#nepenthe needs like one more song but i like what's there | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arkhammaid · 1 month

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— ˚₊‧⁺˖ DEFINITIONS OF MUSIC.

fandom. formula one

pairing. charles leclerc x professional pianist fem!reader (fc: none)

about. y/n y/l/n is one of the celebreties who has gone viral during lockdown. when she publishes her first album, she raises a few eyebrows with a featured artist

content warnings. social media au, not edited/proofread

notes. this is a very self-indulgent fic... so you all better love it or else 🫵

YOURUSERNAME AND 3 OTHERS

liked by zendaya, hanszimmer and 14'083'874 others

yourusername and 3 others we're proud to announce the album DEFINITIONS. each of the 26 original composed pieces embrace the title itself, the feeling of these words. they're defined by our language and passion, a gift from us to you.

yourusername so happy our baby is finally out, thank you adrian, charles and jamie, for this partnership. i couldn't have done this without you!

hanszimmer This is music.

charles_leclerc And it's finally here! I had so much fun working on this, thank you @/yourusername for allowing me to be part of your project🥰

jamieduffyy absolutely incredible!! stream definitions now!!!

zendaya I'm sobbing over the whole alphabeth, who would've thought... this is 🤯🤯

user holyyyyy shittttttt

user 26 SONGS??? AND MOST OF THEM ARE OVER 4 MINS LONG WE'RE GETTING SPOILED FR

haileybieber listening this on repeat and still getting shivers, this is incredible work 💗

user the butterfly effect is so real here...

⤷ user if you told me i'd follow this one tiktoker because she went viral with her piano only to become a fan of men who drive in fancy circles...

⤷ user SO I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S NOW AN F1 FAN??

user sobbing over nepenthe on repeat

user CHARLES WITH LEMAN?? HELLO??? AND THEN ALSO PHILOCALY??? MY MAN STAND UP AND STOP WRITING LOVE LETTERS

⤷ user what.

⤷ user for the love of god, please look up what the words mean... charles really thought he was slick with this one

⤷ user oh my god.

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Y/N Y/L/N SHOCKS MUSIC WORLD WITH CLASSICAL ALBUM AND FEATURED ARTISTS! FIVE PIECES OF THE 26-PIECE ALBUM ARE IN THE INTERNATIONAL CHARTS. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 'DEFINITIONS'.

From Viral TikToker to Record Holder, Y/n brings Classical Music back in Trend.

By Sara Ristan | Published February 24, 2024

If you know anything about music, you know the current trends. Pop and Rap is what the current generation likes, with a few outliners. From the very beginning, Y/n seemed to be one of them as well. Her first release, 'A Sailor's Wish', has been trending along with 'Solas', by her fellow artist Jamie Duffy for many weeks.

Her other composed pieces never hit the same numbers, that was until she released a full album. 'Definitions' has 26 original composed pieces, mixed with piano and full orchestra. It's an album full of masterpieces, fully deserving the high praise it has been receiving the past few days.

Every piece in the Album is named after a rare word, each one of them beginning with a letter of the Alphabet. Most of them were composed by Y/n herself, her signature moves regognizable, if you're familiar with her music. If you wish to read a full analysis of the whole album, click here.

Notable, besides the mindblowing compositions, are also the featured artists. We have Adrian Berenguer, Charles Leclerc and Jamie Duffy- each of them well known in their niche. What has raised eyebrows however, is that unlike Adrian and Jamie, Charles himself. He's an athlete, a Formula One driver in fact and very well known. While his fans knew about his releases, singles and even an album with Sofiane Pamart, no one was prepared for the partnership with Y/n.

Especially the titles of the pieces, two of them speaking about love, one is even titled as 'Leman', which means lover. Are these two trying to give us hints?

Beside that, five of the 26 pieces are currently in the charts, having already gathered millions of streams within days. Absolutely mindblowing!

click to read more

CHARLES_LECLERC

liked by yourusername, zendaya and 3'099'738 others

charles_leclerc P1 in Driver Championship Standings, P1 in International Charts, P1 in your heart... I love you, mon amour

yourusername ugh, ugly sobbing crying rn, no one talk to me

yourusername i love you too you sap

⤷ charles_leclerc Guilty hehe

⤷ charles_leclerc Doesn't stop me from loving you, cherié

⤷ yourusername i never told you to stop

jamieduffy fucking finally

zendaya @/tomholland2013 why don't you write you love songs for me??

⤷ tomholland2013 you're the one who sings?

user WE WON!!! Y/N NATION WE FUCKING WON

user if you squint you can see me fucking dead BECAUSE WTF IS THIS THEYRE ACTUALLY TOGETHER I CAN NOT IM DEAD OH MYGOOODDDDDD

⤷ user lmao felt

user now we know how charles even agreed to y/n asking for a collab... he has always been down bad for her

⤷ yourusername you're so right

⤷ user OH MY GOD???

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taglist. @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel , @aimixx , @themercyverse , @lem-hhn , @lupicalbestwolf , @akiraquote , @lpap , @lilypadlover , @adorablezhui , @peqch-pie , @namgification

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE TAGLIST? please send a non-anon ask to be added to the taglist. taglist can be general taglist (all fandoms and all works), fandom taglist (all works within the fandom), series (all works for specific series) or nsfw taglist (all nsfw works and all fandoms).

crossed off tags mean i can't tag you!

ARKHAM MAID 2024

#f1 x reader #f1 smau #f1 imagine #f1 scenario #f1 social media au #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc smau #cl16 x reader #cl16 x you #charles leclerc x you #— ˚₊‧⁺˖ creations

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montcumbry-gaytor · 9 months

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Nepenthe. chap 03

act one : tacenda

THIS IS AN OC INTEGRATION FOR THE WITCHER, IT IS NOT AN X READER FIC.

— BACK W DA THIRD CHAPTER!! YALL AREADY KNOW JASKY COMING ‼️ WE'VE BEEN WAITING, OR AT LEAST I HAVE ‼️

tw for : Canon Typical violence, Canon typical language, Mentions of blood, Death.

(n.) things better left unsaid; matters to be passed over in silence.

"Love the way you both just sit in the corner and brood."

Says the bard, and I see Geralt roll his eyes, obviously annoyed by the socialite.

"We're here to drink alone."

Geralt says lowly, looking away from the bard, his jaw is clenched as if he wants to say more, and from under the table I let the slightest bit of our boots touch, he nudges his foot back in a slight expression of recognition.

"Good, Yeah.. No one else hesitated to comment on the quality of my performance, Except... you two."

The bard says, pointing between me and Geralt before taking an uncanny gulp of whatever is in his cup, walking to stand in where Geralt was previously looking to avoid him.

"Come on.. you don't want to keep a man with- bread in his pants waiting.."

He adds, his face contorting awkwardly before taking a seat beside me, and my eyes flicker to Geralts in a call of desperation as the bard requests for your feedback.

"They don't exist."

Geralt sighs, though he keeps a tight lip, his gaze occasionally flickers to me, but never to the bard, when the brunette questions his meaning, geralt continues.

"The creatures in your song."

He adds, his nose scrunching up in distaste as the Bard begins to pick apart Geralt and I's features.

"Ohh fun, The white hair, the yellow eyes, the very.. scary companion and even scarier swords... I know who you are."

I see Geralt stand and begin to leave, and I take a final swig of my drink before leaving it, hot on Geralt's trail.

"You're Witcher's, Aren't you?"

He says, hanging on a pillar before shouting out 'Called it!' and I can feel myself burn inside, I'd gladly take coin to kill a fuck like him.

"A job I've got for you, I beg of you."

A young man says, rushing to the two of us and I find myself standing just slightly behind Geralt, watching just over his shoulder, and I burn my gaze into the bard.

He sheepishly turns away, and walks out of my view and I feel a bit of relief, and turn my attention to the man, listening as he describes some 'Devil' and offers coin.

I can see Geralt mentally bargain, before he raises the price just slightly higher, and it seems the man is willing, Geralt takes the coin and my stare flickers back to the bard, who stares at Geralt with curiosity, like he's avoiding my existence.

"Quite the bargain, Though you've basically robbed the poor lad."

I say, exiting the tavern with Geralt, he knows what I mean and let's out a sigh.

"Though it's no worse than what others do I suppose."

I add, and we snag our horses from the stables, and thank the woman who tended to them, rounding our way out of Posada.

I hiss out a small 'shit' as I hear footsteps grow quick and close, and Geralt picks up immediately, seemingly also annoyed.

"Need a hand? I got two! Each for the devil's horns."

The bard says, He clutches his lute strap which hangs on his right shoulder, and comes between me and Geralt, and I feel an underlying urge to kick his feet from beneath him, the thought of him eating dirt makes me feel a little better.

"Go away."

Geralt says, And persists through the hill up towards your destination.

"I won't be but silent backup."

The bard tries to excuse himself, but I feel the irony bubble up in my chest and come out as a chuckle.

"What a joke."

I comment to myself, and I hear the bard let out a small scoff before speaking again.

"I heard your note and you're right, Maybe real adventures would make better stories, and you two, my good sirs : smell chock-full of them."

The bard says, Gesturing comically to the two of us, I shake my head and give geralt a quick look, and I can see his lips twitch up.

But quickly back down as the bard adds on that he smells Onion, and then theatrically goes on about Death and Destiny, amongst other silly titles.

"It's onion."

Geralt Deadpans, and I let out a small laugh under my breath, and I hear the bard let out a meek 'Right.' before continuing on once more, before spitting out the title I know Geralt hates.

Geralt stops, and sucks in a deep breath in his teeth before turning to the bard.

"Come here."

"—Yeah?"

The bard asks, before contorting around himself as Geralt socks him in his gut, and I feel a bit of relief watching as the bard stumbles, and I give him a sarcastic pat on the back, before continuing with Geralt.

We get closer to our destination and mount our horses, and I feel myself fill with dread the more and more the Bard talks.

"Reading between the lines of the gut punches, id say you have a bit of an image problem."

The bard says, pointing to Geralt as he still hasn't given up on trying to 'Help' Though he's only made this journey heavy on my mind.

"Butcher is right."

Geralt says, and I frown a bit at that comment, he's had yet to tell me of what happened in blaviken that gave him such a 'Title' and only get what has been bounced around taverns-folk.

"Do you mind if I hop up there with you?"

"—Dont touch roach."

Geralt growls, and the bard immediately retracts and puts his eyes on me.

"You, Then?"

"Fuck off."

I hiss, hopping off my horse as Geralt and I tie them to a lone tree next to our path, I roll my eyes as the Bard retells old wives tales as if it's some legendary story.

I follow Geralts tail, just barely behind him as usual, with the heat heavy on my shoulders I pull a small braided cord from my hip bag, and tie my hair up and off my neck, granting an instant relief.

"What are we looking for again?"

"Blessed silence."

Geralt says, hoping the comment would stick, and he squeezes his eyes shut in irritation as the bard continues to chatter.

"Have either of you ever hunted a devil before?"

"Devils don't exist."

We say in unison, and the bard questions what exactly is going on, and Geralt explains once more.

"Sometimes there's monsters, sometimes there's money, rarely both."

"That's the life."

I add, and I feel my whole body jolt as I hear something whisp through the air, Geralt flinches and snarls out a profanity.

"Geralt.. It is a devil."

The bard says, staring into the disturbed shrubbery, and I can just see the silhouette of a horned figure, and when I look to Geralt, the bard begins to ramble before it's shortly cut off.

"Thank the gods."

I sigh, before I follow Geralt slowly, I listen for anything that could give off a location, but it's quiet, uncomfortably so, which is when the beast charges from the tall grass and into Geralt's gut, it's shouting surprises me.

"You talk."

Geralt says, pushing himself from the ground, and the beast charges again, this time Geralt promptly snags it by its horn and whips it around, pinning it to the ground quickly.

"What happened with you? Your mother fuck a goat?"

Is the last thing I hear as ground crunches behind me, and as I whip around I can't even see the assailant clear enough as my vision fades to a deep black.

A memory plays in my head, and I can't fight it, I'm stuck in place watching it happen to myself, I'm not in control of my own body.

I can smell the metallic undertone of blood, its filled with a searing pain over my left eye, my body is tired and I sit with its body in my lap, my knife sunken deep into its ribs, my heart aches as it's warmth fades away, and it's big fierce eyes no longer open, I let out a blood curdling scream in a mix of fury, pain, and victory, and I cannot help but be lost in my emotions amongst my peers, and somehow numb all at once.

The scream shrieks in my ears, ringing, and it fuels the pain in my temples as my eyes flutter open, and I feel myself groan as the blessed silence is broken.

"This is the part where we escape."

— I hope y'all enjoyed this!! I know these chapters are shorter than the first but I tried to make the first chapter very telling of what Kael is like </3

— as usual it isn't proofread so if y'all see Grammer errors defo point em out.

#the witcher oc #the witcher netflix #the witcher #geralt of rivia #geralt #geralt witcher #jaskier witcher #jaskier #oc fic

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wangxianficrecs · 2 years

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I’m In The Mood For A Fic Where…

Okay, I am posting this now, but also, I have to run off and do errands and chores, so I won’t be able to put your answers in for a few hours. Be patient, I’m not ignoring you! And gimme some good stuff!!! (Heh, heh. Do my work for me!)

~*~

1. Hi, welcome back!!! I really missed your recommendations, but kept myself busy reading other fics that you recommended! I'm glad that you were able to rest! I had a question, do you perhaps know any fics that show the (cultivation) world's reaction to WangXians marriage? The whiplash that everyone would've gotten when they heard that THE Yiling Patriarch was marrying their esteemed Hanguanjun? ~ @ayatostuff

❤️White Flag by incendir (T, 38k, wangxian, my post)

dream of a funeral; hear of a marriage by defractum (nyargles) (T, 27k, wangxian, my post) - not exactly what you’re looking for, but might amuse you as cultivationdom’s second most eligible bachelor is forever having to drop everything to fend off ambushes by suitors.

~*~

2. Hello! It's so good to see you back! I don't know if you still do the "I'm in the mood for a fic where" things, but I'm in the mood for a fic where Wei WuXian loses his memory when he wakes up at the start of the novel. I'm reading one like that («Lethe Nor Nepenthe» [Note: I couldn’t find a link to AO3, so here’s Wattpad]) and I'm trying to find more! Preferably long fics, I don't mind if they're not completed yet!!!

