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amberjazmyn · 5 months

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nicky byrne one-shot

𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓮 - angel (kind of part two to "please stay")

𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 - ballet dancer, big brother x nicky, emotional memorial dance for deceased father, tears

𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 - kameron byrne, the well-accomplished ballet, contemporary and latin & ballroom dancer that studied for three years at the royal ballet school in london is performing in one last competition/showcase with the school before she leaves. and she decides to dedicate it to her deceased father, nikki byrne sr, something that no one in her family was aware of.

𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓮 - i hope you enjoy this because whilst this does follow somewhat of the same storyline as my "please stay" one-shot with nicky and kameron byrne, this can still be seen as a stand-alone without the first part. the song angel by westlife will be used since that's the song that kameron is dancing to in this one-shot. it'll be written in lowercase and lyrics are in bold italics and flashbacks if there are any will be written in italics.

masterlist

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kameron byrne felt sick. for the last three or so years, she's been a ballet dancer with the royal ballet school in london and was performing in one last competition/showcase with the school before she was moving on to a different dance studio. since the royal ballet school didn't teach contemporary, one of the other dance styles that kameron excelled in - the other one being latin & ballroom dancing. not that the girl fell out of love with ballet, she just felt like she couldn't properly express herself dancing ballet in the same way she could when she danced contemporary and latin & ballroom like she used to be able to. however, because it was kameron's final ever performance, the headmistress of the school, miss raine, made an exception and allowed kameron to, if she wanted to, choreograph a contemporary piece alongside the five ballet variations that she was already doing. and, of course, kameron wasn't going to say no so, she agreed. however, she felt sick because she was right now sitting in one of royal ballet's dance studios and struggling to choreograph a simple three-ish minute contemporary dance for her very last competition. and, it hadn't even been that longsince she had returned to the school since the death of her father, nikki byrne sr.

huffing and puffing, she grabbed her phone and took a mirror selfie, posting it alongside some more photos of her practising to her instagram.

liked by nickybyrneinsta, kianegan, shanefilanofficial, markusmoments, coveleland, elijahrhodes, mackenzielewis, royalballetschool and 888k others

kameronbyrne ngl, this week has been dance, dance, dance, dance and more dance but the audacity i have to complain when it's what i love most in the world 🤍

view all 880 comments

nickybyrneinsta so this is where you've been?

nickybyrneinsta in all seriousness though looks like you've been practising hard and having fun! so sad to think that this weekend's your last ever competition and showcase with royal ballet 🤍

kameronbyrne nickybyrneinsta i know, i'm actually really sad that it's my last comp showcase with them but, don't worry, it's going to be the best ever! i just know you, mam, gill, adam and the westlife lads will love it!

kianegan what a lovely thing to complain about, lovely kami

kameronbyrne kianegan absolutely right kino!

shanefilanofficial oo, my week has been westlife, westlife, westlife, westlife and more westlife but i can't complain either 🤍

kameronbyrne shanefilanofficial slay, we love weeks filled up of dancing and westlife

markusmoments your relevé is wonderful, kami 🤍

kameronbyrne markusmoments why thank you, markus

coveleland oooh, i see me, kenzie and elijah! this week has been dance, dance, dance, dance and dance but it's for good, exciting and bittersweet reasons!

kameronbyrne coveleland ikr! this weekend is gonna be so bittersweet and tears galore

elijahrhodes literally crying over the fact that you and covey are leaving kenzie and me!

kameronbyrne elijahrhodes i thought we promised we weren't going to talk about the elephant, elijah!

mackenzielewis hold up, where did that first photo come from? we're supposed to be practising our ballet combos!

kameronbyrne mackenzielewis teehee, it's a surprise

royalballetschool pointe on point, kameron 🤍

kameronbyrne royalballetschool you ain't that slick miss raine but, thank you for boosting my ego once again 🤍

username am i the only one who didn't know that nicky's sister was a ballet dancer and is at the same ballet school as me?

kameronbyrne username awe, that's a slay! what year are you in cause i'm in my last year and am about to perform in my final showcase and competition with them!

username kameronbyrne omg, i'm also a last year as well! are you leaving to continue ballet with someone else or what?

kameronbyrne username aye, i actually think i've seen you in some of my combos and variations for this year, you are truly a gorgeous dancer! and i'm leaving ballet to focus on contemporary and latin & ballroom!

username kameronbyrne aw thank you kameron and omg same! i lowkey wish that the royal ballet had a little extension academy for contemp. and latin & ballroom so we wouldn't have to outsource or find another academy

kameronbyrne username amazing! well, maybe we should meet up one day and find ourselves a new school together cause i feel the exact same about wishing royal ballet had an extension academy as well baha!

username didn't she just return from her dad's funeral and she's already back dancing? please take care of yourself, kameron

kameronbyrne username thank you for the concern babe but, i'm completely fine. i'd actually have gone mental if i stayed home in ireland and didn't return to the royal ballet <3

after posting to her instagram, kameron just huffed even more and fell backwards and stared at the ceiling above her. the final showcase and competition for this year's royal ballet graduates was this weekend and she still didn't know how to choreograph her secret contemporary dance for it. that was until her spotify which was on shuffle played westlife's version of angel. then, suddenly everything changed and inspiration just spewed out of the girl.

kameron decided that her contemporary piece would be a memorial to her father, nikki byrne sr, who unfortunately passed away during kameron's final year with the royal ballet. but, because her family would be flying over from ireland to london to watch the showcase/competition, kameron decided that she wouldn't tell her family about the contemporary piece and simply surprise them with it.

so, as the song started to play, she started to choreograph and she started to remember everything she could about her dad.

spend all your time waiting, for that second chance, for a break that would make it okay.

kameron hated waiting, she was the least patient person in ireland she felt. it felt like she had been waiting forever for the email that would possibly change her life for good. she was a dancer at the royal ballet school in london since she got through the summer intensive and was given a scholarship for the next three years - however - she still was waiting for that confirmation email that basically all of her friends at the school had already received but kameron. and it scared her, what if the headmistress had accidentally said she was given the scholarship when she meant to give it to elijah or mackenzie. but, all of her friends and family - her dad especially - kept on reminding her that she got the scholarship for a reason and that she needn't worry. but, that just made kameron worry more because, in her mind, it shouldn't be taking this long to send a bloody confirmation email to a student who was basically confirmed from the beginning of the summer intensive to snag a scholarship.

all kameron dreamt of was for some sort of break in her dance career, whether that was with ballet or her other styles in contemporary and latin & ballroom. and, the royal ballet school was so close yet so far and it broke tiny little pieces of kameron's heart as the minutes went by and she still hadn't received her confirmation letter. she groaned and almost cried as she slipped off of her chair and laid on the floor. she knew she was being dramatic and childish but, this was her dream and she was so close yet so far away from it becoming a reality.

"...kameron, what's wrong sweetheart?" her dad's voice rang out from behind the girl's bedroom door

"mmmm!" kameron whined as nikki sr chuckled at his daughter's whining

"i can't understand your whinging, baby girl, what's wrong?" nikki tried again as kameron growled before finally deciding to use actual english

"my confirmation letter from the royal ballet still hasn't come through!" kameron was nearly hysterical as nikki sighed and opened kameron's door after finding it was unlocked

"aw, baby, that's okay! it's going to come! you just gotta be patient and keep on waiting!" nikki sighed as kameron whined into her dad's chest as he pulled her in for a hug

"i've spent my time waiting, dad! the rest of my friends have received their letters, why haven't i?" kameron really wasn't a patient person and nikki should have remembered that about his daughter

"i don't know sweetheart but, i'm sure it'll arrive any day!" nikki concluded and, it turns out he was right

the next morning before kameron could even think about anything, she opened up her emails and the first email on her laptop screen was her confirmation letter from the royal ballet school saying she was going to be dancing with the royal ballet school in london with the scholarship she had received at the summer intensive. the audacity she had to worry about whether or not it was going to come in time or not.

there's always some reason to feel not good enough, and it's hard at the end of the day

she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this negative and insecure about herself. it was kameron's first week as a student at the royal ballet school and she had just experienced being body shamed for the first time. kameron was built the exact way a ballet dancer would be built, she was reasonably skinny but in a healthy way, she was tall, she had a gorgeous length to her legs and arms, her face was proportioned beautifully and her hair was a gorgeous gingery-blonde and it was luscious and long. the complete opposite of her pop-star brother nicky byrne but, both attractive in the terms of their jobs as a pop-star boy bander and a ballet dancer. however, one of the girls decided to make a comment about kameron's chest which turned into a comment about her breasts and belly. it wasn't meant to be offensive, the girl who made the comment quickly noticed the change of facial expression and body language and immediately apologised to kameron. telling her that it was never genuinely meant in an offensive way and she was just talking about how much she, the girl, wished she had the same size breasts and toned belly that kameron did - not recognising that those two things that the other girl seemed to love about kameron were two things that were actually insecurities for her. kameron knew that the older girl never meant to be offensive, she could tell that the girl was genuinely a lovely and sweet girl and meant no harm and it was just kameron's insecurities that made her see the girl's harmless comment as harmful.

near to tears, kameron thought that there was only one person she could call to help her calm down and recognise that what the girl said wasn't hurtful and wasn't meant to cause that bad of a reaction and that was her dad, nikki sr. so, she rang him and she ranted to him and he listened until she was finished and then he would speak.

daddy

"hey sweetheart, i thought you were rehearsing for your first showcase, what's up?"

"daddy, i...i'm sorry, i can hear you're busy, i shouldn't have called--"

"--no, it's fine! i'm never too busy for my children, now tell me, what's happened? you're crying sweetheart, something has happened, what is it?"

"a...a girl, she...she wasn't being rude at all. she's the sweetest in the world but she...she talked about how she just wished she had my sized boobs and that she wished she had the same toned stomach as i do and i just...i know she was complimenting me but i just...i used to hate those two things when i was younger and now i..."

"...oh, sweetheart. are they still giving you insecurities? your chest and stomach? i thought we had worked through that with you and you started to love them?"

"i know we did and i do love them, it's just...i...i don't think i was expecting to hear that comment after being told they were so small and that my stomach was so fat..."

