as much as I want to protect my child Yanqing, his methods were kind of flawed—) even if he doesn't know who Jingliu is.

And ofc we got the last man standing Jing Yuan who just sees ghosts in everyone around him. Istg I feel like bc he sees ghosts, he can't move on from the past, and when he can't move on from the past, it's honestly a red flag bc it might mean that his present relationships with everyone are (sometimes) only just one-sided or something. Like, take the relationship between Yanqing and he: Yanqing trusts the General with his life bc he raised him as a baby. But the fact that he calls Jing Yuan "General" and not some sort of parental title says that Jing Yuan is being unnecessarily secretive due to his fear of vulnerability. I mean—literally in 1.2 Story Quest, Jing Yuan quite literally just left Yanqing on the island alone after he got beat up by two men that have beef with one another, practically leaving him in the dark with no explanation. And even before that, Yanqing was still left in the dark. Jing Yuan doesn't open up easily bc of the crap he's been through, which is understandable, but his lack of explanation backing up his highly meticulous moves—that's not really healthy. In the end, it just leaves a gap of mistrust, be it intentional or not, between Jing Yuan and Yanqing. In some cases, and this one (imo atleast) is one of them, if you don't explain your actions, it pretty much just leaves the person that's been left in the dark with their waves of emotions, which might cost said-relationship between the two people in the long run.

It also seems like (based off what we know of, at least) at least half of Jing Yuan's choices are also connected to sentimental reasons and seeing ghosts in people. I think he sees a ghost in Yanqing (idk who tho—ppl say it's Yingxing bc of his obsession over the sword), he sees one in Yukong (definitely Baiheng), he sees one in Dan Heng (obvious reasons, very evident throughout the game) and possible Bailu (because she's technically being hailed as the next Imbibitor Lunae after Dan Feng's sin), and it could possibly go on. This old grandpa really is comparing the present with his past and that's honestly a little heartbreaking, bc there is a chance that that might mean that Jing Yuan found more happiness (serotonin work hardcore fr) in his past than he does in his present. He should at least be happy enough of the present to not be this sentimental of the past, but he's really suffering of the incidents like bro—

The High Cloud Quintet is like The Five Yakshas from Genshin Impact but with more lore (that we know of) and more angst twists (that we know of) to it fr. It's so heartbreaking and angsty, I both love it, hate it, and cry about it.

Like bro, look at these two groups. It's always a group of five sobbing.

They're all fine as hell too like CMON

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malarkgirlypop · 7 months

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MEDIC! - Teaser (Donald Malarkey x Fem!OC)

Hey guys, i'm Kate and i'm new to this tumblr business, but i love writing and i love band of brothers so here i am...here to write and make friends with people who are here to do the same! There...is definitely more of this to come...like forty or so pages already written...anyway please enjoy this teaser/snippet and let me know what you think!

I sit in class, writing notes as the lecturer goes over the powerpoint of the class. My head hurts and I need to get a proper sleep, but life goes on before I can catch up these days. After the class ends I pack up my books and laptop into my bag as the other students file out of the class. I move slowly in no rush to leave. I have nothing to do after this except for study, which has been the normal now for three years. I am nearly at the end of my Bachelor of Nursing, only having this last semester to go before sitting my State Exam and then going out into the world as a Registered Nurse. The thought scares me that in about 3 months I will be properly in charge of patients and making decisions about their welfare. I shudder at the thought as I stand to leave the class, I make my way down the empty hallways as this was the last class for the night. I walk out into the cold night my breath showing on the air, I pull my cardigan closer trying to trap the heat that escapes me, the thin material of my nursing uniform offers me little relief but in my defence it was warmer during the day as spring poked its head out from the clouds bringing a lighter vibe to the air, teasing summer. I make my way to the now empty car park where my little car sits lonely, I unlock the door and slide in, sighing as I settle into the seat, today has been a long day. I plug my phone into the AUX, turning up the volume as I sing my way home. I get out of the car gathering all of my belongings before locking the door behind me, I turn to walk towards the apartment when a shimmer catches my eye, I double take focusing my eyes on the shimmering in the distance, I tilt my head unsure of what I am looking at as I move toward it.

A large surface glistens like oil in water, it’s transparent though I am able to see details behind it; it looks like looking through a bubble. I reach my hand out hesitantly as I get closer to the glare, my hand tingles like having pins and needles. The odd sensation makes me snatch my hand back and I look down at my fingers. Nothing seems to be wrong, they are normal in colour and no trauma seems to have occurred. I take a breath, reaching my hand out again, willing myself to be brave, my fingers stretch out stroking the transparent film. I gasp as my fingers disappear into the surface like putting my hand in a pool. I try to wretch my hand out of the shimmer but it pulls me further, as if someone is grabbing my hand and pulling me towards them. I panic gripping at my forearm to tug myself back, dropping my books and laptop as I do so. I disregard them, more worried about my limb being sucked into the glimmer. The force becomes stronger. I dig my heels into the ground but it is no use as I watch my whole arm has disappeared, my head frantically turning as I look for help. The force becomes stronger and my whole body is sucked through, I let out a yelp, my body rolls forward as I faceplant into the dirt.

A cheering crowd walks the street, I quickly get to my feet before I am trampled. “What. The. Actual. Fuck!” I look around, people cheer, sing and dance through the street waving flags, they move them so fast I can’t seem to recognise what flag they are representing. I gaze around. It appears to be a small village, people are dressed in older fashion than I am used to seeing, this fashion style hasn’t been around since the 40’s. My heartbeat accelerates, where am I? Where did that weird shimmer thing take me?

A lady close by laughs taking my hands in hers. She spins us around, I pull away and she says something in a foreign language. My heart skips several more beats, what do I know so far? I am in a foreign village and seem to be very far from home and some weird I guess portal thing spat me out here. My breathing quickens, I spin around searching for something, even I am not sure what will help anchor me to reality. I feel suffocated as people bump and jostle me, the loud singing and cheering is overwhelming my senses. I try to push through the crowd needing space to breathe and think. My eyes lock onto a tall man walking through the crowd dressed in army uniform, maybe he could help me? I push my way through the crowd reaching the soldier. I grab his arm clinging to him like a lifeline, he turns focusing his attention onto me. I notice the man has grenades strapped to his chest and a cigar hangs from his mouth.

“Hello!” I say loudly trying to be heard over the crowd, a thought hits me, what if he doesn’t even speak english. I brush the thought to the side, I still need to try.

“You’re American?” he asks, confused looking down at me.

“Yes, I was just wondering…”

“You’re a nurse?” He asks again, taking in my appearance.

“Yes, but…” I try again.

“How did you get here so early?” He looks confused, taking his eyes off me he scans the crowd.

“What?” early?

“Are there other field nurses with you?” he turns his attention back to me.

“I’m sorry?” This interaction is going the complete opposite to what I intended.

“Did you lose the other field nurses you came with?” He seems concerned, his eyes darting around the crowd again.

“I didn’t come with anyone.” I say thinking back to how I stupidly put my hand into the unknown substance. What the hell is wrong with me why can’t I mind my own business.

“Come with me, little lady.” before I can reply his big hand takes my upper arm moving me in front of him. The other hand rests on my shoulder as he steers me through the busy crowd, his firm grip is strong enough I cannot turn to look at him, to show my apprehension of being manoeuvred through the crowd to somewhere else unknown.

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ghostieeeee · 4 months

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎: 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐄?

ᶜᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ ✄-----------------------------------------

Word count: 2.3K

Warnings: Ngl, I wrote this a few months ago, and I'm honestly too lazy to edit some parts, so excuse the poor quality 🙏🏻 Also possible spelling errors? :D

ᶜᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ ✄-----------------------------------------

A pleasant smell, a smell that reminds you of a particular warmth, a particular comfort, is what greets you with a wide smile and an even wider embrace as you step into Yunjin's place of residence. The interior was cosy, easy to look at and confine within.

Taking another step into the dorm, your eyes drift to the outer canopy of your umbrella. It’s a splash away from creating a waterfall as rain still trails from the end tip, small swells of puffy water clump in cults- shining so delicately under the impression of whatever light it can grasp at. “Here-” Yunjin says, holding her hand out to you as she closes the door behind you.

Handing her the rain-stained umbrella, she places it within a convenient umbrella rack, hanging it with a gentle ease. “Please, make yourself comfortable” She smiles, nodding towards the main living space.

“Thanks” you reply, giving her a grateful nod as you move to take your pick of seat, instantly finding yourself sitting on a soft spot of cushioned padding, naturally lining the surface of her stainless couch.

“Looks like we’re just on time” You look over to where Yunjin had nodded to, eyebrows furrowing slightly as your brain loads the visual of the window behind you and the scene it held.

And surely enough, just as Yunjin had said, it was instantly proven that you had gotten to her place just in time. The outside world beyond the window was that of a mob raid of brainless rain. It thrashed around, whipping and slashing at the glass pane as if it were desperate to get inside, desperate to flee the harshness of the outside situation. But it was bound, flung, and pinned down in a raw entertainment for the twisted sky. The clouds let out great gouts of something between either sorrow or boast- nothing is ever truly certain anymore.

“It seems so” you smile, eyes following the rigid trails the small clusters of water had left behind, little slipstreams for their fellow kind allow for flocks and herds of rushing liquid to squelch themselves from existence- waving a small farewell in their formula race. That's where you draw the winner's flag.

“It wouldn't have ended so well if we had got caught up in that-” Yunjin begins,“being ill isn’t something I plan to do” you hum at the words, averting your attention to the way she moulds herself into the furniture- almost seeming as if she was the house instead of the tenant.

“You? Being ill?” You pause, your direct vision tracing over the smaller decorations present within the room- particularly the small vase of flowers on the coffee table- a delicate assortment of light pinks and soft purple roses- presumably plastic. It’s cute. “Sounds like a nightmare”

“Huh?” her eyebrows raise as her mouth goes slightly slack “Why? How?”

“Relax” you let out an airy laugh, mind relaying the visual image of Yunjin's face,”I’m joking”

“Sorry but who is this?” A new voice interrupts from beyond your sight, soft yet loud as it intrudes on your small conversation.

“Rosie,” Yunjin begins,”I thought you’d be asleep”

“I was” she smiled, her face going smooth against the odds,”But I woke up and now I'm thirsty”

“Oh… well I washed the dishes earlier” Yunjin pauses, glancing back to you,”Rosé, meet Y/n”

It was apparent that this roommate was acting, although, it's also apparent that you’re rather oblivious. Her smile had widened and her balance shifted from one leg to another as she looked at you. “Hello Y/n. I hope Yunjin isn’t freaking you out too much”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yunjin scoffs jokingly, standing up “Y/n, do you want a drink or anything?”

“Uhm… a water please” you tilt your head down, powering on your phone to see the few missed calls and unanswered messages from Lia and your friends.

“A water? You sure? You can have anything”

“Your stash of coffee that even I’m not allowed?” Rosé asks, folding her arms expectantly as she leans slightly closer to her brown haired friend. “Even that” Yunjin nods approvingly.

“Nope, I'm good with just water. Thank you though” You offer them both a smile before they disappear into the kitchen.

You open your phone again and instantly begin to read through your texts.

“Sorry that took so long, Rosie needed me to cut her some apples while she made herself a drink" Yunjin apologises, placing your tall glass of water on the coffee table for you, causing the sea of chilled water to delicately swoosh around like an enraged storm was present within the room with you.