Imperfect Memory by xantissa (E, 62k, wangxian, my post)

Love Song In Reverse by timetoboldlygo (T, 159k, wangxian, WIP)

Sunless Dry Geraniums by ghostybreads, Skyeline (T, 98k, wangxian, WIP)

❤️the thing with feathers by RoseThorne (G, 43k, wangxian, my bookmark)

~*~

3. hello! thank you for what you do here, that's such great work and I do hope you get help as you need :) I've been in the mood to read war prize and similar ideas wangxian fic, be it lwj or wwx being the war prize for the other, I know love, in fire and blood as well as golden when the day met the night, which made me thirsty for any type of war prize or similar ideas, ideally I hope there's both type of fics to find (lwj given to wwx and wwx to lwj)! ~ @chrisemrysfics

Imperfect Memory by xantissa (E, 62k, wangxian, my post)

offerings received by annundriel (E, 7k, wangxian)

what price is duty, what cost is love by thunderwear (G, 18k, wangxian)

travelers through the empty gate by stiltonbasket (M, 13k, wangxian, WIP)

check out iliacquer's work, they have several GREAT warprize AUs including debt of a knife (E, 13k, wangxian)

Married to the Demon by westiec (E, 10k, wangxian)

yearn for east wind by Aminias (E, 8k, wangxian)

A Myriad of Blossoms by Itszero (E, 60k, wangxian)

for our love is a ghost the others can’t see by sheepwell, snackmon (sashimini_central) (M, 23k, wangxian, WIP) - Courtesan! LWJ’s dual-cultivational services gifted to General! WWX

Possession by trickanery (M, 52k, wangxian, WIP) - Prince! LWJ awarded to Wen Sect! WWX

loose me from hard care by oceanofchaos (E, 9k, wangxian) - war prize WWX awarded to General LWJ

~*~

4. hi, how are you? Can you tell me any fic where wangxians are teenagers and date?

10 Things I Hate About Dating at Gusu Academy by KouriArashi (T, 59k, 3zun, wangxian)

Step right up! by failedcharismacheck (T, 8k, wangxian)

The Time Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan almost died by Ichebi (E, 2k, wangxian) - has WWX seducing LWJ in the Cold Spring at Gusu Summer School (and nearly getting caught by LQR); not an Incense Burner story

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5. hi, i was wondering if you could recommend a couple of fics where the juniors time travel or wei ying and lan zhan's kids time travel? Thank you so much!

❤️ sing me a happy song by agloeian (M, 138k, wangxian, 2 works, series in progress, my post)

The Stuff of Legend by pupeez4eva (T, 21k, wangxian, xuanli, WIP)

The Trouble with Talismans: a Treatise on Time-Travel by Young Master Lan Xiaohui (Age 6) by stiltonbasket (G, 26k, wangxian, my post)

Butterfly Effect by EHyde (G, 29k, zhuiling)

And They Lived Happily Ever After… by Morgana_avalon (G, 51k, wangxian, my post) - Juniors time travel to the Burial Mounds shortly before Qiongqi Pass, fixit fic

The best accident by deadlychoco (not rated, 3k, wangxian, lan sizhui & lan wangji & wei wuxian) - the Junior Quartet and some Lan Sect OC juniors travel back in time to the pre-Sunshot Archery Competition

~*~

6. Hey and thank you for your work and research! I'm in the mood for ALL THE FICS where LWJ gets dicked down by WWX but with all the care and tenderness in the world! Only thing, it has to be in verse and CQL preferred but doesn't have to be. A little d/s is OK but main point is emotional connection and tenderness and LWJ getting spoiled and loved on. I read through your Dom WWX list just wondering if anything recent? THANK YOU

this one has a Dom Wei Wuxian tag, so someone tell me if it fits for this request as well? yearn for east wind by Aminias (E, 8k, wangxian)

❤️Hold Truth to the Light by SoManyJacks (E, 15k, wangxian, my post) - has LWJ fearing (supported by his own clumsy efforts with a sex toy) that his rough-and-tumble lovemaking has been hurting WWX; WWX reassures him to the contrary and proceeds to teach him how bottoming should actually feel.

The Gift by Jinko (E, 5k, wangxian) - as a prank in Gusu Summer School, WWX presents LWJ with a dildo. Many years later, WWX, discovering that his husband has kept *all* his gifts, instructs him in its use (and then offers him the real thing.)

Someone was looking for bottom LWJ lovingly getting sexed up? HELLO I'm SunBlueSun on AO3 and I've written a few rated E. :)

~*~

7. Hi Mojo! Do you know of any LQR bashing fics?

❤️ save a sword, ride a socialist by sysrae (E, 33k, wangxian, my post)

this blood in my mouth by ShanaStoryteller (not rated (I’d say G), 4k, wangxian, lan sizhui & lan sect)

~*~

8. Hey Mojo! I love this blog so much! Could you rec me a fic with some love for Wei Wuxian as a demonic cultivation expert? Like the cultivation world needs his knowledge for some reason. It's up to you what, it's your rec :D. I would love it though if demonic cultivation was at least on the way to being recognised as a useful and not necessarily evil path by the end. And with a good dollop of Wangxian on top too, cause I love my boys. Thank you!

Echo, Murmur, Dream, Here by bluerainmist (M, 51k, wangxian)

~*~

9. Hello! I need to admit I don't fully know how your page works (new on Tumblr... and in the Untamed fandom) but I saw "I'm in the mood for a fic where..." and wondered whether maybe you or your followers knew any fics where Wei Wuxian is a good teacher? I hope it's not somehow inappropriate of a question! :D ~ @changingfandomsatlightspeed

❤️Joy In the Midst of These Things by Glitterbombshell (T, 53k, 5 works, my post)

Not Yet (There As Needed) by sunrise_and_death (T, 13k, wangxian, my post)

The envy of the world by vulnerable_bead (E, 49k, wangxian, my post) - Teacher! WWX, *and* post-canon, *and* with Lan juniors

Discources on Salt and Iron by dragonofeternal (T, 13k, wangxian, WIP) - showcases WWX as teacher, leading the juniors in investigating a purportedly haunted salt processing plant

instructions on not giving up by fruitys (M, 14k, wangxian) - the story of how WWX, going nuts with boredom in the structured safety of the Cloud Recesses, gradually earns the trust of the younglings (despite Rule #4001) and establishes himself as a teacher;

this one’s behind a ‘challenge’ wall atm :( ... what do you mean this goes in that by lao_you_tiao yeasting_laozu (nanthebread) (T, 10k, wangxian, WIP)

paint smears on sunny days by SnowshadowAO3 (E, 54k, wangxian)

my #teacher wei wuxian tag on my AO3 collection (10 works so far)

~*~

10. Hey!! Hope you're doing good.. For the next in the mood for post do you happen to know any fic where lwj and lxc are on bad terms (maybe because of wwx or jgy?)

Sacrifices Made with Blood by NocturnalFriend (M, 75k, wangxian, WIP) - a time travel au where LXC is partly responsible for WWX and LWJ’s deaths which causes them to go back in time and starts off with them having a very tense relationship and LXC trying to fix it after he finds out what his future self did. I think the way it goes about LWJ and LXC’s fractured relationship is really good.

kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, lan sizhui & lan wangji & wei wuxian, jin ling & lan jingyi & lan sizhui, wangxian, my post)

~*~

11. Help? I'm looking for good long fics where wangxian is not the main pairing. They don't even have to be in it at all! But it's so hard to filter through ao3 when you're not looking for a specific pairing, or fics without any main relationship at all. I've exhausted the fics 40k+ in the xicheng, sangcheng, and xiyao tags. Xuanli is almost always a background pair. I don't really read any fics focused on pregnancy (m or f) or a/b/o, so that's also limiting. Have you come across any good Gen or rare pair epics or series? I love what you do here 💛, you're an invaluable resource!

Modern Sunshot AU by Eleanor_Fenyx (E, 171k, 3zun, 3 works, series in progress)

Building a home by R95irth (G, 586k, Jiang parents, Wei parents) - Main pairings are yxy/jfm and wcz/cssr and I don't think you get a rarer pair than those! Especially in terms of length, clever plot, and really good storytelling!

3Zun Fixit AU by Eleanor_Fenyx (E, 127k, 3zun 12 works, series in progress)

AO3 author Netrixie has many nielan stories.

❤️shades of grey by cl410 (M, 59k, wangxian, nielan, my post)

江山如有待 | It Seems the Hills and Rivers Have Been Waiting by ScarlettStorm (E, 229k, jiang cheng/ofc, WIP)

I strongly recommend Lise's stuff, esp some good mistakes (T, 18k, wangxian) - WWX gets kidnapped and LWJ and Jiang Cheng have A Very Awkward Roadtrip to get him back - and With Absolute Splendor (T, 44k, wangxian, jiang cheng) - where Jiang Cheng insists on planning the Wangxian wedding, but v much focused on Jiang Cheng's Complicated Feelings rather than on Wangian

Gentle Exile by rynleaf (E, 10k, lan xichen/song lan)

Someone Who Understands by treemaidengeek (T, 48k, lan xichen/song lan, 8 works, series in progress) - the first three works are short, skippable but wonderful prequel stories, it really gets going in To Love What Is Mortal

Better, Greater, or Otherwise Different by ChloeBYoung (G, 23k, wangxian) - outsider pov set after canon ends and focuses more on a Guest disciple stumbling upon Wei Wuxian and not knowing who he is and becoming friends with him It’s outsider POV, so WangXian is barely a part of it

❤️Important Distinctions by nagi_schwarz (T, 5k, wangxian, my post here)

Rise of the Peacock by JustAWanderingBabbit (not rated, 51k, xuanli, 3zun, wangxian, WIP) - Xuanli-centric, with a developing 3zun secondary and Wangxian to the side; JZX is transported back in time from the moment of his death to his first fight with WWX at Gusu Summer School, and strives to set things right from there.

A Long And Happy Life by KucatsHouse, rivlee (M, 506k, wangxian and more, 32 works, series in progress)

~*~

12. love you momjo ♡ know any fics with experienced/knowledgable Dom!LWJ and inexperienced/chaotic disaster baby Sub!WWX?

like it's the only thing i'll ever do by quoth_the_ravenclaw (M, 5k, wangxian)

(our friendship) up against the ropes by daltoneering (M, 36k, wangxian)

hot necromancer singles seeking dom daddies in your area by Mikkeneko (M, 19k, wangxian, my bookmark)

For the Sake of a Smile by Reikosama7716 (not rated, 90k, wangxian, WIP)

~*~

13. Hey mojo!! its been awhile since I last read for the mdzs fandom, so I was wondering if any new gems have popped up recently or in the past year lol. Thank you!! ~ @lwjromantics

like speaking to my heart by Rhymeswithtessa (Cuppiecake), SnowshadowAO3 (T, 614k, wangxian) - a swords as daemons au

Would You Come Home? by Anonymous (not rated, 37k, wangxian) - LSZ centered but it’s about him and the other juniors learning about WWX through a talisman WWX created before he died

“I will climb to where you are” or: the bunny book by ladyofrosefire, NotAFicWriter (T, 41k, wangxian) - child book authorLWJ and book artistWWX au, plus cute baby a-yuan

You still sound like a song by Moominmammashandbag (M, 56k, wangxian, WIP) - Canon era where WWX becomes a River god after he dies

Never Again by Hauntcats (T, 33k, wangxian, WIP) - Time Travel/Wen Qing refuses to go through with the golden core transfer

nothing you confess by PorcupineGirl (T, 31k, wangxian, my post) - soulmate/golden core reveal

the problem with authority by isabilightwood (M, 104k, wangxian, qingli, WIP) - JYL resurrection AU

~*~

14. Hi, I'm glad you're back. Do you know fics where WWX's not a virgin, he had a sexual experience before LWJ, and LWJ's okay with this?

Polishing Jade by Starra (M, 252, wangxian)

The Mistletoe Virgin by Vamillepudding (G, 12k, wangxian, my post)

~*~

15. do you know any fics that are based off that "i think im homophobic bc i get mad everytime my gay roommate has someone over. oh im actually just in love with them" meme ?

two gay wrongs make a gay right by interstel (T, 3k, wangxian)

Standing in the Sunlight by bizzybee (T, 4k, wangxian)

~*~

16. Hi Mojo! Do you have any fics where LQR actually likes WY? I know there are a couple of series which are amazing, Just Say Yes is my comfort series, but are there more stand alone fics?

You Need Tending by Eleanor_Fenyx (T, 12k, wangxian) and especially its sequel You Are Of Their Ilk (T, 18k, wangxian, WIP)

Righteous at a Cost by thunderwear (G, 21k, wangxian, my post)

The Untamed: For the Love of Two Boys by YenGirl (not rated, 181k, wangxian)

Deeper Seasons by piecrust (G, 8k, lan qiren & wei wuxian, wangxian)

Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 149k, wangxian, lan qiren & wei wuxian, WIP) - set in the Cloud Recesses Study Arc and Wei Wuxian gets the recognition he deserves! I highly recommend. Lan Qiren even plans on getting WangXian married so Wei Wuxian would join the Lans!! ... also focuses on talisman abilities.

❤️Joy In the Midst of These Things by Glitterbombshell (T, 53k, 5 works, my post) - an incredible post-canon series full of family feels that slowly shifts LQR's opinion of WWX and it's incredible. Stars with LQR needing an emergency substitute teacher for the littlest Lans

I'm For You Now by phnelt (T, 5k, wangxian) - LQR applies his experience in caring for LSZ and knowledge of Chinese Traditional Medicine (including a *sweet* medicinal soup!) to treating a feverish WWX

~*~

17. Hello! Do you have any anti-yzy or something that shows WWX getting the recognition he deserves for being a inventor? Thank you for your help!!

Immortal Obsession by FlautistsandPeonies (M, 55k, wangxian) - this focusses on inventions among several things

Worth of a Good Man by Vrishchika (G, 7k, wangxian) - not really inventions but he gets recognition for being a powerful cultivator

Arrivals in Yiling by Crystelia (G, 5k, Wangxian, yiling wei sect) Spanish translation on Wattpad here - the Yiling Patriarch gains acclaim as an agricultural and land rehabilitation innovator (the Yiling Wei Sect’s black radishes have become both healthful sustenance for the local poor and a prestige delicacy among gourmets.)

Free Wifi for Heroes by JJSparrow (E, 50k, wangxian) - My Hero Academia fusion; WWX is a renowned inventor of superhero gadgetry and head of WiFi Industries

~*~

18. hey hey! for the next 'in the mood for' fic rec, can you please give me some where LZ yells at people after WWX died? or just any fic where LZ is super expressive with his emotions? thank youuuu

Ready for Blood on the Ground by mondengel (T, 1k, lan wangji & cultivation world)

The Cruelty of Fate by Procrastination_Sensation (T, 16k, wangxian, my post)

~*~

19. Hi Mojo! I love the work you do and I appreciate it so much! If possible, do you know any fics where LXC and WWX are friends (childhood or otherwise) and WWX only knows LWJ as “my friends brother” until later on? I remember seeing a tumblr post having something similar to this with modern day LXC WWX and NMJ all being friends because WWX skipped a grade or two and ended up in the same class as them but I’m not sure if anyone has done anything else like this.