"...baby. kameron, you need to try and reverse those negative thoughts because so many girls do wish they looked like you, even though every single girl is beautiful, it's a thing you will hear and, you can't let your insecurities tell you lies. you are beautiful baby girl and you are an amazing dancer! and you were born to be just like you are!"

"thanks, daddy! once again, sorry for interrupting you when you're supposed to be busy and doing dad things!"

"dad things? my god, kameron, i thought i told you not to call them dad things *giggles* but it's not a problem baby girl. you're my daughter, you never interrupt anything i'm doing and i'll always respond to your calls for help in the same way i respond to nicky's, gillian's and adam's! i love you darling and go back to the studio since this showcase is an important one and i'll ring you later, okay?"

"okay, thank you daddio! talk later! i love you too! also, tell mam, adam, gillian and nico i say hi and that i'll see them soon!"

"will do baby girl, talk later, bye-bye!"

sure, ballet was a hard and cruel profession but, even though kameron didn't always feel good about herself and it was very hard, at the end of the day, it was still her one true love and she'd work through any and every single insecurities if it meant she'd dance for the rest of her life. because, truthfully, whilst it seemed like kameron could sing due to the fact she's the younger sister of nicky byrne from westlife, she was way better at out-dancing him and he could out-sing her so, it was probably the best thing that kameron continued to dance instead of practising her singing chops.

i need some distraction, a beautiful release, memory seeps from my veins

even before kameron started with the royal ballet school, dance was a big part of the young byrne's life. she lived to dance, it was the best distraction, a beautiful release and memories seeped from her veins and she couldn't stop the rush it gave her. the girl would hideaway in the basement of her childhood home and she'd just dance until she couldn't any longer she loved it so much.

however, the majority of the time, she'd be caught at the most inconvenient of times like, this time, she was caught whilst she was in the middle of a very difficult turn variation. her dad had been trying to find her for what felt like ages because the byrne family was going out to a fancy restaurant for dinner to celebrate the recent westlife tour with the rest of the westlife family and kameron completely forgot about it because she had been so caught up in the turn variation that she forgot she was supposed to be ready and dressed to they could leave the house for the restaurant.

"...kameron, babe, what are you doing sweetheart? we have less than twenty minutes before we're supposed to be at the rest--" nikki called out, walking down the basement stairs to see his daughter doing a turn variation that was absolutely gorgeous but still looked difficult

"--kameron, we need to leave soon..." nikki trailed off as he rested against the staircase as kameron fell out of one of her turns and groaned softly

"..what dad? oh, sorry, how long have you been here for?" kameron was going to yell but noticed it was her dad and calmed herself down as nikki sr smiled

"long enough to remind you about the fancy restaurant dinner to be with your brother and westlife to celebrate the huge tour they've just finished which i'm pretty certain that you forgot about?" nikki chuckled as kameron's eyes widened and her mouth grew wide

"fu...that was tonight?" kameron panicked as nikki smiled and nodded his head

"yes, we have less than twenty minutes before we're supposed to be there and that's pretty much how long it takes to get there..." nikki trailed off as kameron face-palmed, feeling awful that she's just made her entire family late

"...oh, fuck i...i am so sorry dad! i completely forgot--"

"--it's alright darling! no one's mad, we'll just explain we got caught in traffic!" nikki winked as kameron giggled and rolled her eyes after she packed up her speaker that played her music and walked up the basement stairs

"you really think they'll believe that? they'll know i was too busy dancing like i always am, dad!" kameron chuckled as she rushed up the stairs, nikki smiled and shook his head and followed after her

"absolutely not but, it's worth the try!" nikki chuckled as kameron also giggled as she then rushed up to her room to change into something more formal and warmer

finally, after waiting for nearly thirty or so minutes, the byrne family finally arrived at the fancy restaurant and, it was kind of obvious who out of the family was to blame...

"..." we were stuck in traffic" my arse! it's so obvious it was your fault, kami!" kian teased as he pulled the younger byrne in for a hug as kameron chuckled in his embrace

"shut your trap, kian! we're here, be grateful!" kameron teased back as she giggled alongside the rest of the lads who one at a time pulled the girl in for a hug

"seriously though, were you dancing in the basement again, kami?" shane questioned this time as kameron nodded her head with a sigh, her ballet teacher was a bitch

"yep! my ballet teacher wants us to perfect this turn variation before this week and holy crap it is bloody hard! i keep on falling out of my turns and it's driving me up the wall! i cannot wait to leave this dance studio for the royal ballet school in london, i'm telling you!" kameron chuckled at the end with a head shake as nicky smiled at his youngest sister

"you've still got your eyes set on the royal ballet school, kam?" nicky questioned as he took a sip of his guinness as kameron nodded her head

"oh absolutely, nico! it's one of if not the most prestigious ballet schools in the whole of the uk! i just hope i do well enough for their summer intensive and see if that gets me a scholarship for a three-year career there as a student!" kameron sighed with stars in her eyes as nicky could only smile at his sister

"you'll be brilliant, i'm sure, kami! they'd be crazy stupid if they said no to you!" mark spoke up as kameron smiled and thanked him

"oh, thank you marky! i really do hope so, i mean, this is everything i've been working towards so, i do hope it goes well!" kameron smiles as she stirs her apple juice mindlessly

for the rest of the dinner to celebrate westlife's tour, kameron couldn't keep her mind off of being a dancer with the royal ballet school in london. for that was her endgame in life, as long as she could say she danced with the royal ballet school in london. even if she doesn't go any further, she could die happy the very next day and she could care less because her dream came true.

let me be empty oh, weightless and maybe, i'll find some peace tonight

dancing was something that always emptied out kameron's soul and made her feel weightless. anytime she felt heavy or like her mind was too filled up with stress or something, she knew the moment she started to dance, she'd be empty, weightless and at immediate peace. no matter what was going on, kameron knew she'd be at peace straight away and that's what she so loved about her craft, it was an out for her the same way singing and performing on stage with his best friends was an out for her brother, nicky.

like, right now, kameron had been stressed out due to schoolwork and the fact that it was getting closer to another westlife tour after it felt as though nicky had just returned home from one to suddenly have to leave for another one. and, that was truthfully the hardest thing for kameron because then it was just her at home with her parents and her brother adam, that is when he wasn't at college. and that was when it started getting a little bit lonely when kameron was on her own. however, kameron decided that enough was enough that she wasn't going to focus too much on the stress and that she was just going to dance.

so, that's what she did, she decided that rather than rehearsing some of the variations she was supposed to, she was just going to dance for the fun of it because that was the best way to do it. putting on some fun music through her speaker that she always had with her in the basement, she just started to dance in some basic, foundational moves before she moved into more intermediate and complicated moves before she just exploded into a full-on dance routine that was pure improvisation.

and, her brother nicky and sister-in-law georgina had seen basically the entire thing due to how caught up kameron was in the dancing, she didn't hear the two of them walk down the stairs into the basement. that was until she looked up from her ending pose and let out a little squeal of surprise.

"...ah, holy...how long have you two been here?" kameron squealed out as she caught her breath from all the dancing she had been doing as nicky and georgina smiled in awe at what they just watched

"basically the whole time, sorry for scaring you kami but, we did come down to tell you that we have some news we want to tell you but we couldn't find you. so dad told us we'd probably find you down here in the basement..." nicky trailed off as kameron paused in confusion as she waited for the news that nicky and georgina had to tell her

"...okay, what's the news, nico? is everything okay? don't tell me you guys are divorcing and i'm losing an amazing sister!" kameron panicked as both nicky and georgina were taken aback by the thought that they were divorcing and they shook their heads

"oh my gosh, absolutely not, we are not divorcing, kami!" nicky scoffed as he turned to his wife to tell his sister the news as kameron started to get a little antsy about the new news

"we're pregnant, kami! you're going to be an aunty!" georgina squealed out as kameron's face formed into the largest smile ever as she dropped her speaker and rushed over to her brother and sister

"ohmygosh! you're serious and you're not joking?!" kameron squealed as she hugged them both as they giggled and shook their heads

"we're dead serious, kami! we found out a couple of days ago and we've slowly been telling family and close friends!" nicky couldn't hide his goofy smile as kameron started to cry with joy for her brother

"oh, nicky, you're gonna be the best dad ever!" she whispered as she hugged her brother tightly as georgina joined the group hug

even though kameron's peace had just returned from dancing, it seemed like it left just as quickly after finding out the news that her brother and sister were going to be parents! let's just say that kameron found it hard to fall asleep that night due to all the excitement!

in the arms of the angel fly away from here, from this dark, cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear

it seemed as though kameron had her entire dance finished within minutes of the song playing. she was out of breath and she was exhausted but she couldn't stop now. for she had to continue rehearsing and perfecting this dance for her guardian angel, her lovely dad who would sadly never get the chance to see this dance in person. during the time she had started to choreograph this dance routine, she decided that she'd include photos of her, her family (westlife family included) and her dad on the projector screen behind her to play behind her as she danced.

her best friend cove, who was also leaving the royal ballet school and performing in her final showcase competition with the school, had accidentally walked in and couldn't do anything but just stop to watch the magic that was happening in front of her. ever since cove and kameron started at the ballet school together, cove had always said nice things about the girl and how beautiful her ballet was but, this was the first time that cove had seen kameron dance something that wasn't ballet and it stunned the girl. it had felt like years since cove had seen her best friend dance because it was just this year, just last month, not even, that her dad died and they had the funeral for. which cove and their other two best friends, mackenzie and elijah attended in support of kameron and the byrne family. with the obvious permission from the royal ballet school's headmistress, miss raine as the three of them went back to ireland to attend it.

cove knew just how much nikki sr's sudden death rocked the entire byrne family and the further westlife family since they had also gone through the death and loss of kian egan's father, kevin egan earlier on in the year - which was another time that kameron had been given bereavement leave by the headmistress. so, seeing her best friend return to dance so soon seemed shocking but yet so inspiring for cove to watch. it was as though she was slowly seeing kameron's light and excitement for life start to return back again after it had been gone for so long.