“I thought she was thirsty?” You eye the taller girl as she crashes back into her seat. “So did I… guess she got hungry too” Yunjin smiles, readjusting the way she’s sat to face you better, her elbow upon the top of the couch. “You’re sure you don't want anything else?”

“Yunjinnn!” You almost whine, laughing as the other girl acts almost confused at the sudden drag of her name “I'm sure”

“Sure, sure?”

“Yes”

“Certain?”

“Absolutely certain”

You take a second to just stare at her, your eyes meeting for a brief moment before you suddenly both burst out laughing. An ugly combination of belly-rupturing chortles and sniffles fill the space, bouncing from wall to wall as if the dorm was a soft play area.

“Fine, fine” Yunjin squeezes out between a particularly deep breath,”If you say so”

“I do say so” you claim, calming yourself down as you reach over to coin your drink from its stance.

“Fair enough…” Yunjin pauses, leaning slightly closer to you with a curious glance,”Can I ask you a question?”

You take a second to think, but ultimately nod regardless,”Yeah, sure. Go ahead”

“Are you close with your parents? You mentioned them earlier, about having a set list of jobs to pick from and whatnot…” Yunjin's voice lowers as her sentence comes to an end, her eyes evidently searching yours for a hidden reaction.

You open your mouth to speak, but it’s almost as if even the word ‘yeah’ refused to crawl from your lips, and instead, evaporated at the base of your tongue, leaving like a mist into the depths of a pending volcano, or even the pending of what could easily be described as a crime scene. However, you had to force the four letters out, almost choking upon the basic syllables. “Yeah”

But that was arguably the most simple answer possible. Anyone could say “Yeah” and get away on less than even a warning. Like, for instance, someone being pulled over for speeding- the officer could give them a speech as long as a university essay- and all the offender would have to do is say “Yeah” to get away from the situation faster. Or even a student in a behavioural meeting- the staff could bash on for hours about the students behaviour and attitude- and all the student would have to do is say “Yeah” and leave, only to return the next day and do the exact same thing over... but it worked!

So, the need and urge to expand on your response bubbled around like a plague within your chest. “Yeah- I mean, I haven't talked to them in a while, but personally, i'd like to say we’re okay”

Your hair sticks like another layer of skin on the back of your neck as you gulp down some cool air, feeling it swash around within your anxious lungs. Her look was almost venomous, like the point of a snake’s fang, or a sharpened elephant tusk. It almost hurt to look at her with how much your throat closed at the idea of… everything.

“You sure? You don't look or sound so sure about that” You sigh at her concern, taking another sip of your drink before tutting gently. “You really don’t need to answer, I just wanted to understand if you’re close with your family or not…”

“No. no. It’s okay. Trust me, it’s just complicated. I love my family as much as the next guy, but they’re not always available. I can never seem to call them anymore, not on their personal numbers anyway. I have to call the homeline…” You almost cringe at the fact your family even have a homeline. It just seems so outdated. “-and even then, it’s not them who answers”

“Who answers?”

Pausing, you almost feel your bottom lip quiver. “My grandpa” you smile sadly, exhaling deeply through your mouth. “He lives with my parents due to paralysis in his left leg. His wife- my grandma- still lives in another country due to visa issues. So when I can't get ahold of my parents, I ring the family homeline and talk to my grandpa about grandma and how much they’ve talked”

Noticing a small smile playing on the plush of Yunjin's lips, you can’t help but smile too. “That’s cute” she beams, holding eye contact as she does so. Somehow, her smile felt different this time, and it somehow made the miraculous happen- a certain heat reached your neck. It’s tingly, and it’s certainly not unwelcome as the onlook of your new friend ceases to flatten your mood.

“We’re probably the closest in the family, me and my grandpa. He’s always telling me about a new story every few weeks- and a life lesson that comes along with it too”

“He sounds like a charming man. I can really see where you got yours from”

There it was again, the same warmth that resided upon your neck just seconds ago was back for a suffocating round two. It strangled you in a calm grasp. Your neck acts as a bottle of rose champagne, fizzing and bubbling the more it’s aggravated- rising in volume and colour with the increase of verbal intimacy and attentiveness present within the room.

You were going to need some time to get used to this girls' compliments...

“Thank you, Yunjin”

Yunjin laughs, shaking her head,”Please call me Jennifer, or Jen for short”

Your eyebrows almost lift in surprise, a nickname? “If you say so Yunji- I mean Jen” you’re quick to salute jokingly, face going slack as a smile threatens your lips into a not so covert grin.

This only makes her laugh again though, her hand moving to brush through the brown of her silky hair away from covering her face.

“Sorry” you mumble bashfully, a small smile finally breaking from your lips.

“It’s all good” Yunjin pauses to yawn, her hand moving to now cover her mouth as her jaw inevitably stretches open,”don’t sweat it”

“Are you tired?” You ask, feeling kind of stupid now that you think about it. Why else would she be yawning? “I can leave if you want to get some rest-”

“No!” Yunjin surprises both you and herself with the sudden uproar in her tone, her voice reaching far beyond what it normally does. She coughs,”sorry, it’s just that it’s still raining, and I don’t want you getting sick… you know?”

Glancing back to the window, you take a mental note at the progression of the on-going storm outside. It looks far worse now… “Yeah… I do understand, thanks for looking out for me”

“It’s no big deal, you would’ve done the same for me... I hope?”

“I would've” You confirm, observing as she nuzzles her head against a pillow, her body language seeming more so relaxed. “There’s no way I’d let you go out in that”

"That's good to know"

You hum,"you never answered my other question though…" A flash of concentration blimps within her eyes,"What question?"

"Are you tired?"

"What? What's that got to do with the question you asked earlier? A tired brain wouldn't stop me from remembering, it shouldn't-"

"No, Jen" you smile,"the question was, are you tired?"

Her face morphs to one of disappointment and understanding, eyebrows tightly pinched together "Oh… sorry, that must've completely slipped my mind," she laughs awkwardly. “I guess I am tired”

“You should rest then”

“But who’ll keep you company? I don’t want to leave you alone… not because I don’t trust you or anything! I just want-”

“Want to be a good host?” You cut her off with a smile,”Yeah, I understand”

“I’m glad you do, I don’t want to leave the impression that I don’t care”

“I could never get that impression from you” you reassure, gaze shifting to the blonde that’s walked into the room again, a contentless plate in one hand while her phone occupies the other. You make brief eye contact before she continues on into what you've mapped out to be the kitchen. You sip on your water again.

“What are you looking at?” Yunjin asks, turning to evaluate the rest of the room with a suspicious eye.

“Your roommate came back out” is what you would’ve said… if you hadn’t noticed the small flare in her eyes, a look that spoke a thousand words without a vocal meaning. But instead, you just shook your head. “Nothing, just thinking”

“Oh?” She turns back to face you, quirking an eyebrow at your response,”What were you thinking about?”

"Not much," you smile before downing the rest of your drink,"mind if I go and refill this?"

"Not at all. It's just through there," she points in the general direction.

"Thanks"

Walking into the kitchen meant coming face to face with Yunjin's roommate and her more innocent looking features. Rosie, a name you remember so vaguely, though, that’s not what she used to call her.

ᶜᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ ✄-----------------------------------------

: A new college means new faces, and although you already have a set of friends to hang out with, you can't help but be drawn to the two campus heartthrobs... and they can't help but be drawn to you too...

ᶜᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ ✄-----------------------------------------

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 | 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓

ᶜᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ ✄-----------------------------------------

𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: [𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍]

@cosettesrants @havex00 @1luvkarina @lesleepyyy @luvjanexx @jeindall777

@xen-16 @sewiouslyz @verdanst @pandafuriosa60 @misclsims

#le sserafim #kazuha #yunjin #kazuha x reader #yunjin x reader #huh yunjin x reader #nakamura kazuha x reader #kazuha x reader x yunjin #kazuha smau #yunjin smau

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liminalpebble · 2 months

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Eddie's Education, Chapter 27

Masterlist link

Minors DNI

Chapter 27

It was heartrending for Eddie to watch when Leia's eyes clouded over into the milky unseeing white, and yet his eyes were cemented in place. She rose from the grass like a marionette, pulled by strings to her full height, then languidly stepped forward in her trance, hair whipping out behind her like a black flag on the frigid nocturnal wind.

Eddie and Dustin nodded to each other, ready to execute the part of the plan they hadn't told Leia about. Her consciousness was with Vecna now, but they would keep her body away from crossing the threshold. They would dangle her corporeal form before him long enough to distract him and then snatch her away. Eddie felt a bit guilty that they had to hide this from her, but it was safer for her not to know, considering Venca's clear vantage point within her mind.

Eddie itched to grab her immediately, and it took all his will power to allow her to move inexorably closer, and closer, and closer to the devil himself and his kingdom. He took heaving anxious breaths, jaw clenched, as he watched Dustin for the cue. As she moved towards the vermilion rend in reality itself all he could see was her silhouette; her little body like a shadow puppet tugged forward. Wrenching his eyes away, he looked to Dustin who finally, finally, nodded for him to move. They ran over grabbing both of her arms and pulled with all their might.

----

From her jagged throne in Vecna's mind palace, Leia watched the scene unfold like a movie, relayed to them by her own eyes. She watched powerless from inside as they tried to hold her back, but her body simply flung them away like rag dolls with bolts of red energy. Leia winced as she heard the two men thud heavily and against the ground, then heard Dustin's frantic exclamation. “Shit...shit. I didn't think he could do that anymore.”

Beside her, Vecna released a deep satisfied laugh and said, “Oh, but I can.”

Leia felt her heart sink even though she suspected they would try this, and suspected just as strongly that it wouldn't work.As her friends still fought valiantly for her, she tried to make peace with the fact that she might really have to sacrifice herself, after all. It was no longer hypothetical, and it was terrifying.

Robin and Steve shot off like rockets to assist, using all their might to hold her back, but to no avail. They only received the same bruising blow from the blinding red bolts. He was too strong, they realized, as a wave of panic crossed each of their faces in turn. Seeing this, Leia begged silently, Come on! It doesn't matter. We knew we were risking me. We were ready for it. We still have a chance! And squirmed against the restraints of the thorny throne. Vecna only watched her and laughed, sending trepidation trickling through her veins like ice water. She thought she was ready for it, but now, with evil incarnate's laugh in her ears and in her mind, who could really be ready? Who could ever not be afraid? She wanted a life as much as any of them...a life with Eddie. The thought made her struggle all the more fiercely until the world shifted and dropped.

Leia felt a nauseating lurch as she surfaced into consciousness within her physical body, just in time to hear her friends screaming her name into the chilly air. Abruptly, the din was muffled by the warm slimy broth of the upside down. It sucked her in, as if it were a living, conscious, hungry thing (and maybe it was). Her heartbeat began to race in panic as she felt her lungs struggle for breath, stuck in a suffocating press beneath the fluid. Pushing in hard strokes against the heavy water, she tried with all her might to kick and heave her way to the surface. It seemed impossibly deep, like the floor had fallen out and now the sides of the little pool had become the dark-tunneled walls of a well, closing in on all side as the light failed to reach her. Around her vision, a halo of smoky shadow closed in, further, further, further, until her eyes shut. In the oppressive silence, she drifted. She sank.

The tug of a strong limb hooking around her waist jolted her back into wakefulness. She tried again to scramble for the surface. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought, Eddie?, and her heart lifted, thinking it might be him pulling her out.

A grating chuckle rang through her mind as vines and sinews shot out to still and surround her wriggling limbs. They pulled her until she smacked against a tree trunk...no, not a tree trunk...a torso of desiccated flesh, one she had only seen in her mind thus far.