Here’s that tumblr fic, for your reference: if wei wuxian was lan xichen’s friend first by @shanastoryteller which was updated only last week!

Captain Wangxian by Bambii_baby0509 (T, 7K, lan xichen & wei wuxian, wangxian, WIP)

~*~

20. Hi! I've just discovered your blog and I was wondering if you had any recs for wangxian domestic fics? Them being caring to one another and so on 😍 Maybe with some cuddles? Thank you!

together, we're just enough by lulu_kitty (E, 135k, wangxian)

No cops at Pride, just Wei Ying and his Man Tiddies out by tothemovies (jayjem_jam) (T, 25k, wangxian) - crack modern au fic but wangxian are still ridiculously in love with each other and all domestic and cute

instructions on not giving up by fruitys (M, 14k, wangxian) - plenty of downright Miyazakiesque slice-of-life cozy domesticity

~*~

21. Hi Mojo, the latest chapter of this danmei I really liked ended in an assault and it was really upsetting. I cried about it which is dumb but whatever. [Aww, sweetie, I’m sorry!] Can you recommend any fics that are really just soft and wholesome. I don’t mind if they’re explicit as long as they’re gentle. Just anything where they’re grossly in love and take care of each other.

together, we're just enough by lulu_kitty (E, 135k, wangxian)

as thou wast wont to be by cqlorphan (E, 13k, wangxian)

sweet chaos by eachandeverydimension (G, 86k, wangxian) - slow burn arranged wangxian marriage au where LZ goes to lotus pier and slowly falls in love with WWX

Faire thee well by Scrippio (T, 78k, wangxian) - slow burn

the roots in my heart (also grow in yours) by halfdemonvash (M, 17k, wangxian) - cute one where they are botanists

a pear blossom bathed in springtime rain by RoseThorne (E, 1k, wangxian)

Wangxian Tax Universe by adrian_kres, RoseThorne (T, 6k, wangxian, 6 works, series in progress)

beneath rose-colored clouds by RoseThorne (G, <1k, wangxian)

instructions on not giving up by fruitys (M, 14k, wangxian) - slice-of-life cozy domesticity as well, as he does odd jobs among Gusu’s commoners, and plenty of passionate Wangxian love. (This seems to be the 50,000th MDZS fic on AO3!)

~*~

[My ko-fi.]

#wangxian #mdzs #the untamed #wangxian fic finder #in the mood for a fic #i haven't read these unless noted #crowd-sourcing #fic finding #fic finder

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starbornsinger · 3 years

Text

Nepenthe

Azriel x Gwyn one-shot (light angst, fluff)

Warning: ⚠️ ACOSF spoilers, mentions of abuse ⚠️

The day was not turning out as Azriel had originally anticipated. That much, at least, he had gathered. Now today wasn't like other unanticipated, unwelcome distractions. Those were the kinds he dreaded— days where he would return to the townhouse soaked in blood he wasn't sure belonged to him.

Those days haunted him on ones like this.

Yes, today was a different kind of unexpected. Rhysand had decidedly summoned him for lunch in his office, to discuss politics and prisoners and what color he and Feyre would paint the baby's room. It went in and out of Azriel's mind. Most things did, these days. The time after the war, after spending months trying to get those goddamn Illyrians back in line, it was taking its toll on him. His shadows, which curled behind his ears like tufts of dark hair, now seemed to swallow Azriel’s face whole, clenching around his body with an armored ferocity Rhysand was accustomed to.

Maybe, Azriel told himself, that was why he called him here. To see what he was up to. How he was doing. It annoyed him, when Rhys fluttered around him like a concerned mother hen, desperate to understand his feelings and thoughts.

He doubted he deserved to be cared for like that.

And maybe, he thought with a wry snort, it was why he had sent him on such a meaningless errand. A distraction, one he merely welcomed with indifference.

"There's a book," Rhys had drawled, leaning back in the chair pushed out from his onyx desk. Behind him, the portrait of his Mate seemed to glimmer with curiosity. "In the library beneath the House of Wind. A history book, about the royal bloodline. Feyre is making a family tree, and wishes to learn more about my ancestors. If you don't mind, I'd like you to retrieve it for me."

As though Azriel had nothing better to do. Truthfully, he didn't. But still he had replied slowly, his voice tight, "Can't you get it yourself? Or send Cass?" Rhysand only barked a laugh. When it came to his brother, Azriel knew he would do anything he asked. For his brother, he would have jumped into the Sidra if he had asked. It was beyond the duty to the High Lord with which Azriel regarded Rhysand; but that didn't mean he wouldn't give him grief for such a stupid task.

"No, shadowsinger," he had purred in reply, mouth stretching into a taunting grin. "I cannot. I'm far too busy looking at paint samples with my Mate. And besides, the priestesses like you best, don't they?" Rhys barked a laugh. Azriel opened his mouth to retort, to defend the way his shadows flinched, but he set his jaw tightly. The shadowsinger gave a subtle nod, then rose from his seat. A soft brushing of knuckles against his stony mental shields had him pausing in the doorway.

You can hide it, Rhys had said. You can hide many things from us. But you can't hide from me. You need this today.

Hide it, indeed.

Azriel huffed as he flew, wings beating against the cool summer breeze that rippled across his dark head. He needed to stretch his wings, to clear his head and focus on the warmth beating down on his back. The sun, hanging lazily in the afternoon sky, illuminated the blues and reds of his wings and cast his shadow over Velaris as he made his way to the library. He told himself he had only wanted to get it over with, and that was why he was moving so quickly, darting across the sky. That he wanted to go back to the townhouse and sulk. But Mother damn him, he couldn't stop that swell in his chest as he came nearer and nearer. That swell was akin to dying a joyous and euphoric death— there was no other way Azriel could accurately describe it. His heart pounded in anticipation at what he knew lay beyond those ancient doors.

Her.

Azriel had become accustomed to Gwyneth Berdara’s strange beauty and equally strange humour during their training; had grown to like her friendly nature and competitive, passionate spirit. If anything, he admired her. He might have even feared her. That cheerful female with copper hair that shined in the light of the sun and moon, both of which seemed to love her. They had spent months, moving side-by-side, grinning at each other across the ring while trying to slash the other with a sword.

Their encounters outside of training were brief, and conversations short. He supposed he wasn't one for talking, and allowed her to lead them in a dialogue. But as time went on, Azriel found the little smiles on her rosy lips now reflected on his, and the bright laughter that filled his ears now echoed softly in his own throat. With her, he felt his emotions bob to the surface, and for once, he didn't stop them.

From the moment he'd met Gwyn, she'd held Azriel's attention with a preternatural ability, and had caught him off guard more times than he'd like to admit. The shadowsinger, spymaster, king of shadows— taken by surprise by a young priestess.

His lips turned upward at the thought of her.

᯽

Azriel landed on the balcony of the House of Wind, his wings snapping behind him as he eased into a walk. His descent down the swirling staircase to the library was a silent one. Azriel had been to this athenaeum hundreds of times, far more than he could count, but it had never gotten easier.

The pain and sorrow he felt in the priestesses' sanctuary was suffocating, at times. Not because he had felt the same anguish himself, but because he had rescued many of them from it. Because the shadowsinger had seen the horrors they'd escaped from, and faltered, unknowing of what to say or do to offer comfort.

He remembered rescuing Gwyn. Azriel was the first of the Inner Circle to arrive. He remembered dragging his blade across the throat of the Hybern general who thought he had a claim to Gwyn, who thought he was worthy of even gracing her presence. His scarred hands shook even now with fury, fury and rage towards the soldiers who had defiled her home and her body.

Azriel knew though, it was nothing compared to the pain she must have felt. He couldn't bring himself to think of it. Every inch of him now trembled with that dark rage, the joy now vanished without a trace, and he clenched his fists— the fists of a killer, he thought bitterly. Distraction was a fruitless effort. They had hurt her, and he had made them pay with their lives.

He only wished that killing them might have eased her mind, as he hoped to. It didn't. Even now, he found himself staring at the wall late at night, wondering if those mental scars were healing.

Or if they were just as ugly and unavoidable as the ones he bore on his skin.

Melancholy filled him as he walked further into the forlorn depths of the ancient library. He seemed to disappear into it, willing the shadows nearby to whisk him away into oblivion.

᯽

The hymn sung during today’s dawn service had yet to leave Gwyn's mind. It was a soft, gentle song, full of joy and sorrow and hope— the beacon she needed today. When she had woken this morning, the heaviness of her heart had weighed on her with a particular viciousness. It had been difficult to rise, to dress in her familiar blue robes and run a brush through her tangles of copper hair.

But she had done it. A small victory. And she had dragged herself to morning service, as she did every day. It had taken her many months to work up the courage to attend after arriving initially. She couldn't bring herself to fill her heart with music, with love. Not when it was so ravaged by hate. Gwyn didn't know if she deserved to feel joy like that. But when she was through with feeling sorry for herself, through with feeling such overwhelming shame, she dragged herself to that first service and never looked back.

Now, she led the songs with a fervor she hadn't felt in the 2 years since Sangravah. Now, she was bursting with life. With passion. Although the shame had never quite left her, she was happier. Lighter. Gwyn was healing, and happy to do so.

Gwyn had suggested the priestesses sing an older selection of music today, one that cried love in the rawest of forms. It was in a language long forgotten, and the words that had been lost were replaced by lyrics in the common tongue. The song carried on long after the service had ended, caressing the dark confines of her mind and coaxing her out of her stupor.

Perhaps, she thought to herself with a small smile, it was magic. To her, music was magic.

And so Gwyn carried on with her day, pushing the cart that only seemed to get heavier and heavier as the hours flew by. She nodded to priestesses that passed by, and offered small smiles to those she recognized the scents of. The library was a quiet existence, save for the occasional conversation; so she filled the silence, humming and singing and tapping her fingers as she worked.

᯽

It was that soft singing that caught Azriel's attention as he stood before Clotho, his hands resting on the desk politely. Perhaps a reminder to those watching that he too, was damaged. A silent request to be accepted into their sacred space. He had asked politely about the book Rhysand had requested, and a silent prodding about the possibility of him seeking it out. With a shallow nod, Clotho permitted it, and waved a gnarled hand of dismission. She too, seemed to perk up at that singing, but merely shrugged when Az raised a brow. He studied her for a moment, before nodding and turning away. Clotho returned to her work without another word, but a secret smile ghosted her lips.

A few priestesses had indeed watched from afar, but quickly returned to their work as he approached the endless rows of books. Level Four, Section 3A, he repeated over and over. Level Four, Section 3A. Curiously, Azriel glanced over at the group of priestesses who now spoke quietly, and offered a rare, gentle smile to the group before descending down the spiral ramp to the next level.

Still that singing seemed to follow him, echoing off the stone walls.

It was, in simplest terms, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. His shadows harmonized with the gorgeous melody, a reverence of the Mother like no other. The song called to Azriel with an intensity that made his blood tremble, and pulled him until his feet seemed to move on their own, down and down and down into those depths of darkness and light and beauty. He picked up speed, his heartbeat erratic as his mind echoed with that damn music.

When he reached the fourth level, he turned in the direction Section 3A, looking up at a nearby sign. But when he took the first step, his shadows nipped at him, grabbing him by the sleeve and tugging him in the opposite direction. Come, they whispered. Find her.

Azriel hesitated for a breath, glancing back at the sign, then obliged. He was walking blind, betraying every battle instinct that had drilled into him. Ignoring them, he let his shadows guide him with a racing heart, until he found the source.

Mere feet away, there she stood, her straight copper hair tied back by a simple blue ribbon, the same sapphire shade as his siphons. A few stray wisps of red were tucked behind her delicately pointed ears. His shadows wanted to curl around those pretty ears, to run their dark fingers through the silky strands of her perfect hair, but he quickly tugged on their leash before they could slip away from him. Gwyn's lips moved gently, her voice vibrating with a clarity he wasn't quite sure was possible for Fae— but she wasn't entirely Fae, was she?

This damned female would surely be the end of him.

He felt his knees wobble, as her voice waltzed towards him on a star-studded breeze. Azriel had heard beautiful singing before— had been to the theatre several times with Rhysand and the Inner Circle, had tapped his foot to the sound of street performers on the cobblestone pathways of Velaris. But this was nothing like them. She was casual, examining the spines of books and then tucking them into spots on the shelves, rearranging them until she was satisfied. Her musical prowess was a stark contrast to the sight of her; Mother, just seeing her standing there was a perfect melody that made his blood sang. The words that left her lips though, were something wholly magical.

Gwyn was confident in her singing, confident enough to do so in a near silent library where all listened and admired her talent. When Gwyneth Berdara sang, the troubles of the priestesses weren't simply forgotten. Instead, they became tangible, and beautiful, and raw. They became a song, a flawless execution of emotion, a dance of mourning and a waltz of life , all at once. It was a release; a rebirth. It was an almost laughably common occurrence for females to cry tears of relief during her performances, but one that gave Gwyn a swelling sense of pride.

In her songs, there was an honesty that only Mor had ever shown; it was all swirling together like she herself was Cauldron-blessed and the Mother was pouring Gwyn's soul into the world. Time had frozen for— well, Azriel wasn't sure for how long. The faelights flickered around them, two beings lost in the eternity of the library, one seemingly unaware of the other.

If Azriel hadn't known better, he might have admitted how much his heart had calmed. How his chest had warmed, and the heavy weight he had been feeling on his shoulders had slowly but surely vanished. But he dare not say a word, and instead, savored the moment in contented silence.

His shadows, on the other hand, were perfectly content to dance and harmonize alongside her. They hugged the shadow cast at her feet, their misty forms swaying between them. Azriel clenched his fist, and swallowed. Stop it, he tried to command them. And of course, they ignored him wholly. Gwyn's song came to a close, and she hummed the tune to herself as she pushed the cart a bit further down the aisle. The shadows followed, and Azriel took a silent step forward, beckoning them. You're supposed to listen me, you know. They laughed at him in reply.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop, shadowsinger?"

Azriel's heart stopped.

᯽

Gwyn had known Azriel was near the moment he had stepped foot into the library. She wasn't sure how or why, but something in her seemed to suddenly resonate— a feeling ringing inside her that she couldn't quite explain, and only seemed to grow louder and more intense.