so, cove waited until after kameron was done before getting her attention, however, it seemed as though kameron got her attention first, "...hey, cove, what are you doing in here? you're supposed to be practising the third variation, aren't you?" kameron questioned as cove giggled with a small smile

"i was but, we finished slightly early for once, what are you doing in here?" cove questioned as she walked over to her friend and sat down beside her as kameron smiled and decided to tell her rather than lie

"miss raine gave me permission to perform a choreographed contemporary piece for our last showcase competition and i said yes. and, what you just saw is what it will be, come the weekend..." kameron trailed off with a small shoulder shrug as cove scoffed in shock with a shake of the head

"...well, just so you know, it'll be amazing and i think you'll basically have the entire performance hall in rivers of tears! especially your family if it's about who i think it is based on the song..." cove trailed off as kameron nodded her head with a small smile

"...yeah, it's...it's about dad. this is the only performance he'll never get to see of mine so, why not memorialize him for my final showcase competition with the school?" kameron smiled sadly, her voice melancholic as cove sighed and rested her head on kameron's shoulder

"that's beautiful, kami. but, he'll for sure be there in spirit watching it and loving it and cheering you on like he always did..." cove sighed as kameron giggled softly as she sighed

"...yeah, i know. just a little sad that he saw everything else but my final one after he promised he'd book the whole of this week off to be here in london in the lead-up..." kameron sighed as cove did as well before bringing her best friend in for a hug

"...i know sweetheart but, nico'll be there, so will g, rocco and jay, and mam and adam, as will gillian. so will kian and jodi, mark and cailean and shane and gillian... and they'll all love the dance just as much if not more than your dad would have. they haven't broken any promises, you'll still see them there and have them watching and it'll be a beautifully, heart-wrenching moment that will be so connecting as well for you guys. don't stress out too much, mkay kami? we don't want our star ballerina to burn herself out before the big night, alright?" cove encouraged as she picked the both of them up from the floor and pulled her back in for another hug

"i promise, covey, i won't stress out too much. besides, it's time i leave the studio anyway. i've been in here since stupid o'clock and i need some food in me before i murder someone. and tonight i think it's elijah that's potentially in the crossfire of that," kameron giggled as she grabbed her stuff and rushed over to join cove who giggled as well

"you're absolutely ridiculous, kami but that's why i bloody love you!" cove cackled as kameron calmed herself down and the two girls left the dance studios back to their common rooms so they could then rush down to the dinner hall for some food

you are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie, you're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here

now that kameron had basically perfected her memorial dance for her dad, all that was left to do was now to find her favourite photos of her dad that featured her and the rest of her family. however, it was kind of difficult to do that when her brother, nicky, was staying with her. because now that it was getting closer and closer to showcase competition day, all the families and friends of the ballerinas performing in the showcase competition were travelling over to the ballet school to stay with their family members in anticipation for the weekend to be.

and, with that, came the difficulty to find her favourite photos of her dad and family when nicky was the most nosiest person when it came to his little sister, kameron and was always wanting to know what she was doing and who she was talking to. but, especially since the loss of their dad, nicky felt like he had to be even more nosy than normal because he was worried about her. because the last time he talked to his sister, she wasn't doing so well and it broke his heart into millions of tiny pieces that he was on the other side of the world with no way of leaving his work early to be there to help his sister. but grateful that georgina, his gorgeous wife was able to fly over to london with their twin boys, rocco and jay to surprise their aunty kameron and to hopefully help make her feel better.

but, now that he was here with his sister, he wanted to keep all of his attention on her when she wasn't doing last-minute ballet variation rehearsals to make sure she was okay. however, this was very unnerving for kameron and started to become the slightest bit uncomfortable for her...

"...nico, i appreciate you wanting to check on me and make sure i'm okay after last time but, i promise i'm okay. you don't need to watch me like i'm some sort of wild animal or like i'm rocco or jay..." kameron chortled as she peeped out from above her macbook as nicky sighed

"...yeah, sorry kami. i'll stop, it's probably time i get some food and have a little bit of an explore and reacquaint myself with the school anyway. do you want me to bring you anything back for lunch or are you doing a group lunch with mackenzie, cove and elijah?" nicky asked, getting up from the bed as kameron smiled, appreciating her brother's respect for her boundaries

"umm, thank you but, you don't need to, me, cove, kenz and eli are grabbing lunch together after they finish their variation rehearsal...which is...now...fuck, i promised them i'd be there waiting for them...i am so sorry nico but, i...i got to rush off but, i'll catch you later at dinner, love you!" kameron rushed, messily getting herself up from her bed and a little bit too aggressively closing her macbook and slipping her feet into her ugg boots and grabbing her keys and phone and rushing out of the door after rushing a messy kiss to nicky's cheek

chuckling softly, nicky took that as his time to leave as well and left in the direction of the ballet school's campus to reacquaint himself with the school before the weekend's showcase competition. whilst nicky was nosy when it came to his younger sister, he didn't dare cross the line of when his sister closes her laptop or turns her phone screen side down. never did he think she'd hide something so he never felt the need to look for anything or look for what it was that she was previously looking at because he didn't need to. so, he just left it on her bed and left the room respectfully. and besides, he was given a tiny idea about the sixth dance costume that was being displayed on kameron's wardrobe door when he noticed that it wasn't a ballet costume. because kameron just said that it was a surprise but it wasn't a sixth ballet variation and that secret and surprise kind of excited nicky. and it made him even more excited for the weekend to find out what the surprise dance was going to be and if it was a group variation or if it was a solo piece by kameron.

so tired of the straight line and everywhere you turn, there's vultures and thieves at your back

as kameron ate lunch with her friends, cove, mackenzie and elijah, the latter two were still trying to figure out what kameron's surprise dance was going to be. but, kameron was refusing to tell them because she did want it to be a surprise for her friends and it was just purely incidental that cove found out because like mackenzie and elijah, it was supposed to be a surprise for cove as well. but, due to what cove had walked in and seen, it was too late for kameron to even think up about coming up with a lie. so, she just decided to tell her but only with the promise that she wouldn't tell mackenzie and elijah.

and right now, mackenzie and elijah were so knee-deep in listening to the instrumental for their variation, cove and kameron decided to have a quick conversation about kameron's memorial piece, "...so, kami, have you decided on the photos you're going to be using for the slideshow in the background?" cove whispered as kameron pulled a face and swayed her head side to side

"kind of, i mean, now that nicky's visiting and staying in my dorm with me instead of you, it is kind of hard because, you know how nosy he is when he sees me on my laptop *giggles* but, he hasn't seen anything. but, yeah, i've got about five photos at the moment but, i'm sure tonight i can get the rest so, by tonight i should have them all emailed to miss raine so she can forward them over to craig," kameron smiled as cove smiled and nodded her head

"that's so good! but, oh my god, karlie's the same! she's so fucking nosy but, unlike nicky, she doesn't respect my boundaries and it's bloody annoying. so, if i was in your position, the memorial piece would not be a surprise to my family," cove chuckled as kameron giggled as well with a small head shake

"damn it, karlie! i thought we worked on that and fixed her nosiness!" kameron sighed dramatically as cove shook her head with a dramatic look of sadness

"nope, she's still a nosy little shit!" cove chuckled as kameron giggled too as elijah and mackenzie's variation instrumental ended which meant their secret conversation had to end

"what were you two talking about just then? anything fun or interesting?" mackenie questioned as cove and kameron shook their heads as mackenzie rolled her eyes and elijah giggled

"damn, was hoping to hear some juicy gossip about nicky or karlie!" mackenzie sighed dramatically which made all four dancers giggle

storm keeps on twisting keep on building the lies, that you make up for all that you lack

by the time kameron returned back to her dorm room with nicky waiting by the door, she unlocked it and let the both of them back in so they could relax before going out again for dinner. she retreated back to her bed with her macbook so she could finish getting photos for the memorial slideshow for her memorial dance piece. however, it was obvious nicky was getting a little bit bored as he just scrolled through his phone on his social medias. and kameron felt like it was a little bit selfish to do this in front of him so, she placed her laptop down and sighed.

"...what's up, nico? you alright?" kameron sighed as she laid stomach down on her bed with her hands resting on her chin as nicky chuckled, placing his phone down

"i'm fine, kami. just a little sad that dad isn't here to see this but, i shouldn't say that because that'll then make you sad and mess you up..." nicky trailed off as kameron sighed, climbing off her bed and walks over to nicky, pulling him in for a hug

"...it's fine nico. you saying the truth won't mess me up. i miss dad too and, i'm also sad that he isn't here to see me dance my final competition showcase with the royal ballet. but, he's still watching and he's still cheering me on, and he's still cheering you on all the time as well so, he hasn't really left us," kameron smiled, the storm in her body raging as nicky nodded his head on her shoulder as she hugged nicky tighter

"i know, but it still sucks," nicky sniffled as tears welled in his eyes as kameron tightened her grip even more

"sucks like hell." kameron whispered in response as she comforted her older brother as he cried over their dad

kameron and nicky stayed like this for so long that it was practically dinner by the time nicky's tears had come to a halt. and they rushed out of the dorm to get to the dining hall so they'd still have some sort of a chance of having a free dinner and not having to worry about paying money. but, don't worry, they did get to the dining hall on time just by the skin of their teeth. which was literally the luckiest thing in the world and they ate their food together and continued their conversation.

it don't make no difference escape one last time, it's easier to believe in this sweet madness, this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

the next morning, kameron woke up bright and early to look through all the photos she had chosen the evening before after she and nicky had come home from the dinner hall. and to fit in one last rehearsal for her memorial dance since she had the best memory in regards to ballet variations so, that's what she did whilst nicky slept in back in her dorm room.

she had cove go with her to the dance studio so she could help with any corrections and, it was just a sweet moment between the two girl friends.