He can't save you now, little Leia, but I can.

A huge clawed hand caged her head in as the need for oxygen became a desperate tight hiccup in her chest. Vecna pulled her writhing form against himself and latched his mouth over hers; a horrific parody of a romantic kiss.

Heat like a furnace roiled from the monster's throat into hers, crashing past her airway and trickling across the flesh of her lungs. The burning ache was excruciating, and the acrid smell and taste of ash permeated her senses, soaked up like a sponge by every internal membrane of her respiratory system. The delicate skin of her tongue and mouth felt like tissue paper, parched and feeble. The ache subsided into a dull throb as she realized she was no longer struggling for air, but sharing some substitute for it with her captor. Her lungs heaved in relief and her body slumped against the rigid form of the monster gripping her. She heard him in her mind, even as his physical tongue busied itself tasting her mouth, reveling in the sweet last hints of its moisture.

You're acclimating. Give it time. He commanded, as the burn faded into a dull feeling; bruised and parched. She had no strength to respond or even struggle against his revolting contact. She wasn't sure how she knew it, but she thought to herself, he's giving me air and poison all at once.

Hmm. Not exactly. I'm...calming you. Let it take effect.

NO...no no on. She thought, finding the tiniest crumb of strength to wiggle.

Shh. You have to accept this or you will die here...and once it affects you completely, you can never survive out there. You'll be like me...changed...transubstantiated...the Eve to my Adam. We'll never be alone again and we'll reign here.

His charcoal tongue and jagged lips caressed hers as she tried to fight it but her body had turned to docile dead weight, latched and locked onto him against her will.

Hmmm. What a soft, wet, fragile, thing you are, and I have been parched...scorched. I can see why dear Eddie is bewitched by the taste of you. I almost consumed him. Did you know that? He was very nearly...acclimated...as well. But no matter, I'd rather have you.

Screaming..she was screaming loudly in her mind, though her body wouldn't obey. Disgust and fury flashed through her like lightning bolts, not just for herself now, but for poor Eddie, almost eaten alive here 15 years ago...all to quench a monster's endless blood thirst.

Shhhhhhhh. Shhh, he cooed, Oh I know this is not ideal. You must be so afraid..disoriented. Let's go somewhere more comfortable, shall we?

@sweetsigyn @veemoon @elegantkoalapaper @little-wormwood @hellfirenacht

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x ofc

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mable-stitchpunk · 8 months

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Going Home in a Box: Chapter 72- Teaser

Her box was tipped to assist in getting her up some short steps, with Mike and Fritz swearing and snickering respectively as they got it up onto the stage and rolled it into position. Mike gave a couple knocks to the top of the box, Charlie quietly knocked back, and then listened as their footsteps retreated.

It was almost immediately after that when she heard some thumping in movement back towards the steps of the stage. She had a suspicion what it was, but it was only confirmed when she heard something getting wheeled up beside her. Baby.

“You’ve got this! You’ve GOT this!” Ennard whispered loud enough that she could hear it. Baby gave a near silent hum of agreement- one that Charlie did not hear- and Ennard was off the stage as fast as he had come on.

Baby only waited long enough for the audience to not be as suspicious when she suddenly came to life and then went straight into character. Her voice light and bubbly.

“Hello, everybody! My name’s Ringleader Lizzie and we’re going to be having a singsong in just a moment. I hope you will join me! My, there’s so many happy faces out today!... And so many stars and stripes!” Baby gasped. “It must be… The Fourth of July! I love the Fourth of July! Is there going to be fireworks? Oh, I should’ve brought sparklers- Oops, I’m getting a little off-track.”

Charlie could hear her wheeling her roller skates back and forth to emphasize. “But I’m not celebrating alone today. I’ve brought a friend with me!” She knocked on the top of the box quickly. “Wake up, Sleepyhead.”

That was her cue. Steading herself one last time, Charlie got into character and popped out of her box. Though took care not to lose her flag printed visor and taped on sunglasses in the process, a few Fourth of July themed accessories to replace her too-hot jacket. Baby’s only additional accessories was her plush pig covering her claw and a cluster of red, white, and blue star-studded balloons that had been tied to her back and bobbed in the air above her as she moved.

It was also only now when she caught sight of the Fourth of July celebration in the middle of Hurricane. The parade had been earlier in the day, but the crowd still hung around for the food stalls, carnival games, an oversized bounce house, and the impending fireworks once it got dark. It was still a long way from dark though, with a bright blue sky dotted with clouds stretched above the town. The smell of fresh cut grass and grilling meat hung on the air. It was the perfect summer day for a holiday like this.

Charlie rose from her box in a stretch, yawning like she had roused from a nap. Baby presented her with a wave.

“Lottie the Puppet, everybody! Give her a round of applause.”

While they clapped, Baby rolled back just a little bit so she would be able to lean forward without bumping heads while they were exchanging banter. Much to Charlie’s relief, she still remembered the lines they had written together even now that she was out of her box and under the gaze of a couple dozen onlookers and whoever decided to pass by in the meantime.

“Have a nice nap, Lottie?” Baby asked. She leaned forward and cocked her head cutely.

“It depends. Where are we?” Charlie asked. She looked around and tilted her own head in confusion.

“We’re at-! Umm, I’m not sure. But there’s a lot of people here just dying to meet you!”

“Oh, okay.” Charlie fanned herself with her hand. “Yikes. Did we have to do this on the hottest day of the year?”

“Mm-hm! Besides, you could use a little sun. You’re looking a little pale.”

Charlie looked off stage at the audience.

“But it’s supposed to be sunny! And that’s because… it’s the Fourth of July!”

“Oh, Boom Boom Barbeque Freedom Day?”

“No! Hot Dog and Family Time Day! And the freedom to stuff your face and spend as much time with your family as you can stomach. But not just family, friends too!” Baby turned her attention to and addressed the audience. “Lottie and I are best friends! We go back a long, long way. We’ve known each other since we were babies!”

“In pigtails and onesies, daycare days,” Charlie agreed.

“We spent so much time together. When we were kids, we used to have sleepovers every weekend for the whole summer!”

“We didn’t get much sleep.”

“But we had plenty of fun in the sun!”

“I wasn’t so pale back then.”

“So, we wrote a song about it!” Baby chirped. “And you all are going to be the first ones to hear it!”

“Maestro, hit it!”

#Fnaf #Charlie Emily #Baby #Security Puppet #Elizabeth Afton #Chapter 72 #Teaser #Mike Schmidt #Ennard #Fritz Smith #Home Series #GHIAB #Going Home in a Box

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thecoppersoulbox · 3 months

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Badly Explaining Every HSR Character's Type

Disclaimer: This is very dumb and some of these are stretches/I just completely gave up so don't take it seriously. Also I'm stopping at 1.6, so no Penacony. Maybe I'll make a sequel in the future.

Under a read-more bc this is a lot of people.

Trailblazer, Physical: Baseball bat hit body, ouch

Trailblazer, Fire: They wanted that really cool imagery of us helping to melt the Eternal Freeze

March 7th, Ice: Her whole thing is she was found in Six-Phased Ice

Dan Heng, Wind: Spear go woosh through the air, it's also called Cloud Piercer which sounds pretty windy to me

Asta, Fire: That spectrum beam looks like it would burn you pretty bad

Arlan, Lightning: I am fairly certain his skill is him electrocuting himself for the extra adrenaline

Natasha, Physical: Massive bullet hit body, ouch

Pela, Ice: I think it's just bc she's with the Silvermane Guards, nothing about her attacks scream "ice" to me

Hook, Fire: Diggertron produces flames (seriously who let her keep that thing)

Serval, Lightning: Music is electrifying (also that's an electric guitar)

Qingque, Quantum: Digital = quantum in HSR and celestial jade tiles are digital (...I'm pretty sure)

Herta, Ice: I guess the diamond is cold...and looks like ice...? Maybe they're linking crystals with ice bc of how they look

Tingyun, Lightning: Yeah I got nothing. Most of her animations don't even have lightning anywhere in them?

Sushang, Physical: Big sword hit body, ouch

Sampo, Wind: Blades go woosh through the air

Himeko, Fire: That massive laser DEFINITELY burns

Clara, Physical: Big robot punch body, ouch

Bronya, Wind: Small bullet go woosh through the air (it's straight up called Windrider Bullet)

Gepard, Ice: The shield he makes is a massive wall of ice like. My god man.

Bailu, Lightning: Resuscitation requires electricity (also water isn't a type but if it was...)

Yanqing, Ice: His swords seem to be made of ice (also he needed the Jingliu parallels)

Welt, Imaginary: If those black holes were real then...wouldn't everything just be gone...? (idk HI3 lore so I might be missing smth)

Seele, Quantum: Girl moves so fast it breaks quantum physics

Jing Yuan, Lightning: Two words. Lightning-Lord.

Silver Wolf, Quantum: Everything she does is digital, also aether editing probably breaks quantum physics too

Luocha, Imaginary: Those spirit-like things in his ultimate just seem imaginary, also he just radiates the colour yellow which doesn't explain anything but it's all I got

Yukong, Imaginary: Gonna be real idk, that bow looks pretty real, I'm kind of wondering why she isn't wind (probably the severe lack of imaginary characters at the time she came out)

Blade, Wind: They had to make it clear he's connected to Dan Heng yk? Also his swords probably go woosh through the air

Kafka, Lightning: Her strings have a similar colour to the lightning icon and so does her general design, it would be weird for her to be anything else. Also there's lightning in her animations so something is producing it

Luka, Physical: Big metal fist hit body, ouch (this boy wants to be fire so bad)

Dan Heng IL, Imaginary: He's basically controlling that water with his mind, right?

Fu Xuan, Quantum: Idk how to word it but. Quantum just makes sense here like I have no questions about it but I can't explain it. Edit: The Matrix of Prescience is a supercomputer tysm for reminding me!!!

Lynx, Quantum: Literally nothing about Lynx feels quantum like her weapon is an ice pick and her healing stuff is physical objects...do you think Lynx and Pela are such good besties that they swapped types?

Jingliu, Ice: Look at that really cool ice sword

Topaz and Numby, Fire: Numby creates so much friction spinning like that it burns the enemy lmao (also the blaster Topaz uses might use lasers? It looks like a mix of money and some sort of beam)

Guinaifen, Fire: Girlie is literally throwing firecrackers at her enemies

Huohuo, Wind: If she waves that flag fast enough she creates a little gust of wind!

Argenti, Physical: Big spear hits multiple bodies, ouch (ignore the roses)

Hanya, Physical: This is the only physical character I can't explain like she's hitting her enemies with ink and chains that didn't exist two seconds ago...I think HYV just don't wanna give siblings the same type but she could've been imaginary

Ruan Mei, Ice: ...Maybe it matches her personality? Or it's a women of the Genius Society thing?

Dr. Ratio, Imaginary: Nobody actually believes the building he's dropping is real, right?

Xueyi, Quantum: This is another one that I can't put into words but just makes sense to me, something about the chains just materialising and the colours

TL;DR - If in doubt, look at their weapon and how they use it, except sometimes that doesn't explain anything either (if that's the case...look at their hair colour maybe...?)