Until it was behind her, and she swore she felt the most tender of brushes against her ear, tucking her hair back. A bit of darkness flickered in and out of the corner of her eye, and a smile formed on her lips. Gwyn welcomed his shadows, let them settle at her feet and dance to her song. She had always liked them, anyway. She had been humming throughout the day, but when she had felt that warmth in her blood, it was as though the voice of the Mother had whispered into the curve of her ear: Sing.

So she did.

Gwyn had heard Azriel's soft footsteps as they approached the rows of shelves on Level Four. It wasn't particularly hard to identify them; no other males outside of the Inner Circle were permitted to visit, and no other was as subtle about his movements as the shadowsinger was. Months of training and sparring had accustomed her to his preternatural stillness. Yes, Gwyn assured herself, she had become very familiar with him. Had deduced that it must be him. Nothing more than that.

She dare not admit that she would have felt him and his shadows even if she were blind and deaf.

So finally, Gwyn spoke. Her lips curled into a teasing smile, and she turned to face Azriel fully. And of course, there he was, standing at the end of the aisle as she had expected. What she hadn't expected however, was that his eyes would be as wide and mouth hanging open as it was. Gwyn blinked, the only indicator of surprise, before she soothed her expression into one of cool teasing. The High Lord's spymaster straightened up as well, setting his jaw tightly. He cast his gaze to the floor.

"Gwyn," was all he said in greeting.

"Azriel." Her teal eyes sparkled, and her freckles seemed to glow like stars in the faelight. "What brings you here? Surely not my singing." A soft laugh.

What he wanted to say was, Yes. It was you. You and that damn gorgeous voice. I couldn't hear anything but you. Couldn't think about anything else. Hell, I forget walking down here.

But instead, he simply answered, "Book."

A pause. Azriel's cheeks flared, and his shadows made to quickly hide his embarrassment. He coughed. "A book. For Rhysand. A— a history book. Clotho directed me to this level."

"Ah," replied Gwyn. There was no hint of judgement in her tone. At least she didn't think he was a moron. His shadows flicked towards her curiously. "I see. And what sort of history book could interest our mighty High Lord?"

Gwyn's grin was unrelenting, but Azriel was far too stiff to even look up at her. He had been caught. The shadowsinger, the fucking spymaster for the Night Court, had been caught red-handed by a young female. Cassian would have guffawed at the sight of him blushing like an idiot.

Gwyn picked up a particularly heavy book, standing on her toes to reach a higher shelf. She strained, but was determined to reach what was too high above her head. Without thinking, Azriel moved. His strides were smooth, powerful even, and he stood beside her. A comfortable distance away, he took hold of the book, and gently pried it from her hand. A silent request. She obliged, releasing her hold as his scarred fingers grazed hers. A tingling sensation crept up her body from that contact, while Az pushed the book into its slot effortlessly. Gwyn still remained on her toes, looking up at him as he seemingly towered over her. Yet, she was not afraid of him. It was impossible to be, not when he was so gentle, and so strong, and had saved her life—

"Family history," he clarified. His voice was a low caress. "For Feyre." Azriel's hand lingered on the shelf high above her for a moment, a finger trailing slowly down the cracked spine of the book. Gwyn's eyes darted from his face to the book, then back to his face. A moment seemed to stretch into a thousand tiny moments that burned into his mind like etchings on a cave: face, so smooth and gentle, yet lively; plush, pink lips that curved upwards, that seemed to have a magnetic pull to his. If he leaned down far enough, his mouth might have met hers. Gods, she was divine. As expected of a priestess, he supposed.

He took in the rest of her face: a strong, stubborn chin, with equally opposing gentle eyes, that flared with surprise once more. He sensed a gradual change in her scent, one he didn't recognize. Gwyn's freckled face flushed pink, and Az worried that he might have overstepped her boundaries.

So he retracted his arm, and took a step back. The heels of Gwyn’s silk-slippered feet lowered to the floor. The male ran a scarred hand through his dark hair, and Gwyn tracked the movement, her eyes catching on every strand and wave of his silken locks. Her face seemed a bit rosier than it had before. He swore silently, worried he had upset her.

"Thank you," Gwyn said rather suddenly, as though snapping out of a daze. The faint blush did not leave her cheeks, though. Her hand drifted to her necklace, fiddling with it and zipping the small flower pendant along the chain. He only stole a glance at her, not wanting to stare too long and make her uncomfortable. But seeing her in that necklace, touching it so affectionately... Az felt his mind ease into a calm. With Gwyn, he felt absolved. Even for just a moment.

"Would you mind helping me? Find the book, I mean." Azriel asked, jerking his chin towards the section. Thinking for a moment, he quickly added, "That is, if you're not too busy."

Gwyn halted, and chewed on her lip. She glanced up at the other floors, as though looking at something in quiet consideration. then returned her gaze to him. There was no way she could say no— not when he made the sorrow in her mind settle. Not when he made her feel so... happy.

"I would love to."

Something about that smile… It was so disarming. He had no defenses, no stealth, no plans for her. Even his shadows, usually astute guard dogs, had rolled over to bear their bellies to her.

They liked her.

He liked her.

A secret, happy possibility was tucked away in the back of his mind.

Gwyn’s heart skipped a beat, as though she was wondering the same thing.

What they could be.

“Lead the way, Berdara.” He made a lazy motion with his hand, and the corners of his lips tugged upwards. He sketched a bow, like a true courtly gentleman.

She returned the smile, her teal eyes sparkling with a new feeling, and took his arm. "Gladly."

The touch sent his heart soaring.

nepenthe (noun)— something that makes you forget grief or suffering.

255 notes · View notes

anotherbeingsworld · 4 years

Text

Nepenthe (Lennox X Bryce)

Pairing: Bryce x F!MC (Lennox Hirata - owned by @arcticlumineer )

Inspo: Stars by Alessia Cara.

Summary: A small getaway after the previous events, a small conversation under the night sky.

A/N: I was planning to post something and here it is, something I manage to write during this whirlwind. Life is a hard road, but... I am not giving up yet. I have felt like that before, and I know.. it’s been 2 days I couldn’t let myself go, tumblr felt like one place I could be myself with somehow? ; and I am very excited for this fic. One of my favourites to write actually. This fic was dedicated mostly to my Mario( @arcticlumineer ) and Lennox is her MC. Somehow, a continuation to her fic ‘Binary Stars’ that all of you should check it out too! She has been fighting and, she will keep on fighting. You deserve everything Alaska and so much more, and I hope you loved this as much as I loved writing it. - Your Luigi. 💙

Thank you @mvalentine for assuring me that it is not a crappy one! I love you, and to all that reached out in the comments and messages, I appreciate all of you so so much! Thank you 💖💖💖 I will try to get some time on my own in a way, and maybe there is hope after all. I hope all of you enjoy it! It wasnt my best, but... it came from the heart and I hope you all love it. I will be back with more Bryce and Casey very soon! <3

Tags: @bitchloveskcbaseball , @storyofmychoices @jaxsmutsuo , @mvalentine , @princess-geek , @lahellacute , @kacie-0156-deactivated20200905 , @this-person-is-busy , @annekebbphotography , @brycelahel, @mrsbhandari , @dcbbw , @choicessa , @choices-confessions , @aylamwrites , @fantasyoverreality98 , @drakewalker04 , @baltersome , @ofpixelsandscribbles , @thundergom @starrystarrytrouble, @ohramsey , @kelseaaa , @rookie-ramsey , @bratzlahela , @ohvamsey , @choicesficwriterscreations , @soft-for-drake , @lalizah , @drethanramslay , @arcticlumineer , @choicesstan1 , @aveeiro

Nepenthe (noun) - Something that makes you forget pain and suffering.

Knock on my door, boy come home

You stay in my head

Lay in my arms, why won't you?

It's been way too long, what you waiting on?

It was a long drive, as they finally reached the Grand Canyon, one of the wonders of the states. Bryce never agreed on a 3-day trip of driving from Boston to the infamous canyon. After a long 40 hours of driving, and stopping. Bryce and Lennox has arrived at the spot, where it was almost sundown.

Lennox was the one who suggested upon the idea, as she wanted a new experience including taking a long trip to Arizona, after the tragedy strikes. They were given a leave as, Bryce took a few measures along with infamous pick-up lines to convince Harper on taking a leave. It worked, and here they are.

‘We are here!’ A surprisingly enthusiastic Lennox get out of the car, as she took a breath of the fresh air. It smells very weird, but it’s definitely not Edenbrook. She loved Edenbrook, but she felt a new environment was needed. A new space for her to breath, as the sun was about to set in an hour.

‘Let’s get ourselves cozy, Hirata here take the food.’ An exhausted Bryce was heard, as Lennox marched into the back of the car taking the basket of food for the night. They didn’t packed much, except a few unhealthy ones, and some take-out from their journey which is enough to survive the night.

Bryce took care of the rest, as they hike their way up the canyon. It wasn’t the prettiest view at the time being, but he felt happy to take her out here. Away from the commotion of their work life, where it was only them against the real world. Including Keiki too.

After a long hour of hiking, they finally reached one of the many tops of the canyon. It was a perfect view of the whole lot, as Lennox placed the food, as Bryce gets the stuff ready. He lays out a large blanket, and Lennox sat on top of it as soon as she could. A small price of enthusiasm as he lets out a small chuckle, taking a seat next to her. It was quiet, as they were the only beings that were known there.

The sun has already set, as they ate their subway take-outs. It wasn’t the best after a long drive, but their tummies are full and that’s what matters. After a session of eating, Lennox found herself staring at the night sky. It was dark, as the source of light was from their phones and a couple of emergencies flashlight but, the moon above them were doing the work.

Bryce felt himself staring at her, a small gesture that he would do everytime. He adored her, from the very first time he saw her. She was strong, kind, empathetic despite the sass she owns. Lennox Hirata was her own woman, and Bryce found himself falling for her, despite their feelings haven’t returned. At least, not yet.

He realizes his feelings towards her, after the funeral. The fear of losing her, was seen within him as he lets his walls down for her. Something he had tried so hard on doing, a small sacrifice for the chance to reduce the pain little-by-little. Somehow, Lennox felt like his weakness, the fear of never seeing her again lingers in his mind, a broken record that was played over and over again.

The flashback from before, replayed once more as he remembered witnessing Lennox, in a weak state. She wasn’t the cheerful person he knows, as the light in her eyes had disappeared since that day. Followed by losing two of the closest people in her life in front of her eyes, an event that one will never forget.

‘…Earth to Bryce...’ Her voice was heard, looking worried at his state.

Bryce shook his head, as an attempt to bring his consciousness back into reality. A smile was plastered on his face, as the tears started to fall a bit.

‘What’s wrong?’ She never understand why, but every time she witness of Bryce being vulnerable. She felt her heart break a little, somehow seeing one of the most confident people in her life, willing to share this part of his life with her, a misfit in disguise? Lennox Hirata.

‘..That moment, its playing in my mind Len. I know you told me, you are okay. Look, you are. But-‘ He found himself pause.

‘I kept on imagining the worst, there were moments where I woke up thinking that you are not here anymore. You were taken away from me, and…it terrifies me.’ He took a deep breath, as he lets the truth out, something he had been experienced lately, as he found himself imagining the worst whilst encouragement from Keiki.

‘C’mon, its in the past Bryce…it’s okay’ Lennox tried to brushed the topic of, a saddened look on her face.

‘No, you could’ve died. It’s serious.’ He replies with a hint of hurt in his voice.

‘But, I am here now. I am here with you, and I’m not going anywhere alright?’ She closed the gap between them, and pulled him into a hug. She didn’t realize, she felt her tears were falling too. She remembered that night all too well, she almost died. The night where she knew her life had changed one way or another. Witnessing Bobby’s and Danny’s death, was a hard pill to swallow.

After the hug, they pulled away. She was never the one to show affection, but she always loved the little things. She was never a fan of public display of affection, but holding each other’s hands, cheek kisses, hugs, and many more were her way of affection. A small squeeze of a hand, the common gesture for them both.

She took his hand in hers, as his big ones covering her tiny one. They weren’t a perfect fit, but it felt right. Giving it a small squeeze, as crying wasn’t apart of the plan.

Silent tears was heard, as they both lie down on the blanket, somehow their faces were facing each other.

He never looked more beautiful.

She looks like an angel from above.

He brushed the hair was covering her eyes, as they continue to stare upon the night sky. The world was sleeping, as the surroundings was empty. It was them, and them only. The moon shines brightly above them, as the twinkling light of the stars were seen. A small callback to their planetarium date, the moment where she was discovering the feeling that was hovering in her mind on a certain figure named Bryce Lahela.

‘I fought and I survive, but… why do I feel like life is more than that?’

She glances his way, hoping for an answer. Both of them were silence, as neither know the answer.

‘..I remember the day I left Hawaii, left everything behind.. I feel like, I was helpless and I couldn’t survive on my own. It felt a long road, and…after all those obstacles… I am here where I was meant to be. Life is definitely more than surviving, its the feeling of not giving up and keep going despite how many bumps life give you one way or another.’

Bryce replies as both of them continue on gazing the stars, it was shining brightly. It felt like, she was somewhere far far away from the real world upon stepping into space.

‘If it is meant to be? How do you know this isn’t a fatal coincidence?’

‘You do have a lot of questions don’t you Len?’ He smiles, finally after all the crying they have done.

‘Hey, I am a curious human being. It’s my nature after all.’ She winks, as her eyes gazed over the galaxy above them.

‘Well, curious human being. I am at your service, hit me with your best shot.’

She raised an eyebrow, earning a questionable look from him.

‘What?’

‘The question earlier dummy.’ Lennox lets out a laugh, as their laughter fills the void surrounding them.

‘Ahhh… where do I begin..’ He mimicking the scary professors from those crappy haunted movies, that made her cringe so bad.

‘Just cut to chase Lahela.’ Lennox demanded with a hint of laughter in her voice, earning herself a sensual wink from him.

‘Ok, okay. Hold your horses Hirata! I don’t feel like I have been paying attention much to how life works, but…I believe that everything has been written in the stars. Every step of this ride, have been written down in the stars and its our chance to see it unfold when the time has come..’

Lennox felt herself humming to a song that has been in her mind for the past week, Stars by Alessia Cara.

Piercing lights in the dark make the galaxy ours

Kingdom right where we are

Shining bright as a morning, you'll never be lonely

Just promise you'll love me, I'm never too far

And we'll never part

And we could be stars

Bryce was somehow stunned? As, her voice flowed through the night. She felt herself flushed, as she punched him lightly on the shoulder. A small act that ended up with laughter.