"...this dance is gorgeous, kami. everyone's going to absolutely love it!" cove spoke up as she watched in awe, kameron smiling as she took a gulp of water

"aw, thanks cove. i just hope i keep it together cause it's obvious that my family won't be able too," kameron chuckled softly as cove's face relaxed and she nodded her head

"you will. i'll be right there on the side of the stage watching you and cheering you on!" cove lovingly cooed as kameron smiled at her best friend

"yeah but, you'll be crying as well!" kameron chuckled as cove nodded her head with a giggle as well

"that is very much true but, hey, not my fault!" cove hit back as kameron giggled again as she continued to practice her routine

kameron was unsure about how she was starting to feel about her final competition showcase. she had been having the best three years of her life, even with the death of her dad. and now all of a sudden, she was suddenly leaving to a different dance studio that taught all of the dance styles she danced, not just ballet.

in the arms of the angel fly away from here, from this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear

almost out of breath, kameron had danced all of her ballet variations with one last dance left, her surprise contemporary routine. for the entire showcase, she had been watching closely at her family but, most importantly, nicky and his bandmates, shane, kian and mark. and she could tell that this wasn't just an emotional night for her, it was also an emotional night for her family. and it all of a sudden meant way more to her than anything else ever had before.

just as the dancers and families were getting ready for the evening to be over, they appeared shocked when the headmistress, miss raine, appeared onto the stage and made an announcement.

"...hello friends, families and fellow staff members of the royal ballet school london, whilst all of our continuing and graduating dancers have all danced and competed, there is one last dance that is to be danced tonight..." the headmistress announced, the crowd getting excited but also in a major look of confusion

"...and this dancer is possibly one of our best dancers at this school. her name is kameron byrne, from dublin, ireland and she is actually one of our graduating students. kameron, whilst a beautiful ballerina, as you would have noticed, she was seen in all the ballet group variations along with the two variation solos she had. however, on top of that, kameron is a beautiful contemporary and latin & ballroom dancer so after she finishes up with us here in london, she'll be leaving us for a new dance school that specalises in those two dance styles. but, for tonight, as a special surprise for her family, kameron will be performing a gorgeous contemporary piece that has been choreoraphed by herself and was done in pure secrecy. so, paying tribute to her beautiful family and their amazing father, nikki byrne sr, here is kameron byrne with her contemporary piece titled angel," miss raine introduced as kameron smiled, coming out from the wings as she saw the way everyone reacted

nicky was basically already in tears and his sister hadn't even started to dance yet nor had the music started. but, the moment the music did start, there was no way that nicky was going to get through this dance without crying.

however, no one, was prepared for the photo slideshow that showed the first photo of the byrne family. and tears immediately hit nicky's eyes and his throat tightened as kian wrapped his arm around him since georgina was sat on the far side of the aisle with the twins.

you are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie, you're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here.

tears started to well in kameron's eyes as she danced and saw the reflection of the photos and muted vidoes she had picked in her prephieral vision. however, these emotions she was releasing were amazing because it gave her the fire to continue and to hit harder than she's ever hit before in her dance career. kameron watched as her brother cried silently with the biggest smile on his face, whilst it was a smile, she could tell that nicky was feeling devastated that their dad wasn't alive to watch this. she could also tell that their dad would be kicking himself that he wasn't alive to watch his baby girl dance her heart out for one last time as a royal ballet school student.

nikki byrne always prided himself, as did yvonne, on being proud of whatever it was that their four children, gillian, nicky, adam and kameron involved themselves in. and, obviously, two of their childen, their middle child and their youngest child, were the famous "superstars". whereas the other two, the eldest and the second middle had relatively normal jobs. nicky and kameron were the famous ones of the family but, if anything, it didn't matter what they did and if they had regular jobs like their other two siblings, they always knew that their parents would always be proud of them. but, because they were famous as a popstar boybander and dancer, that only made their parents feel more prouder of them and, maybe, just maybe, the tiniest bit upped nikki sr's ego. but, just a bit because two of his babies were famous and he was part of that journey as was yvonne.

as kameron finished her routine, she couldn't have felt any lighter until this moment as she turned away from looking at the final photo of the slideshow of her with her dad as they posed with what were all of kameron's dance titles and wins at the time. since just a couple of weeks after nikki passed away, kameron had won a total of five more titles and trophies. and speaking more about the photo, nikki and kameron were laughing wholeheartedly because, as you could imagine, nicky was the one behind the camera and being an absolute crazy horse and just being a bit of a looney toon. but, all nicky cared about was making his dad and sister laugh whilst they were taking the photo. so, nicky was pretty happy when this was the product of his fantastic photography skills.

walking off the stage and into the arms of her older brother, nicky, kameron could finally take a deep breath as tears streamed down her cheeks. and nicky just held her as tightly as he possibly could. he knew she'd be upset after her final showcase with the school but, never did he think she'd be this cut up about it but, he understood perfectly. leaving something for so long is always devastating and nicky knew exactly what that felt like because he went through the same thing with leeds united. although, it was for a completely different reason then his sisters reason for leaving the royal ballet.

"...that was beautiful, kami, you should be so proud of yourself!" nicky whispered as he comforted kameron as she cried

"i am, nico. i'm just...sad that it's all over..." kameron trailed off as she sobbed, wiping away her tears as nicky opened up the hug at arms length

"...i know babe, i'm sad as well! but just know whilst you are leaving, you're going somewhere better. and if you're worried about not making friends, don't be. the moment you mention you went to the royal ballet school, everyone will be all over you, i promise!" nicky joked but it made kameron laugh because, honestly, he was probably right

"i can see it already!" kameron laughed tearfully as nicky nodded his head with a small smile, slightly grateful that all of his tears had all been cried

"exactly, kami! besides, dad will never ever let you be without at least someone wherever it is you end up going for contemporary and latin & ballroom. and the reason i know that is because when he was still with us, he blessed you with cove, mackenzie and elijah..." nicky winked as he walked away after the three mentioned, cove, mackenzie and elijah, had walked over to see their best friend off

"...me, marky, kino and shay will meet up with you afterwards, ok kami? hang out and be with your friends for a moment, they need you more than we do..." nicky called out as kameron nodded her head as she turned around to converse with her friends

"...that was amazing, kami! no wonder why you didn't tell kenz and me!" elijah sniffled as he pulled the girl in for a hug as kameron squeaked softly as she wrapped her arms around him but then settled, hugging him tighter

and, not long after, cove and mackenzie joined in for a group hug as the dancers all cried together. it all had suddenly hit them that they would be spitting up because cove and kameron would be leaving but elijah and mackenzie would be staying at the studio for another year or two depending. and, that realisation hit the four of them harder than anything ever could. it devastated them but, they didn't want to think about it any longer because it'll make the actual graduation for kameron and cove way worse. and, mackenzie and elijah didn't want to do that to them. so, they pulled out of the hug, wiped away their tears and they just talked about every single ballet variation that had been performed since they were the best that had ever been seen at the school in a few years.

then, it was time for the dancers to say goodbye to one another for the evening since they'd be seeing each other in a few days for the graduation. so, parting ways, kameron left and quickly found nicky, shane, mark and kian and gave them some loving before it was finally home time after what felt like the longest day in the world.

"...my feet are killing me!" kameron whined with a giggle

"oh, i wonder why, kameron! you've been dancing for, pff, i'd say ten hours?" nicky clapped back as kameron also clapped back

"thanks, i hadn't noticed, nicholas! i'm glad you're learning how to be self-aware again, i thought you'd lost it years ago!" kameron chuckled as the whole car suddenly broke out in laughter as yvonne, through her giggles spoke up

"oi, you two, stop it please! and don't be starting it nicholas since you were the one who cried the most out of all of us!" yvonne clapped back as ooohs echoed through the car as kameron kind of suddenly felt bad as nicky nudged her, shaking his head, letting her know he was fine and that their mam was clearly joking

"yeah, fine, you got me there mam, well done! but, seriously kami, your feet did incredibly well to carry you and dance you through all of those variations and routines. you absolutely killed it kami!" nicky cheered as the car roared in applause which made her cheeks go a slight rose before the car fell silent again with the exception of the aux cord playing music

you're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here, some comfort here

liked by nickybyrneinsta, coveleland, mackenzielewis, elijahrhodes, shanefilanofficial, georginaahernbyrne, gillianfilansligo, kianegan, markusmoments, jodialbert, caileano and 999k others

kameronbyrne bye-bye royal ballet school🩰 . it's been an absolute dream of mine to be a student with you but now, after three years, it has come that time that i graduate and spread my wings and fly away. where i can do bigger and better things as a contemporary and latin & ballroom dancer. these photos are only half, not even, of this last incredibly emotional week i've had and it's been an honour to share it with you all. and to also finally perform a contemporary piece that i had choreographed was so special, especially since it was all about my beautiful father, nikki sr. it was the best possible way to end my time here. to cove, mackenzie and elijah, you three are all lights of my life, you continously helped me throughout this journey, even though kenz and eli have still got a year or so to go before they leave, i don't know how i could have continued without you. i'm continously amazed by how beautiful, loving and like home you are. i love you three so much and, one day, we'll dance ballet together again, i promise. but, until then, my pointe shoes are being kept locked away safely 🤍

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nickybyrneinsta every little thing you do kami, i'm amazed by you. you're the best dancer ever and, dad will always be proud of his little angelina ballerina 🤍

kameronbyrne nickybyrneinsta naw, nicky, don't make me cry again! and, why do you always call me angelina ballerina? there is no way dad called me that so stop it!

coveleland stop it kameron! i only just stopped crying!

kameronbyrne coveleland so did i to be fair lol

mackenzielewis omg, these photos, i remember all of them!

kameronbyrne mackenzielewis same tho! just great mems

elijahrhodes i thought we agreed we'd do these posts after you and cove graduated?

kameronbyrne elijahrhodes we actually didn't, sorry elijah!

shanefilanofficial i'm still crying over your angel dance for nucal!

kameronbyrne shanefilanofficial so am i honestly!

georginaahernbyrne best ballerina ever!

kameronbyrne georginaahernbyrne stop inflating my ego, g!

gillianfilansligo still in awe! you're a beautiful dancer, kami!

kameronbyrne gillianfilansligo thank you gillian!

kianegan i'm still crying, stop it kameron!

kameronbyrne kianegan no 🤍

markusmoments i'm still confused on how you didn't collapse after that first variation...

kameronbyrne markusmoments tbh so am i lol

jodialbert wow is all i can say! the royal ballet school has never had anyone better and never will!

kameronbyrne jodialbert awe i love you forever jodi!

caileano what a superstar, kami!

kameronbyrne caileano love you cailean!!