Feel free to offer corrections or further explanations bc obviously I don't have everyone so I'm mostly going off what I can see from their animations

#what i learned from this is that if water was a type...#i can think of multiple ppl who would fit that type v well #bailu dan heng il and ruan mei for example #honkai star rail #i'm sorry but i am NOT tagging everyone that is 40+ ppl

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sunflowerrex · 10 months

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Eli Vanto and music (or at least when Thrawn notices)

I feel like Eli would be the kind to constantly be consuming or making music. On my drive home from work today I thought up a few examples of this- or at least the examples that thrawn notices

I know some of these are iffy cannonically, but just roll w it or scroll on :)

this is also my first time writing anything fic related, like literally ever so if you have any recommendations or tips pls let me know!! I also dont know if i should call this a drabble or ficlet or what it is so feel free to tag as you feel is right

(Bisexual! Eli, Thrawn is... jealous?, Yea hes def jealous, Eli is a fucken tease, Thrawn is bad with feelings, I will most definitely be writting more installments of this bc omg this is FUN)

CW: Alcohol, getting/being drunk, 18+ to be safe, clubs/bars

Minors DNI :)

First Time- Heads will Roll, Yeah Yeah Yeah's

Eli had more friends than Thrawn did at the academy, Thrawn knew this and Eli denied it. Eli enjoyed ocassionally going out with said other friends- particuarly on the weekends. While Thrawn had been in these sorts of scenes in the past, he didn't actively seek them out. Nevertheless, Eli- being Eli, manages to convince Thrawn out for a night.

It was mid-fall on the city planet, and the air was comfortably cool with a crisp breeze that would sweep through to cause a chill to run down the spine.

When Eli had dragged Thrawn out of their quarters, it was just past sundown and the world was painted in a blue glow- the kind that makes you slow down to take it all in.

Eli had dressed in a set of civilian clothes- slightly fitted blue jeans, chelsea boots, a short sleeve button up. This was unlike anything Thrawn had ever seen him in and he silently thought to himself that he looked good.

Entering the club, the atmospheric change was one that Thrawn could feel with every one of his senses.

The temperature became warm and fuzzy, loud music and chatter clouded the room, the smell of high-end fragrances and booze was heavy in the air. There were all sorts of species- none like Thrawn, of course- but the variety could allow him to blend in ever so slightly easier.

A pair of waving humans caugh Eli's attention, who grabbed the cuff of Thrawns sleeve to pull him through the crowd behind the tan skinned human.

The trio chattered while Thrawn continued to observe his surroundings, the way that the group of Twi'leks in the corner danced on each other, the bartender mixing fantastical looking beverages to serve to the seemingly intoxicated group next to them.

His eyes continued to scan over the dancing strangers, all huddled in close and moving to the beat of the-

"Thrawn".

Snapping back to the moment, Thrawn was meeted with a sickeningly sweet smile from Eli, and the curious eyes of the two that were known as "his friends".

It took only a few seconds for it to dawn onto Thrawn that he was being introduced. He quickly put up a polite smile, "pleasant to meet you both".

Eli's smile grew a little bigger.

Thrawn lifted the glass once again, taking down the amber liquid. Eli's friends lingered for about an hour before dissapearing on the dance floor, leaving Thrawn and Eli at the bar.

Not much had been said between the two in the 20 minutes they had been alone, excpet for Eli offering Thrawn different drink options. He settled on simply ordering two of anything he got, and Thrawn was silently grateful.

Eli placed his empty glass down on the counter with slightly more force than before, prompting Thrawn to look his way.

"My apologies if I have bored you, Cadet Vanto."

Eli responded with a tight lipped smile, too polite to say anything, especially since he had been the one to drag Thrawn out. He then flagged down the bartender, and soon after three small glasses of clear liquid were placed in front of the two.

One was pushed by Eli in front of Thrawn, the other two he dragged towards himself.

Picking up one of the glasses, he raised it up, brought it back down to tap the counter, and then took it in one go- his head tilting back.

He followed with the second one, and waited for Thrawn to follow suite.

After a few moments of Thrawn just looking at Eli, the later eventually got the memo and took the third shot down.

The music faded into a song higher in volume and intensity.

"Dripping with Alchemy, shiver stop shivvering"

With a quick smirk, a "wish me luck", Eli winked at Thrawn and made his way out towards the group of people. Thrawn watched with fascination at how he naviagted the large mass, eventually ending next to a young female twi'lek.

Thrawn sat with his hands folded on the counter, watching his aide and the stranger he had found.

"off off with your head, dance dance till youre dead"

Eli was positioned behind the twi'lek, skin pressed to skin as his top was now completely unbuttoned.

He ran his hands up and down the twi'lek, painting a masterpiece with his movements. Their hips pressed into each other and swayed with the grooves of the music.

Thrawn had always found his aide captivating, but never like, well like this. His movements were intoxicating, and Thrawn couldn't pry himself away from watching.

The twi'lek spun around, kissing Eli's neck, encouraging him to throw his head back, a small amount of sweat accumulating along his hairline.

Mouth slightly agape and smiling, his eyes closed. He continued to trace her body as she kissed up and down his neck.

As she moved away to spin back around to keep grinding against him- Eli opened his eyes to meet Thrawns, giving him a hazy, drunken smile before putting his attention back to his partner.

Thrawn left shortly after he witnessed this interaction of Eli and the twi'lek, with a strange feeling that he was unsure of. He wasn't sad, or upset, but it was something peculiar. He brushed it off on his walk back to their room.

When Eli didn't return until the next morning with purple marks scattered on his neck and chest, Thrawn determined that this feeling was an unpleasant one.

Second Time: Love it if we made it, The 1975

A few months after the Club Incident, Thrawn encountered Eli's music endevours a second time.

Thrawn followed a strict schedule- usually down to the minute. When he goes on his runs after his and Eli's workout sessions, Eli usually heads back to their room to do whatever.

Today though, Thrawn started to develop a headache shortly into the run and he decided to call it quits early.

Usually Eli has this 2ish hours to himself, where he can exist in his own space without any fear of judgement or questioning from his chiss roommate.

It usually starts with a shower to wash off the sweat.

When Thrawn entered their room unexpectedly early, he was met with an absense of Eli in the main area, the shower running, the refresher door open, and some decently loud music playing.

The music was familiar, as he had heard bits of it when Eli had his headphones up too high. This was different though- now he could hear all the words of the song.

"Start with misdemeanors and we'll make a business out of them

And we can find out the information access all the applications

That are hardening positions based on miscommunication"

Along with the sounds of the band and the singer, was a mumbly sounding fog overtop of it all.

Thrawn stopped outside the fresher, listening to the music and mumbly sounds trying to figure out what was happening in there.

Was Eli working through some issue? Talking it outloud to help organize his thoughts? It was a sound that was definitely coming from Eli- Thrawn just could not decipher what he was mumbling about.

"And poison me, daddy, I've got the Jones right through my bones"

Thrawn listened closely the words, trying to find a meaning of them that could make sense as to why Eli would enjoy it.

What parts of this did he resonate with? Which chords hit home to him?

Thrawn moved to sit on his bunk, the music still loud and clear as he continued to think through how this song would relate to Eli.

The next bit of the song seemed to clarify this a little more.

"The war has been incited, and guess what? You're all invited

And you're famous, modernity has failed us"

Eli seemed to sing this bit a little louder, growing up to the chorus where he sang it clear and bodly, the syllables punching off his tongue, pitches gliding from his throat with ease.

He was surprisingly good, really good. Thrawn listened now simply for the enjoyment of getting to hear Eli.

"And I'd love it, if we, made it."

"I'd love it if we made it"

It dawns on Thrawn that the mumbly sounds that he initally heard was Eli singing along, just much much quieter with less confidence.

As soon as the song ended, the shower turned off as if Eli had been waiting to get out until the tune had finished.

A few moments later, Eli strolled out of the fresher, his skin still damp, hair dropping water onto his chest, a blue towel wrapped around his hips showing off his impressive muscular build and v-cut.

In his hands he held a datapad, Thrawn assumed thats what he had been playing the music from.

"It was an honor to get to hear you, why didn't you show me your talent sooner?" Thrawn expressed his content with being able to hear his aide.

Eli jumped slightly, not expecting Thrawn to be back. He quickly grabbed the towel as an extra security it wouldn't fall, tossed the datapad onto his desk, and adjusted his posture a bit.

Thrawn could see warmth spreading across his face quickly, and he assumed that the man was embarassed to have been caught.

He attmepted to cover his embarassment, "Sorry sir, I didn't know that you had returned, I would have turned it off if I knew"

Thrawn tilted his head as he eyed up Eli, confused by his response "There would have been no need, cadet Vanto, like I expressed, you have a lovely voice. I do not mind"

Eli gave an embarassed smile in return, quickly grabbed a pair of sweats and a t shirt, and vanished back into the fresher-shutting the door this time.

Thrawn had hoped that he could hear his aide sing again sometime, it would be nice to see him in the open and unafraid. This way Thrawn would have been able to see how the music affects him as a whole, rather than just guessing what the meaning was to him.

He opened his data pad again to read up on some studies, a warm feeling inside him that he couldn't comprehend.

#thranto #eli vanto #thrawn books #timothy zahn #grand admiral thrawn #thrawn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #Eli Vanto x Thrawn #Star wars #Eli Vanto x Thrawn ficlet #drabbles #im new to writting so i hope this isnt crap #i just really love them it turns out #Spotify #My writing!!

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scholastic-dragon · 2 years

Text

Flufftober Day 5: "Oh no, you're a Morning Person"

Male!Crocodile (Owen) x Fem!reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: established relationship, idiots in love, swearing, use of the word slut (reader calls Owen slutty as a joke), spelling mistakes, kissing,

Summary: your boyfriend invites you over to his lake house for a weekend getaway before the weather gets too cold.

Your car turned from the paved road onto a winding dirt one. It weaved way into the forest, at least a mile from the nearest town.

At midday the sky was bright blue, little clouds drifting about. It was warm, not muggy or hot as it had been mere weeks ago.

The leaves had just started changed, lining the sides of the road and floating down from the branches with the breeze.

After 10 minutes of admiring the autumn road, a clearing appeared, holding a small wooden cabin and behind that a lake.

You sighed in relief, glad you followed your boyfriends directions right and didn't get lost somewhere in winding dirt roads and a thick forest.

Parking your car next to his, you get out, grabbing your bags and heading up the steps.

Owen had told you countless times how proud his family was of the cabin. His grandparents had built it and passed it down to Owen's parents and now it was Owen's.

He spent a majority of his time here, he worked as a lifeguard at a summer camp on the other side of the lake, only having to cross the body of water everyday to get there.

Kicking up the side of the welcome mat, you found the spare key nestled in between two boards.

Owen had told you where the key was incase he had to go into work and wouldn't be there to let you in. It seamed that was the case.

Slotting it in the slightly rusted lock you opened the door. All the walls and floors were made of wood, but it worked together, making it feel cozy and warm.

Family photos lined most of the walls, the walls that didn't have photos had inspirational quotes etched in wood blocks.

One of the best features was the back wall, facing the lake. It was completely glass, giving an amazing view of the landscape, and allowing so much natural light in.

Setting your bags by the couch you head for the back wall, opening the back door and stepping out onto the porch.

Eagerly, you rush down the stairs, jogging up to the lake. To your left there was a long dock, bobbing in time with the small waves.

Because it was still warm, you'd worn shorts (not short shorts, ones that came down to your mid thigh) and sandals. Kicking them off, you stepped into the cobbled shore.

The water was slightly cold, but felt amazing. You wished you could've visited early in the summer, but your work wouldn't allow you.

Taking a few more steps in, you gained around the lake, seeing a few other cabins peeking out between the trees. And straight acorss from you was the summer camp, their flag planted right on the shore.