‘Tonight, it felt like the stars are looking down on us. Just, shining our lives in a way a light would do. It feels lonely out here on our own, but… looking above, the stars felt like a companion to us. I.. have always loved the stars. There was a moment… years ago, I was alone in my room. It was night time, and I was lucky enough to have a view on my bedroom window. It was spectacular, as the stars felt like something out of the painting, and I dreamed of touching it with my bare hands.’ She explained, with a smile on her face with her hands forward as an attempt to capture the stars which is impossible but, she didn’t care. It felt like she was a child once more, living this world with a huge dream ahead.

‘That sounds …amazing.’ His eyes linger on her for a while, somehow a small smile was formed of from adoration. I love her, he thought silently as his eyes soften at the sound of giggles coming out from her.

They continue on their small adventure, until it was dawn. An hour before, after exchanging stories, including those that made her laugh till her tummy hurts.

‘You know, we have known each other for two years now.’ She stated.

‘Yeah?’

Lennox nodded, somehow in disbelief at how far they have come from becoming strangers to falling in love silently with him which she didn’t feel like admitting too yet.

‘It somehow felt like a lifetime ago…’

She said quietly, as Bryce nods in agreement taking her hand in his.

‘Yeah, but… we still have a whole life ahead of us right?’

He looked at her, with a hint of hope in his eyes. A new path was suddenly carved, a whole lot of adventures that will followed them. Lennox Hirata’s adventures at Edenbrook started a lifetime ago, as she fought for life, death, friendships, and even love. There were still pages in her book waiting to be written, as she said yes to a whole life ahead, a life where she will keep on fighting to be the person who she was meant to be with the present of those who she loved and cared deeply.

THE END.

A/N: Hi, dropping by again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and know that.. hope is always there. I realized it and, I hope it’s always gonna be there. And, @arcticlumineer you are gonna fight this. I believe in you. <3

#choices fic writers creations #playchoices #open heart #bryce x mc #bryce lahela #lennox hirata #alaska #arcticlumineer #anotherbeingsworldwrites #fics #<3 #my mario <3 #forever.

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aire101 · 4 years

Text

Ferrum Chapter 4

Hey y'all, got this chapter out a bit sooner than the last one!

For those who read the light novels of SAO this chapter will be kinda familiar, for those who have only watched the anime, this is the town where Kirito ran to after leaving Klein in Episode 1, and the quest where he got his Anneal Blade we see in the series.

Also, while I make no promises that it will make it into the story, I am open to suggestions on what kind of adventures or shenanigans you would like to see the boys get up to in SAO. As I've mentioned previously I don't really intend to get the boys mixed up too much in the main canon, so if there's an aspect of the SAO world in general you'd like to see explored outside of the main battles and Kirito's storyline I'm open to considering it. I'm also ok with interactions with known characters, just trying to avoid writing the whole Kirito centric Aincrad arc.

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

Activate-Vertical slash-hold

“Switch!”

1-2

“Switch!”

Defend-rage spike, upward strike—

“SWITCH!”

Peter fell back again, the post motion-delay that set in for a measly few seconds was nevertheless a highly vulnerable moment that he and Mr. Stark had figured out a work around for early on in their trek. The boars from Day 1 had been easy one hit kills, so they hadn’t noticed the system forced post-motion cool down period until they had been fighting on the road the next day. Their tag-team approach served them well, and best that Peter could tell from when they came upon other players in the wild, most of the rest had come to the same conclusion that they had. Because of that, it was unusual these days to find someone soloing in the pvp areas by choice.

Mr. Stark switched in with a strong horizontal slash, bringing the Little Nepenthe's HP down to zero.

“You know, I was never one for plants anyway, but after this quest I swear to god I will never put a single point into the gardening skill,” said Mr. Stark as he sheathed his sword.

“I’ve told you, green stuff is sadness and disappointment solidified,” replied Peter, following suit.

“I still expect you to eat your greens, kid.”

“It’s a tragedy, I tell you. Here we are, trapped in a fantasy game and every meal is still served with vegetables.”

“Yeah, that’s the real tragedy here.”

“I want my money back.”

“You weren’t even the one who bought the game. But either way, I’ll buy you every Playstation, X-Box, and Nintendo game ever in existence when we get back if you just never touch a full dive ever again,” said Mr. Stark, laughing.

And there’s Peter’s daily reminder that he still hadn’t informed Mr. Stark of the horrific truth of his situation.

“I think it’s time to call it a night, Underoos.”

“Is this quest even worth it? We’ve been out here for like three days weeding these things out. The drop rate on this thing is atrocious,” moaned Peter.

“From what our source says, this quest has one of the best weapons you can find on this floor as it’s reward. And while I’ve been funneling as many points as possible into weapon creation, its not quite where it needs to be to match that yet, so better to start with a good blade and just do the enhancement myself. Also, don’t think I didn’t notice that terrible pun, you should be ashamed.”

“Hey, there’s no shame in my pun game.”

Mr. Stark gave a deep sigh/groan before he turned and started walking back towards the direction of Horunka Village. He probably had rolled his eyes too, but it was impossible to tell through the helmet he always wore.

Night had long since fallen over Aincrad, and it had been dark in the forest even before that. Pale blue light slit through the trees overhead, lighting the path, but otherwise they made their way by memory and intuition. A breeze stirred up leaves from the ground, and Peter shivered slightly from the cool night air.

“Do you think its going to snow here in the winter?” asked Peter.

“If we’re all still here in the winter—which all signs point to yes— I think it will. We can see from the thunderstorm last week it has a functioning variable weather simulator. I wasn’t a part of that programing team obviously, so I don’t know for certain just how far that variable goes, but I would think the primary associated weather variations like rain, snow and heat waves will be included. It might also vary by floor. Probably won’t know the answer to that until we get a few floors opened up,” answered Mr. Stark.

“Huh… something to look forward to I guess,” said Peter.

“Why? You don’t get enough snow in Queens?” Mr. Stark said with a joking tone.

“Yeah, but you know in the real world I kinda have to be careful with the cold. My body temperature runs a bit cooler than the average, so unless I’m in the suit I try to keep exposure to a minimum. In here I can probably spend all day in it with out any trouble,” said Peter.

“I didn’t know that, actually,” said Mr. Stark, this time far more seriously. “You haven’t mentioned it, and I hadn’t thought about that at all.”

“Oh. Well, that built in heater and temperature regulator in the suit pretty much took care of the problem. It’s just something I have to keep in mind,” said Peter, awkwardly trying to cover his slip up. Obviously that had been a conversation they had some time after Mr. Stark’s last memory.

It had been almost two weeks since they had been locked in this game, and Peter was still no where close to figuring out how Mr Stark was even here. And he was equally no where closer to telling Mr. Stark the truth about the events in the real world— Thanos and the Infinity Stones, Mrs. Stark and Morgan, Mr. Stark’s death and Peter’s own—

“Anyway, we should definitely make a day of it once it does. I don’t know about you, but its been years since I built a snowman and I kinda want to change that,” said Peter, quickly diverting his thoughts.

“Sure, might as well. Not like we’re going anywhere fast in here. Though if you start singing Frozen songs I might reconsider.”

“You know, they’ve written out your entire life story in news articles and magazines, but they always leave out how much of a killjoy you are.”

“Whatever, kid. I’m the life of the party.”

“A retirement party, maybe.”

Mr. Stark threw the finger back over his shoulder at Peter and kept walking.

Peter was just just about to follow suit when out of the corner of his eye, the sight of polygons coalescing into a hazy form caught his attention.

It was obviously another Little Nepenthe, but above the typical hellish roots and vines and the bizarre, speckled pitcher plant topped with its gaping fanged mouth, was a large, blood red bloom.

Petter inhaled sharply, the sound causing Mr. Stark to spin around as well.

This was it. This is what they were looking for.

Before the creature could attack and he could second guess himself, Peter drew his sword and leapt in with a swift Horizontal Strike at the plant’s weak spot— the joint between the stalk and the pitcher.

The strike hit true, and before the evil hell plant got even a single chance to spew its corrosive liquids, it dissolved back into broken polygons, leaving behind nothing but the delicate flower holding the Ovule they had searched for.

“Whoa! You actually got one!”

Mr. Stark and Peter both spun around, swords raised. Behind them stood another player no older than Peter, with his arms now raised in a sign of surrender.

“Sorry! I was using my hide skill in here. It doesn’t really work on the Little Nepenthes, but it helps avoid other confrontations,” said the player.

Despite what they said, Peter took a good look around, searching for others. The timing and the seeming lack of a party giving good reason for concern. PKers lurking around valuable drop spots to attack and rob unsuspecting players of their loot wasn’t an uncommon thing in PvP games, and unfortunately not even a full two weeks in, SAO was no exception. In any other game, they may simply be considered griefers. But here, to the best of their knowledge it was nothing short of murder.

“Where’s the rest of your party?” asked Mr. Stark, not lowering his blade.

“Eh, I don’t really have one,” said the guy sheepishly

“Forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe,” said Mr. Stark. “Kid, do you see anyone else? Or are they hidden as well?”

“Look, there’s really no one else, its just me. People in here don’t really like my type,” said the guy, with a sad note in his voice.

“Oh…” said Mr. Stark, voice now tinged more compassion than aggression. “You’re a beta tester, aren’t you kid?”

The guy flinched, but nodded. “Please, I promise I’m just doing some light grinding in the area. There’s no one else, and I already have the quest item.”

Mr. Stark didn’t sheath his sword, but he gave a nod and backed away.

“Alright, good luck then,” he said.

The other player nodded in return, turned and walked back into the woods.

“Pocket the ovule quick and keep an eye out. Don’t sheath your sword until we get back into town,” said Mr. Stark before he began running back in the direction of Horunka village.

Peter slipped the item into his inventory and easily kept pace with the other man. After a few minutes of running, Peter finally spoke up, “Do you think he was telling the truth? Pretty surprising he freely admitted to that. For all he knows we could have been Beta Killers.”

“If we had killed someone our player cursors would still be orange. It is unusual though. He must have figured it was worth the risk to try and get us to back off,” said Mr. Stark. “Poor kid, as if being stuck in this game wasn’t bad enough, having to hide a beta status from other players…”

Just as Mr. Stark had expected that first day, it didn’t take long before the terrified and angry masses started looking for someone to blame. And with Kayaba disappearing into the digital ether, apparently the scapegoats they chose were the 700 or so beta testers who had logged in with the rest that day. According to most pub talk, the beta testers had left the rest of the players in the dust of the Town of Beginnings, getting through the most lucrative quests and hunts before most even dared to leave the city. They were condemned as selfish and greedy, and were therefore persona non-gratis in most parties. Even worse were the stories of betas being outright murdered and monster PK’d. Out of the almost 1000 players who were already dead about two weeks in, around 150 had been beta testers. A staggering amount given how few of them there had been. Plenty had undoubtedly met their end due to the game itself, but many had ended up victims of angry mobs.

Peter didn’t understand it. Yeah, the beta testers had more info and experience than the rest, but they had shared much of that info on the internet before the game even began. Then after a few days in game, vendor markets began carrying a free SAO Guide booklet created by someone called ‘The Rat’, who had clearly made and circulated the original file Ned had uploaded to the Nervegear. Almost anything you could want to know was available. It was how they had learned of this quest in the first place.

“Hey Ferrum, why do people have to suck so bad?” asked Peter, mostly rhetorically.

“If I had the answer to that, I wouldn’t have been a weapons manufacturer.”

After a few minutes of running they finally crossed over into the town Safe Zone. Horunka was a small village, with only about ten buildings in all. One of which was the house of the NPC who gave the quest, and their current destination.

As they walked down the road towards the house, several parties milled about, clearly having just returned from their own hunts. A couple eyed the two of them as they walked through.

“Looks like someone finally managed to snag an ovule. Lucky bastards…” someone muttered.

“Who actually wears a helmet in this game?” said another.

“Yikes, imagine being stuck in here with your dad…”

Overhearing that last line caused Peter’s face to flush, which given its digital nature was just plain unfair. Did they have to be that thorough?

No bigger than the town was, they were soon standing in the living area of the house. The lady of the house whom they had met previously still stood stirring a pot of simmering liquid, her expression drawn and tired. The only thing that about her that gave her away as an NPC rather than a player was the exclamation mark hovering above her head in the place of a player cursor, indicating a quest in progress.

“Go on, kid,” said Mr. Stark, staying by the door.

Peter slowly approached. Even knowing that the woman was an NPC, it still felt rude to just barge into the house without invitation. He brought up is inventory and took out the ovule, handing it out to her to take.

Immediately her face brightened, and Peter couldn’t help but wonder just how developed the NPC AIs were. Were they simple rudimentary ones like most games? Or were they more like Mr. Stark’s AIs? Was she aware of what she was?

“Oh, thank you so much, kind swordsman! My daughter has only grown worse since we last spoke, I was beginning to worry she may not make it till your return,” she said, taking the ovule from my hand and adding it to the pot.

I saw my quest log update to the left of my view, but I was distracted by the sound of deep coughs coming from further in the house.

“Here, this blade has been passed down in my family for generations, but I gladly trade it in exchange for your aid saving my child’s life. Take it with my blessing,” said the lady, pulling a blade encased in a worn red sheath from an old trunk. With both hands she extended it out to me to take, a smile still on her lips, tears of gratitude sparkling in her eyes.

“Thank you,” said Peter, perhaps unnecessarily, but old habits die hard.

The lady nodded in response and went back to stirring the pot in the kitchen. The quest was complete.

In the center of his field of vision, Peter received a message declaring as much, along with one noting the EXP points gained.

“Alright, let’s head back to the inn and get some grub and call it a night,” said Mr. Stark, holding the door open for him.

Behind them the lady did not acknowledge them at all, but began carefully ladling the contents of the pot into a cup. Peter wondered if somewhere inside there really was a little NPC girl the lady tended to day in and day out, forever trying to alleviate an illness she was created to suffer through.

As Peter walked through the doorway out into the night, he thought back to Aunt May. Back to when he always seemed to catch whatever bug was going around at the time. She may not be the best cook, but one thing she had down pat was chicken noodle soup. She would stand over a pot in the kitchen just like the NPC had, cooking up a big batch that he could easily heat up through out the day when he felt up to eating. Their finances being what they were, she and Ben could not always get out of work so easily, if at all. They did their best to schedule their work so one could be there with him, but sometimes the overlap just wasn’t quite there. Fortunately, a little old lady all the apartment kids called Nana lived a couple doors down from them and was usually content to be on call for kids who needed it.