"...he never called me angelina ballerina nicky, shut up!"

"yes he did, kami..."

"...no he--"

"--yes he did, kami. in fact, two days after you were born, dad wanted to call you angelina because he just had a feeling that you'd be a ballerina. but nicky wanted your name to be kameron, why do you think your middle name is angelina..." yvonne stated as kameron rolled her eyes as nicky and yvonne giggled

"...lord help me..." kameron mumbled as she softly chuckled at this new revelation as to why her name was kameron angelina byrne

- - -

wow wow wow! i loved rewriting this chapter after writing it as my final one-shot for my first ever celeb one-shot book on wattpad. i just love the aesthetic of ballet dancers too so, i may end up just writing an entire book about kameron byrne anyway. shocked i haven't done it already tbh.

ok ily bye xx

wc; 9478

#westlife #nicky byrne #kian egan #shane filan #mark feehily #fluff #moments of angst in flashback #angel

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itslayspodcast · 1 year

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It's that time of the month!

The squad returns with Gill's pick, GINGER SNAPS (2000). Did the practical effects age gracefully? Is Colton cancelled once and for all? Or, is this the best werewolf movie ever made, period? Tune in to find out if we gave this film a NAY, OKAY, YAY, or SLAY!

Available now on your favourite podcast app!

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rafi1228 · 1 year

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Take Notes From Shehnaaz Gill To Slay A Classic Black Evening Gown

(Photo Credit: Instagram/ShehnaazGill) Dubai: Shehnaaz Gill slayed in her black gown as she made her debut at the Filmfare Middle East awards. The actress gave vintage vibes as she walked the red carpet for the show. For her appearance, Shehnaaz wore a strapless black floor-length gown that had a trail attached to it. She kept her hair side-swept and completed the look with a minimal diamond…

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roseofhybrids · 2 years

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Ronar and the Sea Giant

One summer, while Ronar and I were visiting the queen of Dupan a terrible incident began. Right off the coast, a sea beast began to tip over ships as they tried to leave the port. No matter how many times the court mage did set them right, They would be knocked over once more. Her majesty summoned forth any sailor willing to slay the monster, Which saw many applicants after she later added a reward.

From the castle we had a clear view of the bay As three ships sailed out from the port, bearing the flag of war. Surprisingly, it was found that these ships were pushed out further out to sea, But non did return after passing the horizon. With three ships lost, the queen was growing desperate. It was then that a giant requested an audience.

He was a large fellow at 30 hands high With scaled skin and face of a lizard, webbed hands and gills along his neck. He told the queen he could speak the language of sea beasts And would go out in the bay to reason with the monster. The giant promised if he could not talk the beast out of it He would bring to her his head instead.

The queen accepted the giant’s proposal, but Ronar was not convinced. “While sizeable, you do be. The sea beast is surely more sizeable indeed.” To this, the giant lower his hand and responded: “Then do come along less sizeable barbarian knight. You may act as witness.” And so, with Ronar gripping his horn with one hand and wielding his blade in the other, The giant set out that night into the bay.

Under full moon’s light, the giant grew ever taller. Taller and large till he could walk out into the bay without getting his shirt wet. He plunged his arm down into the drink and pulled up the sea beast. But soon the now colossal giant dropped the monster back into the inky depths And strode further out into the dark waters. It wouldn’t be till the break of morning sunlight that the colossus returned.

He trudged through the waters, mass of tentacles flung over each shoulder. The sunlight shrank him with each step till his trophy was grander than he. With thunderous steps, the sea giant entered the throne room And took to one leg, letting the monster fall to the tile. Before the court, he presented a mighty kraken With jet black beak and one giant eye, skin as red as blood and a hundred tentacles.

The giant told the queen of Dupan the tale of that night's quest. You see the sea beast could speak not the tongue of land, but knew of the kraken And so tried to block the ships from sailing to their demise. The beast allowed the war ships to pass, helping push them towards the monster So they might slay the kraken and bring peace to the bay. But alas, they all succumb to the waves.

The sea giant set out on his own to face the kraken And found the monster at midnight, cracking the masts of half sunk ships in its beak. Ronar made the first attack, diving right at the kraken and into its open maw. The sea giant wrestled with the monster till dawn began to break. With its final strength, the kraken wrapped twenty tentacles around the giant’s neck And the giant did the same, wrapping his arms around the monster’s middle.

The giant was victorious And brought his trophy to the queen to show her the sea was now safe once more. For his heroic deed, the queen granted the giant an epithet, “Lolligo Venatorem”. In celebration, the whole city held a parade and feast, with the date becoming a holiday. It was a sight to behold, a true touchstone in history. I’m sure for generations to come none shall forget the name, “Joe Lolligo Venatorem”.

While I’d love to tell you the details of the festivities, I found myself too busy to attend. For two days and three nights, the guards and I cut through the kraken to retrieve Ronar. He was alive and well, having turn much of the monster’s inners into mince. And for two days and three nights since, I have been helping him wash out the smell. With luck, it shall only take three days more.

#short story #fiction writing #writing #fiction #fantasy #fantasy writing #writing practice #kraken #giant #sea #ocean #giant squid #Ronar

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bestiarium · 2 years

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The Tarasque [medieval French mythology; Celtic mythology?]

In the valley of the Rhône (France), there supposedly once lived a species of terrible monsters. These creatures were called the Tarasques, and the most famous one of them lived next to the village of Nerluc. It dwelt in the river, sinking ships to devour the crew. One day, it attacked the village, eating many inhabitants before leaving. The survivors asked Saint Martha for help. She complied and traveled to the lair of the beast, armed with a cross and holy water like a true Belmont. Instead of slaying the monster, she converted it to Christianity and tamed it. The monster was now docile and friendly and Saint Martha led it towards the village, so the villagers could see for themselves that the Tarasque was no longer a threat. But they were frightened at the sight of the beast and formed an angry mob to throw rocks at the beast and to stab it with spears and pikes. The Tarasque was killed but the village was renamed ‘Tarascon’ to honor it.

Some scholars propose that the myth of the Tarasque is actually much older than that, and originates from Celtic mythology which adapted to later Christian narratives and medieval imagery. Isidore Gilles proposed the idea that the Tarasque may have been derived from a Celtic deity who supposedly demanded human sacrifices, and this is where the idea of the Tarasque eating humans may have come from. This theory has never been proven, to my knowledge.

These creatures were described as having the legs of a bear (although they had six instead of four), the head of a lion (though they were often depicted with a humanoid head instead), a long sharp tail, and usually with the shell of a monstrous turtle. It was also said to be part crocodile or serpent. Their skin was covered with strong scales. These monsters seemed to have a particular weakness towards crosses: another tale tells of Marguerite d’Antioche, who had to marry the ruler of Antakya (Turkey) but refused. The king had her thrown in a jail cell, tortured, and eventually fed her to a Tarasque. The monster swallowed her whole, but Marguerite made a holy cross sign when inside the stomach of the beast, and the Tarasque spontaneously exploded. At least, that is how the story was told to me but I could not find a single source confirming it, so this tale of Marguerite d’Antioche is likely a modern invention to tell tourists, or perhaps the result of several stories about dragons and saints being conflated with one another.

In 1991, the Tarascosaurus, a newly discovered species of dinosaur, was named after the Tarasque. There is also a Dungeons & Dragons monster named after the Tarasque.

Sources: https://www.talkinfrench.com/15-supernatural-french-creatures-you-havent-heard-of-a-pre-halloween-special/ (not very reliable) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarasque Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales: https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/tarasque Isidore Gilles, 1885, “Tarascon de Provence: son existence historique dans l’antiquité et aux premiers siècle du christianisme” (image 1: statue of the Tarasque in Tarascon, image source: Wikipedia user Daniel71953) (image 2: Saint Martha taming the monster. Image source: ‘Hours of Henry VIII’, Morgan Library & Museum)

#dragons #Tarasque #D&D #mythology #medieval #mythical creatures #monsters #creatures #fantasy #lore

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xmanicpanicx · 3 years

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Mammoth List of Feminist/Girl Power Books (200 + Books)

Lists of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World by Ann Shen

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu, Montana Kane (Translator)

Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath

Tough Mothers: Amazing Stories of History’s Mightiest Matriarchs by Jason Porath

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs

The Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz

Warrior Women: 3000 Years of Courage and Heroism by Robin Cross & Rosalind Miles

Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers & Livi Gosling

100 Nasty Women of History by Hannah Jewell

The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen

The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World by Laura Barcella

Samurai Women 1184–1877 by Stephen Turnbull

A Black Woman Did That by Malaika Adero

Tales from Behind the Window by Edanur Kuntman

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch

Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani

Individual and Group Portraits of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment by Deborah Kops

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir by Cherríe L. Moraga

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants: The Female Gang That Terrorised London by Brian McDonald

Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment by Joyce Chapman Lebra

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt

The Women of WWII (Non-Fiction)

Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood

Skyward: The Story of Female Pilots in WWII by Sally Deng

The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich, Richard Pevear (Translation), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translation)

Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation by Anne Sebba

To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African-American Wacs Stationed Overseas During World War II by Brenda L. Moore

Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisters and Spies: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne by Susan Ottaway

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

The White Mouse by Nancy Wake

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy

Tomorrow to be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion by Susan Travers & Wendy Holden

Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisterhood of Spies by Elizabeth P. McIntosh

Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan by Shrabani Basu

Women in the Holocaust by Dalia Ofer

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos by Judy Batalion

Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat by Bruce Myles

The Soviet Night Witches: Brave Women Bomber Pilots of World War II by Pamela Jain Dell

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein

A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II by Anne Noggle

Avenging Angels: The Young Women of the Soviet Union's WWII Sniper Corps by Lyuba Vinogradova

The Women of WWII (Fiction)

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky

Night Witches by Mirren Hogan

Night Witch by S.J. McCormack

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

Code Name Verity series by Elizabeth Wein

Front Lines trilogy by Michael Grant

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

All-Girl Teams (Fiction)