Something crunched to your right, quite a bit in front of you. The water rippled as if something had poked its head up then dunked back under. Probably a fish.

Taking a few more steps, the water hit just below your knees. You closed your eyes, inhaling the scent deeply, finally feeling relaxed.

Another splash sounded, this time closer to the dock, on your left. It sounded more of a plop, like something fell in the water from the dock. Probably a turtle.

You weren't dumb you knew there were animals living in the lake, Owen told you several times of all the wildlife he sees in a daily basis.

Feeling slightly nervous, you glanced back to the cabin, realizing you left your phone in your purse inside the house.

The water rippled behind you, still facing the cabin your blood went cold, hearing the water sloshing behind you. Glancing over your shoulder you see something large and green floating towards you. A crocodile-

"Ahh!" You screamed as he jumped out of the water, wrapping you in strong arms and moving you around, picking you up easily.

The sound of laughing startled you, opening your eyes you see your boyfriend, looking down at you.

"You should be careful, Ma'am, there are crocodiles in these waters," He teased, flashing you a toothy grin.

"Owen, don't scare me like that!" He set you down on your feet, spinning you around to face him.

He towered over you, a solid body of green scales and muscles. You noticed he was also in his lifeguard swim trunks, a red plastic whistle around his neck.

"I'm glad you didn't get lost," He murmured, rubbing the tip of his nose on your cheek.

"I'm glad I didn't get murdered by some of the viscous crocodiles I keep hearing about," You playfully push his chest, he doesn't move and laughs at your attempt.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm the only crocodile here, so you're stuck with me," He wraps his arms around your waist, holding you close, making your shirt even more wet.

"Oh no, a whole weekend in a beautiful cabin in the woods with a crocodile man in a slutty little outfit," You laughed loudly as his jaw dropped.

"Do not disgrace the uniform, it is not slutty," He chuckes softly, amused by your comment, but trying not to show it.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, I should never disgrace a handsome man in uniform," You bat your eyelashes, enjoying how he tried his hardest to not laugh.

"Anyway," He clears his throat, glancing over his shoudler. "Do you want to hangout on the shore for a bit? We have at least an hour or so before it gets cold,"

"Yeah, I just have to go inside to get a towel-" You start to pull away from him, but he quickly grabs you.

"I have some, I always bring towels and sunscreen in case I have a whiny human around," He taunts, motioning to the dock, tied to the last post was his backpack.

"I'm not the only whiny human in your life?" You fake being offended, rolling your eyes at him.

"The only one I like," He kissed your cheek, stepping back into the water and swimming over to the dock to grab his backpack.

He pulled himself up onto the dock, it rocking against the water from his weight. Walking along the shore you step onto the wood and meet him at the end of the dock.

You sit down at his side, dipping your feet into the water. He opens his backpack, pulling out towels and a water bottle.

He takes a generous sip then offers it to you. You take the water and towel, enjoying the peace and quiet of the lake.

"Today was the last day of camp," Owen says after a moment, unfolding his towel and drying his arms and shoulders.

"Oh was it?" You set the bottle between you two, moving to sit on your towel.

"Yeah, it's a bit bittersweet...one group of kids is moving to a different camp cause of their ages, they're troublemakers but I'm gonna miss them," He says, looking out across the lake toward the camp.

"I'm sure you'll still see them again, all the kids love you, didn't a dozen more kids enroll this year just from you?" You smile at his bashful face.

"Yeah, but what about you? What's been going on with your work?" Owen nudged your shoulder, smiling as you sigh.

"Had to fight tooth and nail to even get the weekend off," You muse, swinging your feet back and forth through the water.

"Sounds brutal," Owen jokes, picking up the water bottle and taking a large sip.

"It was, and I'm still in my work mindset, I need a whole week off, not just a few days. It felt wrong just turning off my alarm,"

"You better have, I hate alarms," Owen makes a disgusted face, nose scrunched.

"How do you wake up for work?" You giggle softly.

"I don't go in until after noon, the kids aren't allowed in the lake until after lunch and morning activities," He shrugs, smiling at your confused face.

"We are very different work people," You laugh, placing your hand on his thigh, laughing.

"Oh, but we work so well together," Placing his hand on top of yours he leans in, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about 30 minutes outside, you went back to the cabin to go to the bathroom, when you came back out, Owen was laying down on the dock.

He layed down his towel, laying on his stomach with his arms folded under his head. His eyes were closed and his back slowly rose and fell, his tail hung off the edge of the dock, dipping into the water.

You quietly came up to him, sitting down by his large head. Your hand reached over, rubbing around where his eyebrows would be.

"Owen? You asleep?" You whisper. He grumbles, the sound rolling off his body, water rippling from it.

"Just sun bathing," He murmured, not opening his eyes.

"Is it 'cause it's nice out or because you're cold blooded?" You tease, laughing as he growls softly.

He slightly lifted his head, arm uncurling and wrapping around your waist, pulling you closer and resting his head on your lap. You gently scratch at the scales on his neck, smiling down at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When it started to cool off, you both packed up and headed inside for dinner. Owen insisted on cooking saying it was tradition for the Brooks family to cook for any guests that are staying at the cabin.

After arguing for 10 minutes, you finally caved and sat at the kitchen island watching him cook.

He made his grandfather's famous burgers and grandma's potato wedges. It smelled delicious and he told you all kinds of stories about his grandparents: he idolized them.

He sat at the island with you, eating dinner, still laughing and chatting. It was absolutely delicious and you both got second helpings.

"Oh, we should take it outside, the sun is about to set," He suddenly stood, jumping you slightly, he nodded excitedly to the back porch. "You're not going to want to miss this sunset,"

Picking up your plate and cup, you follow him onto the back porch, sitting down next to him at a picnic table.

It'd gotten significantly colder, so you sat directly next to Owen, not that he minded. You ate the rest of your potatoes, looking up at the sky.

Right where the sun was setting was yellow and orange, then it bled into pink. The clouds amplified the colors, and the farther into the sky it went the darker it became.

"Oh its beautiful," You say around a mouthful of potatoes.

"Right, this is why my grandfather wanted to build the cabin here, he wanted Grammy to always have this view," He smiled wide, not glancing at you, just at the sky above.

Reaching over you grab his hand, squeezing his fingers and leaning in to kiss his cheek. He giggles at your kiss, nudging you with his shoulder. He wraps his arm around you, pulling you into his side, leaning your head on his shoulder you both sit in silence, staring at the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the sun went down and the cold was too much to bear, you went back inside and cleaned up your plates.

You changed into your pajamas and Owen showed you his room.

Like the rest of the house it was the same wood walls and floors, the right wall had wide windows going across the whole wall.

His bed was tucked into a corner, covered in large blankets and pillows. There was a heat lamp resting on a shelf above the bed, and covering a majority of all the walls were posters. Posters from video games, bands, movies, just about everything.

There was a dresser and vanity on the back wall, covered in trinkets and nick nacks, and a large bean bag was shoved into the spare corner.

Owen changed out of his swim trunks to long gray shorts and turned off most of the lights, save for a salt lamp on his bedside table.

Crawling on his knees, he went to the heat lamp, clicking it on, before falling face first into the pillows.

You giggled, coming up to the bed. "Looks comfy,"

"I'd be even better if you were here," His voice muffled by the pillows.

Pulling back the comforter you sit down at the edge of the bed, he picked the side closest to the wall.

He raised up on his elbows, smiling tiredly as you turned on your side. The heat lamp was pointing directly at Owen's back, but when you snuggled close to him, you could feel it.

It was like a nice heater.

"Good night, baby," He mumbled, wrapping an arm around you, eyes fluttering closed.

"Night," Reaching over you turn off the salt lamp and rolled back over, tucking your face into his neck. "I love you,"

"Love you too, babes,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As if on que, you woke up to the sun rising over the lake, steaming in through the thin curtains covering the windows. You groaned, enjoying the heat from Owen and his heat lamp.

Rolling onto your back, you stare up at the ceiling, rubbing at your eyes with the butt of your palm. Knowing you’re still on your work schedule, you carefully move Owen’s arm and sneak away to the bathroom.

Coming out you stare at Owen sleeping peacefully on his stomach, covered in a thick comforter and a heat lamp, snoring softly. You wanted to join him, to sleep in and forget about work, but you knew you wouldn’t go back to sleep if you layed back down.

Sighing, you pad out into the living room, going to the back wall and watching the early morning over the lake. The sky was bright blue, small clouds dotted around, birds flying around trying to get breakfast. It was perfect.

Feeling invigorated by the sunrise, you go to the kitchen taking out a blue kettle and filling it. You know Owen enjoys the occasional morning tea, he kept it in the cabinet above the sink. Setting the kettle on the stove, you stretch your arms above your head, taking in the peace and quiet.

Feeling a slight chill now that you weren’t snuggling under the heat lamp, you sneak back into the bedroom to grab your long pajama pants. With your back facing him, you dig through your bag until you find them.

Taking off your shorts you pull on your pants, tucking the shorts away.

“I would’ve asked what you were doing,” Owen’s voice jumped you, whirling around to face him, seeing his eyes open and staring at you, still on his stomach. “But I was afraid you’d stop if I asked,”

“Haha, that’s so funny,” You still whisper, coming over to lean against the side of the bed. He chuckles, voice still heavy with sleep, he rolls over onto his side, reaching a hand out of the blankets to grab yours. “Good morning,”

“Morning,” He pulls on your hand, opening up the blankets for you. “Come back to bed,”

“I’m making tea,” His brows scrunch, lifting his head up to glance at his bedside clock.

“It’s only 6 AM, why’re you making tea this early?” His thumb ran across your knuckles: closing the blanket to keep the heat in, he stared up at you.

“Because I want to have tea and sit out on the porch, you said that’s what you do every morning,” You laugh, running your fingers along the inside of his palms and down his fingers.

He’s silent for a moment, then groans, rolling onto his back. “Oh no, you’re a morning person,” You giggle softly at that, he rubs at his eyes, then scratches the tip of his nose.

“You said that we could enjoy tea-”

“I didn’t think we’d do it at the crack of dawn! I wanted to sleep in with you, finally get you to relax,” He sits up, clicking the switch on his heat lamp and laying back down.

“I am relaxing, I just happen to do it earlier then you,”

He groans again. “Fine we can have tea, but I want a kiss first,” You giggle softly, leaning over the bed, to gently kiss his lips.

Still holding your hand, he yanks you onto the bed, laying you down on your side and rolling over so his head was on your chest pinning you to the bed. He was clearly holding most of his weight so he wouldn’t crush you, but you couldn’t move.

“Owen!” You laugh, trying to wiggle away from him. “Owen get up!”

He ignores you, nuzzling the side of your arm with his head, growling softly, almost like he was purring. His body was warm and soft over you, and his growl came from deep in his chest, tickling you.

"Owen, get up!" You laugh, trying to wiggle your arms free.

"20 more minutes,"

"No-"

"25 more minutes," You felt him curl around you more, wrapping his tail around your legs.

"Don't make the number go up!" You laugh. "5 more minutes,"

"20 minutes," He stated, still not budging.

"8 minutes," You bargain, peering down at him, his eyes were closed and he was smiling widely.

"15 minutes,"

You laugh again, "Owen if we keep going back and forth well get nowhere,"

"It'll get you to stay in bed longer,"

You smack his arm, both laughing softly. "I'll give you 10 minutes,"

"12 minutes," You roll your eyes, finally getting your arms out from under him. You wrap them around his large chest, scratching at his scales.