He wondered what Aunt May was doing right now. Was she sitting beside his hospital bed, holding his hand, but he couldn’t feel it? Were they literally in the same room with each other, but worlds apart? Would she talk to him like she used to when she thought he was sleeping, hoping against everything that he could somehow hear her? What would she say? They had only just started finding their new normal when this happened…

He looked down at this hands, but all he could feel was the weight of the sword he still held.

Tears came, unbidden and unwanted.

If that bastard was going to lock them in this prison, the least he could have done was not code in visual emotion effects.

“Awww… look at the little boy crying,” mocked one of the players outside the inn as they passed.

“Don’t be an asshole, Derrig. You cried for two days straight when this shit started,” said one of his party members, while slapping the offender on the back of the head.

“You ok, Peter?” asked Mr. Stark quietly. “I would offer to go beat the shit out of that guy, but not sure if its worth a duel.”

“No, don’t do that. I’m alright,” said Peter. “Let’s just get up to the room.”

“You go on up, I’ll order some dinner to be delivered,” said Mr. Stark.

Peter nodded. They pretty much always ate in a room so that Mr. Stark could remove his helmet. Occasionally Peter wished they could eat with the other players, just to visit with someone else for a change. This wasn’t one of those nights.

Once in their room, Peter quickly removed most of his gear, leaving only his breaches and his tunic. The sword he placed on the table.

Apparently the sword was called ‘Anneal Blade.’

Peter fell back into a chair, letting his head roll back, closing his eyes.

In the real world, he would undoubtedly be able to hear every conversation going on in the rooms around them, as well as whatever hubbub was going on in the main room downstairs. But in here there was naught but silence. It had taken him a bit to get used to not hearing literally everything going on around him. He hadn’t realized just how much noise he was used to constantly filtering through in his day to day life until it was completely removed. He had thought he would love not having to deal with his extra sensitive senses, but come to find out it was pretty anxiety inducing to have them taken away, like an extended bout of sensory deprivation.

If only he had never put on that Nervegear. If he had told Ned that maybe they should wait until the next round of production of SAO to get into the game, let them get the bugs worked out.

Except…

The door opened, and in came Mr. Stark and two plates of whatever today’s special was downstairs.

“They were pretty busy down there, so I just brought it up myself. Figured I’d listen in on a pub talk a minute and see if any news has been circulating,” Mr. Stark said, setting down the plates.

“Did you hear anything interesting?” asked Peter.

“Not much. But one group did mention that there were some rumors floating around about a Log-Out point in a forest west of the Town of Beginnings. No one going in has come out alive though, and the Rat has been trying to get word out that the information is false and didn’t come from her,” said Mr. Stark, sitting in the chair opposite.

“Ugh, that sucks,” said Peter. “What’s the point in starting a rumor like that anyway?”

“Some people get their kicks in screwed up ways, kid. It’s as simple as that.”

The lapsed into silence as they ate their meal. But eventually Peter noticed Mr. Stark looking up at him.

“What?” asked Peter.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Peter swallowed and shook his head, “Not much to talk about. Was just thinking about Aunt May.”

Mr. Stark nodded, “I’m not going to say she’s doing fine, because we both know that’s probably a lie. But I will say that she’s a strong woman, and I know as soon as we get out of here she will be right there waiting for you with some awful attempt at baked food and the world’s longest hug.”

Peter gave a laugh as tears began to spring up again.

“You’re definitely right. Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Look kid,” said Mr. Stark with a sigh. “I know you enjoy watching me squirm, but I would really appreciate it if you would switch to just ‘Tony.’ For one thing, there’s millions of Tonys in the world, but with the right info out there the name ‘Mr. Stark’ might become a bit suspicious eventually. We’ve just been calling me by my user name outside of our room, and that’s worked out alright, but eventually you might slip. And given my track record on secret identities, we should probably do everything possible to avoid scrutiny as long as possible.”

“Dude, you never had a secret identity. As soon as Iron Man became a thing you outed yourself on live television,” said Peter with a caustic tone.

“Whatever, my point still stands,” said Mr. Stark, waving off Peter’s remark.

“Does it though?”

“Yes, please, please start calling me Tony.”

“It really bugs you, doesn’t it?” asked Peter with a laugh. “Why?”

Honestly, when he asked he had expected Mr. Stark to blow off the question and change the subject. Because in the real world— back before the Decimation— every time they’d had this conversation and he had asked, that was ultimately what Mr. Stark did.

This time however, a tense silence met his question.

“Growing up, Howard was always ‘Mr. Stark.’”

There was a pause, as if he was unsure whether to continue, or how.

“Pretty much everyone on earth calls me ‘Mr. Stark.’ And that’s who they see— billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, wanna-be hero, narcissist, hedonist. That’s by design. It’s what everyone expected from me—being my father’s son— and I rose to the occasion. There’s only a handful of people who have gotten past ‘Mr. Stark’ and made it to ‘Tony.’ At this point, I’d like to think you’re one of them who has.”

Peter sat in quiet shock. Then slowly his heart filled up to the brim with something warm and sad, until he felt he could have burst.

There were a million things he felt, and only a few he could say. But only one he felt needed to be said right then.

“Ok… Tony. But I don’t want to hear you call yourself a wanna-be hero again. Because you are a hero. To everyone… but especially me.”

Tony didn’t reply for a moment, but eventually settled on a nod.

“Alright, deal,” Tony finally said, turning back to his food.

The got a few more bites in before Tony spoke again.

“I’m thinking of skipping on meals for a while. I’m kinda curious how long it takes to actually start feeling hungry in here.”

Peter looked at him confused, “What do you mean? You haven’t been hungry? Like at all?”

Tony blinked at him, “No, you mean you have?”

“Uh, yeah… several times a day usually.”

“Huh… maybe its because of your real world metabolism bleeding through. But no, haven’t felt it at all yet. Seems like a waste of Cor for me to buy meals if I haven’t actually been hungry,” said Tony, finishing up the last bite of his roast. “Not to say that its a wasted experience. They did a pretty remarkable job on this coding. But it would probably be better to save what money we can for now.”

Peter nodded, turning back to his own plate, but could only bring himself to push the food around a little, his stomach suddenly a bit queasy. Perhaps Tony was right, and it was just because of his RL body needs…

He’d talk to a few other players about their experience. Just to be sure.

“So, ‘Anneal Blade,’ huh?” said Tony, looking over the sword still laying on the table. He brought up its specs to analyze.

“Yeah, not exactly sure what the name is about. I mean, I know about the annealing process in biochemistry. I studied it a bit after the spider bite. But not sure how that would really apply to a sword,” said Peter.

“It was originally a process to remove impurities and harden iron for weapons. That’s where scientists originally pulled the term from that they used for the DNA process,” said Tony offhand, still reading through the sword’s numbers and looking it over in his hands. “The sword is as good as the guide implied. It should definitely hold up for you for a good while. Especially once I can start enhancements on it. Looks like we can attempt up to eight.”

“Does that mean we need to put a blacksmith’s forge on the shortlist?” asked Peter.

“Nah, I still have a few levels before we need to worry about that. Still, like I said, it is probably a good idea to start pinching pennies where we can. Jesus, I haven’t had to save money since that time my old man cut me off for a while back in college. This sucks.”

“Welcome to how the other 99.9% live,” said Peter, not an ounce of sympathy in his voice.

Tony shrugged, “Karma is definitely a bitch.”

“This isn’t karma. You’re just a spoiled brat.”

Tony stuck out his tongue, just like the mature adult he was.

Peter laughed, “Exactly. I’m calling it a night. We good to head out in the morning?”

“Yup, heading west from here to grind a bit on some of the higher level forest mobs. We’ll see where we end up after that.”

Peter nodded. Where ever they went and whatever they faced, they would do it together. They’d make it through this.

Even without his spider powers and Tony’s money, they were still Spider-man and Iron Man. Kayaba couldn’t take that away from them.

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i-write-hurt-not-comfort · 4 years

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something i think about a lot

pardon the deep post at like 5pm on a Tuesday but it’s come back to my mind recently and i realised i’d never really spoken about it on this blog. anyways i’ll put it under a cut cuz it might get long.

also don’t worry it’s not actually that deep, there’s not really anything triggering i’m about to say.

before i started this blog, about two years ago, there was primarily one fandom i wrote for. nowadays i only write pandora hearts and vanitas no carte, occasionally bungou stray dogs, and don’t get me wrong, i still loved ph and vnc back when this all happened. but i was REALLY obsessed with another series. we’re going to call it fandom/series X because i really cba to start up drama again.

shipping was a big cause for drama in fandom X, because all the media for series X quite clearly showed the characters were almost certainly straight. so, needless to say, anyone who shipped anything not male x female was instantly downgraded to “fujoshis” or “fetishising” by a bunch of elitists who thought they ran the show.

and i’m not going to pretend the other side of things were okay either. people who were obsessed with mlm ships often refused to acknowledge the straight ships, and claimed that anyone who didn’t like their ship was homophobic. so all in all, it was a really nasty fandom to be in. to this day, i still don’t really understand why shipping needed to cause that many fights.

i made a post addressing that, basically saying that these were pointless arguments because they’re?? fictional??? characters???? following that, i had death and suicide threats sent by anons.

but anyway, eventually i had to stop writing for that fandom. i had people going to my fanfics to give me hate and calling me worthless fujoshi etc, simply because i’d written a mlm ship in an AU. and i’m sorry if this was a very long-winded way of getting to the point, but basically, i fucking MISS those fanfics.

one fanfic, which i was at 30/40 chapters of (ya, even longer than Dirty Laundry rn!!!), set in a prison with the 10 main characters. each of them had in-depth backstories, as well as constant events happening around them. granted, my writing has probably improved since then, but i’m kind of bummed i never got to write the ending. i basically just had to delete it and never finish it.

the other fanfic was a little more complicated. when all this drama happened, i was at about chapter 3 of a planned 15. and i loved my plans, so i refused to stop writing it, so instead i uploaded it on a private tumblr, and continued to update on there.

a couple of months after i continued writing that one, i started nepenthe. i actively began posting in the ph fandom. but i was still writing this other fic. and unfortunately, when i reached ch 10/15, and i took a break from writing for exams, i never went back to it. i returned to write chapter 6 of nepenthe, but i never got past 2,000 words of chapter 11 of this one.

this fic was called Otherside, based off the macklemore song. and oh boy oh boy was it good. and i don’t usually say that about my writing (most of it is literal crackfics), but i did genuinely like this one. it was about two tattoo/piercing shops, which were forced to collaborate for financial reasons; one of whom turned out to be a cover business for drug dealers. anyways some relationships sparked and needless to say, because i wrote it, there were some secrets relating to drugs which were slowly revealed.

i was reading this fic again the other day, and i miss it. i really do. i wish i’d gotten to finish it. i wish it was out there for people to read. but i can’t bring myself to put my work out to this fandom again.

i would love to be able to cut and paste different characters’ names into there, but i can’t. it just doesn’t work. the plot, and the writing - it all revolved around these characters. and that’s something i can’t recycle.

whilst i love Nepenthe and Dirty Laundry, and i genuinely love what i’ve created, i don’t regard them as my favourite fics. my favourite fic i’ve written is Otherside.

#DaSly speaks #long post #i don't really know where i was going with this #i've just thought about it loads recently #i really wish i could do something with this 50k story which super cool character development and an intricate plot #instead it will sit in my documents #doing nothing #:(

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shellsan · 4 years

Text

To Be Written

Ghost Hunt

Photograph

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot/prologue.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 50-100k

Unnamed Fairytale AU

Concept: This will be a Cinderella-esk AU where Mai is Cinderella and the Davis twins are the handsome princes.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 50-100k

Meraki

Concept: Meraki (v.) To do something with soul, creativity or love; to put something of yourself into your work. This something I've been wanting to write for years but recently I've been unable to shake from my head so I’ve started planning it out properly. The basic idea is that after Naru goes back to England, Mai takes up singing and becomes a star big enough to go over to England. It's been done a couple times in this fandom but I want to put my own spin on the trope.

Progress: 200 Words Written; Planning progress 15%

Predicted Wordcount: 30-70k

Hyper-graphic Catharsis

Concept: Unlike the above trope, this fic focuses on Mai as a song writer, as opposed to a solo artist. Basically, Mai starts writing songs based on the psychic dreams that she keeps having even after Naru is gone. Bou-san finds them and says that they fit the vibe his band is going for and asks to use them. They end up hitting it big time and make it overseas where they see Naru and Lin again. The “where” for where they end up in a little up in the end and this one is really in the early early stages.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 10%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-60k

Nepenthe

Concept: Nepenthe (n.) Something that makes you forget grief or suffering. What if Yasu and Mai's families were family friends and so when her mother passed away, she was taken in by Yasu's family. How would they go about meeting Naru and the rest of SPR? This thought came about when I was thinking about how much I adore the concept of Mai and Yasu as best friends and I thought about how I can see his mother doting on Mai, his younger best friend who had no-one else to rely on.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 20%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-60k

Eccedentesiast

Concept: Eccedentesiast (n.) Someone who hides pain behind a smile. Mai's father was a killer. Some of her earliest memories are of watching people enter her home and never seeing them leave. When a case begins to get too close for Mai's comfort how will she react? Will she trust the team with the information on her past that no-one else knows or will she keep on pretending.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-40k

Bilingual

Concept: What if Mai was fluent in English? Just how much more would she have noticed about Naru and Lin because of their carelessness in thinking she wouldn't understand what they were saying?

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-60k

Automatic

Concept: Idea born from a tumblr post; a little girl who grows up thinking all doors are automatic but actually she’s haunted by a really polite ghost

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 5-15k

Library Adventures

Concept: Idea born from a tumblr post; Mai and Naru meet in this theatre turned bookstore - Naru’s secretly investigating the ghost under the radar with a team (since it’s not the type of place where you can just “stop” for any period of time) and Mai is an exchange student of something who he keeps bumping into? Maybe she even makes friends with the ghost haunting this place and doesn’t realise it?

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning Progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 30-60k

Cemetery Nights

Concept: Adapted from a tumblr post; I can just see Mai needing to make money, so she braves the cemetery and works hard. Meanwhile this ghost hunting team is called in and her boss forgot to let her know, so now she’s stuck in their ‘base’ confused as hell about these 'terrifying and dangerous spirits’ that she hasn’t encountered “and I’ve been working here for a month!”

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-40k

Haunted Hotel (Or Love Hotel?)

Concept: Idea born from a tumblr post; The team are off to investigate another location – this time a hotel. The twist? The hauntings of this hotel has its patron on their way to see the ghosts (and an alarming number of them are hoping to do more than just see them).