The Seafire trilogy by Natalie C. Parker

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Effigies trilogy by Sarah Raughley

Guardians of the Dawn series by S. Jae-Jones

Wolf-Light by Yaba Badoe

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Burned and Buried by Nino Cipri

This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

The Wild Ones: A Broken Anthem for a Girl Nation by Nafiza Azad

We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto, Akemi Wegmüller (Translator)

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

Hell's Belles series by Sarah MacLean

Jackdaws by Ken Follett

The Farmerettes by Gisela Tobien Sherman

A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg

Feminist Retellings

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins by Emma Donoghue

Doomed by Laura Pohl

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Kate Crackernuts by Katharine M. Briggs

Legendborn series by Tracy Deonn

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Feminist Dystopian and Horror Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Women and Girls in Comedy

Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin

Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim

This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry

Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliot

Bossypants by Tina Fey

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy by Yael Kohen

The Girl in the Show: Three Generations of Comedy, Culture, and Feminism by Anna Fields

Trans Women

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

Nemesis series by April Daniels

American Transgirl by Faith DaBrooke

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout by Laura Jane Grace

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt

George by Alex Gino

The Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag

Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color by Ellyn Peña

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

Feminist Poetry

Women Are Some Kind of Magic trilogy by Amanda Lovelace

Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty by Nikita Gill

Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill

The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill

Feminist Philosophy and Facts

The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner

The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy by Gerda Lerner

Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Bushra Rehman

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen

The Equality Illusion by Kat Banyard

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout & Jenn Abelson

Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World by Kumari Jayawardena

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins

But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women's Studies by Akasha Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, Barbara Smith Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe L. Moraga, Gloria E. Anzaldúa

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDinn

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa

Power Shift: The Longest Revolution by Sally Armstrong

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Had It Coming: What's Fair in the Age of #MeToo? by Robyn Doolittle

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jody Kantor & Megan Twohey

#Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy

Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle

Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement by Robin Morgan (Editor)

Girls Make Media by Mary Celeste Kearney

Rock She Wrote: Women Write about Rock, Pop, and Rap by Evelyn McDonnell (Editor)

You Play the Girl: And Other Vexing Stories That Tell Women Who They Are by Carina Chocano

Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor), Hollis Robbins (Editor)

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman Bread Out of Stone: Recollections, Sex, Recognitions, Race, Dreaming, Politics by Dionne Brand

Other General Girl Power/Feminist Awesomeness

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

The Female of the Species by Mandy McGinnis

Pulp by Robin Talley

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

American Girls by Alison Umminger

Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women by Alice Walker

You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories by Alice Walker

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Sula by Toni Morrison

Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Everything Must Go by Jenny Fran Davis

The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr

Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel

Fan the Fame by Anna Priemaza

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

Gravity Brings Me Down by Natale Ghent

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

After the Ink Dries by Cassie Gustafson Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

The Prettiest by Brigit Young

Don't Judge Me by Lisa Schroeder

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present by Lillian Faderman

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

Paper Girls comic series by Brian K. Vaughan

Heavy Vinyl comic series by Carly Usdin

Please feel free to reblog with more!

#book list #feminism #girl power

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rhymingteelookatme · 3 years

Text

Prompt #6: Instincts

Words: 704 | Day 6: avatar

In retrospect, it is a miracle she hasn’t seen one sooner.

A good portion of Sélysette’s earnings now come from daily hunt marks- cities being cities, someone is always willing to pay for the slaying of sundry beasts. Wolverines, vipers, gnoles; all will bring in a reliable thousand gil or so. And though she may never quite be used to the landscape splashed in swaths of mauve and thistle, though she misses Etienne’s ready kicks and shrill battle cries in her defense, Sély knows her way around a hunt.

She is out seeking hoptraps for their leaves when she spots it. A great chunk of plaster-white... something, maybe fifteen yalms away in the underbrush. In the golden glare of the sky, it stands out all the more.

Is that...?

Instinctively Sély drops low, using the shrubs around her for cover. She hasn’t seen a head or any sort of eyes on the thing yet, but it doesn’t pay to disregard obvious precautions. She has her suspicions; she wants to be certain of what she’s observing, before she chooses whether to attack or run.

She circles the thing at a gradually decreasing distance, peering at it through the foliage. It appears to be a vilekin, unnatural pallor aside. If this were the Twelveswood, she’d think it some new breed of diremite; it has the chitinous plated body, the segmented claw-tipped legs, the long tail with its barbed stinger. But unlike ordinary vilekin, this one is sitting still—far too still, not making the slightest twitch in any direction.

Yes, that settles that question. It is—

—listening.

Sély’s dragoon training kicks in as the not-diremite emits a rasping screech, wheels about and starts skittering toward her; she launches up and backward out of her crouch, flipping end over end to land another ten yalms back with her lance in her hands. Had she been standing to start with, she would have made fifteen, but no matter—it’s enough. The nonmite’s momentum carries it directly into her chaos thrust, neatly skewering itself straight through. Its limbs flail with the impact: the stinger at the end of its tail misses her by ilms.

No sooner has she wrenched her weapon free than the creature dissolves, its aether scattering to the winds in a glittering upward spray. Sély swallows hard, her throat gone dry at the sight. That was one of them, all right.

A sin eater.

“You look a trifle green about the gills,” Xylle remarks, sorting through Sély’s completed mark bills and the associated spoils. “Did you see a ghost out there today?”

“Not as such.” Sély attempts an airy smile. “I ran into an eater.”

Xylle looks up sharply at that, her leporine ears twitching backward. “You what? What kind? Was it alone? Did it wound you? Is it dead?”

“It looked like vilekin- it had a stinger- but I killed it before it could touch me,” Sély hastily replies. “I think it was alone. I didn’t see any others.”

Xylle does not seem reassured. “You were lucky. I know you’re a skilled fighter, but even stray eaters are nothing to sneeze at. You’d best tell the guards before you do anything else- they need to know.” Not content with Sély’s answering nod, she flags down the nearest armsman and makes her repeat her tale in every particular. Then she practically orders the fellow to see Sély to Spagyrics for a proper health check.

“I’m sorry to put you to all this trouble,” Sélysette tells him.

The guard- a burly, leonine gentleman, his coloring not unlike a tabby cat- shakes his head. “It’s no trouble, miss. Those eaters are nothing but foul Light come alive, ready to kill or turn all they see. We want to be sure.”

Some minutes later, sitting on a cot following her examination, Sély is still turning over those words. Foul Light come alive. Made flesh, made manifest. Avatars of corruption and death. The more she thinks about how narrowly she escaped, the worse she feels. Her instincts saved her this day, yet they have their limits like anything else.

She would like to stop thinking about it, by all means. But it’s clear she won’t be for a while yet.

#my writing #FFxivWrite2021 #Sélysette Babiole #Que Sély Sély

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mondstadtbreeze · 3 years

Text

Aeventi mermay AU

Plot and art under the cut!

Venti is the local towns bard, frequenting a tavern close to the sea.

One fateful night, after performing, he decides to take a stroll down the beach to a small lagoon he knows of, to watch the stars and listen to the waves gentle splashing against the rocks there.

What he stumbles upon, however, is not the tranquility he was looking for, but the hunched over form of another person in the water.

There is blood. EVERYWHERE.

Venti sprints to see if whoever it is is still alive, only to find that the person has gills, scales and very, very sharp teeth.

The stranger is beautiful... and unconscious.

Venti hesitates but he doesn't have anything to help with him, so he picks up the other and tries to lift them out of the water, only to discover the large, golden brown eel tail.

Freaking out only half as much as he would if he wasn't drunk, Venti brings what he assumes to be a mermaid to his house on the outskirts of the city.

When Aether awakes, his wounds are bandaged. They barely hurt anymore. After checking if he is still in one piece, he realizes that he is not in the ocean, but in a tub, half filled with water. A small first aid kit stands on a stool.

Venti almost has a heart attack, when his sudden guest runs out of his bathroom on two legs (and very naked) and realizes with dread, that he didn't just bring home a mermaid, but an actual siren, which are twice as dangerous and can turn into humans to hunt their prey more efficiantly.

Venti just stands there, frozen, waiting for the other to make the first move and Aether is trying to recover from his initial shock of running into someone.

They stare for a few seconds.

Then Aether makes some weird guttural noise, testing his voice, and Venti sprints towards a bow that is hanging on his wall.

Aether realizes what he's trying to do and jumps after him, fast despite injury, getting a hold of Venti's arm and pulling him away from the weapon and against his chest, trying to keep him still.

Venti is smaller and not very trained, but he bites and scratches like his life depends on ig, until Aether holds very sharp fingernails to his throat.

Venti stills and Aether finally manages to get his voice to work in human language.

"Who are you?!"

"What do you mean 'Who are you?!'?? Who are YOU?!"

Aether blinks irritated because it's not like HE took the HUMAN to his house and put him in HIS bathtub. He does his best not to press his claws any deeper into the others neck.

Maybe the human didn't understand?

"Where am I?", he asks instead. "Where's my sister?"

"Your- I only found you"

Venti's voice is a little higher than before now that the claws are directly against his neck and he internally curses every drop of alcohol that led to the stupid decision of bringing the other home.

"Found... me?"

"Yeah, I saved your stinky fish skin from certain death and this is NOT how you should repay me!"

Aether frowns but let's go, stepping between the human and the bow. Venti stumbles away, rubbing his neck.

When he looks back at the siren, he seems to be deep in thought, a frown on his face.

Venti grabs an old pair of pants from the floor and chucks it at him. He picks it up, confused, then looks up and down Venti's body before awkwardly putting it on.

It's quiet for a while before Venti asks him if he's hungry for anything that isn't human.

They eat some of the left over baked fish Venti made the day prior while Aether throws him nervous glances.

When Venti asks about his sister, Aether looks away and doesn't answer.

The truth is, he doesn't know what happened to her himself. He remembers them trying to slay a deep see mermaid that had been terrorizing their colony, Lumine being grabbed by it and then.. nothing.

Dread builds in his heart as he weighs her chance of survival.

He leaves after an awkward thank you.

Venti doesn't see him again for a few weeks.