"Fine, 12 minutes," You giggle, snuggling in and pulling him closer.

He growls happily, sighing and pressing a few light kisses to your arm and shoulder.

"Can I persuade you to go to 15 minutes?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tags: @flufftober @thelaundrybitch @turtle-babe83

#oh no youre a morning person #flufftober #flufftober 2022 #flufftober2022 #flufftober day 5 #day 5 #monster lover #monster romance #monster x reader #crocodile man #owen the croc #owen x reader #owen the crocodile #oc #original character #my ocs

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leos-soggy-wolf-nuts · 7 months

Text

Green Flag: Leo x Kinda-self-insert Episode 2

This one's a little shorter than part 1, enjoy :)

'Work clothes' amounts to a button-up tucked into slacks, but when I get ready for the day I always feel like a dastardly fraud putting on my disguise. A cartoonish image, and about a very mundane job: manager at a clothing store. The mundaneness is almost part of that feeling though, like, I'm too odd to be working such a normal job.

If only being odd stopped you from needing money.

The most important part of my morning is the mirror stand-still. I just need - need - 30 full seconds when my antlers aren't hitting something, because as soon as I start moving, it starts happening again. I breathe in, and breathe out. Store manager. Stoooreee Managerrrrrr. Suh-tor-uh...mah-nah-jorr-uh.

BEEP!

Shit, the wolf from the car repair place is picking me up. I grab my wallet, keys, and phone, and-

Beepbeepbeep-beep-!

He's just playing at this point.

I rush out the door, and wince at the heat like I do every morning, sweat already building under my shirt. He's driving a navy blue pickup with a decal of the auto repair shop's logo on the gas tank door. He waves at me and plays on the horn again, which makes me chuckle.

"I've never heard such a yappy car." I say as I slide into the passengers' seat. He laughs.

"I call her my chihuahua."

I snort, and grab the seatbelt, halfway through pulling it down to my hip when my head slams back onto the headrest as the wolf floors it down the road.

"aaHH!" I yelp as my antlers get caught in the seatbelt, poking dents in the fabric ceiling of the truck. I turn my eyes to Leo with a lightheartedly incredulous look. "Are the cops after you, man?"

He gives me a sympathetic smile as I untangle my antlers.

"Sorry, ciervo. Force of habit."

Ciervo. That makes me blush a little.

"Do I dare ask the source of this habit?"

Leo chuckles nervously, visibly shuddering as a memory rushes by. He says one thing: "I'm from Echo."

That checks out. I nod at him understandingly and readjust myself in my seat. His driving is still a little intense, but honestly...? The thrill is welcome. If there can be only one thing I don't like about the desert, it's the monotony. It also strikes me how playful he is this morning.

"You seem like you're in a good mood, though." I comment, as if presenting evidence that his echohood hasn't damaged him unacceptably. He shrugs his shoulders.

"It's a beautiful morning." he reasons. A cloud ahead moves aside, and the morning sun brightens Leo's fur, bringing it from maroon to a blinding crimson. I become far more aware of his presence. He's big and solid, like a boulder, but something about him rings as...prickly. Not prickly in attitude, but like touching him might burn.

"I have peripheral vision, ciervo."

Shit, I'm staring.

I choke on my spit and cough awkwardly, and turn to look out my window in embarrassment, my antlers suddenly feeling heavy. I clear my throat.

"Your uh, fur looks nice in the sun." I reason. It's plausible, because it's true. Also, I love the way your B.O creeps past your cologne.

My antlers weigh on me again. Leo laughs lightly.

"Right."

The car skitters to a halt, and I recognize that we're in front of my work. I turn my head slowly back to him. I swear I can hear my neck creaking. His expression is utterly knowing. Shit.

"I'll be back at 5. Have fun."

I walk into work half-chubbed.

#my leo fic

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timetoddddavis · 11 months

Text

Hello everyone. I saw a movie yesterday, and now it seems I have written a quick bite of a fic.

Around 700 words, Shin Kamen Rider, nonsexual but does contain one (1) naked man, dreamlike and ambiguous.

I'm not sure if this spoils anything specific about the movie?? But be safe.

Also on ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47584072

Ichimonji blinked, and the sun was suddenly blinding.

He was sitting on a beach, on a rock, and he was naked. The sun was hot on his skin, and he had to blink the glare out of his eyes. The ocean smell, fish and salt, already seemed to have settled over his body, sunk into his hair. His skin was hot, the rock was hot, and he felt he had been sitting there for a long time, but his eyes were not used to the light, as though he had walked into a dark room in the middle of the night, and then turned on the lights.

Through the spots in his eyes, he saw that Ruriko was standing in the shallows quite a ways away from him, fully clothed, staring out into the distance. Her back was to him, and her hands were in the pockets of her long brown coat. The wind was strong, and her coat and hair blew around, wild, flapping like flags.

“Is this real?” He asked. His voice cracked. The waves washed cold over his bare feet.

Ruriko did not respond. Ichimonji looked down the beach, away from where she was standing, and saw that some distance in the other direction, the soft dunes of the beach suddenly gave way to the straight and structured planes of a wooden floor. He thought of a boardwalk, but it wasn’t quite that. The boards were treated, shiny, like they were from a house, and indeed, not far from where they started, Ichimonji saw what looked like a bookshelf standing like a lost tree.

He got up off the rock - he felt light, and floated more than walked - and went towards the slice of living room. He moved past a couch arm, half buried in the sand, and a little pile of unnamable tchotchkes that might have been glass or ceramic.

Hongo was laying on the floor, also fully dressed, in civilian clothes Ichimonji had never seen him in. He was curled up in a ball, his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms pulled tight under his chin. His hands were long, greenish claws, the back of his neck split open into spines and spikes. He wasn’t human, or in his human form, and his color and shape echoed what Ichimonji knew of his own, changed body.

Ichimonji looked at his hand, and then down at his nakedness. He was human, at the moment. It didn’t feel right, that he was, and Hongo wasn’t. It sat heavy in his stomach, like sickness, like dread.

Hongo was barefoot, and there was sand blowing into his hair.

Ichimonji laid down on the sand beside him, just where the beach met the room. He stretched, and put his hands behind his head. Above them, the clouds hung stationary in a perfect blue sky.

“Is this real?” He asked again.

“Ah,” said Hongo, a vague, barely sensible sound that could have been yes, no, or I don’t know.

“Or am I dreaming?” And then, as it occurred to him. “Are we dreaming? All of us? Together?”

“Ah.”

“Huh.”

Ruriko could have explained it, he thought. He looked out to where she was still standing, staring out at the ocean ahead of her. There were boats on the horizon, boats that bent and fractured and fractaled the more he looked at them. It made his head hurt. He looked at Hongo’s narrow, shivering back, instead. The sun beat down on both of them, but Hongo still shook. Hongo always shook.

Ichimonji rolled over and put his arm over Hongo, wriggled the other one under the crook of Hongo’s neck, felt the scrape and scratch of the spines all up his soft, human forearm. Ichimonji folded Hongo up in his arms like a bundle of laundry, and Hongo was limp, but allowed himself to be dragged back against Ichimonji’s chest without resistance. He was sharp, and summer-warm. He did not stop trembling, but he was otherwise still.

Laying in the sun, with sand blowing gently over his body, Ichimonji wondered if he was going to fall asleep. If you could fall asleep in a dream.

If this even was a dream.

If this wasn’t real.

He put his forehead to the back of Hongo’s head, and though he wasn’t really sure if he was breathing or not, Hongo’s hair smelled like the sun.

#the fic is coming from inside the house #shin kamen rider #shin kamen rider spoilers #just to be safe #I think i might put this one on ao3 #what a concept

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jimmymcgools · 1 year

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any directors commentary for this most recent chapter? (or any of the others you havent gone in depth on, like if there's a part you just really wanna talk about!)

ahh thank you anon! i'm sorry i ignored this for days but i couldn't decide what i wanted to do commentary on -- i got spooked trying to pick a chunk of the latest chapter (cannot believe i wrote an 8k word conversation whoops) and so i think i'll talk about the red cloud flashback at the start of chapter 11! <3

me: picks up east of eden to finally read it me: screw reading, i need to write a red cloud flashback IMMEDIATELY

this was an odd chapter. sometimes (like with the flying star convo) i have an idea that i know is weighty enough to support an entire chapter. but sometimes i feel like i have a gap. like... ok, i know i have that skyler&marie&blanca convo coming, but i also know i want that to happen NEXT chapter, so now i need to fill this space.

and it ended up as this odd little thematic musings type chapter. but i like how it turned out! it felt important to spend a little bit of time thinking about what 'home' might mean to kim wexler (especially if, yknow, a real home is something we want her to end up finding by the end of this fic, right?)

Kim doesn’t look at the houses. Not the one on the corner with the white rocking chair on the white porch.

i have a (maybe silly) thing where i don't like putting dates/etc as headers above flashbacks. it feels fitting for a show that never puts them on the screen! and i love the challenge of trying to include that information in other ways.

But the houses want her to look at them. The letterboxes wave to her with flags and the letterboxes have people’s names on them.

shoutout to the NEW 2022 STREETVIEW IMAGERY OF RED CLOUD NEBRASKA (sadly still only 2 major streets but) that gave me this entire houses-as-people idea because i saw the names on the letterboxes.

She learned in school that a long time ago this whole town was underwater.

me googling this and frantically hoping it was true! this, specifically, is what that second page of east of eden inspired with the description of the salinas valley once being an inlet from the coast and before that a forest: "And it seemed to me sometimes at night that I could feel both the sea and the redwood forest before it."

and god the idea of feeling the sea beneath you at night felt SO screamingly kim wexler to me.

He nestles the hat on her head. It smells like horses and cigarettes and old, old things. “A proper cowboy hat.”

i am passionate about cowboy girl horse girl kim wexler

also--ahhhhh finally braving the idea of meeting kim's dad! now that rhea's talked about her ideas for him i wanted to see if i could balance that with stuff i'd folded in

i'm not particularly in love with the "jimmy is just her dad all over again" take as a full explanation of him (imo, kinda boring!) but i did want to thread a bit of that in. hopefully in a less 1:1 way and just like... there are things that made kim feel warm and comfortable and loved as a kid. and when she later finds some of those qualities in jimmy, they bring similar feelings. her dad remembers the names of these teachers and classmates of hers even though (in my mind) it has been quite a long time since he was last here.

but i always had the idea that kim got her silence and her stillness from her dad, so that's in here, too.

from safs:

All of this, and he was the only still thing. He just sat there and the TV flickered and it seemed like nothing could touch him, like nothing could ever touch him ... And I guess nothing really did.

and then similarly in safs i had this idea of like... kim positioning herself as the angry one in her childhood. i felt like it was more interesting to show this comparatively happy scene and just try to sow it with some kind of edge/disquiet and the seeds that might lead to that anger.

Kim watches him and he watches the movie, and he’s not moving at all anymore. His face is still and calm and she doesn’t know what’s behind it.

kim possessing that same stillness in the drive-in movie chapter of acb: He just watches her, and she watches the film—so still.

also my god i had remembered that sentence from acb but not THIS one right before it: "The blue-white light of the prison dormitory shadows her face, and her eyes glimmer, and he doesn’t look away, and Kim doesn’t look to him." wow ok

She knows she might never see him again.

i feel like the heartbreaking thing is like.... eventually kim is right about this. maybe it's this time. but i think she's almost thought it any time she's seen him that she's old enough to remember. like :( honey

#asks #anon #kim wexler #commentary ask meme #thank you!!!#better call saul

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ebaeschnbliah · 1 year

Photo

Soon he came out alone on the summit of Amon Hen ...