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

Messages from Afar

Concept: When Mai starts highschool, she starts having her "dreams". She has no idea what they are, and honestly they freak her out, so she reads up about how to deal with that and finds out that writing things down can sometimes help with that sort of thing. So, she starts recording them in the form of stories on blogs. At some point, Naru stumbles across them and recognises that, oddly enough, some of those dreams would fit as perfect pieces of information he's never uncovered in some past cases, and upon noting the dates, realises they fit into his timeline perfectly. So he get's curious and reaches out to speak with her about where her ideas come from, and tries to subtly find out more. Meanwhile, Mai is just curious about this internet (friend?) man she's met that seems very smart, very irritating, and super intriguing.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 20%

Predicted Wordcount: 30-50k

Charmed

Concept: A ghost hunt adaptation of the Barbie movie: A Princess Charm School that takes some elements and adds new ones for a twist.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning Progress 15%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-40k

DGM

Calling you... what?

Concept: A continuation of Rescue.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 1-5k

Playing The Game

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

Who's Beneath Who?

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

Highest Bidder

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

Shots Fired

Concept: Idea born from a tumblr post; The Chief of Police is married to a Mob Boss, and they have to keep “just failing” to catch each other. When one of them hits the other in a shootout, it’s followed with “Oh I’m never going to hear the end of this…”

“So how was your day at work?” “YOU FUCKING SHOT ME! THAT WAS MY DAY AT WORK!”

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

OHSHC

Shatter

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-30k

Gum

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

MCU

Explosion

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 5-10k

Star

Concept: A continuation of the original one-shot.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 50-60k

Effects of Magical Deals

Concept: A continuation of the end of Death.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 5-15k

Danger; The Other Standpoint.

Concept: Danger from Bucky's perspective.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 2-5k

Born of Another Tribe

Concept: What if Tony's mother was an honorary Wakandan, found when she was young and raised there until the day that she left to explore her original homeland, raising Tony with the knowledge that he too was born of his mother's clan and welcome on Wakandan soil, though he'd never been? How much would Tony's life change? Would he still follow the same path of life or would things change in ways that no-one could ever imagine?

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-60k

Cosmic Adventures

Concept: I'm actually thinking of turning this one into a series and basing each one-shot on a different character. Basically the idea is that when Tony was 20, he had a major breakthrough in space travel and created his very own ship that he used to begin travelling the universe. It will be completely AU from the original MCU and will focus on watching him go through different planets and make allies along the way that he wouldn't have if he'd stayed on Earth.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 5-10k per instalment in the series

Raised in Knowhere

Concept: Tony was taken by accident by a group of skrulls when they escaped from Earth at a young age. Unsure what to do, but kind beings that they are, they took him in and raised him like their own. Join him as he travels the universe with different knowledge, ready to make new friends.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 20-40k

One Piece

Eudaimonia

Concept: Eudaimonia (n.) The contented happy state that we feel when we travel. I've been reading a lot of One Piece fanfiction lately and I've always been fond of the ASL Whitebeard trope and its various forms. But there's a distinct lack of Papa Shanks instead of Whitebeard so I thought about this; What if Shanks took Luffy with him after all?

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 50-100k

FMA

Monachopsis

Concept: Monachopsis (n.) a subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place. Ever wonder what things look like from the perspective of an outsider looking in on Mustang's command from a military point of view? Particularly in the case of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist and his many insubordinate moments that seem to be passed off without question within Mustang's place of work. Join the temporary members of Mustang's team as they quickly learn that just because Edward Elric can do it - it doesn't mean they can. 'Just what makes him so special anyway?'

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

Orenda

Concept: Orenda (n.) A mystical force present in all people that empowers them to effect the world, or to affect changes in their own lives. What if Ed is actually really good at diplomacy and had been doing things behind the scenes to help but Amestris at peace with the other countries during his time away? What happens when he ends up the centre of peace talks between Amestris, Xing, Creta, Drachma and Aeurgo as they try to bring about an age of peace? And how will Mustang, Fuhrer of Amestris, and his loyal team react to the sudden appearance of Ed after nearly four years - and in a setting of politics no less!

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 50%

Predicted Wordcount: 40-80k

Bluffing

Concept: When Mustang's team starts holding a weekly game of poker to "increase camaraderie", the team find themselves amazed at just how bad the older Elric seems to be at the game. At least, until they found themselves penniless when a stroke of luck hits him and he manages to win a detrimental round. However after four months of a weekly poker night and the fifth time this happens, they start to wonder... Just a crack style idea i've had in my mind. I don't often plan out One-shots but I though that this could be something fun for a change of pace and I can definitely see Ed doing this and when they figure out he's been playing them this whole time, he can express his disappointment at how long it took, pointing out that the was a genius and probability was hardly Aeurogian alchemy.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 10%

Predicted Wordcount: 5-10k

Style

Concept: Ed goes away to a foreign country and comes back wearing a completely new style of clothing. Turns out that while away a clan adopted him and gifted him their wears so he had no choice but to use them (because he wasn't completely cold heart okay?).

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 5-15k

Merlin

Powerful

Concept: A continuation of the end of Disaster.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 5%

Predicted Wordcount: 1-5k

Apoplectic

Concept: Apoplectic (adj.) Overcome with rage; furious. When the newest squires joins Camelot, they find themselves watching the interactions between Prince Arthur and his manservant and decide that in order to earn the favour of their Prince, they would make his life more difficult. After all, the Prince hates his insolent manservant... right? Things do not go as he plans however.

Progress: 0 Words Written; Planning progress 1%

Predicted Wordcount: 10-20k

#shellsanspeaks #long post #shellsanwrites #hi hello so this is a somewhat complete masterlist of the fics i plan to write #...#no i don't take crit

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no-longer-heree · 6 years

Text

nepenthe - ereri (canonverse)

how i like to imagine the night before eren leaves for marley goes.

for eren’s birthday <3

Summary: Nepenthe; a medicine for sorrow; a place, person or thing, which can aid in forgetting your pain and suffering

The chilly air of the castle's dungeon was as stale and musty as ever, the years of constant cleaning never having chased away a slightly sour smell. Eren laid on his back, the thin mattress beneath him no longer as uncomfortable as it had been when he was only fifteen. He had gotten used to this, the treatment and the atmosphere, but didn't feel as if he would miss it terribly when he left for Marley tomorrow. This wasn't a home for him, after all, but a cage.

Home was upstairs, sat as his desk reviewing page after page of paperwork, sipping earl grey tea from the porcelain cup clasped in his thin fingers. He would be frowning, no doubt. He would be murmuring to himself, cursing his fate and the towering stack of documents and reports awaiting his signature. He wouldn't be miserable, but he wouldn't be pleased either. But like Eren had gotten used to his cage over the years, Home had gotten used to his duties.

Home was watching the flickering flame of the gas lamp, waiting rather impatiently for the time of night to strike when he could finally make his escape from his own cage. He was counting down the minutes, glancing out his window to trace pictures in the stars with his silvery gaze to rest his weary wrist for a moment. With a sigh, Home decided he was done waiting.

He didn't have much time left anyway.

The soft padding of his feet barley made a whisper of sound against the wood floor, his pale skin glowing ghostly in the moonlight shining through the uncovered windows. The path he walked was well-travelled, one he could traverse blindfolded. It never took long for him to arrive to his desired destination, but tonight it seemed like it had taken even less time. There wasn't a single second to be wasted.

At the sound of his cage's door opening, Eren turned his eye's to meet with Home's. He felt words welling in his chest, bubbling up his throat like the acidity of bile, but it all tangled itself into a lump that threatened to suffocate him. There was only one word that choked itself from his lips.

"Captain."

The body of Home, of Levi, stood stoic yet fatigued in the gateway for not even a second before he was at Eren's side. Stormy smoldering eyes alight with the beckoning intensity of the moon prompted the brunet to make room. He did. Strong arms wrapped around broad shoulders as the raven haired Captain laid with his subordinate.

"Eren," he replied just as softly, tangling slender fingers in long chestnut hair. "Call me by my name, not my rank."

A slow smile spread across his cheeks, making the lights in his bright teal eyes reignite beautifully. "Levi," he whispered his name like a prayer, like the man before him was a deity of midnight and rose. But Eren's grin began to falter when he thought of what the dawn would bring. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Levi's face softened, but he refused to let the worry burying itself in his graveyard heart show in his expression. "I know. That's why I couldn't wait any longer to come see you."

"Someone might catch us." the brunet warned, but it didn't sound like he really cared all that much.

The raven rolled his eyes almost playfully, a smirk toying at his thin lips. "Let them."

Eren hummed at that, and leaned forward to kiss the corner of those slightly chapped lips. He rested his head against his lover's chest, pressing his ear over the place where his thumping heart beat rythmically. "I look like a hobo." he said almost insecurely, hiding his flushed face behind his new curtain of dark brown hair.

Levi's smile grew again, reassuring and loving as he tilted Eren's chin up to have their gazes meet once. "It doesn't make me love you any less. But, if you really don't like it, we'll cut it as soon as this is over."

The younger man felt tears welling in his eyes then, moving his fingers up to gently caress the hard line of Levi's cheek bone. His hand moved to his shoulder, down his arm to lace their fingers together before going to his chest, his abs, his hips. He felt sturdy bones and hard muscles, memorized the feeling of soft skin and rough scars. He loved his scars.

He loved every part of him.

He leaned down until their noses were brushing, inhaling deeply to absorb his scent. Finally, when their lips touched, they melted together. Though there was a sense of urgency between the two, they took their time playing out the song of their love. The couple didn't want to rush through the moment, but instead wanted to ensure that these few hours they had left together would last a lifetime.

They didn't need words to speak broken wisps of I miss you or I love you. They didn't need to make love to feel love. They didn't need to prove their wanting, their longing for the other. They didn't want the dawn to separate them by sea. They wanted one thing that they couldn't have.

They only wanted the reassurance that one day, a new dawn would be born, and that with the dawn they would find each other once more.

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radiant-flutterbun · 6 years

Text

Dragons For Hire

This works basically like a shipping list and sort of a rp starter! If any of these dragons provide a service that one of your dragons is looking for feel free to message me here or on FR!

Assassins

Need some murders? These dragons are REALLY good at murder

Nepenthe

She’s the Goddess of Revenge from another world, and came to Sornieth to search for her father and kill him. She grew up alone in a forest and had to learn how to survive on her own.

She’s not very good at conversation, but what she lacks in social skills are excellent tracking abilities and hunting skills. She could track down almost anyone on the planet using only a few leads. And she’s good at killing too and isn’t afraid to get bloody

Bloodmoon

Her family was murdered when she was young, and she suffered from a bad concussion that gave her amnesia for a lot of her earliest memories. After her injury she was raised by a violent skydancer who taught her all sorts of ways to kill. She was raised to believe killing was a way of life, and she began to enjoy it a bit too much.

She’s not as stealthy as Nepenthe, and she’s not a good tracker, but she’s really useful if you know where your victim is, because once Bloodmoon know where her prey is, there’s no stopping her.

Dracula

He’s a vampire and would do anything for blood.

He’s an unusually tiny nocturne and it’s easy for him to sneak into places. However since he cannot enter direct daylight he ca only travel during night, so progress may be slow. (there’s also the chance he may just settle for who’s blood is easiest to get)

Shade Chasers

They’re specialized assassins that hunt down any Shade creature. So if you’re having any Shade problems, these are the dragons to call.

Tiberius

He was once a fae and his mother was obsessed with the Shade. She experimented Shade energy on her own children. Tiberius was lucky enough to run away before she could infect him. He enrolled in the Plague Academy of Shade Chasers(PASC) and saved up enough money for a breed change to give him a better advantage in the boot camp.

Tiberius is one of the most skilled Shade Chasers that PASC has to offer. He is in the top class known as the Irradiated Mages. He has been infused with powerful Arcane magic to destroy the Shade with. Only a handful of dragons survive to become one of the Mages.

Evarado

He was always violent, so he decided to use that violence to destroy the Shade. He isn’t friendly company, but he’s an effective Shade Killer, a melee class in PASC. His many skills include blood magic, strength, high pain tolerance, and skills with many weapons.

Renek

Her background in botany as made her skilled with poisons of all kinds, and she’s discovered a few that have an affect on the Shade. She’s not good at directly fighting Shade creatures. She isn’t very strong, nor does she have powerful magic, but she is sneaky and quick on her feet. She’s the best at investigating Shade activity, but not destroying Shade creatures.

Monachopsis

He was born with a ‘blessing’ from the Plaguebringer. From his scales ooze acid. It is painful, but he has grown used to the pain. What’s worse to him is that he cannot touch anyone without hurting them.

But his acid has some use. It makes him immune to the Shade and he’s able to burn it away. He is part of the melee class of PASC, the Shade Killers.

Artists

Dragons to commission any art of your dreams.

Flare

A very talented and experienced artist. She’s an expert in several different mediums including many different paints, like oil and water color, and she can make both wooden and stone sculptures. She can be hired as an art teacher or commissioned.

The only downfall of hiring her is her curse that makes her burst into flames at random times. She needs to have a water source around her at all times and it’s recommended she stay away from flammable materials.

Soul

If you need someone to sing or write songs, then Soul is your dragon! He has a way with words and an incredible singing voice. He can play a few stringed instruments as well.

He’s also a mechanic so he can be hired for that as well.

Frankenstein

She’s a beginner artist but has gotten really good at water color and oil pastel. She started painting as an art therapy as she tried to find meaning to her strange existence. She’s literally the corpse of a few different dragons stitched together and given sentience, so that was a bit of a complicated issue to sort out to put lightly.

but hey now she’s a walking corpse that paints so that’s pretty cool!

Muerto

He’s a beginner artist and like Frankenstein, he also became an artist from art therapy! He’s not the best artist, but he’s young and is still learning. He’s getting better everyday and he’s proud of himself for it. Also did I mention he’s a literal child and it would make his day if someone commissioned him?

Please commission the child

Healers

Hecate

She’s the best healer of Ton Theon. She can quickly close up wounds within seconds and repair all internal damage with her magic. However, she learned the hard way that her magic is not limitless. It takes a lot out of her to use her magic to heal, and she often needs to eat and sleep to recover. If she uses too much of her magic at once she can not only drain her body of energy, but actually use up all of her magic and she would be forced to go back to her Source Magic.

The magic that Hecate uses is not her own, but is powered by a legendary Pear that was once owned by an infamous Pearlcatcher known as Cassiopeia. That story is a long one, but she has to return to the deadly territory that Pearl is found in in order to regain her magic if she is drained of it.