He almost forgets about him completely by the time he enters the lagoon and finds Aether sitting on a rock in the shallow, tail moving through the water lazily.

They don't talk, but Venti sits down to write down ideas for new songs and Aether looks for fish and sea shells.

It becomes more or less a weekly habit.

At first they just sit and do their own thinngs, but eventually they start talking.

Aether has been looking for his sister but he has found nothing and the more days pass the more he loses hope of ever finding her alive again.

Venti listens, tries to cheer him up.

Sometimes he plays something on his lyre. Makes up random stupid texts that make Aether laugh. It helps him.

Eventually Aether finds himself miss his music and attitude when he's gone.

The sound soothes him.

The day that Aether sings along to one of Venti's slow, heavy ballads, he will never forget.

He has been writing the song for days with feelings of loss and longing in his heart, but the words never feel right. Not true enough.

When Aether starts quietly singing words of a language so foreign and beautiful it hurts, everything seems to fall into place.

Venti has never heard a siren's song. The fishermen talk of luring promises and voices out of this world. Hidden malice, hunger but covered in offerings sweet enough to make you forget all worries.

But Aether's song is nothing like these tales.

It does sound unearthly, but it carries hurt and sadness, nostalgia and intimacy and none of it makes Venti's mind hazy or numb.

It does, however, make his heart beat faster.

He realizes he's been writing this song to be sung by his friend from the start, even if he wasn't aware of it.

If Venti sits closer to the other that night, he doesn't mention it. And if Aether leans against him just a bit, it is a moment that stays between them.

Venti goes home to dream of old friends and golden hair, kind eyes and deep sorrow.

Aether comes back to his colony being gone. Sand is disturbed, houses are broken.

Noone is left.

He loses any tracks after an hour and he thinks that if he has to live through one more heartbreak, he'll die of hurt.

He doesn't know when they had become so close, but he finds himself back in the lagoon, hoping to see his friend.

When Venti doesn't show all day, Aether decides to seek him out instead. And ignore his unease of leaving the waters behind.

Venti is surprised to see him, but Aether can see the way his eye light up and that his grin is genuine.

He doesn't tell him about what has happened, but he stays over night.

They talk long into the night.

Aether doesn't leave.

Venti never asks him to and Aether only ever leaves to get food or heal his skin from it's constant dryness.

Aether seems content to sleep in Venti's living room and Venti loves having his company.

Sometimes Aether leaves to look for his sister. Venti waits at the lagoon for him on those days.

The day that Aether returns with nothing but the shattered remains of his sisters favorite earring, Aether doesn't stay on the old matress in the living room.

Venti cooks him herbal tea and they sit on Venti's bed and Aether talks about his hopelessness and fear and about how much he misses Lumine.

Venti asks all the right questions, his warm hand on his back is a comfort beyond words and eventually Aether calms down and starts telling tales of their life together, funny stories about Lumine and her ideas.

About how he knows Venti and her would get along.

They talk for a long while and eventually Aether finds himself lying next to Venti, his head buried against the sirens neck, arm lazily slung over his hip while the other sleeps.

Aether stays there that night and sleeps a little better.

And the night after.

#aeventi #genshin impact #aether genshin impact #venti genshin impact #venther #nina writes #mermay #nina draws

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vulturhythm · 4 years

Text

until the blue ocean turns green - part one

There’s a man with golden eyes who sits beside Jaskier’s sea sometimes.

His hair is the silver of the seafoam, and it glows in the moonlight, when it isn’t made red with blood.

It’s red with blood quite often.

His eyes are like the coastal wolves’, bright and cunning.

Sometimes they’re black.

He comes to the shoreline now and then, at least once or twice in a moon cycle.

When he comes, he sits on a fallen tree, one that Jaskier remembers being struck by lightning many cycles before. Half of it is charred black, and the rest is saltwater pale, gnarled with age.

He sits on the fallen rock, and he merely… sits. Jaskier watches him from behind a rock far out in the water, watches him watch the waves.

The sea is usually calm, only ever riled by storms. Jaskier suspects that’s part of why he enjoys watching.

The sea isn’t fickle and upset like rivers and streams, and it’s a sight prettier than lakes, Jaskier likes to think.

Not that he’s seen many lakes - it’s hard to get to them. Rivers have a habit of becoming too narrow or shallow before he can reach a lake, so he’s stuck with tales from the gulls.

It’s from the gulls that Jaskier learns more of the man.

He learns that his name is Geralt, and that he rides a horse he calls Roach.

He learns that Geralt kills creatures like him for coin.

Jaskier knows coin - he’s heard travelers on the shore talking about it, sailors above water talking about it… the gulls tell him it’s currency, like the seashells where he comes from.

The gulls tell him that humans love coin, and Jaskier thinks them foolish for it, because the most seashells can buy down below is passage from one sea to the next, only sometimes the harpies and the selkies don’t honor the toll, and they sic a shark on you, and you make it away bleeding and poor, without ever getting where you meant to go, and you’re alive, but you’re missing half a fin off your beautiful, beautiful tail -

Well.

The gulls tell him the man is something called a witcher, and they tell him he’s right - the witcher always looks sad.

- -

Jaskier isn’t sure how many cylces pass with Geralt sitting at his shoreline.

“Months,” the gulls correct him, over and over, but Jaskier tells them, quite flippantly, that the merfolk measure by the moon, and they ruffle their feathers, and squawk at him but give up quickly enough.

Geralt comes to his shore wounded one night.

It’s the scent of blood that draws Jaskier up from the sea floor, away from the counting of his shells (he hopes, perhaps, he can buy his way up the northern river, the one guarded by the meanest of the sirens and the toughest of the sharks, and follow Geralt into the mainland).

He’s made a habit of lingering close to the shore when nightfall draws near, just in case his witcher comes.

Tonight, his witcher is hurt.

Watching from behind his stone, Jaskier feels his heart ache at the sight.

Geralt moves with caution, with obvious care, and he moves with one hand pressed to his side, and in the moonlight, Jaskier sees, quite clearly, the blood on his beautiful hands.

His heart aches.

Geralt remains for hours, staring out at the waves. Jaskier isn’t even sure he knows what his gaze is upon - he looks lost, and he looks sad.

He always looks sad.

Nearly a year passes before the sadness begins to fade.

“He’s in love,” proclaim the gulls, and something within Jaskier snarls. “He’s met a woman.”

Primarily, Jaskire believes them wrong.

The sadness is merely fading - it isn’t gone.

Two cycles later, Jaskier has enough for the northern river toll.

He has enough, and the harpies take the shells he hands them in the seaweed bundle, and he shudders at the sight of their wicked talons and human faces, and he swims past them as they sneer.

The gulls, flying overhead, keep watch.

Harpies aren’t known to honor their word, and the sharks circling down below look awfully hungry.

He makes it less than a ship’s length ahead before he feels the water shift, feels it ripple with the motion of something drawing near - drawing near too fast for him to get away.

He makes it out alive.

Only barely.

His tail is bitten deep, meat exposed, nearly to the bone. The fins along the sides are torn, and the fan at the end, the beautiful fan he’s adored his entire lifetime, is ragged now, ragged and bloody and raw.

Deep blue scales are flaking off his tail and arms, glistening as they drift away.

If his kind could cry, Jaskier’s tears would be blending with his blood in the water.

He bleeds silver, like the unicorns of the land.

Coiled into the side of his stone below the sea, Jaskier watches as it rises to the surface, glistening there in the moonlight. It clouds up and fades away soon, and yet, still he bleeds.

Geralt does not come that night, nor the next.

Still he bleeds.

Jaskier grows weak.

Without food to eat or plants to bind his tail, he bleeds, and he grows weak.

He bleeds, and he grows weak, and his grip on the rock is lost.

The sea fades to black as he drifts upward, toward the moon hanging low in the sky.

His heart aches.

He wakes up numb.

He wakes up numb, with the night air on his skin.

He wakes up numb, and he wakes up with the night air on his skin, and he wakes up with a hand on his chest.

Jaskier's world is foggy when he opens his eyes, but he manages it regardless, and for a moment, he only stares, because that's...

That's a pair of eyes overhead, and they're -

they're yellow.

They're yellow, and they're sad.

"Geralt?" he breathes, and those sad, sad eyes go wide...

... and Jaskier sinks back into darkness, Geralt's voice deep and rough and low and like home in his ears.

"How?"

He wakes up next when the sun is in the sky.

This time, he can feel water lapping against his sides, cool and comforting and familiar.

He breathes in deep, opens his eyes and blinks at the glare of the day.

It takes a moment for the rest of his senses to return.

He's resting in a little tide pool, deep enough to submerge his tail, his lower torso. Another second passes before he realizes he's laid across one of the rocks at the pool's edge, head propped on his folded arms. There's a damp towel laid across his back, lessening the heat of the sun.

Jaskier groans as he tries to move, pushing himself up on his arms to glance around. He knows this tide pool - it's not that far from where he surfaces to observe his witcher at night. Confusion knots his brow when he glances down and sees what appears to be an animal hide laid across the rock, cushioning his slumber.

"Don't move too much."

He jerks in ill-concealed surprise, finally looking up, and -

he goes still.

Geralt is seated nearby, crosslegged on a mostly-flat rock at the outer edge of the tide pool. He's watching him, golden eyes locked with deep blue, and Jaskier cannot breathe.

He can't breathe, because he is beautiful.

"What attacked you?" asks the witcher, and he speaks softly, as though he's trying to keep the merman from shying away from - from him, from the most beautiful thing Jaskier has ever seen.

Jaskier sucks in a breath, feels the gills along his throat tremble, looks past Geralt to where his red mare is standing still in the sand. "Sharks," he replies at last.

Geralt hums, low, and that's that. He moves with a heavy sigh, motioning for Jaskier to look back, down at his tail.

He obeys.

His tail is bound in white cloth, stained murky platinum with his blood. Geralt had taken obvious care, binding the fins along the sides as gently as possible. Jaskier moves cautiously, giving his tail an experimental sway, and he grimaces at the pain, but it lets him look at the fan at the end, resting in the sand.

Still ruined.