... and halted, gasping for breath. He saw as through a mist a wide flat circle, paved with mighty flags, and surrounded with a crumbling battlement; and in the middle, set upon four carven pillars, was a high seat, reached by a stair of many steps. Up he went and sat upon the ancient chair, feeling like a lost child that had clambered upon the throne of mountain-kings.

At first he could see little. He seemed to be in a world of mist in which there were only shadows: the Ring was upon him. Then here and there the mist gave way and he saw many visions: small and clear as if they were under his eyes upon a table, and yet remote. There was no sound, only bright living images. The world seemed to have shrunk and fallen silent. He was sitting upon the Seat of Seeing, on Amon Hen, the Hill of the Eye of the Men of Númenor. Eastward he looked into wide uncharted lands, nameless plains, and forests unexplored. Northward he looked, and the Great River lay like a ribbon beneath him, and the Misty Mountains stood small and hard as broken teeth. Westward he looked and saw the broad pastures of Rohan; and Orthanc, the pinnacle of Isengard, like a black spike. Southward he looked, and below his very feet the Great River curled like a toppling wave and plunged over the falls of Rauros into a foaming pit; a glimmering rainbow played upon the fume. And Ethir Anduin he saw, the mighty delta of the River, and myriads of sea-birds whirling like a white dust in the sun, and beneath them a green and silver sea, rippling in endless lines.

But everywhere he looked he saw the signs of war. The Misty Mountains were crawling like anthills: orcs were issuing out of a thousand holes. Under the boughs of Mirkwood there was deadly strife of Elves and Men and fell beasts. The land of the Beornings was aflame; a cloud was over Moria; smoke rose on the borders of Lórien.

Horsemen were galloping on the grass of Rohan; wolves poured from Isengard. From the havens of Harad ships of war put out to sea; and out of the East Men were moving endlessly: swordsmen, spearmen, bowmen upon horses, chariots of chieftains and laden wains. All the power of the Dark Lord was in motion. Then turning south again he beheld Minas Tirith. Far away it seemed. and beautiful: white-walled, many-towered, proud and fair upon its mountain-seat; its battlements glittered with steel, and its turrets were bright with many banners. Hope leaped in his heart. But against Minas Tirith was set another fortress, greater and more strong. Thither, eastward, unwilling his eye was drawn. It passed the ruined bridges of Osgiliath, the grinning gates of Minas Morgul. and the haunted Mountains, and it looked upon Gorgoroth, the valley of terror in the Land of Mordor. Darkness lay there under the Sun. Fire glowed amid the smoke. Mount Doom was burning, and a great reek rising. Then at last his gaze was held: wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant, he saw it: Barad-dûr, Fortress of Sauron. All hope left him.

And suddenly he felt the Eye. There was an eye in the Dark Tower that did not sleep. He knew that it had become aware of his gaze. A fierce eager will was there. It leaped towards him; almost like a finger he felt it, searching for him. Very soon it would nail him down, know just exactly where he was. Amon Lhaw it touched. It glanced upon Tol Brandir he threw himself from the seat, crouching, covering his head with his grey hood.

He heard himself crying out: Never, never! Or was it: Verily I come, I come to you? He could not tell. Then as a flash from some other point of power there came to his mind another thought: Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!

The two powers strove in him. For a moment, perfectly balanced between their piercing points, he writhed, tormented. Suddenly he was aware of himself again. Frodo, neither the Voice nor the Eye: free to choose, and with one remaining instant in which to do so. He took the Ring off his finger. He was kneeling in clear sunlight before the high seat. A black shadow seemed to pass like an arm above him; it missed Amon Hen and groped out west, and faded. Then all the sky was clean and blue and birds sang in every tree.

Frodo rose to his feet. A great weariness was on him, but his will was firm and his heart lighter. He spoke aloud to himself. `I will do now what I must,' he said. 'This at least is plain: the evil of the Ring is already at work even in the Company, and the Ring must leave them before it does more harm. I will go alone. Some I cannot trust, and those I can trust are too dear to me: poor old Sam, and Merry and Pippin. Strider, too: his heart yearns for Minas Tirith, and he will be needed there, now Boromir has fallen into evil. I will go alone. At once.'

He went quickly down the path and came back to the lawn where Boromir had found him. Then he halted, listening. He thought he could hear cries and calls from the woods near the shore below.

'They'll be hunting for me,' he said. `I wonder how long I have been away. Hours, I should think.' He hesitated. 'What can I do? ' he muttered. 'I must go now or I shall never go. I shan't get a chance again. I hate leaving them, and like this without any explanation. But surely they will understand. Sam will. And what else can I do?'

Slowly he drew out the Ring and put it on once more. He vanished and passed down the hill, less than a rustle of the wind.

JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Breaking of the Fellowship

#the lord of the rings #the fellowship of the ring #the breaking of the fellowship #jrr tolkien #anduin #nen hithoel #parth galen #amon hen #rauros #boromir #frodo #the eye #sauron #movie pics #peter jackson

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totallyjustabunchofhocuspocus · 2 years

Note

For the ask game if you're still taking prompts! It's got to be Buddie with: "I really shouldn't be surprised, and yet."

"I really shouldn't be surprised, and yet."

Eddie doesn't jump at the words, nor the sudden presence at his side. He'd clocked her as soon as she entered, has been keeping half an eye on her as she made her way around the glittering ballroom, talking to people, enjoying champagne and hors d'oeuvres. He'd half hoped she wouldn't notice them, but Hen and Buck have been working the room all night, both of them decked out to the nines (Eddie's hands have been itching to peel Buck out of that fitted tux practically since the moment he put it on). He leans back against the wall he's been unobtrusively hugging all night, tilting his own champagne flute back and forth contemplatively.

"Agent Grant," he says neutrally. "What brings you out tonight? You look lovely, by the way." He lifts his drink in a little salute, smirking when her eyes narrow dangerously. It's not a lie, of course. She does look beautiful, statuesque in a pale gold strapless dress that hugs her like a second skin, tiny crystals sparkling every time she moves under the lights. Bobby's gonna be disappointed he opted to run the op from the kitchens tonight.

Although those miniature mushroom and spinach quiches are delicious, so Eddie's not complaining.

"What are you doing here, Diaz?" Agent Grant asks sharply, the grim set of her mouth daring him to try and bullshit her.

Eddie takes a sip of his champagne, grimacing a little at how warm it's gotten and flagging down a waiter to take it away. Regretfully, he waves away the offer of a fresh glass. Chimney and Bobby assured him the chances of his particular skillset being needed are minimal, but minimal is not zero and he's not risking his head being even slightly clouded with Hen and Buck so out in the open.

He shoots Agent Grant a lazy grin, just because he knows it'll irritate her. He likes her (and Buck freaking adores her for some reason...Eddie suspects it's mostly because Bobby is so far gone on Athena Grant that it's not even funny, and Buck likes anything that makes Bobby happy) but he's not entirely sure they can trust her, yet. Sure, she's looked the other way for them on a few different ops, but she's also helped the FBI burn down some really good aliases Chim set up for them.

"I can't just be here for the shrimp puffs and free champagne?"

Agent Grant does not look impressed. "Uh huh. And that's not Wilson currently schmoozing every bigwig in this place while Buck robs them blind."

"Buck's not robbing anyone blind," he says, immediately defensive of his boyfriend.

*Buck, put that bracelet back...that's not what we're here for.* Bobby's put upon voice over the coms immediately makes him a liar, and he's just grateful Agent Grant can't hear them.

*Aw, Bobby! That's vintage Cartier! Do you know how much those go for? Besides, I was getting it for Karen.*

*You are not shopping for Hen and Karen's anniversary gift in the middle of an operation,* Bobby replies sternly.

*Well now hold on, hold on...Buck has excellent taste in jewelry. You think she'd like it, Buckaroo?* Hen jumps into the conversation, and Chimney's line is suddenly filled with the clacking of keys.

*Absolutely! Tricolor gold braid, diamond setting, circa 1950? Fifteen to twenty thousand, easy. Oh, and I mean, it's pretty. I think it would look pretty on Karen.*

Eddie can't help a snort of laughter. One couldn't really say Buck had excellent taste--his boy is mostly just drawn to all things pretty, sparkly, or soft--but he does have a superb eye for jewelry. Especially high end, very valuable jewelry.

*If it helps, the lady Buck just lifted that bracelet off of recently cut her company's parental leave policy from 12 weeks paid to 4 weeks, citing budget concerns, and rhen gave herself and her board of directors a ten percent salary increase,* Chimney supplies helpfully, drawing a squawk of outrage from Buck.

The squawk sounds like it's in stereo, and Eddie looks up to find Buck himself only a couple feet away from him.

"Well shit, I'm going back for the matching earrings before we're done here. Athena! Hi! You look gorgeous!" A wide, sunshine-bright grin splits his face, and he leans in close, smiling even wider when Agent Grant rolls her eyes, but tilts her cheek up for Buck to kiss. She's always had a soft spot for Buck. Most people who meet him do, honestly.

Eddie had certainly lasted all of 24 hours, even with Buck being kind of a dick to him when Bobby first brought him onboard.

"Hello Buck. I'm going to ignore what I just heard about you stealing earrings. Now, back to my original question...what are you all doing here?"

Some of Buck's enthusiasm at seeing Agent Grant dies away, and he steps back to lean against the wall with Eddie. Eddie automatically winds his arm around Buck's trim waist, splaying his hand across his hip. Buck relaxes against him, briefly turning to drop a kiss on the corner of Eddie's mouth.

"What do you think we're doing here?" Eddie asks carefully. Agent Grant sighs heavily.

"Diaz. Buck. I am asking you not to interfere, here. Greenway has three federal agencies investigating him. We are going to get him on something, I guarantee it."

Eddie opens his mouth to reply, but Buck beats him to it.

"Right, I'm sure Mike Caulfield's family will feel really good when Jonah Greenway gets three years probation for tax evasion." His voice is hard, flat. Eddie slides his hand to the small of Buck's back, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb.

Mike Caulfield had died in a freak accident at one of Jonah Greenway's factories almost a year ago, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children under the age of ten. Cases with kids always hit them hard, but Buck takes them even more personally. It had been obvious from the start that safety measures at the factory had been lax, but the evidence is piling up that Mike Caulfield had been about to turn whistleblower on just how lax Greenway Industries was on all their properties...and Greenway found out.

Forget tax evasion, they're gonna nail Jonah Greenway for murder and make sure Mike Caulfield's family is taken care of for the rest of their lives.

"Buck, the system is in place for a reason," Agent Grant tries, and Eddie winces as Buck goes completely still under his hands.

He doesn't have to look to know that his boyfriend's face has gone entirely blank, his beautiful blue eyes like two flat chips of ice. It's the expression that always makes Eddie's stomach clench unpleasantly, makes him want to hunt down everyone who ever hurt Buck or took advantage of him (and he knows more about Buck's past than anyone else except maybe Maddie, but there are still things Buck won't talk about, won't share).

"The system only works if everyone in the system wants it to, Athena. And people like Greenway definitely don't." He flicks a look out over the ballroom. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go get a keycard and then bust Chimney into Greenway's office. Kiss for luck?" He turns to Eddie, some of the warmth returning to his eyes, and Eddie obligingly slides his hand into Buck's sandy brown hair, mussing up the gel holding his curls in check just a little, and kisses him thoroughly.