Alaria

She’s another healer of Ton Theon. She’s not as good a healer as Hecate, but to be fair Hecate is only as good as she is by stealing magic that’s not her own. Alaria doesn’t heal with magic, but instead that good old fashioned way with bandages and herbs.

Alaria grows her own herbs and knows everything there is to know about medicinal plants.

Alaria is also a mechanic and uses these skills to give some of her patients prosthetic limbs, and in one case, a new nervous system.

Bacitracin

He’s the God of Healing from another world. He’s only visiting Sornieth for a short time, but he has knowledge of all things medicine. Unfortunately he cannot use his healing magic here on Sornieth, as magic works differently in this world than in his own, but he can still pass on his knowledge of medicine to anyone who needs it, and he’s particularly knowledgeable in mental health, unlike Hecate and Alaria.

Archaeologists

June

June is a particularly bold Archaeologist who had been studying the Light Ruins since she was a hatchling. She became particularly fascinated in the Hewn City and dedicated her life to research in it.

Sadly she uncovered some nasty Shade activity in the city, and became Shade-Touched. She ended up being trapped in the city for almost a year with no recollection of it, and lost her mate and granddaughter who were studying the city with her to Shade infections.

Still, even though she knows how dangerous the City is, she wants to go back and further her research.

Night

Night has always been a jack or all trades. They’ve been a philosopher, an artist, a creative writer, a journalist, and a astronomer. Recently they’ve been dabbling in archaeology. They’ve been studying the civilizations of the beings of the Third Agem which eventually led them to the Hewn City. They almost died there from Shade Activity and an Emperor attack, but they survived and the experience only peaked their curiosity even more.

Cooks

Firespitter

He can make some mean soup. He’s so good at soup. He’s also pretty good at making stew, and pretty much anything with meat in it. He’s always cooking something and he loves trying new things.

Sometimes he also gets hit with random prophecies or visions so that’s just a bonus to him being your chef.

Bonita

Bonita is a bit better with cooking the veggie dishes, even if she herself hates them all her tundra customers say it’s really good.

She’s a bit loud when she cooks and likes to sing badly as she does so, so if you can put up with her horrible singing she’s the chef for you!

Kissa

Kissa is best at baking all sorts of sweets. From cookies to cakes to pies, she can do it all and she loves doing it. She often can’t stop baking she loves it so much.

So help her out and either hire her or buy some of her cookies!

Necromancers

Peripeteia

Peri is a necromancer. There’s not really much else to say about it. She was born into this life and she didn’t have the choice to become a necromancer. It wouldn’t be all that bad if it didn’t also come with a curse that makes her slowly rot away.

Luckily there is a way to reverse the rot, but she has to steal from the living in order to do so. Don’t worry, she’s a nice necromancer and would never want to harm another dragon, but she’d happily raise some zombies for you if the price is right.

Scutum

Scutum learned necromancy as a hatchling, much to the horror of his birthclan. He ended up using his power to attempt to raise and Emperor and use it to attack the Lightweaver. The plan failed, and the Lightweaver banished him from her land. Now he lives on a little island in the Starfall Isles called Nihil and he raises the dead to amuse his Queen.

But he wants to do more with his gift. Necromancy has so much potential. Hire him and maybe you’ll find out.

Animal Tamers

Elymas

Elymas thinks snakes are pretty cool, so he’s developed a bond with a few and has learned a lot about snake behavior. If you ever need someone to tame some snakes, or remove them, then Ely is your guy.

He’s also pretty good at training horses, but I don’t think there are any horses on Sornieth and I doubt a dragon would need a horse.

Arkina

Arkina is a huge animal lover. She loves animals so much that she has dedicated her life to reaping animal souls. For the wild animals she reincarnates them, but for the animals who had been beloved pets, she keeps the souls safe for when the owner dies.

She’s good with any kind of animal.

Farmers/Gardeners

Zeamays

Zeamays loves corn. He’s really good at growing corn. His corn is really good. He’s also great at growing other crops. Pretty much any crop you can imagine he can probably grow and it’ll be really good too. But corn is his favorite to grow.

Amara

Amara doesn’t grow food, but she is a really good gardener! She’s good at growing house plants and flowers. She knows the perfect temperature to grow her plants, and what sort of soil is best for them. She can also recommend insects to help a garden flourish.

Elysian

Elysian is good at growing food like Zeamays. Unlike him she uses magic to grow it, so if you want a good, quick crop she can be hired, but afterward you may not be able to replant anything as her magic tends to suck all the nutrients from the soil.

Historians

Lakra

Lakra is Ton Theon’s oldest librarian and he knows just about every book written and released to the public in the Sunbeam Ruins. He knows the history of Light through and through, even some parts that the Lightweaver herself is ashamed of. He used to keep the knowledge of Emperors a well hidden secret, but since his clan came face to face with one of the undead beasts he realized just how dangerous concealing knowledge can be.

Masika

Masika is Lakra’s mate and his assistant at the library. She knows almost as much as him, but she’s never been the best at memorization. She also tends to be a nervous wreck and it’s easy to spook her. Still, she tries her best and could be helpful with recommending books especially if they deal with the Sunbeam Ruins.

Designers

Virtuous

She’s a busy woman who doesn’t leave much Time for herself (ironic considering she’s the Goddess of Time), but in her free time she enjoys knitting, weaving and sewing. She’s be happy to make anything from stuffed toys to clothing. It’s a good distraction from the demon that’s been hunting her for billions of years.

Nullity

Much like her grandmother, Virtuous, Nullity as found a love with clothing. She’s really good at designing new dresses and making new outfits. She also have an eye for everything make up and hair style. She could give you a makeover, or just give you a few tips on fashion.

Thieves

Juno

Juno is the captain of the Foo’s Eye pirates. She’ll do anything for money. She’ll steal, or murder or anything else shady as long as she’s being paid.

Spa

Lavender

Lavender is the owner of the Ember Sun Spa and Resort. He’s happy to let anyone visit his spa and resort.

#firefly flits #dragons for hire

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theplaguezine · 5 years

Text

SENTENCED

Interview with Sami Lopakka by Daniel Hinds

(conducted February 2000)

Finland has unleashed a number of potent acts on the metal scene in recent years, from Nightwish to Babylon Whores to Children of Bodom to name just a few, but Sentenced have been there for over ten years and were key to really making a name for the scene in the minds of international fans. Evolving from a brutal form of death metal into their current state of melodic, suicidal metal, the band has only gotten better with age. Surprisingly, they have also only had one major line-up shift in all that time, which was the departure of original bassist/vocalist Taneli Jarva following the Amok release. His vocal replacement, Ville Laihiala, brought a much moodier, cleaner style to the band and the match was perfect for their new sound.

After the excellent Down and awe-inspiring Frozen, the band began to receive some much-deserved recognition, ending up with a gold record in their homeland for the latter and a great deal of airplay. Just this past month, the band's latest opus, Crimson, was released to usher in the year 2000 in style. Guitarist Sami Lopakka gives us the details behind this album and other activities related to the Northernmost Killers...

How has the response to Crimson been so far? Well, the album has only been out for a week here in Europe, but so far the critics have been very good all over. It was the Album of the Month in many magazines, including Metal Hammer of Germany, one of the biggest ones. We just heard that after one week, it is #1 on the charts in Finland. So, it has been really good, but we still have to wait for a while to get the real reaction from real people.

What are your feelings about the album? We are totally satisfied with the album. It turned out just the way that we wanted it to be and we worked on it for almost a year, from the first note to this final result. So it was pretty satisfying to get it done finally and the result we got finally from all these 4 studios that we were in while recording this. It's a relief that it is now ready and everything went fine, so we have nothing to complain about - no regrets about it. Now we're just waiting to get people's reaction and getting to play these songs live.

I understand you were more involved with the production on Crimson? Were you at all nervous about doing the production on this album yourselves? Not really, because we've been around for almost-- not almost, we've been around for ten years and we trust ourselves that much that maybe we can have our own opinions about something and maybe we finally know what we are doing. On the other hand, we also had this kind of co-producer who was with us all the time and he was taking care of all the technical side that the studio has, so we could concentrate completely on the music and the playing itself.

Do you think you will go that route next time too? It's too early to say. It could be we will work the same way next time as we did on Crimson, but I just couldn't say yet. We keep changing music-wise, so we also keep changing production-wise.

Why did you decide to sequence the tracks so that each song led directly into the next? I think the songs have kind of a relation to each other and it's not very interesting to put one song and then four seconds or five seconds of nothing and then the next song. We just wanted to do something different and with these songs, it was pretty easy to do it because they fit together quite easily. On the other hand, the songs are really quite different from each other, so the atmosphere keeps changing. In the mastering, it was possible to make a whole package of all the songs, and we just took that possibility.

How was "Killing Me, Killing You" chosen for the first single? It was kind of a hard choice for us, because there are like four or five songs that could have been the one, so we had to ask some people that are close to us and also Hiili, the co-producer, and some other people what they think. But in the end it was pretty obvious because you need to have this four-minute edit of the song for the radio stations and for that song, it was really easy to cut it in pieces and make this edit, and it's also a catchy song, so maybe it was a commercial choice as well.

I understand you did a video for the song, too. Can you describe it a bit? Yeah, we went to northern Norway for the video, to a place that is almost the northernmost place that you can go on Earth by car this time of year. We were shooting it on the shores of the Arctic Sea and it was very cold there. We had to take little breaks all the time, just to keep our fingers moving. I think you can actually see from the video how cold it is. This freezing atmosphere gives another aspect to the song itself, so it was an interesting process. It's kind of hard to explain a video in words, so maybe you should just check it out if you have the possibility.

I don't know if they would ever play it over here. Yeah, I know the situation over there. (laughs)

Who directed it? It was a Finnish guy and I don't think he has done anything international yet. He is rising in the business, but he is very talented and the video seems a lot more expensive than it really is, so he will be known worldwide someday.

The cover art on Crimson is very striking. Did Niklas come up with the entire concept himself or did you suggest some of the ideas? Yeah, we were working together, but he did all the art. He was giving us different motifs and different kind of stuff for each page and the cover and we just picked out what we wanted. It was very easy this way. He always put the new designs on the Internet, on his home page, then we could check it out right then and decide what we wanted to change and what we don't want to change. But in the end, we really have to give him all the credit about the cover.

I understand you played a ten-year anniversary show in your hometown around Christmas. How did that go? It was very good, we were surprised how good it was. The place here in Oulu was packed, we had almost a thousand people and we had little special things planned for it, like we played songs that we hadn't played for many years. We did songs from almost every album that we ever did, it was pretty interesting. It was the first time in five years and I think probably the last, too. It went very good but it just didn't feel right. The people were excited though, so what the hell?

You also did a show on New Year's Eve. What was that like? That wasn't as good. I think this whole millennium thing was like over-advertised. We had 700 people in there, but if I compare it to the anniversary show, it was nothing special. The whole new year was just another day that fucking sucked. It had no meaning to me personally and I think maybe it had some effect on the show itself, as well. We just took care of it and got drunk like hell.

The theme of love comes up a lot in your lyrics. With all the potential for pain, do you feel like love is a worthy goal to be pursued? Yeah, I think so. In the end, there are not many positive sides in life, but love is one of them and you should aim at it no matter the cost. Even the pain that comes with it is better than nothing, or boredom.

One of my favorite lines is in the song "Farewell," where you wrote "...The enchantment lies in the moment of good-byes..." Can you explain a little bit about what inspired this line? That one was written by Ville, the vocalist [d'oh!!--ed.] but I can relate to him pretty good. This kind of thinking is so natural for us. All the depression and all the negative things in life, in some way they are romantic to us. Any time we write music, we write the music first and then write lyrics from the feeling that we get from the music. When the music is quite sad, it always turns out that the lyrics are that way, too. Having romantic views over death or good-byes, it's just something that has strong emotion and it's interesting to deal with these kinds of things in our lyrics.

Another line I like is at the end of "Grave Sweet Grave:" "...the dawn shall steal my dreams no more..." Do you think there is some kind of connection between death and dreams? No, not really. The song starts with the words, 'I have seen my funeral in a thousand dreams' and the last line is kind of hoping that this time it wouldn't be a dream. About death in general, I really hope there is no afterlife or another life waiting for us. I hope this life is enough and we suffer enough. (laughs)

When Frozen was re-issued in the digi-pack, why was the track order re-arranged? Well, this whole thing was not something we were comfortable with, releasing the whole album again with these 4 cover tracks, but we had these covers and the idea was to put them out with Frozen again. We wanted to make the digipak of Frozen a little bit different, more than just to have a couple of extra songs that aren't even our songs. There's no special reason, just that we wanted to have something different.

Did ever consider just releasing a MCD instead or was the whole thing the record company's idea? Yeah, more or less. There are two sides to music - the artistic side and the business side - and you just have to find a way to make it satisfactory for everyone.

Was it difficult choosing the tracks for the Greatest Kills collection? Yeah, it kind of was. Already when that came out, we had quite a bit of songs and of course there some obvious choices, like "Nepenthe" and "Noose" and "Awaiting the Winter Frost," but then we had to leave so many songs out that we would have liked to have been there. You just have to limit it to something and it was kind of difficult, but it turned out okay and all the songs there represent some time in our history.

Do you keep up much on what is happening in the metal scene at large? I'm not very much following it and the one reason for that is that I don't have much time. This band is already taking so much of our time, we don't have any more time to give to music. When we are rehearsing for three hours and I come home, the first thing in mind is not music. I've had so many disappointments when checking out all the new bands, usually the all are just full of crap, like 98% are a total waste of time - a waste of time that I don't have. So I just wait and let the music find me. If I'm interested in some band, I believe that sooner or later, it will find me and I don't have to look for it all the time.

Do the guys in the band hang out much outside of actual band activities? Eh, not much, but we hang out sometime during the weeks. We all live near Oulu here in northern Finland, so we see each other whenever we go to a bar or so on. So, maybe a couple of times a month outside the band.

Is there any chance of a US tour this year for Sentenced? We are making decisions right now and we decided that in the spring, we will do a lot of Finnish shows and all the big European festivals and the Finnish festivals in the summer. After that, we are doing both, like a full European tour headlining and also it seems that we're coming to the States finally, in September or so. We'll tour with Iced Earth for 3 weeks or so.

Great! Are you looking forward to that? Yeah, we are. We've been getting so much response from there. We've got this e-mail address that people can send any of their comments or questions to, and we receive a lot of messages from the States and they all are asking, 'Why aren't you coming?' and 'Why haven't you come already?' and 'When are you coming?' It seems that at least some people over there even like our music, so maybe there is even a reason to come.

www.sentenced.org

#Sentenced #interview #feb2000

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