"There's nothing I can do," comes Geralt's voice, and he sounds apologetically resigned. Jaskier nods, tries not to let his face fall. "I treated everything with potions, the wounds should heal in time - they'll scar, and I'm afraid the fins might not regrow, but you won't feel the damage. Your, ah... the fan, though..."

Jaskier is having trouble following along, the majority of his attention devoted to the sound of Geralt's voice, rather than the words.

He catches just enough to know that his fan is lost.

Part of him - that vain, bitter part - hurts with the knowledge.

"Thank you," he says at last, his voice just as soft.

Geralt is quiet, but when Jaskier looks back at him, he nods, golden eyes on his tail.

Geralt comes back for him every day for - four, five months?

(Geralt calls them months, like the gulls, and so, finally, Jaskier gave up.)

Jaskier stays in the tide pool for the first bit of that time.

Eventually, Geralt begins to lift him from the stony area, sets him down in the ocean proper, lets him sink below and soak.

He keeps his arms around him the entire time, refusing to let him strain his tail.

When Geralt returns him to the tide pool, he always re-soaks the cloth draped over him, the deer hide laid out beneath him, and offers whatever food he's brought along.

Human food is... intriguing.

Jaskier develops quite the taste for rabbit.

Every couple of days, Geralt changes out the bandages, reapplies the potions he carries hanging off a belt.

It's very nearly maddening, Geralt's touch so gentle and caring on his scales.

Never once does he touch his skin, not with his palms.

Only ever with his arms, strong and torturous around his chest to support him in the shallows.

Jaskier yearns for his touch.

Geralt tells him stories, every day.

At first, it's extremely grudging.

Jaskier coaxes tales of slaying selkiemore and drowners and cockatrice and banshees from his witcher, and for the first couple of weeks, it's an agonizing process.

Geralt doesn't like talking about himself.

When Jaskier reminds him that he's the only source of entertainment available to a virtually bedridden merman, he becomes less reluctant.

A little.

One day, Jaskier asks if he's ever slain merfolk.

Geralt doesn't answer at first. He merely looks at him, and there's sadness in his eyes, just as profound as ever.

He nearly laughs - a low, weary exhale - and turns his head away.

"I won't kill you," is all he says, at last.

Jaskier believes him.

They play games, sometimes.

Well, Jaskier invents the games, and Geralt tolerates them, at best.

They play "count the seagulls" and "hide the seashell" and "braid your hair," only it's difficult to count the gulls when they always fly away in a rush as soon as they get wind of the fun, and there's only so many places to hide the seashell where Jaskier can reach it from his confinement, and Geralt's hair is the only hair long enough to braid, and he takes it with...

With...

Well.

He takes it.

Jaskier sings to him, most of the time.

He sings him the songs of his kind, and he sings him the songs he's heard from the sailors going by above, and he sings him the songs he's learned from the travelers at his shore.

Geralt teaches him some of his own kind - well, the human kind.

Drinking songs, he calls them.

Jaskier decides he loves them.

Geralt tells him about the woman, eventually.

Her name is Yennefer, and Jaskier loathes her immediately.

She's a sorceress - something like the sea witches Jaskier's kind fears.

They met while Geralt was after a djinn - he won't explain why, not even when Jaskier cocks his head to the side and causes Geralt to derail in an attempt to explain. He doesn't even notice that Jaskier is stalling.

One day, Jaskier asks if he loves her.

Geralt doesn't answer, not then.

Two days later, out of nowhere, Jaskier cradled in his arms so he can enjoy the sea, he says, "No. I don't."

Jaskier decides he loves him.

It's a long while before Geralt removes the bandages to reveal healed wounds.

There's raised lines of new flesh where there had once been deep gouges, and Jaskier's scales have grown back a brighter, truer blue, standing out against the deep shade of the rest.

The fins are intact, only the smallest notches in the edges indicating their trauma.

As for the fan, the wide, flowing, beautiful, gossamer, ghostly fan Jaskier had prided himself upon his entire life...

The edges of the bites are healed, no longer raw and sensitive to the sting of the sea, but the bites themselves are still apparent.

His fan is ruined.

Laying there in the tide pool, propped on his elbows to survey his tail, Jaskier wishes he could cry.

He lifts his tail, thwacks it against the water, feels no remorse when he splashes Geralt in the process.

Geralt doesn't seem to care.

Not about the water, at least.

It's as Jaskier's about to hit the surface once more that Geralt reaches for him, props a hand against the backside of his tail, holds him firm and meets his gaze.

Jaskier goes still.

His chest is heaving, fear and shame and pain clogging his throat, and he wishes he could cry, but he can't, and so he doesn't.

He stares back at Geralt, stares back at those wolf-gold eyes, stares at him until he lets his tail go slack. The weight of it is no doubt immense, but Geralt supports it like nothing, lays it down gently in the water and sets his hand on the underside instead.

"I'm sorry," he says aloud, smoothing his hand along his scales, down and down and down until he's tracing along the edges of the fan, of the ruined fan, once Jaskier's pride and joy... he traces the edges, and he watches his own hand, and he says, "I tried to save it."

Jaskier doesn't answer.

He's too busy trying to breathe.

Geralt sets him back in the sea that night, tells him to try swimming close to shore, stick close by, rest if he needs, he'll be back the next day...

Jaskier merely nods.

When Geralt pulls away, his fingertips graze across Jaskier's skin, across the point where scales fade into flesh along the v of his waist.

He shudders.

Geralt goes rigid, and yet he doesn't say a word.

He eases him into the sea, says goodnight, waits on horseback until Jaskier dips below the surface and doesn't rise again to leave.

Jaskier comes back when his scent has worn thin.

He floats there, near the tide pool, until his newfound strength begins to wane.

He falls asleep resting against the stones at the rim of the tide pool, Geralt's scent hanging heavy in the air.

Geralt doesn't come back until nightfall the next day, but he brings food, so Jaskier can't fault him.

His tail isn't powerful enough yet to drive him deep below and back home just yet, and the seaweed and crustaceans near the shore are nowhere near as satisfying.

Geralt sits crosslegged in the sand, watches with attentive eyes as Jaskier ducks and dives and whirls...

... as Jaskier shows off, twists and arches and writhes, lets what's left of his fan splay in the water in the closest thing to a mating dance he's ever fucking done, and he's always winded by the time he surfaces again, and Geralt...

... Geralt doesn't care.

He makes Jaskier come closer, wades out far enough to feel over his tail, over his fins, making sure they aren't strained and raw and split open.

They aren't, but maybe Jaskier plays up his exertion, if for nothing else than to have Geralt carry him back into the tide pool, sit down at the edge and knead into the muscles of his tail until it takes everything within him not to moan aloud.

This continues for another week.

Geralt is always watchful, golden eyes following Jaskier through the water so he doesn't grow weak, and at the end of every night, he carries him to the pool, massages the nonexistent ache from his tail and lets Jaskier sing.

One night, Jaskier asks if he likes his singing.

His witcher looks him in the eyes then, just for a moment, and looks away, the faintest of smiles on his face.

He doesn't answer, but Jaskier gloats regardless.

One night, Geralt comes looking... almost happy.

He tells Jaskier he's found Yennefer again.

(Jaskier didn't realize that she was lost, let alone worthy of finding.)

She's moved on, living in another town, in another kingdom. Geralt had gotten word from a traveling merchant, one he's known for years.

Jaskier should be happy for him.

He knows he should.

He knows this, and yet, when Geralt looks at him more closely, asks him what's wrong, he spits out, "Do you love her?"

Geralt goes still.

He's standing at the very edge of the tide, arms crossed.

Jaskier is floating just far enough out that the sand brushes his chest when he settles lower in the water, close enough to talk to his witcher with ease.

"Do you love her?" he repeats.

Geralt's jaw tightens, and he starts to speak, and when he does, it's a low and frustrated snarl.

"I knew her first."

Jaskier's tail hits the surface of the water with enough force to send a ripple through the current, to send a wave toward the shore, lapping at Geralt's boots.

"Jaskier, you can't leave the water, you know you can't - "

"There has to be a way, you see magic all day long, Geralt - "

"I'm not taking you from your home - "

"I haven't seen my home in months!" he nearly screams, and his voice is raw and wrecked and honest, and it hurts to yell, and it hurts to breathe, and, "I haven't gone back below since I met you, Geralt, you have to know that, you are my home!"

Geralt falls silent then.

Jaskier's voice gives out as he cuts himself off, and he falls quiet, and he waits, and he trembles there in the water, his witcher out of reach.

When Geralt speaks again, it's with his eyes averted, and he sounds...

"No. I don't love her, but I can't love you."

He turns away, and Jaskier starts to protest, to call out, to beg for him to stay - but his throat is dry, and so he says nothing.

He stays there, motionless in the water, and watches as Geralt mounts up on his mare and walks away.

He stays there until the sun is rising in the eastern sky.

He stays there until the daylight wears away at his skin and his head is pounding with the atmospheric heat.

He stays there until he grows weak.

He grows weak, and he turns away, sinks below the surface, dives down, down, down... down until the water is dark and he doesn't know if the shadows just beyond his reach are creatures come to kill or merely rock formations lurking in the void.

His heart aches, and he wishes he could cry.

The gulls tell him Geralt has moved on, farther north.

They tell him he's accompanied by a woman with hair as black as the abyss, a woman who heals his wounds with magic and keeps him warm at night.

Jaskier looks to the ruined fan at the end of his tail, to the fresh and brighter scales that mark Geralt's care.

He looks to the ruined fan, and he doesn't say a word.

The gulls tell him Geralt travels alone now.

They tell him that he left the woman in a kingdom called Cintra, and they tell him he's angry now, angry and just as sorrowful as ever.

Some bitter part of his heart is glad.

They tell him they've lost track of Geralt.

It's been years.

It's been years, and still, Jaskier waits close to the shore.

Geralt's scent has long since worn off the stones where they used to sit together, where they used to talk and laugh and sing and play... where Jaskier fell for the man with wolf-gold eyes and seafoam-pale hair.

His heart aches.

#geraskier #gerlion #geralt x jaskier #geralt x dandelion #jaskier x geralt #dandelion x geralt #mermaid au #angst #request #blue waters verse

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