"You don't need luck," he says with a laugh, biting down om Buck's plush lower lip just a little. And it's true...his boy certainly looks like he fits more in Eddie's line of work, but Buck's reputation for getting in and out of places he shouldn't be is second to none. Watching him crack a safe is a thing of beauty.

Buck smiles at him, tips a little wave at Agent Grant, and melts into the crowd. Eddie watches him approach their target, already thoroughly distracted by Hen, and then turns back to Agent Grant.

"You gonna try and stop us?" he asks, cocking a challenging eyebrow.

Agent Grant, also watching Buck as he weaves his way through the crowd, drains her champagne flute. "You really think you can nail him?" she asks finally.

Eddie's smile is feral when he answers. "To the wall," he assures. And then, because he does like her, and he also wants Bobby to be happy, he tilts his head a little. "There's always room for one more on the team, you know. You don't even have to be a con artist. Hen's wife does a lot of research for us...Buck's sister does a lot of our recon."

Maddie Buckley also usually drives the getaway car, but Agent Grant doesn't need to know that.

She shoots him a sideways glare, picking up one of Bobby's canapes when a waiter carrying a loaded tray passes. But Eddie doesn't think he's imagining the look of consideration in her eyes.

"Have a good night, Agent Grant. Enjoy the show." He winks at her, and then heads off into the crowd himself. Buck is making his way towards the elevators, and Hen might need help creating another distraction.

#Mywriting #ask game #Because Leverage AU's are too much fun

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skyloftian-nutcase · 2 years

Text

Adventure of a Lifetime (Skyward Sword story)

Summary: Being a Hero is difficult and filled with trials. However, it isn’t all bad, and while on his quest, Link takes a moment to appreciate everything around him.

Link looked around Faron Woods in wonder. He’d never seen so much water in his life, and he’d definitely never seen it so deep before. Every time he thought he’d grasped just how much Faron had flooded the region he’d squint through the clear water’s surface and find that he was higher off the ground than he would be while standing on top of the goddess statue in Skyloft.

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the magical score Faron had given him. It looked like he had seventeen clusters of notes, which meant seventeen groups of tadtones. A small, irritated part of him grumbled how Faron still demanded he prove himself when he’d clearly done so earlier. An anxious, doubting part of him said it was probably for the best considering how he’d already messed up several times in his journey. He shook his head. It was time to get moving; there was no point in lingering on any of the voices swirling in his head.

Stuffing the musical score into his pouch, Link took a deep inhale and jumped off the Great Tree. The cool water immediately invigorated him, and as the world around him took on a crystal blue hue, he immediately caught sight of a couple light blue fish whose scaly, shimmering tails were erect like little flags on poles, mimicking eighth notes on a musical score. Link saw his eyes widen and his heart rate spiked. Ah, those were tadtones!

Swimming towards the tadtones, he saw aquatic creatures of all sort shimmying around the flooded woods. Bright, colorful scales reflected sunlight as it danced in excitable patterns through the water, casting rainbows on tree bark and rock. Tall grass and bushes that had previously served as obstacles now waved cheerfully in their weightless bliss. The tadtones Link had honed in on were swimming in circles, dodging lazily in and out of the grass.

Link felt the water dragon’s scale glow as he shot ahead in a spin, and the tadtones in question got sucked into the little vortex he’d created. The instant they touched him, they gave a happy little hum and disappeared in a blaze of blue light, which leapt into his pouch to no doubt occupy the score he was carrying.

Link nearly lost his breath in wonder at all of it. This… this was fun!

His chest burned a little as his breath started to give out, and he quickly made his way to the surface. When he popped out, he heard an excited yell nearby, and twisted to see Jelyff swimming over.

“Hero! There you are!” The leader of the Parella said as she easily reached him. “I wanted to tell you I saw a tadtone off to the north under some lily pads! I don’t know how you’ll be able to reach it, but it’s trapped, so at least it can’t get away from you!”

Link nodded with a smile in thanks before glancing around. Based on the amount of light piercing through the cloud barrier, the sun was high in the sky, but it was most decidedly morning, so he had plenty of daylight to figure this out. He wished the sun was visible down here so he could figure out his directions easily, but his map would suffice. As he got his bearings he felt the water gently play with him, sloshing him left and right and giving his tired joints some rest. He giggled as Jelyff swam away, creating a little current that pushed him and spun him in a circle.

Once he was oriented, Link took another breath and dove under the surface. With the scale gifted from the goddesses he could swim much faster underwater than above, so it was more efficient this way. Not to mention he could see everything around him! He’d never seen the water so alive. Parella twirled in delight at the sudden increase in their territory, singing and chasing each other. The sound was high pitched, like Kukiel’s ecstatic squeals when she ran through Skyloft or Crimson’s excited cries when they’d dive to pick up some speed. Smaller fish darted to and fro, one bumping into Link’s cheek and planting a sloppy, slimy kiss as it assumed he was edible, almost making him giggle and lose his breath entirely.

He couldn’t wait to tell Zelda about all of this.

Of course, not all of the water creatures were friendly. There were some bloated fish (what was it that Fi had called them? Froaks?) that had caused him trouble in the past when they’d invaded Faron’s region. A simple spin would take care of them, however, so long as he stayed away for the inevitable explosion (he’d learned after the first time, inhaling half a lung’s worth of water and being knocked into a wall was not fun).

Weren’t there others that were bad too? Link swore he remembered one more…

The Parellas below squeaked and swam away in a hurry. Link watched other fish flee the area as well. Senses alert, he looked around wildly but he didn’t see anything in sight.

And then he turned around and saw a large fish with an enormous head charging right for him.

Crap, crap, move move move move MOVE—

Feeling his lungs freeze, Link used the scale to spin out of the way as the orange fish tore through the water he’d just occupied. Its glowing scales shifted to dark blue, allowing it to blend into the water a little bit, but its large size made it obvious.

Okay, so he had forgotten the other fish. He’d have to ask Fi to remind him of their names. He loved learning about all the different species down here, even if it was overwhelming at times.

More importantly, though, he needed to remember how to get rid of them.

Well, the only way he could defend himself underwater was a spin attack. He swam above the creature and aimed for its head, and they both grunted at the impact. Link felt a little dizzy all of a sudden, missing being able to use his sword, but he saw the fish flip over, belly exposed.

Ah, now he remembered. Spinning again, he watched the defeated creature float into the depths before he resumed his original path.

He was starting to run out of air again. Looking upward, he smiled in delight as he spun, leaping out of the water and feeling his stomach hover in midair as the arc of his leap let him pause, like when he would fly with Crimson and be at the crescendo of a loop. The sunlight allowed through the cloud barrier kissed his skin, warming him briefly, and he laughed as gravity pushed him back into the depths.

It didn’t take too long to reach the lily pad in question. A tiny yellow tadtone hovered around the spiky stalk of the pad, looking timid and lost. Link felt a little bad for the poor creature; maybe it had accidentally poked itself on one of the thorns and was too scared to move. Either way, he’d handled these lily pads in the ancient cistern, so he’d be able to rescue the little creature.

Surfacing, he found a cliff he could scale. His movements felt impossibly sluggish and heavy as he walked, having grown accustomed to the water, and despite the morning sunlight, the breeze made him shiver. A bokoblin stood at the top of the cliff, and he dispatched it easily.

Looking down, Link sized up the location of the lily pad and the best place to jump, and then he ran and leapt with careless abandon, smile reaching his eyes as the wind rushed by his ears. This wasn’t the same as sky diving, but with as much time as he had to spend on the Surface he loved every moment he could just throw himself into the air.

The lily pad collapsed quickly under his feet and he held his breath as the entire plant flipped over in one swift motion. The little yellow tadtone didn’t have time to rush away as it tapped Link and vanished into his pouch with a little hum and a flash of light.

Two down, fifteen to go.

Surveying the area, Link saw Parellas and other critters swimming around and exploring their surroundings, but none held the notable tails. He suddenly realized how small those fish were and how big of an area he had to cover.

As he considered it, the Master Sword chimed, garnering his attention.

Curious, Link breached the surface. “Fi?”

His sword hummed, and a magical otherworldly tune echoed around him as Fi appeared before him.

“Master, I want to inform you that I have been able to calibrate for the tadtones. You can now dowse to seek their location.”

Link’s face immediately brightened. This would make things much easier! “Thanks, Fi!”

Tipping her head in acknowledgement, the sword spirit lingered a second longer, making Link almost wonder if she had more to say, when she turned back into the ball of light that allowed her to return to her resting place.

Smiling and renewed with determination, Link drew the blade and allowed Fi to direct him as he swept over the area. He couldn’t dowse for too long while he tried to stay afloat as it was tiring, but it at least set him on the right path.

As Link set out, Parellas swam in circles around him, singing, “Tadtones! Tadtones!”

Looking around, he didn’t see any nearby, but he realized they were just too exuberant to contain themselves. He smiled and nodded at them and got momentarily distracted, chasing the Parellas as they danced in the water, and the currents they created let him dance as well without any effort.

When he resumed his search, the latest tadtones, a set of eight turquoise scaly creatures, were in single file trying to escape in a flurry of wiggles. A quick spin allowed him to catch seven, but his lungs were straining at this point and he started to head for the surface when he saw the turquoise lights escape his pouch and slip back into line with the leader. He supposed that meant he had to catch them all at once. Irritated, he headed for them again, his vision blurring slightly, when the Master Sword chimed, and he relented, swimming to the surface.

It wasn’t until he took his first gasp of air that he realized how out of breath he’d been. It took a few seconds for him to finally call to Fi, who quickly materialized in front of him.

“Master,” she said pointedly. “You were quickly running out of oxygen. I wanted to remind you that the tadtones only have a specific area in which they are confined, and with dowsing you will be able to locate them.”

You almost drowned. Take it easy. We have time.

Link rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Right. Thanks, Fi.”

Sufficiently schooled, the Skyloftian let himself rest on the water’s surface for a moment. Kikwis bounced from lily pad to lily pad, some with frantic chirps, while others were surveying the water. A fish Link didn’t recognize breached the surface with a jump that echoed the one Link had done earlier, and he suddenly wanted to spring into the air again.

Laughing, Link held his breath and dove. Fi was right. He could take his time. It would be okay to relax today. Besides, he had so much to see! The Surface offered so many wonders, and it was nice when he had the opportunity to enjoy them.

Overwhelming gratitude washed over him, and Link paused in the midst of his hunt to sit on one of the few perches of land available, his feet swishing in the water. He wiped the water and tears off his face and looked up at the sky.

Thank you, Link prayed. Thank you, Din, for such beautiful natural architecture, for the mountains and seas. Thank you, Farore, for the life within it, for all the creatures and plants and beauty. Thank you, Nayru, for the harmony of all the life here. Thank you for the gifts you all gave me to help me endure this journey.

Thank you, Hylia, for the gift of being here, of witnessing this, of being able to help.

Thank you.

Taking a shuddering breath, Link closed his eyes and bowed his head. He gave himself a moment to bask in the world around him, to bask in his heart and mind and the whirlwind of the two clashing, sights and sounds connecting to feelings and sensations.

And then he opened his eyes, drawing out the Master Sword, and smiled.

Time to get back to work.

#slice of life fun #or slice of game I guess #this is basically how I felt playing this part of the game #like at first I was like FARON ARE YOU KIDDING ME and then I started doing it and I was like aw this is actually really fun #their adventures weren't easy but I bet all the Links enjoyed them to varying degrees #or at least had moments of joy during them #skyward sword link #ss link #fi #skyward sword #legend of zelda #writing

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